The full poem survives in the manuscript known as the Nowell Codex, located in the British Library. In , the manuscript was badly damaged by a fire that swept through Ashburnham House in London that had a collection of medieval manuscripts assembled by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton.
Additional information on Beowulf can be found here. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights.
Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. Melissa Snell. History Expert. Melissa Snell is a historical researcher and writer specializing in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Updated August 26, Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. Snell, Melissa. Hoard vs. The story begins with a king of the Danes, Hrothgar, whose royal hall is being attacked by a monster, a shadowy fen-dwelling creature named Grendel.
Hrothgar, an old, respected king, is in despair, until a young warrior turns up from across the sea to offer help in defeating the intruder. He is Beowulf, a Geat the Geats lived in what is now southern Sweden , and he wants to prove himself by taking on this challenge. Lying in wait by night in the hall, Beowulf surprises Grendel, wrestling the demon and tearing off its arm with his bare hands. The wounded creature retreats, and everyone thinks the threat is over — but they are celebrating too soon.
After a vicious struggle he manages to triumph, rescuing Hrothgar and his people. Triumphant, Beowulf returns to his home laden with rewards from a grateful Hrothgar. He eventually becomes king there, but after many years he faces another threat, this time to his own people, in the shape of a dragon. Though now an old man, Beowulf decides to take on the dragon himself and succeeds in killing it and winning its treasure.
But in doing so he is also slain. The poem ends with his funeral and the grief of his people at the loss of their beloved king. Beowulf is said to be related to a Geatish king named Hygelac, who is known from other sources to have lived in the early sixth century.
Beowulf himself does not appear in any other texts, but many of the other characters feature in semi-legendary histories and sagas about medieval Scandinavia, while some were also considered to be the ancestors of Anglo-Saxon and Danish kings. And, of course, the peoples mentioned in the poem — the Danes, Geats and Swedes — are very much real. Though the story contains fantastical elements, it takes place in the real world, in a fairly well-defined historical period, which makes it a compelling mixture of history and legend.
But Beowulf is not just an exciting and well-told story. It explores themes that are widespread in Anglo-Saxon literature, such as the human experience of time and loss, both within individual lives and collectively, across centuries.
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