Is beowulf the oldest book ever after the bible?

Question

My teacher told me that.. but is it true?

ye.. tats exactly why i was confused when she said that... the viking era isnt the oldest nor is it even close... btw whle were on this topic... anyone know off the top of their heads the major role of weapons and armor and stuff in anglosaxan society during beowulfs days

Answer 1

By no means, the Bible is not the oldest book either. There are numerous examples of older books throughout the world. This would include the Vedas, Gilgamesh, the Enuma Elish, and many others. Beowulf itself is a very young text compared to anything written in the Roman Empire (The Metamorphoses for instance), the Iliad and the Odyssey, and City of God by St. Augustine to name a few. Beowulf is dated approximately 700-1000 AD. Beowulf is one of the oldest manuscripts originating from Western Europe, but even then it is not the oldest.

Answer 2

World’s oldest book?

In November 1984, 136 kilometers south of Cairo, a young Egyptian archaeologist discovered what may well be the oldest book in the world.

Dating back to the second half of the 4th century, it was found in the tomb of an 11-year-old girl, placed underneath her head. Hailed as the earliest complete book of Psalms ever found, it was hand-written in a dialect once used by Egypt’s first Christians Coptic Oxyrhynchus in Greek letters.

It took six months to separate the 252 papyrus leaves of the book, which were bound between two polished wooden covers with a leather spine, and years to restore. It was finally put on display at Cairo’s Coptic Museum in 1992.

Answer 3

I've researched this before, but unfortunately I do not recall the answer. Racking my brain, I would say that the oldest book ever would come from somewhere in East Asia because they were the ones who invented paper, I believe. I would think it would be a book of laws or reports regarding commerce or public policy.

That's just my humble opinion. I don't actually know. Haha! Good question!

Even if you are looking for the oldest storytelling type book, I would still think there are many predecessors to the Bible and Beowulf.

P.S. I Googled "HISTORY OF BOOKS" and found this interesting chart. I don't know how accurate it is, though. This is a very basic book history timetable.
http://www.xs4all.nl/~knops/timetab.html

Answer 4

Diosaurs or a minimum of large lizards are actualy said yet that dosn't mean they were no longer mythical to the writers of the bible. Take unicorns as an example. Its a creature made up from the existance of something authentic, a horse. reminiscent of a large lizzard might want to be made up from a lizard. yet dinosuares do not instruct the earth is more advantageous than 6,000 years previous or that guy is a present day version to the animal kingdom. data againts thoses concepts comes from plate tectonics and sediment layers. till the plates movment unexpectedly slowed down there is not any way for Africa and S united statesa. to be as some distance aside as they are regardless of if the bible said Earth is basically one hundred million years previous. And certain that is shown truly that Africa and S united statesa. were at the same time through simalar rock platforms precisly the position they could be predicted to be discovered on each and each and every coast, simalar fossil files, and glacial pastime because if S united statesa. grow to be in its present day position glaciers might want to have had to have flow inland that is imposible yet when Africa and S united statesa. were at the same time at one factor then the flow might want to be in the direction of the sea like what takes position extremely. Sediment layers are data that human beings are a latter version to the Earth. If all people can discover even one case of a human fossil interior of a similar layer as that of a trilobite i will withdraw that statment yet i'm now to not apprehensive. i might want to also want to work out even one partial fossil of a unicorn. If the bible is even 1 / 4 actual we ought to continually be able to discover pleanty of them.

Answer 5

Your teacher is very much mistaken. For one thing, the Tao Te Ching dates to about 600 BCE. Beowulf dates from 700 BCE to 1000 BCE making the Tao 100 - 400 years older. And Im sure there are books older. Pax - C.

Answer 6

Only if you define book as something printed and bound and can show the printing time. Beowulf is old, but there are hundreds of equivalent documents that were written down - How do the Iliad and the Odyssey fit in her schedule?

Answer 7

The bible is only 2000 years old. There are many, many books hundreds of years older than that! For example, look at the works of Aristotle and Plato and the times in which they lived! Not to mention Homer and The Iliad! Look these up on the net.

Answer 8

Beowulf = EPIC POEM... not a book.

Answer 9

This question is so wrong in so many ways. Neither even come close to being the oldest and they are both fiction.

Answer 10

Beowulf is the oldest surviving epic poem in the English language and the earliest piece of vernacular European literature. It was written in Old English, the language of the Saxons. Originally untitled, in the 19th century the poem began to be called by the name of its Scandinavian hero, whose adventures are its primary focus. Historical elements run through the poem, yet both the hero and the story are fiction.
Origins and History:
Beowulf may have been composed as an elegy for a king who died in the seventh century, but there is little evidence to indicate who that king may have been. The burial rites described in the epic show a great similarity to the evidence found at Sutton Hoo, but too much remains unknown to form a direct correlation between the poem and the burial site.

The poem may have been composed as early as c. 700, and evolved through many retellings before it was written down. Whoever the original author may have been is lost to history.

