Abstract
St. Christopher’s story is unique among the other texts of the Beowulf Manuscript because he is the only monstrous creature to be carrying out God’s will instead of acting against it, and his monstrous body acts as a purifying agent, not a threatening force. He thus serves as an exemplum.  
Presenter Biography
Andrew Clapham is a graduate of the Drew University Arts and Letters Program. He wrote his dissertation on purification rituals in the Beowulf Manuscript. His research interests include the Beowulf Manuscript, representations of the monstrous in medieval England, and the medieval world as it is portrayed in film and television. He teaches British Literature and Anglo-Saxon Literature at Seton Hall Preparatory School in West Orange.