[Janice D. Soderling]

Hi Tim. Good to see you and thank you so much for responding.

Janet, I regard it as 8th C. and written in Scandinavia. It is monotheistic, no Christ, no conception of the trinity, no mention of the Germanic pantheon, only the All-father.

In the 700s (8th century) the Old Norse gods were still worshiped in Scandinavia.

I mentioned the absence of Christ in Beowulf only to make clear that (to my mind), had this poem been composed during a Christian period, it would have referenced "Vite Krist" (Hvítakristr) White Christ, for this term was intrinsic to the the religious struggle with "Röde Tor", Red Thor, who was a bloody warlike god in contrast to the supposedly peace-loving Christus. (N.B. Pre-Crusade.)

However, all the deity references in Beowulf are (as you said, Tim) to an All-Father figure. Odin was father to Thor and was the most powerful god in Old Norse mythology.

Let me add that I am deriving much pleasure from your and Alan's translation (as well as Mr. Heaney's) and especially your footnotes are enjoyable (something lacking in the Heaney rendition. Esp. I am happy when I find references to items and habits still alive in our contemporary language and culture.

Should your path wend through Scandinavia, I recommend that you (and all and sundry who share our interest) visit the Danish national museum (one of my favorite museums in all the world) which has the ground floor dedicated to Viking history--authentic chain-mail of the type mentioned in the poem and much more. Free entry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation...eum_of_Denmark

Also in Norway, there is a terrific museum containing longships excavated from barrows, burial mounds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking...eum_%28Oslo%29

And in England, don't miss the Sutton Ho burial exhibition at the British Museum. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutton_Hoo

In Sweden, I say don't miss the Gold Room at http://historiska.se/utstallningar/guldrummet/

That said, thanks again for your contributions to the Beowulf translation. To which I shall now return.

Janice