<P> The events in the poem take place over most of the sixth century , after the Anglo - Saxons had started their journey to England and before the beginning of the seventh century , a time when the Anglo - Saxons were either newly arrived or were still in close contact with their Germanic kinsmen in Northern Germany . The poem may have been brought to England by people of Geatish origins . Many suggest that Beowulf was first composed in the 7th century at Rendlesham in East Anglia , that the Sutton Hoo ship - burial also shows close connections with Scandinavia , and that the East Anglian royal dynasty , the Wuffingas , may have been descendants of the Geatish Wulfings . Others have associated this poem with the court of King Alfred the Great or with the court of King Cnut the Great . </P>
when was beowulf most likely composed when did it 's events probably take place
in the 7th century over most of the sixth century