<Table> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Beowulf </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> First page of Beowulf in Cotton Vitellius A. xv </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Author (s) </Th> <Td> Unknown </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Language </Th> <Td> West Saxon dialect of Old English </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Date </Th> <Td> c. 700--1000 AD (date of poem), c. 975--1010 AD (date of manuscript) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> State of existence </Th> <Td> Manuscript suffered damage from fire in 1731 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Manuscript (s) </Th> <Td> Cotton Vitellius A. xv </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> First printed edition </Th> <Td> Thorkelin (1815) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Genre </Th> <Td> Epic heroic poetry </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Verse form </Th> <Td> Alliterative verse </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Length </Th> <Td> c. 3182 lines </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Subject </Th> <Td> The battles of Beowulf, the Geatish hero, in youth and old age </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Personages </Th> <Td> Beowulf, Hygelac, Hrothgar, Wealhþeow, Hrothulf, Æschere, Unferth, Grendel, Grendel's mother, Wiglaf, Hildeburh . </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Beowulf </Th> </Tr>

When was the oldest surviving manuscript of beowulf written