Abstract
Translation
Recordings
Why so curious?
Anglo-Saxon Karma
Closing
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Abstract
This week, we're offered a look into the head of a Danish shore guard as he sees the Geats land.
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Translation
"Then from the cliffs the Scyldings shore guard saw them,
the one who was to hold the sea-cliffs,
men carrying bright shields across a ship's gangway,
bearing ready war gear; his curiousity overpowered
his thinking, the need to know what these men were.
Then rode out the thane of Hrothgar
to the shore, powerfully shook the
spear in his hand, asked in a querying tone:"
(Beowulf ll.229-236)
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Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
Why so curious?
The core of this short passage is the shore guard's inner conflict. From "his curiousity overpowered/his thinking" ("hine fyrwyt bræc/modgehygdum" (ll.232-233)) we can see that he's generally a cautious, thoughtful sort of guy (possibly an introvert?), but his curiousity overpowers him. What marks this as the core of the passage is what this conflict can tell us about the current feeling among the Danes more generally.
There are a number of things that the man could wonder or assume about those he sees trundling onto the shore, armed and ready for war. But of them, there are two that seem most likely to be in there.
One of these is the possibility that this band of warriors is here to fight Grendel. The other thought is the possibility that the band is an advance party sent to scout out (maybe even take on?) the Danes in open war. Word had spread about their predicament with Grendel, after all. And such word would draw those who wanted to help the Danes as much as those who wanted to take advantage of them. Even fiend-harried, there would no doubt be some gain to be had from taking the storied hall of Heorot.
If we assume that the first possibility is what eggs the man on, then there's not too much more to write on it. He's hopeful that the Danes will be saved and that Grendel will be dealt with. This feeling among the Danes is already well-established in earlier passages. However, if it's the second possibility, that this band of men has come to cause further trouble for the Danes, then things get more interesting.
Perhaps, none have tried to take advantage of the Danes' weakened state just yet, but Hrothgar, king that he is, is well aware that people will do so. As such, maybe this is even the assumption the man has been commanded to make in this sort of situation. Or, perhaps such attempts have already been made and repelled, making this shore guard wary of such parties of warriors.
The latter situation is more likely to generate inner conflict since hope for help would clash with a learned dread of outsiders. As such, the latter situation is more strongly implied here, which means that a whole lot more has been happening in Daneland than the poet's told so far. Not that the poet finds such inter-human conflicts as interesting as those between people and the supernatural.
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Anglo-Saxon Karma
Combining the possibility that over the course of Grendel's twelve year reign of terror people came to challenge the Danes as well as Grendel with Beowulf's cyclical and interwoven nature creates a very strong through-line.
Is Beowulf later visited by a supernatural fiend of his own because he freed Hrothgar from another?
Perhaps, buried in old books and found among words told to children beside winter fires, there is a long since dead belief that whatever you helped to rid one person of would come back in a greater form to challenge you directly. Thus Beowulf's supernatural element moves from a pair of ogres/goblins/monsters to a single fire-breathing, night-flying dragon.
Because I've always read Beowulf as a story about the broken link a long chain of events, the end of a way of life, this reading of the poem adds further depth to Beowulf's failure against the dragon.
Hrothgar prospers, or at least survives, because his help is from outside of his group. As such, the group itself is not weakened internally and is able to re-emerge from a lengthy oppression. On the other hand, the dragon that terrorizes the Geats isn't dealt with by some warrior from another group but is finished off by another Geat: Wiglaf.
Because it's a member of the group in peril that saves the group from that peril, by whatever mechanic the matter of disasters works in the world of the poem (and maybe its originator?), the Geats are left permanently weakened.
The Geats' position is also not helped, of course, by the death of their leader. Perhaps the Geats fall not because of the loss of Beowulf alone but because the the outcome of a supernatural revenge system is heaped on top of it.
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Closing
Next week, we hear what the shore guard says. Listen up come next Thursday!
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Showing posts with label death. Show all posts
Showing posts with label death. Show all posts
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Montage meanings imagined and interpreted (ll.210-216) [Old English]
Abstract
Translation
Recordings
Prime or time
Burrowing into a word
Closing
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Abstract
Beowulf and crew prep their ship and ready themselves, too.
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Translation
"The foremost knew motion; the ship was on the sea,
the boat that sat before barrows. The warriors
roaringly rose a cry - the current carried them on,
bringing the sea against sand; the men bore
bright treasures upon their chests,
magnificent in martial-gear; they all shoved off,
men bound for an expected expedition trip by boat."
(Beowulf ll.210-216)
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Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
Prime or time
Once again, we see some summarized action at work. The poet is speeding us along here, giving the barest detail about Beowulf and his crew boarding their ship and putting out to sea. No doubt the strangeness of Grendel (and maybe the fame of Beowulf?) had audiences eager to hear what happened once the Geats reached the Danes.
But, despite the clear sense of forward motion in this passage, the first clause of this section is vague.
The three words that kick it all off ("Fyrst forð gewat") form a complete thought with a subject, object, and verb in that order. But at the level of literal translation into modern English, they don't really work together. They come out to something like "the first knew forwardness/awayness." Although, this isn't the only place in the poem where a literal translation just won't do.
Looking at this clause's general sense, I think that it's communicating the idea that the foremost member of the group (that is, Beowulf) was in a state of mind for travel as they set out. He had full understanding of his physical purpose, and so body and mind were joined in his undertaking. A sense of such unity could be used to foreshadow Beowulf's prowess and success against Grendel and Grendel's mother.
Running with that understanding of this clause's general sense, I then pieced together a clause that gets it across as economically as possible. "The foremost knew motion" is as close as I've gotten so far to my interpretation of the sense of the original.
For the sake of comparison, Seamus Heaney translates the line from a completely different understanding of its sense. He turns "Fyrst forð gewat" into "Time went by." There's still some motion in this version of the clause, maybe even more of it than in mine if you take time to be the motion of god (perhaps what Heaney took from "Fyrst" and left only implied in his translation). The difference between our clauses is also important, since Heaney chose the interpretation of "Fyrst" as "time" rather than as the premier cardinal number.
Looking back, that makes the clause as a whole quite clearer at the literal level. But, I've chosen to stick with my own translation because it allows for more interpretation. Very little is lost in doing so. Both convey a sense of motion, after all, and that is this clause's purpose as it comes at the start of a passage all about kicking off travel.
Actually, Heaney's interpretation slows down time in that it calls attention to time itself passing by. Taking "Fyrst" as a reference to Beowulf instead puts the focus on the Geats and their eagerness to be off on their "expected expedition" (l.216).
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Burrowing into a word
A cleaner curiousity (from an academic angle) is the use of "beorge" (l.211). This word has several interpretations, including "mountain," "hill," and "barrow." The sense that I pulled from it and its context is that this "beorge" indicates the boundary of Geatish territory, or, since Beowulf and company find their boat safe, maybe it's the final land marker of Geatish territory. If it's meant to indicate mountains, then maybe the Geats cleverly set up where mountains sheltered them from naval assaults.
The more fantastical explanation that sprang to my mind (with no help from any facts that I know) is that the word means just what it sounds like: a barrow. I'm not sure about the practices of the Geats and how much they were like those of other groups around them, but it makes sense to bury your dead on the outskirts of your settlement. Doing so allows those in mourning to move on, and keeps those still living free from any disease that might propagate or reside in a corpse.
Stepping into the realm of superstition, maybe a barrow on the edge of your settlement also acted as an enemy deterrent. If not regarded as an out-and-out hazardous field of ghosts, perhaps it could stand as a reminder of the finality of death and demotivate those who sought to add to it.
Also, and who knows since the geographical detail is so sketchy here, perhaps this "beorge" is a reference to Hronesness, the place where Beowulf is buried at the poem's end. Maybe it even is that place. We're never told much about Hronesness after all, other than the fact that it's high enough to mount a beacon for ships on it. Perhaps generations before Beowulf there was another hero buried there, and in the ultimate show of the vanity of human pride the elements wore down his great barrow until it was just a low mound - the same fate that awaits Beowulf's.
If this whole "beorge" business has anything to do with Hronesness, then maybe it's even the poet/scribe stepping in to imply the importance of written history and records. Words record deeds and memory much better than monuments left exposed to the cruel elements of nature's erasing power.
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Closing
Next week Beowulf and crew get out to sea, and, very quickly, come to Daneland.
Back To Top
Translation
Recordings
Prime or time
Burrowing into a word
Closing
Back To Top
Abstract
Beowulf and crew prep their ship and ready themselves, too.
Back To Top
Translation
"The foremost knew motion; the ship was on the sea,
the boat that sat before barrows. The warriors
roaringly rose a cry - the current carried them on,
bringing the sea against sand; the men bore
bright treasures upon their chests,
magnificent in martial-gear; they all shoved off,
men bound for an expected expedition trip by boat."
(Beowulf ll.210-216)
Back To Top
Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
Prime or time
Once again, we see some summarized action at work. The poet is speeding us along here, giving the barest detail about Beowulf and his crew boarding their ship and putting out to sea. No doubt the strangeness of Grendel (and maybe the fame of Beowulf?) had audiences eager to hear what happened once the Geats reached the Danes.
But, despite the clear sense of forward motion in this passage, the first clause of this section is vague.
The three words that kick it all off ("Fyrst forð gewat") form a complete thought with a subject, object, and verb in that order. But at the level of literal translation into modern English, they don't really work together. They come out to something like "the first knew forwardness/awayness." Although, this isn't the only place in the poem where a literal translation just won't do.
Looking at this clause's general sense, I think that it's communicating the idea that the foremost member of the group (that is, Beowulf) was in a state of mind for travel as they set out. He had full understanding of his physical purpose, and so body and mind were joined in his undertaking. A sense of such unity could be used to foreshadow Beowulf's prowess and success against Grendel and Grendel's mother.
Running with that understanding of this clause's general sense, I then pieced together a clause that gets it across as economically as possible. "The foremost knew motion" is as close as I've gotten so far to my interpretation of the sense of the original.
For the sake of comparison, Seamus Heaney translates the line from a completely different understanding of its sense. He turns "Fyrst forð gewat" into "Time went by." There's still some motion in this version of the clause, maybe even more of it than in mine if you take time to be the motion of god (perhaps what Heaney took from "Fyrst" and left only implied in his translation). The difference between our clauses is also important, since Heaney chose the interpretation of "Fyrst" as "time" rather than as the premier cardinal number.
Looking back, that makes the clause as a whole quite clearer at the literal level. But, I've chosen to stick with my own translation because it allows for more interpretation. Very little is lost in doing so. Both convey a sense of motion, after all, and that is this clause's purpose as it comes at the start of a passage all about kicking off travel.
Actually, Heaney's interpretation slows down time in that it calls attention to time itself passing by. Taking "Fyrst" as a reference to Beowulf instead puts the focus on the Geats and their eagerness to be off on their "expected expedition" (l.216).
Back To Top
Burrowing into a word
A cleaner curiousity (from an academic angle) is the use of "beorge" (l.211). This word has several interpretations, including "mountain," "hill," and "barrow." The sense that I pulled from it and its context is that this "beorge" indicates the boundary of Geatish territory, or, since Beowulf and company find their boat safe, maybe it's the final land marker of Geatish territory. If it's meant to indicate mountains, then maybe the Geats cleverly set up where mountains sheltered them from naval assaults.
The more fantastical explanation that sprang to my mind (with no help from any facts that I know) is that the word means just what it sounds like: a barrow. I'm not sure about the practices of the Geats and how much they were like those of other groups around them, but it makes sense to bury your dead on the outskirts of your settlement. Doing so allows those in mourning to move on, and keeps those still living free from any disease that might propagate or reside in a corpse.
Stepping into the realm of superstition, maybe a barrow on the edge of your settlement also acted as an enemy deterrent. If not regarded as an out-and-out hazardous field of ghosts, perhaps it could stand as a reminder of the finality of death and demotivate those who sought to add to it.
Also, and who knows since the geographical detail is so sketchy here, perhaps this "beorge" is a reference to Hronesness, the place where Beowulf is buried at the poem's end. Maybe it even is that place. We're never told much about Hronesness after all, other than the fact that it's high enough to mount a beacon for ships on it. Perhaps generations before Beowulf there was another hero buried there, and in the ultimate show of the vanity of human pride the elements wore down his great barrow until it was just a low mound - the same fate that awaits Beowulf's.
If this whole "beorge" business has anything to do with Hronesness, then maybe it's even the poet/scribe stepping in to imply the importance of written history and records. Words record deeds and memory much better than monuments left exposed to the cruel elements of nature's erasing power.
Back To Top
Closing
Next week Beowulf and crew get out to sea, and, very quickly, come to Daneland.
Back To Top
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Gilding the greats (ll.43-52) [Old English]
Abstract
Translation
Recordings
Homeward bound Scyld?
Imposing a word and why
Closing
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Abstract
Scyld is sent off with his boat of treasure as his living comrades are plagued by heavy hearts.
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Translation
"By no means did they leave a lack of gifts,
treasures of the people, when that was done,
when they sent him forth to his origin,
for he was one who came over the waves as a child.
Then they established a golden sign for him
high overhead, they let the waves bear him,
their gift to the raging ocean; they were
sorrowful at heart, mourning souls. Men cannot
say for certain, hall rulers,
heroes under heaven, who that horde discovered."
(Beowulf ll.43-52)
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Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
Homeward bound Scyld?
Initially, it's tempting to say that the first sentence of this excerpt is very familiar. Not in that everyone sends their dead out to sea laden with treasure, but in that 'going to see your maker' is a fairly popular euphemism for death. However, as the sentence ends we get an extra layer is added to Scyld's story.
Like so many other "chosen heroes" (or figures like them), it's revealed that Scyld's origins are shrouded in mystery. On one hand this is definitely a trope, but considering the patriarchal society in which Beowulf was composed/sung, it's also a curious quality in a great leader.
If there's one thing that's important in Anglo-Saxon society it's a person's connection to their lineage and heritage. Later in the poem, when Beowulf appears before Hrothgar, there's no question that Hrothgar's helping Beowulf's father in the past goes far in getting Hrothgar to feel secure in entrusting Heorot to the travelling Geat. Scyld's lack of any connection, since he's an orphan from across the sea, makes his rise to power all the more impressive.
Though, it's not out outlandish to guess that having no earthly origin might have as much clout as regal or warrior origins would. After all, a leader's story and reputation could be as powerful as any army - having such mysterious origins could only bolster such power. So long as they were properly maintained.
