Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary
Front cover of the 2014 hardback edition, titled "Hringboga Heorte Gefysed"
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| Editor | Christopher Tolkien |
|---|---|
| Author | Anonymous (Beowulf) J. R. R. Tolkien (Sellic Spell) |
| Translator | J. R. R. Tolkien |
| Cover artist | J. R. R. Tolkien |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English, Old English |
| Subject | Old English poetry |
| Genre | Epic poetry |
| Published | 22 May 2014 |
| Publisher |
HarperCollins Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
| Pages | 425 (Hardback) |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 875629841 |
| Preceded by | The Fall of Arthur |
| Followed by | The Story of Kullervo |
Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary is a prose translation of the early medieval epic poem Beowulf from Old English to modern English language. Translated by J. R. R. Tolkien from 1920 to 1926, it was edited by Tolkien's son Christopher and published posthumously in May 2014 by HarperCollins.
In the poem, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats in Scandinavia, comes to the aid of Hroðgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall Heorot has been under attack by a monster known as Grendel. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland in Sweden and later becomes king of the Geats. After fifty years have passed, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is fatally wounded in the battle. After his death, his attendants bury him in a tumulus, a burial mound, in Geatland.
The translation is followed by a commentary on the poem that became the base for Tolkien's acclaimed 1936 lecture "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics". Furthermore, the book includes the previously unpublished "Sellic Spell" and two versions of "The Lay of Beowulf". The former is a fantasy piece on Beowulf's biographical background while the latter is a poem on the Beowulf theme.
Beowulf, a prince of the Geats, and his followers set out to help king Hroðgar of the Danes in his fight against the monster Grendel. Because Grendel hates music and noise he frequently attacks Hroðgar's mead hall Heorot killing the king's men in their sleep. While Beowulf cannot kill Grendel directly in their first encounter, he still wounds him fatally. Afterwards he has to face Grendel's mother who has come to avenge her son. Beowulf follows her to a cavern beneath a lake where he slays her with a magical sword. There he also finds the dying Grendel and decapitates him.
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