Skip to content

Chapter XLVI: Appendix: THE ATTACK IN FINNSBURG. Footnote: See v. 1069 seqq (1)

Text size

". . . . . . . . . . . näs byrnað næfre."
Hleoðrode þâ heaðo-geong cyning:
"Ne þis ne dagað eástan, ne her draca ne fleógeð,
"ne her þisse healle hornas ne byrnað,
5 "ac fêr forð berað fugelas singað,
"gylleð græg-hama, gûð-wudu hlynneð,
"scyld scefte oncwyð. Nu scýneð þes môna
"waðol under wolcnum; nu ârîsað weá-dæda,
"þe þisne folces nîð fremman willað.
10 "Ac onwacnigeað nu, wîgend mîne,
"hebbað eówre handa, hicgeað on ellen,
"winnað on orde, wesað on môde!"
Þâ ârâs monig gold-hladen þegn, gyrde hine his swurde;
þâ tô dura eodon drihtlîce cempan,
15 Sigeferð and Eaha, hyra sweord getugon,
and ät ôðrum durum Ordlâf and Gûðlâf,
and Hengest sylf; hwearf him on lâste.
Þâ git Gârulf Gûðere styrode,
þät hie swâ freólîc feorh forman sîðe
20 tô þære healle durum hyrsta ne bæran,
nu hyt nîða heard ânyman wolde:
ac he frägn ofer eal undearninga,
deór-môd häleð, hwâ þâ duru heólde.
"Sigeferð is mîn nama (cwäð he), ic eom Secgena leód,
25 "wrecca wîde cûð. Fela ic weána gebâd,
"heardra hilda; þe is gyt her witod,
"swäðer þu sylf tô me sêcean wylle."
Þâ wäs on wealle wäl-slihta gehlyn,
sceolde cêlod bord cênum on handa
30 bân-helm berstan. Buruh-þelu dynede,
ôð þät ät þære gûðe Gârulf gecrang,
ealra ærest eorð-bûendra,
Gûðlâfes sunu; ymbe hine gôdra fela.
Hwearf flacra hræw hräfn, wandrode
35 sweart and sealo-brûn; swurd-leóma stôd
swylce eal Finns-buruh fýrenu wære.
Ne gefrägn ic næfre wurðlîcor ät wera hilde
sixtig sige-beorna sêl gebæran,
ne næfre swânas swêtne medo sêl forgyldan,
40 þonne Hnäfe guldon his häg-stealdas.
Hig fuhton fîf dagas, swâ hyra nân ne feól
driht-gesîða, ac hig þâ duru heóldon.
Þâ gewât him wund häleð on wäg gangan,
sæde þät his byrne âbrocen wære,
45 here-sceorpum hrôr, and eác wäs his helm þyrl.
Þâ hine sôna frägn folces hyrde,
hû þâ wîgend hyra wunda genæson
oððe hwäðer þæra hyssa . . . . . . .

LIST OF NAMES; NOTES; AND GLOSSARY.

ABBREVIATIONS

m.: masculine. f.: feminine. n.: neuter. nom., gen.: nominative, genitive, etc. w.: weak. w. v.: weak verb. st.: strong. st. v.: strong verb. I., II., III.: first, second, third person. comp.: compound. imper.: imperative. w.: with. instr.: instrumental. G. and Goth.: Gothic. O.N.: Old Norse. O.S.: Old Saxon. O.H.G.: Old High German. M.H.G.: Middle High German.

The vowel ä = _a_ in _glad_ } The diphthong æ = _a_ in _hair_ } approximately.

The names Leo, Bugge, Rieger, etc., refer to authors of emendations.

Words beginning with ge- will be found under their root-word.

Obvious abbreviations, like subj., etc., are not included in this list.

LIST OF NAMES.

Abel, Cain's brother, 108.

Älf-here (gen. Älf-heres, 2605), a kinsman of Wîglâf's, 2605.

Äsc-here, confidential adviser of King Hrôðgâr (1326), older brother of Yrmenlâf (1325), killed by Grendel's mother, 1295, 1324, 2123.

Bân-stân, father of Breca, 524.

Beó-wulf, son of Scyld, king of the Danes, 18, 19. After the death of his father, he succeeds to the throne of the Scyldings, 53. His son is Healfdene, 57.

Beó-wulf (Biówulf, 1988, 2390; gen. Beówulfes, 857, etc., Biówulfes, 2195, 2808, etc.; dat. Beówulfe, 610, etc., Biówulfe, 2325, 2843), of the race of the Geátas. His father is the Wægmunding Ecgþeów (263, etc.); his mother a daughter of Hrêðel, king of the Geátas (374), at whose court he is brought up after his seventh year with Hrêðel's sons, Herebeald, Hæðcyn, and Hygelâc, 2429 ff. In his youth lazy and unapt (2184 f., 2188 f.); as man he attains in the gripe of his hand the strength of thirty men, 379. Hence his victories in his combats with bare hands (711 ff., 2502 ff.), while fate denies him the victory in the battle with swords, 2683 f. His swimming-match with Breca in his youth, 506 ff. Goes with fourteen Geátas to the assistance of the Danish king, Hrôðgâr, against Grendel, 198 ff. His combat with Grendel, and his victory, 711 ff., 819 ff. He is, in consequence, presented with rich gifts by Hrôðgâr, 1021 ff. His combat with Grendel's mother, 1442 ff. Having again received gifts, he leaves Hrôðgâr (1818-1888), and returns to Hygelâc, 1964 ff.--After Hygelâc's last battle and death, he flees alone across the sea, 2360 f. In this battle he crushes Däghrefn, one of the Hûgas, to death, 2502 f. He rejects at the same time Hygelâc's kingdom and the hand of his widow (2370 ff.), but carries on the government as guardian of the young Heardrêd, son of Hygelâc, 2378 ff. After Heardrêd's death, the kingdom falls to Beówulf, 2208, 2390.--Afterwards, on an expedition to avenge the murdered Heardrêd, he kills the Scylfing, Eádgils (2397), and probably conquers his country. --His fight with the drake, 2539 ff. His death, 2818. His burial, 3135 ff.

Breca (acc. Brecan, 506, 531), son of Beánstân, 524. Chief of the Brondings, 521. His swimming-match with Beówulf, 506 ff.

Brondingas (gen. Brondinga, 521), Breca, their chief, 521.

Brosinga mene, corrupted from, or according to Müllenhoff, written by mistake for, Breosinga mene (O.N., Brisinga men, cf. Haupts Zeitschr. XII. 304), collar, which the Brisingas once possessed.

Cain (gen. Caines, 107): descended from him are Grendel and his kin, 107, 1262 ff.

Däg-hrefn (dat. Däghrefne, 2502), a warrior of the Hûgas, who, according to 2504-5, compared with 1203, and with 1208, seems to have been the slayer of King Hygelâc, in his battle against the allied Franks, Frisians, and Hûgas. Is crushed to death by Beówulf in a hand-to-hand combat, 2502 ff.

Dene (gen. Dena, 242, etc., Denia, 2126, Deniga, 271, etc.; dat. Denum, 768, etc.), as subjects of Scyld and his descendants, they are also called Scyldings; and after the first king of the East Danes, Ing (Runenlied, 22), Ing-wine, 1045, 1320. They are also once called Hrêðmen, 445. On account of their renowned warlike character, they bore the names Gâr-Dene, 1, 1857, Hring-Dene (Armor-Danes), 116, 1280, Beorht-Dene, 427, 610. The great extent of this people is indicated by their names from the four quarters of the heavens: Eást-Dene, 392, 617, etc., West-Dene, 383, 1579, Sûð-Dene, 463, Norð-Dene, 784.--Their dwelling-place "in Scedelandum," 19, "on Scedenigge," 1687, "be sæm tweónum," 1686.

Ecg-lâf (gen. Ecglâfes, 499), Hûnferð's father, 499.

