Biographia Britannica literaria; or, biography of literary characters of Great Britain and Ireland. Anglo-Saxon period / arranged in chronological order.

  • Thomas Wright
Date:
1842
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Biographia Britannica literaria; or, biography of literary characters of Great Britain and Ireland. Anglo-Saxon period / arranged in chronological order. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    21/582 (page 9)
    teristic of this poetry is an endless variety of epithet and metaphor, which are in general very expressive, although their beauty sometimes depends so much on the feelings and manners of the people for whom they were made, that they appear to us rather fanciful. As, however, these poets drew their pictures from nature, the manner in which they apply their epithets, like the rich colouring of the painter, produces a brilliant and powerful impression on the mind. They are, moreover, exceedingly valuable to the modern reader, for they make him acquainted with the form, colour, material, and every other attribute of the things which are mentioned. Thus, when the hero shows himself, a long description could not give a more exact idea of his apparel than is here conveyed in a few words— Beéwulf madelode ; Beowulf spake ; on him byrne scan, on him the coat of mail shone, sea[ro]-net sedwed the war-net sowed - smibes or-bancum. by the skill of the armourer. (Beowulf, v. 804.) ) When the poet describes Beowulf’s approach, with his attendants, to the Danish capital, wé see even the path * they are treading, and the clank of their armour seems to ring in our ears— Street wees stan-fah, The street was variegated with stones, stig wisode the path directed , gumum et-geedere. the men together. gid-byrne scan, The war-mail shone, heard hond-locen; © hard hand-locked ; hring-iren scir the bright ring-iron song in searwum, sang in their trappings, ba hie t6 sele furdum when they forward to the hall in hyra gry/re-geatwum in their terrible armour gangan cwomon. proceeded on their way. (y..637..) So, likewise, in Beowulf’s desperate encounter with the unearthly Grendel, whom no weapons could injure, when