Beowulf And Egyptian Literature

Medieval monastic communities are partially the reason that many ancient texts are still around to this day. The monastic communities considered their work life to be a part of their prayer life. Monasteries often housed a scriptorium where texts were either copied or created. These scriptoria led to several famous texts being written such as The Rule of Saint Benedict and Beowulf. Though monastic communities were important in maintaining literature, several works were written outside of the walls of monasteries, such as Confessions by Saint Augustine of Hippo. Each of these books has a unique theme, but yet they maintain one common element in that they were all written by a Christian writer. However, Beowulf is a text laden with elements …show more content…
Similar to in literature, Augustine, finds fault with one particular genre. Augustine specifically takes issue with tragedies because he was able to witness some of the miseries that he was currently experiencing in his own life. The issue that Augustine had with tragedies was that “he wants to suffer the pain given by being a spectator of these sufferings, and the pain itself is his pleasure” (Augustine 35). Augustine later in Book III speaks of how he pities the person who finds pleasure in wickedness more than someone who has experienced genuine suffering. Augustine searched for suffering in any way he could specifically the theater in his saying, “I loved to suffer and sought out occasions for such suffering” (Augustine 37). Augustine’s criticisms of fictional literature and the theater could be applied to Beowulf, as it is a text that many believe to be a fictional tale, which was written by a …show more content…
Personally, I feel that the Beowulf Poet provides a better-reasoned argument. This is partially due to the fact that supporting evidence can be found in The Rule of Saint Benedict, but also the pagan elements within Beowulf could be used to synthesize the beliefs of pagans with that of Christianity. While the two have vastly different ideologies, the process of synthesizing would provide an easier transition for pagans into Christianity. Augustine may have objected to tragic fictional stories told either through literature or the theater, the plot of Beowulf is only tragic in the downfall of Beowulf. Aside from Beowulf’s fall into greed, the story told is that of a hero, who seeks to destroy evil in the world, occasionally taking the time to give thanks to the Lord for the victories that he