Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary is a prose translation of the early medieval epic poem "Beowulf" from Old English to modern English language. Translated by J. R. R. Tolkien from 1920 to 1926, it was edited by Tolkien's son Christopher and published posthumously in May 2014 by HarperCollins. In the poem, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats in Scandinavia, comes to the aid of Hroðgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall Heorot has been under attack by a monster known as Grendel. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is
Wayland the Smith Wayland the Smith In Germanic mythology, Wayland the Smith (; ; ; "Galans" ("Galant") in Old French; ; from "", lit. "battle-brave") is a legendary master blacksmith, described by Jessie Weston as "the weird and malicious craftsman, Weyland". In Old Norse sources, Völundr appears in "Völundarkviða", a poem in the "Poetic Edda", and in Þiðreks saga, and his legend is also depicted on Ardre image stone VIII. In Old English sources, he appears in "Deor", "Waldere" and in "Beowulf" and the legend is depicted on the Franks Casket. He is mentioned in the German poems about Theoderic the Great as