Chapter 1

But haughty Hunferth, Ecg-láf’s Son Who sat at royal Hróth-gár’s Feet To bind up Words of Strife begun And to address the noble Geat. The proud Sea-Farer’s Enterprize 5 Was a vast Grievance in his Eyes: For ill could bear that jealous Man That any other gallant Thane On earth, beneath the Heavens’ Span, Worship beyond his own should gain. 10 ‘Art thou Beó-wulf,’ then he cry’d, ‘With Brecca on the Ocean wide That didst in Swimming erst contend, Where ye explor’d the Fords for Pride And risk’d your Lives upon the Tide 15 All for vain Glory’s empty End? And no Man, whether Foe or Friend, Your sorry Match can reprehend. O’er Seas ye rowed, your Arms o’erspread The Waves, and Sea-paths measuréd. 20 The Spray ye with your Hands did urge, And glided o’er the Ocean’s Surge; The Waves with Winter’s fury boil’d While on the watery Realm ye toil’d, Thus seven Nights were told, 25 Till thee at last he overcame, The stronger in the noble Game. Then him at Morn the billowy Streams In triumph bare to Heatho-rǽmes From whence he sought his Fatherland, 30 And his own Brondings’ faithful Band, Where o’er the Folk he held Command, A City, Rings, and Gold. His Promise well and faithfully Did Beanstán’s Son perform to thee; 35 And ill I ween, though prov’d thy Might In Onslaught dire and deadly Fight, Twill go with thee, if thou this Night Dar’st wait for Grendel bold.’

_Criticism of the Translation._

Wackerbarth’s translation is not to be considered as a rival of Kemble’s[1]--the author did not wish it to be so considered. Kemble addressed the world of scholars; Wackerbarth the world of readers. Wackerbarth rather resembles Conybeare[2] in trying to reproduce the _spirit_ of the poem, and make his book appeal to a popular audience. Wackerbarth had the advantage of basing his translation on the accurate and scholarly version of Kemble; yet Conybeare and Wackerbarth were equally unsuccessful in catching the spirit of the original. The reason for their failure is primarily in the media which they chose. It would seem that if there were a measure less suited to the Beowulf style than the Miltonic blank verse used by Conybeare, it would be the ballad measures used by Wackerbarth. The movement of the ballad is easy, rapid, and garrulous. Now, if there are three qualities of which the _Beowulf_ is not possessed, they are ease, rapidity, and garrulity. Not only does the poet avoid superfluous words--the ballad never does--but he frequently does not use words enough. His meaning is thus often vague and nebulous, or harsh and knotted. Nor can the poem properly be called rapid. It is often hurried, and more often insufficient in detail, but it never has sustained rapidity. The kenning alone is hostile to rapidity. The poet lingers lovingly over his thought as if loath to leave it; he repeats, amplifies. The description of Grendel’s approach to Heorot is given three times within twenty lines.

Now these features which have just been described Wackerbarth’s ballad lines are eminently unfitted to transmit. But there is still another reason for shunning them. They are almost continuously suggestive of Scott. Of all men else the translator of _Beowulf_ should avoid Scott. Scott’s medievalism is hundreds of years and miles away from the medievalism of _Beowulf_. His is the self-conscious, dramatic, gorgeous age of chivalry, of knight and lady, of pomp and pride. _Beowulf_ is simple to bareness.

It is in such strong picturesque passages as the swimming-match that Wackerbarth’s style is worst. There is a plethora of adjectives, scarcely one of which is found in the original; but they are of no avail--they are too commonplace to render the strength and raciness of the original words. There is too much ballad padding--‘then he cry’d,’ ‘at last,’ ‘well and faithfully,’ ‘onslaught dire, and deadly fight.’ Hunferth prattles. The heroic atmosphere is gone.

In passages calling for calmness, solemnity, or elevation of thought--and there are many such--the easy flow of a verse monotonous and trivial effectually destroys the beauty of the lines.

But in spite of its very evident limitations, Wackerbarth’s translation was a move in the right direction. His aim, in his own words, was to ‘get his book read,’ and he was wise in choosing a medium that would be popular, even if it were not satisfactory to the scholar. It was better to have _Beowulf_ according to Wackerbarth than no _Beowulf_ at all.

