Part 1
# Old English Poems: Translated into the Original Meter Together with Short Selections from Old English Prose ### By Unknown
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OLD ENGLISH POEMS
Translated into the Original Meter Together with Short Selections from Old English Prose
by
COSETTE FAUST, Ph.D. Associate Professor of English in the Southern Methodist University
and
STITH THOMPSON, Ph.D. Instructor in English in The University of Texas
Scott, Foresman and Company Chicago New York
Copyright, 1918 By Scott, Foresman and Company
Robert O. Law Company Edition Book Manufacturers Chicago, U.S.A.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. PAGAN POETRY
1. EPIC OR HEROIC GROUP PAGE Widsith 15 Deor's Lament 26 Waldhere 29 The Fight at Finnsburg 34
2. GNOMIC GROUP Charms 1. Charm for Bewitched Land 38 2. Charm for a Sudden Stitch 42 Riddles 1. A Storm 44 2. A Storm 45 3. A Storm 46 5. A Shield 48 7. A Swan 49 8. A Nightingale 49 14. A Horn 50 15. A Badger 51 23. A Bow 52 26. A Bible 52 45. Dough 54 47. A Bookworm 54 60. A Reed 54 Exeter Gnomes 56 The Fates of Men 58
3. ELEGIAC GROUP The Wanderer 62 The Seafarer 68 The Wife's Lament 72 The Husband's Message 75 The Ruin 78
II. CHRISTIAN POETRY
1. CÆDMONIAN SCHOOL. Cædmon's Hymn 83 Bede's Death Song 84 Selection From Genesis--The Offering of Isaac 85 Selection From Exodus--The Crossing of the Red Sea 90
2. CYNEWULF AND HIS SCHOOL a. Cynewulf (1) Selections from Christ 95 1. Hymn to Christ 96 2. Hymn to Jerusalem 96 3. Joseph and Mary 97 4. Runic Passage 100 (2) Selections from Elene 103 1. The Vision of the Cross 103 2. The Discovery of the Cross 105 b. Anonymous Poems of the Cynewulfian School (1) The Dream of the Rood 108 (2) Judith 116 (3) The Phoenix 132 (4) The Grave 157
III. POEMS FROM THE CHRONICLE The Battle of Brunnanburg 159 The Battle of Maldon 163
APPENDIX--PROSE SELECTIONS Account of the Poet Cædmon 179 Alfred's Preface to His Translation of Gregory's "Pastoral Care" 183 Conversion of Edwin 187 Voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan 189
PREFACE
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.
I. PAGAN POETRY
1. EPIC OR HEROIC GROUP
WIDSITH
[Critical edition: R. W. Chambers, _Widsith: a Study in Old English Heroic Legend_. Cambridge, 1912.
Date: Probably late sixth or early seventh century.
Alliterative translation: Gummere, _Oldest English Epic_ (1910), p. 191.
"Widsith--'Farway'--the ideal wandering minstrel, tells of all the tribes among whom he has sojourned, of all the chieftains he has known. The first English students of the poem regarded it as autobiographical, as the actual record of his wanderings written by a _scop_; and were inclined to dismiss as interpolations passages mentioning princes whom it was chronologically impossible for a man who had met Ermanric to have known. This view was reduced to an absurdity by Haigh.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"The more we study the growth of German heroic tradition, the more clear does it become that _Widsith_ and _Deor_ reflect that tradition. They are not the actual outpourings of actual poets at the court of Ermanric or the Heodenings. What the poems sung in the court of Ermanric were like we shall never know: but we can safely say that they were unlike _Widsith_.... The Traveller's tale is a fantasy of some man, keenly interested in the old stories, who depicts an ideal wandering singer, and makes him move hither and thither among the tribes and the heroes whose stories he loves. In the names of its chiefs, in the names of its tribes, and above all in its spirit, _Widsith_ reflects the heroic age of the migrations, an age which had hardly begun in the days of Ermanric."--Chambers, p. 4.
