Heroes of Chivalry and Romance. By the Rev. A. J. Church, M.A. London:
Seeley and Company, 1898. 8vo, _Beowulf_, pp. 3-60. With two
illustrations in colours by George Morrow.
Beowulf Retold.
_Contents of the Volume._
‘The Story of Beowulf,’ ‘King Arthur and the Round Table,’ ‘The Treasure
of the Nibelungs.’
_Indebtedness to Kemble and Earle._
‘In writing the story of Beowulf I have been helped by Kemble’s
translation and notes[1], and still more by Professor Earle’s[2]
admirable edition.’ --Author’s Note.
_Nature of the Paraphrase._
All obscure words (especially kennings) and lines are dropped. Many
explanatory remarks are inserted to elucidate the story. All speeches
are greatly shortened. Beowulf’s tale of the fight is omitted entirely.
The episodes are omitted, with the exception of the Sigemund episode,
one-half of which is translated into heroic couplets, and the Finn
episode, which is referred to in a single stanza which paraphrases the
story.
_Concerning the Author._
The Rev. Alfred John Church (born 1829) is known chiefly for his
popularizations of the classics. His best-known works are _Stories from
Homer_ and _Stories from Virgil_. The present volume is an attempt to do
for some of the Germanic legends what had already been done for Homer
and Virgil.