[Footnote 1: See supra, p. 33.] [[Kemble]]

[Footnote 2: See supra, p. 28.] [[Conybeare]]

THORPE’S EDITION

The Anglo-Saxon Poems of Beowulf, The Scop or Gleeman’s Tale, and the Fight at Finnesburg. With a literal translation, notes, and glossary, &c., by Benjamin Thorpe. Oxford: printed by James Wright, Printer to the University. M.DCCC.LV.

*Reprinted, 1875. 12mo, pp. xxxiv, 330.

Third English Translation. Short Lines.

_Author’s Prefatory Remarks._

‘Twenty-four years have passed since, while residing in Denmark, I first entertained the design of one day producing an edition of Beowulf; and it was in prosecution of that design that, immediately on my arrival in England in 1830, I carefully collated the text of Thorkelin’s edition with the Cottonian manuscript. Fortunately, no doubt, for the work, a series of cares, together with other literary engagements, intervened and arrested my progress. I had, in fact, abandoned every thought of ever resuming the task: it was therefore with no slight pleasure that I hailed the appearance of Mr. Kemble’s first edition of the text of Beowulf in 1833....

‘Copies of Mr. Kemble’s editions having for some time past been of rare occurrence, I resolved on resuming my suspended labour, and, as far as I was able, supplying a want felt by many an Anglo-Saxon student both at home and abroad....

‘My first impulse was to print the text of the poem as it appears in the manuscript, with a literal translation in parallel columns, placing all conjectural emendations at the foot of each page; but, on comparing the text with the version in this juxta-position, so numerous and so enormous and puerile did the blunders of the copyist appear, and, consequently, so great the discrepance between the text and the translation, that I found myself compelled to admit into the text the greater number of the conjectural emendations, consigning to the foot of the page the corresponding readings of the manuscript. In every case which I thought might by others be considered questionable, I have followed the more usual course, of retaining in the text the reading of the manuscript, and placing the proposed correction at foot....

‘Very shortly after I had collated it, the manuscript suffered still further detriment.

‘In forming this edition I resolved to proceed independently of the version or views of every preceding editor.’ --Pages vii, viii, xii, xiii.

_Criticism of Thorpe’s Text._

Considering the amount of time that had elapsed between this and the edition of Kemble[1], Thorpe can hardly be said to have made a satisfactory advance. In some respects his edition is actually inferior to Kemble’s. It is probable, for example, that the collation of which the author speaks in his introduction was the one which he had made twenty years before, and that, in taking up his work a second time, he did not trouble himself to revise it. At any rate, the MS. did not receive from Thorpe that respectful attention that it had had from Kemble. Thorpe was more clever than the former scholar in deciphering faded lines of the MS., but he was not always careful to indicate those letters which he actually found there, and those he himself supplied from conjecture. Yet these readings were often of sufficient importance to affect an entire passage, and later scholarship has in many cases deciphered readings whose sense is entirely different from Thorpe’s. Thus his edition presents striking divergences from later texts, while no explanation of them is offered in the footnotes. Not only does he frequently incorporate his own readings in the text without noting the MS. forms, but he even makes mistakes in the MS. forms which he does note. A collation of Thorpe’s text with the MS. has revealed a carelessness which was all the more reprehensible in that it came from a scholar who was thought to be well-nigh infallible. A few examples of this carelessness are given:--

Line 319 (158)[2], _banan_ (misreads MS. in footnote). 487 (241), _Ic_ (word emended from _le_ without noting MS. form). 1160 (578), _hwæþere_ (emends without noting the MS. form). 1207 (601), _ac him_ (omits a word). 4408 (2201), _hilde hlemmum_ (MS. misread in a footnote. Emendation unnecessary).

At line 2218 the MS., badly mutilated at this point, reads,

_... slæpende be syre ... de þeofes cræfte._

In Thorpe’s edition the line reads (4443),

_... slæpende be fire, fyrena hyrde þeófes cræfte._

Not only does he fail to state that he has changed MS. _sy_ to _fi_, but he gives no indication that for the words _fyrena hyrde_ there is no room in the MS., and that the reading is entirely of his own making.

In order to afford a comparative estimate of the work of Thorpe and Kemble, I append the texts of each as they appear at what is now line 2000[3].

THORPE. KEMBLE.

Þæt is undyrne, þ̷ is un-dyrne, dryhten Higelác, dryhten Hige-lác, (uncer) gemeting ... ge-meting monegum fyra, monegū fira hwylce (orleg)-hwíl 5 hwylce ... hwíl uncer Grendles uncer Grendles wearð on þám wange, wearð on wange, þær he worna fela þær he worna fela Sige-Scyldingum síge-(Scyl)dingum sorge gefremede, 10 sorge ge-fremede, yrmðe tó aldre. yrmð(o) tó aldre; Ic þæt eall gewræc, ic þ̄ eall ge-wræc, swá ne gylpan þearf swá (ne) gylpan ðearf Grendles maga Grendeles maga (ǽnig) ofer eorðan 15 (ǽnig) ofer eorðan uht-hlem þone, uht-hlem ðone, se þe lengest leofað (se þe) lengest leofað láðan cynnes. ládan cynnes, Fǽr-bifongen, ... (fǽr)-bí-fongen.

These selections give a good basis for judging the merits and defects of Thorpe’s edition. Thorpe is seen to have the advantage in deciphering certain parts of the text, see e.g. lines 9, 11, 17. On the other hand, Kemble is far more conscientious. Thus at line 13 Thorpe reads _ne_ as if it were found in the MS. It is not there, and Kemble is right in inclosing the letters in parentheses. The same thing is true of _Fǽr_ in line 19, and Gren{dl}es in line 14. Thorpe’s emendations in lines 3 and 5 are an advance on Kemble, and are still retained in the text. But Thorpe might have followed Kemble’s punctuation in 18 and 19 to his advantage.

EXTRACT.

VIII.

Hunferth spake, Ecglaf’s son, who at {the} feet sat of {the} Scyldings’ lord; unbound {a} hostile speech. To him was {the} voyage of Beowulf, {the} bold sea-farer, {a} great displeasure; because he grudged 1010 that any other man ever more glories of mid-earth held under heaven than himself: ‘Art thou the Beowulf who with Breca strove on {the} wide sea, in {a} swimming strife, where ye from pride 1020 tempted {the} fords, and for foolish vaunt in {the} deep water ventured {your} lives? Nor you any man, nor friend nor foe, might blame {for your} sorrowful voyage, when on {the} sea ye row’d, when ye {the} ocean-stream, 1030 with {your} arms deck’d, measur’d {the} sea-ways, with {your} hands vibrated {them}, glided o’er {the} main; ocean boil’d with waves, with winter’s fury: ye on {the} water’s domain, {for} seven nights toil’d. He thee in swimming overcame, {he} had more strength, 1040 when him at morning tide, on to Heatho-ræmes {the} sea bore up; whence he sought {his} dear country, {the} beloved of his people, {the} Brondings’ land, {his} fair, peaceful burgh, where he {a} people own’d, {a} burgh and rings. 1050 All {his} promise to thee Beanstan’s son truly fulfil’d.

_Criticism of the Translation._

This being a strictly literal translation, the reader is referred to the sections on the text for a valuation and criticism. It is a question whether there was need for another literal rendering in England at this time. Kemble’s translation was not yet out of date, and with Thorpe’s new glossary the student had a sufficient apparatus for the interpretation of the poem.

Some German scholars have discovered that the short lines in which Thorpe’s translation is couched are imitative of the Old English measure. I am unable to agree with them. Probably any short-line translation would _ipso facto_ assume a choppiness not dissimilar to the Old English, and probably plenty of lines could be discovered which correspond well enough to the ‘five types,’ but the agreement seems purely fortuitous. It is quite unlikely that Thorpe intended any imitation.

_Influence of Thorpe’s Edition._

The influence of this edition has been considerable. It was the principal authority used by Grein[4] and Heyne[5] in constructing their texts. Thus its influence was felt in all texts down to the publication of the Zupitza _Autotypes_ (1882). Thomas Arnold[6] copied the text almost word for word.

[Footnote 1: See supra, p. 33.] [[Kemble]]

[Footnote 2: The numbers in parentheses are those of Wyatt’s text.]

[Footnote 3: Line 3995 in Kemble; 4004 in Thorpe.]

[Footnote 4: See infra, p. 55.] [[Grein]]

[Footnote 5: See infra, p. 63.] [[Heyne]]

[Footnote 6: See infra, p. 71.] [[Arnold]]

GREIN’S TRANSLATIONS

Dichtungen der Angelsachsen, stabreimend übersetzt von C. W. M. Grein. Erster Band. Göttingen: Georg H. Wigand, 1857. 8vo, Beowulf, pp. 223-308. Zweite (Titel-) Auflage, 1863.

