Paganism In Beowulf

When one writes, one tends to write with a purpose; whether that be to inform, persuade, instruct, or entertain. While the epic poem, Beowulf, was written with the fronting purpose of entertaining its audience, the author, who has become lost to society over the years, sprinkled in hints of his/her true purpose of writing it. The author of Beowulf wrote the epic with the intent to make a change to Anglo-Saxon society. This is because the poem of Beowulf was a way to spread the author’s thoughts on Christianity and its supremacy over Paganism. The exact date, or even year, during which the poem of Beowulf was composed is unknown. Despite this, scholars have examined the historically accurate content and the writers linguistics to attempt …show more content…
When Beowulf slayed and beheaded both Grendel and Grendel’s Mother in her lair, he used a sword he found inside her lair. He had to use that ancient sword to win the fight as Hrunting, the sword given the Beowulf by Unferth, the sword that had won countless battles for the Danes, had failed to penetrate the skin of Grendel’s mother. Through this battle, the author used Hrunting and the ancient sword to further symbolize the strength of Christianity and the weakness of Paganism. Hrunting, the all powerful sword of the paganistic Danes, failed to leave a scratch on the descendant of Cain, the Christian demon, Grendel’s mother. This was a statement that no matter how powerful the Pagans may believe they are, when faced with the adversary of sin and evil, their beliefs fail to complete the task of protecting them. Then came the ancient sword. The sword of giants was considered to be too much for any man to handle; however, Beowulf was able to pick it up with ease. While it may appear that these lines were added to the poem to emphasis Beowulf’s strength, they were actually written to emphasis both Christianity’s strength and Paganism’s weakness. The ancient sword represented salvation, as it was the only thing that could defeat the descendants of Cain, the evil in the world. Due to the Dane’s beliefs, …show more content…
The setting of the poem was in Scandinavia, more specifically Denmark, the land of the Danes, and Sweden, the home of the Geats. While this place was separated from England by the North Sea, the Scandinavians were constantly on the mind of the Anglo-Saxons. This is because during the time of Beowulf’s composition, the viking tribes from Scandinavia were constantly invading, raiding, pillaging, and murdering in England. Furthermore, the main Scandinavian tribes to do this were Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, two of which match the homelands of tribes from Beowulf. This setting was not a mere coincidence, it was purposeful. By placing the story in those locations, a subconscious connection is made between the ruthless acts of the Vikings and Pagans. Additionally, the only time in the poem where the Scandinavians were at peace was when Beowulf was king. On top of that, the author made sure to let the reader know that after Beowulf died, wars and conflict were to begin again. This symbolically represented the peace that will come if the people let God become their king and Christianity become their rule of