R. M. Liuzza

Old English contains the oldest literature written in the English language. As such, it is key to understand not only historically but also linguistically. Many educated people are familiar with the epic poem Beowulf, but for most, that poem is the only source material studied before Chaucer (who writes in Middle English). This anthology fills in the gap with entertaining and enlightening poems. One cannot help but picture Anglo-Saxons sitting around the fire and sharing prepared stories in the form of verse. Fortunately, the fruit of some of these encounters was written down then and passed down centuries later through English libraries.

What substance do these poems contain? They speak of fighting (a lot of fighting), the Christian religion, and making sense of a wide and diverse world. At their best, they bring to mind modern stories like The Lord of the Rings. They also represent a natural longing for order, safety, and stability in a precarious medieval world. The book starts out with a well-known ode of Caedmon’s calling to speak only of the goodness of God’s creation. Many tales appropriate classic Christian stories (like the Exodus, Daniel, and Judith) and gild an interesting layer of ancient Anglo-Saxon culture onto these tales. While the majority of the book contains some sort of religious veneer, the collection ends secularly with themes of battle and the vast European world.

Unfortunately, this edition does not contain the original texts. I have heard that the original verse contains certain forms of meter and alliteration that helped facilitate memorization and recall. Most of the translations, though, still hearken to a pre-Latinized language filled with short and compounded words. A few poems, like “The Fight at Finnsburh,” have a well-developed sense of narrative and imagery worthy even by modern standards.

This work appeals to anyone longing for a sense of history within the English language. Many moderns might bore of incessant appeals to the Deity, but such appeals only illustrate how fragile and fleeting life was (and is still?). These poems try to make sense of their medieval world much as we try to make sense of our modern world. One can only hope that some reader a thousand years hence would read our writing.… (meer)