The Heliand

by Mariana Scott (Translator)

Book by Scott, Mariana

Genres: Poetry, Religion, Medieval

205 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1966

Reviews

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very dated English verse translation of the Old Saxon Gospel. I must admit, I'm not a huge fan of verse translations at all but when they're this old fashioned looking, I don't like them in the slightest. The introduction is also a little too short and could do with a bit more info. I love the Heliand though but just not this version. The prose Murphy version and even the recent Dewey verse translation are much more enjoyable than this.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you ever tried to imagine what the Gospels would look like if they were interpreted by Norsemen or Saxons (think: Beowulf) and told in epic poetry form, this is your jam. It is really interesting to see how the anonymous author chose episodes from the Gospels and wove them together, and in what order. I enjoyed all the "local color" that the author uses to describe Jesus (the All-wielder, the Best of Bairns) and His disciples (worthy earls) and the crowds (land-folk). The author does take some license but adheres fairly closely to the details of the stories in the Gospels. This made for excellent devotional reading. Enjoyable in every way.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

So happy to have gotten through this finally. I understand the complaints about the translation being stale but it's very accessible, only 5 or 10 words really need to be looked up (for me anyway). Good rhythm and alliteration. I'd like to look at a more recent translation someday.