<P> The claim to an early 11th - century date depends in part on scholars who argue that, rather than the transcription of a tale from the oral tradition by an earlier literate monk, Beowulf reflects an original interpretation of an earlier version of the story by the manuscript's two scribes . On the other hand, some scholars argue that linguistic, paleographical, metrical, and onomastic considerations align to support a date of composition in the first half of the eighth century; in particular, the poem's regular observation of etymological length distinctions (Max Kaluza's law) has been thought to demonstrate a date of composition in the first half of the eighth century . However, scholars disagree about whether the metrical phenomena described by Kaluza's Law prove an early date of composition or are evidence of a longer prehistory of the Beowulf meter; B.R. Hutcheson, for instance, does not believe Kaluza's Law can be used to date the poem, while claiming that "the weight of all the evidence Fulk presents in his book tells strongly in favor of an eighth - century date ." </P> <P> Beowulf survives in a single manuscript dated on paleographical grounds to the late 10th or early 11th century . The manuscript measures 245 × 185 mm . </P> <P> The poem is known only from a single manuscript, which is estimated to date from close to AD 1000, in which it appears with other works . The Beowulf manuscript is known as the Nowell Codex, gaining its name from 16th - century scholar Laurence Nowell . The official designation is "British Library, Cotton Vitellius A. XV" because it was one of Sir Robert Bruce Cotton's holdings in the Cotton library in the middle of the 17th century . Many private antiquarians and book collectors, such as Sir Robert Cotton, used their own library classification systems . "Cotton Vitellius A. XV" translates as: the 15th book from the left on shelf A (the top shelf) of the bookcase with the bust of Roman Emperor Vitellius standing on top of it, in Cotton's collection . Kevin Kiernan argues that Nowell most likely acquired it through William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, in 1563, when Nowell entered Cecil's household as a tutor to his ward, Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford . </P> <P> The earliest extant reference to the first foliation of the Nowell Codex was made sometime between 1628 and 1650 by Franciscus Junius (the younger). The ownership of the codex before Nowell remains a mystery . </P>

How did this part of the epic poem beowulf ended