I've set the first 12 lines of Beowulf to music (first in Old English then in modern translation - turn captions on). For the melody I've adapted the song 'Kvæðið Um Hargabrøður' by the Faroese band Hamradun. Excuse the scratchy singing, it was first thing in the morning after a night in a smoky hall!

This is one of the oldest English poems, written down around 800-900 AD but later parts mention events that took place around 500 AD so was clearly in the oral folk tradition for longer and harks back to pre-Viking Scandinavian influences in England. No melody survives but we know Anglo Saxons liked singing poetry and accompanying on the 'hearpe'. It's just a quick recording on my mobile phone the morning after our Yule feast, before the public arrived (at West Stow Anglo Saxon Village in Suffolk, England).

I've tried a couple of melodies, but this one I think fits best - it is from Hamradun's 2015 album (http://hamradun.com). There is also live footage of them playing it here (the singing alone is powerful but do also keep watching til a few minutes in when the band kicks in for a rocked up version):    • Hamradun-Kvæðið Um  Hargabrøður  

I'm only a beginner at Old English so apologies for pronunciation/translation errors. I've followed Prof Tom Shippey on a couple of disputed meanings but any errors of course remain my own. I'm always grateful for any pronunciation errors to be corrected!