Beowulf and Christian Allegory: An Interpretation of Unferth

Abstract

In the discussion of the Christian elements in Beowulf, it seems to have escaped the notice of scholars that the character of Unferth may provide an example of Christian allegory consciously employed by the poet. If the name Unferth means mar-peace or strife, an important clue to his significance in the poem is being ignored. I wish to suggest that the author of Beowulf is employing, or at least thinking of, Unferth as an abstract personification in the manner of Prudentius, Martianus Capella or Sedulius, and that the poem has even closer connections with the Christian tradition than has hitherto been perceived. If we can accept Unferth as, say, Discordia, we shall find how well this interpretation fits in with the suggestion Schücking made some years ago that the character of Beowulf has been molded, to some extent at least, by the Christian ideal of the perfect ruler, the rex justus, as set forth by St. Augustine, Gregory the Great and others, and that the ethical ideal set up by the epic is that of ordinata concordia or mensura.