Beowulf (Ladybird Expert Series 117)

Dr. Ramirez is an Oxford lecturer, BBC broadcaster, researcher & author. She has presented & written over thirty hours of BBC history documentaries & series on TV & radio, & written five books for children & adults.

Beowulf is England’s first epic poem, a rousing story of warriors, monsters, dragons & gold. But is it a rare survival of so-called ‘Dark Age’ literature or the creation of an eleventh-century monastic mind? Is it the start of English literature or an alien text written in a language few can read today? Why does it matter?

It’s possible for a student of English literature to go through their degree without ever hearing of Beowulf. It has never really made its way into mainstream culture, despite Seamus Heaney’s well-regarded translation (1999) & a big-budget film starring Angelina Jolie (2007). Yet it’s an iconic survivor, a rare view into the Anglo-Saxon period & the oldest known epic poem composed in the English language. 

That it is written in Old English can put readers off. That it survives in a single burnt manuscript can also make it seem distant. Indeed, the very world it conjures up, of warriors, treasure hoards & life within a medieval hall, feels very far from our own.