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Imposing a word and why
Though there's no connection between the hoard sent out with Scylde and that of the dragon later in the poem, I've chosen to suggest one. This centers around the word "hlæste" (l.52).
Commonly, this word means "burden," "load," or "freight," but I went with "hoard." It's true that the treasure is the boat's freight, with the implication that Scyld is as much a treasure as the glittering armour or piled gold, but "hoard" doesn't subtract from this implication. Thus, it's a variant translation, but still a valid one.
For, using "hoard" associates Scyld with the treasure that has been sent off in the same way as the more common translations of "hlæste." It's possible that Anglo-Saxons might regard "hoard" as more negative in its connotations, though. Hoarding treasure means that it isn't shared, and unshared treasure is more often than not the undoing of a ruler.
Actually, this raises a curious point. In the person of Scyld literal treasure and a valued figure are joined into one thing; both of them become regarded as treasure. Then, later in the poem, we get the stories of Heremod (who hoarded his treasure, much to the dissatisfaction of his thanes), and of Modthryth (who hoarded her beauty to herself, and punished men simply for looking at her). So, after a great person has been gilded we then see examples of the extreme opposites - a man who refuses to share his treasure in an expected way and a woman who refuses to share her person in an expected way (as skeezy as that might sound).
This establishing of the true value of a great man and then its deconstruction makes for a grand set up for the end of the poem. After all, the tension between valued figures and valued things is resolved in Beowulf's death and funeral.
Like Scyld he is buried with a great deal of treasure, and like Scyld he is a greatly valued figure among his people. The major difference - Beowulf's being buried rather than set off to sea - does two things. It gives closure for the poem, but it's a much more definitive kind of closure since Beowulf returns to the dust of his home rather than mere dust in general.
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Closing
Next week, the focus returns to Beow, and we hear the first mention of Hrothgar.
Subscribe to this blog's feed to be notified of updates as they happen!
Back To Top
Translation
Recordings
Homeward bound Scyld?
Imposing a word and why
Closing
Back To Top
Abstract
Scyld is sent off with his boat of treasure as his living comrades are plagued by heavy hearts.
Back To Top
Translation
"By no means did they leave a lack of gifts,
treasures of the people, when that was done,
when they sent him forth to his origin,
for he was one who came over the waves as a child.
Then they established a golden sign for him
high overhead, they let the waves bear him,
their gift to the raging ocean; they were
sorrowful at heart, mourning souls. Men cannot
say for certain, hall rulers,
heroes under heaven, who that horde discovered."
(Beowulf ll.43-52)
Back To Top
Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
Homeward bound Scyld?
Initially, it's tempting to say that the first sentence of this excerpt is very familiar. Not in that everyone sends their dead out to sea laden with treasure, but in that 'going to see your maker' is a fairly popular euphemism for death. However, as the sentence ends we get an extra layer is added to Scyld's story.
Like so many other "chosen heroes" (or figures like them), it's revealed that Scyld's origins are shrouded in mystery. On one hand this is definitely a trope, but considering the patriarchal society in which Beowulf was composed/sung, it's also a curious quality in a great leader.
If there's one thing that's important in Anglo-Saxon society it's a person's connection to their lineage and heritage. Later in the poem, when Beowulf appears before Hrothgar, there's no question that Hrothgar's helping Beowulf's father in the past goes far in getting Hrothgar to feel secure in entrusting Heorot to the travelling Geat. Scyld's lack of any connection, since he's an orphan from across the sea, makes his rise to power all the more impressive.
Though, it's not out outlandish to guess that having no earthly origin might have as much clout as regal or warrior origins would. After all, a leader's story and reputation could be as powerful as any army - having such mysterious origins could only bolster such power. So long as they were properly maintained.
Back To Top
Imposing a word and why
Though there's no connection between the hoard sent out with Scylde and that of the dragon later in the poem, I've chosen to suggest one. This centers around the word "hlæste" (l.52).
Commonly, this word means "burden," "load," or "freight," but I went with "hoard." It's true that the treasure is the boat's freight, with the implication that Scyld is as much a treasure as the glittering armour or piled gold, but "hoard" doesn't subtract from this implication. Thus, it's a variant translation, but still a valid one.
For, using "hoard" associates Scyld with the treasure that has been sent off in the same way as the more common translations of "hlæste." It's possible that Anglo-Saxons might regard "hoard" as more negative in its connotations, though. Hoarding treasure means that it isn't shared, and unshared treasure is more often than not the undoing of a ruler.
Actually, this raises a curious point. In the person of Scyld literal treasure and a valued figure are joined into one thing; both of them become regarded as treasure. Then, later in the poem, we get the stories of Heremod (who hoarded his treasure, much to the dissatisfaction of his thanes), and of Modthryth (who hoarded her beauty to herself, and punished men simply for looking at her). So, after a great person has been gilded we then see examples of the extreme opposites - a man who refuses to share his treasure in an expected way and a woman who refuses to share her person in an expected way (as skeezy as that might sound).
This establishing of the true value of a great man and then its deconstruction makes for a grand set up for the end of the poem. After all, the tension between valued figures and valued things is resolved in Beowulf's death and funeral.
Like Scyld he is buried with a great deal of treasure, and like Scyld he is a greatly valued figure among his people. The major difference - Beowulf's being buried rather than set off to sea - does two things. It gives closure for the poem, but it's a much more definitive kind of closure since Beowulf returns to the dust of his home rather than mere dust in general.
Back To Top
Closing
Next week, the focus returns to Beow, and we hear the first mention of Hrothgar.
Subscribe to this blog's feed to be notified of updates as they happen!
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Thursday, June 27, 2013
A funeral ship and far foreign lands (ll.32-42) [Old English]
Abstract
Translation
Recordings
The matter of the treasure ship
Far away may as well be undiscovered
Closing
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Abstract
Scyld's funeral procession and the description of his final ship feature this week.
Back To Top
Translation
"There at the landing place stood a ring-prowed ship
icy and eager to start, ready for that nobleman's passage;
the dear lords lead him to
the brightly ringed wealth ship,
treasure filled it to the mast; there was plentiful loot
from foreign lands, booty, loaded into it.
Never heard I of a more splendidly adorned ship
war-ready and armoured,
blade and byrnie; upon his lap was lain
a multifarious fortune, among which
he was to go to far foreign lands."
(Beowulf ll.32-42)
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Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
The matter of the treasure ship
Scyld's ship would make a cracking archaeological find. All of that treasure, some of which coming from foreign lands, would have so much to say about the range of the early medieval Danes (and maybe Anglo-Saxons?).
Outside of such a find, though, the big thing here is that the ship is characterized as "icy" ("isig" l.33).
What would the use of an icy ship be?
Would it more effectively cut through the water?
Or is it supposed to mean that it's an old ship, one that's been so covered with hoarfrost from travelling in the chill north that it's become discoloured? Maybe barnacled?
The safest bet is that it's an old ship. It'd be one thing to use a new one for a Viking burial, but it'd be something else entirely to use a new ship and to laden it with so much treasure.
Speaking of which, aside from the immense wealth on board, the time is taken to mention that the ship is "war-ready and armoured" ("hildewæpnum ond heaðowædum" l.39). Beliefs in some sort of struggle that one must go through to get to the afterlife are fairly common around this time, and they may have coupled with ideas traditionally ascribed to the Norse. Particularly, I refer to the Norse idea that only those who go to death armed will be able to join the ranks of Valhalla. Perhaps there's also some of the Celtic belief that the afterlife is another life similar to the one in which readers of this entry find themselves.
Whatever the case, Scyld could very easily buy a king out of ransom, and fend off a horde of demons on his way to the "far foreign lands" ("æht feor" l.42).
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Far away may as well be undiscovered
Is the "far foreign land" of line 42 a predecessor to Shakespeare's "he undiscover'd country" (from 3.i.81)? Outside of going into a lengthy historical/literary analysis, let's just look at the two lines within the context of internet writing.
One tips for writing for the internet found in many books/articles/heads of experts is to use Anglo-Saxon words, rather than Latinate or Greek-derived words. It's supposed to be best to use words that have been in English since the days of the Beowulf bard(s). Keeping this in mind, and remembering that the key here is simplicity maintaining itself throughout history, "the foreign country" as a euphemism for death should have some staying power.
After all, in the days when travel between points was difficult and most people stayed where they were born, anything outside of the village and its surroundings would seem distant and hard to reach. This difficulty of travelling abroad persisted from the time of Beowulf's composition (whether you peg it in the 7th or 11th century), to the time of Shakespeare (despite theories about his own wide travelling). With travel abroad being so difficult, round trips were even more so, and thus travelling to a "far foreign" land would mean a person may as well be dead - or vice versa.
Thus, though Shakespeare probably never read Beowulf, the sentiment of his "undiscover'd country," and of Beowulf's "far foreign land" is undoubtedly the same.
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Closing
That's it for this week. Recordings continue to be delayed, in fact, at this point the "Recording" section of each entry will continue to be included, but they will be filled only when I can find the time.
Next week, we get into part two of Scyld's funeral, in which his body and its adornments are described.
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Translation
Recordings
The matter of the treasure ship
Far away may as well be undiscovered
Closing
Back To Top
Abstract
Scyld's funeral procession and the description of his final ship feature this week.
Back To Top
Translation
"There at the landing place stood a ring-prowed ship
icy and eager to start, ready for that nobleman's passage;
the dear lords lead him to
the brightly ringed wealth ship,
treasure filled it to the mast; there was plentiful loot
from foreign lands, booty, loaded into it.
Never heard I of a more splendidly adorned ship
war-ready and armoured,
blade and byrnie; upon his lap was lain
a multifarious fortune, among which
he was to go to far foreign lands."
(Beowulf ll.32-42)
Back To Top
Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
The matter of the treasure ship
Scyld's ship would make a cracking archaeological find. All of that treasure, some of which coming from foreign lands, would have so much to say about the range of the early medieval Danes (and maybe Anglo-Saxons?).
Outside of such a find, though, the big thing here is that the ship is characterized as "icy" ("isig" l.33).
What would the use of an icy ship be?
Would it more effectively cut through the water?
Or is it supposed to mean that it's an old ship, one that's been so covered with hoarfrost from travelling in the chill north that it's become discoloured? Maybe barnacled?
The safest bet is that it's an old ship. It'd be one thing to use a new one for a Viking burial, but it'd be something else entirely to use a new ship and to laden it with so much treasure.
Speaking of which, aside from the immense wealth on board, the time is taken to mention that the ship is "war-ready and armoured" ("hildewæpnum ond heaðowædum" l.39). Beliefs in some sort of struggle that one must go through to get to the afterlife are fairly common around this time, and they may have coupled with ideas traditionally ascribed to the Norse. Particularly, I refer to the Norse idea that only those who go to death armed will be able to join the ranks of Valhalla. Perhaps there's also some of the Celtic belief that the afterlife is another life similar to the one in which readers of this entry find themselves.
Whatever the case, Scyld could very easily buy a king out of ransom, and fend off a horde of demons on his way to the "far foreign lands" ("æht feor" l.42).
Back To Top
Far away may as well be undiscovered
Is the "far foreign land" of line 42 a predecessor to Shakespeare's "he undiscover'd country" (from 3.i.81)? Outside of going into a lengthy historical/literary analysis, let's just look at the two lines within the context of internet writing.
One tips for writing for the internet found in many books/articles/heads of experts is to use Anglo-Saxon words, rather than Latinate or Greek-derived words. It's supposed to be best to use words that have been in English since the days of the Beowulf bard(s). Keeping this in mind, and remembering that the key here is simplicity maintaining itself throughout history, "the foreign country" as a euphemism for death should have some staying power.
After all, in the days when travel between points was difficult and most people stayed where they were born, anything outside of the village and its surroundings would seem distant and hard to reach. This difficulty of travelling abroad persisted from the time of Beowulf's composition (whether you peg it in the 7th or 11th century), to the time of Shakespeare (despite theories about his own wide travelling). With travel abroad being so difficult, round trips were even more so, and thus travelling to a "far foreign" land would mean a person may as well be dead - or vice versa.
Thus, though Shakespeare probably never read Beowulf, the sentiment of his "undiscover'd country," and of Beowulf's "far foreign land" is undoubtedly the same.
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Closing
That's it for this week. Recordings continue to be delayed, in fact, at this point the "Recording" section of each entry will continue to be included, but they will be filled only when I can find the time.
Next week, we get into part two of Scyld's funeral, in which his body and its adornments are described.
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Sunday, June 23, 2013
The power of spoken word (ll.20-31) [Old English]
Abstract
Translation
Recordings
A word's afterlife
Closing
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Abstract
Beowulf's reputation is summed up as enough to draw reliable companions for battle, and Scyld dies.
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Translation
"Thus the young man shall bring about good,
from the largesse of his father's stores,
so that he among men thereafter retains
willing companions when battle comes,
the nation would endure; praiseful deeds shall
always increase for the family of such a man.
Scyld left off amidst his work,
full busy when he went to the Lord.
They brought him to the seashore,
those dear companions, as he had bidden them.
That man's words ruled his companions,
those of the earthly prince long in languishing."
(Beowulf ll.20-31)
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Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
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A word's afterlife
The companionship sung about in this section of the poem sounds dear. Yet it's phrased in a way that also makes it sound slightly tyrannical. It becomes quite a bit less so if you look at the text as something that's supposed to be larger than life, and that's supposed to magnify its characters.
Particularly powerful, though, is Scyld's word. Lines 30-31 are not to be taken lightly. For these lines sum up what it means to be a truly great hero to Anglo-Saxons (as far as I can figure): commanding enough respect to have your words retain their effect, even after you've died. It's a reflection of Scyld's strength and, more than likely, his diplomatic skills that his word is so followed.
This same respect is paid to Beowulf, whose dying wish for a specific funeral is also followed. Thus, from the beginning, this poem is about exemplary figures who command the pseudo-mythical power of not only having their words be fulfilled after they've died, but also having these events reported.
Such fame might not put them in the same group as dog-headed men and a very large saint, but it definitely makes them remarkable for their time.
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Closing
Next week, we come to the description of Scyld's funeral. Watch for it on Thursday 27 June!
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Translation
Recordings
A word's afterlife
Closing
Back To Top
Abstract
Beowulf's reputation is summed up as enough to draw reliable companions for battle, and Scyld dies.
Back To Top
Translation
"Thus the young man shall bring about good,
from the largesse of his father's stores,
so that he among men thereafter retains
willing companions when battle comes,
the nation would endure; praiseful deeds shall
always increase for the family of such a man.
Scyld left off amidst his work,
full busy when he went to the Lord.
They brought him to the seashore,
those dear companions, as he had bidden them.
That man's words ruled his companions,
those of the earthly prince long in languishing."
(Beowulf ll.20-31)
Back To Top
Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
A word's afterlife
The companionship sung about in this section of the poem sounds dear. Yet it's phrased in a way that also makes it sound slightly tyrannical. It becomes quite a bit less so if you look at the text as something that's supposed to be larger than life, and that's supposed to magnify its characters.
Particularly powerful, though, is Scyld's word. Lines 30-31 are not to be taken lightly. For these lines sum up what it means to be a truly great hero to Anglo-Saxons (as far as I can figure): commanding enough respect to have your words retain their effect, even after you've died. It's a reflection of Scyld's strength and, more than likely, his diplomatic skills that his word is so followed.
This same respect is paid to Beowulf, whose dying wish for a specific funeral is also followed. Thus, from the beginning, this poem is about exemplary figures who command the pseudo-mythical power of not only having their words be fulfilled after they've died, but also having these events reported.
Such fame might not put them in the same group as dog-headed men and a very large saint, but it definitely makes them remarkable for their time.
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Closing
Next week, we come to the description of Scyld's funeral. Watch for it on Thursday 27 June!
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Thursday, May 23, 2013
An End and Everlasting Fame (ll.3173-3182) [Old English]
Abstract
Translation
Recordings
Singled Out
Fame, Preservation, Power
Closing
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Abstract
Beowulf ends, as the gathered Geats mourn and praise their fallen leader.
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Translation
"[They] praised him for his heroism and his courageous
deeds, which were judged highly, just as it was fitting
that the men laud their friend and lord prince with
such words, love of their hearts, when he
shall lead out his soul from his body.
Thus lamented the Geatish people
for the fall of their lord, their hearth companion;
they said that of earthly kings he was
the mildest among men and most gracious, the
kindest to people and most eager for fame."
(Beowulf ll.3173-3182)
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Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
Singled Out
After the semicolon that ended last week's extract, things become detached. The poet no longer refers to the actors as individuals, nor does e acknowledge individuals within the groups. Last week there were "sons" of noblemen, and twelve warriors. This week there are only "the men" ("þæt mon" (l.3175)), "the Geatish people" ("Geata leode" (l.3178)), and "they" (the pronoun derived from "cwædon" (l.3180)).
It's as if the poet has pulled out his focus, broadening it until the final declaration about Beowulf can be made objectively. Though there is acknowledgement that it's anything but, since it is the Geats themselves who say those good things about their fallen hero.
What this pulling away of subjects also does is emphasize Beowulf's individuality all the more. It separates him from the Geatish people, and thereby allows the poet to elevate him somewhat. In a way, it allows Beowulf to be set on such a height where he is truly alone, making it clear that the poem is about him and should be named accordingly.
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Fame, Preservation, Power
It's one thing to end an epic poem with the death and burial of its main character. It's quite another to end it on the comment that said character was the "most eager for fame" ("lofgeornost" (l.3182)).
Beowulf's ending in such a way strikes me as strange. Not because it's out of place, but because it could well be the reason for the poem's composition and endurance into manuscript form. After that it was just a matter of surviving, fire, rats, and worms, so that there were still enough words for modern people to read it.
Such an ending isn't out of place, because it was fame that endured and Anglo-Saxons (like most peoples with an oral tradition) were sure to know this. In a way, living on through your fame could be considered similar to living on in spirit not just with family and friends, but with all who knew you. In a way, having as much fame as Beowulf did could possibly be intertwined with ideas of having a great magnanimity.
Perhaps what makes the last line seem discordant nonetheless, is its stating the obvious. Beowulf never shrank from a fight, even when his counsellors, (and, let's be honest, common sense) suggested otherwise. He stood up to Grendel when none before succeeded, and then took the feud to Grendel's terrible mother. He fought on countless battlefields, and in the end went up against a dragon - a monster right from the grand heroic tales considered old even in Beowulf's day.
Why then mention (and on the last line, no less), that he always wanted to win fame?
Perhaps, it is just the poet having some fun with a famed figure. After all, the warrior did the deed, but the poet commemorated it, deeds are forgotten, but commemorations are not.
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Closing
Having started this translation and commentary of Beowulf in its midst (and in a very different way), the next entry will see a return to the poem's beginning.
However, next week there will not be a full update, as I work to get all of the missed recordings up and in place. Regular updates will resume the first Thursday of June (the 6th).
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Translation
Recordings
Singled Out
Fame, Preservation, Power
Closing
Back To Top
Abstract
Beowulf ends, as the gathered Geats mourn and praise their fallen leader.
Back To Top
Translation
"[They] praised him for his heroism and his courageous
deeds, which were judged highly, just as it was fitting
that the men laud their friend and lord prince with
such words, love of their hearts, when he
shall lead out his soul from his body.
Thus lamented the Geatish people
for the fall of their lord, their hearth companion;
they said that of earthly kings he was
the mildest among men and most gracious, the
kindest to people and most eager for fame."
(Beowulf ll.3173-3182)
Back To Top
Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
Singled Out
After the semicolon that ended last week's extract, things become detached. The poet no longer refers to the actors as individuals, nor does e acknowledge individuals within the groups. Last week there were "sons" of noblemen, and twelve warriors. This week there are only "the men" ("þæt mon" (l.3175)), "the Geatish people" ("Geata leode" (l.3178)), and "they" (the pronoun derived from "cwædon" (l.3180)).
It's as if the poet has pulled out his focus, broadening it until the final declaration about Beowulf can be made objectively. Though there is acknowledgement that it's anything but, since it is the Geats themselves who say those good things about their fallen hero.
What this pulling away of subjects also does is emphasize Beowulf's individuality all the more. It separates him from the Geatish people, and thereby allows the poet to elevate him somewhat. In a way, it allows Beowulf to be set on such a height where he is truly alone, making it clear that the poem is about him and should be named accordingly.
Back To Top
Fame, Preservation, Power
It's one thing to end an epic poem with the death and burial of its main character. It's quite another to end it on the comment that said character was the "most eager for fame" ("lofgeornost" (l.3182)).
Beowulf's ending in such a way strikes me as strange. Not because it's out of place, but because it could well be the reason for the poem's composition and endurance into manuscript form. After that it was just a matter of surviving, fire, rats, and worms, so that there were still enough words for modern people to read it.
Such an ending isn't out of place, because it was fame that endured and Anglo-Saxons (like most peoples with an oral tradition) were sure to know this. In a way, living on through your fame could be considered similar to living on in spirit not just with family and friends, but with all who knew you. In a way, having as much fame as Beowulf did could possibly be intertwined with ideas of having a great magnanimity.
Perhaps what makes the last line seem discordant nonetheless, is its stating the obvious. Beowulf never shrank from a fight, even when his counsellors, (and, let's be honest, common sense) suggested otherwise. He stood up to Grendel when none before succeeded, and then took the feud to Grendel's terrible mother. He fought on countless battlefields, and in the end went up against a dragon - a monster right from the grand heroic tales considered old even in Beowulf's day.
Why then mention (and on the last line, no less), that he always wanted to win fame?
Perhaps, it is just the poet having some fun with a famed figure. After all, the warrior did the deed, but the poet commemorated it, deeds are forgotten, but commemorations are not.
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Closing
Having started this translation and commentary of Beowulf in its midst (and in a very different way), the next entry will see a return to the poem's beginning.
However, next week there will not be a full update, as I work to get all of the missed recordings up and in place. Regular updates will resume the first Thursday of June (the 6th).
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Thursday, May 16, 2013
The Gold That was Buried with the Geat (ll.3163-3172) [Old English]
Abstract
Translation
Recordings
An Empty Victory
Beowulf's Courage
Closing
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Abstract
Beowulf is buried, and the dragon's hoard with him. As part of the burial, twelve warriors ride around his barrow, lamenting all the while.
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Translation
"They placed him in the barrow with rings and jewels,
all such adornments as were before in the
hoard of the hostile minded one that men had taken.
The warriors left the wealth to be kept by the earth,
gold in the ground, where it yet exists
as useless to men as it previously had been.
Then around the barrow of the brave in battle they rode,
the sons of noblemen, twelve warriors,
they would lament with their sorrow and mourn their king,
uttering dirges and speaking about the man;"
(Beowulf ll.3163-3172)
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Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
An Empty Victory
Beowulf's victory over the dragon was glorious, but it was ultimately useless. He died in the process,and he left his people unprotected against the ire of their rivals. But had he left the dragon to its devices,it would have destroyed the Geats. Why not just return the cup? Because the dragon was awoken, and the implication is that it was already too late by the time the serpent struck. Beowulf had lost his chance to truly protect his people by keeping a cooler head around that slave - if it was his slave to even begin with.
But back to the emptiness of Beowulf's accomplishment. In the old songs Sigurd slays the dragon and he becomes a great hero as a result. Though his household also collapses by the end of that story (at least in the forms of it that we still have it today). The important difference, though, is that Beowulf has no period of glory afterwards.
He's left mortally wounded by the fight with the dragon, and all he can do is bequeath his gear to Wiglaf and ask to see the treasure he gave his life for. Given the Christian bent of the written poem, could such a shortened life after so glorious an accomplishment be considered a mercy?
Could that be the secret of the dragon fight's relation to the story of Sigurd told after Beowulf beats Grendel? Perhaps Beowulf's shortened life is supposed to stand for the salvation that he finds, while Sigurd has no heaven to go to and thus is forced to roam onward.
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Beowulf's Courage
In spite of the futility of Beowulf's final act, what the Geats celebrate at his death is his courage. This is a quality still admired in people, though modern ideals of courage have perhaps come quite far from early medieval notions of the concept. Or perhaps not.
The courageous deeds of Beowulf that are sung of in Beowulf are all examples of active courage.
This is the sort of courage that comes out when people face head on demons and monsters and great evil. However, this certainly couldn't be the extent of Beowulf's courage. He couldn't possibly have been on every battlefield, fighting every foe of the Geats and sparking the feuds that now threaten the leaderless people.
In some instances, Beowulf's reputation must have preceded him, and this emanation of his force must have been enough to bring some peoples to heel. After all, could a king who constantly brings his people to war be considered a good king? With the poem's examples of bad rulers (Heremod and Modthryth) in mind, it seems like such an action would be seen as merely selfish, and not really for the greater good of a people at all.
If Beowulf's courage created a reputation that itself protected the Geats and was maintained by Beowulf, it's possible to speak of his courage in more modern terms. So long as you consider the modern conception of courage to be knowing when to act and when to wait and being able to do which is needed. And, in that sense, that sort of courage could be one of the aspects of a "god cyning."
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Closing
Next week we look at the final lines of the poem. Beowulf's burial is complete, and the final words about the great Geatish hero are spoken.
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Translation
Recordings
An Empty Victory
Beowulf's Courage
Closing
Back To Top
Abstract
Beowulf is buried, and the dragon's hoard with him. As part of the burial, twelve warriors ride around his barrow, lamenting all the while.
Back To Top
Translation
"They placed him in the barrow with rings and jewels,
all such adornments as were before in the
hoard of the hostile minded one that men had taken.
The warriors left the wealth to be kept by the earth,
gold in the ground, where it yet exists
as useless to men as it previously had been.
Then around the barrow of the brave in battle they rode,
the sons of noblemen, twelve warriors,
they would lament with their sorrow and mourn their king,
uttering dirges and speaking about the man;"
(Beowulf ll.3163-3172)
Back To Top
Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
An Empty Victory
Beowulf's victory over the dragon was glorious, but it was ultimately useless. He died in the process,and he left his people unprotected against the ire of their rivals. But had he left the dragon to its devices,it would have destroyed the Geats. Why not just return the cup? Because the dragon was awoken, and the implication is that it was already too late by the time the serpent struck. Beowulf had lost his chance to truly protect his people by keeping a cooler head around that slave - if it was his slave to even begin with.
But back to the emptiness of Beowulf's accomplishment. In the old songs Sigurd slays the dragon and he becomes a great hero as a result. Though his household also collapses by the end of that story (at least in the forms of it that we still have it today). The important difference, though, is that Beowulf has no period of glory afterwards.
He's left mortally wounded by the fight with the dragon, and all he can do is bequeath his gear to Wiglaf and ask to see the treasure he gave his life for. Given the Christian bent of the written poem, could such a shortened life after so glorious an accomplishment be considered a mercy?
Could that be the secret of the dragon fight's relation to the story of Sigurd told after Beowulf beats Grendel? Perhaps Beowulf's shortened life is supposed to stand for the salvation that he finds, while Sigurd has no heaven to go to and thus is forced to roam onward.
Back To Top
Beowulf's Courage
In spite of the futility of Beowulf's final act, what the Geats celebrate at his death is his courage. This is a quality still admired in people, though modern ideals of courage have perhaps come quite far from early medieval notions of the concept. Or perhaps not.
The courageous deeds of Beowulf that are sung of in Beowulf are all examples of active courage.
This is the sort of courage that comes out when people face head on demons and monsters and great evil. However, this certainly couldn't be the extent of Beowulf's courage. He couldn't possibly have been on every battlefield, fighting every foe of the Geats and sparking the feuds that now threaten the leaderless people.
In some instances, Beowulf's reputation must have preceded him, and this emanation of his force must have been enough to bring some peoples to heel. After all, could a king who constantly brings his people to war be considered a good king? With the poem's examples of bad rulers (Heremod and Modthryth) in mind, it seems like such an action would be seen as merely selfish, and not really for the greater good of a people at all.
If Beowulf's courage created a reputation that itself protected the Geats and was maintained by Beowulf, it's possible to speak of his courage in more modern terms. So long as you consider the modern conception of courage to be knowing when to act and when to wait and being able to do which is needed. And, in that sense, that sort of courage could be one of the aspects of a "god cyning."
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Closing
Next week we look at the final lines of the poem. Beowulf's burial is complete, and the final words about the great Geatish hero are spoken.
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Thursday, May 9, 2013
She Wails, but only the Smoke's Accepted (ll.3150-3162) [Old English]
Abstract
Translation
Recordings
Beowulf's Wailing Woman
Smoke in the Sky
Closing
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Abstract
A mourning woman is mentioned before larger concerns are noted and Beowulf's barrow is built.
