The author of the epic poem Beowulf is unknown, and, like Plato's Iliad, its origins remain a mystery. Throughout the poem there are many clues that Beowulf became a tradition and was passed down orally for centuries, and was eventually translated from the "old English" that perhaps it might have originally been recited as, into the English we know today. In the poem Beowulf a bard recites the poem orally, or in song, usually telling stories of historical triumphs and adventures. These poets were referred to in this epic poem as “tale bearers…, traditional singers deeply schooled in the traditions of the past” (Beowulf 50). This was common in Germanic culture. The Scops would keep folklore heroes alive in the "oral" tradition. They passed stories orally from one generation to the next. “Beowulf's own poet imagines such oral performances by having King Hrothgar's court poet recite a heroic layman at a festival celebrating Beowulf's defeat of Grendel” (Beowulf 29). "[A] lord of the king's house... tied a new theme to a strict meter. The man began to recite with skill, rehearsing Beowulf's triumphs and exploits in well-formed verse, weaving his words" (Beowulf 50). This Hrothgar poet goes on to tell of Sigemund and Waels' son. This section of oral poetry is currently present in the text, providing an example of the Germanic "oral" tradition. In the same celebration at the mead the author illustrates the "oral" tradition again. This time the king's poet performs "with the saga of Finn and his sons, telling the tale of the fierce attack in Frisia where Hnaef, king of the Danes, met his death" (Beowulf 54). These eighty-nine lines tell a detailed historical story, which is also immersed in… middle of paper… devil. Whatever death befalls, he must deem it a just judgment from God” (Beowulf 41). Here Beowulf gives the outcome to God. As previously mentioned, Grendel met his fate on the night Beowulf was waiting for him. This is clearly contradictory since both dogmas are used to describe the same event. In the fight against Grendel's mother "God Almighty would...change the course of his misfortunes" (Beowulf 61). to restore balance once Beowulf was back on his feet” (Beowulf 66). Beowulf also states in this fight that God helped him. After the fight with the dragon the poet says "[w]hat God judged right would govern what befell every man, as it does to this day" (Beowulf 93). How could there be so many discrepancies in this poem if only one poet had written it??