Translating the Past: Essays on Medieval Literature in Honor of Marijane Osborn

Edited by Jane Beal and Mark Bradshaw Busbee
2012 | 204 + x pp. | Hardcover | 6 x 9 in | 978-0-86698-464-5 | MRTS 416
$56 | £41

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A generous variety of essays related to one another by the theme of translation, both literal and metaphoric, evidenced in Old English, Middle English, and Renaissance literature. The work of Marijane Osborn inspires the book’s consideration of Beowulf, medieval women, and the reception of medieval literature in later periods. Her scholarship is cited throughout the studies included.

The festschrift begins with Stephen Glosecki’s new modern English version of “The Wanderer,” John Niles’ analysis of keys lines in Beowulf, Mark Bradshaw Busbee’s study of Grundtvig’s translation of Beowulf (the first into a modern language), and Jane Beal’s reception history of Caedmon in the chronicles of Bede, Ranulf Higden, and John Trevisa. It continues with Josephine Bloomfield’s study of medieval allegorical women, Claire Waters’ examination of evangelizing women from Church History to Custance, Yvette Kisor’s look at the magical handkerchiefs of Desdemona, Emaré and Le Fresne, Lynn Wollstadt’s thoughts on the Scottish ballad “The Knight and the Shepherd’s Daughter” and Paul Acker’s observations on Tolkien’s use of Old Norse in The Lord of the Rings. It concludes with Gillian Overing’s brief memoir of her experiential learning and research with Marijane Osborn during their sea voyages in Scandinavia. The book also contains a preface by Robert Bjork, a comprehensive introduction to the works of Marijane Osborn, and a useful bibliography.

Table of Contents

  • Robert E. Bjork, Arizona State University — Preface

  • Jane Beal and Mark Bradshaw Busbee — Introduction: Overview of Marijane’s Osborn’s Scholarship and Teaching

  • Stephen Glosecki, University of Alabama at Birmingham — “The Wanderer”

  • John D. Niles, University of Wisconsin, Madison — Beowulf 2545b–2549: The Stream at the Dragon’s Barrow

  • Mark Bradshaw Busbee, Florida Gulf Coast University — The First Translation of Beowulf into a Modern Language

  • Jane Beal, Colorado Christian University — Translating Caedmon’s Miracle in the Chronicles of the Venerable Bede, Ranulf Higden, and John Trevisa

  • Josephine Bloomfield, Ohio University and Jane Beal, Colorado Christian University — Translating Nature/Seeing Monsters: Patristic Misogyny and Hybrid Women in Medieval Dream Allegory

  • Claire Waters, University of Virginia — Household Missionaries: Evangelizing Women from the Church History to Custance

  • Yvette Kisor, Ramapo College — ‘There’s Magic in the Web of It’: Desdemona’s Handkerchief and the ‘Magic’ of Cloths of Emaré and Le Fresne

  • Lynn Wollstadt, South Suburban College — Where the Wild Spaces Are: Scottish Ballads and a Look between the Lines of ‘The Knight and the Shepherd’s Daughter’

  • Paul Acker, St. Louis University — On Tolkien’s Shadowfax and Old Norse Names for Horses

  • Gillian R. Overing, Wake Forest University — Two Women in a Boat