Editing Beowulf (section)

{{Short description|Old English epic poem}}
{{Italic title}}
{{About|the epic poem|the character|Beowulf (hero)|other uses}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2014}}
{{Infobox Medieval text
| name                  =  ''Beowulf''
| alternative title(s)  = {{lang|ang|Bēowulf}}
| image                 = File:Beowulf Cotton MS Vitellius A XV f. 132r.jpg
| caption               = First page of ''Beowulf'' in Cotton Vitellius A. xv.<br/>Beginning: {{lang|ang|HWÆT. WE GARDE / na in geardagum, þeodcyninga / þrym gefrunon...}} (translation: ''How much we of Spear-Da/nes, in days gone by, of kings / the glory have heard...'')
| author(s)             = Unknown
| language              = [[West Saxon dialect]] of [[Old English]]
| date                  = Disputed ({{c.|700–1000 AD}})
| state of existence    = Manuscript suffered damage from fire in 1731
| manuscript(s)         = [[Nowell Codex|Cotton Vitellius A. xv]] ({{c.| 975–1025 AD}})
| first printed edition = [[Grímur Jónsson Thorkelin|Thorkelin]] (1815)
| verse form            = [[Alliterative verse]]
| length                = {{c.| 3182 lines}}
| genre                 = Epic heroic writing
| subject               = The battles of Beowulf, the Geatish hero, in youth and old age
| personages            = [[Beowulf (hero)|Beowulf]], [[Hygelac]], [[Hrothgar]], [[Wealhtheow]], [[Hrólfr Kraki|Hrothulf]], [[Æschere]], [[Unferð|Unferth]], [[Grendel]], [[Grendel's mother]], [[Wiglaf]], [[Hildeburh]]. <br/> ''[[List of Beowulf characters|Full list of characters]].''
| wikisource = Beowulf
}}

'''''Beowulf''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|eɪ|ə|w|ʊ|l|f|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Beowulf.wav}};<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/beowulf |title=Beowulf |work=[[Collins English Dictionary]] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |access-date=15 December 2020}}</ref> {{langx|ang|Bēowulf}} {{IPA|ang|ˈbeːowuɫf|}}) is an [[Old English poetry|Old English poem]], an [[Epic poetry|epic]] in the tradition of [[Germanic heroic legend]] consisting of 3,182 [[Alliterative verse|alliterative lines]]. It is one of the most important and [[List of translations of Beowulf|most often translated]] works of [[Old English literature]]. The date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars; the only certain dating is for the manuscript, which was produced between 975 and 1025 AD.{{sfn|Stanley|1981|pp=9–22}} Scholars call the anonymous author the "''Beowulf'' poet".{{sfn|Robinson|2002|p=143}} 
The story is set in pagan [[Scandinavia]] in the 5th and 6th centuries. [[Beowulf (hero)|Beowulf]], a hero of the [[Geats]], comes to the aid of [[Hrothgar]], the king of the [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danes]], whose [[mead hall]] [[Heorot]] has been under attack by the monster [[Grendel]] for twelve years. After Beowulf slays him, [[Grendel's mother]] takes revenge and is in turn defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland and becomes king of the Geats. Fifty years later, Beowulf defeats a [[The Dragon (Beowulf)|dragon]], but is mortally wounded in the battle. After his death, his attendants cremate his body and erect a [[tumulus|barrow]] on a [[headland]] in his memory.

Scholars have debated whether ''Beowulf'' was [[Oral-formulaic composition|transmitted orally]], affecting its interpretation: if it was composed early, in pagan times, then the paganism is central and the Christian elements were added later, whereas if it was composed later, in writing, by a Christian, then the pagan elements could be decorative archaising; some scholars also hold an intermediate position. 
''Beowulf'' is written mostly in the Late [[West Saxon dialect]] of Old English, but many other dialectal forms are present, suggesting that the poem may have had a long and complex transmission throughout the dialect areas of England.

There has long been research into similarities with other traditions and accounts, including the Icelandic ''[[Grettis saga]]'', the Norse story of [[Hrolf Kraki]] and his bear-[[shapeshifting]] servant [[Bodvar Bjarki]], the international folktale the [[Bear's Son Tale]], and the Irish folktale of the Hand and the Child. Persistent attempts have been made to link ''Beowulf'' to tales from [[Homer]]'s ''[[Odyssey]]'' or [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Aeneid]]''. More definite are biblical parallels, with clear allusions to the books of [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]], [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]], and [[Book of Daniel|Daniel]].

The poem survives in a single copy in the manuscript known as the [[Nowell Codex]]. It has no title in the original manuscript, but has become known by the name of the story's protagonist.{{sfn|Robinson|2002|p=143}} In 1731, the manuscript was damaged by a fire that swept through [[Ashburnham House]] in London, which was housing  [[Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington|Sir Robert Cotton]]'s collection of medieval manuscripts. It survived, but the margins were charred, and some readings were lost.{{sfn|Mitchell|Robinson|1998|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=uujn741w2Y4C&pg=PA6 6]}} The Nowell Codex is housed in the [[British Library]]. 
The poem was first transcribed in 1786; some verses were first translated into modern English in 1805, and nine complete translations were made in the 19th century, including those by [[John Mitchell Kemble]] and [[William Morris]].
After 1900, [[List of translations of Beowulf|hundreds of translations]], whether into prose, rhyming verse, or alliterative verse were made, some relatively faithful, some archaising, some attempting to domesticate the work. Among the best-known modern translations are those of [[Edwin Morgan (poet)|Edwin Morgan]], [[Burton Raffel]], [[Michael J. Alexander]], [[Roy Liuzza]], and [[Seamus Heaney]]. The difficulty of [[Translating Beowulf|translating ''Beowulf'']] has been explored by scholars including [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] (in his essay "[[On Translating Beowulf|On Translating ''Beowulf'']]{{-"}}), who worked on a verse and [[Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary|a prose translation]] of his own.