Widsith

First thus, first printing. xiv, 202pp.  Burnt umber cloth-covered boards with gilt lettering to spine.  12mo.  Cloth a little pushed at spine ends, spine cloth appears dry and a little brittle.  Text block edges dusty and dull, with a little spotting.  Previous owner’s bokkplate on front paste down, endpapers a little tanned else internally neat, clean, bright and tight.  In its original printed, paper dust jacket, a lttle faded, rubbed at edges and around a lightly sunned spine, gentle shelf wear.

Widsith, or the Traveller’s Song, is an Old English poem of 143 lines.  There is some douby as to when it was first written, with arguing that it was just after the time of King Alfred (d. 886) while others, including Kemp Malone, the editor of this edition, argue that the piece is an authentic transcription of an older heroic song.  It is thought to be the oldest extant work to give an account of the Battle of the Goths and the Huns.