{"id":14483,"date":"2018-05-09T16:44:58","date_gmt":"2018-05-09T16:44:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/173.230.141.246\/dcc\/wpdemo\/?p=14483"},"modified":"2025-06-03T20:57:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T20:57:16","slug":"beowulf-history-legend-and-mythology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/?p=14483","title":{"rendered":"Beowulf: History, Legend, and Mythology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs\" data-active-tab=\"0\"><ul class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-links\"><\/ul>\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Essay<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introduction<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although acknowledged as a foundational work of English literature, the complicated and allusive style of the longest epic poem in Old English often intimidates teachers and students alike. This digital collection will help educators to read and teach the work in a new way by illuminating the fascinating mixture of historical, legendary, and mythological material that come together in the poem. It turns to the literary heritage of Scandinavia and continental Europe to help us understand material that the Beowulf poet assumed the audience would already know, and it examine the historical events and figures that appear in the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those reading <em>Beowulf<\/em> for the first time may be confused where and when the central action of the Old English poem takes place. Despite being composed in Anglo-Saxon England sometime after 500 CE and before 1000 CE, the tales recorded in <em>Beowulf<\/em> take place in Denmark, Sweden, and Frisia (an area now divided between Germany and the Netherlands) during the sixth century or before. To be clear, the poem deals with neither Anglo-Saxons (wrong location) nor Vikings (wrong time period).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mixture of pagan and Christian elements in the poem can also be confusing. When the Anglo-Saxons first came to England from continental Europe in the early fifth century, they were polytheists who worshiped gods, goddesses, and other supernatural figures analogous to those known from Norse mythology. Our modern weekday names still show evidence of Anglo-Saxon paganism; <em>Wednesday<\/em> is from the Anglo-Saxon <em>W\u014ddnesd\u00e6g<\/em> (\u201cWoden\u2019s day,\u201d named for the god parallel to the Norse Odin), and <em>Thursday<\/em> derives from <em>\u00de\u016bnresd\u00e6g<\/em> (\u201cThunor\u2019s Day,\u201d for the god Icelanders called Thor).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity began in earnest with Pope Gregory I\u2019s mission to England in 596, the last dynasty to hold on to old pagan ways converted in 686. By the time <em>Beowulf<\/em> was written down around the year 1000, the English had been Christians for over three hundred years. The poet, writing in a Christian age about ancient happenings, tells of the actions and speeches of his pagan subjects in a setting of Christian theology and morality. The two systems are often in conflict, and the tension between them provides some of the interest in reading the poem today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This collection approaches <em>Beowulf<\/em> from four angles. First, the fascinating tale of the text itself is discussed. Second, historical elements in the poem are considered along with a mapping of its action. Third, legendary elements in <em>Beowulf<\/em> are discussed in relation to their appearances in other texts. Fourth, the poem\u2019s mythological elements are examined in light of some literary parallels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Please consider the following questions as you review the documents:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How does understanding historical, legendary, and mythological elements in <em>Beowulf<\/em> deepen your understanding of the poet\u2019s literary creation?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How does the <em>Beowulf<\/em> poet use the specific elements discussed to comment on or enrich the meaning of the main plotline?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Manuscript in Flames<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The text of the <em>Beowulf<\/em> poem is preserved in a single source. It is now known as the Nowell Codex after the sixteenth-century antiquarian Laurence Nowell, who wrote his name and the year 1563 at the head of the manuscript formally titled Cotton Vitellius A.xv of the British Library in London. The poem begins on folio 132r of the manuscript, which also contains three prose texts (a homily on Saint Christopher, <em>The Marvels of the East<\/em>, and <em>Alexander\u2019s Letter to Aristotle<\/em>) and the poem <em>Judith<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_2077\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"846\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pr_1505_b7_pg_132r_132v_o2-1024x846.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13939\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pr_1505_b7_pg_132r_132v_o2-1024x846.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pr_1505_b7_pg_132r_132v_o2-300x248.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pr_1505_b7_pg_132r_132v_o2-scaled-600x496.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pr_1505_b7_pg_132r_132v_o2-768x635.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pr_1505_b7_pg_132r_132v_o2-1536x1269.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pr_1505_b7_pg_132r_132v_o2-2048x1692.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_2077\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Nowell codex; British Museum Cotton Vitellius A.XV, second ms., edited by Kemp Malone (1963)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before the acquisition by Nowell, the early years of the manuscript\u2019s history are unknown. In 1567, Nowell gave his collection of manuscripts to fellow antiquarian William Lambarde. Lambarde\u2019s larger collection seems to have been acquired by yet another antiquary, Sir Robert Bruce Cotton, whose own collection became the foundation of the British Museum\u2019s manuscript archive. The designation Cotton Vitellius A.xv comes from the codex\u2019s connection to this collector, whose other acquisitions included the Lindisfarne Gospels, two original manuscripts of the Magna Carta, the only manuscript of <em>Sir Gawain and the Green Knight<\/em>, and many other important works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1731, the location of the British Library collection of Cotton\u2019s manuscripts was deemed a fire hazard, and the texts were temporarily stored at Ashburnham House in London. On the night of October 23, a fire occurred in this new location. Around twenty-five percent of the works in the collection were damaged or destroyed by the fire and the water used to fight it. The codex containing <em>Beowulf<\/em> was set ablaze, and the poem may have been forever lost had not a heroic librarian grabbed the smoking text and thrown it out of the window. The top and outer edges of the book\u2019s pages were destroyed by the fire, as can be seen in photographs and reproductions of the text. The damage resulted in the loss of letters and words along the edges of the surviving codex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1787, more than half of a century after the disastrous fire, Icelandic historian Gr\u00edmur J\u00f3nsson Thorkel\u00edn commissioned a transcript of <em>Beowulf<\/em> for his research into Danish history as part of his service as National Archivist of Denmark. The person who made the copy \u2013 possibly James Matthews of the British Museum staff \u2013 was unfamiliar with the Anglo-Saxon (Old English) language. This was actually a benefit, since he faithfully copied the text by rote rather than following the contemporary scholarly practice of \u201ccorrecting\u201d the text to what he thought it should say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thorkel\u00edn subsequently made a copy of the manuscript himself. The codex seems to have crumbled further even as the first copy was being made, since the first copy includes text from the page edges that are missing in the second. Scholars have used these two copies in conjunction with the surviving manuscript and nineteenth-century copies to reconstruct the parts of the text lost through the fire and subsequent damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_727336\" target=\"_blank\">Selection: J. R. R. Tolkien, <em>Beowulf<\/em>: The Monsters and the Critics,&#8221; 276-278 (1937)<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_727336\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">.