The Return of Beortnot, son of Beorthelm

The events of the play, which is written "a modern analogue of the Old English alliterative verse" ^[1] , take place on the night of August 10, 991 near the city of Maldon in Essex . Two servants, Torthelm and Tidwald, monks of the abbey of Ely , were instructed to find the body of Beortnot, an Eldorman of Essex, who led the British on the battlefield and died there. Character characters vary greatly. The “Young Romantic” Torthelm (Totta) is the son of a minstrel who loves ancient heroic songs, while the “practical old peasant” Tiedwald (“Tida”) relies more on common sense ^{[2] [1]} .

Before finding Beorthoth, the servants examine the battlefield and identify the bodies of many of their compatriots. Returning to their cart, they notice looters. Thinking that he is dealing with the Vikings, Torthelm kills one of them with the Beortnot sword; Tidvald reacts to this act disapproving and stops Torthelma from continuing such actions. Along the way, he explains to his companion the reasons for the defeat of the British: Beorthnot, because of his pride, allowed the more numerous invaders to freely cross the Blackwater River before the battle began, thereby abandoning the advantage of the terrain ^{[3] [4]} .

A cart driven by Tidwald heads for Ely . Torthelm, who had fallen asleep next to Beorthnot’s body, utters in a dream the words spoken by the English warrior Beorthwold in the final part of the Battle of Maldon ^[3] :

The play ends with the singing of the monks of the abbey of Ely, who read the funeral prayer Dirige. An unknown voice speaks in a rhymed verse, which occurs only once in the whole text, which, according to the author, “seems to portend the near end of the heroic alliterative song fret” ^[2] . These lines are paraphrased quote verses from Chronicle XII century « Liber Eliensis ", Which are attributed to King Knud the Great ^{[2] [5]} :

Work on the continuation of the poem “The Battle of Maldon” Tolkien began in the first half of the 1930s. There are two drafts of dialogue between the characters Puddy (Torthelm) and Tibboy (Tidwald), written in rhymed verse from 1930 to 1933. One of these fragments is written on the back of the first manuscript of the poem "Wandering" ^{[6] [7]} . According to Tolkien's biographer, Humphrey Carpenter , editing of the play was completed by 1945 ^[1] . The Oxford University 's Bodleian Library holds various handwritten drafts of the work and the final typewritten text, which was sent to the publisher in February or March 1953 ^{[8] [9]} .

The play was first published in October 1953 in the 6th issue of the scientific journal by Studies and Essays Members Active of the English Association ^[10] . Explaining the intention to include a work of art in a scientific publication, the author noted ^[11] :

This play, slightly larger in volume than the passage from the Old English poem that gave impetus to its creation, was conceived as a play in poetry and should be judged just like poetry. But in order to justify her place in Essays and Studies, she, as I suppose, should at least imply some kind of judgment on the form and content of the Old English poem (as well as its critics). From this point of view, this play is, one might say, a detailed commentary on lines 89 and 90 of the original ...

- Tolkien JRR. Return Bortnota son Borthelma // The Hobbit, or There and Back Again . The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Stories / Per. from English M. Kamenkovich

Beortnot's Return was reprinted in various collections of Tolkien's works, including The Tolkien Reader ( 1966 ), Poems and Stories ( 1980 ) ^[12] and Tree and Leaf ( 2001 ) ^[13] . By the 1000 anniversary of the battle at Meldone separate edition of the play was published in 1991 a limited edition of 300 copies ^{[14] [15] [16]} . In the issue of the journal Tolkien Studies "From 2007, fragments of drafts of earlier versions of the work are given ^[17] .

“The Return of Beortnot, the son of Beorthelm” has been translated into Dutch , Spanish , Italian , Russian , French , Czech , Swedish, and Japanese ^[18] . In Russian book was first published in 1993 in the book "Tales", translated Arcadia Zastyrets ^[19] . Subsequently, translations of Maria Kamenkovich and Vladimir Tikhomirov were published ^[20] .

Ofermod - “Indomitable Pride”

In an essay commentary on Ofermod, Tolkien argues that the analysis of The Battle of Maldon often comes down to lines 312–313 (quoted by Torthelm in a dream), while lines 89–90 are equally important for understanding the poem:

According to Tolkien, the phrase reflects the true feeling of the poet in relation to the act Beortnota that they are not discouraged. The poet condemns ofermod Beorthnot - "indomitable pride" ^{[comm. 1]} , which made him give in to the Viking demand to fight in fair battle ^[22] . Tolkien notes that the only other mention of the word ofermod in Old English literature (in the poem " Genesis B ") ^{[23] [24]} refers to Lucifer . Under the influence of the Anglo-Saxon tradition of heroic Beortnot exhibits inappropriate knighthood and makes a double mistake. On the one hand, he neglects his duty, which consists solely in the need to stop the invaders. On the other hand, he sacrifices the life of his people, to which he does not have the right: “the lord can be glorified by the deeds of his knights, but he should not use their devotion in his interests or endanger them only for his own glorification” ^[22] . Tolkien draws parallels with the ideas about the heroism and responsibility of the overlord in relation to his subordinates in the Beowulf poems (criticizing Beowulf’s decision to meet the dragon face to face, as a result of which the people lose their ruler) and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight . He mentions lines 3077-3078 from Beowulf as a suitable epigraph to The Battle of Maldon: Oft sceall eorl monig anes willan wraec adreogan (“By the will of one man, many must endure sorrow”) ^[22] .

