Editing Beowulf (section)

===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>