Beowulf: An Edition

Bruce Mitchell and Fred Robinson are two of the foremost scholars in the field of Old English language and literature. Here, they draw on their extensive learning and teaching experience in order to create the definitive classroom edition of the Anglo–Saxon epic, Beowulf, which describes the adventures of a great Scandinavian warrior. The book opens with an extensive introduction to Beowulf and the critical debates surrounding it. The poem itself is presented with explanatory footnotes to make it more easily intelligible. The editors then give a detailed account of how they arrived at their text, before finally guiding readers through the background to the poem. A selection of related poetry, an illustrated chapter on Anglo–Saxon archaeology, and a full glossary complete the volume. Mitchell and Robinson’s accessible edition of Beowulf is ideal for readers coming to this masterpiece of Old English poetry for the first time.

Foreword. Acknowledgements. List of Figures/Illustrations. Map: The Geography of Beowulf. Part I: Introduction: . 1. Manuscript. 2. Date, Place, and Circumstances, of Composition. 3. Language. 4. Structure. 5. Tone, Style, and Metre. 6. Subject Matter. 7. Two Views of Beowulf. Part II: Text and Notes: . Part III: How We Arrived At Our Text: . 8. Problems in Editing the Text. 9. Punctuation. Part IV: The Background: . 10. Genealogical Tables. 11. The Geatish–Swedish Wars. 12. Archaeology and Beowulf. 13. Some Related Poems In Old English:. 14. Widsith. 15. Deor. 16. Waldere. 17. The Battle Of Finnesburh. 18. Maxims I. 19. Documents Bearing on Beowulf :. 20. Genealogies. 21. Cain And Abel. 22. The Flood. 23. Letter Of Alcuin To A Mercian Bishop, 797. 24. Hygelac. 25. The Flight Behind The Waterfall. 26. The Dragon Fight. Bibliography. Short Titles. Suggestions For Further Reading. Glossary. Abbreviations and Symbols. Notes on the Glossary. Glossary of Beowulf. Proper Names.

Bruce Mitchell is Fellow Emeritus at St Edmund Hall, Oxford. His many publications include An Invitation to Old English and Anglo–Saxon England (Blackwell, 1994). Fred C. Robinson is Douglas Tracy Smith Emeritus Professor of English at Yale University. His books include The Tomb of Beowulf, and Other Essays on Old English (Blackwell, 1993) The sixth edition of Mitchell and Robinson’s A Guide to Old English was published by Blackwell in 2001.

"Mitchell and Robinson′s Beowulf: An Edition has all of the features one hopes to find in a classroom edition: glossary, notes, copious but clear explanatory material. But it is more than an edition. It is a distillation of decades of affectionate attention to the poem by two of the top scholars in the field. From the smallest of details like punctuation to the broadest interpretations, Mitchell and Robinson display an abiding respect and admiration for the magnificent artistry of Beowulf. " Daniel Donoghue, Harvard University "This is an admirable introduction to the poem." Forum for Modern Language Studies "[...] we should rejoice in what Mitchell and Robinson have provided: a new student′s edition of a masterpiece of Old English poetry that has made Beowulf much more accessible to a whole new generation of students." Journal of English and Germanic Philology<!––end––>