Beowulf Orated…

Benjamin Bagby is one unusual dude. He goes around orating Beowulf in its original Old English with the help of a reconstructed Anglo-Saxon harp. His performance at the Dunkers Kulturhus in Helsingborg, Sweden was recorded a couple years ago and parts of it can be viewed on youtube. This unfortunately means that he’s sitting on an elegant modern stage a safe distance from the audience instead of in a mead hall surrounded by eager listeners with a fire nearby, which sort of creates a sense of detached absurdity. But that doesn’t mean it’s not cool that someone is properly promoting the biggest badass in Scandinavian history.

Hail to a true modern skald or scop or whatever you wish to call him: