T his volume has been a labor of love, a climax to some thirty years of research
in and teaching of Beowulf. What I have produced is simultaneously a poem
and, by virtue of the nature of translation, an act of criticism; it is also my testa-
ment of critical faith to the enduring value of the Old English masterpiece.

I cannot begin to give credit to all those who have contributed in one way or
another to this re-creation of the Anglo-Saxon poet's epic vision, but mention of
some of them is in order. First, I should like to pay homage to my now-deceased
mentor and friend, Arthur G. Brodeur, without whose inspiration my scholarly
feet might never have been directed to the Beowulfian path. Then, I wish to thank
the many students and colleagues, here and abroad, who have listened with pa-
tience and good nature to my ideas about translation and parts of my performance
in countless classes and lectures over the last five years: their encouragement has
sustained me often in the desert of my doubts. Particular thanks are due to Eric G.
Stanley, who has probably forgotten that it was he who first urged me to try my
wings in the rarefied air of poetic translation; to Peter Clemoes and Emmanuel
College, Cambridge, who, through a Visiting Fellowship in spring 1979, fur-
nished time and audience for a prolonged effort in the translative atmosphere; and
to Daniel G. Calder, who, in reading the manuscript for the Press, helped bring

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