Beowulf and Redcrosse: The Evolution of Heroism

Having mighty but humble heroes has long been a part of Western culture, but they weren’t always the way they are seen now. For years, long before the Christianization of places like England, heroes were more prideful. It wasn’t until the Christians of the early Middle Ages migrated to the British Isles that the great heroes of English literature started to form into the humble souls as now seen. Humility is a Christian virtue because it is believed that God also plays a part in one’s success. Characters like Beowulf boasted about their labors and were always hungry for more, others like Redcrosse from Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene are more driven by modesty and the sense of Christian honor. Though Beowulf, as we know it to be, is filled with Christian themes and likely written by an anonymous Christian monk, it also took a long time of blending cultures for the idea of the humble hero to take hold. The evolution of heroism can best be seen in the characters of Beowulf and Redcrosse, showing how the hero transformed from proud to modest as the Christian ideal of modesty continues to develop in the British Isles.

It wasn’t until the early sixth century that Christianity started to spread through Briton. Before this spread, Germanic tribes ruled over the Isles creating a warrior culture similar to what we associate with the Norse Vikings.  Some of these beliefs can be seen in early English poems like Beowulf and Judith where many of the great warriors were proud and never squandered the chance to boast about their accomplishments. In the poem Judith, Caedmon gave a similar description of Holofernes, writing that “He laughed and grew vociferous, roared and clamoured, so that the children of men could hear from far away.” Though these two pieces also had Christian elements, they also show how the early Christians blended their beliefs with the Germanic tribes and would slowly incorporate more of their beliefs as time went on. Rafique Tucker, for instance, states that “[E]vidence shows that as the Gospel spread across England, the classical Anglo-Saxon culture was subsumed by the new Christian ethos, and the emerging literature of the period was produced by Christians attempting to view their Anglo-Saxon past through a Christian lens.” Works like Beowulf and Judith when read through the prism of heroic evolution to Redcrosse in The Faerie Queene are just a couple of examples of this idea of spreading the Christian ethos throughout Briton and the impact it had on literary transformation.

In the Christian faith, one’s successes come from the grace of God just as much as they are the result of their actions. Humility is important to Christians because they thank God for helping them with their successes. God is therefore always a central part of the Christian’s relationship to the world and life. Once the Christian missionaries moved to the British Isles, they slowly started to blend their beliefs with those who originally inhabited the land. With the Germanic peoples having a warrior-like culture, Christians started out by depicting Jesus as a great warrior who conquered death. The Harrowing of Hell was a great tool for the Christians to convert the Britons because of how it depicted Jesus as a great warrior who went down into Hell, wrecked everything, and left with the righteous to ascend to Heaven. Allen Cabaniss states that “Christ had conquered the fell grip of death,” thereby creating the warrior-like depiction of Jesus that was compatible with the Anglo-Germanic warrior cultures that the missionaries were evangelizing. This was a very appealing perspective for the Britons because they saw Jesus as the ultimate warrior who was so powerful that he even conquered death. This is one of the many ways that Christians began to incorporate their ethos with those of the tribes.

At the same time, however, works like Beowulf are still heavily influenced by the Germanic cultures before the arrival of the Christians; there are still moments within this text where Christian doctrine appears. One example is the description of Grendel. Grendel is described in Beowulf as descending from Cain, which refers to the story from the Bible of when Cain killed his brother Abel, creating the first murder in human history. The idea behind Grendel’s description is that all monsters derive from the sin of Cain, also explaining Grendel’s murderous tendencies. “[T]his grim demon haunting the marshes, marauding round the heath and the desolate fens… Cain’s clan, whom the Creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts.” It is also mentioned that he only attacks Heorot because they sing songs praising God. Small incorporations of Christian beliefs in Beowulf reflect the subtle merging of the Christian and Germanic cultures that will continue to develop as time progresses.