Literary scholars generally agree that the "Return Beortnota" Tolkien condemns North heroic ideal. Thomas Honegger, examining the draft works, notes that the author was particularly interested in how to show pride Beortnota in a negative light ^[25] . George Clark also points out that the interpretation of “The Battle of Maldon” proposed by Tolkien “accounts” Beortnot for his pride and generally condemns the Anglo-Saxon heroic ideals of striving for fame and wealth. ^[26] Jane Chance offers considered "Return Beortnota son Beorthelma" together with " The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun " ( 1945 ), " Farmer Giles of Ham " ( 1949 ) and the poem "Imram" ( 1955 ) as a series of works in which Tolkien drew attention to the shortcomings of medieval Germanic heroic values. Lord Aotru of The Ballad of Aotra and Itrun and King Ambrosius Aurelian of The Farmer Giles display a pride similar to Beermott's ofermod ^[27] .

Medieval literature researcher Mary Bowman argues that Tolkien in his work "rehabilitate" the heroic spirit of the north. She recalls his own metaphor of the northern heroic spirit as an “alloy” consisting of a combination of selfless courage for the benefit of others (“gold”) and a selfish, reckless pursuit of wealth and glory (the main component of the alloy). According to Bowman, Tolkien considered it necessary to “clear” the heroic code, separating from it the selfish, destructive element of “indomitable” and excessive pride, while preserving the “gold” of courage ^[28] .

Researchers have also noted the impact of Beorthoth's Return on Tolkien's legendary . According to George Clark, Tolkien's ideas about the northern heroism manifested in the " Lord of the Rings " in the form of Samwise Gamgee to his unwavering and selfless devotion to Frodo : Sam is an example of a "true hero", a kind of "anti-Beortnota" ^[29] . In addition, Mary Bowman believes that Sam and Bilbo have a “refined” kind of heroism that Tolkien portrayed in Beorthoth's Return ^[28] . Scientists are other parallels with the "Lord of the Rings": Alexander Bruce, for example, he believes that Gandalf , barring Balrog path on the bridge in Moria , avoids repetition of tactical errors Beortnota, freed base for the enemy ^[30] , and Lynn Forest Hill notes the similarities Beortnot with Boromir ^[31] .

Tolkien’s point of view diverges from the generally accepted interpretation of the poem at that time, according to which lines 312-313 indicate that Beorthoth’s heroism is glorified, and not condemned by the author. His opinion is adopted by many researchers' Battle of Meldone "and" Beowulf, "but some scholars, it has been questioned: Thomas Shippee calls it" biased and private " ^[32] , based on the contradictions between the heroic spirit of paganism and Christian values upheld by Tolkien ^[33] . Michael Draut It expresses a similar opinion: he considers the interpretation of Tolkien's untenable, but at the same time believes that it is an interesting subjective reading of the poem. According to Draut, the main merit of Beorthoth Returns is that the play “encourages researchers to consider the details of this [Anglo-Saxon] culture, its tension and contradictions much more seriously” ^[34] .

Torthelm and Tiedwald

The contradictions between pagan traditions and Christian values ​​are reflected in the worldview of the main characters. Torthelm ( dr. Torhthelm - "bright helmet") is influenced by the same Anglo-Saxon heroic tradition that made Beortnot give up tactical advantages during the battle. In the image of the character, the author presents Old English poetry, including those themes that pushed the commander to a destructive step - he missed the enemy army, because “he thought the minstrels would sing songs about his nobility” ^{[35] [3]} . Tolkien included in the play the words of the warrior Beorthwold from the original poem that he pronounces on the battlefield (“Will, be stricter, banner, ray higher, heart, take heart - let the forces subside” ^[3] ), but he brings them in a different context: he puts them in a dream Torthelma adding poems of his authorship, because of what the lines of the poem becoming "a pagan or even Manichean " character ^[36] :

The name "Tidwald", in turn, in accordance with the pragmatic nature of the character means "guardian of time": he realizes that the pagan era of England is over. Tidwald partially embodies Christian qualities, showing mercy and pity for criminals. Nevertheless, he lacks hope to be a truly Christian hero: he says about the future that “labor and loss await us, battles and everyday life, struggles and sorrows, until the face of the world passes away” ^[5] .

American literary critic Paul Kocher notices another feature of the contrast between Torthelm and Tidwald. In his opinion, the latter constantly refutes the attempts of the former to idealize the battle, thereby expressing the opinion of the war of Tolkien himself, a participant in the hostilities during the First World War ^[37] .

The play was not intended for the stage ^[22] . In the first half of 1954, Tolkien sent a letter to producer Percy Howard Newby , asking him to adapt Beorthoth's Return to a radio show that could be broadcast by the BBC on the anniversary of the Battle of Maldon in July. As a result, based on a work by Rainer Heppenstall a production was performed, which was broadcast on the third program of the BBC on December 3, 1954 and June 17, 1955. Tolkien criticized this adaptation for the incompetence of actors who “completely did not pay attention to the alliterative verse and recited it as if it were an ordinary five-footed iambic ” ^{[1] [14]} .

There is an audio recording of Beurtnot Returns, made by Tolkien on his own - in it he voiced all the characters, adding sound effects. This entry, supplemented by a reading of the introduction to the play and essay “Ofermod” by Christopher Tolkien , was published in 1992 in the format of an audio cassette by Harper Collins ^[38] .

Comments

Sources

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• The page of the work on the official website of Tolkien Estate . Date of treatment February 16, 2016.
• Return Beortnota son Beorthelma online " fantlab "