The Battle of Maldon

Reviews / Votes

'In short, his edition is easily the most thorough to date in terms of its coverage and analysis of the internal features of the poem. Inevitably, now that the identity of the transcriber has been identified, Griffith covers the lost manuscript and its eighteenth-century transcript with greater detail and accuracy. And compared to Scragg and his predecessors, Griffith offers a precise and much lengthier exploration of the language and dialect of the poem, as well as its patterns of alliteration and metre in which, it should be said, Griffith is an acknowledged expert.' Mark Atherton, Journal of Inklings Studies 'An authoritative and updated volume that promises to be an essential scholarly tool for many decades more... The entire edition is remarkably thorough, and it not only presents a robust self-contained apparatus for the text of the poem but provides the researcher or advanced student with an exciting point of contact with various issues in Old English studies. Though this volume commands a hefty sum, it is a very worthy investment for any advanced undergraduate, graduate student, or academic professional eager to study seriously one of the most exciting and popular poems in Old English. It will be constantly at my side in my own research and teaching.'
Nicholas Babich, Speculum 'Even if this edition comes after more than 25 previous ones, it is quite safe to predict that it will become a new standard.'
Alban Gautier, The Medieval Chronicle 'This volume is a product of [Griffith's] forty years of teaching the poem. Gathering the best of his decades of research and examination into the poem, it is an absolutely thorough, first-rate edition of The Battle of Maldon filled with perceptive insights which are provided in a very well-organised manner.'
Kazutomo Karasawa, SELIM 'Las aclaraciones y explicaciones que se hacen aportan un mejor entendimiento del poema, de su contenido, de su metrica, y de su significacion poetica, y promueven la percepcion animica y literaria de una derrota.'
'The clarifications and explanations given provide a better understanding of the poem, its content, its metre, and its poetic significance, and bring to the fore the emotional and literary perception of a defeat.'
Jose Luis Martinez-Duenas, Boletin de la Academia de Buenas Letras de Granada
Translated from Spanish 'The poem has surely never received such sustained, detailed, and insightful attention as that now afforded it by Mark Griffith in this splendid new critical edition... It is unlikely that any reader will agree with every aspect of Griffith's interpretation of the poem, but all readers will, I suggest, find many valuable and productive new insights here and come away with a greater appreciation of the artistry of this fine Old English poem. Griffith has done a singular service to scholarship on The Battle of Maldon and on Old English verse more generally. This will no doubt be a standard edition for some time to come and is bound to stimulate much future work.'
Daniel Thomas, Journal of English and Germanic Philology