Recent content by MasterofRevels

Thanks for adding that clarification. I was speaking generally about the Germanic origins of the Anglo-Saxons, but your reply is much more precise. I do like the theory that Beowulf began in the pre-Christian ancestral homelands of the Anglo-Saxons, was brought over with them, and underwent...

I find this subject fascinating too. My grandparents immigrated to Canada from Calabria and they spoke the local language/dialect rather than formal Italian based on Tuscan. All the regional dialects existed more or less equally until the unification of Italy in the late 19th century at which...

So many responses since I last logged in! Let me see how much I can respond to lol I agree with your point that we're never actually engaging with an old text exactly as the people who formed the original audience would have. Even if you're not reading in translation, there's the whole issue...

Lol now there's an image! I took the name from the guy who determined what could be published or performed in the Elizabethan era. But a master of chocolates is a great secondary meaning.

Yeah, the people we now refer to as the "Anglo-Saxons" were essentially migrants/invaders from the lands described in Beowulf. They came over in the fifth century and then were Christianized starting in 597 AD, but there's a long period of history in which aspects of Christianity and paganism...

Ooh, where to begin? I had a period of time when I was younger where I got really into the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, and Beowulf was one of the books that opened that period of history up for me. There are so many things I love about it. The Germanic warrior ethos with its emphasis on boasting...

Oh yeah, Tolkien. Wonder if that little fantasy world of his ever caught on :unsure:

For sure. And this was not meant as a "do better" kind of post. Moreso an encouragement of how you can benefit from reading old books, which just so happens to be something I really enjoy doing. That sounds like a cool idea. In keeping with the spirit of my substack article, you could check...

https://open.substack.com/pub/andrewlivecchi/p/why-fantasy-writers-should-read-old-books?r=3wujkf&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web The more you familiarize yourself with the language and literature of the culture you are using as inspiration, the better you’ll be able to imbue everything from...

I love Beowulf and I'd echo all the recommendations of the Heaney translation. I've read through a few (as well as the Old English original in a uni class) and Heaney's version is pretty unparalleled in my opinion. It's great poetry in its own right

Hi everyone, glad to be a part of this forum! I write epic fantasy and am currently working on getting my first novel published. I'm an English professor as my day job, so I spend a whole lot of time reading, writing, and thinking about writing