We study Beowulf in part because it is the first great epic work of English poetry that survives. It is written in what is commonly known as Old English, or Anglo-Saxon. This language is considerably different from Modern English, and even from the Middle English of Chaucer. You will read Beowulf in a verse translation. This translation, by the Irish poet Seamus Heaney, was recently on the New York Times bestseller list.

 The Beowulf Manuscript

We don't know how much Anglo-Saxon literature was lost--if we'd lost four more manuscripts, we'd have practically no poetry from the Anglo-Saxon period. The Beowulf manuscript is in rough shape. It was preserved by the Elizabethan antiquarian Sir Robert Cotton, who also preserved a manuscript of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The manuscripts were catalogued according to the shelf on which they were placed, and the shelves were named after the busts of Roman emperors that sat on top of the shelves. Thus, the Beowulf manuscript is called Cotton Vitellius A. XV, while the manuscript of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is Cotton Nero A. X.

The manuscript was nearly destroyed by fire in 1731, and transcripts made in the 18th century have helped preserve sections of the manuscript that have worn or crumbled away. The manuscript is small--about five inches by eight inches, or about the size of a paperback book.

Other Study Pages:

The Heroic Ideal

A Character List

Danes

Geats

Swedes

Terms

Sutton Hoo (may load slowly--be patient)

Anglo-Saxon armor

Other Links