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top: 1.65ex; left: -0.6em;} + .x5 {position: absolute; top: -0.5ex; left: -0.3em;} + .x6 {position: absolute; top: 0.3ex; left: -0.5em;} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Beowulf, by R. W. Chambers + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Beowulf + An Introduction to the Study of the Poem with a Discussion + of the Stories of Offa and Finn + +Author: R. W. Chambers + +Release Date: October 23, 2010 [EBook #34117] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEOWULF *** + + + + +Produced by Charlene Taylor, Ted Garvin, Keith Edkins and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + + <p><a name="frontis"></a></p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width:68%;"> + <a href="images/Beo1.jpg"><img style="width:100%" src="images/Beo1.jpg" + alt="Drida reproached for her Evil Deeds" title="Drida reproached for her Evil Deeds" /></a> + Drida (Thryth) reproached for her Evil Deeds + + <p class="cenhead"><i>From MS Cotton Nero D. I, fol. 11 b</i></p> + + <p class="poem">"That is no way for a lady to behave." (Ne bið swylc + cwēnlīc þēaw | idese tō efnanne:</p> + + <p class="author"><i>Beowulf</i>, ll 1940-1.)</p> + </div> + +<h1>BEOWULF</h1> + +<h3>AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF<br /> +THE POEM WITH A DISCUSSION OF<br /> +THE STORIES OF OFFA AND FINN</h3> + +<p class="cenhead">BY</p> + +<h2>R. W. CHAMBERS</h2> + + <p> </p> + +<p class="cenhead">Dey mout er bin two deloojes: en den agin dey moutent.<br /> +<span class="sc">Uncle Remus</span>, <i>The Story of the Deluge</i>.</p> + + <p> </p> + +<h3>CAMBRIDGE<br /> +AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS<br /> +1921</h3> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<p class="cenhead">TO</p> + +<h3>PROF. WILLIAM WITHERLE LAWRENCE</h3> + + <p><span class="sc">Dear Prof. Lawrence</span>,</p> + + <p>When, more than four years ago, I asked you to allow me to dedicate + this volume to you, it was as a purely personal token of gratitude for + the help I had received from what you have printed, and from what you + have written to me privately.</p> + + <p>Since then much has happened: the debt is greater, and no longer + purely personal. We in this country can never forget what we owe to your + people. And the self-denial which led them voluntarily to stint + themselves of food, that we in Europe might be fed, is one of many things + about which it is not easy to speak. Our heart must indeed have been + hardened if we had not considered the miracle of those loaves. But I fear + that to refer to that great debt in the dedication to this little book + may draw on me the ridicule incurred by the poor man who dedicated his + book to the Universe.</p> + + <p>Nevertheless, as a fellow of that College which has just received from + an American donor the greatest benefaction for medical research which has + ever been made in this country of ours, I may rejoice that the + co-operation between our nations is being continued in that warfare + against ignorance and disease which some day will become the only warfare + waged among men.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Sceal hring-naca ofer heafu bringan</p> + <p>lāc ond luf-tācen. Ic þā lēode wāt</p> + <p>ge wið fēond ge wið frēond fæste geworhte,</p> + <p>ǣghwæs untǣle ealde wīsan.</p> + <p class="i30"><b>R. W. C.</b></p> + </div> + </div> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<p><!-- Page vii --><span class="pagenum"><a name="pagevii"></a>{vii}</span></p> + +<h3>PREFACE</h3> + + <p>I have to thank various colleagues who have read proofs of this book, + in whole or in part: first and foremost my old teacher, W. P. Ker; also + Robert Priebsch, J. H. G. Grattan, Ernest Classen and two old students, + Miss E. V. Hitchcock and Mrs Blackman. I have also to thank Prof. W. W. + Lawrence of Columbia; and though there are details where we do not agree, + I think there is no difference upon any important issues. If in these + details I am in the right, this is largely due to the helpful criticism + of Prof. Lawrence, which has often led me to reconsider my conclusions, + and to re-state them more cautiously, and, I hope, more correctly. If, on + the other hand, I am in the wrong, then it is thanks to Prof. Lawrence + that I am not still more in the wrong.</p> + + <p>From Axel Olrik, though my debt to him is heavy, I find myself + differing on several questions. I had hoped that what I had to urge on + some of these might have convinced him, or, better still, might have + drawn from him a reply which would have convinced me. But the death of + that great scholar has put an end to many hopes, and deprived many of us + of a warm personal friend. It would be impossible to modify now these + passages expressing dissent, for the early pages of this book were + printed off some years ago. I can only repeat that it is just because of + my intense respect for the work of Dr Olrik that, where I cannot agree + with his conclusions, I feel bound to go into the matter at length. Names + like those of Olrik, Bradley, Chadwick and Sievers carry rightly such + authority as to make it the duty of those who differ, if only on minor + details, to justify that difference if they can.</p> + + <p>From Dr Bradley especially I have had help in discussing various of + these problems: also from Mr Wharton of the British Museum, Prof. Collin + of Christiania, Mr Ritchie Girvan of Glasgow, and Mr Teddy. To Prof. + Brøgger, the Norwegian state-antiquary, I am indebted for permission to + reproduce photographs of the <!-- Page viii --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="pageviii"></a>{viii}</span>Viking ships: to Prof. Finnur Jónsson + for permission to quote from his most useful edition of the <i>Hrólfs + Saga</i> and the <i>Bjarka Rímur</i>, and, above all, to Mr Sigfús + Blöndal, of the Royal Library of Copenhagen, for his labour in collating + with the manuscript the passages quoted from the <i>Grettis Saga</i>.</p> + + <p>Finally, I have to thank the Syndics of the University Press for + undertaking the publication of the book, and the staff for the efficient + way in which they have carried out the work, in spite of the long + interruption caused by the war.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>R. W. C.</p> + <p><i>April 6, 1921.</i></p> + </div> + </div> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<p><!-- Page ix --><span class="pagenum"><a name="pageix"></a>{ix}</span></p> + +<h3>CONTENTS</h3> + +<table class="nobctr" summary="Table of contents" title="Table of contents"> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> PAGE</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> GENEALOGICAL TABLES </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#pagexii">xii</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; padding-top:1em;" colspan="2"> PART I</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; padding-top:1em;" colspan="2"> CHAPTER I. THE HISTORICAL ELEMENTS</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section I.</span> The Problem </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page1">1</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section II.</span> The Geatas—their Kings and their Wars </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page2">2</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section III.</span> Heorot and the Danish Kings </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page13">13</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section IV.</span> Leire and Heorot </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page16">16</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section V.</span> The Heathobeardan </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page20">20</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section VI.</span> Hrothulf </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page25">25</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section VII.</span> King Offa </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page31">31</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; padding-top:1em;" colspan="2"> CHAPTER II. THE NON-HISTORICAL ELEMENTS</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section I.</span> The Grendel Fight </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page41">41</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section II.</span> The Scandinavian Parallels—Grettir and Orm </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page48">48</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section III.</span> Bothvar Bjarki </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page54">54</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section IV.</span> Parallels from Folklore </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page62">62</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section V.</span> Scef and Scyld </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page68">68</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section VI.</span> Beow </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page87">87</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section VII.</span> The house of Scyld and Danish parallels—Heremod-Lotherus<br /> + and Beowulf-Frotho </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page89">89</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; padding-top:1em;" colspan="2"> CHAPTER III. THEORIES AS TO THE ORIGIN,<br /> + DATE AND STRUCTURE OF THE POEM</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section I.</span> Is <i>Beowulf</i> translated from a Scandinavian<br /> + original? </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page98">98</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section II.</span> The dialect, syntax and metre of <i>Beowulf</i> as<br /> + evidence of its literary history </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page104">104</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section III.</span> Theories as to the structure of <i>Beowulf</i> </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page112">112</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section IV.</span> Are the Christian elements incompatible with the rest<br /> + of the poem? </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page121">121</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; padding-top:1em;" colspan="2"> +<!-- Page x --><span class="pagenum"><a name="pagex"></a>{x}</span> + PART II</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; padding-top:1em;" colspan="2"> DOCUMENTS ILLUSTRATING THE STORIES IN<br /> + <i>BEOWULF</i>, AND THE <i>OFFA</i>-SAGA</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> A. The early Kings of the Danes, according to Saxo Grammaticus:<br /> + Dan, Humblus, Lotherus and Scioldus; Frotho's dragon fight;<br /> + Haldanus, Roe and Helgo; Roluo (Rolf Kraki) and Biarco<br /> + (Bjarki); the death of Rolf </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page129">129</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> B. Extract from <i>Hrólfs Saga Kraka</i>, with translation (cap. 23) </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page138">138</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> C. Extracts from <i>Grettis Saga</i>, with translation: (<i>a</i>) Glam episode<br /> + (caps. 32-35); (<i>b</i>) Sandhaugar episode (caps. 64-66) </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page146">146</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> D. Extracts from <i>Bjarka Rímur</i>, with translation </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page182">182</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> E. Extract from <i>Þáttr Orms Stórólfssonar</i>, with translation </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page186">186</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> F. A Danish Dragon-slaying of the Beowulf-type, with translation </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page192">192</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> G. The Old English Genealogies. I. The Mercian Genealogy. II. The<br /> + stages above Woden: Woden to Geat and Woden to Sceaf </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page195">195</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> H. Extract from the Chronicle Roll </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page201">201</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> I. Extract from the Little Chronicle of the Kings of Leire </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page204">204</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> K. The Story of Offa in Saxo Grammaticus </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page206">206</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> L. From Skiold to Offa in Sweyn Aageson </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page211">211</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> M. Note on the Danish Chronicles </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page215">215</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> N. The <i>Life of Offa I</i>, with extracts from the <i>Life of Offa II</i>. Edited<br /> + from two <span class="scac">MSS</span> in the Cottonian Collection </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page217">217</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> O. Extract from <i>Widsith</i>, II. 18, 24-49 </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page243">243</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; padding-top:1em;" colspan="2"> PART III</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; padding-top:1em;" colspan="2"> THE FIGHT AT FINNSBURG</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section I.</span> The <i>Finnsburg Fragment</i> </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page245">245</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section II.</span> The Episode in <i>Beowulf</i> </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page248">248</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section III.</span> Möller's Theory </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page254">254</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section IV.</span> Bugge's Theory </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page257">257</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section V.</span> Some Difficulties in Bugge's Theory </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page260">260</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section VI.</span> Recent Elucidations. Prof. Ayres' Comments </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page266">266</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section VII.</span> Problems still outstanding </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page268">268</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section VIII.</span> The Weight of Proof: the Eotens </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page272">272</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section IX.</span> Ethics of the Blood Feud </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page276">276</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> +<!-- Page xi --><span class="pagenum"><a name="pagexi"></a>{xi}</span> + <span class="sc">Section X.</span> An Attempt at Reconstruction </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page283">283</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section XI.</span> Gefwulf, Prince of the Jutes </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page286">286</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <span class="sc">Section XII.</span> Conclusion </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page287">287</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> <i>Note</i>. Frisia in the heroic age </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page288">288</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; padding-top:1em;" colspan="2"> PART IV</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; padding-top:1em;" colspan="2"> APPENDIX</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> A. A Postscript on Mythology in <i>Beowulf</i>. (1) Beowulf the Scylding<br /> + and Beowulf son of Ecgtheow. (2) Beow </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page291">291</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> B. Grendel </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page304">304</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> C. The Stages above Woden in the West-Saxon Genealogy </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page311">311</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> D. Grammatical and literary evidence for the date of <i>Beowulf</i>. The<br /> + relation of <i>Beowulf</i> to the Classical Epic </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page322">322</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> E. The "Jute-question" reopened </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page333">333</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> F. <i>Beowulf</i> and the Archaeologists </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page345">345</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> G. Leire before Rolf Kraki </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page365">365</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> H. Bee-wolf and Bear's son </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page365">365</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> I. The date of the death of Hygelac </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page381">381</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> BIBLIOGRAPHY OF <i>BEOWULF</i> AND <i>FINNSBURG</i> </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page383">383</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> INDEX </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#page414">414</a></td></tr> +</table> + +<h3>PLATES</h3> + +<table class="nobctr" summary="Plates" title="Plates"> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> PLATE</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:top;"> I. </td><td class="spacsingle"> Drida (Thryth) reproached for her Evil Deeds </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#frontis">FRONTISPIECE</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:top;"> II. </td><td class="spacsingle"> Leire in the Seventeenth Century </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> TO FACE <a href="#page16">16</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:top;"> III. </td><td class="spacsingle"> Offa, miraculously restored, vindicates his Right.<br /> + At the side, Offa is represented in Prayer </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> ,, ,, <a href="#page34">34</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:top;"> IV. </td><td class="spacsingle"> Drida (Thryth) arrives in the land of King Offa,<br /> + "in nauicula armamentis carente" </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> ,, ,, <a href="#page36">36</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:top;"> V. </td><td class="spacsingle"> Riganus (or Aliel) comes before King Warmundus<br /> + to claim that he should be made King in place of<br /> + the incompetent Offa </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> ,, ,, <a href="#page218">218</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:top;"> VI. </td><td class="spacsingle"> Drida (Thryth) entraps Albertus (Æthelberht) of<br /> + East Anglia, and causes him to be slain </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> ,, ,, <a href="#page242">242</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:top;"> VII. </td><td class="spacsingle"> The Gokstad Ship. The Oseberg Ship </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> ,, ,, <a href="#page362">362</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:top;"> VIII. </td><td class="spacsingle"> Southern Scandinavia in the Sixth Century.<br /> + English Boar-Helmet and Ring-Swords </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:right; vertical-align:bottom;"> <a href="#atend"><i>At end</i></a></td></tr> +</table> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<p><!-- Page xii --><span class="pagenum"><a name="pagexii"></a>{xii}</span></p> + +<h3>GENEALOGICAL TABLES</h3> + + <p>The names of the corresponding characters in Scandinavian legend are + added in italics; first the Icelandic forms, then the Latinized names as + recorded by Saxo Grammaticus.</p> + +<p class="cenhead">(1) THE DANISH ROYAL FAMILY</p> + +<pre> + + Scyld Scēfing [<i>Skjǫldr</i>, <i>Skyoldus</i>] + | + Bēowulf [not the hero of the poem] + | + Healfdene [<i>Halfdan</i>, <i>Haldanus</i>] + | + .-------------------------------------------------------------------------------. + | | | | +Heorogār Hrōðgār [<i>Hróarr</i><a name="NtA1" href="#Nt1"><sup>[1]</sup></a>, <i>Roe</i>], Hālga [<i>Helgi</i>, a daughter +[<i>no Scandinavian</i> <i>mar.</i> Wealhþēow <i>Helgo</i>] [<i>Signy</i>] +<i>parallel</i>] | | + | .-----------------------------. | + | | | | | +Heoroweard Hrēðrīc Hrōðmund Frēawaru Hrōðulf +[<i>Hjǫrvarðr,</i> [<i>Hrærekr,</i> <i>mar.</i> [<i>Hrólfr</i> + <i>Hiarwarus:</i> <i>Røricus:</i> Ingeld <i>Kraki,</i> + <i>but not</i> <i>not</i> <i>Roluo</i>] + <i>recognized as</i> <i>recognized</i> + <i>belonging</i> <i>as a son of</i> + <i>to this family</i>] <i>Hroarr</i>] +</pre> +<p class="cenhead">(2) THE GEAT ROYAL FAMILY</p> + +<pre> + Hrēðel Wǣgmund + | | + .------------------------------------------. .-------------. + | | | | | | +Herebeald Hæðcyn Hygelāc, <i>mar.</i> Hygd a daughter, <i>mar.</i> Ecgþēow Wēohstān + | | | + .-----------------. Bēowulf Wīglāf + | | + a daughter, Heardrēd + <i>mar.</i> Eofor +</pre> +<p class="cenhead">(3) THE SWEDISH ROYAL FAMILY</p> + +<pre> + Ongenþēow + | + .-------------------------------------. + | | + Onela Ōhthere [<i>Óttarr</i>] +[<i>Áli, not recognized</i> | + <i>as belonging to this</i> .---------------. + <i>family</i>] | | + Eanmund Ēadgils + [<i>Aðils</i><a name="NtA2" href="#Nt2"><sup>[2]</sup></a>, + <i>Athislus</i>] +</pre> + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<p><!-- Page 1 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page1"></a>{1}</span></p> + +<h2>PART I</h2> + +<h3>CHAPTER I</h3> + +<p class="cenhead">THE HISTORICAL ELEMENTS</p> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section I. The Problem.</span></p> + + <p>The unique <span class="scac">MS</span> of <i>Beowulf</i> may be, and + if possible should be, seen by the student in the British Museum. It is a + good specimen of the elegant script of Anglo-Saxon times: "a book got up + with some care," as if intended for the library of a nobleman or of a + monastery. Yet this <span class="scac">MS</span> is removed from the date + when the poem was composed and from the events which it narrates (so far + as these events are historic at all) by periods of time approximately + equal to those which separate us from the time when Shakespeare's + <i>Henry V</i> was written, and when the battle of Agincourt was + fought.</p> + + <p>To try to penetrate the darkness of the five centuries which lie + behind the extant <span class="scac">MS</span> by fitting together such + fragments of illustrative information as can be obtained, and by using + the imagination to bridge the gaps, has been the business of three + generations of scholars distributed among the ten nations of Germanic + speech. A whole library has been written around our poem, and the result + is that this book cannot be as simple as either writer or reader might + have wished.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>The story which the <span class="scac">MS</span> tells us may be + summarized thus: Beowulf, a prince of the Geatas, voyages to Heorot, the + hall of Hrothgar, king of the Danes; there he destroys a monster Grendel, + who for twelve years has haunted the hall by night and slain all he found + therein. When Grendel's mother in revenge makes an attack on the hall, + Beowulf seeks her out and kills her also in her home beneath the waters. + He then <!-- Page 2 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page2"></a>{2}</span>returns to his land with honour and is + rewarded by his king Hygelac. Ultimately he himself becomes king of the + Geatas, and fifty years later slays a dragon and is slain by it. The poem + closes with an account of the funeral rites.</p> + + <p>Fantastic as these stories are, they are depicted against a background + of what appears to be fact. Incidentally, and in a number of digressions, + we receive much information about the Geatas, Swedes and Danes: all which + information has an appearance of historic accuracy, and in some cases can + be proved, from external evidence, to be historically accurate.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section II. The Geatas—their Kings and their Wars.</span></p> + + <p>Beowulf's people have been identified with many tribes: but there is + strong evidence that the Geatas are the Götar (O.N. <i>Gautar</i>), the + inhabitants of what is now a portion of Southern Sweden, immediately to + the south of the great lakes Wener and Wetter. The names <i>Geatas</i> + and <i>Gautar</i> correspond exactly<a name="NtA3" + href="#Nt3"><sup>[3]</sup></a>, according to the rules of O.E. and O.N. + phonetic development, and all we can ascertain of the Geatas and of the + Gautar harmonizes well with the identification<a name="NtA4" + href="#Nt4"><sup>[4]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>We know of one occasion only when the Geatas came into violent contact + with the world outside Scandinavia. Putting together the accounts which + we receive from Gregory of Tours and from two other (anonymous) writers, + we learn that a piratical raid was made upon the country of the Atuarii + (the O.E. <i>Hetware</i>) who dwelt between the lower Rhine and what is + now the Zuyder Zee, by a king whose name is spelt in a variety of ways, + all of which readily admit of identification with that of the Hygelac of + our poem<a name="NtA5" href="#Nt5"><sup>[5]</sup></a>. From the land of + the Atuarii this king carried much spoil to his ships; but, remaining on + shore, he was overwhelmed and slain by the army which the <!-- Page 3 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page3"></a>{3}</span>Frankish king + Theodoric had sent under his son to the rescue of these outlying + provinces; the plunderers' fleet was routed and the booty restored to the + country. The bones of this gigantic king of the "Getae" [presumably = + Geatas] were long preserved, it was said, on an island near the mouth of + the Rhine.</p> + + <p>Such is the story of the raid, so far as we can reconstruct it from + monkish Latin sources. The precise date is not given, but it must have + been between <span class="scac">A.D.</span> 512 and 520.</p> + + <p>Now this disastrous raid of Hygelac is referred to constantly in + <i>Beowulf</i>: and the mention there of Hetware, Franks and the + Merovingian king as the foes confirms an identification which would be + satisfactory even without these additional data<a name="NtA6" + href="#Nt6"><sup>[6]</sup></a>.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>Our authorities are:</p> + + <p>(1) Gregory of Tours (d. 594):</p> + + <p><i>His ita gestis, Dani cum rege suo nomine Chlochilaico evectu navale + per mare Gallias appetunt. Egressique ad terras, pagum unum de regno + Theudorici devastant atque captivant, oneratisque navibus tam de captivis + quam de reliquis spoliis, reverti ad patriam cupiunt; sed rex eorum in + litus resedebat donec naves alto mare conpraehenderent, ipse deinceps + secuturus. Quod cum Theudorico nuntiatum fuisset, quod scilicet regio + ejus fuerit ab extraneis devastata, Theudobertum, filium suum, in illis + partibus cum valido exercitu et magno armorum apparatu direxit. Qui, + interfecto rege, hostibus navali proelio superatis opprimit, omnemque + rapinam terrae restituit.</i></p> + + <p>The name of the vanquished king is spelt in a variety of ways: + <i>Chlochilaichum</i>, <i>Chrochilaicho</i>, <i>Chlodilaichum</i>, + <i>Hrodolaicum</i>.</p> + + <p>See <i>Gregorii episcopi Turonensis Historia Francorum</i>, p. 110, in + <i>Monumenta Germaniae Historica (Scriptores rerum merovingicarum, + I)</i>.</p> + + <p>(2) The <i>Liber Historiae Francorum</i> (commonly called the <i>Gesta + Francorum</i>):</p> + + <p><i>In illo tempore Dani cum rege suo nomine Chochilaico cum navale + hoste per alto mare Gallias appetent, Theuderico paygo [i.e. pagum] + Attoarios vel alios devastantes atque captivantes plenas naves de + captivis alto mare intrantes rex eorum ad litus maris resedens. Quod cum + Theuderico nuntiatum fuisset, Theudobertum filium suum cum magno exercitu + in illis partibus dirigens. Qui consequens eos, pugnavit cum eis caede + magna atque prostravit, regem eorum interficit, preda tullit, et in terra + sua restituit.</i></p> + + <p>The <i>Liber Historiae Francorum</i> was written in 727, but although + so much later than Gregory, it preserves features which are wanting in + the earlier historian, such as the mention of the Hetware + (<i>Attoarii</i>). Note too that the name of the invading king is given + in a form which <!-- Page 4 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page4"></a>{4}</span>approximates more closely to <i>Hygelac</i> + than that of any of the <span class="scac">MSS</span> of Gregory: + variants are <i>Chrochilaico</i>, <i>Chohilaico</i>, <i>Chochilago</i>, + etc.</p> + + <p>See <i>Monumenta Germaniae Historica</i> (<i>Scriptores rerum + merovingicarum, II</i>, 274).</p> + + <p>(3) An anonymous work <i>On monsters and strange beasts</i>, appended + to two <span class="scac">MSS</span> of Phaedrus.</p> + + <p><i>Et sunt [monstra] mirae magnitudinis: ut rex Huiglaucus qui + imperavit Getis et a Francis occisus est. Quem equus a duodecimo anno + portare non potuit. Cujus ossa in Reni fluminis insula, ubi in Oceanum + prorumpit, reservata sunt et de longinquo venientibus pro miraculo + ostenduntur.</i></p> + + <p>This treatise was first printed (from a <span class="scac">MS</span> + of the tenth century, in private possession) by J. Berger de Xivrey + (<i>Traditions tératologiques</i>, Paris, 1836, p. 12). It was again + published from a second <span class="scac">MS</span> at Wolfenbüttel by + Haupt (see his <i>Opuscula</i> <span class="scac">II</span>, 223, 1876). + This <span class="scac">MS</span> is in some respects less accurate, + reading <i>Huncglacus</i> for <i>Huiglaucus</i>, and <i>gentes</i> for + <i>Getis</i>. The treatise is assigned by Berger de Xivrey to the sixth + century, on grounds which are hardly conclusive (p. xxxiv). Haupt would + date it not later than the eighth century (<span class="scac">II</span>, + 220).</p> + + <p>The importance of this reference lies in its describing Hygelac as + king of the Getae, and in its fixing the spot where his bones were + preserved as near the mouth of the Rhine<a name="NtA7" + href="#Nt7"><sup>[7]</sup></a>.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>But if <i>Beowulf</i> is supported in this matter by what is almost + contemporary evidence (for Gregory of Tours was born only some twenty + years after the raid he narrates) we shall probably be right in arguing + that the other stories from the history of the Geatas, their Danish + friends, and their Swedish foes, told with what seems to be such historic + sincerity in the different digressions of our poem, are equally based on + fact. True, we have no evidence outside <i>Beowulf</i> for Hygelac's + father, king Hrethel, nor for Hygelac's elder brothers, Herebeald and + Hæthcyn; and very little for Hæthcyn's deadly foe, the Swedish king + Ongentheow<a name="NtA8" href="#Nt8"><sup>[8]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>And in the last case, at any rate, such evidence might <!-- Page 5 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page5"></a>{5}</span>fairly have been + expected. For there are extant a very early Norse poem, the <i>Ynglinga + tal</i>, and a much later prose account, the <i>Ynglinga saga</i>, + enumerating the kings of Sweden. The <i>Ynglinga tal</i> traces back + these kings of Sweden for some thirty reigns. Therefore, though it was + not composed till some four centuries after the date to which we must + assign Ongentheow, it should deal with events even earlier than the reign + of that king: for, unless the rate of mortality among early Swedish kings + was abnormally high, thirty reigns should occupy a period of more than + 400 years. Nothing is, however, told us in the <i>Ynglinga tal</i> + concerning the deeds of any king Angantyr—which is the name we + might expect to correspond to Ongentheow<a name="NtA9" + href="#Nt9"><sup>[9]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>But on the other hand, the son and grandson of Ongentheow, as recorded + in <i>Beowulf</i>, <i>do</i> meet us both in the <i>Ynglinga tal</i> and + in the <i>Ynglinga saga</i>.</p> + + <p>According to <i>Beowulf</i>, Ongentheow had two sons, Onela and + Ohthere: Onela became king of Sweden and is spoken of in terms of highest + praise<a name="NtA10" href="#Nt10"><sup>[10]</sup></a>. Yet to judge from + the account given in <i>Beowulf</i>, the Geatas had little reason to love + him. He had followed up the defeat of Hygelac by dealing their nation a + second deadly blow. For Onela's nephews, Eadgils and Eanmund (the sons of + Ohthere), had rebelled against him, and had taken refuge at the court of + the Geatas, where Heardred, son of Hygelac, was now reigning, supported + by Beowulf. Thither Onela pursued them, and slew the young king Heardred. + Eanmund also was slain<a name="NtA11" href="#Nt11"><sup>[11]</sup></a>, + then or later, but Eadgils escaped.</p> + + <p>It is not clear from the poem what part Beowulf is supposed to have + taken in this struggle, or why he failed to ward off disaster from his + lord and his country. It is not even made clear whether or no he had to + make formal submission to the hated Swede: but we are told that when + Onela withdrew he succeeded to the vacant throne. In later days he took + his revenge upon Onela. "He became a friend to Eadgils in his distress; + he supported the son of Ohthere across the broad water with men, with + warriors and arms: he wreaked his <!-- Page 6 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page6"></a>{6}</span>vengeance in a chill journey fraught with woe: + he deprived the king [Onela] of his life."</p> + + <p>This story bears in its general outline every impression of true + history: the struggle for the throne between the nephew and the uncle, + the support given to the unsuccessful candidate by a rival state, these + are events which recur frequently in the wild history of the Germanic + tribes during the dark ages, following inevitably from the looseness of + the law of succession to the throne.</p> + + <p>Now the <i>Ynglinga tal</i> contains allusions to these events, and + the <i>Ynglinga saga</i> a brief account of them, though dim and + distorted<a name="NtA12" href="#Nt12"><sup>[12]</sup></a>. We are told + how Athils (=Eadgils) king of Sweden, son of Ottar (=Ohthere), made war + upon Ali (=Onela). By the time the <i>Ynglinga tal</i> was written it had + been forgotten that Ali was Athils' uncle, and that the war was a civil + war. But the issue, as reported in the <i>Ynglinga tal</i> and + <i>Ynglinga saga</i>, is the same as in <i>Beowulf</i>:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"King Athils had great quarrels with the king called Ali of Uppland; + he was from Norway. They had a battle on the ice of Lake Wener; there + King Ali fell, and Athils had the victory. Concerning this battle there + is much said in the <i>Skjoldunga saga</i>."</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>From the <i>Ynglinga saga</i> we learn more concerning King Athils: + not always to his credit. He was, as the Swedes had been from of old, a + great horse-breeder. Authorities differed as to whether horses or drink + were the death of him<a name="NtA13" href="#Nt13"><sup>[13]</sup></a>. + According to one account he brought on his end by celebrating, with + immoderate drinking, the death of his enemy Rolf (the <i>Hrothulf</i> of + <i>Beowulf</i>). According to another:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"King Athils was at a sacrifice of the goddesses, and rode his horse + through the hall of the goddesses: the horse tripped under him and fell + and threw the king; and his head smote a stone so that the skull broke + and the brains lay on the stones, and that was his death. He died at + Uppsala, and there was laid in mound, and the Swedes called him a mighty + king."</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p><!-- Page 7 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page7"></a>{7}</span></p> + + <p>There can, then, hardly be a doubt that there actually was such a king + as Eadgils: and some of the charred bones which still lie within the + gigantic "King's mounds" at Old Uppsala may well be his<a name="NtA14" + href="#Nt14"><sup>[14]</sup></a>. And, though they are not quite so well + authenticated, there can also be little doubt as to the historic + existence of Onela, Ohthere, and even of Ongentheow.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p><i>The Swedish Kings.</i></p> + + <p>The account in the <i>Ynglinga saga</i> of the fight between Onela and + Eadgils is as follows:</p> + + <p><i>Aðils konungr átti deilur miklar við konung þann, er Áli hét inn + upplenzki: hann var ór Nóregi. Þeir áttu orrostu á Vænis ísi; þar fell + Áli konungr en Aðils hafði sigr; frá þessarri orrostu er langt sagt í + Skjǫldunga sǫgu.</i> (<i>Ynglinga saga</i> in + <i>Heimskringla</i>, ed. Jónsson, Kjøbenhavn, 1893, <span + class="scac">I</span>, 56.)</p> + + <p>The <i>Skjoldunga saga</i> here mentioned is an account of the kings + of Denmark. It is preserved only in a Latin abstract.</p> + + <p><i>Post haec ortis inter Adilsum illum Sveciae regem et Alonem + Opplandorum regem in Norvegia, inimicitiis, praelium utrinque indicitur: + loco pugnae statuto in stagno Waener, glacie jam obducto. Ad illud igitur + se viribus inferiorem agnoscens Rolphonis privigni sui opem implorat, hoc + proposito praemio, ut ipse Rolpho tres praeciosissimas res quascunque + optaret ex universo regno Sveciae praemii loco auferret: duodecim autem + pugilum ipsius quilibet 3 libras auri puri, quilibet reliquorum + bellatorum tres marcas argenti defecati. Rolpho domi ipse reses pugilos + suos duodecim Adilso in subsidium mittit, quorum etiam opera is alioqui + vincendus, victoriam obtinuit. Illi sibi et regi propositum praemium + exposcunt, negat Adilsus, Rolphoni absenti ullum deberi praemium, quare + et Dani pugiles sibi oblatum respuebant, cum regem suum eo frustrari + intelligerent, reversique rem, ut gesta est, exponunt.</i> (See + <i>Skjoldungasaga i Arngrim Jonssons Udtog, udgiven af Axel Olrik</i>, + Kjøbenhavn, 1894, p. 34 [116].)</p> + + <p>There is also a reference to this battle on the ice in the + <i>Kálfsvísa</i>, a mnemonic list of famous heroes and their horses. It + is noteworthy that in this list mention is made of Vestein, who is + perhaps the Wihstan of our poem, and of Biar, who has been thought (very + doubtfully) to correspond to the O.E. Beaw.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p><i>Dagr reiþ Drǫsle en Dvalenn Móþne...</i></p> + <p><i>Ále Hrafne es til íss riþo,</i></p> + <p><i>enn annarr austr und Aþilse</i></p> + <p><i>grár hvarfaþe geire undaþr.</i></p> + <p><i>Bjǫrn reiþ Blakke en Biarr Kerte,</i></p> + <p><i>Atle Glaume en Aþils Slungne...</i></p> + <p class="i2"><i>Lieder der Edda</i>, ed. Symons and Gering, <span class="sc">i</span>, 221-2.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>"Ale was on Hrafn when they rode to the ice: but another horse, a grey + one, with Athils on his back, fell eastward, wounded by the spear." This, + as Olrik points out, appears to refer to a version of the story in which + Athils had his fall from his horse, not at a ceremony at Uppsala, but + after the battle with Ali. (<i>Heltedigtning</i>, <span + class="scac">I</span>, 203-4.)</p> + +<p><!-- Page 8 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page8"></a>{8}</span></p> + + <p>For various theories as to the early history of the Swedish royal + house, as recorded in <i>Beowulf</i>, see Weyhe, <i>König Ongentheows + Fall</i>, in <i>Engl. Stud.</i>, <span class="sc">xxxix</span>, 14-39; + Schück, <i>Studier i Ynglingatal</i> (1905-7); Stjerna, <i>Vendel och + Vendelkråka</i>, in <i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span class="scac">XXI</span>, 71, + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><i>The Geatas.</i></p> + + <p>The identification of Geatas and Götar has been accepted by the great + majority of scholars, although Kemble wished to locate the Geatas in + Schleswig, Grundtvig in Gotland, and Haigh in England. Leo was the first + to suggest the Jutes: but the "Jute-hypothesis" owes its currency to the + arguments of Fahlbeck (<i>Beovulfsqvädet såsom källa för nordisk + fornhistoria</i> in the <i>Antiqvarisk Tidskrift för Sverige</i>, <span + class="scac">VIII</span>, 2, 1). Fahlbeck's very inconclusive reasons + were contested at the time by Sarrazin (23 <i>etc.</i>) and ten Brink + (194 <i>etc.</i>) and the arguments against them have lately been + marshalled by H. Schück (<i>Folknamnet Geatas i den fornengelska dikten + Beowulf</i>, Upsala, 1907). It is indeed difficult to understand how + Fahlbeck's theory came to receive the support it has had from several + scholars (e.g. Bugge, <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XII</span>, 1 + <i>etc.</i>; Weyhe, <i>Engl. Stud.</i>, <span class="scac">XXXIX</span>, + 38 <i>etc.</i>; Gering). For his conclusions do not arise naturally from + the O.E. data: his whole argument is a piece of learned pleading, + undertaken to support his rather revolutionary speculations as to early + Swedish history. These speculations would have been rendered less + probable had the natural interpretation of Geatas as Götar been accepted. + The Jute-hypothesis has recently been revived, with the greatest skill + and learning, by Gudmund Schütte (<i>Journal of English and Germanic + Philology</i>, <span class="scac">XI</span>, 574 <i>etc.</i>). But here + again I cannot help suspecting that the wish is father to the thought, + and that the fact that that eminent scholar is a Dane living in Jutland, + has something to do with his attempt to locate the Geatas there. No + amount of learning will eradicate patriotism.</p> + + <p>The following considerations need to be weighed:</p> + + <p>(1) <i>Geatas</i> etymologically corresponds exactly with O.N. + <i>Gautar</i>, the modern Götar. The O.E. word corresponding to Jutes + (the Iutae of Bede) should be, not <i>Geatas</i>, but in the Anglian + dialect <i>Eote</i>, <i>Iote</i>, in the West Saxon <i>Iete</i>, + <i>Yte</i>.</p> + + <p>Now it is true that in one passage in the O.E. translation of Bede + (<span class="scac">I</span>, 15) the word "Iutarum" <i>is</i> rendered + <i>Geata</i>: but in the other (<span class="scac">IV</span>, 16) + "Iutorum" is rendered <i>Eota</i>, <i>Ytena</i>. And this latter + rendering is supported (<i>a</i>) by the <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i> + (<i>Iotum</i>, <i>Iutna</i>) and (<i>b</i>) by the fact that the current + O.E. word for Jutes was <i>Yte</i>, <i>Ytan</i>, which survived till + after the Norman conquest. For the name <i>Ytena land</i> was used for + that portion of Hampshire which had been settled by the Jutes: William + Rufus was slain, according to Florence of Worcester, in <i>Ytene</i> + (which Florence explains as <i>prouincia Jutarum</i>).</p> + + <p>From the purely etymological point of view the Götar-hypothesis, then, + is unimpeachable: but the Jute-hypothesis is unsatisfactory, since it is + based upon one passage in the O.E. Bede, where <i>Jutarum</i> is + incorrectly rendered <i>Geata</i>, whilst it is invalidated by the other + passage in the O.E. Bede, by the <i>Chronicle</i> and by Florence of + Worcester, where <i>Jutorum</i> is correctly translated by <i>Ytena</i>, + or its Anglian or Kentish equivalent <i>Eota</i>, <i>Iotna</i>.</p> + + <p>(2) It is obvious that the Geatas of <i>Beowulf</i> were a strong and + independent power—a match for the Swedes. Now we learn from + Procopius that in the sixth century the Götar were an independent <!-- + Page 9 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page9"></a>{9}</span>and + numerous nation. But we have no equal evidence for any similar + preponderant Jutish power in the sixth century. The <i>Iutae</i> are + indeed a rather puzzling tribe, and scholars have not even been able to + agree where they dwelt.</p> + + <p>The Götar on the other hand are located among the great nations of + Scandinavia both by Ptolemy (<i>Geog.</i> <span class="scac">II</span>, + 11, 16) in the second century and by Procopius (<i>Bell. Gott.</i> <span + class="scac">II</span>, 15) in the sixth. When we next get clear + information (through the Christian missionaries) both Götar and Swedes + have been united under one king. But the Götar retained their separate + laws, traditions, and voice in the selection of the king, and they were + constantly asserting themselves during the Middle Ages. The title of the + king of Sweden, <i>rex Sveorum Gothorumque</i>, commemorates the old + distinction.</p> + + <p>From the historical point of view, then, the Götar comply with what we + are told in <i>Beowulf</i> of the power of the Geatas much better than do + the Jutes.</p> + + <p>(3) Advocates of the Jute-hypothesis have claimed much support from + the geographical argument that the Swedes and Geatas fight <i>ofer + sǣ</i> (e.g. when Beowulf and Eadgils attack Onela, 2394). But the + term <i>sǣ</i> is just as appropriate to the great lakes Wener and + Wetter, which separated the Swedes from the Götar, as it is to the + Cattegatt. And we have the evidence of Scandinavian sources that the + battle between Eadgils and Onela actually <i>did</i> take place on the + ice of lake Wener (see above, p. <a href="#page6">6</a>). Moreover the + absence of any mention of ships in the fighting narrated in ll. 2922-2945 + would be remarkable if the contending nations were Jutes and Swedes, but + suits Götar and Swedes admirably: since they could attack each other by + land as well as by water.</p> + + <p>(4) There is reason to think that the old land of the Götar included a + great deal of what is now the south-west coast of Sweden<a name="NtA15" + href="#Nt15"><sup>[15]</sup></a>. Hygelac's capital was probably not far + from the modern Göteborg. The descriptions in <i>Beowulf</i> would suit + the cliffs of southern Sweden well, but they are quite inapplicable to + the sandy dunes of Jutland.</p> + + <p>Little weight can, however, be attached to this last argument, as the + cliffs of the land of the Geatas are in any case probably drawn from the + poet's imagination.</p> + + <p>(5) If we accept the identification Beowulf = Bjarki (see below, pp. + <a href="#page60">60</a>-1) a further argument for the equation of Geatas + and Götar will be found in the fact that Bjarki travels to Denmark from + Gautland just as Beowulf from the land of the Geatas; Bjarki is the + brother of the king of the Gautar, Beowulf the nephew of the king of the + Geatas.</p> + + <p>(6) No argument as to the meaning of <i>Geatas</i> can be drawn from + the fact that Gregory calls Chlochilaicus (Hygelac) a Dane. For it is + clear from <i>Beowulf</i> that, whatever else they may have been, the + Geatas were not Danes. Either, then, Gregory must be misinformed, or he + must be using the word <i>Dane</i> vaguely, to cover any kind of + Scandinavian pirate.</p> + + <p>(7) Probably what has weighed most heavily (often perhaps not + consciously) in gaining converts to the "Jute-hypothesis" has been the + conviction that "in ancient times each nation celebrated in song its own + heroes alone." Hence one set of scholars, accepting the identification of + the Geatas with the Scandinavian Götar, have argued that <i>Beowulf</i> + is therefore simply a translation from a Scandinavian Götish original. + Others, accepting <i>Beowulf</i> as an English poem, have <!-- Page 10 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page10"></a>{10}</span>argued that the + Geatas who are celebrated in it must therefore be one of the tribes that + settled in England, and have therefore favoured the "Jute theory." But + the <i>a priori</i> assumption that each Germanic tribe celebrated in + song its own national heroes only is demonstrably incorrect<a + name="NtA16" href="#Nt16"><sup>[16]</sup></a>.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>But in none of the accounts of the warfare of these Scandinavian + kings, whether written in Norse or monkish Latin, is there mention of any + name corresponding to that of Beowulf, as king of the Geatas. Whether he + is as historic as the other kings with whom in our poem he is brought + into contact, we cannot say.</p> + + <p>It has been generally held that the Beowulf of our poem is compounded + out of two elements: that an historic Beowulf, king of the Geatas, has + been combined with a mythological figure Beowa<a name="NtA17" + href="#Nt17"><sup>[17]</sup></a>, a god of the ancient Angles: that the + historical achievements against Frisians and Swedes belong to the king, + the mythological adventures with giants and dragons to the god. But there + is no conclusive evidence for either of these presumed component parts of + our hero. To the god Beowa we shall have to return later: here it is + enough to note that the current assumption that there <i>was</i> a king + Beowulf of the Geatas lacks confirmation from Scandinavian sources.</p> + + <p>And one piece of evidence there is, which tends to show that Beowulf + is not an historic king at all, but that his adventures have been + violently inserted amid the historic names of the kings of the Geatas. + Members of the families in <i>Beowulf</i> which we have reason to think + historic bear names which alliterate the one with the other. The + inference seems to be that it was customary, when a Scandinavian prince + was named in the Sixth Century, to give him a name which had an initial + letter similar to that of his father: care was thus taken that metrical + difficulties should not prevent the names of father and son being linked + together in song<a name="NtA18" href="#Nt18"><sup>[18]</sup></a>. In the + case of Beowulf himself, however, this rule breaks down. Beowulf seems an + intruder <!-- Page 11 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page11"></a>{11}</span>into the house of Hrethel. It may be + answered that since he was only the offspring of a daughter of that + house, and since that daughter had three brothers, there would have been + no prospect of his becoming king, when he was named. But neither does his + name fit in with that of the other great house with which he is supposed + to be connected. Wiglaf, son of Wihstan of the Wægmundingas, was named + according to the familiar rules: but Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, seems an + intruder in that family as well.</p> + + <p>This failure to fall in with the alliterative scheme, and the absence + of confirmation from external evidence, are, of course, not in themselves + enough to prove that the reign of Beowulf over the Geatas is a poetic + figment. And indeed our poem <i>may</i> quite possibly be true to + historic fact in representing him as the last of the great kings of the + Geatas; after whose death his people have nothing but national disaster + to expect<a name="NtA19" href="#Nt19"><sup>[19]</sup></a>. It would be + strange that this last and most mighty and magnanimous of the kings of + the Geatas should have been forgotten in Scandinavian lands: that outside + <i>Beowulf</i> nothing should be known of his reign. But when we consider + how little, outside <i>Beowulf</i>, we know of the Geatic kingdom at all, + we cannot pronounce such oblivion impossible.</p> + + <p>What tells much more against Beowulf as a historic Geatic king is that + there is always apt to be something extravagant and unreal about what the + poem tells us of his deeds, contrasting with the sober and historic way + in which other kings, like Hrothgar or Hygelac or Eadgils, are referred + to. True, we must not disqualify Beowulf forthwith because he slew a + dragon<a name="NtA20" href="#Nt20"><sup>[20]</sup></a>. Several + unimpeachably historical persons have done this: so sober an authority as + the <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i> assures us that fiery dragons were + flying in Northumbria as late as <span class="scac">A.D.</span> 793<a + name="NtA21" href="#Nt21"><sup>[21]</sup></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 12 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page12"></a>{12}</span></p> + + <p>But (and this is the serious difficulty) even when Beowulf is depicted + in quite historic circumstances, there is still something unsubstantial + about his actions. When, in the midst of the strictly historical account + of Hygelac's overthrow, we are told that Beowulf swam home bearing thirty + suits of armour, this is as fantastic as the account of his swimming home + from Grendel's lair with Grendel's head and the magic swordhilt. We may + well doubt whether there is any more kernel of historic fact in the one + feat than in the other<a name="NtA22" href="#Nt22"><sup>[22]</sup></a>. + Again, we are told how Beowulf defended the young prince Heardred, + Hygelac's son. Where was he, then, when Heardred was defeated and slain? + To protect and if necessary avenge his lord upon the battlefield was the + essential duty of the Germanic retainer. Yet Beowulf has no part to play + in the episode of the death of Heardred. He is simply ignored till it is + over. True, we are told that in later days he <i>did</i> take vengeance, + by supporting the claims of Eadgils, the pretender, against Onela, the + slayer of Heardred. But here again difficulties meet us: for the + Scandinavian authorities, whilst they agree that Eadgils overthrew Onela + by the use of foreign auxiliaries, represent these auxiliaries as Danish + retainers, dispatched by the Danish king Hrothulf. The chief of these + Danish retainers is Bothvar Bjarki, who, as we shall see later, has been + thought to stand in some relation to Beowulf. But Bothvar is never + regarded as king of the Geatas: and the fact remains that <i>Beowulf</i> + is at variance with our other authorities in representing Eadgils as + having been placed on the throne by a Geatic rather than by a Danish + force. Yet this Geatic expedition against Onela is, with the exception of + the dragon episode, the only event which our poem has to narrate + concerning Beowulf's long reign of fifty years. And in other respects the + reign is shadowy. Beowulf, we are told, came to the throne at a time of + utter national distress; he had a long and prosperous reign, and became + so powerful that he was able to dethrone the mighty<a name="NtA23" + href="#Nt23"><sup>[23]</sup></a> Swedish king Onela, and place in his + stead the miserable fugitive<a name="NtA24" + href="#Nt24"><sup>[24]</sup></a> Eadgils. Yet, after this half century of + success, the <!-- Page 13 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page13"></a>{13}</span>kingdom is depicted upon Beowulf's death as + being in the same tottering condition in which it stood at the time when + he is represented as having come to the throne, after the fall of + Heardred.</p> + + <p>The destruction one after the other of the descendants of Hrethel + sounds historic: at any rate it possesses verisimilitude. But the picture + of the childless Beowulf, dying, after a glorious reign, in extreme old + age, having apparently made no previous arrangements for the succession, + so that Wiglaf, a youth hitherto quite untried in war, steps at once into + the place of command on account of his valour in slaying the + dragon—this is a picture which lacks all historic probability.</p> + + <p>I cannot avoid a suspicion that the fifty years' reign of Beowulf over + the Geatas may quite conceivably be a poetic fiction<a name="NtA25" + href="#Nt25"><sup>[25]</sup></a>; that the downfall of the Geatic kingdom + and its absorption in Sweden were very possibly brought about by the + destruction of Hygelac and all his warriors at the mouth of the + Rhine.</p> + + <p>Such an event would have given the Swedes their opportunity for + vengeance: they may have swooped down, destroyed Heardred, and utterly + crushed the independent kingdom of the Geatas before the younger + generation had time to grow up into fighting men.</p> + + <p>To the fabulous achievements of Beowulf, his fight with Grendel, + Grendel's dam, and the dragon, it will be necessary to return later. As + to his other feats, all we can say is that the common assumption that + they rest upon an historic foundation does not seem to be capable of + proof. But that they have an historic background is indisputable.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section III. Heorot and the Danish Kings.</span></p> + + <p>Of the Danish kings mentioned in <i>Beowulf</i>, we have first Scyld + Scefing, the foundling, an ancient and probably a mythical figure, then + Beowulf, son of Scyld, who seems an intruder among the Danish kings, + since the Danish records know nothing <!-- Page 14 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page14"></a>{14}</span>of him, and since his + name does not alliterate with those of either his reputed father or his + reputed son. Then comes the "high" Healfdene, to whom four children were + born: Heorogar, Hrothgar, Halga "the good," and a daughter who was wedded + to the Swedish king. Since Hrothgar is represented as an elder + contemporary of Hygelac, we must date<a name="NtA26" + href="#Nt26"><sup>[26]</sup></a> Healfdene and his sons, should they be + historic characters, between <span class="scac">A.D.</span> 430 and + 520.</p> + + <p>Now it is noteworthy that just after <span class="scac">A.D.</span> + 500 the Danes first become widely known, and the name "Danes" first meets + us in Latin and Greek authors. And this cannot be explained on the ground + that the North has become more familiar to dwellers in the classical + lands: on the contrary far less is known concerning the geography of the + North Sea and the Baltic than had been the case four or five centuries + before. Tacitus and Ptolemy knew of many tribes inhabiting what is now + Denmark, but not of the Danes: the writers in Ravenna and Constantinople + in the sixth century, though much less well informed on the geography of + the North, know of the Danes as amongst the most powerful nations there. + <i>Beowulf</i> is, then, supported by the Latin and Greek records when it + depicts these rulers of Denmark as a house of mighty kings, the fame of + whose realm spread far and wide. We cannot tell to what extent this realm + was made by the driving forth of alien nations from Denmark, to what + extent by the coming together (under the common name of Danes) of many + tribes which had hitherto been known by other distinct names.</p> + + <p>The pedigree of the house of Healfdene can be constructed from the + references in <i>Beowulf</i>. Healfdene's three sons, Heorogar, Hrothgar, + Halga, are presumably enumerated in order of age, since Hrothgar mentions + Heorogar, but not Halga, as his senior<a name="NtA27" + href="#Nt27"><sup>[27]</sup></a>. Heorogar left a son Heoroweard<a + name="NtA28" href="#Nt28"><sup>[28]</sup></a>, but it is in accordance + with Teutonic custom that Hrothgar should have succeeded to the throne + if, as we may well suppose, Heoroweard was too young to be trusted with + the kingship.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 15 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page15"></a>{15}</span></p> + + <p>The younger brother Halga is never mentioned during Beowulf's visit to + Heorot, and the presumption is that he is already dead.</p> + + <p>The Hrothulf who, both in <i>Beowulf</i> and <i>Widsith</i>, is linked + with King Hrothgar, almost as his equal, is clearly the son of Halga: for + he is Hrothgar's nephew<a name="NtA29" href="#Nt29"><sup>[29]</sup></a>, + and yet he is not the son of Heorogar<a name="NtA30" + href="#Nt30"><sup>[30]</sup></a>. The mention of how Hrothgar shielded + this Hrothulf when he was a child confirms us in the belief that his + father Halga had died early. Yet, though he thus belongs to the youngest + branch of the family, Hrothulf is clearly older than Hrethric and + Hrothmund, the two sons of Hrothgar, whose youth, in spite of the age of + their father, is striking. The seat of honour occupied by Hrothulf<a + name="NtA31" href="#Nt31"><sup>[31]</sup></a> is contrasted with the + undistinguished place of his two young cousins, sitting among the + <i>giogoth</i><a name="NtA32" href="#Nt32"><sup>[32]</sup></a>. + Nevertheless Hrothgar and his wife expect their son, not their nephew, to + succeed to the throne<a name="NtA33" href="#Nt33"><sup>[33]</sup></a>. + Very small acquaintance with the history of royal houses in these lawless + Teutonic times is enough to show us that trouble is likely to be in + store.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>So much can be made out from the English sources, <i>Beowulf</i> and + <i>Widsith</i>. Turning now to the Scandinavian records, we find much + confusion as to details, and as to the characters of the heroes: but the + relationships are the same as in the Old English poem.</p> + + <p>Heorogar is, it is true, forgotten; and though a name Hiarwarus is + found in Saxo corresponding to that of Heoroweard, the son of Heorogar, + in <i>Beowulf</i>, this Hiarwarus is cut off from the family, now that + his father is no longer remembered. Accordingly the Halfdan of Danish + tradition (Haldanus in Saxo's Latin: = O.E. Healfdene) has only two sons, + Hroar <!-- Page 16 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page16"></a>{16}</span>(Saxo's Roe, corresponding to O.E. Hrothgar) + and Helgi (Saxo's Helgo: = O.E. Halga). Helgi is the father of Rolf Kraki + (Saxo's Roluo: = O.E. Hrothulf), the type of the noble king, the Arthur + of Denmark.</p> + + <p>And, just as Arthur holds court at Camelot, or Charlemagne is at home + <i>ad Ais, à sa capele</i>, so the Scandinavian traditions represent Rolf + Kraki as keeping house at Leire (<i>Lethra</i>, <i>Hleiðar + garðr</i>).</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>Accounts of all these kings, and above all of Rolf Kraki, meet us in a + number of Scandinavian documents, of which three are particularly + important:</p> + + <p>(1) Saxo Grammaticus (the lettered), the earlier books of whose + <i>Historia Danica</i> are a storehouse of Scandinavian tradition and + poetry, clothed in a difficult and bombastic, but always amusing, Latin. + How much later than the English these Scandinavian sources are, we can + realize by remembering that when Saxo was putting the finishing touches + to his history, King John was ruling in England.</p> + + <p>There are also a number of other Danish-Latin histories and + genealogies.</p> + + <p>(2) The Icelandic <i>Saga of Rolf Kraki</i>, a late document belonging + to the end of the middle ages, but nevertheless containing valuable + matter.</p> + + <p>(3) The Icelandic <i>Skjoldunga saga</i>, extant only in a Latin + summary of the end of the sixteenth century.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section IV. Leire and Heorot.</span></p> + + <p>The village of Leire remains to the present day. It stands near the + north coast of the island of Seeland, some five miles from Roskilde and + three miles from the sea, in a gentle valley, through the midst of which + flows a small stream. The village itself consists of a tiny cluster of + cottages: the outstanding feature of the place is formed by the huge + grave mounds scattered around in all directions.</p> + + <p>The tourist, walking amid these cottages and mounds, may feel fairly + confident that he is standing on the site of Heorot.</p> + + <p>There are two distinct stages in this identification: it must be + proved (<i>a</i>) that the modern Leire occupies the site of the Leire + (<i>Lethra</i>) where Rolf Kraki ruled, and (<i>b</i>) that the Leire of + Rolf Kraki was built on the site of Heorot.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width:69%;"> + <a href="images/Beo2.jpg"><img style="width:100%" src="images/Beo2.jpg" + alt="Leire in the Seventeenth Century" title="Leire in the Seventeenth Century" /></a> + Leire in the Seventeenth Century + + <p class="cenhead">From Saxo Grammaticus, ed. Stephanius, 1644.</p> + </div> + +<p><!-- Page 17 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page17"></a>{17}</span></p> + + <p>(<i>a</i>) That the modern Leire occupies the site of the ancient + Leire has indeed been disputed<a name="NtA34" + href="#Nt34"><sup>[34]</sup></a>, but seems hardly open to doubt, in view + of the express words of the Danish chroniclers<a name="NtA35" + href="#Nt35"><sup>[35]</sup></a>. It is true that the mounds, which these + early chroniclers probably imagined as covering the ashes of 'Haldanus' + or 'Roe,' and which later antiquaries dubbed with the names of other + kings, are now thought to belong, not to the time of Hrothgar, but to the + Stone or Bronze Ages. But this evidence that Leire was a place of + importance thousands of years before Hrothgar or Hrothulf were born, in + no wise invalidates the overwhelming evidence that it was their residence + also.</p> + + <p>The equation of the modern Leire with the Leire of Rolf Kraki we may + then accept. We cannot be quite so sure of our thesis (<i>b</i>): that + the ancient Leire was identical with the site where Hrothgar built + Heorot. But it is highly probable: for although Leire is more + particularly connected with the memory of Rolf Kraki himself, we are + assured, in one of the mediæval Danish chronicles, that Leire was the + royal seat of Rolf's predecessors as well: of Ro (Hrothgar) and of Ro's + father: and that Ro "enriched it with great magnificence<a name="NtA36" + href="#Nt36"><sup>[36]</sup></a>." Ro also, according to this chronicler, + heaped a mound at Leire over the grave of his father, and was himself + buried at Leire under another mound.</p> + + <p>Now since the Danish tradition represents Hrothgar as enriching his + royal town of Leire, whilst English tradition commemorates him as a + builder king, constructing a royal hall "greater than the sons of men had + ever heard speak of"—it becomes very probable that the two + traditions are reflections of the same fact, and that the site of that + hall was Leire. That Heorot, the picturesque name of the hall itself, + should, in English tradition, have been remembered, whilst that of the + town where it was built had been forgotten, is natural<a name="NtA37" + href="#Nt37"><sup>[37]</sup></a>. For <!-- Page 18 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page18"></a>{18}</span>though the names of + heroes survived in such numbers, after the settlement of the Angles in + England, it was very rarely indeed, so far as we can judge, that the + Angles and Saxons continued to have any clear idea concerning the + <i>places</i> which had been familiar to their forefathers, but which + they themselves had never seen.</p> + + <p>Further, the names of both Hrothgar and Hrothulf are linked with + Heorot in English tradition in the same way as those of Roe and Rolf are + with Leire in Danish chronicles.</p> + + <p>Yet there is some little doubt, though not such as need seriously + trouble us, as to this identification of the site of Heorot with Leire. + Two causes especially have led students to doubt the connection of Roe + (Hrothgar) with Leire, and to place elsewhere the great hall Heorot which + he built.</p> + + <p>In the first place, Rolf Kraki came to be so intimately associated + with Leire that his connection overshadowed that of Roe, and Saxo even + goes so far in one place as to represent Leire as having been + <i>founded</i> by Rolf<a name="NtA38" href="#Nt38"><sup>[38]</sup></a>. + In that case Leire clearly could not be the place where Rolf's + predecessor built his royal hall. But that Saxo is in error here seems + clear, for elsewhere he himself speaks of Leire as being a Danish + stronghold when Rolf was a child<a name="NtA39" + href="#Nt39"><sup>[39]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>In the second place, Roe is credited with having founded the + neighbouring town of Roskilde (Roe's spring)<a name="NtA40" + href="#Nt40"><sup>[40]</sup></a> so that some have wished to locate + Heorot there, rather than at Leire, five miles to the west. But against + this identification of Heorot with Roskilde it must be noted that Roe is + said to have built Roskilde, not as a capital for himself, but as a + market-place for the merchants: there is no suggestion that it was his + royal town, though in time it became the capital, and its cathedral is + still the Westminster Abbey of Denmark.</p> + + <p>What at first sight looks so much in favour of our equating <!-- Page + 19 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page19"></a>{19}</span>Roskilde with + Heorot—the presence in its name of the element <i>Ro</i> + (Hrothgar)—is in reality the most suspicious thing about the + identification. There are other names in Denmark with the element + <i>Ro</i>, in places where it is quite impossible to suppose that the + king's name is commemorated. Some other explanation of the name has + therefore to be sought, and it is very probable that Roskilde meant + originally not "Hrothgar's spring," but "the horses' spring," and that + the connection with King Ro is simply one of those inevitable pieces of + popular etymology which take place so soon as the true origin of a name + is forgotten<a name="NtA41" href="#Nt41"><sup>[41]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Leire has, then, a much better claim than Roskilde to being the site + of Heorot: and geographical considerations confirm this. For Heorot is + clearly imagined by the poet of <i>Beowulf</i> as being some distance + inland; and this, whilst it suits admirably the position of Leire, is + quite inapplicable to Roskilde, which is situated on the sea at the head + of the Roskilde fjord<a name="NtA42" href="#Nt42"><sup>[42]</sup></a>. Of + course we must not expect to find the poet of <i>Beowulf</i>, or indeed + any epic poet, minutely exact in his geography. At the same time it is + clear that at the time <i>Beowulf</i> was written there were traditions + extant, dealing with the attack made upon Heorot by the ancestral foes of + the Danes, a tribe called the Heathobeardan. These accounts of the + fighting around Heorot must have preserved the general impression of its + situation, precisely as from the <i>Iliad</i> we know that Troy is + neither on the sea nor yet very remote from it. A poet would draw on his + imagination for details, but would hardly alter a feature like this.</p> + + <p>In these matters absolute certainty cannot be reached: but we may be + fairly sure that the spot where Hrothgar built his "Hart-Hall" and where + Hrothulf held that court to which the North ever after looked for its + pattern of chivalry was <!-- Page 20 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page20"></a>{20}</span>Leire, where the grave mounds rise out of + the waving cornfields<a name="NtA43" + href="#Nt43"><sup>[43]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section V. The Heathobeardan.</span></p> + + <p>Now, as <i>Beowulf</i> is the one long Old English poem which happens + to have been preserved, we, drawing our ideas of Old English story almost + exclusively from it, naturally think of Heorot as the scene of the fight + with Grendel.</p> + + <p>But in the short poem of <i>Widsith</i>, almost certainly older than + <i>Beowulf</i>, we have a catalogue of the characters of the Old English + heroic poetry. This catalogue is dry in itself, but is of the greatest + interest for the light it throws upon Old Germanic heroic legends and the + history behind them. And from <i>Widsith</i> it is clear that the rule of + Hrothgar and Hrothulf at Heorot and the attack of the Heathobeardan upon + them, rather than any story of monster-quelling, was what the old poets + more particularly associated with the name of Heorot. The passage in + <i>Widsith</i> runs:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"For a very long time did Hrothgar and Hrothwulf, uncle and nephew, + hold the peace together, after they had driven away the race of the + Vikings and humbled the array of Ingeld, had hewed down at Heorot the + host of the Heathobeardan."</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>The details of this war can be reconstructed, partly from the + allusions in <i>Beowulf</i>, partly from the Scandinavian accounts. The + Scandinavian versions are less primitive and historic. They have + forgotten all about the Heathobeardan as an independent tribe, and, + whilst remembering the names of the leading chieftains on both sides, + they see in them members of two rival branches of the Danish royal + house.</p> + + <p>We gather from <i>Beowulf</i> that for generations a blood feud has + raged between the Danes and the Heathobeardan. Nothing is told us in + <i>Beowulf</i> about the king Healfdene, except that he <!