Yesterday, I finished reading a book called Beowulf and the Demise of Germanic Legend in England by Craig R. Davis. There were bits I skimmed because I was mostly interested in the Germanic part, but one chapter in particular caught my eye.
Davis argues that as Germanic legend moved into Anglo-Saxon England with the Angles, Saxons, Jutes, etc., the gods were whittled down to human size, especially as Christianity took over. Hence, elements of Norse mythology can be seen in Anglo-Saxon poetry.
Like Beowulf.
Beowulf has a swimming match (or a rowing match, depending on which critic you listen to) with Brecca, which results in him being pulled to the bottom of the ocean to fight sea monsters. Thor has a rowing match with a giant, which results in him hooking the Midgard Serpent, being pulled to the bottom of the ocean, and kicking the crap out of it with his hammer.
Beowulf fights Grendel, who is carrying a dragon-skin glove to use as a bag for carrying his men-meals. Thor hides in a giant's glove overnight, then fights the giant the next morning.
Beowulf kills the dragon, then dies and his kingdom is plunged into chaos and eventually destroyed. Thor will fight the Midgard Serpent during Ragnarok, then fall over dead, and the world will be plunged into chaos.
Unferth challenges Beowulf's claims about the swimming match, starting a "flyting" match between the two. Beowulf's "flyting" is a bit heavy-handed. In one story, Loki marches into Asgard and starts flinging insults at the gods, flyting-match style. Until Thor comes in and smacks him with his hammer.
The man is a genius, and my head just about exploded. Beowulf is Thor. At least, a watered-down, humanized version of Thor. I'm really upset that this book is out of print and available exactly nowhere (I've looked), not even my school's library (I've got it through the interlibrary loan system). This is a book I'd love to have my own personal copy of.
0 Snarks:
Post a Comment