Role Of Christian Propaganda In Beowulf
Why “Beowulf” is a Work of Christian Propaganda
If “Beowulf” was set in pagan times in a pagan area, then why does it seem like a Christian poem? The history of the “Beowulf” manuscript is quite interesting, and once we have researched the past a bit, we can see how and why the poem was altered from its original state. We know that “Beowulf” was originally a pagan poem due to the time frame and location in which it was written (Chickering). The numerous mentions of “God” and biblical allusions allow the reader to see how an originally pagan poem was transformed into the “Beowulf” that we know today. “Beowulf” is a work of Christian propaganda, scribed by monks in an attempt to blend paganism with Christianity in order to Christianize early 1000’s England. …show more content…
According to Chickering, “Beowulf” could have taken place between 650AD and 850AD. This leaves a fairly large gap in time, but Higham and Ryan mention in The Anglo-Saxon World that there is a belief that the setting of “Beowulf” dates back to the time before conversion to Christianity in Britain (384). Assuming the original author of the poem intended to keep the story historically accurate, we again ask ourselves the question: How and why was “Beowulf” altered?
Throughout “Beowulf”, the reader finds multiple biblical allusions in what originally appears to be a pagan poem. The first major allusion is to the book of Genesis in the Bible. In Genesis (1:1-6), God is said to have made the earth and heavens, then light, then land, etc; Telling with mastery of man’s
If “Beowulf” was set in pagan times in a pagan area, then why does it seem like a Christian poem? The history of the “Beowulf” manuscript is quite interesting, and once we have researched the past a bit, we can see how and why the poem was altered from its original state. We know that “Beowulf” was originally a pagan poem due to the time frame and location in which it was written (Chickering). The numerous mentions of “God” and biblical allusions allow the reader to see how an originally pagan poem was transformed into the “Beowulf” that we know today. “Beowulf” is a work of Christian propaganda, scribed by monks in an attempt to blend paganism with Christianity in order to Christianize early 1000’s England. …show more content…
According to Chickering, “Beowulf” could have taken place between 650AD and 850AD. This leaves a fairly large gap in time, but Higham and Ryan mention in The Anglo-Saxon World that there is a belief that the setting of “Beowulf” dates back to the time before conversion to Christianity in Britain (384). Assuming the original author of the poem intended to keep the story historically accurate, we again ask ourselves the question: How and why was “Beowulf” altered?
Throughout “Beowulf”, the reader finds multiple biblical allusions in what originally appears to be a pagan poem. The first major allusion is to the book of Genesis in the Bible. In Genesis (1:1-6), God is said to have made the earth and heavens, then light, then land, etc; Telling with mastery of man’s