-- Page 21 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page21"></a>{21}</span>was fierce in + war and that he lived to be old. From the Scandinavian stories it seems + clear that he was concerned in the Heathobard feud. According to some + later Scandinavian accounts he was slain by Frothi (=Froda, whom we know + from <i>Beowulf</i> to have been king of the Heathobeardan) and this may + well have been the historic fact<a name="NtA44" + href="#Nt44"><sup>[44]</sup></a>. How Hroar and Helgi (Hrothgar and + Halga), the sons of Halfdan (Healfdene), evaded the pursuit of Frothi, we + learn from the Scandinavian tales; whether the Old English story knew + anything of their hair-breadth escapes we cannot tell. Ultimately, the + saga tells us, Hroar and Helgi, in revenge for their father's death, + burnt the hall over the head of his slayer, Frothi<a name="NtA45" + href="#Nt45"><sup>[45]</sup></a>. To judge from the hints in + <i>Beowulf</i>, it would rather seem that the Old English tradition + represented this vengeance upon Froda as having been inflicted in a + pitched battle. The eldest brother Heorogar—known only to the + English story—perhaps took his share in this feat. But, after his + brothers Heorogar and Halga were dead, Hrothgar, left alone, and fearing + vengeance in his turn, strove to compose the feud by wedding his daughter + Freawaru to Ingeld, the son of Froda. So much we learn from the report + which Beowulf gives, on his return home, to Hygelac, as to the state of + things at the Danish court.</p> + + <p>Beowulf is depicted as carrying a very sage head upon his young + shoulders, and he gives evidence of his astuteness by predicting<a + name="NtA46" href="#Nt46"><sup>[46]</sup></a> that the peace which + Hrothgar has purchased will not be lasting. Some Heathobard survivor of + the fight in which Froda fell, will, he thinks, see a young Dane in the + retinue of Freawaru proudly pacing the hall, wearing the treasures which + his father had won from the Heathobeardan. Then the old warrior will urge + on his younger comrade "Canst thou, my lord, tell the sword, the dear + iron, which thy father carried to the fight when he bore helm for the + last time, when the Danes slew him and had the victory? And now the son + <!-- Page 22 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page22"></a>{22}</span>of + one of these slayers paces the hall, proud of his arms, boasts of the + slaughter and wears the precious sword which thou by right shouldst + wield<a name="NtA47" href="#Nt47"><sup>[47]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>Such a reminder as this no Germanic warrior could long resist. So, + Beowulf thinks, the young Dane will be slain; Ingeld will cease to take + joy in his bride; and the old feud will break out afresh.</p> + + <p>That it did so we know from <i>Widsith</i>, and from the same source + we know that this Heathobard attack was repulsed by the combined strength + of Hrothgar and his nephew Hrothulf.</p> + + <p>But the tragic figure of Ingeld, hesitating between love for his + father and love for his wife, between the duty of vengeance and his + plighted word, was one which was sure to attract the interest of the old + heroic poets more even than those of the victorious uncle and nephew. In + the eighth century Alcuin, the Northumbrian, quotes Ingeld as the typical + hero of song. Writing to a bishop of Lindisfarne, he reproves the monks + for their fondness for the old stories about heathen kings, who are now + lamenting their sins in Hell: "in the Refectory," he says, "the Bible + should be read: the lector heard, not the harper: patristic sermons + rather than pagan songs. For what has Ingeld to do with Christ<a + name="NtA48" href="#Nt48"><sup>[48]</sup></a>?" This protest testifies + eloquently to the popularity of the Ingeld story, and further evidence is + possibly afforded by the fact that few heroes of story seem to have had + so many namesakes in Eighth Century England.</p> + + <p>What is emphasized in <i>Beowulf</i> is not so much the struggle in + the mind of Ingeld as the stern, unforgiving temper of the grim old + warrior who will not let the feud die down; and this is the case also + with the Danish versions, preserved to us in the Latin of Saxo + Grammaticus. In two songs (translated by Saxo into "delightful sapphics") + the old warrior Starcatherus stirs up Ingellus to his revenge:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"Why, Ingeld, buried in vice, dost thou delay to avenge thy father? + Wilt thou endure patiently the slaughter of thy righteous sire?...</p> + +<p><!-- Page 23 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page23"></a>{23}</span></p> + + <p>Whilst thou takest pleasure in honouring thy bride, laden with gems, + and bright with golden vestments, grief torments us, coupled with shame, + as we bewail thine infamies.</p> + + <p>Whilst headlong lust urges thee, our troubled mind recalls the fashion + of an earlier day, and admonishes us to grieve over many things.</p> + + <p>For we reckon otherwise than thou the crime of the foes, whom now thou + holdest in honour; wherefore the face of this age is a burden to me, who + have known the old ways.</p> + + <p>By nought more would I desire to be blessed, if, Froda, I might see + those guilty of thy murder paying the due penalty of such a crime<a + name="NtA49" href="#Nt49"><sup>[49]</sup></a>."</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Starkath came to be one of the best-known figures in Scandinavian + legend, the type of the fierce, unrelenting warrior. Even in death his + severed head bit the earth: or according to another version "the trunk + fought on when the head was gone<a name="NtA50" + href="#Nt50"><sup>[50]</sup></a>." Nor did the Northern imagination leave + him there. It loved to follow him below, and to indulge in conjectures as + to his bearing in the pit of Hell<a name="NtA51" + href="#Nt51"><sup>[51]</sup></a>.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>Who the Heathobeardan were is uncertain. It is frequently argued that + they are identical with the Longobardi; that the words <i>Heatho-Bard</i> + and <i>Long-Bard</i> correspond, just as we get sometimes + <i>Gar-Dene</i>, sometimes <i>Hring-Dene</i>. (So Heyne; Bremer in + <i>Pauls Grdr.</i> (2) <span class="scac">III</span>, 949 <i>etc.</i>) + The evidence for this is however unsatisfactory (see Chambers, + <i>Widsith</i>, 205). Since the year 186 <span class="scac">A.D.</span> + onwards the Longobardi were dwelling far inland, and were certainly never + in a position from which an attack upon the Danes would have been + practicable. If, therefore, we accept the identification of Heatho-Bard + and Long-Bard, we must suppose the Heathobeardan of <i>Beowulf</i> to + have been not the Longobardi of history, but a separate portion of the + people, which had been left behind on the shores of the Baltic, when the + main body went south. But as we have no evidence for any such offshoot + from the main tribe, it is misleading to speak of the Heathobeardan as + identical with the Longobardi: and although the similarity of one element + in the name suggests some primitive relationship, that relationship may + well have been exceedingly remote<a name="NtA52" + href="#Nt52"><sup>[52]</sup></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 24 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page24"></a>{24}</span></p> + + <p>It has further been proposed to identify the Heathobeardan with the + Heruli<a name="NtA53" href="#Nt53"><sup>[53]</sup></a>. The Heruli came + from the Scandinavian district, overran Europe, and became famous for + their valour, savagery, and value as light-armed troops. If the + Heathobeardan are identical with the Heruli, and if what we are told of + the customs of the Heruli is true, Freawaru was certainly to be pitied. + The Heruli were accustomed to put to death their sick and aged: and to + compel widows to commit suicide.</p> + + <p>The supposed identity of the Heruli with the Heathobeardan is however + very doubtful. It rests solely upon the statement of Jordanes that they + had been driven from their homes by the Danes (<i>Dani ... Herulos + propriis sedibus expulerunt</i>). This is inconclusive, since the growth + of the Danish power is likely enough to have led to collisions with more + than one tribe. In fact <i>Beowulf</i> tells us that Scyld "tore away the + mead benches from <i>many</i> a people." On the other hand the + dissimilarity of names is not conclusive evidence against the + identification, for the word <i>Heruli</i> is pretty certainly the same + as the Old English <i>Eorlas</i>, and is a complimentary nick-name + applied by the tribe to themselves, rather than their original racial + designation.</p> + + <p>Nothing, then, is really known of the Heathobeardan, except that + evidence points to their having dwelt somewhere on the Baltic<a + name="NtA54" href="#Nt54"><sup>[54]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>The Scandinavian sources which have preserved the memory of this feud + have transformed it in an extraordinary way. The Heathobeardan came to be + quite forgotten, although maybe some trace of their name remains in + <i>Hothbrodd</i>, who is represented as the foe of Roe (Hrothgar) and + Rolf (Hrothulf). When the Heathobeardan were forgotten, Froda and Ingeld + were left without any subjects, and naturally came to be regarded, like + Healfdene and the other kings with whom they were associated in story, as + Danish kings. Accordingly the tale developed in Scandinavian lands in two + ways. Some documents, and especially the Icelandic ones<a name="NtA55" + href="#Nt55"><sup>[55]</sup></a>, represent the struggle as a feud + between two branches of the Danish royal house. Even here there is no + agreement who is the usurper and who the victim, so that sometimes it is + Froda and sometimes Healfdene who is represented as the traitor and + murderer.</p> + + <p>But another version<a name="NtA56" + href="#Nt56"><sup>[56]</sup></a>—the Danish—whilst making + Froda and Ingeld into Danish kings, separates their story altogether from + that of Healfdene and his house: in this version the quarrel is still + thought of as being between two nations, not as between the rightful heir + to the throne and a treacherous and relentless usurper. Accordingly the + feud is such as may be, at any rate temporarily, laid aside: peace + between the contending parties is not out of the question. This version + therefore preserves much more of the original character of the story, for + it remains the tale of a young prince who, willing to marry into the + house of his ancestral foes and to forgive and forget the old feud, is + stirred by his more unrelenting henchman into taking vengeance for his + father. But, owing to the prince having come to be represented as a Dane, + patriotic reasons have suggested to the <!-- Page 25 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page25"></a>{25}</span>Danish poets and + historians a quite different conclusion to the story. Instead of being + routed, Ingeld, in Saxo, is successful in his revenge.</p> + + <p>See Neckel, <i>Studien über Froði</i> in <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XLVIII</span>, 182: Heusler, <i>Zur Skiöldungendichtung</i> + in <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XLVIII</span>, 57: Olrik, + <i>Skjoldungasaga</i>, 1894, 112 [30]; Olrik, <i>Heltedigtning</i>, + <span class="scac">II</span>, 11 <i>etc.</i>: Olrik, <i>Sakses + Oldhistorie</i>, 222-6: Chambers, <i>Widsith</i>, pp. 79-81.]</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section VI. Hrothulf.</span></p> + + <p>Yet, although the Icelandic sources are wrong in representing Froda + and Ingeld as Danes, they are not altogether wrong in representing the + Danish royal house as divided against itself. Only they fail to place the + blame where it really lay. For none of the Scandinavian sources attribute + any act of injustice or usurpation to Rolf Kraki. He is the ideal king, + and his title to the throne is not supposed to be doubtful.</p> + + <p>Yet we saw that, in <i>Beowulf</i>, the position of Hrothulf is + represented as an ambiguous one<a name="NtA57" + href="#Nt57"><sup>[57]</sup></a>, he is the king's too powerful nephew, + whose claims may prejudice those of his less distinguished young cousins, + the king's sons, and the speech of queen Wealhtheow is heavy with + foreboding. "I know," she says, "that my gracious Hrothulf will support + the young princes in honour, if thou, King of the Scyldings, shouldst + leave the world sooner than he. I ween that he will requite our children, + if he remembers all which we two have done for his pleasure and honour, + being yet a child<a name="NtA58" href="#Nt58"><sup>[58]</sup></a>." + Whilst Hrethric and Hrothmund, the sons of King Hrothgar, have to sit + with the juniors, the <i>giogoth</i><a name="NtA59" + href="#Nt59"><sup>[59]</sup></a>, Hrothulf is a man of tried valour, who + sits side by side with the king: "where the two good ones sat, uncle and + nephew: <i>as yet</i> was there peace between them, and each was true to + the other<a name="NtA60" href="#Nt60"><sup>[60]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>Again we have mention of "Hrothgar and Hrothulf. Heorot was filled + full of friends: <i>at that time</i> the mighty Scylding folk in no wise + worked treachery<a name="NtA61" href="#Nt61"><sup>[61]</sup></a>." + Similarly in <i>Widsith</i> the mention of Hrothgar and Hrothulf together + seems to stir the poet to dark sayings. "<i>For a very long time</i> did + Hrothgar and Hrothulf, uncle and nephew, hold the peace together<a + name="NtA62" href="#Nt62"><sup>[62]</sup></a>."</p> + +<p><!-- Page 26 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page26"></a>{26}</span></p> + + <p>The statement that "as yet" or "for a very long time" or "at that + time" there was peace within the family, necessarily implies that, at + last, the peace <i>was</i> broken, that Hrothulf quarrelled with + Hrothgar, or strove to set aside his sons<a name="NtA63" + href="#Nt63"><sup>[63]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Further evidence is hardly needed; yet further evidence we have: by + rather complicated, but quite unforced, fitting together of various + Scandinavian authorities, we find that Hrothulf deposed and slew his + cousin Hrethric.</p> + + <p>Saxo Grammaticus tells us how Roluo (Rolf = O.N. Hrolfr, O.E. + Hrothulf) slew a certain Røricus (or Hrærek = O.E. Hrethric) and gave to + his own followers all the plunder which he found in the city of Røricus. + Saxo is here translating an older authority, the <i>Bjarkamál</i> (now + lost), and he did not know who Røricus was: he certainly did not regard + him as a son or successor of Roe (Hrothgar) or as a cousin of Roluo + (Hrothulf). "Roluo, who laid low Røricus <i>the son of the covetous + Bøkus</i>" is Saxo's phrase (<i>qui natum Bøki Røricum stravit + avari</i>). This would be a translation of some such phrase in the + <i>Bjarkamál</i> as <i>Hræreks bani hnøggvanbauga</i>, "the slayer of + Hrærek Hnoggvanbaugi<a name="NtA64" + href="#Nt64"><sup>[64]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>But, when we turn to the genealogy of the Danish kings<a name="NtA65" + href="#Nt65"><sup>[65]</sup></a>, we actually find a <i>Hrærekr + Hnauggvanbaugi</i> given as a king of Denmark about the time of Roluo. + This <i>Røricus</i> or <i>Hrærekr</i> who was slain by Roluo was then, + himself, a king of the Danes, and must, therefore, have preceded Roluo on + the throne. But in that case Røricus <i>must</i> be son of Roe, and + identical with his namesake Hrethric, the son of Hrothgar, in + <i>Beowulf</i>. For no one but a son of King Roe could have had such a + claim to the throne as to rule between that king and his all powerful + nephew Roluo<a href="#Nt65"><sup>[65]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>It is difficult, perhaps, to state this argument in a way which will + be convincing to those who are not acquainted with Saxo's method of + working. To those who realize how he treats <!-- Page 27 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page27"></a>{27}</span>his sources, it will be + clear that Røricus is the son of Roe, and is slain by Roluo. Translating + the words into their Old English equivalents, Hrethric, son of Hrothgar, + is slain by Hrothulf.</p> + + <p>The forebodings of Wealhtheow were justified.</p> + + <p>Hrethric is then almost certainly an actual historic prince who was + thrust from the throne by Hrothulf. Of Hrothmund<a name="NtA66" + href="#Nt66"><sup>[66]</sup></a>, his brother, Scandinavian authorities + seem to know nothing. He is very likely a poetical fiction, a duplicate + of Hrethric. For it is very natural that in story the princes whose lives + are threatened by powerful usurpers should go in pairs. Hrethric and + Hrothmund go together like Malcolm and Donalbain. Their helplessness is + thus emphasized over against the one mighty figure, Rolf or Macbeth, + threatening them<a name="NtA67" href="#Nt67"><sup>[67]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Yet this does not prove Hrothmund unhistoric. On the contrary it may + well happen that the facts of history will coincide with the demands of + well-ordered narrative, as was the case when Richard of Gloucester + murdered <i>two</i> young princes in the Tower.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>Two other characters, who meet us in <i>Beowulf</i>, seem to have some + part to play in this tragedy.</p> + + <p>It was a maxim of the old Teutonic poetry, as it is of the British + Constitution, that the king could do no wrong: the real fault lay with + the adviser. If Ermanaric the Goth slew his wife and his son, or if + Irminfrid the Thuringian unwisely challenged Theodoric the Frank to + battle, this was never supposed to be due solely to the recklessness of + the monarch himself—it was the work of an evil counsellor—a + Bikki or an Iring. Now we have seen that there is mischief brewing in + Heorot—and we are introduced to a counsellor Unferth, the + <i>thyle</i> or official spokesman and adviser of King Hrothgar. And + Unferth is evil. His jealous temper is shown by the hostile and + inhospitable reception which he gives to Beowulf. And Beowulf's reply + gives us a hint of some darker stain: "though <!-- Page 28 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page28"></a>{28}</span>thou hast been the slayer + of thine own brethren—thy flesh and blood: for that thou shalt + suffer damnation in hell, good though thy wit may be<a name="NtA68" + href="#Nt68"><sup>[68]</sup></a>." One might perhaps think that Beowulf + in these words was only giving the "countercheck quarrelsome," and + indulging in mere reckless abuse, just as Sinfjotli (the Fitela of + <i>Beowulf</i>) in the <i>First Helgi Lay</i> hurls at his foes all kinds + of outrageous charges assuredly not meant to be taken literally. But, as + we learn from the <i>Helgi Lay</i> itself, the uttering of such unfounded + taunts was not considered good form; whilst it seems pretty clear that + the speech of Beowulf to Unferth is intended as an example of justifiable + and spirited self-defence, not, like the speech of Sinfjotli, as a + storehouse of things which a well-mannered warrior should <i>not</i> + say.</p> + + <p>Besides, the taunt of Beowulf is confirmed, although but darkly, by + the poet himself, in the same passage in which he has recorded the fears + of Wealhtheow lest perhaps Hrothulf should not be loyal to Hrothgar and + his issue: "Likewise there Unferth the counsellor sat at the foot of the + lord of the Scyldingas: each of them [i.e. both Hrothgar and Hrothulf] + trusted to his spirit: that his courage was great, <i>though he had not + done his duty by his kinsmen at the sword-play</i><a name="NtA69" + href="#Nt69"><sup>[69]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>But, granting that Unferth has really been the cause of the death of + his kinsmen, some scholars have doubted whether we are to suppose that he + literally slew them himself. For, had that been the case, they urge, he + could not be occupying a place of trust with the almost ideal king + Hrothgar. But the record of the historians makes it quite clear that + murder of kin did happen, and that constantly<a name="NtA70" + href="#Nt70"><sup>[70]</sup></a>. Amid the tragic complexities of heroic + life it often could not be avoided. The <i>comitatus</i>-system, by which + a man was expected to give unflinching support to any chief whose service + he had entered, must often have resulted in slaughter between men united + by very close bonds of kin or friendship. Turning from history to saga, + we find some of the greatest heroes not free from the stain. Sigmund, + <!-- Page 29 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page29"></a>{29}</span>Gunnar, Hogni, Atli, Hrothulf, Heoroweard, + Hnæf, Eadgils, Hæthcyn, Ermanaric and Hildebrand were all marred with + this taint, and indeed were, in many cases, rather to be pitied than + blamed. I doubt, therefore, whether we need try and save Unferth's + character by suggesting that the stern words of the poet mean only that + he had indirectly caused the death of his brethren by failing them, in + battle, at some critical moment<a name="NtA71" + href="#Nt71"><sup>[71]</sup></a>. I suspect that this, involving + cowardice or incompetence, would have been held the more unpardonable + offence, and <i>would</i> have resulted in Unferth's disgrace. But a man + might well have slain his kin under circumstances which, while leaving a + blot on his record, did not necessitate his banishment from good society. + All the same, the poet evidently thinks it a weakness on the part of + Hrothgar and Hrothulf that, after what has happened, they still put their + trust in Unferth.</p> + + <p>Here then is the situation. The king has a counsellor: that counsellor + is evil. Both the king and his nephew trust the evil counsellor. A bitter + feud springs up between the king and his nephew. That the feud was due to + the machinations of the evil adviser can hardly be doubted by those who + have studied the ways of the old Germanic heroic story. But it is only an + inference: positive proof we have none.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>Lastly, there is Heoroweard. Of him we are told in <i>Beowulf</i> very + little. He is son of Heorogar (or Heregar), Hrothgar's elder brother, who + was apparently king before him, but died young<a name="NtA72" + href="#Nt72"><sup>[72]</sup></a>. It is quite natural, as we have seen, + that, if Heoroweard was too young for the responsibility when his father + died, he should not have succeeded to the throne. What is not so natural + is that he does not inherit his father's arms, which one might reasonably + have supposed Hrothgar would have preserved, to give to him when he came + of age. Instead, Hrothgar gives them to Beowulf<a name="NtA73" + href="#Nt73"><sup>[73]</sup></a>. Does Hrothgar deliberately avoid doing + honour to Heoroweard, because he fears that any distinction conferred + upon him would strengthen a rival <!-- Page 30 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page30"></a>{30}</span>whose claims to the + throne might endanger those of his own sons? However this may be, in any + future struggle for the throne Heoroweard may reasonably be expected to + play some part.</p> + + <p>Turning now to Saxo, and to the <i>Saga of Rolf Kraki</i>, we find + that Rolf owed his death to the treachery of one whose name corresponds + exactly to that of Heoroweard—Hiarwarus (Saxo), Hjǫrvarthr + (<i>Saga</i>). Neither Saxo nor the <i>Saga</i> thinks of Hiarwarus as + the cousin of Rolf Kraki: they do not make it really clear <i>what</i> + the cause of his enmity was. But they tell us that, after a banquet, he + and his men treacherously rose upon Rolf and his warriors. The defence + which Rolf and his men put up in their burning hall: the loyalty and + defiance of Rolf's champions, invincible in death—these were + amongst the most famous things of the North; they were told in the + <i>Bjarkamál</i>, now unfortunately extant in Saxo's paraphrase only.</p> + + <p>But the triumph of Hiarwarus was brief. Rolf's men all fell around + him, save the young Wiggo, who had previously, in the confidence of + youth, boasted that, should Rolf fall, he would avenge him. Astonished at + the loyalty of Rolf's champions, Hiarwarus expressed regret that none had + taken quarter, declaring that he would gladly accept the service of such + men. Whereupon Wiggo came from the hiding-place where he had taken + refuge, and offered to do homage to Hiarwarus, by placing his hand on the + hilt of his new lord's sword: but in doing so he drove the point through + Hiarwarus, and rejoiced as he received his death from the attendants of + the foe he had slain. It shows how entirely the duty of vengeance was + felt to outweigh all other considerations, that this treacherous act of + Wiggo is always spoken of with the highest praise.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>For the story of the fall of Rolf and his men see Saxo, Book <span + class="scac">II</span> (ed. Holder, pp. 55-68): <i>Saga of Rolf + Kraki</i>, caps. 32-34: <i>Skjoldunga Saga</i> (ed. Olrik, 1894, 36-7 + [118-9]).</p> + + <p>How the feud between the different members of the Danish family forms + the background to <i>Beowulf</i> was first explained in full detail by + Ludvig Schrøder (<i>Om Bjovulfs-drapen. Efter en række foredrag på + folke-höjskolen i Askov</i>, Kjøbenhavn, 1875). Schrøder showed how the + bad character of Unferth has its part to play: "It is a <i>weakness</i> + in Hrothgar that he entrusts important office to such a man—a <!-- + Page 31 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page31"></a>{31}</span>weakness + which will carry its punishment." Independently the domestic feud was + demonstrated again by Sarrazin (<i>Rolf Krake und sein vetter im + Beowulfliede</i>: <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XXIV</span>, + 144-5). The story has been fully worked out by Olrik + (<i>Heltedigtning</i>, 1903, <span class="scac">I</span>, 11-18 + <i>etc.</i>).</p> + + <p>These views have been disputed by Miss Clarke (<i>Sidelights</i>, + 102), who seems to regard as "hypotheses" of Olrik data which have been + ascertained facts for more than a generation. Miss Clarke's contentions, + however, appear to me to be based upon a misunderstanding of Olrik.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section VII. King Offa.</span></p> + + <p>The poem, then, is mainly concerned with the deeds of Geatic and + Danish kings: only once is reference made to a king of Anglian + stock—Offa.</p> + + <p>The <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i> tells us of several kings named Offa, + but two only concern us here. Still remembered is the historic + tyrant-king who reigned over Mercia during the latter half of the eighth + century, and who was celebrated through the Middle Ages chiefly as the + founder of the great abbey of St Albans. This Offa is sometimes referred + to as Offa <i>the Second</i>, because he had a remote ancestor, Offa I, + who, if the Mercian pedigree can be trusted, lived twelve generations + earlier, and therefore presumably in the latter half of the fourth + century. Offa I, then, must have ruled over the Angles whilst they were + still dwelling in Angel, their continental home, in or near the modern + Schleswig.</p> + + <p>Now the Offa mentioned in <i>Beowulf</i> is spoken of as related to + Garmund and Eomer (<span class="scac">MS</span> <i>geomor</i>). This, + apart from the abundant further evidence, is sufficient to identify him + with Offa I, who was, according to the pedigree, the son of Wærmund and + the grandfather of Eomer.</p> + + <p>This Offa I, king of Angel, is referred to in <i>Widsith</i>. + <i>Widsith</i> is a composite poem: the passage concerning Offa, though + not the most obviously primitive portion of it, is, nevertheless, early: + it may well be earlier than <i>Beowulf</i>. After a list of famous + chieftains we are told:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>Offa ruled Angel, Alewih the Danes; he was the boldest of all these + men, yet did he not in his deeds of valour surpass Offa. But Offa gained, + first of men, by arms the greatest of kingdoms whilst yet a boy; no one + of equal age ever did greater deeds of valour in battle with his single + sword: he drew the boundary against the Myrgingas at Fifeldor. The + boundaries were held afterwards by the Angles and the Swæfe as Offa + struck it out.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p><!-- Page 32 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page32"></a>{32}</span></p> + + <p>Much is obscure here: more particularly our ignorance as to the + Myrgingas is to be regretted: but there is reason for thinking that they + were a people dwelling to the south of the old continental home of the + Angles.</p> + + <p>After the lapse of some five centuries, we get abundant further + information concerning Offa. The legends about him, though carried to + England by the Anglian conquerors, must also have survived in the + neighbourhood of his old kingdom of Angel: for as Angel was incorporated + into the Danish kingdom, so these stories became part of the stock of + Danish national legend. Offa came to be regarded as a Danish king, and + his story is told at length by the two earliest historians of Denmark, + Sweyn Aageson and Saxo Grammaticus. In Saxo the story runs thus:</p> + + <p>Wermund, king of Denmark, had a son Uffo [Offa], tall beyond the + measure of his age, but dull and speechless. When Wermund grew blind, his + southern neighbour, the king of Saxony, laid claim to Denmark on the + ground that he was no longer fit to rule, and, relying upon Uffo's + incapacity, suggested that the quarrel should be decided by their two + sons in single combat. Wermund, in despair, offered himself to fight, in + spite of his blindness: this offer the envoys of the Saxon king refused + with insult, and the Danes knew not what to say. Thereupon Uffo, who + happened to be present, suddenly asked leave to speak. Wermund could not + believe that it was really his son who had spoken, but when they all + assured him that it <i>was</i>, he gave the permission. "In vain," then + said Uffo, "does the king of Saxony covet the land of Denmark, which + trusts to its true king and its brave nobles: neither is a son wanting to + the king nor a successor to the kingdom." And he offered to fight not + only the Saxon prince, but any chosen champion the prince might bring + with him.</p> + + <p>The Saxon envoys accepted the offer and departed. The blind king was + at last convinced, by passing his hands over him, that the speaker had + been in truth his son. But it was found difficult to arm him; for his + broad chest split the rings of every coat of mail: the largest, his + father's, had to be cleft down the side and fastened with a clasp. + Likewise no sword <!-- Page 33 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page33"></a>{33}</span>was so well tempered that he did not shatter + it by merely brandishing it, till the old king directed his men how they + might find his ancient sword, <i>Skrep</i> (= ? stedfast) which he had + buried, in despair, thinking his son unworthy of it. The sword, when + found, was so frail from age that Uffo did not test it: for Wermund told + him that, if he broke it, there was no other left strong enough for + him.</p> + + <p>So Uffo and his two antagonists were taken to the place of combat, an + island in the river Eider. Crowds lined either bank, and Wermund stood + prepared to throw himself into the river should his son be slain. Uffo + held back at first, till he had discovered which of his antagonists was + the more dangerous, since he feared the sword would only be good for one + blow. Then, having by his taunts induced the champion to come to close + quarters, he clove him asunder with one stroke. Wermund cried out that he + had heard the sound of his son's sword, and asked where the blow had + fallen: his attendants assured him that it had pierced, not any + particular part, but the man's whole structure.</p> + + <p>So Wermund drew back from the edge, desiring life now as keenly as + before he had longed for death. Finally Uffo smote his second antagonist + through, thus opening a career which after such a beginning we may well + believe to have been glorious.</p> + + <p>The story is told again by Sweyn Aageson in a slightly varying form. + Sweyn's story has some good traits of its own—as when it makes Uffo + enter the lists girt with <i>two</i> swords, intending to use his + father's only in an emergency. The worthless sword breaks, and all the + Danes quake for fear: whereupon Uffo draws the old sword and achieves the + victory. But above all Sweyn Aageson tells us the <i>reason</i> of Uffo's + dumbness and incapacity, which Saxo leaves obscure: it was the result of + shame over the deeds of two Danes who had combined to avenge their father + upon a single foe. What is the incident referred to we can gather from + Saxo. Two Danes, Keto and Wigo, whose father Frowinus had been slain by a + hostile king Athislus, attacked Athislus together, two to one, thus + breaking the laws of the duel. Uffo had wedded the sister of <!-- Page 34 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page34"></a>{34}</span>Keto and Wigo, + and it was in order to wipe out the stain left upon his family and his + nation by their breach of duelling etiquette that he insisted upon + fighting single-handed against two opponents.</p> + + <p>That this incident was also known in England is rendered probable by + the fact that Freawine and Wig, who correspond to Saxo's Frowinus and + Wiggo, are found in the genealogy of English kings, and that an Eadgils, + king of the Myrgingas, who is almost certainly the Athislus of Saxo<a + name="NtA74" href="#Nt74"><sup>[74]</sup></a>, also appears in Old + English heroic poetry. It is probable then that the two tales were + connected in Old English story: the two brethren shamefully combine to + avenge their father: in due time the family of the slain foe take up the + feud: Offa saves his country and his country's honour by voluntarily + undertaking to fight one against two.</p> + + <p>About the same time that the Danish ecclesiastics were at work, a monk + of St Albans was committing to Latin the English stories which were still + current concerning Offa. The object of the English writer was, however, + local rather than national. He wrote the <i>Vitae duorum Offarum</i> to + celebrate the historic Offa, king of Mercia, the founder of his abbey, + and that founder's ancestor, Offa I: popular tradition had confused the + two, and much is told concerning the Mercian Offa that seems to belong + more rightly to his forefather. The St Albans writer drew upon + contemporary tradition, and it is evident that in certain cases, as when + he gives two sets of names to some of the chief actors in the story, he + is trying to harmonize two distinct versions: he makes at least one error + which seems to point to a written source<a name="NtA75" + href="#Nt75"><sup>[75]</sup></a>. In one of the <span + class="scac">MSS</span> the story is illustrated by a series of very + artistic drawings, which might possibly be from the pen of Matthew Paris + himself<a name="NtA76" href="#Nt76"><sup>[76]</sup></a>. These drawings + depict a version of the story which in some respects differs from the + Latin text which they accompany.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width:57%;"> + <a href="images/Beo3.jpg"><img style="width:100%" src="images/Beo3.jpg" + alt="Offa, miraculously restored" title="Offa, miraculously restored" /></a> + Offa, miraculously restored, vindicates his Right. At the side, Offa is + represented in Prayer + + <p class="cenhead"><i>From MS Cotton Nero D. I, fol. 2 b.</i></p> + </div> + +<p><!-- Page 35 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page35"></a>{35}</span></p> + + <p>The story is located in England. Warmundus is represented as a king of + the Western Angles, ruling at Warwick. Offa, his only son, was blind till + his seventh, dumb till his thirtieth year. Accordingly an ambitious + noble, Riganus, otherwise called Aliel, claims to be recognized heir, in + hope of gaining the throne for his son, Hildebrand (Brutus). Offa gains + the gift of speech in answer to prayer; to the joy of his father and the + councillors he vindicates his right, much as in the Danish story. He is + knighted with a chosen body of companions, armed, and leads the host to + meet the foe. He dashes across the river which separates the two armies, + although his followers hang back. This act of cowardice on their part is + not explained: it is apparently a reminiscence of an older version in + which Offa fights his duel single handed by the river, and his host look + on. The armies join battle, but after a long struggle draw away from each + other with the victory undecided. Offa remaining in front of his men is + attacked by Brutus (or Hildebrand) and Sueno, the sons of the usurper, + and slays them both (a second reminiscence of the duel-scene). He then + hurls himself again upon the foe, and wins the victory.</p> + + <p><i>Widsith</i> shows us that the Danish account has kept closer to the + primitive story than has later English tradition. <i>Widsith</i> confirms + the Danish view that the quarrel was with a foreign, not with a domestic + foe, and the combat a duel, not a pitched battle: above all, + <i>Widsith</i> confirms Saxo in representing the fight as taking place on + the Eider—<i>bī Fīfeldore</i><a name="NtA77" + href="#Nt77"><sup>[77]</sup></a>, whilst the account recorded by the monk + of St Albans had localised the story in England.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 36 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page36"></a>{36}</span></p> + + <p>In <i>Beowulf</i> too we hear of Offa as a mighty king, "the best of + all mankind betwixt the seas." But, although his wars are referred to, we + are given no details of them. The episode in <i>Beowulf</i> relates + rather to his wife Thryth, and his dealings with her. The passage is the + most obscure in the whole poem, but this at least is clear: Thryth had an + evil reputation for cruelty and murder: she wedded Offa, and he put a + stop to her evil deeds: she became to him a good and loyal wife.</p> + + <p>Now in the <i>Lives of the two Offas</i> quite a long space is devoted + to the matrimonial entanglements of both kings. Concerning Offa I, a tale + is told of how he succoured a daughter of the king of York, who had been + turned adrift by her father; how when his years were advancing his + subjects pressed him to marry: and how his mind went back to the damsel + whom he had saved, and he chose her for his wife. Whilst the king was + absent on his wars, a messenger whom he had sent with a letter to report + his victories passed through York, where the wicked father of Offa's + queen lived. A false letter was substituted, commanding that the queen + and her children should be mutilated and left to die in the woods, + because she was a witch and had brought defeat upon the king's arms. The + order was carried out, but a hermit rescued and healed the queen and her + children, and ultimately united them to the king.</p> + + <p>This is a popular folk-tale which is scattered all over Europe, and + which has many times been clothed in literary form: in France in the + romance of the <i>Manekine</i>, in English in the metrical romance of + <i>Emaré</i>, and in Chaucer's <i>Man of Lawes Tale</i>. From the name of + the heroine in the last of these versions, the tale is often known as the + <i>Constance</i>-story. But it is clear that this tale is not identical + with the obscure story of the wife of Offa, which is indicated in + <i>Beowulf</i>.</p> + + <p>When, however, we turn to the <i>Life of Offa II</i>, we do find a + very close parallel to the Thryth story.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width:56%;"> + <a href="images/Beo4.jpg"><img style="width:100%" src="images/Beo4.jpg" + alt="Drida (Thryth) arrives" title="Drida (Thryth) arrives" /></a> + Drida (Thryth) arrives in the land of King Offa, "in nauicula + armamentis carente" + + <p class="cenhead"><i>From MS Cotton Nero D. I, fol. 11a</i></p> + </div> + +<p><!-- Page 37 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page37"></a>{37}</span></p> + + <p>This tells how in the days of Charles the Great a certain beautiful + but wicked girl, related to that king, was condemned to death on account + of her crimes, but, from respect for her birth, was exposed instead in a + boat without sails or tackle, and driven ashore on the coast of King + Offa's land. Drida, as she said her name was, deceived the king by a tale + of injured innocence, and he committed her to the safe keeping of his + mother, the Countess Marcellina. Later, Offa fell in love with Drida, and + married her, after which she became known as <i>Quendrida</i>. But Drida + continued her evil courses and compassed the death of St Æthelbert, the + vassal king of East Anglia. In the end she was murdered by + robbers—a just punishment for her crimes—and her widowed + husband built the Abbey of St Albans as a thank-offering for her + death.</p> + + <p>The parallel here is too striking to be denied: for Drida is but + another way of spelling Thryth, and the character of the murderous queen + is the same in both stories. There are, however, striking differences: + for whereas Thryth ceases from her evil deeds and becomes a model wife to + Offa, Drida continues on her course of crime, and is cut off by violence + in the midst of her evil career. How are we to account for the parallels + and for the discrepancies?</p> + + <p>As a matter of historical fact, the wife of Offa, king of Mercia, + <i>was</i> named (not indeed Cwœnthryth, which is the form which + should correspond to Quendrida, but) Cynethryth. The most obvious and + facile way of accounting for the likeness between what we are told in + <i>Beowulf</i> of the queen of Offa I, and what we are elsewhere told of + the queen of Offa II, is to suppose that Thryth in <i>Beowulf</i> is a + mere fiction evolved from the historic Cynethryth, wife of Offa II, and + by poetic licence represented as the wife of his ancestor, Offa I. It was + in this way she was explained by Professor Earle:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>The name [Thrytho] was suggested by that of Cynethryth, Offa's + queen.... The vindictive character here given to Thrytho is a poetic and + veiled admonition addressed to Cynethryth<a name="NtA78" + href="#Nt78"><sup>[78]</sup></a>.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Unfortunately this, like many another facile theory, is open to fatal + objections. In the first place the poem of <i>Beowulf</i> can, with fair + certainty, be attributed to a date <i>earlier</i> than that at which the + historic Offa and his spouse lived. Of course, it may be said that the + Offa episode in <i>Beowulf</i> is an interpolation of a later date. But + this needs proof.</p> + + <p>There are metrical and above all syntactical grounds <!-- Page 38 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page38"></a>{38}</span>which have led + most scholars to place <i>Beowulf</i> very early<a name="NtA79" + href="#Nt79"><sup>[79]</sup></a>. If we wish to regard the + <i>Offa-Thryth</i>-episode as a later interpolation, we ought first to + prove that it is later in its syntax and metre. We have no right to + assume that the episode is an interpolation merely because such an + assumption may suit our theory of the development of <i>Beowulf</i>. So + until reasons are forthcoming for supposing the episode of Thryth to be + later than the rest of the poem, we can but note that what we know of the + date of <i>Beowulf</i> forbids us to accept Earle's theory that Thryth is + a reflection of, or upon, the historic Cynethryth.</p> + + <p>But there are difficulties in the way of Earle's theory even more + serious than the chronological one. We know nothing very definitely about + the wife of Offa II, except her name, but from a reference in a letter of + Alcuin it seems clear that she was a woman of marked piety: it is not + likely that she could have been guilty of deliberate murder of the kind + represented in the <i>Life of Offa II</i>. The St Albans <i>Life</i> + depends, so far as we know, upon the traditions which were current four + centuries after her death. There may be, there doubtless are, some + historic facts concerning Offa preserved in it: but we have no reason to + think that the bad character of Offa's queen is one of them. Indeed, on + purely intrinsic grounds we might well suppose the reverse. As a matter + of history we know that Offa <i>did</i> put to death Æthelberht, the + vassal king of East Anglia. When in the <i>Life</i> we find Offa + completely exonerated, and the deed represented as an assassination + brought about by the malice and cruelty of his queen, it seems + intrinsically likely that we are dealing with an attempt of the monks to + clear their founder by transferring his cruel deeds to the account of his + wife.</p> + + <p>So far, then, from Thryth being a reflection of an historic cruel + queen Cynethryth, it is more probable that the influence has been in the + reverse direction; that the pious Cynethryth has been represented as a + monster of cruelty because she has not unnaturally been confused with a + mythical Thryth, the wife of Offa I.</p> + + <p>To this it may be objected that we have no right to assume remarkable + coincidences, and that such a coincidence is <!-- Page 39 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page39"></a>{39}</span>involved by the + assumption that there was a story of a mythical Thryth, the wife of Offa + I, and that this existed prior to, and independently of, the actual + wedding of Offa II to a Cynethryth. But the exceeding frequency of the + element <i>thryth</i> in the names of women robs this objection of all + its point. Such a coincidence, far from being remarkable, would be the + most natural in the world. If we look at the Mercian pedigree we find + that almost half the ladies connected with it have that element + <i>thryth</i> in their names. The founder of the house, Wihtlæg, + according to Saxo Grammaticus<a name="NtA80" + href="#Nt80"><sup>[80]</sup></a>, wedded Hermuthruda, the old English + form of which would be Eormenthryth.</p> + + <p>It is to this lady Hermuthruda that we must now devote our attention. + She belongs to a type which is common in folk-tale down to the time of + Hans Andersen—the cruel princess who puts her lovers to death + unless they can vanquish her in some way, worsting her in a contest of + wits, such as the guessing of riddles, or a contest of strength, such as + running, jumping, or wrestling. The stock example of this perilous maiden + is, of course, for classical story Atalanta, for Germanic tradition the + Brunhilt of the <i>Nibelungen Lied</i>, who demands from her wooer that + he shall surpass her in all three feats; if he fails in one, his head is + forfeit<a name="NtA81" href="#Nt81"><sup>[81]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Of this type was Hermuthruda: "in the cruelty of her arrogance she had + always loathed her wooers, and inflicted upon them the supreme + punishment, so that out of many there was not one but paid for his + boldness with his head<a name="NtA82" href="#Nt82"><sup>[82]</sup></a>," + words which remind us strongly of what our poet says of Thryth.</p> + + <p>Hamlet (Amlethus) is sent by the king of Britain to woo this maiden + for him: but she causes Hamlet's shield and the commission to be stolen + while he sleeps: she learns from the shield that the messenger is the + famous and valiant Hamlet, and alters the commission so that her hand is + requested, not for the king of Britain, but for Hamlet himself. With this + request she complies, and the wedding is celebrated. But when Wihtlæg + (Vigletus) conquers and slays Hamlet, she weds the conqueror, thus + becoming ancestress of Offa.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 40 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page40"></a>{40}</span></p> + + <p>It may well be that there is some connection between the Thryth of + <i>Beowulf</i> and the Hermuthruda who in Saxo weds Offa's + ancestor—that they are both types of the wild maiden who becomes a + submissive though not always happy wife. If so, the continued wickedness + of Drida in the <i>Life of Offa II</i> would be an alteration of the + original story, made in order to exonerate Offa II from the deeds of + murder which, as a matter of history, did characterize his reign.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<p><!-- Page 41 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page41"></a>{41}</span></p> + +<h3>CHAPTER II</h3> + +<p class="cenhead">THE NON-HISTORICAL ELEMENTS</p> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section I. The Grendel Fight.</span></p> + + <p>When we come to the story of Beowulf's struggle with Grendel, with + Grendel's mother, and with the dragon, we are faced by difficulties much + greater than those which meet us when considering that background of + Danish or Geatic history in which these stories are framed.</p> + + <p>In the first place, it is both surprising and confusing that, in the + prologue, before the main story begins, <i>another</i> Beowulf is + introduced, the son of Scyld Scefing. Much emphasis is laid upon the + upbringing and youthful fame of this prince, and the glory of his father. + Any reader would suppose that the poet is going on to tell of <i>his</i> + adventures, when suddenly the story is switched off, and, after brief + mention of this Beowulf's son, Healfdene, we come to Hrothgar, the + building of Heorot, Grendel's attack, and the voyage of Beowulf the Geat + to the rescue.</p> + + <p>Now "Beowulf" is an exceedingly rare name. The presence of the earlier + Beowulf, Scyld's son, seems then to demand explanation, and many critics, + working on quite different lines, have arrived independently at the + conclusion that either the story of Grendel and his mother, or the story + of the dragon, or both stories, were originally told of the son of Scyld, + and only afterwards transferred to the Geatic hero. This has indeed been + generally accepted, almost from the beginning of <!-- Page 42 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page42"></a>{42}</span>Beowulf criticism<a + name="NtA83" href="#Nt83"><sup>[83]</sup></a>. Yet, though possible + enough, it does not admit of any demonstration.</p> + + <p>Now Beowulf, son of Scyld, clearly corresponds to a Beow or Beaw in + the West Saxon genealogy. In this genealogy Beow is always connected with + Scyld and Scef, and in some versions the relations are identical with + those given in <i>Beowulf</i>: Beow, son of Scyld, son of Scef, in the + genealogies<a name="NtA84" href="#Nt84"><sup>[84]</sup></a>, + corresponding to Beowulf, son of Scyld Scefing, in our poem. Hence arose + the further speculation of many scholars that the hero who slays the + monsters was originally called, not Beowulf, but Beow, and that he was + identical with the hero in the West Saxon pedigree; in other words, that + the original story was of a hero Beow (son of Scyld) who slew a monster + and a dragon: and that this adventure was only subsequently transferred + to Beowulf, prince of the Geatas.</p> + + <p>This is a theory based upon a theory, and some confirmation may + reasonably be asked, before it is entertained. As to the dragon-slaying, + the confirmatory evidence is open to extreme doubt. It is dealt with in + Section <span class="scac">VII</span> (Beowulf-Frotho), below. As to + Grendel, one such piece of confirmation there is. The conquering Angles + and Saxons seem to have given the names of their heroes to the lands they + won in England: some such names—'Wade's causeway,' 'Weyland's + smithy'—have survived to modern times. The evidence of the + Anglo-Saxon charters shows that very many which have now been lost + existed in England prior to the Conquest. Now in a Wiltshire charter of + the year 931, we have <i>Bēowan hammes hecgan</i> mentioned not far + from a <i>Grendles mere</i>. This has been claimed as evidence that the + story of Grendel, with Beow as his adversary, was localized in Wiltshire + in the reign of Athelstan, and perhaps had been localized there since the + settlement four centuries previously. Until recently this was accepted as + definitely <!-- Page 43 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page43"></a>{43}</span>proving that the Beowulf-Grendel story was + derived from an ancient Beow-myth. Yet one such instance of + name-association is not conclusive. We cannot leave out of consideration + the possibility of its being a mere chance coincidence, especially + considering how large is the number of place names recorded in Old + English charters. Of late, people have become more sceptical in drawing + inferences from proper names, and quite recently there has been a + tendency entirely to overlook the evidence of the charter, by way of + making compensation for having hitherto overrated it.</p> + + <p>All that can be said with certainty is that it <i>is</i> remarkable + that a place named after Beowa should be found in the immediate proximity + of a "Grendel's lake," and that this fact supports the possibility, + though it assuredly does not prove, that in the oldest versions of the + tale the monster queller was named Beow, not Beowulf. But it is only a + possibility: it is not grounded upon any real evidence.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>These crucial references occur in a charter given by Athelstan at + Luton, concerning a grant of land at Ham in Wiltshire to his thane + Wulfgar. [See Birch, <i>Cartularium Saxonicum</i>, 1887, vol. <span + class="scac">II</span>, p. 363.]</p> + + <p>... Ego Æðelstanus, rex Anglorum ... quandam telluris particulam meo + fideli ministro Wulfgaro ... in loco quem solicolae <i>œt Hamme</i> + vocitant tribuo ... Praedicta siquidem tellus his terminis circumcincta + clarescit....</p> + + <p>ðonne norð ofer dūne on mēos-hlinc westeweardne; ðonne + adūne on ðā yfre on bēowan hammes hecgan, on + brēmeles sceagan ēasteweardne; ðonne on ðā blācan + grǣfan; ðonne norð be ðēm ondhēafdan tō + ðǣre scortan dīc būtan ānan æcre; ðonne tō + fugelmere tō ðān wege; ondlong weges tō ottes forda; + ðonon tō wudumere; ðonne tō ðǣre rūwan hecgan; + ðæt on langan hangran; ðonne on grendles mere; ðonon on dyrnan + geat....</p> + + <p>Ambiguous as this evidence is, I do not think it can be dismissed as + it is by Lawrence (<i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span + class="scac">XXIV</span>, 252) and Panzer (<i>Beowulf</i>, 397), who both + say "How do we know that it is not the merest chance?" It <i>may</i> of + course be chance: but this does not justify us in basing an argument upon + the assumption that it <i>is</i> the merest chance. Lawrence continues: + "Suppose one were to set up a theory that there was a saga-relation + between Scyld and Bikki, and offered as proof the passage in the charter + for the year 917 in which there are mentioned, as in the same district, + <i>scyldes treow</i> and <i>bican sell</i>.... How much weight would this + carry?"</p> + + <p>The answer surely is that the occurrence of the two names together in + the charter would, by itself, give no basis whatever for starting such a + theory: but if, on other grounds, the theory were likely, then the + occurrence of the two names together would certainly have some + corroborative value. Exactly how much, it is impossible to say, because + we cannot estimate the element of chance, and we cannot <!-- Page 44 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page44"></a>{44}</span>be certain that + the <i>grendel</i> and the <i>beowa</i> mentioned are identical with our + Grendel and our Beowulf.</p> + + <p>Miller has argued [<i>Academy</i>, May 1894, p. 396] that + <i>grendles</i> is not a proper name here, but a common noun signifying + "drain," and that <i>grendles mere</i> therefore means "cesspool."</p> + + <p>Now "grindle" is found in modern dialect and even in Middle English<a + name="NtA85" href="#Nt85"><sup>[85]</sup></a> in the sense of "a narrow + ditch" or "gutter," but I doubt if it can be proved to be an Old English + word. Evidence would rather point to its being an East Anglian corruption + of the much more widely spread <i>drindle</i>, or <i>dringle</i>, used + both as a verb "to go slowly, to trickle," and as "a small trickling + stream." And even if an O.E. <i>grendel</i> as a common noun meaning + "gutter" were authenticated, it seems unlikely to me that places were + named "the fen," "the mere," "the pit," "the brook"—"of the + gutter." There is no ground whatever for supposing the existence of an + O.E. <i>grendel</i> = "sewer," or anything which would lead us to suppose + <i>grendles mere</i> or <i>gryndeles sylle</i> to mean "cesspool<a + name="NtA86" href="#Nt86"><sup>[86]</sup></a>." Surely it is probable, + knowing what we do of the way in which the English settlers gave epic + names to the localities around their settlements, that these places were + named after Grendel because they seemed the sort of place where his story + might be localized—like "Weyland's smithy" or "Wade's causeway": + and that the meaning is "Grendel's fen," "mere," "pit" or "brook."</p> + + <p>Again, both Panzer and Lawrence suggest that the Beowa who gave his + name to the <i>ham</i> may have been, not the hero, but "an ordinary + mortal called after him" ... "some individual who lived in this + locality." But, among the numerous English proper names recorded, can any + instance be found of any individual named Beowa? <!-- Page 45 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page45"></a>{45}</span>And was it in accordance + with the rules of Old English nomenclature to give to mortals the names + of these heroes of the genealogies<a name="NtA87" + href="#Nt87"><sup>[87]</sup></a>?</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Recent scepticism as to the "Beow-myth" has been largely due to the + fact that speculation as to Beow had been carried too far. For example, + because Beow appeared in the West Saxon genealogy, it had been assumed + that the Beow-myth belonged essentially to the Angles and Saxons. Yet + Beow would seem to have been also known among Scandinavians. For in + somewhat later days Scandinavian genealogists, when they had made the + acquaintance of the Anglo-Saxon pedigrees, noted that Beow had a + Scandinavian counterpart in a hero whom they called Bjar<a name="NtA88" + href="#Nt88"><sup>[88]</sup></a>. That something was known in the north + of this Bjar is proved by the <i>Kálfsvísa</i>, that same catalogue of + famous heroes and their horses which we have already found giving us the + counterparts of Onela and Eadgils. Yet this dry reference serves to show + that Bjar must once have been sufficiently famous to have a horse + specially his own<a name="NtA89" href="#Nt89"><sup>[89]</sup></a>. + Whether the fourteenth century Scandinavian who made Bjar the Northern + equivalent of Beow was merely guessing, we unfortunately cannot tell. + Most probably he was, for there is reason to think that the hero + corresponding to Beow was named, not <i>Bjár</i>, but <i>Byggvir</i><a + name="NtA90" href="#Nt90"><sup>[90]</sup></a>: a correspondence + intelligible to modern philologists as in agreement with phonetic law, + but naturally not obvious to an Icelandic genealogist. But however this + may be, the assumption that Beow was peculiarly the hero of Angles and + Saxons seems hardly justified.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 46 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page46"></a>{46}</span></p> + + <p>Again, since Beow is an ancestor of Woden, it was further assumed that + he was an ancient god, and that in the story of his adventures we had to + deal with a nature-myth of a divine deliverer who saved the people from + Grendel and his mother, the personified powers of the stormy sea. It is + with the name of Müllenhoff, its most enthusiastic and ablest advocate, + that this "mythological theory" is particularly associated. That Grendel + is fictitious no one, of course, would deny. But Müllenhoff and his + school, in applying the term "mythical" to those portions of the + <i>Beowulf</i> story for which no historical explanation could be found, + meant that they enshrined <i>nature-myths</i>. They thought that those + elements in heroic poetry which could not be referred back to actual fact + must be traced to ancient stories in which were recorded the nation's + belief about the sun and the gods: about storms and seasons.</p> + + <p>The different mythological explanations of Beowulf-Beowa and Grendel + have depended mainly upon hazardous etymological explanations of the + hero's name. The most popular is Müllenhoff's interpretation. Beaw is the + divine helper of man in his struggle with the elements. Grendel + represents the stormy North Sea of early spring, flooding and destroying + the habitations of men, till the god rescues them: Grendel's mother + represents the depths of the ocean. But in the autumn the power of the + god wanes: the dragon personifies the coming of the wild weather: the god + sinks in his final struggle to safeguard the treasures of the earth for + his people<a name="NtA91" href="#Nt91"><sup>[91]</sup></a>. Others, + remembering that Grendel dwells in the fen, see in him rather a demon of + the sea-marsh than of the sea itself: he is the pestilential swamp<a + name="NtA92" href="#Nt92"><sup>[92]</sup></a>, and the hero a wind which + drives him away<a name="NtA93" href="#Nt93"><sup>[93]</sup></a>. Or, + whilst Grendel still represents the storms, his antagonist is a + "Blitzheros<a name="NtA94" href="#Nt94"><sup>[94]</sup></a>." Others, + whilst hardly ranking Beowulf as <!-- Page 47 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page47"></a>{47}</span>a god, still see an allegory in his + adventures, and Grendel must be a personification either of an + inundation<a name="NtA95" href="#Nt95"><sup>[95]</sup></a>, or of the + terror of the long winter nights<a name="NtA96" + href="#Nt96"><sup>[96]</sup></a>, or possibly of grinding at the mill, + the work of the enslaved foe<a name="NtA97" + href="#Nt97"><sup>[97]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Such explanations were till recently universally current: the + instances given above might be increased considerably.</p> + + <p>Sufficient allowance was not made for the influence upon heroic poetry + of the simple popular folk-tale, a tale of wonder with no mythological or + allegorical meaning. Now, of late years, there has been a tendency not + only to recognize but even to exaggerate this influence: to regard the + hero of the folk-tale as the original and essential element in heroic + poetry<a name="NtA98" href="#Nt98"><sup>[98]</sup></a>. Though this is + assuredly to go too far, it is but reasonable to recognize the fairy tale + element in the O.E. epic.</p> + + <p>We have in <i>Beowulf</i> a story of giant-killing and dragon-slaying. + Why should we construct a legend of the gods or a nature-myth to account + for these tales? Why must Grendel or his mother represent the tempest, or + the malaria, or the drear long winter nights? We know that tales of + giant-killers and dragon-slayers have been current among the people of + Europe for thousands of years. Is it not far more easy to regard the + story of the fight between Beowulf and Grendel merely as a fairy tale, + glorified into an epic<a name="NtA99" + href="#Nt99"><sup>[99]</sup></a>?</p> + + <p>Those students who of late years have tried thus to elucidate the + story of Beowulf and Grendel, by comparison with folk-tales, have one + great advantage over Müllenhoff and the "mythological" school. The weak + point of Müllenhoff's view was that the nature-myth of Beow, which was + called in to explain the origin of the Beowulf story as we have it, was + itself only an assumption, a conjectural reconstruction. But the various + popular tales in which scholars have more recently tried to find + parallels to <i>Beowulf</i> have this great merit, that <!-- Page 48 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page48"></a>{48}</span>they do + indubitably exist. And as to the first step—the parallel between + <i>Beowulf</i> and the <i>Grettis saga</i>—there can, fortunately, + be but little hesitation.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section II. The Scandinavian Parallels—Grettir and Orm.</span></p> + + <p>The <i>Grettis saga</i> tells the adventures of the most famous of all + Icelandic outlaws, Grettir the strong. As to the historic existence of + Grettir there is no doubt: we can even date the main events of his life, + in spite of chronological inconsistencies, with some precision. But + between the year 1031, when he was killed, and the latter half of the + thirteenth century, when his saga took form, many fictitious episodes, + derived from folk-lore, had woven themselves around his name. Of these, + one bears a great, if possibly accidental, likeness to the Grendel story: + the second is emphatically and unmistakably the same story as that of + Grendel and his mother. In the first, Grettir stops at a farm house which + is haunted by Glam, a ghost of monstrous stature. Grettir awaits his + attack alone, but, like Beowulf, lying down. Glam's entry and onset + resemble those of Grendel: when Grettir closes with him he tries to get + out. They wrestle the length of the hall, and break all before them. + Grettir supports himself against anything that will give him foothold, + but for all his efforts he is dragged as far as the door. There he + suddenly changes his tactics, and throws his whole weight upon his + adversary. The monster falls, undermost, so that Grettir is able to draw, + and strike off his head; though not till Glam has laid upon Grettir a + curse which drags him to his doom.</p> + + <p>The second story—the adventure of Grettir at Sandhaugar + (Sandheaps)—begins in much the same way as that of Grettir and + Glam. Grettir is staying in a haunted farm, from which first the farmer + himself and then a house-carl have, on two successive Yuletides, been + spirited away. As before, a light burns in the room all night, and + Grettir awaits the attack alone, lying down, without having put off his + clothes. As before, Grettir and his assailant wrestle down the room, + breaking all <!-- Page 49 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page49"></a>{49}</span>in their way. But this time Grettir is + pulled put of the hall, and dragged to the brink of the neighbouring + gorge. Here, by a final effort, he wrenches a hand free, draws, and hews + off the arm of the ogress, who falls into the torrent below.</p> + + <p>Grettir conjectures that the two missing men must have been pulled by + the ogress into the gulf. This, after his experience, is surely a + reasonable inference: but Stein, the priest, is unconvinced. So they go + together to the river, and find the side of the ravine a sheer precipice: + it is ten fathom down to the water below the fall. Grettir lets down a + rope: the priest is to watch it. Then Grettir dives in: "the priest saw + the soles of his feet, and then knew no more what had become of him." + Grettir swims under the fall and gets into the cave, where he sees a + giant sitting by a fire: the giant aims a blow at him with a weapon with + a wooden handle ("such a weapon men then called a <i>hefti-sax</i>"). + Grettir hews it asunder. The giant then grasps at another sword hanging + on the wall of the cave, but before he can use it Grettir wounds him. + Stein, the priest, seeing the water stained with blood from this wound, + concludes that Grettir is dead, and departs home, lamenting the loss of + such a man. "But Grettir let little space come between his blows till the + giant lay dead." Grettir finds the bones of the two dead men in the cave, + and bears them away with him to convince the priest: but when he reaches + the rope and shakes it, there is no reply, and he has to climb up, + unaided. He leaves the bones in the church porch, for the confusion of + the priest, who has to admit that he has failed to do his part + faithfully.</p> + + <p>Now if we compare this with <i>Beowulf</i>, we see that in the + Icelandic story much is different: for example, in the <i>Grettis + saga</i> it is the female monster who raids the habitation of men, the + male who stays at home in his den. In this the <i>Grettis saga</i> + probably represents a corrupt tradition: for, that the female should + remain at home whilst the male searches for his prey, is a rule which + holds good for devils as well as for men<a name="NtA100" + href="#Nt100"><sup>[100]</sup></a>. <!-- Page 50 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page50"></a>{50}</span>The change was presumably + made in order to avoid the difficulty—which the <i>Beowulf</i> poet + seems also to have realized—that after the male has been slain, the + rout of the female is felt to be a deed of less note—something of + an anti-climax<a name="NtA101" href="#Nt101"><sup>[101]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>The sword on the wall, also, which in the <i>Beowulf</i>-story is used + by the hero, is, in the <i>Grettir</i>-story, used by the giant in his + attack on the hero.</p> + + <p>But that the two stories are somehow connected cannot be disputed. + Apart from the general likeness, we have details such as the escape of + the monster after the loss of an arm, the fire burning in the cave, the + <i>hefti-sax</i>, a word which, like its old English equivalent + (<i>hæft-mēce</i>, <i>Beowulf</i>, 1457), is found in this story + only, and the strange reasoning of the watchers that the blood-stained + water must necessarily be due to the hero's death<a name="NtA102" + href="#Nt102"><sup>[102]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Now obviously such a series of resemblances cannot be the result of an + accident. Either the <i>Grettir</i>-story is derived directly or + indirectly from the <i>Beowulf</i> epic, more or less as we have it, or + both stories are derived from one common earlier source. The scholars who + first discovered the resemblance believed that both stories were + independently derived from one original<a name="NtA103" + href="#Nt103"><sup>[103]</sup></a>. This view has generally been endorsed + by later investigators, but not universally<a name="NtA104" + href="#Nt104"><sup>[104]</sup></a>. And this is one of the questions + which the student cannot leave open, because our view of the origin of + the <i>Grendel</i>-story will have to depend largely upon the view we + take as to its connection with the episode in the <i>Grettis + saga</i>.</p> + + <p>If this episode be derived from <i>Beowulf</i>, then we have an + interesting literary curiosity, but nothing further. But if it is <!-- + Page 51 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page51"></a>{51}</span>independently derived from a common source, + then the episode in the <i>saga</i>, although so much later, may + nevertheless contain features which have been obliterated or confused or + forgotten in the <i>Beowulf</i> version. In that case the story, as given + in the <i>Grettis saga</i>, would be of great weight in any attempt to + reconstruct the presumed original form of the <i>Grendel</i>-story.</p> + + <p>The evidence seems to me to support strongly the view of the majority + of scholars—that the <i>Grettir</i>-episode is not derived from + <i>Beowulf</i> in the form in which that poem has come down to us, but + that both come from one common source.</p> + + <p>It is certain that the story of the monster invading a dwelling of men + and rendering it uninhabitable, till the adventurous deliverer arrives, + did not originate with Hrothgar and Heorot. It is an ancient and + widespread type of story, of which one version is localized at the Danish + court. When therefore we find it existing, independently of its Danish + setting, the presumption is in favour of this being a survival of the old + independent story. Of course it is <i>conceivable</i> that the + Hrothgar-Heorot setting might have been first added, and subsequently + stripped off again so clean that no trace of it remains. But it seems + going out of our way to assume this, unless we are forced to do so<a + name="NtA105" href="#Nt105"><sup>[105]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Again, it is certain that these stories—like all the subject + matter of the Old English epic—did not originate in England, but + were brought across the North Sea from the old home. And that old home + was in the closest connection, so far as the passage to and fro of story + went, with Scandinavian lands. Nothing could be intrinsically more + probable than that a story, current in ancient Angel and carried thence + to England, should also have been current in Scandinavia, and thence have + been carried to Iceland.</p> + + <p>Other stories which were current in England in the eighth century were + also current in Scandinavia in the thirteenth. Yet this does not mean + that the tales of Hroar and Rolf, or of Athils and Ali, were borrowed + from English epic accounts of Hrothgar and Hrothulf, or Eadgils and + Onela. They were part of the common inheritance—as much so as the + strong verbs <!-- Page 52 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page52"></a>{52}</span>or the alliterative line. Why then, contrary + to all analogy, should we assume a literary borrowing in the case of the + <i>Beowulf-Grettir</i>-story? The compiler of the <i>Grettis saga</i> + could not possibly have drawn his material from a <span + class="scac">MS</span> of <i>Beowulf</i><a name="NtA106" + href="#Nt106"><sup>[106]</sup></a>: he could not have made sense of a + single passage. He conceivably <i>might</i> have drawn from traditions + <i>derived</i> from the Old English epic. But it is difficult to see how. + Long before his time these traditions had for the most part been + forgotten in England itself. One of the longest lived of all, that of + Offa, is heard of for the last time in England at the beginning of the + thirteenth century. That a Scandinavian sagaman at the end of the century + could have been in touch, in any way, with Anglo-Saxon epic tradition + seems on the whole unlikely. The Scandinavian tradition of Offa, scholars + are now agreed<a name="NtA107" href="#Nt107"><sup>[107]</sup></a>, was + not borrowed from England, and there is no reason why we should assume + such borrowing in the case of Grettir.