tion when Henry the VIII dissolved the monasteries and broke up their libraries. From unknown ways, it left Nowell and found its way to the famous library of the Elizabethan physicians and antiquary Sir Robert Cotton. In 1731, the Cottanian Library caught fire and much of the collection was destroyed. Parts of Beowulf were scorched and made brittle by the fire. After the death of Cotton, his collection was eventually recognized as a national treasure, and came under the protection of the crown. Today the manuscript is safely protected in the British Library in London.
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