Beowulf was included in the nowell codex by an anonymous anglosaxon poet between the 8th and 11th century. The original author of the epic poem is unknown mainly because it started as a verbal tale passed down orally through the ages. That year, someone wrote laurence nowell and the momentous date 1563 on the first page of the codex. First page of the unique manuscript of beowulf in the british library cotton ms vitellius a xv. After his death, his attendants cremate his body and erect a tower on a headland in his memory. Laurence nowell and beowulf among the brilliant and creative minds that surrounded oxford during these early years at cecil house was englands first and most renowned modern scholar of anglo saxon aka old english laurence nowell. Wikipedia, 31 may 2018 the nowell codex is the second of two manuscripts comprising the bound volume cotton vitellius a. First page of beowulf, contained in the damaged nowell codex 2r. The reformed nowell codex and the beowulf manuscript volume 46.
The margins were damaged in the fire of 1731, with loss of a few words at the top and in the outer part of many leaves. Or is it rather a creature of nostalgia and imagination, born of the desire of a later age to create for itself a glorious past. Beowulf is the conventional title of an old english heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of anglosaxon literature. The text of the beowulf poem is preserved in a single source. One very interesting edition is the dumbarton oaks medieval library edition of the beowulf manuscript. The main division is into two totally distinct books which were apparently not bound together until the 17th century. Xv because it was one of sir robert bruce cottons holdings in the cotton library in the middle of the 17th century. Beowulf is an old english heroic epic poem of unknown authorship, dating as recorded in the nowell codex manuscript from between the 8th and the early 11th century, set in denmark and sweden. The nowell codex and the poem of beowulf, in the dating of beowulf, ed. The beowulf manuscript is in the curious position of being both heavily. In the nowell codex is the text of the wonders of the east which includes a remarkable map of the world, and other illustrations.
The full poem survives in the manuscript known as the nowell codex, located in the british library. The surviving manuscript, lovingly called cotton vitellius a. Its composition by an anonymous anglosaxon poet is dated between the 8th and the early 11th century. Beowulf follows three prose works in the nowell codex and precedes the poem. The epic tale is centered on beowulf and his actions in an adventure to repay a debt owed by his father to hrothgar, a danish king. More recent booklength studies on various aspects of the poem are helen. Or, since the nowell codex survived a fire, those missing bits of the poem may have been, appropriately, burned up. The subsequent four attempts can be found on the outside corners of the manuscript, and on the paper frames. Beowulf is a narrative meditation in traditional old english alliterative verse on the origins of violence in human affairs. Does the poem provide us with an accurate if idealized view of early germanic culture. Plot summary the main protagonist beowulf, a hero of the geats, comes to the aid of hrothgar, king of the danes, whose great hall, heorot, is plagued by the monster grendel. Museum went about systematically repairing the books damaged by the fire.
Beowulf autotypes of the unique cotton manuscript vitellius a xv in the british museum book. Chapter 4 scribe as performance the value of the nowell codex s prose texts corrections scribe as density of copying in beowulf usage of capitals minor capitals form of capitals explicits and incipits scribe a and the metre of beowulf suggestions. Beowulf is an old english epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative lines. The electronic beowulf provides a comprehensive collection of images of the entire composite codex, british library ms cotton vitellius a. Augustines soliloquies, the gospel of nicodemus, solomon and saturn, a fragment of a life of saint quentin, a life of saint christopher, wonders of the east, letter of alexander to aristotle, beowulf and judith. Codex the passion of saint christopher the wonders of the east the letter of alexander to aristotle beowulf judith reading the nowell codex in the eleventh century suggestions. The manuscript, known as the nowell codex offsite link. Beowulf free ebooks high quality pdfs adonisebooks. As a nonmonastic establishment run by bishops and secular canons, lichfield was not dissolved during the reformation and undoubtedly kept some of its books. Til that in wonders of the east, the manuscript that was found with beowulf in the nowell codex, tells tales of dragons blocking roads, cannibals and how to steal gold from giant ants. They contain charters, wills, laws, treatises on grammar, math, medicines and geography.