</p> + + <p>The probability is, then, considerable, that the <i>Beowulf</i>-story + and the <i>Grettir</i>-story are independently derived from one common + original.</p> + + <p>And this probability would be confirmed to a certainty if we should + find that features which have been confused and half obliterated in the + O.E. story become clear when we turn to the Icelandic. This argument has + lately been brought forward by Dr Lawrence in his essay on "The Haunted + Mere in <i>Beowulf</i><a name="NtA108" + href="#Nt108"><sup>[108]</sup></a>." Impressive as the account of this + mere is, it does not convey any very clear picture. Grendel's home seems + sometimes to be in the sea: and again it seems to be amid marshes, moors + and fens, and again it is "where the mountain torrent goes down under the + darkness of the cliffs—the water below the ground (i.e. beneath + overhanging rocks)."</p> + + <p>This last account agrees admirably with the landscape depicted in the + <i>Grettis saga</i>, and the gorge many fathoms deep through which the + stream rushes, after it has fallen over the precipice; not so the other + accounts. These descriptions are <!-- Page 53 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page53"></a>{53}</span>best harmonized if we imagine an original + version in which the monsters live, as in the <i>Grettis saga</i>, in a + hole under the waterfall. This story, natural enough in a Scandinavian + country, would be less intelligible as it travelled South. The Angles and + Saxons, both in their old home on the Continent and their new one in + England, were accustomed to a somewhat flat country, and would be more + inclined to place the dwelling of outcast spirits in moor and fen than + under waterfalls, of which they probably had only an elementary + conception. "The giant must dwell in the fen, alone in the land<a + name="NtA109" href="#Nt109"><sup>[109]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>Now it is in the highest degree improbable that, after the landscape + had been blurred as it is in <i>Beowulf</i>, it could have been brought + out again with the distinctness it has in the <i>Grettis saga</i>. To + preserve the features so clearly the <i>Grettir</i>-story can hardly be + derived from <i>Beowulf</i>: it must have come down independently.</p> + + <p>But if so, it becomes at once of prime importance. For by a comparison + of <i>Beowulf</i> and <i>Grettir</i> we must form an idea of what the + original story was, from which both were derived.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>Another parallel, though a less striking one, has been found in the + story of Orm Storolfsson, which is extant in a short saga about + contemporary with that of Grettir, <i>Ormsþáttr Stórólfssonar</i><a + name="NtA110" href="#Nt110"><sup>[110]</sup></a>, in two ballads from the + Faroe Islands<a name="NtA111" href="#Nt111"><sup>[111]</sup></a> and two + from Sweden<a name="NtA112" href="#Nt112"><sup>[112]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>It is generally asserted that the <i>Orm</i>-story affords a close + parallel to the episodes of Grendel and his mother. I cannot find close + resemblance, and I strongly suspect that the repetition of the assertion + is due to the fact that the <i>Orm</i>-story has not been very easily + accessible, and has often been taken as read by the critics.</p> + + <p>But, in any case, it has been proved that the <i>Orm</i>-tale borrows + largely from other sagas, and notably from the <i>Grettis saga</i> + itself<a name="NtA113" href="#Nt113"><sup>[113]</sup></a>. Before + arguing, therefore, from any parallel, it must first be shown that the + feature in which Orm resembles <!-- Page 54 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page54"></a>{54}</span>Beowulf is not derived at second hand from + the <i>Grettis saga</i>. One such feature there is, namely Orm's piety, + which he certainly does not derive from Grettir. In this he with equal + certainty resembles Beowulf. According to modern ideas, indeed, there is + more of the Christian hero in Beowulf than in Orm.</p> + + <p>Now Orm owes his victory to the fact, among other things, that, at the + critical moment, he vows to God and the holy apostle St Peter to make a + pilgrimage to Rome should he be successful. In this a parallel is seen to + the fact that Beowulf is saved, not only by his coat of mail, but also by + the divine interposition<a name="NtA114" + href="#Nt114"><sup>[114]</sup></a>. But is this really a parallel? + Beowulf is too much of a sportsman to buy victory by making a vow when in + a tight place. <i>Gǣð ā wyrd swā hīo scel</i><a + name="NtA115" href="#Nt115"><sup>[115]</sup></a> is the exact antithesis + of Orm's pledge.</p> + + <p>However, I have given in the Second Part the text of the + <i>Orm</i>-episode, so that readers may judge for themselves the + closeness or remoteness of the parallel.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>The parallel between Grettir and Beowulf was noted by the Icelander + Gudbrand Vigfússon upon his first reading <i>Beowulf</i> (see + <i>Prolegomena to Sturlunga saga</i>, 1878, p. xlix: <i>Corpus Poeticum + Boreale</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 501: <i>Icelandic Reader</i>, + 1879, 404). It was elaborately worked out by Gering in <i>Anglia</i>, + <span class="scac">III</span>, 74-87, and it is of course noticed in + almost every discussion of <i>Beowulf</i>. The parallel with Orm was + first noted by Schück (<i>Svensk Literaturhistoria</i>, Stockholm, 1886, + <i>etc.</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 62) and independently by Bugge + (<i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XII</span>, 58-68).</p> + + <p>The best edition of the <i>Grettis saga</i> is the excellent one of + Boer (Halle, 1900), but the opinions there expressed as to the + relationship of the episodes to each other and to the Grendel story have + not received the general support of scholars.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section III. Bothvar Bjarki.</span></p> + + <p>We have seen that there are in <i>Beowulf</i> two distinct elements, + which never seem quite harmonized: firstly the historic background of the + Danish and Geatic courts, with their chieftains, Hrothgar and Hrothulf, + or Hrethel and Hygelac: and secondly the old wives' fables of struggles + with ogres and dragons. In the story of Grettir, the ogre fable + appears—unmistakably connected with the similar story as given in + <i>Beowulf</i>, but with <!-- Page 55 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page55"></a>{55}</span>no faintest trace of having ever possessed + any Danish heroic setting.</p> + + <p>Turning back to the <i>Saga of Rolf Kraki</i>, we <i>do</i> find + against that Danish setting a figure, that of the hero Bothvar Bjarki, + bearing a very remarkable resemblance to Beowulf.</p> + + <p>Bjarki, bent on adventure, leaves the land of the Gautar (Götar), + where his brother is king, and reaches Leire, where Rolf, the king of the + Danes, holds his court; [just as Beowulf, bent on adventure, leaves the + land of the Geatas (Götar) where his uncle is king, and reaches Heorot, + where Hrothgar and Hrothulf (Rolf) hold court].</p> + + <p>Arrived at Leire, Bjarki takes under his protection the despised + coward Hott, whom Rolf's retainers have been wont to bully. The champions + at the Danish court [in <i>Beowulf</i> one of them only—Unferth] + prove quarrelsome, and they assail the hero during the feast, in the + <i>Saga</i> by throwing bones at him, in <i>Beowulf</i> only by bitter + words. The hero in each case replies, in kind, with such effect that the + enemy is silenced.</p> + + <p>But despite the fame and splendour of the Danish court, it has long + been subject to the attacks of a strange monster<a name="NtA116" + href="#Nt116"><sup>[116]</sup></a>—a winged beast whom no iron will + bite [just as Grendel is immune from swords<a name="NtA117" + href="#Nt117"><sup>[117]</sup></a>]. Bjarki [like Beowulf<a name="NtA118" + href="#Nt118"><sup>[118]</sup></a>] is scornful at the inability of the + Danes to defend their own home: "if one beast can lay waste the kingdom + and the cattle of the king." He goes out to fight with the monster <i>by + night</i>, accompanied only by Hott. He tries to draw his sword, but the + sword is fast in its sheath: he tugs, the sword comes out, and he slays + the beast with it. This seems a most pointless incident: taken in + connection with the supposed invulnerability of the foe, it looks like + the survival of some episode in which the hero was unwilling [as in + Beowulf's fight with Grendel<a name="NtA119" + href="#Nt119"><sup>[119]</sup></a>] or unable [as in Beowulf's fight with + Grendel's mother<a name="NtA120" href="#Nt120"><sup>[120]</sup></a>] to + slay the foe <!-- Page 56 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page56"></a>{56}</span>with his sword. Bjarki then compels the + terrified coward Hott to drink the monster's blood. Hott forthwith + becomes a valiant champion, second only to Bjarki himself. The beast is + then propped up as if still alive: when it is seen next morning the king + calls upon his retainers to play the man, and Bjarki tells Hott that now + is the time to clear his reputation. Hott demands first the sword, + Gullinhjalti, from Rolf, and with this he slays the dead beast a second + time. King Rolf is not deceived by this trick; yet he rejoices that + Bjarki has not only himself slain the monster, but changed the cowardly + Hott into a champion; he commands that Hott shall be called Hjalti, after + the sword which has been given him. We are hardly justified in demanding + logic in a wild tale like this, or one might ask how Rolf was convinced + of Hott's valour by what he knew to be a piece of stage management on the + part of Bjarki. But, however that may be, it is remarkable that in + <i>Beowulf</i> also the monster Grendel, though proof against all + ordinary weapons, is smitten <i>when dead</i> by a magic sword of which + the <i>golden hilt</i><a name="NtA121" href="#Nt121"><sup>[121]</sup></a> + is specially mentioned.</p> + + <p>In addition to the undeniable similarity of the stories of these + heroes, a certain similarity of name has been claimed. That <i>Bjarki</i> + is not etymologically connected with <i>Bēowulf</i> or + <i>Bēow</i> is clear: but if we are to accept the identification of + Beowulf and Beow, remembering that the Scandinavian equivalent of the + latter is said to be <i>Bjár</i>, the resemblance to <i>Bjarki</i> is + obvious. Similarity of sound might have caused one name to be substituted + for another<a name="NtA122" href="#Nt122"><sup>[122]</sup></a>. This + argument obviously depends upon the identification <i>Bēow</i> = + <i>Bjár</i>, which is extremely doubtful: it will be argued below that it + is more likely that <i>Bēow</i> = <i>Byggvir</i><a name="NtA123" + href="#Nt123"><sup>[123]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>But force remains in the argument that the name Bjarki (little bear) + is very appropriate to a hero like the Beowulf of <!-- Page 57 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page57"></a>{57}</span>our epic, who crushes or + hugs his foe to death instead of using his sword; even if we do not + accept explanations which would interpret the name "Beowulf" itself as a + synonym for "Bear."</p> + + <p>It is scarcely to be wondered at, then, that most critics have seen in + Bjarki a Scandinavian parallel to Beowulf. But serious difficulties + remain. There is in the Scandinavian story a mass of detail quite + unparallelled in <i>Beowulf</i>, which overshadows the resemblances. + Bjarki's friendship, for example, with the coward Hott or Hjalti has no + counterpart in <i>Beowulf</i>. And Bjarki becomes a retainer of King Rolf + and dies in his service, whilst Beowulf never comes into direct contact + with Hrothulf at all; the poet seems to avoid naming them together. + Still, it is quite intelligible that the story should have developed on + different lines in Scandinavia from those which it followed in England, + till the new growths overshadowed the original resemblance, without + obliterating it. After nearly a thousand years of independent development + discrepancies must be expected. It would not be a reasonable objection to + the identity of <i>Gullinhjalti</i> with <i>Gyldenhilt</i>, that the word + <i>hilt</i> had grown to have a rather different meaning in Norse and in + English; subsequent developments do not invalidate an original + resemblance if the points of contact are really there.</p> + + <p>But, allowing for this independent growth in Scandinavia, we should + naturally expect that the further back we traced the story the greater + the resemblance would become.</p> + + <p>This brings us to the second, serious difficulty: that, when we turn + from the <i>Saga of Rolf Kraki</i>—belonging in its present form + perhaps to the early fifteenth century—to the pages of Saxo + Grammaticus, who tells the same tale more than two centuries earlier, the + resemblance, instead of becoming stronger, almost vanishes. Nothing is + said of Bjarki coming from Gautland, or indeed of his being a stranger at + the Danish court: nothing is said of the monster having paid previous + visits, visits repeated till king Rolf, like Hrothgar, has to give up all + attempt at resistance, and submit to its depredations. The monster, + instead of being a troll, like Grendel, becomes a commonplace bear. All + Saxo tells us is that "He [Biarco, i.e. Bjarki] met a great bear in a + thicket and slew it with a spear, and bade his <!-- Page 58 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page58"></a>{58}</span>comrade Ialto [i.e. + Hjalti] place his lips to the beast and drink its blood as it flowed, + that he might become stronger."</p> + + <p>Hence the Danish scholar, Axel Olrik, in the best and most elaborate + discussion of Bjarki and all about him, has roundly denied any connection + between his hero and Beowulf. He is astonished at the slenderness of the + evidence upon which previous students have argued for relationship. + "Neither Beowulf's wrestling match in the hall, nor in the fen, nor his + struggle with the firedrake has any real identity, but when we take a + little of them all we can get a kind of similarity with the latest and + worst form of the Bjarki saga<a name="NtA124" + href="#Nt124"><sup>[124]</sup></a>." The development of Saxo's bear into + a winged monster, "the worst of trolls," Olrik regards as simply in + accordance with the usual heightening, in later Icelandic, of these early + stories of struggles with beasts, and of this he gives a parallel + instance.</p> + + <p>Some Icelandic ballads on Bjarki (the <i>Bjarka rímur</i>), which were + first printed in 1904, were claimed by Olrik as supporting his + contention. These ballads belong to about the year 1400. Yet, though they + are thus in date and dialect closely allied to the <i>Saga of Rolf + Kraki</i> and remote from Saxo Grammaticus, they are so far from + supporting the tradition of the <i>Saga</i> with regard to the monster + slain, that they represent the foe first as a man-eating she-wolf, which + is slain by Bjarki, then as a grey bear [as in Saxo], which is slain by + Hjalti after he has been compelled to drink the blood of the she-wolf. We + must therefore give up the winged beast as mere later elaboration; for if + the Bjarki ballads in a point like this support Saxo, as against the + <i>Saga</i> which is so closely connected with them by its date and + Icelandic tongue, we must admit Saxo's version here to represent, beyond + dispute, the genuine tradition.</p> + + <p>Accordingly the attempt which has been made to connect Bjarki's winged + monster with Beowulf's winged dragon goes overboard at once. But such an + attempt ought never to have been made at all. The parallel is between + Bjarki and the Beowulf-Grendel episode, not between Bjarki and the + Beowulf-dragon episode, which ought to be left out of consideration. And + the monstrous bear and the wolf of the <i>Rímur</i> are not so <!-- Page + 59 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page59"></a>{59}</span>dissimilar + from Grendel, with his bear-like hug, and Grendel's mother, the + 'sea-wolf<a name="NtA125" href="#Nt125"><sup>[125]</sup></a>.'</p> + + <p>The likeness between Beowulf and Bjarki lies, not in the wingedness or + otherwise of the monsters they overthrow, but in the similarity of the + position—in the situation which places the most famous court of the + North, and its illustrious king, at the mercy of a ravaging foe, till a + chance stranger from Gautland brings deliverance. And here the + <i>Rímur</i> support, not Saxo, but the <i>Saga</i>, though in an outworn + and faded way. In the <i>Rímur</i> Bjarki is a stranger come from abroad: + the bear has made previous attacks upon the king's folds.</p> + + <p>Thus, whilst we grant the wings of the beast to be a later + elaboration, it does not in the least follow that other features in which + the <i>Saga</i> differs from Saxo—the advent of Bjarki from + Gautland, for instance—are also later elaboration.</p> + + <p>And we must be careful not to attach too much weight to the account of + Saxo merely because it is earlier in date than that of the <i>Saga</i>. + The presumption is, of course, that the earlier form will be the more + original: but just as a late manuscript will often preserve, amidst its + corruptions, features which are lost in much earlier manuscripts, so will + a tradition. Saxo's accounts are often imperfect<a name="NtA126" + href="#Nt126"><sup>[126]</sup></a>. And in this particular instance, + there is a want of coherency and intelligibility in Saxo's account, which + in itself affords a strong presumption that it <i>is</i> imperfect.</p> + + <p>What Saxo tells us is this:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>At which banquet, when the champions were rioting with every kind of + wantonness, and flinging knuckle-bones at a certain Ialto [Hjalti] from + all sides, it happened that his messmate Biarco [Bjarki] through the bad + aim of the thrower received a severe blow on the head. But Biarco, + equally annoyed by the injury and the insult, sent the bone back to the + thrower, so that he twisted the front of his head to the back and the + back to the front, punishing the cross-grain of the man's temper by + turning his face round about.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>But who were this "certain Hjalti" and Bjarki? There seems to be + something missing in the story. The explanation [which Saxo does not give + us, but the <i>Saga</i> does] that Bjarki has come from afar and taken + the despised Hott-Hjalti under his <!-- Page 60 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page60"></a>{60}</span>protection, seems to be + necessary. Why was Hjalti chosen as the victim, at whom missiles were to + be discharged? Obviously [though Saxo does not tell us so], because he + was the butt of the mess. And if Bjarki had been one of the mess for many + hours, his messmates would have known him too well to throw knuckle-bones + either at him or his friend. This is largely a matter of personal + feeling, but Saxo's account seems to me pointless, till it is + supplemented from the <i>Saga</i><a name="NtA127" + href="#Nt127"><sup>[127]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>And there is one further piece of evidence which seems to clinch the + whole matter finally, though its importance has been curiously + overlooked, by Panzer and Lawrence in their arguments for the + identification, and by Olrik in his arguments to the contrary.</p> + + <p>We have seen above how Beowulf "became a friend" to Eadgils, helping + him in his expedition against King Onela of Sweden, and avenging, in + "chill raids fraught with woe," <i>cealdum cearsīðum</i>, the + wrongs which Onela had inflicted upon the Geatas. We saw, too, that this + expedition was remembered in Scandinavian tradition. "They had a battle + on the ice of Lake Wener; there King Ali fell, and Athils had the + victory. Concerning this battle there is much said in the <i>Skjoldunga + saga</i>." The <i>Skjoldunga saga</i> is lost, but the Latin extracts + from it give some information about this battle<a name="NtA128" + href="#Nt128"><sup>[128]</sup></a>. Further, an account of it <i>is</i> + preserved in the <i>Bjarka rímur</i>, probably derived from the lost + <i>Skjoldunga saga</i>. And the <i>Bjarka rímur</i> expressly mention + Bjarki as helping Athils in this battle against Ali on the ice of Lake + Wener<a name="NtA129" href="#Nt129"><sup>[129]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Olrik does not seem to allow for this at all, though of course aware + of it. The other parallels between Bjarki and Beowulf he believes to be + mere coincidence. But is this likely?</p> + + <p>To recapitulate: In old English tradition a hero comes from the land + of the Geatas to the royal court of Denmark, where Hrothgar and Hrothulf + hold sway. This hero is received in none too friendly wise by one of the + retainers, but <!-- Page 61 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page61"></a>{61}</span>puts his foe to shame, is warmly welcomed by + the king, and slays by night a monster which has been attacking the + Danish capital and against which the warriors of that court have been + helpless. The monster is proof against all swords, yet its dead body is + mutilated by a sword with a golden hilt. Subsequently this same hero + helps King Eadgils of Sweden to overthrow Onela.</p> + + <p>We find precisely the same situation in Icelandic tradition some seven + centuries later, except that not Hrothgar and Hrothulf, but Hrothulf + (Rolf) alone is represented as ruling the Danes, and the sword with the + golden hilt has become a sword named "Golden-hilt." It is + <i>conceivable</i> for a situation to have been reconstructed in this way + by mere accident, just as it is conceivable that one player may have the + eight or nine best trumps dealt him. But it does not seem advisable to + base one's calculations, as Olrik does, upon such an accident + happening.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>The parallel of Bjarki and Beowulf seems to have been first noted by + Gisli Brynjulfsson (<i>Antiquarisk Tidsskrift</i>, 1852-3, p. 130). It + has been often discussed by Sarrazin (<i>Beowulf Studien</i>, 13 + <i>etc.</i>, 47: <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">IX</span>, 195 + <i>etc.</i>: <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="sc">xvi</span>, 79 + <i>etc.</i>, <span class="scac">XXIII</span>, 242 <i>etc.</i>, <span + class="scac">XXXV</span>, 19 <i>etc.</i>). Sarrazin's over-elaborated + parallels form a broad target for doubters: it must be remembered that a + case, though it may be discredited, is not invalidated by exaggeration. + The problem is of course noted in the Beowulf studies of Müllenhoff (55), + Bugge (<i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XII</span>, 55) and Boer (<i>Die + Beowulfsage</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, in <i>Arkiv f. nord. + filol.</i> <span class="scac">XIX</span>, 44 <i>etc.</i>) and discussed + at length and convincingly by Panzer (364-386) and Lawrence (<i>Pub. Mod. + Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span class="scac">XXIV</span>, 1909, 222 + <i>etc.</i>). The usual view which accepts some relationship is endorsed + by all these scholars, as it is by Finnur Jónsson in his edition of the + <i>Hrólfs Saga Kraka og Bjarkarímur</i> (København, 1904, p. xxii).</p> + + <p>Ten Brink (185 <i>etc.</i>) denied any original connection, on the + ground of the dissimilarity between <i>Beowulf</i> and the story given by + Saxo. Any resemblances between <i>Beowulf</i> and the <i>Hrólfs Saga</i> + he attributed to the influence of the English <i>Beowulf</i>-story upon + the <i>Saga</i>.</p> + + <p>For Olrik's emphatic denial of any connection at all, see <i>Danmarks + Heltedigtning</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 134 <i>etc.</i> (This + seems to have influenced Brandl, who expresses some doubt in <i>Pauls + Grdr.</i> (2) <span class="sc">ii</span>. 1. 993.) For arguments to the + contrary, see Heusler in <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XXX</span>, + 32, and especially Panzer and Lawrence as above.</p> + + <p>The parallel of <i>Gullinhjalti</i> and <i>gyldenhilt</i> was first + noted tentatively by Kluge (<i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XXII</span>, 145).</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p><!-- Page 62 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page62"></a>{62}</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section IV. Parallels from Folklore.</span></p> + + <p>Hitherto we have been dealing with parallels to the Grendel story in + written literature: but a further series of parallels, although much more + remote, is to be found in that vast store of old wives' tales which no + one till the nineteenth century took the trouble to write down + systematically, but which certainly go back to a very ancient period. One + particular tale, that of the Bear's Son<a name="NtA130" + href="#Nt130"><sup>[130]</sup></a> (extant in many forms), has been + instanced as showing a resemblance to the <i>Beowulf</i>-story. In this + tale the hero, a young man of extraordinary strength, (1) sets out on his + adventures, associating with himself various companions; (2) makes + resistance in a house against a supernatural being, which his fellows + have in vain striven to withstand, and succeeds in mishandling or + mutilating him. (3) By the blood-stained track of this creature, or + guided by him in some other manner, the hero finds his way to a spring, + or hole in the earth, (4) is lowered down by a cord and (5) overcomes in + the underworld different supernatural foes, amongst whom is often + included his former foe, or very rarely the mother of that foe: victory + can often only be gained by the use of a magic sword which the hero finds + below. (6) The hero is left treacherously in the lurch by his companions, + whose duty it was to have drawn him up...</p> + + <p>Now it may be objected, with truth, that this is not like the + <i>Beowulf</i>-story, or even particularly like the <i>Grettir</i>-story. + But the question is not merely whether it resembles these stories as we + possess them, but whether it resembles the story which must have been the + common origin of both. And we have only to try to reconstruct from + <i>Beowulf</i> and from the <i>Grettis saga</i> a tale which can have + been the common original of both, to see that it must be something + extraordinarily like the folk-tale outlined above.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 63 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page63"></a>{63}</span></p> + + <p>For example, it is true that the departure of the Danes homeward + because they believe that Beowulf has met his death in the water below, + bears only the remotest resemblance to the deliberate treachery which the + companions in the folk-tale mete out to the hero. But when we compare the + <i>Grettir</i>-story, we see there that a real breach of trust is + involved, for there the priest Stein leaves the hero in the lurch, and + abandons the rope by which he should have drawn Grettir up. This can + hardly be an innovation on the part of the composer of the <i>Grettis + saga</i>, for he is quite well disposed towards Stein, and has no motive + for wantonly attributing treachery to him. The innovation presumably lies + in the <i>Beowulf</i>-story, where Hrothgar and his court are depicted in + such a friendly spirit that no disreputable act can be attributed to + them, and consequently Hrothgar's departure home must not be allowed in + any way to imperil or inconvenience the hero. A comparison of the + <i>Beowulf</i>-story with the <i>Grettir</i>-story leads then to the + conclusion that in the oldest version those who remained above when the + hero plunged below <i>were</i> guilty of some measure of disloyalty in + ceasing to watch for him. In other words we see that the further we track + the <i>Beowulf</i>-story back, the more it comes to resemble the + folk-tale.</p> + + <p>And our belief that there is some connection between the folk-tale and + the original of <i>Beowulf</i> must be strengthened when we find that, by + a comparison of the folk-tale, we are able to explain features in + <i>Beowulf</i> which strike us as difficult and even absurd: precisely as + when we turn to a study of Shakespeare's sources we often find the + explanation of things that puzzle us: we see that the poet is dealing + with an unmanageable source, which he cannot make quite plausible. For + instance: when Grendel enters Heorot he kills and eats the first of + Beowulf's retinue whom he finds: no one tries to prevent him. The only + explanation which the poet has to offer is that the retinue are all + asleep<a name="NtA131" href="#Nt131"><sup>[131]</sup></a>—strange + somnolence on the part of men who are awaiting a hostile attack, which + they expect will be fatal to them all<a name="NtA132" + href="#Nt132"><sup>[132]</sup></a>. And Beowulf at any rate is not + asleep. Yet he calmly watches whilst his henchman is <!-- Page 64 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page64"></a>{64}</span>both killed and + eaten: and apparently, but for the accident that the monster next tackles + Beowulf himself, he would have allowed his whole bodyguard to be devoured + one after another.</p> + + <p>But if we suppose the story to be derived from the folk-tale, we have + an explanation. For in the folk-tale, the companions and the hero await + the foe singly, in succession: the turn of the hero comes last, after all + his companions have been put to shame. But Beowulf, who is represented as + having specially voyaged to Heorot in order to purge it, cannot leave the + defence of the hall for the first night to one of his comrades. Hence the + discomfiture of the comrade and the single-handed success of the hero + have to be represented as simultaneous. The result is incongruous: + Beowulf <i>has</i> to look on whilst his comrade is killed.</p> + + <p>Again, both Beowulf and Grettir plunge in the water with a sword, and + with the deliberate object of shedding the monster's blood. Why then + should the watchers on the cliff above assume that the blood-stained + water must necessarily signify the <i>hero's</i> death, and depart home? + Why did it never occur to them that this deluge of blood might much more + suitably proceed from the monster?</p> + + <p>But we can understand this unreason if we suppose that the + story-teller had to start from the deliberate and treacherous departure + of the companions, whilst at the same time it was not to his purpose to + represent the companions as treacherous. In that case some excuse + <i>must</i> be found for them: and the blood-stained water was the + nearest at hand<a name="NtA133" href="#Nt133"><sup>[133]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Again, quite independently of the folk-tale, many <i>Beowulf</i> + scholars have come to the conclusion that in the original version of the + story the hero did not wait for a second attack from the mother of the + monster he had slain, but rather, from a natural and laudable desire to + complete his task, followed the monster's tracks to the mere, and + finished him and his mother below. Many traits have survived which may + conceivably point to an original version of the story in which Beowulf + (or the figure corresponding to him) at once plunged down <!-- Page 65 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page65"></a>{65}</span>in order to + combat the foe corresponding to Grendel. There are unsatisfactory + features in the story as it stands. For why, it might be urged, should + the wrenching off of an arm have been fatal to so tough a monster? And + why, it has often been asked, is the adversary under the water sometimes + male, sometimes female? And why is it apparently the blood of Grendel, + not of his mother, which discolours the water and burns up the sword, and + the head of Grendel, not of his mother, which is brought home in triumph? + These arguments may not carry much weight, but at any rate when we turn + to the folk-tale we find that the adventure beneath the earth <i>is</i> + the natural following up of the adventure in the house, not the result of + any renewed attack.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>In addition, there are many striking coincidences between individual + versions or groups of the folk-tale on the one hand and the + <i>Beowulf-Grettir</i> story on the other: yet it is very difficult to + know what value should be attached to these parallels, since there are + many features of popular story which float around and attach themselves + to this or that tale without any original connection, so that it is easy + for the same trait to recur in <i>Beowulf</i> and in a group of + folk-tales, without this proving that the stories as a whole are + connected<a name="NtA134" href="#Nt134"><sup>[134]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>The hero of the Bear's son folk-tale is often in his youth + unmanageable or lazy. This is also emphasized in the stories both of + Grettir and of Orm: and though such a feature was uncongenial to the + courtly tone of <i>Beowulf</i>, which sought to depict the hero as a + model prince, yet it <i>is</i> there<a name="NtA135" + href="#Nt135"><sup>[135]</sup></a>, even though only alluded to + incidentally, and elsewhere ignored or even denied<a name="NtA136" + href="#Nt136"><sup>[136]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Again, the hero of the folk-tale is very frequently (but not + necessarily) either descended from a bear, nourished by a bear, or has + some ursine characteristic. We see this recurring in certain traits of + Beowulf such as his bear-like method of hugging <!-- Page 66 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page66"></a>{66}</span>his adversary to death. + Here again the courtly poet has not emphasized his hero's wildness<a + name="NtA137" href="#Nt137"><sup>[137]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Again, there are some extraordinary coincidences in names, between the + <i>Beowulf-Grettir</i> story and the folk-tale. These are not found in + <i>Beowulf</i> itself, but only in the stories of Grettir and Orm. Yet, + as the <i>Grettir</i>-episode is presumably derived from the same + original as the <i>Beowulf</i>-episode, any <i>original</i> connection + between it and the folk-tale involves such connection for <i>Beowulf</i> + also. We have seen that in <i>Grettis saga</i> the priest Stein, as the + unfaithful guardian of the rope which is to draw up the hero, seems to + represent the faithless companions of the folktale. There is really no + other way of accounting for him, for except on this supposition he is + quite otiose and unnecessary to the <i>Grettir</i>-story: the saga-man + has no use for him. And his name confirms this explanation, for in the + folk-tale one of the three faithless companions of the hero is called the + Stone-cleaver, <i>Steinhauer</i>, <i>Stenkløver</i>, or even, in one + Scandinavian version, simply <i>Stein</i><a name="NtA138" + href="#Nt138"><sup>[138]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Again, the struggle in the <i>Grettis saga</i> is localized at + Sandhaugar in Barthardal in Northern Iceland. Yet it is difficult to say + why the saga-teller located the story there. The scenery, with the + neighbouring river and mighty waterfall, is fully described: but students + of Icelandic topography assert that the neighbourhood does <i>not</i> at + all lend itself to this description<a name="NtA139" + href="#Nt139"><sup>[139]</sup></a>. When we turn to the story of Orm we + find it localized on the island Sandey. We are forced to the conclusion + that the name belongs to the story, and that in some early version this + was localized at a place called Sandhaug, perhaps at one of the numerous + places in Norway of that name. Now turning to one of the Scandinavian + versions of the folk-tale, we find that the descent into the earth and + the consequent struggle is localized in <i>en stor sandhaug</i><a + name="NtA140" href="#Nt140"><sup>[140]</sup></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 67 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page67"></a>{67}</span></p> + + <p>On the other hand, it must be remembered that if a collection is made + of some two hundred folk-tales, it is bound to contain, in addition to + the essential kernel of common tradition, a vast amount of that floating + material which tends to associate itself with this or that hero of story. + Individual versions or groups of versions of the tale may contain + features which occur also in the <i>Grendel</i>-story, without that being + any evidence for primitive connection. Thus we are told how Grendel + forces open the door of Heorot. In a Sicilian version of the folk-tale + the doors spring open of themselves as the foe appears. This has been + claimed as a parallel. But, as a sceptic has observed, the extraordinary + thing is that of so slight a similarity (if it is entitled to be called a + similarity) we should find only one example out of two hundred, and have + to go to Sicily for that<a name="NtA141" + href="#Nt141"><sup>[141]</sup></a>.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>The parallel between the <i>Beowulf</i>-story and the "Bear's son" + folk-tale had been noted by Laistner (<i>Das Rätsel der Sphinx</i>, + Berlin, 1889, <span class="scac">II</span>, 22 <i>etc.</i>): but the + prevalent belief that the <i>Beowulf</i>-story was a nature-myth seems to + have prevented further investigation on these lines till Panzer + independently (p. 254) undertook his monumental work.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Yet there are other features in the folk-tale which are entirely + unrepresented in the <i>Beowulf-Grettir</i> story. The hero of the + folk-tale rescues captive princesses in the underworld (it is because + they wish to rob him of this prize that his companions leave him below); + he is saved by some miraculous helper, and finally, after adopting a + disguise, puts his treacherous comrades to shame and weds the youngest + princess. None of these elements<a name="NtA142" + href="#Nt142"><sup>[142]</sup></a> are to be found in the stories of + Beowulf, Grettir, Orm or Bjarki, yet they are essential to the fairy + tale<a name="NtA143" href="#Nt143"><sup>[143]</sup></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 68 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page68"></a>{68}</span></p> + + <p>So that to speak of <i>Beowulf</i> as a version of the fairy tale is + undoubtedly going too far. All we can say is that some early story-teller + took, from folk-tale, those elements which suited his purpose, and that a + tale, containing many leading features found in the "Bear's son" story, + but omitting many of the leading motives of that story, came to be told + of Beowulf and of Grettir<a name="NtA144" + href="#Nt144"><sup>[144]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section V. Scef and Scyld.</span></p> + + <p>Our poem begins with an account of the might, and of the funeral, of + Scyld Scefing, the ancestor of that Danish royal house which is to play + so large a part in the story. After Scyld's death his retainers, + following the command he had given them, placed their beloved prince in + the bosom of a ship, surrounded by many treasures brought from distant + lands, by weapons of battle and weeds of war, swords and byrnies. Also + they placed a golden banner high over his head, and let the sea bear him + away, with soul sorrowful and downcast. Men could not say for a truth, + not the wisest of councillors, who received that burden.</p> + + <p>Now there is much in this that can be paralleled both from the + literature and from the archaeological remains of the North. Abundant + traces have been found, either of the burial or of the burning of a chief + within a ship. And we are told by different authorities of two ancient + Swedish kings who, sorely wounded, and unwilling to die in their beds, + had themselves placed upon ships, surrounded by weapons and the bodies of + the slain. The funeral pyre was then lighted on the vessel, and the ship + sent blazing out to sea. Similarly the dead body of Baldr was put upon + his ship, and burnt.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>Haki konungr fekk svá stór sár, at hann sá, at hans lífdagar mundu + eigi langir verða; þá lét hann taka skeið, er hann átti, ok lét hlaða + dauðum mǫnnum, ok vápnum, lét þá flytja út til hafs ok leggja stýri + <!-- Page 69 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page69"></a>{69}</span>í + lag ok draga upp segl, en leggja eld í tyrvið ok gera bál á skipinu; veðr + stóð af landi; Haki var þá at kominn dauða eða dauðr, er hann var lagiðr + á bálit; siglði skipit síðan loganda út í haf, ok var þetta allfrægt + lengi síðan.</p> + + <p>(King Haki was so sore wounded that he saw that his days could not be + long. Then he had a warship of his taken, and loaded with dead men and + weapons, had it carried out to sea, the rudder shipped, the sail drawn + up, the fir-tree wood set alight, and a bale-fire made on the ship. The + wind blew from the land. Haki was dead or nearly dead, when he was placed + on the pyre. Then the ship sailed blazing out to sea; and that was widely + famous for a long time after.)</p> + + <p><i>Ynglinga Saga</i>, Kap. 23, in <i>Heimskringla</i>, udg. af Finnur + Jónsson, København, 1893, vol. <span class="scac">I</span>, p. 43.</p> + + <p>The <i>Skjoldunga Saga</i> gives a story which is obviously connected + with this. King Sigurd Ring in his old age asked in marriage the lady + Alfsola; but her brothers scorned to give her to an aged man. War + followed; and the brothers, knowing that they could not withstand the + hosts of Sigurd, poisoned their sister before marching against him. In + the battle the brothers were slain, and Sigurd badly wounded.</p> + + <p>Qui, Alfsola funere allato, magnam navim mortuorum cadaveribus + oneratam solus vivorum conscendit, seque et mortuam Alfsolam in puppi + collocans navim pice, bitumine et sulphure incendi jubet: atque sublatis + velis in altum, validis a continente impellentibus ventis, proram + dirigit, simulque manus sibi violentas intulit; sese ... more majorum + suorum regali pompa Odinum regem (id est inferos) invisere malle, quam + inertis senectutis infirmitatem perpeti....</p> + + <p><i>Skjoldungasaga i Arngrim Jónssons udtog</i>, udgiven af Axel Olrik, + Kjøbenhavn, 1894, Cap. <span class="scac">XXVII</span>, p. 50 [132].</p> + + <p>So with the death of Baldr.</p> + + <p>En æsirnir tóku lík Baldrs ok fluttu til sævar. Hringhorni hét skip + Baldrs; hann var allra skipa mestr, hann vildu goðin framm setja ok gera + þar á bálfǫr Baldrs ... þá var borit út á skipit lík Baldrs,... + Oðinn lagði á bálit gullhring þann, er Draupnir heitir ... hestr Baldrs + var leiddr á bálit með ǫllu reiði.</p> + + <p>(But the gods took the body of Baldr and carried it to the sea-shore. + Baldr's ship was named Hringhorni: it was the greatest of all ships and + the gods sought to launch it, and to build the pyre of Baldr on it.... + Then was the body of Baldr borne out on to the ship.... Odin laid on the + pyre the gold ring named Draupnir ... and Baldr's horse with all his + trappings was placed on the pyre.)</p> + + <p><i>Snorra Edda: Gylfaginning</i>, 48; udg. af Finnur Jónsson, + København, 1900.</p> + + <p>We are justified in rendering <i>setja skip fram</i> by "launch": + Olrik (<i>Heltedigtning</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 250) regards + Baldr's funeral as a case of the burning of a body in a ship on land. But + it seems to me, as to Mr Chadwick (<i>Origin</i>, 287), that the natural + meaning is that the ship was launched in the sea.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>But the case of Scyld is not exactly parallel to these. The ship which + conveyed Scyld out to sea was <i>not</i> set alight. And the words of the + poet, though dark, seem to imply that it was intended to come to land + somewhere: "None could say who received that freight." <!-- Page 70 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page70"></a>{70}</span></p> + + <p>Further, Scyld not merely departed over the waves—he had in the + first instance come over them: "Not with less treasure did they adorn + him," says the poet, speaking of the funeral rites, "than did those who + at the beginning sent him forth alone over the waves, being yet a + child."</p> + + <p>Scyld Scefing then, like Tennyson's Arthur, comes from the unknown and + departs back to it.</p> + + <p>The story of the mysterious coming over the water was not confined to + Scyld. It meets us in connection with King Scef, who was regarded, at any + rate from the time of Alfred, and possibly much earlier, as the remotest + ancestor of the Wessex kings. Ethelwerd, a member of the West Saxon royal + house, who compiled a bombastic Latin chronicle towards the end of the + tenth century, traces back the pedigree of the kings of Wessex to Scyld + <i>and his father Scef</i>. "This Scef," he says, "came to land on a + swift boat, surrounded by arms, in an island of the ocean called Scani, + when a very young child. He was unknown to the people of that land, but + was adopted by them as if of their kin, well cared for, and afterwards + elected king<a name="NtA145" href="#Nt145"><sup>[145]</sup></a>." Note + here, firstly, that the story is told, not of Scyld Scefing, but of Scef, + father of Scyld. Secondly, that although Ethelwerd is speaking of the + ancestor of the West Saxon royal house, he makes him come to land and + rule, not in the ancient homeland of continental Angeln, but in the + "island of Scani," which signifies what is now the south of Sweden, and + perhaps also the Danish islands<a name="NtA146" + href="#Nt146"><sup>[146]</sup></a>—that same land of + <i>Scedenig</i> which is mentioned in <i>Beowulf</i> as the realm of + Scyld. The tone of the narrative is, so far as we can judge from + Ethelwerd's dry summary, entirely warlike: Scef is surrounded by + weapons.</p> + + <p>In the twelfth century the story is again told by William of + Malmesbury. "Sceldius was the son of Sceaf. He, they say, was carried as + a small boy in a boat without any oarsman to a certain isle of Germany + called Scandza, concerning which <!-- Page 71 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page71"></a>{71}</span>Jordanes, the historian of the Goths, + speaks. He was sleeping, and a handful of corn was placed at his head, + from which he was called 'Sheaf.' He was regarded as a wonder by the folk + of that country and carefully nurtured; when grown up he ruled in a town + then called Slaswic, and now Haithebi—that region is called ancient + Anglia<a name="NtA147" href="#Nt147"><sup>[147]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>William of Malmesbury was, of course, aware of Ethelwerd's account, + and may have been influenced by it. Some of his variations may be his own + invention. The substitution of the classical form <i>Scandza</i> for + Ethelwerd's <i>Scani</i> is simply a change from popular to learned + nomenclature, and enables the historian to show that he has read + something of Jordanes. The alteration by which Malmesbury makes Sceaf, + when grown up, rule at Schleswig in ancient Angel, may again be his own + work—a variant added in order to make Sceaf look more at home in an + Anglo-Saxon pedigree.</p> + + <p>But William of Malmesbury was, as we shall see later, prone to + incorporate current ballads into his history, and after allowing for what + he may have derived from Ethelwerd, and what he may have invented, there + can be no doubt that many of the additional details which he gives are + genuine popular poetry. Indeed, whilst the story of Scyld's + <i>funeral</i> is very impressive in <i>Beowulf</i>, it is in William's + narrative that the story of the child coming over the sea first becomes + poetic.</p> + + <p>Now since even the English historians connected this tale with the + Danish territory of <i>Scani, Scandza</i>, we should expect to find it + again on turning to the records of the Danish royal house. And we do find + there, generally at the head of the pedigree<a name="NtA148" + href="#Nt148"><sup>[148]</sup></a>, a hero—Skjold—whose name + corresponds, and whose relationship to the later Danish kings shows him + to be the same as the <i>Scyld Scefing</i> of <i>Beowulf</i>. But neither + Saxo Grammaticus, nor any other Danish historian, knows anything of <!-- + Page 72 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page72"></a>{72}</span>Skjold + having come in his youth or returned in his death over the ocean.</p> + + <p>How are we to harmonize these accounts?</p> + + <p><i>Beowulf</i> and Ethelwerd agree in representing the hero as + "surrounded by arms"; William of Malmesbury mentions only the sheaf; the + difference is weighty, for presumably the spoils which the hero brings + with him from the unknown, or takes back thither, are in harmony with his + career. <i>Beowulf</i> and Ethelwerd seem to show the warrior king, + William of Malmesbury seems rather to be telling the story of a + semi-divine foundling, who introduces the tillage of the earth<a + name="NtA149" href="#Nt149"><sup>[149]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>In <i>Beowulf</i> the child is Scyld Scefing, in Ethelwerd and William + of Malmesbury he is Sceaf, father of Scyld.</p> + + <p><i>Beowulf</i>, Ethelwerd and William of Malmesbury agree in + connecting the story with <i>Scedenig</i>, <i>Scani</i> or + <i>Scandza</i>, yet the two historians and the <i>Anglo-Saxon + Chronicle</i> all make Sceaf the ancestor of the West Saxon house. Yet we + have no evidence that the English were regarded as having come from + Scandinavia.</p> + + <p>The last problem admits of easy solution. In heathen times the English + traced the pedigree of most of their kings to Woden, and stopped there. + For higher than that they could not go. But a Christian poet or + genealogist, who had no belief in Woden as a god, would regard the All + Father as a man—a mere man who, by magic powers, had made the + heathen believe he was a god. To such a Christian pedigree-maker Woden + would convey no idea of finality; he would feel no difficulty in giving + this human Woden any number of ancestors. Wishing to glorify the pedigree + of his king, he would add any other distinguished and authentic + genealogies, and the obvious place for these would be at the end of the + line, i.e., above Woden. Hence we have in some quite early (not West + Saxon) pedigrees, five names given as ancestors of Woden. These five + names end in Geat or Geata, who was apparently regarded as a god, and was + possibly Woden under another name<a name="NtA150" + href="#Nt150"><sup>[150]</sup></a>. Somewhat later, in the <i>Anglo-Saxon + Chronicle</i>, under <!-- Page 73 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page73"></a>{73}</span>the year 855, we have a long version of the + West Saxon pedigree with yet nine further names above Geat, ending in + Sceaf. Sceaf is described as a son of Noah, and so the pedigree is + carried back to Adam, 25 generations in all beyond Woden<a name="NtA151" + href="#Nt151"><sup>[151]</sup></a>. But it is rash to assume with + Müllenhoff that, because Sceaf comes at the head<a name="NtA152" + href="#Nt152"><sup>[152]</sup></a> of this English pedigree, Sceaf was + therefore essentially an English hero. <i>All</i> these later stages + above Woden look like the ornate additions of a later compiler. Some of + the figures, Finn, Sceldwa, Heremod, Sceaf himself, we have reason to + identify with the primitive heroes of other nations.</p> + + <p>The genealogist who finally made Sceaf into a son born to Noah in the + ark, and then carried the pedigree nine stages further back through Noah + to Adam, merely made the last of a series of accretions. It does not + follow that, because he made them ancestors of the English king, this + compiler regarded Noah, Enoch and Adam as Englishmen. Neither need he + have so regarded Sceaf or Scyld<a name="NtA153" + href="#Nt153"><sup>[153]</sup></a> or Beaw. In fact—and this has + constantly been overlooked—the authority for Sceaf, Scyld and Beaw + as Anglo-Saxon heroes is but little stronger than the authority for Noah + and Adam in that capacity. No manuscript exists which stops at Scyld or + Sceaf. There is no version which goes beyond Geat except that which goes + up to Adam. Scyld, Beaw, Sceaf, Noah and Adam as heroes of English + mythology are all alike doubtful.</p> + + <p>We must be careful, however, to define what we mean when we regard + these stages of the pedigree as doubtful. They are doubtful in so far as + they are represented as standing above Woden in the Anglo-Saxon pedigree, + because it is incredible that, in primitive and heathen times, Woden was + credited with a dozen or more forefathers. The <i>position</i> of these + names in the pedigree is therefore doubtful. But it is only their + connection with the West Saxon house that is unauthentic. It does not + follow that the names are, <i>per se</i>, unauthentic. On the contrary, + it is because the genealogist had such implicit belief in the + authenticity of the generations <!-- Page 74 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page74"></a>{74}</span>from Noah to Adam that he could not rest + satisfied with his West Saxon pedigree till he had incorporated these + names. They are not West Saxon, but they are part of a tradition much + more ancient than any pedigree of the West Saxon kings. And the argument + which applies to the layer of Hebrew names between Noah and Adam applies + equally to the layer of Germanic names between Woden and Sceaf. From + whatever branch of the Germanic race the genealogist may have taken them, + the fact that he placed them where he did in the pedigree is a proof of + his veneration for them. But we must not without evidence claim them as + West Saxon or Anglo-Saxon: we must not be surprised if evidence points to + some of them being connected with other nations—as Heremod, for + example, with the Danes<a name="NtA154" + href="#Nt154"><sup>[154]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>More difficult are the other problems. William of Malmesbury tells the + story of Sceaf, with the attributes of a culture-hero: <i>Beowulf</i>, + four centuries earlier, tells it of Scyld, a warrior hero: Ethelwerd + tells it of Sceaf, but gives him the warrior attributes of Scyld<a + name="NtA155" href="#Nt155"><sup>[155]</sup></a> instead of the sheaf of + corn.</p> + + <p>The earlier scholars mostly agreed<a name="NtA156" + href="#Nt156"><sup>[156]</sup></a> in regarding Malmesbury's attribution + of the story to Sceaf as the original and correct version of the story, + in spite of its late date. As a representative of these early scholars we + may take Müllenhoff<a name="NtA157" href="#Nt157"><sup>[157]</sup></a>. + Müllenhoff's love of mythological interpretation found ample scope in the + story of the child with the sheaf, which he, with considerable reason, + regarded as a "culture-myth." Müllenhoff believed the carrying over of + the attributes of a god to a line of his supposed descendants to be a + common feature of myth—the descendants representing the god under + another name. In accordance with this view, Scyld could be explained as + an "hypostasis" of his father or forefather Sceaf, as a figure further + explaining him and representing him, so that in the end the tale of the + boat arrival came to be told, in <i>Beowulf</i>, of Scyld instead of + Sceaf.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 75 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page75"></a>{75}</span></p> + + <p>Recent years have seen a revolt against most of Müllenhoff's theories. + The view that the story originally belonged to Sceaf has come to be + regarded with a certain amount of impatience as "out of date." Even so + fine a scholar as Dr Lawrence has expressed this impatience:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"That the graceful story of the boy sailing in an open boat to the + land of his future people was told originally of Sceaf ... needs no + detailed refutation at the present day.</p> + + <p>"The attachment of the motive to Sceaf must be, as an examination of + the sources shows, a later development<a name="NtA158" + href="#Nt158"><sup>[158]</sup></a>."</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Accordingly the view of recent scholars has been this: That the story + belongs essentially to Scyld. That, as the hero of the boat story is + obviously of unknown parentage, we must interpret <i>Scefing</i> not as + "son of Sceaf" but as "with the sheaf" (in itself a quite possible + explanation). That this stage of the story is preserved in + <i>Beowulf</i>. That subsequently <i>Scyld Scefing</i>, standing at the + head of the pedigree, came to be misunderstood as "Scyld, son of Sceaf". + That consequently the story, which must be told of the earlier ancestor, + was thus transferred from Scyld to his supposed father Sceaf—the + version which is found in Ethelwerd and William of Malmesbury.</p> + + <p>One apparent advantage of this theory is that the oldest version, that + of <i>Beowulf</i>, is accepted as the correct and original one, and the + much later versions of the historians Ethelwerd and William of Malmesbury + are regarded as subsequent corruptions. This on the surface seems + eminently reasonable. But let us look closer. <i>Scyld Scefing</i> in + <i>Beowulf</i> is to be interpreted "Scyld with the Sheaf." But + <i>Beowulf</i> nowhere mentions the sheaf as part of Scyld's equipment. + On the contrary, we gather that the hero is connected rather with prowess + in war. It is the same in Ethelwerd. It is not till William of Malmesbury + that the sheaf comes into the story. So that the interpretation of + <i>Scefing</i> as "with the sheaf" assumes the accuracy of William of + Malmesbury's story even in a point where it receives no support from the + <i>Beowulf</i> version. In other words this theory does the very thing to + avoid doing which it was called into being<a name="NtA159" + href="#Nt159"><sup>[159]</sup></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 76 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page76"></a>{76}</span></p> + + <p>Besides this, there are two fundamental objections to the theory that + Sceaf is a late creation, a figure formed from the misunderstanding of + the epithet <i>Scefing</i> applied to <i>Scyld</i>. One portion of the + poem of <i>Widsith</i> consists of a catalogue of ancient kings, and + among these occurs <i>Sceafa</i>, ruling the Langobards. Now portions of + <i>Widsith</i> are very ancient, and this catalogue in which Sceafa + occurs is almost certainly appreciably older than <i>Beowulf</i> + itself.</p> + + <p>Secondly, the story of the wonderful foundling who comes over the sea + from the unknown and founds a royal line, must <i>ex hypothesi</i> be + told of the first in the line, and we have seen that it is Sceaf, not + Scyld, who comes at the head of the Teutonic names in the genealogy in + the <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i>.</p> + + <p>Now we can date this genealogy fairly exactly. It occurs under the + year 855, and seems to have been drawn up at the court of King Æthelwulf. + In any case it cannot be later than the latter part of Alfred's reign. + This takes us back to a period when the old English epic was still widely + popular. A genealogist at Alfred's court must have known much about Old + English story.</p> + + <p>These facts are simply not consistent with the belief that Sceaf is a + late creation, a figure formed from a misunderstanding of the epithet + <i>Scefing</i>, applied to Scyld<a name="NtA160" + href="#Nt160"><sup>[160]</sup></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 77 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page77"></a>{77}</span></p> + + <p>To arrive at any definite conclusion is difficult. But the following + may be hazarded.</p> + + <p>It may be taken as proved that the Scyld or Sceldwa of the + genealogists is identical with the Scyld Scefing of <i>Beowulf</i>. For + Sceldwa according to the genealogy is also ultimately a <i>Sceafing</i>, + and is the father of Beow; Scyld is <i>Scefing</i> and is father of + Beowulf<a name="NtA161" href="#Nt161"><sup>[161]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>It is equally clear that the Scyld Scefing of <i>Beowulf</i> is + identical with the Skjold of the Danish genealogists and historians. For + Scyld and Skjold are both represented as the founder and head of the + Danish royal house of Scyldingas or Skjoldungar, and as reigning in the + same district. Here, however, the resemblance ceases. <i>Beowulf</i> + tells us of Scyld's marvellous coming and departure. The only Danish + authority who tells us much of Skjold is Saxo Grammaticus, who records + how as a boy Skjold wrestled successfully with a bear and overcame + champions, and how later he annulled unrighteous laws, and distinguished + himself by generosity to his court. But the Danish and English accounts + have nothing specifically in common, though the type they portray is the + same—that of a king from his youth beloved by his retainers and + feared by neighbouring peoples, whom he subdues and makes tributary. It + looks rather as if the oldest traditions had had little to say about this + hero beyond the typical things which might be said of any great king; so + that Danes and English had each supplied the deficiency in their own + way.</p> + + <p>Now this is exactly what we should expect. For Scyld-Skjold is hardly + a personality: he is a figure evolved out of the name <i>Scyldingas</i>, + <i>Skjoldungar</i>, which is an old epic title for the Danes. Of this we + may be fairly certain: the Scyldingas did not get their name because they + were really descended from Scyld, but Scyld was created in order to + provide an eponymous father to the Scyldingas<a name="NtA162" + href="#Nt162"><sup>[162]</sup></a>. In just the same way <!-- Page 78 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page78"></a>{78}</span>tradition also + evolved a hero Dan, from whom the Danes were supposed to have their name. + Saxo Grammaticus has combined both pedigrees, making Skjold a descendant + of Dan; but usually it was agreed that nothing came before Skjold, that + he was the beginning of the Skjoldung line<a name="NtA163" + href="#Nt163"><sup>[163]</sup></a>. At first a mere name, we should + expect that he would have no characteristic save that, like every + respectable Germanic king, he took tribute from his foes and gave it to + his friends. He differs therefore from those heroic figures like Hygelac + or Guthhere (Gunnar) which, being derived from actual historic + characters, have, from the beginning of their story, certain definite + features attached to them. Scyld is, in the beginning, merely a name, the + ancestor of the Scyldings. Tradition collects round him gradually.</p> + + <p>Hence it will be rash to attach much weight to any feature which is + found in one account of him only. Anything we are told of Scyld in + English sources alone is not to be construed as evidence as to his + original story, but only as to the form that story assumed in England. + When, for example, <i>Beowulf</i> tells us that Scyld is <i>Scefing</i>, + or that he is father of Beowulf, it will be very rash of us to assume + that these relationships existed in the Danish, but have been forgotten. + This is, I think, universally admitted<a name="NtA164" + href="#Nt164"><sup>[164]</sup></a>. Yet the very scholars who emphasize + this, have assumed that the marvellous arrival as a child, in a boat, + surrounded by weapons, is an essential feature of Scyld's story. Yet the + evidence for this is no better and no worse than the evidence for his + relationship to Sceaf or Beow—it rests solely on the English + documents. Accordingly it only shows what was told about Scyld in + England.</p> + + <p>Of course the boat arrival <i>might</i> be an original part of the + story of <i>Scyld-Skjold</i>, which has been forgotten in his native <!-- + Page 79 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page79"></a>{79}</span>country, + but remembered in England. But I cannot see that we have any right to + assert this, without proof.</p> + + <p>What we can assert to have been the original feature of Scyld is + this—that he was the eponymous hero king of the Danes. Both + <i>Beowulf</i> and the Scandinavian authorities agree upon that. The fact + that his name (in the form <i>Sceldwa</i>) appears in the genealogy of + the kings of Wessex is not evidence against a Danish origin. The name + appears in close connection with that of Heremod, another Danish king, + and is merely evidence of a desire on the part of the genealogist of the + Wessex kings to connect his royal house with the most distinguished + family he knew: that of the Scyldingas, about whom so much is said in the + prologue to <i>Beowulf</i>.</p> + + <p>Neither do the instances of place-names in England, such as <i>Scyldes + treow</i>, <i>Scildes well</i>, prove Scyld to have been an English hero. + They merely prove him to have been a hero who was celebrated in + England—which the Prologue to <i>Beowulf</i> alone is sufficient to + show to have been the case. For place-names commemorating heroes of alien + tribes are common enough<a name="NtA165" + href="#Nt165"><sup>[165]</sup></a> on English ground.</p> + + <p>So much at least is gained. Whatever Müllenhoff<a name="NtA166" + href="#Nt166"><sup>[166]</sup></a> and his followers constructed upon the + assumption that Scyld was an essentially Anglo-Saxon hero goes overboard. + Scyld is the ancestor king of the Danish house—more than this we + can hardly with safety assert.</p> + + <p>Now let us turn to the figure of Sceaf. This was not necessarily + connected with Scyld from the first.</p> + + <p>The story of Sceaf first meets us in its completeness in the pages of + William of Malmesbury. And William of Malmesbury is a twelfth century + authority; by his time the Old English courtly epics had died + out—for they could not have long survived the Norman Conquest and + the overthrow of Old English court life. But the popular tradition<a + name="NtA167" href="#Nt167"><sup>[167]</sup></a> remained, and <!-- Page + 80 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page80"></a>{80}</span>a good many + of the old stories, banished from the hall, must have lingered on at the + cross-roads—tales of Wade and Weyland, of Offa and Sceaf. For + songs, sung by minstrels at the cross roads, William of Malmesbury is + good evidence, and he owns to having drawn information from similar + popular sources<a name="NtA168" href="#Nt168"><sup>[168]</sup></a>. + William's story, then, is evidence that in his own day there was a + tradition of a mythical king Sheaf who came as a child sleeping in a ship + with a sheaf of corn at his head How old this tradition may be, we cannot + say. Ethelwerd knew the story, though he has nothing to say of the sheaf. + But we have seen that when we get back to the ninth century, and the + formation of the <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i>, at a court where we may be + sure the old English heroic stories were still popular, it is Sceaf and + not Sceldwa who is regarded as the beginning of things—the king + whose origin is so remote that he is the oldest Germanic ancestor one can + get back to<a name="NtA169" href="#Nt169"><sup>[169]</sup></a>: "he was + born in Noah's ark."</p> + + <p>Whether or no Noah's ark was chosen as Sceaf's birthplace because + legend represented him as coming in a boat over the water, we cannot + tell. But the place he occupies, with only the Biblical names before him, + as compared with Sceldwa the son of Heremod, clearly marks Sceaf rather + than Sceldwa as the hero who comes from the unknown. Turning now to the + catalogue of kings in <i>Widsith</i>, probably the oldest extant piece of + Anglo-Saxon verse, some generations more ancient than <i>Beowulf</i>, we + find a King Sceafa, who ruled over the Langobards. Finally, in + <i>Beowulf</i> itself, although the story is told of Scyld, nevertheless + this Scyld is characterized as <i>Scefing</i>. If this means "with the + sheaf," then the <i>Beowulf</i>-story stands convicted of imperfection, + of needing explanation outside itself from the <!-- Page 81 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page81"></a>{81}</span>account which William of + Malmesbury wrote four centuries later. If it means "son of Sceaf," why + should a father be given to Scyld, when the story demands that he should + come from the unknown? Was it because, if the boat story was to be + attributed to Scyld, it was felt that this could only be made plausible + by giving him some relation to Sceaf?</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>When we find an ancient king bearing the extraordinary name of + "Sheaf," it is difficult not to connect this with the honour done to the + sheaf of corn, survivals of which have been found in different parts of + England. In Herrick's time, the sheaves of corn were still kissed as they + were carried home on the Hock-cart, whilst</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i20">Some, with great</p> + <p>Devotion, stroke the home-borne wheat.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Professor Chadwick argues, on the analogy of Prussian and Bulgarian + harvest customs, that the figure of the "Harvest Queen" in the English + ceremony is derived from a corn figure made from the last sheaf, and that + the sheaf was once regarded as a religious symbol<a name="NtA170" + href="#Nt170"><sup>[170]</sup></a>. But the evidence for this is surely + even stronger than would be gathered from Professor Chadwick's very + cautious statement. I suppose there is hardly a county in England from + Kent to Cornwall and from Kent to Northumberland, where there is not + evidence for honour paid to the last sheaf—an honour which cannot + be accounted for as merely expressing the joy of the reapers at having + got to the end of their task. In Kent "a figure composed of some of the + best corn" was made into a human shape: "this is afterwards curiously + dressed by the women, and adorned with paper trimmings cut to resemble a + cap, ruffles, handkerchief, etc., of the finest lace. It is brought home + with the last load of corn<a name="NtA171" + href="#Nt171"><sup>[171]</sup></a>." In Northumberland and Durham a sheaf + known as the "Kern baby" was made into the likeness of a human figure, + decked out and brought home in triumph with dancing and singing<a + name="NtA172" href="#Nt172"><sup>[172]</sup></a>. But the most striking + form of the sheaf ceremony is found in the honour done to the "Neck" in + the West of England.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 82 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page82"></a>{82}</span></p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>... After the wheat is all cut, on most farms in the north of Devon + the harvest people have a custom of "crying the neck." I believe that + this practice is seldom omitted on any large farm in that part of the + country. It is done in this way. An old man, or someone else well + acquainted with the ceremonies used on the occasion (when the labourers + are reaping the last field of wheat), goes round to the shocks and + sheaves, and picks out a little bundle of all the best ears he can find; + this bundle he ties up very neat and trim, and plats and arranges the + straws very tastefully. This is called "the neck" of wheat, or + wheaten-ears. After the field is cut out, and the pitcher once more + circulated, the reapers, binders, and the women, stand round in a circle. + The person with "the neck" stands in the centre, grasping it with both + his hands. He first stoops and holds it near the ground, and all the men + forming the ring take off their hats, stooping and holding them with both + hands towards the ground. They then all begin at once in a very prolonged + and harmonious tone to cry "the neck!" at the same time slowly raising + themselves upright, and elevating their arms and hats above their heads; + the person with "the neck" also raising it on high. This is done three + times. They then change their cry to "wee yen!"—"way + yen!"—which they sound in the same prolonged and slow manner as + before, with singular harmony and effect, three times. This last cry is + accompanied by the same movements of the body and arms as in crying "the + neck." ...</p> + + <p>... After having thus repeated "the neck" three times, and "wee yen" + or "way yen" as often, they all burst out into a kind of loud and joyous + laugh, flinging up their hats and caps into the air, capering about and + perhaps kissing the girls. One of them then gets "the neck," and runs as + hard as he can down to the farm-house, where the dairy-maid, or one of + the young female domestics, stands at the door prepared with a pail of + water. If he who holds "the neck" can manage to get into the house, in + any way, unseen or openly, by any other way than the door at which the + girl stands with the pail of water, then he may lawfully kiss her; but, + if otherwise, he is regularly soused with the contents of the bucket. On + a fine still autumn evening, the "crying of the neck" has a wonderful + effect at a distance, far finer than that of the Turkish muezzin, which + Lord Byron eulogizes so much, and which he says is preferable to all the + bells in Christendom. I have once or twice heard upwards of twenty men + cry it, and sometimes joined by an equal number of female voices. About + three years back, on some high grounds, where our people were harvesting, + I heard six or seven "necks" cried in one night, although I know that + some of them were four miles off<a name="NtA173" + href="#Nt173"><sup>[173]</sup></a>.