Elementi kršćanstva u Gospodaru prstenova i Beuwulfu

Although they are very different in many aspects, Beowulf and The Lord of the Rings are two famous works influenced by the same subject – the Christianity. They both have Christ-like characters. The hero Beowulf is more a combination of Christ’s characteristics and certain traits of the Old Testament saviours. In The Lord of the Rings there is no true Christ figure, but there are three main characters that shadow the life and teachings of Jesus. One can also observe a certain type of followers representing devoted disciples or even true Christians. On the other hand, there are certain monsters and characters that represent the evil or Satan. In Beowulf there are three monsters that are the enemies of the hero. They kill and destroy everyone and everything in their paths. The hero was sent by God and needs to stop them. In The Lord of the Rings evil is not only represented by monsters but by humans and a Hobbit that are under the influence of the One Ring. All antagonists are connected to it and all of them want it for themselves. The ring represents the sin. That sin in Tolkien’s world corrupts all that is created. It turns a Hobbit into Gollum. Just like any other sin it brings destruction and misery. Evil is incapable of creation; it only corrupts what is already there. That can be observed in the creation of orcs and trolls who were actually elves and ents before they got corrupted by the evil. Both authors shadowed the Bible in their works. They either retell it like in the case of Cain, the Flood, or in the case of angels’ and Adam and Eve’s fall, or they shadow it like in the case of great battles, people’s behaviour, prayers and Hrothgar’s sermon. The anonymous author and Tolkien were true Christian believers and both of them infused many Christian themes into their works