It's never been easy to be a hero. When Beowulf arrives at Hrothgar's hall, he discovers that the hall is beset by Grendel, an evil creature that kills and pillages with impunity. Beowulf, in heroic fashion, bests Grendel in combat, then follows Grendel back to his lair to finish the job.
But Beowulf couldn't have counted on meeting Grendel's mother.
And then, later, there's this dragon.
But why are you reading about it? This story was meant to be told, to be repeated aloud. Listen as J.B. Bessinger, Jr. reads Beowulf and many other Old English poems, including Caedmon's Hymn. Listen to poems about love, war, faith, and heroism from centuries past.
Contents include: Caedmon's Hymn, The Dream of the Rood, The Wanderer, The Battle of Brunan Burg, A Wife's Lament, and selections from Beowulf: lines 1-125, lines 195-225, lines 702-852, and lines 3137-3180.
Download and start listening now!
"Read this in high school and actually loved it so much that I bought it in the Old English version. "
— Bobbie (5 out of 5 stars)
“Warriors must back up their mead-hall boasts with instant action, monsters abound, and fights are always to the death.”
— Amazon.com, editorial review“How powerful the oldest, most archetypal literary works remain…The story of Beowulf, who crosses the sea to slay two monsters ravishing a neighboring kingdom and then, many years later, must vanquish a dragon to save his own people, dying as he does, enthralls as surely as ever.”
— BooklistBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547–1616), novelist, playwright, and poet, was born in Spain of an ancient but impoverished family. After studying in Madrid, he became a soldier and was wounded in battle. He was taken by pirates in 1575, put in prison at Algiers, and was ransomed five years later. He spent the remainder of his life struggling to earn a livelihood from literature and humble government employment. His first attempt at fiction was a pastoral novel, La Galatea (1585), which was followed by his masterpiece, The Adventures of Don Quixote de la Mancha (1605).