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>The account given by Mrs Bray of the Devonshire custom, in her letters + to Southey, is practically identical with this<a name="NtA174" + href="#Nt174"><sup>[174]</sup></a>. We have plenty of evidence for this + ceremony of "Crying the Neck" in the South-Western counties in + Somersetshire<a name="NtA175" href="#Nt175"><sup>[175]</sup></a>, in + Cornwall<a name="NtA176" href="#Nt176"><sup>[176]</sup></a>, and in a + mutilated form in Dorsetshire<a name="NtA177" + href="#Nt177"><sup>[177]</sup></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 83 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page83"></a>{83}</span></p> + + <p>On the Welsh border the essence of the ceremony consisted in tying the + last ears of corn—perhaps twenty—with ribbon, and severing + this "neck" by throwing the sickle at it from some distance. The custom + is recorded in Cheshire<a name="NtA178" + href="#Nt178"><sup>[178]</sup></a>, Shropshire<a name="NtA179" + href="#Nt179"><sup>[179]</sup></a>, and under a different name in + Herefordshire<a name="NtA180" href="#Nt180"><sup>[180]</sup></a>. The + term "neck" seems to have been known as far afield as Yorkshire and the + "little England beyond Wales"—the English-speaking colony of + Pembrokeshire<a name="NtA181" href="#Nt181"><sup>[181]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Whether we are to interpret the expression "the Neck," applied to the + last sheaf, as descended from a time when "the corn spirit is conceived + in human form, and the last standing corn is a part of its body—its + neck<a name="NtA182" href="#Nt182"><sup>[182]</sup></a> ..." or whether + it is merely a survival of the Scandinavian word for + sheaf—<i>nek</i> or <i>neg</i><a name="NtA183" + href="#Nt183"><sup>[183]</sup></a>, we have here surely evidence of the + worship of the sheaf. "In this way 'Sheaf' was greeted, before he passed + over into a purely mythical being<a name="NtA184" + href="#Nt184"><sup>[184]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>I do not think these "neck" customs can be traced back beyond the + seventeenth century<a name="NtA185" href="#Nt185"><sup>[185]</sup></a>. + Though analogous usages are recorded in England (near Eton) as early as + the sixteenth century<a name="NtA186" href="#Nt186"><sup>[186]</sup></a>, + it was not usual at that time to trouble to record such things.</p> + + <p>The earliest document bearing upon the veneration of the sheaf comes + from a neighbouring district, and is contained in the Chronicle of the + Monastery of Abingdon, which tells how in the time of King Edmund + (941-946) a controversy arose as to the right of the monks of Abingdon to + a certain portion of land adjoining the river. The monks appealed to a + judgment of God to vindicate their claim, and this took the shape of <!-- + Page 84 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page84"></a>{84}</span>placing + a sheaf, with a taper on the top, upon a round shield and letting it + float down the river, the shield by its movements hither and thither + indicating accurately the boundaries of the monastic domain. At last the + shield came to the field in debate, which, thanks to the floods, it was + able to circumnavigate<a name="NtA187" + href="#Nt187"><sup>[187]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Professor Chadwick, who first emphasized the importance of this + strange ordeal<a name="NtA188" href="#Nt188"><sup>[188]</sup></a>, points + out that although the extant <span class="scac">MSS</span> of the + <i>Chronicle</i> date from the thirteenth century, the mention of a + <i>round</i> shield carries the superstition back to a period before the + Norman Conquest. Therefore this story seems to give us evidence for the + use of the sheaf and shield together as a magic symbol in Anglo-Saxon + times. "An ordeal by letting the sheaf sail down the river on a shield + was only possible at a time when the sheaf was regarded as a kind of + supernatural being which could find the way itself<a name="NtA189" + href="#Nt189"><sup>[189]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>But a still closer parallel to the story of the corn-figure coming + over the water is found in Finnish mythology in the person of Sämpsä + Pellervoinen. Finnish mythology seems remote from our subject, but if the + figure of Sämpsä was borrowed from Germanic mythology, as seems to be + thought<a name="NtA190" href="#Nt190"><sup>[190]</sup></a>, we are + justified in laying great weight upon the parallel.</p> + + <p>Readers of the <i>Kalewala</i> will remember, near the beginning, the + figure of Sämpsä Pellervoinen, the god of Vegetation. He does not seem to + do much. But there are other Finnish <!-- Page 85 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page85"></a>{85}</span>poems in his honour, + extant in varying versions<a name="NtA191" + href="#Nt191"><sup>[191]</sup></a>. It is difficult to get a collected + idea from these fragmentary records, but it seems to be this: Ahti, the + god of the sea, sends messengers to summon Sämpsä, so that he may bring + fertility to the fields. In one version, first the Winter and then the + Summer are sent to arouse Sämpsä, that he may make the crops and trees + grow. Winter—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Took a foal swift as the spring wind,</p> + <p>Let the storm wind bear him forward,</p> + <p>Blew the trees till they were leafless,</p> + <p>Blew the grass till it was seedless,</p> + <p>Bloodless likewise the young maidens.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Sämpsä refuses to come. Then the Summer is sent with better results. + In another version Sämpsä is fetched from an island beyond the sea:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>It is I who summoned Sämpsä</p> + <p>From an isle amid the ocean,</p> + <p>From a skerry bare and treeless.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>In yet another variant we are told how the boy Sämpsä</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Took six grains from off the corn heap,</p> + <p>Slept all summer mid the corn heap,</p> + <p>In the bosom of the corn boat.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Now "It's a long, long way to" Ilomantsi in the east of Finland, where + this last variant was discovered. But at least we have evidence that, + within the region influenced by Germanic mythology, the spirit of + vegetation was thought of as a boy coming over the sea, or sleeping in a + boat with corn<a name="NtA192" href="#Nt192"><sup>[192]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>To sum up:</p> + + <p>Sceafa, when the Catalogue of Kings in <i>Widsith</i> was drawn + up—before <i>Beowulf</i> was composed, at any rate in its present + form—was regarded as an ancient king. When the West Saxon pedigree + was drawn up, certainly not much more than a century and a half after the + composition of <i>Beowulf</i>, and perhaps much less, Sceaf was regarded + as the primitive figure in the pedigree, before whom no one lived save + the Hebrew patriarchs. That he was originally thought of as a child, <!-- + Page 86 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page86"></a>{86}</span>coming + across the water, with the sheaf of corn, is, in view of the Finnish + parallel, exceedingly probable, and acquires some confirmation from the + Chronicler's placing him in Noah's ark. But the definite evidence for + this is late.</p> + + <p>Scyld, on the other hand, is in the first place probably a mere eponym + of the power of the Scylding kings of Denmark. He may, at a very early + date, have been provided with a ship funeral, since later two Swedish + kings, both apparently of Danish origin, have this ship funeral accorded + to them, and in one case it is expressly said to be "according to the + custom of his ancestors." But it seems exceedingly improbable that his + original story represented him as coming over the sea in a boat. For, if + so, it remains to be explained why this motive has entirely disappeared + among his own people in Scandinavia, and has been preserved only in + England. Would the Danes have been likely to forget utterly so striking a + story, concerning the king from whom their line derived its name? + Further, in England, <i>Beowulf</i> alone attributes this story to Scyld, + whilst later historians attribute it to Sceaf. In view of the way in + which the story of William of Malmesbury is supported by folklore, to + regard that story as merely the result of error or invention seems + perilous indeed.</p> + + <p>On the other hand, all becomes straightforward if we allow that Scyld + and Sceaf were both ancient figures standing at the head of famous + dynasties. Their names alliterate. What more likely than that their + stories should have influenced each other, and that one king should have + come to be regarded as the parent or ancestor of the other? Contamination + with Scyld would account for Sceaf's boat being stated to have come to + land in Scani, Scanza—that Scedeland which is mentioned as the seat + of Scyld's rule. Yet this explanation is not necessary, for if Sceaf were + an early Longobard king, he would be rightly represented as ruling in + Scandinavia<a name="NtA193" href="#Nt193"><sup>[193]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p><!-- Page 87 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page87"></a>{87}</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section VI. Beow.</span></p> + + <p>The Anglo-Saxon genealogies agree that the son of Sceldwa (Scyld) is + Beow (Beaw, Beo). In <i>Beowulf</i>, he is named not Beow, but + Beowulf.</p> + + <p>Many etymologies have been suggested for <i>Bēow</i>. But + considering that Beow is in some versions a grandson, in all a descendant + of Sceaf, it can hardly be an accident that his name is identical with + the O.E. word for grain, <i>bēow</i>. The Norse word corresponding + to this is <i>bygg</i><a name="NtA194" + href="#Nt194"><sup>[194]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Recent investigation of the name is best summed up in the words of + Axel Olrik:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"New light has been cast upon the question of the derivation of the + name Beow by Kaarle Krohn's investigation of the debt of Finnish to Norse + mythology, together with Magnus Olsen's linguistic interpretation. The + Finnish has a deity Pekko, concerning whom it is said that he promoted + the growth of barley: the Esths, closely akin to the Finns, have a + corresponding Peko, whose image—the size of a three-year-old + child—was carried out into the fields and invoked at the time of + sowing, or else was kept in the corn-bin by a custodian chosen for a + year. This Pekko is plainly a personification of the barley; the form + corresponding phonetically in Runic Norse would be *<i>beggw-</i> (from + which comes Old Norse <i>bygg</i>).</p> + + <p>"So in Norse there was a grain *<i>beggw-</i> (becoming <i>bygg</i>) + and a corn-god *<i>Beggw-</i> (becoming <i>Pekko</i>). In Anglo-Saxon + there was a grain <i>béow</i> and an ancestral <i>Béow</i>. And all four + are phonetically identical (proceeding from a primitive form + *<i>beuwa</i>, 'barley'). The conclusion which it is difficult to avoid + is, that the corn-spirit 'Barley' and the ancestor 'Barley' are one and + the same. The relation is the same as that between King Sheaf and the + worship of the sheaf: the worshipped corn-being gradually sinks into the + background, and comes to be regarded as an epic figure, an early + ancestor.</p> + + <p>"We have no more exact knowledge of the mythical ideas connected + either with the ancestor Beow or the corn-god Pekko. But we know enough + of the worship of Pekko to show that he dwelt in the corn-heap, and that, + in the spring, he was fetched out in the shape of a little child. That + reminds us not a little of Sämpsä, who lay in the corn-heap on the ship, + and came to land and awoke in the spring<a name="NtA195" + href="#Nt195"><sup>[195]</sup></a>."</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p><!-- Page 88 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page88"></a>{88}</span></p> + + <p>But it may be objected that this is "harking back" to the old + mythological interpretations. After refusing to accept Müllenhoff's + assumptions, are we not reverting, through the names of Sceaf and Beow, + and the worship of the sheaf, to very much the same thing?</p> + + <p>No. It is one thing to believe that the ancestor-king Beow may be a + weakened form of an ancient divinity, a mere name surviving from the + figure of an old corn-god Beow; it is quite another to assume, as + Müllenhoff did, that what we are told about Beowulf was originally told + about Beow <i>and that therefore we are justified in giving a + mythological meaning to it</i>.</p> + + <p>All we know, conjecture apart, about Beow is his traditional + relationship to Scyld, Sceaf and the other figures of the pedigree. That + Beowulf's dragon fight belonged originally to him is only a conjecture. + In confirmation of this conjecture only one argument has been put + forward: an argument turning upon Beowulf, son of Scyld—that + obscure figure, apparently equivalent to Beow, who meets us at the + beginning of our poem.</p> + + <p>Beowulf's place as a son of Scyld and father of Healfdene is occupied + in the Danish genealogies by Frothi, son of Skjold, and father of + Halfdan. It has been urged that the two figures are really identical, in + spite of the difference of name. Now Frothi slays a dragon, and it has + been argued that this dragon fight shows similarities which enable us to + identify it with the dragon fight attributed in our poem to Beowulf the + Geat.</p> + + <p>The argument is a strong one—if it really is the case that the + dragon slain by Frothi was the same monster as that slain by Beowulf the + Geat.</p> + + <p>Unfortunately this parallel, which will be examined in the next + section, is far from certain. We must be careful not to argue in a + circle, identifying Beowulf and Frothi because they slew the same dragon, + and then identifying the dragons because they were slain by the same + hero.</p> + + <p>Whilst, therefore, we admit that it is highly probable that Beow + (grain) the descendant of Sceaf (sheaf) was originally a corn divinity or + corn fetish, we cannot follow Müllenhoff in his bold attribution to this + "culture hero" of Beowulf's adventures with the dragon or with + Grendel.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p><!-- Page 89 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page89"></a>{89}</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section VII. The house of Scyld and Danish parallels: Heremod-Lotherus and Beowulf-Frotho.</span></p> + + <p>Scyld, although the source of that Scylding dynasty which our poem + celebrates, is <i>not</i> apparently regarded in <i>Beowulf</i> as the + earliest Danish king. He came to the throne after an interregnum; the + people whom he grew up to rule had long endured cruel need, "being + without a prince<a name="NtA196" href="#Nt196"><sup>[196]</sup></a>." We + hear in <i>Beowulf</i> of one Danish king only whom we can place + chronologically before Scyld—viz. Heremod<a name="NtA197" + href="#Nt197"><sup>[197]</sup></a>. The way in which Heremod is referred + to would fit in very well with the supposition<a name="NtA198" + href="#Nt198"><sup>[198]</sup></a> that he was the last of a dynasty; the + immediate predecessor of Scyld; and that it was the death or exile of + Heremod which ushered in the time when the Danes were without a + prince.</p> + + <p>Now there is a natural tendency in genealogies for each king to be + represented as the descendant of his predecessor, whether he really was + so or no; so that in the course of time, and sometimes of a very short + time, the first king of a new dynasty may come to be reckoned as son of a + king of the preceding line<a name="NtA199" + href="#Nt199"><sup>[199]</sup></a>. Consequently, there would be nothing + surprising if, in another account, we find Scyld represented as a son of + Heremod. And we <i>do</i> find the matter represented thus in the West + Saxon genealogy, where Sceldwa or Scyld is son of Heremod. Turning to the + Danish accounts, however, we do not find any <i>Hermóðr</i> (which is the + form we should expect corresponding to <i>Heremōd</i>) as father to + Skjold (Scyld). Either no father of Skjold is known, or else (in Saxo + Grammaticus) he has a father Lotherus. But, although the names are + different, there is some correspondence between what we are told of + Lother and what we are told of Heremod. A close parallel has indeed been + drawn by Sievers between the whole dynasty: on the one hand Lotherus, his + son Skioldus, and his descendant Frotho, <!-- Page 90 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page90"></a>{90}</span>as given in Saxo: and on + the other hand the corresponding figures in <i>Beowulf</i>, Heremod, + Scyld, and Scyld's son, Beowulf the Dane.</p> + + <p>The fixed and certain point here is the identity of the central + figure, Skioldus-Scyld. All the rest is very doubtful; not that there are + not many parallel features, but because the parallels are of a + commonplace type which might so easily recur accidentally.</p> + + <p>The story of Lother, as given by Saxo, will be found below: the story + of Heremod as given in <i>Beowulf</i> is hopelessly obscure—a mere + succession of allusions intended for an audience who knew the tale quite + well. Assuming the stories of Lother and Heremod to be different versions + of one original, the following would seem to be the most likely + reconstruction<a name="NtA200" href="#Nt200"><sup>[200]</sup></a>, the + more doubtful portions being placed within round brackets thus ( ):</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>The old Danish prince [Dan in Saxo] has two sons, one a weakling + [<i>Humblus</i>, Saxo] the other a hero [<i>Lotherus</i>, Saxo: + <i>Heremod</i>, <i>Beowulf</i>] (who was already in his youth the hope of + the nation). But after his father's death the elder was (through + violence) raised to the throne: and Lother-Heremod went into banishment. + (But under the rule of the weakling the kingdom went to pieces, and thus) + many a man longed for the return of the exile, as a help against these + evils. So the hero conquers and deposes the weaker brother. But then his + faults break forth, his greed and his cruelty: he ceases to be the + darling and becomes the scourge of his people, till they rise and either + slay him or drive him again into exile.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>If the stories of Lother and Heremod <i>are</i> connected, we may be + fairly confident that Heremod, not Lother, was the name of the king in + the original story.</p> + + <p>For Scandinavian literature does know a Hermoth (<i>Hermóðr</i>), + though no such adventures are attributed to him as those recorded of + Heremod in <i>Beowulf</i>. Nevertheless it is probable that this Hermoth + and Heremod in <i>Beowulf</i> are one and the same, because both heroes + are linked in some way or other with Sigemund. How these two kings, + Heremod and Sigemund, came to be connected, we do not know, but we find + this connection recurring again and again<a name="NtA201" + href="#Nt201"><sup>[201]</sup></a>. This <i>may</i> be <!-- Page 91 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page91"></a>{91}</span>mere + coincidence: but I doubt if we are justified in assuming it to be so<a + name="NtA202" href="#Nt202"><sup>[202]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>It has been suggested<a name="NtA203" + href="#Nt203"><sup>[203]</sup></a> that both Heremod and Sigemund were + originally heroes specially connected with the worship of Odin, and hence + grouped together. The history of the Scandinavian Sigmund is bound up + with that of the magic sword which Odin gave him, and with which he was + always victorious till the last fight when Odin himself shattered it.</p> + + <p>And we are told in the Icelandic that Odin, whilst he gave a sword to + Sigmund, gave a helm and byrnie to Hermoth.</p> + + <p>Again, whilst in one Scandinavian poem Sigmund is represented as + welcoming the newcomer at the gates of Valhalla, in another the same duty + is entrusted to Hermoth.</p> + + <p>It is clear also that the <i>Beowulf</i>-poet had in mind some kind of + connection, though we cannot tell what, between Sigemund and Heremod.</p> + + <p>We may take it, then, that the Heremod who is linked with Sigemund in + <i>Beowulf</i> was also known in Scandinavian literature as a hero in + some way connected with Sigmund: whether or no the adventures which Saxo + records of Lotherus were really told in Scandinavian lands in connection + with Hermoth, we cannot say. The wicked king whose subjects rebel against + him is too common a feature of Germanic story for us to feel sure, + without a good deal of corroborative evidence, that the figures of + Lotherus and Heremod are identical.</p> + + <p>The next king in the line, Skioldus in Saxo, is, as we have seen, + clearly identical with Scyld in <i>Beowulf</i>. But beyond the name, the + two traditions have, as we have also seen, but little in common. Both are + youthful heroes<a name="NtA204" href="#Nt204"><sup>[204]</sup></a>, both + force neighbouring kings to pay tribute<a name="NtA205" + href="#Nt205"><sup>[205]</sup></a>; but such things are commonplaces<a + name="NtA206" href="#Nt206"><sup>[206]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>We must therefore turn to the next figure in the pedigree: the son of + Skjold in Scandinavian tradition is Frothi (Frotho <!-- Page 92 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page92"></a>{92}</span>in Saxo)<a name="NtA207" + href="#Nt207"><sup>[207]</sup></a>, the son of Scyld in <i>Beowulf</i> is + Beowulf the Dane. And Frothi is the father of Halfdan (Haldanus in Saxo) + as Beowulf the Dane is of Healfdene. The Frothi of Scandinavian tradition + corresponds then in position to Beowulf the Dane in Old English story<a + name="NtA208" href="#Nt208"><sup>[208]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Now of Beowulf the Dane we are told so little that we have really no + means of drawing a comparison between him and Frothi. But a <i>theory</i> + that has found wide acceptance among scholars assumes that the dragon + fight of Beowulf the Geat was originally narrated of Beowulf the Dane, + and only subsequently transferred to the Geatic hero. Theoretically, + then, Beowulf the Dane kills a dragon. Now certainly Frotho kills a + dragon: and it has been generally accepted<a name="NtA209" + href="#Nt209"><sup>[209]</sup></a> that the parallels between the dragon + slain by Frotho and that slain by Beowulf the Geat are so remarkable as + to exclude the possibility of mere accidental coincidence, and to lead us + to conclude that the dragon story was originally told of that Beowulf who + corresponds to Frothi, i.e. Beowulf the Dane, son of Scyld and father of + Healfdene; not Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, the Geat.</p> + + <p>But are the parallels really so close? We must not forget that here we + are building theory upon theory. That the Frotho of Saxo is the same + figure as Beowulf the Dane in Old English, is a theory, based upon his + common relationship to Skiold-Scyld before him and to Haldanus-Healfdene + coming after him: that Beowulf the Dane was the original hero of the + dragon fight, and that that dragon fight was only subsequently + transferred to the credit of Beowulf the Geat, is again a theory. Only if + we can find real parallels between the dragon-slaying of Frotho and the + dragon-slaying of Beowulf will these theories have confirmation.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 93 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page93"></a>{93}</span></p> + + <p>Parallels have been pointed out by Sievers which he regards as so + close as to justify a belief that both are derived ultimately from an old + lay, with so much closeness that verbal resemblances can still be + traced.</p> + + <p>Unfortunately the parallels are all commonplaces. That Sievers and + others have been satisfied with them was perhaps due to the fact that + they started by assuming as proved that the dragon fight of Beowulf the + Geat belonged originally to Beowulf the Dane<a name="NtA210" + href="#Nt210"><sup>[210]</sup></a>, and argued that since Frotho in Saxo + occupies a place corresponding exactly to that of Beowulf the Dane in + <i>Beowulf</i>, a comparatively limited resemblance between two dragons + coming, as it were, at the same point in the pedigree, might be held + sufficient to identify them.</p> + + <p>But, as we have seen, the assumption that the dragon fight of Beowulf + the Geat belonged originally to Beowulf the Dane is only a theory that + will have to stand or fall as we can prove that the dragon fight of + Frotho is really parallel to that of Beowulf the Geat, and therefore must + have belonged to the connecting link supplied by the Scylding prince + Beowulf the Dane. In other words, the theory that the dragon in + <i>Beowulf</i> is to be identified with the dragon which in Saxo is slain + by Frotho the Danish prince, father of Haldanus-Healfdene, is one of the + main arguments upon which we must base the theory that the dragon in + <i>Beowulf</i> was originally slain by the Danish Beowulf, father of + Healfdene, not by Beowulf the Geat. We cannot then turn round, and assert + that the fact that they were both slain by a Danish prince, the father of + Healfdene, is an argument for identifying the dragons.</p> + + <p>Turning to the dragon fight itself, the following parallels have been + noted by Sievers:</p> + + <p>(1) A native (<i>indigena</i>) comes to Frotho, and tells him of the + treasure-guarding dragon. An informer (<i>melda</i>) plays the same part + in <i>Beowulf</i><a name="NtA211" href="#Nt211"><sup>[211]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>But a dragon is not game which can be met with every day. He is a shy + beast, lurking in desert places. Some informant has very frequently to + guide the hero to his <!-- Page 94 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page94"></a>{94}</span>foe<a name="NtA212" + href="#Nt212"><sup>[212]</sup></a>. And the situation is widely + different. Frotho knows nothing of the dragon till directed to the spot: + Beowulf's land has been assailed, he knows of the dragon, though he needs + to be guided to its <i>exact</i> lair.</p> + + <p>(2) Frotho's dragon lives on an island. Beowulf's lives near the sea, + and there is an island (<i>ēalond</i>, 2334) in the + neighbourhood.</p> + + <p>But <i>ēalond</i> in <i>Beowulf</i> probably does not mean + "island" at all: and in any case the dragon did not live upon the + <i>ēalond</i>. Many dragons have lived near the sea. Sigemund's + dragon did so<a name="NtA213" href="#Nt213"><sup>[213]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>(3) The hero in each case attacks the dragon single-handed.</p> + + <p>But what hero ever did otherwise? On the contrary, Beowulf's exploit + differs from that of Frotho and of most other dragon slayers in that he + is unable to <i>overcome</i> his foe single-handed, and needs the support + of Wiglaf.</p> + + <p>(4) Special armour is carried by the dragon slayer in each case.</p> + + <p>But this again is no uncommon feature. The Red Cross Knight also needs + special armour. Dragon slayers constantly invent some ingenious or even + unique method. And again the parallel is far from close. Frotho is + advised to cover his shield and his limbs with the hides of bulls and + kine: a sensible precaution against fiery venom. Beowulf constructs a + shield of iron<a name="NtA214" href="#Nt214"><sup>[214]</sup></a>: which + naturally gives very inferior protection<a name="NtA215" + href="#Nt215"><sup>[215]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>(5) Frotho's informant tells him that he must be of good courage<a + name="NtA216" href="#Nt216"><sup>[216]</sup></a>. Wiglaf encourages + Beowulf<a name="NtA217" href="#Nt217"><sup>[217]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>But the circumstances under which the words are uttered are entirely + different, nor have the words more than a general resemblance. That a man + needs courage, if he is going to tackle a dragon, is surely a conclusion + at which two minds could have arrived independently.</p> + + <p>(6) Both heroes waste their blows at first on the scaly back of the + dragon.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 95 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page95"></a>{95}</span></p> + + <p>But if the hero went at once for the soft parts, there would be no + fight at all, and all the fun would be lost. Sigurd's dragon-fight is, + for this reason, a one-sided business from the first. To avoid this, + Frotho is depicted as beginning by an attack on the dragon's rough hide + (although he has been specially warned by the <i>indigena</i> not to do + so):</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i24">ventre sub imo</p> + <p>esse locum scito quo ferrum mergere fas est,</p> + <p>hunc mucrone petens medium rimaberis anguem<a name="NtA218" href="#Nt218"><sup>[218]</sup></a>.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>(7) The hoard is plundered by both heroes.</p> + + <p>But it is the nature of a dragon to guard a hoard<a name="NtA219" + href="#Nt219"><sup>[219]</sup></a>. And, having slain the dragon, what + hero would neglect the gold?</p> + + <p>(8) There are many verbal resemblances: the dragon spits venom<a + name="NtA220" href="#Nt220"><sup>[220]</sup></a>, and twists himself into + coils<a name="NtA221" href="#Nt221"><sup>[221]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Some of these verbal resemblances may be granted as proved: but they + surely do not prove the common origin of the two dragon fights. They only + tend to prove the common origin of the school of poetry in which these + two dragon fights were told. That dragons dwelt in mounds was a common + Germanic belief, to which the Cottonian Gnomic verses testify. Naturally, + therefore, Frotho's dragon is <i>montis possessor</i>: Beowulf's is + <i>beorges hyrde</i>. The two phrases undoubtedly point back to a similar + gradus, to a similar traditional stock phraseology, and to similar + beliefs: that is all. As well argue that two kings must be identical, + because each is called <i>folces hyrde</i>.</p> + + <p>These commonplace phrases and commonplace features are surely quite + insufficient to prove that the stories are identical—at most they + only prove that they bear the impress of one and the same poetical + school. If a parallel is to carry weight there must be something + individual about it, as there is, for example, about the arguments by + which the identity of Beowulf and Bjarki have been supported. That a hero + comes from <!-- Page 96 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page96"></a>{96}</span>Geatland (Gautland) to the court where + Hrothulf (Rolf) is abiding; that the same hero subsequently is + instrumental in helping Eadgils (Athils) against Onela (Ali)—here + we have something tangible. But when two heroes, engaged upon slaying a + dragon, are each told to be brave, the parallel is too general to be a + parallel at all. "There is a river in Macedon: and there is also moreover + a river at Monmouth, and there is salmons in both."</p> + + <p>And there is a fundamental difference, which would serve to neutralize + the parallels, even did they appear much less accidental than they + do.</p> + + <p>Dragon fights may be classified into several types: two stand out + prominently. There is the story in which the young hero begins his career + by slaying a dragon or monster and winning, it may be a hoard of gold, it + may be a bride. This is the type of story found, for instance, in the + tales of Sigurd, or Perseus, or St George. On the other hand there is the + hero who, at the end of his career, seeks to ward off evil from himself + and his people. He slays the monster, but is himself slain by it. The + great example of this type is the god Thor, who in the last fight of the + gods slays the Dragon, but dies when he has reeled back nine paces from + the "baleful serpent<a name="NtA222" + href="#Nt222"><sup>[222]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>Now the story of the victorious young Frotho is of the one type: that + of the aged Beowulf is of the other. And this difference is essential, + fundamental, dominating the whole situation in each case: giving its + cheerful and aggressive tone to the story of Frotho, giving the elegiac + and pathetic note which runs through the whole of the last portion of + <i>Beowulf</i><a name="NtA223" href="#Nt223"><sup>[223]</sup></a>. It is + no mere detail which could be added or subtracted by a narrator without + altering the essence of the story.</p> + + <p>In face of this we must pronounce the two stories essentially and + originally distinct. If, nevertheless, there were a large number of + striking and specific similarities, we should have to allow that, though + originally distinct, the one dragon story had influenced the other in + detail. For, whilst each poet who retold the tale would make alterations + in detail, and might <!-- Page 97 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page97"></a>{97}</span>import such detail from one dragon story + into another, what we know of the method of the ancient story tellers + does not allow us to assume that a poet would have altered the whole + drift of a story, either by changing the last death-struggle of an aged, + childless prince into the victorious feat of a young hero, or by the + reverse process.</p> + + <p>Those, therefore, who hold the parallels quoted above to be + convincing, may believe that one dragon story has influenced another, + originally distinct<a name="NtA224" href="#Nt224"><sup>[224]</sup></a>. + To me, it does not appear that even this necessarily follows from the + evidence.</p> + + <p>It seems very doubtful whether any of the parallels drawn by Sievers + between the stories of Lotherus and Heremod<a name="NtA225" + href="#Nt225"><sup>[225]</sup></a>, Skioldus and Scyld, Frotho and + Beowulf, are more than the resemblances inevitable in poetry which, like + the Old Danish and the Old English, still retains so many traces of the + common Germanic frame in which it was moulded.</p> + + <p>Indeed, of the innumerable dragon-stories extant, there is probably + not one which we can declare to be really identical with that of Beowulf. + There is a Danish tradition which shows many similarities<a name="NtA226" + href="#Nt226"><sup>[226]</sup></a>, and I have given this below, in Part + II; but rather as an example of a dragon-slaying of the <i>Beowulf</i> + type, than because I believe in any direct connection between the two + stories.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<p><!-- Page 98 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page98"></a>{98}</span></p> + +<h3>CHAPTER III</h3> + +<p class="cenhead">THEORIES AS TO THE ORIGIN, DATE, AND +STRUCTURE OF THE POEM</p> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section I. Is "Beowulf" Translated from a Scandinavian original?</span></p> + + <p>Our poem, the first original poem of any length in the English tongue, + ignores England. In one remarkable passage (ll. 1931-62) it mentions with + praise Offa I, the great king who ruled the Angles whilst they were still + upon the Continent. But, except for this, it deals mainly with heroes + who, so far as we can identify them with historic figures, are + Scandinavian.</p> + + <p>Hence, not unnaturally, the first editor boldly declared + <i>Beowulf</i> to be an Anglo-Saxon version of a Danish poem; and this + view has had many supporters. The poem <i>must</i> be Scandinavian, said + one of its earliest translators, because it deals mainly with + Scandinavian heroes and "everyone knows that in ancient times each nation + celebrated in song its own heroes alone<a name="NtA227" + href="#Nt227"><sup>[227]</sup></a>." And this idea, though not so crudely + expressed, seems really to underlie the belief which has been held by + numerous scholars, that the poem is nothing more than a translation of a + poem in which some Scandinavian minstrel had glorified the heroes of his + own nation.</p> + + <p>But what do we mean by "nation"? Doubtless, from the point of view of + politics and war, each Germanic tribe, or offshoot of a tribe, formed an + independent nation: the Longobardi had no hesitation in helping the + "Romans" to cut the throats of their Gothic kinsmen: Penda the Mercian + was willing to ally with the Welshmen in order to overthrow his <!-- Page + 99 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page99"></a>{99}</span>fellow Angles + of Northumbria. But all this, as the history of the ancient Greeks or of + the ancient Hebrews might show us, is quite compatible with a + consciousness of racial unity among the warring states, with a common + poetic tradition and a common literature. For purposes of poetry there + was only one nation—the Germanic—split into many dialects and + groups, but possessed of a common metre, a common style, a common + standard of heroic feeling: and any deed of valour performed by any + Germanic chief might become a fit subject for the poetry of any Germanic + tribe of the heroic age.</p> + + <p>So, if by "nation" we mean the whole Germanic race, then Germanic + poetry is essentially "national." The Huns were the only non-Germanic + tribe who were received (for poetical purposes) into Germania. Hunnish + chiefs seem to have adopted Gothic manners, and after the Huns had + disappeared it often came to be forgotten that they were not Germans. But + with this exception the tribes and heroes of Germanic heroic poetry are + Germanic.</p> + + <p>If, however, by "nation" we understand the different warring units + into which the Germanic race was, politically speaking, divided, then + Germanic poetry is essentially "international."</p> + + <p>This is no theory, but a fact capable of conclusive proof. The chief + actors in the old Norse Volsung lays are not Norsemen, but Sigurd the + Frank, Gunnar the Burgundian, Atli the Hun. In Continental Germany, the + ideal knight of the Saxons in the North and the Bavarians in the South + was no native hero, but Theodoric the Ostrogoth. So too in England, + whilst <i>Beowulf</i> deals chiefly with Scandinavian heroes, the + <i>Finnsburg</i> fragment deals with the Frisian tribes of the North Sea + coast: <i>Waldere</i> with the adventures of Germanic chiefs settled in + Gaul, <i>Deor</i> with stories of the Goths and of the Baltic tribes, + whilst <i>Widsith</i>, which gives us a catalogue of the old heroic + tales, shows that amongst the heroes whose names were current in England + were men of Gothic, Burgundian, Frankish, Lombard, Frisian, Danish and + Swedish race. There is nothing peculiar, then, in the fact that + <i>Beowulf</i> celebrates heroes who were not of Anglian birth. <!-- Page + 100 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page100"></a>{100}</span></p> + + <p>In their old home in Schleswig the Angles had been in the exact centre + of Germania: with an outlook upon both the North Sea and the Baltic, and + in touch with Scandinavian tribes on the North and Low German peoples on + the South. That the Angles were interested in the stories of all the + nations which surrounded them, and that they brought these stories with + them to England, is certain. It is a mere accident that the one heroic + poem which happens to have been preserved at length is almost exclusively + concerned with Scandinavian doings. It could easily have happened that + the history of the <i>Beowulf</i> <span class="scac">MS</span> and the + <i>Waldere</i> <span class="scac">MS</span> might have been reversed: + that the <i>Beowulf</i> might have been cut up to bind other books, and + the <i>Waldere</i> preserved intact: in that case our one long poem would + have been localized in ancient Burgundia, and would have dealt chiefly + with the doings of Burgundian champions. But we should have had no more + reason, without further evidence, to suppose the <i>Waldere</i> a + translation from the Burgundian than we have, without further evidence, + to suppose <i>Beowulf</i> a translation from the Scandinavian.</p> + + <p>To deny that <i>Beowulf</i>, as we have it, is a translation from the + Scandinavian does not, of course, involve any denial of the Scandinavian + origin of the <i>story</i> of Beowulf's deeds. The fact that his + achievements are framed in a Scandinavian setting, and that the closest + parallels to them have to be sought in Scandinavian lands, makes it + probable on <i>a priori</i> grounds that the story had its origin there. + On the face of it, Müllenhoff's belief that the story was indigenous + among the Angles is quite unlikely. It would seem rather to have + originated in the Geatic country. But stories, whether in prose or verse, + would spread quickly from the Geatas to the Danes and from the Danes to + the Angles.</p> + + <p>After the Angles had crossed the North Sea, however, this close + intimacy ceased, till the Viking raids again reminded Englishmen, in a + very unpleasant way, of their kinsmen across the sea. Now linguistic + evidence tends to show that <i>Beowulf</i> belongs to a time prior to the + Viking settlement in England, and it is unlikely that the Scandinavian + traditions embodied in <i>Beowulf</i> found their way to England just at + the time when <!-- Page 101 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page101"></a>{101}</span>communication with Scandinavian lands + seems to have been suspended. We must conclude then that all this + Scandinavian tradition probably spread to the Angles whilst they were + still in their old continental home, was brought across to England by the + settlers in the sixth century, was handed on by English bards from + generation to generation, till some Englishmen formed the poem of + <i>Beowulf</i> as we know it.</p> + + <p>Of course, if evidence can be produced that <i>Beowulf</i> is + translated from some Scandinavian original, which was brought over in the + seventh century or later, that is another matter. But the evidence + produced so far is not merely inconclusive, but ludicrously + inadequate.</p> + + <p>It has been urged<a name="NtA228" href="#Nt228"><sup>[228]</sup></a> + by Sarrazin, the chief advocate of the translation theory, that the + description of the country round Heorot, and especially of the journey to + the Grendel-lake, shows such local knowledge as to point to its having + been composed by some Scandinavian poet familiar with the locality. + Heorot can probably, as we have seen, be identified with Leire: and the + Grendel-lake Sarrazin identifies with the neighbouring Roskilde fjord. + But it is hardly possible to conceive a greater contrast than that + between the Roskilde fjord and the scenery depicted in ll. 1357 + <i>etc.</i>, 1408 <i>etc.</i> Seen, as Sarrazin saw it, on a May morning, + in alternate sun and shadow, the Roskilde fjord presents a view of tame + and peaceful beauty. In the days of Hrothgar, when there were perhaps + fewer cultivated fields and more beech forests, the scenery may have been + less tame, but can hardly have been less peaceful. The only trace of + accurate geography is that Heorot is represented as not on the shore, and + yet not far remote from it (ll. 307 <i>etc.</i>). But, as has been + pointed out above, we know that traditions of the attack by the + Heathobeardan upon Heorot were current in England: and these would be + quite sufficient to keep alive, even among English bards, some + remembrance of the strategic situation of Heorot with regard to the sea. + A man need not have been near Troy, to realize that the town was no + seaport and yet near the sea.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 102 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page102"></a>{102}</span></p> + + <p>Again, it has been claimed by Sarrazin that the language of + <i>Beowulf</i> shows traces of the Scandinavian origin of the poem. + Sarrazin's arguments on this head have been contested energetically by + Sievers<a name="NtA229" href="#Nt229"><sup>[229]</sup></a>. After some + heated controversy Sarrazin made a final and (presumably) + carefully-weighed statement of his case. In this he gave a list of + twenty-nine words upon which he based his belief<a name="NtA230" + href="#Nt230"><sup>[230]</sup></a>. Yet of these twenty-nine, twenty-one + occur in other O.E. writings, where there can be no possible question of + translation from the Scandinavian: some of these words, in fact, are + amongst the commonest of O.E. poetical expressions. There remain eight + which do not happen to be found elsewhere in the extant remains of O.E. + poetry. But these are mostly compounds like <i>heaðo-lāc</i>, + <i>feorh-sēoc</i>: and though the actual compound is not elsewhere + extant in English, the component elements are thoroughly English. There + is no reason whatever to think that these eight rare words are taken from + Old Norse. Indeed, three of them do not occur in Old Norse at all.</p> + + <p>Evidence to prove <i>Beowulf</i> a translation from a Scandinavian + original is, then, wanting. On the other hand, over and above the + difficulty that the <i>Beowulf</i> belongs just to the period when + intimate communication between the Angles and Scandinavians was + suspended, there is much evidence against the translation theory. The + earliest Scandinavian poetry we possess, or of which we can get + information, differs absolutely from <i>Beowulf</i> in style, metre and + sentiment: the manners of <i>Beowulf</i> are incompatible with all we + know of the wild heathendom of Scandinavia in the seventh or eighth + century<a name="NtA231" href="#Nt231"><sup>[231]</sup></a>. + <i>Beowulf</i>, as we now have it, with its Christian references and its + Latin loan-words, <i>could</i> not be a translation from the + Scandinavian. And the proper names in <i>Beowulf</i> which Sarrazin + claimed were Old Norse, not Old English, and had been taken <!-- Page 103 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page103"></a>{103}</span>over from the + Old Norse original, are in all cases so correctly transliterated as to + necessitate the assumption that they were brought across early, at the + time of the settlement of Britain or very shortly after, and underwent + phonetic development side by side with the other words in the English + language. Had they been brought across from Scandinavia at a later date, + much confusion must have ensued in the forms.</p> + + <p>Somewhat less improbable is the suggestion "that the poet had + travelled on the continent and become familiar with the legends of the + Danes and Geats, or else had heard them from a Scandinavian resident in + England<a name="NtA232" href="#Nt232"><sup>[232]</sup></a>." But it is + clear from the allusive manner in which the Scandinavian tales are told, + that they must have been familiar to the poet's audience. If, then, the + English audience knew them, why must the poet himself have travelled on + the continent in order to know them? There is, therefore, no need for + this theory, and it is open to many of the objections of the translation + theory: for example it fails, equally with that theory, to account for + the uniformly correct development of the proper names.</p> + + <p>The obvious conclusion is that these Scandinavian traditions were + brought over by the English settlers in the sixth century. Against this + only one cavil can be raised, and that will not bear examination. It has + been objected that, since Hygelac's raid took place about 516, since + Beowulf's accession was some years subsequent, and since he then reigned + fifty years, his death cannot be put much earlier than 575, and that this + brings us to a date when the migration of the Angles and Saxons had been + completed<a name="NtA233" href="#Nt233"><sup>[233]</sup></a>. But it is + forgotten that all the historical events mentioned in the poem, which we + can date, occur before, or not very long after, the raid of Hygelac, c. + 516. The poem asserts that fifty years after these events Beowulf slew a + dragon and was slain by it. But this does not make the dragon historic, + nor does it make the year 575 the historic date of the death of Beowulf. + We cannot be sure that there <i>was</i> any actual king of the Geatas + named Beowulf; and if there was, the last known historic act with which + that king is associated is the raising of Eadgils to the Swedish throne, + <!-- Page 104 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page104"></a>{104}</span>c. 525: the rest of Beowulf's long reign, + since it contains no event save the slaying of a dragon, has no historic + validity.</p> + + <p>It is noteworthy that, whereas there is full knowledge shown in our + poem of those events which took place in Scandinavian lands during the + whole period from about 450 to 530—the period during which hordes + of Angles, Saxons and Jutes were landing in Britain—there is no + reference, not even by way of casual allusion, to any continental events + which we can date with certainty as subsequent to the arrival of the + latest settlers from the continent. Surely this is strong evidence that + these tales were brought over by some of the last of the invaders, not + carried to England by some casual traveller a century or two later.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section II. The dialect, syntax, and metre of "Beowulf" as evidence of its literary history.</span></p> + + <p>A full discussion of the dialect, metre and syntax of <i>Beowulf</i> + forms no part of the scheme of this study. It is only intended in this + section to see how far such investigations throw light upon the literary + history of the poem.</p> + +<p class="cenhead"><i>Dialect.</i></p> + + <p><i>Beowulf</i> is written in the late West Saxon dialect. Imbedded in + the poem, however, are a large number of forms, concerning which this at + least can be said—that they are not normal late West Saxon. Critics + have classified these forms, and have drawn conclusions from them as to + the history of the poem: arguing from sporadic "Mercian" and "Kentish" + forms that <i>Beowulf</i> is of Mercian origin and has passed through the + hands of a Kentish transcriber.</p> + + <p>But, in fact, the evidence as to Old English dialects is more scanty + and more conflicting than philologists have always been willing to admit. + It is exceedingly difficult to say with any certainty what forms are + "Mercian" and what "Kentish." Having run such forms to earth, it is still + more difficult to say what arguments are to be drawn from their + <i>occasional</i> <!-- Page 105 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page105"></a>{105}</span>appearance in any text. Men from widely + different parts of the country would be working together in the + scriptorium of one and the same monastery, and this fact alone may have + often led to confusion in the dialectal forms of works transcribed.</p> + + <p>A thorough investigation of the significance of all the abnormal forms + in <i>Beowulf</i> has still to be made. Whether it would repay the labour + of the investigator may well be questioned. In the meantime we may accept + the view that the poem was in all probability originally written in some + non-West-Saxon dialect, and most probably in an Anglian dialect, since + this is confirmed by the way in which the Anglian hero Offa is dragged + into the story.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>Ten Brink's attempt to decide the dialect and transmission of + <i>Beowulf</i> will be found in his <i>Beowulf</i>, pp. 237-241: he notes + the difficulty that the "Kentish" forms from which he argues are nearly + all such as occur also sporadically in West Saxon texts. A classification + of the forms by P. G. Thomas will be found in the <i>Modern Language + Review</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 202 <i>etc.</i> How difficult + and uncertain all classification must be has been shown by Frederick + Tupper (<i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span + class="scac">XXVI</span>, 235 <i>etc.</i>; <i>J.E.G.P.</i> <span + class="scac">XI</span>, 82-9).</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p class="cenhead">"<i>Lichtenheld's Test.</i>"</p> + + <p>Somewhat more definite results can be drawn from certain syntactical + usages. There can be no doubt that as time went on, the use of <i>se</i>, + <i>sēo</i>, <i>þæt</i> became more and more common in O.E. verse. + This is largely due to the fact that in the older poems the <i>weak + adjective</i> + <i>noun</i> appears frequently where we should now use + the definite article: <i>wīsa fengel</i>—"the wise prince"; + <i>se wīsa fengel</i> is used where some demonstrative is + needed—"that wise prince." Later, however, <i>se</i>, + <i>sēo</i>, <i>þæt</i> comes to be used in the common and vague + sense in which the definite article is used in Modern English.</p> + + <p>We consequently get with increasing frequency the use of the + <i>definite article</i> + <i>weak adjective</i> + <i>noun</i>: whilst the + usage <i>weak adjective</i> + <i>noun</i> decreases. Some rough criterion + of date can thus be obtained by an examination of a poet's usage in this + particular. Of course it would be absurd—as has been done—to + group Old English poems in a strict chronological order according to the + proportion of forms with and without the article. Individual usage must + count for a good deal: <!-- Page 106 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page106"></a>{106}</span>also the scribes in copying and recopying + our text must to a considerable extent have obliterated the earlier + practice. Metre and syntax combine to make it probable that, in line 9 of + our poem, the scribe has inserted the unnecessary article + <i>þāra</i> before <i>ymbsittendra</i>: and in the rare cases where + we have an O.E. poem preserved in two texts, a comparison proves that the + scribe has occasionally interpolated an article. But this later tendency + to level out the peculiarity only makes it the more remarkable that we + should find such great differences between O.E. poems, all of them extant + in copies transcribed about the year 1000.</p> + + <p>How great is the difference between the usage of <i>Beowulf</i> and + that of the great body of Old English poetry will be clear from the + following statistics.</p> + + <p>The proportion of phrases containing the weak adjective + noun with + and without the definite article in the certain works of Cynewulf is as + follows<a name="NtA234" href="#Nt234"><sup>[234]</sup></a>:</p> + +<table class="nobctr" summary="Use of article" title="Use of article"> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="width:33%;"> </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> With article </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> Without article</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="width:33%;"> <i>Juliana</i> </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> 27 </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> 3</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="width:33%;"> <i>Christ (II)</i> </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> 28 </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> 3</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="width:33%;"> <i>Elene</i> </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> 66 </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> 9</td></tr> +</table> + + <p>In <i>Guthlac</i> (A) (c. 750) the proportions are:</p> + +<table class="nobctr" summary="Use of article" title="Use of article"> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="width:33%;"> </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> With article </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> Without article</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="width:33%;"> <i>Guthlac</i> (A) </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> 42 </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> 6</td></tr> +</table> + + <p>Contrast this with the proportion in our poem:</p> + +<table class="nobctr" summary="Use of article" title="Use of article"> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="width:33%;"> </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> With article </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> Without article</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="width:33%;"> <i>Beowulf</i> </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> 13 </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> 65</td></tr> +</table> + + <p>The nearest approach to the proportions of <i>Beowulf</i> is in the + (certainly very archaic)</p> + +<table class="nobctr" summary="Use of article" title="Use of article"> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="width:33%;"> </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> With article </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> Without article</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="width:33%;"> <i>Exodus</i> </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> 10 </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center; width:33%;"> 14</td></tr> +</table> + + <p>On the other hand, certain late texts show how fallible this criterion + is. Anyone dating <i>Maldon</i> solely by "Lichtenheld's Test" would + assuredly place it much earlier than 991.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 107 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page107"></a>{107}</span></p> + + <p>It is easy to make a false use of grammatical statistics: and this + test should only be applied with the greatest caution. But the difference + between <i>Beowulf</i> and the works of Cynewulf is too striking to be + overlooked. In <i>Beowulf</i>, to every five examples without the article + (e.g. <i>heaðo-stēapa helm</i>) we have <i>one</i> with the article + (e.g. <i>se hearda helm</i>): in Cynewulf to every five examples without + the article we have <i>forty</i> with it.</p> + + <p>A further test of antiquity is in the use of the weak adjective with + the instrumental—a use which rapidly diminishes.</p> + + <p>There are eighteen such instrumental phrases in <i>Beowulf</i> (3182 + lines)<a name="NtA235" href="#Nt235"><sup>[235]</sup></a>. In + <i>Exodus</i> (589 lines) there are six examples<a name="NtA236" + href="#Nt236"><sup>[236]</sup></a>—proportionally more than in + <i>Beowulf</i>. In Cynewulf's undoubted works (c. 2478 lines) there is + one example only, <i>beorhtan reorde</i><a name="NtA237" + href="#Nt237"><sup>[237]</sup></a>.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>This criterion of the absence of the definite article before the weak + adjective is often referred to as Lichtenheld's Test (see article by him + in <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XVI</span>, 325 <i>etc.</i>). It + has been applied to the whole body of O.E. poetry by Barnouw + (<i>Textcritische Untersuchungen</i>, 1902). The data collected by + Barnouw are most valuable, but we must be cautious in the conclusions we + draw, as is shown by Sarrazin (<i>Eng. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXVIII</span>, 145 <i>etc.</i>), and Tupper (<i>Pub. Mod. + Lang. Assoc.</i> <span class="scac">XXVI</span>, 274).</p> + + <p>Exact enumeration of instances is difficult. For example, Lichtenheld + gave 22 instances of definite article + weak adjective + noun in + <i>Beowulf</i><a name="NtA238" href="#Nt238"><sup>[238]</sup></a>. But + eight of these are not quite certain; <i>se gōda mǣg + Hygelāces</i> may be not "the good kinsman of Hygelac," but "the + good one—the kinsman of Hygelac," for there is the half line pause + after <i>gōda</i>. These eight examples therefore should be + deducted<a name="NtA239" href="#Nt239"><sup>[239]</sup></a>. One + instance, though practically certain, is the result of conjectural + emendation<a name="NtA240" href="#Nt240"><sup>[240]</sup></a>. Of the + remaining thirteen<a name="NtA241" href="#Nt241"><sup>[241]</sup></a> + three are variations of the same phrase.</p> + + <p>The statistics given above are those of Brandl (<i>Sitzungsberichte d. + k. Preuss. Akad. d. Wissenschaften</i>, 1905, p. 719) which are based + upon those of Barnouw.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p class="cenhead">"<i>Morsbach's Test.</i>"</p> + + <p>Sievers' theories as to O.E. metre have not been accepted by all + scholars in their entirety. But the statistics which he <!-- Page 108 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page108"></a>{108}</span>collected + enable us to say, with absolute certainty, that some given types of verse + were not acceptable to the ear of an Old English bard.</p> + + <p>Sceptics may emphasize the fact that Old English texts are uncertain, + that nearly all poems are extant in one <span class="scac">MS</span> + only, that the <span class="scac">MS</span> in each case was written down + long after the poems were composed, and that precise verbal accuracy is + therefore not to be expected<a name="NtA242" + href="#Nt242"><sup>[242]</sup></a>. All the more remarkable then becomes + the fact, for it is a fact, that there are certain types of line which + never occur in <i>Beowulf</i>, and that there are other types which are + exceedingly rare. Again, there are certain types of line which <i>do</i> + occur in <i>Beowulf</i> as we have it, though they seem contrary to the + principles of O.E. scansion. When we find that such lines consistently + contain some word which had a different metrical value when our extant + <span class="scac">MS</span> of <i>Beowulf</i> was transcribed, from that + which it had at the earlier date when <i>Beowulf</i> was composed, and + that the earlier value makes the line metrical, the conclusion is + obvious. <i>Beowulf</i> must have been composed at a time or in a dialect + when the earlier metrical values held good.</p> + + <p>But we reach a certain date beyond which, if we put the language back + into its older form, it will no longer fit into the metrical structure. + For example, words like <i>flōd</i>, <i>feld</i>, <i>eard</i> were + originally "u-nouns": with nom. and acc. sing. <i>flōdu</i>, etc. + But the half-line <i>ofer fealone flōd</i> (1950) becomes + exceedingly difficult if we put it in the form <i>ofer fealone + flōdu</i><a name="NtA243" href="#Nt243"><sup>[243]</sup></a>: the + half-line <i>fīfelcynnes eard</i> becomes absolutely impossible in + the form <i>fīfelcynnes eardu</i><a name="NtA244" + href="#Nt244"><sup>[244]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>It can, consequently, with some certainty be argued that these + half-lines were composed after the time when <i>flōdu</i>, + <i>eardu</i> had become <i>flōd</i>, <i>eard</i>. Therefore, it has + been further argued, <i>Beowulf</i> was composed after that date. But are + we justified in this further step—in assuming that because a + certain number of half-lines in <i>Beowulf</i> must have been composed + after a certain date, therefore <i>Beowulf</i> itself must have been + composed after that date?</p> + +<p><!-- Page 109 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page109"></a>{109}</span></p> + + <p>From what we know of the mechanical way in which the Old English + <i>scribe</i> worked, we have no reason to suppose that he would have + consistently altered what he found in an older copy, so as to make it + metrical according to the later speech into which he was transcribing it. + But if we go back to a time when poems were committed to memory by a + <i>scop</i>, skilled in the laws of O.E. metre, the matter is very + different. A written poem may be copied word for word, even though the + spelling is at the same time modernized, but it is obvious that a poem + preserved orally will be altered slightly from time to time, if the + language in which it is written is undergoing changes which make the poem + no longer metrically correct.</p> + + <p>Imagine the state of things at the period when final <i>u</i> was + being lost after a long syllable. This loss of a syllable would make a + large number of the half-lines and formulas in the old poetry unmetrical. + Are we to suppose that the whole of O.E. poetry was at once scrapped, and + entirely new poems composed to fit in with the new sound laws? Surely + not; old formulas would be recast, old lines modified where they needed + it, but the old poetry would go on<a name="NtA245" + href="#Nt245"><sup>[245]</sup></a>, with these minor verbal changes + adapting it to the new order of things. We can see this taking place, to + a limited extent, in the transcripts of Middle English poems. In the + transmission of poems by word of mouth it would surely take place to such + an extent as to baffle later investigation<a name="NtA246" + href="#Nt246"><sup>[246]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Consequently I am inclined to agree that this test is hardly final + except "on the assumption that the poems were written down from the very + beginning<a name="NtA247" href="#Nt247"><sup>[247]</sup></a>." And we are + clearly not justified in making any such assumption. A small number of + such lines would accordingly give, not so much a means of fixing a period + before which <i>Beowulf</i> cannot have been composed, as merely <!-- + Page 110 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page110"></a>{110}</span>one + before which <i>Beowulf</i> cannot have been fixed by writing in its + present form.</p> + + <p>If, however, more elaborate investigation were to show that the + <i>percentage</i> of such lines is <i>just as great</i> in <i>Beowulf</i> + as it is in poems certainly written after the sound changes had taken + place, it might be conceded that the test was a valid one, and that it + proved <i>Beowulf</i> to have been written after these sound changes + occurred.</p> + + <p>This would then bring us to our second difficulty. At what date + exactly did these sound changes take place? The chief documents available + are the proper names in Bede's History, and in certain Latin charters, + the glosses, and a few early runic inscriptions. Most important, although + very scanty, are the charters, since they bear a date. With these we + proceed to investigate:</p> + + <p>A. The dropping of the <i>u</i> after a long accented syllable + (<i>flō<span class="x1"><span class="x5">´</span></span>du</i> + becoming <i>flō<span class="x1"><span + class="x5">´</span></span>d</i>), or semi-accented syllable + (<i>Stā<span class="x1"><span + class="x5">´</span></span>nfòrdu</i> becoming <i>Stā<span + class="x1"><span class="x5">´</span></span>nfòrd</i>).</p> + + <p>There is evidence from an Essex charter that this was already lost in + 692 or 693 (<i>uuidmundesfelt</i>)<a name="NtA248" + href="#Nt248"><sup>[248]</sup></a>. From this date on, examples without + the <i>u</i> are forthcoming in increasing number<a name="NtA249" + href="#Nt249"><sup>[249]</sup></a>. One certain example only has been + claimed for the preservation of <i>u</i>. In the runic inscription on the + "Franks casket" <i>flodu</i> is found for <i>flod</i>. But the spelling + of the Franks casket is erratic: for example <i>giuþeasu</i> is also + found for <i>giuþeas</i>, "the Jews." Now <i>u</i> here is impossible<a + name="NtA250" href="#Nt250"><sup>[250]</sup></a>, and we must conclude + perhaps that the inscriber of the runes intended to write <i>giuþea + su[mæ]</i><a href="#Nt250"><sup>[250]</sup></a> or <i>giuþea su[na]</i><a + name="NtA251" href="#Nt251"><sup>[251]</sup></a>, "some of the Jews," + "the sons of the Jews," and that having reached the end of his line at + <i>u</i>, he neglected to complete the word: or else perhaps that he + wrote <i>giuþeas</i> and having some additional space added a <i>u</i> at + the end of his line, just for fun. Whichever explanation we <!-- Page 111 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page111"></a>{111}</span>adopt, it will + apply to <i>flodu</i>, which equally comes at the end of a line, and the + <i>u</i> of which may equally have been part of some following word which + was never completed<a name="NtA252" + href="#Nt252"><sup>[252]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Other linguistic data of the Franks casket would lead us to place it + somewhere in the first half of the eighth century, and we should hardly + expect to find <i>u</i> preserved as late as this<a name="NtA253" + href="#Nt253"><sup>[253]</sup></a>. For we have seen that by 693 the + <i>u</i> was already lost after a subordinate accent in the Essex + charter. Yet it is arguable that the <i>u</i> was retained later after a + long accented syllable (<i>fl<span class="over">ó</span>du</i>) than + after a subordinate accent (<i>uu<span + class="over">í</span>dmùndesfèlt</i>); and, besides, the casket is + Northumbrian, and the sound changes need not have been simultaneous all + over the country.</p> + + <p>We cannot but feel that the evidence is pitifully scanty. All we can + say is that <i>perhaps</i> the <i>flodu</i> of the Franks casket shows + that <i>u</i> was still preserved after a fully accented syllable as late + as 700. But the <i>u</i> in <i>flodu</i> may be a deliberate archaism on + the part of the writer, may be a local dialectal survival, may be a mere + miswriting.</p> + + <p>B. The preservation of <i>h</i> between consonant and vowel.</p> + + <p>Here there is one clear example which we can date: the archaic + spelling of the proper name <i>Welhisc</i>. <i>Signum manus uelhisci</i> + occurs in a Kentish charter of 679<a name="NtA254" + href="#Nt254"><sup>[254]</sup></a>. The same charter shows <i>h</i> + already lost between vowels: <i>uuestan ae</i> (<i>ae</i> dative of + <i>ēa</i>, "river," cf. Gothic <i>ahwa</i>).</p> + + <p>Not much can be argued from the proper name <i>Welhisc</i>, as to the + current pronunciation in Kent in 679, for an old man may well have + continued to spell his name as it was spelt when he was a child, even + though the current pronunciation had changed<a name="NtA255" + href="#Nt255"><sup>[255]</sup></a>. But we have further evidence in the + glosses, which show <i>h</i> sometimes preserved and sometimes not. These + glosses are mechanical copies of an original which was presumably + compiled between 680 and 720. We are therefore justified in arguing that + at that date <i>h</i> was still preserved, at any rate occasionally.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 112 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page112"></a>{112}</span></p> + + <p>Of "Morsbach's test" we can then say that it establishes something of + an argument that <i>Beowulf</i> was composed after the date when final + <i>u</i> after a long syllable, or <i>h</i> between consonant and vowel, + were lost, and that this date was probably within a generation or so of + the year 700 <span class="scac">A.D.</span> But there are too many + uncertain contingencies involved to make the test at all a conclusive + one.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>Morsbach's <i>Zur Datierung des Beowulf-epos</i> will be found in the + Göttingen <i>Nachrichten</i>, 1906, pp. 252-77. These tests have been + worked out for the whole body of Old English poetry in the + <i>Chronologische Studien</i> of Carl Richter, Halle, 1910.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section III. Theories as to the structure of "Beowulf."</span></p> + + <p>Certain peculiarities in the structure of <i>Beowulf</i> can hardly + fail to strike the reader. (1) The poem is not a biography of Beowulf, + nor yet an episode in his life: it is two distinct episodes: the Grendel + business and the dragon business, joined by a narrow bridge. (2) Both + these stories are broken in upon by digressions: some of these concern + Beowulf himself, so that we get a fairly complete idea of the life of our + hero: but for the most part these digressions are not strictly apposite. + (3) Even apart from these digressions, the narrative is often hampered: + the poet begins his story, diverges and returns. (4) The traces of + Christian thought and knowledge which meet us from time to time seem to + belong to a different world from that of the Germanic life in which our + poem has its roots.</p> + + <p>Now in the middle of the nineteenth century it was widely believed + that the great epics of the world had been formed from collections of + original shorter lays fitted together (often unskilfully) by later + redactors. For a critic starting from this assumption, better material + than the <i>Beowulf</i> could hardly be found. And it <i>was</i> with + such assumptions that Carl Müllenhoff, the greatest of the scholars who + have dissected the <i>Beowulf</i>, set to work. He attended the lectures + of Lachmann, and formed, <!-- Page 113 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page113"></a>{113}</span>a biographer tells us, the fixed resolve + to do for one epic what his admired master had done for another<a + name="NtA256" href="#Nt256"><sup>[256]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Müllenhoff claimed for his theories that they were simple<a + name="NtA257" href="#Nt257"><sup>[257]</sup></a> and straightforward: and + so they were, if we may be allowed to assume as a basis that the + <i>Beowulf</i> is made up out of shorter lays, and that the only business + of the critic is to define the scope of these lays. In the story of + Beowulf's fight with Grendel (ll. 194-836: Müllenhoff's Sect. I) and with + the dragon (ll. 2200-3183: Müllenhoff's Sect. IV) Müllenhoff saw the much + interpolated remains of two original lays by different authors. But, + before it was united to the dragon story, the Grendel story, Müllenhoff + held, had already undergone many interpolations and additions. The story + of Grendel's mother (ll. 837-1623: Sect. II) was added, Müllenhoff held, + by one continuator as a sequel to the story of Grendel, and ll. 1-193 + were added by another hand as an introduction. Then this Grendel story + was finally rounded off by an interpolator (A) who added the account of + Beowulf's return home (Sect. III, ll. 1629-2199) and at the same time + inserted passages into the poem throughout. Finally came Interpolator B, + who was the first to combine the Grendel story, thus elaborated, with the + dragon story. Interpolator B was responsible for the great bulk of the + interpolations: episodes from other cycles and "theologizing" matter.</p> + + <p>Ten Brink, like Müllenhoff, regarded the poem as falling into four + sections: the Grendel fight, the fight with Grendel's mother, the return + home, the dragon fight. But Müllenhoff had imagined the epic composed out + of one set of lays: incoherences, he thought, were due to the bungling of + successive interpolators. Ten Brink assumed that in the case of all three + fights, with Grendel, with Grendel's mother, and with the dragon, there + had been two <i>parallel</i> versions, which a later redactor had + combined together, and that it was to this combination that the frequent + repetitions in the <!-- Page 114 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page114"></a>{114}</span>narrative were due: he believed that not + only were the different episodes of the poem originally distinct, but + that each episode was compounded of two originally distinct lays, + combined together.</p> + + <p>Now it cannot be denied that the process postulated by Müllenhoff + <i>might</i> have taken place: a lay on Grendel and a lay on the + dragon-fight might have been combined by some later compiler. Ten Brink's + theory, too, is inherently not improbable: that there should have been + two or more versions current of a popular story is probable enough: that + a scribe should have tried to fit these two parallel versions together is + not without precedent: very good examples of such attempts at harmonizing + different versions can be got from an examination of the <span + class="scac">MSS</span> of <i>Piers Plowman</i>.</p> + + <p>It is only here and there that we are struck by an inherent + improbability in Müllenhoff's scheme. Thus the form in which Müllenhoff + assumes the poem to have existed before Interpolator A set to work on it, + is hardly a credible one. The "original poet" has brought Beowulf from + his home to the Danish court, to slay Grendel, and the "continuator" has + taken him to the haunted lake: Beowulf has plunged down, slain Grendel's + mother, come back to land. Here Müllenhoff believed the poem to have + ended, until "Interpolator A" came along, and told how Beowulf returned + in triumph to Hrothgar, was thanked and rewarded, and then betook himself + home, and was welcomed by Hygelac. That it would have been left to an + interpolator to supply what from the old point of view was so necessary a + part of the story as the return to Hrothgar is an assumption perilous + indeed. "An epic poem only closes when everything is really concluded: + not, like a modern novel, at a point where the reader can imagine the + rest for himself<a name="NtA258" href="#Nt258"><sup>[258]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>Generally speaking, however, the theories of the "dissecting school" + are not in themselves faulty, if we admit the assumptions on which they + rest. They fail however in two ways. An examination of the short lay and + the long epic, so far as these are represented in extant documents, does + not bear out <!-- Page 115 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page115"></a>{115}</span>well the assumptions of the theorizers. + Secondly, the minute scrutiny to which the poem has been subjected in + matters of syntax, metre, dialect and tradition has failed to show any + difference between the parts attributed to the different authors, such as + we must certainly have expected to find, had the theories of the + "dissecting school" been correct.</p> + + <p>That behind our extant <i>Beowulf</i>, and connecting it with the + events of the sixth century, there must have been a number of older lays, + may indeed well be admitted: also that to these lays our poem owes its + plot, its traditions of metre and its phraseology, and perhaps (but this + is a perilous assumption) continuous passages of its text. But what + Müllenhoff and ten Brink go on to assume is that these original oral lays + were simple in outline and treated a single well-defined episode in a + straightforward manner; that later redactors and scribes corrupted this + primitive simplicity; but that the modern critic, by demanding it, and + using its presence or absence as a criterion, can still disentangle from + the complex composite poem the simpler elements out of which it was built + up.</p> + + <p>Here are rather large assumptions. What right have we to postulate + that this primitive "literature without letters<a name="NtA259" + href="#Nt259"><sup>[259]</sup></a>," these short oral ballads and lays, + dealt with a single episode without digression or confusion: whilst the + later age,—the civilized, Christianized age of written literature + during which <i>Beowulf</i> in the form in which we now have it was + produced,—is assumed to have been tolerant of both?</p> + + <p>No doubt, here and there, in different literatures, groups of short + lays can be found which one can imagine might be combined into an orderly + narrative poem, without much hacking about. But on the other hand a short + lay will often tell, in less than a hundred lines, a story more complex + than that of the <i>Iliad</i> or the <i>Odyssey</i>. Its shortness may be + due, not to any limitation in the scope of the plot, but rather to the + passionate haste with which it rushes through a long story. It is one + thing to admit that there must have been short lays on the story of + Beowulf: it is another to assume that these lays were of such a character + that nothing was needed but compilers <!-- Page 116 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page116"></a>{116}</span>with a taste for + arrangement and interpolation in order to turn them into the extant epic + of <i>Beowulf</i>.</p> + + <p>When we find nearly five hundred lines spent in describing the + reception of the hero in Hrothgar's land, we may well doubt whether this + passage can have found its way into our poem through any such process of + fitting together as Müllenhoff postulated. It would be out of scale in + any narrative shorter than the <i>Beowulf</i> as we have it. It suggests + to us that the epic is developed out of the lay, not by a process of + fitting together, but rather by a retelling of the story in a more + leisurely way.</p> + + <p>A comparison of extant short lays or ballads with extant epics has + shown that, if these epics were made by stringing lays together, such + lays must have been different from the great majority of the short lays + now known. "The lays into which this theory dissects the epics, or which + it assumes as the sources of the epics, differ in two ways from extant + lays: they deal with short, incomplete subjects and they have an epic + breadth of style<a name="NtA260" href="#Nt260"><sup>[260]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>It has been shown by W. P. Ker<a name="NtA261" + href="#Nt261"><sup>[261]</sup></a> that a comparison of such fragments as + have survived of the Germanic short lay (<i>Finnsburg</i>, + <i>Hildebrand</i>) does not bear out the theory that the epic is a + conglomeration of such lays. "It is the change and development in style + rather than any increase in the complexity of the themes that accounts + for the difference in scale between the shorter and the longer + poems."</p> + + <p>A similar conclusion is reached by Professor Hart: "It might be + illuminating to base a <i>Liedertheorie</i> in part, at least, upon a + study of existing <i>Lieder</i>, rather than wholly upon an attempt to + dismember the epic in question. Such study reveals indeed a certain + similarity in kind of Ballad and Epic, but it reveals at the same time an + enormous difference in degree, in stage of development. If the + <i>Beowulf</i>, then, was made up of a series of heroic songs, strung + together with little or no modification, these songs must have been + something very different from the popular ballad<a name="NtA262" + href="#Nt262"><sup>[262]</sup></a>."</p> + +<p><!-- Page 117 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page117"></a>{117}</span></p> + + <p>And subsequent investigations into the history and folk-lore of our + poem have not confirmed Müllenhoff's theory: in some cases indeed they + have hit it very hard. When a new light was thrown upon the story by the + discovery of the parallels between <i>Beowulf</i> and the <i>Grettis + saga</i>, it became clear that passages which Müllenhoff had condemned as + otiose interpolations were likely to be genuine elements in the tale. Dr + Olrik's minute investigations into the history of the Danish kings have + shown from yet another point of view how allusions, which were rashly + condemned by Müllenhoff and ten Brink as idle amplifications, are, in + fact, essential.</p> + + <p>How the investigation of the metre, form, and syntax of <i>Beowulf</i> + has disclosed an archaic strictness of usage has been explained above + (Sect. II). This usage is in striking contrast with the practice of later + poets like Cynewulf. How far we are justified in relying upon such + differences of usage as criteria of <i>exact</i> date is open to dispute. + But it seems clear that, had Müllenhoff's theories been accurate, we + might reasonably have expected to have been able to differentiate between + the earlier and the later strata in so composite a poem.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>The composite theory has lately been strongly supported by Schücking<a + name="NtA263" href="#Nt263"><sup>[263]</sup></a>. Schücking starts from + the fact, upon which we are all agreed, that the poem falls into two main + divisions: the story of how Beowulf at Heorot slew Grendel and Grendel's + mother, and the story of the dragon, which fifty years later he slew at + his home. These are connected by the section which tells how Beowulf + returned from Heorot to his own home and was honourably received by his + king, Hygelac.</p> + + <p>It is now admitted that the ways of Old English narrative were not + necessarily our ways, and that we must not postulate, because our poem + falls into two somewhat clumsily connected sections, that therefore it is + compounded out of two originally distinct lays. But, on the other hand, + as Schücking rightly urges, instances <i>are</i> forthcoming of two O.E. + poems having been clumsily connected into one<a name="NtA264" + href="#Nt264"><sup>[264]</sup></a>. Therefore, whilst no one would now + urge that <i>Beowulf</i> is put together out of two older <!-- Page 118 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page118"></a>{118}</span>lays, + <i>merely</i> because it can so easily be divided into two sections, this + fact does suggest that a case exists for examination.</p> + + <p>Now if a later poet had connected together two old lays, one on the + Grendel and Grendel's mother business, and one on the dragon business, we + might fairly expect that this connecting link would show traces of a + different style. It is accordingly on the connecting link, the story of + <i>Beowulf's Return</i> and reception by Hygelac, that Schücking + concentrates his attention, submitting it to the most elaborate tests to + see if it betrays metrical, stylistic or syntactical divergencies from + the rest of the poem.</p> + + <p>Various tests are applied, which admittedly give no result, such as + the frequency of the repetition in the <i>Return</i> of half verse + formulas which occur elsewhere in <i>Beowulf</i><a name="NtA265" + href="#Nt265"><sup>[265]</sup></a>, or the way in which compound nouns + fit into the metrical scheme<a name="NtA266" + href="#Nt266"><sup>[266]</sup></a>. Metrical criteria are very little + more helpful<a name="NtA267" href="#Nt267"><sup>[267]</sup></a>. We have + seen that the antiquity of <i>Beowulf</i> is proved by the cases where + metre demands the substitution of an older uncontracted form for the + existing shorter one. Schücking argues that no instance occurs in the 267 + lines of the <i>Return</i>. But, even if this were the case, it might + well be mere accident, since examples only occur at rare intervals + anywhere in <i>Beowulf</i>. As a matter of fact, however, examples are to + be found in the <i>Return</i><a name="NtA268" + href="#Nt268"><sup>[268]</sup></a> (quite up to the normal proportion), + though two of the clearest come in a portion of it which Schücking rather + arbitrarily excludes.</p> + + <p>Coming to syntax in its broadest sense, and especially the method of + constructing and connecting sentences, Schücking enumerates several + constructions which are found in the <i>Return</i>, but not elsewhere in + <i>Beowulf</i>. Syntax is a subject to which he has given special study, + and his opinion upon it must be of value. But I doubt whether anyone as + expert in the subject as Schücking could not find in every passage of + like length in <i>Beowulf</i> some constructions not to be exactly + paralleled elsewhere in the poem.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 119 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page119"></a>{119}</span></p> + + <p>The fact that we find here, and here only, passages introduced by the + clauses <i>ic sceal forð sprecan</i><a name="NtA269" + href="#Nt269"><sup>[269]</sup></a>, and <i>tō lang ys tō + reccenne</i><a name="NtA270" href="#Nt270"><sup>[270]</sup></a>, is + natural when we realize that we have here the longest speech in the whole + poem, which obviously calls for such apologies for prolixity.</p> + + <p>The fact that no parentheses occur in the <i>Return</i> does not + differentiate it from the rest of <i>Beowulf</i>: for, as Schücking + himself points out elsewhere, there are three other passages in the poem, + longer than the <i>Return</i>, which are equally devoid of parentheses<a + name="NtA271" href="#Nt271"><sup>[271]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>There remain a few <i>hapax legomena</i><a name="NtA272" + href="#Nt272"><sup>[272]</sup></a>, but very inconclusive.</p> + + <p>There are, in addition, examples which occur only in the + <i>Return</i>, and in certain other episodic passages. These episodic + passages also, Schücking supposes, may have been added by the same + reviser who added the <i>Return</i>. But this is a perilous change of + position. For example, a certain peculiarity is found only in the + <i>Return</i> and the introductory genealogical section<a name="NtA273" + href="#Nt273"><sup>[273]</sup></a>; or in the <i>Return</i> and the + <i>Finn Episode</i><a name="NtA274" href="#Nt274"><sup>[274]</sup></a>. + But when Schücking proceeds to the suggestion that the + <i>Introduction</i> or the <i>Finn Episode</i> may have been added by the + same reviser who added <i>Beowulf's Return</i>, he knocks the bottom out + of some of his previous arguments. The argument from the absence of + parentheses (whatever it was worth) must go: for according to Schücking's + own punctuation, such parentheses are found both in the + <i>Introduction</i> and in the <i>Finn Episode</i>. If these are by the + author of the <i>Return</i>, then doubt is thrown upon one of the alleged + peculiarities of that author; we find the author of the <i>Return</i> no + more averse <i>on the whole</i> to parentheses than the author or authors + of the rest of the poem.</p> + + <p>Peculiar usages of the moods and tenses are found twice in the + <i>Return</i><a name="NtA275" href="#Nt275"><sup>[275]</sup></a>, and + once again in the episode where Beowulf <!-- Page 120 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page120"></a>{120}</span>recalls his youth<a + name="NtA276" href="#Nt276"><sup>[276]</sup></a>. Supposing this episode + to be also the work of the author of the <i>Return</i>, we get peculiar + constructions used three times by this author, which cannot be paralleled + elsewhere in <i>Beowulf</i><a name="NtA277" + href="#Nt277"><sup>[277]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Now a large number of instances like this last might afford basis for + argument; but they must be in bulk in order to prove anything. By the + laws of chance we might expect, in any passage of three hundred lines, + taken at random anywhere in <i>Beowulf</i>, to find something which + occurred only in one other passage elsewhere in the poem. We cannot + forthwith declare the two passages to be the work of an interpolator. One + swallow does not make a summer.</p> + + <p>And the arguments as to style are not helped by arguments as to + matter. Even if it be granted—which I do not grant—that the + long repetition narrating Beowulf's contest with Grendel and Grendel's + mother is tedious, there is no reason why this tedious repetition should + not as well be the work of the original poet as of a later reviser. Must + we find many different authors for <i>The Ring and the Book</i>? It must + be granted that there are details (such as the mention of Grendel's + glove) found in the Grendel struggle as narrated in <i>Beowulf's + Return</i>, but not found in the original account of the struggle. + Obviously the object is to avoid monotony, by introducing a new feature: + but this might as well have been aimed at by the old poet retelling the + tale as by a new poet retelling it.</p> + + <p>To me, the fact that so careful and elaborate a study of the story of + <i>Beowulf's Return</i> fails to betray any satisfactory evidence of + separate authorship, is a confirmation of the verdict of "not proven" + against the "dividers<a name="NtA278" + href="#Nt278"><sup>[278]</sup></a>." But there can be no doubt that + Schücking's method, his attempt to prove differences in treatment, + grammar, and style, is the right one. If any satisfactory results are to + be attained, it must be in this way.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p><!-- Page 121 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page121"></a>{121}</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section IV. Are the Christian elements incompatible with the rest of the poem?</span></p> + + <p>Later students (like the man in Dante, placed between two equally + enticing dishes) have been unable to decide in favour of either of the + rival theories of Müllenhoff and ten Brink, and consequently the unity of + the poem, which always had its champions, has of late years come to be + maintained with increasing conviction and certainty.</p> + + <p>Yet many recent critics have followed Müllenhoff so far at least as to + believe that the Christian passages are inconsistent with what they + regard as the "essentially heathen" tone of the rest of the poem, and are + therefore the work of an interpolator<a name="NtA279" + href="#Nt279"><sup>[279]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Certainly no one can escape a feeling of incongruity, as he passes + from ideas of which the home lies in the forests of ancient Germany, to + others which come from the Holy Land. But that both sets of ideas could + not have been cherished, in England, about the year 700, by one and the + same poet, is an assumption which calls for examination.</p> + + <p>As Christianity swept northward, situations were created which to the + modern student are incongruous. But the Teutonic chief often had a larger + mind than the modern student: he needed to have, if he was to get the + best at the same time both from his wild fighting men and from his Latin + clerks. It is this which gives so remarkable a character to the great men + of the early centuries of converted Teutonism: men, like Theodoric the + Great or Charles the Great, who could perform simultaneously the duties + of a Germanic king and of a Roman Emperor: kings like Alfred the Great or + St Olaf, who combined the character of the tough fighting chieftain with + that of the saintly churchman. I love to think of these incongruities: to + remember that the warrior Alfred, surrounded by <i>thegn</i> and + <i>gesith</i>, listening to the "Saxon songs" which he loved, was yet the + same Alfred who painfully translated Gregory's <i>Pastoral <!-- Page 122 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page122"></a>{122}</span>Care</i> under + the direction of foreign clerics. It is well to remember that Charles the + Great, the catholic and the orthodox, collected ancient lays which his + successors thought too heathen to be tolerated; or that St Olaf (who was + so holy that, having absent mindedly chipped shavings off a stick on + Sunday, he burnt them, as penance, on his open hand) nevertheless allowed + to be sung before him, on the morning of his last fight, one of the most + wild and utterly heathen of all the old songs—the + <i>Bjarkamál</i>.</p> + + <p>It has been claimed that the account of the funeral rites of Beowulf + is such as "no Christian poet could or would have composed<a + name="NtA280" href="#Nt280"><sup>[280]</sup></a>." Lately this argument + has been stated more at length:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"In the long account of Beowulf's obsequies—beginning with the + dying king's injunction to construct for him a lofty barrow on the edge + of the cliff, and ending with the scene of the twelve princes riding + round the barrow, proclaiming the dead man's exploits—we have the + most detailed description of an early Teutonic funeral which has come + down to us, and one of which the accuracy is confirmed in every point by + archaeological or contemporary literary evidence<a name="NtA281" + href="#Nt281"><sup>[281]</sup></a>. Such an account must have been + composed within living memory of a time when ceremonies of this kind were + still actually in use<a name="NtA282" + href="#Nt282"><sup>[282]</sup></a>."</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Owing to the standing of the scholar who urges it, this argument is + coming to rank as a dogma<a name="NtA283" + href="#Nt283"><sup>[283]</sup></a>, and needs therefore rather close + examination.</p> + + <p>Professor Chadwick <i>may</i> be right in urging that the custom of + burning the dead had gone out of use in England even before Christianity + was introduced<a name="NtA284" href="#Nt284"><sup>[284]</sup></a>: anyhow + it is certain that, wherever it survived, the practice was disapproved by + ecclesiastics, and was, indeed, formally censured and suppressed by the + church abroad.</p> + + <p>The church equally censured and endeavoured to suppress the ancient + "heathen lays"; but without equal success. Now, in many of these lays the + heathen rites of cremation must certainly have been depicted, and, in + this way, the memory of the old funeral customs must have been kept + fresh, long <!-- Page 123 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page123"></a>{123}</span>after the last funeral pyre had died out + in England. Of course there were then, as there have been ever since, + puritanical people who objected that heathen lays and heathen ways were + no fit concern for a Christian man. But the protests of such purists are + just the strongest evidence that the average Christian did continue to + take an interest in these things. We have seen that the very monks of + Lindisfarne had to be warned by Alcuin. I cannot see that there is any + such <i>a priori</i> impossibility that a poet, though a sincere + Christian enough, would have described a funeral in the old style, + modelling his account upon older lays, or upon tradition derived from + those lays.</p> + + <p>The church might disapprove of the practice of cremation, but we have + no reason to suppose that mention of it was tabooed. And many of the old + burial customs seem to have kept their hold, even upon the converted. + Indeed, when the funeral of Attila is instanced as a type of the old + heathen ceremony, it seems to be forgotten that those Gothic chieftains + who rode their horses round the body of Attila were themselves probably + Arian Christians, and that the historian who has preserved the account + was an orthodox cleric.</p> + + <p>Saxo Grammaticus, ecclesiastic as he was, has left us several + accounts<a name="NtA285" href="#Nt285"><sup>[285]</sup></a> of + cremations. He mentions the "pyre built of ships" and differs from the + poet of <i>Beowulf</i> chiefly because he allows those frankly heathen + references to gods and offerings which the poet of <i>Beowulf</i> + excludes. Of course, Saxo was merely translating. One can quite believe + that a Christian poet composing an account of a funeral in the old days, + would have omitted the more frankly heathen features, as indeed the + <i>Beowulf</i> poet does. But Saxo shows us how far into Christian times + the ancient funeral, in all its heathendom, was remembered; and how + little compunction an ecclesiastic had in recording it. The assumption + that no Christian poet would have composed the account of Beowulf's + funeral or of Scyld's funeral ship, seems then to be quite + unjustified.</p> + + <p>The further question remains: Granting that he <i>would</i>, could he? + Is the account of Beowulf's funeral so true to old custom that it must + have been composed by an eye-witness of <!-- Page 124 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page124"></a>{124}</span>the rite of cremation? + Is its "accuracy confirmed in every point by archaeological or + contemporary literary evidence"?</p> + + <p>As to the archaeological evidence, the fact seems to be that the + account is archaeologically so inexact that it has given great trouble to + one eminent antiquary, Knut Stjerna. That the pyre should be hung with + arms, which are <i>burnt</i> with the hero (ll. 3139-40), and that then a + second supply of unburnt treasures should be <i>buried</i> with the + cremated bones (ll. 3163-8), is regarded by Stjerna as extraordinary<a + name="NtA286" href="#Nt286"><sup>[286]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Surely, any such inexactitude is what we should expect in a late poet, + drawing upon tradition. He would know that in heathen times bodies were + burnt, and that weapons were buried; and he might well combine both. It + is not necessary to suppose, as Stjerna does, that the poet has combined + two separate accounts of Beowulf's funeral, given in older lays, in one + of which the hero was burnt, and in the other buried. But the fact that + an archaeological specialist finds the account of Beowulf's funeral so + inexact that he has to assume a confused and composite source, surely + disposes of the argument that it is so exact that it must date back to + heathen times.</p> + + <p>As to confirmation from literary documents, the only one instanced by + Chadwick is the account of the funeral of Attila. The parallel here is by + no means so close as has been asserted. The features of Attila's funeral + are: the lying in state, during which the chosen horsemen of the nation + rode round the body singing the dead king's praises; the funeral feast; + and the burial (not burning) of the body. Now the only feature which + recurs in <i>Beowulf</i> is the praise of the dead man by the mounted + thanes. Even here there is an essential difference. Attila's men rode + round the dead body of their lord <i>before</i> his funeral. Beowulf's + retainers ride and utter their lament around (not the body but) the grave + mound of their lord, ten days after the cremation.</p> + + <p>And this is perhaps no accidental discrepancy: it may well correspond + to a real difference in practice between the Gothic custom of the time of + the migrations and the Anglo-Saxon <!-- Page 125 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page125"></a>{125}</span>practice as it + prevailed in Christian times<a name="NtA287" + href="#Nt287"><sup>[287]</sup></a>. For many documents, including the + <i>Dream of the Rood</i>, tend to show that the <i>sorhlēoð</i>, + the lament of the retainers for their dead lord, survived into Christian + times, but as a ceremony which was subsequent not merely to the funeral, + but even to the building of the tomb.</p> + + <p>So that, here again, so far from the archaeological accuracy of the + account of Beowulf's funeral being confirmed by the account of that of + Attila, we find a discrepancy such as we might expect if a Christian + poet, in later times, had tried to describe a funeral of the old heathen + type.</p> + + <p>Of course, the evidence is far too scanty to allow of much positive + argument. Still, <i>so far as it goes</i>, and that is not far, it rather + tends to show that the account of the funeral customs is not quite + accurate, representing what later Christian times knew by tradition of + the rite of cremation, rather than showing the observation of that rite + by an eye-witness.</p> + + <p>We must turn, then, to some other argument, if we wish to prove that + the Christian element is inconsistent with other parts of the poem.</p> + + <p>A second argument that <i>Beowulf</i> must belong either to heathen + times, or to the very earliest Christian period in England, has been + found in the character of the Christian allusions: they contain no + "reference to Christ, to the Cross, to the Virgin or the Saints, to any + doctrine of the church in regard to the Trinity, the Atonement, + <i>etc.</i><a name="NtA288" href="#Nt288"><sup>[288]</sup></a>" "A pious + Jew would have no difficulty in assenting to them all<a name="NtA289" + href="#Nt289"><sup>[289]</sup></a>." Hence it has been argued<a + name="NtA290" href="#Nt290"><sup>[290]</sup></a> that they are the work + of an interpolator who, working upon a poem "essentially heathen," was + not able to impose upon it more than this "vague and colourless + Christianity." I cannot see this. If passages had to be rewritten at all, + it was just as easy to rewrite them in a tone emphatically Christian as + in a tone mildly so. The difficulties which the interpolator would meet + in removing a heathen phrase, and composing a Christian half-line in + substitution, would be metrical, rather than theological. For example, in + a second <!-- Page 126 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page126"></a>{126}</span>half-line the interpolator could have + written <i>ond hālig Crist</i> or <i>ylda nergend</i> just as + easily as <i>ond hālig god</i>, or <i>ylda waldend</i>: he could + have put in an allusion to the Trinity or to the Cross as easily as to + the Lord of Hosts or the King of Glory. It would depend upon the + alliteration which was the more convenient. And surely, if he was a monk + deliberately sitting down to turn a heathen into a Christian poem, he + would, of two alternatives, have favoured the more dogmatically + Christian.</p> + + <p>The vagueness which is so characteristic of the Christian references + in <i>Beowulf</i> can then hardly be due to the poem having originally + been a heathen one, worked over by a Christian.</p> + + <p>Others have seen in this vagueness a proof "that the minstrels who + introduced the Christian element had but a vague knowledge of the new + faith<a name="NtA291" href="#Nt291"><sup>[291]</sup></a>": or that the + poem was the work of "a man who, without having, or wanting to have, much + definite instruction, had become Christian because the Court had newly + become Christian<a name="NtA292" href="#Nt292"><sup>[292]</sup></a>." + But, vague as it is, does the Christianity of <i>Beowulf</i> justify such + a judgment as this? Do not the characters of Hrothgar or of Beowulf, of + Hygd or of Wealhtheow, show a Christian influence which, however little + dogmatic, is anything but superficial? This is a matter where individual + feeling rather than argument must weigh: but the <i>Beowulf</i> does not + seem to me the work of a man whose adherence to Christianity is merely + nominal<a name="NtA293" href="#Nt293"><sup>[293]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>And, so far as the absence of dogma goes, it seems to have been + overlooked that the Christian references in the <i>Battle of Maldon</i>, + written when England had been Christian for over three centuries, are + precisely of the same vague character as those in <i>Beowulf</i>.</p> + + <p>Surely the explanation is that to a devout, but not <!-- Page 127 + --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page127"></a>{127}</span>theologically-minded poet, writing battle + poetry, references to God as the Lord of Hosts or the Giver of Victory + came naturally—references to the Trinity or the Atonement did not. + This seems quite a sufficient explanation; though it may be that in + <i>Beowulf</i> the poet has consciously avoided dogmatic references, + because he realized that the characters in his story were not + Christians<a name="NtA294" href="#Nt294"><sup>[294]</sup></a>. That, at + the same time, he allows those characters with whom he sympathizes to + speak in a Christian spirit is only what we should expect. Just so + Chaucer allows his pagans—Theseus for instance—to use + Christian expressions about God or the soul, whilst avoiding anything + strikingly doctrinal.</p> + + <p>Finally I cannot admit that the Christian passages are "poetically of + no value<a name="NtA295" href="#Nt295"><sup>[295]</sup></a>." The + description of Grendel nearing Heorot is good:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Ðā cōm of mōre under mist-hleoþum</p> + <p>Grendel gongan—</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>but it is heightened when the poet adds:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Godes yrre bær.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Yet here again it is impossible to argue: it is a matter of individual + feeling.</p> + + <p>When, however, we come to the further statement of Dr Bradley, that + the Christian passages are not only interpolations poetically worthless, + but "may be of any date down to that of the extant <span + class="scac">MS</span>" (i.e. about the year 1000 <span + class="scac">A.D.</span>), we have reached ground where argument + <i>is</i> possible, and where definite results can be attained. For Dr + Bradley, at the same time that he makes this statement about the + character of the Christian passages, also quotes the archaic syntax of + <i>Beowulf</i> as proving an early date<a name="NtA296" + href="#Nt296"><sup>[296]</sup></a>. <i>But this archaic syntax is just as + prominent a feature of the Christian passages as of any other parts of + the poem.</i> If these Christian passages are really the work of a + "monkish copyist, whose piety exceeded his poetic powers<a name="NtA297" + href="#Nt297"><sup>[297]</sup></a>," how do they come to show an antique + syntax and a strict technique surpassing those of Cynewulf or the + <i>Dream <!-- Page 128 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page128"></a>{128}</span>of the Rood</i>? Why do they not betray + their origin by metrical inaccuracies such as we find in poems + undoubtedly interpolated, like <i>Widsith</i> or the <i>Seafarer</i>?</p> + + <p>Dr Bradley is "our chief English seer in these matters," as Dr + Furnivall said long ago; and it is only with the greatest circumspection + that one should differ from any of his conclusions. Nevertheless, I feel + that, before we can regard any portion of <i>Beowulf</i> as later than + the rest, discrepancies need to be demonstrated.</p> + + <p>Until such discrepancies between the different parts of <i>Beowulf</i> + can be demonstrated, we are justified in regarding the poem as + homogeneous: as a production of the Germanic world enlightened by the new + faith. Whether through external violence or internal decay, this world + was fated to rapid change, and perished with its promise unfulfilled. The + great merit of <i>Beowulf</i> as a historic document is that it shows us + a picture of a period in which the virtues of the heathen "Heroic Age" + were tempered by the gentleness of the new belief; an age warlike, yet + Christian: devout, yet tolerant.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<p><!-- Page 129 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page129"></a>{129}</span></p> + +<h2>PART II</h2> + +<h3>DOCUMENTS ILLUSTRATING THE STORIES +IN <i>BEOWULF</i>, AND THE <i>OFFA</i>-SAGA.</h3> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">A. The early Kings of the Danes according to Saxo Grammaticus</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead">Saxo, Book I, ed. Ascensius, fol. iii b; ed. Holder, p. 10, l. 25.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>Uerum a Dan, ut fert antiquitas, regum nostrorum stemmata, ceu quodam + deriuata principio, splendido successionis ordine profluxerunt. Huic + filii Humblus et Lotherus fuere, ex Grytha, summæ inter Teutones + dignitatis matrona, suscepti.</p> + + <p>Lecturi regem ueteres affixis humo saxis insistere, suffragiaque + promere consueuerant, subiectorum lapidum firmitate facti constantiam + ominaturi. Quo ritu Humblus, decedente patre, nouo patriæ beneficio rex + creatus, sequentis fortunæ malignitate, ex rege priuatus euasit. Bello + siquidem a Lothero captus, regni depositione spiritum mercatus est; hæc + sola quippe uicto salutis conditio reddebatur. Ita fraternis iniuriis + imperium abdicare coactus, documentum hominibus præbuit, ut plus + splendoris, ita minus securitatis, aulis quam tuguriis inesse. Ceterum + iniuriæ tam patiens fuit, ut honoris damno tanquam beneficio gratulari + crederetur, sagaciter, ut puto, regiæ conditionis habitum contemplatus. + Sed nec Lotherus tolerabiliorem regem quam militem egit, ut prorsus + insolentia ac scelere regnum auspicari uideretur; siquidem illustrissimum + quemque uita aut opibus spoliare, patriamque bonis ciuibus uacuefacere + probitatis loco duxit, regni æmulos ratus, quos nobilitate pares + habuerat. Nec diu scelerum impunitus, patriæ consternatione perimitur; + eadem spiritum eripiente, quæ regnum largita fuerat. <!-- Page 130 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page130"></a>{130}</span></p> + + <p>Cuius filius Skyoldus naturam ab ipso, non mores sortitus, per summam + tenerioris ætatis industriam cuncta paternæ contagionis uestigia ingeniti + erroris deuio præteribat. Igitur ut a paternis uitiis prudenter desciuit, + ita auitis uirtutibus feliciter respondit, remotiorem pariter ac + præstantiorem hereditarii moris portionem amplexus. Huius adolescentia + inter paternos uenatores immanis beluæ subactione insignis extitit, + mirandoque rei euentu futuræ eius fortitudinis habitum ominata est. Nam + cum a tutoribus forte, quorum summo studio educabatur, inspectandæ + uenationis licentiam impetrasset, obuium sibi insolitæ granditatis ursum, + telo uacuus, cingulo, cuius usum habebat, religandum curauit, necandumque + comitibus præbuit. Sed et complures spectatæ fortitudinis pugiles per + idem tempus uiritim ab eo superati produntur, e quibus Attalus et Scatus + clari illustresque fuere. Quindecim annos natus, inusitato corporis + incremento perfectissimum humani roboris specimen præferebat, tantaque + indolis eius experimenta fuere, ut ab ipso ceteri Danorum reges communi + quodam uocabulo Skioldungi nuncuparentur....</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Saxo then relates the adventures of Gram, Hadingus and Frotho, whom he + represents as respectively son, grandson and great-grandson of Skioldus. + That Gram and Hadingus are interpolated in the family is shewn by the + fact that the pedigree of Sweyn Aageson passes direct from Skiold to his + son Frothi.</p> + +<p class="cenhead">Saxo, Book II, ed. Ascensius, fol. xi b; ed. Holder, p. 38, l. 4.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>Hadingo filius Frotho succedit, cuius uarii insignesque casus fuere. + Pubertatis annos emensus, iuuenilium præferebat complementa uirtutum, + quas ne desidiæ corrumpendas præberet, abstractum uoluptatibus animum + assidua armorum intentione torquebat. Qui cum, paterno thesauro bellicis + operibus absumpto, stipendiorum facultatem, qua militem aleret, non + haberet, attentiusque necessarii usus subsidia circunspiceret, tali + subeuntis indigenæ carmine concitatur:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Insula non longe est præmollibus edita cliuis,</p> + <p>Collibus æra tegens et opimæ conscia prædæ.</p> + <p>Hic tenet eximium, montis possessor, aceruum</p> +<!-- Page 131 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page131"></a>{131}</span> + <p>Implicitus giris serpens crebrisque reflexus</p> + <p>Orbibus, et caudæ sinuosa uolumina ducens,</p> + <p>Multiplicesque agitans spiras, uirusque profundens.</p> + <p>Quem superare uolens clypeo, quo conuenit uti,</p> + <p>Taurinas intende cutes, corpusque bouinis</p> + <p>Tergoribus tegito, nec amaro nuda ueneno</p> + <p>Membra patere sinas; sanies, quod conspuit, urit.</p> + <p>Lingua trisulca micans patulo licet ore resultet,</p> + <p>Tristiaque horrifico minitetur uulnera rictu,</p> + <p>Intrepidum mentis habitum retinere memento.</p> + <p>Nec te permoueat spinosi dentis acumen,</p> + <p>Nec rigor, aut rapida iactatum fauce uenenum.</p> + <p>Tela licet temnat uis squamea, uentre sub imo</p> + <p>Esse locum scito, quo ferrum mergere fas est;</p> + <p>Hunc mucrone petens medium rimaberis anguem.</p> + <p>Hinc montem securus adi, pressoque ligone</p> + <p>Perfossos scrutare cauos; mox ære crumenas</p> + <p>Imbue, completamque reduc ad littora puppim.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Credulus Frotho solitarius in insulam traiicit: ne comitatior beluam + adoriretur, quam athletas aggredi moris fuerat. Quæ cum aquis pota specum + repeteret, impactum Frothonis ferrum aspero cutis horrore contempsit. Sed + et spicula, quæ in eam coniecta fuerant, eluso mittentis conatu læsionis + irrita resultabant. At ubi nil tergi duritia cessit, uentris curiosius + annotati mollities ferro patuit. Quæ se morsu ulcisci cupiens, clypeo + duntaxat spinosum oris acumen impegit. Crebris deinde linguam micatibus + ducens, uitam pariter ac uirus efflauit.</p> + + <p>Repertæ pecuniæ regem locupletem fecere....</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p class="cenhead">Saxo, Book II, ed. Ascensius, fol. xv b; ed. Holder, p. 51, l. 4.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>His, uirtute paribus, æqua regnandi incessit auiditas. Imperii cuique + cura extitit; fraternus nullum respectus astrinxit. Quem enim nimia sui + caritas ceperit, aliena deserit: nee sibi quisquam ambitiose atque aliis + amice consulere potest. Horum maximus Haldanus, Roe et Scato fratribus + interfectis, naturam scelere polluit: regnum parricidio carpsit. Et ne + ullum crudelitatis exemplum omitteret, comprehensos eorum fautores prius + <!-- Page 132 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page132"></a>{132}</span>uinculorum pœna coercuit, mox + suspendio consumpsit. Cuius ex eo maxime fortuna ammirabilis fuit, quod, + licet omnia temporum momenta ad exercenda atrocitatis officia + contulisset, senectute uitam, non ferro, finierit.</p> + + <p>Huius filii Roe et Helgo fuere. A Roe Roskildia condita memoratur: + quam postmodum Sueno, furcatæ barbæ cognomento clarus, ciuibus auxit, + amplitudine propagauit. Hic breui angustoque corpore fuit: Helgonem + habitus procerior cepit. Qui, diuiso cum fratre regno, maris possessionem + sortitus, regem Sclauiæ Scalcum maritimis copiis lacessitum oppressit. + Quam cum in prouinciam redegisset, uarios pelagi recessus uago + nauigationis genere perlustrabat.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p class="cenhead">Saxo, Book II, ed. Ascensius, fol. xvi a; ed. Holder, p. 53, l. 16.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>Huic filius Roluo succedit, uir corporis animique dotibus uenustus, + qui staturæ magnitudinem pari uirtutis habitu commendaret.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p class="cenhead"><i>Ibid.</i>, ed. Ascensius, fol. xvii a; ed. Holder, p. 55, l. 40.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>Per idem tempus Agnerus quidam, Ingelli films, sororem Roluonis, Rutam + nomine, matrimonio ducturus, ingenti conuiuio nuptias instruit. In quo + cum pugiles, omni petulantiæ genere debacchantes, in Ialtonem quendam + nodosa passim ossa coniicerent, accidit, ut eius consessor, Biarco + nomine, iacientis errore uehementem capite ictum exciperet. Qui dolore + pariter ac ludibrio lacessitus, osse inuicem in iacientem remisso, + frontem eius in occuput reflexit, idemque loco frontis intorsit, + transuersum hominis animum uultus obliquitate mulctando. Ea res + contumeliosam ioci insolentiam temperauit, pugilesque regia abire coegit. + Qua conuiuii iniuria permotus, sponsus ferro cum Biarcone decernere + statuit, uiolatæ hilaritatis ultionem duelii nomine quæsiturus. In cuius + ingressu, utri prior feriendi copia deberetur diutule certatum est. Non + enim antiquitus in edendis agonibus crebræ ictuum uicissitudines + petebantur: sed erat cum interuallo temporis etiam feriendi distincta + successio; rarisque sed atrocibus plagis certamina gerebantur, ut gloria + potius percussionum magnitudini, quam numero deferretur. Prælato ob + generis dignitatem Agnero, tanta ui ictum ab eo editum <!-- Page 133 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page133"></a>{133}</span>constat, ut, + prima cassidis parte conscissa, supremam capitis cuticulam uulneraret, + ferrumque mediis galeæ interclusum foraminibus dimitteret. Tunc Biarco + mutuo percussurus, quo plenius ferrum libraret, pedem trunco annixus, + medium Agneri corpus præstantis acuminis mucrone transegit. Sunt qui + asserant, morientem Agnerum soluto in risum ore per summam doloris + dissimulationem spiritum reddidisse. Cuius ultionem pugiles auidius + expetentes, simili per Biarconem exitio mulctati sunt. Utebatur quippe + præstantis acuminis inusitatæque longitudinis gladio, quem Løui uocabat. + Talibus operum meritis exultanti nouam de se siluestris fera uictoriam + præbuit. Ursum quippe eximiæ magnitudinis obuium sibi inter dumeta factum + iaculo confecit: comitemque suum Ialtonem, quo uiribus maior euaderet, + applicato ore egestum belluæ cruorem haurire iussit. Creditum namque + erat, hoc potionis genere corporei roboris incrementa præstari. His + facinorum uirtutibus clarissimas optimatum familiaritates adeptus, etiam + regi percarus euasit; sororem eius Rutam uxorem asciuit, uictique sponsam + uictoriæ præmium habuit. Ab Atislo lacessiti Roluonis ultionem armis + exegit, eumque uictum hello prostrauit. Tunc Roluo magni acuminis iuuenem + Hiarthwarum nomine, sorore Sculda sibi in matrimonium data, annuoque + uectigali imposito, Suetiæ præfectum constituit, libertatis iacturam + affinitatis beneficio leniturus.</p> + + <p>Hoc loci quiddam memoratu iucundum operi inseratur. Adolescens quidam + Wiggo nomine, corpoream Roluonis magnitudinem attentiori contemplatione + scrutatus, ingentique eiusdem admiratione captus, percontari per + ludibrium cœpit, quisnam esset iste Krage, quem tanto staturæ + fastigio prodiga rerum natura ditasset; faceto cauillationis genere + inusitatum proceritatis habitum prosecutus. Dicitur enim lingua Danica + 'krage' truncus, cuius semicæsis ramis fastigia conscenduntur, ita ut + pes, præcisorum stipitum obsequio perinde ac scalæ beneficio nixus, + sensimque ad superiora prouectus, petitæ celsitudinis compendium + assequatur. Quern uocis iactum Roluo perinde ac inclytum sibi cognomen + amplexus, urbanitatem dicti ingentis armillæ dono prosequitur. Qua Wiggo + dexteram excultam extollens, læua per pudoris simulationem post tergum + <!-- Page 134 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page134"></a>{134}</span>reflexa, ridiculum corporis incessum + præbuit, præfatus, exiguo lætari munere, quem sors diutinæ tenuisset + inopiæ. Rogatus, cur ita se gereret, inopem ornamenti manum nulloque + cultus beneficio gloriantem ad aspectum reliquæ uerecundo paupertatis + rubore perfundi dicebat. Cuius dicti calliditate consentaneum priori + munus obtinuit. Siquidem Roluo manum, quæ ab ipso occultabatur, exemplo + reliquæ in medium accersendam curauit. Nec Wiggoni rependendi beneficii + cura defuit. Siquidem arctissima uoti nuncupatione pollicitus est, si + Roluonem ferro perire contingeret, ultionem se ab eius interfectoribus + exacturum. Nec prætereundum, quod olim ingressuri curiam proceres + famulatus sui principia alicuius magnæ rei uoto principibus obligare + solebant, uirtute tirocinium auspicantes.</p> + + <p>Interea Sculda, tributariæ solutionis pudore permota, diris animum + commentis applicans, maritum, exprobrata condicionis deformitate, + propulsandæ seruitutis monitu concitatum atque ad insidias Roluoni + nectendas perductum atrocissimis nouarum rerum consiliis imbuit, plus + unumquenque libertati quam necessitudini debere testata. Igitur crebras + armorum massas, diuersi generis tegminibus obuolutas, tributi more per + Hiarthwarum in Daniam perferri iubet, occidendi noctu regis materiam + præbituras. Refertis itaque falsa uectigalium mole nauigiis, Lethram + pergitur, quod oppidum, a Roluone constructum eximiisque regni opibus + illustratum, ceteris confinium prouinciarum urbibus regiæ fundationis et + sedis auctoritate præstabat. Rex aduentum Hiarthwari conuiualis impensæ + deliciis prosecutus ingenti se potione proluerat, hospitibus præter morem + ebrietatis intemperantiam formidantibus. Ceteris igitur altiorem + carpentibus somnum, Sueones, quibus scelesti libido propositi communem + quietis usum ademerat, cubiculis furtim delabi cœpere. Aperitur + ilico telorum occlusa congeries, et sua sibi quisque tacitus arma + connectit. Deinde regiam petunt, irruptisque penetralibus in dormientium + corpora ferrum destringunt. Experrecti complures, quibus non minus subitæ + cladis horror quam somni stupor incesserat, dubio nisu discrimini + restitere, socii an hostes occurrerent, noctis errore incertum reddente. + Eiusdem forte silentio noctis Hialto, qui <!-- Page 135 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page135"></a>{135}</span>inter regios proceres + spectatæ probitatis merito præeminebat, rus egressus, scorti se + complexibus dederat. Hic cum obortum pugnæ fragorem stupida procul aure + sensisset, fortitudinem luxuriæ prætulit, maluitque funestum Martis + discrimen appetere, quam blandis Veneris illecebris indulgere. Quanta + hunc militem regis caritate flagrasse putemus, qui, cum ignorantiæ + simulatione excusationem absentiæ præstare posset, salutem suam manifesto + periculo obicere, quam uoluptati seruare satius existimauit? Discedentem + pellex percunctari cœpit, si ipso careat, cuius ætatis uiro nubere + debeat. Quam Hialto, perinde ac secretius allocuturus, propius accedere + iussam, indignatus amoris sibi successorem requiri, præciso naso deformem + reddidit, erubescendoque uulnere libidinosæ percunctationis dictum + mulctauit, mentis lasciuiam oris iactura temperandam existimans. Quo + facto, liberum quæsitæ rei iudicium a se ei relinqui dixit. Post hæc, + repetito ocius oppido, confertissimis se globis immergit, aduersasque + acies mutua uulnerum inflictione prosternit. Cumque dormientis adhuc + Biarconis cubiculum præteriret, expergisci iussum, tali uoce + compellat:</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Saxo's translation of the <i>Bjarkamál</i> follows. The part which + concerns students of <i>Beowulf</i> most is the account of how Roluo + deposed and slew Røricus.</p> + +<p class="cenhead">Saxo, Book II, ed. Ascensius, fol. xix a; ed. Holder, p. 62, l. 1.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>At nos, qui regem uoto meliore ueremur,</p> + <p>Iungamus cuneos stabiles, tutisque phalangem</p> + <p>Ordinibus mensi, qua rex præcepit, eamus</p> + <p>Qui natum Bøki Røricum strauit auari,</p> + <p>Implicuitque uirum leto uirtute carentem.</p> + <p>Ille quidem præstans opibus, habituque fruendi</p> + <p>Pauper erat, probitate minus quam fœnore pollens;</p> + <p>Aurum militia potius ratus, omnia lucro</p> + <p>Posthabuit, laudisque carens congessit aceruos</p> + <p>Æris, et ingenuis uti contempsit amicis.</p> + <p>Cumque lacessitus Roluonis classe fuisset,</p> + <p>Egestum cistis aurum deferre ministros</p> + <p>Iussit, et in primas urbis diffundere portas.</p> +<!-- Page 136 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page136"></a>{136}</span> + <p>Dona magis quam bella parans, quia militis expers</p> + <p>Munere, non armis, tentandum credidit hostem;</p> + <p>Tanquam opibus solis bellum gesturus, et usu</p> + <p>Rerum, non hominum, Martem producere posset.</p> + <p>Ergo graues loculos et ditia claustra resoluit</p> + <p>Armillas teretes et onustas protulit arcas,</p> + <p>Exitii fomenta sui, ditissimus æris,</p> + <p>Bellatoris inops, hostique adimenda relinquens</p> + <p>Pignora, quæ patriis præbere pepercit amicis.</p> + <p>Annellos ultro metuens dare, maxima nolens</p> + <p>Pondera fudit opum, ueteris populator acerui.</p> + <p>Rex tamen hunc prudens, oblataque munera spreuit,</p> + <p>Rem pariter uitamque adimens; nec profuit hosti</p> + <p>Census iners, quem longo auidus cumulauerat æuo.</p> + <p>Hunc pius inuasit Roluo, summasque perempti</p> + <p>Cepit opes, inter dignos partitus amicos,</p> + <p>Quicquid auara manus tantis congesserat annis;</p> + <p>Irrumpensque opulenta magis quam fortia castra,</p> + <p>Præbuit eximiam sociis sine sanguine prædam.</p> + <p>Cui nil tam pulchrum fuit, ut non funderet illud,</p> + <p>Aut carum, quod non sociis daret, æra fauillis</p> + <p>Assimulans, famaque annos, non fœnore mensus.</p> + <p>Unde liquet, regem claro iam funere functum</p> + <p>Præclaros egisse dies, speciosaque fati</p> + <p>Tempora, præteritos decorasse uiriliter annos.</p> + <p>Nam uirtute ardens, dum uiueret, omnia uicit,</p> + <p>Egregio dignas sortitus corpore uires.</p> + <p>Tam præceps in bella fuit, quam concitus amnis</p> + <p>In mare decurrit, pugnamque capessere promptus</p> + <p>Ut ceruus rapidum bifido pede tendere cursum.</p> + </div> + </div> + +<p class="cenhead">Saxo, Book II, ed. Ascensius, fol. xxi a; ed. Holder, p. 67, l. 1.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>Hanc maxime exhortationum seriem idcirco metrica ratione compegerim, + quod earundem sententiarum intellectus Danici cuiusdam carminis compendio + digestus a compluribus antiquitatis peritis memoriter usurpatur.</p> + + <p>Contigit autem, potitis uictoria Gothis, omne Roluonis <!-- Page 137 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page137"></a>{137}</span>agmen + occumbere, neminemque, excepto Wiggone, ex tanta iuuentute residuum fore. + Tantum enim excellentissimis regis meritis ea pugna a militibus tributum + est, ut ipsius cædes omnibus oppetendæ mortis cupiditatem ingeneraret, + eique morte iungi uita iucundius duceretur.</p> + + <p>Lætus Hiartuarus prandendi gratia positis mensis conuiuium pugnæ + succedere iubet, uictoriam epulis prosecuturus. Quibus oneratus magnæ + sibi ammirationi esse dixit, quod ex tanta Roluonis militia nemo, qui + saluti fuga aut captione consuleret, repertus fuisset. Unde liquidum + fuisse quanto fidei studio regis sui caritatem coluerint, cui superstites + esse passi non fuerint. Fortunam quoque, quod sibi ne unius quidem eorum + obsequium superesse permiserit, causabatur, quam libentissime se talium + uirorum famulatu usurum testatus. Oblato Wiggone perinde ac munere + gratulatus, an sibi militare uellet, perquirit. Annuenti destrictum + gladium offert. Ille cuspidem refutans, capulum petit, hunc morem Roluoni + in porrigendo militibus ense extitisse præfatus. Olim namque se regum + clientelæ daturi, tacto gladii capulo obsequium polliceri solebant. Quo + pacto Wiggo capulum complexus, cuspidem per Hiartuarum agit, ultionis + compos, cuius Roluoni ministerium pollicitus fuerat. Quo facto, ouans + irruentibus in se Hiartuari militibus cupidius corpus obtulit, plus + uoluptatis se ex tyranni nece quam amaritudinis ex propria sentire + uociferans. Ita conuiuio in exequias uerso, uictoriæ gaudium funeris + luctus insequitur. Clarum ac semper memorabilem uirum, qui, uoto fortiter + expleto, mortem sponte complexus suo ministerio mensas tyranni sanguine + maculauit. Neque enim occidentium manus uiuax animi uirtus expauit, cum + prius a se loca, quibus Roluo assueuerat, interfectoris eius cruore + respersa cognosceret. Eadem itaque dies Hiartuari regnum finiuit ac + peperit. Fraudulenter enim quæsitæ res eadem sorte defluunt, qua + petuntur, nullusque diuturnus est fructus, qui scelere ac perfidia partus + fuerit. Quo euenit ut Sueones, paulo ante Daniæ potitores, ne suæ quidem + salutis potientes existerent. Protinus enim a Syalandensibus deleti læsis + Roluonis manibus iusta exsoluere piacula. Adeo plerunque fortunæ sæuitia + ulciscitur, quod dolo ac fallacia patratur.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p><!-- Page 138 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page138"></a>{138}</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">B. <i>Hrólfs Saga Kraka</i>, cap. 23</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead">(ed. Finnur Jónsson, København, 1904, p. 65 ff.)</p> + + <p>Síðan fór Bǫðvarr leið sína til Hleiðargarðs. Hann kemr til + konungs atsetu. Bǫðvarr leiðir síðan hest sinn á stall hjá konungs + hestum hinum beztu ok spyrr engan at; gekk síðan inn í hǫllina, ok + var þar fátt manna. Hann sez utarliga, ok sem hann hefir verit þar litla + hríð, heyrir hann þrausk nǫkkut utar í hornit í einhverjum stað. + Bǫðvarr lítr þangat ok sér, at mannshǫnd kemr upp úr mikilli + beinahrúgu, er þar lá; hǫndin var svǫrt mjǫk. + Bǫðvarr gengr þangat til ok spyrr, hverr þar væri í beinahrúgunni; + þá var honum svarat ok heldr óframliga: "Hǫttr heiti ek, Bokki + sæll." "Hví ertu hér, segir Bǫðvarr, eða hvat gerir þú?" + Hǫttr segir: "ek geri mér skjaldborg, Bokki sæll." Bǫðvarr + sagði: "vesall ertu þinnar skjaldborgar." Bǫðvarr þrífr til hans ok + hnykkir honum upp úr beinahrúgunni. Hǫttr kvað þá hátt við ok + mælti: "nú viltu mér bana, ger eigi þetta, svá sem ek hefi nú vel um búiz + áðr, en þú hefir nú rótat í sundr skjaldborg minni, ok hafða ek nú svá + gert hana háva utan at mér, at hún hefir hlíft mér við ǫllum + hǫggum ykkar, svá <i>at</i> engi hǫgg hafa komit á mik lengi, + en ekki var hún enn svá búin, sem ek ætlaði hún skyldi verða." + Bǫðvarr mælti: "ekki muntu fá skjaldborgina lengr." Hǫttr + mælti ok grét: "skaltu nú bana mér, Bokki sæll?" Bǫðvarr bað hann + ekki hafa hátt, tók hann upp síðan ok bar hann út úr hǫllinni ok + til vats nǫkkurs, sem þar var í nánd, ok gáfu fáir at þessu gaum, + ok þó hann upp allan. Síðan gekk Bǫðvarr til þess rúms, sem hann + hafði áðr tekit, ok leiddi eptir sér Hǫtt ok þar setr hann + Hǫtt hjá sér, en hann er svá hræddr, at skelfr á honum leggr ok + liðr, en þó þykkiz hann skilja, at þessi maðr vill hjálpa sér. Eptir þat + kveldar ok drífa menn í hǫllina ok sjá Hrólfs kappar, at + Hǫttr er settr á bekk upp, ok þykkir þeim sá maðr hafa gert sik + ærit djarfan, er þetta hefir til tekit. Ilt tillit hefir Hǫttr, þá + <i>er</i> hann sér kunningja sína, því <i>at</i> hann hefir ilt eitt af + þeim reynt; hann vill lifa gjarnan ok fara aptr í beinahrúgu sína, en + Bǫðvarr heldr honum, svá <i>at</i> hann náir ekki í burtu at fara, + því <i>at</i> hann þóttiz ekki jafnberr fyrir hǫggum þeira, ef hann + næði þangat <!-- Page 139 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page139"></a>{139}</span>at komaz sem hann er nú. Hirðmenn hafa nú + sama vanda, ok kasta fyrst beinum smám um þvert gólfit til Bǫðvars + ok Hattar. Bǫðvarr lætr, sem hann sjái eigi þetta. Hǫttr er + svá hræddr, at hann tekr eigi mat né drukk, ok þykkir honum þá ok þá sem + hann muni vera lostinn; ok nú mælti Hǫttr til Bǫðvars: "Bokki + sæll, nú ferr at þér stór hnúta, ok mun þetta ætlat okkr til nauða." + Bǫðvarr bað hann þegja; hann setr við holan lófann ok tekr svá við + hnútunni; þar fylgir leggrinn með; Bǫðvarr sendi aptr hnútuna ok + setr á þann, sem kastaði ok rétt framan í hann með svá harðri svipan, at + hann fekk bana; sló þá miklum ótta yfir hirðmennina. Kemr nú þessi fregn + fyrir Hrólf konung ok kappa hans upp í kastalann, at maðr mikilúðligr sé + kominn til hallarinnar ok hafi drepit einn hirðmann hans, ok vildu þeir + láta drepa manninn. Hrólfr konungr spurðiz eptir, hvárt hirðmaðrinn hefði + verit saklauss drepinn. "Því var næsta," sǫgðu þeir. Kómuz þá fyrir + Hrólf konung ǫll sannindi hér um. Hrólfr konungr sagði þat skyldu + fjarri, at drepa skyldi manninn—"hafi þit hér illan vanda upp + tekit, at berja saklausa menn beinum; er mér í því óvirðing, en yðr stór + skǫmm, at gera slíkt; hefi ek jafnan rætt um þetta áðr, ok hafi þit + at þessu engan gaum gefit, ok hygg ek, at þessi maðr muni ekki alllítill + fyrir sér, er þér hafið nú á leitat, ok kallið hann til mín, svá + <i>at</i> ek viti, hverr hann er." Bǫðvarr gengr fyrir konung ok + kveðr hann kurteisliga. Konunga spyrr hann at nafni. "Hattargriða kalla + mik hirðmenn yðar, en Bǫðvarr heiti ek." Konungr mælti: "hverjar + bætr viltu bjóða mér fyrir hirðmann minn?" Bǫðvarr segir: "til þess + gerði hann, sem hann fekk." Konungr mælti: "viltu vera minn maðr ok skipa + rúm hans?" Bǫðvarr segir: "ekki neita ek, at vera yðarr maðr, ok + munu vit ekki skiljaz svá búit, vit Hǫttr, ok dveljaz nær þér + báðir, heldr en þessi hefir setit, elligar vit fǫrum burt báðir." + Konungr mælti: "eigi sé ek at honum sæmd en ek spara ekki mat við hann." + Bǫðvarr gengr nú til þess rúms, sem honum líkaði, en ekki vill hann + þat skipa, sem hinn hafði áðr; hann kippir upp í einhverjum stað þremr + mǫnnum, ok síðan settuz þeir Hǫttr þar niðr ok innar í + hǫllinni en þeim var skipat. Heldr þótti mǫnnum ódælt við + Bǫðvar, ok er þeim hinn mesti íhugi at honum. Ok sem leið at jólum, + <!-- Page 140 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page140"></a>{140}</span>gerðuz menn ókátir. Bǫðvarr spyrr + Hǫtt, hverju þetta sætti; hann segir honum, at dýr eitt hafi þar + komit tvá vetr í samt, mikit ok ógurligt—"ok hefir vængi á bakinu + ok flýgr þat jafnan; tvau haust hefir þat nú hingat vitjat ok gert mikinn + skaða; á þat bíta ekki vápn, en kappar konungs koma ekki heim, þeir sem + at eru einna mestir." Bǫðvarr mælti: "ekki er hǫllin svá vel + skipuð, sem ek ætlaði, ef eitt dýr skal hér eyða ríki ok fé konungsins." + Hǫttr sagði: "þat er ekki dýr, heldr er þat hit mesta trǫll." + Nú kemr jólaaptann; þá mælti konungr: "nú vil ek, at menn sé kyrrir ok + hljóðir í nótt, ok banna ek ǫllum mínum mǫnnum at ganga í + nǫkkurn háska við dýrit, en fé ferr eptir því sem auðnar; menn mína + vil ek ekki missa." Allir heita hér góðu um, at gera eptir því, sem + konungr bauð. Bǫðvarr leyndiz í burt um nóttina; hann lætr + Hǫtt fara með sér, ok gerir hann þat nauðugr ok kallaði hann sér + stýrt til bana. Bǫðvarr segir, at betr mundi til takaz. Þeir ganga + í burt frá hǫllinni, ok verðr Bǫðvarr at bera hann; svá er + hann hræddr. Nú sjá þeir dýrit; ok því næst æpir Hǫttr slíkt, sem + hann má, ok kvað dyrit mundu gleypa hann. Bǫðvarr bað bikkjuna hans + þegja ok kastar honum niðr í mosann, ok þar liggr hann ok eigi með + ǫllu óhræddr; eigi þorir hann heim at fara heldr. Nú gengr + Bǫðvarr móti dýrinu; þat hæfir honum, at sverðit er fast í + umgjǫrðinni, er hann vildi bregða því. Bǫðvarr eggjar nú fast + sverðit ok þá bragðar í umgjǫrðinni, ok nú fær hann brugðit + umgjǫrðinni, svá <i>at</i> sverðit gengr úr slíðrunum, ok leggr + þegar undir bægi dýrsins ok svá fast, at stóð í hjartanu, ok datt þá + dýrit til jarðar dautt niðr. Eptir þat ferr hann þangat sem Hǫttr + liggr. Bǫðvarr tekr hann upp ok berr þangat, sem dýrit liggr dautt. + Hǫttr skelfr ákaft. Bǫðvarr mælti: "nú skaltu drekka blóð + dýrsins." Hann er lengi tregr, en þó þorir hann víst eigi annat. + Bǫðvarr lætr hann drekka tvá, sopa stóra; hann lét hann ok eta + nǫkkut af dýrshjartanu; eptir þetta tekr Bǫðvarr til hans, ok + áttuz þeir við lengi. Bǫðvarr mælti: "helzt ertu nú sterkr orðinn, + ok ekki vænti ek, et þú hræðiz nú hirðmenn Hrólfs konungs." Hǫttr + sagði: "eigi mun ek þá hræðaz ok eigi þik upp frá þessu." "Vel er þá + orðit, Hǫttr félagi; fǫru vit nú til ok reisum upp dýrit ok + búum svá um, at aðrir ætli at kvikt muni vera." <!-- Page 141 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page141"></a>{141}</span>Þeir gera nú svá. Eptir + þat fara þeir heim ok hafa kyrt um sik, ok veit engi maðr, hvat þeir hafa + iðjat. Konungr spyrr um morguninn, hvat þeir viti til dýrsins, hvárt þat + hafi nǫkkut þangat vitjat um nóttina; honum var sagt, at fé alt + væri heilt í grindum ok ósakat. Konungr bað menn forvitnaz, hvárt engi + sæi líkindi til, at þat hefði heim komit. Varðmenn gerðu svá ok kómu + skjótt aptr ok sǫgðu konungi, at dýrit færi þar ok heldr geyst at + borginni. Konungr bað hirðmenn vera hrausta ok duga nú hvern eptir því, + sem hann hefði hug til, ok ráða af óvætt þenna; ok svá var gert, sem + konungr bauð, at þeir bjuggu sik til þess. Konungr horfði á dýrit ok + mælti síðan: "enga sé ek fǫr á dýrinu, en hverr vill nú taka kaup + einn ok ganga í móti því?" Bǫðvarr mælti: "þat væri næsta hrausts + manns forvitnisbót. Hǫttr félagi, rektu nú af þér illmælit þat, at + menn láta, sem engi krellr né dugr muni í þer vera; far nú ok drep þú + dýrit; máttu sjá, at engi er allfúss til annarra." "Já," sagði + Hǫttr, "ek mun til þessa ráðaz." Konungr mælti: "ekki veit ek, + hvaðan þessi hreysti er at þér komin, Hǫttr, ok mikit hefir um þik + skipaz á skammri stundu." Hǫttr mælti: "gef mér til sverðit + Gullinhjalta, er þú heldr á, ok skal ek þá fella dýrit eða fá bana." + Hrólf konungr mælti: "þetta sverð er ekki beranda nema þeim manni, sem + bæði er góðr drengr ok hraustr." Hǫttr sagði: "svá skaltu til ætla, + at mér sé svá háttat." Konungr mælti: "hvat má vita, nema fleira hafi + skipz um hagi þína, en sjá þykkir, en fæstir menn þykkjaz þik kenna, at + þú sér enn sami maðr; nú tak við sverðinu ok njót manna bezt, ef þetta er + til unnit." Síðan gengr Hǫttr at dýrinu alldjarfliga ok høggr til + þess, þá <i>er</i> hann kemr í hǫggfæri, ok dýrit fellr niðr dautt. + Bǫðvarr mælti: "sjáið nú, herra, hvat hann hefir til unnit." + Konungr segir: "víst hefir hann mikit skipaz, en ekki hefir Hǫttr + einn dýrit drepit, heldr hefir þú þat gert." Bǫðvarr segir: "vera + má, at svá sé." Konungr segir: "vissa ek, þá <i>er</i> þú komt hér, at + fáir mundu þínir jafningjar vera, en þat þykki mér þó þitt verk + frægiligast, at þú hefir gert hér annan kappa, þar <i>er</i> Hǫttr + er, ok óvænligr þótti til mikillar giptu; ok nú vil ek <i>at</i> hann + heiti eigi Hǫttr lengr ok skal hann heita Hjalti upp frá þessu; + skaltu heita eptir sverðinu Gullinhjalta." <!-- Page 142 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page142"></a>{142}</span></p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>Then Bothvar went on his way to Leire, and came to the king's + dwelling.</p> + + <p>Bothvar stabled his horse by the king's best horses, without asking + leave; and then he went into the hall, and there were few men there. He + took a seat near the door, and when he had been there a little time he + heard a rummaging in a corner. Bothvar looked that way and saw that a + man's hand came up out of a great heap of bones which lay there, and the + hand was very black. Bothvar went thither and asked who was there in the + heap of bones.</p> + + <p>Then an answer came, in a very weak voice, "Hott is my name, good + fellow."</p> + + <p>"Why art thou here?" said Bothvar, "and what art thou doing?"</p> + + <p>Hott said, "I am making a shield-wall for myself, good fellow."</p> + + <p>Bothvar said, "Out on thee and thy shield-wall!" and gripped him and + jerked him up out of the heap of bones.</p> + + <p>Then Hott cried out and said, "Now thou wilt be the death of me: do + not do so. I had made it all so snug, and now thou hast scattered in + pieces my shield-wall; and I had built it so high all round myself that + it has protected me against all your blows, so that for long no blows + have come upon me, and yet it was not so arranged as I meant it should + be."</p> + + <p>Then Bothvar said, "Thou wilt not build thy shield-wall any + longer."</p> + + <p>Hott said, weeping, "Wilt thou be the death of me, good fellow?" + Bothvar told him not to make a noise, and then took him up and bore him + out of the hall to some water which was close by, and washed him from + head to foot. Few paid any heed to this.</p> + + <p>Then Bothvar went to the place which he had taken before, and led Hott + with him, and set Hott by his side. But Hott was so afraid that he was + trembling in every limb, and yet he seemed to know that this man would + help him.</p> + + <p>After that it grew to evening, and men crowded into the hall: and + Rolf's warriors saw that Hott was seated upon the bench. And it seemed to + them that the man must be bold <!-- Page 143 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page143"></a>{143}</span>enough, who had taken upon himself to put + him there. Hott had an ill countenance when he saw his acquaintances, for + he had received naught but evil from them. He wished to save his life and + go back to his bone-heap, but Bothvar held him tightly so that he could + not go away. For Hott thought that, if he could get back into his + bone-heap, he would not be as much exposed to their blows as he was.</p> + + <p>Now the retainers did as before; and first of all they tossed small + bones across the floor towards Bothvar and Hott. Bothvar pretended not to + see this. Hott was so afraid that he neither ate nor drank; and every + moment he thought he would be smitten.</p> + + <p>And now Hott said to Bothvar, "Good fellow, now a great knuckle bone + is coming towards thee, aimed so as to do us sore injury." Bothvar told + him to hold his tongue, and put up the hollow of his palm against the + knuckle bone and caught it, and the leg bone was joined on to the knuckle + bone. Then Bothvar sent the knuckle bone back, and hurled it straight at + the man who had thrown it, with such a swift blow that it was the death + of him. Then great fear came over the retainers.</p> + + <p>Now news came to King Rolf and his men up in the castle that a stately + man had come to the hall and killed a retainer, and that the retainers + wished to kill the man. King Rolf asked whether the retainer who had been + killed had given any offence. "Next to none," they said: then all the + truth of the matter came up before King Rolf.</p> + + <p>King Rolf said that it should be far from them to kill the man: "You + have taken up an evil custom here in pelting men with bones without + quarrel. It is a dishonour to me and a great shame to you to do so. I + have spoken about it before, and you have paid no attention. I think that + this man whom you have assailed must be a man of no small valour. Call + him to me, so that I may know who he is."</p> + + <p>Bothvar went before the king and greeted him courteously. The king + asked him his name. "Your retainers call me Hott's protector, but my name + is Bothvar."</p> + + <p>The king said, "What compensation wilt thou offer me for my retainer?" + <!-- Page 144 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page144"></a>{144}</span></p> + + <p>Bothvar said, "He only got what he asked for."</p> + + <p>The king said, "Wilt thou become my man and fill his place?"</p> + + <p>Bothvar said, "I do not refuse to be your man, but Hott and I must not + part so. And we must sit nearer to thee than this man whom I have slain + has sat; otherwise we will both depart together." The king said, "I do + not see much credit in Hott, but I will not grudge him meat." Then + Bothvar went to the seat that seemed good to him, and would not fill that + which the other had before. He pulled up three men in one place, and then + he and Hott sat down there higher in the hall than the place which had + been given to them. The men thought Bothvar overbearing, and there was + the greatest ill will among them concerning him.</p> + + <p>And when it drew near to Christmas, men became gloomy. Bothvar asked + Hott the reason of this. Hott said to him that for two winters together a + wild beast had come, great and awful, "And it has wings on its back, and + flies. For two autumns it has attacked us here and done much damage. No + weapon will wound it: and the champions of the king, those who are the + greatest, come not back."</p> + + <p>Bothvar said, "This hall is not so well arrayed as I thought, if one + beast can lay waste the kingdom and the cattle of the king." Hott said, + "It is no beast: it is the greatest troll."</p> + + <p>Now Christmas-eve came; then said the king, "Now my will is that men + to-night be still and quiet, and I forbid all my men to run into any + peril with this beast. It must be with the cattle as fate will have it: + but I do not wish to lose my men." All men promised to do as the king + commanded. But Bothvar went out in secret that night; he caused Hott to + go with him, but Hott did that only under compulsion, and said that it + would be the death of him. Bothvar said that he hoped that it would be + better than that. They went away from the hall, and Bothvar had to carry + Hott, so frightened was he. Now they saw the beast; and thereupon Hott + cried out as loud as he could, and said that the beast would swallow him. + Bothvar said, "Be silent, thou dog," and threw him down in the mire. And + there he lay in no small fear; but he did not dare to go home, any the + more. <!-- Page 145 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page145"></a>{145}</span></p> + + <p>Now Bothvar went against the beast, and it happened that his sword was + fast in his sheath when he wished to draw it. Bothvar now tugged at his + sword, it moved, he wrenched the scabbard so that the sword came out. And + at once he plunged it into the beast's shoulder so mightily that it + pierced him to the heart, and the beast fell down dead to the earth. + After that Bothvar went where Hott lay. Bothvar took him up and bore him + to where the beast lay dead. Hott was trembling all over. Bothvar said, + "Now must thou drink the blood of the beast." For long Hott was + unwilling, and yet he did not dare to do anything else. Bothvar made him + drink two great sups; also he made him eat somewhat of the heart of the + beast.</p> + + <p>After that Bothvar turned to Hott, and they fought a long time.</p> + + <p>Bothvar said, "Thou hast now become very strong, and I do not believe + that thou wilt now fear the retainers of King Rolf."</p> + + <p>Hott said, "I shall not fear them, nor thee either, from now on."</p> + + <p>"That is good, fellow Hott. Let us now go and raise up the beast, and + so array him that others may think that he is still alive." And they did + so. After that they went home, and were quiet, and no man knew what they + had achieved.</p> + + <p>In the morning the king asked what news there was of the beast, and + whether it had made any attack upon them in the night. And answer was + made to the king, that all the cattle were safe and uninjured in their + folds. The king bade his men examine whether any trace could be seen of + the beast having visited them. The watchers did so, and came quickly back + to the king with the news that the beast was making for the castle, and + in great fury. The king bade his retainers be brave, and each play the + man according as he had spirit, and do away with this monster. And they + did as the king bade, and made them ready.</p> + + <p>Then the king faced towards the beast and said, "I see no sign of + movement in the beast. Who now will undertake to go against it?"</p> + + <p>Bothvar said, "That would be an enterprise for a man of true valour. + Fellow Hott, now clear thyself of that ill-repute, <!-- Page 146 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page146"></a>{146}</span>in that men hold that + there is no spirit or valour in thee. Go now and do thou kill the beast; + thou canst see that there is no one else who is forward to do it."</p> + + <p>"Yea," said Hott, "I will undertake this."</p> + + <p>The king said, "I do not know whence this valour has come upon thee, + Hott; and much has changed in thee in a short time."</p> + + <p>Hott said, "Give me the sword Goldenboss, Gullinhjalti, which thou + dost wield, and I will fell the beast or take my death." Rolf the king + said, "That sword cannot be borne except by a man who is both a good + warrior and valiant." Hott said, "So shalt thou ween that I am a man of + that kind." The king said, "How can one know that more has not changed in + thy temper than can be seen? Few men would know thee for the same man. + Now take the sword and have joy of it, if this deed is accomplished." + Then Hott went boldly to the beast and smote at it when he came within + reach, and the beast fell down dead. Bothvar said, "See now, my lord, + what he has achieved." The king said, "Verily, he has altered much, but + Hott has not killed the beast alone, rather hast thou done it." Bothvar + said, "It may be that it is so." The king said, "I knew when thou didst + come here that few would be thine equals. But this seems to me + nevertheless thy most honourable work, that thou hast made here another + warrior of Hott, who did not seem shaped for much luck. And now I will + that he shall be called no longer Hott, but Hjalti from this time; thou + shalt be called after the sword Gullinhjalti (Goldenboss)."</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">C. Extracts from <i>Grettis Saga</i></span></p> + +<p class="cenhead">(ed. G. Magnússon, 1853; R. C. Boer, 1900)</p> + +<p class="cenhead">(<i>a</i>) <i>Glam episode</i> (caps. 32-35)</p> + + <p>Þórhallr hét maðr, er bjó á Þórhallsstǫðum í Forsæludal. + Forsæludalr er upp af Vatnsdal. Þórhallr var Grímsson, Þórhallssonar, + Friðmundarsonar, er nam Forsæludal. Þórhallr átti þá konu, er Guðrún hét. + Grímr hét sonr þeira, en Þuríðr dóttir; þau váru vel á legg komin. + Þórhallr var vel auðigr <!-- Page 147 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page147"></a>{147}</span>maðr, ok mest at kvikfé, svá at engi maðr + átti jafnmart ganganda fé, sem hann. Ekki var hann hǫfðingi, en þó + skilríkr bóndí. Þar var reimt mjǫk, ok fekk hann varla sauðamann, + svá at honum þœtti duga. Hann leitaði ráðs við marga vitra menn, + hvat hann skyldi til bragðs taka; en engi gat þat ráð til gefit, er + dygði. Þórhallr reið til þings hvert sumar. Hann átti hesta góða. Þat var + eitt sumar á alþingi, at Þórhallr gekk til búðar Skapta lǫgmanns, + Þóroddssonar. Skapti var manna vitrastr, ok heilráðr, ef hann var beiddr. + Þat skildi með þeim feðgum: Þóroddr var forspár ok kallaðr + undirhyggjumaðr af sumum mǫnnum, en Skapti lagði þat til með + hverjum manni, sem hann ætlaði at duga skyldi, ef eigi væri af því + brugðit; því var hann kallaðr betrfeðrungr. Þórhallr gekk í búð Skapta; + hann fagnaði vel Þórhalli, því hann vissi, at hann var ríkr maðr at fé, + ok spurði hvat at tíðendum væri.</p> + + <p>Þórhallr mælti: "Heilræði vilda ek af yðr þiggja."</p> + + <p>"Í litlum fœrum em ek til þess," sagði Skapti; "eða hvat stendr + þik?"</p> + + <p>Þórhallr mælti: "Þat er svá háttat, at mér helz lítt á + sauðamǫnnum. Verðr þeim heldr klakksárt, en sumir gera engar lyktir + á. Vill nú engi til taka, sá er kunnigt er til, hvat fyrir býr."</p> + + <p>Skapti svarar: "Þar mun liggja meinvættr nǫkkur, er menn eru + tregari til at geyma síðr þíns fjár en annarra manna. Nú fyrir því, at þú + hefir at mér ráð sótt, þá skal ek fá þér sauðamann, þann er Glámr heitir, + ættaðr ór Svíþjóð, ór Sylgsdǫlum, er út kom í fyrra sumar, mikill + ok sterkr, ok ekki mjǫk við alþýðu skap."</p> + + <p>Þórhallr kvaz ekki um þat gefa, ef hann geymdi vel fjárins; Skapti + sagði ǫðrum eigi vænt horfa, ef hann geymdi eigi fyrir afls sakir + ok áræðis; Þórhallr gekk þá út. Þetta var at þinglausnum.</p> + + <p>Þórhalli var vant hesta tveggja ljósbleikra, ok fór sjálfr at leita; + af því þykkjaz menn vita, at hann var ekki mikilmenni. Hann gekk upp + undir Sleðás ok suðr með fjalli því, er Ármannsfell heitir. Þá sá hann, + hvar maðr fór ofan ór Goðaskógi ok bar hrís á hesti. Brátt bar saman fund + þeira; Þórhallr spurði hann at nafni, en hann kvez Glámr heita. Þessi + maðr <!-- Page 148 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page148"></a>{148}</span>var mikill vexti ok undarligr í + yfirbragði, bláeygðr ok opineygðr, úlfgrár á hárslit. Þórhalli brá + nǫkkut í brún, er hann sá þenna mann; en þó skildi hann, at honum + mundi til þessa vísat.</p> + + <p>"Hvat er þér bezt hent at vinna?" segir Þórhallr.</p> + + <p>Glámr kvað sér vel hent at geyma sauðfjár á vetrum.</p> + + <p>"Viltu geyma sauðfjár míns?" segir Þórhallr; "gaf Skapti þik á mitt + vald."</p> + + <p>"Svá mun þér hentust mín vist, at ek fari sjálfráðr; því ek em + skapstyggr, ef mér líkar eigi vel," sagði Glámr.</p> + + <p>"Ekki mun mér mein at því," segir Þórhallr, "ok vil ek, at þú farir + til mín."</p> + + <p>"Gera má ek þat," segir Glámr; "eða eru þar nǫkkur + vandhœfi á?"</p> + + <p>"Reimt þykkir þar vera," sagði Þórhallr.</p> + + <p>"Ekki hræðumz ek flykur þær," sagði Glámr, "ok þykkir mér at + ódauflig[r]a."</p> + + <p>"Þess muntu við þurfa," segir Þórhallr, "ok hentar þar betr, at vera + eigi alllítill fyrir sér."</p> + + <p>Eptir þat kaupa þeir saman, ok skal Glámr koma at vetrnóttum. Siðan + skildu þeir, ok fann Þórhallr hesta sína, þar sem hann hafði nýleitat. + Reið Þórhallr heim, ok þakkaði Skapta sinn velgerning.</p> + + <p>Sumar leið af, ok frétti Þórhallr ekki til sauðamanns, ok engi kunni + skyn á honum. En at ánefndum tíma kom hann á Þórhallsstaði. Tekr bóndi + við honum vel, en ǫllum ǫðrum gaz ekki at honum, en húsfreyju + þó minst. Hann tók við fjárvarðveizlu, ok varð honum lítit fyrir því; + hann var hljóðmikill ok dimmraddaðr, ok féit stǫkk allt saman, + þegar hann hóaði. Kirkja var á Þórhallsstǫðum; ekki vildi Glámr til + hennar koma; hann var ósǫngvinn ok trúlauss, stirfinn ok + viðskotaillr; ǫllum var hann hvimleiðr.</p> + + <p>Nú leið svá þar til er kemr atfangadagr jóla. Þá stóð Glámr snemma upp + ok kallaði til matar síns.</p> + + <p>Húsfreyja svarar: "Ekki er þat háttr kristinna manna, at mataz þenna + dag, þvíat á morgin er jóladagr hinn fyrsti," segir hon, "ok er því fyrst + skylt at fasta í dag."</p> + + <p>Hann svarar: "Marga hindrvitni hafi þér, þá er ek sé til enskis koma. + Veit ek eigi, at mǫnnum fari nú betr at, heldr <!-- Page 149 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page149"></a>{149}</span>en þá, er menn + fóru ekki með slíkt. Þótti mér þá betri siðr, er menn váru heiðnir + kallaðir; ok vil ek mat minn en engar refjur."</p> + + <p>Húsfreyja mælti: "Víst veit ek, at þér mun illa faraz í dag, ef þú + tekr þetta illbrigði til."</p> + + <p>Glámr bað hana taka mat í stað; kvað henni annat skyldu vera verra. + Hon þorði eigi annat, en at gera, sem hann vildi. Ok er hann var mettr, + gekk hann út, ok var heldr gustillr. Veðri var svá farit, at myrkt var um + at litaz, ok flǫgraði ór drífa, ok gnýmikit, ok versnaði mjǫk + sem á leið daginn. Heyrðu menn til sauðamanns ǫndverðan daginn, en + miðr er á leið daginn. Tók þá at fjúka, ok gerði á hríð um kveldit; kómu + menn til tíða, ok leið svá fram at dagsetri; eigi kom Glámr heim. Var þá + um talat, hvárt hans skyldi eigi leita; en fyrir því, at hríð var á ok + niðamyrkr, þá varð ekki af leitinni. Kom hann eigi heim jólanóttina; biðu + menn svá fram um tíðir. At œrnum degi fóru menn í leitina, ok fundu + féit víða í fǫnnum, lamit af ofviðri eða hlaupit á fjǫll upp. + Þvínæst kómu þeir á traðk mikinn ofarliga í dalnum. Þótti þeim því líkt, + sem þar hefði glímt verit heldr sterkliga, þvíat grjótit var víða upp + leyst, ok svá jǫrðin. Þeir hugðu at vandliga ok sá, hvar Glámr lá, + skamt á brott frá þeim. Hann var dauðr, ok blár sem Hel, en digr sem + naut. Þeim bauð af honum óþekt mikla, ok hraus þeim mjǫk hugr við + honum. En þó leituðu þeir við at fœra hann til kirkju, ok gátu ekki + komit honum, nema á einn gilsþrǫm þar skamt ofan frá sér; ok fóru + heim við svá búit, ok sǫgðu bónda þenna atburð. Hann spurði, hvat + Glámi mundi hafa at bana orðit. Þeir kváðuz rakit hafa spor svá stór, sem + keraldsbotni væri niðr skelt þaðan frá, sem traðkrinn var, ok upp undir + bjǫrg þau, er þar váru ofarliga í dalnum, ok fylgðu þar með + blóðdrefjar miklar. Þat drógu menn saman, at sú meinvættr, er áðr hafði + [þar] verit, mundi hafa deytt Glám; en hann mundi fengit hafa henni + nǫkkurn áverka, þann er tekit hafi til fulls, þvíat við þá + meinvætti hefir aldri vart orðit síðan. Annan jóladag var enn til farit + at fœra Glám til kirkju. Váru eykir fyrir beittir, ok gátu þeir + hvergi fœrt hann, þegar sléttlendit var ok eigi var forbrekkis at + fara. Gengu nú frá við svá búit. Hinn þriðja dag fór prestr með þeim, ok + leituðu allan daginn, <!-- Page 150 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page150"></a>{150}</span>ok Glámr fannz eigi. Eigi vildi prestr + optar til fara; en sauðamaðr fannz, þegar prestr var eigi í ferð. Létu + þeir þá fyrir vinnaz, at fœra hann til kirkju; ok dysjuðu hann þar, + sem þá var hann kominn. Lítlu síðar urðu menn varir við þat, at Glámr lá + eigi kyrr. Varð mǫnnum at því mikit mein, svá at margir fellu í + óvit, ef sá hann, en sumir heldu eigi vitinu. Þegar eptir jólin þóttuz + menn sjá hann heima þar á bœnum. Urðu menn ákafliga hræddir; stukku + þá margir menn í brott. Þvinæst tók Glámr at ríða húsum á nætr, svá at lá + við brotum. Gekk hann þá náliga nætr ok daga. Varla þorðu menn at fara + upp í dalinn, þóat ætti nóg ørendi. Þótti mǫnnum þar í heraðinu + mikit mein at þessu.</p> + + <p>Um várit fekk Þórhallr sér hjón ok gerði bú á jǫrðu sinni. Tók + þá at minka aptrgangr, meðan sólargangr var mestr. Leið svá fram á + miðsumar. Þetta sumar kom út skip í Húnavatni; þar var á sá maðr, er + Þorgautr hét. Hann var útlendr at kyni, mikill ok sterkr; hann hafði + tveggja manna afl; hann var lauss ok einn fyrir sér; hann vildi fá starfa + nǫkkurn, því(at) hann var félauss. Þórhallr reið til skips ok fann + Þorgaut; spurði ef hann vildi vinna fyrir honum; Þorgautr kvað þat vel + mega vera, ok kvez eigi vanda þat.</p> + + <p>"Svá skaltu við búaz," segir Þórhallr, "sem þar sé ekki + veslingsmǫnnum hent at vera, fyrir aptrgǫngum þeim, er þar + hafa verit um hríð, en ek vil ekki þik á tálar draga."</p> + + <p>Þorgautr svarar: "Eigi þykkjumz ek upp gefinn, þóat ek sjá smáváfur; + mun þá eigi ǫðrum dælt, ef ek hræðumz; ok ekki bregð ek vist minni + fyrir þat."</p> + + <p>Nú semr þeim vel kaupstefnan, ok skal Þorgautr gæta sauðfjár at + vetri.</p> + + <p>Leið nú af sumarit. Tók Þorgautr við fénu at vetrnáttum. Vel líkaði + ǫllum við hann. Jafnan kom Glámr heim ok reið húsum. Þat þótti + Þorgauti allkátligt, ok kvað, "þrælinn þurfa mundu nær at ganga, ef ek + hræðumz." Þórhallr bað hann hafa fátt um; "er bezt, at þit reynið ekki + með ykkr."</p> + + <p>Þorgautr mælti: "Sannliga er skekinn þróttr ór yðr; ok dett ek eigi + niðr milli dœgra við skraf þetta."</p> + + <p>Nú fór svá fram um vetrinn allt til jóla. Atfangakveld jóla fór + sauðamaðr til fjár. <!-- Page 151 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page151"></a>{151}</span></p> + + <p>Þá mælti húsfreyja: "Þurfa þœtti mér, at nú fœri eigi at + fornum brǫgðum."</p> + + <p>Hann svarar: "Ver eigi hrædd um þat, húsfreyja," sagði hann; "verða + mun eitthvert sǫguligt, ef ek kem ekki aptr." Síðan gekk hann aptr + til fjár síns. Veðr var heldr kalt, ok fjúk mikit. Því var Þorgautr vanr, + at koma heim, þá er hálfrøkkvat var; en nú kom hann ekki heim í þat mund. + Kómu tíðamenn, sem vant var. Þat þótti mǫnnum eigi ólíkt á horfaz + sem fyrr. Bóndi vildi leita láta eptir sauðamanni, en tíðamenn + tǫlduz undan, ok sǫgðuz eigi mundu hætta sér út í + trǫllahendr um nætr; ok treystiz bóndi eigi at fara, ok varð ekki + af leitinni. Jóladag, er menn váru mettir, fóru menn til ok leituðu + sauðamanns. Gengu þeir fyrst til dysjar Gláms, þvíat menn ætluðu af hans + vǫldum mundi orðit um hvarf sauðamanns. En er þeir kómu nær + dysinni, sáu þeir þar mikil tíðendi, ok þar fundu þeir sauðamann, ok var + hann brotinn á háls, ok lamit sundr hvert bein í honum. Síðan fœrðu + þeir hann til kirkju, ok varð engum manni mein at Þorgauti síðan. En + Glámr tók at magnaz af nýju. Gerði hann nú svá mikit af sér, at menn + allir stukku brott af Þórhallsstǫðum, útan bóndi einn ok húsfreyja. + Nautamaðr hafði þar verit lengi hinn sami. Vildi Þórhallr hann ekki + lausan láta fyrir góðvilja sakir ok geymslu. Hann var mjǫk við + aldr, ok þótti honum mikit fyrir, at fara á brott; sá hann ok, at allt + fór at ónytju, þat er bóndi átti, ef engi geymdi. Ok einn tíma eptir + miðjan vetr var þat einn morgin, at húsfreyja fór til fjóss, at mjólka + kýr eptir tíma. Þá var alljóst, þvíat engi treystiz fyrr úti at vera + annarr en nautamaðr; hann fór út, þegar lýsti. Hon heyrði brak mikit í + fjósit, ok beljan ǫskurliga; hon hljóp inn œpandi ok kvaz + eigi vita, hver ódœmi um væri í fjósinu. Bóndi gekk út ok kom til + nautanna, ok stangaði hvert annat. Þótti honum þar eigi gott, ok gekk + innar at hlǫðunni. Hann sá, hvar lá, nautamaðr, ok hafði + hǫfuðit í ǫðrum bási en fœtr í ǫðrum; hann lá á + bak aptr. Bóndi gekk at honum ok þreifaði um hann; finnr brátt, at hann + er dauðr ok sundr hryggrinn í honum. Var hann brotinn um báshelluna. Nú + þótti bónda eigi vært, ok fór í brott af bœnum með allt þat, sem + hann mátti í brott flytja. En allt kvikfé þat, sem eptir var, deyddi + Glámr. Ok þvinæst fór <!-- Page 152 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page152"></a>{152}</span>hann um allan dalinn ok eyddi alla + bœi upp frá Tungu. Var Þórhallr þá með vinum sínum þat [sem] eptir + var vetrarins. Engi maðr mátti fara upp í dalinn með hest eðr hund, þvíat + þat var þegar drepit. En er váraði, ok sólargangr var sem mestr, létti + heldr aptrgǫngunum. Vildi Þórhallr nú fara aptr til lands síns. + Urðu honum ekki auðfengin hjón, en þó gerði hann bú á + Þórhallsstǫðum. Fór allt á sama veg sem fyrr; þegar at haustaði, + tóku at vaxa reimleikar. Var þá mest sótt at bóndadóttur; ok svá fór, at + hon léz af því. Margra ráða var í leitat, ok varð ekki at gǫrt. + Þótti mǫnnum til þess horfaz, at eyðaz mundi allr Vatnsdalr, ef + eigi yrði bœtr á ráðnar.</p> + + <p>Nú er þar til at taka, at Grettir Ásmundarson sat heima at Bjargi um + haustit, síðan þeir Vígabarði skildu á Þóreyjargnúpi. Ok er mjǫk + var komit at vetrnóttum, reið Grettir heiman norðr yfir hálsa til + Víðidals, ok gisti á Auðunarstǫðum. Sættuz þeir Auðunn til fulls, + ok gaf Grettir honum øxi góða, ok mæltu til vináttu með sér. Auðunn bjó + lengi á Auðunarstǫðum ok var kynsæll maðr. Hans sonr var Egill, er + átti Úlfheiði, dóttur Eyjólfs Guðmundarsonar, ok var þeira sonr Eyjólfr, + er veginn var á alþingi. Hann var faðir Orms, kapiláns Þorláks biskups. + Grettir reið norðr til Vatnsdals ok kom á kynnisleit í Tungu. Þar bjó þá + Jǫkull Bárðarson, móðurbróðir Grettis; Jǫkull var mikill maðr + ok sterkr ok hinn mesti ofsamaðr. Hann var siglingamaðr, ok mjǫk + ódæll, en þó mikilhœfr maðr. Hann tók vel við Gretti, ok var hann + þar þrjár nætr. Þá var svá mikit orð á aptrgǫngum Gláms, at + mǫnnum var ekki jafntíðrœtt sem þat. Grettir spurði inniliga + at þeim atburðum, er hǫfðu orðit; Jǫkull kvað þar ekki meira + af sagt en til væri hœft; "eða er þér forvitni á, frændi! at koma + þar?"</p> + + <p>Grettir sagði, at þat var satt.</p> + + <p>Jǫkull bað hann þat eigi gera, "því þat er gæfuraun mikil; en + frændr þínir eiga mikit í hættu, þar sem þú ert," sagði hann; "þykkir oss + nú engi slíkr af ungum mǫnnum sem þú; en illt mun af illum hljóta, + þar sem Glámr er. Er ok miklu betra, at fáz við mennska menn en við + óvættir slíkar."</p> + + <p>Grettir kvað sér hug á, at koma á Þórhallsstaði, ok sjá, hversu þar + væri um gengit. <!-- Page 153 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page153"></a>{153}</span></p> + + <p>Jǫkull mælti: "Sé ek nú, at eigi tjáir at letja þik; en satt er + þat sem mælt er, at sitt er hvárt, gæfa eða gervigleikr."</p> + + <p>"Þá er ǫðrum vá fyrir dyrum, er ǫðrum er inn um komit; ok + hygg at, hversu þér mun fara sjálfum, áðr lýkr," kvað Grettir.</p> + + <p>Jǫkull svarar: "Vera kann, at vit sjáim báðir nǫkkut fram, + en hvárrgi fái við gǫrt."</p> + + <p>Eptir þat skildu þeir, ok líkaði hvárigum annars spár.</p> + + <p>Grettir reið á Þórhallsstaði, ok fagnaði bóndi honum vel. Hann spurði, + hvert Grettir ætlaði at fara; en hann segiz þar vilja vera um nóttina, ef + bónda líkaði, at svá væri. Þórhallr kvaz þǫkk fyrir kunna, at hann + væri þar, "en fám þykkir slœgr til at gista hér um tíma; muntu hafa + heyrt getit um, hvat hér er at væla. En ek vilda gjarna, at þú hlytir + engi vandræði af mér. En þóat þú komiz heill á brott, þá veit ek fyrir + víst, at þú missir hests þíns; því engi heldr hér heilum sínum + fararskjóta, sá er kemr."</p> + + <p>Grettir kvað gott til hesta, hvat sem af þessum yrði.</p> + + <p>Þórhallr varð glaðr við, er Grettir vildi þar vera, ok tók við honum + báðum hǫndum. Var hestr Grettis læstr í húsi sterkliga. Þeir fóru + til svefns, ok leið svá af nóttin, at ekki kom Glámr heim.</p> + + <p>Þá mælti Þórhallr: "Vel hefir brugðit við þína kvámu, þvíat hverja + nótt er Glámr vanr at ríða húsum eða brjóta upp hurðir, sem þú mátt merki + sjá."</p> + + <p>Grettir mælti: "Þá mun vera annathvárt, at hann mun ekki lengi á sér + sitja, eða mun af venjaz meirr en eina nótt. Skal ek vera hér nótt aðra + ok sjá, hversu ferr."</p> + + <p>Siðan gengu þeir til hests Grettis, ok var ekki við hann glez. Allt + þótti bónda at einu fara. Nú er Grettir þar aðra nótt, ok kom ekki + þrællinn heim. Þá þótti bónda mjǫk vænkaz. Fór hann þá, at sjá hest + Grettis. Þá var upp brotit húsit, er bóndi kom til, en hestrinn dreginn + til dyra útar, ok lamit í sundr í honum hvert bein.</p> + + <p>Þórhallr sagði Gretti, hvar þá var komit, ok bað hann forða sér: + "þvíat víss er dauðinn, ef þú bíðr Gláms."</p> + + <p>Grettir svarar: "Eigi má ek minna hafa fyrir hest minn, en at sjá + þrælinn." <!-- Page 154 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page154"></a>{154}</span></p> + + <p>Bóndi sagði, at þat var eigi bati, at sjá hann, "þvíat hann er ólíkr + nǫkkurri mannligri mynd; en góð þykki mér hver sú stund, er þú vilt + hér vera."</p> + + <p>Nú líðr dagrinn; ok er menn skyldu fara til svefns, vildi Grettir eigi + fara af klæðum, ok lagðiz niðr í setit gegnt lokrekkju bónda. Hann hafði + rǫggvarfeld yfir sér, ok knepti annat skautit niðr undir fœtr + sér, en annat snaraði hann undir hǫfuð sér, ok sá út um + hǫfuðsmáttina. Setstokkr var fyrir framan setit, mjǫk sterkr, + ok spyrndi hann þar í. Dyraumbúningrinn allr var frá brotinn útidyrunum, + en nú var þar fyrir bundinn hurðarflaki, ok óvendiliga um búit. Þverþilit + var allt brotit frá skálanum, þat sem þar fyrir framan hafði verit, bæði + fyrir ofan þvertréit ok neðan. Sængr allar váru ór stað fœrðar. + Heldr var þar óvistuligt. Ljós brann í skálanum um nóttina. Ok er af + mundi þriðjungr af nótt, heyrði Grettir út dynur miklar. Var þá farit upp + á húsin, ok riðit skálanum ok barit hælunum, svá at brakaði í hverju tré. + Þvi gekk lengi; þá var farit ofan af húsunum ok til dyra gengit. Ok er + upp var lokit hurðunni, sá Grettir, at þrællinn rétti inn hǫfuðit, + ok sýndiz honum afskræmiliga mikit ok undarliga stórskorit. Glámr fór + seint ok réttiz upp, er hann kom inn í dyrnar; hann gnæfaði ofarliga við + ræfrinu; snýr at skálanum ok lagði handleggina upp á þvertréit, ok gægðiz + inn yfir skálann. Ekki lét bóndi heyra til sín, þvíat honum þótti + œrit um, er hann heyrði, hvat um var úti. Grettir lá kyrr ok + hrœrði sik hvergi. Glámr sá, at hrúga nǫkkur lá í setinu, ok + réz nú innar eptir skálanum ok þreif í feldinn stundarfast. Grettir + spyrndi í stokkinn, ok gekk því hvergi. Glámr hnykti í annat sinn miklu + fastara, ok bifaðiz hvergi feldrinn. Í þriðja sinn þreif hann í með báðum + hǫndum svá fast, at hann rétti Gretti upp ór setinu; kiptu nú í + sundr feldinum í millum sín. Glámr leit á slitrit, er hann helt á, ok + undraðiz mjǫk, hverr svá, fast mundi togaz við hann. Ok í því hljóp + Grettir undir hendr honum, ok þreif um hann miðjan, ok spenti á honum + hrygginn sem fastast gat hann, ok ætlaði hann, at Glámr skyldi kikna við. + En þrællinn lagði at handleggjum Grettis svá fast, at hann hǫrfaði + allr fyrir orku sakir. Fór Grettir þá undan í ýms setin. Gengu þá frá + stokkarnir, ok allt brotnaði, þat sem fyrir varð. Vildi <!-- Page 155 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page155"></a>{155}</span>Glámr leita + út, en Grettir fœrði við fœtr, hvar sem hann mátti. En þó gat + Glámr dregit hann fram ór skálanum. Áttu þeir þá allharða sókn þvíat + þrællinn ætlaði at koma honum út ór bœnum; en svá illt sem var at + eiga við Glám inni, þá sá Grettir, at þó var verra, at fáz við hann úti; + ok því brauz hann í móti af ǫllu afli at fara út. Glámr + fœrðiz í aukana, ok knepti hann at sér, er þeir kómu í anddyrit. Ok + er Grettir sér, at hann fekk eigi við spornat, hefir hann allt eitt + atriðit, at hann hleypr sem harðast í fang þrælnum ok spyrnir báðum fótum + í jarðfastan stein, er stoð í dyrunum. Við þessu bjóz þrællinn eigi; hann + hafði þá togaz við at draga Gretti at sér; ok því kiknaði Glámr á bak + aptr, ok rauk ǫfugr út á dyrnar, svá at herðarnar námu uppdyrit, ok + ræfrit gekk í sundr, bæði viðirnir ok þekjan frerin; fell hann svá opinn + ok ǫfugr út ór húsunum, en Grettir á hann ofan. Tunglskin var mikit + úti ok gluggaþykkn; hratt stundum fyrir, en stundum dró frá. Nú í því, er + Glámr fell, rak skýit frá tunglinu, en Glámr hvesti augun upp í móti. Ok + svá, hefir Grettir sagt sjálfr, at þá eina sýn hafi hann sét svá, at + honum brygði við. Þá sigaði svá at honum af ǫllu saman, mœði + ok því, er hann sá at Glámr gaut sínum sjónum harðliga, at hann gat eigi + brugðit saxinu, ok lá náliga í milli heims ok heljar. En því var meiri + ófagnaðarkraptr með Glámi en flestum ǫðrum + aptrgǫngumǫnnum, at hann mælti þá á þessa leið: "Mikit kapp + hefir þú á lagit, Grettir," sagði hann, "at finna mik. En þat mun eigi + undarligt þykkja, þóat þú hljótir ekki mikit happ af mér. En þat má ek + segja þér, at þú hefir nú fengit helming afls þess ok þroska, er þér var + ætlaðr, ef þú hefðir mik ekki fundit. Nú fæ ek þat afl eigi af þér tekit, + er þú hefir áðr hrept; en því má ek ráða, at þú verðr aldri sterkari en + nú ertu, ok ertu þó nógu sterkr, ok at því mun mǫrgum verða. Þú + hefir frægr orðit hér til af verkum þínum; en heðan af munu falla til þín + sektir ok vígaferli, en flest ǫll verk þín snúaz þér til ógæfu ok + hamingjuleysis. Þú munt verða útlægr gǫrr, ok hljóta jafnan úti at + búa einn samt. Þá legg ek þat á við þik, at þessi augu sé þér jafnan + fyrir sjónum, sem ek ber eptir; ok mun þér erfitt þykkja, einum at vera; + ok þat mun þér til dauða draga."</p> + + <p>Ok sem þrællinn hafði þetta mælt, þá rann af Gretti ómegin, <!-- Page + 156 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page156"></a>{156}</span>þat sem á + honum hafði verit. Brá hann þá saxinu ok hjó hǫfuð af Glámi ok + setti þat við þjó honum. Bóndi kom þá út, ok hafði klæz, á meðan Glámr + lét ganga tǫluna; en hvergi þorði hann nær at koma, fyrr en Glámr + var fallinn. Þórhallr lofaði guð fyrir, ok þakkaði vel Gretti, er hann + hafði unnit þenna óhreina anda. Fóru þeir þá til, ok brendu Glám at + kǫldum kolum. Eptir þat [báru þeir ǫsku hans í eina hít ok] + grófu þar niðr, sem sízt váru fjárhagar eða mannavegir. Gengu heim eptir + þat, ok var þá mjǫk komit at degi. Lagðiz Grettir niðr, þvíat hann + var stirðr mjǫk. Þórhallr sendi menn á næstu bœi eptir + mǫnnum; sýndi ok sagði, hversu farit hafði. Ǫllum þótti + mikils um vert um þetta verk, þeim er heyrðu. Var þat þá almælt, at engi + væri þvílíkr maðr á ǫllu landinu fyrir afls sakir ok hreysti ok + allrar atgervi, sem Grettir Ásmundarson.</p> + + <p>Þórhallr leysti Gretti vel af garði ok gaf honum góðan hest ok klæði + sœmilig, því[at] þau váru ǫll sundr leyst, er hann hafði áðr + borit. Skildu þeir með vináttu. Reið Grettir þaðan í Ás í Vatnsdal, ok + tók Þorvaldr við honum vel ok spurði inniliga at sameign þeira Gláms; en + Grettir segir honum viðskipti þeira, ok kvaz aldri í þvílíka aflraun + komit hafa, svá langa viðreign sem þeir hǫfðu saman átt.</p> + + <p>Þorvaldr bað hann hafa sik spakan, "ok mun þá vel duga, en ella mun + þér slysgjarnt verða."</p> + + <p>Grettir kvað ekki batnat hafa um lyndisbragðit, ok sagðiz nú miklu + verr stiltr en áðr, ok allar mótgerðir verri þykkja. Á því fann hann + mikla muni, at hann var orðinn maðr svá myrkfælinn, at hann þorði hvergi + at fara einn saman, þegar myrkva tók. Sýndiz honum þá hvers kyns skrípi; + ok þat er haft síðan fyrir orðtœki, at þeim ljái Glámr augna eðr + gefi glámsýni, er mjǫk sýniz annan veg, en er. Grettir reið heim + til Bjargs, er hann hafði gǫrt ørendi sín, ok sat heima um + vetrinn.</p> + +<p class="cenhead">(<i>b</i>) <i>Sandhaugar episode</i> (caps. 64-66)</p> + + <p>Steinn hét prestr, er bjó at Eyjardalsá í Bárðardal. Hann var búþegn + góðr ok ríkr at fé. Kjartan hét son hans, rǫskr maðr ok vel á legg + kominn. Þorsteinn hvíti hét maðr, er <!-- Page 157 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page157"></a>{157}</span>bjó at Sandhaugum, suðr + frá Eyjardalsá. Steinvǫr hét kona hans, ung ok glaðlát. Þau áttu + bǫrn, ok váru þau ung í þenna tíma. Þar þótti mǫnnum reimt + mjǫk sakir trǫllagangs. Þat bar til, tveim vetrum fyrr en + Grettir kom norðr í sveitir, at Steinvǫr húsfreyja at Sandhaugum + fór til jólatíða til Eyjardalsár eptir vana, en bóndi var heima. + Lǫgðuz menn niðr til svefns um kveldit; ok um nóttina heyrðu menn + brak mikit í skálann, ok til sængr bónda. Engi þorði upp at standa at + forvitnaz um, þvíat þar var fáment mjǫk. Húsfreyja kom heim um + morguninn, ok var bóndi horfinn, ok vissi engi, hvat af honum var orðit. + Liðu svá hin næstu misseri. En annan vetr eptir, vildi húsfreyja fara til + tíða; bað hon húskarl sinn heima vera. Hann var tregr til; en bað hana + ráða. Fór þar allt á sǫmu leið, sem fyrr, at húskarl var horfinn. + Þetta þótti mǫnnum undarligt. Sáu menn þá blóðdrefjar + nǫkkurar í útidyrum. Þóttuz menn þat vita, at óvættir mundu hafa + tekit þá báða. Þetta fréttiz víða um sveitir. Grettir hafði spurn af + þessu. Ok með því at honum var mjǫk lagit at koma af reimleikum eða + aptrgǫngum, þá gerði hann ferð sína til Bárðardals, ok kom + atfangadag jóla til Sandha[u]ga. Hann duldiz ok nefndiz Gestr. Húsfreyja + sá, at hann var furðu mikill vexti, en heimafólk var furðu hrætt við + hann. Hann beiddiz þar gistingar. Húsfreyja kvað honum mat til reiðu, "en + ábyrgz þik sjálfr."</p> + + <p>Hann kvað svá vera skyldu. "Mun ek vera heima," segir hann, "en þú far + til tíða, ef þú vilt."</p> + + <p>Hon svarar: "Mér þykkir þú hraustr, ef þú þorir heima at vera."</p> + + <p>"Eigi læt ek mér at einu getit," sagði hann.</p> + + <p>"Illt þykkir mér heima at vera," segir hon, "en ekki komumz ek yfir + ána."</p> + + <p>"Ek skal fylgja þér yfir," segir Gestr.</p> + + <p>Síðan bjóz hon til tiða, ok dóttir hennar með henni, lítil vexti. + Hláka mikil var úti, ok áin í leysingum; var á henni jakafǫr.</p> + + <p>Þá mælti húsfreyja: "Ófœrt er yfir ána, bæði mǫnnum ok + hestum."</p> + + <p>"Vǫð munu á vera," kvað Gestr; "ok verið eigi hræddar." <!-- + Page 158 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page158"></a>{158}</span></p> + + <p>"Ber þú fyrst meyna," kvað húsfreyja, "hon er léttari."</p> + + <p>"Ekki nenni ek at gera tvær ferðir at þessu," segir Gestr, "ok mun ek + bera þik á handlegg mér."</p> + + <p>Hon signdi sik ok mælti: "Þetta er ófœra; eða hvat gerir þú þá + af meyjunni?"</p> + + <p>"Sjá mun ek ráð til þess," segir hann; ok greip þær upp báðar ok setti + hina yngri í kné móður sinnar, ok bar þær svá á vinstra armlegg sér; en + hafði lausa hina hœgri hǫnd ok óð svá, út á vaðit. Eigi þorðu + þær at œpa, svá váru þær hræddar. En áin skall þegar upp á brjósti + honum. Þá rak at honum jaka mikinn; en hann skaut við hendi þeiri, er + laus var, ok hratt frá sér. Gerði þá svá djúpt, at strauminn braut á + ǫxlinni. Óð hann sterkliga, þar til er hann kom at bakkanum + ǫðrum megin, ok fleygir þeim á land. Síðan sneri hann aptr, ok var + þá hálfrøkkvit, er hann kom heim til Sandhauga; ok kallaði til matar. Ok + er hann var mettr, bað hann heimafólk fara innar í stofu. Hann tók þá + borð ok lausa viðu, ok rak um þvera stofuna, ok gerði bálk mikinn, svá at + engi heimamaðr komz fram yfir. Engi þorði í móti honum at mæla, ok í + engum skyldi kretta. Gengit var í hliðvegginn stofunnar inn við + gaflhlaðit; ok þar þverpallr hjá. Þar lagðiz Gestr niðr ok fór ekki af + klæðunum. Ljós brann í stofunni gegnt dyrum. Liggr Gestr svá fram á + nóttina.</p> + + <p>Húsfreyja kom til Eyjardalsár til tíða, ok undruðu menn um ferðir + hennar yfir ána. Hon sagðiz eigi vita, hvárt hana hefði yfir flutt maðr + eða trǫll. Prestr kvað mann víst vera mundu, þóat fárra maki sé; + "ok látum hljótt yfir," sagði hann; "má vera, at hann sé ætlaðr til at + vinna bót á vandræðum þínum." Var húsfreyja þar um nóttina.</p> + + <p>Nú er frá Gretti þat at segja, at þá er dró at miðri nótt, heyrði hann + út dynur miklar. Þvínæst kom inn í stofuna trǫllkona mikil. Hon + hafði í hendi trog, en annarri skálm, heldr mikla. Hon litaz um, er hon + kom inn, ok sá, hvar Gestr lá, ok hljóp at honum, en hann upp í móti, ok + réðuz á grimmliga ok sóttuz lengi í stofunni. Hon var sterkari, en hann + fór undan kœnliga. En allt þat, sem fyrir þeim varð, brutu þau, + jafnvel þverþilit undan stofunni. Hon dró hann fram yfir dyrnar, ok svá í + anddyrit; þar tók hann fast í móti. Hon <!-- Page 159 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page159"></a>{159}</span>vildi draga hann út ór + bœnum, en þat varð eigi fyrr en þau leystu frá allan + útidyraumbúninginn ok báru hann út á herðum sér. Þœfði hon þá ofan + til árinnar ok allt fram at gljúfrum. Þá var Gestr ákafliga móðr, en þó + varð annathvárt at gera: at herða sik, ella mundi hon steypa honum í + gljúfrin. Alla nóttina sóttuz þau. Eigi þóttiz hann hafa fengiz við + þvílíkan ófagnað fyrir afls sakir. Hon hafði haldit honum svá fast at + sér, at hann mátti hvárigri hendi taka til nǫkkurs, útan hann helt + um hana miðja k[ett]una. Ok er þau kómu á árgljufrit, bregðr hann + flagðkonunni til sveiflu. Í því varð honum laus hin hœgri + hǫndin. Hann þreif þá skjótt til saxins, er hann var gyrðr með, ok + bregðr því; høggr þá á ǫxl trǫllinu, svá at af tók + hǫndina hœgri, ok svá, varð hann lauss. En hon steyptiz í + gljúfrin ok svá í fossinn. Gestr var þá bæði stirðr ok móðr, ok lá þar + lengi á hamrinum. Gekk hann þá heim, er lýsa tók, ok lagðiz í rekkju. + Hann var allr þrútinn ok blár.</p> + + <p>Ok er húsfreyja kom frá tíðum, þótti henni heldr raskat um hýbýli sín. + Gekk hon þá til Gests ok spurði, hvat til hefði borit, er allt var brotit + ok bœlt. Hann sagði allt, sem farit hafði. Henni þótti mikils um + vert, ok spurði, hverr hann var. Hann sagði þá til hit sanna, ok bað + sœkja prest ok kvaz vildu finna hann. Var ok svá gǫrt. En er + Steinn prestr kom til Sandhauga, varð hann brátt þess víss, at þar var + kominn Grettir Ásmundarson, er Gestr nefndiz. Prestr spurði, hvat hann + ætlaði af þeim mǫnnum mundi vera orðit, er þar hǫfðu horfit. + Grettir kvaz ætla, at í gljúfrin mundu þeir hafa horfit. Prestr kvaz eigi + kunna at leggja trúnað á sagnir hans, ef engi merki mætti til sjá. + Grettir segir, at sífðar vissi þeir þat gørr. Fór prestr heim. Grettir lá + í rekkju margar nætr. Húsfreyja gerði við hann harðla vel; ok leið svá af + jólin. Þetta er sǫgn Grettis, at trǫllkonan steypðiz í + gljúfrin við, er hon fekk sárit; en Bárðardalsmenn segja, at hana dagaði + uppi, þá er þau glímdu, ok spryngi, þá er hann hjó af henni + hǫndina, ok standi þar enn í konu líking á bjarginu. Þeir + dalbúarnir leyndu þar Gretti.</p> + + <p>Um vetrinn eptir jól var þat einn dag, at Grettir fór til Eyjardalsár. + Ok er þeir Grettir funduz ok prestr, mælti Grettir: "Sé ek þat, prestr," + segir hann, "at þú leggr lítinn <!-- Page 160 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page160"></a>{160}</span>trúnað á sagnir mínar. Nú vil ek at þú + farir með mér til árinnar, ok sjáir, hver líkendi þér þykkir á vera."</p> + + <p>Prestr gerði svá. En er þeir kómu til fossins, sáu þeir skúta upp + undir bergit; þat var meitilberg svá mikit, at hvergi mátti upp komaz, ok + nær tíu faðma ofan at vatninu. Þeir hǫfðu festi með sér.</p> + + <p>Þá mælti prestr: "Langt um ófœrt sýniz mér þér niðr at + fara."</p> + + <p>Grettir svarar: "Fœrt er víst; en þeim mun bezt þar, sem + ágætismenn eru. Mun ek forvitnaz, hvat í fossinum er, en þú skalt geyma + festar."</p> + + <p>Prestr bað hann ráða, ok keyrði niðr hæl á berginu, ok bar at grjót, + [ok sat þar hjá].</p> + + <p>Nú er frá Gretti at segja, at hann lét stein í festaraugat ok lét svá + síga ofan at vatninu.</p> + + <p>"Hvern veg ætlar þú nú," segir prestr, "at fara?"</p> + + <p>"Ekki vil ek vera bundinn," segir Grettir, "þá er ek kem í fossinn; + svá boðar mér hugr um."</p> + + <p>Eptir þat bjó hann sik til ferðar, ok var fáklæddr, ok gyrði sik með + saxinu, en hafði ekki fleiri vápn. Síðan hljóp hann af bjarginu ok niðr í + fossinn. Sá prestr í iljar honum, ok vissi síðan aldri, hvat af honum + varð. Grettir kafaði undir fossinn, ok var þat torvelt, þvíat iða var + mikil, ok varð hann allt til grunns at kafa, áðr en hann kœmiz upp + undir fossinn. Þar var forberg nǫkkut, ok komz hann inn þar upp á. + Þar var hellir mikill undir fossinum, ok fell áin fram af berginu. Gekk + hann þá inn í hellinn, ok var þar eldr mikill á brǫndum. Grettir + sá, at þar sat jǫtunn ǫgurliga mikill; hann var hræðiligr at + sjá. En er Grettir kom at honum, hljóp jǫtunninn upp ok greip flein + einn ok hjó til þess, er kominn var, þvíat bæði mátti hǫggva ok + leggja með [honum]. Tréskapt var í; þat kǫlluðu menn þá heptisax, + er þannveg var gǫrt. Grettir hjó á móti með saxinu, ok kom á + skaptit, svá at í sundr tók. Jǫtunninn vildi þá seilaz á bak sér + aptr til sverðs, er þar hekk í hellinum. Í því hjó Grettir framan á + brjóstit, svá at náliga tók af alla bringspelina ok kviðinn, svá at iðrin + steyptuz ór honum ofan í ána, ok keyrði þau ofan eptir ánni. Ok er prestr + sat við festina, sá hann, at slyðrur nǫkkurar rak ofan eptir + strengnum blóðugar <!-- Page 161 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page161"></a>{161}</span>allar. Hann varð þá lauss á velli, ok + þóttiz nú vita, at Grettir mundi dauðr vera. Hljóp hann þá frá + festarhaldinu ok fór heim. Var þá komit at kveldi, ok sagði prestr + vísliga, at Grettir væri dauðr; ok sagði, at mikill skaði væri eptir + þvílíkan mann.</p> + + <p>Nú er frá Gretti at segja; hann lét skamt hǫggva í milli, þar + til er jǫtunninn dó. Gekk Grettir þá innar eptir hellinum. Hann + kveikti ljós ok kannaði hellinn. Ekki er frá því sagt, hversu mikit fé + hann fekk í hellinum; en þat ætla menn, at verit hafi nǫkkut. + Dvaldiz honum þar fram á nóttina. Hann fann þar tveggja manna bein, ok + bar þau í belg einn. Leitaði hann þá ór hellinum ok lagðiz til + festarinnar, ok hristi hana, ok ætlaði, at prestr mundi þar vera. En er + hann vissi, at prestr var heim farinn, varð hann þá at handstyrkja upp + festina, ok komz hann svá upp á bjargit. Fór hann þá heim til Eyjardalsár + ok kom í forkirkju belginum þeim, sem beinin váru í, ok þar með rúnakefli + því, er vísur þessar váru forkunnliga vel á ristnar:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>"Gekk ek í gljúfr et dǫkkva</p> + <p>gein veltiflug steina,</p> + <p>viþ hjǫrgæþi hríþar</p> + <p>hlunns úrsvǫlum munni,</p> + <p>fast lá framm á brjósti</p> + <p>flugstraumr í sal naumu</p> + <p>heldr kom á herþar skáldi</p> + <p>hǫrþ fjón Braga kvónar."</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Ok en þessi:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>"Ljótr kom mér í móti</p> + <p>mellu vinr ór helli;</p> + <p>hann fekz, heldr at sǫnnu</p> + <p>harþfengr, viþ mik lengi;</p> + <p>harþeggjat lét ek hǫggvit</p> + <p>heptisax af skepti;</p> + <p>Gangs klauf brjóst ok bringu</p> + <p>bjartr gunnlogi svarta<a name="NtA298" href="#Nt298"><sup>[298]</sup></a>."</p> + </div> + </div> + +<p><!-- Page 162 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page162"></a>{162}</span></p> + + <p>Þar sagði svá, at Grettir hafi bein þessi ór hellinum haft. En er + prestr kom til kirkju um morgininn, fann hann keflit ok þat sem fylgdi, + ok las rúnarnar. En Grettir hafði farit heim til Sandhauga.</p> + + <p>En þá er prestr fann Gretti, spurði hann inniliga eptir atburðum; en + hann sagði alla sǫgu um ferð sína, ok kvað prest ótrúliga hafa + haldit festinni. Prestr lét þat á sannaz. Þóttuz menn þat vita, at þessar + óvættir mundu valdit hafa mannahvǫrfum þar í dalnum. Varð ok aldri + mein af aptrgǫngum eða reimleikum þar í dalnum síðan. Þótti Grettir + þar gǫrt hafa mikla landhreinsan. Prestr jarðaði bein þessi í + kirkjugarði.</p> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Translation of Extracts from <i>Grettis Saga</i></span></p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>The <i>Grettis saga</i> was first printed in the middle of the + eighteenth century, in Iceland (Marcússon, <i>Nockrer Marg-frooder + Sogu-þatter</i>, 1756, pp. 81-163). It was edited by Magnússon and + Thordarson, Copenhagen, 1853, with a Danish translation, and again by + Boer (<i>Altnordische Saga-bibliothek</i>, Halle, 1900). An edition was + also printed at Reykjavik in 1900, edited by V. Ásmundarson.</p> + + <p>There are over forty <span class="scac">MSS</span> of the saga: + <i>Cod. Arn. Mag. 551 a</i> (quoted in the notes below as A) forms the + basis of all three modern editions. Boer has investigated the + relationship of the <span class="scac">MSS</span> (<i>Die + handschriftliche überlieferung der Grettissaga, Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXI</span>, 40-60), and has published, in an appendix to + his edition, the readings of five of the more important, in so far as he + considers that they can be utilized to amend the text supplied by A.</p> + + <p>The reader who consults the editions of both Magnússon and Boer will + be struck by the differences in the text, although both are following the + same <span class="scac">MS</span>. Many of these differences are, of + course, due to the fact that the editors are normalizing the spelling, + but on different principles: many others, however, are due to the + extraordinary difficulty of the <span class="scac">MS</span> itself. Mr + Sigfús Blöndal, of the Royal Library of Copenhagen, has examined <i>Cod. + Arn. Mag. 551 a</i> for me, and he writes:</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>"It is the very worst <span class="scac">MS</span> I have ever met + with. The writing is small, almost every word is abbreviated, and, worst + of all, the writing is in many places effaced, partly by smoke (I suppose + the <span class="scac">MS</span> needs must have been lying for years in + some smoky and damp <i>baðstofa</i>) rendering the parchment almost as + black as shoe-leather, but still more owing to the use of chemicals, + which modern editors have been obliged to use, to make sure of what there + really was in the text. By the use of much patience and a lens, one can + read it, though, in most places. Unfortunately, this does not apply to + the <i>Glámur</i> episode, a big portion of which belongs to the very + worst part of the <span class="scac">MS</span>, and the readings of that + portion are therefore rather uncertain."</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>The Icelandic text given above agrees in the main with that in the + excellent edition of Boer, to whom, in common with all students of the + <!-- Page 163 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page163"></a>{163}</span><i>Grettis saga</i>, I am much indebted: + but I have frequently adopted in preference a spelling or wording nearer + to that of Magnússon. In several of these instances (notably the spelling + of the verses attributed to Grettir) I think Prof. Boer would probably + himself agree.</p> + + <p>The words or letters placed between square brackets are those which + are not to be found in <i>Cod. Arn. Mag. 551 a</i>.</p> + + <p>To Mr Blöndal, who has been at the labour of collating with the <span + class="scac">MS</span>, for my benefit, both the passages given above, my + grateful thanks are due.</p> + + <p>There are English translations of the <i>Grettis saga</i> by Morris + and E. Magnússon (1869, and in Morris' <i>Works</i>, 1911, vol. <span + class="scac">VII</span>) and by G. A. Hight (<i>Everyman's Library</i>, + 1914).</p> + + <p>For a discussion of the relationship of the <i>Grettis saga</i> to + other stories, see also Boer, <i>Zur Grettissaga</i>, in <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> + <span class="scac">XXX</span>, 1-71.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p class="cenhead">(<i>a</i>) <i>Glam episode</i> (p. <a href="#page146">146</a> above)</p> + + <p>There was a man called Thorhall, who lived at Thorhall's Farm in + Shadow-dale. Shadow-dale runs up from Water-dale. Thorhall was son of + Grim, son of Thorhall, son of Frithmund, who settled Shadow-dale. + Thorhall's wife was called Guthrun: their son was Grim, and Thurith their + daughter—they were grown up.</p> + +<div class="sidenotel">p. <a href="#page147">147</a></div> + <p>Thorhall was a wealthy man, and especially in cattle, so that no man + had as much live stock as he. He was not a chief, yet a substantial + yeoman. The place was much haunted, and he found it hard to get a + shepherd to suit him. He sought counsel of many wise men, what device he + should follow, but he got no counsel which was of use to him. Thorhall + rode each summer to the All-Thing; he had good horses. That was one + summer at the All-Thing, that Thorhall went to the booth of Skapti + Thoroddsson, the Law-man.</p> + + <p>Skapti was the wisest of men, and gave good advice if he was asked. + There was this difference between Skapti and his father Thorodd: Thorodd + had second sight, and some men called him underhanded; but Skapti gave to + every man that advice which he believed would avail, if it were kept to: + so he was called 'Better than his father.' Thorhall went to the booth of + Skapti. Skapti greeted Thorhall well, for he knew that he was a + prosperous man, and asked what news he had.</p> + + <p>Thorhall said, "I should like good counsel from thee." "I am little + use at that," said Skapti. "But what is thy need?" <!-- Page 164 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page164"></a>{164}</span></p> + + <p>Thorhall said, "It happens so, that it is difficult for me to keep my + shepherds: they easily get hurt, and some will not serve their time. And + now no one will take on the task, who knows what is before him."</p> + + <p>Skapti answered, "There must be some evil being about, if men are more + unwilling to look after thy sheep than those of other folk. Now because + thou hast sought counsel of me, I will find thee a shepherd, who is named + Glam, a Swede, from Sylgsdale, who came out to Iceland last summer. He is + great and strong, but not much to everybody's taste."</p> + + <p>Thorhall said that he would not mind that, if he guarded the sheep + well. Skapti said that if Glam had not the strength and courage to do + that, there was no hope of anyone else. Then Thorhall went out; this was + when the All-Thing was nearly ending.</p> + + <p>Thorhall missed two light bay horses, and he went himself to look for + them—so it seems that he was not a great man. He went up under + Sledge-hill and south along the mountain called Armannsfell.</p> + + <p>Then he saw where a man came down from Gothashaw, bearing faggots on a + horse. They soon met, and Thorhall asked him his name, and he said he was + called Glam. Glam <span class="sidenotel">p. <a + href="#page148">148</a></span> was tall and strange in bearing, with + blue<a name="NtA299" href="#Nt299"><sup>[299]</sup></a> and glaring eyes, + and wolf-grey hair. Thorhall opened his eyes when he saw him, but yet he + discerned that this was he to whom he had been sent.</p> + + <p>"What work art thou best fitted for?" said Thorhall.</p> + + <p>Glam said he was well fitted to watch sheep in the winter.</p> + + <p>"Wilt thou watch my sheep?" said Thorhall. "Skapti gave thee into my + hand."</p> + + <p>"You will have least trouble with me in your house if I go my own way, + for I am hard of temper if I am not pleased," said Glam.</p> + + <p>"That will not matter to me," said Thorhall, "and I wish that thou + shouldst go to my house."</p> + + <p>"That may I well do," said Glam, "but are there any difficulties?"</p> + +<p><!-- Page 165 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page165"></a>{165}</span></p> + + <p>"It is thought to be haunted," said Thorhall.</p> + + <p>"I am not afraid of such phantoms," said Glam, "and it seems to me all + the less dull."</p> + + <p>"Thou wilt need such a spirit," said Thorhall, "and it is better that + the man there should not be a coward."</p> + + <p>After that they struck their bargain, and Glam was to come at the + winter-nights [14th-16th of October]. Then they parted, and Thorhall + found his horses where he had just been searching. Thorhall rode home and + thanked Skapti for his good deed.</p> + + <p>Summer passed, and Thorhall heard nothing of his shepherd, and no one + knew anything of him; but at the time appointed he came to Thorhall's + Farm. The yeoman greeted him well, but all the others could not abide + him, and Thorhall's wife least of all. Glam undertook the watching of the + sheep, and it gave him little trouble. He had a great deep voice, and the + sheep came together as soon as he called them. There was a church at + Thorhall's Farm, but Glam would not go to it. He would have nothing to do + with the service, and was godless; he was obstinate and surly and + abhorred by all.</p> + + <p>Now time went on till it came to Yule eve. Then Glam rose early and + called for meat. The yeoman's wife answered, "That is not the custom of + Christian men to eat meat today, because tomorrow is the first day of + Yule," said she, "and therefore it is right that we should first fast + today."</p> + + <p>He answered, "Ye have many superstitions which I see are good for + nothing. I do not know that men fare better now <span + class="sidenotel">p. <a href="#page149">149</a></span> than before, when + they had nought to do with such things. It seemed to me a better way when + men were called heathen; and I want my meat and no tricks."</p> + + <p>The yeoman's wife said, "I know for a certainty that it will fare ill + with thee today, if thou dost this evil thing."</p> + + <p>Glam bade her bring the meat at once, else he said it should be worse + for her. She dared not do otherwise than he willed, and when he had eaten + he went out, foul-mouthed.</p> + + <p>Now it had gone so with the weather that it was heavy all round, and + snow-flakes were falling, and it was blowing loud, and grew much worse as + the day went on. The shepherd <!-- Page 166 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page166"></a>{166}</span>was heard early in the day, but less + later. Then wind began to drive the snow, and towards evening it became a + tempest. Then men came to the service, and so it went on to nightfall. + Glam did not come home. Then there was talk whether search ought not to + be made for him, but because there was a tempest and it was pitch dark, + no search was attempted. That Yule night he did not come home, and so men + waited till after the service [next, i.e. Christmas, morning]. But when + it was full day, men went to search, and found the sheep scattered in the + snow-drifts<a name="NtA300" href="#Nt300"><sup>[300]</sup></a>, battered + by the tempest, or strayed up into the mountains. Then they came on a + great space beaten down, high up in the valley. It looked to them as if + there had been somewhat violent wrestling there, because the stones had + been torn up for a distance around, and the earth likewise. They looked + closely and saw where Glam lay a little distance away. He was dead, and + blue like Hel and swollen like an ox. They had great loathing of him, and + their souls shuddered at him. Nevertheless they strove to bring him to + the church, but they could get him no further than the edge of a ravine a + little below, and they went home leaving matters so, and told the yeoman + what had happened. He asked what appeared to have been the death of Glam. + They said that, from the trodden spot, up to a place beneath the rocks + high in the valley, they had tracked marks as big as if a cask-bottom had + been stamped down, and great drops of blood with them. So men concluded + from this, that the evil thing which had been there before must have + killed Glam, but Glam must have done it damage which had been enough, in + that nought has ever happened since from that evil thing.</p> + + <p>The second day of Yule it was again essayed to bring Glam to the + church.</p> + + <p>Beasts of draught were harnessed, but they could not move him where it + was level ground and not down hill, so they departed, leaving matters + so.</p> + + <p>The third day the priest went with them, and they searched <span + class="sidenotel">p. <a href="#page150">150</a></span> all day, but Glam + could not be found. The priest would go no <!-- Page 167 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page167"></a>{167}</span>more, but Glam was + found when the priest was not in the company. Then they gave up trying to + carry him to the church, and buried him where he was, under a cairn.</p> + + <p>A little later men became aware that Glam was not lying quiet. Great + harm came to men from this, so that many fell into a swoon when they saw + him, and some could not keep their wits. Just after Yule, men thought + they saw him at home at the farm. They were exceedingly afraid, and many + fled away. Thereupon Glam took to riding the house-roofs at nights, so + that he nearly broke them in. He walked almost night and day. Men hardly + dared to go up into the dale, even though they had business enough. Men + in that country-side thought great harm of this.</p> + + <p>In the spring Thorhall got farm-hands together and set up house on his + land. Then the apparition began to grow less frequent whilst the sun's + course was at its height; and so it went on till midsummer. That summer a + ship came out to Hunawater. On it was a man called Thorgaut. He was an + outlander by race, big and powerful; he had the strength of two men. He + was in no man's service, and alone, and he wished to take up some work, + since he had no money. Thorhall rode to the ship, and met Thorgaut. He + asked him if he would work for him. Thorgaut said that might well be, and + that he would make no difficulties.</p> + + <p>"But thou must be prepared," said Thorhall, "that it is no place for + weaklings, by reason of the hauntings which have been going on for a + while, for I will not let thee into a trap."</p> + + <p>Thorgaut answered, "It does not seem to me that I am undone, even + though I were to see some little ghosts. It must be no easy matter for + others if I am frightened, and I will not give up my place for that."</p> + + <p>So now they agreed well, and Thorgaut was to watch the sheep when + winter came.</p> + + <p>Now the summer passed on. Thorgaut took charge of the sheep at the + winter-nights. He was well-pleasing to all. Glam ever came home and rode + on the roofs. Thorgaut thought it sporting, and said that the thrall + would have to come nearer <!-- Page 168 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page168"></a>{168}</span>in order to scare him. But Thorhall bade + him keep quiet: "It is best that ye should not try your strength + together." Thorgaut said, "Verily, your courage is shaken out of you: I + shall not drop down with fear between day and night over such talk."</p> + + <p>Now things went on through the winter up to Yule-tide. On Yule evening + the shepherd went out to his sheep. Then <span class="sidenotel">p. <a + href="#page151">151</a></span> the yeoman's wife said, "It is to be hoped + that now things will not go in the old way."</p> + + <p>He answered, "Be not afraid of that, mistress; something worth telling + will have happened if I do not come back."</p> + + <p>Then he went to his sheep. The weather was cold, and it snowed much. + Thorgaut was wont to come home when it was twilight, but now he did not + come at that time. Men came to the service, as was the custom. It seemed + to people that things were going as they had before. The yeoman wished to + have search made for the shepherd, but the church-goers excused + themselves, and said they would not risk themselves out in the hands of + the trolls by night. And the yeoman did not dare to go, so the search + came to nothing.</p> + + <p>On Yule-day, when men had eaten, they went and searched for the + shepherd. They went first to Glam's cairn, because men thought that the + shepherd's disappearance must have been through his bringing-about. But + when they came near the cairn they saw great things, for there they found + the shepherd with his neck broken and not a bone in him whole. Then they + carried him to the church, and no harm happened to any man from Thorgaut + afterwards; but Glam began to increase in strength anew. He did so much + that all men fled away from Thorhall's Farm, except only the yeoman and + his wife.</p> + + <p>Now the same cattle-herd had been there a long time. Thorhall would + not let him go, because of his good-will and good service. He was far + gone in age and was very unwilling to leave: he saw that everything went + to waste which the yeoman had, if no one looked after it. And once after + mid-winter it happened one morning that the yeoman's wife went to the + byre to milk the cows as usual. It was quite light, because no one dared + to go out before, except the cattle-herd: he went <!-- Page 169 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page169"></a>{169}</span>out as soon as it + dawned. She heard great cracking in the byre and a hideous bellowing. She + ran back, crying out, and said she did not know what devilry was going on + in the byre.</p> + + <p>The yeoman went out, and came to the cattle, and they were goring each + other. It seemed to him no good to stay there, and he went further into + the hay-barn. He saw where the cattle-herd lay, and he had his head in + one stall and his feet in the next. He lay on his back. The yeoman went + to him and felt him. He soon found that he was dead, and his back-bone + broken in two; it had been broken over the partition slab.</p> + + <p>Now it seemed no longer bearable to Thorhall, and he left his farm + with all that he could carry away; but all the live-stock <span + class="sidenotel">p. <a href="#page152">152</a></span> left behind Glam + killed. After that he went through all the dale and laid waste all the + farms up from Tongue. Thorhall spent what was left of the winter with his + friends. No man could go up into the dale with horse or hound, because it + was slain forthwith. But when spring came, and the course of the sun was + highest, the apparitions abated somewhat. Now Thorhall wished to go back + to his land. It was not easy for him to get servants, but still he set up + house at Thorhall's Farm.</p> + + <p>All went the same way as before. When autumn came on the hauntings + began to increase. The yeoman's daughter was most attacked, and it fared + so that she died. Many counsels were taken, but nothing was done. Things + seemed to men to be looking as if all Water-dale must be laid waste, + unless some remedies could be found.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>Now the story must be taken up about Grettir, how he sat at home at + Bjarg that autumn, after he had parted from Barthi-of-the-Slayings at + Thorey's Peak. And when it had almost come to the winter-nights, Grettir + rode from home, north over the neck to Willow-dale, and was a guest at + Authun's Farm. He was fully reconciled to Authun, and gave him a good + axe, and they spake of their wish for friendship one with the other. + (Authun dwelt long at Authun's Farm, and much goodly offspring had he. + Egil was his son, who wedded Ulfheith, daughter of Eyjolf Guthmundson; + and their son was Eyjolf, who was slain at the All-Thing. He was father + of Orm, chaplain to <!-- Page 170 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page170"></a>{170}</span>Bishop Thorlak.) Grettir rode north to + Water-dale and came on a visit to Tongue. At that time Jokul Barthson + lived there, Grettir's uncle. Jokul was a man great and strong and very + proud. He was a seafaring man, and very over-bearing, yet of great + account. He received Grettir well, and Grettir was there three + nights.</p> + + <p>There was so much said about the apparitions of Glam that nothing was + spoken of by men equally with that. Grettir inquired exactly about the + events which had happened. Jokul said that nothing more had been spoken + than had verily occurred. "But art thou anxious, kinsman, to go + there?"</p> + + <p>Grettir said that that was the truth. Jokul begged him not to do so, + "For that is a great risk of thy luck, and thy kinsmen have much at stake + where thou art," said he, "for none of the young men seems to us to be + equal to thee; but ill will come of ill where Glam is, and it is much + better to have to do with mortal men than with evil creatures like + that."</p> + + <p>Grettir said he was minded to go to Thorhall's Farm and <span + class="sidenotel">p. <a href="#page153">153</a></span> see how things had + fared there. Jokul said, "I see now that it is of no avail to stop thee, + but true it is what men say, that good-luck is one thing, and goodliness + another."</p> + + <p>"Woe is before one man's door when it is come into another's house. + Think how it may fare with thee thyself before the end," said + Grettir.</p> + + <p>Jokul answered, "It may be that both of us can see somewhat into the + future, but neither can do aught in the matter."</p> + + <p>After that they parted, and neither was pleased with the other's + foreboding.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>Grettir rode to Thorhall's Farm, and the yeoman greeted him well. He + asked whither Grettir meant to go, but Grettir said he would stay there + over the night if the yeoman would have it so. Thorhall said he owed him + thanks for being there, "But few men find it a profit to stay here for + any time. Thou must have heard what the dealings are here, and I would + fain that thou shouldst have no troubles on my account; but though thou + shouldst come whole away, I know for certain that thou <!-- Page 171 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page171"></a>{171}</span>wilt lose thy + steed, for no one who comes here keeps his horse whole."</p> + + <p>Grettir said there were plenty of horses, whatever should become of + this one.</p> + + <p>Thorhall was glad that Grettir would stay there, and welcomed him + exceedingly.</p> + + <p>Grettir's horse was strongly locked in an out-house. They went to + sleep, and so the night passed without Glam coming home. Then Thorhall + said, "Things have taken a good turn against thy coming, for every night + Glam has been wont to ride the roofs or break up the doors, even as thou + canst see."</p> + + <p>Grettir said, "Then must one of two things happen. Either he will not + long hold himself in, or the wonted haunting will cease for more than one + night. I will stay here another night and see how it goes."</p> + + <p>Then they went to Grettir's horse, and he had not been attacked. Then + everything seemed to the yeoman to be going one way. Now Grettir stayed + for another night, and the thrall did not come home. Then things seemed + to the yeoman to be taking a very hopeful turn. He went to look after + Grettir's horse. When he came there, the stable was broken into, and the + horse dragged out to the door, and every bone in him broken asunder.</p> + + <p>Thorhall told Grettir what had happened, and bade him save his own + life—"For thy death is sure if thou waitest for Glam."</p> + + <p>Grettir answered, "The least I must have in exchange for my horse is + to see the thrall."</p> + + <p>The yeoman said that there was no good in seeing him: <span + class="sidenotel">p. <a href="#page154">154</a></span> "For he is unlike + any shape of man; but every hour that thou wilt stay here seems good to + me."</p> + + <p>Now the day went on, and when bed-time came Grettir would not put off + his clothes, but lay down in the seat over against the yeoman's + sleeping-chamber. He had a shaggy cloak over him, and wrapped one corner + of it down under his feet, and twisted the other under his head and + looked out through the head-opening. There was a great and strong + partition beam in front of the seat, and he put his feet against it. The + <!-- Page 172 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page172"></a>{172}</span>doorframe was all broken away from the + outer door, but now boards, fastened together carelessly anyhow, had been + tied in front. The panelling which had been in front was all broken away + from the hall, both above and below the cross-beam; the beds were all + torn out of their places, and everything was very wretched<a + name="NtA301" href="#Nt301"><sup>[301]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>A light burned in the hall during the night: and when a third part of + the night was past, Grettir heard a great noise outside. Some creature + had mounted upon the buildings and was riding upon the hall and beating + it with its heels, so that it cracked in every rafter. This went on a + long time. Then the creature came down from the buildings and went to the + door. When the door was opened Grettir saw that the thrall had stretched + in his head, and it seemed to him monstrously great and wonderfully huge. + Glam went slowly and stretched himself up when he came inside the door. + He towered up to the roof. He turned and laid his arm upon the cross-beam + and glared in upon the hall. The yeoman did not let himself be heard, + because the noise he heard outside seemed to him enough. Grettir lay + quiet and did not move.</p> + + <p>Glam saw that a heap lay upon the seat, and he stalked in up the hall + and gripped the cloak wondrous fast. Grettir pressed his feet against the + post and gave not at all. Glam pulled a second time much more violently, + and the cloak did not move. A third time he gripped with both hands so + mightily that he pulled Grettir up from the seat, and now the cloak was + torn asunder between them.</p> + + <p>Glam gazed at the portion which he held, and wondered much who could + have pulled so hard against him; and at that moment Grettir leapt under + his arms and grasped him round <!-- Page 173 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page173"></a>{173}</span>the middle, and bent his back as mightily + as he could, reckoning that Glam would sink to his knees at his attack. + But the thrall laid such a grip on Grettir's arm that he recoiled at the + might of it. Then Grettir gave way from one seat to another. The beams<a + name="NtA302" href="#Nt302"><sup>[302]</sup></a> started, and all that + came in their way was broken. <span class="sidenotel">p. <a + href="#page155">155</a></span> Glam wished to get out, but Grettir set + his feet against any support he could find; nevertheless Glam dragged him + forward out of the hall. And there they had a sore wrestling, in that the + thrall meant to drag him right out of the building; but ill as it was to + have to do with Glam inside, Grettir saw that it would be yet worse + without, and so he struggled with all his might against going out. Glam + put forth all his strength, and dragged Grettir towards himself when they + came to the porch. And when Grettir saw that he could not resist, then + all at once he flung himself against the breast of the thrall, as + powerfully as he could, and pressed forward with both his feet against a + stone which stood fast in the earth at the entrance. The thrall was not + ready for this, he had been pulling to drag Grettir towards himself; and + thereupon he stumbled on his back out of doors, so that his shoulders + smote against the cross-piece of the door, and the roof clave asunder, + both wood and frozen thatch. So Glam fell backwards out of the house and + Grettir on top of him. There was bright moonshine and broken clouds + without. At times they drifted in front of the moon and at times away. + Now at the moment when Glam fell, the clouds cleared from before the + moon, and Glam rolled up his eyes; and Grettir himself has said that that + was the one sight he had seen which struck fear into him. Then such a + sinking came over Grettir, from his weariness and from that sight of Glam + rolling his eyes, that he had no strength to draw his knife and lay + almost between life and death.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 174 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page174"></a>{174}</span></p> + + <p>But in this was there more power for evil in Glam than in most other + apparitions, in that he spake thus: "Much eagerness hast thou shown, + Grettir," said he, "to meet with me. But no wonder will it seem if thou + hast no good luck from me. And this can I tell thee, that thou hast now + achieved one half of the power and might which was fated for thee if thou + hadst not met with me. Now no power have I to take that might from thee + to which thou hast attained. But in this may I have my way, that thou + shalt never become stronger than now thou art, and yet art thou strong + enough, as many a one shall find to his cost. Famous hast thou been till + now for thy deeds, but from now on shall exiles and manslaughters fall to + thy lot, and almost all of thy labours shall turn to ill-luck and + unhappiness. Thou shalt be outlawed and doomed ever to dwell alone, away + from men; and then lay I this fate on thee, that these eyes of mine be + ever before thy sight, and it shall seem grievous unto thee to be alone, + and that shall drag thee to thy death."</p> + + <p>And when the thrall had said this, the swoon which had <span + class="sidenotel">p. <a href="#page156">156</a></span> fallen upon + Grettir passed from him. Then he drew his sword and smote off Glam's + head, and placed it by his thigh.</p> + + <p>Then the yeoman came out: he had clad himself whilst Glam was uttering + his curse, but he dare in no wise come near before Glam had fallen. + Thorhall praised God for it, and thanked Grettir well for having + vanquished the unclean spirit.</p> + + <p>Then they set to work and burned Glam to cold cinders. After, they put + the ashes in a skin-bag and buried them as far as possible from the ways + of man or beast. After that they went home, and by that time it was well + on to day. Grettir lay down, for he was very stiff. Thorhall sent people + to the next farm for men, and showed to them what had happened. To all + those who heard of it, it seemed a work of great account; and that was + then spoken by all, that no man in all the land was equal to Grettir + Asmundarson for might and valour and all prowess. Thorhall sent Grettir + from his house with honour, and gave him a good horse and fit clothing; + for all the clothes which he had worn before were torn asunder. They + parted great friends. Grettir rode thence to Ridge in Water-dale, and + Thorvald greeted him well, and asked closely as to his meeting <!-- Page + 175 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page175"></a>{175}</span>with Glam. + Grettir told him of their dealings, and said that never had he had such a + trial of strength, so long a struggle had theirs been together.</p> + + <p>Thorvald bade him keep quiet, "and then all will be well, otherwise + there are bound to be troubles for thee."</p> + + <p>Grettir said that his temper had not bettered, and that he was now + more unruly than before, and all offences seemed worse to him. And in + that he found a great difference, that he had become so afraid of the + dark that he did not dare to go anywhere alone after night had fallen. + All kinds of horrors appeared to him then. And that has since passed into + a proverb, that Glam gives eyes, or gives "glam-sight" to those to whom + things seem quite other than they are. Grettir rode home to Bjarg when he + had done his errand, and remained at home during the winter.</p> + +<p class="cenhead">(<i>b</i>) <i>Sandhaugar episode</i> (p. <a href="#page156">156</a> above)</p> + + <p>There was a priest called Stein who lived at Eyjardalsá (Isledale + River) in Barthardal. He was a good husbandman and rich in cattle. His + son was Kjartan, a doughty man and well grown. There was a man called + Thorstein the White who <span class="sidenotel">p. <a + href="#page157">157</a></span> lived at Sandhaugar (Sandheaps), south of + Isledale river; his wife was called Steinvor, and she was young and + merry. They had children, who were young then.</p> + + <p>People thought the place was much haunted by reason of the visitation + of trolls. It happened, two winters before Grettir came North into those + districts, that the good-wife Steinvor at Sandhaugar went to a Christmas + service, according to her custom, at Isledale river, but her husband + remained at home. In the evening men went to bed, and during the night + they heard a great rummage in the hall, and by the good-man's bed. No one + dared to get up to look to it, because there were very few men about. The + good-wife came home in the morning, but her husband had vanished, and no + one knew what had become of him.</p> + + <p>The next year passed away. But the winter after, the good-wife wished + again to go to the church-service, and she bade her <!-- Page 176 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page176"></a>{176}</span>manservant + remain at home. He was unwilling, but said she must have her own way. All + went in the same manner as before, and the servant vanished. People + thought that strange. They saw some splashes of blood on the outer door, + and men thought that evil beings must have taken away both the good-man + and the servant.</p> + + <p>The news of this spread wide throughout the country. Grettir heard of + it; and because it was his fortune to get rid of hauntings and + spirit-walkings, he took his way to Barthardal, and came to Sandhaugar on + Yule eve. He disguised himself<a name="NtA303" + href="#Nt303"><sup>[303]</sup></a>, and said his name was Guest. The + good-wife saw that he was great of stature; and the farm-folk were much + afraid of him. He asked for quarters for the night. The good-wife said + that he could have meat forthwith, but "You must look after your own + safety."</p> + + <p>He said it should be so. "I will be at home," said he, "and you can go + to the service if you will."</p> + + <p>She answered, "You are a brave man, it seems to me, if you dare to + remain at home."</p> + + <p>"I do not care to have things all one way<a name="NtA304" + href="#Nt304"><sup>[304]</sup></a>," said he.</p> + + <p>"It seems ill to me to be at home," said she, "but I cannot get over + the river."</p> + + <p>"I will see you over," said Guest.</p> + + <p>Then she got ready to go to the service, and her small daughter with + her. It was thawing, the river was in flood, and there were ice-floes in + it. Then the good-wife said, "It is impossible for man or horse to get + across the river."</p> + + <p>"There must be fords in it," said Guest, "do not be afraid."</p> + +<div class="sidenotel">p. <a href="#page158">158</a></div> + <p>"Do you carry the child first," said the good-wife, "she is the + lighter."</p> + + <p>"I do not care to make two journeys of it," said Guest, "and I will + carry thee on my arm."</p> + + <p>She crossed herself and said, "That is an impossible way; what will + you do with the child?"</p> + +<p><!-- Page 177 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page177"></a>{177}</span></p> + + <p>"I will see a way for that," said he; and then he took them both up, + and set the child on her mother's knee and so bore them both on his left + arm. But he had his right hand free, and thus he waded out into the + ford.