Beowulf is a famous English epic. The poem is rich in the accurate and picturesque portrayal of the daily life in England in the 6th century. The only existing manuscript of Beiowulf belongs to the 8th or 9th century, and is in the Cottonian Library (British Museum). From internal evidence it is concluded that the poem in its essentials existed prior to the Anglo-Saxon colonization of Britain, and that it must be regarded either as brought to Britain by the Teutonic invaders, or as an early Anglo-Saxon translation of a Danish legend. From the allusions in it to Christianity, however, it must have received considerable modifications from its original form. It recounts the adventures of the hero Beowulf, especially his delivery of the Danish kingdom from the monster Grendel, and his equally formidable mother, and lastly the slaughter by Beowulf of a fiery dragon and his death from wounds received in the conflict. Research Beowulf
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