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Images from the only known medieval manuscript of the epic saga of 'Beowulf', the most important surviving work of Anglo-Saxon poetry. The manuscript dates from the early 11th century, two generations before the Norman Conquest - though the poem itself is probably even older. Written in Old English, it tells of a thrilling struggle between the hero, Beowulf, and a bloodthirsty monster called Grendel.

Anglo-Saxon poems translated and read out loud by folks like Seamus Heaney and Billy Collins.

Fun for students learning about Anglo-Saxons, Old English, or the history of English.

The English language, which arose from humble Anglo-Saxon roots to become the lingua franca of 600 million people worldwide and the dominant lexicon of international discourse, is dead. It succumbed last month at the age of 1,617 after a long illness. It is survived by an ignominiously diminished form of itself.