In Defence of Böðvarr bjarki

Abstract

For almost two centuries, Böðvarr bjarki has been a household name in Beowulf studies. The exploits of this monster-slaying champion of the Danish king match those of the epic hero at many points, and this has made Bjarki the subject of critical fascination. Many scholars have viewed the correspondences between Beowulf and Bjarki as evidence that certain aspects of Beowulf’s career may have been modelled on existing Scandinavian legend — a view with clear implications for our understanding of the originality of Beowulf. The value of the Bjarki story has also been challenged, largely on the basis that Scandinavian evidence is inconsistent in its presentation of this tradition. This article defends the usefulness of the Bjarki analogue by returning to the Scandinavian source material. It demonstrates that the various versions of the Bjarki story across Old Norse and Latin sources are structurally consistent and point to the existence of a coherent underlying tradition. This reopens the possibility that Beowulf and Bjarki may independently derive from the same legendary archetype.