Pride and Prodigies: Studies in the Monsters of the Beowulf-Manuscript

Rating:
Summary: Pride and Prodigies; a Cellar of Scholarly Wisdom
Review: As a PhD Candidate in Old English, I have found Andy Orchard's text, Pride and Prodigies, to be invaluable in my own studies. Orchard offers the foremost translations in the field of Old English and Latin texts, like "The Wonders of the East." These texts are used to elucidate the question of monstrosity in the Beowulf manuscript, first raised by J.R.R. Tolkien. Though it is difficult to come to any consensus about these monsters, Orchard charts the progression of the manuscript, not fearing to consider the validity of the theme on a continuum.

Orchard's scholarship is incredibly rich and detailed. The array of external primary and secondary sources he uses to understand the "monsters" in these particular texts is impressive. Orchard implements everything from Old Norse, to Celtic, to Latin to ground the 5 works of the Beowulf manuscript in a tradition steeped with monsters.