<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow aligncenter\" data-effect=\"slide\"><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_container swiper-container\"><ul class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_swiper-wrapper swiper-wrapper\"><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"706\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-13940\" data-id=\"13940\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2-706x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2-706x1024.jpg 706w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2-scaled-300x435.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2-scaled-600x870.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2-207x300.jpg 207w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2-768x1114.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2-1059x1536.jpg 1059w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2-1412x2048.jpg 1412w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2-scaled.jpg 1765w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 706px) 100vw, 706px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">J. R. R. Tolkien, Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, 276 (1937)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"678\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-18122\" data-id=\"18122\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_277_o2-678x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_277_o2-678x1024.jpg 678w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_277_o2-scaled-300x453.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_277_o2-scaled-600x907.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_277_o2-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_277_o2-768x1161.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_277_o2-1016x1536.jpg 1016w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_277_o2-1355x2048.jpg 1355w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_277_o2-scaled.jpg 1694w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">J. R. R. Tolkien, Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, 277 (1937)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"706\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-18121\" data-id=\"18121\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_278_o2-706x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_278_o2-706x1024.jpg 706w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_278_o2-scaled-300x435.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_278_o2-scaled-600x870.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_278_o2-207x300.jpg 207w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_278_o2-768x1114.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_278_o2-1059x1536.jpg 1059w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_278_o2-1412x2048.jpg 1412w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_278_o2-scaled.jpg 1765w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 706px) 100vw, 706px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">J. R. R. Tolkien, Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, 278 (1937)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-prev swiper-button-prev swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-next swiper-button-next swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a aria-label=\"Pause Slideshow\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-pause\" role=\"button\"><\/a><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_pagination swiper-pagination swiper-pagination-white\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The manuscript can be dated to around the year 1000, but the poem is generally believed to have been composed much earlier. It cannot have been created in its final form before the sixth century, when the latest historical events that it describes took place. Scholars from various related fields continue to forward arguments for one particular period of composition or another, with some favoring the early Anglo-Saxon period and some asserting a date as late as the tenth century. The various theories have great learning and evidence behind them, but the past can be as much of an undiscovered country as the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Questions to Consider:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How would modern culture be different if the <em>Beowulf<\/em> manuscript had been lost in the Ashburnham House fire? Why is the poem so important?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>J.R.R. Tolkien\u2019s essay \u201c<em>Beowulf<\/em>: The Monsters and the Critics\u201d is widely considered by scholars to be a work that transformed how the poem was read and studied. The author of <em>The Lord of the Rings<\/em> concludes that the poem is simultaneously universal and culturally bound. He asserts that the poem \u201cmoves with the thoughts of all men concerning the fate of human life and efforts\u201d and \u201csurpasses the dates and limits of historical periods,\u201d yet he also insists that it is \u201cwritten in a language that after many centuries has an essential kinship with our own, it was made in this land [England], and moves in our northern world beneath our northern sky, and for those who are native to that tongue and land, it must ever call with a profound appeal.\u201d How well does this somewhat contradictory assessment hold up today, in the multicultural twenty-first century society of the United States? Can any work of literature express the thoughts of \u201call men\u201d? Does the poem have a \u201cprofound appeal\u201d to young readers outside England?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Of Halls and Kings<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although composed in Anglo-Saxon England, the action of <em>Beowulf<\/em> takes place in Denmark, Sweden, and Frisia. In the poem, Beowulf himself is a hero of the Geats (Old English <em>G\u0113atas<\/em>), a group with a name cognate to the Old Norse <em>Gautar<\/em>. They inhabit what is now southern Sweden yet are a distinct people in conflict with the Swedes (OE <em>Sw\u0113on<\/em>) to the north.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_893230\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"799\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/case_g1030_l4_1821_map_20a_o2-1024x799.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13941\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/case_g1030_l4_1821_map_20a_o2-1024x799.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/case_g1030_l4_1821_map_20a_o2-300x234.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/case_g1030_l4_1821_map_20a_o2-scaled-600x468.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/case_g1030_l4_1821_map_20a_o2-768x599.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/case_g1030_l4_1821_map_20a_o2-1536x1199.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/case_g1030_l4_1821_map_20a_o2-2048x1598.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_893230\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">C. V. Lavoisne, <em>Map of Denmark &amp;c. <\/em>(1821)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hrothgar\u2019s hall Heorot, where Grendel makes his bloody attacks, is now considered to have been located in the town of Lejre on the Danish island of Zealand. Parallel descriptions in multiple medieval Scandinavian texts line up with recent archaeological work that uncovered remains of halls and burial mounds in Lejre dating back to the mid-sixth century, around the time of the last historical events described in <em>Beowulf<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These events center on the failed raid led by Hygelac, the hero\u2019s Geatish king. According to lines 1202-1214 of the poem, Hygelac is killed in battle after he and his troops attacks Frisia. The account describes Hygelac\u2019s defense of the treasures he had won and borne over the sea, his death at the hands of the Franks, and his and the other Geats\u2019 corpses being looted of their booty on the field of battle by their enemies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A strikingly similar passage appears in the Frankish history of Gregory of Tours, a sixth-century historian and bishop. In the third book of his history, he briefly describes the fatal raid of the Danish king Chlochilaich on Frankish territory. This figure has long been associated with the Geatish king Hygelac of <em>Beowulf<\/em>, and the details of both accounts indeed run in parallel. When the raiders attempt to flee back over the sea with their raided goods, the king is defeated on the shore by the Franks, and the stolen treasures are recovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Selection: Gregor<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_413990\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">y of Tours, <em>The History of the Franks<\/em>, 163-164 (1974).