Title:
Beowulf
Genre:
Action
Drama
Fantasy
Literature
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Series:
Folio Society
Series Order:
331
Binding:
Hardcover
Narrative:
Third Person
Type of Book:
Fiction
Number of Pages:
126
Number of Chapters:
42
Date Added:
2018-06-26 17:00:52
Synopsis:
Beowulf (literally "bee wolf” i.e. "bee hunter”, a kenning for "bear”) is the conventional title of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.
It survives in a single manuscript known as the Nowell Codex. Its composition by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet is dated between the 8th and the early 11th century.
In 1731, the manuscript was badly damaged by a fire that swept through the building which housed a collection of medieval manuscripts that had been assembled by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton.
It fell into obscurity for many decades, and its existence did not become widely known again until it was printed in 1815 in an edition prepared by the Icelandic scholar Grímur Jónsson Thorkelin.
In the poem, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, battles three antagonists: Grendel, who has been attacking the resident warriors of the mead hall of Hroðgar (the king of the Danes), Grendel’s mother, and an unnamed dragon.
After the first two victories, Beowulf goes home to Geatland in Sweden and becomes king of the Geats. The last fight takes place fifty years later. In this final battle, Beowulf is fatally wounded. After his death, his servants bury him in a tumulus in Geatland.
It survives in a single manuscript known as the Nowell Codex. Its composition by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet is dated between the 8th and the early 11th century.
In 1731, the manuscript was badly damaged by a fire that swept through the building which housed a collection of medieval manuscripts that had been assembled by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton.
It fell into obscurity for many decades, and its existence did not become widely known again until it was printed in 1815 in an edition prepared by the Icelandic scholar Grímur Jónsson Thorkelin.
In the poem, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, battles three antagonists: Grendel, who has been attacking the resident warriors of the mead hall of Hroðgar (the king of the Danes), Grendel’s mother, and an unnamed dragon.
After the first two victories, Beowulf goes home to Geatland in Sweden and becomes king of the Geats. The last fight takes place fifty years later. In this final battle, Beowulf is fatally wounded. After his death, his servants bury him in a tumulus in Geatland.
Author:
Anon
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Publisher:
Folio Society
Country:
United Kingdom
Publication Date:
1973-03-01
Publication Year:
1974
Number of Copies:
1
Illustrator:
Virgil Burnett
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Translator:
Kevin Crossley-Holland
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Language:
English
Publisher Location:
London
Special Edition:
Yes
Has Dustcover:
Yes
Automatic Estimated Date:
2024-03-26
Date Added:
2018-06-26 17:00:52
