Editing Beowulf (section)

== Sources and analogues ==

Neither identified sources nor [[Analogue (literature)|analogues]] for ''Beowulf'' can be definitively proven, but many conjectures have been made. These are important in helping historians understand the ''Beowulf'' manuscript, as possible source-texts or influences would suggest time-frames of composition, geographic boundaries within which it could be composed, or range (both spatial and temporal) of influence (i.e. when it was "popular" and where its "popularity" took it). The poem has been related to Scandinavian, Celtic, and international folkloric sources.{{efn|Ecclesiastical or biblical influences are only seen as adding "Christian color", in Andersson's survey. Old English sources hinges on the hypothesis that ''[[Genesis A]]'' predates ''Beowulf''.}}{{sfn|Andersson|1998|pp=125, 129}}

===Scandinavian parallels and sources===

19th-century studies proposed that ''Beowulf'' was translated from a lost original Scandinavian work; surviving Scandinavian works have continued to be studied as possible sources.{{sfn|Andersson|1998|pp=130–131}} In 1886 Gregor Sarrazin suggested that an [[Old Norse]] original version of ''Beowulf'' must have existed,{{sfn|Andersson|1998|p=130}} but in 1914 Carl Wilhelm von Sydow claimed that ''Beowulf'' is fundamentally Christian and was written at a time when any Norse tale would have most likely been [[paganism|pagan]].{{sfn|Andersson|1998|p=135}} Another proposal was a parallel with the ''[[Grettis Saga]]'', but in 1998, Magnús Fjalldal challenged that, stating that tangential similarities were being overemphasised as analogies.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fjalldal |first=Magnús |ref={{SfnRef|Magnús Fjalldal|1998}} |title=The long arm of coincidence: the frustrated connection between Beowulf and Grettis saga  |year=1998 |publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |url=https://archive.org/details/longarmofcoincid0000fjal |url-access=registration |isbn=978-0-8020-4301-6}}</ref> The story of [[Hrólfr Kraki|Hrolf Kraki]] and his servant, the legendary bear-[[shapeshifter]] [[Böðvarr Bjarki|Bodvar Bjarki]], has also been suggested as a possible parallel; he survives in ''[[Hrólfs saga kraka]]'' and [[Saxo Grammaticus|Saxo]]'s ''[[Gesta Danorum]]'', while Hrolf Kraki, one of the [[Scylding]]s, appears as "Hrothulf" in ''Beowulf''.{{sfn|Panzer|1910|pp=364–386}}{{sfn|Chambers|1921|p=55}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Shippey |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Shippey |title=[[The Road to Middle-Earth]] |date=2005 |edition=Third |orig-year=1982 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0261102750 |page=91}}</ref> New Scandinavian analogues to ''Beowulf'' continue to be proposed regularly, with [[Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar]] being the most recently adduced text.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Grant |first=Tom |date=2021 |title=Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar and the Originality of Beowulf|journal=The Review of English Studies |volume=73 |issue=72|pages=1–19 |doi=10.1093/res/hgab051 }}</ref>

=== International folktale sources ===

{{ill|Friedrich Panzer (Germanist)|de|lt=Friedrich Panzer}} (1910) wrote a thesis that the first part of ''Beowulf'' (the Grendel Story) incorporated preexisting folktale material, and that the folktale in question was of the [[Bear's Son Tale]] (''Bärensohnmärchen'') type, which has surviving examples all over the world.{{sfn|Panzer|1910}}{{sfn|Andersson|1998|p=130}} This tale type was later catalogued as international [[folklore|folktale]] type 301 in the [[Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index|ATU Index]], now formally entitled "The Three Stolen Princesses" type in Hans Uther's catalogue, although the "Bear's Son" is still used in Beowulf criticism, if not so much in folkloristic circles.{{sfn|Andersson|1998|p=130}} However, although this [[Folkloristics|folkloristic]] approach was seen as a step in the right direction, "The Bear's Son" tale has later been regarded by many as not a close enough parallel to be a viable choice.{{sfn|Andersson|1998|pp=137, 146}} Later, Peter A. Jorgensen, looking for a more concise frame of reference, coined a "two-troll tradition" that covers both ''Beowulf'' and ''Grettis saga'': "a [[Viking art|Norse]] '[[ecotype]]' in which a hero enters a cave and kills two giants, usually of different sexes";{{sfn|Andersson|1998|p=134}} this has emerged as a more attractive folk tale parallel, according to a 1998 assessment by Andersson.{{sfn|Andersson|1998|p=146}}{{sfn|Vickrey|2009|loc=p. 209: "I shall continue to use the term ''Bear's Son'' for the folktale in question; it is established in Beowulf criticism and certainly Stitt has justified its retention".}}

