I. Beowulf: An Anglo-Saxon Poem. II. the Fight at Finnsburh: A Fragment.

The earliest surviving epic in English, Beowulf composes a sweeping vision of heroism and mortality that has reverberated for over a thousand years. When the great hall Heorot is terrorized by the monster Grendel, a young Geatish warrior named Beowulf sails across the sea to aid King Hroðgar, battling the creature with nothing but his bare hands. But Grendel's death only summons something worse from the dark waters below, and Beowulf must descend into a struggle far more treacherous than the first. Decades later, as king of his own people, he faces one final test: a fiery dragon whose rampage threatens to consume everything he has built. The poem grapples with what remains when the hero falls, when glory fades, and when even the mightiest must meet the fate that awaits all mortal flesh. This is not merely an adventure story but a profound meditation on courage, loyalty, and the hunger for a name that will outlast the grave.