the first half of the line. Unaccented syllables, the greater number of which were placed at the beginning of the second half line, after the pause, filled up the line. One school of poets, of whom Cynewulf was the chief, used a short line, with few slurred syllables. Another school which has been called the Caedmonian School used a line with a varying number of unaccented syllables, and as a great number of these were often inserted, the line has been called the "long epic line" in contrast with Cynewulf's shorter line. A poet of this school could use the shorter line when he pleased.. He might have a line of only eight syllables, or one of three times that length, expanding it to express his swelling passion, or contracting it to suit a sharp question or a concise description. The variety then of the line was great, and its elasticity. It was capable of rapidity and solemnity; and its harmony and order were secured by the last alliterated stress being on the first syllable of the last word but one of the full line. In order to be able to fulfil these needs and follow these peculiarities, I chose, after many experiments, the trochaic movement used in this book, each half-line consisting of trochees following one another, with a syllable at the end, chiefly a long one, to mark the division of the line. I varied the line as much as I could, introducing, often rashly, metrical changes; for the fault of this movement is its monotony. I have sometimes tried an iambic movement, but rarely; for this trochaic line with a beat at the end of each half-verse seemed to me to get the nearest to the sound of the AngloSaxon line, even though it is frequently un-similar to that line itself. I used alliteration whenever I could, and stressed as much as possible the alliterated words, and I changed the length of the line with the changes of the original. But when I could not easily alliterate my line or stress the alliterated word, I did not try to do so. It was better, I thought, to give literally the sense and the sentiment of the original than to strain them or lose them by a rigid adherence to alliteration and accent. I have made clear the division of the Anglo-Saxon line by leaving a space in the midst of each line of my translation. The two half-lines are, of course, intended to be read right across the page, with a slight pause upon the space between them. I think the method used is on the whole the right method, but I am by no means satisfied with what I have done. I submit it with much deference to those who understand the difficulties of such a translation. This book is written from the literary point of view, and desires, above all, to induce English-speaking folk to reverence, admire, and love the poetry which their fathers wrote in old time, since it is worthy. I have not therefore, except when I thought it necessary, entered into the critical or scientific questions which hum like bees around the poems. On these questions a great number of books, reviews, and pamphlets have been written. I have not avoided this side of the matter from any want of gratitude to the critics, or from any lack of appreciation of the work of Anglo-Saxon scholars. On the contrary, it is my duty and my pleasure to acknowledge, that were it not for the intimate and exhaustive labour of German, English, and American scholars, a book like this, which views the poetry of the ancient English only as literature, could not have been written at all, or, at least, not on any sure foundation. No translation worth reading, or giving a clear representation of what the Anglo-Saxon poets thought or felt, could have here been made, had it not been preceded by the long, careful and penetrating labour of the philologists; nor could any just literary estimate of the poems or any useful arrangement of them have been worked out in this book, without the minute and accurate toil expended on them, and on their subjects, sources and dates by a multitude of critics among whom the Germans are pre-eminent. Moreover, had it not been for the labour and genius of the later historians of early England, especially of Mr. Green, I could not have had the materials for binding up, as I have tried to do, the poetry of England with the history of England. I cannot, so numerous are they, mention the many scholars to whom my thanks are due, but my gratitude to them is none the less. Where I have specially used the work of any one of them I have acknowledged it in the text. Two, however, above all, ought to be thanked by me, as they have been thanked by all who have cared for ancient English poetry. Professor Grein is gone from us, but he will never be forgotten. To his Dictionary I owe my first interest in the AngloSaxon language, my first understanding of its power and charm. To his translation of the poems into German I owe my first appreciation of the poetry of early England. The reading of that translation made me eager to read the poems in the original, and I could not rest till I was able to do so. When I had read them I could not rest till I had written this book. The other scholar to whom this book owes so much is Professor Wülker. He needs no praise, but he may take grat itude from me. Had it not been for his Grundriss zur Geschichte der angelsächsischen Litteratur, one like myself, who late in life began to read the Anglo-Saxon literature, could never have found his way through the tangled mazes of Anglo-Saxon criticism, nor known what to look for, nor where to find his wants fulfilled. I cannot understand why the University Professors of Anglo-Saxon in this country do not have that book translated, and edited up to date. I was fortunate enough while these pages were passing through the press to be in time to see Professor Earle's book, The Deeds of Beowulf, and though I do not agree with his theory of the origin of the poem, I wish to thank him for having, by his translation and notes, made Beowulf a more literary possession for the English people. I have also to thank Mr. Gollancz for permitting me to use the early proof sheets of his edition of the Christ. I saw these sheets after I had made the translations of the Christ contained in this book, and before he had re-written his translation as it now appears. I made some changes in my translation and adopted some of his phrases. I also adopted his new division of the poem, and his ending of it at line 1663. Since then his book has been published, and my personal thanks are now mingled with those due to him from all who care for English literature. To Miss Kate Warren, an accomplished student of Anglo-Saxon poetry, and an excellent teacher of our modern literature, I am also indebted for steady and valuable help frankly given to me throughout the writing of this book. She made the map which accompanies these volumes, and the Index is also her work. I have had the map drawn to illustrate the chapter which treats of the question- Why Northumbria was the special home of English Poetry. It represents the general relation of the English kingdoms to the Welsh, Irish and Pictish peoples, and it follows, in its main divisions, the map at p. 21 of Mr. York Powell's History of England. It does not pretend to give the boundaries between the several English kingdoms or between the English and the Welsh at any particular period from 600 to 800. Maps which explain the to-and-fro of those boundaries from time to time will be found in Mr. Green's Making of England. I have also had placed in this map, and underlined in red, the names of the most famous monastic centres of learning which had been set up before the death of Baeda. And so, I bid this book farewell. It has tried, with many others, to save for remembrance and seclude for thought the neglected lands of early English poetry. Like the ancient places of this country where our forefathers met together for religion or war or council, they seem to appeal to England to take care of them, to give them interest and affection. Far too few of them remain, far too many of them have perished. The silent stream of time, with mordant and quiet wave, washed into forgetfulness those pleasant fields, rura quae Liris quieta mordet aqua taciturnus amnis. August 2, 1892. STOPFORD A. BROOKE. |