Beowulf: An Introduction to the Study of the Poem With a Discussion of the Stories of Offa and Finn

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, New Age, History, Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book Beowulf: An Introduction to the Study of the Poem With a Discussion of the Stories of Offa and Finn by Raymond Wilson Chambers, Library of Alexandria
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Raymond Wilson Chambers ISBN: 9781465512147
Publisher: Library of Alexandria Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Raymond Wilson Chambers
ISBN: 9781465512147
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint:
Language: English

The unique MS of Beowulf may be, and if possible should be, seen by the student in the British Museum. It is a good specimen of the elegant script of Anglo-Saxon times: "a book got up with some care," as if intended for the library of a nobleman or of a monastery. Yet this MS is removed from the date when the poem was composed and from the events which it narrates (so far as these events are historic at all) by periods of time approximately equal to those which separate us from the time when Shakespeare's Henry V was written, and when the battle of Agincourt was fought. To try to penetrate the darkness of the five centuries which lie behind the extant MS by fitting together such fragments of illustrative information as can be obtained, and by using the imagination to bridge the gaps, has been the business of three generations of scholars distributed among the ten nations of Germanic speech. A whole library has been written around our poem, and the result is that this book cannot be as simple as either writer or reader might have wished.  The story which the MS tells us may be summarized thus: Beowulf, a prince of the Geatas, voyages to Heorot, the hall of Hrothgar, king of the Danes; there he destroys a monster Grendel, who for twelve years has haunted the hall by night and slain all he found therein. When Grendel's mother in revenge makes an attack on the hall, Beowulf seeks her out and kills her also in her home beneath the waters. He then returns to his land with honour and is rewarded by his king Hygelac. Ultimately he himself becomes king of the Geatas, and fifty years later slays a dragon and is slain by it. The poem closes with an account of the funeral rites. Fantastic as these stories are, they are depicted against a background of what appears to be fact. Incidentally, and in a number of digressions, we receive much information about the Geatas, Swedes and Danes: all which information has an appearance of historic accuracy, and in some cases can be proved, from external evidence, to be historically accurate.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The unique MS of Beowulf may be, and if possible should be, seen by the student in the British Museum. It is a good specimen of the elegant script of Anglo-Saxon times: "a book got up with some care," as if intended for the library of a nobleman or of a monastery. Yet this MS is removed from the date when the poem was composed and from the events which it narrates (so far as these events are historic at all) by periods of time approximately equal to those which separate us from the time when Shakespeare's Henry V was written, and when the battle of Agincourt was fought. To try to penetrate the darkness of the five centuries which lie behind the extant MS by fitting together such fragments of illustrative information as can be obtained, and by using the imagination to bridge the gaps, has been the business of three generations of scholars distributed among the ten nations of Germanic speech. A whole library has been written around our poem, and the result is that this book cannot be as simple as either writer or reader might have wished.  The story which the MS tells us may be summarized thus: Beowulf, a prince of the Geatas, voyages to Heorot, the hall of Hrothgar, king of the Danes; there he destroys a monster Grendel, who for twelve years has haunted the hall by night and slain all he found therein. When Grendel's mother in revenge makes an attack on the hall, Beowulf seeks her out and kills her also in her home beneath the waters. He then returns to his land with honour and is rewarded by his king Hygelac. Ultimately he himself becomes king of the Geatas, and fifty years later slays a dragon and is slain by it. The poem closes with an account of the funeral rites. Fantastic as these stories are, they are depicted against a background of what appears to be fact. Incidentally, and in a number of digressions, we receive much information about the Geatas, Swedes and Danes: all which information has an appearance of historic accuracy, and in some cases can be proved, from external evidence, to be historically accurate.

More books from Library of Alexandria

Cover of the book Histoire de la prostitution chez tous les peuples du monde depuis l'antiquité la plus reculée jusqu'à nos jours, tome II of VI by Raymond Wilson Chambers
Cover of the book The American Revolution and the Boer War, an Open Letter to Mr. Charles Francis Adams on His Pamphlet "The Confederacy and the Transvaal" by Raymond Wilson Chambers
Cover of the book Relação Do Formidavel, E Lastimoso Terremoto Succedido No Reino De Valença No Dia 23 De Março Deste Presente Anno De 1748 Pelas 6. Horas, E Tres Quartos Da Manhã by Raymond Wilson Chambers
Cover of the book The Flemmings and Flash Harry of Savait From The Strange Adventure of James Shervinton and Other Stories by Raymond Wilson Chambers
Cover of the book Stories from Virgil by Raymond Wilson Chambers
Cover of the book Manners, Customs and Observances by Raymond Wilson Chambers
Cover of the book Equatorial America: Descriptive of a Visit to St. Thomas, Martinique, Barbadoes and the Principal Capitals of South America by Raymond Wilson Chambers
Cover of the book Strange Stories by Raymond Wilson Chambers
Cover of the book The Firm of Nucingen by Raymond Wilson Chambers
Cover of the book Book of The Revelation by Raymond Wilson Chambers
Cover of the book The Great House by Raymond Wilson Chambers
Cover of the book English Housewifery Exemplified in Above Four Hundred and Fifty Receipts Giving Directions for Most Parts of Cookery by Raymond Wilson Chambers
Cover of the book Mary Gresley and an Editor's Tales by Raymond Wilson Chambers
Cover of the book The Conduct of Life by Raymond Wilson Chambers
Cover of the book Burgo's Romance by Raymond Wilson Chambers
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy