Student Essay on Supernatural in Beowulf and the Tain (the Cattle Raid of Cooley)

Supernatural in Beowulf and the Tain (the Cattle Raid of Cooley)

Summary:   Throughout both Beowulf and the Tain, the authors make use of supernatural elements. Whether to enhance the characters or give power to the story, the use of the supernatural pushes these works into the spectrum of epic tales. Without his monsters, Beowulf would not have had the chance to be a great hero. If Cuchulainn did not possess those amazing powers, Medb's army would have certainly defeated him early on.

Both Beowulf and the Tain have many supernatural and magical elements. The characters posses supernatural powers, must battle with supernatural creatures, and many events are of mythical proportions. When comparing the supernatural elements in Beowulf and the Tain, there are many similarities and differences to be found. The main similarity is that both heroes possess supernatural powers. Although, the people in the Tain are deeply entrenched in supernatural and magical aspects, it is part of their every day life with prophesies, amazing births, and superhuman feats. In Beowulf, the supernatural aspects are mostly focused on the monsters that Beowulf must fight.

The Tain is literally wrought with supernatural and magical events. The characters frequently perform supernatural feats, and magical undercurrents surround many events.

One character whose supernatural abilities make up the bulk of the Tain is Cuchulainn. His father is described as both his mother's husband and a fairy prince from the "side" (Tain, 142). Having magical origins may explain his powerful abilities. Throughout the battles with Medb and Aillil, Cuchulainn manages to single handedly kill thousands of men and outsmart the other side. In addition, we hear of Cuchulainn's amazing boyhood deeds through Fergus. As a small child he possessed the ability to kill many men at one time, had great strength and courage, thus as a man he was even stronger and more courageous. As well as his physical abilities, Cuchulainn possess the ability to summon the elements. At a point in the story, he summons the waters to his aid and the river rises above the treetops (Tain, 111). At two points in the story, the author mentions Cuchulainn's shape-shifting abilities:

The Warp-Spasm overtook him: it seemed each hair was hammered into his head...the hero-halo rose up from the crown of his head. Then he made onslaught on the boys. (Tain, 77)

In addition to Cuchulainn, other characters possess magical abilities in the Tain. Cathbad and Fedelm both posses the ability to prophesize and their visions are important aspects in the story. Cathbad plays a very important role in the Tain; his prophesies being the catalyst for many significant births and events. Fedelm prophesizes to Medb the outcome of the battle, "bloody and red", which Medb chooses to ignore (Tain, 61).

Another aspect of the supernatural in the Tain would be that of the Morrigan. The Morrigan is the goddess of battle, and is either a single woman or three women. In the Tain, she presents herself to Cuchulainn as a single woman and offers her services. He turns her down and the Morrigan tells him that she will then hinder if not help (Tain, 133). Cuchulainn then injures the Morrigan three times and blesses her three times, showing that he even has the power to lord over other supernatural beings.

There are many more supernatural aspects weaved into the Tain, including the blessing and cursing of weapons, war-sprits being called upon and spiritual beings aiding/hindering both sides of the battle. Without these aspects, the Tain would lose its effect. Larger than life characters and amazing events develop an interesting and memorable story.

In Beowulf, the protagonist defeats various supernatural creatures, ultimately becoming a hero. The battles he has won and the creatures he has defeated describe his greatness. In addition, Beowulf himself possesses supernatural abilities. His superhuman strength and endurance allows him to defeat these creatures and become a great thane.

The creatures and beasts mentioned in Beowulf all come from supernatural births. Grendel, the bog witch, dragons, giants, demons and sea creatures are all born with the purpose of being defeated. There purpose in this story is to elevate Beowulf. By punishing a being greater than man, Beowulf himself then becomes greater than the average man. With his bare hands, Beowulf manages to defeat a creature that no other king or thane has been able to vanquish. Without his confrontations with these magical beings, Beowulf would never have been the hero worthy of an epic tale.

Beowulf's superhuman strength shines when he becomes "battle-furious" (Beowulf, 139). During his battle with Grendel, Beowulf wrenches the monster's arm off, demonstrating his amazing strength. Grendel has cast a spell on all weapons (Beowulf, 95) and so only someone with great strength who can attack with his bare hands will be able to defeat him. In addition, when Beowulf goes to the waterfront to defeat Grendel's mother, he is able to hold his breath underwater for nine hours. Beowulf is the only one brave enough and strong enough to defeat the magical creatures that are plaguing the land.

Another difference between the supernatural creatures and events in Beowulf and the Tain is the reference to Christianity. The author of Beowulf makes frequent reference to God, as well as connects the events to Biblical stories. One example of this is when the Grendel character is introduced to the poem:

...unblessed, unhappy, he dwelt for a time...as kinsmen of Cain --for that murder God the Eternal took vengeance, when Cain killed Abel...From him sprang every misbegotten thing, monsters and elves...(Beowulf, 55)

Through out the Tain, although there is reference to prophets and characters have supernatural abilities, there is no direct reference to God or to any known religious events. Druids are mentioned, and some aspects, such as the Morrigan, suggest pagan beliefs, but there is no decisive point where the religious standpoint is as obvious as it is in Beowulf. Although, several characters in the Tain "swear by the gods" (113) there is no clear answers as to which gods they are referring to. It could be assumed that they are talking about the gods in the religion that is historically accurate for this time. There have been many rewritings and transcribing of the Tain, thus Christianity may have played a part at some point, but is not as blunt as in Beowulf.

Throughout both Beowulf and the Tain, the authors make use of supernatural elements. Whether to enhance the characters or give power to the story, the use of the supernatural pushes these works into the spectrum of epic tales. Without his monsters, Beowulf would not have had the chance to be a great hero. If Cuchulainn did not possess those amazing powers, Medb's army would have certainly defeated him early on. By adding supernatural elements, the story and characters become larger than life. Another point regarding the supernatural and magical elements is that the setting of both stories, as well when it is estimated they were transcribed, is a time when people did believe in supernatural monsters and magical powers. Sooth-sayers and prophets were commonplace, and gods and goddess were believed to take an active part in everyday life. People believed in the Morrigan and that Cain's sons lived on earth. Thus, supernatural elements both enhance the stories and add an element of the times.