Beowulf (17 page)

3
(p. 3, line 18)
Beow:
The manuscript and some modern editions have “Beowulf,” but many scholars prefer the form given here to distinguish this Danish king from the hero of the epic.

4
(p. 3, lines 20-25)
The young man did as
he
ought.... shall a man prosper among all the peoples:
This is one of numerous comments the poet-narrator makes on the proper behavior for a ruler and his followers. In his
Germania
(about 98 C.E.), the Roman historian Tacitus refers to a code of behavior between commander and follower as
comitatus.
According to Tacitus, the good ruler gives out gifts, and the followers are bound in loyalty to stand by the ruler in time of need. Such gift-giving is one of the major themes in
Beowulf.

5
(p. 4, line 35)
in the bosom of the ship:
Funerals involving ship burials or, as described here, sending the dead person out to sea in a ship were apparently common, at least for members of the upper classes, whose ships would be loaded with precious items for this last journey. The greatest discovery of a ship burial in England (from around 650) was at Sutton Hoo, and artifacts from the find are now on view in the British Museum. Note the parallel between Scyld’s funeral and that of Beowulf at the end of the epic.

6
(p. 5, line 62) [...
was On]ela’s queen:
The manuscript is defective here, and the line has been emended by Friedrich Klaeber and other editors. It would appear that Healfdene’s daughter was married to Onela, the Swedish king. If this is the case, the marriage would have had a political function—a common theme in this early literature. Such emendations are common in
Beowulf,
as modern editors try to restore letters, words, or even whole lines lost through damage to the manuscript.

7
(p. 5, line 69)
a great mead-hall:
The mead hall, sometimes called a beer hall, was the social and political center for the royal family and their loyal followers. As an institution, therefore, it has great importance throughout the epic.

8
(p. 6, line 85)
would waken their feud after deadly hatred:
This line anticipates enmity that is further described later in the poem (lines 2020-2069): Hrothgar will marry his daughter Freawaru to Ingeld, a prince of the Heathobards, to settle a feud between their two peoples. But the feud will erupt again in bitter conflict between father-in-law and son-in-law, leading to the destruction of Heorot. Women given in such political marriages were often called “peace-weavers” or “peace-pledges,” though the peace often did not last.

9
(p. 6, line 90)
song of the scop:
The
scop
(pronounced “shop”) was a traditional singer of tales who was trained in both traditional stories and traditional poetic forms. Typically, the scop performed narrative songs orally to the accompaniment of a harp. The poet-narrator of
Beowulf
appears to have been such a scop, or at least to have been thoroughly familiar with the scop’s traditional art.

10
(pp. 8-9, lines 175-188)
prayed in heathen temples.... may seek the Ruler for peace and protection in the Father’s arms:
This passage shows how the poet-narrator and, presumably, the Anglo-Saxon audience saw a distance between themselves and the time before the Christian conversions.

11
(p. 13, lines 303-306)
Images of boars shone ... watched over life for the grim ones:
Boars were associated with warriors, and like other animal images (such as bears, wolves, ravens, and eagles), they often appear in heroic descriptions in poetry and the visual arts.

12
(p. 18, lines 459-472)
a great feud.... and Ecgtheow swore oaths to me:
Hrothgar relates the feud between Beowulf’s father Ecgtheow and a people named the Wulfings. Ecgtheow was forced to flee his own land and seek refuge among the Danes. Hrothgar settled the feud by sending treasures to the Wulfings, and this placed Ecgtheow under an obligation to Hrothgar that Beowulf, as his son, will now honor by coming to the aid of the Danes.

13
(p. 19, line 499)
Unferth:
He is a noble thane in Hrothgar’s court who tests Beowulf by questioning his strength as a hero. He now relates an orally circulated legend about a swimming match (some scholars suggest a rowing contest) in the sea between Beowulf and Breca, claiming that Breca proved to have greater strength. Beowulf replies with his own account, which stresses his heroic fights against sea monsters after being separated from Breca in a storm. In this way, Beowulf establishes his credentials to fight Grendel. The exchange is a kind of debate called the
flyting,
and this form was popular throughout the Middle Ages and even later.

14
(p. 32, line 901)
outshining Heremod whose glory grew less:
Immediately after hearing the story of Sigemund, we are given, by negative association, an account of the bad king Heremod.

