An excellent critical bibliography of Beowulf-translations up to 1903 is that of Tinker: see under § 6, Translations.
§ 3. THE MS AND ITS TRANSCRIPTS
Beowulf fills ff. 129 (132)a to 198 (201)b of the British Museum MS Cotton Vitellius A. XV.
Beowulf is written in two hands, the first of which goes to l. 1939. This hand was identified by Prof. Sedgefield (Beowulf, Introduction, p. xiv, footnote) with that of the piece immediately preceding Beowulf in the MS, and by Mr Kenneth Sisam, in 1916, with that of all three immediately preceding pieces: the Christopher fragment, the Wonders of the East, and the Letter of Alexander on the Wonders of India. The pieces preceding these, however (the Soliloquies of S. Augustine, the Gospel of Nicodemus, Salomon and Saturn), are certainly not in the same hand, and their connection with the Beowulf-MS is simply due to the bookbinder.
From l. 1939 to the end, Beowulf is written in a second hand, thicker and less elegant than the first. This second hand seems to be clearly identical with that in which the poem of Judith, immediately following Beowulf, is written. This was pointed out by Sievers in 1872 (Z.f.d.A. XV, 457), and has never, I think, been disputed (cf. Sisam, p. 337; Förster, p. 31). Nevertheless the two poems have probably not always formed one book. For the last page of Beowulf was apparently once the last page of the volume, to judge from its battered condition, whilst Judith is imperfect at the beginning. And there are trifling differences, e.g. in the frequency of the use of contractions, and the form of the capital H.
This identity of the scribe of the second portion of Beowulf and the Judith scribe, together with the identity (pointed out by Mr Sisam) of the scribe of the first portion of Beowulf and the scribe of the three preceding works, is important. A detailed comparison of these texts will throw light upon the characteristics of the scribes.
That the three preceding works are in the same hand as that of the first Beowulf scribe was again announced, independently of Mr Sisam, by Prof. Max Förster, in 1919. Sievers had already in 1871 arrived at the same result (see Förster, p. 35, note) but had not published it.
It seems to me in the highest degree improbable that the Beowulf-MS has lost its ending, as Prof. Förster thinks (pp. 82, 88). Surely nothing could be better than the conclusion of the poem as it stands in the MS: that the casual loss of a number of leaves could have resulted in so satisfactory a conclusion is, I think, not conceivable. Moreover, the scribe has crammed as much material as possible into the last leaf of Beowulf, making his lines abnormally long, and using contractions in a way he does not use them elsewhere. The only reason for this must be to avoid running over into a new leaf or quire: there could be no motive for this crowded page if the poem had ever run on beyond it.
There is pretty general agreement that the date of the Beowulf-MS is about the year 1000, and that it is somewhat more likely to be before that date than after.
The Beowulf-MS was injured in the great Cottonian fire of 1731, and the edges of the parchment have since chipped away owing to the damage then sustained. Valuable assistance can therefore be derived from the two transcripts now preserved in the Royal Library of Copenhagen, made in 1787, when the MS was much less damaged.
A. Poema anglosaxonicum de rebus gestis Danorum ... fecit exscribi Londini A.D. MDCCLXXXVII Grimus Johannis Thorkelin.
B. Poema anglosaxonicum de Danorum rebus gestis ... exscripsit Grimus Johannis Thorkelin. Londini MDCCLXXXVII.
The first description of the Beowulf-MS is in 1705 by H. Wanley (Librorum Septentrionalium ... Catalogus, pp. 218—19, Oxoniæ, forming vol. II of Hickes' Thesaurus). Two short extracts from the MS are given by Wanley. He describes the poem as telling of the wars quæ Beowulfus quidam Danus, ex regio Scyldingorum stirpe ortus, gessit contra Sueciæ regulos. The text was printed by Thorkelin in 1815, and the MS was collated by Conybeare, who in his Illustrations (1826) issued 19 pages of corrections of Thorkelin. These corrections were further corrected by J. M. Kemble in 1837 (Letter to M. Francisque Michel, in Michel's Bibliothèque Anglo-Saxonne, pp. 20, 51-8). Meantime Kemble's text had been issued in 1833, based upon his examination of the MS. The MS was also seen by Thorpe (in 1830: Thorpe's text was not published till 1855) and by Grundtvig (pub. 1861). A further collation was that of E. Kölbing in 1876 (Zur Beóvulf-handschrift, Archiv, LVI, 91-118). Kölbing's collation proves the superiority of Kemble's text to Grundtvig's. Line for line transcripts of the MS were those of Holder, Wülker and Zupitza:
1881 Holder, A. Beowulf. Bd. I. Abdruck der Handschrift. Freiburg u. Tübingen. (‡1881, from collation made in 1875.) Reviews: Kölbing, Engl. Stud. VII, 488; Kluge, Literaturblatt, 1883, 178; Wülker, Lit. Cbl. 1882, 1035-6.
1882. 2 Aufl.
1895. 3 Aufl. Reviews: Dieter, Anglia, Beiblatt, VI, 260-1; Brandl, Z.f.d.A. XL, 90.
1881 Wülker, R. P. Beowulf: Text nach der handschrift, in Grein's Bibliothek, I, 18-148.
1882 Zupitza, J. Beowulf. Autotypes of the unique Cotton MS. Vitellius A XV; with a transliteration and notes. Early English Text Society, London. Reviews: Trautmann, Anglia, VII, Anzeiger, 41; Kölbing, Engl. Stud. VII, 482 etc.; Varnhagen, A.f.d.A. X, 304; Sievers, Lit. Cbl. 1884, 124.
Further discussion of the MS by
1890 Davidson, C. Differences between the scribes of Beowulf. M.L.N. V, 43-4; McClumpha, C., criticizes the above, M.L.N. V, 123; reply by Davidson, M.L.N. V, 189-90.
1910 Lamb, Evelyn H. "Beowulf": Hemming of Worcester. Notes and Queries, Ser. XI, vol. I, p. 26. (Worthless. An assertion, unsupported by any evidence, that both the hands of the Beowulf MS are those of Hemming of Worcester, who flourished c. 1096.)
1916 Sisam, K. The Beowulf Manuscript. M.L.R. XI, 335-7. (Very important. Gives results of a scrutiny of the other treatises in MS Vitellius A. XV (see above) and shows, among other things, that the Beowulf MS, before reaching the hands of Sir Robert Cotton, was (in 1563) in those of Lawrence Nowell, the Elizabethan Anglo-Saxon scholar.)
1919 Förster, Max. Die Beowulf-Handschrift, Leipzig, Berichte der Sächs. Akad. der Wissenschaften, Bd. 71. (An excellent and detailed discussion of the problems of the MS, quite independent of that of Mr Sisam, whose results it confirms.) Review: Schröder, Z.f.d.A. LVIII, 85-6.
1920 Rypins, S. I. The Beowulf Codex. Mod. Phil. XVII, 541-8 (promising further treatment of the problems of the MS).
The MS of Finnsburg has been lost. See above, p. 245.
§ 4. EDITIONS OF BEOWULF AND FINNSBURG
1705 Hickes, G. Linguarum Vett. Septentrionalium Thesaurus. Oxoniæ. (Vol. I, 192-3, text of Finnsburg Fragment.)
1814 Conybeare, J. J. The Battle of Finsborough, in Brydges' British Bibliographer, vol. IV, pp. 261-7; No. XV (Text, Latin translation, and free verse paraphrase in English: some brief notes).
1815 Thorkelin, G. J. De Danorum rebus gestis secul. III et IV. Poëma Danicum dialecto Anglo-Saxonica. (Copenhagen, with Lat. transl.) Reviews: See § 7, Textual Criticism, 1815, Grundtvig; also Dansk Litteratur-Tidende, 1815, 401-32, 437-46, 461-2 (defending Thorkelin against Grundtvig); Iduna, vii, 1817, 133-59; Monthly Review, LXXXI, 1816, 516-23; ‡Jenaische Literatur-Zeitung, 1816, Ergänzungsblätter, 353-65 (summary in Wülker's Grundriss, p. 252); Outzen in Kieler Blätter, 1816, see § 8, below.
1817 Rask, R. K. Angelsaksisk sproglære. Stockholm (pp. 163-6 contain Beowulf, ll. 53-114, with commentary).
1820 Text of Finnsburg, given by Grundtvig in Bjowulfs Drape, pp. xl-xlv.
1826 Text of Finnsburg, and of large portions of Beowulf, given in Conybeare's Illustrations. See § 5, Translations.
1833 Kemble, J. M. Beowulf, the Travellers Song, and the Battle of Finnesburh, edited with a glossary ... and an historical preface. London.
1835. Second edit.
1847 Schaldemose, F. Beo-wulf og Scopes Widsið ... med Oversættelse. Kjøbenhavn. (Follows Kemble's text of 1835: Text and transl. of Finnsburg also given, pp. 161-4.) 1851, Reprinted.
1849 Klipstein, L. F. Analecta Anglo-Saxonica. New York. (Selections from Beowulf, II, 227-61: Text of Finnsburg, 426-7.)
