R. W. CHAMBERS

Dey mout er bin two deloojes: en den agin dey moutent. Uncle Remus, The Story of the Deluge.

CAMBRIDGE AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 1921

TO

PROF. WILLIAM WITHERLE LAWRENCE

Dear Prof. Lawrence,

When, more than four years ago, I asked you to allow me to dedicate this volume to you, it was as a purely personal token of gratitude for the help I had received from what you have printed, and from what you have written to me privately.

Since then much has happened: the debt is greater, and no longer purely personal. We in this country can never forget what we owe to your people. And the self-denial which led them voluntarily to stint themselves of food, that we in Europe might be fed, is one of many things about which it is not easy to speak. Our heart must indeed have been hardened if we had not considered the miracle of those loaves. But I fear that to refer to that great debt in the dedication to this little book may draw on me the ridicule incurred by the poor man who dedicated his book to the Universe.

Nevertheless, as a fellow of that College which has just received from an American donor the greatest benefaction for medical research which has ever been made in this country of ours, I may rejoice that the co-operation between our nations is being continued in that warfare against ignorance and disease which some day will become the only warfare waged among men.

PREFACE

I have to thank various colleagues who have read proofs of this book, in whole or in part: first and foremost my old teacher, W. P. Ker; also Robert Priebsch, J. H. G. Grattan, Ernest Classen and two old students, Miss E. V. Hitchcock and Mrs Blackman. I have also to thank Prof. W. W. Lawrence of Columbia; and though there are details where we do not agree, I think there is no difference upon any important issues. If in these details I am in the right, this is largely due to the helpful criticism of Prof. Lawrence, which has often led me to reconsider my conclusions, and to re-state them more cautiously, and, I hope, more correctly. If, on the other hand, I am in the wrong, then it is thanks to Prof. Lawrence that I am not still more in the wrong.

From Axel Olrik, though my debt to him is heavy, I find myself differing on several questions. I had hoped that what I had to urge on some of these might have convinced him, or, better still, might have drawn from him a reply which would have convinced me. But the death of that great scholar has put an end to many hopes, and deprived many of us of a warm personal friend. It would be impossible to modify now these passages expressing dissent, for the early pages of this book were printed off some years ago. I can only repeat that it is just because of my intense respect for the work of Dr Olrik that, where I cannot agree with his conclusions, I feel bound to go into the matter at length. Names like those of Olrik, Bradley, Chadwick and Sievers carry rightly such authority as to make it the duty of those who differ, if only on minor details, to justify that difference if they can.

From Dr Bradley especially I have had help in discussing various of these problems: also from Mr Wharton of the British Museum, Prof. Collin of Christiania, Mr Ritchie Girvan of Glasgow, and Mr Teddy. To Prof. Brøgger, the Norwegian state-antiquary, I am indebted for permission to reproduce photographs of the Viking ships: to Prof. Finnur Jónsson for permission to quote from his most useful edition of the Hrólfs Saga and the Bjarka Rímur, and, above all, to Mr Sigfús Blöndal, of the Royal Library of Copenhagen, for his labour in collating with the manuscript the passages quoted from the Grettis Saga.

Finally, I have to thank the Syndics of the University Press for undertaking the publication of the book, and the staff for the efficient way in which they have carried out the work, in spite of the long interruption caused by the war.

CONTENTS

PAGE

GENEALOGICAL TABLES xii

PART I

CHAPTER I. THE HISTORICAL ELEMENTS

Section I. The Problem 1

Section II. The Geatas—their Kings and their Wars 2

Section III. Heorot and the Danish Kings 13

Section IV. Leire and Heorot 16

Section V. The Heathobeardan 20

Section VI. Hrothulf 25

Section VII. King Offa 31

CHAPTER II. THE NON-HISTORICAL ELEMENTS

Section I. The Grendel Fight 41

Section II. The Scandinavian Parallels—Grettir and Orm 48

Section III. Bothvar Bjarki 54

Section IV. Parallels from Folklore 62

Section V. Scef and Scyld 68

Section VI. Beow 87

Section VII. The house of Scyld and Danish parallels—Heremod-Lotherus and Beowulf-Frotho 89

