Beowulf and Christianity

A big issue with the anonymous heroic poem Beowulf is that it began as a poem that was memorized and recited orally, maybe sometime around 700 - 800, but wasn’t written down until around 1000 in the West Saxon language. So, for critics to claim that the poem is either essentially Christian or essentially pagan is a tricky feat because the content of the poem is about a pagan, Germanic culture but was believed by critics to have been written by a Christian author. Although the poem does include many references to Christianity, such as the poet’s song about the Genesis Creation, Grendel’s ancestry to Cain, and to explicit references to God’s intervention, the poem’s backbone is based on a pagan theme: good triumphs over evil through the virtues of bravery, strength, and loyalty.

A Christian theme would likely give its triumphs to God and its content would have less emphasis on conquest, violence, and a vengeful attitude. A great example of the conflict of Christian versus pagan can be seen in the part of the poem where Beowulf fights Grendel’s mother:

The woven corslet

that covered his shoulders saved Beowulf’s life,

denied access to both point and edge.

Then the leader of the Geats, Ecgtheow’s son,

would have died far under the wide earth

had not his corslet, his mighty chain-mail,

guarded him, and had not the holy God

granted him victory; the wise Lord,

Ruler of the Heavens, settled the issue

easily after the hero had scrambled to his feet. (pg 112)

There are multiple moments throughout this poem in which Beowulf’s corslet is commended for its craftsmanship and durability, and these particular lines begin praising Beowulf’s armor for its strength, saying without it, Beowulf would not have survived. But then almost as if it were an after thought, God is mentioned as being the one who decided the victory.  Another contradicting moment is located at the very beginning of the poem during the discussion of Hrothgar’s lineage. The poet is describing the burial ritual for Scyld in which his people lay him to rest on a ship:

I have never heard of a ship equipped

more handsomely with weapons and war-gear,

swords and corslets…

Then high above his head they placed

a golden banner and let the waves bear him,

bequeathed him to the sea. (pg 75)

This is an incongruity with the Christian elements of the poems, like when characters directly praise God for his intervention, because this is not a typical burial ritual for a Christian community, in which the deceased is typically buried underground or in a tomb. Moments like this are why I believe that the Christian elements seen in the poem might have been added in later by the poet who actually wrote down the poem, but the original version, the oral poem, might have had much less Christian elements, considering it was thought to be written around the time when Anglo-Saxons were converting to Christianity.