List of artistic depictions of Beowulf

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Beowulf is an Old English heroic epic poem of anonymous authorship. Its creation dates to between the 8th and the 11th century, the only surviving manuscript dating to circa 1010. At 3182 lines, it is notable for its length. It has risen to national epic status in England.

Beowulf has been adapted a number of times in cinema, on the stage, and in books.

Cinema and television adaptations and references

• 1981: Grendel Grendel Grendel
• 1993: Mighty Max: In the episode "The Maxnificent Seven", Max, along with Virgil and Norman recruit Beowulf, as well as three other great warriors in order to assist them in a battle against Skullmaster.
• 1995: Star Trek: Voyager: In the episode "Heroes and Demons", Ensign Harry Kim runs a holographic version of the Beowulf poem in which he plays the central character. Most of the episode takes place inside this Beowulf holonovel.
• 1998: Animated Epics: Beowulf
• 1999: Beowulf, a science-fiction/fantasy film starring Christopher Lambert.
• 1999: The 13th Warrior, action movie directed by John McTiernan mixing Beowulf with the travels of Ibn Fadlan; this is a film based on Crichton's Eaters of the Dead (see below).
• 2000: Xena: Warrior Princess: In the sixth season episodes "The Rheingold" and "The Ring", Xena joins forces with Beowulf for a retelling of the classic tale.
• 2005: Beowulf & Grendel, starring Gerard Butler and directed by the Icelandic-Canadian Sturla Gunnarsson.
• 2007: Grendel, a made-for television movie on the Sci Fi Channel (United States).
• 2007: Beowulf, a DVD release of a performance of Beowulf by Benjamin Bagby in the original Old English
• 2007: Beowulf, a computer animated film directed by Robert Zemeckis and created through motion capture, a technique similar to that used by Zemeckis in The Polar Express. The manuscript was written by Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman. It deviates significantly from the original poem, most notably by making the dragon fought in the finale the offspring of Beowulf and Grendel's mother, whom he did not slay.
• 2007: Beowulf: Prince of the Geats
• 2008: Outlander, a science fiction film starring James Caviezel.
• 2016: Beowulf (TV series), an ITV adaptation - starring Kieran Bew as Beowulf.

Literature

Novels

• Eaters of the Dead: The Beowulf story, in combination with a fictionalized 10th century Arabic narrative of Ahmad ibn Fadlan created by the author Michael Crichton, was used as the basis for this novel. This story is portrayed in the movie The 13th Warrior.
• Grendel: The Beowulf story is retold from Grendel's point of view in this (1971) novel by John Gardner.
• The Ring-givers: a novel by W. H. Canaway (1958). It is historical novel based closely on the poem.
• Whose Song is Sung: A 1996 novel by Frank Schaefer. The narrative is told from the point of view of a dwarf named Musuclus, who becomes an advisor to Emperor Heraclius in the last days of the Roman Empire. Eventually, he makes his way north and becomes a traveling companion to Beowulf.
• Neil Gaiman: The Monarch of the Glen: a novella published in his anthology Fragile Things involves "modernized Beowulf characters."; Bay Wolf: a poem which retells the Beowulf story and appears in Smoke and Mirrors.
• As a tie-in with the 2007 film, a novelization of the film was published in September of that year and written by Caitlin R. Kiernan.
• The Heorot series: science-fiction novels, by Steven Barnes, Jerry Pournelle, and Larry Niven, is named after the stronghold of King Hrothgar and partly parallels Beowulf.
• Beowulf, a 2013 novelization by Michael Morpurgo.

Graphic novels

M J Weller's Beowulf Cartoon, (Writers Forum/Visual Associations, 2004)

• Beowulf by Gareth Hinds, Published by TheComic.com (2000) and Candlewick Press (2007). A faithful adaptation with historically-detailed, fully painted illustrations.
• Beowulf: The Graphic Novel by Stephen L. Stern and Christopher Steininger will be released by AAM/Markosia in October, 2007.
• Beowulf Cartoon: Bookwork by Michael J. Weller with introduction by Bill Griffiths.
• Kid Beowulf (Spring 2008) by Alexis E. Fajardo. A series of eight graphic novels, that depict the characters of Beowulf in the years leading up to the epic poem. Published by Bowler Hat Comics
• Biowulf by David Hutchinson. "A cyberpunk adaptation of the classic tale of Beowulf." Published by Antarctic Press in 2007.

