<P> The poem is set in Scandinavia . Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall in Heorot has been under attack by a monster known as Grendel . After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated . Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland (Götaland in modern Sweden) and later becomes king of the Geats . After a period of fifty years has passed, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is mortally wounded in the battle . After his death, his attendants cremate his body and erect a tower on a headland in his memory . </P> <P> The full poem survives in the manuscript known as the Nowell Codex . It has no title in the original manuscript, but has become known by the name of the story's protagonist . In 1731, the manuscript was badly damaged by a fire that swept through Ashburnham House in London that had a collection of medieval manuscripts assembled by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton . The Nowell Codex is currently housed in the British Library . </P> <P> The events in the poem take place over most of the sixth century, after the Anglo - Saxons had started their journey to England and before the beginning of the seventh century, a time when the Anglo - Saxons were either newly arrived or were still in close contact with their Germanic kinsmen in Northern Germany . The poem may have been brought to England by people of Geatish origins . Many suggest that Beowulf was first composed in the 7th century at Rendlesham in East Anglia, that the Sutton Hoo ship - burial also shows close connections with Scandinavia, and that the East Anglian royal dynasty, the Wuffingas, may have been descendants of the Geatish Wulfings . Others have associated this poem with the court of King Alfred the Great or with the court of King Cnut the Great . </P> <P> The poem deals with legends, was composed for entertainment, and does not separate between fictional elements and real historic events, such as the raid by King Hygelac into Frisia . Though Beowulf himself is not mentioned in any other Anglo - Saxon manuscript, scholars generally agree that many of the other personalities of Beowulf also appear in Scandinavian sources . (Specific works are designated in the following section). This does not only concern people (e.g., Healfdene, Hroðgar, Halga, Hroðulf, Eadgils and Ohthere), but also clans (e.g., Scyldings, Scylfings and Wulfings) and some of the events (e.g., the Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern). The dating of the events in the poem has been confirmed by archaeological excavations of the barrows indicated by Snorri Sturluson and by Swedish tradition as the graves of Ohthere (dated to c. 530) and his son Eadgils (dated to c. 575) in Uppland, Sweden . </P>

When did the action of beowulf take place