<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> <P> Beowulf (/ ˈbeɪoʊwʊlf / Old English: (ˈbeːo̯ˌwulf)) is an Old English epic poem consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines . 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 . A date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars; the only certain dating pertains to the manuscript, which was produced between 975 and 1025 . The author was an anonymous Anglo - Saxon poet, referred to by scholars as the "Beowulf poet". </P> <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>

When does the only existing beowulf manuscript date