The Battle of Maldon (E.V. Gordon)

From Tolkien Gateway
This article is about the edition by E.V. Gordon. For the the translation by J.R.R. Tolkien, see The Battle of Maldon.
The Battle of Maldon
The Battle of Maldon 1937.jpg
EditorE.V. Gordon
PublisherMethuen, London
Released10 June 1937
FormatHardcover; paperback
Pages96
SeriesMethuen's Old English Library

The Battle of Maldon is an edition of the Old English poem The Battle of Maldon, edited by E.V. Gordon. It was first published in 1937.

In his Preface, Gordon notes J.R.R. Tolkien as one of those who "read the proofs of my edition and made many corrections and contributions", and offered solutions "to many textual and philological problems." (p. vi).

A prose translation of the poem, by J.R.R.Tolkien, was published in The Battle of Maldon: together with The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth in 2023.

From the inside flap[edit | edit source]

This is the first edition of The Battle of Maldon to be taken from the transcript of John Elphinston, which has only recently been identified. The misreadings in Hearne's print, from which all previous editions have been taken, are here eliminated, and an attempt has been made to provide historical background and a literary evaluation of the poem. The broken text and over punctuation of most Old English poems have also been avoided by the editor, and the lines are printed in one, with no extra spacing. The text contains one photograph and a map of the battlefield.

Publication history and gallery[edit | edit source]

1937 first edition  
1963 first edition 5th impression  
1968 first edition 7th impression  
  • Methuen, hardcover (1937), pp. 98
    • 1937 first edition, 5th? impression (1963)
    • 1937 first edition, 7th? impression (1968)

External links[edit | edit source]


Books by E.V. Gordon
Co-edited with J.R.R. Tolkien Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
With Tolkien's involvement Published during his lifetime An Introduction to Old Norse ·
The Battle of Maldon
Published posthumously Pearl · The Seafarer