Beowulf. Stabreimend übersetzt von Professor Dr. C. W. M. Grein. Zweite Auflage. Kassel: Georg H. Wigand, 1883. 8vo, pp. 90.

Second German Translation. Imitative Measures.

_Grein’s Preparation for Scholarly Work._

Christian Wilhelm Michael Grein[1] (1825-77) was eminently well fitted for the editing and translating of Old English poetry. He possessed a natural aptitude for the study of Germanic Philology, and had the advantage of studying with an excellent professor, Franz Eduard Christoph Dietrich (1810-83), in the University at Marburg. As early as 1854 he began his labors as a translator of Old English poetry with a version of the _Phoenix_, ‘Der Vogel Phoenix: ein angelsächsisches Gedicht, stabreimend übersetzt,’ Rinteln, 1854. In the same year he printed a translation of the _Heliand_.

In 1855 he assumed the position of Praktikant at the Kassel Landesbibliothek. Here he was able to devote a large part of his attention to the study of Old English, acquiring a familiarity with the poetry of that tongue which it has seldom been the fortune of a scholar to surpass. He formed the design of editing and translating the entire body of Old English poetry and appending to it a complete glossary which should not only give the meanings of the words, but instance every occurrence of the word. This design he carried out between the years 1857 and 1864.

_Grein’s Texts._

The text of _Beowulf_ is found in Grein’s _Bibliothek der angelsächsichen Poesie_, Erster Band, Göttingen, 1857, where it occupies pp. 255-341. A second edition, several times re-edited, is _Beovulf, nebst den Fragmenten Finnsburg und Waldere_, Kassel und Göttingen, 1867.

Grein never saw the MS. of the poem[2]. He based his text on a collation of all the preceding editions. This was unfortunate, because, had Grein seen the MS., he would doubtless have hastened to make a correct transcription of it. As it was, his edition necessarily shares some of the faults of its predecessors, since the text had never yet been accurately transcribed. A simple illustration of this defect may be seen by examining line 2218 of the text, where Grein reads,

_be fire, fyrena hyrde_,

following Thorpe[3]. As has been pointed out, this is an impossible reading, and one for which there is no justification in the MS. Thorpe, however, had presented it as the MS. reading, and Grein could not but copy it.

Like Kemble, Grein had a supreme respect for the readings of the MS., and he announced his intention of following this reading wherever possible:--

‘Bei der Behandlung des Textes galt als erste Pflicht, handschriftliche Lesarten, wo es nur immer möglich war, zu retten und namentlich auch manche angezweifelte, den Lexicis fremde Wörter als wolbegründet nachzuweisen: nur da, wo Verderbniss auf der Hand liegt, habe ich mir mit der grössten Vorsicht Aenderungen erlaubt oder bereits von Andern vorgeschlagene Aenderungen aufgenommen, wobei ich mich möglichst eng an das handschriftlich gebotene anzuschliessen suchte.’ --Vorwort, iv. (_Bibl._).

This was wise. Since the days of Kemble, emendation had become unnecessarily frequent. We have seen in what a light-hearted way Thorpe spoke of the ‘blunders of the scribes,’ and how careless he was in the preparation of his text. The dialect had not yet received proper attention, and the copyists were blamed for errors that they never made.

Grein was extremely clever in filling the lacunae of the MS., and his conjectural emendations are frequently retained by later editors.

Still another improvement which he introduced was the full punctuation of the text; this was superior to any that had preceded it. In previous editions defective punctuation had obscured the sense of the lines; here it was made a factor in their interpretation.

