Book is xiv + 1186 pp. + 8 pp of photographs (between pp. 1 and 2); b/w maps and illus. The 4th edition, revising the 1947 3rd ed., of the anthology by the same title, now adding Holzknecht as a fourth editor. The notes to Beowulf are those by Anderson that were used in the 2nd and 3rd editions.

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.