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The History of English Podcast
Bonus Episode 6: Beowulf Deconstructed
In this bonus episode, Kevin Stroud discusses the new audiobook, “Beowulf Deconstructed.” An excerpt from the audiobook is included.
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- [00:09]
Host
Hi, everyone.
- [00:10]
Narrator
Welcome to this bonus episode of the.
- [00:12]
Host
History of English podcast.
- [00:14]
Narrator
I'm releasing this episode to let you know that I've completed the Beowulf audiobook that I was working on, and that audiobook is now available.
- [00:21]
Host
So I wanted to take this opportunity.
- [00:23]
Narrator
To tell you a little bit about the audiobook, and I'm also going to include an extended excerpt from the book at the end of this episode.
- [00:30]
Host
First of all, in preparing the podcast.
- [00:32]
Narrator
Especially the Old English portion of the podcast, I've made lots of references to Beowulf, and that's because it's really the most important piece of literature from that period.
- [00:43]
Host
At some point along the way, I.
- [00:44]
Narrator
Realized that I first read the poem back in the mid-80s when I was in high school. And yes, it has been that long, but I really hadn't read the poem since then. So while preparing the podcast, I. I went back and read it again, and I also looked around for audio versions of the poem, and I found out that there are lots of modern translations of Beowulf, both in written form and in audio form. In fact, JRR Tolkien's translation was just released a few weeks ago for the first time. But in reading the modern translations or listening to them, you don't really get a sense of the original language or the way the poet used words for literary effect.
- [01:23]
Host
And since the poem is over a.
- [01:25]
Narrator
Thousand years old, there are a lot of references to people and events which don't really make sense to a modern audience. So in those modern translations, you get the story, but you don't really get the original language or context of the poem. I also came across recordings of selected portions of the poem in the original Old English, and it's interesting to hear the sound and rhythm of the original language, but it's very difficult to follow the story in Old English because the language is so different.
- [01:54]
Host
So I began to think about a.
- [01:55]
Narrator
Way to combine or blend the original Old English version with Modern English, and.
- [02:01]
Host
Also a way to present the poem.
- [02:03]
Narrator
So that the cryptic references in the poem are explained and put into some historical context. So that's really the ultimate idea behind the audiobook. I'm calling it Beowulf Deconstructed, because it isn't really a translation of the poem. It's more of a retelling of the story with a focus on the original language and with occasional digressions to explain the more obscure references and episodes within the poem. It's basically the same approach I used in the podcast when I discussed Cadmon's Hymn and the Dream of the Rood. And again, I'm including an excerpt at the end of the episode so you can get a taste of how the audiobook is structured.
- [02:42]
Host
Now, if you're interested in picking up.
- [02:44]
Narrator
The audiobook, the easiest thing to do is just go to the website historyofenglishpodcast.com you'll see a link to the audiobook, or you can just click the audiobooks tab at the top of the page. That'll take you to the audiobooks page, which will give you the purchasing options. As of the time I'm recording this bonus episode, it's available through cdbaby.com for $6, which is the base price which I'm charging. And again, there's a direct link on the audiobooks page. Within the next couple of days, it should also be available through itunes and Amazon.com and I anticipate they'll charge a little bit more for the audiobook, probably nine or ten dollars like they did with the history of the Alphabet book. And I may also offer it directly through the website like I initially did with the Alphabet book. Again, all of the purchasing options for both series will be on the audiobooks page of the website. Now, part of the reason why I like to give you different purchasing options is because I know that some options work better for certain listeners. For example, I did receive an email from one listener who had a problem purchasing the Alphabet book through CD Baby, and that was the only negative feedback I got about them. And as far as I know, no one else had any problems, so it may have just been a temporary glitch. At any rate, if you had or have any problems, I just want you to know that there are other options which you can use if you prefer. Along the same lines, I know that a lot of you listen exclusively through Apple devices like the iPhone and iPad, and as you probably know, those devices are really designed to work within the itunes platform. So if you choose to purchase the book on one of those devices outside of itunes, it's a little more work, and it'll probably require an app to download the file. So even though itunes charges a little more, you might find that the convenience of buying through them is worth the extra cost. Again, I just want you to know that you have different options.
- [04:42]
Host
Ok, so let's turn to the excerpt.
- [04:44]
Narrator
Which I'm including with this bonus episode.
- [04:47]
Host
I expect that the primary audience for.