_Theory of Translation._

Grein’s theory of translation is sufficiently expressed in the Vorrede to the _Dichtungen_:--

‘Die Sammlung von metrischen Uebersetzungen angelsächsischer Dichtungen, deren erster Band hiermit der Oeffentlichkeit übergeben wird, soll einen doppelten Zweck erfüllen. Einerseits betrachte ich dieselben als eine wesentliche Ergänzung, gleichsam als fortlaufenden Commentar zu meiner gleichzeitig in demselben Verlag erscheinenden Textausgabe der angelsächsischen Dichter, indem sie meine Interpretation der Originaltexte, worin ich oft von meinen Vorgängern abweiche, einfach vor Augen legen. Andrerseits aber bezweckte ich dadurch die Bekanntschaft mit den in vieler Beziehung so herrlichen dichterischen Erzeugnissen des uns engverwandten englischen Volkes aus der Zeit vor dem gewaltsamen Eindringen des romanischen Elements durch die normannische Eroberung auch in weiteren Kreisen anzubahnen, was sie sowol nach ihrem Inhalte als auch nach der poetischen Behandlung des Stoffes gewiss in hohem Grade verdienen. Daher war ich eifrigst bemüht, die Uebersetzung dem Original in möglichster Treue nach Inhalt, Ausdruck und Form eng anzuschliessen: namentlich suchte ich, soweit es immer bei dem heutigen Stande unserer Sprache thunlich war, auch den Rhythmus des Originals nachzubilden, wobei es vor allem auf die Beibehaltung der eigentümlichen Stellung der Stabreime ankam, ein Punkt, der bei der Uebertragung alter Alliterationspoesien nur zu oft vernachlässigt wird.’ --Vorrede, iii.

_Differences between the two Editions._

The second edition of the translation (see supra, p. 65) was edited from Grein’s ‘Handexemplar’ of the _Dichtungen_ after his death by Professor Wülker, who has also re-edited the text of the _Bibliothek_. The differences are seldom more than verbal, and are largely in the early parts of the poem. The second edition is, of course, superior.

EXTRACT.

III.

Darauf sprach Hunferd, Ecglafs Sohn, der zu den Füssen sass dem Fürst der Skildinge, 500 entband Streitrunen, (ihm war Beowulfs Reise des mutigen Seefahrers sehr zum Aerger, da er durchaus nicht gönnte, dass ein anderer Mann je mehr des Ruhmes in dem Mittelkreise besässe unterm Himmel, denn er selber hatte): 505 ‘Bist du der Beowulf, der einst mit Breka schwamm im Wettkampfe durch die weite See, wo in Verwegenheit ihr die Gewässer prüftet und aus tollem Prahlen in die tiefen Fluten wagtet euer Leben? Nicht wehren konnt’ euch beiden 510 weder Lieb noch Leid der Leute einer die sorgenvolle Fahrt, als in den Sund ihr rudertet, wo ihr den Oceansstrom mit euren Armen decktet, die Holmstrassen masset, mit den Händen schluget und über den Ocean glittet: der Eisgang des Winters 515 wallete in Wogen; in des Wassers Gebiet plagtet ihr euch sieben Nächte. Im Schwimmspiel überwand er dich: er hatte mehr der Macht; zur Morgenzeit trug ihn der Holm da zu den Headorämen. Von dannen suchte er die süsse Heimat 520 lieb seinen Leuten, das Land der Brondinge, die liebliche Friedeburg, wo er sein Volk hatte, Burg und Bauge. Da hatte all sein Erbot wider dich vollbracht in Wahrheit Beanstans Sohn[4].’

_Criticism of the Translation._

The translation is a literal line-for-line version. Its superiority to its predecessors is, therefore, one with the superiority of the text on which it is founded.

The translation became at once the standard commentary on _Beowulf_, and this position it retained for many years. It is still the standard literal translation in Germany, none of the later versions having equaled it in point of accuracy.

[Footnote 1: For biographical facts see Grein-Wülker, _Bibliothek_, Band III, 2te Hälfte, p. vii.]

[Footnote 2: See Grein-Wülker, _Bibliothek_, Vorrede.]

[Footnote 3: See supra, p. 52.] [[Thorpe: Criticism of Text]]

[Footnote 4: The second edition presents no variation from this save the omission of the comma in line 501.]

SIMROCK’S TRANSLATION

Beowulf. Das älteste deutsche Epos. Uebersetzt und erläutert von Dr. Karl Simrock. Stuttgart und Augsburg: J. G. Cotta’scher Verlag, 1859. 8vo, pp. iv, 203.

Third German Translation. Imitative Measures.

