Beowulf preparing to cut off the head of the monster Grendel, illustration from Hero-Myths & Legends of the British Race, 1910.
Throughout history, civilizations largely defined by their practiced religions;
religion often influences both societal structure of a civilization + how it chooses to record its own history.
examining ancient poems The Epic of Gilgamesh and Beowulf reflect religious ideologies of Sumerian and Anglo-Saxon civilizations
Epic of Gilgamesh highlights importance of Gilgamesh’s humanity during his journey for eternal life, reflecting ideologies of polytheistic Sumer,
Beowulf proclaims Beowulf’s faith in God as reason for his success as warrior + king, reflecting ideologies of Anglo-Saxon Christianity.
religious justification of Gilgamesh & Beowulf’s royalty highlights significant historical difference in how both texts were affected by the religions of their regions,
Epic of Gilgamesh >narrator uses ideologies of ancient Mesopotamian polytheism to justify King Gilgamesh’s reign over the city of Uruk.
role of Beowulf as King of the Geats justified through values of Anglo-Saxon Christianity,< Beowulf claims leadership = result of his unfaltering loyalty to God rather than his own accomplishments.
Beowulf = similar to Gilgamesh > exhibits superhuman feats of strength > holds no divine ancestry >> divine aspect of his rule = faith in God. (battle with the dragon threatening the Geats)
Gilgamesh serves as his own source of divine right, drawing a further distinction between the two heroes in the way that their humanity is represented by each text’s author.
Epic of Gilgamesh places importance on humane over the divine
author of Beowulf places importance on the divine over the humane.
Gilgamesh questions mortality + seeks out Utanapishtim, sole survivor of the great flood,
Utanapishtim insinuates that death is not a monumental experience; all things must die eventually, + dying is no more consequential than sleeping. => Gilgamesh finds solace in ephemerality of life + embraces his humanity.
=> focus taken from divinity + placed on humanity
in Sumer during time of polytheism = life heavily centered around the gods.
Throughout history, civilizations have been largely defined
by their practiced religions; religion often influences both the societal
structure of a civilization and how it chooses to record its own history. By examining how the ancient poems The Epic of Gilgamesh and Beowulf reflect the religious ideologies
of Sumerian and Anglo-Saxon civilizations, where the poems respectively
originated, a greater understanding of how religion has been historically used
in literature to accentuate the power of a nation’s ruler – in this case
Gilgamesh and Beowulf themselves – can be achieved. However, it is imperative
that the differing religious perspectives of each poem’s author are considered
in order to fully understand the significance of this religious accentuation. While The Epic of Gilgamesh highlights the
importance of Gilgamesh’s humanity during his journey for eternal life, reflecting
the ideologies of polytheistic Sumer, Beowulf proclaims Beowulf’s faith in God as the reason for his success as…
In ancient times on market days and the days people where free, they came together to listen to the reading of the Torah. Today any day could be used to come together to listen to the reading of the Holy Scriptures. Written and oral material was brought from one generation into an other and formed the base for the construction of many communities or religious groups and denominations.
Immanuel Verbondskind - עמנואל קאָווענאַנט קינד 