Christian Values in Beowulf (Literary Essay Example)

In the poem, Beowulf, there is a monster/half-human villain that attacks the mead hall, a hall for celebration and feasting. The result of this attack results in a mix between two polar opposite ideological values. The poem’s characters including stereotypically pagan qualities, such as the desire for vengeance, being overly prideful especially when speaking on his skill in the bloody battle, and dedication to clan kinship exist within the poem next to Christian values of desire for peace; the result is a contradictory and confusing one. In the poem, there are a plethora of Christian references and values such as mentioning cain, a major biblical figure, and Hrothgar praying to rid of the great monster, Grendel. Although there are multiple Christian values and practices present, there is also plenty of pagan relations. Just a few are the belief in fate otherwise known as wyrd and encouraged pride. 

Specifically, Beowulf’s great skill and talent in fighting large, bloody battles is a difficult quality to process knowing that the poem also seeks peace, a traditionally Christian value. Beowulf does not hesitate to get ugly in his vicious fighting: “But struck suddenly and started in; he grabbed and mauled a man on his bench bit into his bone-lappings, bolted down his blood and gorged on him in lumps leaving the body utterly lifeless.”(739-43) The gore and destruction in these lines prove that Beowulf is not peaceful or, despite the poem having sprinkles of peaceful, Christian values. A win like Beowulf’s can only occur when someone has a true desire for violence. In addition, we can see that this anger and desire for fighting are natural. He eagerly volunteers and asks permission from Hrothgar to fight and violently defeat Grendel: “Hand-to-hand is how it will be, a life-and-death fight with the fiend”(438-40) Beowulf is so excited and ready to take on Grendel. As well, he highlights that this fight will be “Hand-to-hand”, they will fight with their bare hands. Thus further proving that Beowulf has a natural desire to have a bloody fight and take down Grendel. 

In addition to Beowulf’s desire for violence, he also has the extreme pridefulness that he is the absolute best for the task that is destroying Grendel and views himself as extremely intimidating to others. He is simply way too confident that he can easily beat Grendel: “Unarmed he shall face me if face me he dares”(684-5) This shows remarkable confidence coming from Beowulf, it is clear that he sees himself intimidating Grendel. This is interesting due to the state humility that is heavily preached in Christianity as Beowulf is acting incredibly boastful rather than humble. In addition to Beowulf thinking rather highly of his intimidation and his battle skills, he views himself as the best for the job, further showing his constant need to brag and show his pride:” The truth is this: When the going was heavy in those high waves, I was the strongest swimmer of all” (532-4) He is continuing to try to prove his accomplishments in the most egotistic way possible. Beowulf is referring to a swimming contest he participated in, but instead of simply stating his success, he is certain of excessively bragging about it. This is worrisome for the heavy Christian presence in the poem as pride is one of the seven deadly sins in Christianity. However, pride is traditionally a pagan value, which further complicates the relationship between the Christian and pagan values in Beowulf. Both of these statements show how egotistical and remarkably prideful Beowulf is throughout the poem. 

Thirdly, the heavy talk about fate is only shown in pagan values and not Christian values. It is rather interesting how Beowulf does all of these “sinful” activities and then simultaneously pulls God into the equation: “As a man outlawed for wickedness, he must await the mighty judgment of God in majesty.”( 976-8) Beowulf believes that God is the ultimate ruler and decider of what goes. However, he actively goes against what is commonly considered “God’s wishes” by being overly violent, prideful, and intimidating. How can this be possible? Considering how strongly Beowulf feels about judgment from God, wouldn’t he be cautious as to not actively go against Christian values and morals? Continuing on the confusion, not only do the characters in Beowulf actively believe in both God and fate, they mention the two in the same paragraph as supporting causes: “ My household- guard, is on the wane, fate sweeps them away into Grendel’s crutches-but God can easily halt these raids and harrowing attacks.”(475-9) Hrothgar is nodding to the fact that he believes that God is ultimately in control of everything including the aggressive attacks of Grendel on the mead-hall. Despite this, Hrothgar also mentions fate in the same sentence. He mentions that fate guides victims into Grendel’s crutches. Although this is highly contradictory to what he says later on about God, Hrothgar seems confident about both fate and God. Is it possible that rather than viewing God and fate separately, they view them as one? While this is a possibility, wouldn’t the author specify this knowing it is such a huge discrepancy? This directly proves the constant mix of religious qualities and beliefs with pagan traits and values throughout the poem. 

To conclude, the theme of Christian beliefs and values mixed with the opposite traditionally pagan traits and values is a theme that makes a reader question the poem's true intentions. Beowulf’s talent and skill in fighting large, bloody battles is a difficult trait to be processed knowing that the Christian relevance in the poem is actively against violence. In addition, Beowulf also has the utmost pridefulness that he is truly the best option for defeating the wild monster that is Grendel which is once again inconsistent with the poem’s Christian ideals. Lastly, the commodious talk about fate is only consistent with pagan values, and believing in a fate other than God is often frowned upon in the Christian community. This brings us to a very important question that quite possibly changes a reader's view and opinion on the opposing values in Beowulf. Is it possible for the characters in Beowulf to recognize the differences and separate themselves from their Christian values and the opposing paganistic values surrounding their community?