Changes

<small>(See also [[Beowulf (Character)]] and [[Beowulf the Dane]])</small>

<small>(See also [[Beowulf (Character)]] and [[Beowulf the Dane]])</small>

Beowulf is an early medieval epic poem, and the oldest known surviving literature in the English Language.  The story is set in the 500s AD, and historians have traditionally speculated that Beowulf was written in the 700s AD. The oldest copy of the manuscript dates to a time between 1075 and 1125 and there are some who now contend that Beowulf was written during that time period. <ref>http://www.library.unr.edu/subjects/guides/beowulf.html</ref> But the consensus view is that no one really knows who "wrote" Beowulf and that the tale was based upon an oral tradition that predated even the written version of the story. Oral poetry was performed by bards or singers for warriors when they gathered in meadhalls to celebrate their prowess. This is presumed because of certain scenes described in Beowulf, and much of the details we have constructed about Anglo-Saxon life come from the text of Beowulf. <ref>http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/1999-03/yeager.html</ref>

'''Beowulf''' is an early medieval epic poem, and the oldest known surviving literature in the English Language.  The story is set in the 500s AD, and historians have traditionally speculated that Beowulf was written in the 700s AD. The oldest copy of the manuscript dates to a time between 1075 and 1125 and there are some who now contend that Beowulf was written during that time period. <ref>http://www.library.unr.edu/subjects/guides/beowulf.html</ref> But the consensus view is that no one really knows who "wrote" Beowulf and that the tale was based upon an oral tradition that predated even the written version of the story. Oral poetry was performed by bards or singers for warriors when they gathered in meadhalls to celebrate their prowess. This is presumed because of certain scenes described in Beowulf, and much of the details we have constructed about Anglo-Saxon life come from the text of Beowulf. <ref>http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/1999-03/yeager.html</ref>