The authorship of the English epic poem Beowulf will never be recovered. We know the poem through a single surviving text written centuries after the poem was created, but the origins of the epic even whether or not it was largely the work of a single person - are lost. Unfortunately, since Beowulf was among the first poems written in Old English, it is highly unlikely that we will find written records identifying someone as the author. Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest support to the conclusion drawn above?

When the surviving text of Beowulf was written down in Christian England, many of its pagan references were deleted.

While few poems had been written in Old English prior to Beowulf, certain Old English records of important events were kept.

The Beowulf story is based on legends from regions that are in present day Denmark and Sweden.

No written records of literature in any language were kept during that period of English history.

Any author draws from multiple sources when writing, and so no artistic creation can be called wholly the artist's.