AN ANALYSIS OF ALLUSIONS TO THE BIBLE IN BEOWULF

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“Hwæt wē Gār-Dena in geardagum, / þēod-cyninga, þrym gefrūnon, / hū ðā æþelingas Ellen fremedon” (1-3). Make any sense? This passage is from the epic poem, Beowulf. It was written to assist people in ancient Germanic tribes to better understand the Bible in hopes to spread the Christian faith. In Beowulf, there are numerous allusions to biblical themes, biblical stories, and biblical figures. Beowulf retells stories from the Bible to the seventh to tenth century Anglo-Saxons in a familiar and entertaining fashion in order to promote and spread the Christian faith. Specifically, the authors of the poem make Shield Sheafson resemble Moses to aid the Celtic people in their understanding of this major biblical figure. In addition, other parallels to the Bible include, the overwhelming significance of primogeniture during that time period related to the eligibility of successors to the kings, and the correlation between Jesus, a prominent character in the New Testament, and Beowulf, the protagonist of the epic poem.