The sole manuscript of the poem dates to c. 1000. Handwriting style reveals that it was inscribed by two different people. Whether either scribe embellished or altered the original story is unknown.


The earliest known owner of the manuscript is the 16th century scholar Lawrence Nowell. In the 17th century it became part of Robert Bruce Cotton's collection and is therefore known as Cotton Vitellius A.XV.

In 1731, it suffered irreparable damage in a fire.

The first transcription of the poem was made by Icelandic scholar Grímur Jónsson Thorkelin in 1818. Since the manuscript has decayed further, Thorkelin's version is highly prized, yet its accuracy has been questioned.

In 1845, the pages of the manuscript were mounted in paper frames to save them from further damage. This protected the pages, but it also covered some of the letters around the edges.

In 1993, the British Library initiated the Electronic Beowulf Project. Through the use of special infrared and ultraviolet lighting techniques, the covered letters were revealed as electronic images of the manuscript were made.
The Writer or Writers:
Beowulf contains many pagan and folkloric elements, but there are undeniable Christian themes as well. This dichotomy has led some to interpret the epic as the work of more than one author. Others have seen it as symbolic of the transition from paganism to Christianity in early medieval Britain. The extreme delicacy of the manuscript, the two separate hands that inscribed the text, and the complete lack of clues to the identity of the author make a realistic determination difficult at best.

The Story:
Beowulf is a prince of the Geats of southern Sweden who comes to Denmark to help King Hrothgar rid his fabulous hall, Heorot, of a terrible monster known as Grendel. The hero mortally wounds the creature, who flees the hall to die in its lair. The next night, Grendel's mother comes to Heorot to avenge her offspring and kills one of Hrothgar's men. Beowulf tracks her down and kills her, then returns to Heorot where he receives great honors and gifts before returning home.

After ruling the Geats for half a century in peace, Beowulf must face a dragon who threatens his land. Unlike his earlier battles, this confrontation is long, terrible and deadly. He is deserted by all his retainers except his kinsman Wiglaf, and though he defeats the dragon he is mortally wounded. His funeral and a lament end the poem.

Impact:
Much has been written about this epic poem, and it will surely continue to inspire scholarly investigation and debate, both literary and historical. For decades students have undertaken the difficult task of learning Old English in order to read it in its original language. The poem has also inspired fresh creative works, from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings to Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead, and it will probably continue to do so for centuries to come.

Translations:
The first translation out of Old English was into Latin by Thorkelin, in connection with his transcription of 1818. Two years later Nicolai Grundtvig made the first translation into a modern language, Danish. The first translation into modern English was made by J. M. Kemble in 1837.

Since then there have been many translations. The version done by Francis B. Gummere in 1919 is out of copyright and freely available at several websites, including at About's Classic Literature site.

The most lauded of recent works is the verse edition by Seamus Heaney. This bilingual edition offers the Old English text side-by-side with Heaney's rendition.
Is the Bible the oldest religious book in the world?

Of all the ancient writings, most scholars agree that the Old Testament of the Bible is the oldest of religious books. It was first written at 1000 BC through 500 BC and the words were given by God to its writers. In comparison, most others are relatively young.

Koran or al-Qur'an (holy book of Islam) was written in 650 AD.
Veda (sacred scriptures of Hinduism) written 500 - 1000 BC.
Tao-te-ching (Taoism book of Hindu philosophy) gradually written over time by numerous writers.
Bahagavad Gita (Indian Hindu epic poem) between 200 BC - 200 AD.
The Old Testament, of Hebrew origin, is the sacred scripture of Judaism and is the first portion of the Christian Bible. The Old Testament is made up of 39 books consisting of:
the Law given to Moses (the Torah or Pentateuch)
the History beginning with the creation through slavery and liberation
the Prophets (Major and Minor)
The Old Testament also includes words of praise, poetry, and wisdom in Psalms, Proverbs, and numerous prophecies of the coming Messiah.

The second portion of the Christian Bible is the New Testament, containing 27 books. Most of it is believed to have been written approximately 70-90 years after the crucifixion of Jesus. The New Testament is:
fulfillment of Old Testament Law through Jesus Christ
the story of Jesus' life, work, crucifixion, and resurrection
proclaims the way of salvation and encouragement for daily life
Its first four books are called the Gospels, which means the Good News of Jesus Christ. The New Testament contains additional prophecies of Jesus' Second Coming to Earth. In these writings, believers are given additional teachings by His disciples and apostles. They cover how this spiritually given, Word of God applies to life and how to be assured a place in heaven.

God urges us to apply His Word (in Philippians 4:9; James 11:22-25; 2 Thessalonians 3:4) but too often we stop at attaining only an intellectual knowledge of the Bible. Actively applying its content, and seeking spiritual understanding is a vital part of a true and real relationship with God rather just knowing about Him.

By reading the Bible regularly and asking God for understanding, we can achieve this. Jesus opens people's minds to understand His Word. We are given an example of this in the following verses when Jesus spoke to the disciples: "'This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.' Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures" (Luke 24:44-45). And 1 John 5:20 says, "We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. . ."