<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow aligncenter\" data-effect=\"slide\"><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_container swiper-container\"><ul class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_swiper-wrapper swiper-wrapper\"><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"641\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-13942\" data-id=\"13942\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2-641x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2-641x1024.jpg 641w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2-scaled-300x479.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2-scaled-600x958.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2-188x300.jpg 188w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2-768x1226.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2-962x1536.jpg 962w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2-1283x2048.jpg 1283w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2-scaled.jpg 1604w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 641px) 100vw, 641px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">Saint Gregory, Bishop of Tours, The History of the Franks, 163 (1974)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"647\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-18120\" data-id=\"18120\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/3a_7103_pg_164_o2-647x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/3a_7103_pg_164_o2-647x1024.jpg 647w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/3a_7103_pg_164_o2-scaled-300x475.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/3a_7103_pg_164_o2-scaled-600x949.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/3a_7103_pg_164_o2-190x300.jpg 190w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/3a_7103_pg_164_o2-768x1215.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/3a_7103_pg_164_o2-971x1536.jpg 971w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/3a_7103_pg_164_o2-1294x2048.jpg 1294w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/3a_7103_pg_164_o2-scaled.jpg 1618w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 647px) 100vw, 647px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">Saint Gregory, Bishop of Tours, The History of the Franks, 164 (1974)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-prev swiper-button-prev swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-next swiper-button-next swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a aria-label=\"Pause Slideshow\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-pause\" role=\"button\"><\/a><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_pagination swiper-pagination swiper-pagination-white\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The historical raid and death of Chlochilaich, despite his identification as a Dane by Gregory, has been linked with Hygelac\u2019s raid in <em>Beowulf<\/em> since the discovery of the parallel by Danish scholar N.F.S. Grundtvig in 1815. The events Gregory describes are thought to have occurred sometime between the years 516 and 531, and it is this dating that establishes the earliest point of composition for the poem; it logically could not have been composed before the historical event it describes took place. Recent scholarship, however, has questioned the identification of Hygelac and Chlochilaich even as it has challenged the idea that the poem records details of discrete historical events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the other hand, <em>Beowulf<\/em> does recurrently refer to historical and semi-historical people. The appearance of a large cast of secondary characters is largely due to what has been called the \u201cinterlace\u201d structure of the poem. In this analysis, the multiple asides and digressions from the main storyline weave through the text in a manner analogous to the way that interlace designs weave in and out of Anglo-Saxon visual art in metal, stone, and manuscript illumination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Approximately seven hundred of the poem\u2019s verses deal with episodes aside from the main plot; twenty-two percent of the work branches off from the story of Beowulf and the monsters. This branching into tales that explain, illuminate, comment, or otherwise add to the central focus of the poem shows a technique strongly reminiscent to that of the <em>Mah\u0101bh\u0101rata<\/em> and <em>R\u0101m\u0101ya\u1e47a<\/em>, great heroic epics of India, which likewise take regular detours into side-stories and related tales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to the story of Hygelac\u2019s death, <em>Beowulf<\/em> tells of the fight at Finnsburg, another seemingly historical conflict between Danes and Frisians, but one for which no clear non-literary analogue has been found. Other figures seem to be based on or otherwise connected to historical figures: Eormenric to a fourth-century king of the East Goths and Offa to a semi-historical fourth-century king of the Angles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The presence of figures such as these and the appearance or mention of real-world peoples including Danes, Franks, Frisians, and Swedes gives the poem an air of historicity, even if the stories themselves are not demonstrably historical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Questions to Consider:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Locate the identifiable locales of <em>Beowulf<\/em> on the map included here. How large is the area covered? How long would it have taken to travel between the sites of the poem\u2019s major events?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why would an Anglo-Saxon audience have been interested in events taking place long before in the faraway locations described in the poem\u2019s historical and semi-historical episodes?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Kill Your Dragon<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heroes of legend are also woven into <em>Beowulf<\/em>\u2018s tapestry. The poem\u2019s Finnsburg episode features a character named Hengest who many scholars have identified with Hengist and Horsa, legendary brothers credited in medieval sources as leading the fifth-century Germanic invasion of Britain and founding the Jutes\u2019 kingdom of Kent in southeastern England. The most interesting intersection of the poem with outside legends, however, centers on Beowulf\u2019s fight with the dragon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hero\u2019s battle with the beast begins at line 2538. This passage and those directly after have been mined by generations of authors, artists, and game designers. The encounter and battle with the dragon Smaug in <em>The Hobbit<\/em> has many elements taken directly from the poem: the cup stolen from the treasure hoard, the dragon angrily searching for the thief outside his lair, the fiery flying attacks on the surrounding countryside at night, and the dispatching of the dragon by \u2013 in the words of <em>Beowulf<\/em> \u2013 striking \u201cthe violent stranger rather lower.\u201d The similarity to the medieval source is no coincidence; J.R.R. Tolkien was a noted scholar of Old English literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_230864\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"812\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_112_o2-812x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13943\" style=\"width:287px;height:362px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_112_o2-812x1024.jpg 812w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_112_o2-scaled-300x378.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_112_o2-scaled-600x757.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_112_o2-238x300.jpg 238w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_112_o2-768x968.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_112_o2-1218x1536.jpg 1218w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_112_o2-1624x2048.jpg 1624w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_112_o2-scaled.jpg 2030w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 812px) 100vw, 812px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_230864\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rockwell Kent, Beowulf fights the Dragon (1932)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In one of his lectures, Tolkien pointed out Beowulf\u2019s fatal tactical mistake, calling a frontal assault on a dragon \u201cthe wrong way to do it.