Beowulf: religions of the timeBeowulf is an Anglo-Saxon poem dating back to around 1000 AD. Around this time, Christianity was growing in many different countries, particularly in Europe. Pagan beliefs were also still around during this time period, so the expansion of Christian and Pagan beliefs began to influence the works. Pagans strongly believed in fate, superhuman powers, monsters, and nature. In Beowulf, Fate began to be known as “Wyrd.” Wyrd is the power that things are predestined, leading to Christianity and the belief that all things are made through God. The fusion of Christian and pagan beliefs was easier to accomplish because of the common concepts of good versus evil. Since this story was written during the time when paganism had already been around for a while, paganism will be the first belief examined. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The Pagans strongly believed in humans having superhuman abilities or powers that allowed them to fight monsters and become the heroes they were destined to be. In Beowulf, they introduce many of these pagan characteristics into the story. The story begins with the acquaintance of Grendel, a young dragon, who destroys Herot. The mystical creature, the dragon, has always been seen as an unprecedented type of evil. Beowulf comes to defeat Grendel because he feels it is his destiny to defeat him and everything will lead him to his destiny. Beowulf possesses strength and powers that no other human could have. Grendel is killed by Beowulf after being trapped in the locked arm for so long, showing that Beowulf has incredible strength as he was able to kill a dragon without his weapon (Puchner 787-789). These are not the only concepts or examples that influence Beowulf, so pagan beliefs will continue. Pagans also had a close connection to nature, believing that the Earth was sacred and should remain sacred. They began to feature Grendel's house and where the dragons live, their house was destroyed. The Earth was dying on their side and the river was overflowing with blood showing the disrespect shown by the dragons. The story continues with Beowulf killing Grendel's mother and ends with Beowulf's death after fighting the last dragon. He lived for many years even after all the wounds he encountered after his battles and became a hero. Heroes are another element in pagan culture because all warriors wanted to pay respect to their names and die as heroes. Beowulf lived his entire life and continued to fight dragons even after he became king, so that he could die as the hero he felt he should be. Christians have the concept of turning the other cheek, but pagans believe in revenge. When Grendel destroyed Herot, the people wanted to take revenge on him so they took Beowulf to kill him (Sobchack 2-4). Although paganism is such an important factor in Beowulf, Christianity is too. Beowulf had many pagan elements, but there is also an abundance of Christian elements. In Beowulf, Grendel is compared to Cain from the biblical story of Cain and Abel. They are saying that Cain was cursed for killing Abel and now Grendel is a progeny of Cain. Grendel is considered a demon and his home is compared to Hell (Puncher 102-108). When Beowulf continues to kill Grendel's mother, he stops and thanks God for giving him the sword to kill her (Puchner 1553-1556). God is a constant element in the story and makes the reader understand that Beowulf believes in a God who helps him along his path (Helder 1-3). Pagan and Christian beliefs are different, but they are not like that.