CHAPTER III. THEORIES AS TO THE ORIGIN, DATE AND STRUCTURE OF THE POEM

Section I. Is Beowulf translated from a Scandinavian original? 98

Section II. The dialect, syntax and metre of Beowulf as evidence of its literary history 104

Section III. Theories as to the structure of Beowulf 112

Section IV. Are the Christian elements incompatible with the rest of the poem? 121

PART II

DOCUMENTS ILLUSTRATING THE STORIES IN BEOWULF, AND THE OFFA-SAGA

A. The early Kings of the Danes, according to Saxo Grammaticus: Dan, Humblus, Lotherus and Scioldus; Frotho's dragon fight; Haldanus, Roe and Helgo; Roluo (Rolf Kraki) and Biarco (Bjarki); the death of Rolf 129

B. Extract from Hrólfs Saga Kraka, with translation (cap. 23) 138

C. Extracts from Grettis Saga, with translation: (a) Glam episode (caps. 32-35); (b) Sandhaugar episode (caps. 64-66) 146

D. Extracts from Bjarka Rímur, with translation 182

E. Extract from Þáttr Orms Stórólfssonar, with translation 186

F. A Danish Dragon-slaying of the Beowulf-type, with translation 192

G. The Old English Genealogies. I. The Mercian Genealogy. II. The stages above Woden: Woden to Geat and Woden to Sceaf 195

H. Extract from the Chronicle Roll 201

I. Extract from the Little Chronicle of the Kings of Leire 204

K. The Story of Offa in Saxo Grammaticus 206

L. From Skiold to Offa in Sweyn Aageson 211

M. Note on the Danish Chronicles 215

N. The Life of Offa I, with extracts from the Life of Offa II. Edited from two MSS in the Cottonian Collection 217

O. Extract from Widsith, II. 18, 24-49 243

PART III

THE FIGHT AT FINNSBURG

Section I. The Finnsburg Fragment 245

Section II. The Episode in Beowulf 248

Section III. Möller's Theory 254

Section IV. Bugge's Theory 257

Section V. Some Difficulties in Bugge's Theory 260

Section VI. Recent Elucidations. Prof. Ayres' Comments 266

Section VII. Problems still outstanding 268

Section VIII. The Weight of Proof: the Eotens 272

Section IX. Ethics of the Blood Feud 276

Section X. An Attempt at Reconstruction 283

Section XI. Gefwulf, Prince of the Jutes 286

Section XII. Conclusion 287

Note. Frisia in the heroic age 288

PART IV

APPENDIX

A. A Postscript on Mythology in Beowulf. (1) Beowulf the Scylding and Beowulf son of Ecgtheow. (2) Beow 291

B. Grendel 304

C. The Stages above Woden in the West-Saxon Genealogy 311

D. Grammatical and literary evidence for the date of Beowulf. The relation of Beowulf to the Classical Epic 322

E. The "Jute-question" reopened 333

F. Beowulf and the Archaeologists 345

G. Leire before Rolf Kraki 365

H. Bee-wolf and Bear's son 365

I. The date of the death of Hygelac 381

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BEOWULF AND FINNSBURG 383

INDEX 414

PLATES

PLATE

I. Drida (Thryth) reproached for her Evil Deeds FRONTISPIECE

II. Leire in the Seventeenth Century TO FACE 16

III. Offa, miraculously restored, vindicates his Right. At the side, Offa is represented in Prayer ,, ,, 34

IV. Drida (Thryth) arrives in the land of King Offa, "in nauicula armamentis carente" ,, ,, 36

V. Riganus (or Aliel) comes before King Warmundus to claim that he should be made King in place of the incompetent Offa ,, ,, 218

VI. Drida (Thryth) entraps Albertus (Æthelberht) of East Anglia, and causes him to be slain ,, ,, 242

VII. The Gokstad Ship. The Oseberg Ship ,, ,, 362

VIII. Southern Scandinavia in the Sixth Century. English Boar-Helmet and Ring-Swords At end

GENEALOGICAL TABLES

The names of the corresponding characters in Scandinavian legend are added in italics; first the Icelandic forms, then the Latinized names as recorded by Saxo Grammaticus.

(1) THE DANISH ROYAL FAMILY

(2) THE GEAT ROYAL FAMILY

(3) THE SWEDISH ROYAL FAMILY