\u201d The hero heads alone into the stony lair of the treasure-hoarding monster, tells the dragon he wants to fight him, and draws his sword against the beast. This is not great dragon-fighting strategy. Beowulf\u2019s weapon fails, and the enraged dragon spews flame against him as his terrified retainers abandon him to hide in the woods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beowulf\u2019s kinsman Wiglaf bravely joins the fight at line 2661. The poem\u2019s description of the two heroes and the dragon taking turns attacking and causing damage seems a precedent for the ordered turn-taking in combat developed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson for their <em>Dungeons &amp; Dragons<\/em> role-playing game in the early 1970s \u2013 a system later adopted by video games. The dragon burns Beowulf\u2019s shield until nothing remains but the metal boss, and the aged king again attacks the creature\u2019s head with his sword, which promptly shatters. The dragon bites him in the neck, and it is left to Wiglaf to find \u201cthe right way to do it\u201d and strike the beast\u2019s soft underbelly. As the dragon\u2019s flames die down, Beowulf gives the monster a final blow with his knife \u201cthrough the middle\u201d before falling himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The other famous dragon of Northern European legend appears in Iceland\u2019s thirteenth-century <em>Saga of the Volsungs<\/em>. The hero Sigurd dispatches the hoard-guarding dragon Fafnir in a clever fashion, avoiding the fatal mistake of Beowulf\u2019s frontal assault. He does not develop the strategy himself, but is advised by \u201can old man with a long beard,\u201d actually the god Odin disguised as a wanderer who irregularly appears to offer advice and help the tale\u2019s heroes\u2013 a clear model for Tolkien\u2019s Gandalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_761350\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Selection:  <em>Saga of the Volsungs<\/em>, edited and translated by R. G. Finch, 30-32 (1965).<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow aligncenter\" data-effect=\"slide\"><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_container swiper-container\"><ul class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_swiper-wrapper swiper-wrapper\"><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"691\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-13944\" data-id=\"13944\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/5a_669_pg_30_o2-691x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/5a_669_pg_30_o2-691x1024.jpg 691w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/5a_669_pg_30_o2-scaled-300x444.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/5a_669_pg_30_o2-scaled-600x888.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/5a_669_pg_30_o2-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/5a_669_pg_30_o2-768x1137.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/5a_669_pg_30_o2-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/5a_669_pg_30_o2-1383x2048.jpg 1383w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/5a_669_pg_30_o2-scaled.jpg 1729w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 691px) 100vw, 691px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">R.G. Finch, editor and translator, The Saga of the Volsungs, 30 (1965)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"691\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-18119\" data-id=\"18119\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/5a_669_pg_31_o2-691x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/5a_669_pg_31_o2-691x1024.jpg 691w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/5a_669_pg_31_o2-scaled-300x444.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/5a_669_pg_31_o2-scaled-600x888.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/5a_669_pg_31_o2-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/5a_669_pg_31_o2-768x1137.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/5a_669_pg_31_o2-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/5a_669_pg_31_o2-1383x2048.jpg 1383w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/5a_669_pg_31_o2-scaled.jpg 1729w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 691px) 100vw, 691px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">R.G. Finch, editor and translator, The Saga of the Volsungs, 31 (1965)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"681\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-18118\" data-id=\"18118\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/5a_669_pg_32_o2-681x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/5a_669_pg_32_o2-681x1024.jpg 681w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/5a_669_pg_32_o2-scaled-300x451.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/5a_669_pg_32_o2-scaled-600x902.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/5a_669_pg_32_o2-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/5a_669_pg_32_o2-768x1154.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/5a_669_pg_32_o2-1022x1536.jpg 1022w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/5a_669_pg_32_o2-1362x2048.jpg 1362w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/5a_669_pg_32_o2-scaled.jpg 1703w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 681px) 100vw, 681px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">R.G. Finch, editor and translator, The Saga of the Volsungs, 32 (1965)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-prev swiper-button-prev swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-next swiper-button-next swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a aria-label=\"Pause Slideshow\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-pause\" role=\"button\"><\/a><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_pagination swiper-pagination swiper-pagination-white\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rather than challenge the dragon directly, Sigurd follows the advice of Odin and his own foster-father, the devious dwarf Regin, and digs ditches on the heath that the dragon crosses to drink water. Sitting in the central ditch, Sigurd stabs his sword up into the soft area under the dragon\u2019s shoulder. Blood pours into the other ditches instead of drowning Odin\u2019s prot\u00e9g\u00e9. Between the two famous medieval accounts of dragon-slaying heroes, we have clear examples of the right and wrong way to fight the beasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Icelandic tale appears in <em>Beowulf<\/em>, but in miniature and with significant differences from the saga version. Beginning at line 867, the Anglo-Saxon poem tells of a related dragon killer, but without the presence of god or dwarf. The action is moved back a generation, so that Sigmund \u2013 Sigurd\u2019s father in the Icelandic saga \u2013 kills the beast. A storyteller in Heorot recites the tale at the feast celebrating Grendel\u2019s routing. Foreshadowing Beowulf\u2019s own battle, the episode tells of Sigmund killing a dragon guarding a treasure hoard as he fights him alone under stone, without the help of his nephew and companion Fitela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the Icelandic saga, Sinfjotli \u2013 Fitela\u2019s equivalent \u2013 is both Sigmund\u2019s nephew and son. As in <em>Beowulf<\/em>, they are companions in adventuring. Jesse L. Byock argues that \u201cSigmund appears to be the original dragon slayer, and Sigurd\u2019s filial connection with the old hero is probably an expansion of the legend.\u201d Sigmund and Sinfjotli are likewise paired in a poem on the death of the Norse ruler Eirik Bloodaxe, in which Odin tells them to greet the king on his arrival in Valhalla, the god\u2019s home for deceased heroes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Anglo-Saxon <em>Beowulf<\/em> stands in an interesting relationship with Icelandic legend. The intertextuality becomes more complex with the addition of Siegfried (Middle High German <em>S\u00eevrit<\/em>), dragon-killing hero of the <em>Nibelungenlied<\/em>, a German poem written down around 1200. Here, Sigemunt is Siegfried\u2019s father but \u2013 like Sigmund in the Icelandic saga \u2013 plays no role in his son\u2019s killing of the dragon. In contrast to the Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic sources, the treasure hoard won by the hero of the German epic is unconnected to the dragon but is instead taken in a separate adventure involving princes, giants, and a dwarf with a cloak of invisibility. The Sigurd\/Siegfried character may have roots in the historical Sigibert (535-575), a king of the Franks whose complicated family relationships parallel those of the literary figures. The dragon episode may have been grafted onto stories of the human hero in the centuries after his death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_576256\" target=\"_blank\">Selection: <em>The Lay of the Nibelung Men<\/em> <em>[Nibelunglied]<\/em> , translated by Arthur S. Way, title page, 12-14 (1911).