On November 6, 2025, Leonard Neidorf, a distinguished professor in the language and literature program at Shenzhen University, delivered an enlightening academic lecture titled Interdisciplinary Research Based on Beowulf for faculty and students. The lecture systematically outlined the research trajectory of this Old English epic, addressing academic controversies through multidisciplinary empirical studies and offering fresh insights into core issues such as the authorship and dating of Beowulf. The event was moderated by Dr. Chen Huafei, with Associate Professor Kristian Van Haesendonck and master's and doctoral students in related research fields participating in the academic exchange.
Professor Neidorf began by highlighting the contemporary significance of Beowulf, emphasizing its status as the most renowned English literary work before Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. He noted that it remains a focal point of academic research (second only to Shakespeare's Hamlet) and a popular subject for publications and film adaptations, thereby introducing the central theme: How has this epic been studied, and what are the key debates?
Next, Professor Neidorf clearly delineated the four major phases of Beowulf research in chronological order: the 19th-century era of Nationalism and Ballad Theories, where scholars viewed it as a Germanic primitive epic and attempted to deconstruct its textual layers; the early 20th-century Reevaluation of Literary Value phase, led by scholars like Tolkien, which established its status as a written epic by a single author; the Skeptical Period from the 1970s to 2000, during which traditional consensus on its dating and authorship was broadly challenged; and the Rational Return Period since the 21st century, which has validated earlier reasonable scholarly viewpoints through empirical research. He also shared his own research findings, including works such as The Dating of Beowulf: A Reassessment and conclusions on the epic's dating based on evidence from vocabulary, personal names, and other sources.
This lecture systematically traced the journey of Beowulf research from obscurity to academic prominence, clearly dividing it into four major phases along a chronological axis and connecting the core debates and academic breakthroughs of each era. The speaker elaborated on traditional research methods such as lexicology and metrics while also showcasing innovative approaches like quantitative analysis in digital humanities. By presenting his own research outcomes, he underscored the importance of empirical rigor and highlighted the value of interdisciplinary integration and academic heritage in the study of classical literature, providing solid scholarly support for the contemporary interpretation and dissemination of this Old English epic.
Speaker Profile:
Leonard Neidorf is currently a distinguished professor in the English language and literature program at Shenzhen University, having earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University. He serves as the editor-in-chief of The Explicator (an A&HCI-indexed journal) and as deputy editor of English Studies (an A&HCI-indexed journal). His notable publications include The Art and Thought of the Beowulf Poet (2022) and The Transmission of Beowulf: Language, Culture, and Scribal Behavior (2017). Additionally, Professor Neidorf has published over a hundred papers in A&HCI-indexed journals. His research in digital humanities has been featured in Nature Human Behaviour, a sub-journal of Nature, and has garnered attention from media outlets such as The Guardian and The Times. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to Beowulf studies, he was awarded the Beatrice White Prize by the English Association.
