Widsith, Beowulf, Finnsburgh, Waldere, Deor. Done into common English after the old manner. With an introd. by Viscount Northcliffe

C. K. (Charles Kenneth) Scott-Moncrieff

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• English poetry
• Old English

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• Publié par: les_archives_du_savoir
• Nombre de lectures: 9
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 11 Mo

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COUNIFORM WITH BEOWULF
THE SONG OF ROLAND
Done into in the MeasureEnglish Original by
CHARLES SCOTT MONCRIEFF
With an Introduction G. K. CHESTERTON and a Note onby
GEORGE SAINTSBURY.Technique by
(Second Impression).
SOME CRITICAL OPINIONS.
"
Mr. Frederic in The Review : I take aHarrison, Fortnightly
interest in the new translation of the mediaevallively grand Epic
Chanson de Roland. ... It is a bold and successful venture.
... I advise all who care for mediaeval and forhistory primitive
to the side side with Scott Mon-epics study original by Captain
criefFs translation."
"
Mr. Edmund in The Times : ThereGosse, C.B., Sunday
have in the been made efforts to render the Rolandpast Song of
into but have not hitherto been successful. . . .English, they very
Scott Moncrieffhas this inCaptain approached rough epic exactly
the read his version andright spirit ; having carefully, having
accustomed ear to his treatment of the I feel thatassonance,my
his success is considerable indeed."very
Mr. G. K. Chesterton At the of the World's End in(" Sign ")
"
The New Witness : The horn of unlike the horns ofRoland,
fordoes roll from soul to and ever andelfland, soul,really grow
for ever. The enthusiasm of a and critical critic likerising very
Mr. Scott Moncrieff is a of its renewal. There istype something
hisof immortal moment about that of the and courtimage king
dark behindhome in and from theriding triumph, hearing pass
like ourthem the dreadful note of doom. it isIndeed, very present
when our rulers are to have and;position supposed triumphed
come wild unmade and the chorus ofpeace, through praise
the intolerableaccountable voices from Poland and andItaly,
or there reof Ireland. However it be applied,irony explained
that halted march."mains arrested for ever the ofpageant
and in TheMr. in The StarJames NottinghamDouglas,
" andnow it has bestowed: Thewarhas bredJournal many poets,
a translation of a noble a translation whichus noble poem,upon
is itself a fresh and of our . . KnowEnglish tongue.grace glory
of the as I read this translation I felt like Keatsing nothing Song,"
like a doorHomer." It was andas he read .openingChapman's
a scholar like Promusic. . . . Notout being greatletting great
this translation theI can bestow onfessor onlySaintsbury, praise
of a comin aof instinctive English thingdelight masterpiece
" ""
or Itwith FitzGerald's Omar Rabelais."Urquhart'sparable
its marvellous resurrection of a losttimethesavour of inhas genius
If a be a means of froma faith. ...and escapeforgotten poetry
this is a liberathe dust of one's environment, surely thingpetty
will and men will see thetion and Our pass,enlargement. day
it to which we are blind. I can a scholarheroic element in imagine
this translation as a that oura hundred hence proofyears citing
soldiers were heroical."
"
in The Observer : So isProfessor Robert Nichols, adequate
s translation that it can but take itsScott Moncrieff placeCaptain
"
in this sort with Florio's Fitzwith the classics Montaigne,"
" "
St.Omar," Watts-cum-Pusey's Augustine,"gerald's Urqu
"" and Burton's Arabian The workhart's Rabelais," Nights."
with the maximum of thehas that considerable accuracy original
which amounts to a and which alone makes aflavour recreation,
of the text translated. Such a recreation is intranslation worthy
all casesanuncommon feat in this case itamounts to a
; triumph."
"
in The Guardian : There are other transManchesterB.S.,
"
lations of the Chanson de of but we doubt ifRoland," course,
have been read. The virtue of Moncrieffsthey widely Captain
version is that it for us one of those worksgreatpopularises
literature which contain and summarise an No one whoepoch.
" "
once to read his of Roland will want tofairly begins Song
the book down till he has finished This is the mostit.put perhaps
remarkable of a remarkable achievement."aspect very
"
in The Athenceum : Our author revels in the battle-H.O.,
the of which has never been hepieces, vigour ;surely surpassed
can be tender at the moment nor does he ever miss theright ;
of faith and the fervent note ofspirit pure religious patriotism