Music

• Grendel: A song by Marillion is the B side to their first single, "Market Square Heroes" (1982). The recorded version of the song is 17:40 long, while the live versions regularly ran to over 20 minutes.
• The Lament for Beowulf: (1925), op. 25, by American composer Howard Hanson (1896–1981). Large-scale work for chorus and orchestra. Translation by W. Morris and A. Wyatt.
• Beowulf: Scyld's Burial (2009), by composer Ezequiel Viñao. For SATB and percussion quartet. Translation by E. Viñao.
• Beowulf: (2010) by historyteachers Set to 99 Luftballoons by Nena
• Beowulf: A Suite for Ancient Instruments (2000) by American composer John Craton (b. 1953). A multi-movement work depicting the life and exploits of Beowulf, scored for ancient instruments. The composer also created a version for modern orchestra in 2005.
• "Hey Beowulf": A comedic rendition of the tale, performed at Peninsula High in 2007. It was written and performed by Barry Kramer, Alex Brown, Mickey Simon and Jon Jafari.

David Woodard appears as both Beowulf and Grendel in the stage production Exploding Beowulf (Berlin, 2010)

Opera and theatre

• 2016: Beowulf. An adapation for chamber opera. Libretto and music by Hannah Lash. Commissioned by Guerilla Opera and premiered in May 2016.
• 2016: Beowulf: A Metal Opera, a heavy metal opera written and recorded by Colorado Heavy Metal Artist Trevor Lane
• 2010: Exploding Beowulf, a musical stage drama by Momus and David Woodard. Text by Woodard and Momus, music by Momus.
• 2008: Beowulf - A Thousand Years of Baggage: a SongPlay by Banana Bag & Bodice. Text by Jason Craig, Music by Dave Malloy
• 2007: Beowulf: The Heart Off Guard Theatre Company produced a musical adaptation for children of the Beowulf story at the Edinburgh Fringe. Directed by Guy Jones with a score by Michael Betteridge.
• 2006: Grendel: an opera composed by Elliot Goldenthal, directed by Julie Taymor, and commissioned by Los Angeles Opera; it was given its world premiere at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on June 8, 2006, with bass Eric Owens starring in the title role.
• 2005: Beowulf: rock opera composed by Lenny Picket, lyrics by Lenny Pickett and Lindsey Turner, produced October–November 2005 by the Irish Repertory Theatre, directed by Charlotte Moore
• 1993. Beowulf, op. 17, chamber opera (or dramatic cantata) in one act for a chorus of young voices, light soprano, light tenor and baritone soli, by Richard Lambert.
• 1984: Beowulf: adapted for live performance by the founding members of Theatre in the Ground.
• 1974: Beowulf: A Musical Epic: a rock opera by Victor Davies (music) and Betty Jane Wylie (libretto), with Chad Allen as Beowulf.

Popular culture

Comics

• Stephen Notley's weekly strip Bob the Angry Flower ran a 10-part series entitled Rothgar. Bob attempted to take the place of Beowulf, using modern technology to help Hroðgar defeat Grendel; the ancient epic changed when Grendel was revealed as a sympathetic character.
• In 2006, Antarctic Press ran a manga adaptation of the Beowulf legend, written and drawn by David Hutchison.
• Speakeasy Comics: this series debuted a Beowulf monthly title featuring the character having survived into the modern era and now working alongside law enforcement in New York to handle superpowered beings.
• 1999-2000:The Collected Beowulf: by Gareth Hinds & Leslie Siddeley.
• 1975-1976: Beowulf Dragon Slayer, published by DC comics and edited by Dennis O'Neil, written by Michael Uslan and primarily illustrated by Ricardo Villamonte. Later, Beowulf appears in Wonder Woman #20 (2008).
• Issue #49 of the Animaniacs comic book featured a Pinky and the Brain story featuring Brain as Brainwulf, who, accompanied by Pinknarf (Pinky), attempts to defeat Grendel so that he can take over Denmark afterwards.
• IDW Publishing published a comic book adaptation of the 2007 Beowulf movie.

Board games

• Beowulf: The Legend is a board game by Reiner Knizia with artwork by John Howe, based on the events Beowulf.

Video games

• Beowulf: Viking Warrior: action adventure game based on the original story, by 4HEAD Studios; cancelled after Ubisoft announced Beowulf: The Game
• Beowulf: The Game: action adventure game based on the 2007 film, developed by Ubisoft coming for PC, PS3, Xbox 360 and PSP.
• Grendel's Cave: a MUD role playing fantasy game based on the original story.
• Beowulf (romanized on official sites as "Beowolf") is a character in Fire Emblem:Seisen no Keifu, he is portrayed as a mercenary interested only in money.
• In the expansion pack Bloodmoon for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind the quest "The Mead Hall Massacre" parallels the story of Beowulf up to the killing of Grendel, known as the Udyrfrykte in game. In the sequel The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion players may encounter the Udyrfrykte Matron, a reference to Grendel's mother.
• The fighting game Skullgirls is to feature a new character named Beowulf, who will be released in 2015 as the game's fourth downloadable character.

External links

• BEOWULFIANA: MODERN ADAPTATIONS OF BEOWULF by John William Sutton- Robbins Library, University of Rochester