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Beowulf

Beowulf is the first surviving epic poem written in the English language. The single existing copy of the manuscript dates from the late tenth century, although some scholars believe it dates back to the first part of the eleventh century. Beowulf found in a large volume, features stories involving mythical creatures and people. Two different scribes copied the poem, most likely using an existing copy. Between 1066 and the Reformation, the whole volume remained in a monastic library until Sir Robert Cotton gained position of it for his own extensive library. A fire consumed much of his library, and the volume containing Beowulf became badly charred. Today, the manuscript still exists, but the poem is falling apart rapidly due to the charring in the fire. Beowulf written with the traditional epic direction had whole phrases taken from the bards who sang many other legends. “ Beowulf is at least in part a study of kingship—of the attributes of a good king, of the difficulties he faces and how he overcomes them, of the problems of succession that arise upon his death.”

Many historians and authors describe Anglo-Saxon England as a region dominated by warlike, belligerent tribes of Germanic descent. The kings and warrior

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