Book is xiv + 1138 pp.; b/w maps and illus. A revised edition of the 1936 anthology by the same title and editors, but now replacing Anderson's own Beowulf translation with that of Kennedy, which was first published in 1940. As Anderson had done with his own translation in the 1936 edition, he omits some portions of the poem. A footnote (p. 21) indicates that the chapter divisions and the notes are added by Anderson.

After a short introduction (pp. 19-20), the text of Beowulf begins:

[The coming and the passing of Scyld, the Danish primeval hero and ancestor of Hrothgar.]

Lo! we have listened to many a lay
Of the Spear-Danes' fame, their splendor of old,
Their mighty princes, and martial deeds!
Many a mead-hall Scyld, son of Sceaf,
Snatched from the forces of savage foes.
From a friendless foundling, feeble and wretched,
He grew to a terror as time brought change.
He throve under heaven in power and pride
Till alien peoples beyond the ocean
Paid toll and tribute. A good king he! (21)

And ends:

Then round the mound rode the brave in battle,
The sons of warriors, twelve in a band,
Bemoaning their sorrow and mourning their king.
They sang their dirge and spoke of the hero
Vaunting his valor and venturous deeds.
So is it proper a man should praise
His friendly lord with a loving heart,
When his soul must forth from the fleeting flesh.
So the folk of the Geats, the friends of his hearth,
Bemoaned the fall of their mighty lord;
Said he was kindest of worldly kings,
Mildest, most gentle, most eager for fame. (56)

BAM.