In Blickling Homily XVII there is one of the first descriptions of Hell written in the vernacular. It closely matches the passage in Beowulf that describes Beowulf's descent into Grendel's Mother's mere. There are several similarities in these two Old English texts of which I will attempt to show in both the Old English and in my translation of the Old English to Modern English. This will show that Beowulf, a fantastical poem, has had an impact on Christianity and religious beliefs in the early medieval period. Beowulf's liminality, crossing a boundary to an otherworld, in his descent to Grendel's Mother's mere resembles the Christian belief of the Harrowing of Hell when Christ descended to hell prior to his ascending to Heaven. The Homilist was writing in the South of England in 971 (Brown 909). Thus the original Beowulf poem must have been written prior to this date and had been circulated widely enough to influence a vision of Hell in a religious work of this magnitude.
I would first like to provide both passages in their original form and my translation of them. There are several modern translations of Beowulf, yet many have been altered to fit into a more poetic context. I opt for a more literal translation to prove the similarities in the context and vocabulary.
From the Blickling Homily XVII

Swa Sanctus Paulus wæs geseonde on norðanweardne þisne middangeard, þ?r ealle wæteru niðer gewitað, and he þ?r geseah ofer þam wætere sumne harne stan. And w?ron norð of ðam stane aweaxene swiðe hrimige bearwas, and ð?r w?ron þystru genipu, and under þam stane wæs nicra eardung and wearga. And he geseah þæt on ðam clife hangodon on ðam isigean bearwum manige swearte sawla be heora handum gebundne, and þa fynd þara on nicra onlicnesse heora gripende w?ron, swa swa gr?dig wulf. And þæt wæter wæs sweart under þam clife neoðan, and betweox þam clife on ðam wætere w?ron swelce twelf mila. And ðonne ða twigu forburston þonne gewiton þa sawla niðer þa þe on ðam twigum hangodan, and him onfengon ða nicras. Ðis ðonne w?ron ða sawla þa ðe her on worlde mid unrighte gefirenode w?ron, and ðæs noldon geswican ?r heora lifes ende. Ac uton nu biddan Sanctus Michael geornlice þæt he ure sawla gel?de on gefean, þ?r hie moton blissian a buton ende on ecnesse. (Baker 100)

[Thus St. Paul was looking into the north of this middle earth, where all waters depart downwards, and there he saw over the water a certain hoary stone. And north of the stone were growing very frosty groves, and there were dark mists, and under the stone was the dwelling of monsters and water monsters. And he saw that on the cliffs in the icy woods many dark souls were hanging bound by their hands, and then the devils in the likeness of water monsters were seizing them, just as a greedy wolf. And that water was dark under the cliff below, and between the cliff and the water were approximately twelve miles. And when the branches broke, then the souls departed downward, those who on the branches were hanging, and the water monsters seized them. This then was the souls who here in the world were made sinful with injustice, and would not cease (sinning) before the end of their lives. But let us now earnestly ask St. Michael that he lead our souls into joy, where they may always without end rejoice in eternity.]

From Beowulf, lines 1357b - 1372

Hie dygel lond
warigeað wulfhleoþu windige næssas
frecne fengelad ð?r fyrgenstream
under næssa genipu niþer gewiteð
flod under foldan. Nis þæt feor heonon
milgemearces þæt se mere standeð;
ofer þ?m hongiað hrinde bearwas,
wudu wyrtum fæst wæter oferhelmað.
Þ?r mæg nihta gehw?m niðwundor seon
fyr on flode. No þæs frod leofað
gumena bearna þæt þone grund wite.
ðeah þe h?ðstapa hundum geswenced
heorot hornum trum holtwudu sece
feorran geflymed, ?r he feorh seleð
aldor on ofre ?r he in wille
hafelan beorgan; nis þæt heoru stow.
(Baker 147, Punctuation: Mitchell 93)

[They occupied the secret land
wolf cliffs, windy nesses
dangerous fen-paths, where mountain streams
under the mists of the cliffs, departed downwards,
under the earth. It is not far from here
in the measure of miles that the lake stands;
frosty groves hang over the mere
a wood fixed with roots, covers over the water.
There one can see every night an evil wonder,
fire in the water. None of the sons of men live
(who is) wise enough that he knows the bottom.
Although the hart, afflicted by hounds
a stag strong in horns put to flight from afar
will seek out the wood of the forest
it will first give its life on the shore, before it will
save its head inside (the mere). That is not a pleasant place.]