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Translation
"Also a Geatish woman's song of mourning
[ . . . ] with hair bound up
for that sorrowful song; they said repeatedly
that they dreaded sorely an invasion,
an abundance of slaughter, terror for the company of men,
humiliation and captivity. Heaven swallowed the smoke.
Then built the Geatish people
a burial mound on the headland, it was high and broad,
for seafarers it was widely visible,
and in ten days they built
the monument for the one bold in battle. They built
also a wall around the remnants of the fire, as
the wise men had most worthily devised it."
(Beowulf ll.3150-3162)
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Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
Beowulf's Wailing Woman
The first truly curious thing about this passage (and there are a few) is the woman described in its opening. She isn't identified as anyone we've met earlier in the poem, nor does she seem to be any individual in particular.
Though it must have been an Anglo-Saxon tradition for women to wear their hair up for mourning. After all something closer to what could be called unkempt is what first comes to mind when thinking of medieval mourning.
Perhaps the woman has it done up as part of her mourning for the sake of showing that everything is all right, and there's cause for celebration. Though her sorrowful song certainly makes it clear that only the fire, the earth, and the worms have cause for celebration.
Some theorize that this woman is Hygelac's former wife, Hygd. I'm sure there are even theories that the wailing woman and Beowulf plotted to get the poem's hero onto the Geatish throne.
As per my own interpretation, I can see her being either an important individual or a stand-in for the Geats more generally, a kind of synecdoche figure for the grief and sorrow of a people.
This second interpretation has some evidence later in the passage, though, when the poet refers to the Geats' fears for their future as "humiliation and captivity" (l.3155). Women were regularly married off to seal alliances or to ease feuds, but even when both sides of such arrangements had stable leaders I can't imagine the experience of being given away and having to adjust to a completely new home being a happy one.
In the world of Beowulf in particular it seems that the value of a woman is determined by decidedly male factors. Who her father is, the martial status of her clan or people, and the relationship of suitors to her father are all variables.
With the Geats being leaderless, fear of living in humiliation when they were once proud, or in captivity when they once had the freedom to range around and help such people as the Danes, would sting any one of them. But to the Geatish women, such things would mean that they would be denied the security of even an orderly peace-weaver arrangement. Where their fathers, or brothers, or sons could intercede for them in normal circumstances, having lost their leader, the Geatish women will now have no such recourse as they're much more simply taken.
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Smoke in the Sky
The rest of this week's extract offers a few interesting facts about Beowulf's barrow, but what's particularly striking is the end of line 3155: "Heaven swallowed the smoke."
This statement cuts the extract into two pieces. The first piece deals with the mourning woman and the worried Geats, and the second with the construction of Beowulf's barrow. Having such a stark sentence between these two things is an assertion of the need to carry on through crises and disasters. The peoples' cries are not swallowed, nor are their worries. Only the smoke from the fire, only what can be expected from the mundane world. Yet, amidst this bleak pivot point for the passage, there is some hope.
The smoke reaches the heavens, and, once there, is accepted. In this single sentence the poet makes it clear that the world is temporary, but while people are in it they need to do what they can to improve it or at the least make it liveable. Thus, I don't think that Beowulf's barrow's use as a landmark is just supposed to stand as a reminder of the fallen warrior's glory, but as a metaphor for the things that people (or groups of people, as here) do to make life easier for others and for those who come next.
The sorrow and the worry of the Geats help no one, and so the heavens are indifferent to them. But the smoke heralds the death of a great hero who won glory in his youth and kept constant guard for his people's good in his old age. Thus, the smoke, perhaps itself a metaphor for the most mundane of ways to transcend the physical world, is all that the heavens take in.
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Closing
Next week we enter the closing stretch of Beowulf, as the man himself is laid to rest and the ceremony continues.
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Translation
Recordings
Beowulf's Wailing Woman
Smoke in the Sky
Closing
Back To Top
Abstract
A mourning woman is mentioned before larger concerns are noted and Beowulf's barrow is built.
Back To Top
Translation
"Also a Geatish woman's song of mourning
[ . . . ] with hair bound up
for that sorrowful song; they said repeatedly
that they dreaded sorely an invasion,
an abundance of slaughter, terror for the company of men,
humiliation and captivity. Heaven swallowed the smoke.
Then built the Geatish people
a burial mound on the headland, it was high and broad,
for seafarers it was widely visible,
and in ten days they built
the monument for the one bold in battle. They built
also a wall around the remnants of the fire, as
the wise men had most worthily devised it."
(Beowulf ll.3150-3162)
Back To Top
Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
Beowulf's Wailing Woman
The first truly curious thing about this passage (and there are a few) is the woman described in its opening. She isn't identified as anyone we've met earlier in the poem, nor does she seem to be any individual in particular.
Though it must have been an Anglo-Saxon tradition for women to wear their hair up for mourning. After all something closer to what could be called unkempt is what first comes to mind when thinking of medieval mourning.
Perhaps the woman has it done up as part of her mourning for the sake of showing that everything is all right, and there's cause for celebration. Though her sorrowful song certainly makes it clear that only the fire, the earth, and the worms have cause for celebration.
Some theorize that this woman is Hygelac's former wife, Hygd. I'm sure there are even theories that the wailing woman and Beowulf plotted to get the poem's hero onto the Geatish throne.
As per my own interpretation, I can see her being either an important individual or a stand-in for the Geats more generally, a kind of synecdoche figure for the grief and sorrow of a people.
This second interpretation has some evidence later in the passage, though, when the poet refers to the Geats' fears for their future as "humiliation and captivity" (l.3155). Women were regularly married off to seal alliances or to ease feuds, but even when both sides of such arrangements had stable leaders I can't imagine the experience of being given away and having to adjust to a completely new home being a happy one.
In the world of Beowulf in particular it seems that the value of a woman is determined by decidedly male factors. Who her father is, the martial status of her clan or people, and the relationship of suitors to her father are all variables.
With the Geats being leaderless, fear of living in humiliation when they were once proud, or in captivity when they once had the freedom to range around and help such people as the Danes, would sting any one of them. But to the Geatish women, such things would mean that they would be denied the security of even an orderly peace-weaver arrangement. Where their fathers, or brothers, or sons could intercede for them in normal circumstances, having lost their leader, the Geatish women will now have no such recourse as they're much more simply taken.
Back To Top
Smoke in the Sky
The rest of this week's extract offers a few interesting facts about Beowulf's barrow, but what's particularly striking is the end of line 3155: "Heaven swallowed the smoke."
This statement cuts the extract into two pieces. The first piece deals with the mourning woman and the worried Geats, and the second with the construction of Beowulf's barrow. Having such a stark sentence between these two things is an assertion of the need to carry on through crises and disasters. The peoples' cries are not swallowed, nor are their worries. Only the smoke from the fire, only what can be expected from the mundane world. Yet, amidst this bleak pivot point for the passage, there is some hope.
The smoke reaches the heavens, and, once there, is accepted. In this single sentence the poet makes it clear that the world is temporary, but while people are in it they need to do what they can to improve it or at the least make it liveable. Thus, I don't think that Beowulf's barrow's use as a landmark is just supposed to stand as a reminder of the fallen warrior's glory, but as a metaphor for the things that people (or groups of people, as here) do to make life easier for others and for those who come next.
The sorrow and the worry of the Geats help no one, and so the heavens are indifferent to them. But the smoke heralds the death of a great hero who won glory in his youth and kept constant guard for his people's good in his old age. Thus, the smoke, perhaps itself a metaphor for the most mundane of ways to transcend the physical world, is all that the heavens take in.
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Closing
Next week we enter the closing stretch of Beowulf, as the man himself is laid to rest and the ceremony continues.
Back To Top
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Focused on the Fire (ll.3137-3149) [Old English]
Abstract
Translation
Recordings
A Translation Explained
Further on the Fire's Remains
Closing
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Abstract
Beowulf's body is burned on his pyre, and even the fire mourns.
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Translation
"For him the Geatish people then made ready
The splendid pyre in the earth,
hung round with helmets, with battle shields,
with gleaming mail coats, as he had requested.
Then they laid the renowned prince in the midst of
lamenting warriors, that dear lord.
The fighters then proceeded to kindle
that great funeral fire; wood smoke rose up
black over the blaze, the flame roared, mingling
with weeping - the swirling wind subsided - until
that blade had broken the body, proven hot to the
heart. Sad at the source, it threw about sorrowful
heat,and lamented grievously, killing the liege lord."
(Beowulf ll.3137-3149)
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Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
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A Translation Explained
The conventional way to translate the part of this week's passage relating to the mourners and the fire is to ascribe the sorrow to the people around the flame. However, because the idea that even the elements mourn Beowulf's passing has a lot of appeal, I chose to translate it as such. Admittedly, this is partially a baseless translation since I don't know if the Anglo-Saxons believed in any sort of pathetic fallacy.
Nonetheless, I'd like to think that they, or the Christians writing out Beowulf, would have had some sense of the world as a creation being an organic whole. As such, the loss of one part would elicit an organic reaction from the other parts, or maybe more in line with ideas and theories of Anglo-Saxon artistry, the loss of a knot or a link causes the whole to function differently. Thus, rather than just having the fire burn, the loss of Beowulf (and, indeed, inevitably of all the Geats), causes it to mourn in its own turn, and to reluctantly fulfil its duty to destroy and reduce to ash.
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Further on the Fire's Remains
That reduction to ash, although not really mentioned in this passage, is implicit, and important. As an elegy, Beowulf is cyclical to some extent. It begins with the mourning of Scyld Scyfing, then moves through Beowulf's triumphs, and ends with the mourning of Beowulf himself. The concept that all humans follow a similar cycle is found in Christian religion, along with many others.
But the idea's presence in Christianity is especially relevant, since the interwoven structure of the poem and the cycle of mourning-triumph-mourning work well to illustrate the rhythms of human achievement in a Christian perspective. Everything returns to dust, but also comes from that same dust.
At the heart of such a sentiment, the Anglo-Saxon idea that people are given a "loan of days" is right at home.
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Closing
Next week, we'll see the mysterious mourning woman, and hear about the construction of Beowulf's monumental barrow.
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Translation
Recordings
A Translation Explained
Further on the Fire's Remains
Closing
Back To Top
Abstract
Beowulf's body is burned on his pyre, and even the fire mourns.
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Translation
"For him the Geatish people then made ready
The splendid pyre in the earth,
hung round with helmets, with battle shields,
with gleaming mail coats, as he had requested.
Then they laid the renowned prince in the midst of
lamenting warriors, that dear lord.
The fighters then proceeded to kindle
that great funeral fire; wood smoke rose up
black over the blaze, the flame roared, mingling
with weeping - the swirling wind subsided - until
that blade had broken the body, proven hot to the
heart. Sad at the source, it threw about sorrowful
heat,and lamented grievously, killing the liege lord."
(Beowulf ll.3137-3149)
Back To Top
Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
A Translation Explained
The conventional way to translate the part of this week's passage relating to the mourners and the fire is to ascribe the sorrow to the people around the flame. However, because the idea that even the elements mourn Beowulf's passing has a lot of appeal, I chose to translate it as such. Admittedly, this is partially a baseless translation since I don't know if the Anglo-Saxons believed in any sort of pathetic fallacy.
Nonetheless, I'd like to think that they, or the Christians writing out Beowulf, would have had some sense of the world as a creation being an organic whole. As such, the loss of one part would elicit an organic reaction from the other parts, or maybe more in line with ideas and theories of Anglo-Saxon artistry, the loss of a knot or a link causes the whole to function differently. Thus, rather than just having the fire burn, the loss of Beowulf (and, indeed, inevitably of all the Geats), causes it to mourn in its own turn, and to reluctantly fulfil its duty to destroy and reduce to ash.
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Further on the Fire's Remains
That reduction to ash, although not really mentioned in this passage, is implicit, and important. As an elegy, Beowulf is cyclical to some extent. It begins with the mourning of Scyld Scyfing, then moves through Beowulf's triumphs, and ends with the mourning of Beowulf himself. The concept that all humans follow a similar cycle is found in Christian religion, along with many others.
But the idea's presence in Christianity is especially relevant, since the interwoven structure of the poem and the cycle of mourning-triumph-mourning work well to illustrate the rhythms of human achievement in a Christian perspective. Everything returns to dust, but also comes from that same dust.
At the heart of such a sentiment, the Anglo-Saxon idea that people are given a "loan of days" is right at home.
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Closing
Next week, we'll see the mysterious mourning woman, and hear about the construction of Beowulf's monumental barrow.
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Thursday, April 25, 2013
Dragons and Death (ll.3120-3136) [Old English]
Abstract
Translation
Recordings
The Dead Become Dragons?
Dealing with Dragons
Closing
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Abstract
Wiglaf and several other Geats raid the hoard, and then bring Beowulf and their haul to Hronesness for the hero's funeral.
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Translation
Indeed the wise son of Weohstan
summoned a band of the king's thanes,
seven together, those who were best,
he went with seven others, warriors,
under the evil roof; one bore in hand
a flaming torch, the one who went at the front.
There was no drawing of lots for the plundering of
that hoard, when the men saw that all parts of
the hall remained without a guardian,
for he lay wasting away; few of them grieved
as they hastily carried out those
dear treasures; the dragon also was pushed,
the serpent they slid over the sea cliff, let the waves
take him, the sea enfolded that guardian of precious
things. Then was wound gold loaded onto wagons,
everything in countless numbers, then was the prince borne,
the old warrior brought to Hronesness.
(Beowulf ll.3120-3136)
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Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
The Dead Become Dragons?
There's something to be said for efficiency. And, here efficiency could be something pointing towards a parallel that's merely been suggested beforehand.
As far as the poem describes it, the Geats move Beowulf over to Hronesness in the same load, or at least trip, as the gold that they've taken from the hoard. Beowulf is certainly worthy to ride with such treasures, but laying him on this heap of heirlooms is really quite strange, especially if you consider what happens to the dragon.
It's a small act, but there's so much going on in it. The projection of value onto wealth, the equation of treasured objects with treasured people, perhaps even a glimpse into a philosophy of the soul. For, the Anglo-Saxons might have regarded the body as merely a vessel, much like the cups found in the hoard, something that can be shining and gold adorned, but that maybe has its greatest value when it is filled with mead, just as a body might have its greatest value while it still holds a soul.
Among the strangest of the things that it suggests (and this is something suggested by the act of burying people of high esteem with objects of high esteem), is that in death great people are made into what, if living, could be considered a dragon. They're in a barrow, surrounded by gold, and, in the case of Beowulf, there is always flame nearby. Even in the case of people like Scyld Scefing, who were pushed off to sea in ships ladened with treasure and then put to flame, all of the key aspects of a dragon can be found.
