What are Epics?
People have ways enjoyed listening to thrilling adventures and tales about courageous warriors and heroes. These ‘heroic’ stories on a grand scale are called EPICS and they have a central figure who is identified with the aspirations of a nation or race.
They incorporate myth, legend, folk tale and history. The earliest epics were handed down by oral tradition. Others were written down at the start. The Nordic sagas (”epic poems”) of Scandinavia were not written down, but declaimed before an audience, often during the course of a celebration.
Beowulf is the most famous Old English epic, though it was not composed in Britain. It was brought by word of mouth by the invading Vikings and written down in Anglo-Saxon (Old English).