Out of the mixture of Latin and Germanic paganism and the Christianity of the Early Middle Ages has sprung one of the world's supremely great pieces of literature. J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, delivered a famous lecture to the British Academy in 1936 in which he maintained that Beowulf was a poem all of a piece, and not (as had been suggested) a jumble of fragments for pedantic scholars to paw over. The power and beauty of Beowulf enchanted Tolkien so much that he borrowed freely of its imagery and even of some of its plot when he forged his own mighty epic of Middle Earth.This great medieval masterpiece, written in the Saxon of pre-Norman England, lay forgotten for centuries, being only rediscovered and printed for the first time early in the 19th century. It has been translated many times since, and the more people read this fascinating poem, the more they admire it. And for good reason. In strikingly beautiful lines, it affirms the ideal of tenderness joined to strength, and of courage ennobled by virtue. It speaks to us today in resounding tones of valor, faith, and honor. It is a heroic tale of pagan Germanic origin, a saga of a vanishing age retold in the new light of the Christian era. Its author, most likely an educated monk from Northumbria, was certainly influenced by the work of Virgil. The old pagan legends of blood feuds and monsters formed the dark background against which the Christian hero Beowulf would shine forth with his deeds of courage and virtue. Of all the old Anglo-Saxon poems, Beowulf is clearly the greatest.
This version of Beowulf is organized in 17 parts. Within some of the sections, there are digressions and tales which do not, strictly speaking, belong to the central plot. These sections, (called "lays"), have been enhanced by an echo effect to help the listener detect them. Preceding the poem is an introduction by Henry Bradley. Translated by C.W. Kennedy.