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Dealing with Dragons
Yet, what do the Geats do with a proper dragon? They just dump it over the cliff and let it fall into the water. Keeping the written Beowulf's Christian influences in mind, I wonder if doing so is as bad as dying in a fire is to the Greeks. In either case your body isn't being properly preserved, which, strictly theologically speaking, means you will not be able to be judged come the second coming.
Moreover, though, it's also a denial of the cyclical nature of life as laid down throughout the Bible: 'people are dust and unto dust they will return.' Perhaps, in a way, destroying a body but not burying it was intended as a way to keep another manifestation of that thing from appearing. If such is the case, then the ceremonial funerals of great figures from this period and earlier could be explained as a means of propagating greatness, or re-introducing it into the life-cycle.
But then, for a people like the Geats, who face difficulty on all sides and even among themselves believe they'll be wiped out, what does such a funeral mean? Is it merely to be a monument to the greatest of a long forgotten people? Is it, in the case of Beowulf, just a convenient excuse to build a lighthouse?
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Closing
Next week, Beowulf burns.
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Translation
Recordings
The Dead Become Dragons?
Dealing with Dragons
Closing
Back To Top
Abstract
Wiglaf and several other Geats raid the hoard, and then bring Beowulf and their haul to Hronesness for the hero's funeral.
Back To Top
Translation
Indeed the wise son of Weohstan
summoned a band of the king's thanes,
seven together, those who were best,
he went with seven others, warriors,
under the evil roof; one bore in hand
a flaming torch, the one who went at the front.
There was no drawing of lots for the plundering of
that hoard, when the men saw that all parts of
the hall remained without a guardian,
for he lay wasting away; few of them grieved
as they hastily carried out those
dear treasures; the dragon also was pushed,
the serpent they slid over the sea cliff, let the waves
take him, the sea enfolded that guardian of precious
things. Then was wound gold loaded onto wagons,
everything in countless numbers, then was the prince borne,
the old warrior brought to Hronesness.
(Beowulf ll.3120-3136)
Back To Top
Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
The Dead Become Dragons?
There's something to be said for efficiency. And, here efficiency could be something pointing towards a parallel that's merely been suggested beforehand.
As far as the poem describes it, the Geats move Beowulf over to Hronesness in the same load, or at least trip, as the gold that they've taken from the hoard. Beowulf is certainly worthy to ride with such treasures, but laying him on this heap of heirlooms is really quite strange, especially if you consider what happens to the dragon.
It's a small act, but there's so much going on in it. The projection of value onto wealth, the equation of treasured objects with treasured people, perhaps even a glimpse into a philosophy of the soul. For, the Anglo-Saxons might have regarded the body as merely a vessel, much like the cups found in the hoard, something that can be shining and gold adorned, but that maybe has its greatest value when it is filled with mead, just as a body might have its greatest value while it still holds a soul.
Among the strangest of the things that it suggests (and this is something suggested by the act of burying people of high esteem with objects of high esteem), is that in death great people are made into what, if living, could be considered a dragon. They're in a barrow, surrounded by gold, and, in the case of Beowulf, there is always flame nearby. Even in the case of people like Scyld Scefing, who were pushed off to sea in ships ladened with treasure and then put to flame, all of the key aspects of a dragon can be found.
Back To Top
Dealing with Dragons
Yet, what do the Geats do with a proper dragon? They just dump it over the cliff and let it fall into the water. Keeping the written Beowulf's Christian influences in mind, I wonder if doing so is as bad as dying in a fire is to the Greeks. In either case your body isn't being properly preserved, which, strictly theologically speaking, means you will not be able to be judged come the second coming.
Moreover, though, it's also a denial of the cyclical nature of life as laid down throughout the Bible: 'people are dust and unto dust they will return.' Perhaps, in a way, destroying a body but not burying it was intended as a way to keep another manifestation of that thing from appearing. If such is the case, then the ceremonial funerals of great figures from this period and earlier could be explained as a means of propagating greatness, or re-introducing it into the life-cycle.
But then, for a people like the Geats, who face difficulty on all sides and even among themselves believe they'll be wiped out, what does such a funeral mean? Is it merely to be a monument to the greatest of a long forgotten people? Is it, in the case of Beowulf, just a convenient excuse to build a lighthouse?
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Closing
Next week, Beowulf burns.
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Saturday, March 16, 2013
Waxing Elegiac as Treasure Trickles (ll.3058-3068) [Old English]
Abstract
Translation
Recordings
A Use for Elegies
Gold-less Geats
Closing
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Abstract
The poet steps back from the action to muse on the glorious futility of the Geats' quest for the dragon's gold.
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Translation
"Then it was seen, that the journey for
that which was hidden in the earth swell
was for nought; the guard earlier slew
that one of joy; that one worked the feud,
and worked it wrathfully. It is a wonder
where any great man famed for courage will meet the end
of these loaned days, when he may no longer
dwell with his kinsmen in the mead hall.
So it was with Beowulf, when he the barrow's
guardian sought, cunning enmity: none can know
through what means his own parting from this world will be."
(Beowulf ll.3058-3068)
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Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
A Use for Elegies
It's true that none can know his or her end, but there's some solace to be found in this sentiment.
After all, not knowing when or how you'll die means it could happen at any time, and so this absence of knowledge presents you with two possibilities: dread and drive. Being an epic poem that celebrates the life of a legendary hero, it's pretty clear that the poet intends to focus on the "drive" aspect of death's mystery.
But why?
Well, given the widespread use of the elegiac in Anglo-Saxon literature (check out "The Seafarer," or "Wulf and Eadwacer," or "The Wanderer," for just a few samples), it must have been a device that they found interesting or useful.
Perhaps Anglo-Saxons enjoyed a good elegy for the same reason that melancholy songs remain popular through to today. Such pieces of concentrated dreariness offer a useful contrast to people's own personal problems, and the perspective that they give to listeners is often useful in brightening up their mood. This use of melancholy as a poultice for sorrow might also be why Christianity eventually found root with the Anglo-Saxons, since it is a religion with a truly elegiac figure at its center.
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Gold-less Geats
It's mentioned in passing on line 3059, but getting the treasure is never noted as the 12's original goal in going to seek the dragon. In fact, Beowulf's primary concern appears to be killing the monster, not revelling in its hoarded wealth. Nonetheless, this brief glimpse into a more adventurous motivation suggests how the hunt for treasure is always somewhere in the Anglo-Saxon mind.
What's more, as it appears in this extract, the absence of treasure works as a shorthand for the loss that the Geats now suffer. Were they able to take the gold, it's possible that they could try to buy their safety. Without those riches, however, the Geats lose yet another means of escaping their fate. They are leaderless, and now, they're also treasureless.
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Closing
Next week, the poet describes the curse put upon the gold. Check back here then for an enchanting read.
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Translation
Recordings
A Use for Elegies
Gold-less Geats
Closing
Back To Top
Abstract
The poet steps back from the action to muse on the glorious futility of the Geats' quest for the dragon's gold.
Back To Top
Translation
"Then it was seen, that the journey for
that which was hidden in the earth swell
was for nought; the guard earlier slew
that one of joy; that one worked the feud,
and worked it wrathfully. It is a wonder
where any great man famed for courage will meet the end
of these loaned days, when he may no longer
dwell with his kinsmen in the mead hall.
So it was with Beowulf, when he the barrow's
guardian sought, cunning enmity: none can know
through what means his own parting from this world will be."
(Beowulf ll.3058-3068)
Back To Top
Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
A Use for Elegies
It's true that none can know his or her end, but there's some solace to be found in this sentiment.
After all, not knowing when or how you'll die means it could happen at any time, and so this absence of knowledge presents you with two possibilities: dread and drive. Being an epic poem that celebrates the life of a legendary hero, it's pretty clear that the poet intends to focus on the "drive" aspect of death's mystery.
But why?
Well, given the widespread use of the elegiac in Anglo-Saxon literature (check out "The Seafarer," or "Wulf and Eadwacer," or "The Wanderer," for just a few samples), it must have been a device that they found interesting or useful.
Perhaps Anglo-Saxons enjoyed a good elegy for the same reason that melancholy songs remain popular through to today. Such pieces of concentrated dreariness offer a useful contrast to people's own personal problems, and the perspective that they give to listeners is often useful in brightening up their mood. This use of melancholy as a poultice for sorrow might also be why Christianity eventually found root with the Anglo-Saxons, since it is a religion with a truly elegiac figure at its center.
Back To Top
Gold-less Geats
It's mentioned in passing on line 3059, but getting the treasure is never noted as the 12's original goal in going to seek the dragon. In fact, Beowulf's primary concern appears to be killing the monster, not revelling in its hoarded wealth. Nonetheless, this brief glimpse into a more adventurous motivation suggests how the hunt for treasure is always somewhere in the Anglo-Saxon mind.
What's more, as it appears in this extract, the absence of treasure works as a shorthand for the loss that the Geats now suffer. Were they able to take the gold, it's possible that they could try to buy their safety. Without those riches, however, the Geats lose yet another means of escaping their fate. They are leaderless, and now, they're also treasureless.
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Closing
Next week, the poet describes the curse put upon the gold. Check back here then for an enchanting read.
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Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wondering about the Strange and the Draconic (ll. 3033-3046) [Old English]
Abstract
Translation
Recordings
Dragon Gawking
Of Dragonkind
Closing
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Abstract
The Geats come down to where Beowulf died, but are distracted by a more wondrous sight.
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Translation
They found him on the sand where his soul left his body
emptily guarding his couch, he who had given rings
in days past; that was the final day
of that good man's journey, indeed that great-king,
lord of the Weders, died a wondrous death.
Yet before that they saw a stranger creature,
opposite him there on the strand was the serpent, there
the loathed one lay: it was the dweller of the drake's
den,the sombrely splattered horror, glowing like an
ember for its flames. It was full fifty feet long,
laying there; just days ago it knew
the joy of night-flight, keeping a searching eye out for
its den down below; it was held there in death,
never again would it know its earth den.
(Beowulf ll.3033-3046)
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Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
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Dragon Gawking
The first thing to ask after reading this passage is: Why does the dragon get so much attention?
It's the "loathed" enemy ("laa[th]ne" l.3040), and Beowulf overcame it. So why spend nine lines going into detail about it?
There are a few possibilities here. The Anglo-Saxon audiences of the poem before it was written down probably had a good sense of a creature's strength. More than likely, simply by hearing about him, her, or it, even. The prevalance and power of boasting among them definitely attests to such an idea. But any culture that can so readily size up opponents needs some sort of metric to go by. So, maybe, all of this extra detail about the dragon is provided to show how Beowulf is at least equal to the dragon, since they mutually slew one another.
Or, maybe the point of having such detail isn't to compare it to Beowulf in terms of strength at all. Instead, maybe it's more about their common strangeness. For, whatever a man's boasts were in those days, few would have crossed paths with monsters as varied and powerful as those that Bwowulf scuffled with. In that sense, then, maybe this passage is suggesting that Beowulf himself should be viewed as a kind of monster. Or, at the very least, a wonder.
Maybe this is why Beowulf was bound together with a life of Saint Christopher, Wonders of the East, and a Letter of Alexander to Aristotle. Rather than being about a normal person going around the world and finding oddities, Beowulf offered audiences a glimpse into the perspective of a creature as rare and wonderful as dog-headed men, or a land over which thick darkness has settled.
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Of Dragonkind
Matters of the dragon and Beowulf sharing the page in this excerpt aside, there's the question of what kind of dragon it is. Given its description here, it sounds more like an Oriental dragon than an Occidental one. It must be rather thin (its fire burning through its skin can be seen long after it's dead), it can fly but no real mention of wings is made in the poem, and, at least so far as I'm imagining it, it seems like it's coiled up in death.
Why should the kind of dragon that Beowulf and Wiglaf defeated matter?
Well, one of the biggest influences on Beowulf (particularly its being written down) was Christianity. Of course, Christianity isn't without its depictions of dragons. These, though, especially up to the early Medieval period, are generally of a serpentine beast that's supposed to be the devil incarnate. Maybe there's a bit of that here too, but it seems more likely that having a unique dragon is just another reason that the book was bound with fantastic tales from around the known world.
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Closing
Next week, the poem moves from treasure-hoarder to treasure itself. Don't miss it!
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Translation
Recordings
Dragon Gawking
Of Dragonkind
Closing
Back To Top
Abstract
The Geats come down to where Beowulf died, but are distracted by a more wondrous sight.
Back To Top
Translation
They found him on the sand where his soul left his body
emptily guarding his couch, he who had given rings
in days past; that was the final day
of that good man's journey, indeed that great-king,
lord of the Weders, died a wondrous death.
Yet before that they saw a stranger creature,
opposite him there on the strand was the serpent, there
the loathed one lay: it was the dweller of the drake's
den,the sombrely splattered horror, glowing like an
ember for its flames. It was full fifty feet long,
laying there; just days ago it knew
the joy of night-flight, keeping a searching eye out for
its den down below; it was held there in death,
never again would it know its earth den.
(Beowulf ll.3033-3046)
Back To Top
Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
Dragon Gawking
The first thing to ask after reading this passage is: Why does the dragon get so much attention?
It's the "loathed" enemy ("laa[th]ne" l.3040), and Beowulf overcame it. So why spend nine lines going into detail about it?
There are a few possibilities here. The Anglo-Saxon audiences of the poem before it was written down probably had a good sense of a creature's strength. More than likely, simply by hearing about him, her, or it, even. The prevalance and power of boasting among them definitely attests to such an idea. But any culture that can so readily size up opponents needs some sort of metric to go by. So, maybe, all of this extra detail about the dragon is provided to show how Beowulf is at least equal to the dragon, since they mutually slew one another.
Or, maybe the point of having such detail isn't to compare it to Beowulf in terms of strength at all. Instead, maybe it's more about their common strangeness. For, whatever a man's boasts were in those days, few would have crossed paths with monsters as varied and powerful as those that Bwowulf scuffled with. In that sense, then, maybe this passage is suggesting that Beowulf himself should be viewed as a kind of monster. Or, at the very least, a wonder.
Maybe this is why Beowulf was bound together with a life of Saint Christopher, Wonders of the East, and a Letter of Alexander to Aristotle. Rather than being about a normal person going around the world and finding oddities, Beowulf offered audiences a glimpse into the perspective of a creature as rare and wonderful as dog-headed men, or a land over which thick darkness has settled.
