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Beowulf

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The first page of Beowulf
This article describes Beowulf, the epic poem. For the person Beowulf, see Beowulf (hero). For other uses, see Beowulf (disambiguation).

Beowulf is a traditional heroic epic poem written in Old English alliterative verse. At 3,182 lines — longer than any other Old English poem — it represents about 10% of the extant corpus of Old English poetry. The poem is untitled in the manuscript, but has been known as Beowulf since the early 19th century.

Background and origins

File:180px-Ottar03.jpg
Beowulf meets archaeology. As the barrow in Vendel (in Sweden) was indicated as the barrow of Ohthere by local tradition, an excavation was undertaken in 1917. The dating was consistent with that of Beowulf and the sagas: the early 6th century. Norse sources also relate that a place called Vendel was the place of Ohthere's death

Beowulf is one of the oldest surviving epic poems in what is identifiable as an early form of the English language (the oldest surviving text in Old English is Caedmon's hymn of creation). The precise date of the manuscript is debated, but most estimates place it close to 1000. There is no general agreement on when the poem was originally composed. Some scholars argue that archaic forms of words that appear in the text suggest that the poem comes from the early 8th century, while others place it as late as the 10th century, near the time of the manuscript's copying. The poem appears in what is today called the Beowulf manuscript or Nowell Codex (British Library MS Cotton Vitellius A.xv), along with the shorter poem Judith and a handful of other works. The manuscript is the product of two different scribes, the second taking over roughly halfway through Beowulf.

The poem is a work of fiction, but it mentions a historic event, the raid by king Hygelac into Frisia, ca 516. Several of the personalities of Beowulf (e.g., Hrothgar, Hrothulf and Ohthere) and some of the events also appear in early Scandinavian sources, such as the Prose Edda, Gesta Danorum, the fornaldarsagas, etc. In these sources, especially the Hrólf Kraki tales deal with the same set of people in Denmark and Sweden (see Origins for Beowulf and Hrólf Kraki). The hero himself, appears to correspond to Bödvar Bjarki, the battle bear, and it is possible to read the name Beowulf as bee-wolf, a kenning for "bear" (due to their love of honey).

Consequently, many people and events depicted in the epic were probably real, dating from between 450 and 600 in Denmark and southern Sweden (Geats and Swedes). As far as Sweden is concerned this dating has been confirmed by archaeological excavations of the barrows indicated by Snorri Sturluson and by Swedish tradition as the graves of Eadgils and Ohthere in Uppland. Like the Finnsburg Fragment and several shorter surviving poems, Beowulf has consequently been used as a source of information about Scandinavian personalities such as Eadgils and Hygelac, and about continental Germanic personalities such as Offa, king of the continental Angles.

Eadgils was buried at Uppsala, according to Snorri Sturluson. When Eadgils' mound (to the left) was excavated, in 1874, the finds supported Beowulf and the sagas. They showed that a powerful man was buried in this large barrow, c 575, on a bear skin with two dogs and rich grave offerings. These remains include a Frankish sword adorned with gold and garnets and a tafl game with Roman pawns of ivory. He was dressed in a costly suit made of Frankish cloth with golden threads, and he wore a belt with a costly buckle. There were four cameos from the Middle East which were probably part of a casket. A burial fitting a king who was famous for his wealth in Old Norse sources. Ongentheow's barrow to the right has not been excavated

The traditions behind the poem would have arrived in England at a time when the Anglo-Saxons were still in close dynastic and personal contacts with their Germanic kinsmen in Scandinavia and northern Germany. It is the only substantial Old English poem to survive that addresses matters heroic rather than Christian.

The poem is known only from a single manuscript. The spellings in the surviving copy of the poem mix the West Saxon and Anglian dialects of Old English, though they are predominantly West Saxon, as are other Old English poems copied at the time. The earliest known owner is the 16th century scholar Lawrence Nowell, after whom the manuscript is known, though its official designation is Cotton Vitellius A.XV due to its inclusion in the catalog of Robert Bruce Cotton's holdings in the middle of the 17th century. It suffered irrepairable damage in the Cotton Library fire at the ominously-named Ashburnham House in 1731.

Icelandic scholar Grímur Jónsson Thorkelin made the first transcription of the manuscript in 1786 and published it in 1815, working under a historical research commission of the Danish government. Since that time, the manuscript has suffered additional decay, and the Thorkelin transcripts remain a prized secondary source for Beowulf scholars. Their accuracy has been called into question, however (e.g., by Chauncey Brewster Tinker in The Translations of Beowulf, a comprehensive survey of 19th century translations and editions of Beowulf), and the extent to which the manuscript was actually more readable in Thorkelin's time is unclear.