1850 Ettmüller, L. Engla and Seaxna scopas and bōceras. Quedlinburg u. Leipzig. (Text of large portions of Beowulf, with Finnsburg, pp. 95-131.)
1855 Thorpe, B. The A.S. poems of Beowulf, the scop or gleeman's tale, and Finnesburg, with a literal translation ... Oxford. ‡1875, Reprinted.
1857 Grein, C. W. M. Bibliothek der angelsächsischen Poesie, I. Göttingen (pp. 255—343, Beóvulf, Ueberfall in Finnsburg).
1861-4. Bd. III, IV. Sprachschatz.
1861 Rieger, M. Alt- u. angelsächsisches Lesebuch. Giessen. (Der Kampf zu Finnsburg, pp. 61-3: aus dem Beovulf, 63-82.)
1861 Grundtvig, N. F. S. Beowulfes Beorh eller Bjovulfs-Drapen. Kiöbenhavn, London. (The Finnsburg Fragment is inserted in the text of Beowulf, after l. 1106.)
1863 Heyne, M. Beovulf, mit ausführlichem Glossar. Paderborn. (Anhang: Der Ueberfall in Finnsburg.) Reviews: Grein, Lit. Cbl. 1864, 137—8; Holtzmann, Germania, VIII, 506-7.
1868. ‡2 Aufl. Review: Rieger, Z.f.d.Ph. II, 371-4.
1873. 3 Aufl. Review: Sievers, Lit. Cbl. 1873, 662-3, brief but severe.
1879. 4 Aufl. [in this, Kölbing's collation of 1876 was utilized; see p. 82]. Reviews: Brenner, Engl. Stud. IV, 135-9; Gering, Z.f.d.Ph. XII, 122-5.
1867 Grein, C. W. M. Beovulf, nebst den Fragmenten Finnsburg u. Valdere. Cassel u. Göttingen.
1875 Ettmüller, L. Carmen de Beóvulfi, Gautarum regis, rebus praeclare gestis atque interitu, quale fuerit antequam in manus interpolatoris, monachi Vestsaxonici, inciderat. (Zürich. University Programme. The additions of the "interpolator" being omitted, the edition contains 2896 lines only.) Reviews: Schönbach, A.f.d.A. III, 36-46; ‡Suchier, Jenaer Literatur-Zeitung, XLVII, 1876, 732.
1876 Arnold, T. Beowulf, with a translation, notes and appendix. London. Reviews (unfavourable): Sweet, Academy, X, 1876, 588; Wülker, Lit. Cbl. 1877, 665-6, and Anglia, I, 177-86.
1879 Wülker, R. P. Kleinere angelsächsische Dichtungen. Halle, Leipzig. (Finnsburg, pp. 6-7.)
1883 Möller, H. Das altenglische Volksepos in der ursprünglichen strophischen Form. I. Abhandlungen. II. Texte. Kiel. (Containing only those parts of the Finn-story and of Beowulf which Möller regarded as "genuine," in strophic form.) Reviews: Heinzel, A.f.d.A. X, 215-33 (important); Schönbach, Z.f.ö.G. XXXV, 37-46.
1883 Wülker, R. P. Das Beowulfslied, nebst den kleineren epischen ... stücken. Kassel. (In the second edit. of Grein's Bibliothek der ags. Poesie.) Review: Kölbing, Engl. Stud. VII, 482 etc.
1883 Harrison, J. A. and Sharp, R. Beowulf. Boston, U.S.A. (‡1883, on the basis of Heyne's edition; with Finnsburg.) Reviews: York Powell, Academy, XXVI, 1884, 220-1; reply by Harrison, 308-9; by York Powell, 327; Kölbing, Engl. Stud. VII, 482; Bright, Literaturblatt, 1884, 221—3.
1892. Third edit.
1894. Fourth edit. Reviews: Wülker, Anglia, Beiblatt, V, 65-7; Glöde, Engl. Stud. XX, 417-18.
1884 Holder, A. Beowulf, II. Berichtigter Text u. Wörterbuch. Freiburg u. Tübingen. Reviews: York Powell, Academy, XXVI, 1884, 220-1; Wülker, Lit. Cbl. 1885, 1008-9; Krüger, Literaturblatt, 1884, 468-70.
1899. 2 Aufl. [with suggestions of Kluge and Cosijn]. Reviews: Trautmann, Anglia, Beiblatt, X, 257; Wülfing, Engl. Stud. XXIX, 278-9; Holthausen, Literaturblatt, 1900, 60-2 (important corrections).
1898. 6 Aufl. Reviews: Trautmann, Anglia, Beiblatt, X, 257; Holthausen, Anglia, Beiblatt, X, 265; Sarrazin, Engl. Stud. XXVIII, 408-10; Jantzen, Archiv, CIII, 175-6.
1903. 7 Aufl. Reviews: Holthausen, Anglia, Beiblatt, XVIII, 193-4; Klaeber, the same, 289-91; Kruisinga, Engl. Stud. XXXV, 401-2; v. Grienberger, Z.f.ö.G. LVI, 744-61 (very full); E. Kock, A.f.n.F. XXII, 215 (brief).
1894 Wyatt, A. J. Beowulf, edited with textual footnotes, index of proper names, and glossary. (Text of Finnsburg.) Cambridge. Reviews: Bradley, Academy, XLVI, 1894, 69-70; Wülker, Anglia, Beiblatt, V, 65-7; Brenner, Engl. Stud. XX, 296; Zupitza, Archiv, XCIV, 326-9.
1898. Second edit. Reviews: Trautmann, Anglia, Beiblatt, X, 257; Sarrazin, Engl. Stud. XXVIII, 407-8.
1902 Kluge, F. Angelsächsisches Lesebuch. 3 Aufl. Halle. (XXX. Der Überfall von Finnsburuh, pp. 127-8.)
1903 Trautmann, M. Finn u. Hildebrand. Bonner Beiträge, VII. (Text, translation and comment on the Episode and Fragment.) Reviews: Binz, Z.f.d.Ph. XXXVII, 529-36; Jantzen, Die Neueren Sprachen, XI, 543-8; Neue philol. Rundschau, 1903, 619-21 (signed -tz- ? Jantzen). Some additional notes by Trautmann, "Nachträgliches zu Finn u. Hildebrand" appeared in Bonner Beiträge, XVII, 122.
1904 Trautmann, M. Das Beowulflied ... das Finn-Bruchstück u. die Waldhere-Bruchstücke. Bearbeiteter Text u. deutsche Übersetzung. Bonner Beiträge, XVI. Reviews: Klaeber, M.L.N. XX, 83-7 (weighty); Eckhardt, Engl. Stud. XXXVII, 401-3; Schücking, Archiv, CXV, 417-21; Barnouw, Museum, XIV, 96-8; Neue philologische Rundschau (? by Jantzen), 1905, 549-50.
1905-6 Holthausen, F. Beowulf nebst dem Finnsburg-Bruchstück. I. Texte. II. Einleitung, Glossar u. Anmerkungen. Heidelberg. Reviews: Lawrence, J.E.G.Ph. VII, 125-9; Klaeber, M.L.N. XXIV, 94-5; Schücking, Engl. Stud. XXXIX, 94-111 (weighty); Deutschbein, Archiv, CXXI, 162-4; v. Grienberger, Z.f.ö.G. 1908, LIX, 333-46 (giving an elaborate list of etymological parallels); Barnouw, Museum, XIV, 169-70; Wülker, D.L.Z. 1906, 285-6; ‡Jantzen, Neue philologische Rundschau, 1907, 18.
1908-9. 2 Aufl., nebst den kleineren Denkmälern der Heldensage, Finnsburg, Waldere, Deor, Widsith, Hildebrand. Reviews: Eichler, Anglia, Beiblatt, XXI, 129-33; XXII, 161-5; Schücking, Engl. Stud. XLII, 108-11; Brandl, Archiv, CXXI, 473, CXXIV, 210; Binz, Literaturblatt, XXXII, 1911, 53-5: see also Koeppel, Anglia, Beiblatt, XXIII, 297.
1912-13. 3 Aufl.
1914-19. 4 Aufl. Reviews: Binz, Literaturblatt, XLI, 1920, 316-17; Fischer, Engl. Stud. LIV, 404-6.
1908 Schücking, L. L. Beowulf [8th edit. of Heyne's text]. Paderborn. Reviews: Lawrence, M.L.N. XXV, 155-7; Klaeber, Engl. Stud. XXXIX, 425-33 (weighty); Imelmann, D.L.Z. 1909, 995 (contains important original contributions); v. Grienberger, Z.f.ö.G. LX, 1089; Boer, Museum, XVI, 139 (brief).
1910. 9 Aufl. Reviews: Sedgefield, Engl. Stud. XLIII, 267-9; F. Wild, Z.f.ö.G. LXIV, 153-5.
