XV. Beowulf is the first big heroic epic written in Old English rather than Latin. It is only preserved in one manuscript, which is housed at the British Library in London. Cotton Vitellius A.xiv is its official title. This is the most important manuscript of all early English poems. -1- The poem itself dates from around 700 AD, but it was not until much later that it was recognized as being important enough to be copied for posterity. The copyist was a monk called Cynewulf, who lived in Wessex during the reign of King Ethelred the Unready. Ethelred was a pacifist who refused to engage in war with either side in the European wars raging at the time. In fact, he is said to have begged God not to allow him to lose his life while fighting for a cause that was wrong. Despite this, Ethelred's government did hire soldiers to protect them from other invaders. When Cynewulf died, he left behind two daughters and a son who would become famous names in English history: Eadgyth, Ceawlin and Ecgfrith. Cynewulf must have been a skilled poet to have impressed such people with his work.