Beowulf, the Edda, and the Performance of Medieval Epic: Notes from the Workshop of a Reconstructed “Singer of Tales”
Beowulf, the Edda, and the Performance of Medieval Epic: Notes from the Workshop of a Reconstructed “Singer of Tales”

Summary/Abstract: The text, presented as “workshop notes”, is an attempt at sketching the background of work dealing with the great mediaeval poems: Beowulf and Edda. The comments are not addressed to experts dealing with mediaeval music but rather to listeners experiencing the performance of mediaeval works for the first time. Such an approach lacks the key element of sound - the visual and audial presence of the performer and the instrument, which we encounter in the course of live performances. The author’s task, therefore, consists of discovering common ground on which the listeners (or potential listeners)) could meet the performer. The purpose is for the listeners to become acquainted with the premises and arguments behind a hypothetical reconstruction of mediaeval epics.

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