1913. 10 Aufl. Reviews: Klaeber, Anglia, Beiblatt, XXIV, 289-91; Engl. Stud. XLIX, 424; ‡Degenhart, Blätter f. gymnasialschulwesen, LI, 130; E. A. Kock, A.f.n.F. XXXII, 222-3; Holthausen, Z.f.d.Ph. XLVIII, 127-31 (weighty).
1918. 11, 12 Aufl. Reviews: Björkman, Anglia, Beiblatt, XXX, 121-2, 180; Fischer, Engl. Stud. LIII, 338-9.
1913. Second edit. Reviews: M.L.R. IX, 429; Lawrence, J.E.G.Ph. XIV, 609-13; Klaeber, Anglia, Beiblatt, XXV, 166-8.
1912 Text of the Finn episode given in Meyer, W., Beiträge zur Geschichte der Eroberung Englands durch die Angelsachsen.
1914 Chambers, R. W. Beowulf with the Finnsburg Fragment, ed. by A. J. Wyatt. New edition, revised. Cambridge. Reviews: Jones, M.L.R. XI, 230-1: Lawrence, J.E.G.Ph. XIV, 609-13; Bright, M.L.N. XXXI, 188-9; Schücking, Engl. Stud. LV, 88-100.
1915 Dickins, B. Runic and Heroic Poems (Text of Finnsburg with Notes). Cambridge. Review: Mawer, M.L.R. XII, 82-4.
1917 Mackie, W. L. The Fight at Finnsburg (Introduction, Text and Notes). J.E.G.Ph. XVI, 250-73.
1919 Schücking, L. L. Kleines angelsächsisches Dichterbuch. [Includes Finnsburg Fragment, Finnsburg Episode and "Beowulf's Return" (ll. 1888-2199).] Reviews: Binz, Literaturblatt, XLI, 1920, pp. 315-16; Imelmann, D.L.Z. XL, 1919, 423-5; Fischer, Engl. Stud. LIV, 1920, 302-3.
1920 Text of Finnsburg Fragment and Episode, with commentary, in Imelmann's "Forschungen zur altenglischen Poesie."
An edition of Beowulf by Prof. F. Klaeber is in the press.
§ 5. CONCORDANCES, etc.
1896 Holder, A. Beowulf, vol. IIb, Wortschatz. Freiburg. Review: Brandl, A.f.d.A. XXIII, 107.
1911 Cook, A. S. Concordance to Beowulf. Halle. Reviews: Klaeber, J.E.G.Ph. XI, 277-9; Garnett, Amer. Jnl. Philol. XXXIII, 86-7.
§ 6. TRANSLATIONS (INCLUDING EARLY SUMMARIES)
1881 Wülker, R. P. Besprechung der Beowulfübersetzungen, Anglia, IV, Anzeiger, 69-80.
1886 Gummere, F. B. The translation of Beowulf, and the relations of ancient and modern English verse, Amer. Jour. of Phil. VII, 46-78. (A weighty argument for translation into "the original metre.")
1891 Garnett, J. M. The translation of A.S. poetry, Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. VI, 95-105. (Agreeing in the main with Gummere.)
1897 Frye, P. H. The translation of Beowulf, M.L.N. XII, 79-82. (Advocating blank verse.)
1898 Fulton, E. On translating A.S. poetry, Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. XIII, 286-96. (Recommending an irregular four-accent line.)
1903 Garnett, J. M. Recent translations of O.E. poetry, Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. XVIII, 445-58.
1903 Tinker, C. B. The translations of Beowulf. A critical bibliography. Yale Studies in English. New York. Reviews: Klaeber, J.E.G.Ph. V, 116-8; Binz, Anglia, Beiblatt, XVI, 291-2.
1909 Child, G. C. "Gummere's Oldest English Epic," M.L.N. XXIV, 253-4. (A criticism advocating prose translation.)
1910 Gummere, F. B. Translation of Old English Verse, M.L.N. XXV, 61-3. (Advocating alliterative verse.) Reply by Child, M.L.N. XXV, 157-8. See also reviews of Gummere, under year 1909, below.
1918 Leonard, W. E. Beowulf and the Niebelungen couplet, Univ. of Wisconsin Studies in Language and Literature, II, 99-152.
1805 Turner, Sharon. History of the manners ... poetry ... and language of the Anglo-Saxons. London. (From p. 398 to p. 408 is a summary, with translations, of Beowulf, Prol.-VIII. Turner was misled as to the subject of the poem, because a leaf had been misplaced in the MS, so that the account of the fighting between Grendel and Beowulf (ll. 740-82) occurred immediately after l. 91. The struggle between Beowulf and an (unnamed) adversary being thus made to follow the account of Hrothgar's court at Heorot, Turner was led to suppose that the poem narrated the attempt of Beowulf to avenge on Hrothgar the feud for a homicide he had committed. "The transition," Turner not unreasonably complains, "is rather violent." The correct placing of the shifted leaf is due to Thorkelin.)
1815 Thorkelin, G. J. [Latin version in his edition, q.v.] The reviewers gave summaries of the poem, with translations of portions of it: English in the Monthly Review, LXXXI, 1816, 516-23 (less inaccurate than Turner's summary); Danish in the Dansk Litteratur-Tidende, 1815, 401-32, 437-46, and by Grundtvig in the Nyeste Skilderie (see below, § 7); Swedish in Iduna, VII, 1817, 133-59.
1819 Grundtvig, N. F. S. Stykker af Skjoldung-Kvadet eller Bjovulfs Minde, Dannevirke, IV, 234-62.
1820 Grundtvig, N. F. S. Bjowulfs Drape, Kjøbenhavn. (Free rhymed translation of Beowulf: Finnsburg rendered into short lines, unrhymed: Introduction and most important critical notes.) Review: J. Grimm in Gött. Anzeigen, 1823 = Kleinere Schriften, IV, 178-86. For second edit., see 1865.
1820 Turner, Sharon. History of the Anglo-Saxons ... third edit. London. (Vol. III, pp. 325-48, contains a summary, with translations, of the earlier part of the poem, much less inaccurate than that of 1805.)
1826 Conybeare, J. J. Illustrations of Anglo-Saxon poetry. London. (Pp. 35-136 contain a summary of Beowulf, with blank verse transl. and the corresponding text in A.S. and Latin; pp. 175-82, Finnsburg, text with transl. into Latin and into English verse.)
1832 Grundtvig, N. F. S. Nordens mythologi. Anden Udgave. Kiöbenhavn. (Pp. 571-94 give a summary of the Beowulf-stories. This was, of course, wanting in the first edit. of 1808.)
1837 Kemble, J. M. Translation ... with ... glossary, preface and notes. London. (The "postscript to the preface" in which Kemble supplemented and corrected the "Historical Preface" to his edition of 1833, is the basis of the mythological explanations of Beowulf as an Anglian god, Beowa.)
1839 Leo, H. [Summary with translation of extracts.] See § 8, below.
1840 Ettmüller, L. Beowulf, stabreimend übersetzt, mit Einleitung und Anmerkungen (Finnsburg, pp. 36-8). Zürich.
1845 Longfellow, H. W. The Poets and Poetry of Europe. Philadelphia. (Pp. 8-10 contain transl. of extracts from Beowulf.)
1847 Schaldemose, F. [Danish transl. of Beowulf and Finnsburg, in his edit., q.v.]
1849 Wackerbarth, A. D. Beowulf, translated into English verse. London. (Imitation of Scott's metre.)
1855 Thorpe, B. [In his edit., q.v.]
1857 Uhland, L. [Prose transl. of Finnsburg.] Germania, II, 354-5.
1857 Grein, C. W. M. Dichtungen der Angelsachsen, stabreimend übersetzt. Göttingen. (Vol. I, pp. 222—308, Beowulf, trans. into alliterative verse.)
1883. 2 Aufl. [Incorporating Grein's manuscript corrections, seen through the press by Wülker.] Cassel. Review: Krüger, Engl. Stud. VIII, 139—42.
1859 Simrock, K. Beowulf übersetzt u. erläutert. Stuttgart u. Augsburg. (Alliterative verse: Finnsburg Fragment inserted after l. 1124.)
1859 Sandras, G. S. De carminibus anglo-saxonicis Caedmoni adjudicatis. Paris. (Pp. 8—10 contain extract from Beowulf and Latin transl.)
1861 Haigh, D. H. (Prose transl. of Finnsburg.) In Anglo-Saxon Sagas, pp. 32—3, q.v.
1863 Heyne, M. Beowulf übersetzt. Paderborn. (Blank verse.) Review: Holtzmann, Germania, VIII, 506—7.
1897—8. 2 Aufl. Paderborn. Reviews: Holthausen, Archiv, CIII,
373—6; Wülker, Anglia, Beiblatt, IX, 1; Jantzen, Engl. Stud. XXV,
271—3; Löhner, Z.f.ö.G. XLIX, 563.
1915. 3 Aufl. Paderborn.
1865 Grundtvig, N. F. S. Bjovulfs-Drapen. Anden Udgave.
1872 von Wolzogen, H. Beovulf aus dem ags. Leipzig. (Verse.)
