Research Paper On Beowulf

What are the story's origins?
How has the story come down to us across the last 1000+ years? Who wrote it?
The story of the Beowulf has been passed orally through many generations until a single written manuscript was maintained in the Anglo-Saxon England at a location which is unknown. The manuscript dates back to about 1000 year, although the poem is believed to be written between the period of the seventh and tenth century of the first millennium (Collection items-Beowulf). The written copy hardly escaped the fire in the eighteenth century and therefore it underwent a lot of transcriptions and editions until it attained the position of a classic (Heaney). The origins of the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf are the images of German-Scandinavian
Beowulf is a hero who helps his people get rid of the evil and darkness that fester among them. He is portrayed as a courageous, strong person at the beginning but as time wears by, his strength and his motivations change. He matures into a wise hero toward the end of the poem and proves himself to be more than just a hero to his people. The story is based on people acting against their cores as results of inhumane actions of their counters. Taking the story to be a true-life account, I feel that an eye for an eye rule lead to development of the story and characters of Beowulf. It is a primary epic poem that came about as the result of the oral tradition of storytelling during the eighth century AD. It was written down only later, which meant it went through a lot of transformations as it descended from one generation to the other. The characters and the story evolved through each re-telling and ended up being what it is today (Collection
Although the story has been set in Scandinavia, yet the origin of the poem is from England. Its context is historical representing the values and traditions of the old times. These customs have been evolved through centuries, yet retained to some extent. The Scandinavian people present warrior culture, where the kings expect valor and loyalty from the warriors and are then offered rewards. There were places in Beowulf where people would gather in the presence of their masters to drink and feast. However, the story tells that there was a constant fear of invasion that plagued the Scandinavian people (SparkNotes on Beowulf). Beowulf is, therefore, a fine combination of Christian-pagan elements that together express the heroic code of honor. There are details of pagan religious traditions and funeral rituals and at the same time, there is the use of Christian phrases. The main ethical grounds of the poem are undoubtedly secular that display fidelity, generosity, and bravery while the hero gains a long-lasting fame of great expeditions carried out throughout the history (Bjork and