Beowulfiana: Modern Adaptations of Beowulf

This content relates to an exhibition of Beowulf artifacts in the Robbins Library from December 1, 2004 - March 15, 2005. My inspiration for this assortment of "Beowulfiana" (items based in some way upon the poem Beowulf) is the remarkable collection of Arthuriana assembled over many years by Dr. Alan Lupack. When I first beheld the broad scope and the sheer magnitude of his collection at the Camelot 2000 conference at the University of Rochester, I decided to begin my own collection, one that was devoted to my favorite work of literature, the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf. I chose not to include translations and editions of the poem (those materials that are already well known to scholars and students alike), but to focus instead on adaptations, retellings, and transformations into new media. These include fantasy novels, comic books, films, musical compositions, and a remarkably diverse range of other objects. The collection continues to grow at a steady pace, often leading me to marvel at the extent to which Beowulf has permeated twentieth- and twenty-first-century Anglophone culture.