Finn y Hengest

Professor J. R. R. Tolkien is widely known as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but he was also a distinguished scholar in the field of medieval English and literature. In Anglo-Saxon studies, his celebrated lecture Beowulf: Monsters and Critics is considered a turning point in criticism of the poem. The story of Finn and Hengest, two heroes of the fifth century from northern Europe, is told to us both in Beowulf and in the fragment of an Anglo-Saxon poem known as The Battle of Finnesburg, but in such a vague and imprecise way that its interpretation It has been generating controversy for more than a hundred years. Bringing a unique combination of philological scholarship and poetic imagination, Tolkien revealed a classic tragedy of divided loyalties, of revenge, of blood and death. The story also describes the events immediately preceding the first Germanic invasion of Britain, led by Hengest himself. This book will appeal not only to students of Old English and anyone interested in the history of Northern Europe and Anglo-Saxon England, but also to those who admire The Lord of the Rings, who will be fascinated by how Tolkien dealt with a story that he had not invented.