</p> + + <p>They did not dare to cry out, so much afraid were they. The river + washed at once up against his breast; then it tossed a great icefloe + against him, but he put out the hand that was free and pushed it from + him. Then it grew so deep that the river dashed over his shoulder; but he + waded stoutly on, until he came to the bank on the other side, and threw + Steinvor and her daughter on the land.</p> + + <p>Then he turned back, and it was half dark when he came to Sandhaugar + and called for meat; and when he had eaten, he bade the farm folk go to + the far side of the room. Then he took boards and loose timber which he + dragged across the room, and made a great barrier so that none of the + farm folk could come over it. No one dared to say anything against him or + to murmur in any wise. The entrance was in the side wall of the chamber + by the gable-end, and there was a dais there. Guest lay down there, but + did not take off his clothes: a light was burning in the room over + against the door: Guest lay there far into the night.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>The good-wife came to Isledale river to the service, and men wondered + how she had crossed the river. She said she did not know whether it was a + man or a troll who had carried her over. The priest said, "It must surely + be a man, although there are few like him. And let us say nothing about + it," said he, "it may be that he is destined to work a remedy for your + evils." The good-wife remained there through the night.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>Now it is to be told concerning Grettir that when it drew towards + midnight he heard great noises outside. Thereupon there came into the + room a great giantess. She had in one hand a trough and in the other a + short-sword, rather a big one. She looked round when she came in, and saw + where Guest lay, and sprang at him; but he sprang up against her, and + they struggled fiercely and wrestled for a long time in the room. She was + the <!-- Page 178 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page178"></a>{178}</span>stronger, but he gave way warily; and they + broke all that was before them, as well as the panelling of the room. She + dragged him forward through the door and so<a name="NtA305" + href="#Nt305"><sup>[305]</sup></a> into the porch, and he <span + class="sidenotel">p. <a href="#page159">159</a></span> struggled hard + against her. She wished to drag him out of the house, but that did not + happen until they had broken all the fittings of the outer doorway and + forced them out on their shoulders. Then she dragged him slowly down + towards the river and right along to the gorge.</p> + + <p>By that time Guest was exceedingly weary, but yet, one or other it had + to be, either he had to gather his strength together, or else she would + have hurled him down into the gorge. All night they struggled. He thought + that he had never grappled with such a devil in the matter of strength. + She had got such a grip upon him that he could do nothing with either + hand, except to hold the witch by the middle; but when they came to the + gorge of the river he swung the giantess round, and thereupon got his + right hand free. Then quickly he gripped his knife that he wore in his + girdle and drew it, and smote the shoulder of the giantess so that he cut + off her right arm. So he got free: but she fell into the gorge, and so + into the rapids below.</p> + + <p>Guest was then both stiff and tired, and lay long on the rocks; then + he went home when it began to grow light, and lay down in bed. He was all + swollen black and blue.</p> + + <p>And when the good-wife came from the service, it seemed to her that + things had been somewhat disarranged in her house. Then she went to Guest + and asked him what had happened, that all was broken and destroyed<a + name="NtA306" href="#Nt306"><sup>[306]</sup></a>. He told her all that + had taken place. She thought it very wonderful, and asked who he was. He + told her the truth, and asked her to send for the priest, and said he + wished to meet him; and so it was done.</p> + + <p>Then when Stein the priest came to Sandhaugar, he knew soon that it + was Grettir Asmundarson who had come there, and who had called himself + Guest.</p> + + <p>The priest asked Grettir what he thought must have become of those men + who had vanished. Grettir said he thought they <!-- Page 179 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page179"></a>{179}</span>must have vanished into + the gorge. The priest said that he could not believe Grettir's saying, if + no signs of it were to be seen. Grettir said that they would know more + accurately about it later. Then the priest went home. Grettir lay many + days in bed. The good-wife looked after him well, and so the + Christmas-time passed.</p> + + <p>Grettir's account was that the giantess fell into the gulf when she + got her wound; but the men of Barthardal say that day came upon her + whilst they wrestled, and that she burst when he smote her hand off, and + that she stands there on the cliff yet, a rock in the likeness of a + woman<a name="NtA307" href="#Nt307"><sup>[307]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>The dwellers in the dale kept Grettir in hiding there. But after + Christmas time, one day that winter, Grettir went to Isledale river. And + when Grettir and the priest met, Grettir <span class="sidenotel">p. <a + href="#page160">160</a></span> said "I see, priest, that you place little + belief in my words. Now will I that you go with me to the river and see + what the likelihood seems to you to be."</p> + + <p>The priest did so. But when they came to the waterfall they saw that + the sides of the gorge hung over<a name="NtA308" + href="#Nt308"><sup>[308]</sup></a>: it was a sheer cliff so great that + one could in nowise come up, and it was nearly ten fathoms<a + name="NtA309" href="#Nt309"><sup>[309]</sup></a> from the top to the + water below. They had a rope with them. Then the priest said, "It seems + to me quite impossible for thee to get down."</p> + + <p>Grettir said, "Assuredly it is possible, but best for those who are + men of valour. I will examine what is in the waterfall, and thou shalt + watch the rope."</p> + +<p><!-- Page 180 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page180"></a>{180}</span></p> + + <p>The priest said it should be as he wished, drove a peg into the cliff, + piled stones against it, and sat by it<a name="NtA310" + href="#Nt310"><sup>[310]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Now it must be told concerning Grettir that he knotted a stone into + the rope, and so let it down to the water.</p> + + <p>"What way," said the priest, "do you mean to go?"</p> + + <p>"I will not be bound," said Grettir, "when I go into the water, so + much my mind forebodes me."</p> + + <p>After that he got ready for his exploit, and had little on; he girded + himself with his short sword, and had no other weapon.</p> + + <p>Then he plunged from the cliff down into the waterfall. The priest saw + the soles of his feet, and knew no more what had become of him. Grettir + dived under the waterfall, and that was difficult because there was a + great eddy, and he had to dive right to the bottom before he could come + up behind the waterfall. There was a jutting rock and he climbed upon it. + There was a great cave behind the waterfall, and the river fell in front + of it from the precipice. He went into the cave, and there was a big fire + burning. Grettir saw that there sat a giant of frightful size. He was + terrible to look upon: but when Grettir came to him, the giant leapt up + and seized a pike, and hewed at the new-comer: for with the pike he could + both cut and stab. It had a handle of wood: men at that time called a + weapon made in such a way a <i>heptisax</i>. Grettir smote against it + with his short sword, and struck the handle so that he cut it asunder. + Then the giant tried to reach back for a sword which hung behind him in + the cave. Thereupon Grettir smote him in the breast, and struck off + almost all the lower part of his chest and his belly, so that the + entrails gushed out of him down into the river, and were swept along the + current.</p> + + <p>And as the priest sat by the rope he saw some lumps, clotted <span + class="sidenotel">p. <a href="#page161">161</a></span> with blood, + carried down stream. Then he became unsteady, and thought that now he + knew that Grettir must be dead: and he ran from keeping the rope and went + home. It was then evening, and the priest said for certain that Grettir + was dead, and added that it was a great loss of such a man.</p> + + <p>Now the tale must be told concerning Grettir. He let little space go + between his blows till the giant was dead. Then he <!-- Page 181 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page181"></a>{181}</span>went further into the + cave; he kindled a light and examined it. It is not said how much wealth + he took in the cave, but men think that there was something. He stayed + there far into the night. He found there the bones of two men, and put + them into a bag. Then he left the cave and swam to the rope and shook it, + for he thought that the priest must be there. But when he knew that the + priest had gone home, then he had to draw himself up, hand over hand, and + so he came up on to the cliff.</p> + + <p>Then he went home to Isledale river, and came to the church porch, + with the bag that the bones were in, and with a rune-staff, on which + these verses were exceedingly well cut:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>There into gloomy gulf I passed,</p> + <p>O'er which from the rock's throat is cast</p> + <p>The swirling rush of waters wan,</p> + <p>To meet the sword-player feared of man.</p> + <p>By giant's hall the strong stream pressed</p> + <p>Cold hands against the singer's breast;</p> + <p>Huge weight upon him there did hurl</p> + <p>The swallower of the changing whirl<a name="NtA311" href="#Nt311"><sup>[311]</sup></a>.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>And this rhyme too:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>The dreadful dweller of the cave</p> + <p>Great strokes and many 'gainst me drave;</p> + <p>Full hard he had to strive for it,</p> + <p>But toiling long he wan no whit;</p> + <p>For from its mighty shaft of tree</p> + <p>The heft-sax smote I speedily;</p> + <p>And dulled the flashing war-flame fair</p> + <p>In the black breast that met me there.</p> + </div> + </div> + +<div class="sidenotel">p. <a href="#page162">162</a></div> + <p>These verses told also that Grettir had taken these bones out of the + cave. But when the priest came to the church in the morning he found the + staff, and what was with it, and read the runes; but Grettir had gone + home to Sandhaugar.</p> + + <p>But when the priest met Grettir he asked him closely as to what had + happened: and Grettir told him all the story of his journey. And he added + that the priest had not watched the rope faithfully. The priest said that + that was true enough.</p> + + <p>Men thought for certain that these monsters must have caused the loss + of men there in the dale; and there was never any loss from hauntings or + spirit-walkings there afterwards.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 182 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page182"></a>{182}</span></p> + + <p>Grettir was thought to have caused a great purging of the land. The + priest buried these bones in the churchyard.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">D. Extracts from <i>Bjarka Rímur</i></span></p> + +<p class="cenhead">(<i>Hrólfs saga Kraka og Bjarkarímur</i> udgivne ved F. Jónsson, +København, 1904)</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>58. Flestir ǫmuðu Hetti heldr,</p> + <p>hann var ekki í máli sneldr,</p> + <p>einn dag fóru þeir út af hǫll,</p> + <p>svó ekki vissi hirðin ǫll.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>59. Hjalti talar er felmtinn fær,</p> + <p>"fǫrum við ekki skógi nær,</p> + <p>hér er sú ylgr sem etr upp menn,</p> + <p>okkr drepr hún báða senn."</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>60. Ylgrin hljóp úr einum runn,</p> + <p>ógurlig með gapanda munn,</p> + <p>hǫrmuligt varð Hjalta viðr,</p> + <p>á honum skalf bæði leggr og liðr.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>61. Ótæpt Bjarki að henni gengr,</p> + <p>ekki dvelr hann við það lengr,</p> + <p>hǫggur svó að í hamri stóð,</p> + <p>hljóp úr henni ferligt blóð.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>62. "Kjóstu Hjalti um kosti tvó,"</p> + <p>kappinn Bǫðvar talaði svó,</p> + <p>"drekk nú blóð eða drep eg þig hér,</p> + <p>dugrinn líz mér engi í þér."</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>63. Ansar Hjalti af ærnum móð,</p> + <p>"ekki þori eg að drekka blóð,</p> + <p>nýtir flest ef nauðigr skal,</p> + <p>nú er ekki á betra val."</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>64. Hjalti gjǫrir sem Bǫðvar biðr,</p> + <p>að blóði frá eg hann lagðist niðr,</p> + <p>drekkur síðan drykki þrjá,</p> + <p>duga mun honum við einn að rjá.</p> + <p class="i24"><span class="scac">IV</span>, 58-64.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> +<!-- Page 183 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page183"></a>{183}</span> + <p>4. Hann hefr fengið hjartað snjalt</p> + <p>af hǫrðum móði,</p> + <p>fekk hann huginn og aflið alt</p> + <p>af ylgjar blóði.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>5. Í grindur vandist grábjǫrn einn</p> + <p>í garðinn Hleiðar,</p> + <p>var sá margur vargrinn beinn</p> + <p>og víða sveiðar.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>6. Bjarka er kent, að hjarðarhunda</p> + <p>hafi hann drepna,</p> + <p>ekki er hónum allvel hent</p> + <p>við ýta kepna.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>7. Hrólfur býst og hirð hans ǫll</p> + <p>að húna stýri,</p> + <p>"Sá skal mestr í minni hǫll</p> + <p>er mætir dýri."</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>8. Beljandi hljóp bjǫrninn framm</p> + <p>úr bóli krukku,</p> + <p>veifar sínum vónda hramm,</p> + <p>svó virðar hrukku.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>9. Hjalti sér og horfir þá á,</p> + <p>er hafin er róma,</p> + <p>hafði hann ekki í hǫndum þá</p> + <p>nema hnefana tóma.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>10. Hrólfur fleygði að Hjalta þá</p> + <p>þeim hildar vendi,</p> + <p>kappinn móti krummu brá</p> + <p>og klótið hendi.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>11. Lagði hann síðan bjǫrninn brátt</p> + <p>við bóginn hægra,</p> + <p>bessi fell í brúðar átt</p> + <p>og bar sig lægra.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>12. Vann hann það til frægða fyst</p> + <p>og fleira síðar,</p> + <p>hans var lundin lǫngum byst</p> + <p>í leiki gríðar.</p> +<!-- Page 184 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page184"></a>{184}</span> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>13. Hér með fekk hann Hjalta nafn</p> + <p>hins hjartaprúða,</p> + <p>Bjarki var eigi betri en jafn</p> + <p>við býti skrúða.</p> + <p class="i24"><span class="scac">V</span>, 4-13.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>23. Aðals var glaðr afreksmaðr,</p> + <p>austur þangað kómu,</p> + <p>fyrðar þeir með fránan geir</p> + <p>flengja þegar til rómu.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>24. Ýtar býta engum frið,</p> + <p>unnu vel til mála,</p> + <p>þar fell Áli og alt hans lið</p> + <p>ungr í leiki stála.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>25. Hestrinn beztur Hrafn er kendr,</p> + <p>hafa þeir tekið af Ála,</p> + <p>Hildisvín er hjálmrinn vendr,</p> + <p>hann kaus Bjarki í mála.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>26. Ǫðling bað þá eigi drafl</p> + <p>eiga um nǫkkur skipti,</p> + <p>það mun kosta kóngligt afl,</p> + <p>hann kappann gripunum svipti.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>27. Ekki þótti Bǫðvar betr,</p> + <p>í burtu fóru þeir Hjalti,</p> + <p>létust áðr en liðinn er vetr</p> + <p>leita að Fróða malti.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>28. Síðan ríða seggir heim</p> + <p>og sǫgðu kóngi þetta,</p> + <p>hann kveðst mundu handa þeim</p> + <p>heimta slíkt af létta.</p> + <p class="i24"><span class="scac">VIII</span>, 23-28.</p> + </div> + </div> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Translation of Extracts from <i>Bjarka Rímur</i></span></p> + + <p>58. Most [of Rolf's retainers] much tormented Hott [Hjalti]; he was + not cunning in speech. One day Hjalti and Bothvar went out of the hall, + in such wise that none of the retainers knew thereof. <!-- Page 185 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page185"></a>{185}</span></p> + + <p>59. Hjalti spake in great terror, "Let us not go near the wood; here + is the she-wolf who eats up men; she will kill us both together."</p> + + <p>60. The she-wolf leapt from a thicket, dread, with gaping jaws. A + great terror was it to Hjalti, and he trembled in every limb.</p> + + <p>61. Without delay or hesitation went Bjarki towards her, and hewed at + her so that the axe went deep; a monstrous stream of blood gushed from + her.</p> + + <p>62. "Choose now, Hjalti, of two things"—so spake Bothvar the + champion—"Drink now the blood, or I slay thee here; it seems unto + me that there is no valour in thee."</p> + + <p>63. Hjalti replied stoutly enough, "I cannot bring myself to drink + blood; but if I needs must, it avails most [to submit], and now is there + no better choice."</p> + + <p>64. Hjalti did as Bothvar bade: he stooped down to the blood; then + drank he three sups: that will suffice him to wrestle with one man.</p> + + <p class="author"><span class="scac">IV</span>, 58-64.</p> + + <p>4. He [Hjalti] has gained good courage and keen spirit; he got + strength and all valour from the she-wolf's blood.</p> + + <p>5. A grey bear visited the folds at Hleithargarth; many such a ravager + was there far and wide throughout the country.</p> + + <p>6. The blame was laid upon Bjarki, because he had slain the herdsmen's + dogs; it was not so suited for him to have to strive with men<a + name="NtA312" href="#Nt312"><sup>[312]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>7. Rolf and all his household prepared to hunt the bear; "He who faces + the beast shall be greatest in my hall."</p> + + <p>8. Roaring did the bear leap forth from out its den, swinging its evil + claws, so that men shrank back.</p> + + <p>9. Hjalti saw, he turned and gazed where the battle began; nought had + he then in his hands—his empty fists alone.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 186 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page186"></a>{186}</span></p> + + <p>10. Rolf tossed then to Hjalti his wand of war [his sword]; the + warrior put forth his hand towards it, and grasped the pommel.</p> + + <p>11. Quickly then he smote the bear in the right shoulder; Bruin fell + to the earth, and bore himself in more lowly wise.</p> + + <p>12. That was the beginning of his exploits: many followed later; his + spirit was ever excellent amid the play of battle.</p> + + <p>13. Herefrom he got the name of Hjalti the stout-hearted: Bjarki was + no more than his equal.</p> + + <p class="author"><span class="scac">V</span>, 4-13.</p> + + <p>23. Joyful was the valiant Athils when they [Bjarki and Rolf's + champions] came east to that place [Lake Wener]; troops with flashing + spears rode quickly forthwith to the battle.</p> + + <p>24. No truce gave they to their foes: well they earned their pay; + there fell Ali and all his host, young in the game of swords.</p> + + <p>25. The best of horses, Hrafn by name, they took from Ali; Bjarki + chose for his reward the helm Hildisvin.</p> + + <p>26. The prince [Athils] bade them have no talk about the business; he + deprived the champions<a name="NtA313" href="#Nt313"><sup>[313]</sup></a> + of their treasures—that will be a test of his power.</p> + + <p>27. Ill-pleased was Bothvar: he and Hjalti departed; they declared + that before the winter was gone they would seek for the treasure [the + malt of Frothi].</p> + + <p>28. Then they rode home and told it to the king [Rolf]; he said it was + their business to claim their due outright.</p> + + <p class="author"><span class="scac">VIII</span>, 23-28.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead">E. <span class="sc">Extract from <i>Þáttr Orms Stórólfssonar</i></span></p> + +<p class="cenhead">(<i>Fornmanna Sǫgur</i>, Copenhagen, 1827, III. 204 <i>etc.</i>; +<i>Flateyarbók</i>, Christiania, 1859-68, I. 527 <i>etc.</i>)</p> + + <p>7. Litlu síðarr enn þeir Ormr ok Ásbjǫrn hǫfðu skilit, + fýstist Ásbjǫrn norðr í Sauðeyjar, fór hann við 4 menn ok 20 á + skipi, heldr norðr fyrir Mæri, ok leggr seint dags at Sauðey <!-- Page + 187 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page187"></a>{187}</span>hinni + ytri, gánga á land ok reisa tjald, eru þar um nóttina, ok verða við ekki + varir; um morgininn árla rís Ásbjǫrn upp, klæðir sik, ok tekr vópn + sín, ok gengr uppá land, en biðr menn sína bíða sín; en er nokkut svá var + liðit frá því, er Ásbjǫrn hafði í brott gengit, verða þeir við þat + varir, at ketta ógrlig var komin í tjaldsdyrnar, hon var kolsvǫrt + at lit ok heldr grimmlig, þvíat eldr þótti brenna or nǫsum hennar + ok munni, eigi var hon ok vel eyg; þeim brá mjǫk við þessa sýn, ok + urðu óttafullir. Ketta hleypr þá innar at þeim, ok grípr hvern at + ǫðrum, ok svá er sagt at suma gleypti hon, en suma rifi hon til + dauðs með klóm ok tǫnnum, 20 menn drap hon þar á lítilli stundu, en + 3 kvómust út ok undan ok á skip, ok héldu þegar undan landi; en + Ásbjǫrn gengr þar til, er hann kemr at hellinum Brúsa, ok snarar + þegar inn í; honum varð nokkut dimt fyrir augum, en skuggamikit var í + hellinum; hann verðr eigi fyrr var við, enn hann er þrifinn álopt, ok + færðr niðr svá hart, at Ásbirni þótti furða í, verðr hann þess þá varr, + at þar er kominn Brúsi jǫtun, ok sýndist heldr mikiligr. Brúsi + mælti þá: þó lagðir þú mikit kapp á at sækja híngat; skaltu nú ok eyrindi + hafa, þvíat þú skalt hér lífit láta með svá miklum harmkvælum, at þat + skal aðra letja at sækja mik heim með ófriði; fletti hann þá + Ásbjǫrn klæðum, þvíat svá, var þeirra mikill afla munr, at + jǫtuninn varð einn at ráða þeirra í milli; bálk mikinn sá + Ásbjǫrn standa um þveran hellinn ok stórt gat á miðjum bálkinum; + járnsúla stór stóð nokkut svá fyrir framan bálkinn. Nú skal prófa þat, + segir Brúsi, hvárt þú ert nokkut harðari enn aðrir menn. Lítit mun þat at + reyna, segir Ásbjǫrn....</p> + + <p>Síðan lét Ásbjǫrn líf sitt með mikilli hreysti ok + dreingskap.</p> + + <p>8. Þat er at segja at þeir þrír menn, er undan kómust, sóttu knáliga + róðr, ok léttu eigi fyrr enn þeir kómu at landi, sǫgðu þau tíðindi + er gerzt hǫfðu í þeirra fǫrum, kvóðust ætla Ásbjǫrn + dauðan, en kunnu ekki frá at segja, hversu at hefði borizt um hans + líflát; kvómu þeir sér i skip með kaupmǫnnum, ok fluttust svá suðr + til Danmerkr; spurðust nú þessi tíðindi víða, ok þóttu mikil. Þa var + orðit hǫfðíngja skipti í Noregi, Hakon jarl dauðr, en Ólafr + Tryggvason í land kominn, ok bauð ǫllum rétta trú. Ormr Stórólfsson + spurði út til Íslands um <!-- Page 188 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page188"></a>{188}</span>farar ok líflát Ásbjarnar, er mǫnnum + þótti sem vera mundi; þótti honum þat allmikill skaði, ok undi eigi lengr + á Íslandi, ok tók sér far í Reyðarfirði, ok fór þar utan; þeir kvómu + norðarliga við Noreg, ok sat hann um vetrinn í Þrándheimi; þá hafði Ólafr + ráðit 3 vetr Noregi. Um vórit bjóst Ormr at fara til Sauðeya, þeir vóru + því nærr margir á skipi, sem þeir Ásbjǫrn h[,]fðu verit; þeir + lǫgðu at minni Sauðey síð um kveldit, ok tjǫlduðu á landi, ok + lágu þar um náttina....</p> + + <p>9. Nú gengr Ormr þar til er hann kemr at hellinum, sér hann nú bjargit + þat stóra, ok leizt úmátuligt nokkurum manni þat í brott at færa; þó + dregr hann á sik glófana Menglaðarnauta, tekr síðan á bjarginu ok færir + þat burt or dyrunum, ok þikist Ormr þá aflraun mesta sýnt hafa; hann gekk + þá inní hellinn, ok lagði málajárn í dyrnar, en er hann var inn kominn, + sá hann hvar kettan hljóp með gapanda ginit. Ormr hafði boga ok + ǫrvamæli, lagði hann þá ǫr á streing, ok skaut at kettunni + þremr ǫrum, en hon hendi allar með hvoptunum, ok beit í sundr, + hefir hon sik þá at Ormi, ok rekr klærnar framan í fángit, svá at Ormr + kiknar við, en klærnar gengu í gegnum klæðin svá at í beini stóð; hon + ætlar þá at bíta í andlit Ormi, finnr hann þá at honum mun eigi veita, + heitir þá á sjálfan guð ok hinn heilaga Petrum postula, at gánga til + Róms, ef hann ynni kettuna ok Brúsa, son hennar; síðan fann Ormr at + mínkaðist afl kettunnar, tekr hann þá annarri hendi um kverkr henni, en + annarri um hrygg, ok gengr hana á bak, ok brýtr ísundr í henni hrygginn, + ok gengr svá af henni dauðri. Ormr sá þá, hvar bálkr stórr var um þveran + hellinn; hann gengr þá innar at, en er hann kemr þar, sér hann at fleinn + mikill kemr utar í gegnum bálkinn, hann var bæði digr ok lángr; Ormr + grípr þá í móti fleininum, ok leggr af út; Brúsi kippir þá at sér + fleininum ok var hann fastr svá at hvergi gekk; þat undraðist Brúsi, ok + gægdist upp yfir bálkinn, en er Ormr sér þat, þrífr hann í skeggit á + Brúsa báðum hǫndum, en Brúsi bregzt við í ǫðrum stað, + sviptast þeir þá fast um bálkinn. Ormr hafði vafit skegginu um hǫnd + sér, ok rykkir til svá fast, at hann rífr af Brúsa allan skeggstaðinn, + hǫkuna, kjaptana báða, vángafyllurnar upp alt at eyrum, gekk hér + með holdit niðr at beini. Brúsi lét þá <!-- Page 189 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page189"></a>{189}</span>síga brýnnar, ok + grettist heldr greppiliga. Ormr stǫkkr þá innar yfir bálkinn, + grípast þeir þá til ok glíma lengi, mæddi Brúsa þá fast blóðrás, tekr + hann þá heldr at gángast fyrir, gefr Ormr þá á, ok rekr Brúsa at bálkinum + ok brýtr hann þar um á bak aptr. Snemma sagði mér þat hugr, sagði Brúsi, + at ek munda af þér nokkut erfitt fá, þegar ek heyrða þín getit, enda er + þat nú fram komit, muntu nú vinna skjótt um, ok hǫggva hǫfuð + af mér, en þat var satt, at mjǫk pínda ek Ásbjǫrn prúða, þá + er ek rakta or honum alla þarmana, ok gaf hann sik ekki við, fyrrenn hann + dó. Illa gerðir þú þat, segir Ormr, at pína hann svá mjǫk + jafnrǫskvan mann, skaltu ok hafa þess nokkurar menjar. Hann brá þá + saxi ok reist blóðǫrn á baki honum, ok skar ǫll rifin frá + hryggnum, ok dró þar út lúngun; lét Brúsi svá líf sitt með litlum + dreingskap; síðan bar Ormr eld at, ok brendi upp til ǫsku bæði + Brúsa ok kettuna, ok er hann hafði þetta starfat, fór hann burt or + hellinum með kistur tvær fullar af gulli ok silfri, en þat sem meira var + fémætt, gaf hann í vald Menglaðar, ok svá eyna; skildu þau með mikilli + vináttu, kom Ormr til manna sinna í nefndan tíma, héldu síðan til + meginlands. Sat Ormr í Þrándheimi vetr annan.</p> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Translation of Extract from <i>Þáttr Orms Stórólfssonar</i></span></p> + +<p class="cenhead">7.</p> + + <p>A little after Orm and Asbiorn had parted, Asbiorn wished to go north + to Sandeyar<a name="NtA314" href="#Nt314"><sup>[314]</sup></a>; he went + aboard with twenty-four men, went north past Mæri, and landed late in the + day at the outermost of the Sandeyar<a + href="#Nt314"><sup>[314]</sup></a>. They landed and pitched a tent, and + spent the night there, and met with nothing.</p> + + <p>Early in the morning Asbiorn arose, clothed himself, took his arms, + went inland, and bade his men wait for him.</p> + + <p>But when some time had passed from Asbiorn's having gone away, they + were aware that a monstrous<a name="NtA315" + href="#Nt315"><sup>[315]</sup></a> cat had come to the <!-- Page 190 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page190"></a>{190}</span>door of the + tent: she was coal-black in colour and very fierce, for it seemed as if + fire was burning from her nostrils and mouth, and her eyes were nothing + fair: they were much startled at this sight, and full of fear. Then the + cat leapt within the tent upon them, and gripped one after the other, and + so it is said that some she swallowed and some she tore to death with + claws and teeth. Twenty men she killed in a short time, and three escaped + aboard ship, and stood away from the shore.</p> + + <p>But Asbiorn went till he came to the cave of Brusi, and hastened in + forthwith. It was dim before his eyes, and very shadowy in the cave, and + before he was aware of it, he was caught off his feet, and thrown down so + violently that it seemed strange to him. Then was he aware that there was + come the giant Brusi, and he seemed to him a great one.</p> + + <p>Then said Brusi, "Thou didst seek with great eagerness to come + hither—now shalt thou have business, in that thou shalt here leave + thy life with so great torments that that shall stay others from + attacking me in my lair."</p> + + <p>Then he stripped Asbiorn of his clothes, forasmuch as so great was + their difference in strength that the giant could do as he wished. + Asbiorn saw a great barrier standing across the cave, and a mighty + opening in the midst of it; a great iron column stood somewhat in front + of the barrier. "Now it must be tried," said Brusi, "whether thou art + somewhat hardier than other men." "Little will that be to test," said + Asbiorn....</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>[Asbiorn then recites ten stanzas, Brusi tormenting him the while. The + first stanza is almost identical with No. 50 in the <i>Grettis + saga</i>.]</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Then Asbiorn left his life with great valour and hardihood.</p> + +<p class="cenhead">8.</p> + + <p>Now it must be told concerning the three men who escaped; they rowed + strongly, and stopped not until they came to land. They told the tidings + of what had happened in their journey, and said that they thought that + Asbiorn was dead, but that they could not tell how matters had happened + concerning his death. They took ship with merchants, and so went south to + <!-- Page 191 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page191"></a>{191}</span>Denmark: now these tidings were spread far + and wide, and seemed weighty.</p> + + <p>There had been a change of rulers in Norway: jarl Hakon was dead, and + Olaf Tryggvason come to land: and he proclaimed the true faith to all. + Orm Storolfson heard, out in Iceland, about the expedition of Asbiorn, + and the death which it seemed to men must have come upon him. It seemed + to him a great loss, and he cared no longer to be in Iceland, and took + passage at Reytharfirth and went abroad. They reached Norway far to the + north, and he stayed the winter at Thrandheim: Olaf at that time had + reigned three years in Norway.</p> + + <p>In the spring Orm made ready for his journey to Sandeyar, and there + were nearly as many in the ship as the company of Asbiorn had been.</p> + + <p>They landed at Little Sandey late in the evening, and pitched a tent + on the land, and lay there the night....</p> + +<p class="cenhead">9.</p> + + <p>Now Orm went till he came to the cave. He saw the great rock, and + thought it was impossible for any man to move it. Then he drew on the + gloves that Menglath had given him, and grasped the rock and moved it + away from the door; this is reckoned Orm's great feat of strength. Then + he went into the cave, and thrust his weapon against the door. When he + came in, he saw a giantess (she-cat) springing towards him with gaping + jaws. Orm had a bow and quiver; he put the arrow on the string, and shot + thrice at the giantess. But she seized all the arrows in her mouth, and + bit them asunder. Then she flung herself upon Orm, and thrust her claws + into his breast, so that Orm stumbled, and her claws went through his + clothes and pierced him to the bone. She tried then to bite his face, and + Orm found himself in straits: he promised then to God, and the holy + apostle Peter, to go to Rome, if he conquered the giantess and Brusi her + son. Then Orm felt the power of the giantess diminishing: he placed one + hand round her throat, and the other round her back, and bent it till he + broke it in two, and so left her dead.</p> + + <p>Then Orm saw where a great barrier ran across the cave: he went + further in, and when he came to it he saw a great shaft <!-- Page 192 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page192"></a>{192}</span>coming out + through the barrier, both long and thick. Orm gripped the shaft and drew + it away; Brusi pulled it towards himself, but it did not yield. Then + Brusi wondered, and peeped up over the barrier. But when Orm saw that, he + gripped Brusi by the beard with both hands, but Brusi pulled away, and so + they tugged across the barrier. Orm twisted the beard round his hand, and + tugged so violently that he pulled the flesh of Brusi away from the + bone—from chin, jaws, cheeks, right up to the ears. Brusi knitted + his brows and made a hideous face. Then Orm leapt in over the barrier, + and they grappled and wrestled for a long time. But loss of blood wearied + Brusi, and he began to fail in strength. Orm pressed on, pushed Brusi to + the barrier, and broke his back across it. "Right early did my mind + misgive me," said Brusi, "even so soon as I heard of thee, that I should + have trouble from thee: and now has that come to pass. But now make quick + work, and hew off my head. And true it is that much did I torture the + gallant Asbiorn, in that I tore out all his entrails—yet did he not + give in, before he died." "Ill didst thou do," said Orm, "to torture him, + so fine a man as he was, and thou shalt have something in memory + thereof." Then he drew his knife, and cut the "blood eagle" in the back + of Brusi, shore off his ribs and drew out his lungs. So Brusi died in + cowardly wise. Then Orm took fire, and burned to ashes both Brusi and the + giantess. And when he had done that, he left the cave, with two chests + full of gold and silver.</p> + + <p>And all that was most of value he gave to Menglath, and the island + likewise. So they parted with great friendship, and Orm came to his men + at the time appointed, and then they sailed to the mainland. Orm remained + a second winter at Thrandheim.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead">F. <span class="sc">A Danish Dragon-slaying of the Beowulf-type</span></p> + + <p>Paa den Tid, da kong Gram Guldkølve regierede i Leire, vare der ved + Hoffet to Ministre, Bessus og Henrik. Og da der paa samme Tid indkom + idelige klager fra Indbyggerne i Vendsyssel, at et grueligt Udyr, som + Bønderne kaldte Lindorm, ødelagde baade Mennesker og Kreaturer, gav + Bessus det Raad, at Kongen skulde sende Henrik did hen, efterdi ingen i + det ganske Rige kunde maale sig med ham in Tapperhed og Mod. Da svarede + <!-- Page 193 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page193"></a>{193}</span>Henrik, at han vel vilde paatage sig + dette, dog tilføiede han, at han ansaae det for umuligt at slippe fra + saadan Kamp med Livet. Og belavede han sig da strax til Reisen, tog + rørende Afsked med sin Herre og Konge og sagde iblandt andet: "Herre! om + jeg ikke kommer tilbage, da sørg for min kone og for mine Børn!" Da han + derefter var kommen over til Vendsyssel, lod han sig af Bønderne vise det + Sted, hvor Uhyret havde sit Leie, og fik da at vide, at Ormen endnu den + samme Dag havde været ude af Hulen og borttaget en Hyrde og en Oxe, og at + den efter Sædvane nu ikke vilde komme ud, førend om tre Timer, naar den + skulde ned til Vandet for at drikke efter Maaltidet. Henrik iførte sig da + sin fulde Rustning, og eftersom Ingen vovede at staae ham bi i dette + Arbeide, lagde han sig ganske alene ved Vandet, dog saaledes, at Vinden + ikke bar fra ham henimod Dyret. Da udsendte han først en vældig Piil fra + sin Bue, men uagtet den rammede nøie det sted, hvortil han havde sigtet, + tørnede den dog tilbage fra Ormens haarde Skæl. Herover blev Uhyret saa + optændt af Vrede, at det strax gik henimod ham, agtende ham kun et ringe + Maaltid; men Henrik havde iforveien hos en Smed ladet sig giøre en stor + Krog med Gjenhold, hvilken han jog ind i Beestets aabne Gab, saa at det + ikke kunde blive den qvit, ihvormeget det end arbeidede, og ihvorvel + Jernstangen brast i Henriks Hænder. Da slog det ham med sin vældige Hale + til Jorden, og skiøndt han havde fuldkommen Jernrustning paa, kradsede + det dog med sine forfærdelige Kløer saa at han, næsten dødeligt saaret, + faldt i Besvimelse. Men da han, efterat Ormen i nogen Tid havde haft ham + liggende under sin Bug, endelig kom lidt til sin Samling igien, greb han + af yderste Evne en Daggert, af hvilke han førte flere med sig i sit + Bælte, og stak Dyret dermed i underlivet, hvor Sksællene vare blødest, + saa at det tilsidst maate udpuste sin giftige Aande, medens han selv laae + halv knust under dens Byrde. Da Bønderne i Vendsyssel som stode i nogen + Afstand, under megen Frygt og lidet Haab omsider mærkede, at Striden + sagtnede, og at begge Parter holdte sig rolige, nærmede de sig og fandt + Hr. Henrik næsten livløs under det dræbte Udyr. Og efterat de i nogen Tid + havde givet ham god Pleie, vendte han tilbage for at dø hos sin Konge, + til hvem han gientagende anbefalede sin <!-- Page 194 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page194"></a>{194}</span>Slægt. Fra ham + nedstammer Familien Lindenroth, som til Minde om denne vældige Strid + fører en Lindorm i sit Vaaben.</p> + + <p><i>MS</i> 222. 4<sup>o</sup>. Stamme och Slectebog over den høiadelige + Familie af Lindenroth, in <i>Danmarks Folkesagn</i>, samlede af J. M. + Thiele, 1843, <span class="scac">I</span>, 125-7.</p> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="scac">A DANISH DRAGON-SLAYING OF THE BEOWULF-TYPE.</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead"><i>Translation.</i></p> + + <p>In the days when King Gram Guldkølve ruled in Leire, there were two + ministers at court, Bessus and Henry. And at that time constant + complaints came to the court from the inhabitants of Vendsyssel, that a + dread monster, which the peasants called a Drake, was destroying both man + and beast. So Bessus gave counsel, that the king should send Henry + against the dragon, seeing that no one in the whole kingdom was his equal + in valour and courage. Henry answered that assuredly he would undertake + it; but he added that he thought it impossible to escape from such a + struggle with his life. And he made himself ready forthwith for the + expedition, took a touching farewell of his lord and king, and said among + other things: "My lord, if I come not back, care thou for my wife and my + children."</p> + + <p>Afterwards, when he crossed over to Vendsyssel, he caused the peasants + to show him the place where the monster had its lair, and learnt how that + very day the drake had been out of its den, and had carried off a + herdsman and an ox; how, according to its wont, it would now not come out + for three hours, when it would want to go down to the water to drink + after its meal. Henry clothed himself in full armour, and inasmuch as no + one dared to stand by him in that task, he lay down all alone by the + water, but in such wise that the wind did not blow from him toward the + monster. First of all he sent a mighty arrow from his bow: but, although + it exactly hit the spot at which he had aimed, it darted back from the + dragon's hard scales. At this the monster was so maddened, that it + attacked him forthwith, reckoning him but a little meal. But Henry had + had a mighty barbed crook prepared by a smith beforehand, which he thrust + into the beast's open mouth, so that it could <!-- Page 195 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page195"></a>{195}</span>not get rid of it, + however much it strove, although the iron rod broke in Henry's hands. + Then it smote him to the ground with its mighty tail, and although he was + in complete armour, clutched at him with its dread claws, so that he fell + in a swoon, wounded almost to death. But when he came somewhat to his + senses again, after the drake for some time had had him lying under its + belly, he rallied his last strength and grasped a dagger, of which he + carried several with him in his belt, and smote it therewith in the + belly, where the scales were weakest. So the monster at last breathed out + its poisoned breath, whilst he himself lay half crushed under its weight. + When the Vendsyssel peasants, who stood some distance away, in great fear + and little hope, at last noticed that the battle had slackened, and that + both combatants were still, they drew near and found Henry almost + lifeless under the slain monster. And after they for some time had tended + him well, he returned to die by his king, to whom he again commended his + offspring. From him descends the family Lindenroth, which in memory of + this mighty contest carries a drake on its coat of arms.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>This story resembles the dragon fight in <i>Beowulf</i>, in that the + hero faces the dragon as protector of the land, with forebodings, and + after taking farewell; he attacks the dragon in its lair, single-handed; + his first attack is frustrated by the dragon's scales; in spite of + apparatus specially prepared, he is wounded and stunned by the dragon, + but nevertheless smites the dragon in the soft parts and slays him; the + watchers draw near when the fight is over. Yet these things merely prove + that the two stories are of the same type; there is no evidence that this + story is descended from <i>Beowulf</i>.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">G. The Old English Genealogies.</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead">I. <i>THE MERCIAN GENEALOGY</i>.</p> + + <p>Of the Old English Genealogies, the only one which, in its stages + <i>below</i> Woden, immediately concerns the student of <i>Beowulf</i> is + the Mercian. This contains three names which also occur in + <i>Beowulf</i>, though two of them in a corrupt form—Offa, Wermund + (Garmund, <i>Beowulf</i>), and Eomær (Geomor, <i>Beowulf</i>).</p> + + <p>This Mercian pedigree is found in its best form in <i>MS Cotton Vesp. + B. VI</i>, fol. 109 <i>b</i>,<a name="NtA316" + href="#Nt316"><sup>[316]</sup></a> and in the sister <span + class="scac">MS</span> at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge + (<i>C.C.C.C.</i> 183)<a name="NtA317" href="#Nt317"><sup>[317]</sup></a>. + Both these <span class="scac">MSS</span> are of <!-- Page 196 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page196"></a>{196}</span>the 9th century. They + contain lists of popes and bishops, and pedigrees of kings. By noting + where these lists stop, we get a limit for the final compilation of the + document. It must have been drawn up in its present form between 811 and + 814<a name="NtA318" href="#Nt318"><sup>[318]</sup></a>. But it was + obviously compiled from lists already existing, and some of them were + even at that date old. For the genealogy of the Mercian kings, from + Woden, is not traced directly down to this period 811-814, but in the + first place only as far as Æthelred (reigning 675-704), son of Penda: + that is to say, it stops considerably more than a century before the date + of the document in which it appears. Additional pedigrees are then + appended which show the subsequent stages down to and including Cenwulf, + king of Mercia (reigning 796-821). It is difficult to account for such an + arrangement except on the hypothesis that the genealogy was committed to + writing in the reign of Æthelred, the monarch with whose name it + terminates in its first form, and was then brought up to date by the + addition of the supplementary names ending with Cenwulf. This is + confirmed when we find that precisely the same arrangement holds good for + the accompanying Northumbrian pedigree, which terminates with Ecgfrith + (670-685), the contemporary of Æthelred of Mercia, and is then brought up + to date by additional names.</p> + + <p>Genealogies which draw from the same source as the <i>Vespasian</i> + genealogies, and show the same peculiarities, are found in the + <i>Historia Brittonum</i> (§§ 57-61). They show, even more emphatically + than do the <i>Vespasian</i> lists, traces of having been originally + drawn up in the time of Æthelred of Mercia (675-704) or possibly of his + father Penda, and of having then been brought up to date in subsequent + revisions<a name="NtA319" href="#Nt319"><sup>[319]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>One such revision must have been made about 796<a name="NtA320" + href="#Nt320"><sup>[320]</sup></a>: it is a <!-- Page 197 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page197"></a>{197}</span>modification of this + revision which is found in the <i>Historia Brittonum</i>. Another was + that which, as we have seen, must have been made between 811-814, and in + this form is found in <i>MS Cotton Vespasian B. VI</i>, <i>MS + C.C.C.C.</i> 183, both of the 9th century, and in the (much later) <i>MS + Cotton Tiberius B. V</i>.</p> + + <p>The genealogy up to Penda is also found in the <i>A.-S. Chronicle</i> + under the year 626 (accession of Penda).</p> + + <p>This Mercian list, together with the Northumbrian and other pedigrees + which accompany it, can claim to be the earliest extant English + historical document, having been written down in the 7th century, and + recording historic names which (allowing thirty years for a generation) + cannot be later than the 4th century <span class="scac">A.D.</span> In + most similar pedigrees the earliest names are meaningless to us. But the + Mercian pedigree differs from the rest, in that we are able from + <i>Beowulf</i>, <i>Widsith</i>, Saxo Grammaticus, Sweyn Aageson and the + <i>Vitae Offarum</i>, to attach stories to the names of Wermund and Offa. + How much of these stories is history, and how much fiction, it is + difficult to say—but, with them, extant English history and English + poetry and English fiction alike have their beginning.</p> + +<table class="nobctr" summary="Mercian Genealogies" title="Mercian Genealogies"> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"> MS Cotton Vesp. B. VI.</td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"> MS C.C.C.C. 183.</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Aeðilred</td><td class="spacsingle"> Peding</td><td class="spacsingle"> Æðelred</td><td class="spacsingle"> Pending</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Penda</td><td class="spacsingle"> Pypbing</td><td class="spacsingle"> Penda</td><td class="spacsingle"> Pybbing</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Pypba</td><td class="spacsingle"> Crioding</td><td class="spacsingle"> Pybba</td><td class="spacsingle"> Creoding</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Crioda</td><td class="spacsingle"> Cynewalding</td><td class="spacsingle"> Creoda</td><td class="spacsingle"> Cynewalding</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Cynewald</td><td class="spacsingle"> Cnebbing</td><td class="spacsingle"> Cynewald</td><td class="spacsingle"> Cnebbing</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Cnebba</td><td class="spacsingle"> Icling</td><td class="spacsingle"> Cnebba</td><td class="spacsingle"> Icling</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Icil</td><td class="spacsingle"> Eamering</td><td class="spacsingle"> Icel</td><td class="spacsingle"> Eomæring</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Eamer</td><td class="spacsingle"> Angengeoting</td><td class="spacsingle"> Eomær</td><td class="spacsingle"> Angengeoting</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Angengeot</td><td class="spacsingle"> Offing</td><td class="spacsingle"> Angengiot</td><td class="spacsingle"> Offing</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Offa</td><td class="spacsingle"> Uærmunding</td><td class="spacsingle"> Offa</td><td class="spacsingle"> Wærmunding</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Uermund</td><td class="spacsingle"> Uihtlaeging</td><td class="spacsingle"> Wærmund</td><td class="spacsingle"> Wihtlæging</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Uihtlaeg</td><td class="spacsingle"> Wioðulgeoting </td><td class="spacsingle"> Wihtlæg</td><td class="spacsingle"> Wioþolgeoting</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Weoðulgeot</td><td class="spacsingle"> Wodning</td><td class="spacsingle"> Weoþolgiot</td><td class="spacsingle"> Wodning</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Woden</td><td class="spacsingle"> Frealafing</td><td class="spacsingle"> Woden</td><td class="spacsingle"> Frealafing</td></tr> +</table> + + <p> </p> + +<p><!-- Page 198 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page198"></a>{198}</span></p> + +<table class="nobctr" summary="Mercian Genealogies" title="Mercian Genealogies"> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"> <i>Historia Brittonum</i><a name="NtA321" href="#Nt321"><sup>[321]</sup></a>.<br /> +MS Harl 3859. +</td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"> <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.</i><br /> + MSS Cotton Tib. A. VI. and B.I.<a name="NtA322" href="#Nt322"><sup>[322]</sup></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Penda </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> Penda </td><td class="spacsingle"> Pybbing </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Pubba </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> Pybba </td><td class="spacsingle"> Creoding </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> Creoda </td><td class="spacsingle"> Cynewalding </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> Cynewald </td><td class="spacsingle"> Cnebbing </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> Cnebba </td><td class="spacsingle"> Iceling </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> Icel </td><td class="spacsingle"> Eomæring </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Eamer </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> Eomær </td><td class="spacsingle"> Angelþeowing </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Ongen </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> Angelþeow </td><td class="spacsingle"> Offing </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Offa </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> Offa </td><td class="spacsingle"> Wærmunding </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Guerdmund </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> Wærmund </td><td class="spacsingle"> Wihtlæging </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Guithleg </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> Wihtlæg </td><td class="spacsingle"> Wodening </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Gueagon </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Guedolgeat </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> [U]Uoden </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="cenhead">II. <i>THE STAGES ABOVE WODEN.</i></p> + +<p class="cenhead">(1) <i>WODEN TO GEAT.</i></p> + + <p>The stages above Woden are found in two forms: a short list which + traces the line from Woden up to Geat: and a longer list which carries + the line from Geat to Sceaf and through Noah to Adam.</p> + + <p>The line from Woden to Geat is found in the <i>Historia Brittonum</i>, + not with the other genealogies, but in § 31, where the pedigree of the + Kentish royal family is given, when the arrival of Hengest in Britain is + recounted. Notwithstanding the dispute regarding the origin and date of + the <i>Historia Brittonum</i>, there is a pretty general agreement that + this <i>Woden to Geat</i> pedigree is one of the more primitive elements, + and is not likely to be much later than the end of the 7th century<a + name="NtA323" href="#Nt323"><sup>[323]</sup></a>. The original nucleus of + the <i>Historia Brittonum</i> was revised by <!-- Page 199 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page199"></a>{199}</span>Nennius in the 9th + century, or possibly at the end of the 8th<a name="NtA324" + href="#Nt324"><sup>[324]</sup></a>. The earliest <span + class="scac">MS</span> of the <i>Historia</i>, that of Chartres, belongs + to the 9th or 10th century—this is fragmentary and already + interpolated; the received text is based upon <i>MS Harleian</i> 3859, + dating from the end of the 11th century<a name="NtA325" + href="#Nt325"><sup>[325]</sup></a>, or possibly somewhat later.</p> + + <p>I give the pedigree in four forms:</p> + + <p>A. The critical text of the <i>Historia Brittonum</i> as edited by Th. + Mommsen (<i>Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auct. Antiq., Chronica + Minora</i>, <span class="scac">III</span>, Berolini, 1898, p. 171).</p> + + <p>B. <i>MS Harl.</i> 3859, upon which Mommsen's text is based, fol. + 180.</p> + + <p>C. The <i>Chartres MS.</i></p> + + <p>D. Mommsen's critical text of the later revision, <i>Nennius + interpretatus</i>, which he gives parallel to the <i>Historia + Brittonum</i>.</p> + +<table class="nobctr" summary="Woden to Geat" title="Woden to Geat"> +<tr><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center;"> A </td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center;"> B </td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center;"> C </td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center;"> D</td></tr> +<tr><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center;"> Hors et Hengist </td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center;"> Hors & Hengist </td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center;"> Cors et Haecgens </td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center;"> Hors et Hengist </td></tr> +<tr><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center;"> filii Guictgils </td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center;"> filii Guictgils </td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center;"> filii Guictils </td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center;"> filii Guictgils</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Guigta </td><td class="spacsingle"> Guitta </td><td class="spacsingle"> Guicta </td><td class="spacsingle"> Guigta </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Guectha </td><td class="spacsingle"> Guectha </td><td class="spacsingle"> Gueta </td><td class="spacsingle"> Guectha </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> VVoden </td><td class="spacsingle"> VVoden </td><td class="spacsingle"> VVoden </td><td class="spacsingle"> Voden </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Frealaf </td><td class="spacsingle"> Frealaf </td><td class="spacsingle"> Frelab </td><td class="spacsingle"> Frealaf </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Fredulf </td><td class="spacsingle"> Fredulf </td><td class="spacsingle"> Freudulf </td><td class="spacsingle"> Fredolf </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Finn </td><td class="spacsingle"> Finn </td><td class="spacsingle"> Fran </td><td class="spacsingle"> Finn </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> Frenn </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Fodepald </td><td class="spacsingle"> Fodepald </td><td class="spacsingle"> Folcpald </td><td class="spacsingle"> Folcvald </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Geta </td><td class="spacsingle"> Geta </td><td class="spacsingle"> G[e]uta </td><td class="spacsingle"> Gaeta </td></tr> +<tr><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;" rowspan="2"> qui fuit, ut aiunt, <br /> + filius dei +</td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;" rowspan="2"> qui fuit, ut aiunt, <br /> + filius dei +</td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;" rowspan="2"> qui sunt [<i>sic</i>], ut <br /> + aiunt, filius dei +</td><td class="spacsingle"> Vanli </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Saxi </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> Negua </td></tr> +</table> + + <p><i>MS Cotton Vespasian B. VI</i> (9th century) contains a number of + Anglo-Saxon genealogies and other lists revised up to the period 811-14<a + name="NtA326" href="#Nt326"><sup>[326]</sup></a>. The genealogy of the + kings of Lindsey in this list has the stages from Woden to Geat. This + genealogy is also found in the sister list in the 9th century <span + class="scac">MS</span> at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (<i>MS + C.C.C.C.</i> 183).</p> + +<p><!-- Page 200 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page200"></a>{200}</span></p> + + <p>A similar list is to be found in the <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i> + (entered under the year 547). But there it is appended to the genealogy + of the Northumbrian kings. This genealogy has been erased in the oldest + <span class="scac">MS</span> (Parker, end of the 9th century) to make + room for later additions, but is found in <i>MSS Cotton Tiberius A. + VI</i> and <i>B. I.</i></p> + +<table class="nobctr" summary="Woden to Geat" title="Woden to Geat"> +<tr><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center;"> <i>Cotton (Vespasian) MS.</i></td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center;"> <i>Corpus MS.</i></td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center;"> <i>A.-S. Chronicle</i></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> UUoden Frealafing</td><td class="spacsingle"> Woden Frealafing</td><td class="spacsingle"> Woden Freoþolafing</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Frealaf Frioðulfing</td><td class="spacsingle"> Frealaf Frioþowulsing (<i>sic</i>)</td><td class="spacsingle"> Freoþelaf Freoþulfing</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Frioðulf Finning</td><td class="spacsingle"> Freoþowulf Godwulfing</td><td class="spacsingle"> Friþulf Finning</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Finn Goduulfing</td><td class="spacsingle"> </td><td class="spacsingle"> Finn Godulfing</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle"> Godulf Geoting</td><td class="spacsingle"> Godwulf Geating</td><td class="spacsingle"> Godulf Geating</td></tr> +</table> + + <p>The <i>Fodepald</i> or <i>Folcpald</i> who, in the <i>Historia + Brittonum</i>, appears as the father of Finn, is clearly the + <i>Folcwalda</i> who appears as Finn's father in <i>Beowulf</i> and + <i>Widsith</i>. The Old English <i>w</i> (ƿ) has been mistaken for + <i>p</i>, just as in <i>Pinefred</i> for <i>Winefred</i> in the <i>Life + of Offa II</i>. In the <i>Vespasian MS</i> and in other genealogies + Godwulf is Finn's father. It has been very generally held that Finn and + his father Godwulf are mythical heroes, quite distinct from the + presumably historic Finn, son of Folcwalda, mentioned in <i>Beowulf</i> + and <i>Widsith</i>: and that by confusion <i>Folcwald</i> came to be + written instead of <i>Godwulf</i> in the genealogy, as given in the + <i>Historia Brittonum</i>. I doubt whether there is sufficient + justification for this distinction between a presumed historic Finn + Folcwalding and a mythical Finn Godwulfing. Is it not possible that + Godwulf was a traditional, probably historic, king of the Frisians, + father of Finn, and that <i>Folcwalda</i><a name="NtA327" + href="#Nt327"><sup>[327]</sup></a> was a <i>title</i> which, since it + alliterated conveniently, in the end supplanted the proper name in epic + poetry?</p> + +<p class="cenhead">III. <i>THE STAGES ABOVE WODEN.</i></p> + +<p class="cenhead">(2) <i>WODEN TO SCEAF.</i></p> + + <p>The stages above Geat are found in the genealogy of the West-Saxon + kings only<a name="NtA328" href="#Nt328"><sup>[328]</sup></a>. This is + recorded in the <i>Chronicle</i> <!-- Page 201 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page201"></a>{201}</span>under the year 855 + (notice concerning Æthelwulf) and it was probably drawn up at the court + of that king. Though it doubtless contains ancient names, it is + apparently not so ancient as the <i>Woden-Geat</i> list. It became very + well known, and is also found in Asser and the <i>Textus Roffensis</i>. + It was copied by later historians such as William of Malmesbury, and by + the Icelandic genealogists<a name="NtA329" + href="#Nt329"><sup>[329]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>The principal versions of this pedigree are given in tabular form + below (pp. 202-3); omitting the merely second-hand reproductions, such as + those of Florence of Worcester.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead">H. <span class="sc">Extract from the Chronicle Roll.</span></p> + + <p>This roll was drawn up in the reign of Henry VI, and its compiler must + have had access to a document now lost.</p> + + <p>There are many copies of the roll extant—the "Moseley" Roll at + University College, London (formerly in the Phillipps collection); at + Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (No. 98 <span class="scac">A</span>); + at Trinity College, Cambridge; and in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris<a + name="NtA330" href="#Nt330"><sup>[330]</sup></a>; and one which recently + came into the market in London.</p> + +<pre> + Steph + | + Steldius + | + Boerinus + | + ------------------------------------------------------------------- + | | | | | | | | | +Cinrinicius Gothus Iutus Wandalus Gethius Fresus Suethedus Dacus Geate +</pre> +<p><!-- Page 202 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page202"></a>{202}</span></p> + + <p> </p> + +<p class="cenhead">WEST-SAXON GENEALOGY—STAGES ABOVE WODEN</p> + +<table class="nobctr" summary="West-Saxon Genealogies" title="West-Saxon Genealogies"> +<tr><td colspan="3" style="text-align:center"><a href="images/$obrace.png"><img src="images/$obrace.png" class="middle" style="height:2ex; width:25em" alt="brace" /></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom; width:18%;"> +<span class="sc">Chronicle</span><br /> +<span class="sc">Parker ms</span> +</td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom; width:18%;"> <span class="sc">Asser</span> +</td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom; width:18%;"> <span class="sc">Textus Roffensis I</span> +</td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom; width:18%;"> <span class="sc">Ethelwerd</span> +</td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom; width:18%;"> <span class="sc">Chronicle</span><br /> + <span class="sc">MSS Cott. Tib. A. VI</span> [& B. I]</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Woden Fribowalding + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Uuoden + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Woden + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Uuothen + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Woden Frealafing</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Friþuwald Freawining + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Frithowald + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Friþewold + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Frithouuald</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Frealaf Friþuwulfing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Frealaf + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Frealaf + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Frealaf</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Friþuwulf Finning + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Frithuwulf + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Friþewulf + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Frithouulf + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Frealaf Fin[n]ing</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Fin Godwulfing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Fingodwulf + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Finn + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Fin + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Finn Godwulfing [Godulfing]</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Godwulf Geating + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Godwulf + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Goduulfe + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Godulf Geat[t]ing</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Geat Tætwaing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Geata* ... + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Geata* ... + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Geat + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Geata [Geatt] Tætwaing</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Tætwa Beawing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Caetuua + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Teþwa + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Tetuua + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Tætwa Beawing</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Beaw Sceldwaing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Beauu + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Beaw + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Beo + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Beaw Sceldweaing [Scealdwaing]</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Sceldwea Heremoding + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Sceldwea + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Scaldwa + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Scyld + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Scyldwa [Scealdwa] Heremoding</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Heremod Itermoning + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Heremod + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Heremod + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Heremod Itermoning</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Itermon Hraþraing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Itermod + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Iterman + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Itermon Haðraing</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Hathra + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Haþra + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Haðra Hwalaing</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Huala + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Hwala + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Hwala Bedwiging</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Beduuig + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Bedwig + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;" rowspan= "3"> Bedwig Sceafing, [i]d est filius Nóe, se wæs geboren on þære earce Nóes</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;" rowspan= "4"> se wæs geboren in þære earce Noe etc. + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Seth + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;" rowspan= "2"> Scyf, se wæs in ðam arken geboran [but son of Sem, not Noe] + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;" rowspan= "5"> Scef. Ipse Scef cum uno dromone advectus est in insula oceani quae dicitur Scani, armis circundatus, eratque valde recens puer, et ab incolis illius terrae ignotus; attamen ab eis suscipitur et ut familiarem diligenti animo eum custodierunt et post in regem eligunt; de cuius prosapia ordinem trahit Athulf [i.e. Æthelwulf] rex.</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Noe, etc.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;" rowspan= "2"> * quem Getam iamdudum pagani pro deo venerabantur + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> * ðene ða hæþena wuþedon for god</td></tr> +</table> + +<p><!-- Page 203 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page203"></a>{203}</span></p> + + <p> </p> + +<table class="nobctr" summary="West-Saxon Genealogies" title="West-Saxon Genealogies"> + +<tr><td></td><td colspan="4" style="text-align:center"><a href="images/$obrace.png"><img src="images/$obrace.png" class="middle" style="height:2ex; width:35em" alt="brace" /></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom; width:18%;"> Chronicle<br /> +MS Cott. Tib. B. IV + </td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom; width:18%;"> Textus Roffensis II + </td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom; width:18%;"> MS Cott. Tib. B. V + </td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom; width:18%;"> Langfeðgatal<br /> + Langebek, 1, 3 + </td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom; width:18%;"> Flateyarbók<br /> + Christiania, 1860, 1, 27</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Woden Frealafing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Woden Frealafing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Woden Frealafing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Voden þan kollvm ver Oden + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Voden, <i>er ver kollum</i> Odinn</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Frealaf Finning + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Frealaf Finning + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Frealaf Finning + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Frealaf + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Frilafr, <i>e.v.k.</i> Bors</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Fin Godulfing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Finn Godulfing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Finn Godulfing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Finn + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Burri, <i>e.v.k.</i> Finn</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Godulf Gating + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Godulf Eating + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Godulf Eating + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Godvlfi + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Godolfr</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Geat Tætwaing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Eata Teþwafing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Eat Beawing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Eat</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Tætwa Beawing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Teþwa Beawing</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Beaw Scealdwaing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Beaw Scealdwaging + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Beaw Scealdwaging + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Beaf + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Beaf, <i>e.v.k.</i> Biar</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Scealdhwa Heremoding + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Scealwa Heremoding + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Scealwa Heremoding + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Scealdna + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Skialldin, <i>e.v.k.</i> Skiolld</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Heremod Itermoning + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Heremod Hermanning + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Heremod Itermanning + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Heremotr + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Heremoth, <i>e.v.k.</i> Hermod</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Itermon Haðrahing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Herman Haþraing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Iterman Haðraing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Itermann + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Trinaan</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Haþra + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Haðra Hwalaing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Haðra Bedwiging + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Athra + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Atra</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Hwala Beowung + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Hwala Bedwining</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;" rowspan= "2"> Beowi Sceafing, id est filius Noe, se wæs geboren on þære arce Nones ... + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Beadwig Sceafing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Bedwig Sceafing + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Bedvig + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Beduigg</td></tr> +<tr><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Se Scef wæs Noes sunu and he wæs innan ðære earce geboren + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> se Scef wæs Nóes sunu and he wæs innan þære earce geboren + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Seskef vel Sescef + </td><td class="hspcsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Seseph</td></tr> + +</table> + + <p> </p> + + <p>William of Malmesbury. Wodenius fuit filius Fridewaldi, Fridewaldus + Frelafii, Frelafius Finni, Finnus Godulfi, Godulfus Getii, Getius Tetii, + Tetius Beowii, Beowius Sceldii, Sceldius Sceaf. Iste, ut ferunt, in + quandam insulam Germaniae Scandzam ... appulsus, navi sine remige, + puerulus, posito ad caput frumenti manipulo, dormiens, ideoque Sceaf + nuncupatus, ab hominibus regionis illius pro miraculo exceptus et sedulo + nutritus, adulta aetate regnavit in oppido quod tunc Slaswic, nunc vero + Haithebi appellatur ... Sceaf fuit filius Heremodii, Heremodius + Stermonii, Stermonius Hadrae, Hadra Gwalae, Gwala Bedwigii, Bedwegius + Strephii; hic, ut dicitur, fuit filius Noae in arca natus. <!