--- product_id: 11867930 title: "Beowulf: A Dual-Language Edition" price: "€ 41.36" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.at/products/11867930-beowulf-a-dual-language-edition store_origin: AT region: Austria --- # Extensive scholarly commentary & notes Dual-language Old English + Modern English Ideal for deep literary & historical study Beowulf: A Dual-Language Edition **Price:** € 41.36 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 📖 Unlock the heroic saga that shaped English literature — don’t just read Beowulf, experience it! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Beowulf: A Dual-Language Edition - **How much does it cost?** € 41.36 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.at](https://www.desertcart.at/products/11867930-beowulf-a-dual-language-edition) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Perfect Study Companion:** Designed for students and enthusiasts, this edition offers a guide to reading aloud and notes that decode the poem’s complex language and themes. - • **Authentic Yet Accessible:** Chickering’s translation balances faithfulness to the original with readability, making the heroic spirit of Beowulf resonate with today’s readers. - • **Scholarly Insights Included:** Benefit from detailed introductions, genealogical charts, critical commentary, and glosses that enrich your understanding of this foundational epic. - • **Epic Dual-Language Experience:** Read Beowulf in original Old English alongside Howell D. Chickering’s acclaimed modern translation for an immersive literary journey. - • **Collector’s Quality Used Copy:** Good condition used book that offers a rare chance to own a top-tier edition of the first major English poem — a must-have for literary connoisseurs. ## Overview Beowulf: A Dual-Language Edition presents the first major English epic poem with Howell D. Chickering’s fresh translation alongside the original Old English text. This edition is enriched with scholarly introductions, genealogical charts, critical commentary, and glosses on key passages, making it an essential resource for students, scholars, and literary enthusiasts eager to explore the heroic spirit of Anglo-Saxon culture in depth. ## Description The first major poem in English literature • Translated by Howell D. Chickering with the Old English on facing pages Beowulf tells the story of the life and death of the legendary hero Beowulf in his three great battles with supernatural monsters. The ideal Anglo-Saxon warrior-aristocrat, Beowulf is an example of the heroic spirit at its finest. Leading Beowulf scholar Howell D. Chickering’s fresh and lively translation, featuring the Old English on facing pages, allows the reader to encounter Beowulf as poetry. This edition incorporates recent scholarship and provides historical and literary context for the modern reader. It includes the following: • an introduction • a guide to reading aloud • a chart of royal genealogies • notes on the background of the poem • critical commentary • glosses on the eight most famous passages, for the student who wishes to translate from the original • an extensive bibliography Review: Very, very good - This translation has been much-praised as faithful to the original Old English. I think this is taking it a bit far: Chickering does typically use four-beat lines, which is how Old English poetry is arranged, although OE poetry has specific alliteration patterns and stress patterns (however, there are so many of the latter one wonders if such patterns are actually a modern invention). For a four-beat plus alliterative (although not a mimic of OE poetry) translation, take a look at Kennedy's Beowulf . Chickering does tend to reproduce the choppiness (to our ears) of the original text, including appositives. These are jarring at first but quickly become easy to scan. This is useful for seeing how the poem is actually laid out, although one can never say how jarring the original was to those who spoke OE. As a study aid, Chickering's translation is generally good (that is, literal-esque), but sometimes he does take liberties, so the student should beware. As a small example, lines 753b-754a: "He on mode wearð forht on ferhðe". This is literally translated "He in (his) heart became afraid in (his) spirit." Or something like that: mode and ferhðe mean the same thing, and can variously be translated as heart, mind, spirit, soul, etc. Chickering translates this as "at heart he feared for his wretched life." This is a fine translation, but is not literal. This may seem like small nitpicking, but if you are planning on using this text for studying Beowulf, you should at least have supplemental material. Of course you want Klaeber's Beowulf , but also handy is Alexander's Glossed Beowulf . It is, of course, small nitpicking, and so I unreservedly recommend this translation. As I stated, the translation is generally quite faithful to the text, and is a good read. The commentary is wonderful, as is the introductory material. As a bonus, glosses to a few passages are included. Please don't take the small points I make above as any sort of complaint about this translation; it's more a warning to prospective OE students. If you want to read Beowulf, you really can't do a whole lot better than this, unless you want to learn Old English. Fully literal translations are pretty pointless, anyway: for a ridiculous example, search Google Books for "Tale of Beowulf: sometime king of the folk of the Weder Geats" by William Morris. Review: The Best Parallel Transation of this Epic Now in Print. - This is the best, the clearest and most scholarly parallel translation of the Old English