The epic's similarity to the Irish folktale "The Hand and the Child" was noted in 1899 by [[Albert Stanburrough Cook|Albert S. Cook]], and others even earlier.{{Efn|[[Ludwig Laistner]] (1889), II, p. 25; [[Stopford Brooke (chaplain)|Stopford Brooke]], I, p. 120; [[Albert Stanburrough Cook|Albert S. Cook]] (1899) pp. 154–156.}}{{sfn|Puhvel|1979|p=2–3}}{{sfn|Andersson|1998|p=135}}{{Efn|In the interim, {{interlanguage link|Max Deutschbein|de}} (1909) is credited by Andersson as the first person to present the Irish argument in academic form. He suggested the Irish ''[[Bricriu|Feast of Bricriu]]'' (not a folktale) as a source for ''Beowulf''—a theory  soon denied by [[Oscar L. Olson|Oscar Olson]].{{sfn|Andersson|1998|p=135}}}} In 1914, the Swedish folklorist [[Carl Wilhelm von Sydow]] made a strong argument for parallelism with "The Hand and the Child", because the [[folklore|folktale]] type demonstrated a "monstrous arm" [[Motif (narrative)|motif]] that corresponded with Beowulf's wrenching off Grendel's arm. No such correspondence could be perceived in the Bear's Son Tale or in the ''Grettis saga''.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|von Sydow was anticipated by Heinz Dehmer in the 1920s, besides the 19th century authors who pointed out "The Hand and the Child" as a parallel.{{sfn|Andersson|1998|p=136}}}}{{sfn|Andersson|1998|p=136}}{{sfn|Puhvel|1979|p=2–3}}
[[James Carney (scholar)|James Carney]] and [[Martin Puhvel]] agree with this "Hand and the Child" contextualisation.{{Efn|Carney also sees the ''[[Táin Bó]]'' ''[[Fráech]]'' story (where a half-fairy hero fights a dragon in the "Black Pool (Dubh linn)"), but this has received little support.}} Puhvel supported the "Hand and the Child" theory through such motifs as (in Andersson's words) "the more powerful giant mother, the mysterious light in the cave, the melting of the sword in blood, the phenomenon of battle rage, swimming prowess, combat with water monsters, underwater adventures, and the bear-hug style of wrestling."{{sfn|Andersson|1998|p=137}}
In the [[Mabinogion]], [[Teyrnon]] discovers the otherworldly boy child [[Pryderi]], the principal character of the cycle, after cutting off the arm of a monstrous beast which is stealing foals from his stables.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Baudiš |first=Josef |title=Mabinogion |journal=Folklore |date=31 March 1916 |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=31–68 |doi=10.1080/0015587X.1916.9718909 |jstor=1254884|url=https://zenodo.org/record/2430235 }}</ref> The medievalist R. Mark Scowcroft notes that the tearing off of the monster's arm without a weapon is found only in ''Beowulf'' and fifteen of the Irish variants of the tale; he identifies twelve parallels between the tale and ''Beowulf''.<ref name="Scowcroft 1999">{{cite journal |last=Scowcroft |first=R. Mark |title=The Irish Analogues to Beowulf |journal=Speculum |date=January 1999 |volume=74 |issue=1 |pages=22–64 |jstor=2887269 |doi=10.2307/2887269|s2cid=161115254 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Scowcroft's "Hand and Child" parallels in ''Beowulf''<ref name="Scowcroft 1999"/>
|-
! "Hand and Child"<br/>Irish tale !! [[Grendel]]<br/>&nbsp; !! [[Grendel's mother|Grendel's<br/>Mother]]
|-
| 1 Monster is attacking King each night || 86 ff || —
|-
| 2 Hero brings help from afar || 194 ff || —
|-
| 3 At night, when all but hero are asleep || 701–705 || 1251 
|-
| 4 Monster attacks the hall || 702 ff || 1255 ff
|-
| 5 Hero pulls off monster's arm || 748 ff || —
|-
| 6 Monster escapes || 819 ff || 1294 ff
|-
| 7 Hero tracks monster to its lair || 839–849 || 1402 ff
|-
| 8 Monster has female companion || 1345 ff || —
|-
| 9 Hero kills the monster || — || 1492 ff
|-
| 10 Hero returns to King || 853 ff || 1623 ff
|-
| 11 Hero is rewarded with gifts || 1020 ff || 1866 ff
|-
| 12 Hero returns home || — || 1888 ff
|}

===Classical sources===

Attempts to find [[Classics|classical]] or [[Late Latin]] influence or analogue in ''Beowulf'' are almost exclusively linked with [[Homer]]'s ''[[Odyssey]]'' or [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Aeneid]]''. In 1926, [[Albert Stanburrough Cook|Albert S. Cook]] suggested a Homeric connection due to equivalent formulas, [[metonymy|metonymies]], and analogous voyages.{{sfn|Cook|1926}} In 1930, James A. Work supported the Homeric influence, stating that the encounter between Beowulf and [[Unferð|Unferth]] was parallel to the encounter between Odysseus and [[Euryalus (Phaeacian)|Euryalus]] in Books 7–8 of the ''Odyssey,'' even to the point of both characters giving the hero the same gift of a sword upon being proven wrong in their initial assessment of the hero's prowess. This theory of Homer's influence on ''Beowulf'' remained very prevalent in the 1920s, but started to die out in the following decade when a handful of critics stated that the two works were merely "comparative literature",{{sfn|Andersson|1998|p=138}} although Greek was known in late 7th century England: [[Bede]] states that [[Theodore of Tarsus]], a Greek, was appointed [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] in 668, and he taught Greek. Several English scholars and churchmen are described by Bede as being fluent in Greek due to being taught by him; Bede claims to be fluent in Greek himself.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bede |author-link=Bede |title=[[Ecclesiastical History of the English People|Ecclesiastical History]] |at=V.24}}</ref>

[[Frederick Klaeber]], among others, argued for a connection between ''Beowulf'' and [[Virgil]] near the start of the 20th century, claiming that the very act of writing a secular epic in a Germanic world represents Virgilian influence. Virgil was seen as the pinnacle of Latin literature, and Latin was the dominant literary language of England at the time, therefore making Virgilian influence highly likely.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book |last=Haber |first=Tom Burns |title=A Comparative Study of the Beowulf and the Aeneid |location=Princeton, N.J. |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1931}}</ref> Similarly, in 1971, [[Alistair Campbell (academic)|Alistair Campbell]] stated that the [[apologue]] technique used in ''Beowulf'' is so rare in epic poetry aside from Virgil that the poet who composed ''Beowulf'' could not have written the poem in such a manner without first coming across [[Virgil]]'s writings.{{sfn|Andersson|1998|pp=140–41}}

===Biblical influences===

It cannot be denied that Biblical parallels occur in the text, whether seen as a pagan work with "Christian colouring" added by scribes or as a "Christian historical novel, with selected bits of paganism deliberately laid on as 'local colour'", as Margaret E. Goldsmith did in "The Christian Theme of ''Beowulf''".<ref name="Irving">{{cite book |last=Irving |first=Edward B. Jr. |chapter=Christian and Pagan Elements |title=A Beowulf Handbook |editor1=Robert E. Bjork |editor2=John D. Niles |location=Lincoln, Nebraska |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |year=1998 |pages=175–192}}</ref> ''Beowulf'' echoes the [[Book of Genesis]], the [[Book of Exodus]], and the [[Book of Daniel]]{{sfn|Andersson|1998|pp=142–43}} in its references to the [[Genesis creation narrative]], the story of [[Cain and Abel]], [[Noah]] and the [[Genesis flood narrative|flood]], the [[Devil in Christianity|Devil]], [[Hell]], and the [[Last Judgment]].<ref name="Irving" />