Beowulf: An Introduction to the Study of the Poem with a Discussion of the Stories of Offa and Finn

Third edition 1959. Reprinted Í963, 1967. Chambers’s introduction to "Beowulf" is the most comprehensive study of the whole problem of this remarkable Anglo-Saxon manuscript. The original edition, published in 1921, began with a summary of the views held by previous writers on historical and non-historical elements in the poem, its date, origin and structure; this was followed by a collection of the Latin and Scandinavian documents furnishing parallels for various episodes, and a detailed discussion of the Fight at Finnsburg and the relation of the Finn-episode in "Beowulf" to the "Finnsburg" fragment. Finally, an Appendix discussed miscellaneous questions, including mythology in Beowulf and the relevance of archaeological finds. The second edition provided a supplement on work up to 1930 and an additional bibliography. This third edition, similarly, accounts for recent scholarship and new publications since 1930. The Sutton Hoo discoveries of 1939, in particular, have made additions necessary. The original text remains unaltered, since no major change of emphasis or interpretation is needed; but Professor Wrenn’s new supplement and bibliography brings the book up to date. (Book cover)