The epic poem Beowulf has enthralled readers for centuries with its tale of adventure, heroism, and glory in combat. The court of Hrothgar, good king of the Danes, has fallen under attack from the vile giant Grendel. Beowulf, a young hero of the Geats, comes with his band of dauntless warriors to aid the king and prove his might in combat and skill as a leader before ascending the throne of his own land.

Believed by scholars to have been composed sometime between A.D. 700 and 1000 by an unknown author, Beowulf stands today as the great literary masterpiece of the Anglo-Saxon language, also known as Old English. The epic is presented here in the popular Modern English verse translation by Francis Barton Gummere.