Beowulf

The Ancient Greeks have The Iliad & The Odyssey. The Ancient Romans have The Aeneid. And the Europeans of the Middle Ages have Beowulf. Beowulf is the title of an Old English epic poem in the same vein as its ancient heroic predecessors, and it has become the most famous epic poem created by the Anglo-Saxons. 


Beowulf was written sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries, written by unknown Anglo-Saxons covering the Migration Period after the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 A.D. In the poem, Beowulf is the hero of the Geats, who battles three antagonists: Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a dragon. Like other epic poems, it mixes legend with history, mentioning real events like the raid into Frisia by king Hygelac in the early 6th century. 


What happens next? Read on to find out.