(175-179) "Sometimes at pagan shrines hey vowed offerings to idols, swore oaths that the killer of souls might come to their aid and save the people. That was their way, their heathenish hope…"
This selection shows altercation between Paganism and Christianity. The narrator hesitantly admits that the Danes engage in pagan religious practices. It's one of the only times when we really notice the disconnect between the Christian Anglo-Saxons who are telling the story and the pagan characters in the story.
It one of the times - look for more and think about what the author is doing with these pagan moments. Who is the author talking to? Why? What is the purpose here? Remember - the monk who wrote it down had a mission.
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