f Origins of Beowulf Beowulf is the oldest-known epic poem in the English language Most historians believe the poem was first written by an unknown poet around 700 CE It was written in Old English the language of England’s Anglo-Saxon settlers Although it has historical details the hero and his story are fictional Battling the Dragon King Beowulf was determined to save his kingdom He gathered a group of men But most of the men ran away in fear when they reached the dragon’s lair Only Beowulf’s loyal friend Wiglaf stayed to fight Beowulf bravely climbed into the cave’s opening He shouted a challenge to the monster The sleeping dragon awoke It shot a stream of fire from its jaws Then it raced toward Beowulf Beowulf held an iron shield to protect himself from the dragon’s fiery breath The king struck the dragon with his sword The sword bounced off the dragon’s tough scales The dragon came in for a second attack This time Wiglaf stepped forward 6
A 1,000-year-old page from a Beowulf manuscript can be found in the British Library in London England to help the king The dragon’s fire burned Wiglaf’s wooden shield Wiglaf huddled with Beowulf under the king’s iron shield Again Beowulf struck the dragon This time his sword shattered on the dragon’s skull The dragon attacked a third time It bit Beowulf’s neck with its sharp fangs Blood gushed from Beowulf’s wound Wiglaf rushed to save his king Scales did not protect the dragon’s belly Wiglaf drove a giant sword through the monster’s belly and into 7
f One Weakness In many stories including Beowulf there is a small part of the dragon’s belly not protected by scales According to a Scandinavian legend a dragon named Fafnir guarded a gold treasure in his cave A dwarf named Regin wanted Fafnir’s gold Regin convinced Sigurd a young knight to attack the dragon Fafnir’s belly was vulnerable Sigurd dug a deep pit in the ground He hid inside the pit and waited When the dragon crawled across the pit Sigurd thrust his sword into the dragon’s belly He killed the dragon its heart Then Beowulf stabbed the dragon’s belly with a battle knife Finally the dragon fell But the dragon had seriously wounded the king Dragon poison quickly spread through his body The old king died However his kingdom was at last free from the terror of the dragon Dragon Myths People have told stories about dragons for thousands of years The story of Beowulf is based on a long poem written in England around 700 CE At one time many people thought dragons were real Today we know dragons are mythical 8
STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE In this passage from Beowulf the poet describes the dragon’s attack on Beowulf’s kingdom The poet calls the dragon the stranger and the enemy The stranger began then to vomit forth fire To burn the great manor the blaze then glimmered For anguish to earlmen not anything living Was the hateful air-goer willing to leave there The war of the worm widely was noticed The feud of the foeman afar and anear How the enemy injured the earls of the Geatmen Harried with hatred back he hied to the treasure To the well-hidden cavern ere the coming of daylight He had circled with fire the folk of those regions With brand and burning in the barrow he trusted Source Beowulf Trans Lesslie Hall Boston D C Heath and Co 1892 p 79 Project Gutenberg Web Accessed July 30 2013 Consider Your Audience Beowulf contains many words no longer used today Ask an adult to help you figure out any words that are unfamiliar to you What is the poet trying to describe Rewrite this passage for a modern audience 9
