Beowulf - Performed in Old English

The sole surviving manuscript of Britain’s national epic, about a Dark Ages hero, is now maintained at the British Library. See a section of Beowulf, performed in its original language, as a modern scop (Benjamin Bagby) recreates how Anglo-Saxons would have heard the story.

Credits

Clip from Benjamin Bagby’s performance of Beowulf.

British DVD Collection provides the following information about this video:

One of Europe's greatest epics - the story of King Hrothgar, the monster Grendel and the hero Beowulf - has been passed down in written form for hundreds of generations. In this remarkable one-man tour de force, Benjamin Bagby (co-founder and director of the Sequentia ensemble for medieval music), accompanying himself on an Anglo-Saxon harp, delivers this gripping tale - in the original Old English - as it could have been experienced more than 1000 years ago.

Bagby has been performing the great epic, Beowulf, at major festivals and venues around the world since 1990. Now we have his remarkable performance on DVD, beautifully filmed by award-winning Swedish director Stellan Olsson.