The events in the poem take place over the 5th and 6th centuries, and feature predominantly non-English characters. Some suggest that … 展开

The dating of Beowulf has attracted considerable scholarly attention; opinion differs as to whether it was first written in the 8th century, whether it was nearly contemporary with its 11th … 展开

Editions
Many editions of the Old English text of Beowulf have been published; this section lists the most influential. 展开

Beowulf predominantly uses the West Saxon dialect of Old English, like other Old English poems copied at the time. However, it also uses many other linguistic forms; this leads some … 展开

The protagonist Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, king of the Danes, whose great hall, Heorot, is plagued by the monster Grendel. Beowulf kills Grendel with his bare … 展开

Beowulf survived to modern times in a single manuscript, written in ink on parchment, later damaged by fire. The manuscript measures 245 × 185 mm.
Provenance 展开

Neither identified sources nor analogues for Beowulf can be definitively proven, but many conjectures have been made. These are important in helping … 展开