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The origins of Beowulf predate the era of readily available manuscripts and texts for a common and, at the time, mostly illiterate peasantry to read. Though Beowulf was recorded in Old English, it can readily be assumed that its roots are to be found in the mostly oral traditions of the ancient Germanic tribes that roamed and settled much of Western Europe. Because of this heavy oral tradition, stories and legends were passed on by storytellers who would recite their tales from memory. Beowulf, in many ways, reflects this tradition in how it is told. Epics and ballads of considerable length may have needed repetition in order to be memorized easier, and Beowulf has many of its events told again and again. In that sense, a story being retold in Beowulf might be akin to refrain of a song. Also, it is quite possible that the especially more heroic events needed more emphasis, for killing Grendel was no small task, so repetition might have been used as a tool to remind the storytellers......

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