Beowulf

Viking Christianity: A Study in Interdependence

At first glance, Christianity and the pre-Christian Nordic warrior code appear to be completely opposing value systems. Christianity preaches, “love thy enemy” while the warrior code states “it is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning” (p. 97, ll. 1384-1385). However, in Viking society, the two co-exist in a fundamental way. Purely violent interactions among and within the neighboring societies would devastate the population because everyone would kill everybody else. On the other hand, a morally idealistic society would be destroyed by nature because of an aversion to fighting. As a result of this, not only do Christianity and the pre-Christian Nordic Code coexist in Beowulf, one cannot survive without the other.
Christianity weaves a path in and out of Beowulf. The first pages begin with the lineage of the Geats (a parallel to Genesis – it also commenced with human lineage). Following this, God is frequently praised and thanked for victories, used as an explanation for trials, and dictates a many social norms. He is the root of authority, keeping at bay the carnage that would ensue without the influence of Christianity.
Even prior to Beowulf’s appearance, the presence of Christianity is strong. Grendel himself is described as “the Lord’s outcast” (p. 13, l. 169). In fact, in reaction to his appearance, the narrator goes into a description of how the Geats committed a nearly unforgivable sin by turning to heathen gods. “The Almighty Judge of good deeds and bad, the Lord God, Head of the Heavens and High King of the World, was unknown to them” (p. 15, ll. 180-183). The narrator is very clear: God is the ultimate judge of good and bad. He is an all-seeing omniscient judge, and the final word.
But God himself is not only all-seeing. In Beowulf, He becomes synonymous with the pre-existing Viking idea of fate. “The King of Glory… had posted a lookout who was a match for Grendel” (p. 45, ll. 665 – 667). God was the one who sent Beowulf. He, in His almighty wisdom was the being that chose to save the Geats from the horror that Grendel had inflicted upon them for years. And yet, when Beowulf describes his victory over the sea monsters, he states, “Often, for undaunted courage, fate spares the man it has not already marked” (p. 39, l. 572-573). For Geat society, fate has become interchangeable with God. Both decide the outcome of battles as well as who shall live and who shall die.
God is the superior being in Geat life. It is therefore imperative that He maintains the ability to control fate, and the actions and personalities of humans, or He loses the ability to contribute positively to society. God has become the source of morals for the Viking way of life. There is enough warring and fighting to protect the people from nature and hostile neighboring civilizations, but the morals are the counterbalance to a fundamentally violent people who would battle themselves, nature, and their neighbors to the point of extinction.
Despite its risks, violence does have a place. Donald Howard describes a warrior’s outlook as an “epic and fatalistic way of looking at things.” According to Chaucer (author of The Night’s Tale), Howard’s warrior outlook is “the way soldiers need to see life if they are to go on being soldiers” (“Beowulf and the Varieties of Choice”, p. 198). It is survival of the fittest. Those unable or unwilling to protect themselves would be destroyed.
Viking society is no different. As Beowulf himself points out, “It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning” (p. 97, ll. 1385-1386). It is a very un-Christian sentiment, but typical of the Vikings. It was imperative that the people “bear up” (p. 97, l. 1395), and either leave the sorrow behind them, or go out and retaliate. Sorrow was weakness, weakness was exploited, and an exploited weakness was akin to death.
The warrior code was crucial to Viking survival. However, it was also in desperate need of a counterbalance. Unending violence was, in the end, more detrimental then the tiniest bit of compassion. While warning Beowulf of the temptations of power, Hrothgar describes King Heremod, who took his power too far, became overzealous in his need to rule, ignored his weakness, and was destroyed by it. According to Hrothgar, Heremod “suffered in the end for having plagued his people for so long: his life lost happiness” (p. 119, ll. 1720-1722). Hrothgar’s words were very clear: an excessive amount of violence, corruption, and power would inevitably lead to death.
This message was reiterated as the story progressed. Again and again the need for Christianity, for morals, for a central “peacekeeping” code becomes apparent. The narrator himself notes that, “pillage and slaughter [had] emptied the earth of entire peoples” (p. 155, ll. 2265-2266). Pillage and slaughter. Or, in other terms, unchecked pre-Christian Viking Warrior Code.
Christianity became the balance that the pre-Christian Nordic Code was desperate for. Without a moral system to keep the violence in check, the pillage and slaughter would continue to empty the earth until there was nothing left. Beowulf was the exemplification of this belief. According to the narrator, “Beowulf bore himself with valour; he was formidable in battle yet behaved with honor and took no advantage” (p. 149, ll. 2177-2179). Beowulf is a fierce warrior, as was demonstrated through his battles, but he is also an honorable man who sticks to his morals. He never fought unless it was necessary, and was careful not to take advantage of an opponent. He is able to typify the equilibrium that was eventually established between Christianity and the pre-Christian Nordic Code.
Despite this co-existence, Christianity and the pre-Christian Nordic Code do not always reside well together. There were times throughout the book where the two appear to completely contradict one another. Following Beowulf’s triumph over Grendel’s mother, Hrothgar declared, “I praise God in His heavenly glory that I lived to behold this head dripping with blood” (p. 123, ll. 1776-1780). It is difficult to imagine how the two statements can weave together at all, let alone seamlessly. Praising God for violence is as unchristian as the Vikings could be. However, should present day Americans look into the past, God, in His many forms, has been used time and time again as the basis for violence. God supports one side. God is all deciding. God has his favorites. In fact, it is not the sentiment, so much as the wording that humans find so incongruent. Blood and God are difficult to mesh, and yet when Beowulf praises God for aiding him in his victory over Grendel, there is no negative reaction to the wording, despite the fact that Beowulf is praising and thanking God for violence. The same principal can be applied to Hrothgar’s declaration.
Viking society was inherently violent. Nature demanded aggressive, formidable, and fearsome people. However, survival also demands a moral code, a counterbalance to the brutal way of life that was quintessentially Viking. The two came to depend upon one another for survival. Too much of one side will lead to nothing but destruction, but just the right amount of each results in an interesting harmony.