Abstract:

A wide variety of scholars have examined the settings of the Old English epic Beowulf, interpreting the text in a myriad of ways and providing valuable information on sources and analogues. This article seeks to build upon and add to this body of scholarship by applying landscape history and a variety of archaeological evidence to the poem in order to develop a further understanding of the landscape settings of Beowulf as literary representations of real topographical features of early medieval England. Attention is paid to the mere and lair of the Grendle-kin, the barrow of the dragon, and Beowulf’s own final resting place. Analysis of these landscapes, grounded in the historical topography of England, enhances an interpretation of the text as a statement on humanity’s relationship with the past and hope for the future.

摘要：

许多学者研究了古英语史诗《贝奥武甫》的背景，以多种方式解释文本，并提供有关来源和类似物的宝贵信息。本文旨在通过将景观历史和各种考古证据应用于这首诗，以建立和补充这一学术体系，以便进一步理解贝奥武夫的景观背景，作为中世纪早期英格兰真实地形特征的文学表现。人们的注意力集中在格伦德尔家族的巢穴、巨龙的手推车以及贝奥武夫自己的最后安息之地。基于英格兰历史地形对这些景观的分析增强了对文本的解释，作为对人类与过去的关系和对未来希望的陈述。