ng the Anglo-Saxon invasions (Hopper viii).
The poem fuses historical material such as the story of Hygelac with folk tales of monster fights, and the language has been given a Christian coloring that places the poem in the first half of the eighth century. Elements in Beowulf indicate that the work has been derived from an earlier oral tradition. Old English poetry is composed of a number of repeated phrases called formulas. These are characteristics of the oral tradition. Starting at line 867 in the poem, the method of composition of a poem by a Danish scop is described, and it is likely that this is the process that produced the original "Beowulf" as well long before it was written down by a scribe. A later passage, beginning at line 2105, also details the telling of stories and places a stress on the ability to remember the old stories as an important qualification for a poet (Irving 5-8).
The hero is also revered in the society of Beowulf, a poem which includes both the pagan religion of early Britain and the Christian religion which supplanted it. Beowulf takes place in the Germanic world of the eighth century or even before, a period about which we know little. It has been called the Heroic Age and produced a poetry to match. The society depicted in Beowulf is harsh and violent, and it is likely to appear to the modern reader as unattractive. This society worships the hero, and the hero is one who not only performs heroic deeds but also acquires bounty which he shares with his followers. The unknown poet indicates the scope of the work in t
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