Back To Top
Of Dragonkind
Matters of the dragon and Beowulf sharing the page in this excerpt aside, there's the question of what kind of dragon it is. Given its description here, it sounds more like an Oriental dragon than an Occidental one. It must be rather thin (its fire burning through its skin can be seen long after it's dead), it can fly but no real mention of wings is made in the poem, and, at least so far as I'm imagining it, it seems like it's coiled up in death.
Why should the kind of dragon that Beowulf and Wiglaf defeated matter?
Well, one of the biggest influences on Beowulf (particularly its being written down) was Christianity. Of course, Christianity isn't without its depictions of dragons. These, though, especially up to the early Medieval period, are generally of a serpentine beast that's supposed to be the devil incarnate. Maybe there's a bit of that here too, but it seems more likely that having a unique dragon is just another reason that the book was bound with fantastic tales from around the known world.
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Closing
Next week, the poem moves from treasure-hoarder to treasure itself. Don't miss it!
Back To Top
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Scavenging Field and Page Alike (ll.3021b-3032) [Old English]
Abstract
Translation
Recordings
A Beastly Finish
A Curious Death March
Closing
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Abstract
The messenger's premonition ends with the beasts of battle, and the troop of Geats heads to where Beowulf and the dragon lay.
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Translation
"'The future will see hands habituated to hoisting
morning-cold spears,heaved by hand, not at all shall
the harp's sweep stir warriors, but wan on the wing
the raven flying over the doomed will speak,
tell the eagle how he vomited and ate,
when he and the wolf reaved the dead.'
Such was the sentence of that speaker's
dire speech; he did not deceive in
what he told and read of fate. The troop all arose,
went without joy beneath Eagle Cliff,
faces tear-torn, the terrible scene to see."
(Beowulf ll.3021b-3032)
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Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
A Beastly Finish
The messenger at last finishes his speech to those Geats gathered to hear word of their dear leader. And, as if he hadn't been clear enough, he closes with mention of the emblematic beasts of battle.
These animals were closely associated with war in Anglo-Saxon culture because of their established presence on the battlefield. These are, after all, the animals that would swoop or scrounge in and savour the leavings of a battle. Except, perhaps, for the eagle. I mean, it seems more likely that the eagle would fly over a battle field in the hopes of finding a small rodent that's a bit too curious.
Closing with these animals, which were neutral in and of themselves (they merely represented the destruction of war and nature's way of restoring things to their former states), makes clear the slaughter that the Geats are in for. They can march away, forever in exile, but even then their lives will be ones of constant vigilance. For human armies can tire of such a chase, whereas nature never can, and the beasts are a symbol of that relentless power.
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A Curious Death March
Up until this point, those to whom the messenger is speaking were some small distance from the cliffs where the battle took pace, and their march towards the awful spectacle can be nothing more than a heavy-footed trek. They already know what they will see, and it will not prove to be overwhelmingly positive.
Yet, this points towards something interesting. The Geats already know what happened, and still a troop of them go to see what are the ruins of their leader and their foe.
Perhaps the Anglo-Saxons had some belief around funerals that friends and family needed to see the corpse before it was buried or burned. Why would such a belief exist?
To allow people to confirm things, maybe. Or perhaps to offer people one final chance to see the deceased's face. Or, still possible, the Geats go to see Beowulf because they believe a part of their soul is bestowed upon him, maybe making the afterlife an easier place for him to navigate.
Whatever the reason, next week they find Beowulf and the dragon. One is regarded with sorrow and the other with wonder - check out the next entry to find out which is which!
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Closing
This coming week, watch for the next entry on Thursday. I'll be done with the big draw on my freetime - editing an episode of the Doctor Who podcast TelosAM - by then. As a result, getting back to this blog's regular schedule will not be an issue.
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Translation
Recordings
A Beastly Finish
A Curious Death March
Closing
Back To Top
Abstract
The messenger's premonition ends with the beasts of battle, and the troop of Geats heads to where Beowulf and the dragon lay.
Back To Top
Translation
"'The future will see hands habituated to hoisting
morning-cold spears,heaved by hand, not at all shall
the harp's sweep stir warriors, but wan on the wing
the raven flying over the doomed will speak,
tell the eagle how he vomited and ate,
when he and the wolf reaved the dead.'
Such was the sentence of that speaker's
dire speech; he did not deceive in
what he told and read of fate. The troop all arose,
went without joy beneath Eagle Cliff,
faces tear-torn, the terrible scene to see."
(Beowulf ll.3021b-3032)
Back To Top
Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
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A Beastly Finish
The messenger at last finishes his speech to those Geats gathered to hear word of their dear leader. And, as if he hadn't been clear enough, he closes with mention of the emblematic beasts of battle.
These animals were closely associated with war in Anglo-Saxon culture because of their established presence on the battlefield. These are, after all, the animals that would swoop or scrounge in and savour the leavings of a battle. Except, perhaps, for the eagle. I mean, it seems more likely that the eagle would fly over a battle field in the hopes of finding a small rodent that's a bit too curious.
Closing with these animals, which were neutral in and of themselves (they merely represented the destruction of war and nature's way of restoring things to their former states), makes clear the slaughter that the Geats are in for. They can march away, forever in exile, but even then their lives will be ones of constant vigilance. For human armies can tire of such a chase, whereas nature never can, and the beasts are a symbol of that relentless power.
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A Curious Death March
Up until this point, those to whom the messenger is speaking were some small distance from the cliffs where the battle took pace, and their march towards the awful spectacle can be nothing more than a heavy-footed trek. They already know what they will see, and it will not prove to be overwhelmingly positive.
Yet, this points towards something interesting. The Geats already know what happened, and still a troop of them go to see what are the ruins of their leader and their foe.
Perhaps the Anglo-Saxons had some belief around funerals that friends and family needed to see the corpse before it was buried or burned. Why would such a belief exist?
To allow people to confirm things, maybe. Or perhaps to offer people one final chance to see the deceased's face. Or, still possible, the Geats go to see Beowulf because they believe a part of their soul is bestowed upon him, maybe making the afterlife an easier place for him to navigate.
Whatever the reason, next week they find Beowulf and the dragon. One is regarded with sorrow and the other with wonder - check out the next entry to find out which is which!
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Closing
This coming week, watch for the next entry on Thursday. I'll be done with the big draw on my freetime - editing an episode of the Doctor Who podcast TelosAM - by then. As a result, getting back to this blog's regular schedule will not be an issue.
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Thursday, February 7, 2013
Hastily Towards the Pyre (ll.2999-3010a) [Old English]
Abstract
Translation
Recordings
A Snappy Eulogy, Eager Flames
Burning the Body
Closing
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Abstract
The messenger wraps up his story, and relates how they must now hasten to bring Beowulf's body to the funeral pyre.
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Translation
"'That is the root of our feud and foeship,
this very deadly hostility, which, as I truly believe,
means that we shall be sought by the Swedes,
after they hear of how our lord is now lifeless,
the one who in earlier days defended
our people and treasures against our enemies,
after our warriors fell, a prelude to the Scylfings,
worked ever for the people's benefit and went further
than any other to be like a true lord. Now haste is best,
that we our king see to there
and bring there, he who gave us rings,
to the funeral pyre.'"
(Beowulf ll.2999-3010a)
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Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
A Snappy Eulogy, Eager Flames
Speaking quickly is one thing, going several lines without a full stop is another. Once again, the poet is making the poem's language reflect its content, as the long first sentence of this passage is an encapsulation of Beowulf's deeds. In fact, it may even be a sort of eulogy for him before the funerary party departs for the pyre at Whale's Ness.
But why cut it so short?
And what happened to Beowulf's adventures with the Danes?
It seems his glory as a king and a ring-giver has overshadowed his youthful deeds, no doubt a good thing since it would also mean the departing from memory of Beowulf's needing to go to the Danes to prove himself in the first place.
As to the length of this eulogy, and the messenger's haste to get Beowulf to the pyre, both suggest an extreme need for closure.
Perhaps the Geats have some sort of scrying tradition, wherein they gaze into the pyre of a dead king and see his successor if he is without a son? Though that seems unlikely, since no one is speaking of bringing in a new king, they're all merely resolute in their fates.
In terms of closure more generally, if the Geats foresee their doom, then it is entirely possible that they're eager to complete one last communal ritual as they work to fulfil Beowulf's final wish. And, the poet(s)'s no doubt eager for a clean close to a poem that has become as much about the Geats as its titular hero.
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Burning the Body
Though, it's also possible that the messenger's desire for haste points to something more macabre and more practical all at the same time. Maybe the Geats want to simply get rid of BEowulf's body.
Why? Well, to keep the Swedes from plundering it, taking some part of it as a trophy, and maybe with the hope that, having been scorched into nothingness, they can build up a grand story about Beowulf's ascent into the afterlife or some sort of immortality.
Perhaps there's some belief that the spirit of an old chieftan can act as a guardian force. This protective possibility can't be entirely ruled out, since the messenger emphasizes over and over again just how resolute Beowulf was in protecting his people.
However, not being an expert in Anglo-Saxon funerals and rites, I can't say for sure what could be underlying the messenger's urging haste. And if any rites apply to this situation, Anglo-Saxon ones are definitely relevant, since the poem's language *is* Old English rather than a form of Old Icelandic or German.
In fact, Beowulf's primary audience (based on its language, anyway) is Anglo-Saxons. Thus, the matter of rushing to give a funeral for a fallen king must have been something that the Anglo-Saxons related to, and would have reason to do.
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Closing
The Recordings will return! But for sure, next week sees the messenger describing Beowulf's funeral, the fate of the gold, and a bit of the fate of the Geats themselves.
Back To Top
Translation
Recordings
A Snappy Eulogy, Eager Flames
Burning the Body
Closing
Back To Top
Abstract
The messenger wraps up his story, and relates how they must now hasten to bring Beowulf's body to the funeral pyre.
Back To Top
Translation
"'That is the root of our feud and foeship,
this very deadly hostility, which, as I truly believe,
means that we shall be sought by the Swedes,
after they hear of how our lord is now lifeless,
the one who in earlier days defended
our people and treasures against our enemies,
after our warriors fell, a prelude to the Scylfings,
worked ever for the people's benefit and went further
than any other to be like a true lord. Now haste is best,
that we our king see to there
and bring there, he who gave us rings,
to the funeral pyre.'"
(Beowulf ll.2999-3010a)
Back To Top
Recordings
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
A Snappy Eulogy, Eager Flames
Speaking quickly is one thing, going several lines without a full stop is another. Once again, the poet is making the poem's language reflect its content, as the long first sentence of this passage is an encapsulation of Beowulf's deeds. In fact, it may even be a sort of eulogy for him before the funerary party departs for the pyre at Whale's Ness.
But why cut it so short?
And what happened to Beowulf's adventures with the Danes?
It seems his glory as a king and a ring-giver has overshadowed his youthful deeds, no doubt a good thing since it would also mean the departing from memory of Beowulf's needing to go to the Danes to prove himself in the first place.
As to the length of this eulogy, and the messenger's haste to get Beowulf to the pyre, both suggest an extreme need for closure.
Perhaps the Geats have some sort of scrying tradition, wherein they gaze into the pyre of a dead king and see his successor if he is without a son? Though that seems unlikely, since no one is speaking of bringing in a new king, they're all merely resolute in their fates.
In terms of closure more generally, if the Geats foresee their doom, then it is entirely possible that they're eager to complete one last communal ritual as they work to fulfil Beowulf's final wish. And, the poet(s)'s no doubt eager for a clean close to a poem that has become as much about the Geats as its titular hero.
Back To Top
Burning the Body
Though, it's also possible that the messenger's desire for haste points to something more macabre and more practical all at the same time. Maybe the Geats want to simply get rid of BEowulf's body.
Why? Well, to keep the Swedes from plundering it, taking some part of it as a trophy, and maybe with the hope that, having been scorched into nothingness, they can build up a grand story about Beowulf's ascent into the afterlife or some sort of immortality.
Perhaps there's some belief that the spirit of an old chieftan can act as a guardian force. This protective possibility can't be entirely ruled out, since the messenger emphasizes over and over again just how resolute Beowulf was in protecting his people.
However, not being an expert in Anglo-Saxon funerals and rites, I can't say for sure what could be underlying the messenger's urging haste. And if any rites apply to this situation, Anglo-Saxon ones are definitely relevant, since the poem's language *is* Old English rather than a form of Old Icelandic or German.
In fact, Beowulf's primary audience (based on its language, anyway) is Anglo-Saxons. Thus, the matter of rushing to give a funeral for a fallen king must have been something that the Anglo-Saxons related to, and would have reason to do.
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Closing
The Recordings will return! But for sure, next week sees the messenger describing Beowulf's funeral, the fate of the gold, and a bit of the fate of the Geats themselves.
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Thursday, January 24, 2013
Beating out Land Limits (ll.2971-2981) [Old English]
Abstract
Translation
Recordings
A Mess of Actors
Land Buried Beneath Words
Closing
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Abstract
Wulf is laid low by Ongeontheow, who in turn is slain by Eofor.
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Translation
"'Yet the bold son of Wonred could not
against that aged man land a blow,
instead he afterward sheared the helm from his head,
so that Wulf should bow his bloodied head,
he fell to the ground; yet fate called not yet to him,
and he recovered himself, though he fully felt his wound.
The hardy thane of Hygelac then hoisted
his broad blade, as his brother lay there,
an antique edge of giant design, his stroke caught the giant's helm,
through Ongeontheow's shield wall; then bowed that king,
the people's protector, he was struck through to his soul.'"
(Beowulf ll.2971-2981)
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Recordings
I have a new (untested) microphone, so I will be able to record this week's translation and that from the last two weeks this weekend. Watch for these entries for widgets!
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A Mess of Actors
Okay, so we start to get into the conclusion of the messenger's tale of Ongeontheow and the Geats raid on the Swede's land. On the surface, this excerpt is straightforward, for the most part.
As has been the case before, the original Old English for this section uses no proper nouns - they're all just pronouns. It seems that this must have been the poet's solution to making action scenes vibrant without breaking patterns in things like sentence length.
After all, using nothing but pronouns and pronominal phrases to refer to the characters involved in the two fights in this passage is a way to show through language the chaos of such a scene. It's told with only three major players, but the lack of concrete names suggests a lack of concrete order, or any order whatsoever.
Blows are exchanged, but just whose doing what isn't necessarily 100% clear based on pronouns alone.
