ting spirit was fated to travel farinto the power of fiends.”; lines 955-956: “But one of the feasters lying on his bed wasdoomed, and soon to die.”; and lines 1694-1697: “Thus, the son of Ecgtheow had survivedthese feuds, these fearful battles, these acts of single combat, up to that day when he wasdestined to fight against the dragon.”The idea of fate in modern society is not nearly as prevalent, nor as rigid, as it wasin 11th century Norse society. Many modern cultures, including ours, subscribe to theChristian idea of free will, the idea that we are in charge of our own destinies. This isstrange since it seems to be at odds with the idea of an omnipotent being that can’t knowthe future because we’re still creating ours, yet is still omniscient. Yet other factions inmodern society believe in neither absolute fate nor absolute free will, but a combination, inwhich free will can be excercised in details, but the big picture is already set. Either way,unconsciously, everyone believes in at least some amount of fate. This can be seen inhoroscopes, fortune cookies, the idea of psychics, and even the idea that there is someonefor everyone implies some amount of fate.The idea of fate is universal, either on a conscious level like the Anglo-Saxon andNorse religions state, or a subconscious level, as in our own modern culture. Great writersfrom across the world have written on the topic of fate, but Seneca described the paganidea of fate best when he said “What must be, shall be; and that which is a necessity to himthat struggles is little more than a choice to him that is willing.” This is the idea of fate inBeowulf....
