Conversation so far:
where did most of the english language come from
English has its roots in the languages of the Germanic peoples of northern Europe.
were runes used to write english
Old English was first written in runes, using the futhorc, a rune set derived from the Germanic 24 character elder futhark
what is the most famous work in old english
The poem Beowulf, which often begins the traditional canon of English literature, is the most famous work of Old English literature.

Question: who wrote the work
Self-contained rewrite: who wrote beowulf