_Simrock._

Dr. Karl Simrock (1802-1876) brought to the translation of _Beowulf_ the thorough knowledge of a scholar, the fine feeling and technique of a poet, and an enviable reputation as a translator of Old German poetry. At the time when he made his translation of _Beowulf_, he was Professor of Old German Literature at Bonn, whither he had been called because of his contributions to the study of Old German mythology. His title to remembrance rests, however, on his metrical rendering of the _Nibelungenlied_, a work which, in 1892, had passed into its fifty-second edition. As an original poet, Simrock is remembered for his _Wieland der Schmied_ (1835), and _Gedichte_ (1844).

_Object of the Translation._

Simrock wished to do for _Beowulf_ what he had done for the _Nibelungenlied_, _Walther von der Vogelweide_, and _Der arme Heinrich_. He objected to the too literal work of Ettmüller[1] and Grein[2], hoping in his own work to make the poem readable and to dispense with a ‘note for every third word’:

‘Geist und Stimmung einer fernen Heldenzeit anklingen zu lassen, und doch dem Ausdruck die frische Farbe des Lebens zu verleihen.’ --Vorrede, iii.

In this ambition he was justified by his success as a translator of Old German poetry.

_Nature of the Translation._

The diction of the version is, on the whole, characterized by simplicity and ease. Yet the author, like many another translator of Old English, tries to give his style an archaic tinge by preserving the compound forms characteristic of that language, such as Lustholz, Aelgelage, Kampfrunen, a fault that Ettmüller had carried to excess. These forms he sometimes used to the exclusion of simpler, or even more literal, words. The nature of the German language, however, keeps these from being as repulsive as they are in English, but they are sufficiently strange to mystify and annoy the reader.

The feature of his translation for which Simrock was most concerned was the measure:

‘Vor Allem aber den Wohllaut, der echter Poesie unzertrennlich verbunden ist, das schien mir die erste Bedingung, damit der Leser ... den Sinn ahne und von der Schönheit des Gedichts ergriffen von Blatt zu Blatt getragen werde. Nur so glaubte ich eine tausendjährige Kluft überbrücken und dieser mit Angeln und Sachsen ausgewanderten Dichtung neues Heimatsrecht bei uns erwerben zu können.’ --Vorrede, iii, iv.

He also preserved alliteration, believing that a fondness for that poetic adornment may be easily acquired, and that it is by no means inconsistent with the genius of modern tongues.

_Relation of Translation and other Parts of the Book._

The notes to the translation contain discussions of the episodes and of the mythological personages of the poem. There is a discussion of the poetic worth of _Beowulf_, and an argument for the German origin of the poem. But the translation is the _raison d’être_ of the volume, and other parts are strictly subordinated to it. The Finnsburg fragment is inserted at the end of section 16. As the author does not wish to disturb the order of _Beowulf_, he is obliged to place the poem at the end of the Finnsburg episode (in _Beowulf_), a very ill-chosen position, where it can only confuse the general reader more than the obscure lines to which it is related. This practice of inserting the Finnsburg fragment, lately revived by Hoffmann[3], has been generally repudiated.

_Text, and Indebtedness to Preceding Scholars._

The text followed is Grein’s (1857)[4]. The translator acknowledges his indebtedness to the versions of Ettmüller and Grein.

EXTRACT.

8. HUNFERD.

Da begann Hunferd, Ecglafs Sohn, Der zu Füssen sass dem Fürsten der Schildinge, Kampfrunen zu entbinden: ihm war Beowulfs Kunft, Des kühnen Seeseglers, schrecklich zuwider. Allzu ungern sah er, dass ein anderer Mann In diesem Mittelkreiss mehr des Ruhmes Unterm Himmel hätte als Hunferd selbst:

‘Bist du der Beowulf, der mit _Breka_ schwamm Im Wettkampf einst durch die weite See? Wo ihr tollkühn Untiefen prüftet, Mit vermessnem Muth in den Meeresschlünden Das Leben wagtet? Vergebens wehrten euch Die Lieben und Leiden, die Leute zumal So sorgvolle Reise, als ihr zum Sunde rudertet, Das angstreiche Weltmeer mit Armen decktet, Die Meerstrassen masset, mit den Händen schlugt Durch die Brandung gleitend; aufbrauste die Tiefe Wider des Winters Wuth. Im Wasser mühtet ihr Euch sieben Nächte: da besiegt’ er dich im Schwimmen. Seiner Macht war mehr: in des Morgens Frühe Hob ihn die Hochflut zu den _Headorämen_. Von dannen sucht’ er die süsse Heimat, Das Leutenliebe, das Land der _Brondinge_, Die feste Friedensburg, wo er Volk besass, Burg und Bauge. Sein Erbieten hatte dir Da _Beanstans_ Geborner vollbracht und geleistet.’

