『ベーオウルフ』「フィン王の挿話」におけるHengestについて(2) : R. W. ChambersとJ. R. R. Tolkienの説を中心に

概要

論文の詳細を見る
In the Finn Episode in Beowulf are included some very important descriptions which might induce us to clarify the open questions about the ancient history of England. Hengest, who was the leader of Danish army, is not described clearly as a Dane in the Episode and it can even be presumed that he is Jutish in some context. Therefore he is thought by some scholars to be the same man that Bede referred to as Hengist who first settled in England as a Jutish leader in the period of Anglo-Saxon migration. In this paper I try to investigate the theories of R. W. Chambers and J. R. R. Tolkien who are two predominant scholars of Beowulf and whose views are completely different. For example, Chambers insists that Hengest is Danish and is not the same man who was described as Hengist in Bede, while Tolkien states that Hengest is Jutish and the very man described by Bede as a Jutish leader. Since some ambiguity is included originally in the Episode concerning the nationality of Hengest, both views are persuasive. But the reason why Hengest's nationality is stated ambiguously in the Episode is not explained by either of them. In my opinion the ambiguity in the Episode originates in the modification by the author of Beowulf. Hengest is Jutish but the author deliberately wrote as if he had been Danish, which can be righteously called "the Danification" in Beowulf by Fr. Klaeber.
2012-02-25