Beowulf has been misinterpreted for 200 years.

At least the very first word of Beowulf has been misinterpreted, according to new scholarly research at the University of Manchester.

For over 200-years, medieval scholars have always interpreted the first word of Beowulf--"hwæt"--to be a centuries-old equivalent of saying "Yo!" or "Hey!"

The Beowulf you find on the bookshelf at Barnes & Nobel or on Amazon reads its first line as the following Old English:

"Hwæt! We Gar-Dena in gear-dagum, þeod-cyninga,  þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon!"

When interpreted, modern scholars have largely agreed it means roughly the following:

"Listen! We have heard of the might of the kings."

Dr. George Walkden at the University of Manchester believes we've been misguided for centuries, for the very simple reason that the interjection form was rarely used in Old English. The blame, according to London's The Independent, belongs to Jakob Grimm, of Brothers Grimm fame, who translated the text in 1837 and claimed "hwæt" was "pure interjection." For centuries, scholars never changed course--until now.

The new interpretation of Beowulf's first line?

"How we have heard of the might of the kings."

Powerful stuff.

You know what's even more powerful?

An interjection.