Beowulf | Historical Context
Introduction
The historical Hygelac died circa 521. The Beowulf manuscript was written about 1000 A.D. In the intervening centuries there was both change and continuity in every area of Anglo-Saxon life. Because we cannot date Beowulf with certainty, we cannot draw specific parallels. We do not know if the society the poet described is the one he or she knew at first hand and projected into the past from his or her present, or if it was a poetic reconstruction, pieced together from memories, older Anglo-Saxon and Latin...
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See Also:
- - Read the Beowulf text online.
- - For teachers, the Beowulf Lesson Plan.
- - Beowulf summary and study guide in the eNotes.
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