This week’s archival tidbits come from Cocktail Party Cheat Sheets:

Only a single original manuscript of Beowulf survives, and it was severely damaged in a fire in 1731 while in storage at a place called the “Ashburnham House.” Just goes to show you that one ought not store a priceless, one-of-a-kind epic poem at a joint containing both the words “ash” and “burn” in its name.