Christianity and Paganism: The Key to Adventure

The European epic, Beowulf, was written sometime in the eighth century in England. This time period provides us with an idea for the mixture of Christian and pagan elements because of an English society that was in the process of converting from Paganism to Christianity. The fact that Christianity and Paganism are so closely combined in the epic explains the reasons for Beowulf’s Christian and pagan influences. In a thorough analysis of Beowulf, the Christian and pagan elements, represented in the characters and their journeys through various countries, creates an epic adventure filled with superhuman qualities and Christian ideals that often parallel themselves to biblical characters and events.

The pagan elements of the epic are evident in a couple of the characters’ superhuman qualities during the first two parts of the poem. Beowulf is seen as a superhero and takes it upon himself to use his strength to defeat Grendel and save the Danes from the turmoil that has haunted them for the past twelve years. Beowulf vows to fight Grendel with no weapons and will rely only on his super strength to defeat the monster. During the battle, Beowulf wrestles with the evil monster until he is able to grab hold of Grendel’s arm and rip it out of the socket (47-8). These pagan, superhuman feats also appear in part two where Beowulf swims downward for an entire day, without oxygen, before reaching the lair of Grendel’s mother. In their battle, Beowulf’s sword is useless against the tough skin of Grendel’s mother. He seizes a sword hanging on the wall that was forged by giants too heavy for any normal human to hold and slashes through the monster’s tough body (61-2). Beowulf’s superhuman strength is even more undeniable when he tells of his swimming match at sea with Breca. They each swam in icy waters for five days and five nights carrying swords to fight off the sea monsters. When Beowulf found himself pulled underwater by a monster, he killed it and eight other sea beasts that came to attack him (42-4). These pagan influences of amazing superhuman strength are not only apparent in Beowulf, but in many of the monsters he confronts on his journey.

Grendel, as well as his mother, has no knowledge of weapons so he depends on his extraordinary strength to destroy his enemies. He devours men whole leaving almost no trace of blood or destruction except for the door he ripped off the hinges. In Beowulf, among other pagan stories, the dragon is seen as a super powerful enemy to the hero. When a thief infiltrates the dragon’s lair