LL-L: "Old English" LOWLANDS-L, 22.MAY.2000 (02) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 22.MAY.2000 (02) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: john feather [johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk]
Subject: Old English

I found a reference to a recent (March 1999) book entitled "The Origins of
Beowulf" by Sam Newton. The following comes from the Amazon.co.uk website.

"The poem exists in just one surviving manuscript, probably itself a copy,
but a long and careful study of the literary and historical associations
reveals striking details which lead Dr Newton to claim ... a specific
origin
for the poem. The fortunes of three early 6th-century Northern dynasties
feature prominently in Beowulf. Taking this as a probable reflection of the

genealogical traditions of a pre-Viking Anglo-Saxon aristocracy claiming
descent from one or more of these dynasties, Dr Newton further suggests
that
references in the poem to the various heroes whose names are listed in
Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies indicate that such Northern dynastic concerns

are most likely to have been fostered in the kingdom of East Anglia. He
supports his argument with evidence drawn from East Anglian archaeology,
hagiography and folklore, bringing life to a vanished age with his
sympathetic interpretation of the few records that have survived. His
argument, detailed and passionate, offers the real and exciting possibility

that he has discovered the lost origins of the poem in the pre-Viking
kingdom of 8th-century East Anglia. "

John Feather johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk

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