I have endeavored to edit the Old English poem of Judith in a manner which, while not unacceptable to the scholar, should enable the general reader to form an intelligent opinion concerning its merits, and furnish the academic student with a helpful introduction to the study of the poem. Fortunately for my purpose, the existing fragment is so short that the labor of examining it under different aspects has seemed within the possibilities of a rather scanty leisure. That my conclusions upon matters of mere opinion will be generally accepted I can hardly bring myself to expect; but I would fain believe that I have classified and tabulated some of the materials upon which sounder conclusions may eventually be based.
The nucleus from which this volume has grown is the translation, made by five University students of Old English: George D. Boyd, Fanny Cooper, Alice K. Grover, Adolph C. Miller, and Catharine E. Wilson. This translation I have retouched, and in some portions refashioned, so that I am bound to assume the responsibility for its present form, while gratefully acknowledging the assistance derived from the earlier draft.
