Beowulf
Bēowulf
First page of Beowulf in Cotton Vitellius A. xv
Author(s)	Unknown
Language	West Saxon dialect of Old English
Date	c. 700–1000 AD (date of story), c. 975–1010 AD (date of manuscript)
State of existence	Manuscript suffered damage from fire in 1731
Manuscript(s)	Cotton Vitellius A. xv
First printed edition	Thorkelin (1815)
Genre	Epic heroic writing
Verse form	Alliterative verse
Length	c. 3182 lines
Subject	The battles of Beowulf, the Geatish hero, in youth and old age
Personages	Beowulf, Hygelac, Hrothgar, Wealhþeow, Hrothulf, Æschere, Unferth, Grendel, Grendel's mother, Wiglaf, Hildeburh.

Beowulf is an Old English heroic epic poem. It is not known who wrote it, and there is no agreement as to when it was written. Estimates for the date range from AD 608 right through to AD 1000, and there is no consensus. The poem has only one manuscript source, written about 1010. Beowulf is 3182 lines long. Tolkien describes and illustrates many of the features of Old English poetry in his 1940 essay On translating Beowulf.