*Bjowulf’s Draape. Et Gothisk Helte-digt fra forrige Aar-tusinde af
Angel-Saxisk paa Danske Riim ved Nic. Fred. Sev. Grundtvig, Præst.
Kjøbenhavn, 1820[1]. 8vo, pp. lxxiv, 325.
Bjovulvs-Draapen, et Høinordisk Heltedigt, fra Anguls-Tungen fordansket
af Nik. Fred. Sev. Grundtvig. Anden forbedrede Udgave. Kiøbenhavn. Karl
Schønbergs Forlag. 1865. 8vo, pp. xvi, 224.
First Danish Translation. Ballad Measures.
_Grundtvig._
Nicolas Frederic Severin Grundtvig (1783-1872) was especially noted as a
student of Old Germanic literature. He began his career in 1806 by his
studies on the _Edda_. This was followed by a book on Northern Mythology
(1810), and by various creative works in verse and prose, the subjects
of which were usually drawn from old Danish history. An account of his
labors on the _Beowulf_ will be found in the following section. His
interest in Old English literature continued through his long life, and
he was well and favorably known among the scholars of his day.
_Circumstances of Publication._
In _Beowulfs Beorh_ (Copenhagen, 1861), Grundtvig tells the story of his
early translation of the poem. He had always had a passionate interest
in Danish antiquities, and was much excited upon the appearance of
Thorkelin’s text[2]. At that time, however, he knew no Old English, and
his friend Rask, the famous scholar in Germanic philology, being absent
from Denmark, he resolved to do what he could with the poem himself. He
began by committing the entire poem to memory. In this way he detected
many of the outlines which had been obscured by Thorkelin. The results
of this study he published in the _Copenhagen Sketch-Book_ (_Kjøbenhavns
Skilderie_), 1815. When Thorkelin saw the studies he was furious, and
pronounced the discoveries mere fabrications.
But Rask, upon his return, thought differently, and proposed to
Grundtvig that they edit the poem together. They began the work, but
when they reached line 925 the edition was interrupted by Rask’s journey
into Russia and Asia. With the help of Rask’s _Anglo-Saxon Grammar_
(Stockholm, 1817), Grundtvig proceeded with his translation. By the
munificence of Bülow, who had also given assistance to Thorkelin,
Grundtvig was relieved of the expense of publication.
_Progress of the Interpretation of the Poem._
Grundtvig was the first to understand the story of _Beowulf_. With no
other materials than Thorkelin’s edition of the text and his own
knowledge of Germanic mythology, he discovered the sea-burial of King
Scyld, the swimming-match, and the Finn episode. He identified Breca,
Hnæf, Hengest, King Hrethel, and other characters whose names Thorkelin
had filched from them.
_Text Used._
Rask borrowed the original transcripts which Thorkelin had brought from
the British Museum, and copied and corrected them. This was the basis of
Grundtvig’s translation.
_Differences between the First and Second Editions._
The principal difference is in the introduction; but of the nature and
extent of changes in the second edition I can give no notion. All my
information respecting the first volume is derived from transcripts of
certain parts of it sent me from the British Museum. These copies do not
reveal any differences between the two translations.
_Aim of the Volume, and Nature of the Translation._