Beowulf Timelines

Timelines of Beowulf's life, estimated dates of historical events in the epic poem that bears his name, and the discovery of the manuscript that made him famous

Timeline of Beowulf's Life

That Beowulf is a fictitious character is doubted by none, particularly considering his acts of killing monsters and dragons. He was part of the heroic legends of old.

However, just because Beowulf, as we know him in legend, is a fictitious character, it does not mean that there is no possibility his character was based on a real person. However, we are left in the dark who that person might be and when he lived.

Here, we are estimating the major events in the life of Beowulf as told in the epic Anglo-Saxon poem named for him. The dates below are estimates that are based on one major event: the burning of Heorot Hall.

Using JR Tolkien's estimates (he being the most famous of all the Beowulfian scholars) as well as the 515 A.D. dating for the burning of Hearot Hall, we can give the following approximations on the life of Beowulf:

• 495 A.D. - Birth
• 502 - Fostered by his maternal grandfather
• 510 - Battle of Ravenswood, Coronation of King Hygelac (Beowulf's uncle)
• 514 - Fight with Grendel and his mother
• 515 - Burning of Hearot Hall of the Danes
• 521 - Death of King Hygelac and Coronation of Heardred (Beowulf's young cousin)
• 533 - Death of Heardred, Coronation of Beowulf
• 583 - Dragon Duel and Death of Beowulf

The bolded dates are the major events in the Beowulf folktale. This is the part of the story that is most famous - as well as most ficitious.

The other events in the tale may be harder to follow, but have greater significance. Indeed most are historical or at least based on history. But due to the back-and-forth manner in which the narrative unfolds, and the fact that such historic events have been dropped from grade-school history book, this part of the story is harder to follow.

Timeline of Historic Events in the Beowulf Epic Poem

While Beowulf, the character, is considered fictitious, many of the events in the story are recorded in history. However, even some of the "historical events" in the story which are recorded but medieval historians can be difficult to differentiate between history, legend, and folktale, for the historians themselves appear to be repeating oral traditions.

What we do know, however, is that the unknown author of the famous Beowulf poem used other sources in the creation of this narrative. For this timeline, we accept all events as historical even though information is scarce.

Moreover, a few events that are not specifically listed in the poem, but impact it's overall history, are included in this timeline with an asterisk.

Historical Events in Beowulf Timeline

Dates are Estimates

• 125 A.D. - Heremond - Legendary Danish King, deposed
• 160 - Sigemond - Heroic dragon slayer, family murder
• 410 - Roman withdrawal from British Isles (arrived in 43 A.D.)*
• 448 - Death of Finn in battle between Frisians, Danes, Jutes
• 449 - Hengst migrates to British Isles, founder of Kent
• 459 - Large scale migration of Anglos, Saxons, and a few other Germanic tribes to Britain*
• 459 to 1066 Anglo Saxon Era of the British Isles
• 475 - Offa I, Prince of Angln on Jute Peninsula (modern Denmark)
• 495 - Birth of Beowulf (estimate based on 515)
• 510 to 535 Battles between Geats and Swedes (see timeline above of Beowulf's life), starts with Ravenswood
• 514 - Beowulf kills Grendel
• 514 - Ingeld of the Heathobards marries Danish Princess Freawaru
• 515 - Hearot Hall of the Danes is Burnt
• 525 - Hrothulf, grandson of Helfdene, kills Hrethric son of Hrothgar, his cousin
• 545 - Hrothulf is killed by Heoroweard, his cousin*
• 583 - Death of Beowulf
• 600 - Christianity brought to British Isles by Augustine of Cantebury*
• 757 - Offa II becomes king of Mercia (modern England)
• 793 to 1066 Era of Viking Raids*
• 1066 - Norman Conquest of England from France, end of Anglo-Saxon era, beginning of United Kingdom

When was Beowulf Written?

In addition to the timeline of Beowulf's life and the events in his story, two other timelines are of interest to Beowulfian fans:

1. When the story was written
2. The history of the manuscript (and how the story came to us.)

Well if the two preceeding timelines were estimates, the dating of the story is even more vague.

Firsts, we can't tell for certain, because the first known manuscript was penned about 1000 A.D. Though not universally accepted by all scholars, it is widely assumed that this manuscript was copied and recopied from previous manuscripts.

That leads us to the question of when the first version of this story was written. Answer: No one knows for sure; but there are good theories. (See picture above.)

However, and here's the real kicker, even if we could tell exactly when this story was first written, it does not tell us when it was first told.

In the unit study, students dig into different theories and speculations. For instance, there are tales of another character similar to Beowulf readers can investigate.

So to rehash the dilemma:

• The only known written copy of Beowulf is one thousand years old.
• The first (unknown) written copy has been theorized to be written between 600 A.D. to 1000 A.D.
• The oral story from which Beowulf may have originated is virtually impossible to determine, though fun to theorize.

Timeline of the Beowulf Manuscript

Here's a brief history of the only extant manuscript. See History of the Beowulf Manuscript for more detailed information.

• est. 1000 A.D. - Two different scribes transcribed the poem onto parchment
• est. 1500 - The Beowulf poem and 8 other texts were combined into one codex (Medieval book)
• est. 1600 (before 1631) Sir Robert Cotton adds the codex to his library of old documents. When his collection is later cataloged, the codex is named: "Cotton Vitellius AXV." (see other page linked above)
• 1700 - Humphrey Wanley, a librarian and expert on Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, reads the Beowulf poem. (Perhaps for the first time in 700 years!) He is intrigued.
• Oct 23, 1731 - Fire destroyed many documents in the collection. Cotton Vitellius AXV is thrown out the window. The Beowulf poem is damaged.
• 1753 - Transferred to the British Museum - where it remains to this day.

This timeline of the Beowulf manuscript is the short version of a dramatic tale of history and legend. Indeed, the manuscript itself has its own history and legend.

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