■III. Beowulf a Beowulf, written in Old English sometime before the tenth century A.D., describes the adventures of a great Scandinavian warrior of the sixth century. A rich fabric of fact and fancy, Beowulf is the oldest surviving epic in British literature◼ III. Beowulf ◼ Beowulf , written in Old English sometime before the tenth century A.D., describes the adventures of a great Scandinavian warrior of the sixth century. ◼ 1. A rich fabric of fact and fancy, Beowulf is the oldest surviving epic in British literature