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c.1000 - Anglo-Saxon text of the poem written down, very likely copied from an earlier manuscript.
1563 - Lawrence Nowell acquires the only copy of the poem, incorporating into the Nowell Codex.
1705 - Humfrey Wanley first catalogues and describes the poem, transcribing lines 1-19 & 53-73.
1731 - Fire damages the only existing manuscript.
1787 - Grímur Jónsson Thorkelin commissions the first transcript, probably carried out by James
1807 - Sharon Turner translates and prints forty-one lines of the poem (very inaccurately).
1815 - Thorkelin publishes the 1st full edition of the poem, with Latin translation, introduction, and
1820 - N.S.F. Grundtvig produces the first translation of the poem into a modern language, the Danish
1826 - Conybeare, Illustrations of Anglo-Saxon Poetry, based on his 1817 collation, contains eighteen
1830 - Benjamin Thorpe makes his own collation of Thorkelin with the manuscript (published 1855).
1833 - John M. Kemble produces the first modern, scholarly English translation of the poem.
1845 - Restoration binding both preserves and conceals the damaged edges of the manuscript.
1850 - Ludwig Ettmüller edits several passages, proposing numerous emendations to Kemble’s text.
1855 - Benjamin Thorpe publishes an edition based on his 1830 collation.
1857 - C.W.M. Grein publishes a conservative text, the first based on modern scholarly principles.
1861 - Gruntvig publishes a conservative edition based on his own collation and the Thorkelin transcripts.
1876 - E. Kölbing proposes over twenty pages of corrections to the existing editions; most are adopted.
1879 - Mortiz Heyne’s 4th edition text employs Kölbing’s collation with the manuscript.
1881 - Alfred Holder publishes the first diplomatic edition.
1882 - Julius Zupitza publishes a photographic facsimile including a transcription collated with Thorkelin.
1894 - A.J. Wyatt publishes an edition that Chambers will utilize in his 1914 conservative edition.
1904 - Moritz Trautmann produces a radical edition employing extreme conjectural editing.
1905 - Ferdinand Holthausen’s edition employs a middle course between radical and conservative.
1910 - B.F. Gummere’s modern English translation becomes a standard edition for collegiate study.
1910 - Walter Sedgefields employs a collation of the manuscript with a heavily emended text.
1914 - R.W. Chambers revises A.J. Wyatt’s 1894 edition, collated with the manuscript.
1933 - R.W. Chambers, Beowulf: An Introduction, provides extensive analysis and notations.
1936 - Professor J.R.R. Tolkien delivers a critical lecture which rekindles academic and artistic debate.
1938 - A.H. Smith employs new photographic technology to transcribe the badly damaged last page.
1939 - Discovery of the Sutton-Hoo ship tomb provides archaeological support for the poem.
1941 - Frederick Klaeber, Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg is the latest revision of his edition.
1951 - Kemp Malone publishes a facsimile edition of Thorkelin’s transcripts.
1959 - Chambers’ 3rd edition includes an extensive supplement by C.L. Wrenn.
1963 - Kemp Malone, The Nowell Codex, facsimile edition of the manuscript.
1999 - Kevin Kiernan releases the Electronic Beowulf, a computer edition comprising hi-resolution
1563 - Lawrence Nowell acquires the only copy of the poem, incorporating into the Nowell Codex.
1705 - Humfrey Wanley first catalogues and describes the poem, transcribing lines 1-19 & 53-73.
1731 - Fire damages the only existing manuscript.
1787 - Grímur Jónsson Thorkelin commissions the first transcript, probably carried out by James
- Matthews of the British Museum, now known as Thorkelin A.
1807 - Sharon Turner translates and prints forty-one lines of the poem (very inaccurately).
1815 - Thorkelin publishes the 1st full edition of the poem, with Latin translation, introduction, and
- indices. Both text and translation are inaccurate. Grundtvig lists numerous errors in his review.
1820 - N.S.F. Grundtvig produces the first translation of the poem into a modern language, the Danish
- ballad-metre, appending to it forty-five pages of corrections to Thorkelin’s edition.
1826 - Conybeare, Illustrations of Anglo-Saxon Poetry, based on his 1817 collation, contains eighteen
- pages of corrections to Thorkelin.
1830 - Benjamin Thorpe makes his own collation of Thorkelin with the manuscript (published 1855).
1833 - John M. Kemble produces the first modern, scholarly English translation of the poem.
1845 - Restoration binding both preserves and conceals the damaged edges of the manuscript.
1850 - Ludwig Ettmüller edits several passages, proposing numerous emendations to Kemble’s text.
1855 - Benjamin Thorpe publishes an edition based on his 1830 collation.
1857 - C.W.M. Grein publishes a conservative text, the first based on modern scholarly principles.
1861 - Gruntvig publishes a conservative edition based on his own collation and the Thorkelin transcripts.
1876 - E. Kölbing proposes over twenty pages of corrections to the existing editions; most are adopted.
1879 - Mortiz Heyne’s 4th edition text employs Kölbing’s collation with the manuscript.
1881 - Alfred Holder publishes the first diplomatic edition.
1882 - Julius Zupitza publishes a photographic facsimile including a transcription collated with Thorkelin.
1894 - A.J. Wyatt publishes an edition that Chambers will utilize in his 1914 conservative edition.
1904 - Moritz Trautmann produces a radical edition employing extreme conjectural editing.
1905 - Ferdinand Holthausen’s edition employs a middle course between radical and conservative.
1910 - B.F. Gummere’s modern English translation becomes a standard edition for collegiate study.
1910 - Walter Sedgefields employs a collation of the manuscript with a heavily emended text.
1914 - R.W. Chambers revises A.J. Wyatt’s 1894 edition, collated with the manuscript.
- This edition marks the ascendancy of ultra-conservative over conjectural editing.
1933 - R.W. Chambers, Beowulf: An Introduction, provides extensive analysis and notations.
1936 - Professor J.R.R. Tolkien delivers a critical lecture which rekindles academic and artistic debate.
1938 - A.H. Smith employs new photographic technology to transcribe the badly damaged last page.
1939 - Discovery of the Sutton-Hoo ship tomb provides archaeological support for the poem.
1941 - Frederick Klaeber, Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg is the latest revision of his edition.
1951 - Kemp Malone publishes a facsimile edition of Thorkelin’s transcripts.
1959 - Chambers’ 3rd edition includes an extensive supplement by C.L. Wrenn.
1963 - Kemp Malone, The Nowell Codex, facsimile edition of the manuscript.
1999 - Kevin Kiernan releases the Electronic Beowulf, a computer edition comprising hi-resolution
- manuscript scans along with transcriptions and facsimiles of Thorkelin, Conybeare and Madden.
| "The Saga of Beowulf" by R. Scot Johns |
| "The Complete Study Guide To Beowulf" by R. Scot Johns |
| “ The Complete Study Guide to Beowulf ” |
| BEOWULF MANUSCRIPT HISTORY |
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