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Thorkelin, Grímur Jónsson (1752-1829) De Danorum. Rebus Gestis Secul. III & IV. Poëma Danicum Dialecto Anglosaxonica. First edition of Beowulf in Anglo Saxon & Danish.
Copenhagen: Typis Th. E. Rangel, 1815.
First edition, quarto, engraved title page; leaves uncut throughout; in original paste paper-decorated limp paper binding (front cover detached), housed in a custom folding box; ex libris American Shakespeare scholar Gwynne Blakemore Evans (1912-2005) with his bookplate inside front cover and signature dated Edinburgh, 1945 on front free endleaf, during his tenure with the United States Army Signal Corps in intelligence at Bletchley Park, where he rose to the rank of sergeant; presentation inscription dated 1967 to J.J. Campbell, presumably the Elizabethan scholar and Princeton University English professor; corners slightly rough, edges untrimmed as issued throughout, thumbing; 9 1/2 x 7 3/4 in.
An epic Old English saga likely passed along through oral tradition, and predating Christianity's arrival in England, Beowulf is arguably the most important ancient literary work to come down to us in Old English. The titular Beowulf rises to power after slaying Grendel, described in the poem as "shadow walker," "night goer," and "mark stepper," monikers most often rendered simply as "monster." Tolkien was greatly influenced by Beowulf, modeling many details of his Middle-earth on the style, symbolism, and nomenclature of the ancient work. Scholars see echoes of the ancient tale in Tolkien's trolls, orcs & elves, along with the indelible Gollum and Smaug.
