Does Beowulf really exist?
No one really knows, the original printings of the Beowulf “manuscripts” were salvaged form early Germanic times. We are talking about a time before a writing system was in place for most the cultures present at the time. In fact it was only first put down on paper by Monks. Anyway my point is at the time when the story was first around stories were passed along in oral tradition picking up details and growing more amazing each time it was told and passed along from person to person. The story, over time eventually grew into the epic story it is now about a hero and his conquests. I don’t think anyone really knows, but based on what the practice of time was it seems likely the stories would have had some factual basis. Kind of like King Arthur in Britsh history or Hercules in Greek culture.
