A Choice of Anglo-Saxon Verse

by Richard Hamer

A Choice of Anglo-Saxon Verse contains the Old English texts of all the major short poems, such as 'The Battle of Maldon', 'The Dream of the Rood', 'The Wanderer' and 'The Seafarer', as well as a generous representation of the many important fragments, riddles and gnomic verses that survive from the seventh to the twelfth centuries, with facing-page verse translations. These poems are the well-spring of the English poetic tradition, and this anthology provides a unique window into the mind and culture of the Anglo-Saxons.

The volume is an essential companion to Faber's edition of Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Medieval, History, Nonfiction, Language, Anglo Saxon

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

Reviews

[William Gwynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Choice of Anglo-Saxon Verse is a wonderful edition that holds some of the most well-known Old English poems, other than Beowulf, from The Wanderer, to The Seafarer, The Wife's Lament, and all the way to Riddles, which may or may not have directly inspired Tolkien regarding Riddles in the Dark....

Reading this gives a fantastic insight into this historical period, commenting on themes of value, as well as key historical events. I think that people often view Old English poetry as being solely focused on battle and monster slaying, but the sophisticated and philosophical layers of these works are so commonly overlooked, which is so wrong! It is as engaging as anything else you can read.

As well as being fantastic poems on their own, it is also so enjoyable reading these because you can spot how so many writers have been directly inspired, such as Tolkien who almost word for word takes a section of The Wanderer and attributes it to a speech of Theoden's. Also Bernard Cornwell, whose saying 'Fate is Inexorable' has become a staple of his works, gained this most likely from The Wanderer. They are just a few that jumped out to me.

[Andrew H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contains many useful texts outside Beowulf. The Anglo Saxons first hand.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

To anyone whose familiarity with Old English literature, like mine, barely extends beyond Beowulf, this would surely be a useful book; but beyond that, it is an enlightening and even entertaining one. Hamer's selection is varied and interesting, taking in not just heroic and religious verse, but also personal monologues, descriptive poems, and even charms and riddles. There's just enough of each to satisfy; perhaps not quite enough, in fact. I would have liked to have read a few more than just the one charm; or perhaps a few of the obscene riddles that Hamer mentions but does not include! As I don't read Anglo-Saxon, I can't comment on the quality of the translation, but all are very readable and natural. The small introduction to each poem is very helpful, and the inclusion of the Anglo-Saxon originals on the page facing each translation is a bonus. I approached this book as a something of a chore, but it turned out to be a pleasure.

[autumn ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

faves: the wanderer, the wife’s lament, the dream of the rood, gnomic verses

[Brendan McKee · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting selection of Anglo-Saxon verse, complete with the old English to accompany the translations. I particularly liked the descriptive forewords to each poem that helped situate them. That said, I would have enjoyed a little more variety in the themes of the selected poems, and though I understand the importance of including Beowulf I am bothered that it is only an exert.

[Preston Scott Blakeley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful and accessible introduction to Old English verse. Many poems in this collection are representative of the tension between Germanic paganism and Roman Christianity, leaving the reader with an interesting subject for interpretation. I was unaware that we have an account of The Fight at Finnsburh separate from the Beowulf manuscript, which furthers the thesis that our great epic was an amalgamation of various oral traditions based on historical events, finally composed together by later editors. I will return to these poems again, poems drenched in the beauty of sorrow and lament and hope.

[Sheffielder · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing selection of works, beautifully translated. The poems towards the end (especially Bede's Death Song and The Wanderer) still speak redolently of humanity's predicaments despite the passage of so many centuries.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars might be a little harsh. It is hard to give a fair score because some of the poems - The Ruin, The Battle of Maldon, The Wife's Lament, The Dream of the Rood, and The Wanderer - are magnificent. One or two I found a little dull. But overall this is an interesting selection of shorter Anglo-Saxon poetry.

As Hamer points out:

"Only about 30,000 lines of Old English poetry survive; some of the poems which do are fragmentary, and we know the poets and places and dates of composition of almost none of them. Most of the extant verse is known from manuscripts written in Wessex at the end of the tenth century, though in many cases the poems must have been composed long before in other parts of the country, and much of the copying is demonstrably more or less inaccurate." (ix)

So the survival of this material is miraculous. It is interesting how little trace the Anglo-Saxons have left both in literary terms and physical terms. I remember a number of frustrating episodes of Time Team where an alleged Anglo-Saxon site failed to produce little or no evidence. We know little about what they believed before Christianity came along but you can get a taste of the type of culture it was because even with the patina of Christianity a culture of warriors can clearly be seen. Anglo-Saxon Christianity was definitely of a muscular kind. Christianity is at the centre of a lot of these poems but is between the lines in almost all of them.

