Introducing Beowulf
New books!
MAKING PREDICTIONS
What do you expect Beowulf to be about, based on these book covers?
BEOWULF
Beowulf is one of the most important surviving works of
medieval literature.
It is by far the longest Old English poem, at just over
3,000 lines!
We don’t know much about who composed it (the poet
was anonymous), or why, or even when (roughly
between 975-1000 AD)
There is only one surviving copy from the whole of the
medieval period
photograph here 
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
Beowulf is an epic poem depicting the story of the title
character, Beowulf, and his adventures.
It features a number of real geographical locations in
Scandinavia as well as some genuine historical events
and characters.
Much of it is based upon myth and folklore; there is no
real evidence that anyone matching Beowulf’s
description actually existed!
The existence of dragons and monsters is similarly
unsupported by the historical records…!
BEOWULF IN LITERATURE
The story of Beowulf has produced a number of spin-offs over
the years, including poetry, stories, comics, films and TV.
Why has it been so popular?
• A classic story of heroes and villains
• A fantasy story with some grounding in reality
Our version is Beowulf: Dragonslayer, written by Rosemary Sutcliff
ANGLO-SAXON TRIBES:
SWEDEN
DENMARK
NORTHERN GERMANY
MEAD HALL