Who was Beowulf?

   Beowulf was a legendary hero. He really lived only in the epic (a poem that tells the story of a hero) named after him. The story came from a combination of Scandinavian history, folk tales, and mythology. It took place in Sweden and Denmark. Beowulf was a prince in Sweden who went to Denmark to save the Danes from the monster, Grendel. After a fierce struggle, he killed the monster. But Grendel's mother, another fierce monster, attacked the Danes. Beowulf killed her, too. Beowulf later became king in his own land. He died from wounds he got while killing a dragon.
   The poem is the most important writing in Anglo-Saxon, also called Old English. It was the language spoken in England more than 1,000 years ago. The oldest version of the poem that still exists was probably written down about 1000 A.D. by Catholic monks. It is in the British Museum. Scholars believe that Beowulf may have been first written about 300 years before that.

Beowulf and the dragon