I. Beowulf: an Anglo-Saxon poem. II. The fight at Finnsburh: A Fragment.

About this book

This volume presents the Old English epic Beowulf together with the fragmentary “Fight at Finnsburh,” reproduced from the fourth American edition edited by James A. Harrison and Robert Sharp. The text is offered in a revised Unicode format that incorporates the editors’ corrections, modern macrons for long vowels, and an extensive glossary drawn from the Heyne‑Socin tradition. The front matter explains how the revised edition differs from the earlier “basic” version, noting that only internal inconsistencies have been altered while deliberate editorial choices, such as vowel‑length markings that diverge from current scholarship, are retained. An appendix lists every change, and notes by the editors clarify difficult passages. The work also includes a bibliography of Beowulf scholarship and a brief glossary for the Finnsburh fragment, making it a comprehensive reference for students of the poem.

The language is the original Old English, rendered with scholarly diacritics and accompanied by detailed explanatory notes that illuminate the poem’s meter, diction, and historical context. Its style is academic rather than narrative, reflecting the late‑19th‑century philological approach of Harrison, Sharp, and their collaborators. Readers who enjoy close textual study, linguistic analysis, or the history of Anglo‑Saxon scholarship will find this edition rewarding, as will anyone seeking a reliable, annotated source for the poem and its fragment.