List of translations of Beowulf

This is a list of translations of Beowulf, one of the best-known Old English heroic epic poems. Beowulf has been translated many times in verse and in prose. By 2020, the Beowulf's Afterlives Bibliographic Database listed some 688 translations and other versions of the poem, from Thorkelin's 1787 transcription of the text, and in at least 38 languages.[1]

The poet John Dryden's categories of translation have influenced how scholars discuss variation between translations and adaptations.[2] In the Preface to Ovid's Epistles (1680) Dryden proposed three different types of translation:

metaphrase [...] or turning an author word for word, and line by line, from one language into another; paraphrase [...] or translation with latitude, where the author is kept in view by the translator so as never to be lost, but his words are not so strictly followed as his sense, and that, too, is admitted to be amplified but not altered; and imitation [...] where the translator – if he has not lost that name – assumes the liberty not only to vary from the words and sense, but to forsake them both as he sees occasion; and taking only some general hints from the original, to run division on the ground-work, as he pleases.[2]

The works listed below may fall into more than one of Dryden's categories, but works that are essentially direct translations are listed here. Versions of other kinds that take more "latitude" are listed at List of adaptations of Beowulf.

Translations
Further information: Translating Beowulf

There are hundreds of translations or near-translations of Beowulf, and more are added each year, so a complete list may well be unattainable. Listed here are the major versions discussed by scholars, along with the first versions in different languages.

