Beowulf by Unknown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Beowulf is an epic poem composed in the Anglo-Saxon times. It’s set in Scandinavia in the part-historical and part-legendary past. Beowulf goes to the aid of Danish king Hrothgar who’s court has been dealing with a monster named Grendel. The poem follows Beowulf as he deals with Grendel and also Grendel’s mother. Beowulf returns home to Geatland, where he eventually becomes king and reigns for many years. And he has one more major fight, this time with a dragon guarding a hoard of gold.

I first read this many years ago for a medieval history class. It’s a very interesting story, so I was looking forward to reading it again. And I was pleased that this newer translation is much easier to read. And the notes, bibliographical tables and timeline make things much easier to keep straight as I was reading. I highly recommend this book.