15
(p. 37, line 1068)
the story of Finn’s sons:
This is the beginning of the so-called Finn Episode, which is also related in the Old English poem
The Fight at Finnsburg.
That poem includes some details not given in
Beowulf
but a more comprehensive version (which has not come down to us) must have been known to the audience of both poems. As told in
Beowulf,
a great battle had already taken place between Jutes living in Frisia and a party of Danes. The Danes, led by Hnaef, were visiting the Jutes, whose king, Finn, was married to the Danish Hildeburh. Fighting broke out, and Hnaef, the son of Hildeburh and Finn, and numerous warriors on both sides were killed. After a truce, the Danes were forced by winter weather to stay as guests of the Jutes. The peace was broken, and the Danes under their leader Hengest killed Finn and returned with Hildeburh to their homeland. Once again, we see a woman given in marriage as a “peace-weaver,” along with the fragile nature of such an arrangement.

16
(p. 41, line 1203)
on his last expedition:
Hygelac went on a raid in Frisia, where he was killed by a combined force of Franks and Frisians. The raid is also mentioned in independent historical sources, and here in the poem it preoccupies much of Beowulf’s thought as he laments the death of his lord. The death of Hygelac is thus important in itself, but it is also the first in a sequence of events that lead to Beowulf becoming king of the Geats.

17
(pp. 64-65, lines 1931-1942)
far different from Modthryth.... she should be a peace-weaver:
Though she is a negative example of a queen, introduced as a contrast to Hygd, Modthryth was reformed after her marriage to King Offa, which made her a “peace-weaver.”

18
(pp. 66-67, lines 1994-1997)
“For long I entreated you... war with Grendel”:
What Hygelac says here is not consistent with the advice Beowulf received from the wise counselors of the Geats before setting off to fight Grendel (lines 202-204). But, of course, Hygelac could have given advice that differed from that of the counselors.

19
(p. 73, line 2188)
not qualified as a war-lord:
This passage provides an example of the common motif of the unpromising youth who goes on to become a hero.

20
(p. 74, lines 2226-2231 )
[Then when he saw the monster.... stealing]:
The manuscript is damaged at these lines, and the translation here follows the reconstruction by Friedrich Klaeber and other editors. It should be noted, however, that such reconstructions are speculative at best.

21
(p. 75, lines 2247-2266)
“Hold safely.... many nations of men!”:
This speech, known as the Lay of the Last Survivor, employs the famous motif of
ubi sunt
(Latin for “Where are they now?”), which was common in Old English and other medieval poetry. The motif contrasts the bygone joys of some past time with a lament over their absence in the present.

22
(p. 77, line 2331)
breaking ancient law:
Although the context suggests that the “ancient law” comes from the Christian God, it is possible that it has some connection to the heroic code of the North. In either case, it is not clear what the law may have been.

23
(p. 78, lines 2361-2362)
having captured alone thirty coats of armor ... the sea-side:
This is yet another of Beowulf’s famous swimming feats that emphasize his astounding strength, though some scholars would interpret the action here as rowing over the sea, not swimming. From the passage it is not completely clear whether Beowulf carried the thirty suits of armor on his journey home or, as this translation suggests, stripped armor from thirty foes in battle before setting out.

24
(p. 79, lines 2379-2390)
Ohtere’s sons from over the sea.... That was a good king:
After Hygelac’s death, Heardred becomes king of the Geats, supported by Beowulf. Heardred takes into his protection Eanmund and Eadgils, the two young sons of Ohtere, the Swedish king who has just died. Eanmund and Eadgils have fled Sweden after Onela, their uncle, usurped the Swedish throne and attacked them. (Eanmund was next in line to be king.) Onela then attacks Heardred, who is killed in the fighting, along with Eanmund. With Heardred dead, Beowulf succeeds to the throne as king of the Geats.

25
(p. 79, lines 2391-2396)
vengeance in mind for Heardred’s fall.... taking life from King Onela:
Partly to avenge the death of Heardred, and partly to support the cause of the Swedish Eadgils, Beowulf (now king) wages war against the usurper Onela and kills him. Eadgils will now be the rightful heir to be king of the Swedes.

26
(p. 81, lines 2446-2459)
sings a lay for his lament.... happy notes in the hall, as it used to do:
Along with the Lay of the Last Survivor (see note 21), this lay helps to establish the elegiac tone of the last part of the epic, leading to the death of Beowulf and the impending doom for his people.