1876 Arnold, T. [In his edit., q.v.]
1877 Botkine, L. Beowulf traduite en français. Havre. (Prose: some omissions.) Review: Körner, Engl. Stud. II, 248—51.
1881 Zinsser, G. Der Kampf Beowulfs mit Grendel [vv. 1—836] als Probe einer metrischen Uebersetzung. Saarbrücken. Reviews: Archiv, LXVIII, 446; Krüger, Engl. Stud. VII, 370—2.
1881 Lumsden, H. W. Beowulf ... transl. into modern rhymes. London. (Some omissions.) Reviews: Athenæum, April 1881, p. 587; Garnett, Amer. Jour. of Phil. II, 355—61; Wülker, Anglia, IV, Anzeiger, 69—80.
1883. ‡Second edit. Review: York Powell, Academy, XXVI, 1884, pp. 220—1.
1882 Schuhmann, G. Beovulf, antichissimo poema epico de' popoli germanici. Giornale Napoletano di filosofia e lettere. Anno IV, vol. 7, 25—36, 175—190. (A summary only.)
1882 Garnett, J. M. Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, translated. Boston, U.S.A. Reviews: Nation (New York), No. 919, 1883; Harrison, Amer. Jour. of Phil. IV, 84—6, reply by Garnett, 243—6; Schipper, Anglia, VI, Anzeiger, 120—4; Krüger, Engl. Stud. VIII, 133—8, and (second edit.) IX, 151; Bright, Literaturblatt, 1883, 386—7.
1885. Second edit., revised.
1900. Fourth edit.
1883 Grion, Giusto. Beovulf, poema epico anglòsassone del VII secolo, tradotto e illustrato. In the Atti della reale Accademia Lucchese, XXII. (First Italian translation.) Review: Krüger, Engl. Stud. IX, 64—77.
1889 ‡Wickberg, R. Beowulf, en fornengelsk hjältedikt översatt. Westervik.
1914. ‡Second edit. Upsala. Review: Kock, A.f.n.F. XXXII, 223—4.
1892 Hall, John Lesslie. Beowulf translated. (Verse, with notes.) Boston, U.S.A. Reviews: M.L.N. VII, 128, 1892 (brief mention); Miller, Viking Club Year Book, I, 91—2; Holthausen, Anglia, Beiblatt, IV, 33—6; Glöde, Engl. Stud. XIX, 257—60.
1893. ‡Student's edit.
1892 (1891) Earle, John. The deeds of Beowulf. Oxford. (Prose translation, somewhat spoilt by its artificial and sometimes grotesque vocabulary; very valuable introduction, with summary of the controversy to date, and notes.) Reviews: Athenæum, 1 Oct. 1892; Koeppel, Engl. Stud. XVIII, 93-5 (fair, though rather severe).
1893 Hoffmann, P. Beówulf ... aus dem angelsächsischen übertragen. Züllichau. (In the measure of the Nibelungenlied; ind. Finnsburg.) Reviews (mostly unfavourable): Shipley, M.L.N. IX, 121-3, 1894; Wülker, Anglia, Beiblatt, V, 67; Wülker, Lit. Cbl. 1894, p. 1930; Glöde, Engl. Stud. XIX, 412-5; ‡Detter, Öster. Literaturblatt, V, 9; ‡Marold, Deut. Literaturblatt, XXIII, 332.
1900. ‡Second edit. Hannover.
1895 Morris, W. and Wyatt, A. J. The Tale of Beowulf. Kelmscott Press, Hammersmith. (Verse: archaic vocabulary.)
1898. New edit. Review: Hulme, M.L.N. XV, 22-6, 1900.
1896 Simons, L. Beówulf ... vertaald in stafrijm en met inleiding en aanteekeningen. Gent (Koninklijke vlaamsche Academie). Reviews: Glöde, Engl. Stud. XXV, 270-1; Uhlenbeck, Museum (Groningen), V, 217-8.
1898 Steineck, H. Altenglische Dichtungen (Beowulf, Elene, u.a.) in wortgetreuer Übersetzung. Leipzig. (Prose, line for line.) Reviews: Binz, Anglia, Beiblatt, IX, 220-2; Holthausen, Archiv, CIII, 376-8 (both very unfavourable).
1901 Hall, J. R. Clark. Beowulf and the fight at Finnsburg. A translation into modern English prose. London. Reviews: Athenæum, 1901, July, p. 56; Academy, LX, 1901, 342; Stedman, Viking Club Year Book, III, 72-4; Tinker, J.E.G.Ph. IV, 379-81; Holthausen, Anglia, Beiblatt, XIII, 225-8; Dibelius, Archiv, CIX, 403-4; Vietor, Die neueren Sprachen, XI, 439; Wülker, Lit. Cbl. 1902, 30-1 ("sehr zu empfehlen").
1911 (q.v.). New edit., with considerable additions.
1902 Tinker, C. B. Beowulf translated out of the Old English. New York. (Prose.) Reviews: Klaeber, J.E.G.Ph. V, 91-3; Holthausen, Anglia, Beiblatt, XIV, 7.
1903 ‡Björkman, E. Swedish transl. (prose) of Beowulf, Part II (in Schück's Världslitteraturen, with introd. by Schück).
1903-4 Trautmann, M., in his editions, q.v.
1904 Child, C. G. Beowulf and the Finnesburh Fragment translated. London and Boston. Reviews: Grattan, M.L.R. III, 303-4 ("a good prose translation which steers an even course between pseudo-archaisms and modern colloquialisms"); Miller, Viking Club Year Book, I, 91-2; Klaeber, Anglia, Beiblatt, XVI, 225-7; Brandl, Archiv, CXXI, 473.
1904 ‡Hansen, A. Transl. into Danish of Beowulf, ll. 491-924, Danske Tidsskrift.
1905 Vogt, P. Beowulf ... übersetzt. Halle. (Text rearranged according to theories of interpolation: Finnsburg Fragment translated, following Möller's text.) Reviews: Binz, Anglia, Beiblatt, XXI, 289-91; Eichler, Z.f.ö.G. LVII, 908-10; Klaeber, Archiv, CXVII, 408-10: Jantzen, Lit. Cbl. 1906, 257-8.
1906 Gering, H. Beowulf nebst dem Finnsburg-Bruchstück übersetzt. Heidelberg. (Verse.) Reviews: Lawrence, J.E.G.Ph. VII, 129-33 ("thoroughly scholarly"); Jantzen, Lit. Cbl. 1907, 64-5; Ries, A.f.d.A. XXXIII, 143-7; Binz, Literaturblatt, XXXI, 397-8 ("Fliessend und ungezwungen, sinngetreu ..."); ‡Zehme, Monatsschrift, XIV, 597-600; v. Grienberger, Z.f.ö.G. 1908, LIX, 423-8.
1914. 2 Aufl.
1907 Huyshe, W. Beowulf ... translated into ... prose ("Appendix: The Fight at Finn's burgh"). London. ("Translation," to quote Clark Hall, "apparently such as might have been compiled from previous translations by a person ignorant of Ags. Some original mistakes.") Reviews: Athenæum, 1907, II, 96 ("Mr Huyshe displays sad ignorance of Old English ... but an assiduous study of the work of his predecessors has preserved him from misrepresenting seriously the general sense of the text"); Notes and Queries, Ser. X, vol. VIII, 58; Garnett, Amer. Jnl. Philol. XXIX, 344-6; Klaeber, Anglia, Beiblatt, XIX, 257.
1909 Gummere, F. B. The oldest English Epic. Beowulf, Finnsburg, Waldere, Deor and the German Hildebrand, translated in the original metres. New York. Reviews: Athenæum, 1909, II, 151; Trautmann, Anglia, Beiblatt, XXXIII, 353-60 (metrical debate); Sedgefield, Engl. Stud. XLI, 402-3 (discussing possibility of reproducing in Mod. Eng. the Old Eng. alliterative verse-rhythm); Derocquigny, Revue Germanique, VI, 356-7; see also above, p. 390.
1910 Hansen, Adolf. Bjovulf, oversat af A. Hansen, og efter hans død gået efter og fuldført samt forsynet med en inledning og en oversættelse af brudstykket om kampen i Finsborg, af Viggo Julius von Holstein Rathlou; udgivet ved Oskar Hansen. København og Kristiania. An account of this translation, by v. Holstein Rathlou, in Tilskueren, June, 1910, pp. 557-62; Review: Olrik, Danske Studier, 1910, 112-13.
1911 Clark Hall, J. R. Beowulf and the Finnsburg Fragment. A translation into Modern English Prose. London. Reviews: Mawer, M.L.R. VI, 542 ("probably the best working translation that we have, enriched by a valuable introduction and excellent appendices"); Academy, 1911, I, 225-6; Björkman, Engl. Stud. XLIV, 127-8; Archiv, CXXVI, 492-3; Binz, Literaturblatt, XXXII, 232.