Storyline

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Queen Wealhtheow as the hostess of the banquet

The story traces the life of a heroic king of the Geats, Beowulf himself, and his three great battles: first with Grendel, then with Grendel's Mother, and finally a fire-breathing dragon, which ultimately kills him.

The setting begins in Denmark, where Hrothgar's court is attacked by Grendel, and Beowulf arrives with a number of housecarls to help the Danes. Beowulf kills Grendel by tearing off his arm and the troll returns to his watery abode bleeding to death. The next night, Grendel's mother returns and kills a Danish warrior. Beowulf descends into the bog and slays the troll-woman with a magic sword. Beowulf is richly recompensed by queen Wealhtheow, with for instance Brisingamen.

Beowulf then returns to Geatland, where he serves the Geatish kings. He accompanies king Hygelac in an early Viking raid against Frisia, a historic event which was recorded by Frankish scribes and can be dated to ca 516. Hygelac died during this raid, and having returned to Geatland, queen Hygd offers the throne to Beowulf. However, he declines and recommends the young prince Heardred instead. Two Swedish princes, Eadgils and Eanmund soon seek refuge with the Geats, having escaped their uncle Onela who had usurped the Swedish throne. Their desperation is augmented by the fact that the Geats had killed their grand-father Ongentheow. This caused a Swedish invasion in which both Eanmund and Heardred were killed. Beowulf then becomes king of Geatland, and returns the assault by attacking Sweden, and helps Eadgils become king (Eadgils would become one of the most famous of legendary Swedish kings and he is found in several Scandinavian legends). After having ruled for 50 years, a dragon attacks Geatland and the aged hero ventures to the Dragon's lair at Earnanæs to slay the beast. Among his warriors, only his Swedish kinsman Wiglaf dares join him, and after the fight, Wiglaf carries the dying Beowulf out of the lair and the hero prophesies that the cowardice of the Geats will be their undoing and that it will encourage the Swedes to renew their attacks. Beowulf is buried in a barrow, like the kings of contemporary Scandinavia, reminiscent of Sutton Hoo.

Themes

The poem depicts a Germanic warrior society, in which the relationship between the leader, or king, and his thanes is of paramount importance. This relationship is defined in terms of provision and service; the thanes defend the interest of the king in return for material provisions: weapons, armor, gold, silver, food, drinks.

This society is strongly defined in terms of kinship; if a relative is killed it is the duty of surviving relatives to exact revenge upon his killer, either with his own life or with weregild, a reparational payment. In fact, the hero's very existence owes itself to this fact, as his father Ecgtheow was banished for having killed Heatholaf, a man from the prominent Wulfing clan. He sought refuge at the court of Hrothgar who graciously paid the weregild. Ecgtheow did not return home, but became one of the Geatish king Hrethel's housecarls and married his daughter, by whom he had Beowulf. The duty of avenging killed kinsmen became the undoing of king Hrethel, himself, because when his oldest son Herebeald was killed by his own brother Hæthcyn in a hunting accident, it was a death that could not be avenged. Hrethel died from the sorrow.

Moreover, this is a world governed by fate and destiny. The belief that fate controls him is a central factor in all of Beowulf's actions.

The poem as we have it is a retelling of older tales for a Christian audience. In historical terms the poem's characters would have been pagans, but the narrator places events in a thoroughly Christian context, casting Grendel as the kin of Cain, and placing Christian sentiments in his characters' mouths. Scholars disagree as to whether Beowulf's main thematic thrust is pagan or Christian in nature. However, it can be debated that since the only calligraphers were priests, it is possible that the story was, in fact, changed by a priest who sought to apply a Christian character to his source.

Translations

The first translation, by Grímur Jónsson Thorkelin, was to Latin, in connection with the first publication of his transcription. Nicolai Grundtvig, greatly unsatisfied with this translation, made the first translation into a modern language — Danish — which was published in 1820. After Grundtvig's travels to England came the first English translation, by J. M. Kemble in 1837.

Since then there have been many translations of the poem in many styles. Irish poet Seamus Heaney produced a well-known verse translation. Another respected verse translation is that of Howell D. Chickering. Chickering's sticks close to the text, but lacks some of the beauty of Heaney's.

Another excellent translation is the one by E. Talbot Donaldson, for Norton & Company of New York. This translation, more so than Heaney's, is good for serious readers who want a more accurate translation. Although some may balk at the denser prose style, students of the epic will appreciate the sparse, vivid imagery and numerous kennings. Frederick Rebsamen's verse translation is rich with alliterations and inventive compound words, but also includes extreme deviations from the meaning of the Old English text.

