I have recently been combing through the Andreas translation for errors, misreadings, and to improve the sound of the lines. Lots of changes have been made, mostly in how the poem is lineated. I have opted in most cases for a shorter line, more in keeping with the original and after the pattern of my Beowulf translation, liking that pacing and rhythm. Also, I have restored the line numbers at the end of each verse paragraph, for ease of working back and forth between the original.

I have been checking my work against Kenneth Brooks’ edition in Andreas and the Fates of the Apostles (Oxford: Clarendon, 1961), and accepting his readings and emendations in most cases. I made an exception to this practice, for example, at line 396, where I have kept Cook’s reading, maintained in the ASPR, of “of helman” [from the helm], preferring that reading for practical purposes over Brooks’ “of holme” [from [upon] the ocean]. Brooks does not provide the MS reading, only stating that he prefers his reading to Cook’s because the word “helma” only appears in the prose.

I have also divided the poem into ten numbered sections, after the practice, and in roughly the same places, as S.A.J. Bradley in his Anglo-Saxon Poetry (Everyman, 1987). If Brooks’ edition is any indication, the Vercelli Book does not break the poem at all.

At this point, I have corrected the translation through line 414. More will follow, as I try to do about a hundred lines per day between other projects.