Bro! You knew it was coming! Grab your replica Sutton Hoo helmet and get ready, it’s Beowulf o’clock.

1/ Spoiler alert: it wasn’t published as episode 50. [But that’s ok! –Jesse]

2/ We talked about Cotton in episode 39 note 8. Here is more info on the Cotton collection: https://www.bl.uk/collection-guides/cotton-manuscripts

3/ Dream of the Rood: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_of_the_Rood

4/ A fun comic about the Beowulf scribes! https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/scribe-a

5/ Blessed are the cheesemakers.

6/ Valhalla—a big shout out here to Thor Love and Thunder!

7/ The Wanderer: https://oldenglishpoetry.camden.rutgers.edu/the-wanderer/

8/ A bee-wolf is a bear! Here is some more info on Beowulf and the manuscript: https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/beowulf

9/ The Wife’s Lament: https://oldenglishpoetry.camden.rutgers.edu/the-wifes-lament/

10/ The Seafarer: https://oldenglishpoetry.camden.rutgers.edu/the-seafarer/

11/ Exeter Book: https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/exeter-book

12/ Our preferred translation of Beowulf is by Maria Dahvana Headley

13/ “Whale-road.” Okay, so in Old English they do these things called kennings, which I guess we would call metaphors? E.g. calling the ocean a “whale road.” I love them.

Another good German compound is backpfeifengesicht (a face in need of punching).

Jesse: If I may give another shout out to Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, they have some great dialogue that uses kennings and other fun Old Norse/Old Germanic linguistic ornaments.

14/ The impenetrable skin of Grendel’s mom is similar to the modern superhero She Hulk—shout out to Jennifer Walters (who is also an awesome lawyer–court is theoretically better than a blood feud)!

15: Exeter Riddles! https://oldenglishpoetry.camden.rutgers.edu/exeter-book-riddles/

About the riddles: https://www.bl.uk/medieval-literature/articles/the-exeter-book-riddles-in-context

16/ I don’t remember where the assertion that there are over 600 translations of Beowulf came from. It seems true, though.–Em