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
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.
^ a bUniversity 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.
^Magennis 2011, pp. 13, 15, 24.
^Magennis 2011, pp. 7–13.
^ a bMagennis 2011, p. 15.
^Magennis 2011, pp. 23–24.
^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)
^Garnett, James Mercer, the younger (1882). "Beowulf". Hathi Trust. Retrieved 30 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ a bFrance, 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.
^Magennis 2011, pp. 1, 81–108.
^Magennis 2011, pp. 109–134.
^Magennis 2011, pp. 22–23.
^Magennis 2011, pp. 19–21.
^Magennis 2011, pp. 135–160.
^"Beowulf: A Verse Translation with Treasures of the Ancient North (Part 1)". University of Oxford. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
^Magennis 2011, p. 2.
^Dockray-Miller, Mary (July 1994). "Rebsamen, Frederick. Beowulf: A Verse Translation. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. $4.50 (pb). ISBN: 0064302121". The Medieval Review.
^Nelson, Marie (2009). "Prefacing and Praising: Two Functions of "Hearing" Formulas in the "Beowulf" Story". Neuphilologische Mitteilungen. 110 (4): 487–495. JSTOR 43344436.
^"The Grinnell Beowulf editions". The Grinnell Beowulf. 11 July 2014.
^"The Grinnell Beowulf : A Translation with Notes". Digital Grinnell. 2013.
^"The Times Stephen Spender Prize 2011". Stephen Spender Trust. 2011.
^"Summer Selections". PBS Bulletin Summer 2013.
^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)
^Grady, Constance (27 August 2020). "This new translation of Beowulf brings the poem to profane, funny, hot-blooded life". Vox. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
^"Harold Morton Landon Translation Award". poets.org. September 15, 2021.
^"2021 Hugo Awards". Hugo Awards. December 18, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
