Final answer:
The author of Beowulf is unknown; it originated from anonymous oral tradition before being written down in Old English.
Step-by-step explanation:
The author of Beowulf is unknown and the poem is attributed to anonymous. It was created within the oral tradition of the Germanic peoples, who celebrated warriors and their fates through spoken epics before such tales were transcribed into written form. The story of Beowulf was part of this oral culture and has been preserved in Old English, with the oldest surviving manuscript dating back to between the 8th and early 11th century A.D.