Ecg-þeów (nom. Ecgþeów, 263, Ecgþeó, 373; gen. Ecgþeówes, 529, etc., Ecgþiówes, 2000), a far-famed hero of the Geátas, of the house of the Wægmundings. Beówulf is the son of Ecgþeów, by the only daughter of Hrêðel, king of the Geátas, 262, etc. Among the Wylfings, he has slain Heaðolâf (460), and in consequence he goes over the sea to the Danes (463), whose king, Hrôðgâr, by means of gold, finishes the strife for him, 470.

Ecg-wela (gen. Ecg-welan, 1711). The Scyldings are called his descendants, 1711. Grein considers him the founder of the older dynasty of Danish kings, which closes with Heremôd. See Heremôd.

Elan, daughter of Healfdene, king of the Danes, (?) 62. According to the restored text, she is the wife of Ongenþeów, the Scylfing, 62, 63.

Earna-näs, the Eagle Cape in the land of the Geátas, where occurred Beówulf's fight with the drake, 3032.

Eádgils (dat. Eádgilse, 2393), son of Ôhthere, and grandson of Ongenþeów, the Scylfing, 2393. His older brother is

Eánmund (gen. Eánmundes, 2612). What is said about both in our poem (2201-2207, 2380-2397, 2612-2620) is obscure, but the following may be conjectured:--

The sons of Ôhthere, Eánmund and Eádgils, have rebelled against their father (2382), and must, in consequence, depart with their followers from Swiórîce, 2205-6, 2380. They come into the country of the Geátas to Heardrêd (2380), but whether with friendly or hostile intent is not stated; but, according to 2203 f., we are to presume that they came against Heardrêd with designs of conquest. At a banquet (on feorme; or feorme, MS.) Heardrêd falls, probably through treachery, by the hand of one of the brothers, 2386, 2207. The murderer must have been Eánmund, to whom, according to 2613, "in battle the revenge of Weohstân brings death." Weohstân takes revenge for his murdered king, and exercises upon Eánmund's body the booty-right, and robs it of helm, breastplate, and sword (2616-17), which the slain man had received as gifts from his uncle, Onela, 2617-18. But Weohstân does not speak willingly of this fight, although he has slain Onela's brother's son, 2619-20.--After Heardrêd's and Eánmund's death, the descendant of Ongenþeów, Eádgils, returns to his home, 2388. He must give way before Beówulf, who has, since Heardrêd's death, ascended the throne of the Geátas, 2390. But Beówulf remembers it against him in after days, and the old feud breaks out anew, 2392-94. Eádgils makes an invasion into the land of the Geátas (2394-95), during which he falls at the hands of Beówulf, 2397. The latter must have then obtained the sovereignty over the Sweonas (3005-6, where only the version, Scylfingas, can give a satisfactory sense).

Eofor (gen. Eofores, 2487, 2965; dat. Jofore, 2994, 2998), one of the Geátas, son of Wonrêd and brother of Wulf (2965, 2979), kills the Swedish king, Ongenþeów (2487 ff., 2978-82), for which he receives from King Hygelâc, along with other gifts, his only daughter in marriage, 2994-99.

Eormen-rîc (gen. Eormenrîces, 1202), king of the Goths (cf. about him, W. Grimm, Deutsche Heldensage, p. 2, ff.). Hâma has wrested the Brosinga mene from him, 1202.

Eomær, son of Offa and Þryðo (cf. Þryðo), 1961.

Finn (gen. Finnes, 1069, etc.; dat. Finne, 1129), son of Folcwalda (1090), king of the North Frisians, i.e. of the Eotenas, husband of Hildeburg, a daughter of Hôc, 1072, 1077. He is the hero of the inserted poem on the Attack in Finnsburg, the obscure incidents of which are, perhaps, as follows: In Finn's castle, Finnsburg, situated in Jutland (1126-28), the Hôcing, Hnäf, a relative--perhaps a brother--of Hildeburg is spending some time as guest. Hnäf, who is a liegeman of the Danish king, Healfdene, has sixty men with him (Finnsburg, 38). These are treacherously attacked one night by Finn's men, 1073. For five days they hold the doors of their lodging-place without losing one of their number (Finnsburg, 41, 42). Then, however, Hnäf is slain (1071), and the Dane, Hengest, who was among Hnäf's followers, assumes the command of the beleaguered band. But on the attacking side the fight has brought terrible losses to Finn's men. Their numbers are diminished (1081 f.), and Hildeburg bemoans a son and a brother among the fallen (1074 f., cf. 1116, 1119). Therefore the Frisians offer the Danes peace (1086) under the conditions mentioned (1087-1095), and it is confirmed with oaths (1097), and money is given by Finn in propitiation (1108). Now all who have survived the battle go together to Friesland, the homo proper of Finn, and here Hengest remains during the winter, prevented by ice and storms from returning home (Grein). But in spring the feud breaks out anew. Gûðlâf and Oslâf avenge Hnäf's fall, probably after they have brought help from home (1150). In the battle, the hall is filled with the corpses of the enemy. Finn himself is killed, and the queen is captured and carried away, along with the booty, to the land of the Danes, 1147-1160.

Finna land. Beówulf reaches it in his swimming-race with Breca, 580.

Fitela, the son and nephew of the Wälsing, Sigemund, and his companion in arms, 876-890. (Sigemund had begotten Fitela by his sister, Signý. Cf. more at length Leo on Beówulf, p. 38 ff., where an extract from the legend of the Walsungs is given.)

Folc-walda (gen. Folc-waldan, 1090), Finn's father, 1090.

Francan (gen. Francna, 1211; dat. Froncum, 2913). King Hygelâc fell on an expedition against the allied Franks, Frisians, and Hûgas, 1211, 2917.

Fresan, Frisan, Frysan (gen. Fresena, 1094, Frysna, 1105, Fresna, 2916: dat. Frysum, 1208, 2913). To be distinguished, are: 1) North Frisians, whose king is Finn, 1069 ff.; 2) West Frisians, in alliance with the Franks and Hûgas, in the war against whom Hygelâc falls, 1208, 2916. The country of the former is called Frysland, 1127; that of the latter, Fresna land, 2916.

Fr..es wäl (in Fr..es wäle, 1071), mutilated proper name.

Freáwaru, daughter of the Danish king, Hrôðgâr; given in marriage to Ingeld, the son of the Heaðobeard king, Frôda, in order to end a war between the Danes and the Heaðobeardnas, 2023 ff., 2065.

Frôda (gen. Frôdan), father of Ingeld, the husband of Freáware, 2026.

Gârmund (gen. Gârmundes, 1963) father of Offa. His grandson is Eómær, 1961-63.

Geátas (gen. Geáta, 205, etc.; dat. Geátum, 195, etc.), a tribe in Southern Scandinavia, to which the hero of this poem belongs; also called Wedergeátas, 1493, 2552; or, Wederas, 225, 423, etc.; Gûðgeátas, 1539; Sægeátas, 1851, 1987. Their kings named in this poem are: Hrêðel; Hæðcyn, second son of Hrêðel; Hygelâc, the brother of Hæðcyn; Heardrêd, son of Hygelâc; then Beówulf.

Gifðas (dat. Gifðum, 2495), Gepidæ, mentioned in connection with Danes and Swedes, 2495.

Grendel, a fen-spirit (102-3) of Cain's race, 107, 111, 1262, 1267. He breaks every night into Hrôðgâr's hall and carries off thirty warriors, 115 ff., 1583ff. He continues this for twelve years, till Beówulf fights with him (147, 711 ff.), and gives him a mortal wound, in that he tears out one of his arms (817), which is hung up as a trophy in the roof of Heorot, 837. Grendel's mother wishes to avenge her son, and the following night breaks into the hall and carries off Äschere, 1295. Beówulf seeks for and finds her home in the fen-lake (1493 ff.), fights with her (1498 ff.), and kills her (1567); and cuts off the head of Grendel, who lay there dead (1589), and brings it to Hrôðgâr, 1648.

