The Father breaks the bonds of frost

Seasonal transitions in the language of Beowulf

A series sharing Anglo-Saxon poetry, with the hope of revealing the untold lives and tales within them: the shared experiences we have with their emotions as they journeyed through lives over a thousand years ago.

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Today’s post is a short and sweet one, looking at a tiny excerpt from Beowulf, one of my favourite Anglo-Saxon poems.

I feel like Beowulf can get a bad rap some times, maybe because it feels a little over done. It’s perhaps the most well known in the genre, thanks no doubt to its romantic tale of the hero’s victory over the other-worldly beast, not to mention modern translations that make its words accessible to readers with no knowledge of Old English.

But would you associate Beowulf with the onset of Spring?

I’d hazard a guess that the answer is probably no.

In the quote below, however, the poet uses seasonal language as a metaphor to compare the hero’s long-awaited return to the retreat of winter.

                                         Then the battle-sword
began to melt like a gory icicle
because of the monster's blood. Indeed,
it was a miracle to see it thaw entirely, 
as does ice when the Father (He who ordains
all times and seasons) breaks the bonds of frost,
unwinds the floor fetters. He is the true Lord.'

Beowulf, tr. Kevin Crossley-Holland (1982: 114).

Here, in northern England, the ice is indeed beginning to thaw as the chains of winter are slowly being released. I recently spoke with

Lyndsay Kaldor

(in a comment on my post about an unseasonal snowstorm) about how contrary the weather can be at this time of year: one day ice-bound, the next brimming with spring. This seems to be the theme of this seasonal transition at the moment!

One thing is for sure, however.

There is more to Beowulf than monsters, battle and treasure. Amongst all that, tiny glimmers of beautiful (and highly relevant) language can be seen. Anglo-Saxon writers also sat on the threshold of the seasons, just as we do. What did meteorological spring (1st March here in England) hold for them?

And seen it should be.

Let’s not throw out Beowulf!

Where are you on the journey between seasons, where you live?

Do you have any memories of Beowulf?

Share in the comments below!

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