Michael Swanton is professor of Medieval Studies at the University of Exeter, and has held visiting professorships at Justus-Liebig Universitat (Germany), and l'Universite de Lausanne (Switzerland). Formerly Editor of the Royal Archaeological Institute, he is Fellow of both the Society of Antiquaries and The Royal Historical Society, and lectures widely on various aspects of early English culture. His extensive publications include translations of the epic poem Beowulf (1978) and a selection of Anglo-Saxon Prose (2nd edition, Everyman, 1993)