 |
The feature of his translation for which Simrock was most concerned was the measure:
'Vor Allem aber den Wohllaut, der echter Poesie unzertrennlich verbunden ist, das schien mir die erste Bedingung, damit der Leser ... den Sinn ahne und von der Schnheit des Gedichts ergriffen von Blatt zu Blatt getragen werde. Nur so glaubte ich eine tausendjhrige Kluft berbrcken und dieser mit Angeln und Sachsen ausgewanderten Dichtung neues Heimatsrecht bei uns erwerben zu knnen.' —Vorrede, iii,iv.
He also preserved alliteration, believing that a fondness for that poetic adornment may be easily acquired, and that it is by no means inconsistent with the genius of modern tongues.
Relation of Translation and other Parts of the Book.
The notes to the translation contain discussions of the episodes and of the mythological personages of the poem. There is a discussion of the poetic worth of Beowulf, and an argument for the German origin of the poem. But the translation is the raison d'tre of the volume, and other parts are strictly subordinated to it. The Finnsburg fragment is inserted at the end of section16. As the author does not wish to disturb the order of Beowulf, he is obliged to place the poem at the end of the Finnsburg episode (in Beowulf), avery ill-chosen position, where it can only confuse the general reader more than the obscure lines to which it is related. This practice of inserting the Finnsburg fragment, lately revived by Hoffmann[3], has been generally repudiated.
Text, and Indebtedness to Preceding Scholars.
The text followed is Grein's (1857)[4]. The translator acknowledges his indebtedness to the versions of Ettmller and Grein.
EXTRACT.
8. HUNFERD.
Da begann Hunferd, Ecglafs Sohn, Der zu Fssen sass dem Frsten der Schildinge, Kampfrunen zu entbinden: ihm war Beowulfs Kunft, Des khnen Seeseglers, schrecklich zuwider. Allzu ungern sah er, dass ein anderer Mann In diesem Mittelkreiss mehr des Ruhmes Unterm Himmel htte als Hunferd selbst:
'Bist du der Beowulf, der mit Breka schwamm Im Wettkampf einst durch die weite See? Wo ihr tollkhn Untiefen prftet, Mit vermessnem Muth in den Meeresschlnden Das Leben wagtet? Vergebens wehrten euch Die Lieben und Leiden, die Leute zumal So sorgvolle Reise, als ihr zum Sunde rudertet, Das angstreiche Weltmeer mit Armen decktet, Die Meerstrassen masset, mit den Hnden schlugt Durch die Brandung gleitend; aufbrauste die Tiefe Wider des Winters Wuth. Im Wasser mhtet ihr Euch sieben Nchte: da besiegt' er dich im Schwimmen. Seiner Macht war mehr: in des Morgens Frhe Hob ihn die Hochflut zu den Headormen. Von dannen sucht' er die ssse Heimat, Das Leutenliebe, das Land der Brondinge, Die feste Friedensburg, wo er Volk besass, Burg und Bauge. Sein Erbieten hatte dir Da Beanstans Geborner vollbracht und geleistet.'
Criticism of the Translation.
Simrock's translation is commendable for its faithfulness. It is, moreover, asimple and readable version, though in these respects it is not equal to Heyne's rendering which was to follow it; but it was easily superior to Grein's. Yet, in spite of this, the book is not well known among German translations, and has never passed into a second edition. This is surprising when we consider the success of Simrock's previous translations. The partial failure is accounted for by two facts: (1)Simrock's reputation as a scholar was not equal to that of Grein or Heyne, nor had he the advantage of editing the text; (2)the measure which the translation employed has never been popular among readers. No German translation in imitative measures, with the single exception of Grein's (which has made its appeal as a scholarly work and not as a piece of literature), has ever passed into a second edition; while versions couched in iambic lines or Nibelungen meters have been reprinted.
[Footnote 1: See supra, p. 37.] [[Ettmller]]
[Footnote 2: See supra, p. 55.] [[Grein]]
[Footnote 3: See infra, p. 99.] [[Hoffmann]]
[Footnote 4: See supra, p. 56.] [[Grein's Texts]]
HEYNE'S TRANSLATION
Beowulf. Angelschsisches Heldengedicht bersetzt von Moritz Heyne. Paderborn: Druck und Verlag von Ferd. Schningh, 1863. 12mo, pp. viii, 127.
Zweite Auflage. Paderborn: Schningh, 1898. 8vo, pp. viii, 134.
Fourth German Translation. Iambic Pentameter.
Heyne.
The name of Moritz Heyne is one of the most illustrious in the history of Beowulf scholarship. The Heyne editions of the text[1] have been standard for nearly forty years, while the translation has been recently reprinted (1898). Beside his work on the Beowulf, this scholar was to become prominent as editor of the Heliand and of Ulfilas, and as one of the staff appointed to complete Grimm's Dictionary.
At the time when he printed his edition of the Beowulf, Heyne was a student at Halle, and but twenty-six years of age (born 1837)[2]. In his work he had some assistance from Professor Leo[3] of Halle.
Relation of Text and Translation.
The translation was founded on the text of 1863. At the time it was by far the best edition that had yet appeared. It was furnished with an excellent glossary. The text had the advantage of the valuable work done by Grundtvig[4] in collating the two transcripts made by Thorkelin[5]. It thus came a stage nearer the MS. readings than any other existing edition, while it avoided the unnecessary conjectures of the Danish editor.
Heyne's text having been five times re-edited, the first edition of the translation often fails to conform to readings which have been introduced into the text in later editions; but the free nature of the translation makes this of no great importance.
Differences between the First and Second Editions of the Translation.
The differences between the two editions are not of much importance. The translation is in general, though not always, brought up to the late editions of the text, and some changes are made for the improvement of the meter.
The first edition contains 3201 lines; the second 3207. The theory and aim of the translation are not changed at all.
Aim of Heyne's Translation.
In this translation of the Beowulf, Heyne attempts to popularize what he considers the most beautiful of the Old English poems. He says ofit—
'Es ist nicht die erste, die ich biete; gleichwol hoffe ich es werde die erste sein, die auch einem grssern Publicum, das noch nicht Gelegenheit hatte, sich mit den ltern Dialecten unserer Sprache zu beschftigen, verstndlich ist. Die ltern deutschen Uebersetzer haben, bei allen Verdiensten ihrer Arbeit, unserer neuhochdeutschen Muttersprache teilweise bel mitgespielt.' —Vorwort, iii.
With this in view, Heyne put his translation out in a form that would make it accessible to all. This was in itself an innovation. The works of Ettmller[6] and Simrock[7] had been in a more elaborate format, while Grein's translation[8] was not only expensive, but encumbered with other work, and intended primarily for the scholar.
Nature of the Translation.
Heyne chose a new medium for his version, the unrimed iambic line. His aim being to get his book read, he avoided a literal translation, and rendered with commendable freedom, though not with inaccuracy. He used no strange compounds, and shunned an unnatural verse. Thus he produced the most readable translation that has ever appeared in Germany. Of his own attempt he says—
'Die vorliegende Uebertragung ist so frei, dass sie das fr uns schwer oder gar nicht genau nachzubildende allitterierende Versmass des Originals gegen fnffssige Jamben aufgibt, und zu Gunsten des Sinnes sich der angelschsischen Wort- und Satzstellung nicht zu ngstlich anschmiegt; dagegen auch wieder so genau, dass sie hoffentlich ein Scherflein zum vollkommenern Verstndniss des Textes beitragen wird.' —Vorwort, iii.
Heyne's theory of translation is one that has been very little in vogue in Germany. He has been criticized on all sides for his freedom. Yet the criticism is undeserved. Heyne is never paraphrastic—he never adds anything foreign to the poem. He merely believes in translating the obscure as well as the simple ideas of his text. His 'freedom' seldom amounts to more than this—
Hɇ bɇot ne ⱥleh, l. 80 (he belied not his promise) Was er gelobt, erfllt er.
He occasionally inserts a word for metrical reasons, and sometimes, in the interests of clearness, ademonstrative or personal pronoun, or even a proper name (cf. l.500 of the extract).
EXTRACT.
IX.
Da sagte Hunferd, Ecglafs Sohn, der Hrodgar 500 zu Fssen sass, dem Herrn der Schildinge, des Streites Siegel lste er (denn sehr war Beowulfes Ankunft ihm verhasst, des khnen Meerbefahrers; er vergnnte es Niemand, mehr des Ruhmes als er selber 505 sich unterm Himmel jemals zu erwerben): 'Bist du der Beowulf, der einst mit Breca sich auf der weiten See im Schwimmkampf mass, als ihr euch khnlich in die Tiefen strztet, und mit verwegnem Brsten euer Leben 510 im tiefen Wasser wagtet? Niemand konnte, nicht Freund, nicht Feind, des mhevollen Weges euch hindern. Da schwammt ihr hinaus in See, wo ihr die wilde Flut mit Armen decktet, des Wassers Strassen masset und die Hnde 515 die Wogen werfen liesst; so glittet ihr hin bers Meer. Die winterlichen Wellen, sie giengen hoch. Der Tage sieben mhtet ihr euch im Wasser: jener berwand dich im Schwimmen, denn er hatte grssre Kraft. 520 Da trug die Hochflut ihn zur Morgenzeit auf zu den Hadormen, von wo aus er, der seinem Volke liebe, seinen Erbsitz im Land der Brandinge, die schne Burg erreichte. Dort besass er Land und Leute 525 und Schtze. Was er gegen dich gelobt, das hatte Beanstans Sohn frwahr erfllt.'