<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow aligncenter\" data-effect=\"slide\"><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_container swiper-container\"><ul class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_swiper-wrapper swiper-wrapper\"><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"829\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-13945\" data-id=\"13945\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/y9565_n519_tp_o2-829x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/y9565_n519_tp_o2-829x1024.jpg 829w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/y9565_n519_tp_o2-scaled-300x371.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/y9565_n519_tp_o2-scaled-600x741.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/y9565_n519_tp_o2-243x300.jpg 243w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/y9565_n519_tp_o2-768x949.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/y9565_n519_tp_o2-1243x1536.jpg 1243w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/y9565_n519_tp_o2-1658x2048.jpg 1658w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 829px) 100vw, 829px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">Arthur S. Wade, translator, The Lay of the Nibelung Men, title page (1911)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"843\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-18126\" data-id=\"18126\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_12_o2-843x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_12_o2-843x1024.jpg 843w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_12_o2-scaled-300x364.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_12_o2-scaled-600x729.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_12_o2-247x300.jpg 247w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_12_o2-768x933.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_12_o2-1265x1536.jpg 1265w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_12_o2-1686x2048.jpg 1686w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 843px) 100vw, 843px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">Arthur S. Wade, translator, The Lay of the Nibelung Men, 12 (1911)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"803\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-18125\" data-id=\"18125\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_13_o2-803x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_13_o2-803x1024.jpg 803w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_13_o2-scaled-300x382.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_13_o2-scaled-600x765.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_13_o2-235x300.jpg 235w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_13_o2-768x979.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_13_o2-1205x1536.jpg 1205w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_13_o2-1607x2048.jpg 1607w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_13_o2-scaled.jpg 2008w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 803px) 100vw, 803px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">Arthur S. Wade, translator, The Lay of the Nibelung Men, 13 (1911)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"838\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-18124\" data-id=\"18124\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_14_o2-838x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_14_o2-838x1024.jpg 838w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_14_o2-scaled-300x367.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_14_o2-scaled-600x734.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_14_o2-245x300.jpg 245w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_14_o2-768x939.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_14_o2-1257x1536.jpg 1257w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/y9565_n519_pg_14_o2-1675x2048.jpg 1675w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 838px) 100vw, 838px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">Arthur S. Wade, translator, The Lay of the Nibelung Men, 14 (1911)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-prev swiper-button-prev swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-next swiper-button-next swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a aria-label=\"Pause Slideshow\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-pause\" role=\"button\"><\/a><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_pagination swiper-pagination swiper-pagination-white\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Familiarity with the Icelandic and German texts can enrich understanding of <em>Beowulf<\/em> by making up in some small way for our lack of knowledge of lore that would likely have been known by the poem\u2019s original audiences. Knowing the legend of Sigurd, the brief allusion by the Anglo-Saxon poet to the great dragon-slayer of the north \u2013 even though displaced by a generation \u2013 becomes something more than just another aside full of strange names. The weight of the foreshadowing becomes heavier for modern readers who understand the allusions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Questions to Consider:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Read passages about facing dragons in books by authors such as Tolkien, Martin, Cowell \u2013 or even in <em>Dungeons &amp; Dragons<\/em> rulebooks. How do the modern works compare to the source material in <em>Beowulf<\/em> and <em>Saga of the Volsungs<\/em>?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What other examples in literature, film, and gaming can you find of battles with monsters that follow the models of these early literary works? What elements remain constant in the various examples, and what elements vary from one to the next?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Compare the passages about Sigmund, Sigurd, and Siegfried in <em>Beowulf<\/em>, <em>Saga of the Volsungs<\/em>, and the <em>Nibelungenlied<\/em>. What do the similarities and differences suggest about continuity and variation in literary ideas of the dragon?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Thor and the Ungrateful Dead<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like Beowulf, the Norse god Thor battles a serpentine enemy by choosing \u201cthe wrong way to do it.\u201d While fighting the dragon head-on, Beowulf receives his death-wound. After the monster falls, \u201cthe wound which the earth-dragon had inflicted on him earlier began to burn and swell; straight away he found that the poison within welled up with deadly evil in his breast\u201d (lines 2711-2715). This mutual destruction parallels a key passage in what we now call the Norse myths, which were once religious tales that were the common inheritance of the Scandinavian tribes portrayed in the <em>Beowulf<\/em> poem and of the poet\u2019s pagan Anglo-Saxon ancestors<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_348589\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"671\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pt_7233_d7_pg_22_o2-671x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13946\" style=\"width:331px;height:505px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pt_7233_d7_pg_22_o2-671x1024.jpg 671w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pt_7233_d7_pg_22_o2-scaled-300x458.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pt_7233_d7_pg_22_o2-scaled-600x915.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pt_7233_d7_pg_22_o2-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pt_7233_d7_pg_22_o2-768x1172.