Throughout time Beowulf has become one of the most recognized tales of the old English language. Though the survival of the text is almost as epic as the story it tells. Many events have been tied together with the dramatic script that are quite interesting and ironic.
The creator and original writer of Beowulf is unknown, and impossible to be found out, because the story was most likely started by oral poetry and the singers who performed them. This poem actually has helped us understand the Anglo-Saxon time period. Many scholars assume that the scribe was probably derived from one of the oral sessions held by one of the singers. Beowulf probably didn’t start out in text.
Though the whereabouts of the text for the five hundred years after is was accumulated went missing and we have know idea where the piece was at this time. Until about 1563 is was discovered again in the hands of a man named Lawrence Nowell. They say it’s a possibility that Nowell protected the text from destruction when Henry the eight got rid of the monasteries and took over their libraries. After Nowell, the text went to Sir Robert Cotton, he had a huge collection of these types of manuscripts and kept them in his library.
One of the most interesting events that happened to the text was that the Cottonian Library caught fire and most of the collection was burnt. Though Beowulf wasn’t badly scorched, just the edges were made brittle by the fire. Soon after, the edges began to crumble.
Now Beowulf is being preserved through ultraviolet light and other technologies to help keep it from further eroding. It is currently being kept at the British Library in London. The events that took place upon this text seems to be as remarkable as the poem itself.
Yeager, Robert F.. "Beowulf". NEH. 1999 http://www.neh.gov/news/humanties/1999-03/yeager.html.
Ward, Rebecca. "Real 'Beowulf' Story has Endured for More Than 10 Centuries". Voice of america. November 21 2007 http://www.voanews.com/english/images/text_tv_21nov07_210.jpg.
Greene, Araby. "Why is beowulf important". September 2 2008 http://www.greenehamlet.com/beowulf.html.
