Heyne’s text having been five times re-edited, the first edition of the translation often fails to conform to readings which have been introduced into the text in later editions; but the free nature of the translation makes this of no great importance.
Differences between the First and Second Editions of the Translation.
The differences between the two editions are not of much importance. The translation is in general, though not always, brought up to the late editions of the text, and some changes are made for the improvement of the meter.
The first edition contains 3201 lines; the second 3207. The theory and aim of the translation are not changed at all.
Aim of Heyne’s Translation.
In this translation of the Beowulf, Heyne attempts to popularize what he considers the most beautiful of the Old English poems. He says of it—
‘Es ist nicht die erste, die ich biete; gleichwol hoffe ich es werde die erste sein, die auch einem grössern Publicum, das noch nicht Gelegenheit hatte, sich mit den ältern Dialecten unserer Sprache zu beschäftigen, verständlich ist. Die ältern deutschen Uebersetzer haben, bei allen Verdiensten ihrer Arbeit, unserer neuhochdeutschen Muttersprache teilweise übel mitgespielt.’ —Vorwort, iii.
With this in view, Heyne put his translation out in a form that would make it accessible to all. This was in itself an innovation. The works of Ettmüller[6] and Simrock[7] had been in a more elaborate format, while Grein’s translation[8] was not only expensive, but encumbered with other work, and intended primarily for the scholar.
Nature of the Translation.
Heyne chose a new medium for his version, the unrimed iambic line. His aim being to get his book read, he avoided a literal translation, and rendered with commendable freedom, though not with inaccuracy. He used no strange compounds, and shunned an unnatural verse. Thus he produced the most readable translation that has ever appeared in Germany. Of his own attempt he says—