Perhaps the most spectacular though is The Dream of the Rood, which has the tree that became the cross that Jesus was crucified on tell its story. It's a brilliant piece of poetry. But my absolute favourite was The Wanderer. Apparently it is a poem with a whole tranche of literature built around it but I found it incredibly moving.

I'd definitely read this collection - warts and all - as Anglo-Saxon England (with the exception of Beowulf) seems almost forgotten in the cultural history of England. You'll also - if you're like me - be fascinated and pained by the gaps.

[Carissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A Choice of Anglo-Saxon Verse" is just that - a selection of some of the most famous Anglo-Saxon poems. The Anglo-Saxon poems and contemporary English translation of the poems are printed side-by-side, which makes it possible even for a complete novice to understand some of the Anglo-Saxon words. It's interesting to see how some of the words made their way into modern English. More importantly, reading the poems gives insight into a vanished world. It's particularly interesting for Christians, because many of the poems are explicitly Christian, and so the ideas and teachings of Christianity are recognizable, but expressed differently. It's also a fascinating look into a time when the English-speaking world was Catholic.

Overall, this is a book that is to be savored and chewed, not devoured (unless you are actually studying Anglo-Saxon and need to read it for a class). Even the way words are combined in translation differs from modern English usage and helps one view the natural world in a new light. It is a beautiful book.

[Woody Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not required to read it in its entirety, but I REALLY enjoyed "The Seafarer" as a retired USN sailor. Even then, the concept of landlubbers, sandcrabs & yardbirds existed! "The Dream of the Rood" put me in mind of "The Kitchen Shears Speak". "The Battle of Maldon" dovetailed nicely with "Beowulf" & makes me want to re-read Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade". "The Wanderer" is the tale of all nomads.

[Nile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not entirely my cup of tea but feel blessed to have read it purely for The Ruin; an Anglo-Saxon verse on wandering a ruined Roman town. Thinking of the countless times across the Roman world peoples walked around that decaying, lost majesty and what they must have thought of it... Feels bert special to have an actual contemporary source rather than anything imagined by some later writer.

[Mary Koepke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Auch a great collection to dive into the cultural, moral and spiritual richness of the Anglo-Saxons. This book was on my reading list at university but we only read selections. Finally, I managed to read all the poems top to bottom. A treat.

[Emma Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I’ve found a book of poetry I enjoyed and finished! An interesting range of poems, I personally prefer the historical over the religious - I particularly enjoyed the epics describing various battles.

A good collection overall.

[Nora Mackay]

choosing to log this even though i haven't read it in its entirety because of the amount of time i have spent poring over certain poems in this godforsaken book. fly high first year i will NOT be missing the dream of the rood and the battle of maldon!!!

[Gabrielle Baalke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Used this for a course on Old English Literature and wound up reading the whole thing. Very enjoyable.

[no-one you know · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting, and extremely useful for course preparation.
favourite: wulf and eadwacher
- xonoone

[E Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

ofer brad brimu Brytene sohtan, wlance wigsmiþas Wealas ofercoman, eorlas arhwate eard begeatan

[G. Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and fascinating, nice to see the original Anglo-Saxon on the opp page to the translation too. Highly enjoyable

[James King · Rating 4 out of 5]

A window into another time. Well laid out and useful introductions.

[Willow Daymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, will definitely go back an reread it.
My favourite was the wale

[Dylan Rock · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection of Anglo-Saxon Verse that includes most of the important pieces of poetry, with the parallel verse in both Modern and Old English

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun

[isobel · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a treat this was. Four stars only because i prefer some of the other translations i've seen floating around the internet, but having all of this verse compiled in one book is priceless.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant collection, gives a broad mix of scripts that give a glimpse into the Anglo-Saxon world. Face to face old and current English makes comparison easy. I will be going back to this again.

[Chester J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

6.1
A mixture of verse of varying quality - from the excellent and haunting, to the mundane. Favourite has to be 'The Wanderer.'

[Meri Monfort · Rating 3 out of 5]

vull morir-me en esta assignatura sincerament

[Loki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that it's parallel text; you can absolutely learn bits and bobs of Old English from this. Fascinating stuff.

[mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

the wanderer’s no.1 fan

[Michael Goldsmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not an Anglo-Saxon poetry expert but I enjoyed these poems and found them fascinating.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reread from my degree. I will confess to only reading the translations for the most part (having had to do translations years ago, I didn't really feel like revisiting that special hell) and found them possibly a little stilted in places.