Beowulf is cited as one of the most important works of this millennium.
 Persistent attempts have been made to link Beowulf to tales from Homer's Odyssey or Virgil's Aeneid
 The composition of Beowulf was the fruit of the later adaptation of this trend in Alfred's policy of asserting authority over the Angelcynn, in which Scyldic descent was attributed to the West-Saxon royal pedigree