- [04:49]
Narrator
The new audiobook will be podcast listeners, but since the book will be available through independent retailers, I realize that some listeners will discover the book who have never listened to the podcast. So I chose to begin the book with a couple of introductory chapters which discuss the general history of Old English and Old English poetry, as well as the history of the manuscript itself. So the first three chapters kind of summarize and review a lot of the material which we've covered in earlier episodes of the podcast. Then in chapters four through ten, I actually go through the story of the.
- [05:23]
Host
Poem, and I've divided the poem itself.
- [05:25]
Narrator
Into seven separate chapters. Each chapter begins with an excerpt from that part of the poem read in Old English. Then I take you through the events of that chapter, focusing on the language which the poet used and occasionally digressing to explain some of the cryptic and obscure parts of the poem, especially the history which is presented within the poem.
- [05:47]
Host
The excerpt which I'm including here is.
- [05:49]
Narrator
A large portion of chapter five. This is the chapter which introduces us to three of the main characters of the poem. Hrothgar, Beowulf, and Grendel. The preceding chapter notes that the king of the Danes was Hrothgar, and he was descended from his grandfather named Scyld Shaving, who was the founder of the Danish ruling family.
- [06:10]
Host
And it notes that Hrothgar's father was.
- [06:12]
Narrator
Named Beow, not to be confused with Beowulf, who appears a little later in the poem. And that's where chapter five picks up. So I hope you enjoy this excerpt.
- [06:24]
Old English Poet
Sva d richten gorman dryamon liebden eadalice oth that onongon fyrna freman feandon healer was a grima gast Grendelhatten.
- [06:38]
Host
So the king's men lived in joy.
- [06:40]
Narrator
And happiness until one began to carry out wicked deeds.
- [06:44]
Host
He was a fiend from hell. This grim ghost was named Grand. With the death of Bayo, Hrothgar succeeded to the Danish throne. He amassed a mighty army and was very highly regarded. The poet notes that Hrothgar always honored his word, and he was a great ring giver. This was one of the traditional customs of the Germanic kings. A king ensured loyalty by rewarding his thanes and nobles with gifts, often in the form of rings. The poet states that Hrothgar Beagas deila, which literally meant rings, dealt, meaning he dealt or gave out rings. The word beagas meant rings, and in that word beagas we can hear a connection to words like bend and bow. All of those words are cognate, deriving from the same root word. So something that bends and forms a bow is a beach which is a ring. That Old English word is also cognate with the word Bagel from Yiddish, which has a heavy Germanic influence. Outside of giving out rings and being a generally good king. Hrothgar also built a great mead hall after it was completed. Hrothgar called it Heorot. The mead hall was usually the center of Germanic tribal society. It was a place for celebrations and for having feasts and for giving out rings and treasure in exchange for pledges of allegiance. So because the mead hall was the center of Germanic culture, it will also serve as the primary setting of Beowulf. The passage which mentions the construction of Heorot also alludes to the ultimate destruction.
- [08:25]
Narrator
Of the mead hall in a great fire.
- [08:27]
Host
This is not part of the actual story presented by the poet. So it implies that at some point after the end of the events described in the poem, the mead hall was destroyed by a fire. The poet says that the ultimate destruction of the hall was caused by what he describes as edge heta, literally edge hate. The edge here is likely the edge of a sword. So edge hate is a poetic compound meaning sword hate or a brutal sword fight. The poet also attributes the ultimate destruction of the hall to Athum Swearen, which is believed to be a compound word for in laws, specifically either a father in law or son in law. Athum swearen is literally oath swearers, the people who swear oaths when they get married. So when the poet refers to the destruction of Herod by oath swearers, it's believed that he's referring to an in law who swore an oath as part of a marriage alliance, especially the type.
- [09:30]
Narrator
Of political marriages often arranged between the.
- [09:33]
Host
Sons and daughters of kings. As I noted, the destruction of the mead hall doesn't actually occur in the poem.
- [09:39]
Narrator
So this passage of the poem is very cryptic and leaves us with lots of unanswered questions.
