A Literary Treasure: The Oldest Surviving English Poem - Beowulf and His Epic Battles
Perhaps the oldest surviving long poem in Old English, Beowulf is commonly seen as one of the most important works of Old English Literature.
A Literary Treasure: The Oldest Surviving English Poem - Beowulf and His Epic Battles
Perhaps the oldest surviving long poem in Old English, Beowulf is commonly seen as one of the most important works of Old English Literature. While the date of the poem’s composition is still debated, the only certainty is that the physical manuscript was produced some time between 975 and 1025 AD. The author was an anonymous poet, perhaps of Anglo-Saxon descent, who is now referred to as the “Beowulf poet.” The actual poem does not have a specific title, so it has been named after the protagonist of the story. The full poem only survives in one manuscript known as the Nowell Codex. The manuscript was badly damaged in a fire at Ashburnham House in London in 1731. However, the manuscript was not destroyed in this fire and is currently housed in the British Library.
First page of Beowulf contained in the damaged Nowell Codex ( Public Domain )
The Date Debate
The dating of the poem remains a point of contention among scholars. While there is a fairly concrete date for the production of the manuscript containing the poem, opinions differ on whether the poem itself is contemporary with its transcription. Perhaps there was a proto-version of the poem that was passed down through oral tradition before it was ever copied down. J.R.R. Tolkien felt strongly that the poem retains too much genuine memory of Anglo-Saxon Paganism to have been composed more than a few generations after the completion of the Christianization of England circa 700 AD. Others claim that the poem has elements that date back to a much earlier time. The manuscript was transcribed by two scribes, one of whom wrote the first 1939 lines and another who wrote the remainder. The two scribes present two distinct writing styles and while it is clear that they proofread their work, there are still numerous mistakes. This information has been used to argue that the scribes transcribed their own interpretation of the earlier oral tradition of the poem.
Beowulf and the Grendels
The poem is set in Scandinavia where the protagonist, Beowulf, a Geatish hero (from an area now part of modern Sweden), answers the call for help of the Danish king, Hrothgar. The king’s great hall, Heorot, is being attacked by the monster Grendel. This monster is pained by the sounds of a joy that he cannot take part in. One night while Hrothgar and his men are sleeping Grendel decides to put a stop to the merriment of these men and attacks the hall, killing and devouring many of Hrothgar’s men. As a result, Heorot is abandoned by those who are left and a call is made for aid. Beowulf answers this call and faces Grendel one on one, without any weapon. Beowulf’s men come to his aid in the heat of battle, but their sw