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Friday 16 December 2011

Wulf and Eadwacer





Wulf and Eadwacer is a very obscure, but strangely appealing Old English poem. The speaker seems to be a woman involved in some way with two men named Wulf and Eadwacer which are male Anglo-Saxon names, but beyond that we have little but conjecture. To some extent, this puts the interested reader on a par with the scholar, because anyone may read the poem and allow it to speak its message on its own terms. It is what you make of it, an intimate yet mysterious glimpse through the shifting mists of ancient times. 

It is to my people as if someone gave them my gift.
They want to kill him, if he comes with a troop.
It is different for us.
Wulf is on one island I on another.
That island, surrounded by fens, is secure.
There on the island are bloodthirsty men.
They want to kill him, if he comes with a troop.
It is different for us.
I thought of my Wulf with far-wandering hopes,
Whenever it was rainy weather, and I sat tearfully,
Whenever the warrior bold in battle encompassed me with his arms.
To me it was pleasure in that, it was also painful.
Wulf, my Wulf, my hopes for you have caused
My sickness, your infrequent visits,
A mourning spirit, not at all a lack of food.
Do you hear, Eadwacer? A wolf is carrying
our wretched whelp to the forest,
that one easily sunders which was never united:
our song together.

8 comments:

James Higham said...

It almost seems almost to be a rendering of the Arthur/Lancelot thing.

A K Haart said...

JH - it certainly makes you wonder.

Anonymous said...

I think "Wulf and Eadwacer" is perhaps the first truly great poem in the English language. I fell in love with the poem when I read it in a book called "Touchstones."

Michael R. Burch

Anonymous said...

In fact, I ended up translating the poem myself, because none of the translations I found seemed as good as the original poem. My translation can be read here:

http://www.thehypertexts.com/Wulf%20and%20Eadwacer%20Translation.htm

Michael R. Burch

A K Haart said...

Michael - many thanks. I'd like to post your translation for comparison if you agree. Did you already know Old English?

Anonymous said...

A K,

You are more than welcome to post my translation. I'm not an expert on Old English, but I consulted every translation I could find, and studied some of the more obscure words in considerable depth. There is quite a bit of doubt about the exact meaning of the poem, but I think my version makes sense. The female speaker longs for her lover, Wulf, but she has been captured by his enemy Eadwacer, who keeps her captive on a fortified island. She speaks of the pain of being separated from the man she loves, and being raped (or something akin to rape) by her captor. She became pregnant with Eadwacer's child and someone (perhaps Eadwacer's wife, or perhaps even the speaker) took the baby to the woods and killed him. It's a powerful, moving story that has been repeated far too many times throughout human history.

Mike Burch

PS -- Everyone calls me Mike, but I publish as Michael R. Burch.

A K Haart said...

Thanks Mike. I like the sound of your version - it fits the emotional feel of the poem somehow.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you like my translation, and honored.

Mike Burch