Beowulf

This is a review of this particular edition of Beowulf. A luscious edition which I was attracted to by its copious illustrations and its illustrious translator, that magnificent Scop or skald and bard, Seamus Heaney. An Anglo-Saxon epic [therefore English], significant as one of the earliest surviving written examples of an oral, performance tradition, in northern Europe. It's natural to think of and compare it with the Illiad, the Odyssey, the Aneid, all of which we are familiar with in t West. The Warrior and his culture are the focus. There is almost nothing female or feminine in its pages. The warrior code exemplified by the hero or the Lord of his people; occasionally contrasted by the actions of a warrior or king of a different clan, is of prime importance. This isn't always easy to interpret as it seems “righteousness” is in the eye of the victor. There are tales within the main tale of retribution for earlier killings/deaths. Marriages intended to bring previous waring clans together but where blood feuds could still be inflamed causing more death. Weir guild could be the means of dispensing justice in such situations which all would hold binding if accepted.
Beowulf is never physically described other than his strength, but his ethical or moral behavior congruent with how a King or leader should perform is referenced time and again. Like the Trojan War speculation is made as to the story's relation to history and its place in history. Fifth or Sixth Century CE seems favored and pre-Christian. In its written form, whilst its pagan roots, are visible Beowulf credits his success to God's will, and no power forged “giants” works for him. Whilst reading I could not help but regret the probable loss of the poem's pagan elements which make the other Nordic sagas so alive with the fantastic.
I have no idea whether Seamus Heaney's translation is good or nay. I plan to read J.R.R. Tolkien's translation but I couldn't cope with reading that straight away. Notwithstanding his “other” literary work of genius, Tolkien was an esteemed Oxford professor of Middle English, and it's reasonable to assume his translation of and essays on Beowulf would be authoritative.
Heaney though is one of “my” poets. His prose aided my reading of what I think would have been a difficult reading indeed possibly otherwise a task. That this edition was illustrated with artifacts of the age; countryside that may have some visual similarity to places in the story on each adjacent page to the text, entranced me as a lover of all things archeological and ancient. I could stare at the Sutton Hoo treasure and in particular the helmet for hours on end.
Sadly Beowulf is a set text in the academic world and that probably dulls its merit as a work worth reading for enjoyment. I think Seamus Heany's translation and particularly this illustrated edition will over time go a long way to correcting that