LEADER 03238nam 2200457 n 450 001 9910367590603321 005 20230228181016.0 010 $a979-1-03-656080-4 035 $a(CKB)4100000010106011 035 $a(FrMaCLE)OB-obp-12469 035 $a(PPN)253362717 035 $a(EXLCZ)994100000010106011 100 $a20210129d2020 ||| 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $auu||||||m|||| 200 04$aThe Waning Sword$eConversion Imagery and Celestial Myth in Beowulf$fEdward Pettit 210 $aCambridge$cOpen Book Publishers$d2020 215 $a1 online resource (xxii-537 p.) 311 $a1-78374-827-3 330 $aThe image of a giant sword melting stands at the structural and thematic heart of the Old English heroic poem Beowulf. This meticulously researched book investigates the nature and significance of this golden-hilted weapon and its likely relatives within Beowulf and beyond, drawing on the fields of Old English and Old Norse language and literature, liturgy, archaeology, astronomy, folklore and comparative mythology. In Part I, Pettit explores the complex of connotations surrounding this image (from icicles to candles and crosses) by examining a range of medieval sources, and argues that the giant sword may function as a visual motif in which pre-Christian Germanic concepts and prominent Christian symbols coalesce. In Part II, Pettit investigates the broader Germanic background to this image, especially in relation to the god Ing/Yngvi-Freyr, and explores the capacity of myths to recur and endure across time. Drawing on an eclectic range of narrative and linguistic evidence from Northern European texts, and on archaeological discoveries, Pettit suggests that the image of the giant sword, and the characters and events associated with it, may reflect an elemental struggle between the sun and the moon, articulated through an underlying myth about the theft and repossession of sunlight. The Waning Sword: Conversion Imagery and Celesti al Myth in Beowulf is a welcome contribution to the overlapping fields of Beowulf-scholarship, Old Norse-Icelandic literature and Germanic philology. Not only does it present a wealth of new readings that shed light on the craft of the Beowulf-poet and inform our understanding of the poem?s major episodes and themes; it further highlights the merits of adopting an interdisciplinary approach alongside a comparative vantage point. As such, The Waning Sword will be compelling reading for Beowulf-scholars and for a wider audience of medievalists.As with all Open Book publications, this entire book is available to read for free on the? 517 $aWaning Sword 606 $aClassics 606 $aLiterature 606 $aOld English 606 $aOld English heroic poem 606 $aBeowulf 606 $aOld Norse 606 $agod Ing/Yngvi-Freyr 615 4$aClassics 615 4$aLiterature 615 4$aOld English 615 4$aOld English heroic poem 615 4$aBeowulf 615 4$aOld Norse 615 4$agod Ing/Yngvi-Freyr 700 $aPettit$b Edward$01007223 801 0$bFR-FrMaCLE 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910367590603321 996 $aThe Waning Sword$93015017 997 $aUNINA