Beowulf is not an individual historical author but rather the title character of the oldest known epic poem in the English language and the presumed hero of the Geats, a North-Germanic tribe. The epic poem, composed in Old English between the 8th and early 11th centuries, is set in pagan Scandinavia, specifically among the Danes and Geats. It recounts Beowulf’s heroic deeds, including battles with the monster Grendel