Beowulf and the Illusion of HistoryMost Beowulf scholars have held either that the poems' minor episodes are more or less based on incidents in Scandinavian history or at least that they entail nothing of the fabulous or monstrous. Beowulf and the Illusion of History contends that, like the poem's Grendelkin episodes, certain minor episodes involve monsters and contain motifs of the "Bear's Son" folktale. In the Finn Episode the monsters are to be taken as physically present in the story as we have it, while in the mention of the hero's fight with Daeghrefn and perhaps in the accounts of the fight with Ongenbeow, the principal foes, though originally monsters, appear now more like ordinary humans. The inference permits the elucidation of passages hitherto obscure and indicates that the capability of the Beowulf poet as a "maker" is greater than has been thought. John F. Vickrey, is Professor of English, Emeritus, at Lehigh University. |
Contents
7 | |
13 | |
The Prima Facie Evidence | 27 |
The Distribution of Eoten and FresFrys Forms | 43 |
The Fictive Compatibility of Eotens Giants and Frisians | 55 |
Hildeleoman 1143 | 75 |
Grimne Gripe 1148 | 89 |
Lines 113137 as Metaphor | 104 |
Elegy and Myth | 135 |
Dæghrefn and the Hugas | 149 |
Dæghrefn the Wrestling Fight and the Sword | 157 |
The Implications of Incgelaf | 170 |
Ongen3eow | 194 |
List of Abbreviations | 207 |
239 | |
The Finn Episode and Its Contexts | 117 |
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Common terms and phrases
allusion Angantýr Anglo-Saxon attack Audience of Beowulf Bear's Beowulf Beowulf poet C. L. Wrenn chapter clause context Dæghrefn Danes Danish death dragon draugr earlier elegiac entails eotens giants eotenum evidence Fight at Finnsburg fight with Grendel's Finn and Hengest Finn Episode Finn's Finnes eaferum Finnsburg Fragment folktale Frisians Geats Grendel Grendel's mother Grendelkin grimne gripe hall hamingja Heorot Heremod hero hero's heroic Hildeburh historical Hnæf Hroðgar Hugas human hunlafing Hygelac imply incgelaf inference Irving J. R. R. Tolkien Jutes Klaeber lines main episodes manlike monster meant metaphor minor episodes Mitchell and Robinson motif Nægling narrative noted Old English Poetry Ongenpeow Panzer passage phrase poem poet's raid into Frisia reference saga says scop's second fight seems Sisam Smithers sode Stitt story Structure of Beowulf Studien suggests surmise sword taking tion treasure trolls truce Unferð unhlitme Vickrey Vries Waldhaus warrior weapon Whitelock wrestling wulf