English Translations
DateTitleTranslatorLocationPublisherTypeNotes
1837BeowulfKemble, John MitchellLondonWilliam PickeringProseFirst complete translation into modern English; archaizing, and translating word-for-word.[3] The 1st ed. in 1833 had no translation.
1849Beowulf, an epic poem translated from the Anglo-Saxon into English verseWackerbarth, A. DiedrichLondonWilliam PickeringVerseWalter Scott-like romance verse using rhyme and modern metre (iambic tetrameters), no attempt to imitate alliterative verse[4]
1855Anglo-Saxon Poems of BeowulfThorpe, BenjaminOxfordJames WrightVerse, prosaicParallel text, with "literal" translation "reading like prose ... chopped up into short lines" as if verse[5]
1876Beowulf: a Heroic Poem of the Eighth Century, with a translationArnold, Thomas, the YoungerLondonLongmans, GreenProseAn archaizing version, translating word-for-word.[6][7]
1881Beowulf: an old English poem, translated into modern rhymesLumsden, Henry WilliamLondonKegan PaulVerse
1882Beowulf: an Anglo-Saxon poem, & the Fight at FinnsburgGarnett, James Mercer, the youngerBostonGinn, Heath, & Co.Verse"With facsimile of the unique manuscript in the British Museum".[8]
1888I. Beówulf: an Anglo-Saxon poem. II. The Fight at Finnsburh: a fragmentHarrison, James Albert;
Moritz Heyne;
Robert Sharp		BostonX. Ginn & Co.ProseNot exactly a translation. Annotated text and long glossary
1892The Deeds of BeowulfEarle, JohnOxfordClarendon PressProseAn archaizing version.[9]
1894BeowulfWyatt, Alfred JohnCambridgeCambridge University PressProseNot exactly a translation. Annotated text and long glossary
1897Beowulf: an Anglo-Saxon Epic PoemHall, John LesslieLexingtonD. C. HeathVerse[10]
1901Beowulf and the Fight at FinnsburgHall, J. R. ClarkCambridgeCambridge University PressProseA literal approach, somewhat archaic; smoother and more uniform than Kemble.[11] "One of the most enduringly popular of all translations of the poem".[5][12]
1910The tale of Beowulf sometime King of the folk of the Weder GeatsMorris, William;
Alfred John Wyatt		LondonLongmanVerse"Genuinely foreignizing ... medievalizes" in a distinctive style, with "breaking rhythms and irregular syntax ... an insistently archaizing diction and a striking literalism to produce a defamiliarizing effect".[13]
1910BeowulfGummere, Francis B.New YorkThe Collier PressVerseThe Harvard Classics, Charles W. Eliot, (Ed.)
1910BeowulfSedgefield, Walter JohnManchesterUniversity of ManchesterProseNot exactly a translation. Annotated text and long glossary
1913The Story of BeowulfKirtlan, Ernest John BrighamLondonC. H. KellyProseDecorated and designed by Frederick Lawrence.
1914Beowulf. A Metrical Translation into Modern EnglishHall, J. R. ClarkCambridgeCambridge University PressVerse
1921 Widsith; Beowulf; Finnsburgh; Waldere; Dior [sic], done into Common English after the Old Manner Charles Scott Moncrieff[14] London Chapman and Hall Verse With an introduction from Lord Northcliffe. Moncrieff had studied Old English at the University of Edinburgh in 1913.[14]
1922Beowulf and the Fight at FinnsburgKlaeber, FrederickBostonD. C. Heath and CompanyProseClassic, continuously in print through 4 editions. Not exactly a translation. Annotated text and long glossary
1923The Story of Beowulf and Grendel. Retold in modern English proseSpencer, Richard AugustusLondon, EdinburghW. & R. ChambersProse
1923The Song of Beowulf rendered into English proseGordon, R. K.LondonJ.M. Dent & SonsProse
1925Beowulf. Translated into modern English rhyming verseStrong, ArchibaldLondonConstableVerse
1926Beowulf. Translated into English verseCrawford, D. H.LondonChatto & WindusVerse
1933The Story of Beowulf. Retold from the ancient epicRiggs, StraffordNew YorkD. Appleton-CenturyDecorated by Henry Clarence Pitz.
1940Beowulf. the oldest English epic. Translated into alliterative verse with a critical introductionKennedy, Charles W.New YorkOxford University PressVerse, alliterativeOCLC 185407779.
1945Beowulf. In modern verse with an essay and picturesBone, Gavin DavidOxfordBasil BlackwellVerse
1949Beowulf in Modern English. A translation in blank verseWaterhouse, Mary ElizabethCambridgeBowes & BowesVerse, blank
1952Beowulf: A Verse Translation into Modern EnglishMorgan, EdwinBerkeleyUniversity of California PressVerseBased on Klaeber's text; "of special significance in its own right but also as the beginning of translation of Beowulf into a genuinely modern poetic idiom, leading the way for many later followers down to and beyond Seamus Heaney".[15]
1953Beowulf, with the Finnsburg fragmentWrenn, C. L.LondonGeorge G. Harrap & Co.Wrenn was one of the Inklings.
1953Beowulf and JudithDobbie, Elliott van KirkNew YorkColumbia University Press
1954Beowulf the WarriorSerraillier, IanOxfordOxford University PressIllustrated by John Severin.
1957BeowulfWright, DavidHarmondsworthPenguin ClassicsProseReprinted by Panther Books, 1970
1963BeowulfRaffel, BurtonNew YorkSignet ClassicsVerseRaffel writes in his essay "On Translating Beowulf" that the poet-translator "needs to master the original in order to leave it".[16]
1966BeowulfDonaldson, Ethelbert TalbotLondonLongmanProseWidely read in The Norton Anthology of English Literature; accurate, "foreignizing" prose, using asyndetic coordination, "somewhat ponderous but ... dignified tone ... viewed by teachers as dull".[17]
1968BeowulfCrossley-Holland, KevinLondonMacmillanOCLC 1200055128
1968Beowulf and its AnaloguesGarmonsway, George N.LondonJ.M. Dent & SonsProseHugh Magennis calls this "much-used"; Michael J. Alexander says it has "dignity and rhythmical shape".[18]
1973Beowulf: A Verse Translation Alexander, Michael J.HarmondsworthPenguin ClassicsVerseClosely "shadows" the original[19]
1977 Beowulf: A Dual-Language Edition Howell D. Chickering New York Anchor Books Verse
1983Beowulf: a Verse Translation with Treasures of the Ancient NorthOsborn, MarijaneBerkeleyUniversity of California PressVerse[20]
1985A Readable BeowulfGreenfield, Stanley B.CarbondaleSouthern Illinois University Press"Simultaneously a poem and, by virtue of the nature of translation, an act of criticism".(Greenfield, p. ix)[21]
1991Beowulf: A Verse TranslationRebsamen, FrederickNew YorkHarperCollinsVerseimitates original's poetic form as closely as possible, with alliterative half-lines; seven prose sections interrupt the translation, instead of using footnotes[22]
1991Beowulf: Text and TranslationPorter, JohnHockwold-cum-WiltonAnglo-Saxon BooksVerseParallel text; "the most literal"[23]
1999Beowulf: A Translation in ProgressRomano, TimSwarthmore, PennsylvaniaVerseThe translation seeks to bring over into modern English the carved syntax of the original poetry without things becoming too "wooden". url=https://www.aimsdata.com/tim/beow/beowulf_trans.htm
1999Beowulf: A New Verse TranslationHeaney, SeamusLondonFaberVerse
2000BeowulfLiuzza, Roy M.Peterborough, OntarioBroadview PressParallel text. 2nd edition 2013
2012Beowulf: A TranslationMeyer, ThomasSanta Barbara, CaliforniaPunctum Books
2013Grinnell Beowulf: A Translation with NotesArner, Timothy D.; Eva Dawson; Emily Johnson; Jeanette Miller; Logan Shearer; Aniela Wendt; Kate WhitmanGrinnell, IowaGrinnell College PressVerseIllustrated translation and teaching edition.[24][25]
2013BeowulfPurvis, MeghanLondonPenned in the MarginsVerseA collection of connected poems, or read as one long poem. "The Collar" won The Times Stephen Spender Prize for poetry in translation, 2011[26] and the collection was Poetry Book Society recommended translation, Summer 2013.[27]
2014
[1926]		Beowulf: A Translation and CommentaryTolkien, J. R. R.LondonHarperCollinsProseTranslated 1920–1926, edited by Christopher Tolkien, published posthumously with "Sellic Spell", a version reconstructed as an Anglo-Saxon folktale, i.e. without the heroic elements
2017BeowulfMitchell, StephenNew Haven, ConnecticutYale University Press[28]
2020 Beowulf: A New Translation Headley, Maria Dahvana London Macmillan Verse It translates the opening Hwæt as "Bro!"[29] Won the 2021 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award[30] and the 2021 Hugo Award for Best Related Work.[31]
2021'Beowulf' By All: Community Translation and WorkbookAbbott, Jean; Treharne, Elaine, and Fafinski, Mateusz (Eds.)LeedsArc Humanities PressTranslated by over 200 contributors. An earlier version appeared in 2018, as Beowulf by All, Version 1.0 from Stanford TexT (of Stanford University Press).
2022 After Beowulf Nicole Markotić Toronto, Canada Coach House Books Verse