The nowell codex is generally dated around the turn of the first millennium. Beowulf msnowell codex british museum, cotton vitellius. Before the consolidation of sweden, they were politically independent of the swedes, and have now disappeared into legend and history. Apr 17, 2018 acknowledgements list of illustrations list of tables terms used list of abbreviations introduction chapter 1 reintroducing the texts of the nowell codex the passion of saint christopher the wonders of the east the letter of alexander to aristotle beowulf judith reading the nowell codex in the eleventh century suggestions chapter 2 reconstructing the nowell codex dating and placing. The date of beowulf, debated for almost a century, is a small question with large consequences. The official designation is british library, cotton vitellius a. It may be the oldest surviving long poem in old english and is commonly cited as one of the most important works of old english literature. Because this is the same manuscript that contains beowulf, some scholars speculate it may have been a collection of materials on exotic places and creatures. Beowulf by anonymous though its authorship is unknown, the poem was written between 925 and 1025, preserved as the nowell codex, badly damaged in a london fire which housed medieval works collected by sir robert bruce cotton, moved to the british library where it remains today. Beowulf manuscript, was written as a religious text, ancestral tribute, or political propaganda. Beowulf project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks read.
Even setting aside everything that happened to it, its impressive that the nowell codex and the copy of beowulf within survived for so long. Stanford libraries official online search tool for books, media. My awareness of the nowell codex as a communal and deliberate. Are there any beowulf editions containing both old english. The nowell codex is the second of two manuscripts found in the bound volume cotton vitellius a. The reformed nowell codex and the beowulf manuscript.
Augustines soliloquies, the gospel of nicodemus, solomon and saturn, a fragment of a life of saint quentin, a life of saint christopher, wonders of the east, letter of alexander to aristotle. A short story from the epic english poem beowulf the nowell codex unknown on. The manuscript foliation, performed sometime between 1793 and 1801, was done with two quires of the nowell codex out of order, and two folios of beowulf out of place. Finally someone wrote it down in a document now called the nowell codex. Xv because it was one of sir robert bruce cotton s holdings in the cotton library in the middle of the 17th century. After a period of fifty years has passed, beowulf defeats a dragon, but is mortally wounded in the battle. A short story from the epic english poem beowulf the nowell codex. Beowulf then entered the famous collection of sir robert cotton died 1631 who also owned the lindisfarne gospels and. Beowulf is the penultimate item in this collection, the whole of which was copied by two anglosaxon scribes, working in collaboration. See alsoedit anglosaxon literature beowulf caedmon manuscript exeter book liber monstrorum vercelli book. The nowell codex was probably written by christian scribes, men whose job during the medieval period was to copy older versions of books there are connections between the story and judeochristian stories, such as the mention in the poem that grendel and. His bookbinder first traced the outline of each burnt leaf, cut out the center of the.
The manuscript book before 1100 a companion to the history of the book eds. Nov 28, 2017 beowulf is the conventional title of an old english heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of anglosaxon literature. The nowell codex and the poem of beowulf dating ed. The old english poem is one of many retellings of the holofernesjudith tale as it was found in the book of judith, still present in. The first folio of the nowell codex, and of the fragmentary st. The nowell codex is the second of two manuscripts comprising the bound volume cotton ms vitellius a xv, one of the four major anglosaxon poetic manuscripts. The synthesis of anglosaxon and christian traditions in. The beowulf manuscript is known as the nowell codex, gaining its name from 16thcentury scholar laurence nowell. The first extends from the beginning of the manuscript fol. While the volume itself survived, the edges of the pages were badly scorched. Grendel is the demon from hell that a character long ago, known as beowulf, slays to save townspeople and their king.
