Beowulf

Beowulf is both the title of an epic poem written in Old English and the name of the poem's heroic main character. It was written between the 8th and 11th centuries A.D., and it is the oldest surviving piece of English literature. The general events of the poem were adapted into an animated action-adventure movie in 2007.

The poem is the oldest surviving piece of Anglo-Saxon heroic poetry. And though it is generally considered authoritative evidence of how early Anglo-Saxon poetry, typically performed orally, was composed, scholarly debates continue as to how accurately it portrays oral poetic forms.

Beowulf is a heroic warrior of the Geat people, a Germanic tribe that occupied modern Sweden. He comes to the aid of the ancient Danish king, Hrothgar, whose country is besieged by a monster named Grendel. The poem chronicles his fight with both Grendel and Grendel's mother. It concludes with the story of Beowulf after he becomes king of the Geats.

The lengthy poem is essentially divided into three sections that correspond with the three monsters that Beowulf must fight. The first two conflicts with Grendel, then Grendel's mother, take place in Hrothgar's Denmark. They highlight Beowulf's youthful heroism. The third and final section takes place in the Geatish homeland, where Beowulf fights, and is killed by a giant dragon.

• Official Site: 2007 Beowulf movie

• SciFi.com: Official Grendel site

• Note: The majority of the links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.

• 1999: Beowulf

• 1999: The 13th Warrior

• 2005: Beowulf and Grendel

• 2007: Grendel TV movie

• 2007: Beowulf

• British Library: Image from the Beowulf manuscript

• Google Images: Beowulf

• Flickr: Beowulf clusters

• Fan Site: Beowulf Art

• BeowulfTranslations.net: Beowulf book images

• Apple: 2007 Beowulf movie trailer

• {{youtube|TGlSAtb-SDw|2:05|2005 Beowulf and Grendel trailer}}

• YouTube & Google Video: Beowulf Search