Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Beowulf and the Dragon: Parallels and Analogues

Beowulf and the Dragon: Parallels and Analogues

Rauer, Christine

Hardcover

Literary Criticism

ISBN10: 0859915921
ISBN13: 9780859915922
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Inc
Published: Nov 2 2000
Pages: 240
Weight: 1.14
Height: 0.56 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
This first comprehensive study of the dragon-fight in Old English and related literatures casts fresh light on Beowulf's last battle.

The vivid depiction of a dragon-fight in the Old English poem Beowulf and its relationship with other literary encounters between heroes and dragons has been the subject of much scholarly debate; yet this is the first comprehensive study of the dragon-fight in secular and hagiographical literature. In a series of five detailed studies the author discusses the analogues and possible sources of Beowulf's famous last battle, drawing on hagiographical, historical, liturgical, heroic and other narrative material to explore the prominence of these episodes within the literary milieu of the Beowulf-poet and his audience. She assembles an extensive corpus of fights between saints and dragons, and demonstrates their striking resemblance to Beowulf's actions. A comparison with Scandinavian material is followed by case studies which examine the dragon-fights of St Samson and the archangel St Michael. Theanalogues discussed are presented with facing translations and detailed bibliographies.

Dr CHRISTINE RAUER teaches in the Department of English at the University of St Andrews.

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