The damage to the beginning and end of the codex suggests that a reformer, deeming them unsuitable on religious grounds, excised the surviving texts from their original contexts. Also contained in nowell is alexanders letter to aristotle. The cain and abel stuff, thats all glommed on to pass muster by the time of the nowell codex in the 800s or 900s. It would be incredible to be able to go see the thing in person, but living on the. Beowulf project the manuscript mcmaster university. A date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars. Beowulf exists in only one manuscript version, officially referred to as british library, cotton vitellius a. The nowell codex is the second of two manuscripts comprising the bound volume cotton ms. If the nowell codex did not contain beowulf, kers dating up to 1025. A short story from the epic english poem beowulf the nowell codex author. Beowulf free full audiobook online listen authors unknown language west saxon dialect of old english date c. It is now known as the nowell codex after the sixteenthcentury antiquarian laurence nowell, who wrote his name and the year 1563 at the head of the manuscript formally titled cotton vitellius a. The poem appears in what is today called the beowulf manuscript or nowell codex british library ms cotton vitellius a.
A short story from the epic english poem beowulf the nowell codex book book details. However, the manuscript was not destroyed in this fire and is currently housed in the british library. In addition to this, it contains first a fragment of the life of saint christopher, then the more complete texts wonders. In addition to this, it contains first a fragment of. Beowulf autotypes of the unique cotton manuscript vitellius. Recent editions have specified a probable date in the decade after. May 23, 2017 the full poem only survives in one manuscript known as the nowell codex. The earliest known owner of the manuscript is an early anglosaxon scholar known as laurence nowell, dean of lichfield.
Victorious, beowulf goes home to sweden, and becomes king of a sect of seafaring goths, called geats. Apr 05, 2014 beowulf is old english tale set in scandinavian. The nowell codex is currently housed in the british library. The reformed nowell codex and the beowulf manuscript anglo. There is one manuscript in which beowulf has survived to the present day. Four of the collections contain poetry of a very high order, the nowell codex being one of them.
First page of beowulf contained in the damaged nowell codex public domain the date. Choose from 500 different sets of judith flashcards on quizlet. The manuscript was badly damaged in a fire at ashburnham house in london in 1731. Simon thomsons book is major event in the study of the beowulfmanuscript, the name usually given to the nowell codex, now comprising five old english prose we use cookies to enhance your experience on our website. Communal creativity in the making of the beowulf manuscript. Chapter 2 reconstructing the nowell codex dating and placing the scribes of the nowell codex. It survives in a single manuscript known as the nowell codex. Sep 14, 2016 beowulf free full audiobook online listen authors unknown language west saxon dialect of old english date c.
If we cannot decide when, between the 5th and 11th centuries, the poem was composed. Acknowledgements list of illustrations list of tables terms used list of abbreviations introduction chapter 1 reintroducing the texts of the nowell codex the passion of saint christopher the wonders of the east the letter of alexander to aristotle beowulf judith reading the nowell codex in the eleventh century suggestions chapter 2 reconstructing the nowell codex dating and placing. Til that in wonders of the east, the manuscript that was. The full poem survives in the manuscript known as the nowell codex. When was the oldest surviving manuscript of beowulf. First page of beowulf, contained in the damaged nowell codex. The beowulf codex mystery the new beowulf film is only possible due to the amazing and mysterious survival of a single copy of the original codex. We only see it through the light of some antiquarian monks, as tolkien put it. It is found in the same manuscript as the heroic poem beowulf, the nowell codex london, british library, cotton ms vitellius a.
Simon thomsons book is major event in the study of the beowulfmanuscript, the name usually given to the nowell codex, now comprising five old english prose and verse texts, the passion of saint christopher missing its opening, wonders of the east illustrated, alexanders letter to aristotle, beowulf and judith also missing its opening. In 1731, the manuscript was badly damaged by a fire that swept through the building which housed a collection of medieval manuscripts that had been assembled by sir robert bruce cotton. The complete book, free the tale of beowulf sometime king of the folk of the weder geats translated by william morris and a. Nowell codex studying beowulf electronic beowulf fourth. The firstrecorded owner of beowulf is laurence nowell died c. Its an unbelievably old epic poem with no known author, and no one really knows how it survived except for in a single manuscript known as the nowell codex. Aug 28, 2012 the complete book, free the tale of beowulf sometime king of the folk of the weder geats translated by william morris and a. In 1563, laurence nowell, dean of lichfield cathedral, subscribed the thirtynine articles of religion, the main tenets of the anglican church. It is most famous as the manuscript containing the unique copy of the epic poem beowulf.