Janice,
There's an article called "The Function of the "Hrefn Blaca": "Beowulf" 1801" by Kathryn Hume; Modern Philology Vol. 67, No. 1 (Aug., 1969), pp. 60-63 which seems to address this question (insofar as I've skimmed both it and this thread). It points out that Ravens do cry at daybreak, and in Norse and Latin literature are augeries of both good and bad fortune and concludes: "Whereas in the past the Danes frequently heard wip up dhafen, micel morgensweg (11 128-29), on this morning the raven contributes a blithe matins. Heorot, though once dishonored, is now redeemed, and it again towers high and gabled as it did before Grendel's depredations. Even as night is no longer fearsome, the raven is no longer a harbinger of slaughter, and the change in its role reinforces the edwenden in the condition of the Danes. Thus by altering a bird normally associated with carnage and ill omen to a bird of joy, victory and light, the poet has created a symbol which epitomizes this general change". PM me an email address if you'd like a pdf of the article.
Matt
Last edited by Matt Q; 08-01-2015 at 12:55 PM.
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