Anonymous, The Fight at Finnsburh

Paul Cavill (University of Nottingham)

Ed. by Hugh Magennis, Queen's University Belfast
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.01: English Writing and Culture: Old English, 500-1066.
Vol. editors: Richard William Dance (University of Cambridge), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 700 - c. 800

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)

Resources

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The Fight at Finnsburh

, or

The Battle of Finnsburh

, is also known as

The Finnsburh Fragment

because the 48 lines of verse begin and end in mid-sentence, and were obviously part of a longer work. Moreover, the incomplete story in the

Fragment

appears to be a version of the heroic tale told by Hrothgar's court poet in celebration of Beowulf's victory over Grendel at lines 1063-1160a of

Beowulf

, and there known as

The Finnsburh Episode

. The

Fragment

was printed by George Hickes in 1705, but the manuscript leaf containing the text is now lost.

By combining information from the two very different versions, we can piece together the basic story. The Finnsburh of the title is the stronghold of Finn, king of the Frisians in the early fifth century. Finn is married to Hildeburh, princess of the

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827 words

Citation: Cavill, Paul. "The Fight at Finnsburh". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 October 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=10538, accessed 03 December 2024.]

Anonymous, The Fight at Finnsburh

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