Beowulf - Battle

[kingbeatsoz]

So this is why no one goes church anymore..

[csm1025]

@kingbeatsoz

what?

[dlquinton]

@dlquinton kit... he sends you the kit...

[dlquinton]

Is that a Sutton-Hoo lyre he has there?

[ImperialistRunningDo]

@dlquinton Looks more like a Trossingen lyre. The Sutton Hoo is an oval, while this one has a more triangular shape. I've built both, based on plans I got from Michael J. King. Have you looked at any of his YouTube videos?

[dlquinton]

@ImperialistRunningDo Yes I have actually! I really want one of his kits, but they can be quite spendy and I lack all the proper tools.

[ImperialistRunningDo]

@dlquinton His blueprints are very reasonable, but tools are not. What I have done is go over to the local University, where they have a fully-kitted out wood shop. Check with your community college, senior center, etc.

I'm not sure what tools are ESSENTIAL (Mr. King would be the one to ask) but I'd say band saw, scroll saw and drill press for a start. These aren't that hard to make (says the man who builds guitars for fun). But check around for rental wood shops.

[redredshoes]

Benjamin Bagby, I would have your Old-English-singing, harp-playing babies.

[221Dw]

Interesting, perhaps a little over dramatic maybe?

[PeterKim1230]

1:44 and on I died.

[jeremycainebowen]

mute this, open up Chaccaron Maccaron in a new tab, and play them at the same time :)

[TheDwelch10]

fake and gay.

[khmerforvaver]

omg i can't believe Old English sounds so much different from today's XD!

[lobosolo0333]

I'd like to see the Anglo-Saxon in the subtitles. At least tell us which lines you're reading!

[ForseePilot]

I've always wanted to go back for one night; to sit and listen to the old tales told as they were so long ago.

[ThatJewishTroller]

You know who should sing this? Brian Blessed.

[teledynepost]

@broxx1138

The game I like to play is to see how fast I can close/stop a video with an advertisement.

[theShadowviking]

This guy is the fuckin' coolest. :D

[beanzaronii]

love. this.

[yeismeload]

I wouldn't be able to sit through this guy on the harp without rofl...his face is so animated it's amazing.

[stealth1692]

@yeismeload its a lyre

[tf2whackyengineer]

During the first few notes, I thought he was singing about the time Beowulf wrecked the Edmund Fitzgerald.

[Katara888Energy]

He went nuts with this.

He wende nuttes with thissen.

[broxxx1138]

NEVER GONNA BUY ANYTHING ADVERTISED ON YOU TUBE

[Katara888Energy]

@broxxx1138

Thin missing it be, for truth ic speec.

[Pritanos]

Þæt ist god scald!

[offroadgod1]

reminds you that english is a germanic language

[smellincoffee]

Really effective performance, I'm sitting here riveted...

[Xebelan]

Fantastic.

[MsLinkinparklover123]

I have studied beowulf so much he is cool

[kolstom]

I am not particularly happy with his performance. Perpetuating the cliche that medieval bards were plinging along randomly on a harp doesn't help either. Also, why does no one understand that this is written in Stabreim and has to be spoken accordingly? But hey, what can you expect from something that follows after an advert for the movie 'suckerpunch' ?

[acmilanboi]

@kolstom He's not randomly playing the music on the harp. In an interview, he said that he did a lot of research as to the type of harp and the kind of tune that would be used by bards.

[SuperGuitarFanatic]

am i the only one that laughs at guys facial expressions and the way he talks in this video?

[joesr31]

....his looks like his ready to kills someone here

[LordHannigan]

Nuts.

[blakium1]

and god sad: Let it be what the fuck

[Orkiperson]

I may learn old english just to attend this dude live

[BigDuda93]

Which Language is this?

[HojoOSanagi]

@BigDuda93

Old English/Anglo-Saxon.

[shkoltisz]

This man is very animated

[hirsutesimia]

FINGRAS BURSTAN

[TheKman17]

peed my pants

[ahhwalkinghazard]

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS!

[austpom333]

Its Bagbys understanding of Anglo - Saxon or nothing, because this is the only material available, So far as i know he is the only one who has got out there and made available some ( half ) of the Beowulf book on CD. Don't rubbish him unless you can do better.

[selatik1]

þæt wæs gód cyning!

[ReverendX9834]

this guy is a fucking maniac

[cowboyinfernal]

GRENDEL GONGAN!

[Soldier35]

Excellent excellent work. This is a exemplary piece of both history and art.

[balrog13571]

I love the poem and this narration to death don't get me wrong, but am I alone in thinking that scene where Grendel tears that one Geat up while Beowulf watches kinda off? I mean I suppose he didn't want to scare Grendel off before he had a good grip on him, but it doens't really help his fellow warrior a bit. Regardless this and the 1998 animated movie are my favorites. They tell the story correctly and in true storytelling fashion making you feel like you're there.

[ginnoveffect]

@balrog13571 Beowulf sort of allows Grendel to kill the man so that Grendel owes a weregild, or "man-price", to the Geats, where he must pay for the man's life in either monetary means or with his own life. It's so that Beowulf can make his own conflict with the monster legitimate, as if Grendel were just another Anglo-Saxon warrior. That's part of what made Hrothgar so sad, because was until that point unable to avenge all the men Grendel had killed.

[balrog13571]

@ginnoveffect

I suppose that would make sense, but I don't remember them saying anything about it or hintting at it. Maybe it was more along the lines of not giving away his trap.

[ginnoveffect]

@balrog13571 It's what my professor says, at least. Makes sense to me. If they didn't talk about it in the poem then possibly it's just supposed to be assumed, because the original audience was Anglo-Saxons who would have been more than familiar with the idea of weregilds.

[balrog13571]

@ginnoveffect

True.

[balddaddie]

Beowulf Battle

[tatianatarasova]

How stunning! I *must* experience this live. And find someone awesome enough to attend with me.

[Level1Orc]

This is possibly the most epic thing I have seen in my life.

Oh man.

[dbananza]

Why does every wonderful, marvelous video like this with a tale, or a tale in the form of a song, degenerate into either a pissing match of nationalism, or an argument about language?! It's a story, dude! Attend to the tale....

[RavenofDenmark]

@Accisma

Are you interested in learning old english? :þ

I am learning old norse ^^

[LexiClearwater]

can this shmuck ruin his social life any more?

[LexiClearwater]

GAY. GAY. GAY.

[ctorres14]

When my english teacher puts this on, and turn off the lights, its almost impossible not to fall asleep

[TheCritic92]

mrs. major?

[Eon716]

that's because you don't understand it, dummy

[CenturyGamer]

Your pretty retarded. If you had a brain and payed attention you might actually learn something in your pathetically pointless life

[velation]

That's quite enough of that.

[jezebellexinhell]

I'm taking a midterm over Old English literature tomorrow morning, so I'm kind of watching this for good luck. :)

[millertime2486]

Truly incredible.

[cantecleer]

awesome. awesome. awesome.

[00JakeR00]

Where can I watch the full thing?

[00JakeR00]

This is great, they should perform it in a pub where everyone can eat and drink while listening. It would be much more authentic.

[TheBurbyGirl]

@00JakeR00 Agreed. It would be the best dinner theater EVER!

[chip5511]

brill

[melleelmes]

This is just phenomenal. FABBY rendition!! I can't wait to show this to my students!!!

[Ealasaid17]

And just imagine that is the founding father of English....if we never knew that we would never fathom that!

[CenturyGamer]

True. Modern English is pathetic isn't it?

[RavenofDenmark]

what modern english? XD

it is french/latin, with a smale sad remaning of english :b

[Hittman720]

what the hell just happend!

[MaBu888]

blodedon dranc!!!

[oracularp]

This is great - just like how we think Beowulf was really performed, way better than just a dry reading. Thanks for posting!

[Mamakayi]

I dont think its true!

[MaBu888]

What?

[NeglectedField]

I think someone has missed the point COMPLETELY

[adamacin34]

you dumbass its called "folklore"

[hwwolverine]

you're an idiot..

[Clayton412]

Ben is the best at reciting this wonderful ancient poem. This is my absolute favourite versioun of this poem.

[ermyfjym]

Kudos for posting this. My professor showed us a clip from this fellow's DVD this evening, and his vocal performance was most impressive. I don't think I have ever seen a combination of poetic reading and singing like that, and the dynamics he gets are quite good.

[klimaxg]

@besselendir nem erdekes a tudatlanság vélemény

[klimaxg]

@besselendir nem erdekes tudatlanság vélemény

[SwiftSnowmane]

I wouldn't even have bothered commenting, but I just couldn't stay silent as Beowulf is pretty much one of my favorite poems and this is definitely one of the best performances of the poem that I've had the pleasure of experiencing. I would suggest to anyone encountering this for the first time that they find the DVD with the full performance and watch it over and over again like I do. :-D

[SwiftSnowmane]

I don't mean to sound argumentative, but if you think this is retarded, I just have to wonder if you realize just what you are watching? Because I understand why it would seem odd to someone who has no idea what Mr. Bagby is attempting to do here. However, if one is familiar with the poem Beowulf, or at the very least familiar with Old English, then not only does it start to make more sense, but also the artistry and dedication that his man has put into this performance become apparent. :-)

[Thx1138d]

Is this how the bards did it?

[nikolayevlab]

@Thx1138d not bards, anglo-saxons had skalds :) but yeas

[GuyMrDude]

You are totally right! This man has been obsessed with Beowulf from since he was of about 12 or 13 years of age. He has spent a great deal of time to learn the Old English language and perform as a modern day scop. If only i could see this brilliant man perform in person... Amazingness.

[Rfitzgerald2]

this is the most retarded thing ive ever seen. and ive watched Rosanne.

[DXP322]

lol that was funny thank you