IX.
Hunferth, fils d’Ecglaf, qui était assis aux pieds du prince des Scyldingas, parla ainsi (l’expédition de Beowulf[11] le remplissait de chagrin, parce qu’il ne voulait pas convenir qu’aucun homme[12] eût plus de gloire[13] que lui-même):
‘N’es-tu pas le Beowulf qui essaya ses forces à la nage sur la mer immense avec Breca quand, par bravade, vous avez tenté les flots et que vous avez follement hasardé votre vie dans l’eau profonde? Aucun homme, qu’il fût ami ou ennemi, ne put vous empêcher d’entreprendre ce triste voyage.--Vous avez nagé alors sur la mer[14], vous avez suivi les sentiers de l’océan. L’hiver agitait les vagues[15]. Vous êtes restés en détresse pendant sept nuits sous la puissance des flots, mais il t’a vaincu dans la joûte parce qu’il avait plus de force que toi. Le matin, le flot le porta sur Heatho-ræmas et il alla visiter sa chère patrie[16] le pays des Brondingas, où il possédait le peuple, une ville et des trésors. Le fils de Beanstan accomplit entièrement la promesse qu’il t’avait faite.’
_Criticism of the Extract and Translation._
If the translation is compared with the text, the reader will be struck by the characteristic beauty of the words omitted. We may agree with the translator regarding the difficulty of rendering compound and kenning into French, and yet the very absence of an attempt to do this jeopardizes the value of the translation more than the omission of many episodes, for it brings it dangerously near to paraphrase. ‘Vous avez nagé alors sur la mer, vous avez suivi les sentiers de l’océan,’ cannot possibly be called a translation of--
þā git on sund rēon; þǣr git ēagor-strēam earmum þehton, mǣton mere-strǣta, mundum brugdon, glidon ofer gār-secg.
ll. 512, ff.
A part of the story has been thrown away with the adjectives. The force and beauty of the passage are gone.
But there is another danger in this paraphrastic method. In omitting words and phrases, the translator will often misinterpret his original. This is especially true of Botkine’s work in the obscure episodes where he wishes to make the meaning perfectly clear. In attempting to simplify the Old English, he departs from the original sense. Instances of this may be brought forward from the Finn episode:
Folcwaldan sunu dōgra gehwylce Dene weorþode, Hengestes hēap hringum wenede, efne swā swīðe sinc-gestrēonum fǣttan goldes, swā hē Frēsena cyn on bēor-sele byldan wolde.
ll. 1089 ff.
The idea is misinterpreted in Botkine’s--
Le fils de Folcwalda (stipulait qu’il) leur ferait chaque jour une distribution de trésors. (p. 50.)
Again, at line 1117 it is said of the lady--
earme on eaxle ides gnornode,
meaning that the lady stood by the body (shoulder) of the corpse as it lay on the pyre. Botkine makes of this--
‘Elle poussait des lamentations en s’appuyant sur le bras de son fils.’ (p. 50.)
The rendering is not without its amusing features, chiefly illustrations of the inability of the French language to accommodate itself to typically Germanic expressions. Thus when Hrothgar says what is the equivalent of ‘Thanks be to God for this blessed sight,’ Botkine puts into his mouth the words: ‘Que le Tout-Puissant reçoive mes profonds remercîments pour ce spectacle!’--which might have been taken from a diplomatic note.
[Footnote 1: See infra, p. 123.] [[Sandras]]
[Footnote 2: Save Michel. An account of his work may be found in Wülker’s _Grundriss_, § 102.]
[Footnote 3: _Analyse historique et géographique._ Paris, Leroux, 1876.]
[Footnote 4: p. 4.]
[Footnote 5: See supra, p. 55.] [[Grein]]
[Footnote 6: See supra, p. 63.] [[Heyne]]
[Footnote 7: See supra, p. 22.] [[Gruntvig]]
[Footnote 8: See supra, p. 37.] [[Ettmüller]]
[Footnote 9: See supra, p. 49.] [[Thorpe]]
[Footnote 10: See supra, p. 33.] [[Kemble]]
[Footnote 11: Omits mōdges mere-faran.]
[Footnote 12: Omits middan-geardes.]
[Footnote 13: Omits under heofonum.]
