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Emma Chinn

Humanities 104

Professor Macdonald

3, February 2016

Exploring Paganism and Christianity in Beowulf

The poem Beowulf contains pagan characters, but was recorded by Christian monks.

These monks recognized their power as scribes and were able to present their own Christian

beliefs through their portrayal of this old Germanic pagan myth. The influence of the monk’s is

especially evident during the episode in which Beowulf battles the fire-dragon. In their recording

of this scene, the monks are able to portray the Christian narrative as superior, yet in some ways

similar, to that of Beowulf through characterization, allegory, and mood.

Although Beowulf is characterized as good and the dragon as evil, both are characterized

as brave, and it is this bravery that eventually leads both to their ultimate demises. The monks

portray bravery as their cause of death in order to criticize the Germanic pagan fixation on brave

heroes and heroism in general. After Beowulf’s death, Wiglaf states that since Beowulf is “brave-

minded; deed famed prince” (l.2666) he would “never permit [his] good name to fail/ alive”

(l.2665-6). Therefore, although Beowulf is indeed good, his bravery leads to his death. Being a

Germanic pagan hero, he had to die in glory by fighting the dragon instead of living in shame

and not fighting at all. On the other hand, the dragon, who is described as a “harm to people”

(l.2278) is also described as “fierce-hearted” (l.2296) or brave. Similarly to Beowulf, “courage

[takes] his [the dragon’s] life” (l.2706). The characterization of death is also important here,
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because according to the Christian beliefs of the authors, the pagan characters would experience

eternal damnation. Therefore, death is a negative concept in this situation. It is said that Beowulf

had “finished his days, his joy in the world,/ that his time was over” (l.2726-7) and the dead

dragon is also described as “finished” (l.2705). The authors’ diction here is quite definitive and

leaves no room for mention of an afterlife. The monks want their audience to understand that

Beowulf and the dragon die without hope of salvation because they are both pagans who lived by

the pagan belief that bravery and honor are the priority.

The characterization of Beowulf as good and the dragon as evil plays an important role

in the allegory of Christian salvation which is portrayed by their battle. In this allegory, the

dragon symbolizes the devil while Beowulf in some ways symbolizes Jesus. This is evident

because the dragon is described as a “coiled serpent” (l.2826) with “strength in fire” (l.2323). In

the Book of Genesis, the devil appears in the form of a snake, and, according to the Bible, he is

the master of a fiery hell. Meanwhile, Beowulf symbolizes a sort of overly-prideful pagan Jesus-

figure. Beowulf is described on several occasions as the “good king” (l.2390) of the Geats. In the

Bible, Jesus is said to be the good king of all mankind. According to the Christian faith, Jesus

was the only one who could sacrifice himself to save humankind from eternal damnation.

Similarly, Beowulf sees it as his duty as king to kill the dragon who is massacring his people,

although he may die in the process. He says he must “succeed,/ win gold by courage, or battle

seize [him]/ final life-hurt take [him] away” (l.2535-7). When Beowulf goes to fight the dragon,

he is “one among twelve” (l.2401-2). The man who stole the jeweled cup (2404) is said to have

been “the thirteenth in the troop of men” (l.2406). In this situation, it is reasonable to assume that

the eleven men who commit to going to battle with Beowulf represent the eleven apostles who

were meant to be by Jesus’ side. Meanwhile, the thirteenth man, thief of the golden cup (l.2214-
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6) and “cause of disaster” (l.2407) represents Judas who betrayed Jesus to the Romans, therefore

causing his cruxifixction. It is fitting that this thirteenth man leads Beowulf to the dragon (2408-

12) just as Judas led the Romans to Jesus in the Book of Luke. The apostles denied Jesus to the

Romans for fear of their lives. Likewise, almost all of Beowulf’s men “[flee] to the wood to save

their lives” (l.2598-9). Furthermore, Jesus asks Peter to spread the church on earth when he

ascends into heaven, and Beowulf similarly asks Wiglaf to “watch the country’s needs” (l.2800-1)

after he dies. It can be assumed that this allegory was not a part of the original pagan Beowulf

myth, but rather woven in by the monks. The monks probably did this because their audience

consisted of pagans who had converted to Christianity. These new Christians would have been

familiar with the plot and characters of Beowulf, and having them linked to Christianity was

probably meant to help new Christians better understand and relate to the faith.

Although the allegory of salvation is meant to draw similarities between Beowulf and

Jesus, the mood surrounding Beowulf’s death conveyed throughout the episode is meant to subtly

criticize the differences in ideology between Christian Jesus and pagan Beowulf. In the Christian

faith, Christ’s death is celebrated, because with his death all Christians were given eternal life.

However, when Beowulf, the Christ figure of the allegory, dies, the mood is anything but joyful.

After his death, Beowulf’s men are described as “weary” (l.2909) and “heartsick” (l.2943). They

feel this way because they see his death as being final. After his death, Beowulf is said to be

“lifeless” (l.2908) with no mention of his returning to life like Jesus once did. The reason for this

crucial difference between the death of Beowulf and the death of Christ is pretty well summed up

by his last words: “Death is better/ for any warrior than a shameful life!” (l.2890-1). These words

make it clear that Beowulf’s decision to fight the dragon was motivated, at least partially, by his

own pride and not entirely out of a selfless desire to save his people. Although Beowulf and
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Jesus have many similarities, Beowulf is not a selfless savior but a Germanic pagan hero who, by

his very nature, values his own honor and wealth above all else. Therefore, Beowulf’s death is

expected to result in a “time of war” (l.2913) for his people, while Christ’s death results in eternal

peace for all Christians, according to the faith. Beowulf’s men are described as “doomed”

(l.3025) after Beowulf’s death, while Christians, such as the monks, believed they were saved by

the death of Christ. The mood surrounding Beowulf’s death is made to contrast so starkly with

the mood surrounding Christ’s death in the Christian narrative because the monks wanted to

make sure it was recognized that the death of a pagan hero could not possibly have the same

effect as the death of Jesus Christ.

In their recording of Beowulf’s battle with the dragon, the Christian monks create an

allegory of the salvation story. The similarities to Christianity that are drawn within this pagan

myth make it easier for newly converted Christians to connect with the ideas of the faith.

However, the monks make it clear through their definitive characterization of pagan death and

the hopeless mood surrounding Beowulf’s death that although Beowulf and Christ share some

similarities, Christ is ultimately superior. This superiority stems from the fact that Christ’s death

was selfless while Beowulf’s was partially motivated by his prideful characteristics as a germanic

pagan hero. The monk’s recorded Beowulf in this way so that Christians who had recently

converted from paganism, and maybe even those not yet converted, could better understand

Christianity by linking it to something they already knew. One could also argue that the poem’s

dreary ending serves to show not yet converted pagan readers how superior Christianity is by

comparing the stagnant end of Beowulf’s story to the hopeful end of Christ’s story.
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Works Cited

trans. Chickering, Howell D. Beowulf: A Dual-language Edition. Garden City, NY: Anchor,

1977. Print.