The First Poems in English

By Anonymous

A collection of the finest and earliest poems composed in English, from tales of battle to love songsThis selection of the earliest poems in English comprises works from an age in which verse was n...

The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki

By Anonymous

Composed in medieval Iceland, Hrolf's Saga is one of the greatest of all mythic-legendary sagas, relating half-fantastical events that were said to have occurred in fifth-century Denmark. It tells...

The Koran Classics

By N. J. Dawood, Anonymous

Beowulf

By Anonymous

The greatest surviving Old English poem rendered into modern proseBeowulf stands at the head of English literature; a poem of historical interest and epic scope. Although the first manuscript of Be...

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

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The inspiration for the major motion picture The Green Knight starring Dev Patel.‘Be prepared to perform what you promised, Gawain; Seek faithfully till you find me …’ A New Year’s feast at King Ar...

The Epic of Gilgamesh

By Anonymous

N. K. Sandars's landmark translation of one of the first and greatest works of Western literatureA Penguin ClassicGilgamesh, King of Uruk, and his companion Enkidu are the only heroes to have survi...

The Cloud of Unknowing

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The Vinland Sagas: The Norse Discovery of America: Graenlendinga Saga and Eirik's Saga

By Anonymous

The Upanishads

By Juan Mascaro, Anonymous

The Upanishads, the earliest of which were composed in Sanskrit between 800 and 400 bce by sages and poets, form part of the Vedas - the sacred and ancient scriptures that are the basis of the Hind...

Laxdaela Saga

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