How much Conybeare improved the text may be seen by comparing his text and Latin translation with those of Thorkelin. The first six lines of the Prolog follow:—
| Conybeare. | Thorkelin. |
|---|---|
| Hwæt we Gar-Dena | Hwæt wegar Dena |
| In ȝear-dagum | In geardagum |
| Ðeod cyninga | Þeod cyninga |
| Ðrym ȝefrunon, | Þrym gefrunon |
| Hu ða Æðelingas | Hu ða æþelingas |
| Ellen fremodon. —Page 82. | Ellen fremodon. —Page 3. |
The translations are even more interesting:— | |
| Aliquid nos de Bellicorum Danorum | Quomodo Danorum |
| In diebus antiquis | In principio |
| Popularium regum | Populus Regum |
| Gloriâ accepimus, | Gloriam auxerit, |
| Quomodo tunc principes | Quomodo principes |
| Virtute valuerint. | Virtute promoverit. |
It will be seen that in these lines Conybeare has at almost every point the advantage over Thorkelin, and is indeed very nearly in accord with modern texts and translations. But the poem yet awaited a complete understanding, for Conybeare could say: ‘The Introduction is occupied by the praises of Scefing . . . and of his son and successor Beowulf. The embarkation of the former on a piratical expedition is then detailed at some length. In this expedition (if I rightly understand the text) himself and his companions were taken or lost at sea’ (p. 35). And, in general, he misses the same points of the story as Thorkelin, although he craftily refrains from translating the obscurer passages.
Conybeare apparently knew nothing of the critical work of Grundtvig. This is not surprising when we remember that Kjøbenhavns Skilderie was probably not known outside of Denmark[4]. Moreover, it is to be remembered that Conybeare’s extracts from the Beowulf are not really later than Grundtvig’s translation, since they were made in the same year, 1820[5].
Aim of the Volume, and Nature of the Translations.
From the words quoted above with respect to the collation, it will be seen that Conybeare in no way regarded his book as a contribution to Beowulf scholarship. As professor at Oxford, he attempted a literary presentation of the most beautiful parts of the old poetry. His extracts are, in general, nothing more than free paraphrases. Wishing to popularize the Beowulf, he used as a medium of translation a peculiarly stilted kind of blank verse. He dressed the poem out in elegant phrases in order to hide the barrenness of the original. Manifestly he feared the roughness, the remoteness of the poem in its natural state. He feared to offend a nation of readers reveling in the medievalism of Scott and Byron. A literal Latin translation was inserted to appease the scholar.
Extract.
‘At a single stroke he (Beowulf) cut through the “ringed bones” of her neck, and
Through the frail mantle of the quivering flesh
Drove with continuous wound. She to the dust