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pt_7233_d7_pg_22_o2-1007x1536.jpg 1007w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pt_7233_d7_pg_22_o2-1343x2048.jpg 1343w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pt_7233_d7_pg_22_o2-scaled.jpg 1678w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 671px) 100vw, 671px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_348589\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ursula Dronke, translator, <em>The<\/em> <em>Poetic Edda<\/em>, 22 (1969)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Old Norse mythological poems of the <em>Poetic Edda<\/em> mostly come from the Codex Regius, a manuscript compilation of mythological and heroic poems written down in Iceland in the 1270s. The collection\u2019s first poem is <em>V\u00f6lusp\u00e1<\/em> (\u201cProphecy of the Seeress\u201d), arguably the single most important surviving composition recording Norse cosmological concepts. It contains an account of Ragnar\u00f6k (\u201cDoom of the Powers\u201d), the last battle between various forces in the mythological universe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In verse 53, Thor faces his great enemy, the World Serpent. The god is referred to as the child of Odin and the earth goddess (Old Norse <em>Hl\u00f3\u00f0yn<\/em> and <em>Fj\u00f6rgyn<\/em>). Like Beowulf, he is a protector of the community \u2013 the \u201cshrine-guarder of Midgard\u201d (Old Norse <em>mi\u00f0gar\u00f0r<\/em>, cognate with <em>Beowulf<\/em>\u2019s Old English <em>middengeard<\/em>, the source of Tolkien\u2019s <em>Middle-earth<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After he slays the enormous serpent \u2013 large enough to encircle the world of humans \u2013 Thor \u201csteps nine paces\u2026 failing.\u201d In his <em>Edda<\/em> of approximately 1220, Icelandic antiquarian Snorri Sturluson expands on the verse: \u201cThor will be victorious over the Midgard serpent and will step away from it nine paces. Then he will fall to the ground dead from the poison which the serpent will spit at him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As in the Anglo-Saxon poem, it is not a battle-wound that kills the hero; it is the poison of the monsters that ends both Beowulf and Thor after their enemies have fallen. Danish scholar Axel Olrik makes a distinction between two types of dragon slayers: one who fights to win a treasure hoard (Sigurd type) and one who fights to protect a people (Thor type). In both motive and manner of dying, Beowulf is aligned with the mythological archetype of the Norse god.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The dragon is not the only monster Beowulf faces. In the poem\u2019s first part, he battles Grendel and his mother. In line 726, the younger monster glares at Heorot with gleaming eyes, filled with wicked glee at the prospect of murdering and eating the warriors inside. Before engaging Grendel, the hero publicly declares that he will use no sword. Instead, he grapples with the monster and rips his arm from its socket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_230864-2\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"808\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_70_o2-808x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14214\" style=\"width:323px;height:409px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_70_o2-808x1024.jpg 808w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_70_o2-scaled-300x380.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_70_o2-scaled-600x761.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_70_o2-237x300.jpg 237w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_70_o2-768x974.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_70_o2-1211x1536.jpg 1211w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_70_o2-1615x2048.jpg 1615w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_70_o2-scaled.jpg 2019w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 808px) 100vw, 808px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_230864-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rockwell Kent, Beowulf battles Grendel&#8217;s mother (1932)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Grendel\u2019s mother attacks the men in the hall (1279), Beowulf follows her tracks to a serpent-infested pool (1399), dives in (1492), and fights her in her submerged hall (1518). When the sword given to him by Unferth fails, he battles the mother by hand. Facing defeat, he is saved by the discovery of an enormous ancient sword crafted by giants (1557). After he cuts off her head, he finds Grendel\u2019s corpse and likewise decapitates it (1584).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several elements of these encounters parallel those in Icelandic tales of <em>draugar<\/em> (singular <em>draugr<\/em>), undead corpses that attack any who enter their barrows and sometimes venture out to harass the living. In the <em>Saga of Egil One-Hand and Asmund Berskerker-Slayer<\/em>, Aran is buried in a mound that is \u2013 like the underwater hall of <em>Beowulf<\/em> \u2013 filled with weapons and other valuable goods (see images in this section). Like Grendel, Aran gorily feasts like a beast, bloodily devouring hawk, hound, and horse before ripping off the ears of his friend Aran, who unwisely keeps his dead friend company in the barrow. To permanently lay the walking corpse to rest, Asmund does as Beowulf does to both Grendel and his mother, and cuts off its head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Further parallels to <em>Beowulf<\/em> are in the story of Thr\u00e1in, recorded around 1400 in a set of <em>r\u00edmur<\/em> (Old Norse \u201crhymes\u201d), long narrative poems of Iceland. After being buried with treasures in a mound, the <em>draugr<\/em> Thr\u00e1in fights warriors with his nails, as Grendel and his mother do. Inside the barrow, the hero Hr\u00f3mund finds \u201cthe famous sword Mistiltein [Old Norse <em>mistelteinn<\/em>, \u201cmistletoe\u201d] from where it was hanging on a pillar.\u201d Like Beowulf does with his monsters, Hr\u00f3mund fights Thr\u00e1in hand-to-hand before cutting off his head with the sword found in the lair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_68395\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Selection: Chester Nathan Gould, \u201cThey Who Await the Second Death: A Study in the Icelandic Romantic Sagas,\u201d 168-169 (1926).<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow aligncenter\" data-effect=\"slide\"><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_container swiper-container\"><ul class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_swiper-wrapper swiper-wrapper\"><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"715\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-13947\" data-id=\"13947\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2-715x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2-715x1024.jpg 715w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2-scaled-300x430.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2-scaled-600x859.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2-210x300.jpg 210w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2-768x1100.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2-1073x1536.jpg 1073w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2-1430x2048.jpg 1430w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2-scaled.jpg 1788w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 715px) 100vw, 715px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">Chester Nathan Gould, \u201cThey Who Await the Second Death: A Study in the Icelandic Romantic Sagas,\u201d 168 (1926)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-18123\" data-id=\"18123\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/x0191_83_pg_169_o2-688x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/x0191_83_pg_169_o2-688x1024.jpg 688w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/x0191_83_pg_169_o2-scaled-300x447.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/x0191_83_pg_169_o2-scaled-600x893.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/x0191_83_pg_169_o2-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/x0191_83_pg_169_o2-768x1143.