Beowulf: Comparative Old English Versions
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The manuscript and Thorkelin images are from Kevin Kiernan's Electronic Beowulf CD
Note that Ben Slade has published an annoted OE version of Beowulf on his website at http://www.heorot.dk, along with his own original translation into Modern English, a glossary, a list of characters, and other information. He has used Kevin Kiernan's Electronic Beowulf CD to check all of the emendations, and marked his text to show the source of each of them. His translation is unique among all published translations, in that each half-line of his Modern English version is a direct translation of the corresponding half-line of his OE text. This is similar to the approach taken by John Porter in his own translation, but not exactly the same, because the Porter translation is word-for-word, and Ben Slade's translation is more like "phrase-for-phrase."

Ben Slade's website is one of the best Beowulf resources available on the Internet, and his dual-language online edition of the poem is increasingly being used as the version of choice in college courses.

 

Beowulf Sails to Denmark 
Beowulf Sails to Denmark -- Audio:
beowulf-audio-0194a-0224a-benslade.mp3 108 seconds, 1.7Mb, Sampling Rate=22,050, 16bit -- lines 194-224a
Click to hear Ben Slade read about Beowulf's journey in Old English (or right click and "Save-As" to save to your hard drive)
Ben Slade's Beowulf page is at http://www.heorot.dk.
Original Manuscript
(c. 1025)		 Thorkelin-A
[James Matthews?]
(1787)		 Thorkelin-B
[Thorkelin]
(1789)		 John Josias Conybeare (1826) Howell D. Chickering Jr. (1977) Seamus Heaney (2000)
 

Beowulf Fights Grendel
Beowulf Fights Grendel -- Audio:
beowulf-audio-0791a-0819a-benslade.mp3 98 seconds, 1.5Mb, Sampling Rate=22,050, 16bit -- lines 791-819a
Click to hear Ben Slade read about Beowulf's fight with Grendel in Old English (or right click and "Save-As" to save to your hard drive)
Ben Slade's Beowulf page is at http://www.heorot.dk.
Original Manuscript
(c. 1025)		 Thorkelin-A
[James Matthews?]
(1787)		 Thorkelin-B
[Thorkelin]
(1789)		 John Josias Conybeare (1826) Howell D. Chickering Jr. (1977) Seamus Heaney (2000)

(lines 815b-818a only)
 

Beowulf Fights Grendel's Mother
Beowulf Fights Grendel's Mother -- Audio:
beowulf-audio-1537a-1569b-benslade.mp3 140 seconds, 2.2Mb, Sampling Rate=22,050, 16bit -- lines 1537-1569
Click to hear Ben Slade read about Beowulf's fight with Grendel's mother in Old English (or right click and "Save-As" to save to your hard drive)
Ben Slade's Beowulf page is at http://www.heorot.dk.
Original Manuscript
(c. 1025)		 Thorkelin-A
[James Matthews?]
(1787)		 Thorkelin-B
[Thorkelin]
(1789)		 John Josias Conybeare (1826) Howell D. Chickering Jr. (1977) Seamus Heaney (2000)

(lines 1557a-1569a only)
 

Beowulf Cuts off Grendel's Head
Beowulf Cuts Off Grendel's Head -- Audio:
beowulf-audio-1584b-1590b-benslade.mp3 29 seconds, 0.4Mb, Sampling Rate=22,050, 16bit -- lines 1584b-1590
Click to hear Ben Slade read about Beowulf Cutting Off Grendel's Head in Old English (or right click and "Save-As" to save to your hard drive)
Ben Slade's Beowulf page is at http://www.heorot.dk.
Original Manuscript
(c. 1025)		 Thorkelin-A
[James Matthews?]
(1787)		 Thorkelin-B
[Thorkelin]
(1789)		 John Josias Conybeare (1826) Howell D. Chickering Jr. (1977) Seamus Heaney (2000)
N/A
 

Beowulf and Wiglaf Kill the Dragon
Beowulf and Wiglaf Kill the Dragon -- Audio:
beowulf-audio-2672b-2708a-benslade.mp3 138 seconds, 2.2Mb, Sampling Rate=22,050, 16bit -- lines 2672b-2708a
Click to hear Ben Slade read about Beowulf and Wiglaf fighting the dragon in Old English (or right click and "Save-As" to save to your hard drive)
Ben Slade's Beowulf page is at http://www.heorot.dk.
Original Manuscript
(c. 1025)		 Thorkelin-A
[James Matthews?]
(1787)		 Thorkelin-B
[Thorkelin]
(1789)		 John Josias Conybeare (1826) Howell D. Chickering Jr. (1977) Seamus Heaney (2000)

(lines 2702b-2706b only)
 Produced by Syd Allan Art/Design by D. Holmes