In Beowulf the story has Christian concepts which was replaced with Norse values. With this big of a change it does affect the story. It has effects on characters like Grendel. In this Christian version his family lineage is the descendants of Cain. Now most people know the story of Cain and Abel. Cain being the bad one has his descendants of him called “murderous creatures banished by god,” which gives us the image that he is not a good creature (Grendel 20-21). This affects the story in the way that it changes the way Grendel is represented. It detracts from the theme, because he could have been a descendant of an evil Norse god which would have made him scarier, but being the son of Cain makes him sound like a human which is not welcome to the world. Telling that you are worthless of you are a descendant of Cain.
Another Christian value is when Grendel could not attack the Herot, he could not attack the king and his “Throne, [was] protected by god” (Grendel 84). This relates to the old tradition of how kings were chosen by god, including in Christian kingdoms this happens. This does not change the story much as if a Norse god was added it would not make a difference. I think it adds to the theme because it shows that god is out there protecting the person who people care about the most. The leader of their kingdom.
Beowulf mentions god at some point. At his boast he mentions “God must decide who will be given to death’s cold grip” (Beowulf 174-175). This relates to how the public respect god and how god decides the faith of the people. The quote in this paragraph relates to the fact that God chooses who lives or die at any time. This adds to the theme as this could make the theme more understandable as it is more relatable to the people. Yes it can be said that that these Christian elements can make anything said more relatable than Norse elements. But this makes it more to people as everybody knows that death is coming and that this can make it to more monotheistic religions.
After Beowulf had defeated Grendel’s mom he came back and the story said that the people “thanked god that their leader had come back unharmed” (The Battle with Grendel’s Mother 581). This shows how the people pray to god to help them with their needs. Yes they can do that with Norse gods. But there is one god in Christianity and there are many in Norse, thus causing a more important feeling as the one god is the most important god. This adds to the theme as it shows more happiness in the people and the Christian audience in that they thanked god for their answers to their prayers giving a more positive note.
Another Christian value is when Grendel could not attack the Herot, he could not attack the king and his “Throne, [was] protected by god” (Grendel 84). This relates to the old tradition of how kings were chosen by god, including in Christian kingdoms this happens. This does not change the story much as if a Norse god was added it would not make a difference. I think it adds to the theme because it shows that god is out there protecting the person who people care about the most. The leader of their kingdom.
Beowulf mentions god at some point. At his boast he mentions “God must decide who will be given to death’s cold grip” (Beowulf 174-175). This relates to how the public respect god and how god decides the faith of the people. The quote in this paragraph relates to the fact that God chooses who lives or die at any time. This adds to the theme as this could make the theme more understandable as it is more relatable to the people. Yes it can be said that that these Christian elements can make anything said more relatable than Norse elements. But this makes it more to people as everybody knows that death is coming and that this can make it to more monotheistic religions.
After Beowulf had defeated Grendel’s mom he came back and the story said that the people “thanked god that their leader had come back unharmed” (The Battle with Grendel’s Mother 581). This shows how the people pray to god to help them with their needs. Yes they can do that with Norse gods. But there is one god in Christianity and there are many in Norse, thus causing a more important feeling as the one god is the most important god. This adds to the theme as it shows more happiness in the people and the Christian audience in that they thanked god for their answers to their prayers giving a more positive note.