the
document.

Beowulf, the first great English literary masterpiece, is a treasure of the
British Library. It is known only from a single 11th century manuscript, which
was badly damaged by fire in 1731. Transcriptions made in the late 18th century
show that many hundreds of words and letters then visible along the charred
edges subsequently crumbled away. To halt this process each leaf was mounted in
a paper frame in 1845. Scholarly discussion of the date, provenance and creation
of the poem continue around the world, and researchers regularly require access
to the manuscript. Taking Beowulf out of its display case for study not only
raises conservation issues, it also makes it unavailable for the many visitors
who come to the Library expecting to see this most fundamental of literary
treasures on display. Digitization of the whole manuscript offered a solution to
these problems, as well as providing new opportunities for insight.

The Electronic Beowulf Project has assembled a huge database of digital images
of the Beowulf manuscript and related manuscripts and printed texts. The archive
already includes fiber-optic readings of hidden letters and ultraviolet readings
of erased text in the early 11th-century manuscript; full electronic facsimiles
of the 18th-century transcripts of the manuscript; and selections from important
19th-century collations, editions, and translations. Major additions will
include images of contemporary manuscript illuminations and material culture,
and links with the Toronto Dictionary of Old English project and with the
comprehensive Anglo-Saxon bibliographies of the Old English Newsletter.

The project has been developed by the British Library with two leading American
Anglo-Saxon experts, Kevin Kiernan of the University of Kentucky and Paul
Szarmach of the Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University. Professor
Kiernan is editing the electronic archive and is producing a CD-ROM electronic
facsimile that will bring together in an easy-to-use package all the different
types of images being collected.

As Brian Lang, Chief Executive of the British Library, explains on the website:

"The Beowulf manuscript is a unique treasure and imposes on the Library a
responsibility to scholars throughout the world. Digital photography offered for
the first time the possibility of recording text concealed by early repairs, and
a less expensive and safer way of recording readings under special light
c