Realization of the Day:

What?

That's the Beowulf Codex, well the first page from the poem Beowulf, anyway. It's been through a lot in the 1,100 years since it's been made. In 1731, it barely made it out of the Cottonian Fire, as its scorched edges attest. Even in the 15th century, people couldn't read the first lines of Beowulf, not without a lot of trouble anyway. In the 18th century, people like Cotton were just getting interested in the 'ancient' English language. The half-scorched manuscript is the only copy of this poem that survives. It's terrifying (at least for me) to think of a life without this story. If you want to hear the first few lines recited, click on this link.









Hwæt We Gardena
What We of the Spear-Danes
in gear dagum þeod cyninga
in old days of the people-kings
þrym ge frunon hu ða æþlingas ellen
power heard how the Aethlings brave deeds
fremedon.
did.

There are 4 letters in that little bit that we don't use today. That's why the word 'hwaet' looks like 'hpaet'. Those letters are holdovers from the runes that the Germanic languages used before the Romans came around. The smaller text is a literal translation, and does little to capture the poetry and alliteration that come with such a wonderful opening stanza. Here's a translation that's only a little better:

Lo, praise of the prowess of people-kings
of spear-armed Danes, in days long sped,
we have heard, and what honor the athelings won!

Anyway, this is just to say that I got to look through this manuscript today, if only for a little while. It's one of the most important pieces of literature from the Anglo-Saxon period (pre 1066 A.D.) that survives. As a person who studies manuscripts, this is like winning the Superbowl and taking the fabled trip to Disneyland afterwards. Not only did I get to see it, I got to talk about it with the scholar and curator who were examining the manuscript. I think I can go to bed with a smile on my face tonight.