These selections from Old English poetry have been translated to meet the
needs of that ever-increasing body of students who cannot read the poems
in their original form, but who wish nevertheless to enjoy to some extent
the heritage of verse which our early English ancestors have left for us.
Especially in the rapid survey of English literature given in most of our
colleges, a collection of translations covering the Anglo-Saxon period
and reflecting the form and spirit of the original poems should add much
to a fuller appreciation of the varied and rich, though uneven, literary
output of our earliest singers.
In subject-matter these Old English poems are full of the keenest
interest to students of history, of customs, of legend, of folk-lore, and
of art. They form a truly national literature; so that one who has read
them all has learned much not only of the life of the early English, but
of the feelings that inspired these folk, of their hopes, their fears,
and their superstitions, of their whole outlook on life. They took their
poetry seriously, as they did everything about them, and often in spite
of crudity of expression, of narrow vision, and of conventionalized modes
of speech, this very "high seriousness" raises an otherwise mediocre poem
to the level of real literature. Whatever may be said of the limitations
of Old English poetry, of its lack of humor, of the narrow range of its
sentiments, of the imitativeness of many of its most representative
specimens, it cannot be denied the name of real literature; for it is the
direct expression of the civilization that gave it birth--a civilization
that we must understand if we are to appreciate the characteristics of
its more important descendants of our own time.
Although the contents of these poems can be satisfactorily studied in any
translation, the effect of the peculiar meter that reinforces the
stirring spirit of Old English poetry is lost unless an attempt is made
to reproduce this metrical form in the modern English rendering. The
possibility of retaining the original meter in an adequate translation
was formerly the subject of much debate, but since Professor Gummere's
excellent version of _Beowulf_ and the minor epic poems,[footnote: _The
Oldest English Epic_, New York, 1909.] and other recent successful
translations of poems in the Old English meter, there can be no question
of the possibility of putting Anglo-Saxon poems into readable English
verse that reproduces in large measure the effect of the original. To do
this for the principal Old English poems, with the exception of
_Beowulf_, is the purpose of the present volume.
Except for the subtlest distinctions between the types of half verse,
strict Old English rules for the alliterative meter have been adhered to.
These rules may be stated as follows:
1. The lines are divided into two half-lines, the division being
indicated by a space in the middle.
2. The half-lines consist of two accented and a varying number of
unaccented syllables. Each half-line contains at least four syllables.
Occasional half-lines are lengthened to three accented syllables,
possibly for the purpose of producing an effect of solemnity.
3. The two half-lines are bound together by beginning-rime or
alliteration; _i.e._, an agreement in sound between the beginning letters
of any accented syllables in the line. For example, in the line
_G_uthhere there _g_ave me a _g_oodly jewel
the _g_'s form the alliteration. The third accent sets the alliteration
for the line and is known as the "rime-giver." With it agree the first
and the second accent, or either of them. The fourth accent must not,
however, agree with the rime-giver. Occasionally the first and third
accents will alliterate together and the second and fourth, as,
The _w_eary in _h_eart against _W_yrd has no _h_elp;
or the first and fourth may have the alliteration on one letter, while
the second and third have it on another, as,
Then _h_eavier _g_rows the _g_rief of his _h_eart.
These two latter forms are somewhat unusual. The standard line is that
given above:
_G_uthhere there _g_ave me a _g_oodly jewel,
or
A _h_undred generations; _h_oary and stained with red,
or
With rings of _g_old and _g_ilded cups.
All consonants alliterate with themselves, though usually _sh_, _sp_, and
_st_ agree only with the same combination. Vowels alliterate with one
another.
In the following passage the alliterating letters are indicated by
italics: [transcriber's note: enclosed by underscore characters]
Then a _b_and of _b_old knights _b_usily gathered,
_K_een men at the _c_onflict; with _c_ourage they stepped
forth,
_B_earing _b_anners, _b_rave-hearted companions,
And _f_ared to the _f_ight, _f_orth in right order,
_H_eroes under _h_elmets from the _h_oly city
At the _d_awning of _d_ay; _d_inned forth their shields
A _l_oud-voiced a_l_arm. Now _l_istened in joy
The lank _w_olf in the _w_ood and the _w_an raven,
_B_attle-hungry _b_ird, _b_oth knowing well
That the _g_allant people would _g_ive them soon
A _f_east on the _f_ated; now _f_lew on their track
The _d_eadly _d_evourer, the _d_ewy-winged eagle,
_S_inging his war _s_ong, the _s_wart-coated bird,
The _h_orned of beak.
