Christian/PaganElements of Beowulf

By: Christian Kelly and Caitlin Hanes

2 September 20091st block

Christian Elements

• man survives only through the protection of God

• all earthly gifts flow from God• proper bearing of man is to be

humble and unselfish• acknowledges God as his

protector

Christian Elements cont’d

• Grendel is referred to as a descendent of Cain

• Earthly protection derived from God

• status of king is achieved through the grace of God

Pagan Elements

• strong sense that God's protection must be earned

• a warrior must first be true to his values, courage, honesty, pride, and humility to earn God's protection

• heroic pride within Beowulf• Beowulf himself is defined in

terms of wyrd

Pagan Elements con’t

• Beowulf says "fate often saves the undoomed man when his courage is good“

• use of Ragnarok: “final destiny of the gods“

• Beowulf makes a boast, a pledge that seals one's fate

Wyrd

• Belief that fate ruled a person’s life• not an end-point, but something

continually happening around us at all times

• A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary - "fate, chance, fortune, destiny, the Fates, Providence, event, phenomenon, transaction, fact, condition"

The Norns

• female beings who rule the fates of the various races

• three most important norns: Urðr, Verðandi and Skuld

• represent destiny

Sources

• http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/projs1a/page.html

• http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/projs1d/CHRIST.html

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norns

• http://www.octavia.net/anglosaxon/Wyrd.htm