Gûð-lâf and Oslâf, Danish warriors under Hnäf, whose death they avenge on Finn, 1149.

Hâlga, with the surname, _til_, the younger brother of the Danish king, Hrôðgâr, 61. His son is Hrôðulf, 1018, 1165, 1182.

Hâma wrests the _Brosinga mene_ from Eormenrîc, 1199.

Häreð (gen. Häreðes, 1982), father of Hygd, the wife of Hygelâc, 1930, 1982.

Hæðcyn (dat. Hæðcynne, 2483), second son of Hrêðel, king of the Geátas, 2435. Kills his oldest brother, Herebeald, accidentally, with an arrow, 2438 ff. After Hrêðel's death, he obtains the kingdom, 2475, 2483. He falls at Ravenswood, in the battle against the Swedish king, Ongenþeów, 2925. His successor is his younger brother, Hygelâc, 2944 ff., 2992.

Helmingas (gen. Helminga, 621). From them comes Wealhþeów, Hrôðgâr's wife, 621.

Heming (gen. Heminges, 1945, 1962). Offa is called Heminges mæg, 1945; Eómær, 1962. According to Bachlechner (Pfeiffer's Germania, I., p. 458), Heming is the son of the sister of Gârmund, Offa's father.

Hengest (gen. Hengestes, 1092; dat. Hengeste, 1084): about him and his relations to Hnäf and Finn, see Finn.

Here-beald (dat. Herebealde, 2464), the oldest son of Hrêðel, king of the Geátas (2435), accidentally killed with an arrow by his younger brother, Hæðcyn, 2440.

Here-môd (gen. Heremôdes, 902), king of the Danes, not belonging to the Scylding dynasty, but, according to Grein, immediately preceding it; is, on account of his unprecedented cruelty, driven out, 902 ff., 1710.

Here-rîc (gen. Hererîces, 2207) Heardrêd is called Hererîces nefa, 2207. Nothing further is known of him.

Het-ware or Franks, in alliance with the Frisians and the Hûgas, conquer Hygelâc, king of the Geátas, 2355, 2364 ff., 2917.

Healf-dene (gen. Healfdenes, 189, etc.), son of Beówulf, the Scylding (57); rules the Danes long and gloriously (57 f.); has three sons, Heorogâr, Hrôðgâr, and Hâlga (61), and a daughter, Elan, who, according to the renewed text of the passage, wäs married to the Scylfing, Ongenþeów, 62, 63.

Heard-rêd (dat. Heardrêde, 2203, 2376), son of Hygelâc, king of the Geátas, and Hygd. After his father's death, while still under age, he obtains the throne (2371, 2376, 2379); wherefore Beówulf, as nephew of Heardrêd's father, acts as guardian to the youth till he becomes older, 2378. He is slain by Ôhthere's sons, 2386. This murder Beówulf avenges on Eádgils, 2396-97.

Heaðo-beardnas (gen. -beardna, 2033, 2038, 2068), the tribe of the Lombards. Their king, Frôda, has fallen in a war with the Danes, 2029, 2051. In order to end the feud, King Hrôðgâr has given his daughter, Freáwaru, as wife to the young Ingeld, the son of Frôda, a marriage that does not result happily; for Ingeld, though he long defers it on account of his love for his wife, nevertheless takes revenge for his father, 2021-2070 (Wîdsîð, 45-49).

Heaðo-lâf (dat. Heaðo-lâfe, 460), a Wylfingish warrior. Ecgþeów, Beówulf's father, kills him, 460.

Heaðo-ræmas reached by B. in the swimming-race with Beówulf, 519.

Heoro-gâr (nom. 61; Heregâr, 467; Hiorogâr, 2159), son of Healfdene, and older brother of Hrôðgâr, 61. His death is mentioned, 467. He has a son, Heoroweard, 2162. His coat of mail Beówulf has received from Hrôðgâr (2156), and presents it to Hygelâc, 2158.

Heoro-weard (dat. Heorowearde, 2162), Heorogâr's son, 2161-62.

Heort, 78. Heorot, 166 (gen. Heorotes, 403; dat. Heorote, 475, Heorute, 767, Hiorte, 2100). Hrôðgâr's throne-room and banqueting hall and assembly-room for his liegemen, built by him with unusual splendor, 69, 78. In it occurs Beówulf's fight with Grendel, 720 ff. The hall receives its name from the stag's antlers, of which the one-half crowns the eastern gable, the other half the western.

Hildeburh, daughter of Hôc, relative of the Danish leader, Hnäf, consort of the Frisian king, Finn. After the fall of the latter, she becomes a captive of the Danes, 1072, 1077, 1159. See also under Finn.

Hnäf (gen. Hnäfes, 1115), a Hôcing (Wîdsîð, 29), the Danish King Healfdene's general, 1070 ff. For his fight with Finn, his death and burial, see under Finn.

Hond-sció, warrior of the Geátas: dat. 2077.

Hôc (gen. Hôces, 1077), father of Hildeburh, 1077; probably also of Hnäf (Wîdsîð, 29).

Hrêðel (gen. Hrêðles, 1486), son of Swerting, 1204. King of the Geátas, 374. He has, besides, a daughter, who is married to Ecgþeów, and has borne him Beówulf, (374), three sons, Herebeald, Hæðcyn, and Hygelâc, 2435. The eldest of these is accidentally killed by the second, 2440. On account of this inexpiable deed, Hrêðel becomes melancholy (2443), and dies, 2475.

Hrêðla (gen. Hrêðlan, MS. Hrædlan, 454), the same as Hrêðel (cf. Müllenhoff in Haupts Zeitschrift, 12, 260), the former owner of Beówulf's coat of mail, 454.

Hrêð-men (gen. Hrêð-manna, 445), the Danes are so called, 445.

Hrêð-rîc, son of Hrôðgâr, 1190, 1837.

Hrefna-wudu, 2926, or Hrefnes-holt, 2936, the thicket near which the Swedish king, Ongenþeów, slew Hæðcyn, king of the Geátas, in battle.

Hreosna-beorh, promontory in the land of the Geátas, near which Ongenþeów's sons, Ôhthere and Onela, had made repeated robbing incursions into the country after Hrêðel's death. These were the immediate cause of the war in which Hrêðel's son, King Hæðcyn, fell, 2478 ff.

Hrôð-gâr (gen. Hrôðgâres, 235, etc.; dat. Hrôðgâre, 64, etc.), of the dynasty of the Scyldings; the second of the three sons of King Healfdene, 61. After the death of his elder brother, Heorogâr, he assumes the government of the Danes, 465, 467 (yet it is not certain whether Heorogâr was king of the Danes before Hrôðgâr, or whether his death occurred while his father, Healfdene, was still alive). His consort is Wealhþeów (613), of the stock of the Helmings (621), who has borne him two sons, Hrêðrîc and Hrôðmund (1190), and a daughter, Freáware (2023), who has been given in marriage to the king of the Heaðobeardnas, Ingeld. His throne-room (78 ff.), which has been built at great cost (74 ff.), is visited every night by Grendel (102, 115), who, along with his mother, is slain by Beówulf (711 ff., 1493 ff). Hrôðgâr's rich gifts to Beówulf, in consequence, 1021, 1818; he is praised as being generous, 71 ff., 80, 1028 ff., 1868 ff.; as being brave, 1041 ff., 1771 ff.; and wise, 1699, 1725.--Other information about Hrôðgâr's reign for the most part only suggested: his expiation of the murder which Ecgþeów, Beówulf's father, committed upon Heaðolâf, 460, 470; his war with the Heaðobeardnas; his adjustment of it by giving his daughter, Freáware, in marriage to their king, Ingeld; evil results of this marriage, 2021-2070.--Treachery of his brother's son, Hrôðulf, intimated, 1165-1166.

Hrôð-mund, Hrôðgâr's son, 1190.