1912 Pierquin, H. Le poème Anglo-Saxon de Beowulf. (An extraordinary piece of work; the version mainly follows Kemble's text, which is reproduced, but with many misprints: Kemble's Saxons in England is translated by way of introduction. The Finnsburg Fragment is included.) Reviews: Academy, 1912, II, 509-10 (seems to regard Pierquin as author of Les Saxons en Angleterre); Sedgefield, M.L.R. VIII, 550-2; Klaeber, Anglia, Beiblatt, XXIV, 138-9; Imelmann, D.L.Z. XXXIV (1913), 1062-3 (very unfavourable); ‡Luick, Mitt. d. inst. f. österr. gesch.-forsch. XXXVI, 401; ‡Barat, Moyen Âge, XXVI (see. ser. XVII), 298-302.
1913 Kirtlan, E. J. The Story of Beowulf. London. (A fair specimen of the less scholarly translations; nicely got up and not exceedingly incorrect.) Reviews: Athenæum, 1914, II, 71; Klaeber, Anglia, Beiblatt, XXVII, 129-31.
1914 Clark Hall, J. R. Beowulf: a metrical translation. Cambridge. (Not so successful as the same writer's prose translation.) Reviews: Sedgefield, M.L.R. X, 387-9 (discussing the principles of metrical translation); Klaeber, Anglia, Beiblatt, XXVI, 170-2.
1915 Olivero, F. Traduzioni dalla Poesia Anglo-sassone. Bari. (Pp. 73-119, extracts from Beowulf.) Review: M.L.R. XI, 509.
1916 ‡Benedetti, A. La canzone di Beowulf, poema epico anglo-sassone del VI secolo. Versione italiana, con introduzione e note. Palermo.
1918 Leonard, W. E. [Specimen, Passus IX, of forthcoming transl., in the measure of the Nibelungenlied.] In Univ. of Wisconsin Studies, II, 149-52; see above.
A translation of Beowulf into the Norwegian "landsmaal," by H. Rytter, will appear shortly.
Popular paraphrases of Beowulf are not included in the above list. An account will be found in Tinker's Translations of those of E. H. Jones (in Cox's Popular Romances, 1871); J. Gibb, 1881-4; Wägner-MacDowall, 1883 etc.; Miss Z. A. Ragozin, 1898, 1900; A. J. Church, 1898; Miss C. L. Thomson, 1899, 1904. Mention may also be made of those of ‡F. A. Turner, 1894; H. E. Marshall, 1908; T. Cartwright, 1908; Prof. J. H. Cox, 1910. An illustrated summary of the Beowulf story was issued by Mr W. T. Stead in his penny "Books for the Bairns." The versions of Miss Thomson and Prof. Cox are both good. The paraphrase in the Canadian Monthly, II, 83 (1872), attributed in several bibliographies to Earle, is assuredly not the work of that scholar: it is an inaccurate version based upon Jones. An account will be found in Tinker of the German paraphrase of Therese Dahn, 1883 etc.; mention may also be made of those of J. Arnheim, 1871; ‡ F. Bässler, sec. edit. 1875 (praised highly by Klaeber in J.E.G.Ph. V, 118).
§ 7. TEXTUAL CRITICISM AND INTERPRETATION
1815 Grundtvig, N. F. S. Et Par Ord om det nys udkomne angelsaxiske Digt. Nyeste Skilderie af Kjøbenhavn, No. 60 etc., cols. 945, 998, 1009, 1025, 1045; Nok et Par Ord om Bjovulfs Drape, 1106, 1121, 1139 (comment upon Thorkelin's text and translation).
1815 Thorkelin, G. J. Reply to Grundtvig in Nyeste Skilderie, cols. 1057, 1073. (There were further articles in the same magazine, but they were purely personal.)
1820 Grundtvig, N. F. S. Emendations to Thorkelin's text, added to Bjowulfs Drape, 267-312.
1826 Conybeare, J. J. Illustrations of Anglo-Saxon poetry. London. (Beowulf and "Finnsborough," pp. 30-182.)
1859 Bouterwek, K. W. Zur Kritik des Beowulfliedes, Z.f.d.A. XI, 59-113.
1859 Dietrich, F. Rettungen, Z.f.d.A. XI, 409-20.
1863 Holtzmann, A. Zu Beowulf, Germania, VIII, 489-97. (Incl. Finnsburg.)
1865 Grein, C. W. M. Zur Textkritik der angelsächsischen Dichter: Finnsburg, Germania, X, 422.
1868-9 Bugge, Sophus. Spredte iagttagelser vedkommende de oldengelske digte om Beówulf og Waldere; Tidskrift for Philologi og Pædagogik, VIII, 40-78 and 287-307 (incl. Finnsburg, 304-5). Important.
1871 Rieger, M. Zum Beowulf, Z.f.d.Ph. III, 381-416.
1873 Bugge, S. Zum Beowulf, Z.f.d.Ph. IV, 192-224.
1880 Kölbing, E. Kleine Beiträge (Beowulf, 168, 169), Engl. Stud. III, 92 etc.
1882 Kluge, F. Sprachhistorische Miscellen (Beowulf, 63, 1027, 1235, 1267), P.B.B. VIII, 532-5.
1882 Cosijn, P. J. Zum Beowulf, P.B.B. VIII, 568-74.
1883 Sievers, E. Zum Beowulf, P.B.B. IX, 135-44, 370.
1883 Kluge, F. Zum Beowulf, P.B.B. IX, 187-92.
1883 Krüger, Th. Zum Beowulf, P.B.B. IX, 571-8.
1889 Miller, T. The position of Grendel's arm in Heorot, Anglia, XII, 396-400.
1890 Joseph, E. Zwei Versversetzungen im Beowulf, Z.f.d.Ph. XXII, 385-97.
1891 Schröer, A. Zur texterklärung des Beowulf, Anglia, XIII, 333-48.
1891-2 Cosijn, P. J. Aanteekeningen op den Beowulf. Leiden. (Important.) Reviews: Lübke, A.f.d.A. XIX, 341-2; Holthausen, Literaturblatt, 1895, p. 82.
1892 Sievers, E. Zur texterklärung des Beowulf, Anglia, XIV, 133-46.
1895 Bright, J. W. Notes on the Beowulf (ll. 30, 306, 386-7, 623, 737), M.L.N. X, 43-4.
1899 Trautmann, M. Berichtigungen, Vermutungen und Erklärungen zum Beowulf (ll. 1-1215). Bonner Beiträge zur Anglistik, II, 121-92. Reviews: Binz, Anglia, Beiblatt, XIV, 358-60; Holthausen, Literaturblatt, 1900, 62-4 (important). See Sievers, P.B.B. XXVII, 572; XXVIII, 271.
1901 Klaeber, F. A few Beowulf notes (ll. 459, 847 etc., 1206, 3024 etc., 3171); M.L.N. XVI, 14-18.
1902 Klaeber, F. Zum Beowulf (497-8; 1745-7), Archiv, CVIII, 368-70.
1902 Klaeber, F. Beowulf's character, M.L.N. XVII, 162.
1903 Krackow, O. Zu Beowulf, 1225, 2222, Archiv, CXI, 171-2.
1904 Bryant, F. E. Beowulf, 62, M.L.N. XIX, 121-2.
1904 Abbott, W. C. Hrothulf, M.L.N. XIX, 122-5. (Abbott suggests that Hrothulf is the name—missing in whole or part from l. 62—of the husband of the daughter of Healfdene. This suggestion is quite untenable, for many reasons: Hrothulf (Rolf Kraki) is a Dane, and the missing husband is a Swede: but the article led to a long controversy between Bryant and Klaeber; see M.L.N. XX, 9-11; XXI, 143, 255; XXII, 96, 160. Klaeber is undoubtedly right.)
1904 Krapp, G. B. Miscellaneous Notes: Scūrheard; M.L.N. XIX, 234.
1904 Sievers, E. Zum Beowulf, P.B.B. XXIX, 305-31. (Criticism of Trautmann's emendations.)
1904 Kock, E. A. Interpretations and Emendations of Early English Texts: III (Beowulf), Anglia, XXVII, 218-37.
1904 Sievers, E. Zum Beowulf (l. 5, Criticism of Kock), P.B.B. XXIX, 560-76. Reply by Kock, Anglia, XXVIII (1905), 140-2.
1905 Trautmann, M. Auch zum Beowulf: ein gruss an herren Eduard Sievers, Bonner Beiträge zur Anglistik, XVII, 143-74. (Reply to Sievers' criticism of Trautmann's conjectural emendations.) Review: Klaeber, M.L.N. XXII, 252.
1905 Swiggett, G. L. Notes on the Finnsburg fragment, M.L.N. XX, 169-71.
1905 Klaeber, F. Notizen zur texterklärung des Beowulf, Anglia, XXVIII, 439-47 (incl. Finnsburg); Zum Beowulf, the same, 448-56.
1905 Klaeber, F. Bemerkungen zum Beowulf, Archiv, CXV, 178-82. (Incl. Finnsburg.)
1905 Holthausen, F. Beiträge zur Erklärung des altengl. epos. I, Zum Beowulf; II, Zum Finnsburg-fragment; Z.f.d.Ph. XXXVII, 113-25.