_Judith_, vv. 199-212.
Besides the distinctive meter in which the Old English poems are written,
there are several qualities of style for which they are peculiar. No one
can read a page of these poems without being struck by the parallel
structure that permeates the whole body of Old English verse. Expressions
are changed slightly and repeated from a new point of view, sometimes
with a good effect but quite as often to the detriment of the lines.
These parallelisms have been retained in the translation in so far as it
has been possible, but sometimes the lack of inflectional endings in
English has prevented their literal translation.
Accompanying these parallelisms, and often a part of them, are the
frequent synonyms so characteristic of Old English poetry. These
synonymous expressions are known as "kennings." They are not to be
thought of as occasional metaphors employed at the whim of the poet; they
had, in most cases, already received a conventional meaning. Thus the
king was always spoken of as "ring giver," "protector of earls," or
"bracelet bestower." The queen was the "weaver of peace"; the sea the
"ship road," or "whale path," or "gannet's bath."
Old English poetry is conventionalized to a remarkable degree. Even those
aspects of nature that the poets evidently enjoyed are often described in
the most conventional of words and phrases. More than half of so fine a
poem as _The Battle of Brunnanburg_ is taken bodily from other poems. No
description of a battle was complete without a picture of the birds of
prey hovering over the field. Heroes were always assembling for banquets
and receiving rewards of rings at the hand of the king. These
conventional phrases and situations, added to a thorough knowledge of a
large number of old Germanic myths, constituted a great part of the
equipment of the typical Old English minstrel or scop, such as one finds
described in _Widsith_ or _Deor's Lament_.
It would be a mistake, however, to conclude that the poems are convention
and nothing more. A sympathetic reading will undoubtedly show many high
poetic qualities. Serious and grave these poems always are, but they do
express certain of the darker moods with a sincerity and power that is
far from commonplace. At times they give vivid glimpses of the spirit of
man under the blighting influence of the "dark ages." After reading these
poems, we come to understand better the pessimistic mood of the author of
_The Wanderer_ when he says,
All on earth is irksome to man.
And we see how the winsome meadows of the land of the Phoenix must by
their contrast have delighted the souls of men who were harassed on every
side as our ancestors were.
All of these distinguishing features of Old English poetry--the regular
alliterative meter, the frequent parallelisms, the "kennings," and the
general dark outlook on life will be found illustrated in the poems
selected in this book. They cover the entire period of Old English
literature and embrace every "school."
The order in which the poems are printed is in no sense original, but is
that followed in most standard textbooks. Naturally such artificial
divisions as "Pagan" and "Christian" are inexact. The "pagan" poems are
only _largely_ pagan; the "Christian" predominatingly Christian. On the
whole, the grouping is perhaps accurate enough for practical purposes,
and the conformity to existing textbooks makes the volume convenient for
those who wish to use it to supplement these books.
In addition to the poems, four short prose passages referred to by most
historians of the literature have been included so as to add to the
usefulness of the volume.
In the translation of the poems the original meaning and word-order has
been kept as nearly as modern English idiom and the exigencies of the
meter would allow. Nowhere, we believe, has the possibility of an
attractive alliteration caused violence to be done to the sense of the
poem.
The best diction to be used in such a translation is difficult to
determine. The temptation is ever present to use the modern English
descendant of the Anglo-Saxon word, even when it is very archaic in
flavor. This tendency has been resisted, for it was desired to reproduce
the effect of the original; and, though Old English poetry was
conventional, it was probably not archaic: it was not out of date at the
time it was written. Since the diction of these poems was usually very
simple, it has been the policy of the translators to exclude all
sophisticated expressions, and to retain words of Germanic origin or
simple words of Latin derivation that do not suggest subtleties foreign
to the mind of the Old English poet.
The texts used as a standard for translation are indicated in the
introductory notes to the different poems. Whenever a good critical
edition of a poem has been available, it has been followed. Variations
from the readings used in these texts are usually indicated where they
are of any importance. In the punctuation and paragraphing of the poems,
the varying usage of the different editors has been disregarded and a
uniform practice adopted throughout.
Following these principles, the translators have attempted to reproduce
for modern English readers the meaning and movement of the Old English
originals. It is their earnest hope that something of the fine spirit
that breathes through much of this poetry will be found to remain in the
translation.
Cosette Faust.
Stith Thompson.
March, 1918.