Walhall. Germanische Götter- und Heldensagen.
Tinker's Review
Therese Dahn’s Paraphrase
Walhall. Germanische Götter- und Heldensagen. Für Alt und Jung am deutschen Herd erzählt von Felix Dahn und Therese Dahn, geb. Freiin von Droste-Hülshoff. Mit neunundfünfzig Bildertafeln, Textbildern, Kopfleisten und Schlussstücken nach Federzeichnungen von Johannes Gehrts. Kreuznach, Verlag von R. Voigtländer, 1883.
Seventh Edition, 1885.
Eleventh Edition, 1891.
Twelfth Edition (Leipzig), 1898.
8o, Beowulf (by Therese Dahn1), pp. 361–405, with two illustrations.
Therese Dahn.
Therese Dahn, born Freiin von Droste-Hülshoff, was born in 1845, and married Felix Dahn in 1873. With him she published in 1873 at Leipzig a volume of poems (Gedichte). For certain of her verses in this volume she received high praise. She has since continued creative work. She resides at Breslau, where Felix Dahn is professor in the University. Of the stories in the present volume she wrote, beside Beowulf, Die Wölsungen, Kudrun, the story of König Wilkinus, &c., Wieland der Schmied, Walther und Hildgund, and the stories from the Dietrich saga and the Nibelungen saga.
Nature of the Paraphrase.
The following parts of the story are omitted entirely: the account of the first King Beowulf in the Prolog; the Sigemund episode, Hrothgar’s Discourse; the Thrytho episode; the Freawaru episode; Beowulf’s account of his Fight with Grendel as told to King Hygelac; the Battle of Ravenswood.
Other changes in the story are as follows: the sorrows of the Danes as told in the Prolog are attributed to the reign of King Heremod; in a separate Kapitel (III) are gathered the Sorrows of King Hrethel, the account of Ongentheow, the Fall of Hygelac, and the Death of Heardred. The Fight at Finnsburg is added and an original beginning provided for it.
Obscure words, phrases, and lines are omitted; and explanatory words are inserted from time to time.
Indebtedness to Simrock.
The translation was evidently made with Simrock’s translation2 in hand; possibly it may have been made directly from that version. Evidence of the dependence upon Simrock may be found at every step. The forms of the proper names invented by Simrock are repeated here (e.g., Aeskhere, Hädkynn, Ochthere). His renderings of the unique words in the poem (sometimes in a slightly simplified form) are used in the paraphrase. Often the original word used by Simrock is added in parentheses (cf., e.g., Simrock, p. 72.6 with Dahn, p. 382, and p. 73.44 with Dahn, p. 383). Further evidence may be found by comparing the extracts given in this work.
Hunferd, des Königs erster Sänger, hub da ein Streitlied an; ihm war Beowulfs Ankunft leid: denn er liebte es nicht, dass ein ihn anderer an Ruhm übertreffe.
‘Bist du der Beowulf, der einst im Wettkampf mit Breka durch die See schwamm? Wo ihr tollkühn in vermessenem Mut euer Leben in den tiefen Wassern wagtet? Weder Freund noch Feind konnten euch abhalten. Da rudertet ihr in den Sund, masset die Meeresstrassen, schlugt die Wasser mit den Händen, über die Tiefen gleitend. Die winterkalte See stürmte und brauste: sieben Nächte schwammt ihr im Wasser. Breka besiegte dich: er hatte mehr Kraft. Die Hochflut warf ihn am nächsten Morgen ans Land, von we er in seine Heimat eilte, in das Land der Brondinge, wo er über Burg und Volk gebietet.’ —Page 370.
In many places the work is practically a translation, so closely has the original been followed. The style is agreeable and simple; but most of what is beautiful in the diction belongs to Simrock rather than to Frau Dahn.
The omissions are the most sensible that I have found in a paraphrase. Nothing of first importance has been lost.