Beowulf’s character in the poem represents the early stages of merging the Germanic traditions with the Christian ethos. After landing on the shore of Heorot, he starts off with a boast about his father, Ecgtheow. “He outlasted many a long winter and went on his way. All over the world men wise in counsel continue to remember him.” His boast about his father is one of the first examples of how the Germanic culture of Briton at the time believed in the idea of showing one’s honor by boasting about the accomplishments of their family and accomplishments of their own. Beowulf continues when describing his own accomplishments: “They have seen me bolstered in blood of enemies when I battled and bound five beasts, raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea slaughtered sea-brutes.” Notice how his deeds mostly focus on battle, showing how the culture heavily focuses on one’s deeds as a warrior which is reflective of the German pagan warrior legacy. His life and his father’s life reflect how their society views the boastful warrior.

Beowulf’s story does end in his demise after he defeats the dragon, which could follow the idea that he died the way he lived, as a warrior. Although worthy of reverence, Beowulf died in a manner that also reflects the teachings of Jesus: “Then said Jesus unto him, put up again thy sword into his place: for all they take the sword shall perish with the sword.” He suffered great wounds when battling the dragon, succumbing to the poison from the dragon’s talons while he made his final blow. He believed that he would be able to defeat the dragon similar to those like Grendel or Grendel’s mother, but he didn’t consider that he had since grown older. It can be argued that his own pride was also to blame for his death, which is possibly the intention of the Christians anyways. Margaret Goldsmith brings up a discussion on the potential motives of the mysterious author’s motives. “We can assume, without debate, that his intended audience would share them, since without this assumption his allusive method would please no one but himself.” It is possible to say that Beowulf can also be seen as a cautionary tale for those who lack humility; yes, Beowulf is still praised in a soft sense as a great warrior, but his lack of humility leads to his own demise. Goldsmith continues: “It follows that, if I say that Beowulf is about pride and covetousness in the first place, and about envy and hatred in the second place, I am asserting, in sum, that the Christian poet was writing about the human tragedy as he understood it.”  His lack of humility led him to believe that he was unstoppable and would be able to defeat the dragon without paying a price. The Christian reader, then, recognizes the heroism and lack of humility that caused the tragedy. The Christian hero needs to be humble just as much as he needs to be a great warrior. Beowulf was a great warrior but lacked humility.

As the years progress in England, the hold that Christianity had on its people grew stronger, and the English were fully engulfed in the Christian ethos. In the late sixteenth century, Edmund Spenser wrote The Faerie Queene as a way to glorify Queen Elizabeth I. But it also shows how heroic humility has now become part of the heroic ideal in Christian culture. One character particularly stands out: Redcrosse. His stoic and humble demeanor throughout the poem is a shining example of the humble hero that we see in most Christian literature. He is also designed to represent St. George, the patron saint of England, who was believed to have slain a dragon (which is the task Redcrosse). Redcrosse’s attitude reflects the social expectation of the “new hero” that followed the virtue of humility.

Spenser designed the Faerie Queene to be an allegorical epic to glorify Britain. Commentators have mentioned that Spenser’s intent was part of a “[V]ision to glorify Britain, the collective memory of its heroic past, and the promise of a still more glorious future.” When creating Redcrosse, Spenser created an allegorical representation of St. George. Since the idea was to glorify Britain, it’s only fair to design the main hero after the country’s patron saint. One of the most known stories about St. George is his labor of defeating a dragon that was harassing people in a village. Redcrosse’s task from Queen Gloriana is to defeat a dragon, which represents the evil of the world. Both Redcrosse and St. George are also depicted wearing a scarlet cross, with Spenser writing “But on his brest a bloudie Crosse he bore, / The deare remembrance of his dying Lord.” The allegorical representation of St. George with Redcrosse helped Spenser to glorify Britain with one of its most notable heroes.

Outside of his resemblance to St. George, Redcrosse is also described, in detail, as gentle and faire. “A Gentle Knight was pricking on the plaine, / Ycladd in mightie armes and silver shielde, / Wherein old dints of deep wounds did remaine, / The cruell markes of many a bloudy fielde…. Full jolly knight he seemd, and faire did sitt, / As one for knightly giusts and fierce encounters fitt.” Spenser also describes him as having dints in his armor but never seeing battle, so he states that his armor’s imperfections come from jousts. This brings in the idea that he is still a young knight, eager to prove himself as a warrior of God. As an example of Spenser’s intent for this character, Redcrosse is also called the Knight of Holiness, to represent his piety.