Hrôð-ulf, probably a son of Hâlga, the younger brother of King Hrôðgâr, 1018, 1182. Wealhþeów expresses the hope (1182) that, in case of the early death of Hrôðgâr, Hrôð-ulf would prove a good guardian to Hrôðgâr's young son, who would succeed to the government; a hope which seems not to have been accomplished, since it appears from 1165, 1166 that Hrôð-ulf has abused his trust towards Hrôðgâr.

Hrones-näs (dat. -nässe, 2806, 3137), a promontory on the coast of the country of the Geátas, visible from afar. Here is Beówulf's grave-mound, 2806, 3137.

Hrunting (dat. Hruntinge, 1660), Hûnferð's sword, is so called, 1458, 1660.

Hûgas (gen. Hûga, 2503), Hygelâc wars against them allied with the Franks and Frisians, and falls, 2195 ff. One of their heroes is called Däghrefn, whom Beówulf slays, 2503.

[H]ûn-ferð, the son of Ecglâf, þyle of King Hrôðgâr. As such, he has his place near the throne of the king, 499, 500, 1167. He lends his sword, Hrunting, to Beówulf for his battle with Grendel's mother, 1456 f. According to 588, 1168, he slew his brothers. Since his name is always alliterated with vowels, it is probable that the original form was, as Rieger (Zachers Ztschr., 3, 414) conjectures, Unferð.

Hûn-lâfing, name of a costly sword, which Finn presents to Hengest, 1144. See Note.

Hygd (dat. Hygde, 2173), daughter of Häreð, 1930; consort of Hygelâc, king of the Geátas, 1927; her son, Heardrêd, 2203, etc.--Her noble, womanly character is emphasized, 1927 ff.

Hyge-lâc (gen. Hige-lâces, 194, etc., Hygelâces, 2387; dat. Higelâce, 452, Hygelâce, 2170), king of the Geátas, 1203, etc. His grandfather is Swerting, 1204; his father, Hrêðel, 1486, 1848; his older brothers, Herebeald and Hæðcyn, 2435; his sister's son, Beówulf, 374, 375. After his brother, Hæðcyn, is killed by Ongenþeów, he undertakes the government (2992 in connection with the preceding from 2937 on). To Eofor he gives, as reward for slaying Ongenþeów, his only daughter in marriage, 2998. But much later, at the time of the return of Beówulf from his expedition to Hrôðgâr, we see him married to the very young Hygd, the daughter of Häreð, 1930. The latter seems, then, to have been his second wife. Their son is Heardrêd, 2203, 2376, 2387.--Hygelâc falls during an expedition against the Franks, Frisians, and Hûgas, 1206, 1211, 2356-59, 2916-17.

Ingeld (dat. Ingelde, 2065), son of Frôda, the Heaðobeard chief, who fell in a battle with the Danes, 2051 ff. in order to end the war, Ingeld is married to Freáwaru, daughter of the Danish king, Hrôðgâr, 2025-30. Yet his love for his young wife can make him forget only for a short while his desire to avenge his father. He finally carries it out, excited thereto by the repeated admonitions of an old warrior, 2042-70 (Wîdsîð, 45-59).

Ing-wine (gen. Ingwina, 1045, 1320), friends of Ing, the first king of the East Danes. The Danes are so called, 1045, 1320.

Mere-wioingas (gen. Mere-wioinga, 2922), as name of the Franks, 2922.

Nägling, the name of Beówulf's sword, 2681.

Offa (gen. Offan, 1950), king of the Angles (Wîdsîð, 35), the son of Gârmund, 1963; married (1950) to Þryðo (1932), a beautiful but cruel woman, of unfeminine spirit (1932 ff.), by whom he has a son, Eómær, 1961.

Ôht-here (gen. Ôhtheres, 2929, 2933; Ôhteres, 2381, 2393, 2395, 2613), son of Ongenþeów, king of the Swedes, 2929. His sons are Eánmund (2612) and Eádgils, 2393.

Onela (gen. Onelan, 2933), Ôhthere's brother, 2617, 2933.

Ongen-þeów (nom. -þeów, 2487, -þió, 2952; gen. -þeówes, 2476, -þiówes, 2388; dat. -þió, 2987), of the dynasty of the Scylfings; king of the Swedes, 2384. His wife is, perhaps, Elan, daughter of the Danish king, Healfdene (62), and mother of two sons, Onela and Ôhthere, 2933. She is taken prisoner by Hæðcyn, king of the Geátas, on an expedition into Sweden, which he undertakes on account of her sons' plundering raids into his country, 2480 ff. She is set free by Ongenþeów (2931), who kills Hæðcyn, 2925, and encloses the Geátas, now deprived of their leader, in the Ravenswood (2937 ff.), till they are freed by Hygelâc, 2944. A battle then follows, which is unfavorable to Ongenþeów's army. Ongenþeów himself, attacked by the brothers, Wulf and Eofor, is slain by the latter, 2487 ff., 2962 ff.

Ôs-lâf, a warrior of Hnäf's, who avenges on Finn his leader's death, 1149 f.

Scede-land, 19. Sceden-îg (dat. Sceden-îgge, 1687), O.N., Scân-ey, the most southern portion of the Scandinavian peninsula, belonging to the Danish kingdom, and, in the above-mentioned passages of our poem, a designation of the whole Danish kingdom.

Scêf or Sceáf. See Note.

Scyld (gen. Scyldes, 19), a Scêfing. 4. His son is Beówulf, 18, 53: his grandson, Healfdene, 57; his great-grandson, Hrôðgâr, who had two brothers and a sister, 59 ff.--Scyld dies, 26; his body, upon a decorated ship, is given over to the sea (32 ff.), just as he, when a child, drifted alone, upon a ship, to the land of the Danes, 43 ff. After him his descendants bear his name.

Scyldingas (Scyldungas, 2053; gen. Scyldinga, 53, etc., Scyldunga, 2102, 2160; dat. Scyldingum, 274, etc.), a name which is extended also to the Danes, who are ruled by the Scyldings, 53, etc. They are also called Âr-Scyldingas, 464; Sige-Scyldingas, 598, 2005; Þeód-Scyldingas, 1020; Here-Scyldingas, 1109.

Scylfingas, a Swedish royal family, whose relationship seems to extend to the Geátas, since Wîglâf, the son of Wihstân, who in another place, as a kinsman of Beówulf, is called a Wægmunding (2815), is also called leód Scylfinga, 2604. The family connections are perhaps as follows:--

Scylf.
|
------------------------
Wægmund. .......
| |
------------------ ----------
Ecgþeów. Weohstân. Ongenþeów.
| | |
-------- -------- ---------------
Beówulf. Wîglâf. Onela. Ôhthere.
|
-----------------
Eáumund. Eádgils.

The Scylfings are also called Heaðo-Scilfingas, 63, Gûð-Scylfingas, 2928.

Sige-mund (dat. -munde, 876, 885), the son of Wäls, 878, 898. His (son and) nephew is Fitela, 880, 882. His fight with the drake, 887 ff.

Swerting (gen. Swertinges, 1204), Hygelâc's grandfather, and Hrêðel's father, 1204.

Sweon (gen. Sweona, 2473, 2947, 3002), also Sweó-þeód, 2923. The dynasty of the Scylfings rules over them, 2382, 2925. Their realm is called Swiórice, 2384, 2496.

Þryðo, consort of the Angle king, Offa, 1932, 1950. Mother of Eómær, 1961, notorious on account of her cruel, unfeminine character, 1932 ff. She is mentioned as the opposite to the mild, dignified Hygd, the queen of the Geátas.

Wäls (gen. Wälses, 898), father of Sigemund, 878, 898.

Wæg-mundingas (gen. Wægmundinga, 2608, 2815). The Wægmundings are on one side, Wihstân and his son Wîglâf; on the other side, Ecgþeów and his son Beówulf (2608, 2815). See under Scylfingas.

Wederas (gen. Wedera, 225, 423, 498, etc.), or Weder-geátas. See Geátas.

