Book question

[badseed1980]

I know there are tons of people out there on my friends list who are book lovers, so maybe I can get some opinions on this from all you guys.

Watching The Lord of the Rings, I'm really getting an urge to delve into some Old English literature. Not knowing Old English, though, I'm stuck with translations. So, given that, two questions:

1. Other than Beowulf, what are some really good pieces I should look for, that can be found in decent translations?

2. Which translation of Beowulf would you recommend, and why?

Just briefly looking at some info on Anglo-Saxon poetry, I can easily see some of the many influences it had on Tolkein's writing. Nifty. :)

Comments

[elissa-carey.livejournal.com]

Oooh, hell, I wish I could tell you. I need to look into that myself. BUT, I do know that there's always the Poetic and Prose Eddas. I know that's more Norse than Anglo-Saxon, but it's of a similar vein.

Whatever translation you do get? Make sure that they don't try to "modernize" all the neat... shit, I'm blanking on the term. Epithets? No... OK, for example, "sea-road." Descriptions, basically, but... you know.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Kennings, is what they're called. :)

[elissa-carey.livejournal.com]

Yes! Exactly. I love kennings, by the way. They're such an inherent part of Anglo-Saxon and Norse literature that anyone trying to modernize them is entirely missing the point, I think.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

I agree. I like the fact that Tolkein uses them in the poetry of Rohan.

My suggestions

[dee-cee.livejournal.com]

1) The Decameron. (http://www.amazon.com/Decameron-Signet-Classics-Giovanni-Boccaccio/dp/0451528662/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-2117805-5199045?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180887311&sr=8-1) Okay, it's really Italian, but good nonetheless.

2) Canterbury Tales (http://www.amazon.com/Canterbury-Tales-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140424385/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-2117805-5199045?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180887389&sr=8-1)

And you can never go wrong with a Norton Anthology (http://www.amazon.com/Norton-Anthology-English-Literature-Restoration/dp/0393925315/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/103-2117805-5199045?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180887443&sr=1-3). I own this one, and it has Beowolf, Canterbury tales..even the Bible as examples!

Re: My suggestions

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

I'm really specifically looking for Anglo-Saxon stuff, though. The Canterbury Tales are Middle English. They ARE nifty, though, as is the Decameron.

Re: My suggestions

[dee-cee.livejournal.com]

Well, considering that Beowulf is pretty much the last surviving examples, I thought I would suggest alternatives.

Good luck on your search.

Re: My suggestions

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Actually, there are quite a few poems and fragments other than Beowulf out there. I don't know if there are any good translations and collections available, though. Other than Beowulf, it's all shorter stuff, so I'll agree that Beowulf is the only surviving example of the epic literature of Old England.

I loved reading the Canterbury Tales in high school. It always amazed me at how much more "acceptable" raunchy stuff was to our teachers when it was a "classic". And there's some pretty raunchy stuff in there!

[leenah.livejournal.com]

Seamus Heaney's Beowulf. i MIGHT have a copy accessible that you could borrow.

i prefer translations that blend the old and new - translate into current idiom where it makes sense to, explain the old ways and translate them precisely when it's important to do that. whichever servees the story best. now, that requires that i agree with the translator on what the story actually is - there's never just ONE story in a piece. i seem to agree with seamus heaney's take on beowulf.

all that said, i haven't gotten thru all of it yet. other things keep getting in the way.

(also, it reprints the old english text along side the translation - i LOVE this. i want to see what the original looks like.)

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I love that approach to translation, where you can see the original. I have a book of Baudelaire's poetry like that. I like reading it in the original, but having the translation there to see if there's a word I'm having trouble with is useful. I have heard of Heaney's translation, and I'm not surprised it's a good one.

[fyrebloom.livejournal.com]

I would also reccommend the song of Roland. Good medieval read :).

[etainwilson.livejournal.com]

I highly recommend Egil's Saga. It's a classic. A lot of the norse literature paints a very vivid picture of the people and what life was like then.

BTW I just finished reading the Children of Huirin which was an early Tolkien work which was completed by his son. Alas, it is a dark tale, and not one soon to be made for prime time audiences.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Turns out JRRT was happy with neither of his translations, and so, they have not been published ... yet.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Ah, I see. Not surprised--I imagine he'd be something of a perfectionist on that subject.