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/x0191_83_pg_169_o2-1032x1536.jpg 1032w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/x0191_83_pg_169_o2-1376x2048.jpg 1376w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/x0191_83_pg_169_o2-scaled.jpg 1720w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 688px) 100vw, 688px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">Chester Nathan Gould, \u201cThey Who Await the Second Death: A Study in the Icelandic Romantic Sagas,\u201d 169 (1926)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-prev swiper-button-prev swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-next swiper-button-next swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a aria-label=\"Pause Slideshow\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-pause\" role=\"button\"><\/a><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_pagination swiper-pagination swiper-pagination-white\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As with the legendary tales of dragon-slaying heroes, the modern reader\u2019s understanding of the Anglo-Saxon poem can be greatly enriched by placing the work in dialogue with other texts. There are more parallels to be drawn between Grendel, his mother, and <em>draugar<\/em>, but these examples show how the strange monsters of <em>Beowulf<\/em> can be understood in light of the zombie-like creatures that inhabit burial mounds and bloodily feast upon living warriors. Both as a means of digging deeper into the ancient cultural resonances of the poem and as a corrective to postmodern retellings that portray Grendel as a sympathetic figure, knowledge of the wider mythologies can make this complex poem more meaningful to today\u2019s audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Questions to Consider:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How can Axel Olrik\u2019s distinction between Sigurd-type and Thor-type dragon slayers be applied to characters in other works? How can it be applied to historical figures?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <em>draugar<\/em> of the Icelandic sagas are literary ancestors of the zombies and vampires in today\u2019s popular culture. What further parallels can you find between these frightening creatures and the hall-attacking monsters of <em>Beowulf<\/em>?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Sources<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Poem and its Reception<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The text of <em>Beowulf<\/em>  survives in a single source, the Nowell codex, which can be seen below alongside excerpts from J. R. R. Tolkien&#8217;s influential scholarly essay &#8220;<em>Beowulf<\/em>: The Monster and its Critics.&#8221; Tolkien&#8217;s piece was first delivered as a lecture at the British Academy in 1936 and is considered by scholars to be a foundational text in shaping reception of the poem in modern <em>Beowulf<\/em> studies.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_2077\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"846\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pr_1505_b7_pg_132r_132v_o2-1024x846.jpg\" alt=\"Two pages of text from The Nowell codex. \" class=\"wp-image-13939\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pr_1505_b7_pg_132r_132v_o2-1024x846.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pr_1505_b7_pg_132r_132v_o2-300x248.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pr_1505_b7_pg_132r_132v_o2-scaled-600x496.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pr_1505_b7_pg_132r_132v_o2-768x635.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pr_1505_b7_pg_132r_132v_o2-1536x1269.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pr_1505_b7_pg_132r_132v_o2-2048x1692.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_2077\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_2077\">The Nowell codex; British Museum Cotton Vitellius A.XV, second ms., edited by Kemp Malone (1963)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_727336\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"706\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2-706x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Page of text from J.R.R. Tolkien's &quot;Beowulf&quot;. \" class=\"wp-image-13940\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2-706x1024.jpg 706w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2-scaled-300x435.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2-scaled-600x870.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2-207x300.jpg 207w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2-768x1114.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2-1059x1536.jpg 1059w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2-1412x2048.jpg 1412w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2-scaled.jpg 1765w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 706px) 100vw, 706px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_727336\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2.jpg\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_727336\/a9_117_vol_22_1936_pg_276_o2.jpg\">J. R. R. Tolkien, &#8220;<em>Beowulf<\/em>: The Monsters and the Critics,&#8221; 276-278 (1937)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">People and Places<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Beowulf<\/em> is an epic poem that draws heavily on myth, but scholars and archaeologists have connected the narrative to historically-grounded places and groups of people, such as Denmark, Sweden, and the Franks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_893230\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"799\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/case_g1030_l4_1821_map_20a_o2-1024x799.jpg\" alt=\"Two pages of text with a multi-colored map of Denmark in between the two pages. \" class=\"wp-image-13941\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/case_g1030_l4_1821_map_20a_o2-1024x799.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/case_g1030_l4_1821_map_20a_o2-300x234.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/case_g1030_l4_1821_map_20a_o2-scaled-600x468.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/case_g1030_l4_1821_map_20a_o2-768x599.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/case_g1030_l4_1821_map_20a_o2-1536x1199.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/case_g1030_l4_1821_map_20a_o2-2048x1598.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_893230\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_893230\">C. V. Lavoisne, <em>Map of Denmark &amp;c.<\/em> (1821)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_413990\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"641\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2-641x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Page of text from &quot;The History of the Franks, 163-164&quot;. \" class=\"wp-image-13942\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2-641x1024.jpg 641w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2-scaled-300x479.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2-scaled-600x958.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2-188x300.jpg 188w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2-768x1226.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2-962x1536.jpg 962w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2-1283x2048.jpg 1283w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2-scaled.jpg 1604w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 641px) 100vw, 641px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_413990\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2.jpg\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_413990\/3a_7103_pg_163_o2.jpg\">Saint Gregory, Bishop of Tours, <em>The History of the Franks<\/em>, 163-164 (1974)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Heroes of Legend<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Beowulf<\/em> can be placed in context and conversation with a number of other heroic stories of dragon-slaying and monster-fighting, including tales from Iceland and Germany. Extracts from some of these, as well as artistic depictions of Beowulf&#8217;s battles and scholarly analysis of related epic sagas, can be seen below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_230864\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"812\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_112_o2-812x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Image set in a forest of Beowulf with a sword and shield fighting the dragon. \" class=\"wp-image-13943\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_112_o2-812x1024.jpg 812w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_112_o2-scaled-300x378.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_112_o2-scaled-600x757.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_112_o2-238x300.jpg 238w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_112_o2-768x968.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_112_o2-1218x1536.jpg 1218w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_112_o2-1624x2048.jpg 1624w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_112_o2-scaled.jpg 2030w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 812px) 100vw, 812px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_230864\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_230864\">Rockwell Kent, <em>Beowulf fights the Dragon<\/em> (1932)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_230864-2\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"808\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_70_o2-808x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Image of the back of Beowulf fighting Grendel's mother. Grendel's mother is pictured with large arms and a monstrous face. \" class=\"wp-image-14214\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_70_o2-808x1024.jpg 808w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_70_o2-scaled-300x380.