The great Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf is the subject of today's  episode.  We look at the strange history of the document, and its status  as an epic.  While it is very different than the Greco-Roman epics, we  argue that it nonetheless deserves its status as an epic not only  because of the magnificent heroism of the character Beowulf, but its  sad, elegiac, majestic sweep that engages with notions of monstrosity.   It largely owes its rise to fame thanks to the scholarship of the great  Medievalist J.R.R. Tolkien.  We look at the characteristic features of  Anglo-Saxon culture that infuse the epic, and in particular the value of  loyalty and a heartfelt patriotic affection for their leader.