Beówulf | Page 4

passages in which Heyne fails to indicate whether a given verb is weak or strong, or fails to point out the number, etc., of the illustrative form, have been corrected and made to harmonize with the general plan of the work. Numerous misprints in the glossary have also been corrected, and a brief glossary to the Finnsburh-fragment, prepared by Dr. Wm. Hand Browne, and supplemented and adapted by the editor-in-chief, has been added.
The editors think that they may without immodesty put forth for themselves something more than the claim of being re-translators of a translation: the present edition is, so far as they were able to make it so, an adaptation, correction, and extension of the work of the great German scholar to whose loving appreciation of the Anglo-Saxon epic all students of Old English owe a debt of gratitude. While following his usually sure and cautious guidance, and in the main appropriating his results, they have thought it best to deviate from him in the manner above indicated, whenever it seemed that he was wrong. The careful reader will notice at once the marks of interrogation which point out these deviations, or which introduce a point of view illustrative of, or supplementary to, the one given by the German editor. No doubt the editors are wrong themselves in many?places,--"Be��wulf" is a most difficult poem,--but their view may at least be defended by a reference to the original text, which they have faithfully and constantly consulted.
A good many cognate Modern English words have been introduced here and there in the Glossary with a view to illustration, and other addenda will be found between brackets and parenthetical marks.
It is hoped that the present edition of the most famous of Old English poems will do something to promote a valuable and interesting study.
JAMES A. HARRISON,?Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va.
ROBERT SHARP,?University of Louisiana, New Orleans.
April, 1883.
The responsibility of the editors is as follows: H. is responsible for the Text, and for the Glossary from hr?nan on; S. for the List of Names, and for the Glossary as far as hr?nan.
ARGUMENT.
The only national [Anglo-Saxon] epic which has been preserved entire is Be��wulf. Its argument is briefly as follows:--The poem opens with a few verses in praise of the Danish Kings, especially Scild, the son of Sceaf. His death is related, and his descendants briefly traced down to Hroegar. Hroegar, elated with his prosperity and success in war, builds a magnificent hall, which he calls Heorot. In this hall Hroegar and his retainers live in joy and festivity, until a malignant fiend, called Grendel, jealous of their happiness, carries off by night thirty of Hroegar's men, and devours them in his moorland retreat. These ravages go on for twelve years. Be��wulf, a thane of Hygelac, King of the Goths, hearing of Hroegar's calamities, sails from Sweden with fourteen warriors--to help him. They reach the Danish coast in safety; and, after an animated parley with Hroegar's coastguard, who at first takes them for pirates, they are allowed to proceed to the royal hall, where they are well received by Hroegar. A banquet ensues, during which Be��wulf is taunted by the envious Hunferhe about his swimming-match with Breca, King of the Brondings. Be��wulf gives the true account of the contest, and silences Hunferhe. At night-fall the King departs, leaving Be��wulf in charge of the hall. Grendel soon breaks in, seizes and devours one of Be��wulf's companions; is attacked by Be��wulf, and, after losing an arm, which is torn off by Be��wulf, escapes to the fens. The joy of Hroegar and the Danes, and their festivities, are described, various episodes are introduced, and Be��wulf and his companions receive splendid gifts. The next night Grendel's mother revenges her son by carrying off ?schere, the friend and councillor of Hroegar, during the absence of Be��wulf. Hroegar appeals to Be��wulf for vengeance, and describes the haunts of Grendel and his mother. They all proceed thither; the scenery of the lake, and the monsters that dwell in it, are described. Be��wulf plunges into the water, and attacks Grendel's mother in her dwelling at the bottom of the lake. He at length overcomes her, and cuts off her head, together with that of Grendel, and brings the heads to Hroegar. He then takes leave of Hroegar, sails back to Sweden, and relates his adventures to Hygelac. Here the first half of the poem ends. The second begins with the accession of Be��wulf to the throne, after the fall of Hygelac and his son Heardred. He rules prosperously for fifty years, till a dragon, brooding over a hidden treasure, begins to ravage the country, and destroys Be��wulf's palace with fire. Be��wulf sets out in quest of its hiding-place, with twelve men. Having a presentiment of his approaching end, he pauses and recalls to