Beowulf is the conventional title of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature. It survives in a single manuscript known as the Nowell Codex. Its composition by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet is dated between the 8th and the early 11th century. In 1731, the manuscript was badly damaged by a fire that swept through a building housing a collection of Medieval manuscripts assembled by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton. The poem's existence for its first seven centuries or so made no impression on writers and scholars, and besides a brief mention in a 1705 catalogue by Humfrey Wanley it was not studied until the end of the eighteenth century, and not published in its entirety until the 1815 edition prepared by the Icelandic-Danish scholar Grímur Jónsson Thorkelin. In the poem, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats in Scandinavia, comes to the help of Hroðgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall (in Heorot) has been under attack by a monster known as Grendel. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland in Sweden and later becomes king of the Geats. After a period of fifty years has passed, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is fatally wounded in the battle. After his death, his attendants bury him in a tumulus, a burial mound, in Geatland. The numerous different translations and interpretations of Beowulf turn this monumental work into a challenge for the reader.

Beowulf follows a valiant hero who comes to the rescue of King Hrothgar of the Danes. Plagued by the monstrous Grendel, Beowulf defeats Grendel and his vengeful mother with legendary strength and a mighty sword.

This Special Edition includes the work of R. W. CHAMBERS "THEORIES AS TO THE ORIGIN, DATE, AND STRUCTURE OF THE POEM".

Enhancing Heaneys masterful bestselling translation of this classic Old English poem, Niless illustrations help modern-day readers visualize the story by bringing it to life.

This is a special Collector's Edition Preview of book four, "Kid Beowulf: The Tarpeian Rock." Twin brothers Beowulf and Grendel are lost in Italia, trapped as slaves who must fight for their freedom in the gladiatorial games. There in the arena the brothers will discover a part of themselves neither knew existed: the fighter and the monster will emerge...which one survives is the question. Meanwhile in the Tiber River Valley among the Seven Hills of Italia, two tribes are at odds: the high-born Sabines who have made the land their own and the poor Latin farmers who are forced to till it. Compelled toward change, a young Latin girl named Tarpeia incites a revolution no one is ready for, particularly the pair chosen to lead it: twin brothers, Romulus and Remus!