Lines 75, 82-84 are almost certainly interpolated. With these rejected "the poem leaves upon us," says Chambers, "a very definite impression. It is a catalogue of the tribes and heroes of Germany, and many of these heroes, though they may have been half legendary already to the writer of the poem, are historic characters who can be dated with accuracy."]
Note.--In the footnotes, no attempt is made to discuss peoples or persons mentioned in this poem unless they are definitely known and are of importance for an understanding of the meaning of the lines.
Widsith now spoke, his word-hoard unlocked, He who traveled the widest among tribes of men, Farthest among folk: on the floor he received The rarest of gifts. From the race of the Myrgings 5 His ancestors sprang. With Ealhhild the gracious, The fair framer of peace, for the first time He sought the home of the Hræda king, From the Angles in the East --of Eormanric, Fell and faithless. Freely he spoke forth: 10 "Many a royal ruler of a realm I have known; Every leader should live a life of virtue; One earl after the other shall order his land, He who wishes and works for the weal of his throne! Of these for a while was Hwala the best, 15 But Alexander of all of men Was most famous of lords, and he flourished the most Of all the earls whom on earth I have known. Attila ruled the Huns, Eormanric the Goths, Becca the Banings, the Burgundians Gifica. 20 Cæsar ruled the Greeks and Cælic the Finns, Hagena the Holm-Rugians and Heoden the Glommas. Witta ruled the Swabians, Wada the Hælsings, Meaca the Myrgings, Mearchealf the Hundings, Theodoric ruled the Franks, Thyle the Rondings, 25 Breoca the Brondings, Billing the Wernas. Oswine ruled the Eowas and the Ytas Gefwulf; Finn Folcwalding ruled the Frisian people. Sigehere ruled longest the Sea-Dane's kingdom. Hnæf ruled the Hocings, Helm the Wulfings, 30 Wald the Woings, Wod the Thuringians, Sæferth the Secgans, the Swedes Ongentheow. Sceafthere ruled the Ymbrians, Sceafa the Lombards, Hun the Hætweras and Holen the Wrosnas. Hringweald was called the king of the pirates. 35 Offa ruled the Angles, Alewih the Danes: Among these men he was mightiest of all, But he equalled not Offa in earl-like deeds. For Offa by arms while only a child, First among fighters won the fairest of kingdoms; 40 Not any of his age in earlship surpassed him. In a single combat in the siege of battle He fixed the frontier at Fifeldore Against the host of the Myrgings, which was held thenceforth By Angles and Swabians as Offa had marked it. 45 Hrothwulf and Hrothgar held for a long time A neighborly compact, the nephew and uncle, After they had vanquished the Viking races And Ingeld's array was overridden, Hewed down at Heorot the Heathobard troop. 50 So forth I fared in foreign lands All over the earth; of evil and good There I made trial, torn from my people; Far from my folk I have followed my travels. Therefore I sing the song of my wanderings, 55 Declare before the company in the crowded mead-hall, How gifts have been given me by the great men of earth. I was with the Huns and with the Hræda-Goths, With the Swedes and with the Geats and with the southern Danes, With the Wenlas I was and with the Vikings and with the Wærna folk. 60 With the Gepidæ I was and with the Wends and with the Gefligas. With the Angles I was and with the Swæfe and with the Ænenas. With the Saxons I was and with the Secgans and with the Suardones. With the Hronas I was and with the Deanas and with the Heatho-Raemas. With the Thuringians I was and with the Throwendas; 65 And with the Burgundians, where a bracelet was given me. Guthhere there gave me a goodly jewel, As reward for my song: not slothful that king! With the Franks I was and with the Frisians and with the Frumtingas. With the Rugians I was and with the Glommas and with the Roman strangers. 70 Likewise in Italy with Ælfwine I was: He had, as I have heard, a hand the readiest For praiseworthy deeds of prowess and daring; With liberal heart he lavished his treasures, Shining armlets --the son of Eadwine. 