Religion_In_Medieval_Literature

Religion In Medieval Literature The epic poem, Beowulf was written sometime during 650 and 750 AD and due to the loss of some of the manuscript in a fire the author of this famous work is unknown. The heroic tale tells of the famous hero, Beowulf, and his passion for defeating dragons and monsters. Another work of literature, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written between 1340 and 1400 AD by the author known as the Gawain poet, tells of a chivalric cavalier during the rule of King Arthur’s court and his knights of the Round Table. The two religions that play an important role in both of these pieces of literature, paganism and Christianity and the combination of the two provide more insight to better understanding them. Paganism can be described as the “worshipping [of] gods connected to their ancestors, their hometowns, and various natural forces” (“Middle Ages” Online). Anglo-Saxon Pagans did not believe in the Christian’s single God, but rather revered material things, elements of nature, and many gods. This particular idea is presented in Beowulf, “Sometimes at pagan shrines they vowed / offerings to idols […] the Lord God, / Head of the Heavens and High King of the World, beowulf, gawain, christianity, two, sir, knight, green, lines, pagan, poem, pagans, paganism, online, offerings, god, understanding, throughout, religions, new, important, idea, during, someone, schreck, richardson, past, middle, medieval, lived, literature, known, king, gods, england