Especially when teasing out the imagery of the hero against the dragon.
Other fun things to do with Beowulf is to see how other authors and their literature linked up with it's imagry of dragon mounds filled with treasure... Like Bag End, harboring the ring, and the hobbits in town calling it a queer place full of riches. And In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, it describes the green knght's lair much in the same way you would describe a hobbit hole.
Yes! The fury of the dragon is aroused by a thief. Beowulf heads to fight the dragon taking 11 men with him, they encounter the 12th on the way, all but one abandon him in the fight, and he dies slaying the dragon for his people.
The barrow wights in Fellowship of the Ring and the Green Knight's home are an interesting connection to make for sure.
I read this back in high school and remember very little of it except the black and white drawing on the cover. I don't know if it was the language or just being a high school girl in love with boys and had no mental capacity to think deeply on antiquated stories of men fighting creepy creatures. I really should go back and reread it now that I am married, a bit smarter, and no longer overtaken by those who looked like Shaun Cassidy. ;)
Reading through the ancient epics and legends myself. Beowulf does have many Christian references though it is a story about pagans. Thanks for making this connection to their need for a better deliverer, Christ himself!
In a nutshell, the gospel of Christ reconciles men to God and thereby men to one another. Beowulf ruled by strength and thereby brought peace through a kind of fear. When he died so did that restraining fear and the people fell back to blood feuding. But Christ is alive forever more and he not only rules in power but in love and he unites those who were once enemies in a bond of brotherly love and peace that surpasses all worldly causes of strife.
In fact, we see that the Vikings when they invaded England in the 8th century eventually lost not only due to Alfred the Great’s genius in battle but due to the gospel message which made many Vikings into Christians and brothers.
Thank you, I find this fascinating. So Christ offers a solution more permanent than Beowulf can offer because he’s mortal. Also Christ can offer a peaceable alternative to fear and threats. And do you think it’s that message that is so powerful for pagans, driving conversion? Or something else maybe?
If you can bear with me, maybe I can shed some light on the matter. I myself grew up in a non-religious home, but always wanted a connection with God. At age 13, I ended up hearing the gospel from a friend and started to read the Bible and go to church without my family. I did find the peace with God through Jesus that I was looking for. The thing is, those who convert to Christianity, we have this awareness that nothing will satisfy us in except being able to be in the actual presence of God, which we have in Christ by the Holy Spirit. God, the Holy Spirit, literally lives in our heart. He is always with us. Faith is not by anyone's efforts. It is a gift of God. "For by grace are you saved, through faith, and this is not of yourself, it is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9). So, it is the work of the triune God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which is a mystery revealed to those whom God has chosen to reveal Himself. This is really how a person can become a Christian. The driving force is the desire to know God that God Himself puts into our hearts. I think it was the same for the pagans who converted to Christianity. In his autobiographical book, Surprised by Joy, C.S. Lewis, shared that he was an atheist until one day, watching how the rays of sunlight filtered through the trees on a morning ride in a motorcycle side car, he was converted. No one convinced him, he wasn't thinking about Jesus, but all of he sudden, the beauty of the moment struck him with the truth that Jesus is God and his heart could no longer deny it.
Thank you for your thoughtful response. I kind of realised after I posted that conversion is probably something that defies understanding in the way I was asking. What I’m getting from you is that God is a feeling and perhaps a presence rather than something to understand. I hope I’ve got that right.
Especially when teasing out the imagery of the hero against the dragon.
Other fun things to do with Beowulf is to see how other authors and their literature linked up with it's imagry of dragon mounds filled with treasure... Like Bag End, harboring the ring, and the hobbits in town calling it a queer place full of riches. And In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, it describes the green knght's lair much in the same way you would describe a hobbit hole.
Yes! The fury of the dragon is aroused by a thief. Beowulf heads to fight the dragon taking 11 men with him, they encounter the 12th on the way, all but one abandon him in the fight, and he dies slaying the dragon for his people.
The barrow wights in Fellowship of the Ring and the Green Knight's home are an interesting connection to make for sure.
I read this back in high school and remember very little of it except the black and white drawing on the cover. I don't know if it was the language or just being a high school girl in love with boys and had no mental capacity to think deeply on antiquated stories of men fighting creepy creatures. I really should go back and reread it now that I am married, a bit smarter, and no longer overtaken by those who looked like Shaun Cassidy. ;)
HA! I too was resistant to good things in my teenage years. Sadly, I followed the "other girl" in this story for far too long.
Thanks for sharing, Jacob :)
Reading through the ancient epics and legends myself. Beowulf does have many Christian references though it is a story about pagans. Thanks for making this connection to their need for a better deliverer, Christ himself!
Is it wrong of me to ask what specifically Christ offers that Beowulf can’t? Maybe it’s not easily put into words.
In a nutshell, the gospel of Christ reconciles men to God and thereby men to one another. Beowulf ruled by strength and thereby brought peace through a kind of fear. When he died so did that restraining fear and the people fell back to blood feuding. But Christ is alive forever more and he not only rules in power but in love and he unites those who were once enemies in a bond of brotherly love and peace that surpasses all worldly causes of strife.
In fact, we see that the Vikings when they invaded England in the 8th century eventually lost not only due to Alfred the Great’s genius in battle but due to the gospel message which made many Vikings into Christians and brothers.
Thank you, I find this fascinating. So Christ offers a solution more permanent than Beowulf can offer because he’s mortal. Also Christ can offer a peaceable alternative to fear and threats. And do you think it’s that message that is so powerful for pagans, driving conversion? Or something else maybe?
If you can bear with me, maybe I can shed some light on the matter. I myself grew up in a non-religious home, but always wanted a connection with God. At age 13, I ended up hearing the gospel from a friend and started to read the Bible and go to church without my family. I did find the peace with God through Jesus that I was looking for. The thing is, those who convert to Christianity, we have this awareness that nothing will satisfy us in except being able to be in the actual presence of God, which we have in Christ by the Holy Spirit. God, the Holy Spirit, literally lives in our heart. He is always with us. Faith is not by anyone's efforts. It is a gift of God. "For by grace are you saved, through faith, and this is not of yourself, it is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9). So, it is the work of the triune God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which is a mystery revealed to those whom God has chosen to reveal Himself. This is really how a person can become a Christian. The driving force is the desire to know God that God Himself puts into our hearts. I think it was the same for the pagans who converted to Christianity. In his autobiographical book, Surprised by Joy, C.S. Lewis, shared that he was an atheist until one day, watching how the rays of sunlight filtered through the trees on a morning ride in a motorcycle side car, he was converted. No one convinced him, he wasn't thinking about Jesus, but all of he sudden, the beauty of the moment struck him with the truth that Jesus is God and his heart could no longer deny it.
Thank you for your thoughtful response. I kind of realised after I posted that conversion is probably something that defies understanding in the way I was asking. What I’m getting from you is that God is a feeling and perhaps a presence rather than something to understand. I hope I’ve got that right.