The dragon (Beowulf) His Lair in "Beowulf"" that the fight between Beowulf and the dragon tends to receive less critical attention than other portions of the poem, commenting that "Grendel and his dam have, as it were, become more beloved of the commentators". Conversely, Kemp Malone writes in "The Kenning in "Beowulf"" that Beowulf's fight with the dragon receives much critical attention, but that commentators fail to note that "the dragon was no fighter. Not that it refused to fight when challenged, but that it did not seek out Beowulf or anyone else. It left Beowulf to do the seeking out". In his
Beowulf its "popularity" took it). There are Scandinavian sources, international folkloric sources, and Celtic sources. 19th century studies proposed that "Beowulf" was translated from a lost original Scandinavian work, but this idea was quickly abandoned. But Scandinavian works have continued to be studied as a possible source. Proponents included writing in 1886 that an Old Norse original version of "Beowulf" must have existed, but that view was later debunked by (1914) who pointed out that "Beowulf" is fundamentally Christian and written at a time when any Norse tale would have most likely been pagan. The epic's possible connection to "Grettis saga"