The Transmission Of Beowulf: Language, Culture, And Scribal Behavior Project Muse Upcc Books

Beowulf , like The Iliad and The Odyssey , is a foundational work of Western literature that originated in mysterious circumstances. In The Transmission of Beowulf , Leonard Neidorf addresses philological questions that are fundamental to the study of the poem. Is Beowulf the product of unitary or composite authorship? How substantially did scribes alter the text during its transmission, and how much time elapsed between composition and preservation? Neidorf answers these questions by distinguishing linguistic and metrical regularities, which originate with the Beowulf poet, from patterns of textual corruption, which descend from copyists involved in the poem’s transmission. He argues, on the basis of archaic features that pervade Beowulf and set it apart from other Old English poems, that the text preserved in the sole extant manuscript (ca. 1000) is essentially the work of one poet who composed it circa 700. Of course, during the poem’s written transmission, several hundred scribal errors crept into its text. These errors are interpreted in the central chapters of the book as valuable evidence for language history, cultural change, and scribal practice. Neidorf’s analysis reveals that the scribes earnestly attempted to standardize and modernize the text’s orthography, but their unfamiliarity with obsolete words and ancient heroes resulted in frequent errors. The Beowulf manuscript thus emerges from his study as an indispensible witness to processes of linguistic and cultural change that took place in England between the eighth and eleventh centuries. An appendix addresses J. R. R. Tolkien’s Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary , which was published in 2014. Neidorf assesses Tolkien’s general views on the transmission of Beowulf and evaluates his position on various textual issues. Beowulf, like The Iliad and The Odyssey, is a foundational work of Western literature that originated in mysterious circumstances. In The Transmission of "Beowulf," Leonard Neidorf addresses philological questions that are fundamental to the study of the poem. Is Beowulf the product of unitary or composite authorship? How substantially did scribes alter the text during its transmission, and how much time elapsed between composition and preservation? Neidorf answers these questions by distinguishing linguistic and metrical regularities, which originate with the Beowulf poet, from patterns of textual corruption, which descend from copyists involved in the poem's transmission. He argues, on the basis of archaic features that pervade Beowulf and set it apart from other Old English poems, that the text preserved in the sole extant manuscript (ca. 1000) is essentially the work of one poet who composed it circa 700. Of course, during the poem's written transmission, several hundred scribal errors crept into its text. These errors are interpreted in the central chapters of the book as valuable evidence for language history, cultural change, and scribal practice. Neidorf's analysis reveals that the scribes earnestly attempted to standardize and modernize the text's orthography, but their unfamiliarity with obsolete words and ancient heroes resulted in frequent errors. The Beowulf manuscript thus emerges from his study as an indispensible witness to processes of linguistic and cultural change that took place in England between the eighth and eleventh centuries. An appendix addresses J. R. R. Tolkien's Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary, which was published in 2014. Neidorf assesses Tolkien's general views on the transmission of Beowulf and evaluates his position on various textual issues. --Publisher description Beowulf is a foundational work of Western literature that originated in mysterious circumstances. This book addresses philological questions that are fundamental to the study of the poem. Is Beowulf the product of unitary or composite authorship? How substantially did scribes alter the text during its transmission, and how much time elapsed between composition and preservation? The book answers these questions by distinguishing linguistic and metrical regularities, which originate with the Beowulf poet, from patterns of textual corruption, which descend from copyists involved in the poem’s transmission. It argues, on the basis of archaic features that pervade Beowulf and set it apart from other Old English poems, that the text preserved in the sole extant manuscript (ca. 1000) is essentially the work of one poet who composed it ca. 700. Of course, during the poem’s written transmission, several hundred scribal errors crept into its text. These errors are interpreted in the central chapters of the book as valuable evidence for language history, cultural change, and scribal practice. The book reveals that the scribes earnestly attempted to standardize and modernize the text’s orthography, but their unfamiliarity with obsolete words and ancient heroes resulted in frequent errors. The Beowulf manuscript thus emerges from his study as an indispensible witness to processes of linguistic and cultural change that took place in England between the eighth and eleventh centuries. THE TRANSMISSION OF BEOWULF 1 CONTENTS 8 List of Illustrations 10 Series Foreword by Gregory Nagy 12 Preface 14 Acknowledgments 18 List of Abbreviations 20 1. Introduction 22 1. The Duration of Transmission 22 2. The Detection of Scribal Error 31 3. Meter and Alliteration 39 4. Probabilistic Reasoning 43 5. General Prefatory Remarks 46 2. Language History 52 1. Diachronic Variation 52 2. Dialectal Variation 67 3. Syntactic Misconstruction 78 4. Trivialization 83 5. Interpolation 89 3. Cultural Change 94 1. Obliteration of Personal Names 94 2. Obliteration of Ethnic Names 101 3. Erroneous Spacing 108 4. Scribal Self-Correction 113 5. Chronological Significance 117 4. Scribal Behavior 124 1. The Lexemic Theory 124 2. Competing Theories 130 3. Variation in Parallel Texts 135 4. The Four Poetic Codices 147 5. Theory and Evidence 151 5. Conclusion 154 1. The Unity of Beowulf 154 2. Linguistic Regularities 158 3. Methodological Considerations 170 4. Textual Criticism 176 5. Manuscript Context 181 Appendix: J. R. R. Tolkien’s Beowulf Textual Criticism 184 Glossary of Terms 196 Bibliography 200 Index of Verses 216 Index of Subjects 220 Introduction. The Duration Of Transmission -- The Detection Of Scribal Error -- Meter And Alliteration -- Probabilistic Reasoning -- General Prefatory Remarks -- Language History. Diachronic Variation -- Dialectal Variation -- Syntactic Misconstruction -- Trivialization -- Interpolation -- Cultural Change. Obliteration Of Personal Names -- Obliteration Of Ethnic Names -- Erroneous Spacing -- Scribal Self-correction -- Chronological Significance -- Scribal Behavior. The Lexemic Theory -- Competing Theories -- Variation In Parallel Texts -- The Four Poetic Codices -- Theory And Evidence -- Conclusion. The Unity Of Beowulf -- Linguistic Regularities -- Methodological Considerations -- Textual Criticism -- Manuscript Context. Leonard Neidorf. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes.