page_title: Beowulf
section_title: Manuscript
hierarchical_section_title: Beowulf / Manuscript
caption_attribution_description: English: Beowulf, British Library
context_page_description: Beowulf is an Old English epic poem consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important works of Old English literature. The date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars; the only certain dating pertains to the manuscript, which was produced between 975 and 1025. The anonymous poet is referred to by scholars as the "Beowulf poet".
  The story is set in Scandinavia in the 6th century. Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall in Heorot has been under attack by a monster known as Grendel. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland and becomes king of the Geats. Fifty years later, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is mortally wounded in the battle. After his death, his attendants cremate his body and erect a tower on a headland in his memory.
  The poem survives in a single copy in the manuscript known as the Nowell Codex. It has no title in the original manuscript, but has become known by the name of the story's protagonist.
context_section_description: Beowulf survives in a single parchment manuscript dated on palaeographical grounds to the late 10th or early 11th century. The manuscript measures 245 × 185 mm.
caption: Remounted page, British Library Cotton Vitellius A.XV
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