1905-6 Klaeber, F. Studies in the Textual Interpretation of "Beowulf," Mod. Phil. III, 235-66, 445-65 (Most important).
1906 Child, C. G. Beowulf, 30, 53, 132 (i.e. 1323), 2957, M.L.N. XXI, 175-7, 198-200.
1906 Horn, W. Textkritische Bemerkungen (Beowulf, 69 etc.), Anglia, XXIX, 130-1.
1906 Klaeber, F. Notizen zum Beowulf, Anglia, XXIX, 378-82.
1907 Klaeber, F. Minor Notes on the Beowulf, J.E.G.Ph. VI, 190-6.
1908 Tinker, C. B. Notes on Beowulf, M.L.N. XXIII, 239-40.
1908 Klaeber, F. Zum Beowulf, Engl. Stud. XXXIX, 463-7.
1909 Klaeber, F. Textual Notes on Beowulf, J.E.G.Ph. VIII, 254-9.
1910 von Grienberger, T. Bemerkungen zum Beowulf, P.B.B. XXXVI, 77-101. (Incl. Finnsburg.)
1910 Sievers, E. Gegenbemerkungen zum Beowulf, P.B.B. XXXVI, 397-434. (Incl. Finnsburg.)
1910 Sedgefield, W. J. Notes on "Beowulf," M.L.R. V, 286-8.
1910 Trautmann, M. Beiträge zu einem künftigen "Sprachschatz der altenglischen Dichter," Anglia, XXXIII, 276-9 (gedræg).
1911 Blackburn, F. A. Note on Beowulf, 1591-1617, Mod. Phil. IX, 555-66. (Argues that a loose leaf has been misplaced and the order of events thus disturbed.)
1911 Klaeber, F. Zur Texterklärung des Beowulf, vv. 767, 1129, Anglia, Beiblatt, XXII, 372-4.
1912 Hart, J. M. Beowulf, 168-9, M.L.N. XXVII, 198.
1912-14 Grein, C. W. M. Sprachschatz der angelsächsischen dichter. Unter mitwirkung von F. Holthausen neu herausgegeben von J. J. Köhler. Heidelberg. Reviews: Trautmann, Anglia, Beiblatt, XXIV, 36-43; Schücking, Engl. Stud. XLIX, 113-5.
1915 Chambers, R. W. The "Shifted leaf" in Beowulf, M.L.R. X, 37-41. (Points out that the alleged "confused order of events" is that also followed in the Grettis saga.)
1916 Green, A. The opening of the episode of Finn in Beowulf, Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. XXXI, 759-97.
1916 Bright, J. W. Anglo-Saxon umbor and seld-guma, M.L.N. XXXI, 82-4; Beowulf, 489-90, M.L.N. XXXI, 217-23.
1917 Green, A. An episode in Ongenþeow's fall, M.L.R. XII, 340-3.
1917 Hollander, L. M. Beowulf, 33, M.L.N. XXXII, 246-7. (Suggests the reading ītig.)
1917 Holthausen, F. Zu altenglischen Denkmälern—Beowulf, 1140, Engl. Stud. LI, 180.
1918 Hubbard, F. G. Beowulf, 1598, 1996, 2026: uses of the impersonal verb geweorþan, J.E.G.Ph. XVII, 119.
1918 Kock, E. A. Interpretations and emendations of early English Texts: IV, Beowulf, Anglia, XLII, 99-124. (Important.)
1918 ‡Kock, E. A. Jubilee Jaunts and Jottings, in the Lunds univ. årsskrift, N. F. avd. I, bd. 14, nr. 26 (Festskrift vid ... 250-årsjubileum). Reviews: Holthausen, Anglia, Beiblatt, XXX, 1-5; Klaeber, J.E.G.Ph. XIX, 409-13.
1919 Moore, Samuel. Beowulf Notes (Textual), J.E.G.Ph. XVIII, 205-16.
1919 Klaeber, F. Concerning the functions of O.E. geweorðan, J.E.G.Ph. XVIII, 250-71. (Cf. paper of Prof. Hubbard above, by which this was suggested.)
1919 Klaeber, F. Textual notes on "Beowulf," M.L.N. XXXIV, 129-34.
1919 Brown, Carleton. Beowulf, 1080-1106, M.L.N. XXXIV, 181-3.
1919 Brett, Cyril. Notes on passages of Old and Middle English, M.L.R. XIV, 1-9.
1919-20 Kock, E. A. Interpretations and emendations of Early English Texts: V (Incl. Beowulf, 2030, 2419-24); VI (Incl. Beowulf 24, 154-6, 189-90, 1992-3, 489-90, 581-3, 1745-7, 1820-1, 1931-2, 2164); VII (Incl. Beowulf, 1230, 1404, 1553-6); Anglia, XLIII, 303-4; XLIV, 98 etc., 245 etc.
1920 Bryan W. F. Beowulf Notes (303-6, 532-4, 867-71), J.E.G.Ph. XIX, 84-5.
§ 8. QUESTIONS OF LITERARY HISTORY, DATE AND AUTHORSHIP: BEOWULF IN THE LIGHT OF HISTORY, ARCHÆOLOGY, HEROIC LEGEND, MYTHOLOGY AND FOLKLORE
See also preceding section.
No attempt is made here to deal with Old English heroic legend in general: nor to enumerate the references to Beowulf in histories of literature. Probably the earliest allusion to our poem by a great writer is in Scott's Essay on Romance (1824):
"The Saxons had, no doubt, Romances, ... and Mr Turner ... has given us the abridgement of one entitled Caedmon, in which the hero, whose adventures are told much after the manner of the ancient Norse Sagas, encounters, defeats and finally slays an evil being called Grendel...."
1816 Outzen, N. Das ags. Gedicht Beowulf, Kieler Blätter, III, 307-27. (See above, p. 4, note.)
1816 (Review of Thorkelin in) Monthly Review, LXXXI, 516-23. (Beowulf identified with Beaw Sceldwaing of the West Saxon genealogy; see above, p. 292.)
1817 Grundtvig, N. F. S. Danne-Virke, II, 207-89. (Identifies Chochilaicus; see above, p. 4, note.)
1826 Grimm, W. Einleitung über die Elfen, Kleinere Schriften, I, 405, esp. p. 467 (extract relating to Grendel's hatred of song). From ‡Irische Elfenmärchen.
1829 Grimm, W. Die deutsche Heldensage. Göttingen. (Pp. 13-17. Extracts from Beowulf, with translation, relating to Weland, Sigemund, Hama and Eormenric.)
1836 Kemble, J. M. Über die Stammtafel der Westsachsen. München. Review: J. Grimm, Göttingische gelehrte Anziegen, 1836, 649-57, = Kleinere Schriften, V, 240.
1836 Mone, F. J. Zur Kritik des Gedichts von Beowulf (in Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der teutschen Heldensage). Quedlinburg u. Leipzig. (Pp. 129-36.)
1839 Leo, H. Bëówulf ... nach seinem inhalte, und nach seinen historischen und mythologischen beziehungen betrachtet. Halle.
1841 Disraeli, I. Amenities of Literature. London. (Beowulf; the Hero-Life. Vol. I, pp. 80-92.)
1841 Grundtvig, N. F. S. Bjovulfs Drape, Brage og Idun, IV, 481-538. (Discusses the story, with criticism of previous scholars, and especially of Kemble.)
1843-9 Grimm, W. Einleitung zur Vorlesung über Gudrun [with an abstract of Beowulf]; see Kleinere Schriften, IV, 557-60.
1844 Müllenhoff, K. Die deutschen Völker an Nord- und Ostsee in ältester Zeit, Nordalbingische Studien, I, 111 etc.
1845 A brief discussion of Beowulf in Edinburgh Review, LXXXII, 309-11.
1845 Haupt, M. Zum Beowulf, Z.f.d.A. V, 10. (Drawing attention to the reference to Hygelac in the liber de monstris; see above, p. 4.)
1848 Müllenhoff, K. Die austrasische Dietrichssage, Z.f.d.A. VI, 435 etc.
1849 Müllenhoff, K. Sceáf u. seine Nachkommen, Z.f.d.A. VII, 410-19; Der Mythus von Beóvulf, Z.f.d.A. VII, 419-41.
1849 Grimm, J. Ueber das Verbrennen der Leichen, Abhandl. d. Berl. Akad., 1849, 191 etc. = Kleinere Schriften, II, 211-313 (esp. 261-4).
1849 Bachlechner, J. Die Merovinge im Beowulf, Z.f.d.A. VII, 524-6.
1851 Zappert, G. Virgil's Fortleben im Mittelalter, Denkschriften der k. Akad. Wien, Phil.-Hist. Classe, Bd. II, Abth. 2, pp. 17-70. (Gives numerous parallels between Virgil and "Beowulf," somewhat indiscriminately.)
1852 Brynjulfsson, G. Oldengelsk og Oldnordisk, Antikuarisk Tidsskrift, Kjøbenhavn, 1852-4, pp. 81-143. (An important paper which has been unduly overlooked. Brynjulfsson notes the parallel between Beowulf and Bjarki (see above, p. 61) and in other respects anticipates later scholars, e.g., in noting the close relationship between Angles and Danes (p. 143) and less fortunately (pp. 129-31) in identifying the Geatas with the Jutes.)
1856 Bachlechner, J. Eomaer und Heming (Hamlac), Germania, I, 297-303 and 455-61.
1856 Bouterwek, K. W. Das Beowulflied: Eine Vorlesung; Germania, I, 385-418.
1857 Uhland, L. Sigemund und Sigeferd, Germania, II, 344-63 = Schriften, VIII, 479 etc. (Incl. Finnsburg.)
1858 Weinhold, K. Die Riesen des germanischen Mythus, Sitzungberichte der K. Akad., Wien, Phil-Hist. Classe, XXVI, 225-306. (Grendel and his mother, p. 255.)
1859 Rieger, M. Ingaevonen, Istaevonen, Herminonen, Z.f.d.A. XI, 177-205.
1859 Müllenhoff, K. Zur Kritik des angelsächsischen Volksepos, 2, Widsith, Z.f.d.A. XI, 275-94.
1860 Müllenhoff, K. Zeugnisse u. Excurse zur deutschen Heldensage, Z.f.d.A. XII, 253-386. (This portion of vol. XII was published in 1860.)
1861 Haigh, D. H. The Anglo-Saxon Sagas. London. (An uncritical attempt to identify the proper names in Beowulf and Finnsburg with sites in England.)
1862 Grein, C. W. M. Die historischen Verhältnisse des Beowulfliedes, Eberts Jahrbuch für roman. u. engl. Litt. IV, 260-85. (Incl. Finnsburg.)
1864 ‡Schultze, M. Ueber das Beowulfslied. Programm der städtischen Realschule zu Elbing. (Not seen, but contents, including the mythical interpretations current at the period, noted in Archiv, XXXVII, 232.)
1864 Heyne, M. Ueber die Lage und Construction der Halle Heorot. Paderborn.
1868 Köhler, A. Germanische Alterthümer im Beóvulf, Germania, XIII, 129-58.
1869 Müllenhoff, K. Die innere Geschichte des Beovulfs, Z.f.d.A. XIV, 193-244. (Reprinted in Beovulf, 1889. See above, p. 113 etc.)
1870 Köhler, A. Die Einleitung des Beovulfliedes. Die beiden Episoden von Heremod, Z.f.d.Ph. II, 305-21.
1875 Schrøder, L. Om Bjovulfs Drapen. København. (See above, p. 30.)
1876 Botkine, L. Beowulf. Analyse historique et géographique. Havre. (Material subsequently incorporated in translation, q.v. § 6.) Review: Körner, Engl. Stud. I, 495-6.
1877 Skeat, W. W. The name "Beowulf," Academy, XI (Jan.-June), p. 163. (Suggests Beowulf = "woodpecker"; see above, pp. 365-6, note.)
1877 ten Brink, B. Geschichte der englischen Litteratur. (Beowulf, Finnsburg, pp. 29-40.)
1877 Dederich, H. Historische u. geographische Studien zum ags. Beóvulfliede. Köln. (Incl. Finnsburg.) Reviews: Körner, Engl. Stud. I, 481-95; Müllenhoff, A.f.d.A. III, 172-82; ‡Suchier, Jenaer Literatur-Zeitung, XLVII, 732, 1876.
1877 Hornburg, J. Die Composition des Beowulf. Programm des K. Lyceums in Metz. Full summary by F. Hummel in Archiv, LXII, 231-3. See also under 1884.
1877 Schultze, M. Alt-heidnisches in der angelsächsischen Poesie, speciell im Beowulfsliede. Berlin.
1877 Suchier, H. Ueber die Sage von Offa u. Þryðo, P.B.B. IV, 500-21.
1878 Müller, N. Die Mythen im Beówulf, in ihrem Verhältniss zur germanischen Mythologie betrachtet. Dissertation, Heidelberg. Leipzig.
1879 Laistner, L. Nebelsagen. Stuttgart. (See above, p. 46, note.)
1879 Sweet, H. Old English etymologies: I, Beóhata, Engl. Stud. II, 312-14. (See above, p. 365.)
1880 Gering, H. Der Beówulf u. die isländische Grettissaga, Anglia, III, 74-87. (Important. Gering announced Vigfússon's discovery to a wider circle of readers, with translation of the Sandhaugar episode, and useful comment. The discovery was further announced to American readers by Garnett in the American Journal of Philology, I, 492 (1880), though its importance was there rather understated. See above, p. 54.)
1881 Smith, C. Sprague. Beówulf Gretti, New Englander, XL (N. S. IV), 49-67. (Translation of corresponding passages in Grettis saga and Beowulf.)
1882 March, F. A. The World of Beowulf, Proceedings of Amer. Phil. Assoc. pp. xxi-xxiii.
1883 Rönning, F. Beovulfs-kvadet; en literær-historisk undersøgelse. København. Review: Heinzel, A.f.d.A. X, 233-9. (Rönning criticises Müllenhoff's theories of separate lays. His book and Heinzel's review are both important.)
1883 Merbot, R. Aesthetische Studien zur Ags. Poesie. Breslau. Reviews: Koch, Anglia, VI, Anzeiger, 100-3; Kluge, Engl. Stud., VIII, 480-2.
1884 Earle, J. Anglo-Saxon Literature (The dawn of European Literature). London. (Pp. 120-39 deal with Beowulf. Earle holds Beowulf to be "a genuine growth of that junction in time ... when the heathen tales still kept their traditional interest, and yet the spirit of Christianity had taken full possession of the Saxon mind.")
1884 Fahlbeck, P. Beowulfs-kvädet såsom källa för nordisk fornhistoria, Antikvar. tidskr. för Sverige, VIII, 1-87. Review: Academy, XXIX, 1886, p. 12. (See above, pp. 8, 333.)
1884 Harrison, J. A. Old Teutonic life in Beowulf, Overland Monthly, Sec. Ser. vol. IV, 14-24; 152-61.
1884 Hertz, W. Beowulf, das älteste germanische Epos, Nord und Süd, XXIX, 229-53.
1884 Hornburg, J. Die komposition des Beovulf, Archiv, LXXII, 333-404. (Rejects Müllenhoff's "Liedertheorie.")
1884 Krüger, Th. Zum Beowulfliede. Bromberg. Reviewed favourably by Kölbing, Engl. Stud. IX, 150; severely by Kluge, Literaturblatt, 1884, 428-9. (A useful summary, which had the misfortune to be superseded next year by the publication of Wülker's Grundriss.)
1884 Krüger, Th. Über Ursprung u. Entwickelung des Beowulfliedes, Archiv, LXXI, 129-52.
1884-5 Earle, J. Beowulf, in The Times, London (Aug. 25, 1884, p. 6 (not signed); Oct. 29, 1885, p. 3; Sept. 30, 1885, p. 3. "The Beowulf itself is a tale of old folk-lore which, in spite of repeated editing, has never quite lost the old crust of its outline.... This discovery, if established, must have the effect of quite excluding the application of the Wolffian hypothesis to our poem.")
1885 Wülker, R. Grundriss zur geschichte der angelsächsischen Litteratur. Leipzig. 6. Die angelsächsische Heldendichtung, Beowulf, Finnsburg, 244-315. (An important and useful summary.)
1885 Lehmann, H. Brünne und Helm im angelsächsischen Beowulfliede. Dissertation, Göttingen. Leipzig. Reviews: Wülker, Anglia, VIII, Anzeiger, 167-70; Schulz, Engl. Stud. IX, 471.
1886 Skeat, W. W. On the signification of the monster Grendel ... with a discussion of ll. 2076-2100. Read before the Cambridge Philological Society. Journal of Philology, XV, 120-31. (Not American Jour. of Phil., as frequently quoted.)
1886 Sarrazin, G. Die Beowulfsage in Dänemark, Anglia, IX, 195-9; Beowa und Böthvar, Anglia, IX, 200-4; Beowulf und Kynewulf, Anglia, IX, 515-50; Der Schauplatz des ersten Beowulfliedes und die Heimat des Dichters, P.B.B. XI, 159-83 (see above, p. 101).
1886 Sievers, E. Die Heimat des Beowulfdichters, P.B.B. XI, 354-62.
1886 Sarrazin, G. Altnordisches im Beowulfliede, P.B.B. XI, 528-41. (See above, p. 102.)
1886 Sievers, E. Altnordisches im Beowulf? P.B.B. XII, 168-200.
1886 Schilling, H. Notes on the Finnsaga, M.L.N. I, 89-92; 116-17.
1886 Lehmann, H. Über die Waffen im angelsächsischen Beowulfliede, Germania, XXXI, 486-97.
1887 Schilling, H. The Finnsburg-fragment and the Finn-episode, M.L.N. II, 146-50.
1887 Morley, H. Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, in English Writers, vol. I, 276-354. London.
1887 Bugge, S. Studien über das Beowulfepos, P.B.B. XII, 1-112, 360-75. Important. (Das Finnsburgfragment, pp. 20-8.)
1887 ‡Schneider, F. Der Kampf mit Grendels Mutter. Program des Friedrichs Real-Gymnasiums. Berlin.