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_70_o2-scaled-600x761.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_70_o2-237x300.jpg 237w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_70_o2-768x974.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_70_o2-1211x1536.jpg 1211w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_70_o2-1615x2048.jpg 1615w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_70_o2-scaled.jpg 2019w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 808px) 100vw, 808px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_230864-2\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_230864-2\">Rockwell Kent, <em>Beowulf battles Grendel&#8217;s mother<\/em> (1932)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_761350\/5a_669_pg_30_o2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"691\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/5a_669_pg_30_o2-691x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Page of text from The Saga of the Volsungs. \" class=\"wp-image-13944\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/5a_669_pg_30_o2-691x1024.jpg 691w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/5a_669_pg_30_o2-scaled-300x444.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/5a_669_pg_30_o2-scaled-600x888.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/5a_669_pg_30_o2-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/5a_669_pg_30_o2-768x1137.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/5a_669_pg_30_o2-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/5a_669_pg_30_o2-1383x2048.jpg 1383w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/5a_669_pg_30_o2-scaled.jpg 1729w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 691px) 100vw, 691px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_761350\/5a_669_pg_30_o2.jpg\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_761350\/5a_669_pg_30_o2.jpg\">R.G. Finch, editor and translator, <em>The Saga of the Volsungs<\/em>, 30 (1965)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_576256\/y9565_n519_tp_o2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"829\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/y9565_n519_tp_o2-829x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Title page of text from &quot;The Lay of the Nibelung Men&quot;. \" class=\"wp-image-13945\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/y9565_n519_tp_o2-829x1024.jpg 829w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/y9565_n519_tp_o2-scaled-300x371.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/y9565_n519_tp_o2-scaled-600x741.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/y9565_n519_tp_o2-243x300.jpg 243w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/y9565_n519_tp_o2-768x949.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/y9565_n519_tp_o2-1243x1536.jpg 1243w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/y9565_n519_tp_o2-1658x2048.jpg 1658w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 829px) 100vw, 829px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_576256\/y9565_n519_tp_o2.jpg\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_576256\/y9565_n519_tp_o2.jpg\">Arthur S. Wade, translator, <em>The Lay of the Nibelung Men, title<\/em> page (1911)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_348589\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"671\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pt_7233_d7_pg_22_o2-671x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Page of text with two columns from &quot;The Poetic Edda&quot;. \" class=\"wp-image-13946\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pt_7233_d7_pg_22_o2-671x1024.jpg 671w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pt_7233_d7_pg_22_o2-scaled-300x458.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pt_7233_d7_pg_22_o2-scaled-600x915.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pt_7233_d7_pg_22_o2-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pt_7233_d7_pg_22_o2-768x1172.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pt_7233_d7_pg_22_o2-1007x1536.jpg 1007w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pt_7233_d7_pg_22_o2-1343x2048.jpg 1343w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/pt_7233_d7_pg_22_o2-scaled.jpg 1678w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 671px) 100vw, 671px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_348589\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_348589\">Ursula Dronke, translator,<em> The Poetic Edda<\/em>, 22 (1969)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_68395\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2.jp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"715\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2-715x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Page of Text from &quot;Who Await the Second Death: A Study in the Icelandic Romantic Sagas&quot;. \" class=\"wp-image-13947\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2-715x1024.jpg 715w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2-scaled-300x430.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2-scaled-600x859.jpg 600w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2-210x300.jpg 210w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2-768x1100.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2-1073x1536.jpg 1073w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2-1430x2048.jpg 1430w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2-scaled.jpg 1788w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 715px) 100vw, 715px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_68395\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2.jp\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/nby_68395\/x0191_83_pg_168_o2.jp\">Chester Nathan Gould, \u201cThey Who Await the Second Death: A Study in the Icelandic Romantic Sagas,\u201d 168 (1926)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Further Reading<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Further Reading<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dronke, Ursula, trans. <em>The Poetic Edda, Volume II: Mythological Poems<\/em>. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Byock, Jesse L., trans. <em>Saga of the Volsungs<\/em>. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Edwards, Cyril. <em>The Nibelungenlied<\/em>. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fulk, R.D., trans. <em>The<\/em> Beowulf <em>Manuscript<\/em>. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fulk, R.D., Robert E. Bjork, and John D. Niles, eds. <em>Klaeber\u2019s Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg<\/em>. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gould, Chester Nathan. \u201cThey Who Await the Second Death: A Study in the Icelandic Romantic Sagas.\u201d Scandinavian Studies 9 (1926): 167, 201.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lavoisne, M. <em>A Complete Genealogical, Historical, Chronological, and Geographical Atlas<\/em>. Philadelphia: M. Carey and Son, 1820.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leonard, William Ellery, trans. and Rockwell Kent, ill. <em>Beowulf<\/em>. New York: Random House, 1932.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Malone, Kemp, ed. <em>The Nowell Codex: British Museum Cotton Vitellius A. XV, 2. ms<\/em>. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde and Bagger, 1963.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Snorri Sturluson. <em>Edda<\/em>. Translated by Anthony Faulkes. London: J.M. Dent, 1995.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tolkien, J.R.R. <em>The Monsters and the Critics<\/em>. London: Harper Collins, 2006.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14624,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[103,83,164],"tags":[168],"class_list":["post-14483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-18th-century","category-19th-century","category-collection-essays","tag-literature"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/wing_zp_983_p994_opp_pg_112_o2-scaled-e1600895521389.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14483"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14483\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24105,"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14483\/revisions\/24105"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}