MIT SKARBU WEDŁUG J.R.R. TOLKIENA W ŚWIETLE JEGO PRZEKŁADU BEOWULFA

The article compares the presentation of material wealth in the Old English epic Beowulf and in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, particularly The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, with reference to the recently published prose translation of Beowulf made by J.R.R. Tolkien in 1926 and supplied by him with ample notes and commentary. The analysis makes use of the anthropological and sociological concepts of Georges Dumézil (trifunctional theory), Marcel Mauss (the concept of the gift), and René Girard (mimetic rivalry) to elucidate the significance of treasure in the analyzed texts.