Other Languages
DateTitleTranslatorLocationPublisherLanguageTypeNotes
1815De Danorum rebus gestis secul. III & IV. Poema danicum dialecto anglo-saxonica. Ex bibliotheca Cottoniana Musaei britannici edidit versione lat. et indicibus auxit Grim. Johnson Thorkelin.Thorkelin, Grímur JónssonCopenhagenTh. E. RangelLatinProseTranscription (full of errors) and first translation (considered poor)[32]
1820Bjowulf's DrapeGrundtvig, Nikolaj Frederik SeverinCopenhagenA. SeidelinDanishVerseFirst version in a modern language, "a free paraphrase in a rhyming ballad metre"[33]
1863Beowulf, mit ausführlichem GlossarHeyne, MoritzPaderbornFerdinand SchoninghGerman
1920Byovulpu caritramu: vacana kavyamuKesava Pillai, RayapetaMadrasR. Purushottam & Co.TeluguOCLC 499929509
1932Beowulf and the Fight at FinnsburgKuriyagawa, FumioTokyoIwanamiJapaneseParallel text with Old English. OCLC 556817509.
1951La gesta de BeowulfBorges, Jorge Luis;
Delia Ingenieros		Mexico CityFondo de Cultura EconómicaSpanish
1954BeowulfCollinder, BjörnStockholmNatur och KulturSwedishVerse, alliterativeIllustrated by Per Engström.
1959Beowulf: poema eroico anglosassoneCecioni, Cesare G.BolognaEdizioni Giuseppe MalipieroItalianProse
1969 Beowulf Duțescu, Dan and Levițchi, Leon Bucharest Editura pentru literatură universală Romanian Verse First and only translation in Romanian. Using alliteration and triple meters, as they are considered closer to the heroic tradition in the target literature.
1982Beovulf: Staroengleski junački spev i odlomci iz junačkih pesamaKovačević, IvankaBelgradeNarodna knjigaSerbianProseWith translations of "The Fight at Finnsburg", "Widsith", "Exodus", "The Battle of Brunanburh", "The Battle of Maldon"
1986Beowulf: RészletekKépes, Júlia;
Weöres Sándor;
András T. László		BudapestEurópa KönyvkiadóHungarianVerse, alliterativeExcerpts (10 pages).
1990Beowulf: anglosaksi eepos Sepp, ReinTallinnEesti RaamatEstonianVerseimitates original's poetic form as closely as possible, with half-lines
1996Μπέογουλφ: Αγγλο-σαξονικό επικό ποίημα
Béowoulf: Anglo-saxonikó epikó poéima		Karagiórgos, PánosThessalonikiKyriakidesGreekTitle reads "Beowulf: Anglo-Saxon epic poem".
1999BeowulfPekonen, Osmo;
Clive Tolley		PorvooWSOYFinnishVersewith Finnsburh fragment. OCLC 58326940
2007BeowulfRamalho, ErickBelo Horizonte, BrazilTessitura EditoraPortugueseParallel text with Old English
2013БэўвульфБрыль, Антон ФранцішакМінскЗміцер КоласBelarusianVerse
2017BeovulfsLinde, MārisRigaLindeLatvianVerse, in half-linesCompared with Latvian folktales Lāčplēsis and Kurbads.