- [09:44]
Host
But some of these missing details are provided by another old English poem called Widsith, which is believed to predate Beowulf. That particular poem states that Heorot was later attacked by Hrothgar's son in law, Ingeld, who was from a different tribe called the Hedibards. But unlike Beowulf, the Widseth poem says that Hrothgar repelled the attack. But the attack described in Widseth may not have been the final attack on Herod. The battles between the Danes and Ingeld's Hithibards is also specifically referenced by the poet near the end of the poem. And as we'll see, the poet implies in that later passage that the old conflicts between the two groups or renewed at a later date after this little bit of insight into the ultimate fate of the mead hall. The poet then returns to the present and he notes that there was great revelry in the mead hall in the days which followed its construction. The poet says that the king's men lived a happy and prosperous life. He uses the following swada, drichtenguman, trelicha. So the lord's men lived in joys swadda. So the dricht, warrior or lord or king. Dricht is related to drudge in the sense of military service. Guman, an Old English word for man related to the word groom in modern English, dreyamun, dreams. Dream meant happiness or joy in Old English. It didn't mean sleeping visions. At that time, livdun lived eadalice. That's the standard Old English word for prosperous or happy, and it predated the modern word happy. So if we put all of that together, we get swa da trichten guman. So the king's men, treveden dreams lived or lived in joy happily. Now, even though Hrothgar's men enjoyed the festivities of Herod, there was one who didn't like it at all. Every night, a monster named Grendel would dwell in the darkness. He was driven to rage as he listened to the nightly celebrations and revelry. The poet introduces Grendel with the term C'est Ellen Gast, literally the bold ghost or the powerful spirit. Ghast was the Old English word for spirit or soul, and it's the original version of the modern word ghost. Grendel lived in the moors and the marshes, and he's described as an unhappy creature. The poet describes him as Fian don Hela, a fiend in hell or a hellish enemy. He says that Grendel was Sagrima Gast. He was the grim ghost. The poet also says that Grendel was the infamous Mer Stoppe, marsh stepper or stalker of the marshes. The poet also describes Grendel as a descendant of Cain, who slew his brother Abel in the book of Genesis. In the Bible, Cain's horrible and monstrous offspring were banished from mankind. That included Eotonus on Ulpha and Orcnaeus, giants and elves and orcs. Eoton was an Old English word for giant. Ulfa was the original version of elf, which is an evil creature. Here, as was customary in Anglo Saxon literature and tradition, orcneos meant orcs, a creature made famous in the 20th century by J.R.R. tolkien. Again, all of these creatures are deemed to be descendants of Kane. The specific references to Cain and to giants who once roamed the earth are clearly derived from the stories contained in Genesis. At the very least, the poet assumes that his audience is familiar with those references, and he assumes a certain level of Christian knowledge and acceptance. And this is notable because it's one of several references to the Bible in the poem. And it therefore suggests that the poem was composed after Christianity had reached the Anglo Saxons. So sometime during or after the 7th century, another type of creature in Germanic cultures was a wight or wict. In Old English, the poet says that Beowulf was a huyt, unhel, o grim and gradi, an unholy wight, grim and greedy. The poet states that Grendel lurked in the darkness, having made his way to Heorot to observe the revelry in the mead hall. Seizing the opportunity, Grendel launched an attack on the men inside. He killed three tathena, 30 thanes. He then returned home with his spoils, what the poet calls welfula, the slain feast, or slain fill or slain fall. And this is a good example of the subtlety of Old English, which can be lost in modern English translations. The first part of Welfula is, well, the Old English term for those slain in battle. It's related to the word wound, and the Norse Vikings had that same word, but in the Scandinavian languages, the original W sound became a v sound. So their version of wel was val, and it appears in the word valhalla, the hall of the slain, or the God Woden's heavenly hall, dedicated to those who died in battle. So the poet describes Grendel's spoils as walfila. The second part of that word, fula, could mean either feast or fill or a fall in battle. So walfula could mean a feast with.
- [15:38]
Narrator
The bodies of the slain, or it.
- [15:40]
Host
Could mean that Grendel was full with the slain bodies, or it could refer to the slain bodies that had fallen in battle. So the meaning appears to be intentionally ambiguous. It was left open to interpretation by the Old English listener. After his initial attack, Grendel returned the next night and killed Mordanes. And this pattern continued for twelf winter tid 12 winter times or 12 years. Many men were killed, and Hrothgar was mired in misery by the constant threat of the monster. For Hrothgar, there was a modus breca mood, broken or breaking of the spirit. The king and his people lamented their plight and the savagery of the theand moncunis, the fiend of mankind, a common Old English term for the devil. Grendel Was the atoll Anga the terrible one, Goer, the one who goes alone and wreaks havoc? The passage concludes with another subtle reference to Christianity. The poet states that the Danes engaged in pagan sacrifices to ward off the threat, but their sacrifices and offerings did them no good. The poet makes a point to emphasize the paganism of the Danes here, but in other parts of the poem, the poet largely ignores their paganism and even implies that Hrothgar and the Danes were motivated by Christian influences. So there's a bit of an inconsistency. This has led many scholars to conclude.
- [17:10]
Narrator
That some of these passages were added.
- [17:12]
Host
By later poets or scribes after the Anglo Saxons had become fully converted to Christianity. If so, we have to think of Beowulf as a poem that evolved over time into the final form which we have today. Turning back to the poem, we find Hrothgar and the Danes mired in the misery of a difficult predicament. Unable to protect themselves against the threat of Grendel, The Danes were in desperate need of a savior. Fortunately for them, just such a savior was on the horizon.
- [17:46]
Old English Poet
That from Hamifren hyalagon estein God me jeltum grendelis dera sevas manculnis melanistrenest on thindia deusis levis athela on aochen hetem utladon godna yerwan quath he guth kuening over swan rod.
- [18:16]
Host
Far away in the land of the Geats, a thane of King Hygelac learned about Grendel's deeds. The man was the strongest living warrior in the world, noble and mighty. He ordered a ship to be prepared so that he might cross the sea to assist the Danish king who was in need of men. At this point in the poem, the poet turns his attention across the sea to the land of the Geats. So in terms of geography, we're turning from the homeland of the Danes, presumably the island of Shalin, near modern day Copenhagen, to the southern part of the Scandinavian peninsula. This was the homeland of a Scandinavian tribe called the Geats. During this period, the king of the Geats was named Hygelac. Hygelac was a real life figure who's documented in several historical sources. He led a raid on the coast of Frisia in the modern Netherlands around the year 520, and he died in that raid. That raid is mentioned later in the Beowulf poem, and it's the only historical event mentioned in the poem which can be verified and dated from other sources. The poem also states that a Thane or supporter of Hygelac hears of the troubles in Hrothgar's court in the language of the poem, that from home he heard of Grendel's deeds. That from Hamiathron Grindalus data. This brave thane is the most powerful man in the world. Again, in the language of the poem, he was mankind's mightiest strength. Sevus mancunus mei strangist. For now the name of this thane is not given, but we will soon find out that his name was Beowulf. He's a brave and noble prince. He's also the nephew of Hygelac, the Gedish king. He prepares a ship to travel to the land of the Danes. He travels over Swanraada, over the swan's road or over the sea. Beowulf is accompanied on his journey by a group of the bravest warriors he could find. There were 15 in total. The poet then describes the sea journey. He says that the ship or floater was upon the waves. Flota was on youthum. The waves were like mountains or bergs, which were taller than the ship. In the words of the poet, the boat was under the bergs, bad un der berge. The currents were winding streams, streamus woundum. The waves crashed. The water or sound met the sand, sund with sand. Eventually the sailors saw land. They saw steep hills or bergs. Bergas stepa. The sea or sound was traversed. Or in the words of the poet, the sound was led, in the sense of leading someone on a journey. So thawas sundle having reached the shore, God was thanked.
- [21:26]
Old English Poet
Goda dankadan.
- [21:29]
Host
A Danish guard keeps watch over the sea cliffs and the guard observes the approaching ship. He sees a ship full of warriors who are armed and ready for battle. The guard wonders who the men are or in the words of the poet, what these men were, what the men wearing. The guard mounts a horse and travels to the shore to meet them. The guard approaches the Geats and begins to question them. He asks who they are and what their purpose is. He asks if they know the password which permits them to pass. But they don't know the word. Password is rendered in Old English as leibnis word, the leaving word. The poet also suggests that the Geats were ready for battle. Beowulf and his men are described as Lindhabine, literally lindhabbers. Anglo Saxon shields were commonly made from linden wood, which is the wood of the lime tree. So lindhabine or lindhabbers meant lind carriers. The troops were carrying shields made from linden. The Shields are later called hrandas reinherde, which literally meant rounds rain hard, but it meant shields hardened by a rain of spears and arrows. The Geats wore hring irin, ring, iron or chainmail. They also carried wuduwal shaftas, wooden slaughter shafts or wooden death shafts. With respect to the leader of the group, the guard observes that he's never seen a greater noble on earth. In the Old English of the poet, the passage is rendered as Never have I more seen an earl on earth. Navra ich marein, je seh erle on erthen. Beowulf addresses the guard and states that he and his men are from the Gedish nation and that his father was a nobleman named Ecgthal. He informs the guard that they've heard of a demon who terrorizes the Danes and that they've arrived to defeat the monster. They then begin to request permission to meet his king, Hrothgar. The guard agrees to take them to the old king. The guard accompanies the men to Hrothgar's court, and then he returns to keep watch over the seashore. Beowulf and his men are met at Haror by one of Hrothgar's personal guardians, Wulfgar. Wulfgar asks the Geats who they are and what their purpose is, and for the first time we get the name of the leader when he responds to the question. Beowulf is me nama. Beowulf is my name.
- [24:26]
Beowulf
Sa.