So after hearing of the birth of Scyld’s son, and the importance of this to his people we get:
Him þæs liffrea,
wuldres wealdend, woroldare forgeaf;
Beowulf wæs breme (blæd wide sprang),
Scyldes eafera Scedelandum in.
Literal: He was, by god, the glorious ruler, given worldly honor. Beowulf was renowned, his fame spread far, this son of Scyld, across Scania (southern Scandinavia).
That first line:
Him þæs liffrea, wuldres wealdend, woroldare forgeaf.
Is a good example of the different word order of OE compared to modern english. Where we are used to Subject, Verb, Object. Here we have Subject, Object, Verb:
He was [ by god, the glorious ruler] worldly honer given. Subject [He], object [Honor], verb [given]. “Honor” – an abstract noun – is given to him (Beowulf). It’s close to Yoda speak, but Yoda would probably say: Honor, given by God, to him it was. Object, verb, subject. A very strange word order, that probably has something to do with living in a swamp.
Anyway, here we have the first mention of Beowulf! Finally. But it’s not the Beowulf. Some translations try to make this clear by rendering the name “Beown” or something similar to avoid confusion with the later, the real deal, Beowulf.
Beowulf (mark1)
You can see from the manuscript (above: “forgeaf beowulf”) that the original scribe had no such concerns. The genealogy of the Scandinavian royal families was probably well known to the audience. Also, and it’s probably not clear yet, but this is the Danish royal line. The Beowulf who is the hero of the poem is a Geat. That will become clear once we’re clear of the prologue.
And so to my translation. I’ve kept the name Beowulf, though this is Beowulf (mk1), I don’t think it’s too confusing. Just as Deep Purple (mk1) – who did Hush – are rarely confused with the more successful mk2 line up.
He was marked for glory,
The son of shield,
As a flame,
Beowulf’s fame spread,
Through the Southlands.
Leave a Reply