Examples Of Paganism In Beowulf

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Throughout the entirety of the elegiac epic, Beowulf, both pagan and Christian images exist. This is largely due to the fact a Christian monk transcribed the pagan folklore story into Middle English around 1000 AD. The epic of Beowulf has been toyed with and transcribed many times since its beginning, hence the dichotomies in imagery throughout the entirety of the epic. Part II and III of Beowulf consist of conflict of man versus monster; however the monster ultimately represents evil according to pagan mythology. This deeper conflict of man versus self ultimately helps the reader to fully realize that the actual story is based upon pagan beliefs, but has been adapted to be understood as a Christian story as well. Overall, one reads the entirety …show more content…
In pagan mythology this dragon would have represented the elements of fire and air, showing both destruction and limits. The dragon would destroy all in its wake, as it did, and to try to fight the dragon was beyond human limits. The Christian monk, however, had little knowledge of the dragon beyond the manuscripts of Job. In Job the draco is used to symbolize the Devil. Ultimately this influenced his transcription of the story to a story against the power of evil. From a Christian prospective, Beowulf represented Christ battling against the power of evil. Similarly to Christ, Beowulf was betrayed by all of his men but one. ____From a pagan perspective, however, the story largely represents overstepping boundaries and reaching too high. The turning point of the fight, when Beowulf shoots too high and breaks his sword, ultimately shows this. Beowulf “threw his whole strength behind a sword-strong and connected with the skull. And Naegling snapped. Beowulf’s ancient iron-gray sword let him down in the fight. It was never his fortune to be helped in combat by the cutting-edge of weapons made of iron.” (Line 2679-2684) EXPAND UPON THIS Beowulf ultimately forgot himself and became too confident; this story ultimately shows that we must remember who we are in order to face destruction. (Talk about how we need …show more content…
Albeit the entirety of the epic has its own meaning, the language and transcription of the epic show this struggle for paganism to thrive. Many pagans would have to reinterpret this interpretation of their stories in order to learn more about their faith. Modern pagans must interpret this interpretation, and they must go further back into the Old English versions to understand that “heaven” in the line, “heaven swallowed the smoke [of Beowulf’s grave],” (Line 3155) came from the word Heofon, which was intended to mean sky but interpreted as Heaven. Ultimately this could either be a Christian or a Pagan image due to the dual meaning of Heofon, leading to two separate meanings. The pagan imagery symbolizes the defeat of Beowulf by nature, whereas the Christian imagery shows Beowulf as a Christ like figure rising to heaven. In the Christian image, Beowulf lasts forever as a beacon in the chaos of the sea, similar to the cross being an image of Jesus Christ as a lasting image of righteousness for Christians. The pagan imagery is vastly masked in the Christian translation of the story, and ultimately suppresses the pagan culture of the Anglo-Saxon
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