The story of Beowulf has inspired many of its readers and that includes me. This is the reason why it has drawn so many curious individuals about the entirety of the poem which goes to the extent of knowing about when was it published.
Beowulf is actually an ancient poem written in an old single manuscript which miraculously survive time until today. Although, the date of its publication is not mentioned on the manuscript. The only hints are the events describe on its contents.
Scholars often comes into a huge debate when it comes to this topic. But according to the majority, the publication date of the poem falls somewhere in between the 500 to 700 AD. While some says, it is within the 700 to 1000 AD. Regardless about what scholars’ speculation about the date, there is still no solid proof that can provide support to those dates. And, this is what we are about to discuss on this post.
5th to 6th Centuries
The Beowulf original script became known in “Anglo-Saxon England” which according to the historical record, it was between the 8th to 11th centuries. But as I stated above, majority of scholars dated the creation of this poem somewhere around the 5th to 6th century.
Reading the story, the whole event took place in the ancient “Scandinavia”. Today, this place is now known as “Denmark”. So the big question is that, How did the Beowulf manuscript ended up in England?
Again, speculations come into play. They say that the Anglo-Saxon who inhabited Great Britain in the 5th century were the Geats’ descendant. Geats were the group of people who lived in the Spare Dane kingdom and was thoroughly the focus of the poem.
Thus, the actual event may had happened at around 400 to 500 AD then was it written down in the manuscript by the Anglo-Saxon on the 5th or 6th century.
Much Earlier than the 5th Century
Some scholars who argued against the date of publication stated above that when it comes to the exact creation of the poem, it could be a lot much earlier than the 5th century. The reason is that, people in the past create stories surrounding actual events directly out from their mouths.
The story must be quite interesting so that the listener would surely grasp every details. It was then passed down to the next generation by word-of-mouth until the ancient people discovered writing. Thus, it was finally put into a manuscript.
Again, we are not sure if the first written manuscript is the same copy that has survive its way to this date. There could be other several older copies that got re-written. This is a very common practice that even today, many authors rewrite older books in their own.
Therefore, we can say that the Beowulf poem was finally put into the manuscript at the 5th to 6th century. However, the date about when it was composed by the original author could possibly be much earlier than these time period.
Around 600 to 700 AD
Some scholars found a clue that could support their theory that the publication date of the manuscript fall in between 600 AD to 700 AD. The hint was the death of king “Hygelac”. Historian “Gregory of Tours” have recorded the event of the king’s attacked in the “Neatherlands” in 524 AD.
Basing from the date, the scholars were able to derive a closer estimate about Beowulf’s death which was likely after 580 AD. Thus, this gave them the conclusion that it was either at the 6th or 7th century.
Beowulf is actually an ancient poem written in an old single manuscript which miraculously survive time until today. Although, the date of its publication is not mentioned on the manuscript. The only hints are the events describe on its contents.
Scholars often comes into a huge debate when it comes to this topic. But according to the majority, the publication date of the poem falls somewhere in between the 500 to 700 AD. While some says, it is within the 700 to 1000 AD. Regardless about what scholars’ speculation about the date, there is still no solid proof that can provide support to those dates. And, this is what we are about to discuss on this post.
5th to 6th Centuries
The Beowulf original script became known in “Anglo-Saxon England” which according to the historical record, it was between the 8th to 11th centuries. But as I stated above, majority of scholars dated the creation of this poem somewhere around the 5th to 6th century.
Reading the story, the whole event took place in the ancient “Scandinavia”. Today, this place is now known as “Denmark”. So the big question is that, How did the Beowulf manuscript ended up in England?
Again, speculations come into play. They say that the Anglo-Saxon who inhabited Great Britain in the 5th century were the Geats’ descendant. Geats were the group of people who lived in the Spare Dane kingdom and was thoroughly the focus of the poem.
Thus, the actual event may had happened at around 400 to 500 AD then was it written down in the manuscript by the Anglo-Saxon on the 5th or 6th century.
Much Earlier than the 5th Century
Some scholars who argued against the date of publication stated above that when it comes to the exact creation of the poem, it could be a lot much earlier than the 5th century. The reason is that, people in the past create stories surrounding actual events directly out from their mouths.
The story must be quite interesting so that the listener would surely grasp every details. It was then passed down to the next generation by word-of-mouth until the ancient people discovered writing. Thus, it was finally put into a manuscript.
Again, we are not sure if the first written manuscript is the same copy that has survive its way to this date. There could be other several older copies that got re-written. This is a very common practice that even today, many authors rewrite older books in their own.
Therefore, we can say that the Beowulf poem was finally put into the manuscript at the 5th to 6th century. However, the date about when it was composed by the original author could possibly be much earlier than these time period.
Around 600 to 700 AD
Some scholars found a clue that could support their theory that the publication date of the manuscript fall in between 600 AD to 700 AD. The hint was the death of king “Hygelac”. Historian “Gregory of Tours” have recorded the event of the king’s attacked in the “Neatherlands” in 524 AD.
Basing from the date, the scholars were able to derive a closer estimate about Beowulf’s death which was likely after 580 AD. Thus, this gave them the conclusion that it was either at the 6th or 7th century.
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