His physical resemblance and title are only two components of this character, because his actions resemble the construct of the holy warrior. When Archimago tries to trick Redcrosse by having one of his spirits take the form of Una and attempt to seduce him in a dream, he rejects their advances and is even angry when he thinks she “soiled her virtue” when he wakes up and sees the false Una with a man. The concept of refusing seduction stems from the chivalric code of conduct that a knight was supposed to adhere to. The chivalric code reflects the virtue of chastity within the Christian ethos. The Virgin Mary became one of the most beloved figures in the gospels because she gave birth to Christ without losing her virginity, so the idea of a woman holding on to her virginity until marriage became an ideal moral within Christian culture. It makes sense that Christians would try and incorporate the belief that the hero should care about a woman’s virginity, to add to the concept of the hero being “morally sound.” Redcrosse shows his care for Una’s virginity when he rejects the false Una’s advances, and the concept is intensified when he gets angry over the false Una seducing the other spirit. This is one of a couple of examples of his character and how it reflects the Christian ethos of the time.

Redcrosse also has a very interesting point of view on death. When he enters the cave of Despair, he’s asked his thoughts on death, stating “The lenger life, I wote the greater sin, / The greater sin, the greater punishment.” He admits that his weakness is him wanting to die, so that he can end his life of sin. Spenser created an extreme point of view for Redcrosse regarding the Christian ethos, by having Redcrosse desire to live a pure life so much that he doesn’t want to live a life at all. The only way one can be saved is faith in God and Jesus, and in Redcrosse’s thought process, living a longer life creates a life filled with more sin or the possibility of succumbing to sin. He’s almost convinced to take his own life until Una helps him out of the cave. His resentment towards sin is so strong that it formed one of his greatest weaknesses: a small desire to die. But encountering Una reinvigorates him. Her moral chastity revivifies Redcrosse’s own Christian commitments.

Redcrosse has a battle similar to Beowulf, especially insofar as both battle with a powerful dragon that puts them to the test. He fights a hard-fought battle with the beast, who nearly kills Redcrosse several times, but the knight comes out victorious. He has asked to marry Una as gratitude for defeating the dragon but refuses until he finishes his vow to the Faerie Queene to serve her. “Of ease or rest I may not yet devise; / For by the faith, which I to armies have plight, / I bounden am straight after this emprise, / As that your daughter can ye well advise, / Backe to returne to that great Faerie Queene.” He believes that he is bound by his oath to the Faerie Queene, and even though he would love to marry Una he still needs to finish his commitment to his queen. Though this wasn’t considered a new addition to the Christian ethos, it adds another element to Redcrosse’s character. He stays committed, and loyal, and doesn’t boast about his accomplishments. Unlike Beowulf, the Faerie Queene was created during a time when the merging process of the Germanic and Christian cultures are complete and Christian doctrine is in full play in Britain. Loyalty and martial exploits still remain, but in Redcrosse we also see the martial virtues of Germanic culture merged with the humility of Christian piety.

Tales like Beowulf and the Faerie Queene help show how the world was viewed during their respective times. The pagan beliefs merging with those of the Christians are seen in Beowulf, while the Faerie Queene reflects how Britain evolved into the Protestant-Christian kingdom where thanksgiving to God is prioritized. Studying these two works (especially characters like Beowulf and Redcrosse) help us understand how culture changes as time moves forward. Stories with great heroes dominate modern culture and seeing who these heroes were in the early stages of the Christianization of Britain and during the protestant reformation helps us understand who we were as a people. From boastful warriors from distant lands to humble knights in shining armor, the evolution of heroism progressed with the blending of the Christian and pagan cultures of the British Isles.

The Christian hero is what usually comes to mind when we think about our classic heroes: Prince Charming, King Arthur, and others, and it is something that is still evolving to this day. Themes like humility, respectfulness towards others, and sympathy are just a few that we connect with the Christian hero. Beowulf might have had some of these qualities, but characters like Redcrosse tend to excel in them. The progression of merging the Christian ethos was a slow one but its progression helped define English literary culture.

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