epic in print. It dwarfs Seamus Ennis' "Just-So" story by a mile (Ennis had the "help" of an obscure medievalist who had minimal objection to Seamis' opening, which is an opening that would put off any half-decently-educated reader.) Prof. Chickering has not only a fine, close parallel translation, he has an extended, thoughtful discussion of the poem with a running commentary on the scholarship he refers to with obvious familiarity. For these reasons -- including a clear style which parallels the parataxis of the original-- you would do yourself a favor if you bought this book. Regrettably, its e-edition in not available in the USA, but I've always found parallel translations to be hard to handle in e-book. ## Features - Used Book in Good Condition ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #59,424 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #29 in Medieval Literary Criticism (Books) #178 in Ancient & Classical Poetry #214 in Epic Poetry (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.8 out of 5 stars 256 Reviews | ## Images ![Beowulf: A Dual-Language Edition - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81aCyGzvG0L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very, very good *by V***S on June 2, 2010* This translation has been much-praised as faithful to the original Old English. I think this is taking it a bit far: Chickering does typically use four-beat lines, which is how Old English poetry is arranged, although OE poetry has specific alliteration patterns and stress patterns (however, there are so many of the latter one wonders if such patterns are actually a modern invention). For a four-beat plus alliterative (although not a mimic of OE poetry) translation, take a look at Kennedy's Beowulf . Chickering does tend to reproduce the choppiness (to our ears) of the original text, including appositives. These are jarring at first but quickly become easy to scan. This is useful for seeing how the poem is actually laid out, although one can never say how jarring the original was to those who spoke OE. As a study aid, Chickering's translation is generally good (that is, literal-esque), but sometimes he does take liberties, so the student should beware. As a small example, lines 753b-754a: "He on mode wearð forht on ferhðe". This is literally translated "He in (his) heart became afraid in (his) spirit." Or something like that: mode and ferhðe mean the same thing, and can variously be translated as heart, mind, spirit, soul, etc. Chickering translates this as "at heart he feared for his wretched life." This is a fine translation, but is not literal. This may seem like small nitpicking, but if you are planning on using this text for studying Beowulf, you should at least have supplemental material. Of course you want Klaeber's Beowulf , but also handy is Alexander's Glossed Beowulf . It is, of course, small nitpicking, and so I unreservedly recommend this translation. As I stated, the translation is generally quite faithful to the text, and is a good read. The commentary is wonderful, as is the introductory material. As a bonus, glosses to a few passages are included. Please don't take the small points I make above as any sort of complaint about this translation; it's more a warning to prospective OE students. If you want to read Beowulf, you really can't do a whole lot better than this, unless you want to learn Old English. Fully literal translations are pretty pointless, anyway: for a ridiculous example, search Google Books for "Tale of Beowulf: sometime king of the folk of the Weder Geats" by William Morris. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Best Parallel Transation of this Epic Now in Print. *by J***N on December 2, 2017* This is the best, the clearest and most scholarly parallel translation of the Old English epic in print. It dwarfs Seamus Ennis' "Just-So" story by a mile (Ennis had the "help" of an obscure medievalist who had minimal objection to Seamis' opening, which is an opening that would put off any half-decently-educated reader.) Prof. Chickering has not only a fine, close parallel translation, he has an extended, thoughtful discussion of the poem with a running commentary on the scholarship he refers to with obvious familiarity. For these reasons -- including a clear style which parallels the parataxis of the original-- you would do yourself a favor if you bought this book. Regrettably, its e-edition in not available in the USA, but I've always found parallel translations to be hard to handle in e-book. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It is still a great way to dive into Beowulf and get the feel ... *by O***T on March 28, 2017* I read this edition many years ago while a student. It is still a great way to dive into Beowulf and get the feel of this great epic poem. You can give a shot at reading the Old English text on the left hand page, or just enjoy reading the modern English translation, in which the feel of the original is attempted to be replicated. It does make it a little difficult when it comes to trying to match up words in the modern English with the Old English text -- the translation followed within a few lines in either direction, but there probably isn't really an answer for that, barring a true interlinear translation with the translation of each Old English word written below -- maybe someone will do that some day. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.at/products/11867930-beowulf-a-dual-language-edition](https://www.desertcart.at/products/11867930-beowulf-a-dual-language-edition) --- *Product available on Desertcart Austria* *Store origin: AT* *Last updated: 2026-07-25*