Student Essay on The Roles of Christianity and Paganism in "Beowulf"

Compares the roles of Christianity and paganism in "Beowulf", explaining the background of the time "Beowulf" was written and using examples from the story. Keywords: religion

In order for us to understand "Beowulf" and its Christian as well as pagan morals, we must first understand the context that "Beowulf" was written in. "Beowulf" was written during a time in which the Anglo-Saxon culture was being converted from paganism to Christianity. During this time Christianity and paganism were interwoven to create a hybrid form of Christianity that the Anglo-Saxons would accept. "Beowulf" is a mixture of both Christianity and paganism. The story depends heavily on pagan characters such as Grendel, his mother, and the dragon, but the authors were able to add Christian themes to the story in such a way that they were accepted without being noticed in the story. "Beowulf" is full of examples where pagan beliefs meet Christian beliefs; however, out of the many examples three events stand out from.....