The Contributions of Religion to the Formation of Monsters in Beowulf - Essay Sample

Introduction

Religion is considered one of the leading advocates for good morals and behaviors in society today. Religious people are expected to represent good deeds that other people should follow. During the medieval ages time, Christianity was in the process of being introduced in Europe (Strickland et al. 7). During that time, medieval literature was written mainly for the purpose of teaching Christian dogmas to the people. The literature at this time was used as a way of condemning the deeds deemed as evil or unacceptable according to religion (Whallon 92). People were encouraged to convert into Christianity in a bid to reduce the spread of paganism in Europe. Those who had already joined were told tales and stories of biblical heroes and to strengthen their faith. As much as this age brought about good deeds in the medieval literature, it also led to the creation of evil characters in Beowulf.

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Beowulf is probably the most famous text from the medieval ages, which is rich in context that helps us understand the complexity of religion in those days, and how this religion played a role in creating the monsters in Beowulf. Given the way the poet infrequently referred to religious matters, it would be correct to assume that he had just a slight grasp of Christianity (Whallon, 82). There is a lack of clarity on whether the text was based on pagan or Christian religion since it contains both aspects. (Tolkien, 15). What is clear though is that the author paralleled the Old Testament part of Christianity with that of the pagan past to portray how the natives similarly viewed Christianity with that of the Hebrews in the old dispensation world (Canon, 33)

Since Beowulf was written at the time when the conversion was taking place in Europe, it is possible that the author's perspective must have been more critical of the religion than what we can perceive at the moment (Whallon, 45). Many people still believe that Beowulf was rewritten to include Christian teachings. The Christians thought that it was not necessary for one to have to wait until all traditions and cultures of the native societies have either been forgotten or replaced; for the peoples' minds are switched, and their memories changed to view things in a different perspective (Tolkien, 17). It is, therefore, no surprise that there is a conflict of religious beliefs in the text, with narrator maintaining a Christian tone throughout the poem while the characters display Paganism in their acts. (Canon, 59). Even the characters in Beowulf who were evil were Christians; for instance, King Hrodgar is seen as being in a state of indecisiveness about the religion he served. He moves imperfectly from being a Christian to a pagan in limbo, a pattern that is not so strange in the poem at large(Canon, 60)

Monsters, giants, ogres, and others were used to show the evil deeds in the society, and their endings, which were often fatal were used as a warning to the evil that good always wins. In all medieval texts that had monster characters, this has always been the case (Oziewicz). Monsters were used to contrast the actions and beliefs of the hero, who represented what was considered right and righteous by the culture or community that the text belonged to (Tolkien, 23). In Beowulf for instance, the monsters, Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragons were used to enhance the figure of the hero by showing how greatly their characters differed. When Beowulf overcomes and kills Grendel and his mother then later the dragon, the religious aspect that the author is depicted as below:

From that stem afterward,

ever longer the stronger, grew hateful and furious fruit.

The shoots of violence spread far and wide

among the tribes of men. The branches of evil [wyrd]. (Heany)

The Christianity portrayed in Beowulf does not mirror the perfect, morally correct religion we picture today, but rather a harsh kind that sees pain and suffering as the surest way to salvation (Oziewicz, 7). This probably explains why religion was a complicated theme in Beowulf, and perhaps that is the first role it played in creating monsters in this text.

In Beowulf, Grendel is used as a monster who embodies the violent human nature in its most disgusting and hideous state which is used to mirror the evil habits of humanity. The hero, Beowulf, on the contrary, is portrayed as a King who stands for bravery and justice and everything considered good according to Christianity (Bovey, 77). In the Bible, the book of Genesis tells a story about two brothers, Cain and Abel. The story describes Cain as a jealous man, who later killed his brother because God seemed to like him more. This is the first case of murder and evil in the Bible; hence Cain is portrayed as evil and Abel as good, (hero) (Parks, 1-16).

To further understand how the text is linked to Christianity, it is essential to look at some of the major themes and concepts in the poem. For instance, revenge is a theme that repeatedly occurs in the text (Canon, 67). First of all, Grendel and the race of Cain are expelled by God as a result of the death of Abel. Grendel then attacks Heorot in retaliation. Beowulf, in turn, kills Grendel to avenge Heorot. Grendel's death angers his mother, and she comes after Heorot. Beowulf again attacks and kills Grendel's mother. The whole chain of actions resulting from revenge starts with a Biblical story involving Cain and Abel. The author develops this base of the story to create monsters such as Grendel and his mother (Tanke, 88). The contradiction of religion is just one of the many contrasts in the poem. The poet also compares between good and evil, God and evil and even fate. The use of monsters against heroes in the poem has therefore been used to represent a bigger picture of good versus evil; with the monsters representing the evil and the hero (Beowulf) representing the good and religious (Tanke, 43).

