Literature test sic! answers

Some of the Anglo-Saxon literature test answers invariably brought about quite frequent moments of amusement, or even jaw-dropping surprise. Here's a sample.

1. The name of the first English historian, the Venerable Bede, yielded the following sic! alternatives: Bede de Venerable, Beve, J. Bede, Venerable Ben, the Vunerable Bede, Venerable Bene, Venerable Babe (!), Winarable Bed [somebody must have had a great need to sleep].
2. Hrothgar, the king of Danes who couldn't come to terms with Grendel, might be surprised if someone addressed him in the following manner: Heorothod, Hurirgat, Horthot, Hrothal, Hotghart, Hoerod.
3. The English word "consonants" proved problematic for a handful of people. Here are the most inventive attempts: unvowels, componants, conounts, constonances, contanents.
4. The word "metaphor" was slightly easier, though not without its own interesting possibilities: methafor, methafory.
5. Finally, we know remarkably little about the Anglo-Saxon sex-life, but according to a student they merit the name "Anglo-Sexons". Interesting...

The medieval literature test wasn't as eventful as the Old English one. The word "peace" found its sic! variant spelling *pice* (well, the more frequent mistake was "piece", but that's pretty *dysorydżinal*); a branch of holly that the Green Knight was holding in his hand miraculously turned into *a bunch of holy* and then into *a brunch of holly*; the word "fellowship" was supplanted by *failoship*; "unfaithful" became *unfairful*; "helmet" was turned into *hamlet*; the Tabard Inn was changed into *Tabor* and its owner *appears to be* a certain Thomas Becket (sic!); Queen Guinevere was re-christened into *Ginerva* (or, alternatively, *Quinevre*); The Canterbury Tales became *Canterbury Teles*and finally, Geoffrey Chaucer's name was creatively changed into *Choser*. Oh well, nothing can be perfect...

My advice: be aware of the potentials of irregular spelling, but refrain from experimentation in tests and colloquia ;)

Beowulf

Texts:

• F.B. Gummere's translation with additional info

• Another F.B. Gummere's translation

• David Breeden's adaptation
  

• Listen to Seamus Heaney's readings from his own translation of Beowulf (to be found in the Norton Anthology – available in Biblioteka)

• Listen to some Old English lines taken from Beowulf

Contexts:

• Norton background info on Beowulf
• Beowulf study guide by Cummings
• Beowulf at NovelGuide
  
• Norton study questions
• UCI study questions
• Some problems with translating Old English texts
• Seamus Heaney on his translation
• A host of links to further Beowulf pages

The Dream of the Rood

Texts:

• original
• listen to the original (you'll need RealPlayer)
• a modern translation by Jonathan A. Glenn
  
• a prose translation by Charles W. Kennedy (.pdf)
• side-by-side versions (original + translation) by Mark Leech and Carmen A. Butcher
  

Contexts:

• Jonathan A. Glenn's outline of the poem
• the historical context of the poem by Karl Young
  
• Anglo-Saxon literature
• A glossary of literary terms and definitions

Terms:
Cynewulf, the Ruthwell Cross, passion poetry, dream vision allegory, framework narrative, prosopopoeia, hwaet!, Celtic Christianity, Wyrd, elegiac tone, Ecce Homo.

Caedmon's Hymn and Riddles

Texts:

• Caedmon's Hymn
• listen to a West Saxon version of Caedmon's Hymn (.mp3)
• Riddles

Contexts:

• About Caedmon
• The Cambridge History of English and American Literature
• BBC Anglo-Saxons feature

Terms:
oral tradition, Celts, druid, bard, fili (pl. filid), ollamh, Iona, Lindisfarne, Kells, Bangor, Celtic Christianity, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, runes, runic alphabet, Futhorc, charms, riddles, St. Augustine of Canterbury, Whitby, gleeman, scop [pron. shope], Deor, Widsith, elegiac, epic, kenning, caesura, alliteration, the Venerable Bede, Wyrd, Drihten