Asher Period 3 Team 7

The story of Beowulf very much exemplifies the cultural conflicts and differences between heathen beliefs and traditional approaches. Beowulf was burned on a funeral pyre, and the story itself has many heathen elements to it, such as the use of totemic devices for luck or as charms, and the belief that vengeance is among the top priorities for man’s pursuit. The numerous Pagan elements of Beowulf is also intersected with many traditional beliefs and customs of monastic life, which also influenced the Greeks. Monasticism began when Saint Anthony the Great went to the desert in his search for solitude and evangelical life, then later spread throughout the globe as monasteries and monastic lifestyles began. Perhaps the most conflict Beowulf portrays is the selfless altruisism of Beowulf and the solitary, individual life of a monk. Beowulf battled against Grendel and Grendel’s mother, and serves as king the rest of his life until he is fatally wounded by the dragon in his last fight to defend his kingdom, whereas monastic life encourages isolation, and removing all obstacles to loving God. While Beowulf has Christian elements such as Cain’s slaying of Abel, allusions to the Last Judgement, and the reference of deities in Christian terms, the broad view of Beowulf is very conflicted between Pagan acts and Christian, monastic references. A possible explanation of this discrepancy is if two separate people contributed to the book, or if indeed it was one author, the author might be originally an Anglo-Saxon being heavily influence by the Christian churches and monastaries of Christian monks during 500 A.D. (as noted in research question1 ). With so many Christian influences during the later times of the Anglo-Saxons, the author may have been influenced by the spread of Christianity while still incorporating the old Pagan beliefs of the old Anglo-Saxons.