Anonymous

Anonymous is the name traditionally used for the unknown author of Beowulf, the oldest surviving epic poem in Old English. The poem survives in a single manuscript known as the Nowell Codex, and the author’s identity is not recorded; scholars commonly refer to the writer simply as the “Beowulf poet.”

Because the author is unknown, there are no verifiable personal credentials or other confirmed works to attribute beyond Beowulf. Some modern studies argue the poem was written by a single author, but they do not identify that person by name.