252 Reviews 'take' on theworld (one inwhich the acknowledgment of the addressee's personal autonomy remains an important cultural premise). The wealth of evidence that Wierzbicka presents in every case firmlyanchors her research but in no way combines to render her text less than interesting arguments without compromising the clarity of her expositions, or rendering it less than highly readable. The style is lucid, clear, and logicallypresented, and whileWierzbicka can and does challenge conventional readings (her conclusions will no doubt be controversial in certain circles), thebook reveals, and sustains, a level of insightand sheer interest that isimmensely engaging. UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD LYNDA MUGGLESTONE AncientPrivileges:'Beowzuf', Law, and the Making ofGermanic Antiquity. By STEFANJURASINSKI. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press. 2006. x + I83 pp. $45. ISBN: 978-0-937058-98-5. AncientPrivileges discusses Germanic law and the editing of Beowu!f, two subjects with more in common thanmight be thought.Both were dominated by nineteenth-century Germans, who often saw them in thedistortingmirror of romantic nationalism.Jurasin ski setsout to remove thatglass, claiming that it misrepresents law and poetry alike, for all the 'aura of objectivity' (p. 3) thatphilologists claim for themselves. His book has an introduction,fourchapters, and a conclusion. The introductionoutlines theself-flatteries of patriotic romanticism and the manipulations of ideology.The unseen hand of imperialism and racial pride ledAnglo-Saxonists to exalt the law and poetry of theirancestors as a nobler and trueralternative to thehegemonies of Greek and Latin. Germanic lawswere seen as titledeeds of Teutonic freedom and egalitarianism, with Lord Acton informingCambridge students that theUS Declaration of Independence could be dimly perceived in the ancient 'forestsof Germany' (p. 7). Such delusions charmed not only historians. Stillworse, they interfered with textual interpretationand even emendation, which should be immune fromsuch a taint, like logic or algebra. The four chapters make the point in a series of case-studies. Chapter I discusses emendations byJakob Grimm and Friedrich Klaeber. Grimm, with Volksgeist inmind, thought that Wiglaf's denunciation of Beowulf's faithlesscompanions had legal forceas a formal expression of banishment. He thusemended hu 'how' to nu 'now' (1.2884) and (citingaModern German phrase) lufen'comfort' to leofen 'sustenance' (1.2886). Klaeber similarly interpreted goldhwete (1. 3074) on the basis of anathemas inAnglo-Saxon charters. YetJurasinski shows that the belief that these passages can be emended by reference to legal formulas has no substance. Chapter 2 deals with the rareword folcscare(1.73) uttered by Hrothgar. Jurasinski dispels themyth, dear to thehearts of commentators, that it means 'land common to the community'. Hrothgar cannot alienate certain possessions, not because theywere 'public', but because their statusmeant theyhad to remain within his family.Legal scholars grasped thepoint generations ago; but philologists have not noticed. Chapter 3 turns to animism and what the author calls the 'irrational, consuming fascinationwith vengeance' (p. 77) thatsupposedly governed Germanic folk.To the fore YES, 38.I & 2, 2008 253 here is the translation of woroldredenne(1. I142) in the Finn episode as 'universally acknowledged duty (of vengeance)'. By discussion of the laws,Jurasinski shows thatan enthusiasm by earlyGermans for 'sacred' blood feuds is illusory. Teutons likeBeowulf actually appear reasonable fellows,who could come to terms over disputes. It is nineteenth-century philologists who seem a wild, bloodthirsty lot, always ready (metaphorically speaking), inbetween bouts of treeworship, tohack off the arms and legsof anyone who fellfoulof them. The last chapter deals with the tragedyof Hrethel andfeohleas gefeoht (1.2441), taken as 'conflictbeyond compensation'. Jurasinski dismisses the claim thatGermanic law made no distinction between redress for murder and for manslaughter. IfHrethel took no action, it would not be because (p. 148) his sonHerebeald was killed by a kinsman, but because thedeath was accidental. This isa book of distinction. It is sober, lucid, precise, and illuminating.Even those with little interest inOld English may learn from itscomments on the psychology of scholars, for whom inertia is so potent, and the echoing of one's predecessors so very softan option. AncientPrivileges, therefore,isan outstanding achievement, greatly to the credit of itsauthor and of theUniversity ofWest Virginia. UNIVERSITY OF NAVARRE,PAMPLONA ANDREw BREEZE The Mabinogion. Trans.bySIONED DAViES. Oxford: Oxford University Press.2007.xxxviii + 293 pp- ?I2.99. ISBN:978-0-i9-283242-9. TheMabinogion is...