[Footnote 14: Omits lines 513-515a.]
[Footnote 15: Omits wintrys wylum.]
[Footnote 16: Omits lēof his lēodum.]
LUMSDEN’S TRANSLATION
Beowulf, an Old English Poem, translated into Modern Rhymes, by Lieut.-Colonel H. W. Lumsden[1]. London: C. Kegan Paul & Co., 1881. 8vo, pp. xx, 114.
Beowulf, an Old English Poem, translated into Modern Rhymes, by Lieut.-Colonel H. W. Lumsden, late Royal Artillery. Second edition, revised and corrected. London: Kegan Paul, Trench and Co., 1883. 8vo, pp. xxx, 179.
Fifth English Translation. Ballad Measures.
_Differences between the two Editions, and Indebtedness to Preceding Scholars._
In the first edition of the translation a number of passages were omitted. Some of these omissions were owing to corrupt text, some to extreme obscurity of the original, and some merely to the fact that the original was deemed uninteresting. The principal omissions were: 83-86; 767-770; 1724-1758; 1931-1963; 2061-2062; 2214-2231; 2475; 2930-2932; 3150-3156. These passages were inserted in the second edition.
‘In this edition I have endeavoured to remove some of the blunders which disfigured its predecessor.... Some parts have been entirely rewritten, and the passages formerly omitted ... have been inserted.... A few notes have been added; and the introduction has been materially altered and, I hope, improved.’ --Preface to the Second Edition, p. v.
_Aim and Nature of the Translation._
Lumsden’s desire was to produce a readable version of the poem. Thus his work resembles that of Wackerbarth[2]; and, like Wackerbarth, he couched his translation in ballad measures. Lumsden does not vary his measure, but preserves the iambic heptameter throughout. His lines rime in couplets.
No attempt is made to preserve alliteration or archaic diction.
The Introduction and Notes contain popular expositions of the work of preceding scholars. Several of the Notes are original and well worth while (see Notes A, C, G, M).
_Texts Used._
The translation is based on Grein’s text of 1857[3] and Arnold’s text (1876)[4]. Garnett has shown[5] that Lumsden ignored the 1867 text of Grein and the editions of Heyne. These defects were remedied to some extent in the second edition. Lumsden himself never emends the text.
EXTRACT[6].
IV. HUNFERD AND BEOWULF.
Hunferd the son of Ecglaf spoke--at Hrothgar’s feet sat he-- And thus let loose his secret grudge; (for much did him displease The coming of Beowulf now--bold sailor o’er the seas. To none on earth would he allow a greater fame ’mong men Beneath the heavens than his): ‘Art thou the same Beowulf then, Who swam a match with Breca once upon the waters wide, When ye vainglorious searched the waves, and risked your lives for pride Upon the deep? Nor hinder you could any friend or foe From that sad venture. Then ye twain did on the waters row; Ye stretched your arms upon the flood; the sea-ways ye did mete; 10 O’er billows glided--with your hands them tossed--though fiercely beat The rolling tides and wintry waves! Seven nights long toilèd ye In waters’ might; but Breca won--he stronger was than thee! And to the Hathoræms at morn washed shoreward by the flood, Thence his loved native land he sought--the Brondings’ country good, And stronghold fair, where he was lord of folk and burg and rings. Right well ’gainst thee his vaunt he kept.
_Criticism of the Translation._
The extract illustrates the paraphrastic nature of parts of the translation. Lumsden frequently seems to feel it necessary to read a meaning into the obscure lines and passages that do not easily lend themselves to translation; cf. lines 11, 12. At line 2258 Lumsden translates:--
The mail that bite of sword O’er clashing shield in fight withstood must follow its dead lord. Never again shall corselet ring as help the warriors bear To comrades far.
The Old English from which this passage is taken reads:--
ge swylce sēo here-pād, sīo æt hilde gebād ofer borda gebræc bite īrena, brosnað æfter beorne; ne mæg byrnan hring 2260 æfter wīg-fruman wīde fēran hæleðum be healfe.
The passage is certainly obscure, and the readings are not all undoubted, but the words can never be tortured into meaning what Lumsden tries to make them mean.
But it would be manifestly unfair to judge a translation addressed to the general reader merely by scholarly tests. The work must make its appeal as a literary rendering.
The propriety of adopting a ballad measure may be questioned. Probably no measure could be found more unlike the Old English lines. Moreover, by reason of its long association with purely popular poetry, it constantly suggests the commonplace and the trivial. But above all, it is reminiscent of a medievalism wholly different from that of _Beowulf_.
The saving grace of the ballad measure is its readableness. It is rather effective in passages not too dignified, calling for action. But in passages of elevation the line is found wanting:--
They mourned their king and chanted dirge, and much of him they said; His worthiness they praised, and judged his deeds with tender dread.
But, like Wackerbarth’s, Lumsden’s translation had the advantage of being readable.
[Footnote 1: Col. Lumsden’s translation of the Battle of Maldon, _Macmillan’s Magazine_, 55: 371, has been generally admired.]
[Footnote 2: See supra, p. 45.] [[Wackerbarth]]
[Footnote 3: See supra, p. 56.] [[Grein’s Texts]]
[Footnote 4: See supra, p. 72.] [[Arnold: Criticism...]]
[Footnote 5: See _American Journal of Philology_, ii. p. 355.]
[Footnote 6: From the second edition.]
GARNETT’S TRANSLATION
Beowulf: An Anglo-Saxon Poem, and the Fight at Finnsburg, translated by James M. Garnett, M.A., LL.D., Boston, U.S.A.: published by Ginn, Heath, & Co., 1882. 8vo, pp. xl, 107.
Second Edition, Ginn, Heath, & Co., 1885. 8vo, pp. xlvi, 110.
Third Edition, Ginn & Co., 1892. Reprinted 1899. 8vo, pp. liii, 110.
Fourth Edition, 1900.
Sixth English Translation. Imitative Measures.
_Differences between the Editions._
In the second edition the translation was collated with the Grein-Wülker text, and wherever necessary, with the Zupitza _Autotypes_. Additions were made to the bibliography:--
‘I have revised certain passages with a view to greater accuracy, but I have not changed the plan of the work, for that would have necessitated the re-writing of the whole translation.’ --Preface to the second edition.
The third and fourth editions are simple reprints, with some additions to the bibliography.
_Circumstances of Publication._
As has been pointed out above in the sections on Arnold[1] and Lumsden[2], no satisfactory literal translation of _Beowulf_ existed in English. Furthermore, an American translation had never appeared. It was with a view to presenting the latest German interpretations of the poem that Garnett prepared his literal version of the poem. The original draft of the translation was made at St. John’s College, Md., in the session of 1878-79.--Preface to first edition.
_Texts Used._
The translation is based on Grein’s text of 1867. Notes are added showing the variants from Heyne’s text of 1879. In the second edition notes are added showing the variants from the Grein-Wülker text of 1883.
_Method of Translation._
The translation is intended for ‘the general reader’ and for the ‘aid of students of the poem.’ --Preface to second edition.
The translation is a literal line-for-line version. Of this feature of his work Professor Garnett says:--
‘This involves naturally much inversion and occasional obscurity, and lacks smoothness; but it seemed to me to give the general reader a better idea of the poem than a mere prose translation would do, in addition to the advantage of literalness. While it would have been easy, by means of periphrasis and freer translation, to mend some of the defects chargeable to the line-for-line form, the translation would have lacked literalness, which I regarded as the most important object.’ --Preface to the first edition.
_Nature of the Verse-form._
‘In respect to the rhythmical form, I have endeavored to preserve two accents to each half-line, with cæsura, and while not seeking alliteration, have employed it purposely wherever it readily presented itself. I considered that it mattered little whether the feet were iambi or trochees, anapæsts or dactyls, the preservation of the two accents being the main point, and have freely made use of all the usual licences in Early English verse.... To attain this point I have sometimes found it necessary to place unemphatic words in accented positions, and words usually accented in unaccented ones, which licence can also be found in Early English verse.... While the reader of modern English verse may sometimes be offended by the ruggedness of the rhythm, it is hoped that the Anglo-Saxon scholar will make allowances for the difficulty of reproducing, even approximately, the rhythm of the original. The reproduction of the sense as closely as possible had to be kept constantly in view, even to the detriment of the smoothness of the rhythm.’ --Preface to the first edition.
EXTRACT.