_Criticism of the Translation._

Simrock’s translation is commendable for its faithfulness. It is, moreover, a simple and readable version, though in these respects it is not equal to Heyne’s rendering which was to follow it; but it was easily superior to Grein’s. Yet, in spite of this, the book is not well known among German translations, and has never passed into a second edition. This is surprising when we consider the success of Simrock’s previous translations. The partial failure is accounted for by two facts: (1) Simrock’s reputation as a scholar was not equal to that of Grein or Heyne, nor had he the advantage of editing the text; (2) the measure which the translation employed has never been popular among readers. No German translation in imitative measures, with the single exception of Grein’s (which has made its appeal as a scholarly work and not as a piece of literature), has ever passed into a second edition; while versions couched in iambic lines or Nibelungen meters have been reprinted.

[Footnote 1: See supra, p. 37.] [[Ettmüller]]

[Footnote 2: See supra, p. 55.] [[Grein]]

[Footnote 3: See infra, p. 99.] [[Hoffmann]]

[Footnote 4: See supra, p. 56.] [[Grein’s Texts]]

HEYNE’S TRANSLATION

Beowulf. Angelsächsisches Heldengedicht übersetzt von Moritz Heyne. Paderborn: Druck und Verlag von Ferd. Schöningh, 1863. 12mo, pp. viii, 127.

Zweite Auflage. Paderborn: Schöningh, 1898. 8vo, pp. viii, 134.

Fourth German Translation. Iambic Pentameter.

_Heyne._

The name of Moritz Heyne is one of the most illustrious in the history of Beowulf scholarship. The Heyne editions of the text[1] have been standard for nearly forty years, while the translation has been recently reprinted (1898). Beside his work on the _Beowulf_, this scholar was to become prominent as editor of the _Heliand_ and of _Ulfilas_, and as one of the staff appointed to complete Grimm’s Dictionary.

At the time when he printed his edition of the _Beowulf,_ Heyne was a student at Halle, and but twenty-six years of age (born 1837)[2]. In his work he had some assistance from Professor Leo[3] of Halle.

_Relation of Text and Translation._

The translation was founded on the text of 1863. At the time it was by far the best edition that had yet appeared. It was furnished with an excellent glossary. The text had the advantage of the valuable work done by Grundtvig[4] in collating the two transcripts made by Thorkelin[5]. It thus came a stage nearer the MS. readings than any other existing edition, while it avoided the unnecessary conjectures of the Danish editor.

Heyne’s text having been five times re-edited, the first edition of the translation often fails to conform to readings which have been introduced into the text in later editions; but the free nature of the translation makes this of no great importance.

_Differences between the First and Second Editions of the Translation._

The differences between the two editions are not of much importance. The translation is in general, though not always, brought up to the late editions of the text, and some changes are made for the improvement of the meter.

The first edition contains 3201 lines; the second 3207. The theory and aim of the translation are not changed at all.

_Aim of Heyne’s Translation._

In this translation of the _Beowulf_, Heyne attempts to popularize what he considers the most beautiful of the Old English poems. He says of it--

‘Es ist nicht die erste, die ich biete; gleichwol hoffe ich es werde die erste sein, die auch einem grössern Publicum, das noch nicht Gelegenheit hatte, sich mit den ältern Dialecten unserer Sprache zu beschäftigen, verständlich ist. Die ältern deutschen Uebersetzer haben, bei allen Verdiensten ihrer Arbeit, unserer neuhochdeutschen Muttersprache teilweise übel mitgespielt.’ --Vorwort, iii.

With this in view, Heyne put his translation out in a form that would make it accessible to all. This was in itself an innovation. The works of Ettmüller[6] and Simrock[7] had been in a more elaborate _format_, while Grein’s translation[8] was not only expensive, but encumbered with other work, and intended primarily for the scholar.

