Beowulf

Chamber’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 Finnsberg and the relation of the Finn-episode 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 scholarship and 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.