1888 ten Brink, B. Beowulf. Untersuchungen. (Quellen u. Forschungen, LXII.) (Important. See above, p. 113.) Strassburg. Reviews: Wülker, Anglia, XI, 319-21 and Lit. Cbl. 1889, 251; Möller, Engl. Stud. XIII, 247-315 (weighty, containing some good remarks on the Jutes-Geatas); Koeppel, Z.f.d.Ph. XXIII, 113-22; Heinzel, A.f.d.A. XV, 153-82 (weighty); Liebermann, Deut. Zeitschr. f. Geschichtswissenschaft, II, 1889, 197-9; Kraus, D.L.Z. XII, 1891, 1605-7, 1846: reply by ten Brink ("Beowulfkritik und ABAB"), D.L.Z. 1892, 109-12.
1888 Sarrazin, G. Beowulf-Studien. Berlin. Reviews: Koeppel, Engl. Stud. XIII, 472-80; Sarrazin, Entgegnung, Engl. Stud. XIV, 421 etc., reply by Koeppel, XIV, 427; Sievers, Z.f.d.Ph. XXI, 366; Dieter, Archiv, LXXXIII, 352-3; Heinzel, A.f.d.A. xv, 182-9; Wülker, Lit. Cbl. 1889, 315-16; Wülker, Anglia, XI, 536-41. Holthausen, Literaturblatt, 1890, 14-16; Liebermann, Deut. Zeitschr. f. Geschichtswissenschaft, VI, 1891, 138; Kraus, D.L.Z. XII, 1891, pp. 1822-3. (All these reviews express dissent from Sarrazin's main conclusions, though many of them show appreciation of details in his work. See above, p. 101.)
1888 Kittredge, G. L. Zu Beowulf, 107 etc., P.B.B. XIII, 210 (Cain's kin).
1889 Müllenhoff, K. Beovulf (pp. 110-65=Z.f.d.A. XIV, 193-244). Berlin. See above, pp. 46-7, 113-15. Reviews: Schirmer, Anglia, XII, 465-7; Sarrazin, Engl. Stud. XVI, 71-85 (important); Wülker, Lit. Cbl. 1890, 58-9; Heinzel, A.f.d.A. XVI, 264-75 (important); Koeppel, Z.f.d.Ph. XXIII, 110-13; Holthausen, Literaturblatt, 1890, 370-3; Liebermann, Deut. Zeitschr. f. Geschichtswissenschaft, vi, 1891, 135-7; Kraus, D.L.Z. XII, 1891, pp. 1820-2; Logeman, Le Moyen Âge, III, 266-7 ("personne ne conteste plus ... que le poème se composait originairement de plusieurs parties"). Müllenhoff's book, like that of ten Brink, is based on assumptions generally held at the time, but now not so widely accepted; yet it remains important.
1889 Laistner, L. Das Rätsel der Sphinx. Berlin. (See above, p. 67.)
1889 Lüning, O. Die Natur ... in der altgermanischen und mittelhochdeutschen Epik. Zürich. Reviews: Weinhold, Z.f.d.Ph. XXII, 246-7; Golther, D.L.Z. 1889, 710-2; Ballerstedt, A.f.d.A. XVI, 71-4; Fränkel, Literaturblatt, 1890, 439-44.
1890 ‡Deskau, H. Zum studium des Beowulf. Berichte des freien deutschen Hochstiftes, 1890. Frankfurt.
1890 ‡Klöpper, C. Heorot-Hall in the Anglo-Saxon poem of Beowulf. Festschrift für K. E. Krause. Rostock.
1891 Jellinek, M. H. and Kraus, C. Die Widersprüche im Beowulf, Z.f.d.A, XXXV, 265-81.
1891 Bugge, S. and Olrik, A. Røveren ved Gråsten og Beowulf, Dania, I, 233-45.
1891 Jellinek, M. H. Zum Finnsburgfragment, P.B.B. XV, 428-31.
1892 Earle, J. The Introduction to his Translation (q.v.) gave a summary of the controversy, with "a constructive essay."
1892 Brooke, Stopford A. History of Early English Literature (Beowulf, pp. 17-131). London. Reviews: McClumpha, M.L.N. VIII, 27-9, 1892 (attacks in a letter of unnecessary violence); Wülker, Anglia, Beiblatt IV, 170-6, 225-33; Glöde, Engl. Stud. XXII, 264-70.
1892 Gummere, F. B. Germanic Origins. A study in primitive culture. New York.
1892 Ferguson, R. The Anglo-Saxon name Beowulf, Athenæum, June, 1892 p. 763. See above, p. 368.
1892 Haack, O. Zeugnisse zur altenglischen Heldensage. Kiel.
1892 ‡Kraus, K. Hrodulf. (P. Moneta, zum 40 jähr. Dienstjub.) Wien. (p. 4 etc.)
1892 Olrik, A. Er Uffesagnet indvandret fra England? A.f.n.F. VIII (N.F. IV), 368-75.
1892 Sarrazin, G. Die Abfassungszeit des Beowulfliedes, Anglia, XIV, 399-415.
1892 Sievers, E. Sceaf in den nordischen Genealogien, P.B.B. XVI, 361-3.
1892 Kögel, R. Beowulf, Z.f.d.A. XXXVII, 268-76. (Etymology of the name.) Discussed by Sievers, P.B.B. XVIII, 413. See above, p. 367, footnote.
1893 Ward, H. L. D. Catalogue of Romances in the British Museum; Beowulf: vol. II, pp. 1-15, 741-3.
1893 ten Brink, B. Altenglische Literatur, Pauls Grdr.(1), II, I, 510-50. (Finnsburg, 545-50.)
1894 McNary, S. J. Beowulf and Arthur as English Ideals, Poet-Lore, VI, 529-36.
1894 ‡Detter, F. Über die Heaðobarden im Beowulf, Verhandl. d. Wiener Philologenversammlung, Mai, 1893. Leipzig, p. 404 etc. (Argues that the story is not historical, but mythical—Ragnarok.)
1895 Sievers, E. Beowulf und Saxo, Berichte der kgl. sächs. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, XLVII, 175-93. (Important, see above, pp. 90-7.)
1895 Binz, G. Zeugnisse zur germanischen sage in England, P.B.B. XX, 141-223. (A most useful collection, though the significance of many of the names collected is open to dispute.)
1895 Kluge, F. Zeugnisse zur germanischen sage in England, Engl. Stud. XXI, 446-8.
1895-6 Kluge, F. Der Beowulf u. die Hrolfs Saga Kraka, Engl. Stud. XXII, 144-5.
1896 Sarrazin, G. Neue Beowulf-studien, Engl. Stud. XXIII, 221-67.
1897 Ker, W. P. Epic and Romance. London. (Beowulf, pp. 182-202. Important. See above, p. 116.) Reviews: Fischer, Anglia, Beiblatt, X, 133-5; Brandl, Archiv, C, 198-200. New edit. 1908.
1897 Blackburn, F. A. The Christian coloring in the Beowulf, Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. XII, 205-25. (See above, p. 125.)
1897 Sarrazin, G. Die Hirschhalle, Anglia, XIX, 368-92; Der Balder-kultus in Lethra, ibid. 392-7; Rolf Krake und sein Vetter im Beowulfliede, Engl. Stud. XXIV, 144-5. (Important. See above, p. 31.)
1897 Henning, R. Sceaf und die westsächsische Stammtafel, Z.f.d.A. XLI, 156-69.
1898 Arnold, T. Notes on Beowulf. London. Reviews: Hulme, M.L.N. XV, 22-6, 1900; Sarrazin, Engl. Stud. XXVIII, 410-18; Garnett, Amer. Jour. of Phil. XX, 443.
1898 Niedner, F. Die Dioskuren im Beowulf, Z.f.d.A. XLII, 229-58.
1899 Cook, A. S. An Irish Parallel to the Beowulf Story, Archiv, CIII, 154-6.
1899 Axon, W. E. A. A reference to the evil eye in Beowulf, Trans. of the Royal Soc. of Literature, London. (Very slight.)
1899 ‡Furst, Clyde. "Beowulf" in "A Group of Old Authors." Philadelphia. (Popular.) Review: Child, M.L.N. XV, 31-2.
1900 Förster, Max. Bêowulf-Materialien, zum Gebrauch bei Vorlesungen. Braunschweig. Reviews: Holthausen, Anglia, Beiblatt, XI, 289; Behagel, Literaturblatt, 1902, 67 (very brief).
1908. 2 Aufl.
1912. 3 Aufl. Review: Wild, Anglia, Beiblatt, XXIV, 166-7.