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First published in Great Britain by The Bodley Head, 1961
This ebook updated 2016

Text copyright © Anthony Lawton, 1961
Illustrations by Charles Keeping
Illustrations copyright © The Bodley Head, 1961
Cover illustration copyright © Tom Duxbury, 2016

The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted

A CIP catalogue record for the print edition is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978–1–446–40461–4

All correspondence to:
RHCP Digital
Penguin Random House Children’s
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL

Interesting Facts

Rosemary Sutcliff is best known for her novel The Eagle of the Ninth, a historical novel about the Romans in Britain.

Rosemary suffered from juvenile arthritis, which led to many stays in hospital, and so she was educated at home by her mother who introduced her to Celtic and Saxon legends, as well as Icelandic sagas, fairy tales and the work of Rudyard Kipling.

In her lifetime, Rosemary wrote more than sixty children’s books, historical novels, stories, radio and TV scripts.

Charles Keeping was born in 1924 to a poor but close south-east London family. As a child he was encouraged to draw and write stories with his older sister, to keep them both off the streets and away from bad influences. He illustrated numerous books by Rosemary Sutcliff, classics for the Folio Society and many of his own titles. He won the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1967 and 1981. He died in 1988.

Where Did the Story Come From?

Rosemary had always had a fascination for ancient myths and stories. Not long after the end of the war, Rosemary wrote a retelling of Celtic and Saxon legends that she showed to an old friend. He sent the manuscript to Oxford University Press (OUP), but unfortunately they rejected it. However, in 1950 OUP gave Rosemary her first commission to write a children’s version of the Robin Hood legends, and after that Rosemary went on to become an established writer of historical fiction for both adults and children.

Guess Who?

A  A small man with his hands on his knees, and his long-sighted seaman’s gaze coming and going about the smoky hall.

B  The Man-Wolf, the Death-Shadow, who has his lair among the sea inlets and the coastal marshes.

C  A young man, fair-headed and grey-eyed as most of his fellows were, but taller than they by half a head, and with strength that could outwrestle the great Northern bear showing in the quiet muscles of his neck and shoulders.

D  The lines on his face were bitten deep as sword-cuts by years of grief, and the beard that jutted over the broad goldwork collar at his throat was grey as a badger’s pelt.

E  Her fangs sharp behind her snarling lips, and her eyes shone with balefire amid the tangle of her hair.

ANSWERS:

A) Hygelac

B) Grendel

C) Beowulf

D) Hrothgar

E) Grendel’s mother

Words Glorious Words!

Here are some words and meanings from the story. You can also look them up in the dictionary or online for fuller explanations!

Quiz

1 Why does Beowulf want to help Hrothgar?

a) He thinks that he is a weak man who cannot defend his people

b) Hrothgar helped Beowulf and his family in the past

c) He owes him money and feels guilty

d) Hrothgar is married to Beowulf’s sister, Thora

2 What does Beowulf say when he is refusing a suggestion that someone has made?

a) Na, na

b) No

c) No, indeed not

d) For the last time, NO

3 Why does Hunferth taunt Beowulf?

a) He thinks that Beowulf is dishonourable

b) He hated Beowulf’s family

c) He is the jester and wants to make everyone laugh

d) He wants to be the finest man in the hall

4 What is ‘Hrunting’?

a) A sharp spear

b) A deadly poison

c) A magic stick

d) A powerful sword

5 What is the third monster that Beowulf defeats?

a) Grendel

b) A dragon

c) Grendel’s mother

d) A sea-beast

ANSWERS:

1) b

2) a

3) d

4) d

5) b

Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space.

The farthing coin, used since the thirteenth century, ceases to be legal tender in the United Kingdom.

101 Dalmatians, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and West Side Story are released.

The American president Barack Obama and actor George Clooney are born.

The Beatles perform at the Cavern Club in Liverpool for the first time.

Make and Do

Draw your own Beowulf!

1 Choose a particular passage from the book you think describes Beowulf best. Will you draw him old or young? Resting or fighting?

2 First draw an outline of Beowulf’s body. If you have a large piece of paper, make this really big so you can add lots of detail later on.

3 Then decide what amour he should wear, and what weapons he should be holding.

4 Make sure he has a suitable facial expression. Remember Beowulf is a warrior!

5 Next give him a suitable warrior’s helmet. Really use your imagination for this bit.

6 Finally, use your colouring pencils to colour in your drawing.

7 Alternatively you could use an electronic device such as an iPad or tablet to create your drawing of Beowulf!

Did You Know?

Rosemary Sutcliff uses many words from Old English in Beowulf: Dragonslayer such as ‘balefire’ which means ‘great fire’.

Beowulf is the longest and greatest surviving Anglo-Saxon poem.

Nobody knows who composed the original Beowulf poem so the author is referred to as The Beowulf Poet.

The original medieval manuscript of Beowulf is housed at the British Library in London. The manuscript doesn’t have a date, but scholars believe it was written down in the early eleventh century, which makes the manuscript about a thousand years old!

Puffin Writing Tip

Try writing your story from the perspective of the villain. It will be harder than writing as a hero like Beowulf, but once you understand why your baddie is causing chaos you may find it easier to write your heroes!

If you have enjoyed Beowulf, you may like to read The Sword and the Circle by Rosemary Sutcliff in which the young Arthur Pendragon is hailed High King of Britain.