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Land Buried Beneath Words
However, digging deeper than the surface of this excerpt, and even the surface of words, the verb "Let," (l.2977) means many things. It can mean "to lift," "to lead," or "to make or beat the bounds of land."
Given that this word appears in a story about a raid, it may be the perfect context for "Let" to take on various meanings.
The simple interpretation of "Let," as "hoisted," or "raised," works but it still leaves us with something to wonder about. The messenger stated earlier that this raid on the Swedes was merely for treasure and plunder, but in a sense isn't raiding a place tantamount to an accelerated habitation?
All that gold dug out of the ground, all that coin exchanged, all of those crops eaten - and all at once rather than over the course of years and years. So, in a way, though the Geats set out with only treasure in mind, they definitely picked up more when Eofor slew Ongeontheow (announced with the use of "Let").
It should be fair to say that there's little better to do to create the limits of your land in one sense or other than to simply destroy the ones you need to move. Having defeated those in your way, you've very clearly opened your way up.
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Closing
Next week - the story of the Geats and Swedes begins to wrap up. Watch for it!
Back To Top
Translation
Recordings
A Mess of Actors
Land Buried Beneath Words
Closing
Back To Top
Abstract
Wulf is laid low by Ongeontheow, who in turn is slain by Eofor.
Back To Top
Translation
"'Yet the bold son of Wonred could not
against that aged man land a blow,
instead he afterward sheared the helm from his head,
so that Wulf should bow his bloodied head,
he fell to the ground; yet fate called not yet to him,
and he recovered himself, though he fully felt his wound.
The hardy thane of Hygelac then hoisted
his broad blade, as his brother lay there,
an antique edge of giant design, his stroke caught the giant's helm,
through Ongeontheow's shield wall; then bowed that king,
the people's protector, he was struck through to his soul.'"
(Beowulf ll.2971-2981)
Back To Top
Recordings
I have a new (untested) microphone, so I will be able to record this week's translation and that from the last two weeks this weekend. Watch for these entries for widgets!
Back To Top
A Mess of Actors
Okay, so we start to get into the conclusion of the messenger's tale of Ongeontheow and the Geats raid on the Swede's land. On the surface, this excerpt is straightforward, for the most part.
As has been the case before, the original Old English for this section uses no proper nouns - they're all just pronouns. It seems that this must have been the poet's solution to making action scenes vibrant without breaking patterns in things like sentence length.
After all, using nothing but pronouns and pronominal phrases to refer to the characters involved in the two fights in this passage is a way to show through language the chaos of such a scene. It's told with only three major players, but the lack of concrete names suggests a lack of concrete order, or any order whatsoever.
Blows are exchanged, but just whose doing what isn't necessarily 100% clear based on pronouns alone.
Back To Top
Land Buried Beneath Words
However, digging deeper than the surface of this excerpt, and even the surface of words, the verb "Let," (l.2977) means many things. It can mean "to lift," "to lead," or "to make or beat the bounds of land."
Given that this word appears in a story about a raid, it may be the perfect context for "Let" to take on various meanings.
The simple interpretation of "Let," as "hoisted," or "raised," works but it still leaves us with something to wonder about. The messenger stated earlier that this raid on the Swedes was merely for treasure and plunder, but in a sense isn't raiding a place tantamount to an accelerated habitation?
All that gold dug out of the ground, all that coin exchanged, all of those crops eaten - and all at once rather than over the course of years and years. So, in a way, though the Geats set out with only treasure in mind, they definitely picked up more when Eofor slew Ongeontheow (announced with the use of "Let").
It should be fair to say that there's little better to do to create the limits of your land in one sense or other than to simply destroy the ones you need to move. Having defeated those in your way, you've very clearly opened your way up.
Back To Top
Closing
Next week - the story of the Geats and Swedes begins to wrap up. Watch for it!
Back To Top
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Ongoing Ongeontheow (ll.2961-2970) [Old English]
Abstract
Translation
Recordings
Teaching by Analogues?
Against Anger, About a Word
Closing
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Abstract
In the messenger's story, Ongeontheow is captured and attacks Wulf, son of Wonred, in self defense.
Back To Top
Translation
"'There by the sword's edge Ongeontheow,
the grey-haired lord, was left to suffer at
Eofor's command alone. Angrily against him
Wulf son of Wonred reached with a weapon,
so that his sword swing struck, sending blood
forth from under his hair. Yet he was
not frightened, the old Scylfing,
he paid him back double for that blow,
turning a far worse death strike against that one,
after that the king turned thither.'"
(Beowulf ll.2961-2970)
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Recordings
I'm currently without a recording microphone, and so have no way to record these. However, I should be picking one up over the coming weekend.
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
Teaching by Analogues?
As the messenger's story continues, so too does his focus on Ongeontheow. Here we see him, gray-haired, retaliate against one of the Geats who was too angry to wait for Eofor's decision.
Actually, it's a curious detail to add that Ongeontheow is "grey-haired" ("blonden-fexa" l.2962). Obviously we should take it to mean that he is an old man, but as such it's difficult to not think of Hrothgar, another old man encountered in the poem.
Or, to even think of Beowulf himself.
After all, the messenger must have a point for telling the story of the Ravenswood at such length. I mean, if he just wanted to remind everyone of their feud with the Swedes he could have cut things off with his statement about them not showing any mercy (l.2922-2923). Instead, he launches into a story that runs for 75 lines (ll.2923-2998), involves detailed descriptions of events, and focuses not on a Geat, but the chief of the Swedes.
Apart from using this story to get the Geats to recognize their current situation (as noted in last week's entry), Ongeontheow could be a stand in for Beowulf.
Perhaps the messenger is warning the Geats of the Swedes, but also, for some strange reason, he's trying to remind them of themselves. He's trying to show them how their own laziness and their own cowardice - represented by Wulf's inabiity to contain his anger - is what caused the trouble stirred by the dragon, just as the same lead to the death of Wulf (and of Beowulf).
But how could such an interpretation be backed up? Well, with the idea that the messenger like all of those bearing news and facts some might not like, needs to add a spin to what he says. His spin is to use a story that everyone can relate to but present it in a way that is different.
Or, perhaps everyone was familiar with Ongeontheow's actions from a poem or story the Geats told amongst themselves. As of now we can't really say for sure.
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Against Anger, About a Word
In a much more direct fashion, this excerpt from the messenger's story is clearly an admonition against anger, against acting when a passion is in you.
Instead, at least through implication, the messenger is telling the people that they must be cautious, just as Eofor was in deciding Ongeontheow's fate rather than just lashing out at him as Wulf did. Just as an army that has captured their opponent's leader must think things throw and step carefully into the future, so too must the Geats if they're to navigate the difficult, leaderless times that lay ahead of them.
For the Geats it is a time that is likely to be noisy with deathblows. A concept perhaps strange to us, but familiar to Anglo-Saxons since the Old English compound "wael-hlem," meaning "death-blow," literally translates to "carnage-sound."
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Closing
That's it for this week, but the messenger's story continues next week, as Eofor steps into the fray.
Back To Top
Translation
Recordings
Teaching by Analogues?
Against Anger, About a Word
Closing
Back To Top
Abstract
In the messenger's story, Ongeontheow is captured and attacks Wulf, son of Wonred, in self defense.
Back To Top
Translation
"'There by the sword's edge Ongeontheow,
the grey-haired lord, was left to suffer at
Eofor's command alone. Angrily against him
Wulf son of Wonred reached with a weapon,
so that his sword swing struck, sending blood
forth from under his hair. Yet he was
not frightened, the old Scylfing,
he paid him back double for that blow,
turning a far worse death strike against that one,
after that the king turned thither.'"
(Beowulf ll.2961-2970)
Back To Top
Recordings
I'm currently without a recording microphone, and so have no way to record these. However, I should be picking one up over the coming weekend.
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
Teaching by Analogues?
As the messenger's story continues, so too does his focus on Ongeontheow. Here we see him, gray-haired, retaliate against one of the Geats who was too angry to wait for Eofor's decision.
Actually, it's a curious detail to add that Ongeontheow is "grey-haired" ("blonden-fexa" l.2962). Obviously we should take it to mean that he is an old man, but as such it's difficult to not think of Hrothgar, another old man encountered in the poem.
Or, to even think of Beowulf himself.
After all, the messenger must have a point for telling the story of the Ravenswood at such length. I mean, if he just wanted to remind everyone of their feud with the Swedes he could have cut things off with his statement about them not showing any mercy (l.2922-2923). Instead, he launches into a story that runs for 75 lines (ll.2923-2998), involves detailed descriptions of events, and focuses not on a Geat, but the chief of the Swedes.
Apart from using this story to get the Geats to recognize their current situation (as noted in last week's entry), Ongeontheow could be a stand in for Beowulf.
Perhaps the messenger is warning the Geats of the Swedes, but also, for some strange reason, he's trying to remind them of themselves. He's trying to show them how their own laziness and their own cowardice - represented by Wulf's inabiity to contain his anger - is what caused the trouble stirred by the dragon, just as the same lead to the death of Wulf (and of Beowulf).
But how could such an interpretation be backed up? Well, with the idea that the messenger like all of those bearing news and facts some might not like, needs to add a spin to what he says. His spin is to use a story that everyone can relate to but present it in a way that is different.
Or, perhaps everyone was familiar with Ongeontheow's actions from a poem or story the Geats told amongst themselves. As of now we can't really say for sure.
Back To Top
Against Anger, About a Word
In a much more direct fashion, this excerpt from the messenger's story is clearly an admonition against anger, against acting when a passion is in you.
Instead, at least through implication, the messenger is telling the people that they must be cautious, just as Eofor was in deciding Ongeontheow's fate rather than just lashing out at him as Wulf did. Just as an army that has captured their opponent's leader must think things throw and step carefully into the future, so too must the Geats if they're to navigate the difficult, leaderless times that lay ahead of them.
For the Geats it is a time that is likely to be noisy with deathblows. A concept perhaps strange to us, but familiar to Anglo-Saxons since the Old English compound "wael-hlem," meaning "death-blow," literally translates to "carnage-sound."
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Closing
That's it for this week, but the messenger's story continues next week, as Eofor steps into the fray.
Back To Top
Friday, January 11, 2013
A Geat Teller and Swedish Main (ll.2946-2960) [Old English]
Abstract
Translation
Recordings
Tales of Brave Hygelac
Stories' Stretchability
Closing
Back To Top
Abstract
The messenger recounts how Hygelac's horde turned the tide of the battle with Ongeontheow.
Back To Top
Translation
"'The gory track Geats and Swedes left there,
from the widely seen onslaught,
was easy to follow back to the erupting feud.
Then he knew the good men amongst his comrades,
the old sorrowful man sought to secure his soldiers,
Ongeontheow the chief turned to higher ground;
he had learned first hand of Hygelac's battlecraft,
his splendid war strength; he trusted not to resistance,
the hope that he might rout those sea-farers,
those sea-borne warriors, resist that horde,
protect his son and wife; after that the aged one's
banners went behind the earthen wall. Then the
persecution of the Swedish people was commanded,
Hygelac's sign rushed forward into the peaceful plain,
afterward the Hrethlings thronged around that fortified
enclosure.'"
(Beowulf ll.2946-2960)
Back To Top
Recordings
I'm currently without a recording microphone, and so have no way to record these. However, I should be picking one up over the coming weekend.
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
Tales of Brave Hygelac
The messenger gives his story of the battling Geats and Swedes a very unexpected spin in this week's excerpt.
Although Hygelac has appeared to save the Geats trapped in the forest, the story continues to focus on Ongeontheow. Why? Well, there are a few possibilities.
Among these, there's the simple explanation that the messenger's audience is already intimately familiar with Hygelac's exploits in this battle.
The Geats have no doubt regaled each other with tales of the battle and its hero since they returned from the raid. Heck, there might even be a lost epic poem (or maybe just a short piece like the "Battle of Maldon") about it - written down or maintained orally. Because of this familiarity the messenger thus skips over Hygelac's role and instead gives the spotlight over to Ongeontheow.
It's also possible that the story is told with the focus on Ongeontheow to stir up a sense of the direness of the Geats' current leaderlessness. They have just lost their great hero, and another is not likely to appear as Hygelac did. Telling this same story, but putting Hygelac front and center would make it into a story to inspire pride and possibly even an early form of nationalism. Switching things around, though, telling the story with more of an eye to what Ongeontheow does, could help to show his listeners that the Swedes are warriors that have indeed been wronged.
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Stories' Stretchability
This second possibility definitely underlines the importance of perspective in stories, but more importantly, it also suggests the elasticity of narratives. The messenger is, in essence telling the story of the battle of the Ravenswood, but the point of view that he uses will determine its spin. Giving his listeners more information about Ongeontheow's tactics and motives than Hygelac's is definitely a way to communicate the idea that the Swedes have been wronged.
Of course, for that sort of thing to get across it would be necessary for the messenger's audience to have some sense of The Golden Rule. Definitely not something exclusive to Christianity, it's nonetheless tempting to see the messenger's using this particular spin on the story of the Battle of Ravenswood to encourage sympathy for the Swedes' position as a result of this raid/attack.
Then, although not made explicit in the poem, the listeners could take their sympathy for the Swedes' plight to understand the seriousness of the threat they now pose: The Swedes were attacked openly by a great hero, now we have no great hero, therefore we are also open to attack.
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Closing
Check back here next week for more of Beowulf as this very verbose messenger continues on with his story.
Back To Top
Translation
Recordings
Tales of Brave Hygelac
Stories' Stretchability
Closing
Back To Top
Abstract
The messenger recounts how Hygelac's horde turned the tide of the battle with Ongeontheow.
Back To Top
Translation
"'The gory track Geats and Swedes left there,
from the widely seen onslaught,
was easy to follow back to the erupting feud.
Then he knew the good men amongst his comrades,
the old sorrowful man sought to secure his soldiers,
Ongeontheow the chief turned to higher ground;
he had learned first hand of Hygelac's battlecraft,
his splendid war strength; he trusted not to resistance,
the hope that he might rout those sea-farers,
those sea-borne warriors, resist that horde,
protect his son and wife; after that the aged one's
banners went behind the earthen wall. Then the
persecution of the Swedish people was commanded,
Hygelac's sign rushed forward into the peaceful plain,
afterward the Hrethlings thronged around that fortified
enclosure.'"
(Beowulf ll.2946-2960)
Back To Top
Recordings
I'm currently without a recording microphone, and so have no way to record these. However, I should be picking one up over the coming weekend.
