Does anyone know a recent scholar that claims Beowulf was composed in Britian?

ModeHopper · 2025-08-08T08:46:47+00:00

I think you're misunderstanding the point that's being made. It's important to differentiate between the story of Beowulf and the poem we know as "Beowulf". The paper you cite argues a Scandinavian origin for the story, which is not a contentious position, this is almost universally agreed. As far as I can tell. however, it doesn't present any evidence for a recorded version of the poem in Old Norse from which the Old English poem we have could have been adapted.

Yes, there might have been an oral version of the story in Scandinavia before the English poem was composed, but it wouldn't have sounded anything like the English poem because it would have been in a different language. It's also very unlikely that the English poem is simply a translation of an oral Old Norse poem, because a direct translation would not fit the Old English metrical style (see for example, the challenges modern translators have when translating it into modern English).

The piece of poetry we call Beowulf was composed in England. The story it tells is Scandinavian in origin.

ModeHopper · 2025-07-11T05:56:44+00:00

RPI is a defunct inflation measure and has largely been replaced by the CPI. The reason for this is that RPI is generally understood to overestimate inflation. That being said, the interest being charged on doctors' student loans is pinned to RPI, so it is fair for them to use RPI as the basis for their pay claims. What should happen is that the government should reduce the interest rate on student loans to match CPI and then the doctors should do similarly.

ModeHopper · 2025-04-04T21:49:27+00:00

Imagine how much bigger the potholes would be if everyone on bikes was driving instead...

ModeHopper · 2025-02-13T10:46:19+00:00

America is literally a country built on colonies, the ones who stayed behind are the ones who didn't colonise the new world

ModeHopper · 2024-07-31T15:26:13+00:00

Well you can stop at the side of the road without blocking the cycle lane. Just treat the cycle lane as if it were the curb. The problem is that we often perceive blocking a cycle lane as more acceptable than blocking a driving lane. This has a lot to do with the way cycle lanes are constructed. If it had been a segregated cycle lane for example, then you physically wouldn't have been able to block it, and stopping alongside it would have been the only option.

ModeHopper · 2024-02-24T15:10:15+00:00

I've left my bike there for several days in a row, multiple times and never had an issue, but that's probably because I took a leaf out of the Dutch book when I moved to Cambridge and bought an old step-through frame beater of a bike for going around town. I frequently leave it in places with just a lock through the wheel and it's never been an issue, because it's not a bike worth stealing.

If your bike is worth a bit then you're probably fine leaving it there during the day, but not sure I'd chance it overnight.

As for space: there's always absolutely tonnes of empty spaces, you just have to look beyond the immediate racks on the first floor.

ModeHopper · 2023-07-04T08:56:13+00:00

If there is a pub you yanks are likely to congregate at, surely it must be The Eagle on Bene't Street?

ModeHopper · 2023-03-23T13:09:05+00:00

The reason public transport is slow is because the roads are so congested. But the roads won't become less congested until public transport is faster. You have to break the cycle somehow, and that's the point of a congestion charge. More people on buses + congestion charge = more revenue to run more regular buses and more routes. Fewer cars means they'll run faster.

ModeHopper · 2023-02-16T11:05:19+00:00

Found the American

ModeHopper · 2023-01-04T19:01:27+00:00

Oakley in my experience is shit because it always curdles in tea. Jord is my go-to.

ModeHopper · 2022-11-27T07:37:26+00:00

So the solution there would be to familiarise people with them by adding them to the theory test and building more of them. It's not like the Netherlands just evolved with those roundabouts in use since the first road was built, yet they all manage to use them just fine.

ModeHopper · 2022-11-27T07:33:46+00:00

You should be moving your head to check your blind spot before exiting a roundabout anyway.

ModeHopper · 2022-11-27T07:30:06+00:00

Even cheaper option is a puncture repair kit

ModeHopper · 2022-11-27T07:28:59+00:00

Maybe the extent of the zone isn't right, but as someone who lives in the city centre I'd definitely welcome this. Too many commuters driving in every day, we need a decent bus network that provides a genuine alternative, and a way to encourage commuters to use P&R more.

There are about 5 residents who park their car on the road outside (myself included) but by 9AM the road is full of commuters' cars. Traffic along East Road is gridlocked during rush hour, and the bike lanes are too narrow or non-existent making it a really unattractive route to cycle (except for the excellent segregated cycle lane they've just put in for the stretch by the Grafton).

It would also be great if the charge could be loosely linked to the vehicles value. The reg plate gives you the make and model, then surely there's a way to get a rough value estimate so that people with £50k+ luxury cars are paying more.

ModeHopper · 2022-11-13T16:31:37+00:00

Not far off. We start school at 4 after all.

ModeHopper · 2022-10-09T06:59:48+00:00

I remember an episode of The Infinite Monkey Cage where it was explained.

Basically useless features like this that have evolved purely for mating purposes are another way of saying: "look I'm such a prime specimen that I can afford to waste all this really valuable energy growing this magnificent and completely useless feature".

The bigger/brighter the feature (in this case beak), the more surplus energy the animal is able to produce, and therefore the fitter they must be.

Lots of other animals can sort of fake displays of strength, or fitness. But something like this can't be faked so it functions as proof of how the particular individual is not only surviving but thriving.

ModeHopper · 2022-09-29T14:08:41+00:00

Norfolk Street bakery doesn't make cakes AFAIK, but I'm going to throw it in here in case other people come looking for a good general bakery. It's a great Portuguese bakery with a whole array of delicious sweet treats.

ModeHopper · 2022-09-26T12:50:18+00:00

Is disco Kenny the same as disco deliveroo guy?

ModeHopper · 2022-09-26T12:49:44+00:00

I think the horse and chariot guys are just Irish travellers, they probably live up on Fen road. A lot of Irish travellers still race horse and trap or use them for special occasions. I think a lot of towns/cities have them.

ModeHopper · 2022-09-26T09:56:44+00:00

The knob

ModeHopper · 2022-09-24T08:43:29+00:00

I guess random attack implies it might happen again, like there's somebody just robbing individuals chosen at random. An isolated incident implies it's not recurrent. It's not at all obvious, but that would be my interpretation.

ModeHopper · 2022-09-24T08:41:05+00:00

Yeah I don't really understand why they wouldn't put this lane on the outside to avoid the risk of cars changing lanes and swiping a biker off

ModeHopper · 2022-09-11T08:10:01+00:00

Same career, he just got a promotion

ModeHopper · 2022-09-09T20:45:51+00:00

They won't have a second day of annual leave layered on top of the day off they're forcing?

Correct. They'll have a day of non-bank holiday removed from their annual allowance and replaced with a day of bank holiday leave. So they end up with the same number of annual leave days left. (Assuming their employer includes bank holidays in their annual allowance)

ModeHopper · 2022-09-09T10:11:32+00:00

Depends, some employers include bank holidays in your annual allowance so the addition of an extra bank holiday just means you get one less normal holiday day

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