https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf
It doesn't say anywhere that it is fiction. There is no "all persons fictitious" disclaimer at the beginning
How come no one ever raises the possibility that it actually recorded events that happened for real? After all, people believe far weirder accounts of the supernatural and paranormal.
We know that JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter as fiction but we don't know who wrote Beowulf so we don't know why they did it.
Beowulf is also far more plausible than the Bible or other holy books if you believe that they are not meant to be read as literal but contain metaphors. Many books and poems refer to dragons for example. Grendel has a mother so is more biologically plausible than a supernatural creature. We know that the culture depicted in Beowulf actually existed.
As far as I can tell the only reason wooists don't believe it actually happened is because unlike the Bible, someone hasn't told them this.
It doesn't say anywhere that it is fiction. There is no "all persons fictitious" disclaimer at the beginning
How come no one ever raises the possibility that it actually recorded events that happened for real? After all, people believe far weirder accounts of the supernatural and paranormal.
We know that JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter as fiction but we don't know who wrote Beowulf so we don't know why they did it.
Beowulf is also far more plausible than the Bible or other holy books if you believe that they are not meant to be read as literal but contain metaphors. Many books and poems refer to dragons for example. Grendel has a mother so is more biologically plausible than a supernatural creature. We know that the culture depicted in Beowulf actually existed.
As far as I can tell the only reason wooists don't believe it actually happened is because unlike the Bible, someone hasn't told them this.