27
(p. 82, line 2475)
sons of Ongentheow the Swede:
At some time earlier than the events described in note 24, Ohtere and Onela, sons of the Swedish king Ongentheow, attacked the Geats. In the ensuing Battle of Ravenswood, Haethcyn, the king of the Geats, was killed. Hygelac, his brother, succeeded him as king and led a relief force that killed Ongentheow.

28
(p. 87, lines 2611-2616)
the trophies taken from Eanmund, the son of Ohtere.... gifts given him by Onela:
Weohstan was in the service of the usurping Swedish King Onela, who fought against his nephews Eanmund and Eadgils (see note 24).

29
(p. 96, line 2925)
Ravenswood:
This reference begins a long retelling of the Battle of Ravenswood, which took place around the stronghold of Ongentheow, the Swedish king (see note 27). The Geats attacked the Swedes, and Ongentheow killed Haethcyn, king of the Geats. Hygelac, Haethcyn’s brother, arrived with a relief force, and Ongentheow was forced to retreat to his stronghold. There he wounded the Geatish warrior Wulf, whose brother Eofer then killed him.

30
(p. 100, lines 3024-3027)
“the dark raven
...
both feasted on corpses”:
In Old English poetry, the raven, the eagle, and the wolf are traditionally associated with death in battle, evidently because of their propensity to feed on the bodies of fallen warriors.

31
(p. 101, line 3075)
the power of
God
alone to give treasures:
This passage has puzzled many scholars. In this translation, the interpretation is that a curse was placed on anyone who might disturb the hoard—unless God gave the person leave to do so.

J. R. R. Tolkien, best known as the author of
The Lord of the Rings
trilogy (1954-1955), originated the modern critical view of
Beowulf.
A professor of Anglo-Saxon and English language and literature at the University of Oxford, Tolkien was the first scholar to assert that
Beowulf
was a poem with deep literary value rather than a historical curiosity, a relic of primitive Anglo-Saxon civilization that did not meet the standards of high art. His tract
“Beowulf:
The Monsters and the Critics” (1936) set the stage for modern
Beowulf
criticism, which treats the poem as a sophisticated human accomplishment.

Beowulf
served as a foundation text for Tolkien’s
The Lord of the Rings,
a novel published in three parts that is among the most powerful fantasy writing of the twentieth century. The award-winning film adaptations directed by Peter Jackson (2001-2003) have further enshrined Tolkien’s reputation.
Beowulf
resonates strongly throughout The Lord of the Rings and its prequel, The Hobbit. The symbolic importance of rings and the use of “middle-earth” as the setting for the novels appear to be drawn from
Beowulf,
and the spirit of the epic influences Tolkien’s depictions of larger-than-life heroes, fully developed monster characters, fantastical rural environments, and the bitter struggle between good and evil.

Tolkien was famous for his recitations of
Beowulf
in the original Old English. The poet W. H. Auden attended Tolkien’s
Beowulf
classes while at Oxford and later wrote to the author: “I don’t think I have ever told you what an unforgettable experience it was to me as an undergraduate, hearing you recite
Beowulf.
The voice was the voice of Gandalf.”

One of the first important poets to be inspired by
Beowulf
was Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892), who published a partial translation of the poem in 1830. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), the most popular nineteenth-century poet in America, followed Tennyson’s lead in 1838 and also translated a portion of the poem.

Richard Wilbur, who later became poet laureate of the United States, published his “Beowulf” in Ceremony
and
Other Poems (1950). Casting the landscape as a main character, Wilbur begins: “The land was overmuch like scenery.” Wallace Stevens, a giant of American modernism, published his
Beowulf-influenced
poem “The Auroras of Autumn” (1950) in a volume of the same title. Stevens opens on a haunting, sinister note: “This is where the serpent lives, the bodiless.” British poet W. H. Auden’s tribute to J. R. R. Tolkien, “Short Ode to a Philologist” (1962), also shows the influence of
Beowulf.
Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges wrote several works in Spanish that reflect his interest in the epic, including an essay on
Beowulf
in 1951. A 1961 Borges poem appeared in Poetry magazine in 1993 as “Poem Written in a Copy of
Beowulf.”
In this verse, Borges seems to lament years of his life lost to studying the impenetrable ”language of the blunt-tongued Anglo-Saxons,” which he eventually forgets anyway.