"Beowulf" and apocalypticism

Edward Louis Risden, Purdue University

Abstract

This study examines Beowulf in the light of the apocalyptic thinking that informed so much of Anglo-Saxon writing. It addresses the nature of the apocalypticism of the time, followed by a close reading of the poem with careful attention to its apocalyptic aspects. Beowulf exhibits three levels of apocalypticism: personal, societal, and cosmological--each building to the epic's climax. Apocalypticism accounts in part, for instance, for the linking of Beowulf's three episodes: the fights with Grendel and Grendel's mother establish Beowulf as hero and as mortal, then the final battle with the dragon telescopes to Beowulf's death and the impending fall of the Geats, while making use of the traditional signs of doom and narrative techniques present in Revelation and in the Old Norse Voluspa to intensify the account of the hero's death. Imagery throughout the poem recalls both Christian and Germanic apocalypses, especially in the dragon-battle. The poem exhibits a janusian interlacing of Christian and Germanic elements, as well as a significant apocalyptic vector that suggests that the poem is to some extent about end times, be they from the Christian or the Germanic perspective. The poet seems to have wanted to encourage his audience to prepare to meet its end with steadfast courage and loyalty, qualities valued equally in both cultures. A consideration of its apocalyptic elements also corroborates a dating of the poem around the mid-tenth century.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Ohlgren, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Literature|Middle Ages|British and Irish literature

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