Victorious Pagan BeliefsSay no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"?Get the original essayBritish poet Percy Bysshe Shelley once remarked that "revenge is the naked idol of the cult of a semi -barbarian”. Although not referring to Old English poetry, Shelley's acclamation is illustrated in the epic poem Beowulf, a heroic expedition written anonymously sometime after 520 AD. Composed during the tumultuous period of emerging rule by Germanic tribes over Christian England, Beowulf combines the ideals of both cultures into an explanation of moral standards. In his article "Beowulf: The Archetype Makes History," Jeffrey Helterman asserts that the old English epic "has led almost all critics to assume that the poem is 'something more' than an adventure story heroics and Germanic history” (1). This “something more” that Helterman refers to is the conglomeration of pagan norms and Christian morality throughout the long text. In the Middle Ages, "much Christian poetry also focused on the heroic mode: although the Anglo-Saxons easily adapted to the ideals of Christianity, they did not do so without adapting Christianity to their own ideal heroic” (David 5). Although Beowulf successfully merges pagan and Christian beliefs, it is the Germanic heroic code that resonates triumphantly in the poem, particularly in association with vengeance. Beowulf encompasses a perpetual cycle of revenge, a direct contrast to traditional Christian beliefs of forgiveness. Although the epic's characters often pray to God before battle and give thanks afterward, the societal values ​​depicted in the play propose a stronger connection to the Germanic heroic code, rather than the creed of Christian principles. Grendal attacks Heorot, engendering Beowulf's desire to avenge Hrothgar's great hall. In retaliation, Grendal's mother attacks Heorot, "ruminating over her wrongs" (Beowulf 60). Lines 1276 to 1278 of the poem reveal that "now his mother/had gone on a wild journey,/torn and ravenous, desperate for revenge" (60). His attack on the mead causes Beowulf's inner drive for vengeance to once again proliferate, resulting in his death. Although the cycle of vengeance is stilled for fifty years, a thief awakens it by stealing a cup from the dragon's hoard. As Helterman points out, this fugitive is “an anonymous person, and his presence implies that there is always someone involved in the web of revenge” (19). “The loss of the dragon’s ship made him want to fight back” and “he rushed into a blazing flame” (Beowulf 81-2). Once again, the heroic Beowulf seeks revenge, which will ultimately lead to his own demise. The destructive wheel of vengeance that embodies the spine of the poem is a direct polarity with God's denunciation of vengeance in the sacred book of Leviticus: “Seek not vengeance. Don't hold grudges; but love your neighbor as yourself, for I am Jehovah” (Brown 88). Although the poem contains Christian elements, the endless circle of vengeance makes it clear that pagan ideology prevails over evangelical morality. The intrinsic conflict between "the heroic code and a religion which teaches that we must 'forgive those who have trespassed against us'" (David 5.) leaves paganist theories elevated above Christian ethics, and this is described throughout throughout the text from Beowulf's own words and actions. In lines 1384 and 1385, before Beowulf seeks Grendal's mother for battle, the heroic warrior says, 35 (1968): 1-24.