Beowulf

Beowulf, the mythical hero of an Anglo-Saxon romance or epic, which is written in probably the earliest form of that language as imported into England. The only manuscript of this remarkable poem is preserved in the Cotton Library in the British Museum, and dates from the tenth century, but the original composition may very likely be referred to the fifth century, though after the spread of Christianity some later touches were most likely given in the eighth or ninth century. Nothing is known of the author, but the work is full of vigour and rugged beauty. Beowulf is represented as being a Western Dane, and the scene of his exploits was the north.