The extract illustrates sufficiently the characteristics of Heyne's rendering. In the first place, attention may be called to the extreme freedom of the verse, afreedom which at times makes the composition verge upon prose. In the second place, the translation of the Old English phrase beadu-runen onband should be noticed, and compared with the translations of Ettmller, Grein, and Simrock, who have respectively—
entband beadurunen entband Streitrunen Kampfrunen ... entbinden.
Heyne is the only one who translates the phrase in such a way as to make the words intelligible to a reader unacquainted with Old English. Finally, it should be noticed that the translation is quite as accurate as those which preceded it. Heyne certainly succeeded in his attempt to make the poem more intelligible to the general reader than it had ever been before. While not so serviceable to the scholar as Grein's translation, it is undoubtedly the most enjoyable of the German versions.
[Footnote 1: There have been six—1863, 1868, 1873, 1879, 1888, 1898; the last two are by Dr. Adolf Socin.]
[Footnote 2: Heyne is at present Professor in the University of Gttingen.]
[Footnote 3: See infra, p. 121.] [[Leo]]
[Footnote 4: In Beowulfs Beorh. See also supra, p.22.]
[Footnote 5: See supra, p. 16.] [[Thorkelin]]
[Footnote 6: See supra, p. 37.] [[Ettmller]]
[Footnote 7: See supra, p. 59.] [[Simrock]]
[Footnote 8: See supra, p. 55.] [[Grein]]
VON WOLZOGEN'S TRANSLATION
Beovulf (Brwelf). Das lteste deutsche Heldengedicht. Aus dem Angelschsischen von Hans von Wolzogen. Leipzig: Philipp Reclam, jun. (1872?).
Volume 430 of Reclam's Universal-Bibliothek. Small 8vo, pp. 104.
Fifth German Translation. Imitative Measures.
Concerning the Translator.
Hans von Wolzogen (born 1848), popularly known as a writer on the Wagnerian operas and as conductor of the Bayreuther Bltter, translated three Germanic poems for Reclam's 'Bibliothek': Beowulf, 1872, Der arme Heinrich, 1873, and the Edda, 1877. There is no evidence that he had any special interest in Old English studies.
Aim of the Volume.
As expressed in the 'Vorbemerkung,' the aim of the translator was (1)to provide a readable translation 'fr unser modernes Publicum,' and (2)to make a convenient handbook for the student, so that the beginner, with Grein's text[1] and the present translation, might read the Beowulf with no very great difficulty. So von Wolzogen made his version 'more literal than Heyne's, but freer than Simrock's' (p.1).
Nature of the Translation.
The translation is in alliterative measures, called by the translator imitative of the Old English. Von Wolzogen is concerned for this feature of his work, and is at pains to give what he considers a full account of the original verse as well as a lengthy defence of alliteration. Archaic touches are occasional. The names are 're-translated into German' according to a system of which, apparently, von Wolzogen alone holds the key:—
'... diese angelschsische Form selbst nur eine Uebertragungsform aus den ursprnglich deutschen Namen ist, wobei manch Einer sogar sinnlos verdreht worden, wie z.B. der Name des Helden selbst, der aus dem deutschen Brwelf, Jungbr, zum Beovulf, Bienenwolf, gemacht worden war.' —Vorbemerkung, p.5.
The account of the Fall of Hygelac and of Heardred, 2354-96, is shifted to line 2207 (p.75).
Text Used.
The translation is apparently founded on one of Grein's texts[2], but the work is so inaccurate that exact information on this point is impossible from merely internal evidence.
EXTRACT.
DRITTER GESANG.
HUNFRID.
So sagte Hunfrid[3], der Sohn des Eckleif, Dem Schildingenfrsten zu Fssen gesessen, Kampfrunen entbindend (es krnkte des Brwelf Muthige Meerfahrt mchtig den Stolzen, Der an Ehren nicht mehr einem andern Manne 5 Zu gnnen gemeint war im Garten der Mitte, Als wie unter'm Himmel erworben er selbst!): 'Bist du der Brwelf, der mit Brecht bekmpfte Auf weiter See im Wetteschwimmen, Da bermthig und ehrbegierig 10 Eu'r Leben ihr wagtet in Wassertiefen, Die beid' ihr durchschwammt? Da brachte zum Schwanken Den Vorsatz der furchtbaren Fahrt euch Keiner Mit Bitten und Warnen, und Beide durchtheiltet Mit gebreiteten Armen die Brandung ihr rudernd, 15 Durchmasset das Meer mit meisternden Hnden Auf wogenden Wegen, whrend der Wirbelsturm Rast' in den Well'n, und ihr rangt mit dem Wasser Durch sieben Nchte. Der Sieger im Neidspiel Zeigte sich mcht'ger; zur Zeit des Morgens 20 Riss zu den Haduraumen die Flut ihn; ins eigene Erbe enteilt' er von dort, Zum Lande der Brandinge, lieb seinen Mannen, Zur bergenden Burg. Da gebot er dem Volke Schlossreich und schatzreich. Wie geschworen, so hielt 25 Sein Versprechen dir redlich der Sprssling des Bonstein.'
Criticism of the Translation.
Von Wolzogen's translation is hardly trustworthy. Aspecimen of his free interpretation of the Beowulf diction may be seen in the footnote on page 13, where he defines horngɇap (i.e. 'with wide intervals between its pinnacles of horn') as 'hornreich,' and translates hornreced, 'Hornburg.' Inaccurate renderings of the Old English have been noted above in italics. They reveal an especial difficulty with the kenning, adevice which von Wolzogen apparently did not understand, since the entire translation shows an attempt to interpret the kenning hypotactically. Had the translator been making a paraphrase, inaccuracies like 'muthige Meerfahrt' and 'ihr rangt mit dem Wasser' might be excused; but in a translation which was avowedly literal (more literal than Heyne's) they appear to be due to nothing less than ignorance and carelessness. To give one example from the thousand that bear out the truth of this statement, we may cite line 561 (p.27),
Ic him ɇnode deoran sweorde swⱥ hit gedɇfe ws.
which is translated,
dawider doch diente Mein treffliches Schwert, das treu mir beistand. (p.27.)
This is not paraphrase; it is sheer misapprehension of the Old English.
A similar misapprehension is seen in line 15 of the extract,
Mit Bitten und Warnen,
which we are asked to accept as a translation for
ne lɇof nɇ lⱥ. (l. 511.)
The verse of von Wolzogen's translation is the poorest of the German attempts at imitative measures. The translator is obliged at times to append footnotes explaining the scansion of his lines (see pp. 33, 34, 65, 91). The cesura is frequently not in evidence (cf. lines 14 and 22, both of which are also metrically incorrect); the lines are often deficient in length (p.29, line 26; p.31, line 19; p.32, line19).
[Footnote 1: See supra, p. 55.] [[Grein]]
[Footnote 2: See Vorbemerkung, p. 3.]
[Footnote 3: The italics, save those used for proper names (which are von Wolzogen's), indicate inaccurate renderings.]
ARNOLD'S EDITION
Beowulf, aheroic poem of the eighth century, with a translation, notes, and appendix, by Thomas Arnold, M.A. London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1876. 8vo, pp. xliii, 223.
Fourth English Translation. Prose.
Circumstances of Publication.
No edition of the text of Beowulf had appeared in England since the work of Thorpe[1], now twenty years old. The textual criticism of the Germans had, meanwhile, greatly advanced the interpretation of the poem. Grein's text of the poem had passed into a second, and Heyne's into a third, edition. There was an opportunity, therefore, for an improved English edition which should incorporate the results of German scholarship. This edition Mr. Thomas Arnold (1823-1900) undertook to supply.
Relation of the Parts.
The Introduction contained a new theory of the origin of the poem[2]. But the important part of the book was the text and translation. There is no glossary[3]. The notes are at the bottom of the page. Here glossarial, textual, and literary information is bundled together. There is a very inadequate bibliography in the Introduction.
Nature of the Translation.
The translation is a literal prose version, printed under the text. It resembles Kemble's work[4], rather than Thorpe's[5]. It eschews unwieldy compounds, and makes no attempt to acquire an archaic flavor. Supplied words are bracketed.
Criticism of the Text.
Arnold had access to the MS., and gave the most thorough description of it that had yet appeared. But, strangely enough, he did not make it the basis of his edition. He speaks of a 'partial collation' of theMS., but this appears to have been nothing more than a transcription of certain fragmentary parts of the MS. One of these passages is printed in the Introduction, where it is referred to as an 'exact transcript'; yet, in collating it with the Zupitza Autotypes, Ihave found the following errors:—
Line 2219[6], eowes for eofes. 2220, biorn for beorna. 2211, geweoldum for ge weoldum. 2223, bfor . 2225, wea ... for weal ... 2226, inwlitode, inwatode for mwatide.
Of course the faded condition of the MS. offers some excuse for one or two of these errors, but, if we encounter mistakes in a short transcript professedly exact, what would have been the fate of the text had the entire MS. been collated?
Professor Garnett[7] has noted that Arnold's text was taken from Thorpe's, with some changes to suit the 1857 text of Grein. In order to test the accuracy of these statements I have made a collation of the texts of Arnold, Thorpe, and the MS. The list of errors in Thorpe's text, which I have mentioned in a discussion of that work[8], is repeated bodily in Arnold's. Yet there was no excuse at this time for the retention of many of these readings. Grundtvig[9] had corrected several of them as early as 1861 by his collation of the Thorkelin transcripts[10]; Heyne had got rid of them by collating Thorpe's work with Kemble's[11] and Grundtvig's. Arnold makes almost no reference to the work of Heyne, and incorporates none of his emendations. He also overlooked Grein's 1867 text, which contained new readings and a glossary. Arnold himself did not emend the text in a single instance.
EXTRACT.
VIII.
Hunferth spake, the son of Ecglaf, who sat at the feet of the master of the Scyldings; he unbound the secret counsel of his malice. The expedition of Beowulf, the valiant mariner, was to him a great cause of offence; for that he allowed not that any other man on the earth should ever appropriate more deeds of fame under heaven than he himself. 'Art thou that Beowulf who strove against Breca in a swimming-match on the broad sea? where ye two for emulation explored the waves, and for foolish boasting ventured your lives in the deep water. Nor could any man, either friend or foe, warn you off from your perilous adventure. Then ye two rowed on the sea, where with your arms [outspread] ye covered the ocean-stream, measured the sea-ways, churned up [the water] with your hands, glided over the deep; the sea was tossing with waves, the icy wintry sea. Ye two toiled for seven nights in the watery realm; he overcame thee in the match, he had more strength. Then, at dawn of morn, the sea cast him up on [the coast of] the Heathoreamas; thence he, dear in the sight of his people, sought his loved native soil, the land of the Brondings, the fair safe burgh where he was the owner of folk, burgh, and precious jewels.' —Pages 37,38.
Criticism of the Translation.
The translation is literal, and its value is therefore in direct ratio to the value of the text, which has been discussed above.
[Footnote 1: See supra, p. 49.] [[Thorpe]]
[Footnote 2: Atheory which the author continued to regard as partially tenable. See Notes on Beowulf (London, 1898), p.114.]
[Footnote 3: Contrast this with the editions of Heyne. See p.64.]
[Footnote 4: See supra, p. 33.] [[Kemble]]
[Footnote 5: See supra, p. 49.] [[Thorpe]]
[Footnote 6: The numbers are those of Wyatt's text; for Zupitza's and Arnold's add1.]
[Footnote 7: See Amer. Journal of Philol. I. 1.90.]
[Footnote 8: See supra, p. 51.] [[Thorpe: Criticism...]]
[Footnote 9: See Beowulfs Beorh, and p.22.]
[Footnote 10: See supra, p. 15.] [[Thorkelin]]
[Footnote 11: See supra, p. 33.] [[Kemble]]
BOTKINE'S TRANSLATION
Beowulf, pope Anglo-Saxonne. Traduite en franais, pour la premire fois, d'aprs le texte original par L. Botkine, Membre de la Socit Nationale havraise d'tudes diverses. Havre: Lepelletier, 1877. 8vo, pp. 108.
First French Translation. Prose.
Old English Studies in France.
The only attention that Beowulf had received in France prior to this time was in the work of Sandras, De Carminibus Cdmoni adiudicatis[1]. Other scholars, if they devoted themselves to English at all, studied chiefly the later periods of the literature[2]. In 1867 the author of the article on Beowulf in Larousse's Dictionary could say, 'Le pome n'est pas connu en France.' In 1876 Botkine published a historical and critical analysis of the poem[3]. This was the first scholarly attention that the poem received in France. In the following year Botkine's translation appeared.
France has added nothing to our knowledge of Beowulf; there has never been another translation, nor even a reprint of Botkine's. There has been no further scholarly work done on the poem; and the principal literary notices of it, such as Taine's and Jusserand's, have been notoriously unsympathetic. The genius of Old English poetry is at the furthest possible remove from that of the French.
Aim of the Translation.
It will be made evident in the section that follows on the nature of Botkine's translation that his work could never have been intended for scholars. Had it been so intended, the translator would have rendered more literally. His introduction[4] proves that the book was addressed to the general reader rather than the student of Old English.
The Introduction deals with the nature of Old English poetry, and makes historical and critical remarks on the Beowulf. There are occasional notes explanatory of the text.
In his critical work the author is chiefly indebted to Grein[5] and Heyne[6].
Nature of the Translation.
The translation, which is in prose, is characterized, as the author himself admits, by extreme freedom and occasional omission of words and phrases. The author's defence of these may be given here:—
'Je crois devoir me disculper, en prsentant cette premire traduction franaise de Beowulf, du double reproche qui pourrait m'tre adress d'avoir supprim des passages du pome et de n'en avoir pas suffisamment respect la lettre. D'abord je dois dire que les passages que j'ai supprims (il y en a fort peu) sont ou trs obscurs ou d'une superfluit choquante. Ensuite, il m'a sembl qu'en donnant une certaine libert ma traduction et en vitant autant que possible d'y mettre les redites et les priphrases de l'original anglo-saxon, je la rendrais meilleure et plus conforme l'esprit vritable de l'oeuvre. Est-ce sacrifier du reste la fidlit d'une traduction que d'pargner au public la lecture de dtails le plus souvent bizarres et inintelligibles? N'est-il pas plus logique d'en finir de suite avec des artifices potiques inconnus nos littratures modernes, plutt que de vouloir s'escrimer en vain les reproduire en franais? Et alors mme qu'on poursuivrait jusqu'au bout une tche si ingrate, pourrait-on se flatter en fin de compte d'avoir conserv au pome son cachet si indiscutable d'originalit? Non certes.' —Avertissement, p.3.
'Il ne faut pas oublier que, la langue franaise diffrant compltement par ses racines de l'anglo-saxon, il ne m'a pas t permis d'luder les difficults de l'original comme on a pu le faire parfois en anglais et en allemand.' —Note, p.4.
It has been customary, in speaking of the work of M. Botkine, to call attention to the numerous omissions. This is misleading. The passages which the translator has omitted are not the obscure episodes or the long digressions, but the metaphors, the parenthetical phrases, and especially kennings and similar appositives.
For example, the original has:—
[-]r t hɏe stød hringed-stefna ɨsig ond ut-fus. (l.32 f.)
which Botkine renders:—
Dans la porte se trouvait une barque bien quipe. (p.29.)
The principal passages which Botkine omits entirely are: 1002b-1008a; 1057b-1062; 1263-1276; 1679-1686.
Text Used.
The author seems to have been well acquainted with the scholarly work done on Beowulf up to his time. He mentions in his Notes the interpretations of Grein, Grundtvig[7], Ettmller[8], Thorpe[9], and Kemble[10]. He appears to follow, in general, the text of Heyne, not, however, invariably.
EXTRACT.
IX.
Hunferth, fils d'Ecglaf, qui tait assis aux pieds du prince des Scyldingas, parla ainsi (l'expdition de Beowulf[11] le remplissait de chagrin, parce qu'il ne voulait pas convenir qu'aucun homme[12] et plus de gloire[13] que lui-mme):
'N'es-tu pas le Beowulf qui essaya ses forces la nage sur la mer immense avec Breca quand, par bravade, vous avez tent les flots et que vous avez follement hasard votre vie dans l'eau profonde? Aucun homme, qu'il ft ami ou ennemi, ne put vous empcher d'entreprendre ce triste voyage.—Vous avez nag alors sur la mer[14], vous avez suivi les sentiers de l'ocan. L'hiver agitait les vagues[15]. Vous tes rests en dtresse pendant sept nuits sous la puissance des flots, mais il t'a vaincu dans la jote parce qu'il avait plus de force que toi. Le matin, le flot le porta sur Heatho-rmas et il alla visiter sa chre patrie[16] le pays des Brondingas, o il possdait le peuple, une ville et des trsors. Le fils de Beanstan accomplit entirement 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 nag alors sur la mer, vous avez suivi les sentiers de l'ocan,' cannot possibly be called a translationof—
ⱥ git on sund rɇon; [-]r git ɇagor-strɇam earmum ehton, m[-]ton mere-str[-]ta, mundum brugdon, glidon ofer gⱥr-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 døgra gehwylce Dene weorode, Hengestes hɇap hringum wenede, efne swⱥ swɨe sinc-gestrɇonum f[-]ttan goldes, swⱥ hɇ Frɇsena cyn on bɇor-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 trsors. (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 reoive mes profonds remercments 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 Wlker's Grundriss, 102.]
[Footnote 3: Analyse historique et gographique. 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.] [[Ettmller]]
[Footnote 9: See supra, p. 49.] [[Thorpe]]
[Footnote 10: See supra, p. 33.] [[Kemble]]
[Footnote 11: Omits mødges 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 lɇof his lɇodum.]
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.... Afew notes have been added; and the introduction has been materially altered and, Ihope, 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 sathe— 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 toild ye In waters' might; but Breca won—he stronger was than thee! And to the Hathorms 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 sɇo here-pⱥd, sɨo t hilde gebⱥd ofer borda gebrc bite ɨrena, brosna fter beorne; ne mg byrnan hring 2260 fter wɨg-fruman wɨde fɇran hleum 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-Wlker 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-Wlker 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, Ihave endeavored to preserve two accents to each half-line, with csura, and while not seeking alliteration, have employed it purposely wherever it readily presented itself. Iconsidered that it mattered little whether the feet were iambi or trochees, anapsts 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.
III.
Hunferth's taunt. The swimming-match with Breca. Joy in Heorot.
IX. Hunferth then spoke, the son of Ecglaf, Who at the feet sat of the lord of the Scyldings, 500 Unloosed his war-secret (was the coming of Beowulf, The proud sea-farer, to him mickle grief, For that he granted not that any man else Ever more honor of this mid-earth Should gain under heavens than he himself): 505 'Art thou that Beowulf who strove with Breca On the broad sea in swimming-match, When ye two for pride the billows tried And for vain boasting in the deep water Riskd your lives. You two no man, 510 Nor friend nor foe, might then dissuade From sorrowful venture, when ye on the sea swam, When ye the sea-waves with your arms covered, Measured the sea-ways, struck with your hands, Glided o'er ocean; with its great billows 515 Welled up winter's flood. In the power of the waters Ye seven nights strove: he in swimming thee conquered, He had greater might. Then him in the morning On the Heathoremes' land the ocean bore up, Whence he did seek his pleasant home, 520 Dear to his people, the land of the Brondings His fair strong city, where he had people, A city and rings. All his boast against thee The son of Beanstan truly fulfilled.'
Criticism of the Translation.
The translation, in its revised form, is throughout a faithful version of the original text. The fault of Garnett's translation is the fault of all merely literal translations—inadequacy to render fully the content of the original. The rendering may be word for word, but it will not be idea for idea. Examples of this inadequacy may be given from the printed extract. 'Grief' in line 502 is a very insufficient rendering of f-unca, aunique word which suggests at once vexation, mortification, and jealousy. Had the poet simply meant to express the notion of grief, he would have used sorh, cearu, or some other common word. In line 508 'pride' hardly gives full expression to the idea of wlence, which signifies not only pride, but vain pride, of empty end. In line 517 'conquered' is insufficient as a translation of oferflⱥt, which means to overcome in swimming, to outswim.
Examples of this sort can be brought forward from any part of the poem. At line 2544 Garnett translates—
Struggles of battle when warriors contended,
a translation of—
Gua ... onne hnitan fɇan
Here 'hnitan fɇan' refers to the swift clash in battle of two armed hosts, anotion which is ill borne out by the distributive 'warriors' and the vague 'contended.'
At line 2598 we find—
they to wood went
for
hɏ on holt bugon,
which, whatever be the meaning of 'bugon,' is surely a misleading translation.
The nature of the verse has been sufficiently illustrated by the quotations from the author's preface. It would seem from the way in which the measure is used that it was a kind of second thought, incident upon the use of a line-for-line translation. It is hard to read the lines as anything but prose, and, if they appeared in any other form upon the page, it is to be questioned whether any one would have guessed that they were intended to be imitative.
Reception of Garnett's Translation.
Garnett's volume had a flattering reception. The book received long and respectful reviews from the Germans. Professor Child and Henry Sweet expressed their approbation. The book has passed through four editions. This cordial welcome has been due in large measure to the increasing attention given the poem in American colleges and secondary schools. Being strictly literal, the book has been of value as a means of interpreting the poem.
[Footnote 1: See supra, p. 71.] [[Arnold]]
[Footnote 2: See supra, p. 79.] [[Lumsden]]
GRION'S TRANSLATION
Beovulf, poema epico anglosassone del vii secolo, tradotto e illustrato dal Dott. Cav. Giusto Grion, Socio Ordinario.
In Atti della Reale Accademia Lucchese di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti. Tomo XXII. Lucca: Tipografia Giusti, 1883. 8vo, pp. 197-379.
First Italian Translation. Imitative Measures.
Contents.
Full discussions of (1)Mito; (2) Storia; (3)Letteratura. The latter is a fairly complete bibliography of what had been done on Beowulf up to this time.
Author's Preliminary Remarks.
'Il poema consiste di 3183 versi fra cui alcuni in frammenti che noi abbiamo cercato di completare senza alterare lettera del testo. Una mano recente lo ha diviso in 43 canti, detti in ags. fitte; ne notiamo il numero anche nella versione. Iversi che il Mllenhoff reputa interpolati, sono disposti in linee rientranti; quelli attributi ad A portano di pi questa lettera nella versione nostra interlineare, che segue la parola del testo in maniera da mantenervi anche la sintassi, es che nessuna parola d'un verso prenda posto in un' altra riga. Le parentesi quadre [] segnano nel testo riempiture di lacune. Nella versione sono queste segnate per lettere corsive.' —Prefazione, p.251.
Texts Used.
The translator makes use of all the texts and commentaries that had appeared up to his time, and even goes so far as to emend the text for himself (cf. lines 65, 665, 1107, 2561, 3150).
The Notes are rather full. They are sometimes merely explanatory; sometimes there are discussions of the MS. readings, of proposed emendations, of history, myth, &c.
Method of Translation.
The translation is literal; the medium an imitative measure of four principal stresses, varied occasionally by the expanded line. The diction is simple.
EXTRACT.
VIII.
Hunferd disse, il nato di Eclaf, che a' piedi sedea del prence de' Schildinghi, 500 sbrigli accenti di contesta—eragli la gita di Bevulf, del coraggioso navigatore, molto a fastidio, perch non amava, che un altro uomo vieppi di gloria nell' orbe di mezzo avesse sotto il cielo che lui stesso—: 505 'Sei tu quel Bevulf, che con Breca nuot nel vasto pelago per gara marina, quando voi per baldanza l'acque provaste, e per pazzo vanto nel profondo sale la vita arrischiaste? n voi uomo alcuno, 510 n caro n discaro, distorre pot dalla penosa andata, quando remigaste nell' alto, la corrente dell' oceano colle braccia coprendo misuraste le strade del mare, colle mani batteste, e scivolaste sopra l'astato. Nelle onde del ghebbo 515 vagavano i cavalloni d'inverno: voi nel tenere dell' acqua sette notti appenstevi. Egli nel nuoto ti super, ebbe pi forza. Eal tempo mattutino lo port suso il flutto verso la marittima Ramia donde ei cerc la dolce patria, 520 cara a sue genti, la terra dei Brondinghi, il vago castel tranquillo, ov' egli popolo avea, rocche e gioie. Il vanto intero contro te il figlio di Beanstan in verit mantenne.'
Criticism of the Translation.
The present writer cannot attempt a literary criticism of the translation.
In purpose and method this version may be compared with that of Kemble[1] and of Schaldemose[2]. In each case the translator was introducing the poem to a foreign public, and it was therefore well that the translation should be literal in order that it might assist in the interpretation of the original. There has been no further work done on the poem in Italy[3].
While the verse is not strictly imitative in the sense that it preserves exactly the Old English system of versification, it aims to maintain the general movement of the original lines. The four stresses are kept, save where a fifth is used to avoid monotony. These 'expanded lines' are much commoner in the Italian than in the Old English.
[Footnote 1: See supra, p. 33.] [[Kemble]]
[Footnote 2: See supra, p. 41.] [[Schaldemose]]
[Footnote 3: Of a work by G. Schuhmann, mentioned by Wlker in his Grundriss, 209, Ican ascertain nothing.]
WICKBERG'S TRANSLATION
Beowulf, en fornengelsk hjeltedikt, fversatt af Rudolf Wickberg. Westervik, C. O. Ekblad & Comp., 1889. 4to, pp. 48, double columns.
First Swedish Translation. Imitative Measures.
Aim of the Volume.
The translator begins his introduction with a discussion of the importance of Beowulf as a historical document. For this reason he is especially interested in the episodes:—
'This important historical interest may then explain the reason for translating the poem into Swedish, and also serve as an excuse for the fact that in the translation the poetic form has not been considered of first importance.' —Inledning, p.3.
Nature of the Translation.
'In the translation I have endeavored to make the language readable and modern. Atranslation out of an ancient tongue ought never to strive after archaic flavor in point of words and expressions. Since the poet wrote in the language of his day, the translation ought also to use contemporary language.... Ihave tried to follow the original faithfully, but not slavishly. For the sake of clearness the half-lines have often been transposed.... The rhythm is still more irregular than the Old English. Alliteration has generally been avoided.' —Inledning, p.6.
Texts Used.
The author constructs his own text. He explains (p.6) that he has in general taken the MS. as the basis of his text. He has emended by making those changes which 'seemed most necessary or most probable.' In places where this departure from the MS. has been made, he italicizes the words of his translation.
EXTRACT.
8.
Ecglafs son Hunfer talade; Vid Scyldingafurstens ftter satt han, Lste stridsrunan—den modige sjfaranden Beovulfs resa frtrt honom mycket, Frty han unnade ej, att ngon annan man Under himlen skulle ngonsin vinna Strre ra p jorden n han sjelf—: 'r du den Beovulf, som mtte sig med Breca I kappsimning fver det vida hafvet, Der I fvermodigt prfvaden vgorna Och fr djerft skryt vgaden lifvet I det djupa vattnet? Ej kunde ngon man, Ljuf eller led, frm eder att afst Frn den sorgfulla frden. Sedan summen I i hafvet, Der I med armarna famnaden hafsstrmmen, Mtten hafsvgorna, svngden hnderna, Gleden fver hafsytan; vintersvallet Sjd i vgorna. Istrfvaden sju ntter I hafvets vld; han fvervann dig i simning, Hade strre styrka. Sedan vid morgontiden Bar hafvet upp honom till de krigiska rmerna. Derifrn uppskte han, dyr fr de sina, Sitt kra odal i brondingarnes land, Den fagra fridsborgen, der han hade folk, Berg och ringar. Hela sitt vad med dig Fullgjorde noga Beanstans son.'
EARLE'S TRANSLATION
The Deeds of Beowulf, an English Epic of the Eighth Century, done into Modern Prose, with an Introduction and Notes by John Earle, M.A., rector of Swanswick, Rawlinsonian Professor of Anglo-Saxon in the University of Oxford. At the Clarendon Press, 1892 (February). 8vo, pp. c, 203.
Seventh English Translation. Prose.
Circumstances of Publication.
Sixteen years had elapsed since the publication of a scholarly translation in England—for Lumsden's[1] can hardly be said to count as such. In the meantime Heyne's text[2] had passed into a fifth edition (1888); Wlker's revision of Grein's Bibliothek had appeared with a new text of Beowulf (1881); Zupitza's Autotypes of the MS. had appeared 1882, making it possible to ascertain exactly what was in the original text of the poem; the studies of Sievers[3], Cosijn[4], Kluge[5], and Bugge[6] had been published, containing masterly discussions of text revision. Some of these materials had been used by Garnett in his translation, but the majority of them were of later date.
Aim of the Translation.
Nothing is said in the introduction respecting the aim of the translation; but it is evident from the Notes that the purpose was twofold—to present the latest interpretation of the text, and to afford a literary version of the poem.
Texts Used.
'This translation was originally made from the Fourth Edition of Moritz Heyne's text. His Fifth Edition came out in 1888, and I think I have used it enough to become acquainted with all the changes that Dr. Adolf Socin, the new editor, has introduced. Where they have appeared to me to be improvements, Ihave modified my translation accordingly.' —Preface.
But the translator does not depend slavishly upon his text. He frequently uses emendations suggested by the scholars mentioned above, especially those of Professor Sophus Bugge in Studien ber das Beowulfsepos[7]; see lines 457, 871, 900, 936, 1875, 2275.
The Introduction presents a new theory of the origin of the poem. The notes are especially interesting because of the large body of quotations cited for literary comparison and for the light they throw on Old Germanic and medieval customs.
EXTRACT.
VIII.
Unferth the king's orator is jealous. He baits the young adventurer, and in a scoffing speech dares him to a night-watch for Grendel. Beowulf is angered, and thus he is drawn out to boast of his youthful feats.
Unferth made a speech, Ecglaf's son; he who sate at the feet of the Scyldings' lord, broached a quarrelsome theme—the adventure of Beowulf the high-souled voyager was great despite to him, because he grudged that any other man should ever in the world achieve more exploits under heaven than he himself:— 'Art thou that Beowulf, he who strove with Breca on open sea in swimming-match, where ye twain out of bravado explored the floods, and foolhardily in deep water jeoparded your lives? nor could any man, friend or foe, turn the pair of you from the dismal adventure! What time ye twain plied in swimming, where ye twain covered with your arms the awful stream, meted the sea-streets, buffeted with hands, shot over ocean; the deep boiled with waves, awintry surge. Ye twain in the realm of waters toiled a se'nnight; he at swimming outvied thee, had greater force. Then in morning hour the swell cast him ashore on the Heathoram people, whence he made for his own patrimony, dear to his Leeds he made for the land of the Brondings, afair stronghold, where he was lord of folk, of city, and of rings. All his boast to thee-ward, Beanstan's son soothly fulfilled. Wherefore I anticipate for thee worse luck—though thou wert everywhere doughty in battle-shocks, in grim war-tug—if thou darest bide in Grendel's way a night-long space.'
Criticism of the Translation.
As a whole, the translation may fairly be called faithful. The emendations from which Professor Earle sometimes renders are always carefully chosen, and the discussions of obscure lines in the poem are of real scholarly interest. But this is not always true of the simpler passages of the poem. These are often strained to make them square with the translator's personal notions. Thus, at line 1723, Earle reads for
Ic is gid be ɇ ⱥwraec It is about thee ... that I have told this tale,
adding in a note, '(In this passage) the living poet steps forward out of his Hrothgar, and turns his eyes to the prince for whom he made it up' (p.168). Now this is nothing more than an attempt on the part of the translator to wring from the Old English lines some scrap of proof for the peculiar theory that he holds of the origin of the poem.
Similarly, he often reads into a single word more than it can possibly bear. At line 371 he translates—
Hrothgar, helm Scyldinga, Hrothgar, crown of Scyldings.
But 'crown' is an impossible rendering of 'helm,' which is here used figuratively to denote the idea of protection[8], rather than the idea of the crowning glory of kingship. Further, in the same passage, 375-6, heard eafora (bold son), is wrenched into meaning 'grown-up son.' These are but two examples of what is common throughout the translation.
Diction.
The archaic style used by Professor Earle cannot be regarded as highly felicitous, since it mixes the diction of various ages. Here are Old English archaisms like 'Leeds' and 'burnie'; here are expressions like 'escheat,' 'page' (attendant), 'emprize,' 'bombard' (drinking-vessel), 'chivalry.' Here are such specialized words as 'harpoon,' 'belligerent,' 'pocket-money,' and combinations like 'battailous grip'; while throughout the entire translation are scattered modern colloquialisms like 'boss' (master), 'tussle,' 'war-tug.'
The reason for these anomalies is evident—the translator wishes to imitate the remoteness of the original style. The style is certainly remote—at times almost as remote from the language of to-day as is the style of Beowulf itself.
[Footnote 1: See supra, p. 79.] [[Lumsden]]
[Footnote 2: See supra, p. 64.] [[Heyne: Relation of...]]
[Footnote 3: Paul und Braune's Beitrge, XI, 328; Ang. XIV, 133.]
[Footnote 4: Beitrge, VIII, 568; Aanteekeningen, Leiden 1891.]
[Footnote 5: Beitrge, IX, 187; VIII, 532.]
[Footnote 6: Beitrge, XI, 1; Studien ber das Beowulfsepos.]
[Footnote 7: Beitrge, XI, 1 ff.]
[Footnote 8: See the glossaries of Grein and Wyatt.]
J. L. HALL'S TRANSLATION
Beowulf, an Anglo-Saxon Epic Poem, translated by John Lesslie Hall. Boston: D. C. Heath and Co., 1892 (May7).
Reprinted 1900. 8vo, pp. xviii, 110.
Eighth English Translation. Imitative Measures.
Circumstances of Publication.
Presented to the Philosophical Faculty of Johns Hopkins University in candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by John Lesslie Hall, late Professor in the college of William and Mary.
Aim of the Translation.
'The work is addressed to two classes of readers.... The Anglo-Saxon scholar he [the translator] hopes to please by adhering faithfully to the original. The student of English literature he aims to interest by giving him, in modern garb, the most ancient epic of our race.' —Preface, vii.
Nature of the Translation.
The translation is in imitative measures and in archaic style.
'The effort has been made to give a decided flavor of archaism to the translation. All words not in keeping with the spirit of the poem have been avoided. Again, though many archaic words have been used, there are none, it is believed, which are not found in standard modern poetry....
'The measure used in the present translation is believed to be as near a reproduction of the original as modern English affords.... The four stresses of the Anglo-Saxon verse are retained, and as much thesis and anacrusis is allowed as is consistent with a regular cadence. Alliteration has been used to a large extent; but it was thought that modern ears would hardly tolerate it in every line. End-rhyme has been used occasionally; internal rhyme, sporadically....
'What Gummere calls the "rime-giver" has been studiously kept; viz., the first accented syllable in the second half-verse always carries the alliteration; and the last accented syllable alliterates only sporadically....
'No two accented syllables have been brought together, except occasionally after a csural pause.... Or, scientifically speaking, Sievers's C type has been avoided as not consonant with the plan of translation.' —Preface, viii,ix.
Text.
'The Heyne-Socin text and glossary have been closely followed. Occasionally a deviation has been made.... Once in a while ... (the translator) has added a conjecture of his own to the emendations quoted from the criticisms of other students of the poem.' —Preface, vii.
The footnotes which contain the conjectural readings are interesting, and in one or two cases valuable additions to the suggested emendations (cf. p.15; p.103, note3).
EXTRACT.
IX.
UNFERTH TAUNTS BEOWULF.
[Sidenote: Unferth, athane of Hrothgar, is jealous of Beowulf, and undertakes to twit him.]
Unferth spoke up, Ecglaf his son, Who sat at the feet of the lord of the Scyldings, Opened the jousting (the journey of Beowulf, Sea-farer doughty, gave sorrow to Unferth And greatest chagrin, too, for granted he never 5 That any man else on earth should attain to, Gain under heaven, more glory than he):
[Sidenote: Did you take part in a swimming-match with Breca?]
[Sidenote: 'Twas mere folly that actuated you both to risk your lives on the ocean.]
'Art thou that Beowulf with Breca did struggle, On the wide sea-currents at swimming contended, Where to humor your pride the ocean ye tried, 10 From vainest vaunting adventured your bodies In care of the waters? And no one was able Nor lief nor loth one, in the least to dissuade you Your difficult voyage; then ye ventured a-swimming, Where your arms outstretching the streams ye did cover, 15 The mere-ways measured, mixing and stirring them, Glided the ocean; angry the waves were, With the weltering of winter. In the water's possession, Ye toiled for a seven-night; he at swimming outdid thee, In strength excelled thee. Then early at morning 20 On the Heathoremes' shore the holm-currents tossed him, Sought he thenceward the home of his fathers, Beloved of his liegemen, the land of the Brondings, The peace-castle pleasant, where a people he wielded Had borough and jewels. The pledge that he made thee 25 The son of Beanstan hath soothly accomplished.
[Sidenote: Breca outdid you entirely. Much more will Grendel outdo you, if you vie with him in prowess.]
Then I ween thou wilt find thee less fortunate issue, Though ever triumphant in onset of battle, A grim grappling, if Grendel thou darest For the space of a night near-by to wait for! 30
Criticism of the Translation.
The translation is faithful, but not literal. The chief difference, for example, between this and the translation by Garnett is that Hall makes an attempt to preserve the poetic value of the Old English words. He is never satisfied with the dictionary equivalent of an Old English expression. Thus, in the extract given above, 'from vainest vaunting' is given as a translation of dol-gilpe—agreat improvement over Garnett's rendering, 'for pride.' Similarly, 'mixing and stirring' is given as a translation of mundum brugdon. This method often leads the translator some distance, perhaps too great a distance, from the Old English. The following may serve as examples of the heightened color that Hall gives to the Old English forms:—
548, 'the north-wind whistled, fierce in our faces,' for noran-wind heao-grim ondhwearf.
557, 'my obedient blade,' for hilde-bille.
568, 'foam-dashing currents,' for brontne ford.
587, 'with cold-hearted cruelty thou killedst thy brothers,' for u ɨnum brørum tø banan wurde.
606, 'the sun in its ether robes,' for sunne swegl-wered.
838, 'in the mist of the morning,' for on morgen.
1311, 'As day was dawning in the dusk of the morning,' for [-]r-dge.
Perhaps these paraphrastic renderings are what Dr. Hall is referring to when he says in his preface, regarding the nature of the translation, 'Occasionally some loss has been sustained; but, on the other hand, again has here and there been made.'
As for the archaism, that is well enough for those who like it. It is never so strange as that of Earle, or the marvelous diction of William Morris. But it is not, therefore, dignified or clear. How much dignity and clarity a translator has a right to introduce into his rendering is a matter of opinion. Mr. Hall was quite conscious of what he was doing, and doubtless regarded his diction as well suited to convey the original Beowulf spirit.
The chief criticism of the verse is that it is often not verse at all. Many passages are indistinguishable from prose. This is a stricture that cannot be passed on the Old English, nor on the best modern imitations ofit.
The atheling of Geatmen uttered these words and Heroic did hasten. —Page 51, line 19.
In war 'neath the water the work with great pains I Performed. —Page 57, line 6.
Gave me willingly to see on the wall a Heavy old hand-sword. —Page 57, line 11.
The man was so dear that he failed to suppress the Emotions that moved him. —Page 64, line 59.
There might be an excuse for some of this freedom in blank verse, but in measures imitative of the Old English it is utterly out of place. There is always a pause at the end of a line in Old English; run-on lines are uncommon. There is not an example in Beowulf of an ending so light as 'the' or 'a' in the verses quoted above.
HOFFMANN'S TRANSLATION
Bewulf. Aeltestes deutsches Heldengedicht. Aus dem Angelschsischen bertragen von P. Hoffmann. Zllichau. Verlag von Herm. Liebich (1893?). 8vo, pp. iii, 183.
*Zweite Ausgabe, Hannover, Schaper, 1900.
Sixth German Translation. Nibelungen Measures.
The Translator.
In Minerva (1902), P. Hoffmann is recorded as 'Ord. Professor' of Philosophy and Pedagogy at Gent.
Aim of the Volume.
The translator desired to present a rendering of the poem that should attract the general reader. He regarded Simrock's version as too literal and archaic[1], the version of von Wolzogen as not sufficiently clear and beautiful[2], and the version of Heyne as not sufficiently varied in form[3] (Vorwort,i). He regards the Beowulf as of great importance in inspiring patriotism—he always calls the poem German—and even offers a comparison of Beowulf with Emperor William I. With the scholarship of his subject the author hardly seems concerned.
Text, and Relation of Parts.
The translation is founded on Grein's text of 1867[4].
In addition to the translation, the volume contains articles on the history of the text, origin, the Germanic hero-tales, the episodes, the esthetic value of the poem. These are decidedly subordinate in interest to the translation.
Nature of the Translation.
The translation is in the so-called Nibelungen measures. Archaisms and unnatural compounds are avoided.
The Finnsburg fragment is inserted in the text at line 1068, p.44 of the volume. The episode is furnished with a beginning and ending original with Hoffmann.
EXTRACT.
VIERTES ABENTEUER.
VON BEOWULF'S SCHWIMMFAHRT.
Da hub der Sohn der Ecglaf, Hunferd, zu redenan; Er sass dem Herrn der Schildinge zu Fssen, und begann Kampfworte zu entbieten. Dass her Beowulf kam, Der khne Meerdurchsegler, schuf seinem Herzen bitter'n Gram.
Dass unter dem Himmel habe ein andrer Recke mehr, 5 Denn er, des Ruhms auf Erden, war ihm zu tragen schwer: 'Bist {der} Bewulf Du, der einst sich in der weiten Flut Mit Breca mass im Schwimmen? Zu hoch vermass sich da Dein Mut!
'Ihr spranget in die Wellen, vermessen wagtet ihr Das Leben in die Tiefe, aus Ruhm und Ehrbegier! 10 Die Fahrt, die schreckensvolle, nicht Freund noch Feind verleiden Euch konnte. Also triebet im Sund dahin ihr Beiden!
'Als ihr mit Euren Armen des Meeres Breite decktet, Die Meeresstrassen masset, die Hnde rudernd recktet Durch Brandungswirbel gleitend, vom Wintersturm getrieben 15 Hoch auf die Wellen schumten; ihr mhtet Euch der Nchte sieben!
'So rangt ihr mit den Wogen! Da wurde Dir entrafft Der Sieg von ihm, im Schwimmen, sein war die grss're Kraft, Ihn trug der Hochflut Wallen am Morgen an den Strand Der Hadurmen, bald er von da die ssse Heimat wiederfand. 20
'Im Lande der Brondinge wie gerne man ihn sah! Zu seiner schnen Feste kam er wieder da, Wo er zu eigen hatte Mannen, Burg und Ringe, Der Sohn Beanstan's hatte geleistet sein Erbot Dir allerdinge!'
Criticism of the Translation.
Hoffmann's translation is certainly not a contribution to scholarship. It is a sufficient condemnation of the volume to quote the words of the Vorwort:—
'Die Uebersetzungen von Grein, Holder und Mller sind mir nicht zugnglich gewesen, auch wie es scheint, nicht sehr bekannt.'
It is not surprising that Hoffmann is unacquainted with the translations of Holder and Mller, as these works have never been made; but that a German translator should ignore the version of Grein is a revelation indeed.
Even though a translator may not care to embody in his work any new interpretations, it is nevertheless his duty to base his translation on the best text that he can find. But apparently Hoffmann had never heard of the Heyne editions of the text, nor of the Grein-Wlker Bibliothek. He bases his translation on Grein's text of 1867. He evidently considered it a sufficient recommendation of his work to associate with it the name of Grein, not troubling himself to discover what advance had been made upon the work of that scholar.
Examples of antiquated renderings may be brought forward:—
P. 1, line 1, Wie grosse Ruhmesthaten. 2, line 1, So soll mit Gaben werben im Vaterhause schon. 21, line 15 (see Extract), Vom Wintersturm getrieben Hoch auf die Wellen schumten. 84, line 3, Mothrytho.
Petty inaccuracies due to the nature of the translation also appear. An example of this is seen on page 3, at the opening of the first canto—
Ueber Burg und Mannen nun herrschte manches Jahr Bewulf der Schilding. Wie hold dem Knig war Sein Volk! in allen Landen seinen Ruhm man pries Als lange schon sein Vater von dieser Erde Leben liess.
Literary Criticism.
The translation resembles the work of Lumsden[5] and Wackerbarth[6] in affording a version of the tale easily readable. And the same criticism may be passed on the work of Hoffmann that was passed on the two Englishmen. The style and medium chosen are not well fitted to render the spirit of the poem. The Nibelungenlied is a poem of the late twelfth century. The Beowulf at latest belongs to the eighth. To choose for the translation of Beowulf, therefore, amedium surcharged with reminiscence of a time, place, and style quite different from those of the original is certainly an error. It may find an audience where another and more faithful rendering would fail; but it will never win the esteem of scholars. In his introduction Hoffmann calls attention to the lack of variety in blank verse, but surely it does not have the monotony inherent in a recurring rime and strophe.
Again, rime and strophe force upon the author the use of words and phrases needed to pad out the verse or stanza. Attention must also be called to the fact that the original seldom affords a natural pause at the exact point demanded by the use of a strophic form. See the close of the following stanzas in the Extract: I, III, IV, V. One effect of the forced pause is that there is confusion in the use of kennings, which often have to do duty as subject in one stanza and as object in another stanza.
Commonplace expressions, incident perhaps upon the use of the measure, are not unfrequent. Thus
Gesagt! gethan!
translates
ond t gefndon swⱥ (line 538).
Traces of this are also found in the extract; see beginning of last stanza.
In conclusion, it may be said that Hoffmann's version marks an advance in one way only, readableness; and in this it is hardly superior to Heyne's rendering, which has the advantage of scholarship.
[Footnote 1: See supra, p. 59.] [[Simrock]]
[Footnote 2: See supra, p. 68.] [[von Wolzogen]]
[Footnote 3: See supra, p. 63.] [[Heyne]]
[Footnote 4: See supra, p. 56.] [[Grein's Texts]]
[Footnote 5: See p. 79.] [[Lumsden]]
[Footnote 6: See p. 45.] [[Wackerbarth]]
MORRIS AND WYATT'S TRANSLATION
Colophon: Here endeth the story of Beowulf done out of the old English tongue by William Morris and A. J. Wyatt, and printed by said William Morris at the Kelmscott Press, Uppermall, Hammersmith, in the county of Middlesex, and finished on the tenth day of January, 1895. Large 4to, pp. vi, 119.
Troy type. Edition limited to 300 copies on paper and eight on vellum.
Second edition. The Tale of Beowulf, Sometime King of the Folk of the Weder Geats, translated by William Morris and A. J. Wyatt. London and New York: Longmans, Green, & Co., 1895. 8vo, pp. x, 191.
Ninth English Translation. Imitative Measures.
Differences between the First and Second Editions.
In the second edition a title-page is added. The running commentary, printed in rubric on the margin of the first edition, is omitted.
Text Used.
The translation is, in general, conformed to Wyatt's text of 1894, departing from it in only a few unimportant details.
Part Taken in the Work by Morris and Wyatt respectively.
The matter is fortunately made perfectly clear in Mackail's Life of William Morris, vol. ii. p.284:—
'(Morris) was not an Anglo-Saxon scholar, and to help him in following the original, he used the aid of a prose translation made for him by Mr. A. J. Wyatt, of Christ's College, Cambridge, with whom he had also read through the original. The plan of their joint labours had been settled in the autumn of 1892. Mr. Wyatt began to supply Morris with his prose paraphrase in February, 1893, and he at once began to "rhyme up," as he said, "very eager to be at it, finding it the most delightful work." He was working at it all through the year, and used to read it to Burne-Jones regularly on Sunday mornings in summer.'
The plan of joining with his own the name of his principal teacher was one which Morris had used before when translating from a foreign tongue. He published his rendering of the Volsunga Saga as the work of 'Eirikr Magnsson and William Morris.' There is no evidence that Mr. Wyatt had any hand in forming the final draft of the translation. In defending it, Morris took all the responsibility for the book upon himself, and he always spoke of it as his own work. In writing to a German student toward the end of his life Morris spoke of the translation as his own without mentioning Mr. Wyatt[1]. Nor has Mr. Wyatt shown a disposition to claim a share in the work. In the preface to his edition of the text of Beowulf (Cambridge, 1894), he says:—
'Mr. William Morris has taken the text of this edition as the basis of his modern metrical rendering of the lay.' —Page xiii.
Finally, it may be added that the specimens of Mr. Wyatt's translation printed in the glossary and notes of his book bear no resemblance to the work of Morris.
Morris's Theory of Translation.
None despised the merely literal rendering of an epic poem more than William Morris. In writing of his version of the Odyssey to Ellis, Morris said: 'My translation is a real one so far, not a mere periphrase of the original as all the others are.' In translating an ancient poem, he tried to reproduce the simplicity and remoteness of phrase which he found in his original. He believed it possible, e.g., to suggest the archaic flavor of Homer by adopting a diction that bore the same relation to modern English that the language of Homer bore to that of the age of Pericles. The archaism of the English would represent the archaism of the Greek. This method he used in rendering Vergil and Homer.
But when he approached the translation of Beowulf, he was confronted by a new problem. It was evident that fifteenth-century English was ill-adapted to convey any just notion of eighth-century English. Beowulf required a diction older than that of Sir Thomas Malory or Chaucer. Hence it became necessary to discard the theory altogether, or else to produce another style which should in some true sense be imitative of Beowulf. This latter Morris tried to accomplish by increasing the archaism of his style by every means in his power. This feature is discussed in the following section.
Nature of the Translation.
The translation of Beowulf is written in extremely archaic language. An imitative measure of four principal stresses is used. Wherever possible, the Old English syntax has been preserved (see line 1242); the word-order of the original is retained. The archaic language is wrought of several different kinds of words. In the first place, there is the 'legitimate archaism,' such as 'mickle,' 'burg,' 'bairn'; there are forms which are more closely associated with the translation of Old English, such as 'middle-garth,' 'ring-stem.' There are modern words used with the old signification, such as 'kindly' (in the sense 'of the same kind'), 'won war' (in the sense 'wage war'), 'fret' (in the sense 'eat'). Finally, there are forms which are literally translated from Old English: 'the sight seen once only' from ansɏn, face, 251; 'spearman' from garsecg, ocean (see extract), 'gift-scat' from gif-sceatt, gift of money, 378; 'the Maker's own making' from metod-sceaft, doom, 1180. Romance words are excluded whenever possible. Aglossary of 'some words not commonly used now' is included in the book, but none of the words cited above, save 'burg,' is found init.
EXTRACT.
IX. UNFERTH CONTENDETH IN WORDS WITH BEOWULF.
Spake out then Unferth that bairn was of Ecglaf, And he sat at the feet of the lord of the Scyldings, 500 He unbound the battle-rune; was Beowulf's faring, Of him the proud mere-farer, mickle unliking, Whereas he begrudg'd it of any man other That he glories more mighty the middle-garth over Should hold under heaven than he himself held: Art thou that Beowulf who won strife with Breca On the wide sea contending in swimming, When ye two for pride's sake search'd out the floods And for a dolt's cry into deep water Thrust both your life-days? No man the twain of you, 510 Lief or loth were he, might lay wyte to stay you Your sorrowful journey, when on the sea row'dye; Then when the ocean-stream ye with your arms deck'd, Meted the mere-streets, there your hands brandish'd! O'er the Spearman ye glided; the sea with waves welter'd, The surge of the winter. Ye twain in the waves' might For a seven nights swink'd. He outdid thee in swimming, And the more was his might; but him in the morn-tide To the Heatho-Remes' land the holm bore ashore, And thence away sought he to his dear land and lovely, 520 The lief to his people sought the land of the Brondings, The fair burg peace-warding, where he the folk owned, The burg and the gold rings. What to theeward he boasted, Beanstan's son, for thee soothly he brought it about.
Criticism of the Translation.
The Morris-Wyatt translation is thoroughly accurate, and is, so to speak, an official commentary on the text of Wyatt's edition. It is therefore of importance to the student of the Beowulf.
As a literary rendering the translation is disappointing. In the first place, it must be frankly avowed that the diction is frequently so strange that it seems to modern readers well-nigh ridiculous. There are certain sentences which cannot but evoke a smile. Such are: '(he)spoke a word backward,' line 315; 'them that in Scaney dealt out the scat,' line 1686.
Secondly, the translation is unreadable. There is an avalanche of archaisms. One example of the extreme obscurity may be given:—
'Then rathe was beroom'd, as the rich one was bidding, For the guests a-foot going the floor all withinward.' l. 1975-76.
It would seem that the burden of 'rathe,' 'beroomed,' and 'withinward,' were sufficient for any sentence to carry, but we are left to discover for ourselves that 'rich one' does not mean rich one, but ruler, that the 'floor' is not a floor but a hall, and that the guests are not guests, but the ruler's own men.
Morris himself was conscious of the obscurity of the work:—
'For the language of his version Morris once felt it necessary to make an apology. Except a few words, he said, the words used in it were such as he would not hesitate to use in an original poem of his own. He did not add, however, that their effect, if slipped sparingly in amid his own pellucid construction and facile narrative method, would be very different from their habitual use in a translation.... As the work advanced, he seems to have felt this himself, and his pleasure in the doing of it fell off.' —Mackail's Life, ii. 284-5.
Finally, the version does not translate. Words like 'Spearman' for Ocean, and combinations like 'the sight seen once only' for the face, can be understood only by the intimate student of Old English poetry, and there is no reason why such a person should not peruse Beowulf in the original tongue rather than in a translation occasionally as obscure as the poem itself.
If one can peer through the darkness of Morris's diction, he will discover a fairly pleasing use of the so-called imitative measure. The verse is not nearly so rough as the original; many of the characteristic substitutions are avoided. There is evident a tendency toward the 'rising verse' and the anapestic foot. The feminine ending is frequently used. The verse is, therefore, not strictly imitative in that it retains the Old English system of versification, but rather in that it attempts to suggest the Old English movement by the use of four principal stresses and a varying number of unstressed syllables. Morris's verse is the best of all the 'imitative' measures.
[Footnote 1: See Mackail's Life, i. 198.]
SIMONS'S TRANSLATION
Bewulf, Angelsaksisch Volksepos, vertaald in Stafrijm, en met Inleiding en Aanteekeningen voorzien door Dr. L. Simons, Briefwisselend Lid der Koninklijke Vlaamsche Academie voor Taal- en Letterkunde, Leeraar aan 't koninklijk Athenaeum te Brussel. Gent, A. Siffer, 1896. Large 8vo, pp. 355.
Published for the Koninklijke Vlaamsche Academie voor Taal- en Letterkunde.
First Dutch Translation. Iambic Pentameter.
Aim and Contents of the Volume.
The author's purpose, as stated in 'Een Woord Vooraf,' is to make the Beowulf better known to the Dutch public. With this in view he adds to his translation copious notes and an exhaustive comment. The titles of his various chapters are: De Beschaving in den Beowulf, Christendom, Heldensage en Volksepos, Geschiednis, Mythos, Geatas, Nationaliteit van den Beowulf, Tijd van Voltooiing, Het Handschrift, De Versbouw, Epische Stijl, Innerlijke Geschiednis. Explanatory and critical comment is given in the footnotes, and textual criticism in the Notes at the end of the volume.
Text Used.
'I have followed the text of Socin[1]; where I have preferred to give another reading I have justified my proceeding in the Notes at the end of the work.' —Een Woord Vooraf.
Nature of the Translation.
It is a literal translation in iambic pentameter.
'Of the translation nothing in particular needs to be said. Ihave followed my original as closely as possible.' —Een Woord Vooraf.
He adds that this was no easy task, as Dutch does not afford the same variety of simile as the Old English.
A page is then given to the discussion of the nature of his verse. He first gives his reasons for preferring iambic pentameter to the 'Reinartsvers,' which some might think best to use.
'Moreover, the iambic pentameter lends itself well to division into hemistichs, the principal characteristic of the ancient epic versification.' —Een Woord Vooraf.
He has often preferred the simple alliteration (aa, bb) to the Old English system[2].
EXTRACT.
IX.
En Hunferd zeide toen, de zoon van Ecglaf, Die aan die voeten zat des Schyldingvorsten, Het kampgeheim ontkeetnend: (Beowulfs aankomst, Des koenen golfvaart gaf hem grooten aanstoot, Omdat hij geenszins aan een ander gunde Der mannen, meerder roem op aard te rapen, Benen de wolken, dan hem was geworden.) 'Zijt gij die Beowulf, die met Brecca aanbond Den wedstrijd op de wijde zee, in 't zwemmen Met dezen streven dorst, toen boud gij beiden Navorschtet in den vloed en gij uit grootspraak Uw leven waagdet in het diepe water? Geen stervling was in staat, noch vriend noch vijand, De roekelooze reis u af te raden. Toen braakt gij beiden roeiend door de baren En dektet onder uwen arm de deining, Gij maat de zeebahn, zwaaiend met de handen, Doorgleedt de waterwieling, schoon met golven De kil opklotste bij des winters branding. Op deze wijze wurmdet gij te gader Wel zeven nachten in 't bezit der zeen. Doch gene ging in vaart u ver te boven; Hij had toch meerder macht. De strooming stuwde Hem met den morgen heen ten Headoraemen, Van waar hij wedervond, de volksgevierde, Het lieve stambezit, het land der Brondings, De schoone schatburg, waar hij wapenlieden En goed en goud bezat. De zoon van Beanstan Hield tegen u geheel zijn woord in waarheid.'
Criticism of the Translation.
The translation seems to aim chiefly at accuracy, which accounts for the rather large number of notes containing readings suggested by various commentators. The translator uses freely compounds and metaphors similar to those in the original text. This seems occasionally to militate against the clearness of the work. Thus, it is doubtful whether 'kampgeheim ontkeetnend' of the extract conveys to the modern Dutch reader any notion similar to that of the Old English beadu-runen onband.
The present writer is unable to offer any literary criticism of the translation.
[Footnote 1: Fifth edition of Heyne's text, 1888.]
[Footnote 2: At this point Simons speaks as if ab, ab, were the common form of alliteration in Old English, whereas it is rather uncommon.]
STEINECK'S TRANSLATION
Altenglische Dichtungen (Beowulf, Elene, u.a.) in wortgetreuer Uebersetzung von H.Steineck. Leipzig, 1898, O.R. Reisland. 8vo, Beowulf, pp. 1-102.
Seventh German Translation. Line for line.
Aim of the Volume, and Nature of the Translation.
'Die vorliegende Uebersetzung ist aus dem Bedrfnis einer wortgetreuen Wiedergabe altenglischer Denkmler entstanden. Soweit es der Sinn zuliess, ist das Bestreben dahin gegangen, fr jedes altenglische Wort das etymologisch entsprechende neuhochdeutsche, wenn vorhanden, einzusetzen. So ist die Uebersetzung zugleich ein sprachgeschichtliches Werk.' —Vorwort.
Text Used.
The translation is based on Heyne's text of 1863[1] (Vorwort). Fragmentary passages are not restored.
EXTRACT.
IX.
Hunferd sprach, des Ecglf Sohn, 500 Welcher zu Fssen sass des Herren der Scyldinge; Er lste der Streiter Geheimniss—ihm war Beowulfs Fahrt, Des mutigen Meerfahrers, zu grossem Neid, Weil er nicht gnnte, dass irgend ein anderer Jemals nun mehr Ruhmesthaten Unter dem Himmel der Erde erwarb als er selbst: 'Bist du Bowulf, der du mit Breca kmpftest Auf weiter See in einem Wettschwimmen, Dort durchforschtet ihr beide aus Stolz die Fluten Und wagtet aus verwegener Ruhmsucht im tiefen Wasser Euer Leben? Euch beiden konnte keiner, 510 Weder Freund noch Feind, vorwerfen Die gefahrvolle Reise; da rudertet ihr beide im Wasser, Dort berdecktet ihr beide den Wasserstrom mit Armen, Ihr masst die Meeresstrassen, mit Hnden schwangt ihr, Ihr glittet ber die Flut; das Meer wallte in Fluten, Des Winters Gewoge; ihr mhtet euch in des Wassers Gewalt Sieben Nchte ab; er besiegte dich beim Schwimmen, Er hatte grssere Kraft. Da warf ihn in der Morgenzeit An das Headormenland die See, Von dort aus suchte er das traute Stammgut auf, 520 Der seinen Leuten Teure, das Land der Brondinge, Die schne Friedensburg, wo er Volk besass, Burg und Ringe. Alles, wozu er sich dir verpflichtete, Leistete der Sohn Banstns wahrhaftig.'
Criticism of the Translation.
It would be manifestly unfair to criticize this translation for its want of grace and melody, because it is avowedly a literal rendering, and a literal rendering makes no attempt to attain these qualities. But there are certain things which are indispensable in a good literal translation. It is imperative that such a translation should be based on the best text of the original poem. What has Steineck done? He has gone back thirty-five years and chosen an early and inaccurate edition of a work that has been five times re-edited, Heyne's text of 1863! It seems almost incredible that a German, living in the midst of scholars who have done more than any other people to interpret the Beowulf, should ignore the fruits of their efforts. |
|
