The Anachronisms in Beowulf

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Where is Geatland? Beowulf has been taken as a founding poem for England, yet England never appears in the poem. Linguist Colin Gorrie joins Jonathan and Ryan to discuss this heroic and tragic Old English masterpiece, the history of scholarship surrounding the poem, and J.R.R. Tolkien’s titanic contribution to modern understanding of it.

Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780393320978

Dick Ringler’s translation of Beowulf: https://amzn.to/3sv1yWQ

J.R.R. Tolkien’s translation and commentary on Beowulf: https://amzn.to/3w81O09

Colin Gorrie’s Why the Grammar-Translation Method Does Not Work (And What Does): https://ancientlanguage.com/why-grammar-translation-method-does-not-work/

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Monsters and the Critics: https://amzn.to/3FE4rdo

Tom Shippey’s Lecture 1 of 3 on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Beowulf: https://youtu.be/FPBt05KUfzg

Norton Critical Edition of Beowulf: https://amzn.to/3McPv8y

Virgil’s Aeneid: https://amzn.to/3FMLAN9

Colin Gorrie’s website: https://www.colingorrie.com/

New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/

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Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com