King Henry VIII dissolved a large number of monasteries in order to replenish his chronically empty treasury. The related destruction of the monastic libraries was an unspeakable catastrophe for the conservation of Old English manuscripts. Thousands were irretrievably lost — the library of Augustine Friars Abbey at York contained volumes, all but three of which were destroyed; Worcester Priory had books at the time of the dissolution, only six of which survived to the present day.
It is not known whether the Beowulf manuscript was in fact held by a monastery, though it seems quite likely, and how it may have survived the dissolution.
The manuscript came into the possession of Laurence Nowell, Dean of Lichfield c. Even today, the manuscript bears his signature on its first page and is bound in the so-called Nowell Codex. Antiquarian Sir Robert Cotton acquired the manuscript for his Cottonian library, the richest private collection of manuscripts ever amassed.
The manuscripts were bound in leather and placed in fourteen bookcases, each watched over by the bust of a Roman emperor or empress. The Beowulf manuscript was the fifteenth volume on shelf A of the bookcase under the bust of emperor Vitellius. Image Source: www. Collecting Books, Manuscripts, Art.
Norman [email protected]. The poem "is written in the unrhymed four-beat alliterative meter of Old English poetry", consists of 3, lines, and is divided into forty-three sections. Since the divisions do not reveal clear chapter breaks, it is believed that they were a scribal addition 1.
As can be seen in the image, the edges of the transcript are charred from the fire, with some words and letters being totally eradicated. Moreover, it does appear that the scribe utilized pointing to indicate the end of metrical lines. Since Beowulf exists in only one manuscript, there are no other versions of the text with which to compare the reliability of the transcription.
Moreover, as the manuscript is damaged both from the fire and wear and tear editors have had varying emendations of the text.
Lines of Beowulf have received much attention from literary scholars. Chickering, Jr. He held to his fate. Wiglaf's speech is quite ambiguous, and, thus, open to several interpretations.
For example, whom is the "one" of which Wiglaf speaks. It has been argued that the one is: 1 the thief, who stole from the hoard causing the awakening of the dragon, 2 the dragon, whose actions cause Beowulf to fight him, or 3 Beowulf, whose imprudent decision to attempt to vanquish the dragon results in his demise.
Thus, concluding that Wiglaf is speaking of Beowulf, one must decide whether Wiglaf's speech is an inditement of Beowulf's actions, or, rather is it merely Beowulf's fate that he will die a hero's death.
Perhaps it is a little of both--Beowulf did act imprudently, yet he exemplifies those Anglo-Saxon qualities idealized in a hero. Moreover, as the culture mandates that "every hero must make as good a death as he can" this death or another like it was Beowulf's inescapable destiny Niles states that one of the functions of oral poetry was to acculturate the Anglo Saxon aristocrats.
Thus, oral poetry "constitute[s] a praxis affecting the way people think and act" Niles Additionally, Niles claims that one of the functions of Beowulf would have been educative, as schools were primarily for the ecclesiastical class Beowulf "would have offered Anglo-Saxon aristocrats memorable profiles in courage" as well as an understanding of "the need for generosity, moderation, and restraint on the part of the rulers" Taken in this context, not only would Beowulf serve as an exemplar on how one should behave with both courage and honor, but also as a cautionary tale, instructing that sometimes personal heroics need to be subsumed for the good of the kingdom.
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