Wêland (gen. Wêlandes, 455), the maker of Beówulf's coat of mail, 455.

Wendlas (gen. Wendla, 348): their chief is Wulfgâr. See Wulfgâr. The Wendlas are, according to Grundtvig and Bugge, the inhabitants of Vendill, the most northern part of Jutland, between Limfjord and the sea.

Wealh-þeów (613, Wealh-þeó, 665, 1163), the consort of King Hrôðgâr, of the stock of the Helmings, 621. Her sons are Hrêðrîc and Hrôðmund, 1190; her daughter, Freáwaru, 2023.

Weoh-stân (gen. Weox-stânes, 2603, Weoh-stânes, 2863, Wih-stânes, 2753, 2908, etc.), a Wægmunding (2608), father of Wîglâf, 2603. In what relationship to him Älfhere, mentioned 2605, stands, is not clear.--Weohstân is the slayer of Eánmund (2612), in that, as it seems, he takes revenge for his murdered king, Heardrêd. See Eánmund.

Wîg-lâf, Weohstân's son, 2603, etc., a Wægmunding, 2815, and so also a Scylfing, 2604; a kinsman of Älfhere, 2605. For his relationship to Beówulf, see the genealogical table under Scylfingas.--He supports Beówulf in his fight with the drake, 2605 ff., 2662 ff. The hero gives him, before his death, his ring, his helm, and his coat of mail, 2810 ff.

Won-rêd (gen. Wonrêdes, 2972), father of Wulf and Eofor, 2966, 2979.

Wulf (dat. Wulfe, 2994), one of the Geátas, Wonrêd's son. He fights in the battle between the armies of Hygelâc and Ongenþeów with Ongenþeów himself, and gives him a wound (2966), whereupon Ongenþeów, by a stroke of his sword, disables him, 2975. Eofor avenges his brother's fall by dealing Ongenþeów a mortal blow, 2978 ff.

Wulf-gâr, chief of the Wendlas, 348, lives at Hrôðgâr's court, and is his "âr and ombiht," 335.

Wylfingas (dat. Wylfingum, 461). Ecgþeów has slain Heoðolâf, a warrior of this tribe, 460.

Yrmen-lâf, younger brother of Äschere, 1325.

ADDITIONAL.

Eotenas (gen. pl. Eotena, 1073, 1089, 1142; dat. Eotenum, 1146), the subjects of Finn, the North Frisians: distinguished from eoton, _giant_. Vid eoton. Cf. Bugge, Beit., xii. 37; Earle, Beowulf in Prose, pp. 146, 198.

Hrêðling, son of Hrêðel, Hygelâc: nom. sg. 1924; nom. pl., the subjects of Hygelâc, the Geats, 2961.

Scêfing, the son (?) of Scêf, or Sceáf, reputed father of Scyld, 4. See Note.

ABBREVIATIONS.

B.: Bugge.
Br.: S.A. Brooke, Hist. of Early Eng. Lit.
C.: Cosijn.
E.: Earle, Deeds of Beowulf in Prose.
G.: Garnett, Translation of Beowulf
Gr.: Grein.
H.: Heyne.
Ha.: Hall, Translation of Beowulf.
H.-So.: Heyne-Socin, 5th ed.
Ho.: Holder.
K.: Kemble.
Kl.: Kluge.
Müllenh.: Müllenhoff.
R.: Rieger.
S.: Sievers.
Sw.: Sweet, Anglo-Saxon Reader, 6th ed.
Ten Br.: Ten Brink.
Th.: Thorpe.
Z.: Zupitza.

PERIODICALS.

Ang.: Anglia.
Beit.: Paul und Branne's Beiträge.
Eng. Stud.: Englische Studien.
Germ.: Germania.
Haupts Zeitschr.: Haupts Zeitschrift, etc.
Mod. Lang. Notes: Modern Language Notes.
Tidskr.: Tidskrift for Philologi.
Zachers Zeitschr.: Zachers Zeitschrift, etc.

NOTES.

l. 1. hwät: for this interjectional formula opening a poem, cf. _Andreas, Daniel, Juliana, Exodus, Fata Apost., Dream of the Rood_, and the "Listenith lordinges!" of mediaeval lays.--E. Cf. Chaucer, Prologue, ed. Morris, l. 853:

"Sin I shal beginne the game,
_What_, welcome be the cut, a Goddes name!"

we ... gefrunon is a variant on the usual epic formulæ ic gefrägn (l. 74) and mîne gefræge (l. 777). _Exodus, Daniel, Phoenix_, etc., open with the same formula.

l. 1. "Gâr was the javelin, armed with two of which the warrior went into battle, and which he threw over the 'shield-wall.' It was barbed."--Br. 124. Cf. _Maldon_, l. 296; _Judith_, l. 224; _Gnom. Verses_, l. 22; etc.

l. 4. "Scild of the Sheaf, not 'Scyld the son of Scaf'; for it is too inconsistent, even in myth, to give a patronymic to a foundling. According to the original form of the story, Sceáf was the foundling; he had come ashore with a sheaf of corn, and from that was named. This form of the story is preserved in Ethelwerd and in William of Malmesbury. But here the foundling is Scyld, and we must suppose he was picked up with the sheaf, and hence his cognomen."--E., p. 105. Cf. the accounts of Romulus and Remus, of Moses, of Cyrus, etc.

l. 6. egsian is also used in an active sense (not in the Gloss.), = _to terrify_.

l. 15. S. suggests þâ (_which_) for þät, as object of dreógan; and for aldor-leáse, Gr. suggested aldor-ceare.--_Beit._ ix. 136.

S. translates: "For God had seen the dire need which the rulerless ones before endured."

l. 18. "Beowulf (that is, Beaw of the Anglo-Saxon genealogists, not our Beowulf, who was a Geat, not a Dane), 'the son of Scyld in Scedeland.' This is our ancestral myth,--the story of the first culture-hero of the North; 'the patriarch,' as Rydberg calls him, 'of the royal families of Sweden, Denmark, Angeln, Saxland, and England.'"--Br., p. 78. Cf. _A.-S. Chron._ an. 855.

H.-So. omits parenthetic marks, and reads (after S., _Beit._ ix. 135) eaferan; cf. _Fata Apost._: lof wîde sprang þeódnes þegna.

"The name _Beowulf_ means literally 'Bee-wolf,' wolf or ravager of the bees, = bear. Cf. _beorn_, 'hero,' originally 'bear,' and _beohata_, 'warrior,' in Cædmon, literally 'bee-hater' or 'persecutor,' and hence identical in meaning with _beowulf_."--Sw.

Cf. "Arcite and Palamon,
That foughten _breme_, as it were bores two."
--Chaucer, _Knightes Tale_, l. 841, ed. Morris.

Cf. M. Müller, _Science of Lang._, Sec. Series, pp. 217, 218; and Hunt's _Daniel_, 104.

l. 19. Cf. l. 1866, where Scedenig is used, = _Scania_, in Sweden(?).

l. 21. wine is pl.; cf. its apposition wil-gesîðas below. H.-So. compares _Héliand_, 1017, for language almost identical with ll. 20, 21.

l. 22. on ylde: cf.
"_In elde_ is bothe wisdom and usage."
--Chaucer, _Knightes Tale_, l. 1590, ed. Morris.

l. 26. Reflexive objects often pleonastically accompany verbs of motion; cf. ll. 234, 301, 1964, etc.

l. 28. faroð = _shore, strand, edge._ Add these to the meanings in the Gloss.

l. 31. The object of âhte is probably geweald, to be supplied from wordum weóld of l. 30.--H.-So.

R., Kl., and B. all hold conflicting views of this passage: _Beit._ xii. 80, ix. 188; _Zachers Zeitschr._ iii. 382, etc. Kl. suggests lændagas for lange.

l. 32. "hringed-stefna is sometimes translated 'with curved prow,' but it means, I think, that in the prow were fastened rings through which the cables were passed that tied it to the shore."--Br., p. 26. Cf. ll. 1132, 1898. Hring-horni was the mythic ship of the Edda. See Toller-Bosworth for three different views; and cf. wunden-stefna (l. 220), hring-naca (l. 1863).

ll. 34-52. Cf. the burial of Haki on a funeral-pyre ship, _Inglinga Saga;_ the burial of Balder, Sinfiötli, Arthur, etc.

l. 35. "And this [their joy in the sea] is all the plainer from the number of names given to the ship-names which speak their pride and affection. It is the Ætheling's vessel, the Floater, the Wave-swimmer, the Ring-sterned, the Keel, the Well-bound wood, the Sea-wood, the Sea-ganger, the Sea-broad ship, the Wide-bosomed, the Prow-curved, the Wood of the curved neck, the Foam-throated floater that flew like a bird."--Br., p. 168.

l. 49. "We know from Scandinavian graves ... that the illustrious dead were buried ... in ships, with their bows to sea-ward; that they were however not sent to sea, but were either burnt in that position, or mounded over with earth."--E. See Du Chaillu, _The Viking Age_, xix.

l. 51. (1) sele-rædende (K., S., C.); (2) sêle-rædenne (H.); (3) sele-rædende (H.-So.). Cf. l. 1347; and see Ha.

l. 51. E. compares with this canto Tennyson's "Passing of Arthur" and the legendary burial-journey of St. James of Campostella, an. 800.

l. 53. The poem proper begins with this, "There was once upon a time," the first 52 lines being a prelude. Eleven of the "fitts," or cantos, begin with the monosyllable þâ, four with the verb gewîtan, nine with the formula Hrôðgâr (Beówulf, Unferð) maðelode, twenty-four with monosyllables in general (him, swâ, sê, hwät, þâ, hêht, wäs, mäg, cwôm, stræt).

l. 58. gamel. "The ... characteristics of the poetry are the use of archaic forms and words, such as mec for mé, the possessive sín, gamol, dógor, swát for eald, dæg, blód, etc., after they had become obsolete in the prose language, and the use of special compounds and phrases, such as hildenædre (_war-adder_) for 'arrow,' gold-gifa (_gold-giver_) for 'king,' ... goldwine gumena (_goldfriend of men, distributor of gold to men_) for 'king,'" etc.--Sw. Other poetic words are ides, ielde (_men_), etc.

l. 60. H.-So. reads ræswa (referring to Heorogâr alone), and places a point (with the Ms.) after Heorogâr instead of after ræswa. Cf. l. 469; see B., _Zachers Zeitschr._ iv. 193.

l. 62. Elan here (OHG. _Elana, Ellena, Elena, Elina, Alyan_) is thought by B. (_Tidskr_. viii. 43) to be a remnant of the masc. name Onela, and he reads: [On-]elan ewên, Heaðoscilfingas(=es) healsgebedda.

l. 68. For hê, omitted here, cf. l. 300. Pronouns are occasionally thus omitted insubord. clauses.--Sw.

l. 70. þone, here = þonne, _than_, and micel = mâre? The passage, by a slight change, might be made to read, medo-ärn micle mâ gewyrcean,--þone = _by much larger than_,--in which þone (þonne) would come in naturally.

l. 73. folc-scare. Add _folk-share_ to the meanings in the Gloss.; and cf. gûð-scearu.

l. 74. ic wide gefrägn: an epic formula very frequent in poetry, = _men said._ Cf. _Judith_, ll. 7, 246; _Phoenix_, l. 1; and the parallel (noun) formula, mîne gefræge, ll. 777, 838, 1956, etc.

ll. 78-83. "The hall was a rectangular, high-roofed, wooden building, its long sides facing north and south. The two gables, at either end, had stag-horns on their points, curving forwards, and these, as well as the ridge of the roof, were probably covered with shining metal, and glittered bravely in the sun."--Br., p. 32.

l. 84. _Son-in-law and father-in-law;_ B., a so-called _dvanda_ compound. Cf. l. 1164, where a similar compound means _uncle and nephew;_ and Wîdsîð's suhtorfædran, used of the same persons.

l. 88. "The word dreám conveys the buzz and hum of social happiness, and more particularly the sound of music and singing."--E. Cf. l. 3021; and _Judith_, l. 350; _Wanderer_, l. 79, etc.

ll. 90-99. There is a suspicious similarity between this passage and the lines attributed by Bede to Cædmon:

Nû wê sculan herian heofonrices Weard, etc.
--Sw., p. 47.

ll. 90-98 are probably the interpolation of a Christian scribe.

ll. 92-97. "The first of these Christian elements [in _Beówulf_] is the sense of a fairer, softer world than that in which the Northern warriors lived.... Another Christian passage (ll. 107, 1262) derives all the demons, eotens, elves, and dreadful sea-beasts from the race of Cain. The folly of sacrificing to the heathen gods is spoken of (l. 175).... The other point is the belief in immortality (ll. 1202, 1761)."--Br. 71.

l. 100. Cf. l. 2211, where the third dragon of the poem is introduced in the same words. Beowulf is the forerunner of that other national dragon-slayer, St. George.

l. 100. onginnan in _Beówulf_ is treated like verbs of motion and modal auxiliaries, and takes the object inf. without tô; cf. ll. 872, 1606, 1984, 244. Cf. _gan_ (= _did_) in Mid. Eng.: _gan_ espye (Chaucer, _Knightes Tale_, l. 254, ed. Morris).

l. 101. B. and H.-So. read, feónd on healle; cf. l. 142.--_Beit._ xii.

ll. 101-151. "Grimm connects [Grendel] with the Anglo-Saxon grindel (_a bolt_ or _bar_).... It carries with it the notion of the bolts and bars of hell, and hence _a fiend._ ... Ettmüller was the first ... to connect the name with grindan, _to grind, to crush to pieces, to utterly destroy._ Grendel is then _the tearer, the destroyer_."--Br., p. 83.

l. 102. gäst = _stranger_ (Ha.); cf. ll. 1139, 1442, 2313, etc.

l. 103. See Ha., p. 4.

l. 106. "The perfect and pluperfect are often expressed, as in Modern English, by hæfð and hæfde with the past participle."--Sw. Cf. ll. 433, 408, 940, 205 (p. p. inflected in the last two cases), etc.

l. 106. S. destroys period here, reads in Caines, etc., and puts þone ... drihten in parenthesis.

l. 108. þäs þe = _because_, especially after verbs of thanking (cf. ll. 228, 627, 1780, 2798); _according as_ (l. 1351).

l. 108. The def. article is omitted with Drihten (_Lord_) and Deofol (_devil_; cf. l. 2089), as it is, generally, sparingly employed in poetry; cf. tô sæ (l. 318), ofer sæ (l. 2381), on lande (l. 2311), tô räste (l. 1238), on wicge (l. 286), etc., etc.

l. 119. weras (S., H.-So.); wera (K., Th.).--_Beit._ ix. 137.

l. 120. unfælo = _uncanny_ (R.).

l. 131. E. translates, _majestic rage;_ adopting Gr.'s view that swyð is = Icel. sviði, _a burn_ or _burning_. Cf. l. 737.

l. 142. B. supposes heal-þegnes to be corrupted from helþegnes; cf. l. 101.--_Beit._ xii. 80. See Gûðlâc, l. 1042.

l. 144. See Ha., p. 6, for S.'s rearrangement.

l. 146. S. destroys period after sêlest, puts wäs ... micel in parenthesis, and inserts a colon after tîd.

l. 149. B. reads sârcwidum for syððan.

l. 154. B. takes sibbe for accus. obj. of wolde, and places a comma after Deniga.--_Beit._ xii. 82.

l. 159. R. suggests ac se for atol.

l. 168. H.-So. plausibly conjectures this parenthesis to be a late insertion, as, at ll. 180-181, the Danes also are said to be heathen. Another commentator considers the throne under a "spell of enchantment," and therefore it could not be touched.

l. 169. ne ... wisse: _nor had he desire to do so_ (W.). See Ha., p. 7, for other suggestions.

l. 169. myne wisse occurs in _Wanderer_, l. 27.

l. 174. The gerundial inf. with tô expresses purpose, defines a noun or adjective, or, with the verb be, expresses duty or necessity passively; cf. ll. 257, 473, 1004, 1420, 1806, etc. Cf. tô + inf. at ll. 316, 2557.

ll. 175-188. E. regards this passage as dating the time and place of the poem relatively to the times of heathenism. Cf. the opening lines, _In days of yore_, etc., as if the story, even then, were very old.

l. 177. gâst-bona is regarded by Ettmüller and G. Stephens (_Thunor_, p. 54) as an epithet of Thor (= _giant-killer_), a kenning for Thunor or Thor, meaning both _man_ and _monster_.--E.

l. 189. Cf. l. 1993, where similar language is used. H.-So. takes both môd-ceare and mæl-ceare as accus., others as instr.

ll. 190, 1994. seáð: for this use of seóðan cf. Bede, _Eccles. Hist._, ed. Miller, p. 128, where p. p. soden is thus used.

l. 194. fram hâm = _in his home_ (S., H.-So.); but fram hâm may be for fram him (_from them_, i.e. _his people_, or _from Hrothgar's_). Cf. Ha., p. 8.

l. 197. Cf. ll. 791, 807, for this fixed phrase.

l. 200. See _Andreas, Elene_, and _Juliana_ for swan-râd (_= sea_). "The swan is said to breed wild now no further away than the North of Sweden." --E. Cf. ganotes bäð, l. 1862.

l. 203. Concessive clauses with þeáh, þeáh þe, þeáh ... eal, vary with subj. and ind., according as fact or contingency is dominant in the mind; cf. ll. 526, 1168, 2032, etc. (subj.), 1103, 1614 (ind.). Cf. gif, nefne.

l. 204. hæl, an OE. word found in Wülker's Glossaries in various forms, = _augury, omen, divination_, etc. Cf. hælsere, _augur_; hæl, _omen;_ hælsung, _augurium_, hælsian, etc. Cf. Tac., _Germania_, 10.

l. 207. C. adds "= _impetrare_" to the other meanings of findan given in the Gloss.

l. 217. Cf. l. 1910; and _Andreas_, l. 993.--E. E. compares Byron's

"And fast and falcon-like the vessel flew,"
--_Corsair_, i.17.

and Scott's

"Merrily, merrily bounds the bark."
--_Lord of the Isles_, iv. 7.

l. 218. Cf.
"The fomy stedes on the golden brydel
Gnawinge."
--Chaucer, _Knightes Tale_, l. 1648, ed. Morris.

l. 219. Does ân-tîd mean _hour_ (Th.), or _corresponding hour_ = ând-tîd (H.-So.), or _in due time_ (E.), or _after a time_, when ôþres, etc., would be adv. gen.? See C., _Beit._ viii. 568.

l. 224. eoletes may = (1) _voyage_; (2) _toil, labor_; (3) _hurried journey;_ but _sea_ or _fjord_ appears preferable.

ll. 229-257. "The scenery ... is laid on the coast of the North Sea and the Kattegat, the first act of the poem among the Danes in Seeland, the second among the Geats in South Sweden."--Br., p. 15.

l. 239. "A shoal of simple terms express in _Beówulf_ the earliest sea-thoughts of the English.... The simplest term is Sæ.... To this they added Wæter, Flod, Stream, Lagu, Mere, Holm, Grund, Heathu, Sund, Brim, Garsecg, Eagor, Geofon, Fifel, Hron-rad, Swan-rad, Segl-rad, Ganotes-bæð."--Br., p. 163-166.

l. 239. "The infinitive is often used in poetry after a verb of motion where we should use the present participle."--Sw. Cf. ll. 711, 721, 1163 1803, 268, etc. Cf. German _spazieren fahren reiten_, etc., and similar constructions in French, etc.

l. 240, W. reads hringed-stefnan for helmas bæron. B. inserts (?) after holmas and begins a new line at the middle of the verse. S. omits B.'s "on the wall."

l. 245. Double and triple negatives strengthen each other and do not produce an affirmative in A.-S. or M. E. The neg. is often prefixed to several emphatic words in the sentence, and readily contracts with vowels, and h or w; cf. ll. 863, 182, 2125, 1509, 575, 583, 3016, etc.

l. 249. seld-guma = _man-at-arms in another's house_ (Wood); = _low-ranking fellow_ (Ha.); stubenhocker, _stay-at-home_ (Gr.), Scott's "carpet knight," _Marmion_, i. 5.

l. 250. näfne (nefne, nemne) usually takes the subj., = _unless_; cf. ll. 1057, 3055, 1553. For ind., = _except_, see l. 1354. Cf. bûtan, gif, þeáh.

l. 250. For a remarkable account of armor and weapons in _Beówulf_, see S. A. Brooke, _Hist. of Early Eng. Lit_. For general "Old Teutonic Life in Beówulf," see J. A. Harrison, _Overland Monthly_.

l. 252. ær as a conj. generally has subj., as here; cf. ll. 264, 677, 2819, 732. For ind., cf. l. 2020.

l. 253. leás = _loose_, _roving_. Ettmüller corrected to leáse.

l. 256. This proverb (ôfest, etc.) occurs in _Exod_. (Hunt), l. 293.

l. 258. An "elder" may be a very young man; hence yldesta, = _eminent_, may be used of Beowulf. Cf. _Laws of Ælfred_, C. 17: Nâ þät ælc eald sý, ac þät he eald sý on wîsdôme.

l. 273. Verbs of hearing and seeing are often followed by acc. with inf.; cf. ll. 229, 1024, 729, 1517, etc. Cf. German construction with _sehen, horen_, etc., French construction with _voir, entendre_, etc., and the classical constructions.

l. 275. dæd-hata = _instigator_. Kl. reads dæd-hwata.

l. 280. ed-wendan, n. (B.; cf. 1775), = edwenden, limited by bisigu. So ten Br. = _Tidskr_. viii. 291.

l. 287. "Each is denoted ... also by the strengthened forms 'æghwæðer ('ægðer), éghwæðer, etc. This prefixed 'æ, óe corresponds to the Goth, _aiw_, OHG. _eo_, _io_, and is umlauted from á, ó by the i of the gi which originally followed."--Cook's Sievers' Gram., p. 190.

l. 292. "All through the middle ages suits of armour are called 'weeds.'"--E.

l. 303. "An English warrior went into battle with a boar-crested helmet, and a round linden shield, with a byrnie of ringmail ... with two javelins or a single ashen spear some eight or ten feet long, with a long two-edged sword naked or held in an ornamental scabbard.... In his belt was a short, heavy, one-edged sword, or rather a long knife, called the seax ... used for close quarters."--Br., p. 121.

l. 303. For other references to the boar-crest, cf. ll. 1112, 1287, 1454; Grimm, _Myth._ 195; Tacitus, _Germania_, 45. "It was the symbol of their [the Baltic Æstii's] goddess, and they had great faith in it as a preservative from hard knocks."--E. See the print in the illus. ed. of Green's _Short History_, Harper & Bros.

l. 303. "See Kemble, _Saxons in England_, chapter on heathendom, and Grimm's _Teutonic Mythology_, chapter on Freyr, for the connection these and other writers establish between the Boar-sign and the golden boar which Freyr rode, and his worship."--Br., p. 128. Cf. _Elene_, l. 50.

l. 304. Gering proposes hleór-bergan = _cheek-protectors_; cf. _Beit._ xii. 26. "A bronze disk found at Öland in Sweden represents two warriors in helmets with boars as their crests, and cheek-guards under; these are the hleór-bergan."--E. Cf. hauberk, with its diminutive habergeon, < A.-S. heals, _neck_ + beorgan, _to cover_ or _protect_; and harbor, < A.-S. here, _army_ + beorgan, id.--_Zachers Zeitschr._ xii. 123. Cf. cinberge, Hunt's _Exod._ l. 175.

