Beowulf is an Old English epic poem that was written by an anonymous author somewhere between the 8th and 11th century. The story originated in Scandenavia by the Anglo-Saxons and is said to be the oldest set of literature. It's about a Geat hero by the name of Beowulf. He comes to the aid of Hrothgar, king of the Danes, due to attacks by the monster Grendel who terrorized Hall Herot. After defeating Grendel with his immense stregnth Grendel's mother seeks revenge. She is also strangled by the mighty Beowulf later on in the dark forest. He returns home with great riches given to him by Hrothgar. he becomes king of the Geats and after a long period of time Beowulf, in his old age, is confronted with another enemy. This time it is the dragon and with the help of his successor, Wiglaf, and some bees Beowulf is victorious once more. The downside is that he was injured in battle therefore dies after his victory. The story does boast some historical factors. The tribes that were mentioned such as the Sclydings and the Geats were real tribes at the time. Many aspects of the story such as the armor worn by Beowulf's men, the boat that they ride, and description of the characters were all things that were common in the Anglo-Saxon time period. The historical points allow us to look into the past and understand the thinking of the people at the time. Unfortunately the poem of Beowulf was one that was part of oral tradition and therefore it was never written down until later on when the manuscript was written. The manuscript however suffered the wrath of a blazing fire in 1731. It was in the house where Sir Robert Bruce Cotton set up the collection of Medieval texts. The manuscript was lost for the time being until an Icelandic-Danish scholar and was then re-written in 1815. Without the effort of re-writing it allowed us to examine the text today.