The classic poem Beowulf presents the concept of the perfect king/leader/ruler. This appears in two modes: the ideal Germanic king and the ideal Christian king. Literary scholar Levin L. Schucking states in “Ideal of Kingship”: “I have already tried to prove that the author of Beowulf conceived it as a kind of Furstenspiegel. (“mirror of a prince”) – perhaps for the young son of a prince, a thought with which Heusler would later agree” (36). Thus, the author of Beowulf had in mind a human ideal of the perfect leader/ruler which he was trying to convey to the young man who was searching for the right path, the ideal way that a ruler, a king, should govern his kingdom . . This analysis seems so reasonable since the scop lived at the king's court and would have daily contact with the princes who lived there in the royal hall. An essential element in the training of the ideal leader is the possession of the virtue of fidelity or loyalty. . The Venerable Bede in The Ecclesiastical History gives a concrete example of the loyal reciprocity ideally existing between a warrior and his lord, in the story of Lilla: He entered the room under the pretext of delivering a message from his lord, and while the cunning rascal explained his pretended mission, he suddenly jumped up, drew the sword from under his cloak and rushed at the king. Lilla, a very devoted thane, noticed this, but not having in his hand a shield to protect the king from death, he promptly interposed his own body to receive the blow. His enemy thrust the weapon with such force that it killed the thane and wounded the king also through his corpse (85-86). Thus, the ethic of loyalty in Anglo-Saxon society was perhaps as strong as duty to someone. .... middle of paper ......78ff.).These words celebrate the deceased as a leader who demonstrated the kindness and warmth of a father's heart towards his people . This is Christianity in action, the Gospel applied to life, the perfect king.BIBLIOGRAPHYChickering, Howell D. Beowulf A bilingual edition. New York: Anchor Books, 1977. Collins, Roger and McClure, Judith, editors. Bede: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People; The Great Chronicle; Letter from Bede to Egbert. New York: Oxford University Press, 1969. Robinson, Fred C. “Differences Between Modern and Anglo-Saxon Values.” In Readings on Beowulf, edited by Stephen P. Thompson. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1998. Schucking, Levin L. “The Ideal of Kingship in Beowulf.” In An Anthology of Beowulf Criticism, edited by Lewis E. Nicholson. Notre Dame, in: University of Notre Dame Press, 1963.