Lookout: Who are you, strangers? Beowulf: My friend, we are Geats and we come in peace. I am Beowulf and I wish to speak with Hrothgar, your king. Lookout: If you are truly the famous Beowulf then ...

Beowulf is one of the most important texts in Old English and is believed to date from somewhere between 975 and 1025 - the time of Alfred, Athelstan and the Anglo-Saxons. The author is unknown.