‘The poem had remained untouched and unnoticed both here and
abroad until I observed its curious contents, and in 1805
announced it to the public. I could then give it only a hasty
perusal, and from the MS. having a leaf interposed near its
commencement, which belonged to a subsequent part, and from the
peculiar obscurity which sometimes attends the Saxon poetry, I did
not at that time sufficiently comprehend it, and had not leisure
to apply a closer attention. But in the year 1818 I took it up
again, as I was preparing my third edition, and then made that
more correct analysis which was inserted in that and the
subsequent editions, and which is also exhibited in the present.’
--Sixth edition, p. 293, footnote.
The statement that the poem had remained untouched and unnoticed is not
strictly true. The public had not yet received any detailed information
regarding it; but Wanley[1] had mentioned the _Beowulf_ in his catalog,
and Thorkelin had already made two transcripts of the poem, and was at
work upon an edition. Turner, however, deserves full credit for first
calling the attention of the English people to the importance of the
poem.
In the third edition, of which the author speaks, many improvements were
introduced into the digest of the story and some improvements into the
text of the translations. Many of these were gleaned from the _editio
princeps_ of Thorkelin[2]. The story is now told with a fair degree of
accuracy, although many serious errors remain: e.g. the author did not
distinguish the correct interpretation of the swimming-match, an extract
of which is given below. The translations are about as faulty as ever,
as may be seen by comparing the two extracts. In the first edition only
the first part of the poem is treated; in the third, selections from the
second part are added.
No further changes were made in later editions of the History.
Detailed information regarding differences between the first three
editions may be found below.
_Turner, and his Knowledge of Old English._
Sharon Turner (1768-1847) was from early youth devoted to the study of
Anglo-Saxon history, literature, and antiquities. His knowledge was
largely derived from the examination of original documents in the
British Museum[3]. But the very wealth of the new material which he
found for the study of the literature kept him from making a thorough
study of it. It is to be remembered that at this time but little was
known of the peculiar nature of the Old English poetry. Turner gives
fair discussions of the works of Bede and Ælfric, but he knows
practically nothing of the poetry. With the so-called _Paraphrase_ of
Cædmon he is, of course, familiar; but his knowledge of _Beowulf_ and
_Judith_ is derived from the unique, and at that time (1805)
unpublished, MS., Cotton Vitellius A. xv. Of the contents of the Exeter
Book he knew nothing. The Vercelli Book had not yet been discovered. The
materials at hand for his study were a faulty edition of Cædmon and an
insufficient dictionary. The author, whose interest was of course
primarily in history, was not familiar with the linguistic work of the
day. It is, therefore, not surprising that his work was not of the best
quality.
_Lines in the Poem Translated by Turner._
First edition: 18-40; 47-83a; 199b-279; 320-324; 333-336; 499-517a. In
the second edition are added: 1-17; 41-46; 83b-114; 189-199a; 387-497;
522-528. In the third edition are added: 529-531; 535-558; 607-646;
671-674; 720-738; 991-996; 1013-1042; 1060b-1068a; 1159b-1165a;
1168b-1180a; 1215b-1226a; 1240b-1246a; and a few other detached lines.
_Turner’s Account of Beowulf in the First Edition of his History._
‘The most interesting remains of the Anglo-Saxon poetry which time
has suffered to reach us, are contained in the Anglo-Saxon poem in
the Cotton Library, Vitellius A. 15. Wanley mentions it as a poem
in which “seem to be described the wars which one Beowulf, a Dane
of the royal race of the Scyldingi, waged against the reguli of
Sweden[4].” But this account of the contents of the MS. is
incorrect. It is a composition more curious and important. It is a
narration of the attempt of Beowulf to wreck the fæthe or deadly
feud on Hrothgar, for a homicide which he had committed. It may be
called an Anglo-Saxon epic poem. It abounds with speeches which
Beowulf and Hrothgar and their partisans make to each other, with
much occasional description and sentiment.’ --Book vi, chap. iv,
pp. 398 ff.
_The Story of the Poem as Interpreted by Turner._
[Dots indicate the position of the quotations.]
‘It begins with a proemium, which introduces its hero Beowulf to our
notice.... The poet then states the embarkation of Beowulf and his
partisans....’ Turner interprets the prolog as the description of the
embarkation of Beowulf on a piratical expedition. The accession of
Hrothgar to the throne of the Danes is then described, and the account
of his ‘homicide’ is given. This remarkable mistake was caused by the
transposition of a sheet from a later part of the poem--the fight with
Grendel--to the first section of the poem. The sailing of Beowulf and
the arrival in the Danish land are then given. Turner continues: ‘The
sixth section exhibits Hrothgar’s conversation with his nobles, and
Beowulf’s introduction and address to him. The seventh section opens
with Hrothgar’s answer to him, who endeavours to explain the
circumstance of the provocation. In the eighth section a new speaker
appears, who is introduced, as almost all the personages in the poem are
mentioned, with some account of his parentage and character.’ Then
follows the extract given below:
Hunferth spoke
The son of Ecglafe;
Who had sat at the foot
Of the lord of the Scyldingi
Among the band of the battle mystery.
To go in the path of Beowulf
Was to him a great pride;
He was zealous
That to him it should be granted
That no other man
Was esteemed greater in the world
Under the heavens than himself.
‘Art thou Beowulf
He that with such profit
Dwells in the expansive sea,
Amid the contests of the ocean?
There yet[5] for riches go!
You try for deceitful glory
In deep waters[6].--
Nor can any man,
Whether dear or odious,
Restrain you from the sorrowful path--
There yet[7] with eye-streams
To the miserable you[8] flourish:
You meet in the sea-street;
You oppress with your hands;
[9]You glide over the ocean’s waves;
The fury of winter rages,
Yet on the watery domain
Seven nights have ye toiled.’
After this extract, Turner continues:-- ‘It would occupy too much room
in the present volume to give a further account of this interesting
poem, which well deserves to be submitted to the public, with a
translation and with ample notes. There are forty-two sections of it in
the Cotton MS., and it ends there imperfectly. It is perhaps the oldest
poem of an epic form in the vernacular language of Europe which now
exists.’