J. R. R. Tolkien believed the translation by J. J. Earle was not accurate, and did not convey the meaning and symbolism of the storyline or the beauty of the prose of the poem. Chauncey Brewster Tinker was much more positive, however.

Influence on modern works

  • The first three films of Alien series, starring Sigorney Weaver, follow the Beowulf cycle, battling first the monster in the wilderness, then the mother entity, and finally the dragon.
  • In the video game Final Fantasy Tactics, the main character meets a knight named after the hero who, ironically, is in love with a woman who is really a dragon. Beowulf and the player embark on a quest to restore her to her human form.
  • In April 2005, Speakeasy Comics debuted a Beowulf monthly title featuring the character having survived into the modern era and now working alongside law enforcement in New York to handle superpowered beings.
  • In the book The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield mentions Beowulf when explaining why English was the only subject he passed while attending Pencey Prep.

Form

The poem is in alliterative measure, in which the alliterative unit is the line and the metrical unit is the half-line.

Its poetic vocabulary included sets of metrical compounds that are varied according to alliterative needs. It also makes extensive use of elided metaphors.

The two halves of the poem are distinguished in many ways: youth then age; Denmark, then Geatland; the hall, then the barrow; public, then intimate; diverse, then focussed.

Here is a small sample including the first naming in the poem of Beowulf himself.

After each line is translation to modern English. A freely-available translation of the poem, now out of copyright, is that of Francis Gummere. It can be had at Project Gutenberg [1].

Line Original Translation
[332] oretmecgas æfter æþelum frægn: ...asked the warriors of their lineage:
[333] "Hwanon ferigeað ge fætte scyldas, "Whence do you carry ornate shields,
[334] græge syrcan ond grimhelmas, Grey mail-shirts and masked helms,
[335] heresceafta heap? Ic eom Hroðgares A multitude of spears? I am Hrothgar's
[336] ar ond ombiht. Ne seah ic elþeodige herald and officer. I have never seen, of foreigners,
[337] þus manige men modiglicran, So many men, of braver bearing,
[338] Wen ic þæt ge for wlenco, nalles for wræcsiðum, I know that out of daring, by no means in exile,
[339] ac for higeþrymmum Hroðgar sohton." But for greatness of heart, you have sought Hrothgar."
[340] Him þa ellenrof andswarode, To him, thus, bravely, it was answered,
[341] wlanc Wedera leod, word æfter spræc, By the proud Geatish chief, who these words thereafter spoke,
[342] heard under helme: "We synt Higelaces Hard under helm: "We are Hygelac's
[343] beodgeneatas; Beowulf is min nama. Table-companions. Beowulf is my name.
[344] Wille ic asecgan sunu Healfdenes, I wish to declare to the son of Healfdene
[345] mærum þeodne, min ærende, To the renowned prince, my mission,
[346] aldre þinum, gif he us geunnan wile To your lord, if he will grant us
[347] þæt we hine swa godne gretan moton." that we might be allowed to address him, he who is so good."
[348] Wulfgar maþelode (þæt wæs Wendla leod; Wulfgar Spoke – that was a Vendel chief;
[349] his modsefa manegum gecyðed, His character was to many known
[350] wig ond wisdom): "Ic þæs wine Deniga, His war-prowess and wisdom – "I, of him, friend of Danes,
[351] frean Scildinga, frinan wille, the Scyldings' lord, will ask,
[352] beaga bryttan, swa þu bena eart, Of the ring bestower, as you request,
[353] þeoden mærne, ymb þinne sið, Of that renowned prince, concerning your venture,
[354] ond þe þa ondsware ædre gecyðan And will swiftly provide you the answer
[355] ðe me se goda agifan þenceð." That the great one sees fit to give me."

References

  • Crossley-Holland, Kevin; Mitchell, Bruce. Beowulf: A New Translation (London: Macmillan, 1968).
  • Heaney, Seamus. Beowulf: A New Verse Translation (New York: W.W. Norton, 2001) ISBN 0393320979.
  • Mitchell, Bruce. 'Introduction' in Crossley-Holland, Kevin (tr.) Beowulf (London: Folio, 1973).
  • Swanton, Michael (ed.). Beowulf (Manchester Medieval Studies), (Manchester: University, 1997), ISBN 0719051460.
  • Tinker, Chauncey Brewster. The translations of Beowulf; a critical bibliography. (New York: Holt, 1903). (Modern reprint with new introduction, Hamden: Archon Books, 1974), ISBN 0208014829.
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