In both of these texts one can see that the similarities are quite apparent. The water or mountain streams depart downward. The wolf cliffs or cliffs are covered over in dark mists and dark water. There are frosty groves that hang over the mere or lake, although only the homily shows the sinners bound to the branches by their hands. The Blickling Homily explicitly states that the devils in the likeness of water monsters will take the souls when the branches break and the bodies fall into the lake. Beowulf, on the other hand, does not mention the water monsters in this passage, but all who are reading the poem realize that Grendel and his mother were the water monsters living in this mere who were taking the souls of the men in Hroðgar's hall.
It seems that the Homilist must have relied at least in part on this descriptive poetic passage from Beowulf. It has been argued by Klaeber that the creator of the Blickling Homilies and the Beowulf poet both referred to the Visio Pauli, a Latin apocryphal source. Klaeber concludes, "It is hardly going too far to attribute the remarkable agreement to the use of the same or a very similar source" (Brown 905). It was later proved that the texts of the Visio Pauli varied in content thus eliminating the idea of an "exactly similar description" from which this could be based upon (Brown 906). The rendering of the fiery trees does not show up in a text of the Visio Pauli until a much later time proving that the Beowulf poet did not rely on that text for his description of Hell. "In other words, the description in the Visio and Beowulf are wholly independent-except that trees occur in both-while the description in the Homily presents a fusion of elements in the other two" (Brown 908). The Homily also features many of the exact words in the similar description. This leads one to believe his source was in English, the language in which he was also writing the Homilies. So it appears that the Homilist was following the Visio Pauli, yet was influenced by the pagan vernacular poem, Beowulf. He inserts this grimy, scary description of the descent into the mere as an eternal Hell for all of the sinners of earth.
Along the same lines as a Hell for the sinners of earth is the theory that Beowulf was a Christ figure descending into Hell only to triumph and escape the pit of the damned. Beowulf, a work that can be categorized as fantasy, features Victor Turner's idea of the limin. This concept allows a character to cross a threshold into an otherworld where things are not the same as they are in everyday life, a more chaotic place. Beowulf descends into Grendel's Mother's mere, swimming underwater for an inhuman amount of time to cross to this otherworld to fight Grendel's Mother. This act of fantasy also resembles Christ's Harrowing of Hell when he crosses the threshold of death and travels into Hell before finally ascending into Heaven. Allen Cabaniss explains, "We have therefore, in account of Beowulf's encounter with Grendel's mother, a strong central reminiscence of Christ's harrowing of hell which widens to include recollections, next, of the deluge, and then of creation" (225). This early medieval poetic work may have influenced the Blickling Homilies, but the conversion of Christianity also affected this pagan Anglo-Saxon poem. Christianity was spreading into Anglo-Saxon England while the audience may have enjoyed keeping some of their pagan past in poetry like Beowulf. The poem was probably recognized for its historicity, yet the main character, Beowulf, was an element of fantasy. This fantastical tale influenced later religious works by using this masterfully poetic description of Hell in Blickling Homily XVII.
Although the dating of Beowulf is a highly debated topic, the date of the Blickling Homilies was 971(Brown 909). "That the homilist…should have been acquainted with the Beowulf is interesting and important because it gives evidence that the Old English poem continued to circulate" (Brown 909). Since there is only one existent manuscript of Beowulf, the popularity of the poem is often questioned. If Beowulf influenced Blickling Homily XVII this shows an important example that Beowulf was read in England in the tenth century and must have some notable popularity to be a source for a religious work such as a homily. The manuscript of Beowulf that exists today has been determined to have a date around the year 1000. It also has been found to be a copy done by two scribes. The use of the poem as a source in a homily approximately thirty years earlier would explain that the poem was still popular enough to be copied out at the end of the tenth or early eleventh centuries.
There are critics who disagree. Kevin Kiernan has argued for a later dating of Beowulf stating that the existent manuscript is the original. He states that there are definite paleographical similarities between the two manuscripts. He adds that they "share the same odd features in the sheet arrangement of the gatherings and that the size of the writing grids are virtually identical" (208). He discusses that the description of Hell in Beowulf is derived from the Blickling Homilies. Kiernan analyses that "The Beowulf poet had access to this manuscript of homilies, which is dated internally in the year 971. Beowulf must have been composed after that" (208). Kiernan has been a strong advocate for the later dating of Beowulf and has used this argument to reinforce his theory. Most critics do not agree with Kiernan who believes that the manuscript in London is the original.
In conclusion, Beowulf appears to have had an influence on Christianity with its similar descriptions of Hell in the Blickling Homilies. Nevertheless Christianity had also put its mark in Beowulf. The poem has been the subject of a lot of research and criticism since it was made popular in the fifties by JRR Tolkien. However, an accurate dating is hard to pin point without any other manuscripts to work with. This example of the first description of Hell in the vernacular helps to date Beowulf prior to 971. One can always hope that a second Anglo-Saxon manuscript will eventually turn up, but until then the dating is left inconclusive and only to our speculation.

Works Cited

Baker, Peter S. Introduction to Old English. Malden: Blackwell, 2003.

Brown, Carleton. "Beowulf and the Blickling Homilies and Some Textual Notes." PMLA.
53 (1938): 905-916.

Cabaniss, Allen. "Beowulf and The Liturgy." An Anthology of Beowulf Criticism.
Lewis E. Nicholson, Ed. University of Notre Dame Press, 1963. 223-232.

Kiernan, Kevin. "The Legacy of Wiglaf: Saving a Wounded Beowulf." The Beowulf
Reader. Peter S. Baker, Ed. New York: Garland, 2000. 195-218.

Mitchell, Bruce and Fred C. Robinson. Beowulf. Malden: Blackwell, 1998.