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This Norton Critical Edition presents the highly acclaimed Donaldson prose translation of "Beowulf" in its entirety. This accurate translation with its useful annotation fully conveys the meaning and spirit of the Anglo-Saxon original. The Backgrounds and Sources section provides students with the historical, linguistic and literary setting of "Beowulf." Among the readings are E. Talbot Donaldson's presentation of the major features of the Old English poetry, S. L. Wrenn's discussion of the historicity of Beowulf and a valuable archaeological survey of the period by Ralph Arnold.
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BEO W U LF T H E D O N A L D SO N T R A N S L A T IO N BA CKG RO U N D S AND SO U RC ES C R IT IC IS M
W. W. NORTON & COMPANY, INC. also publishes THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE edited by Nina Baym et al. THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY FICTION edited by R. V. Cassdl THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE edited by M. H. Abrams et al. THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF LITERATURE BY WOMEN edited by Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF MODERN POETRY edited by Richard EUmann and Robert O ’Clair THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF POETRY edited by Alexander W. Allison et al. THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF SHORT FICTION edited by R. V. Cassill THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF WORLD MASTERPIECES edited by Maynard Mack et al. THE NORTON FACSIMILE OF THE FIRST FOLIO OF SHAKESPEARE prepared by Charlton Hinman THE NORTON INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE edited by Carl E. Bain, Jerome Beaty, and J. Paul Hunter THE NORTON INTRODUCTION TO THE SHORT NOVEL edited by Jerome Beaty THE NORTON READER edited by Arthur M. Eastman etal. THE NORTON SAMPLER edited by Thomas Cooley
BEO W U LF T H E D O N A L D S O N T R A N S L A T IO N BACK G RO U N D S AN D SO U R CES C R IT IC IS M -»MK-
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JO SEP H F. T U S O UNIVKRSITY OK SCIKNCK AND ARI'S OK OKLAHOMA
w . W . N O R T O N 8c C O M P A N Y NF.W YORK • LONDON
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Beowulf. English. Beowulf: the Donaldson translation, backgrounds and sources, criticism. (A Norton critical edition) Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Beowulf. 2. Anglo-Saxon poetry—Criticism and interpretation—Addresses, essays, lectures. I. Donaldson, Ethelbert Talbot. II. Tuso, Joseph F. P R 1 5 8 3 .D 6
1975
8 2 9 '.3
75-17 9 9 1
P R IN T ED IN TH E U N ITED STA TES O F A M E R IC A
890
ISBN CL ISBN D-3T3-CHEES-D PBK
Lt. Col. Walton F. Dater, Jr. (1932-1974) W arrior—Scholar—F riend —he wees manna mildust ond monðwærust—
Contents
Abbreviations Preface T h e T ran slation • E . T alb o t D onaldson
The Text of Beowulf
ix xi xiii
i
Backgrounds and Sources R obert C . Hughes • T h e Origins of O ld English to 800 a d
.
M ap of the continental hom elands of the G erm an ic invaders M ap of the English kingdom s at the beginning of the seventh century a . d . Stanley B . Greenfield • N ature and Q uality of O ld E n g lish Poetry E . T alb ot D onaldson • [Old English Prosody and Caedm on’s H ym n ] E . G . Stanley • [M anuscript—Sources—Audience] D orothy W h itelock • [Tim e and M ilieu o f B e o w u lf s C om position] K em p M alone • [The O ld English Scop and W id sith ] F r. K laeber • Genesis of the Poem R . W . C ham bers • [A Scandinavian Parallel—T h e G rettis Saga] Stanlev B . Greenfield • [The F in n Episode and Its Parallel] Fr. K laeber • [T he D anish-H eaðo-Bard Feud] C . L . W ren n • [The H istoricity o f Beow ulf] R alph Arnold • [Royal H alls—T h e Sutton H oo S