The Anglo-Saxons were highly fatalistic, believing that the Wyrd, or destiny, inevitably guided their lives. Trying to avoid fate as Beowulf's thanes did by fleeing from the dragon was considered the highest form of cowardice and led to a life of shame. Beowulf shows on several occasions that he completely surrenders to fate, even if this leads to his death. In his first boast before fighting Grendel, he insists that he will not be mourned if he fails, saying that "fate always goes as fate must" (455). Although he is confident that he will win the battle, he understands that it is ultimately out of his control and that doesn't scare him. His refusal to use weapons indicates the same attitude, and this is repeated at the end of the poem when he decides not to “move a foot” (2524) in response to the dragon's attacks so that the outcome “turns out like fate , / overseer of men, decides” (2526-27). Once again, Beowulf recognizes that he may not win the battle, but instead of running away from the fight or attempting to sway the odds in his favor, he lets things unfold as they will. This may seem ridiculous to the modern reader, but the Anglo-Saxons would have considered it the culmination of