So how much old English from Beowulf do you “get” when it is pronounced. Basically the English had forgotten how to read Old English and it was a Danish/Icelandic linguist who helped figure out the language again.

I am conversational in Norwegian (basically Danish in written form) and fluent in English (my native language) Dutch, when you figure out the pronunciation and do a bit of mental figuring, is about 40% for me. I know the gist of what is being written (less of what is being said).

Old English was more mutually understandable with Old Norse than German and Dutch are today as I recall. Northern English dialects still show the influence of Old Norse on the English they spoke not just in location names but in vocabulary and some grammar. It’s been years since I studied this in grad school, so please take it with a grain of salt.