The History Behind Beowulf

Out of the 30,000 lines of literature left from the Anglo-Saxon

period, almost 4,000 lines are preserved in the text of Beowulf, the epic
poem of the hero with the strength of 30 men in each arm. It is a story of
the supernatural as well as a record of Anglo-Saxon history. Because there
was little literacy and few books in Medieval England, scops were the key to
recording history. They upheld the history of England since the very
beginning, along with the ancestry of her first settlers.
Beowulf takes place in 6th century Denmark and Sweden. The Geats
(Beowulf's tribe) inhabited the southern part of Sweden) and Hrothgar and
his glorious mead-hall Heorot were from the Danish island, Sjaelland.
Some historical digressions in the epic poem take place in other parts of
Sweden, but also Denmark, Germany, Poland and "the Low Countries."
The first part of Beowulf takes place in Heorot, King Hrothgar's
glorious mead hall. At the time this poem took place, research proves that
the Danes held their throne on Sjaelland Island at Lejre. Archeologists who
have worked there have discovered a number of magnificent halls that were
built around the 500s and onward, any of which could have been Heorot.
Although there is no knowledge that Beowulf was a true man, there
is certainly a great deal of Germanic history incorporated in the poem.
Whether Beowulf was real or not, his character fit seamlessly into the
context of his society and family tree.
Many of the characters were real: The Geat king, Hygelac, Hrothgar,
Ongentheow, Haethcyn, Onela and Heardred. Also, the Ravenswood battle
which took place in 510AD is true.
The Composition of the Poem
Although, much that is written about the creation of the story of
Beowulf is speculation, it is known that the only manuscript that remains
is from circa 1000AD. Although this work is venerated today, in Medieval
England, it was viewed in much different light. Monster stories were quite
common at that time; along with Beowulf, several prose works with
supernatural characters were compiled in the manuscript. Also a poem
"Judith" was found.
The author of Beowulf is a mystery, as most poets of the AngloSaxon period are. He might have been a court poet, or a monastic poet.
Depending on the Christian interpretation of the poem, it could be either.
The date that Beowulf was conceived is uncertain, but can be
narrowed down, depending on where it was created. It was definitely
composed after Hygelac's death in 521AD, and most likely after 580AD,
because that is the assumed date of Beowulf's death. It can't, though, be
later than 1000AD, because the manuscript was already written by then.
Although the four centuries in between these dates leave quite a vague

answer, many scholars believe it was either the 600s or 700s. Because the
poem makes many allusions to historical figures, it is thought that if the
poem were any later, these figures would have already been forgotten.
Scholars have recently begun to believe that Beowulf could have been
composed in the 900s, much later than they first suspected.
If Beowulf were created in the 7th or 8th centuries, it can be further
narrowed down by considering where the author might have lived. Scholars
believe there are three possibilities: Northumbria, during the Age of Bede,
in the late 7th and early 8th centuries; during King Offa's reign in Mercia,
in the latter half of the 8th century; or East Anglia during the 600s.
Although the possibility that Beowulf begun in Northumbria is no
longer a popular idea, it was at one time. The idea of Mercia is possible
because of the references to the King in the poem may have been a tribute
to the poet's patron. That the poem's origin comes from East Anglia is quite
a popular notion comes with the discovery of the Sutton Hoo: the ship
burial is extraordinarily similar to those mentioned in Beowulf, but, even
more, the items found in the burial ship can be closely linked with the
Uppsala, the royal court of Sweden at that time. It is thought that
Beowulfand the East Anglians share some ancestral lines. Beowulf may
have been means to define East Anglical history all the way back to
Scandinavia.