References
  1. "Beowulf's Afterlives Bibliographic Database". Beowulf's Afterlives Bibliographic Database. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  2. University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle (1680). "John Dryden, 'The Preface to Ovid's Epistles'". Theoretical Texts on Translation | Textes théoriques en traduction. doi:10.58079/uy1c. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  3. Magennis 2011, pp. 13, 15, 24.
  4. Magennis 2011, pp. 7–13.
  5. Magennis 2011, p. 15.
  6. Magennis 2011, pp. 23–24.
  7. Arnold, Thomas, the Younger (1876). "Beowulf: a Heroic Poem of the Eighth Century, with a translation" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. Garnett, James Mercer, the younger (1882). "Beowulf". Hathi Trust. Retrieved 30 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. Magennis 2011, p. 23.
  10. Hall, John Lesslie. Beowulf. Retrieved 2 December 2020. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  11. Magennis 2011, p. 16.
  12. Hall, J. R. Clark (1901). Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg. London: Swan Sonnenschein. pp. 3ff.
  13. Magennis 2011, p. 10.
  14. France, Peter (2012). "Scott Moncrieff's First Translation". Translation and Literature. 21 (3): 364–382. doi:10.3366/tal.2012.0088. ISSN 0968-1361. JSTOR 41714388.
  15. Magennis 2011, pp. 1, 81–108.
  16. Magennis 2011, pp. 109–134.
  17. Magennis 2011, pp. 22–23.
  18. Magennis 2011, pp. 19–21.
  19. Magennis 2011, pp. 135–160.
  20. "Beowulf: A Verse Translation with Treasures of the Ancient North (Part 1)". University of Oxford. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  21. Magennis 2011, p. 2.
  22. Dockray-Miller, Mary (July 1994). "Rebsamen, Frederick. Beowulf: A Verse Translation. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. $4.50 (pb). ISBN: 0064302121". The Medieval Review.
  23. Nelson, Marie (2009). "Prefacing and Praising: Two Functions of "Hearing" Formulas in the "Beowulf" Story". Neuphilologische Mitteilungen. 110 (4): 487–495. JSTOR 43344436.
  24. "The Grinnell Beowulf editions". The Grinnell Beowulf. 11 July 2014.
  25. "The Grinnell Beowulf : A Translation with Notes". Digital Grinnell. 2013.
  26. "The Times Stephen Spender Prize 2011". Stephen Spender Trust. 2011.
  27. "Summer Selections". PBS Bulletin Summer 2013.
  28. Beowulf. Mitchell, Stephen, 1943-. New Haven. January 2017. ISBN 978-0-300-22888-5. OCLC 982566515.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  29. Grady, Constance (27 August 2020). "This new translation of Beowulf brings the poem to profane, funny, hot-blooded life". Vox. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  30. "Harold Morton Landon Translation Award". poets.org. September 15, 2021.
  31. "2021 Hugo Awards". Hugo Awards. December 18, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  32. Magennis 2011, pp. 42–48, 66–67.
  33. Magennis 2011, p. 47.

Sources
  • Magennis, Hugh (2011). Translating Beowulf: Modern Versions in English Verse. D. S. Brewer. ISBN 978-1-84384-394-8.
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