Religion

The Problem of Determining the Religion of the Poet

Although I am not an expert in the Christian religion, I would expect more Augustine in the poet’s remarks if he were a Christian from Ireland or Rome, even at this early date. In spite of his appellation in many criticisms, he is no Christian, seems to have no knowledge of a son of God. He is more complex than he seems.

In this analysis of the poem, we have separated out the religious material. In the first nineteen hundred four lines of the cleaned poem a God is referred to in over seventy lines; He is mentioned only once, perhaps, in all of what was removed, what I term historical chatter. (appendix 1)

The historical chatter contains most of the historical names and none of the religious references, thus this material was interpolated at a later date to make the poem attractive to a more aristocratic audience.

Could it be the opposite? Could the pagan material have been the original material and the monotheistic material added a later time? Not likely, since the monotheistic material makes sense as written, while the pagan material does not. It seems to have been added on at various times and by various poets to please a more aristocratic audience, perhaps related to the houses mentioned in this material. Even in those days flattery ensured position.

How could Paganism come after Old Testament monotheism? It could because the conversion of northern Europe was not a smooth, continuous process. When the Romans left northern Europe in the late fourth century, they left in place a tradition of municipal organization and the Roman Catholic Christian religion. By the middle of the fourth century most of the Northern tribes, the Goths, Burgundians, the Ostragoths, the Suevics the Vandals, had converted to monotheism, but not Roman Catholicism. Instead they went with Eusabian side of the argument at Nicaea. They followed Arias. (Fletcher 98-100)

When the Beowulf poet uses material from the Bible but does not mention Jesus this suggests he is a follower of Arias. According to Fletcher these tribes did not change to the Roman Catholic religion until the latter part of the seventh century. Even then it was a matter of public action more than deep religious conviction. (Fletcher). The Christian priests of the Roman Catholic Church did maintain their connection to Rome, and this offered the northern tribes access to markets and goods not otherwise available in the north.

The Eastern Church moved into Europe along the Danube and the Rhine, the route the Vikings would take into the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. (cite Fletcher) This route may have been the route for the Beowulf poet, who is monotheistic but not Roman Catholic Christian.

I hesitate to refer to the poet as Christian though he did believe in Jesus as a product of God, but not equal to God, if he was Arian. To refer to him as a Christian confuses him with the Roman Catholic Christian and he loses his distinction.