the only one full-length folk epic which has survived in english literature
Beowulf Beowulf (/ˈbeɪəwʊlf/;[2] Old English: [ˈbeːo̯wulf]) is an Old English epic story consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It may be the oldest surviving long story in Old English and is commonly cited as one of the most important works of Old English literature. The date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars; the only certain dating pertains to the manuscript, which was produced between 975 and 1025.[3] The author was an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet, referred to by scholars as the "Beowulf author".[4]
Old English literature There were considerable losses of manuscripts as a result of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century.[2] Scholarly study of the language began when the manuscripts were collected by scholars and antiquarians such as Matthew Parker, Laurence Nowell and Sir Robert Bruce Cotton.[8]