2024/04/02 by Francis Leneghan · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · #Medieval Literature and History #Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/0013838x.2024.2333641
openalex publication_date 2024/04/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/05
This article argues that Beowulf’s anger is not only a form of furor\nheroicus but also a manifestation of the wrath of God. Through comparison with\nGenesis A and other Old English biblical poems, as well as biblical and apocryphal\nsources, the article identifies the Fall of the Angels as an important context for\nBeowulf’s first two monster-fights. Countering arguments that Beowulf is a flawed or\neven failed hero, I propose that when read in the light of Old English biblical poetry,\nBeowulf emerges not as a doomed pagan or frenzied berserker but as a righteous\navenger whose anger is controlled and directed against evil.