PART IV
APPENDIX
A. A POSTSCRIPT ON MYTHOLOGY IN BEOWULF
(1) Beowulf the Scylding and Beowulf son of Ecgtheow
It is now ten years since Prof. Lawrence attacked the mythological theories which, from the time when they were first enunciated by Kemble and elaborated by Müllenhoff, had wielded an authority over Beowulf scholars which was only very rarely disputed[[523]].
Whilst in the main I agree with Prof. Lawrence, I believe that there is an element of truth in the theories of Kemble. It would, indeed, be both astonishing and humiliating if we found that a view, accepted for three-quarters of a century by almost every student, had no foundation. What is really remarkable is, not that Kemble should have carried his mythological theory too far, but that, with the limited information at his disposal, he at once saw certain aspects of the truth so clearly.
The mythological theories involve three propositions: