Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics most important article ever written about the poem. Scholars of Anglo-Saxon agree that the work was influential, transforming the study of "Beowulf". J. R. R. Tolkien's essay ""Beowulf": The Monsters and the Critics", initially delivered as a lecture in 1936, is regarded as a formative work in modern "Beowulf" studies. In it, Tolkien speaks against critics who play down the monsters in the poem, namely Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon, in favour of using "Beowulf" solely as a source for Anglo-Saxon history. Tolkien argues that rather than being merely extraneous, these elements are key to the narrative and should
Ynglinga saga Ynglinga saga Ynglinga saga is a legendary saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It is the first section of his "Heimskringla". It was first translated into English and published in 1844 by Samuel Laing. Snorri Sturluson based his work on an earlier "Ynglingatal" which is attributed to the Norwegian 9th century skald Þjóðólfr of Hvinir, and which also appears in "Historia Norwegiae". It tells the most ancient part of the story of the House of Ynglings ("Scylfings" in "Beowulf"). Snorri described the descent of the kings of Norway from this