that inform the whole."
The Tablet : "We feel that the will mosttranslation prove
useful to those who be literature ormay teaching historyEnglish
in our Catholic schools. . . The of the. Catholic atmosphere
its and its can bepoem, setting, religious feeling grasped
one who still the sameonly faith."by professes
" ' 'The Christian Science Monitor : The of Roland isSong
one of the if not the in the world'sgreatest pagan epics, greatest,
It is fullliterature. of nobleness to whichevery splendid humanity
is heir, that nobleness which was andexcept particular taught
the Founder ofpractised by Christianity
'
There can be little but for the in whichpraise way Captain
Scott Moncrieff has carried out the difficult task ofsuperlatively
the into The combination ofrendering great epic English. rugged
and breathless which is characteristic of thedignity speed original
has been withreproduced success."astonishing"
The Westminster Gazette : We cannot commendSaturday
the . . The book is the most. literal translationexperiment.
that we know. It is not poetry."
"
The Pall Mall Gazette : The we is a realthink,experiment,
success. It is a true craftsman who can handle such aonly thing
and be not to have dimmed itsjudged brightness."
"
The Post : The reviewer's first was one ofLiverpool feeling
' '
vain How useful this have been to me once !regret might
And one still feels . . . that the work will useful
prove mainly
for educational if one to it as anpurposes, or, so,prefers put
crib."undergraduate's
" ' '
The Times : The Chanson de RolandLiterary Supplement
''
is and barbarous if its effect as a is to be felt in;abrupt poem
the while to thetranslation,English keeping faithfully meaning,
must the and of the Frenchreproduce abruptness barbarity
laisses. That is what Mr. unlike the other translatorsMoncrieff,
of this has done. . . .poem,
"
The the flash of one almost inenthusiasm, poet catching
the emotion of another the thrill ofdead,tuitively long reading
an of a these are the valuableintelligent transcript great poem
in this book."things
"
The Post : We took this volume with a certainMorning up
ofsense It seemed to us that Scottdisappointment. Captain
Moncrieff have us a more modern . . . not ofmight given epic
but of Atkins. But our was shortRoland, Tommy ingratitude
lived. . . .
"
This not of but is in itself awonderSong only sings triumph,
ful for our mothertriumph tongue."
"
The Herald : The of Mr. . . .Glasgow blessing Saintsbury
should suffice the most For we canourselves,scholarly. imagine
no finer for the kind of noble element ofgift right boy. Every
liferomance into in the tale of the and the horn-blowleaps fight
and no braver will be found in mortal than ining, teaching story
the last of Roland and Oliver."meeting
" "
Peter in Land and Water : To have translated thisBell,"
work is to have readers toa service to and;performed English
have translated it in the measure with so much successoriginal
as here is to have a feat ofachieved notable dexterity."
"
from the: Scott Moncrieff writesLifeCountry Captain very
heart and centre of his theme. . . .' A version done divinely
'
well we call the words thatinmay this, Tennysonsurely applied
'
to V Omar.'Fitzgerald
" '
The Nation : Moncrieff met the Chanson de
Captain
'
Roland but it was a determined conby accident, really pre-
of a translator's Roland for thejunction affinities, original's
so do these twin match eachOliver, wonderfully literary spirits
''
other. That the word for word he had;explains
no other but we can what a hash of it analternative, imagine
man of letters who was not Moncrieffequally gifted Captainwould have made of it. As it we have the and indeedis, singular
of this old not so differunique pleasure reading grand epic very
as its heard it to them theently contemporaries sung by jongleurs.
"
It is indeed as an uncut but fullwork, diamond,good rough
of and fiercepathos power."
The circulation ofCambridge Magazine (largest any University
"
in Great : Warriors as ahave, rule,Weekly Britain) expressed
"
such a horror of war !poems
"
O'London's : Fame is aJohn Weekly queer thing."
"
The London a review of four : needMercury (in pages) Epics
so and favourable circumstances for theirmany particular pro
duction that are scarce and andindividual,they highly every
literature to have a sufficient of each of them.ought rendering
Mr. Scott Moncrieff . . . has a fineproduced original English
and one can assert that he has also thepoem, safely reproduced
of the because the characteristics which hespirit original, poem's
derives from the the social theoriginal, system impli