75 I was with the Saracens and with the Serings; With the Greeks I was and with the Finns and with far-famed Cæsar, Who sat in rule over the cities of revelry-- Over the riches and wealth of the realm of the Welsh. With the Scots I was and with the Picts and with the Scride-Finns. 80 With the Lidwicingas I was and with the Leonas and with the Longobards, With the Hæthnas and with the Hærethas and with the Hundings; With the Israelites I was and with the Assyrians, And with the Hebrews and with the Egyptians and with the Hindus I was, With the Medes I was and with the Persians and with the Myrging folk, 85 And with the Mofdings I was and against the Myrging band, And with the Amothingians. With the East Thuringians I was And with the Eolas and with the Istians and with the Idumingas. And I was with Eormanric all of the time; There the king of the Goths gave me in honor 90 The choicest of bracelets --the chief of the burghers-- On which were six hundred pieces of precious gold, Of shining metal in shillings counted; I gave over this armlet to Eadgils then, To my kind protector when I came to my home, 95 To my beloved prince, the lord of the Myrgings, Who gave me the land that was left by my father; And Ealhhild then also another ring gave me, Queen of the doughty ones, the daughter of Eadwine. Her praise has passed to all parts of the world, 100 Wherever in song I sought to tell Where I knew under heavens the noblest of queens, Golden-adorned, giving forth treasures. Then in company with Scilling, in clear ringing voice 'Fore our beloved lord I uplifted my song; 105 Loudly the harp in harmony sounded; Then many men with minds discerning Spoke of our lay in unsparing praise, That they never had heard a nobler song. Then I roamed through all the realm of the Goths; 110 Unceasing I sought the surest of friends, The crowd of comrades of the court of Eormanric. Hethca sought I and Beadeca and the Harlungs, Emerca sought I and Fridla and East-Gota, Sage and noble, the sire of Unwen. 115 Secca sought I and Becca, Seafola and Theodoric, Heathoric and Sifeca, Hlithe and Incgentheow. Eadwine sought I and Elsa Ægelmund and Hungar And the worthy troop of the With-Myrgings. Wulfhere sought I and Wyrmhere: there war was seldom lacking 120 When the host of the Hrædas with hardened swords Must wage their wars by the woods of Vistula To hold their homes from the hordes of Attila. Rædhere sought I and Rondhere, Rumstan and Gislhere, Withergield and Freotheric, Wudga and Hama: 125 These warriors were not the worst of comrades, Though their names at the last of my list are numbered. Full oft from that host the hissing spear Fiercely flew on the foemen's troopers. There the wretches ruled with royal treasure, 130 Wudga and Hama, over women and men. So I ever have found as I fared among men That in all the land most beloved is he To whom God giveth a goodly kingdom To hold as long as he liveth here. 135 Thus wandering widely through the world there go Minstrels of men through many lands, Express their needs and speak their thanks. Ever south and north some one they meet Skillful in song who scatters gifts, 140 To further his fame before his chieftains, To do deeds of honor, till all shall depart, Light and life together: lasting praise he gains, And has under heaven the highest of honor.
4. _Myrging._ Nothing is known with any degree of certainty about this tribe. Chambers concludes that they dwelt south of the River Eider, which is the present boundary between Schleswig and Holstein, and that they belonged to the Suevic stock of peoples. See vv. 84, 85, below.
5. _Ealhhild._ See notes to vv. 8 and 97, below. Much discussion has taken place as to who Ealhhild was. Summing up his lengthy discussion, Chambers says (_Widsith_, p. 28): "For these reasons it seems best to regard Ealhhild as the murdered wife of Eormanric, the Anglian equivalent of the Gothic Sunilda and the Northern Swanhild."
7. _Hræda king._ That is, the Gothic king.