Product Description

Probably written in the eighth century, this is the epic story of Beowulf, a Scandinavian warrior, and his struggles against monsters.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #448679 in Books
• Published on: 1957-05-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780140440706
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Customer Reviews

best translation i've read
My professor recomended this translation to me, and even as a novice in medieval studies, I still think it is far better than what I read in high school. Wright offers fascinating historical information at the beginning and termination of the story that give the non professional reader good insights and background on the implications and circumstances surrounding obscure events in the plot. A reader can walk away with both a great story and a better understanding of the complex time called the Dark Ages.

A terrific prose translation
David Wright has provided the reader with an excellent prose translation of the oldest known epic of any Teutonic people and the first important poem in Old English. It deals primarily with two central events in the life of the Geatish hero Beowulf. The first is concerned with his victory over the monster Grendel who had been attacking Heorot, the mead hall of the Danish king Hrothgar (John Gardner published a novel, "Grendel", in 1971, that takes Grendel's side in the story). The next day, Beowulf slays Grendel's mother who is attempting to try and avenge her son. In the second major event, taking place fifty years later, Beowulf fights a dragon; both are mortally wounded. Hygelac, King of the Gelts, is identified with the historical Chochilaicus, who raided the lower Rhine about 512 A. D. A young Beowulf was in that raid. When Chochilaicus was killed in a battle with the Franks about 520, he was succeeded by his son Heardred. This poem shows the importance, in a warrior society, of the relationship between the warrior and his lord. The poem, even though it contains threads of Christian commentary, is also concerned with the pagen view of immortality: the memory of a warrior's heroic acts. Also: that fate can be swayed by courage. "Fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good."

Okay as a translation
The translation is okay, but hardly anything close to the original. If someone is merely looking for a translation of Beowulf, this book is more than fine, but don't depend on it too much if you're translating Old English.