That famous work, "Beowulf," is now one of the anchors of Old English literature.It's unclear who wrote the poem; because certain sections are seemingly disconnected, some scholars have suggested ...

As Headley notes, the Old English word “fingrum” is often translated as “claws,” but Grendel’s mother uses a knife during her fight with Beowulf, and “wielding a knife while also posse ...

The hero of Beowulf dispatches the monstrous figure of Grendel – who is described in Old English as ‘unhælu’, or ‘infirm’. Students at Imperial College London are fighting the ...

One way Headley connects the poem with modern readers is through language, mixing in some contemporary words into an Old English text. “Beowulf” famously opens with a storyteller wanting to ...

What have they done to Beowulf, everyone’s least favorite Old English epic about a hero’s battles with a monster, the monster’s mother and an annoying dragon who turns up 50 years later?

Yes, this is the Old English poem most of us read in high school ... before the monster shows up and wreaks havoc, with Beowulf appearing shortly afterward. “We are geeks! I am Beowulf!” ...

“Beowulf,” an Old English epic poem recorded in the 11th century, follows the titular hero in three battles as he defends a neighboring kingdom and himself against a series of monster ...

First, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Hana Videen about her new book, The Wordhord, which collects words and phrases from Old English – like Beowulf – to examine and understand life during ...

The mere mention of Grendel the classic monster from the Old English, Anglo-Saxon era epic poem, Beowulf is enough to unlock a portal buried deep within the brain of every former English student.

Just say wirp (ph). Hana Videen is the Old English Wordhord (ph). She fell under the language's spell studying "Beowulf" as an undergrad, then got her PhD in medieval English lit. And we reached ...