Old English:
{Forthcoming}
Modern English:
{Forthcoming}
Back To Top
Tales of Brave Hygelac
The messenger gives his story of the battling Geats and Swedes a very unexpected spin in this week's excerpt.
Although Hygelac has appeared to save the Geats trapped in the forest, the story continues to focus on Ongeontheow. Why? Well, there are a few possibilities.
Among these, there's the simple explanation that the messenger's audience is already intimately familiar with Hygelac's exploits in this battle.
The Geats have no doubt regaled each other with tales of the battle and its hero since they returned from the raid. Heck, there might even be a lost epic poem (or maybe just a short piece like the "Battle of Maldon") about it - written down or maintained orally. Because of this familiarity the messenger thus skips over Hygelac's role and instead gives the spotlight over to Ongeontheow.
It's also possible that the story is told with the focus on Ongeontheow to stir up a sense of the direness of the Geats' current leaderlessness. They have just lost their great hero, and another is not likely to appear as Hygelac did. Telling this same story, but putting Hygelac front and center would make it into a story to inspire pride and possibly even an early form of nationalism. Switching things around, though, telling the story with more of an eye to what Ongeontheow does, could help to show his listeners that the Swedes are warriors that have indeed been wronged.
Back To Top
Stories' Stretchability
This second possibility definitely underlines the importance of perspective in stories, but more importantly, it also suggests the elasticity of narratives. The messenger is, in essence telling the story of the battle of the Ravenswood, but the point of view that he uses will determine its spin. Giving his listeners more information about Ongeontheow's tactics and motives than Hygelac's is definitely a way to communicate the idea that the Swedes have been wronged.
Of course, for that sort of thing to get across it would be necessary for the messenger's audience to have some sense of The Golden Rule. Definitely not something exclusive to Christianity, it's nonetheless tempting to see the messenger's using this particular spin on the story of the Battle of Ravenswood to encourage sympathy for the Swedes' position as a result of this raid/attack.
Then, although not made explicit in the poem, the listeners could take their sympathy for the Swedes' plight to understand the seriousness of the threat they now pose: The Swedes were attacked openly by a great hero, now we have no great hero, therefore we are also open to attack.
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Closing
Check back here next week for more of Beowulf as this very verbose messenger continues on with his story.
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Thursday, January 3, 2013
Psychological Warfare and the Importance of Tactical Mercy (ll.2936-2945) [Old English]
Abstract
Translation
Recordings
A Differently Angled Ambush
Stories and Psychological Warfare
Closing
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Abstract
The messenger's story of the Ravenswood continues, as the Geats are pinned by Ongeontheow's host until a saviour is heralded.
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Translation
"'Beset he then with an immense host the remnant
wearied by war wounds; all the night
long he twisted their tender spirits with vile boasts,
he said that he would destroy them with the
sword's edge come morning, that he would hang them
on gallows trees to feed the birds. Yet joy again
existed in their sorrowful hearts just as day dawned,
for then came Hygelac with his horn and its call,
a sound they recognized, knew that it meant a troop
of great allies had arrived in their final moment.'"
(Beowulf ll.2936-2945)
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Recordings
Old English:
Modern English:
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A Differently Angled Ambush
The messenger's message continues, and his story about the Ravenswood really picks up steam in this week's extract. What could be more exciting than a situation in which a last minute arrival swings in the good guys' favour, right?
It's not the first time that we've had a story with late comers mentioned in Beowulf. After the hero himself defeats Grendel we hear about the Battle of Finnsburg (ll.1068-1158), where the Frisians have ambushed and wearied the Danes.
Since it sounds like Hygelac was completely unexpected by Ongeontheow and the Geats alike, his appearance here is definitely a kind of ambush. But rather than the tragedy that is the Battle of Finnsburg, Hygelac's appearance is a cause for joy.
After all, in the story about Finnsburg listeners can take a side, but in the messenger's story, we know that those listening are cheering for the Geats, and therefore it's less a negative ambush and more of a rescue, as the phrase "at last faran" ("arrived in their final moment," l.2945) suggests.
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Stories and Psychological Warfare
Speaking of perspective, it's easy to see even the major players within the world of Beowulf as brutes with sharp swords, but Ongeontheow does something rather incredible when he has the troop trapped in the Ravenswood.
He doesn't rush in and slaughter them outright. Instead he launches a psychological attack, as he bombards them with "vile boasts" ("wean oft gehet" l.2937) all through the night ("ondlong niht" l.2938). This is a strange move on Ongeontheow's part at first glance, but if we look deeper we can see his reasons for it.
During this period of time, destroying a leaderless band outright would have been like killing a headless man. Matters of redundancy aside, it would have been dishonourable and a source of shame, rather than something that a warrior could be proud of. Besides, a terrified group of leaderless enemy soldiers would have to deal with their own shame of having outlived their lord, and would likely tell the darkest stories of their conqueror's power.
This sense of shame explains a little bit of why Ongeontheow says he'll leave the Geats until morning, but it doesn't give a full picture of it.
Down the line of shame, there may have been some convention among warriors of the time to wait so many hours/watches before attacking such a disorganized rabble (perhaps to let one of them rise up as leader?), but Ongeontheow has another reason for his threats.
Multiple stories told by many terrified, shamed, and sorrowful men would grow Ongeontheow's reputation. But a handful of stories that include his torturing them with vile boasts all night and then slaughtering most of the remaining host would make it easy for any survivors to tell stories of him that were absolutely intimidating.
And, as we saw in 2012's last entry, Ongeontheow seems to care deeply for the safety of his family. So creating the seeds of intimidating stories would benefit him as it would deter future purpose-less raids from other groups that were looking for places to attack for arrogance's sake.
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Closing
Next week, the story of Ravenswood continues. Don't miss it!
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Translation
Recordings
A Differently Angled Ambush
Stories and Psychological Warfare
Closing
Back To Top
Abstract
The messenger's story of the Ravenswood continues, as the Geats are pinned by Ongeontheow's host until a saviour is heralded.
Back To Top
Translation
"'Beset he then with an immense host the remnant
wearied by war wounds; all the night
long he twisted their tender spirits with vile boasts,
he said that he would destroy them with the
sword's edge come morning, that he would hang them
on gallows trees to feed the birds. Yet joy again
existed in their sorrowful hearts just as day dawned,
for then came Hygelac with his horn and its call,
a sound they recognized, knew that it meant a troop
of great allies had arrived in their final moment.'"
(Beowulf ll.2936-2945)
Back To Top
Recordings
Old English:
Modern English:
Back To Top
A Differently Angled Ambush
The messenger's message continues, and his story about the Ravenswood really picks up steam in this week's extract. What could be more exciting than a situation in which a last minute arrival swings in the good guys' favour, right?
It's not the first time that we've had a story with late comers mentioned in Beowulf. After the hero himself defeats Grendel we hear about the Battle of Finnsburg (ll.1068-1158), where the Frisians have ambushed and wearied the Danes.
Since it sounds like Hygelac was completely unexpected by Ongeontheow and the Geats alike, his appearance here is definitely a kind of ambush. But rather than the tragedy that is the Battle of Finnsburg, Hygelac's appearance is a cause for joy.
After all, in the story about Finnsburg listeners can take a side, but in the messenger's story, we know that those listening are cheering for the Geats, and therefore it's less a negative ambush and more of a rescue, as the phrase "at last faran" ("arrived in their final moment," l.2945) suggests.
Back To Top
Stories and Psychological Warfare
Speaking of perspective, it's easy to see even the major players within the world of Beowulf as brutes with sharp swords, but Ongeontheow does something rather incredible when he has the troop trapped in the Ravenswood.
He doesn't rush in and slaughter them outright. Instead he launches a psychological attack, as he bombards them with "vile boasts" ("wean oft gehet" l.2937) all through the night ("ondlong niht" l.2938). This is a strange move on Ongeontheow's part at first glance, but if we look deeper we can see his reasons for it.
During this period of time, destroying a leaderless band outright would have been like killing a headless man. Matters of redundancy aside, it would have been dishonourable and a source of shame, rather than something that a warrior could be proud of. Besides, a terrified group of leaderless enemy soldiers would have to deal with their own shame of having outlived their lord, and would likely tell the darkest stories of their conqueror's power.
This sense of shame explains a little bit of why Ongeontheow says he'll leave the Geats until morning, but it doesn't give a full picture of it.
Down the line of shame, there may have been some convention among warriors of the time to wait so many hours/watches before attacking such a disorganized rabble (perhaps to let one of them rise up as leader?), but Ongeontheow has another reason for his threats.
Multiple stories told by many terrified, shamed, and sorrowful men would grow Ongeontheow's reputation. But a handful of stories that include his torturing them with vile boasts all night and then slaughtering most of the remaining host would make it easy for any survivors to tell stories of him that were absolutely intimidating.
And, as we saw in 2012's last entry, Ongeontheow seems to care deeply for the safety of his family. So creating the seeds of intimidating stories would benefit him as it would deter future purpose-less raids from other groups that were looking for places to attack for arrogance's sake.
Back To Top
Closing
Next week, the story of Ravenswood continues. Don't miss it!
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Thursday, December 6, 2012
Appraising a Dagger via a Sword
Abstract
Translation
Recordings
Reading Steel
Ouroboros Slinks in
Closing
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Abstract
The messenger sent by Wiglaf tells the waiting people of Beowulf's fate, and Wiglaf's steadfastness.
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Translation
"'Now is the Weder's gracious giver,
the lord of the Geats, fast in his deathbed,
gone to the grave by the dragon's deed:
Beside him, in like state, lay the
mortal enemy, dead from dagger wounds; for that sword
could not work any wound whatever on
that fierce foe. Wiglaf sits
by Beowulf's side, the son of Weohstan,
a warrior watching over the unliving other,
holding vigil over the Geats' chief,
he sits by the beloved and the reviled.'"
(Beowulf ll.2900-2910a)
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Recordings
Old English:
Modern English:
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Reading Steel
The emphasis that the messenger puts on the dagger is strange. It's not that he goes out of his way to praise it, but the fact that he makes it clear that the sword was useless. This extra detail suggests that the sword was indeed considered the proper, noble weapon, while the dagger held a lower position on the symbolic/social scale of weapons. Nonetheless, the connotation of Beowulf's dagger use underlines just what the Geats lose when they lose Beowulf.
It was likely standard among Anglo-Saxons to carry a dagger of some kind with them, along with their swordbelt. However, even in the heat of the moment, the poet peels things back and tells us that Beowulf wore his dagger on his hip/byrnie.
So was the wearing of a smaller blade a new thing with Beowulf's generation? Was it simply the garb of a proper warrior? Why does the poet specify where Beowulf wore his dagger?
Such a small detail, though potentially of some historical or cultural significance, is more likely than not just an example of the poet filling out his poetic meter. The mention of the sword's failure, as an explanation for the use of the dagger definitely shows that the messenger is true to his word - he leaves out no detail.
And that honesty opens up the other side of the issue, it seems very likely that the sword is only mentioned to excuse the dagger. In fact, if you've read Beowulf enough times, you can almost see the crowd rolling their eyes and thinking that Beowulf's just being Beowulf, being too strong for any sword and whatnot.
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Ouroboros Slinks in
Yet, if we turn the mention of the dagger again, then there's the matter of the dragon's existence in the story being cyclical. The dragon appears because a thief steals from its hoard.
A dagger is weapon of favour among those who prize stealth (like thieves) - hence the modern genre tag "cloak and dagger" - and so is likely to be a thief's weapon. The dragon is killed with a dagger, and so the dragon's existence in the story is something of a closed system. A noble sword is wielded, but in the end what woke the dragon must put it back to its rest.
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Closing
Next week, watch for the prognostications of the messenger on Thursday! I'll also be uploading links to any British/Medieval archaelogical news that I come across.
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Translation
Recordings
Reading Steel
Ouroboros Slinks in
Closing
 |
Back To Top
Abstract
The messenger sent by Wiglaf tells the waiting people of Beowulf's fate, and Wiglaf's steadfastness.
Back To Top
Translation
"'Now is the Weder's gracious giver,
the lord of the Geats, fast in his deathbed,
gone to the grave by the dragon's deed:
Beside him, in like state, lay the
mortal enemy, dead from dagger wounds; for that sword
could not work any wound whatever on
that fierce foe. Wiglaf sits
by Beowulf's side, the son of Weohstan,
a warrior watching over the unliving other,
holding vigil over the Geats' chief,
he sits by the beloved and the reviled.'"
(Beowulf ll.2900-2910a)
Back To Top
Recordings
Old English:
Modern English:
Back To Top
Reading Steel
The emphasis that the messenger puts on the dagger is strange. It's not that he goes out of his way to praise it, but the fact that he makes it clear that the sword was useless. This extra detail suggests that the sword was indeed considered the proper, noble weapon, while the dagger held a lower position on the symbolic/social scale of weapons. Nonetheless, the connotation of Beowulf's dagger use underlines just what the Geats lose when they lose Beowulf.
It was likely standard among Anglo-Saxons to carry a dagger of some kind with them, along with their swordbelt. However, even in the heat of the moment, the poet peels things back and tells us that Beowulf wore his dagger on his hip/byrnie.
So was the wearing of a smaller blade a new thing with Beowulf's generation? Was it simply the garb of a proper warrior? Why does the poet specify where Beowulf wore his dagger?
Such a small detail, though potentially of some historical or cultural significance, is more likely than not just an example of the poet filling out his poetic meter. The mention of the sword's failure, as an explanation for the use of the dagger definitely shows that the messenger is true to his word - he leaves out no detail.
And that honesty opens up the other side of the issue, it seems very likely that the sword is only mentioned to excuse the dagger. In fact, if you've read Beowulf enough times, you can almost see the crowd rolling their eyes and thinking that Beowulf's just being Beowulf, being too strong for any sword and whatnot.
Back To Top
Ouroboros Slinks in
Yet, if we turn the mention of the dagger again, then there's the matter of the dragon's existence in the story being cyclical. The dragon appears because a thief steals from its hoard.
A dagger is weapon of favour among those who prize stealth (like thieves) - hence the modern genre tag "cloak and dagger" - and so is likely to be a thief's weapon. The dragon is killed with a dagger, and so the dragon's existence in the story is something of a closed system. A noble sword is wielded, but in the end what woke the dragon must put it back to its rest.
Back To Top
Closing
Next week, watch for the prognostications of the messenger on Thursday! I'll also be uploading links to any British/Medieval archaelogical news that I come across.
Back To Top
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