Pagan Burial Rites in the Epic of Beowulf Essay -- Epic of Beowulf Essa

Pagan Burial Rites in the Epic of BeowulfScores of essays are pen about the Christian influence on the Beowulf poet. Most notable Beowulf scholars such(prenominal) as Klber, Robinson and Whitelock do not fail to address the matter. Given the complexity of the issue and the proliferation of evidence within the poem, we can understand the universal court of this topic. The poet transposes his Christian convictions onto a story which formed in a refinement devoid of Christianity. In many instances, however, the poems pagan basis shines through. Among these idiosyncracies it is important to annotation funeral rites and the pagan practices that surround them. When missionaries first introduced the Christian ideology to the Anglo-Saxons, they left the the great unwashed with a clear choice Pagan deities could not coexist with the Christian God. Therefore, they must abandon these ancient icons in order to hold a more monotheistic view. Unfortunately, most of their culture is built aro und upholding a heroic code instead of a single deity. Rather than all forsake the standards that they had lived by for so many generations, they incorporated their old ideals into the untested Christian dogma (Ogilvy, Baker 27). In a similar fashion, the poets parturiency was to apply this same transformation to a story deeply grow pagan society. The Beowulf poet was concerned to extol the virtues of ancient Germanic heroes while acknowledging regretfully that the were deprived of the Christian revelation enjoyed in the poets own era (Robinson 1). slightly(prenominal) flaws originate from this change, however. According to Klber, heathen practices are mentioned in several places, such as the vowing of sacrifices at idol fanes, the observing of omens and the burning of the dead, whic... ...s in Beowulf do not hold the same sentiments about Christianity that the poet holds. If Beowulf truly possessed the Christian ideals that the poet often insinuates, he would not find it nec essary to be cremated, nor make up his tomb adorned with riches. These elements reveal to us the difficulty of infusing a Christian dogma into a heathen society. The Beowulf poet is successful with this task in some respects, but in the case of cremation he is somewhat remiss. Works CitedBarber, capital of Minnesota T. Cremation. Journal of Indo-European Studies v.21 (1993) 379-387 Klber, Friedrich, ed. Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburgh. Third edition. Lexington D.C. Heath and Company, 1950. Ogilvy, J.D.A. and Donald C. Baker. course session Beowulf. Norman, OK University of Oklahoma Press, 1983 Whitelock, Dorothy. The Audience of Beowulf. New York Oxford University Press, 1951