ituals were still very much a part of these people's lives.With the implication that the Anglo-Saxons had little trust in the Christian faith and in the power of God, we can see the lack of these two items in Beowulf as well. Beowulf's descriptions of his adventures contain almost no mention of God's help. His remarks at the end of his description of the battle with Grendel's mother that "I had barely escaped with my life, my death was not written" (89), indicate his concerns with fate. Without the mentioning of God, the Beowulf poet hints at of some other powerful force that can alter man's fate. This shows that even the great hero is not very confident in God and the Christian religion, and must turn back to the pagan religion.Despite the major significance of fate and fortune, lies one of the biggest aspects of this epic. Wergild, the concept of revenge, indicates that the role of paganism outweigh the values of Christianity. Christian beliefs tend to promote peace, the oneness of humanity, and helping those who are in need. Yet, the virtues of courage in war and the acceptance of feuds between men and countries as a fact of life come from the pagan tradition. There is a multitude of examples of wergild, violence, and constant feuds like the digression of Finn. Hengest lived the whole stormy winter through, there with Finn whom he hated. But his heart lived in Denmark-and Hengest dreamed of his home-but revenge came first, settling his bitter feud with Finn, whose bloody sword he could never forget the time had come, and Hengest rose, and drove his new sword into Finns belly, butchering that king(58, 59). Plotting schemes, bloodshed, and feuds are clearly evident in this passage. However, it mainly displays how important revenge was to the Anglo-Saxons of this time, and that it was the concept of wergild, by which they lived and died. The Beowulf poet portrays the Anglo-Saxon culture by separating their main ideals like a p...
