Beowulf

Beowulf is one of the earliest surviving poems in a modern European language, composed in England before the Norman Conquest. As a social document, it offers a vivid portrait of a feudal world of heroes and monsters, blood and triumph, life and death. As art, it stands alone—resonant with beauty and power for over a thousand years.

In this dynamic translation, Burton Raffel captures the noble simplicity and strength of the anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet.