Beowulf
An Old English Heroic Epic of Monsters, Kingship, Loyalty, Mortality, and the Fragile Glory of Human AchievementBy Anonymous
Length5h 54m
About this audiobook
Beowulf, the great Old English heroic poem, recounts the exploits of its Geatish protagonist as he battles the monster Grendel, Grendel's vengeful mother, and, in old age, a ravaging dragon. Composed in alliterative verse and preserved in a single medieval manuscript, the poem fuses Germanic legend, aristocratic warrior ethics, and Christian moral reflection. Its richly formulaic diction, intricate episodes, elegiac tone, and sustained concern with fame, loyalty, mortality, and the instability of earthly power place it at the foundation of English literary history. The poem's movement from youthful triumph to communal loss gives its monster-slaying narrative unusual psychological and historical depth. The author is anonymous, as is typical of much early medieval heroic poetry. Beowulf emerged from an oral-formulaic tradition shaped by generations of singers, yet the surviving text reveals the organizing intelligence of a learned poet familiar with inherited legend and Christian scriptural perspectives. Its references to Danish and Swedish dynasties, feuds, gift-giving, exile, and dynastic succession suggest a culture attentive to both heroic memory and political fragility. The poem therefore preserves older Germanic materials while reframing them for a Christian Anglo-Saxon audience. Beowulf is essential reading for anyone interested in epic, mythology, medieval culture, or the origins of English literature. Readers will find not merely an adventurous monster narrative, but a profound meditation on leadership, community, memory, and the inevitability of decline. Its haunting imagery and formal power continue to reward close scholarly study as well as imaginative reading.
Audiobook details
GenrePoetry
Length5 hrs 54 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateNov 14, 2025
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Voices of Sanctity: A 40-Volume Collection
2PREFACE.
3THE STORY.
4ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE NOTES.
5BIBLIOGRAPHY OF TRANSLATIONS.
Show all chaptersShow less
6GLOSSARY OF PROPER NAMES.
7LIST OF WORDS AND PHRASES NOT IN GENERAL USE.
8I. THE LIFE AND DEATH OF SCYLD.
9II. SCYLD’S SUCCESSORS.—HROTHGAR’S GREAT MEAD-HALL.
10III. GRENDEL THE MURDERER.
11IV. BEOWULF GOES TO HROTHGAR’S ASSISTANCE.
12V. THE GEATS REACH HEOROT.
13VI. BEOWULF INTRODUCES HIMSELF AT THE PALACE.
14VII. HROTHGAR AND BEOWULF.
15VIII. HROTHGAR AND BEOWULF.—Continued.
16IX. UNFERTH TAUNTS BEOWULF.
17X. BEOWULF SILENCES UNFERTH.—GLEE IS HIGH.
18XI. ALL SLEEP SAVE ONE.
19XII. GRENDEL AND BEOWULF.
20XIII. GRENDEL IS VANQUISHED.
21XIV. REJOICING OF THE DANES.
22XV. HROTHGAR’S GRATITUDE.
23XVI. HROTHGAR LAVISHES GIFTS UPON HIS DELIVERER.
24XVII. BANQUET (continued).—THE SCOP’S SONG OF FINN AND HNÆF.
25XVIII. THE FINN EPISODE (continued).—THE BANQUET CONTINUES.
26XIX. BEOWULF RECEIVES FURTHER HONOR.
27XX. THE MOTHER OF GRENDEL.
28XXI. HROTHGAR’S ACCOUNT OF THE MONSTERS.
29XXII. BEOWULF SEEKS GRENDEL’S MOTHER.
30XXIII. BEOWULF’S FIGHT WITH GRENDEL’S MOTHER.
31XXIV. BEOWULF IS DOUBLE-CONQUEROR.
32XXV. BEOWULF BRINGS HIS TROPHIES.—HROTHGAR’S GRATITUDE.
33XXVI. HROTHGAR MORALIZES.—REST AFTER LABOR.
34XXVII. SORROW AT PARTING.
35XXVIII. THE HOMEWARD JOURNEY.—THE TWO QUEENS.
36XXIX. BEOWULF AND HIGELAC.
37XXX. BEOWULF NARRATES HIS ADVENTURES TO HIGELAC.
38XXXI. GIFT-GIVING IS MUTUAL.
39XXXII. THE HOARD AND THE DRAGON.
40XXXIII. BRAVE THOUGH AGED.—REMINISCENCES.
41XXXIV. BEOWULF SEEKS THE DRAGON.—BEOWULF’S REMINISCENCES.
42XXXV. REMINISCENCES (continued).—BEOWULF’S LAST BATTLE.
43XXXVI. WIGLAF THE TRUSTY.—BEOWULF IS DESERTED BY FRIENDS AND BY SWORD.
44XXXVII. THE FATAL STRUGGLE.—BEOWULF’S LAST MOMENTS.
45XXXVIII. WIGLAF PLUNDERS THE DRAGON’S DEN.—BEOWULF’S DEATH.
46XXXIX. THE DEAD FOES.—WIGLAF’S BITTER TAUNTS.
47XL. THE MESSENGER OF DEATH.
48XLI. THE MESSENGER’S RETROSPECT.
49XLII. WIGLAF’S SAD STORY.—THE HOARD CARRIED OFF.
50XLIII. THE BURNING OF BEOWULF.
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