{"product_id":"the-transmission-of-beowulf-leonard-neidorf-9781501705113","title":"The Transmission of Beowulf: Language, Culture, and Scribal Behavior","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/i\u003e, like \u003ci\u003eThe Iliad\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Odyssey\u003c\/i\u003e, is a foundational work of Western literature that originated in mysterious circumstances. In \u003ci\u003eThe Transmission of Beowulf\u003c\/i\u003e, Leonard Neidorf addresses philological questions that are fundamental to the study of the poem. Is \u003ci\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/i\u003e the product of unitary or composite authorship? How substantially did scribes alter the text during its transmission, and how much time elapsed between composition and preservation? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNeidorf answers these questions by distinguishing linguistic and metrical regularities, which originate with the \u003ci\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/i\u003e poet, from patterns of textual corruption, which descend from copyists involved in the poem's transmission. He argues, on the basis of archaic features that pervade \u003ci\u003eBeowulf \u003c\/i\u003eand set it apart from other Old English poems, that the text preserved in the sole extant manuscript (ca. 1000) is essentially the work of one poet who composed it circa 700. Of course, during the poem's written transmission, several hundred scribal errors crept into its text. These errors are interpreted in the central chapters of the book as valuable evidence for language history, cultural change, and scribal practice. Neidorf's analysis reveals that the scribes earnestly attempted to standardize and modernize the text's orthography, but their unfamiliarity with obsolete words and ancient heroes resulted in frequent errors. The \u003ci\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/i\u003e manuscript thus emerges from his study as an indispensible witness to processes of linguistic and cultural change that took place in England between the eighth and eleventh centuries. An appendix addresses\u003ci\u003e J. R. R. Tolkien's Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary\u003c\/i\u003e, which was published in 2014. Neidorf assesses Tolkien's general views on the transmission of Beowulf and evaluates his position on various textual issues.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Leonard Neidorf\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1501705113\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781501705113\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Cornell University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/16\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.10lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.63d","brand":"Leonard Neidorf","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44064973324543,"sku":"9781501705113","price":56.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_20d35cea-35a1-4b96-81de-afb0c09b49f0.jpg?v=1685398684","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-transmission-of-beowulf-leonard-neidorf-9781501705113","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}