l. 305. For ferh wearde and gûðmôde grummon, B. and ten Br. read ferh-wearde (l. 305) and gûðmôdgum men (l. 306), = _the boar-images ... guarded the lives of the warlike men_.

l. 311. leóma: cf. Chaucer, _Nonne Preestes Tale_, l. 110, ed. Morris:

"To dremen in here dremes
Of armes, and of fyr with rede _lemes_."

l. 318. On the double gender of sæ, cf. Cook's Sievers' Gram., p. 147; and note the omitted article at ll. 2381, 318, 544, with the peculiar tmesis of _between_ at ll. 859, 1298, 1686, 1957. So _Cædmon_, l. 163 (Thorpe), _Exod._ l. 562 (Hunt), etc.

l. 320. Cf. l. 924; and _Andreas_, l. 987, where almost the same words occur. "Here we have manifestly before our eye one of those ancient causeways, which are among the oldest visible institutions of civilization." --E.

l. 322. S. inserts comma after scîr, and makes hring-îren (= _ring-mail_) parallel with gûð-byrne.

l. 325. Cf. l. 397. "The deposit of weapons outside before entering a house was the rule at all periods.... In provincial Swedish almost everywhere a church porch is called våkenhus,... i.e. _weapon-house_, because the worshippers deposited their arms there before they entered the house."--E., after G. Stephens.

l. 333. Cf. Dryden's "mingled metal _damask'd_ o'er with gold."--E.

l. 336. "æl-, el-, kindred with Goth. _aljis_, other, e.g. in ælþéodig, elþéodig, foreign."--Cook's Sievers' Gram., p. 47.

l. 336. Cf. l. 673 for the functions of an ombiht-þegn.

l. 343. Cf. l. 1714 for the same beód-geneátas,--"the predecessor title to that of the Knights of the Table Round."--E. Cf. _Andreas_ (K.), l. 2177.

l. 344. The future is sometimes expressed by willan + inf., generally with some idea of volition involved; cf. ll. 351, 427, etc. Cf. the use of willan as principal vb. (with omitted inf.) at ll. 318, 1372, 543, 1056; and sculan, ll. 1784, 2817.

l. 353. sîð here, and at l. 501, probably means _arrival_. E. translates the former by _visit_, the latter by _adventure_.

l. 357. unhâr = _hairless, bald_ (Gr., etc.).

l. 358. eode is only one of four or five preterits of gân (gongan, gangan, gengan), viz. geóng (gióng: ll. 926, 2410, etc.), gang (l. 1296, etc.), gengde (ll. 1402, 1413). Sievers, p. 217, apparently remarks that eode is "probably used only in prose." (?!). Cf. geng, _Gen._ ll. 626, 834; _Exod._ (Hunt) l. 102.

l. 367. The MS. and H.-So. read with Gr. and B. glädman Hrôðgâr, abandoning Thorkelin's glädnian. There is a glass. hilaris glädman.--_Beit._ xii. 84; same as gläd.

l. 369. dugan is a "preterit-present" verb, with new wk. preterit, like sculan, durran, magan, etc. For various inflections, see ll. 573, 590, 1822, 526. Cf. _do_ in "that will _do_"; _doughty_, etc.

l. 372. Cf. l. 535 for a similar use; and l. 1220. Bede, _Eccles. Hist._, ed. Miller, uses the same expression several times. "Here, and in all other places where cniht occurs in this poem, it seems to carry that technical sense which it bore in the military hierarchy [of a noble youth placed out and learning the elements of the art of war in the service of a qualified warrior, to whom he is, in a military sense, a servant], before it bloomed out in the full sense of _knight_."--E.

l. 373. E. remarks of the hyphened eald-fäder, "hyphens are risky toys to play with in fixing texts of pre-hyphenial antiquity"; eald-fäder could only = _grandfather_. eald here can only mean _honored_, and the hyphen is unnecessary. Cf. "old fellow," "my old man," etc.; and Ger. _alt-vater_.

l. 378. Th. and B. propose Geátum, as presents from the Danish to the Geatish king.--_Beit._ xii.

l. 380. häbbe. The subj. is used in indirect narration and question, wish and command, purpose, result, and hypothetical comparison with swelce = _as if_.

ll. 386, 387. Ten Br. emends to read: "Hurry, bid the kinsman-throng go into the hall together."

l. 387. sibbe-gedriht, for Beowulf's friends, occurs also at l. 730. It is subject-acc. to seón. Cf. ll. 347, 365, and Hunt's _Exod_. l. 214.

l. 404. "Here, as in the later Icelandic halls, Beowulf saw Hrothgar enthroned on a high seat at the east end of the hall. The seat is sacred. It has a supernatural quality. Grendel, the fiend, cannot approach it."--Br., p. 34. Cf. l. 168.

l. 405. "At Benty Grange, in Derbyshire, an Anglo-Saxon barrow, opened in 1848, contained a coat of mail. 'The iron chain work consists of a large number of links of two kinds attached to each other by small rings half an inch in diameter; one kind flat and lozenge-shaped ... the others all of one kind, but of different lengths.'"--Br., p. 126.

l. 407. Wes ... hâl: this ancient Teutonic greeting afterwards grew into wassail. Cf. Skeat's _Luke_, i. 28; _Andreas_ (K.), 1827; Layamon, l. 14309, etc.

l. 414. "The distinction between wesan and weorðan [in passive relations] is not very clearly defined, but wesan appears to indicate a state, weorðan generally an action."--Sw. Cf. Mod. German _werden_ and _sein_ in similar relations.

l. 414. Gr. translates hâdor by _receptaculum_; cf. Gering, _Zachers Zeitschr._ xii. 124. Toller-Bosw. ignores Gr.'s suggestion.

ll. 420, 421. B. reads: þær ic (_on_) fîfelgeban (= _ocean_) ýðde eotena cyn. Ten Br. reads: þær ic fîfelgeban ýðde, eotena hâm. Ha. suggests fîfelgeband = _monster-band_, without further changes.

l. 420. R. reads þæra = _of them_, for þær.--_Zachers Zeitschr._ iii. 399; _Beit._ xii. 367.

l. 420. "niht has a gen., nihtes, used for the most part only adverbially, and almost certainly to be regarded as masculine."--Cook's Sievers' Gram., p. 158.

l. 425. Cf. also ll. 435, 635, 2345, for other examples of Beowulf's determination to fight single-handed.

l. 441. þe hine = _whom_, as at l. 1292, etc. The indeclinable þe is often thus combined with personal pronouns, = relative, and is sometimes separated from them by a considerable interval.--Sw.

l. 443. The MS. has Geotena. B. and Fahlbeck, says H.-So., do not consider the Geátas, but the Jutes, as the inhabitants of Swedish West-Gothland. Alfred translates Juti by Geátas, but _Jutland_ by _Gotland_. In the laws they are called Guti.--_Beit._ xii. 1, etc.

l. 444. B., Gr., and Ha. make unforhte an adv. = _fearlessly_, modifying etan. Kl. reads anforhte = _timid_.

l. 446. Cf. l. 2910. Th. translates: _thou wilt not need my head to hide_ (i.e. _bury_). Simrock supposes a dead-watch or lyke-wake to be meant. Wood, _thou wilt not have to bury so much as my head!_ H.-So. supposes heáfod-weard, _a guard of honor_, such as sovereigns or presumptive rulers had, to be meant by hafalan hýdan; hence, _you need not give me any guard_, etc. Cf. Schmid, _Gesetze der A._, 370-372.

l. 447. S. places a colon after nimeð.

Comments

Log in to leave a comment.

I. Beówulf: an Anglo-Saxon poem. II. The fight at Finnsburh: a fragment.Chapter XLVI: Appendix: THE ATTACK IN FINNSBURG. Footnote: See v. 1069 seqq (1)

0%36 min left in chapter