In the Old English epic Beowulf, how many lines does the poem contain?

The Old English epic Beowulf contains 3,182 lines.

That total makes Beowulf the longest surviving poem in Old English. The work is preserved in a single medieval manuscript, commonly called the Nowell Codex or Cotton MS Vitellius A XV. Its narrative follows the Geatish hero Beowulf through battles with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a dragon.

The poem’s length is often given as 3,182 lines in editions and reference works, although line numbering can vary slightly between editorial systems. The number refers to poetic lines, not modern printed pages or manuscript leaves.

Beowulf is also frequently described as an epic, but its surviving manuscript is not an original authorial copy. The text was written in Old English by an unknown poet and transmitted by medieval scribes.