two illustrations that are reproduced as part of this ebook are the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. Beneath the painting of the dragon on the front cover he wrote these words from Beowulf, line 2561, {ðá wæs} hringbogan heorte gefýsed, which he translated as '{now was} the heart of the coiling beast stirred {to come out to fight}' {2153–4}. The drawing on the back cover of the printed dustjacket is of Grendel's mere: the words wudu wyrtum fæst that appear beneath this are from Beowulf, line 1364; in the translation {1136–9} 'It is not far hence . . . that that mere lies, over which there hang rimy thickets, and a wood clinging by its roots overshadows the water.' Another drawing of the mere, made at the same time {1928}, is reproduced on the rear flap of the printed dustjacket. The drawing on the title page of this book, showing a dragon attacking a warrior, was done in the same year. All four illustrations are reproduced, with interesting observations, in J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull, pp. 52–5."
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[ Beowulf: A Translation and ]
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