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Beowulf – The Manuscript

Beowulf – The Manuscript. Origins. Originally told in the oral tradition. By the time the story was written down in the 11 th century, it was already hundreds of years old. More on the oral tradition. Scops – Old English poets.

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Beowulf – The Manuscript

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  1. Beowulf – The Manuscript

  2. Origins • Originally told in the oral tradition. • By the time the story was written down in the 11th century, it was already hundreds of years old.

  3. More on the oral tradition • Scops – Old English poets. • Scops were poets and performers. They would sing poetry and/or recite stories. • Stories gradually changed.

  4. …and it was written • Beowulf was probably first written down in the 8th century. • The only original copy in existence dates to the 11th century.

  5. So who wrote it? • The original author is unknown. • First transcribed by a Christian monk. • Pagan origins, Christian revisions.

  6. Only one copy! • All the originals except for one have been lost or destroyed. • The surviving copy has been damaged by fire on two different occasions. • The surviving copy is missing parts.

  7. Where is it today? • A single manuscript of Beowulf exists in the British Museum in London where it survived a fire in the 18th century.

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