_Nature of the Translation._

Heyne chose a new medium for his version, the unrimed iambic line. His aim being to get his book read, he avoided a literal translation, and rendered with commendable freedom, though not with inaccuracy. He used no strange compounds, and shunned an unnatural verse. Thus he produced the most readable translation that has ever appeared in Germany. Of his own attempt he says--

‘Die vorliegende Uebertragung ist so frei, dass sie das für uns schwer oder gar nicht genau nachzubildende allitterierende Versmass des Originals gegen fünffüssige Jamben aufgibt, und zu Gunsten des Sinnes sich der angelsächsischen Wort- und Satzstellung nicht zu ängstlich anschmiegt; dagegen auch wieder so genau, dass sie hoffentlich ein Scherflein zum vollkommenern Verständniss des Textes beitragen wird.’ --Vorwort, iii.

Heyne’s theory of translation is one that has been very little in vogue in Germany. He has been criticized on all sides for his freedom. Yet the criticism is undeserved. Heyne is never paraphrastic--he never adds anything foreign to the poem. He merely believes in translating the obscure as well as the simple ideas of his text. His ‘freedom’ seldom amounts to more than this--

Hē bēot ne āleh, l. 80 (he belied not his promise) Was er gelobt, erfüllt er.

He occasionally inserts a word for metrical reasons, and sometimes, in the interests of clearness, a demonstrative or personal pronoun, or even a proper name (cf. l. 500 of the extract).

EXTRACT.

IX.

Da sagte Hunferd, Ecglafs Sohn, der Hrodgar 500 zu Füssen sass, dem Herrn der Schildinge, des Streites Siegel löste er (denn sehr war Beowulfes Ankunft ihm verhasst, des kühnen Meerbefahrers; er vergönnte es Niemand, mehr des Ruhmes als er selber 505 sich unterm Himmel jemals zu erwerben): ‘Bist du der Beowulf, der einst mit Breca sich auf der weiten See im Schwimmkampf mass, als ihr euch kühnlich in die Tiefen stürztet, und mit verwegnem Brüsten euer Leben 510 im tiefen Wasser wagtet? Niemand konnte, nicht Freund, nicht Feind, des mühevollen Weges euch hindern. Da schwammt ihr hinaus in See, wo ihr die wilde Flut mit Armen decktet, des Wassers Strassen masset und die Hände 515 die Wogen werfen liesst; so glittet ihr hin übers Meer. Die winterlichen Wellen, sie giengen hoch. Der Tage sieben mühtet ihr euch im Wasser: jener überwand dich im Schwimmen, denn er hatte grössre Kraft. 520 Da trug die Hochflut ihn zur Morgenzeit auf zu den Hadorämen, von wo aus er, der seinem Volke liebe, seinen Erbsitz im Land der Brandinge, die schöne Burg erreichte. Dort besass er Land und Leute 525 und Schätze. Was er gegen dich gelobt, das hatte Beanstans Sohn fürwahr erfüllt.’

The extract illustrates sufficiently the characteristics of Heyne’s rendering. In the first place, attention may be called to the extreme freedom of the verse, a freedom which at times makes the composition verge upon prose. In the second place, the translation of the Old English phrase _beadu-runen onband_ should be noticed, and compared with the translations of Ettmüller, Grein, and Simrock, who have respectively--

_entband beadurunen_ _entband Streitrunen_ _Kampfrunen ... entbinden._

Heyne is the only one who translates the phrase in such a way as to make the words intelligible to a reader unacquainted with Old English. Finally, it should be noticed that the translation is quite as accurate as those which preceded it. Heyne certainly succeeded in his attempt to make the poem more intelligible to the general reader than it had ever been before. While not so serviceable to the scholar as Grein’s translation, it is undoubtedly the most enjoyable of the German versions.

[Footnote 1: There have been six--1863, 1868, 1873, 1879, 1888, 1898; the last two are by Dr. Adolf Socin.]

[Footnote 2: Heyne is at present Professor in the University of Göttingen.]

[Footnote 3: See infra, p. 121.] [[Leo]]

[Footnote 4: In _Beowulfs Beorh_. See also supra, p. 22.]

[Footnote 5: See supra, p. 16.] [[Thorkelin]]

[Footnote 6: See supra, p. 37.] [[Ettmüller]]

[Footnote 7: See supra, p. 59.] [[Simrock]]

[Footnote 8: See supra, p. 55.] [[Grein]]

VON WOLZOGEN’S TRANSLATION

Beovulf (Bärwelf). Das älteste deutsche Heldengedicht. Aus dem Angelsächsischen von Hans von Wolzogen. Leipzig: Philipp Reclam, jun. (1872?).