To modern readers, we may not understand completely why the poet used both Christian and Pagan aspects in writing the poem, why the characters in the poem seem to practice pagan rituals and come to grips with evil but still thank God when it's over. In some instances, the Danes, who keep on backsliding from Christianity to their old pagan ways are excused by the author (Canon, 68). This religious polarity found in the poem that may seem a little bit confusing to the modern readers might not have been so for the audience during the medieval ages. This is because the early christians in Europe found medieval texts quite helpful in teaching Christian values to the people. The church encouraged the use of these texts to teach Christian morality. In this case, the author required little theological background about the people but instead chose to create the text by reinterpreting the traditions of the people by taking their traditional materials and according them with Christian religious elements according to what he believed (Whallon).

Basing an argument out of the way monsters are portrayed in Beowulf, it is justifiable to say that even Beowulf, the hero in the poem who is supposed to represent religious elements and values has also been portrayed as a human monster. This discourse in the text is a probably meant to teach us one of the most basic morals of the text, that the concept of monstrosity and humanity are not, after all, very wide apart, but rather mingled (Yang, 22).

The fact that the conflict between good and evil, religious and pagan and monsters versus humanity creates the basis for the development of the poem, the role of religion in creating all these monsters started when Beowulf decided to fight against the monsters. The vengeance by Grendel's mother and the dragon is only as a result of Beowulf's deeds. This mirrors the state of religion at the time, where the process of conversion was abused, making the Christians enemies to some of the pagans due to the methods used to convert people. The text uses Danish to represent the shortcomings of the evil, and pagans, by their examples of offering sacrifices to idols, which is against the Christian religion. In summary, the text portrays anyone who was a christian as reasonable and credible, and the pagans and all those who practiced the pagan rituals to be evil. The evil in the text was represented by monsters (Stricland, 46). It is, therefore, easier to understand why there aren't many Christian monsters in the poem, but all those who conquered monsters or fought evil successfully are all christians. It is, therefore, true to say that monsters were picked according to religion, as in. All those who were not christians are made to look guilty and at fault, in the poem, while the Christians represented good. The religious perspective of good and evil surely did play a role in the creation of monsters in Beowulf (Tanke, 25)

Conclusion

Religious people are expected to represent good deeds that other people should follow. During the medieval ages time, Christianity was in the process of being introduced in Europe. It is essential to understand the religious environment during the medieval ages, especially when Beowulf was being written. This will enable us to come up with a clearer picture about those days, what might have happened and how religion played a part the author's creation of monsters. The text is based on a biblical story that starts with the banishment of Cain. Starting from this early stage of the story, the descendants of Cain, who killed his brother, Abel, end up bringing about a breed of monsters in the text including Grendel. All in all, we agree that as much as religion brought about good deeds in the medieval literature, it also led to the creation of evil characters, such as in Beowulf.

Works Cited

Beowulf. Trans. Seamus Heaney. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Gen. ed. Stephen Greenblatt. 9th ed. Vol. A. New York: Norton, 2012. 41-108. Print.

Canon, Elizabeth Bell. "Blurred Lines: Does Religious Polarity Create Problematic Heroes in the Poem, Beowulf?" Interdisciplinary Humanities, vol. 34, no. 1, 2017, pp. 55-68. EBSCOhost,search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mzh&AN=2018301251&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Oziewicz, Marek. "Christian, Norse and Celtic: metaphysical belief structures in Nancy Farmer's The Saxon Saga." Mythlore, vol. 30, no. 1-2, 2011, p. 107+. Literature Resource Center, https://ezproxy.templejc.edu:2377/apps/doc/A272364402/GLS?u=txshracd2561&sid=GLS&xid=0b349c79. Accessed 18 Mar. 2019.

Strickland, Debra Higgs. Saracens, demons, & Jews: making monsters in medieval art. Princeton University Press, 2003.

Tanke, John. "Beowulf, Gold-Luck, and God's Will." Studies in Philology, vol. 99, no. 4, 2002, pp. 356-79. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mzh&AN=2002581780&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Tolkien, John Ronald Reuel. "Beowulf: the Monsters and the Critics." London, 1936.

Whallon, William. "The Christianity of 'Beowulf.'" Modern Philology, vol. 60, no. 2, 1962, pp. 81-94. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/434846.

Yang, Chih-chiao Joseph. "Humanizing the monsters: a schematic reading of Beowulf." Tamkang Review, vol. 44, no. 1, 2013, p. 3+. Literature Resource Center, https://ezproxy.templejc.edu:2377/apps/doc/A361241911/GLS?u=txshracd2561&sid=GLS&xid=547a4fa4. Accessed 18 Mar. 2019.