https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_raven and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torresian_crow
Ross, no matter what anyone calls them—owls, pussycats or general nuisances—even in Australia, crows (
Corvus orru) and ravens (
Corvus coronoides) are two different species, though in common parlance the words might be used interchangeably—in Oz, as in the scholarly work referenced below. But that is moot, it falls outside the question under discussion.
I shouldn't have to say this, or maybe I should, but it is a well-known fact that fowl of divers species call just before dawn. Yes, they do. I have not claimed otherwise. Yes, ravens, crows, all the species of
Corvus are intelligent. I have not claimed otherwise.
I am willing to concede that the bird in question may have woke Beowulf and his men just before dawn and not in the middle of the night.
That said,
what my original question was about is whether it makes more sense to say that the term "blithehearted"
blíðheort as in
gæst inne swæf oþ þæt hrefn blaca heofones wynne blíðheort bododea , is more likely to be applied to the sound of a raucous raven or melodious blackbird.
Even if it is obvious that some words such as
blíðheort (blithehearted) and
ecge (modern Swedish
ägg, pronounced "egg" = English
edge as in "sword edge", the cutting blade) have retained their meaning down the centuries, the meaning of other words may have, or certainly have, shifted.
I do not claim to be proficient in Old English or Old Norse though I can hear/see parts of the text that correspond to contemporary Swedish. Note that I am not trying to sail under the false flag of a scholar, or expert in Old English. I'm just asking the question I always ask as a translator: DOES THAT SOLUTION MAKE SENSE.
I've found the original text in yet another translation copyright 2002-12,
Benjamin Slade here
http://www.heorot.dk/beowulf-rede-text.html
Although in this text, "hrefn blaca" is translated as
raven, the notes [1804-5] colloquially refer to a crow: "the crow caws at the sun-rise" ('joy of the sky'). [Note that the line numbers in each translation are unique and only approximate where the text can be found in other translations. One must always go by the line number of the original text. ]
Here is Benjamin Slade's translation of the text in question. If you are nerdy, go to the link above to read the Old English and modern rendition side by side.
sé for andrysnum ealle beweotede
who for courtesy looked after everything
þegnes þearfe swylce þý dógore
1797
of the hero's needs, such as in those days
heaþolíðende habban scoldon
·
warrior-sailors were obliged to have;
reste hine þá rúmheort
· reced hlíuade
rested him then, the large-hearted man; the hall towered
géap ond goldfáh
· gæst inne swæf
vaulted and gold-adorned; the guest slept inside
oþ þæt hrefn blaca heofones wynne
until the black raven,
the joy of the sky
blíðheort bodode
. Ðá cóm beorht scacan
1802
declared glad-heartedly. Then came bright hurrying,
scaþan ónetton
·
fighters hastening;
waéron æþelingas eft tó léodum
the nobles were back to their people
fúse tó farenne
· wolde feor þanon
eager to fare; he wished far thence,
cuma collenferhð céoles néosan
.
the high-spirited visitor, to seek his ship
.
Linear Mode