-- Page 204 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page204"></a>{204}</span></p> + + <p>The following marginal note occurs:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>Iste Steldius p<i>r</i>im<i>us</i> inhabitator Germanie fuit. Que + Germania sic dicta erat, quia instar ramor<i>um</i> + germina<i>n</i>ciu<i>m</i> ab arbore, sic nome<i>n</i> regnaq<i>ue</i> + germania nuncupa<i>n</i>tur. In nouem filiis diuisa a radice Boerini + geminaueru<i>n</i>t. Ab istis nouem filiis Boerini descenderu<i>n</i>t + nouem gentes septentrionalem p<i>ar</i>tem inhabitantes, qui quondam + regnu<i>m</i> Brita<i>n</i>nie inuaseru<i>n</i>t et optinueru<i>n</i>t, + videlicet Saxones, Angli, Iuthi, Daci, Norwagences, Gothi, Wandali, + Geathi et Fresi<a name="NtA331" href="#Nt331"><sup>[331]</sup></a>.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead">I. <span class="sc">Extract from the Little Chronicle of the Kings of Leire</span></p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>From the <i>Annales Lundenses</i>. These Annals are comparatively + late, going up to the year 1307; but the short <i>Chronicle of the Kings + of Leire</i>, which is incorporated in them, is supposed to date from the + latter half of the 12th century. The text is given in Langebek, + <i>Scriptores Rerum Danicarum</i>, <i>I</i>, 224-6 (under the name of + <i>Annales Esromenses</i>) from <i>Cod. Arn. Mag.</i> 841. There is a + critical edition by Gertz, <i>Scriptores Minores historiæ Danicæ</i>, + Copenhagen, 1917, based upon <i>Cod. Arn. Mag.</i> 843. The text given + below is mainly that of Langebek, with corrections from Gertz's fine + edition. See below, p. <a href="#page216">216</a>.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Erat ergo Dan rex in Dacia<a name="NtA332" + href="#Nt332"><sup>[332]</sup></a> per triennium. Anno tandem tertio + cognouit uxorem suam Daniam, genuitque ex ea filium nomine Ro. Qui post + patris obitum hereditarie possidebat regnum. Patrem uero suum Dan colle + apud Lethram tumulauit Sialandiæ, ubi sedem regni pro eo pater + constituit, quam ipse post eum diuitiis multiplicibus ditauit. Tempore + illo ciuitas magna erat in medio Sialandiæ, ubi adhuc mons desertus est, + nomine Hekebiarch, ubi sita erat ciuitas quæ Høkekoping nuncupata est; ad + quam ut mox Ro rex uidit, quod mercatores a nauibus in uia currus + conducentes multum expenderent, a loco illo ciuitatem amoueri jussit ad + portum, ubi tenditur Isæfiorth, et circa fontem pulcherrimum domos + disponere. Ædificauit ibi Ro ciuitatem honestam, cui nomen partitiuum + imposuit post se et Fontem, partem capiens fontis partemque sui, + Roskildam Danice uocans, quæ hoc nomine uoca[bi]tur<a name="NtA333" + href="#Nt333"><sup>[333]</sup></a> in æternum. Uixit autem rex Ro ita + pacifice, ut nullus ei aciem opponeret, nec ipse usquam expeditionem + direxit<a name="NtA334" href="#Nt334"><sup>[334]</sup></a>. Erat autem + uxor eius <!-- Page 205 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page205"></a>{205}</span>fecunda sobole, ex qua genuit duos filios, + nomen primi Helhgi et secundi Haldan<a name="NtA335" + href="#Nt335"><sup>[335]</sup></a>. Cumque cepissent pueri robore + confortari et crescere, obiit pater eorum Ro, et sepultus est tumulo + quodam Læthræ, post cuius obitum partiti sunt regnum filii, quod in duas + partes diuidentes, alter terras, alter mare possidebat. Rexit itaque + terras Haldanus, et genuit filium nomine Siwardum, cognomine Album, qui + patrem suum Haldanum Læthræ tumulauit mortuum. Helgi autem rex erat + marinus, et multos ad se traxit malificos, nauali bello bene adeptus + diuersas partes, quasdam pace, quasdam cum piratica classe<a + name="NtA336" href="#Nt336"><sup>[336]</sup></a> petisse + perhibetur....</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>The Chronicle then tells how Rolf was born, the son of Helgi and Yrse + or Ursula: also of the death and burial of Helgi.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>Filius autem eius et Ursulæ puer crescebat Rolf et fortitudine + uigebat. Mater uero eius Ursula, uelo uiduitatis deposito, data est regi + Suethiæ Athislo, qui ex ea filiam sibi genuit, Rolf uero ex matre eius + sororem nomine Skuld. Interea dum hæc de rege marino Helgi agerentur, + frater eius, rex Daciæ, mortuus est Haldanus. Post quem<a name="NtA337" + href="#Nt337"><sup>[337]</sup></a> rex Sweciæ Athisl a Danis suscepit + tributum.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>Interea ... confortabatur filius Helgi, Rolff, cognomine Krake. Quem + post mortem Snyo<a name="NtA338" href="#Nt338"><sup>[338]</sup></a> Dani + [in]<a name="NtA339" href="#Nt339"><sup>[339]</sup></a> regem + assumpserunt. Qui Sialandiæ apud Lethram, sicut antecessores sui, + sæpissime moratus est. Sororem suam nomine Sculd secum habuit, Athisli + regis filiam, et suæ matris Ursulæ, de qua superius dictum est; quam + fraterno amore dilexit. Cui provinciam Hornshæræth Sialandiæ ad pascendas + puellas suas in expensam dedit, in qua uillam ædificauit, nomine + Sculdelef, unde nomen suscepit. Hoc tempore erat quidam Comes Scaniæ, + nomine Hiarwarth, Teotonicus genere, Rolf tributarius, qui ad eum procos + misit, ut <!-- Page 206 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page206"></a>{206}</span>sororem suam Sculd Hiarwardo daret uxorem. + Quo nolente, propria ipsius uoluntate puellæ clanculo eam raptam sociauit + sibi. Unde conspirauerunt inter se deliberantes Hiarwart et Sculd, + quomodo Rolf interficeretur, et Hiarwardus superstes regni heres + efficeretur. Non post multum vero temporis animosus ad uxoris + exhortationem Hiarwart Sialandiam classe petiit. Genero suo Rolff + tributum attulisse simulauit. Die quadam dilucescente ad Læthram misit, + ut uideret tributum, Rolff nunciauit. Qui cum uidisset non tributum sed + exercitum armatum, uallatus est Rolff militibus, et a Hyarwardo + interfectus est. Hyarwardum autem Syalandenses et Scanienses, qui cum eo + erant, in regem assumpserunt. Qui breui tempore, a mane usque ad primam, + regali nomine potitus est. Tunc uenit Haky, frater Haghbardi, filius + Hamundi; Hyarwardum interfecit et Danorum rex effectus est. Quo regnante, + uenit quidam nomine Fritleff a partibus Septentrionalibus et filiam sibi + desponsauit Rolff Crake, ex qua filium nomine Frothe genuit, cognomine + Largus.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead">K. <span class="sc">The Story of Offa in Saxo Grammaticus</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead">Book IV, ed. Ascensius, fol. xxxii b; ed. Holder, pp. 106-7.</p> + + <p>Cui filius Wermundus succedit. Hic prolixis tranquillitatis otiis + felicissima temporum quiete decursis, diutinam domesticæ pacis + constantiam inconcussa rerum securitate tractabat. Idem prolis expers + iuuentam exegit; senior uero filium Uffonem sero fortunæ munere + suscitauit, cum nullam ei sobolem elapsa tot annorum curricula + peperissent. Hic Uffo coæuos quosque corporis habitu supergressus, adeo + hebetis ineptique animi principio iuuentæ existimatus est, ut priuatis ac + publicis rebus inutilis uideretur. Siquidem ab ineunte ætate nunquam + Iusus aut ioci consuetudinem præbuit; adeoque humanæ delectationis uacuus + fuit, ut labiorum continentiam iugi silentio premeret, et seueritatem + oris a ridendi prorsus officio temperaret. Uerum ut incunabula + stoliditatis opinione referta habuit, ita post modum conditionis + contemptum claritate mutauit; et quantum inertiæ spectaculum fuit, tantum + prudentiæ et fortitudinis exemplum euasit.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 207 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page207"></a>{207}</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead">Book IV, ed. Ascensius, fol. xxxiv b; ed. Holder, pp. 113-7.</p> + + <p>Cumque Wermundus ætatis uitio oculis orbaretur, Saxoniæ rex, Daniam + duce uacuam ratus, ei per legatos mandat, regnum, quod præter ætatis + debitum teneat, sibi procurandum committat, ne nimis longa imperii + auiditate patriam legibus armisque destituat. Qualiter enim regem censeri + posse, cui senectus animum, cæcitas oculum pari caliginis horrore + fuscauerit? Quod si abnuat, filiumque habeat, qui cum suo ex prouocatione + confligere audeat, uictorem regno potiri permittat. Si neutrum probet, + armis secum, non monitis agendum cognoscat, ut tandem inuitus præbeat, + quod ultroneus exhibere contemnat. Ad hæc Wermundus, altioribus suspiriis + fractus, impudentius se ætatis exprobratione lacerari respondit, quem non + ideo huc infelicitatis senectus prouexerit, quod pugnæ parcus timidius + iuuentam exegerit. Nec aptius sibi cæcitatis uitium obiectari, quod + plerunque talem ætatis habitum talis iactura consequi soleat, potiusque + condolendum calamitati quam insultandum uideatur. Iustius autem Saxoniæ + regi impatientiæ notam afferri posse, quem potius senis fatum operiri, + quam imperium poscere decuisset, quod aliquanto præstet defuncto + succedere, quam uiuum spoliare. Se tamen, ne tanquam delirus priscæ + libertatis titulos externo uideatur mancipare dominio, propria manu + prouocationi pariturum. Ad hæc legati, scire se inquiunt, regem suum + conserendæ cum cæco manus ludibrium perhorrere, quod tam ridiculum + decernendi genus rubori quam honestati propinquius habeatur. Aptius uero + per utriusque pignus et sanguinem amborum negotio consuli. Ad hæc + obstupefactis animo Danis, subitaque responsi ignorantia perculsis, Uffo, + qui forte cum ceteris aderat, responsionis a patre licentiam flagitabat, + subitoque uelut ex muto uocalis euasit. Cumque Wermundus, quisnam talem a + se loquendi copiam postularet, inquireret, ministrique eum ab Uffone + rogari dixissent, satis esse perhibuit, ut infelicitatis suæ uulneribus + alienorum fastus illuderet, ne etiam a domesticis simili insultationis + petulantia uexaretur. Sed satellitibus Uffonem hunc esse pertinaci + affirmatione testantibus, "Liberum ei sit," inquit, "quisquis est, + cogitata profari." Tum Uffo, frustra ab eorum rege regnum appeti, inquit, + quod tam proprii rectoris officio quam <!-- Page 208 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page208"></a>{208}</span>fortissimorum procerum + armis industriaque niteretur: præterea, nec regi filium nec regno + successorem deesse. Sciantque, se non solum regis eorum filium, sed etiam + quemcunque ex gentis suæ fortissimis secum adsciuerit, simul pugna + aggredi constituisse. Quo audito legati risere, uanam dicti animositatem + existimantes. Nec mora, condicitur pugnæ locus, eidemque stata temporis + meta præfigitur. Tantum autem stuporis Uffo loquendi ac prouocandi + nouitate præsentibus iniecit, ut, utrum uoci eius an fiduciæ plus + admirationis tributum sit, incertum extiterit.</p> + + <p>Abeuntibus autem legatis, Wermundus, responsionis auctore laudato, + quod uirtutis fiduciam non in unius, sed duorum prouocatione statuerit, + potius se ei, quicunque sit, quam superbo hosti regno cessurum perhibuit. + Uniuersis autem filium eius esse testantibus, qui legatorum fastum + fiduciæ sublimitate contempserit, propius eum accedere iubet: quod oculis + nequeat, manibus experturus. Corpore deinde eius curiosius contrectato, + cum ex artuum granditate lineamentisque filium esse cognosset, fidem + assertoribus habere cœpit, percontarique eum, cur suauissimum uocis + habitum summo dissimulationis studio tegendum curauerit, tantoque ætatis + spatio sine uoce et cunctis loquendi commerciis degere sustinuerit, ut se + linguæ prorsus officio defectum natiuæque taciturnitatis uitio obsitum + credi permitteret? Qui respondit, se paterna hactenus defensione + contentum, non prius uocis officio opus habuisse, quam domesticam + prudentiam externa loquacitate pressam animaduerteret. Rogatus item ab + eo, cur duos quam unum prouocare maluit, hunc iccirco dimicationis modum + a se exoptatum respondit, ut Athisli regis oppressio, quæ, quod a duobus + gesta fuerat, Danis opprobrio extabat, unius facinore pensaretur, + nouumque uirtutis specimen prisca ruboris monumenta conuelleret. Ita + antiquæ crimen infamiæ recentis famæ litura respergendum dicebat. Quem + Wermundus iustam omnium æstimationem fecisse testatus, armorum usum, quod + eis parum assueuisset, prædiscere iubet. Quibus Uffo oblatis, magnitudine + pectoris angustos loricarum nexus explicuit; nec erat ullam reperire, quæ + eum iusto capacitatis spatio contineret. Maiore siquidem corpore erat, + quam ut alienis armis uti posset. Ad ultimum, cum paternam quoque <!-- + Page 209 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page209"></a>{209}</span>loricam uiolenta corporis astrictione + dissolueret, Wermundus eam a læuo latere dissecari, fibulaque sarciri + præcepit, partem, quæ clypei præsidio muniatur, ferro patere parui + existimans. Sed et gladium, quo tuto uti possit, summa ab eo cura + conscisci iussit. Oblatis compluribus, Uffo manu capulum stringens, + frustatim singulos agitando comminuit; nec erat quisquam ex eis tanti + rigoris gladius, quem non ad primæ concussionis motum crebra partium + fractione dissolueret. Erat autem regi inusitati acuminis gladius, Skrep + dictus, qui quodlibet obstaculi genus uno ferientis ictu medium + penetrando diffinderet, nec adeo quicquam prædurum foret, ut adactam eius + aciem remorari potuisset. Quem ne posteris fruendum relinqueret, per + summam alienæ commoditatis inuidiam in profunda defoderat, utilitatem + ferri, quod filii incrementis diffideret, ceteris negaturus. Interrogatus + autem, an dignum Uffonis robore ferrum haberet, habere se dixit, quod, si + pridem a se terræ traditum recognito locorum habitu reperire potuisset, + aptum corporis eius uiribus exhiberet. In campum deinde perduci se + iubens, cum, interrogatis per omnia comitibus, defossionis locum acceptis + signorum indiciis comperisset, extractum cauo gladium filio porrigit. + Quem Uffo nimia uetustate fragilem exesumque conspiciens, feriendi + diffidentia percontatur, an hunc quoque priorum exemplo probare debeat, + prius habitum eius, quam rem ferro geri oporteat, explorandum testatus. + Refert Wermundus, si præsens ferrum ab ipso uentilando collideretur, non + superesse, quod uirium eius habitui responderet. Abstinendum itaque + facto, cuius in dubio exitus maneat.</p> + + <p>Igitur ex pacto pugnæ locus expetitur. Hunc fluuius Eidorus ita + aquarum ambitu uallat, ut earum interstitio repugnante, nauigii duntaxat + aditus pateat. Quem Uffone sine comite petente, Saxoniæ regis filium + insignis uiribus athleta consequitur, crebris utrinque turbis alternos + riparum anfractus spectandi auiditate complentibus. Cunctis igitur huic + spectaculo oculos inferentibus, Wermundus in extrema pontis parte se + collocat, si filium uinci contigisset, flumine periturus. Maluit enim + sanguinis sui ruinam comitari, quam patriæ interitum plenis doloris + sensibus intueri. Uerum Uffo, geminis iuuenum congressibus lacessitus, + gladii diffidentia amborum ictus umbone <!-- Page 210 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page210"></a>{210}</span>uitabat, patientius + experiri constituens, quem e duobus attentius cauere debuisset, ut hunc + saltem uno ferri impulsu contingeret. Quem Wermundus imbecillitatis uitio + tantam recipiendorum ictuum patientiam præstare existimans, paulatim in + occiduam pontis oram mortis cupiditate se protrahit, si de filio actum + foret, fatum precipitio petiturus. Tanta sanguinis caritate flagrantem + senem fortuna protexit. Uffo siquidem filium regis ad secum auidius + decernendum hortatus, claritatem generis ab ipso conspicuo fortitudinis + opere æquari iubet, ne rege ortum plebeius comes uirtute præstare + uideatur. Athletam deinde, explorandæ eius fortitudinis gratia, ne domini + sui terga timidius subsequeretur, admonitum fiduciam a regis filio in se + repositam egregiis dimicationis operibus pensare præcepit, cuius delectu + unicus pugnæ comes adscitus fuerit. Obtemperantem illum propiusque + congredi rubore compulsum, primo ferri ictu medium dissecat. Quo sono + recreatus Wermundus, filii ferrum audire se dixit, rogatque, cui + potissimum parti ictum inflixerit. Referentibus deinde ministris, eum non + unam corporis partem, sed totam hominis transegisse compagem, abstractum + præcipitio corpus ponti restituit, eodem studio lucem expetens, quo fatum + optauerat. Tum Uffo, reliquum hostem prioris exemplo consumere cupiens, + regis filium ad ultionem interfecti pro se satellitis manibus + parentationis loco erogandam impensioribus uerbis sollicitat. Quem + propius accedere sua adhortatione coactum, infligendi ictus loco + curiosius denotato, gladioque, quod tenuem eius laminam suis imparem + uiribus formidaret, in aciem alteram uerso, penetrabili corporis sectione + transuerberat. Quo audito Wermundus Screp gladii sonum secundo suis + auribus incessisse perhibuit. Affirmantibus deinde arbitris, utrunque + hostem ab eius filio consumptum, nimietate gaudii uultum fletu soluit. + Ita genas, quas dolor madidare non poterat, lætitia rigauit. Saxonibus + igitur pudore mœstis, pugilumque funus summa cum ruboris acerbitate + ducentibus, Uffonem Dani iocundis excepere tripudiis. Quieuit tum + Athislanæ cædis infamia, Saxonumque obprobriis expirauit.</p> + + <p>Ita Saxoniæ regnum ad Danos translatum, post patrem Uffo regendum + suscepit, utriusque imperii procurator effectus, <!-- Page 211 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page211"></a>{211}</span>qui ne unum quidem rite + moderaturus credebatur. Hic a compluribus Olauus est dictus, atque ob + animi moderationem Mansueti cognomine donatus. Cuius sequentes actus + uetustatis uitio solennem fefellere notitiam. Sed credi potest, gloriosos + eorum processus extitisse, quorum tam plena laudis principia fuerint.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead">L. <span class="sc">From Skiold to Offa in Sweyn Aageson</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead">In Langebek, <i>Scriptores</i>, i, 44-7; Gertz, <span class="scac">I</span>, 97.</p> + +<p class="cenhead">CAP. I.</p> + +<p class="cenhead">De primo Rege Danorum.</p> + + <p>Skiold Danis primum didici præfuisse. Et ut eius alludamus uocabulo, + idcirco tali functus est nomine, quia uniuersos regni terminos regiæ + defensionis patrocinio affatim egregie tuebatur. A quo primum, modis + Islandensibus, "Skioldunger" sunt reges nuncupati. Qui regni post se + reliquit hæredes, Frothi uidelicet et Haldanum. Successu temporum + fratribus super regni ambitione inter se decertantibus, Haldan, fratre + suo interempto, regni monarchiam obtinuit. Hic filium, scilicet Helghi, + regni procreauit hæredem, qui ob eximiam uirtutum strenuitatem, pyraticam + semper exercuit. Qui cum uniuersorum circumiacentium regnorum fines + maritimos classe pyratica depopulatus, suo subiugasset imperio, "Rex + maris" est cognominatus. Huic in regno successit filius Rolf Kraki, + patria virtute pollens, occisus in Lethra, quæ tunc famosissima Regis + extitit curia, nunc autem Roskildensi uicina ciuitati, inter abiectissima + ferme uix colitur oppida. Post quem regnauit filius eius Rökil cognomento + dictus "Slaghenback." Cui successit in regno hæres, agilitatis + strenuitate cognominatus, quem nostro uulgari "Frothi hin Frökni" + nominabant. Huius filius et hæres regni extitit Wermundus, qui adeo + prudentiæ pollebat uirtute, ut inde nomen consequeretur. Unde et + "Prudens" dictus est. Hic filium genuit Uffi nomine, qui usque ad + tricesimum ætatis suæ annum fandi possibilitatem cohibuit, propter + enormitatem opprobrii, quod tunc temporis Danis ingruerat, eo quod in + <!-- Page 212 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page212"></a>{212}</span>ultionem patris duo Dani in Sueciam + profecti, patricidam suum una interemerunt. Nam et tunc temporis + ignominiosum extitit improperium, si solum duo iugularent; præsertim cum + soli strenuitati tunc superstitiosa gentilitas operam satagebat + impendere. Præfatus itaque Wermundus usque ad senium regni sui gubernabat + imperium; adeo tandem ætate consumptus, ut oculi eius præ senio + caligarent. Cuius debilitatis fama cum apud transalpinas<a name="NtA340" + href="#Nt340"><sup>[340]</sup></a> partes percrebuisset, elationis + turgiditate Teotonica intumuit superbia, utpote suis nunquam contenta + terminis. Hinc furoris sui rabiem in Danos exacuit Imperator, se iam + Danorum regno conquisito sceptrum nancisci augustius conspicatus. + Delegantur itaque spiculatores, qui turgidi principis jussa reportent + præfato Danorum regi, scilicet Wermundo, duarum rerum præfigentes + electionem, quarum pars tamen neutra extitit eligenda. Aut enim regnum + jussit Romano resignare imperio, et tributum soluere, aut athletam + inuestigare, qui cum Imperatoris campione monomachiam committere auderet. + Quo audito, regis extitit mens consternata; totiusque regni procerum + legione corrogata, quid facto opus sit, diligenti inquisitione + percontabatur. Perplexam se namque regis autumabat autoritas, utpote cui + et ius incumbebat decertandi, et qui regno patrocinari tenebatur. Uultum + cœcitas obnubilauerat, et regni heres elinguis factus, desidia + torpuerat, ita ut in eo, communi assertione, nulla prorsus species + salutis existeret. Nam ab infantia præfatus Uffo uentris indulgebat + ingluuiei, et Epicuræorum more, coquinæ et cellario alternum officiose + impendebat obsequium. Corrogato itaque cœtu procerum, totiusque + regni placito<a name="NtA341" href="#Nt341"><sup>[341]</sup></a> + celebrato, Alamannorum regis ambitionem explicuit, quid in hac optione + haud eligenda facturus sit, indagatione cumulata senior sciscitatur. Et + dum uniuersorum mens consternaretur angustia, cunctique indulgerent + silentio, præfatus Uffo in media concione surrexit. Quem cum cohors + uniuersa conspexisset, satis nequibat admirari, ut quid elinguis uelut + orationi gestus informaret. Et quia omne rarum dignum nouimus + admiratione, omnium in se duxit intuitum. Tandem sic orsus cœpit: + "Non nos minæ moueant lacessentium, cum <!-- Page 213 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page213"></a>{213}</span>ea Teotonicæ + turgiditati innata sit conditio, ut uerborum ampullositate glorientur, + minarumque uentositate pusillanimes et imbecilles calleant comminatione + consternare. Me etenim unicum et uerum regni natura produxit heredem, cui + profecto nouistis incumbere, ut monomachiæ me discrimini audacter + obiiciam, quatenus uel pro regno solus occumbam, uel pro patria solus + uictoriam obtineam. Ut ergo minarum cassetur ampullositas, hæc Imperatori + referant mandata, ut Imperatoris filius et heres imperii, cum athleta + præstantissimo, mihi soli non formidet occurrere." Dixit, et hæc verba + dictauit voce superba. Qui dum orationem complesset, a collateralibus + senior sciscitabatur, cuiusnam hæc fuisset oratio? Cum autem a + circumstantibus intellexisset, quod filius suus, prius veluti mutus, hunc + effudisset sermonem, palpandum eum jussit accersiri. Et cum humeros + lacertosque, et clunes, suras atque tibias, cæteraque membra organica + crebro palpasset: "Talem," ait, "me memini in flore extitisse + iuuentutis." Quid multa? Terminus pugnæ constituitur et locus. Talique + responso percepto, ad propria legati repedabant.</p> + +<p class="cenhead">CAP. II.</p> + +<p class="cenhead">De duello Uffonis.</p> + + <p>Superest ergo, ut arma nouo militi congrua corrogentur. Allatisque + ensibus, quos in regno præstantiores rex poterat inuestigare, Uffo + singulos dextra uibrans, in partes confregit minutissimas. "Hæccine arma + sunt," inquit, "quibus et uitam et regni tuebor honorem?" Cuius cum pater + uiuidam experiretur uirtutem, "Unicum adhuc," ait, "et regni et uitæ + nostræ superest asylum." Ad tumulum itaque ducatum postulauit, in quo + prius mucronem experientissimum occultauerat. Et mox intersigniis per + petrarum notas edoctus, gladium jussit effodi præstantissimum. Quem + illico dextra corripiens, "Hic est," ait, "fili, quo numerose triumphaui, + et qui mihi infallibile semper tutamen extitit." Et hæc dicens, eundem + filio contradidit. Nec mora; terminus ecce congressioni præfixus arctius + <!-- Page 214 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page214"></a>{214}</span>instabat. Tandem, confluentibus undique + phalangis innumerabilibus, in Egdoræ fluminis mediamne<a name="NtA342" + href="#Nt342"><sup>[342]</sup></a> locus pugnæ constituitur: ut ita + pugnatores ab utriusque cœtus adminiculo segregati nullius + opitulatione fungerentur. Teotonicis ergo ultra fluminis ripam in + Holsatia considentibus, Danis uero citra amnem dispositis, rex pontis in + medio sedem elegit, quatenus, si unigenitus occumberet, in fluminis se + gurgitem præcipitaret, ne pariter nato orbatus et regno cum dolore + superstes canos deduceret ad inferos. Deinde emissis utrinque pugilibus, + in medio amne conuenerunt. Ast ubi miles noster egregius Uffo, duos sibi + conspexit occurrere, tanquam leo pectore robusto infremuit, animoque + constanti duobus electis audacter se opponere non detrectauit, illo + cinctus mucrone, quem patrem supra meminimus occuluisse, et alterum + dextra strictum gestans. Quos cum primum obuios habuisset, sic + singillatim utrumque alloquitur, et quod raro legitur accidisse, athleta + noster elegantissimus, cuius memoria in æternum non delebitur, ita + aduersarios animabat ad pugnam: "Si te," inquit, "regni nostri stimulat + ambitio, ut nostræ opis, potentiæque, opumque capessere uelis opulentias, + comminus te clientem decet præcedere, ut et regni tui terminos + amplifices, et militibus tuis conspicientibus, strenuitatis nomen + nanciscaris." Campionem uero hunc in modum alloquitur: "Uirtutis tuæ + experientiam jam locus est propagare, si comminus accesseris, et eam, + quam pridem Alamannis gloriam ostendisti, Danis quoque propalare non + cuncteris. Nunc ergo famam tuæ strenuitatis poteris ampliare, et egregiæ + munificentiæ dono ditari, si et dominum præcedas, et clypeo defensionis + eum tuearis. Studeat, quæso, Teotonicis experta strenuitas variis artis + pugillatoriæ modis Danos instruere, ut tandem optata potitus uictoria, + cum triumphi ualeas exultatione ad propria remeare." Quam quum complesset + exhortationem, pugilis cassidem toto percussit conamine, ita ut, quo + feriebat, gladius in duo dissiliret. Cuius fragor per uniuersum intonuit + exercitum. Unde cohors Teotonicorum exultatione perstrepebat: sed contra + Dani desperationis consternati tristitia, gemebundi murmurabant. Rex + uero, ut audiuit, quod filii ensis dissiliuisset, in margine se pontis + jussit <!-- Page 215 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page215"></a>{215}</span>locari. Uerum Uffo, subito exempto, quo + cinctus erat, gladio, pugilis illico coxam cruentauit, nec mora, et caput + pariter amputauit. Sic ergo ludus fortunæ ad instar lunæ uarius, nunc + his, nunc illis successibus illudebat, et quibus iamiam exultatione + fauebat ingenti, eos nouercali mox uultu, toruoque conspexit intuitu. Hoc + cognito, senior jam confidentius priori se jussit sede locari. Nec jam + anceps diu extitit uictoria. Siquidem Uffo ualide instans, ad ripam amnis + pepulit hæredem imperii, ibique eum haud difficulter gladio iugulauit. + Sicque duorum solus uictor existens, Danis irrogatam multis retro + temporibus infamiam gloriosa uirtute magnifice satis aboleuit. Atque ita + Alamannis cum improperii uerecundia, cassatisque minarum + ampullositatibus, cum probris ad propria remeantibus, postmodum in pacis + tranquillitate præcluis Uffo regni sui regebat imperium.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead">M. <span class="sc">Note on the Danish Chronicles</span></p> + + <p>The text of Saxo Grammaticus, given above, is based upon the + magnificent first edition printed by Badius Ascensius (Paris, 1514). Even + at the time when this edition was printed, manuscripts of Saxo had become + exceedingly scarce, and we have now only odd leaves of <span + class="scac">MS</span> remaining. One fragment, however, discovered at + Angers, and now in the Royal Library at Copenhagen, comes from a <span + class="scac">MS</span> which had apparently received additions from Saxo + himself, and therefore affords evidence as to his spelling.</p> + + <p>Holder's edition (Strassburg, 1886) whilst following in the main the + 1514 text of Badius Ascensius, is accordingly revised to comply with the + spelling of the Copenhagen fragments, and with any other traces of <span + class="scac">MS</span> authority extant. I doubt the necessity for such + revision. If the text were extant in MS, one might feel bound to follow + the spelling of the MS, as in the case of the old English <span + class="scac">MSS</span> of the <i>Vitae Offarum</i> below: but seeing + that Saxo, with the exception of a few pages, is extant only in a 16th + century printed copy, the spelling of which is almost identical with that + now current in Latin text books, it seems a pity to restore conjecturally + mediæval spellings likely <!-- Page 216 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page216"></a>{216}</span>to worry a student. Accordingly I have + followed the printed text of 1514, modernizing a very few odd spellings, + and correcting some obvious printers errors<a name="NtA343" + href="#Nt343"><sup>[343]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>A translation of the first nine books of Saxo by Prof. O. Elton has + been published by the Folk-Lore Society (No. <span + class="sc">xxxiii</span>, 1893).</p> + + <p>Saxo completed his history in the early years of the 13th century. His + elder contemporary, Sweyn Aageson, had already written a <i>Brief History + of the Kings of Denmark</i>. Sweyn's <i>History</i> must have been + completed not long after 1185, to which date belongs the last event he + records. The extracts given from it (pp. 211-15) are taken from + Langebek's collection, with modifications of spelling. Langebek follows + the first edition (Stephanius, 1642); the <span class="sc">ms</span> used + in this edition had been destroyed in 1728. <i>Cod. Arn. Mag. 33</i>, + recently printed by Gertz, although very corrupt, is supposed to give the + text of Sweyn's <i>History</i> in a form less sophisticated than that of + the received text (see Gertz, <i>Scriptores Minores Historiæ Danicæ</i>, + 1917, p. 62). The <i>Little Chronicle of the Kings of Leire</i> is + probably earlier than Sweyn's <i>History</i>. Gertz dates it c. 1170, and + thinks it was written by someone connected with the church at Roskilde. + It covers only the early traditional history. See above, pp. 17, 204.</p> + + <p>For comparison, the following lists, as given in the roll of kings + known as <i>Langfeðgatal</i>, in the <i>Little Chronicle</i>, in Sweyn, + and in Saxo may be useful:</p> + +<table class="nobctr" summary="Kings in Little Chronicle" title="Kings in Little Chronicle"> +<tr><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom; width:18%;"> <i>Langfeðgatal</i> + </td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom; width:18%;"> <i>Little</i><br /> + <i>Chronicle</i> + </td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom; width:18%;"> <i>Sweyn</i> + </td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom; width:18%;"> <i>Saxo</i> + </td><td class="nspcsingle" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:bottom; width:18%;"> Names as given<br /> + in <i>Beowulf</i></td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Dan + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Dan + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="nspcsingle" rowspan="2"> + <table class="nob" style="margin-left: 0em"> + <tr><td class="nspcsingle" rowspan="2"> <a href="images/$lbrace.png"><img src="images/$lbrace.png" class="middle" style="height:5.5ex; width:0.75em" alt="brace" /></a> </td><td class="nspcsingle"> Humblus</td></tr> + <tr><td class="nspcsingle"> Lotherus</td></tr> + </table> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> ? = Heremod</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Skioldr ... + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Skiold + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Skioldus + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Scyld</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> +<!-- Page 217 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page217"></a>{217}</span> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Gram + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Hadingus + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="nspcsingle" rowspan="2"> + <table class="nob" style="margin-left: 0em"> + <tr><td class="nspcsingle" rowspan="2"> <a href="images/$lbrace.png"><img src="images/$lbrace.png" class="middle" style="height:5.5ex; width:0.75em" alt="brace" /></a> </td><td class="nspcsingle"> Frothi</td></tr> + <tr><td class="nspcsingle"> Haldanus</td></tr> + </table> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Frotho I + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> ?= Beowulf I</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Halfdan + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="nspcsingle" rowspan="3"> + <table class="nob" style="margin-left: 0em"> + <tr><td class="nspcsingle" rowspan="3"> <a href="images/$lbrace.png"><img src="images/$lbrace.png" class="middle" style="height:8ex; width:0.75em" alt="brace" /></a> </td><td class="nspcsingle"> Haldanus I</td></tr> + <tr><td class="nspcsingle"> Roe I</td></tr> + <tr><td class="nspcsingle"> Scato</td></tr> + </table> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Healfdene</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Ro + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> </td></tr> +<tr><td class="nspcsingle" rowspan="2"> + <table class="nob" style="margin-left: 0em"> + <tr><td class="nspcsingle" rowspan="2"> <a href="images/$lbrace.png"><img src="images/$lbrace.png" class="middle" style="height:5.5ex; width:0.75em" alt="brace" /></a> </td><td class="nspcsingle"> Hroar</td></tr> + <tr><td class="nspcsingle"> Helgi</td></tr> + </table> + </td><td class="nspcsingle" rowspan="2"> + <table class="nob" style="margin-left: 0em"> + <tr><td class="nspcsingle" rowspan="2"> <a href="images/$lbrace.png"><img src="images/$lbrace.png" class="middle" style="height:5.5ex; width:0.75em" alt="brace" /></a> </td><td class="nspcsingle"> Haldan</td></tr> + <tr><td class="nspcsingle"> Helgi</td></tr> + </table> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="nspcsingle" rowspan="2"> + <table class="nob" style="margin-left: 0em"> + <tr><td class="nspcsingle" rowspan="2"> <a href="images/$lbrace.png"><img src="images/$lbrace.png" class="middle" style="height:5.5ex; width:0.75em" alt="brace" /></a> </td><td class="nspcsingle"> Roe II</td></tr> + <tr><td class="nspcsingle"> Helgo</td></tr> + </table> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Hrothgar</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Helghi + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Halga</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Rolf Kraki + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Rolf Krake + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Rolf Kraki + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Roluo Krage + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Hrothulf</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Hiarwarth + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Hiarthuarus + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Heoroweard</td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> . . . . + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> </td></tr> +<tr><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Hrærekr + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Rökil + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Røricus + </td><td class="spacsingle" style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"> Hrethric</td></tr> +</table> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead">N. <span class="sc">The <i>Life of Offa I</i>, with extracts from the <i>Life of Offa II</i>. Edited from two mss in the Cottonian Collection</span></p> + + <p>The text is given from <i>MS Cotton Nero D. I</i> (quoted in the + footnotes as A), collated with <i>MS Claudius E. IV</i> (quoted as B). + Minor variations of B are not usually noted. The two <span + class="scac">MSS</span> agree closely.</p> + + <p>The <i>Nero</i> <span class="scac">MS</span> is the more elaborate of + the two, and is adorned with very fine drawings. <i>Claudius</i>, + however, offers occasionally a better text; it has been read by a + corrector whose alterations—contrary to what is so often the ease + in mediæval <span class="sc">mss</span>—seem to be + authoritative.</p> + + <p>The <i>Lives of the Offas</i> were printed by Wats in his edition of + Matthew Paris (1639-40) from <span class="scac">MS</span> A. Miss Rickert + has printed extracts from the two lives, in <i>Mod. Phil.</i> <span + class="scac">II</span>, 14 <i>etc.</i>, following <span + class="scac">MS</span> A, "as Wats sometimes takes liberties with the + text."</p> + +<p class="cenhead">INCIPIT HISTORIA DE OFFA PRIMO Q<i>U</i>I STRENUITATE SUA +S<i>IB</i>I ANGLIE MAXIMA<i>M</i> P<i>AR</i>TE<i>M</i> S<i>U</i>BEG<i>I</i>T. CUI SIMILLIM<i>US</i> +FUIT S<i>E</i>C<i>UN</i>D<i>U</i>S OFFA<a name="NtA344" href="#Nt344"><sup>[344]</sup></a>.</p> + +<div class="sidenotel">Fol. 2 <i>a</i></div> + <p>Inter occidentalium Anglorum reges illustrissimos, precipua + co<i>m</i>mendac<i>i</i>onis laude celebratur Rex Warmundus, ab hiis qui + historias Angloru<i>m</i> no<i>n</i> solum relatu proferre, set eciam + scriptis inserere consueuerant. Is fundator erat cui<i>us</i>dam urbis a + seip<i>s</i>o denominate, que lingua Anglicana Warwic, id est curia + Warmundi, nuncupatur. Qui usq<i>ue</i> ad annos seniles absq<i>ue</i> + liberis extitit, pret<i>er</i> unicum filiu<i>m</i>; q<i>ue</i>m, ut + estimabat, regni sui heredem <i>et</i> successorem puerilis debilitatis + incomodo labora<i>n</i>tem, constituere non ualebat. Licet enim idem + unic<i>us</i> filius eius, Offa uel Offanus no<i>m</i>i<i>n</i>e, statura + fuisset procer<i>us</i>, <!-- Page 218 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page218"></a>{218}</span>corpore integer, <i>et</i> elegantissime + forme iuuenis existeret, perma<i>n</i>sit t<i>ame</i>n a natiuitate uisu + priuatus usq<i>ue</i> ad annu<i>m</i> septimu<i>m</i>, mutus autem + <i>et</i> u<i>er</i>ba humana n<i>on</i> proferens usq<i>ue</i> ad + annu<i>m</i> etatis sue tricesimum. Huius debilitatis incomodum + no<i>n</i> solum rex, s<i>ed</i> eciam regni proceres, supra q<i>u</i>am + dici potest moleste sustinuerunt. Cum eni<i>m</i> imineret p<i>at</i>ri + etas senilis, <i>et</i> ignoraret diem mortis sue, nesciebat q<i>ue</i>m + alium sibi<a name="NtA345" href="#Nt345"><sup>[345]</sup></a> + <i>con</i>stitueret heredem <i>et</i> regni successore<i>m</i>. Quidam + au<i>tem</i> p<i>r</i>imari<i>us</i> regni, cui nomen Riganus<a + name="NtA346" href="#Nt346"><sup>[346]</sup></a>, cu<i>m</i> + quoda<i>m</i> suo co<i>m</i>plice Mitunno no<i>m</i>i<i>n</i>e, + ambic<i>i</i>osus cu<i>m</i> ambic<i>i</i>oso, seductor cu<i>m</i> + proditore uidens regem decrepitu<i>m</i>, <i>et</i> sine spe prolis + procreande senio fatiscente<i>m</i>, de se p<i>re</i>sumens, cepit ad + regie dignitatis culmen aspirare, conte<i>m</i>ptis aliis regni + primatib<i>us</i>, se solum p<i>re</i> cet<i>er</i>is ad h<i>oc</i> + dignu<i>m</i> reputando.</p> + + <p>Iccirco diebus singulis regi molestus nimis, proterue eum aggreditur, + ut se h<i>er</i>edis loco adoptaret. Aliq<i>u</i>ando cor regis blande + alliciens, interi<i>m</i> aspere minis <i>et</i> terroribus prouocans, + persuadere no<i>n</i> cessat regi q<i>uo</i>d optabat<a name="NtA347" + href="#Nt347"><sup>[347]</sup></a>. Suggerebat eciam regi per uiros + potentes, <i>com</i>plices cupiditatis <i>et</i> malicie sue, se regni + sui su<i>m</i>mu<i>m</i> apice<i>m</i>, uiolentia <i>et</i> + terrorib<i>us</i> et ui extorquere, nisi arbitrio uoluntatis sue rex + ip<i>s</i>e pareret, faciendo uirtute<i>m</i> de necessitate. Super + h<i>oc</i> itaq<i>ue et</i> aliis regni negociis, euocato semel concilio, + proteruus ille a rege reprobatus discessit a curie p<i>re</i>sentia, + iracundie calore freme<i>n</i>s in semetip<i>s</i>o, pro repulsa + q<i>u</i>am sustinuit.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width:85%;"> + <a href="images/Beo5.jpg"><img style="width:100%" src="images/Beo5.jpg" + alt="Riganus comes before King Warmundus" title="Riganus comes before King Warmundus" /></a> + Riganus (or Aliel) comes before King Warmundus to claim that he should + be made King in place of the incompetent Offa + + <p class="cenhead"><i>From MS Cotton Nero D. I, fol. 2 a.</i></p> + </div> + +<p><!-- Page 219 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page219"></a>{219}</span></p> + +<div class="sidenotel">Fol. 2 <i>b</i></div> + <p>Nec mora, accitis m<i>u</i>ltis qui cont<i>r</i>a regis + i<i>m</i>p<i>er</i>ium parte<i>m</i> sua<i>m</i> <i>con</i>fouebant, + infra paucos dies, copiosum i<i>m</i>mo infinitu<i>m</i> + exc<i>er</i>citu<i>m</i> <i>con</i>gregauit: <i>et</i> sub spe uictorie + uirilit<i>e</i>r optinende, regem <i>et</i> suos ad hostile + p<i>re</i>lium prouocauit. Rex au<i>tem</i> confectus senio, + time<i>n</i>s rebellare, declinauit aliquocie<i>n</i>s impet<i>us</i> + adu<i>er</i>sarior<i>um</i>. Tandem uero, co<i>n</i>uocatis i<i>n</i> + unum p<i>r</i>incipib<i>us</i> <i>et</i> magnatib<i>us</i> suis, + delib<i>er</i>are cep<i>i</i>t q<i>u</i>o f<i>a</i>c<i>t</i>o opus + h<i>abe</i>ret. Dum igit<i>ur</i> t<i>r</i>actarent i<i>n</i> + co<i>m</i>mune per aliq<i>u</i>ot dies, secu<i>m</i> deliberantes + instantissime nec<i>es</i>citatis articulu<i>m</i>, affuit int<i>er</i> + <i>ser</i>moci|nantes natus <i>et</i> unigenitus regis, eo usq<i>ue</i> + elinguis <i>et</i> absq<i>ue</i> sermone, s<i>ed</i> aure purgata, + singulorum uerba discernens. Cum aute<i>m</i> p<i>at</i>ris + seniu<i>m</i>, <i>et</i> se ip<i>su</i>m ad regni negocia q<i>u</i>asi + inutilem <i>et</i> min<i>us</i> efficacem despici <i>et</i> reprobari ab + om<i>n</i>ib<i>us</i> perpenderet, contritus est <i>et</i> humiliatus in + semetip<i>s</i>o, usq<i>ue</i> in lac<i>r</i>imarum aduberem profusionem. + <i>Et</i> exitus aq<i>u</i>arum dedux<i>er</i>unt oculi eius; <i>et</i> + estuabat dolore cordis intrinsecus amarissimo. Et q<i>u</i>a<i>m</i> + u<i>er</i>bis no<i>n</i> pot<i>er</i>at, deo aff<i>e</i>c<i>t</i>u + int<i>r</i>inseco p<i>re</i>cordial<i>it</i>er suggerebat, ingemiscens, + repone<i>n</i>sq<i>ue</i> lac<i>r</i>imabilem q<i>ue</i>relam coram + ip<i>s</i>o, orabat ut a spiritu s<i>an</i>c<i>t</i>o reciperet + consolac<i>i</i>on<i>em</i>, a p<i>at</i>re luminu<i>m</i> fortitudinem, + <i>et</i> a filio p<i>at</i>ris unigenito sapi<i>enci</i>e salutaris + donatiuum. In breui igitur, <i>con</i>t<i>r</i>iti cordis uota + prospiciens, is, cui nuda <i>et</i> aperta sunt omnia, resoluit os + adolescentis in u<i>er</i>ba discreta <i>et</i> manifeste articulata. + Sicq<i>ue</i> de regni principatu tumide <i>et</i> minaciter contra se + <i>et</i> p<i>at</i>rem suu<i>m</i> perstrepentes, subito <i>et</i> ex + insp<i>er</i>ato alloquitur: "Quid adhuc me <i>et</i> p<i>at</i>re meo + sup<i>er</i>stite contra leges <i>et</i> iura uobis uendicatis regni + iudicium enormiter cont<i>re</i>ctare: <i>et</i> me excluso, herede + geneali, alium degen<i>er</i>em facinorosu<i>m</i> <i>ec</i>iam in minas + <i>et</i> diffiduciac<i>i</i>onem sup<i>er</i>be nimis + prorumpente<i>m</i>, subrogare ut uos no<i>n</i> immerito iniquitatis + <i>et</i> prodic<i>i</i>onis arguere valeam<i>us</i>. Quid, + inq<i>u</i>am, ext<i>er</i>i, q<i>u</i>id ex<i>tr</i>anei cont<i>ra</i> + nos agere debeant, cu<i>m</i> nos affines <i>et</i> domestici + n<i>ost</i>ri a p<i>at</i>ria q<i>u</i>am hactenus gen<i>er</i>is + n<i>ost</i>ri successio iure possedit hereditario, uelitis expellere?" Et + dum hec Offanus uel Offa (hoc eni<i>m</i> nomen adolescentulo erat) qui + ia<i>m</i> n<i>un</i>c primo et<i>er</i>no nomine cu<i>m</i> + b<i>e</i>n<i>e</i>d[<i>i</i>]c[<i>i</i>]onis memoria meruit intitulari, + ore facundo, s<i>er</i>mone rethorico, uultu sereno prosequeret<i>ur</i>, + omniu<i>m</i> audientium plus q<i>u</i>am dici potest attonitoru<i>m</i> + oculos facies <i>et</i> corda in se conu<i>er</i>tit. Et prosequens + inceptum s<i>er</i>mone<i>m</i>, <i>con</i>tinuando r<i>ati</i>onem, ait + (intuens ad superna): "Deum testor, om<i>ne</i>sq<i>ue</i> celestis curie + primates, quod tanti sceleris <i>et</i> discidii incentores, (n<i>is</i>i + qui cep<i>er</i>int titubare, uiriliter eriganter in uirtute<i>m</i> + p<i>r</i>istinam roborati) inde<i>m</i>pnes (pro ut desides <i>et</i> + formidolosi promerueru<i>n</i>t) ac impunitos, no<i>n</i> paciar. Fideles + autem, ac strenuos, omni honore proseq<i>u</i>ar [et] + co<i>n</i>fouebo."</p> + + <p>Audito <i>i</i>gi<i>tur</i> adolescentis sermone, q<i>ue</i>m mutum + estimabant vanu<i>m</i> <i>et</i> inutilem, <i>con</i>st<i>er</i>nati + admodum <i>et</i> conterriti, ab ei<i>us</i> <!-- Page 220 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page220"></a>{220}</span>p<i>re</i>sencia + discesseru<i>n</i>t, q<i>u</i>i cont<i>r</i>a p<i>at</i>rem suu<i>m</i> + <i>et</i> ip<i>su</i>m, mota sedic<i>i</i>one, ausu temerario + co<i>n</i>spirau<i>er</i>ant. Rigan<i>us</i> t<i>ame</i>n, + co<i>n</i>tumax <i>et</i> superbus, comitante Mittunno cu<i>m</i> aliis + complicibus suis, qui iam iram in odium + <i>con</i>u<i>er</i>t<i>er</i>ant, minas minis recessit cumulando, + rege<i>m</i>q<i>ue</i> delirum cu<i>m</i> filio suo inutili ac vano + murione, frontose diffiduciauit. Econt<i>r</i>a, naturales ac fideles + regis, ipsius minas paruipende<i>n</i>tes, i<i>m</i>mo <span + class="sidenotel">Fol. 3 <i>a</i></span> | uilipendentes, inestimabili + gaudio perfusi, regis <i>et</i> filii sui pedibus incuruati, sua + suor<i>um</i>q<i>ue</i> corpora ad uindicandam regis iniuriam exponunt + gratanter uniu<i>er</i>si. Nec mora, rex in sua <i>et</i> filii sui + presentia generali edicto eos qui parti sue fauebant iubet assistere, + uolens co<i>m</i>muni eor<i>um</i> consilio edoceri, q<i>u</i>aliter in + agendis suis procedere <i>et</i> negocia sua exequi habeat conuenienter. + Qui super hiis diebus aliquot deliberantes, inprimis consulu<i>n</i>t + regi ut filium suu<i>m</i> morib<i>us</i> <i>et</i> etate ad h<i>oc</i> + maturu<i>m</i>, militari cingulo faciat insigniri: vt ad bellum + procedens, hostibus suis horrori fieret <i>et</i> formidini. Rex + aute<i>m</i> sano et salubri co<i>n</i>silio suoru<i>m</i> obtemperans, + celebri<a name="NtA348" href="#Nt348"><sup>[348]</sup></a> ad hoc + co<i>n</i>dicto die, cu<i>m</i> solle<i>m</i>pni <i>et</i> regia pompa, + gladio filium suum accinxit; adiunctis tirocinio suo strenuis + adolescentib<i>us</i> gen<i>er</i>osis, quos rex ad dec<i>us</i> + <i>et</i> gloriam filii sui militarib<i>us</i> indui fecit, <i>et</i> + honorari.</p> + + <p>Cum aute<i>m</i> post h<i>ec</i><a name="NtA349" + href="#Nt349"><sup>[349]</sup></a>, aliq<i>u</i>andiu cu<i>m</i> sociis + suis decertans, instrumenta tiro Offanus experiretur, omnes eum + strenuissimu<i>m</i> <i>et</i> singulos sup<i>er</i>ante<i>m</i> + uehement<i>er</i><a name="NtA350" href="#Nt350"><sup>[350]</sup></a> + admirabant<i>ur</i>. Rex igit<i>ur</i> in<i>de</i> maiore<i>m</i> + assumens audaciam, <i>et</i> in spem erectus alacriorem, + co<i>m</i>municato cu<i>m</i> suis consilio, co<i>n</i>t<i>r</i>a hostes + regni sui insidiatores, i<i>m</i>mo iam manifeste <i>contr</i>a + regnu<i>m</i> suu<i>m</i> insurgentes, <i>et</i> inito + c<i>er</i>tami<i>n</i>e adu<i>er</i>santes, resu<i>m</i>pto + sp<i>irit</i>u bellum instaurari p<i>re</i>cep<i>i</i>t. + Potentissim<i>us</i> aut<i>em</i> ille, q<i>u</i>i regnu<i>m</i> sibi + usurpare moliebatur, cu<i>m</i> filiis suis iuuenib<i>us</i> + duob<i>us</i>, uidelicet tironib<i>us</i> strenuissimis Otta <i>et</i> + Milione nominatis, ascita quoq<i>ue</i> no<i>n</i> minima multitudine, + n<i>ich</i>ilomin<i>us</i> audact<i>er</i> ad rebellandum, se + suosq<i>ue</i> p<i>re</i>munire cepit, alacer <i>et</i> + imp<i>er</i>t<i>er</i>rit<i>us</i>. Et preliandi diem <i>et</i> locum, + hinc in<i>de</i> rex <i>et</i> eius emulus det<i>er</i>minarunt.</p> + + <p>Congregato itaq<i>ue</i> ut<i>r</i>obiq<i>ue</i> copiosissimo + <i>et</i> formidabili nimis exc<i>er</i>citu, parati ad congressum, + fixerunt tentoria e regione, nichilq<i>ue</i> int<i>er</i>erat nisi + fluui<i>us</i> torrens in medio, qui <!-- Page 221 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page221"></a>{221}</span>utrumq<i>ue</i> + exc<i>er</i>citu<i>m</i> sequestrabat. Et aliq<i>u</i>andiu hinc + in<i>de</i> meticulosi <i>et</i> co<i>n</i>sternati, rapidi fluminis + alueum int<i>er</i>positu<i>m</i> (qui uix erat homini uel equo + t<i>r</i>ansmeabil<i>is</i>) transire distulerunt. Tela tamen sola, + cu<i>m</i> crebris co<i>m</i>minac<i>i</i>onibus <i>et</i> conuiciis, + transuolarunt. Tande<i>m</i> indignatus Offa <i>et</i> egre ferens + probrose more dispendia, electis de exc<i>er</i>citu suo + robustiorib<i>us</i> <i>et</i> bello magis strenuis, q<i>u</i>os + <i>eciam</i> credebat fideliores, subitus <i>et</i> improuisus flumen + raptim p<i>er</i>transiens, f<i>a</i>c<i>t</i>o impetu uehementi<a + name="NtA351" href="#Nt351"><sup>[351]</sup></a> <i>et</i> repentino, + hostes ei obuiam occurre<i>n</i>tes, preocupatos t<i>ame</i>n circa ripam + flum<i>in</i>is, plurimos de adu<i>er</i>sarior<i>um</i> exc<i>er</i>citu + cont<i>r</i>iuit, <i>et</i> i<i>n</i> ore gladii trucidauit. + Primosq<i>ue</i> om<i>ne</i>s t<i>r</i>ibunos <i>et</i> + p<i>r</i>imicerios potenter dissipauit. Cu<i>m</i> t<i>ame</i>n sui + co<i>m</i>militones, forte uolentes p<i>re</i>scire in Offa p<i>re</i>uio + Martis fortuna<i>m</i>, segnit<i>er</i> amne<i>m</i> t<i>r</i>ansmearent, + q<i>u</i>i latus suu<i>m</i> tenebantur suffulcire, <i>et</i><a + name="NtA352" href="#Nt352"><sup>[352]</sup></a> pocius <span + class="sidenotel">Fol. 3 <i>b</i></span> | circumuallando roborare, et + resu<i>m</i>pto sp<i>irit</i>u uiuidiore, reliquos om<i>ne</i>s, hinc + in<i>de</i> ad modu<i>m</i> nauis uelificantis <i>et</i> equora + uelocit<i>er</i> sulcantis, impetuosissime diuisit, ense + t<i>er</i>ribilit<i>er</i> fulminante, <i>et</i> hostiu<i>m</i> cruore + sepius inebriato, don<i>e</i>c sue om<i>ne</i>s acies ad ip<i>su</i>m + illese <i>et</i> inde<i>m</i>pnes t<i>r</i>ansmear<i>en</i>t. Quo + cu<i>m</i> p<i>er</i>uenirent sui co<i>m</i>militones, congregati + ci<i>r</i>ca ip<i>su</i>m do<i>mi</i>n<i>u</i>m suu<i>m</i>, + exc<i>er</i>citu<i>m</i> magnu<i>m</i> et fortem + co<i>n</i>flau<i>er</i>unt. Duces aute<i>m</i> <i>con</i>t<i>r</i>arii + exc<i>er</i>citus, sese densis agminib<i>us</i> <i>et</i> consertis + aciebus, uiolent<i>er</i> opponu<i>n</i>t aduentantib<i>us</i>. Et + congressu inito cruentissimo, acclamatu<i>m</i> <i>est</i> + utrobiq<i>ue</i> et exhortatu<i>m</i>, ut res agatur pro capite, + <i>et</i> c<i>er</i>tamen pro sua <i>et</i> uxoru<i>m</i> suar<i>um</i>, + <i>et</i> lib<i>er</i>or<i>um</i> suor<i>um</i>, <i>et</i> + possessionu<i>m</i> lib<i>er</i>ac<i>i</i>one, i<i>n</i>ea<i>n</i>t + iustissimu<i>m</i>, auxilio diuino p<i>ro</i>tegente. P<i>er</i>strepunt + igitur tube cu<i>m</i> lituis, clamor exhortantiu<i>m</i>, equor<i>um</i> + hinnit<i>us</i>, morientiu<i>m</i> <i>et</i> uulnerator<i>um</i> gemitus, + fragor lancearum, gladioru<i>m</i> tinnit<i>us</i>, ictuu<i>m</i> + tumultus, aera p<i>er</i>t<i>ur</i>bare uidebant<i>ur</i>. + Adu<i>er</i>sarii tandem Offe legiones deiciunt, <i>et</i> i<i>n</i> + fugam dissipatas <i>con</i>u<i>er</i>tunt.</p> + + <p>Quod cum videret Offa strenuissim<i>us</i>, <i>et</i> ex + hostiu<i>m</i> cede cruent<i>us</i>, hausto sp<i>irit</i>u + alac<i>r</i>iori, in hostes, more leonis <i>et</i> leene sublatis + catulis, irruit truculent<i>er</i>, gladiu<i>m</i> suu<i>m</i> cruore + hostili inebriando. Quod cu<i>m</i> uiderent t<i>r</i>ucida<i>n</i>di, + fugitiui <i>et</i> meticulosi pudore confusi, reuersi su<i>n</i>t + sup<i>er</i> hostes, et ut famam redim<i>er</i>ent, ferociores in + obstantes fulminant <i>et</i> debacant<i>ur</i>.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 222 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page222"></a>{222}</span></p> + + <p>Multoq<i>ue</i> temp<i>or</i>e t<i>r</i>uculent<i>er</i> nimis + dec<i>er</i>tatu<i>m</i> est, <i>et</i> utrobiq<i>ue</i> suspensa est + uictoria; tandem p<i>ost</i> multor<i>um</i> ruinam, hostes fatigati + pedem retulerunt, ut respirarent <i>et</i> pausare<i>n</i>t p<i>ost</i> + co<i>n</i>flictu<i>m</i>.</p> + + <p>Similit<i>er eciam et</i> exc<i>er</i>citus Offani. Quod t<i>ame</i>n + moleste nimis tulit Offan<i>us</i>, cui<i>us</i> sanguis in + ulc<i>i</i>one<i>m</i> estuabat, <i>et</i> i<i>n</i>defessus propugnator + cessare erubescebat. Hic casu Offe obuiant duo filii diuitis + illi<i>us</i>, qui regnu<i>m</i> p<i>at</i>ris ei<i>us</i> sibi + atte<i>m</i>ptauit usurpare. Nomen p<i>r</i>imogenito Brutus [sive + Hildebrandus]<a name="NtA353" href="#Nt353"><sup>[353]</sup></a> + <i>et</i> iuniori Sueno. Hii probra <i>et</i> u<i>er</i>ba turpia in + Offam irreu<i>er</i>enter ingesserunt, <i>et</i> iuueni pudorato + i<i>n</i> <i>con</i>sp<i>ec</i>tu exc<i>er</i>cituum, no<i>n</i> + min<i>us</i> s<i>er</i>monib<i>us</i> q<i>u</i>am armis, molesti + extit<i>er</i>unt. Offa igit<i>ur</i>, mag<i>is</i> lacessitus, <i>et</i> + calore audacie scintillans, <i>et</i> iracundia us<i>que</i> ad + fremitu<i>m</i> succensus, in impetu sp<i>iritu</i>s sui i<i>n</i> + eosde<i>m</i> audact<i>er</i> irruit. Et eor<i>um</i> alteru<i>m</i>, + videlic<i>et</i> Brutu<i>m</i>, unico gladii ictu percussit, + amputatoq<i>ue</i> galee cono, craneu<i>m</i> usq<i>ue</i> ad cerebri + medulla<i>m</i> p<i>er</i>forauit, <i>et</i> i<i>n</i> morte + singultante<i>m</i> sub eq<i>u</i>inis pedib<i>us</i> + pot<i>e</i>nt<i>er</i> p<i>re</i>cipitauit. Alteru<i>m</i> u<i>er</i>o, + qui h<i>oc</i> uiso fugam iniit, repentin<i>us</i> inseq<i>ue</i>ns, + uuln<i>er</i>e letali sauciatu<i>m</i>, <i>con</i>te<i>m</i>psit + <i>et</i> prostratu<i>m</i>. Post h<i>ec</i><a name="NtA354" + href="#Nt354"><sup>[354]</sup></a> deseuie<i>n</i>s in cet<i>er</i>os + <i>con</i>t<i>r</i>arii exc<i>er</i>citus duces, gladi<i>us</i> Offe + q<i>u</i>icq<i>u</i>id obuiam h<i>ab</i>uit prost<i>er</i>nendo + deuorauit, exc<i>er</i>citu ip<i>s</i>i<i>us</i> tali exemplo + recenci<i>us</i> i<i>n</i> hostes insurgente, <i>et</i> iam gloriosius + t<i>r</i>iu<i>m</i>phante.</p> + +<div class="sidenotel">Fol. 4 <i>a</i></div> + <p>Pat<i>er</i>, uero, p<i>re</i>d<i>i</i>c<i>t</i>or<i>um</i> + iuuenu<i>m</i>, pert<i>er</i>rit<i>us</i> <i>et</i> dolore + i<i>n</i>t<i>r</i>inseco sauciatus, subt<i>er</i>fugiens amne<i>m</i> + oppositu<i>m</i>, nitebat<i>ur</i>| pert<i>r</i>ansire: s<i>ed</i> + interf<i>e</i>c<i>t</i>oru<i>m</i> sanguine torre<i>n</i>s fluuius, eum + loricatu<i>m</i> <i>et</i> armor<i>um</i> pond<i>er</i>e grauatu<i>m</i> + <i>et</i> multipl<i>icite</i>r fatigatum, cum multis de suo excercitu + simili incomodo p<i>re</i>peditis, ad ima subm<i>er</i>sit, <i>et</i> + sine uuln<i>er</i>ib<i>us</i>, miseras animas exalarunt proditores, toti + posteritati sue probra relinq<i>ue</i>ntes. Amnis aute<i>m</i> a Rigano + ibi subm<i>er</i>so sorciebatur uocabulum, <i>et</i> Riganburne, vt + f<i>act</i>i uiuat perpetuo memoria, nuncupat<i>ur</i>. [Hiic alio + no<i>m</i>i<i>n</i>e Auene dicit<i>ur</i>.]<a name="NtA355" + href="#Nt355"><sup>[355]</sup></a></p> + + <p>Reliqui aute<i>m</i> om<i>ne</i>s de exc<i>er</i>citu Rigani [qui + <i>et</i> Aliel dicebatur]<a href="#Nt355"><sup>[355]</sup></a> qui sub + ducatu Mitunni regebantur, in abissu<i>m</i> desperac<i>i</i>onis + dem<i>er</i>si, <i>et</i> timore effeminati, cum eorum duce i<i>n</i> + q<i>u</i>o <!-- Page 223 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page223"></a>{223}</span>magis Rigan<i>us</i> confidebat, in noctis + crepusculo trucidati, cu<i>m</i> uictoria gloriosa campu<i>m</i> Offe + strenuissimo (i<i>n</i> nulla parte corporis sui deformit<i>er</i> + mutilato, nec <i>eciam</i> uel letaliter uel periculose uuln<i>er</i>ato, + licet ea die multis se letiferis opposuiss<i>et</i> p<i>er</i>iculis) + reliquerunt<a name="NtA356" href="#Nt356"><sup>[356]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Sicq<i>ue</i> Offe circa iuuentutis sue primicias, a Domino data est + uictoria in bello nimis ancipiti, ac cruentissimo, <i>et</i> int<i>er</i> + alienigenas uirtutis <i>et</i> indust<i>r</i>ie sue nomen celebre ipsius + uentilatum, <i>et</i> odor longe lateq<i>ue</i> bonitatis ac ciuilitatis, + n<i>e</i>c no<i>n</i> <i>et</i> st<i>r</i>enuitatis ei<i>us</i> + circumfusus, nomen ei<i>us</i> ad sidera subleuauit.</p> + + <p>Porro in crastinu<i>m</i> post uictoria<i>m</i>, hostiu<i>m</i> spolia + int<i>er</i>fector<i>um</i> <i>et</i> fugitiuor<i>um</i> magnifice + co<i>n</i>te<i>m</i>pnens, n<i>e</i>c sibi uolens aliq<i>u</i>atenus + usurpare, ne q<i>u</i>omodolib<i>et</i> auaricie turpit<i>er</i> + redargueretur, militibus suis stipendiariis, <i>et</i> naturalib<i>us</i> + suis hominib<i>us</i> (p<i>re</i>cipue<a name="NtA357" + href="#Nt357"><sup>[357]</sup></a> hiis quos nou<i>er</i>at indigere) + liberalit<i>er</i> dereliq<i>u</i>it. Solos t<i>ame</i>n magnates, quos + ip<i>s</i>emet i<i>n</i> prelio cep<i>er</i>at, sibi retinuit + incarc<i>er</i>andos, redime<i>n</i>dos, u<i>e</i>l iudicialiter + puniendos. Iussitq<i>ue</i> ut int<i>er</i>fector<i>um</i> duces + <i>et</i> p<i>r</i>incipes, quor<i>um</i> fama titulos magnificauit, + <i>et</i> p<i>re</i>cipue eor<i>um</i> qui in p<i>re</i>lio magnifice ac + fidelit<i>er</i> se habuerant (licet ei<a name="NtA358" + href="#Nt358"><sup>[358]</sup></a> adu<i>er</i>sarentur) seorsum + honorifice i<i>n</i>tumulare<i>n</i>t<i>u</i>r, f<i>a</i>c<i>t</i>is eis + obsequiis, cu<i>m</i> lamentac<i>i</i>onib<i>us</i>. Exc<i>er</i>citus + au<i>tem</i> popularis cadau<i>er</i>a, in arduo <i>et</i> eminenti loco, + ad post<i>er</i>itatis memoriam, t<i>r</i>adi iussit sepulture + ignobiliori. Vnde locus ille hoc no<i>m</i>i<i>n</i>e Anglico + Q<i>u</i>almhul<a name="NtA359" href="#Nt359"><sup>[359]</sup></a>, a + strage uidelicet <i>et</i> sepultura interfectorum m<i>er</i>ito meruit + intitulari.</p> + + <p>Multor<i>um</i> eciam et magnor<i>um</i> lapidum super eos struem + excercitus Offe, uoce p<i>re</i>conia iussus, congessit eminentem. + Totaq<i>ue</i> circumiacens planicies<a name="NtA360" + href="#Nt360"><sup>[360]</sup></a> ab ip<i>s</i>o cruentissimo + c<i>er</i>tamine <i>et</i> notabili sepultura nomen <i>et</i> titulum + indelebilem est sortita, et Blodiweld<a name="NtA361" + href="#Nt361"><sup>[361]</sup></a> a sa<i>n</i>guine + int<i>er</i>fector<i>um</i> deno<i>m</i>i<i>n</i>abat<i>ur</i>.</p> + + <p>Deletis igitur <i>et</i> confusis hostib<i>us</i>, Offa cum ingenti + t<i>r</i>iumpho ac tripudio <i>et</i> gloria reu<i>er</i>tit<i>ur</i> ad + propria. Pater uero Warmu<i>n</i>d<i>us</i>, q<i>u</i>i sese + recep<i>er</i>at in locis tucioribus rei euentu<i>m</i> exp<i>e</i>ctans, + s<i>ed</i> iam fausto nuncio c<i>er</i>tificatus, comperiensq<i>ue</i> + <i>et</i> securus de carissimi filii sui uictoria, cu<i>m</i> ingenti + leticia ei <!-- Page 224 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page224"></a>{224}</span>procedit obuius<a name="NtA362" + href="#Nt362"><sup>[362]</sup></a>: et in a<i>m</i>plexus eius diutissime + <i>com</i>moratus, <i>con</i>ceptu<i>m</i> <span class="sidenotel">Fol. 4 + <i>b</i></span> | interius de filii sui palma gaudium teg<i>er</i>e non + uolens set n<i>e</i>c ualens, hui<i>us</i> cum lac<i>ri</i>mis + exultac<i>i</i>onis prorupit in vocem: "Euge fili dulcissime, quo + affectu, quaue mentis leticia, laudes tuas prout dignu<i>m</i> est + prosequar? Tu eni<i>m</i> es spes mea <i>et</i> subditor<i>um</i> iubilus + ex i<i>n</i>sp<i>er</i>ato <i>et</i> exultac<i>i</i>o. In te spes + inopinata meis reuixit temporibus; in sinu tuo leticia mea, i<i>m</i>mo + spes pocius toci<i>us</i> regni est reposita. Tu pop<i>u</i>li + toci<i>us</i> firmamentum, tu pacis <i>et</i> lib<i>er</i>tatis mee basis + <i>et</i> stabile, deo aspirante, fundamentum. Tibi debetur ruina + prot<i>e</i>rui proditoris illi<i>us</i>, q<i>u</i>ondam publici hostis + n<i>ost</i>ri, qui regni fastigium quod m<i>ih</i>i <i>et</i> de genere + meo propagatis iure debetur h<i>er</i>editario, tam impudent<i>er</i> + q<i>u</i>am imprudenter, cont<i>r</i>a leges <i>et</i> ius gentium + usurpare moliebatur. S<i>ed</i> uultus d<i>omi</i>ni super eu<i>m</i> + <i>et</i> co<i>m</i>plices suos facientes mala, ut perderet de terra + memoriam eoru<i>m</i>, Deus ulcionu<i>m</i> Domin<i>us</i> + dissipau<i>i</i>t consilium ipsius. Ip<i>su</i>m q<i>u</i>o<i>que</i> + Riganu<i>m</i> in sup<i>er</i>bia rigente<i>m</i>, <i>et</i> + i<i>m</i>mite<i>m</i> Mitunnu<i>m</i> <i>com</i>militone<i>m</i> ipsius, + cum exc<i>er</i>citu eor<i>um</i> proiecit in flumen rapacissimu<i>m</i>. + Descendunt q<i>u</i>asi plu<i>m</i>bum i<i>n</i> aq<i>u</i>is + uehem<i>en</i>tib<i>us</i>; deuorauit gladi<i>us</i> tuus hostes + n<i>ost</i>ros fulmina<i>n</i>s <i>et</i> cruentat<i>us</i>, hostili + sanguine magnifice i<i>n</i>ebriatus; non degen<i>er</i> es fili mi + genealis, s<i>ed</i> pat<i>r</i>issans, patrum tuor<i>um</i> uestigia + seq<i>ue</i>ris magnificorum. Sepult<i>us</i> i<i>n</i> inf<i>er</i>no + n<i>oste</i>r hostis <i>et</i> adu<i>er</i>sarius, fructus viarum + suaru<i>m</i> condignos iam colligit, quos uiu<i>us</i> promerebatur. + Luctum <i>et</i> miseriam q<i>u</i>am senectuti mee malignus ille + inf<i>er</i>re disposuerat, u<i>er</i>sa uice, clementia diuina conuertit + in tripudium<a name="NtA363" href="#Nt363"><sup>[363]</sup></a>. + Quamobre<i>m</i> in p<i>re</i>senti accipe, quod tuis m<i>er</i>itis + exigentib<i>us</i> debetur, eciam si filius meus non esses, <i>et</i> si + m<i>ih</i>i iure h<i>er</i>editario non succederes; ecce iam, cedo, + <i>et</i> regnu<i>m</i> Anglor<i>um</i> uoluntatis tue arbitrio deinceps + committo; etas enim mea fragilis <i>et</i> iam decrepita, regni ceptrum + ulterius sustinere no<i>n</i> sufficit. Iccirco te fili + desid<i>er</i>atissime, uicem meam supplere te co<i>n</i>uenit, <i>et</i> + corpus meu<i>m</i> senio <i>con</i>fectum, donec morientis oculos + clauseris, quieti t<i>r</i>ad<i>er</i>e liberiori, vt a curis <i>et</i> + secularib<i>us</i> sollicitudinibus, quib<i>us</i> discerpor + lib<i>er</i>atus, p<i>re</i>cibus uacem <i>et</i> + <i>con</i>te<i>m</i>plac<i>i</i>oni. Armis hucusq<i>ue</i> + mat<i>er</i>ialib<i>us</i> dimicaui: restat <!-- Page 225 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page225"></a>{225}</span>ut de cet<i>er</i>o + uita mea q<i>ue</i> sup<i>er</i>est, militia sit sup<i>er</i> + t<i>er</i>ram <i>con</i>t<i>r</i>a hostes sp<i>irit</i>uales.</p> + + <p>"Ego u<i>er</i>o pro incolumitate tua <i>et</i> regni statu, + q<i>uo</i>d strenuitati tue, O anime mee dimidiu<i>m</i>, ia<i>m</i> + <i>com</i>misi, preces quales mea, sci[t]<a name="NtA364" + href="#Nt364"><sup>[364]</sup></a> simplicitas <i>et</i> potest + i<i>m</i>becillitas, Deo fundam indefessas. S<i>ed</i> q<i>uia</i> + temp<i>us</i> perbreue amodo m<i>ih</i>i restat, <i>et</i> corpori meo + solum s<i>upe</i>rest sepulchru<i>m</i>, aure<i>m</i> benigna<i>m</i> + meis accomoda salutaribus consiliis, <i>et</i> cor credulu<i>m</i> meis + monitis i<i>n</i>clina magnificis. Uerum ip<i>s</i>os qui nobiscum + c<i>ontr</i>a hostes publicos, Riganu<i>m</i> videlicet <i>et</i> + Mitunnu<i>m</i> <span class="sidenotel">Fol. 5 <i>a</i></span> | + <i>et</i> eor<i>um</i> complices emulos n<i>ost</i>ros fidelit<i>er</i> + steter<i>un</i>t, <i>et</i> periculoso discrimini pro nobis se + opposuer<i>un</i>t, p<i>ate</i>rno amore t<i>ib</i>i co<i>m</i>mendo, + diligendos, honorandos, promouendos. Eos aute<i>m</i> qui + dec<i>r</i>epite sen<i>e</i>ctutis mee membra<a name="NtA365" + href="#Nt365"><sup>[365]</sup></a> debilia <i>con</i>te<i>m</i>ptui + h<i>abe</i>re ausi s<i>un</i>t, asserentes u<i>er</i>ba mea <i>et</i> + regalia p<i>re</i>cepta e<i>ss</i>e sinilia delirame<i>n</i>ta, + p<i>re</i>sumentes tem<i>er</i>e apice regali me priuato te exheredare, + susp<i>e</i>ctos habe <i>et</i> co<i>n</i>te<i>m</i>ptibiles, si qui sint + elapsi ab hoc bello, <i>et</i> a tuo gladio deuorante, eciam cu<i>m</i> + eor<i>um</i> post<i>er</i>itate: ne cu<i>m</i> in ramusculos uir<i>us</i> + pullulet, a radice aliquid <i>con</i>simile t<i>ib</i>i gen<i>er</i>etur + in posteru<i>m</i>. No<i>n</i> eni<i>m</i> recolo me talem eor<i>um</i> + promeruisse, q<i>u</i>i me <i>et</i> te filiu<i>m</i> meu<i>m</i> gratis + oderunt, persecuc<i>i</i>one<i>m</i>. Similit<i>er</i> eos, quos + d<i>i</i>c<i>t</i>i proditores pro eo q<i>uo</i>d nobis fideliter + adhes<i>er</i>ant, exulare coeg<i>er</i>unt, u<i>e</i>l qui + impote<i>n</i>tes rabiem eor<i>um</i> fugiendo resist<i>er</i>e, ad horam + declinau<i>er</i>unt, cu<i>m</i> omni mansuetudi<i>n</i>e studeas + reuocare, <i>et</i> honores eor<i>um</i> cu<i>m</i> possessionib<i>us</i> + ex innata t<i>ib</i>i regali munific<i>e</i>ntia, graci<i>us</i> + ampliare. Laus industrie tue <i>et</i> fame p<i>re</i>conia, <i>et</i> + strenuitatis tue titulus, q<i>ue</i> adolesc<i>e</i>nciam tuam + diuinit<i>us</i> illustraru<i>n</i>t, in posterum de te maiora + p<i>ro</i>m<i>i</i>ttu<i>n</i>t. Desid<i>er</i>anti animo + sicient<i>er</i> affecto, ip<i>su</i>mq<i>ue</i> Deu<i>m</i>, qui te + t<i>ib</i>i, sua mera gr<i>aci</i>a reddidit <i>et</i> restaurauit, + dep<i>re</i>cor affectuose, vt has iuuentutis tue primicias, h<i>oc</i> + i<i>n</i>opinato t<i>r</i>iumpho subarratas, melior semp<i>er</i> ac + splendidior op<i>er</i>um gl<i>ori</i>a subseq<i>u</i>atur. Et procul + dubio post morte<i>m</i> meam (que non longe abest, iubente + D<i>omi</i>no) fame tue magnitudo per orbem uniu<i>er</i>su<i>m</i> + dilatabitur, <i>et</i> felix suscipiet inc<i>r</i>ementu<i>m</i>. Et + q<i>ue</i> D<i>e</i>o placita sunt, opere felici consumabis, q<i>ue</i> + diuinitus p<i>ro</i>sp<i>er</i>abunt<i>ur</i>."</p> + +<p><!-- Page 226 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page226"></a>{226}</span></p> + + <p>Hec aute<i>m</i> filius deuotus <i>et</i> mansuet<i>us</i>, licet + magnific<i>us</i> t<i>r</i>iumphator exaudiss<i>et</i> <i>et</i> intenta + aure intellexiss<i>et</i>, flexis genib<i>us</i> <i>et</i> iunctis + manib<i>us</i>, <i>et</i> exundantib<i>us</i> oculis, p<i>at</i>ri suo + grates<a name="NtA366" href="#Nt366"><sup>[366]</sup></a> rettulit + accumulatas. Rex itaq<i>ue</i> per fines Anglie missis nunciis + expeditissimis, q<i>u</i>i ma<i>n</i>data regia detuler<i>un</i>t, tocius + dicionis sue conuocat nobilitatem. Que conuocata ex reg<i>is</i> + precepto, <i>et</i> persuasione, Offano filio suo unigenito ligiam + fecerunt fidelitatem <i>et</i> homagiu<i>m</i> in p<i>at</i>ris + presencia. Quod <i>et</i> om<i>ne</i>s, animo uolenti, i<i>m</i>mo + gaudenti, co<i>m</i>munit<i>er</i> perfec<i>er</i>unt.</p> + + <p>Rex igitur q<i>ue</i>m pocius prona voluntas, q<i>u</i>a<i>m</i> uigor + prouexit corporalis, per climata regni sui proficiscitur secur<i>us</i> + <i>et</i> letabundus, nullo <i>contr</i>adicente, u<i>e</i>l impediente, + ut regni munic<i>i</i>o<i>ne</i>s <i>et</i> varias possessiones, diu per + inimicos suos alienatas <i>et</i> iniuste ac uiolent<i>er</i> possessas, + ad sue dic<i>i</i>onis reacciperet iure potestate<i>m</i>. Que + o<i>mn</i>ia sibi sunt s<i>i</i>n<i>e</i> difficultate u<i>e</i>l more + dispendio restituta. Statimq<i>ue</i> p<i>ate</i>r filium eoru<i>m</i> + possessionib<i>us</i> corporaliter inuestiuit; <i>et</i> p<i>ate</i>rno + contulit aff<i>e</i>c<i>t</i>u ac gratuito, proc<i>er</i>ib<i>us</i> + <span class="sidenotel">Fol. 5 <i>b</i></span> + co<i>n</i>gaude<i>n</i>|tib<i>us</i> super hoc uniuersis. Post hec autem, + Rex filio suo Offano erarium suum adaperiens, auru<i>m</i> suu<i>m</i> + <i>et</i> argentu<i>m</i>, uasa co<i>n</i>cupiscibilia, gemmas, oloserica + omnia, sue subdidit potestati. Sicq<i>ue</i> subactis <i>et</i> + subt<i>r</i>actis hostibus<a name="NtA367" + href="#Nt367"><sup>[367]</sup></a> cunctis, aliquandiu per + uniu<i>er</i>sum regnu<i>m</i> uiguit pax <i>et</i> securitas diu + desiderabilis.</p> + + <p>Rex igitur filii sui prosperitate gauisus, qui <i>eciam</i> diatim de + bono i<i>n</i> melius gradatim ascendit, aliquo tempore uite sue metas + distulit naturales: iubilus quoq<i>ue</i> in corde senis conceptus + languores seniles plurimu<i>m</i> mitigauit. Tandem Rex plenus dierum, + cu<i>m</i> b<i>e</i>n<i>e</i>dicc<i>i</i>one omniu<i>m</i>, qui + ip<i>su</i>m <i>eciam</i> a remotis<a name="NtA368" + href="#Nt368"><sup>[368]</sup></a> partib<i>us</i> p<i>er</i> + fama<i>m</i> cognou<i>er</i>unt<a name="NtA369" + href="#Nt369"><sup>[369]</sup></a>, nature debita persoluens decessit. Et + decedens, filio suo apice<i>m</i> regni sui pacatum <i>et</i> + quietu<i>m</i> reliquit: Offan<i>us</i> aute<i>m</i> oculos p<i>at</i>ris + sui pie claudens, lamentaciones mensurnas cum magnis eiulatibus, + lac<i>r</i>imis <i>et</i> specialib<i>us</i> planctib<i>us</i> (prout + moris t<i>un</i>c erat principibus magnificis) lugubriter pro tanto + funere continuauit. Obsequiisq<i>ue</i> cu<i>m</i> exequiis, magnifice + tam in ecc<i>lesi</i>a q<i>u</i>am in locis forinsecis conpletis, + apparatu regio <i>et</i> loco celeberrimo <i>et</i> nominatissimo.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 227 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page227"></a>{227}</span></p> + + <p>regibus <i>con</i>digno, videlicet i<i>n</i> eminenc<i>i</i>ori + ecc<i>lesi</i>a penes Glou<i>er</i>nia<i>m</i> urbem egregiam, eidem + exhiberi iubet sepulturam. Offanus aute<i>m</i> cu<i>m</i> morib<i>us</i> + o<i>mn</i>ibus foret redimitus, elegans corp<i>or</i>e, armis strenuus, + munificus <i>et</i> benignus, post obitum p<i>at</i>ris sui magnifici + Warmundi<a name="NtA370" href="#Nt370"><sup>[370]</sup></a>, cui<i>us</i> + mores tractatus exigit speciales, plenarie o<i>mn</i>iu<i>m</i> + p<i>r</i>incipum Regni d<i>omi</i>nium suscipit, <i>et</i> debitu<i>m</i> + cum omni deuoc<i>i</i>one, <i>et</i> mera uoluntate, famulatu<i>m</i>. + Cum igitur cui<i>us</i>dam sole<i>m</i>pnitatis arrid<i>er</i>et + serenitas, Offanus cu<i>m</i> solle<i>m</i>pni t<i>r</i>ipudio + o<i>mn</i>ib<i>us</i> applaudentibus <i>et</i> faustum omen + acclama<i>n</i>tibus, Anglie diademate feliciter est + i<i>n</i>signit<i>us</i>.</p> + + <p>Adquiescens <i>i</i>gi<i>tur</i> senior<i>um</i> co<i>n</i>siliis + <i>et</i> sapientum persuasionib<i>us</i>, cepit tocius regni + irrep<i>re</i>h<i>e</i>nsibil<i>ite</i>r, immo laudabiliter, habenas<a + name="NtA371" href="#Nt371"><sup>[371]</sup></a> modernanter <i>et</i> + sapient<i>er</i> gubernare. Sic igitur, subactis hostib<i>us</i> regni + uniu<i>er</i>sis, uiguit pax secura <i>et</i> firmata i<i>n</i> + finib<i>us</i> Anglor<i>um</i>, p<i>er</i> te<i>m</i>pora longa; precipue + t<i>ame</i>n p<i>er</i> spaciu<i>m</i> temp<i>or</i>is + qui<i>n</i>q<i>ue</i>nnale. Erat au<i>tem</i> iam t<i>r</i>iginta + q<i>u</i>atuor annos etatis attingens, annis prospere + pubescentib<i>us</i>.</p> + + <p>Et cum Rex, more iuuenili, venatus gr<i>aci</i>a per nemora + frequent<i>er</i>, cu<i>m</i> suis ad h<i>oc</i> conuocatis + uenatorib<i>us</i> <i>et</i> canibus sagacib<i>us</i>, expeditus + peragrasset, contigit die quada<i>m</i> quod aere turbato, longe a + suor<i>um</i> cat<i>er</i>ua semotus, solus p<i>er</i> nemoris opaca + penitus ipsoru<i>m</i> locor<i>um</i>, n<i>e</i>cnon <i>et</i> fortune + ignar<i>us</i>, casu deambulabat. Du<i>m</i> aute<i>m</i> sic per ignota + diu<i>er</i>ticula i<i>n</i>caucius oberraret, <i>et</i> per inuia, uocem + lac<i>r</i>imabilem <i>et</i> miserabiliter q<i>ue</i>rulam haut longe a + se audiuit. Cui<i>us</i> sonitu<i>m</i> secutus, int<i>er</i> densos + frutices <span class="sidenotel">Fol. 6 <i>a</i></span> | virginem + singularis forme <i>et</i> regii apparat<i>us</i>, s<i>ed</i> decore + uenustissimam, ex insperato repperit. Rex uero rei euentu<i>m</i> + admirans, que ibi ageret et querele causas, eam blande alloq<i>ue</i>ns, + cepit sciscitari. Que ex imo pectoris flebilia t<i>r</i>ahens suspiria, + regi respondit (neq<i>u</i>aq<i>u</i>am in auctorem s<i>ed</i> in + seip<i>s</i>am reatum retorquens): "Peccatis meis" inquit + "exigentib<i>us</i> infortunii hui<i>us</i> calamitas m<i>ih</i>i + accidit." Erat aute<i>m</i> reguli cui<i>us</i>dam filia q<i>u</i>i + Eboracensibus preerat. Hui<i>us</i> inco<i>m</i>parabilis pulchritudinis + singulare<i>m</i> eminentiam p<i>ate</i>r admirans, amatorio demone + seductus, cep<i>i</i>t ea<i>m</i> incestu libidinoso concupisc<i>er</i>e, + <i>et</i> ad amorem illicitu<i>m</i> sepe sollicitare ipsam puellam, <!-- + Page 228 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page228"></a>{228}</span>minis, pollicitis, blanditiis, + atq<i>ue</i> mun<i>er</i>ibus adolescentule temptans emollire + <i>con</i>stantiam. Illa autem op<i>er</i>i nephario nullatenus + adquiescens, cum p<i>ate</i>r t<i>ame</i>n minas minis exaggeraret<a + name="NtA372" href="#Nt372"><sup>[372]</sup></a>, <i>et</i> promissa + promissis accumularet, mun<i>er</i>a mun<i>er</i>ib<i>us</i> adaugeret, + iuxta illud poeticu<i>m</i>:</p> + + <p>Imperium, promissa, preces, confudit in unu<i>m</i>:</p> + + <p>elegit magis incidere i<i>n</i> manus ho<i>m</i>i<i>n</i>u<i>m</i>, + <i>et</i> eciam ferarum qualiumcunq<i>ue</i>, vel gladii subire + sent<i>e</i>ntiam, q<i>u</i>am D<i>e</i>i offensam incurrere, p<i>ro</i> + tam g<i>r</i>aui culpa manifestam. Pater itaq<i>ue</i> ipsam sibi parere + <i>con</i>stanter renuentem, euocatis quibusdam maligne me<i>n</i>tis + hominib<i>us</i> quos ad hoc elegerat, p<i>re</i>cepit eam i<i>n</i> + desertum solitudinis remote duci, u<i>e</i>l pocius t<i>r</i>ahi, + <i>et</i> crudelissima morte conde<i>m</i>pnata<i>m</i>, bestiis + i<i>b</i>id<i>em</i> d<i>e</i>relinq<i>u</i>i. Qui cum in locu<i>m</i> + horroris <i>et</i> vaste solitudinis p<i>er</i>uenissent, trahentes eam + seductores illi, Deo ut creditur inspirante, miserti + pulch<i>r</i>itudinis<a name="NtA373" href="#Nt373"><sup>[373]</sup></a> + illius eam ibidem sine t<i>r</i>ucidac<i>i</i>one <i>et</i> + me<i>m</i>b<i>r</i>or<i>um</i> mutilac<i>i</i>one, uiuam, s<i>ed</i> + t<i>ame</i>n sine aliquoru<i>m</i> uictualiu<i>m</i> alimento (exceptis + talib<i>us</i> qui de radicibus <i>et</i> frondib<i>us</i> uel + h<i>er</i>bis colligi, urgente ultima fame, possunt) dimiserunt.</p> + + <p>Cum hac rex aliq<i>u</i>andiu habens sermonem, comitem itineris sui + illam habuit, don<i>e</i>c solitarii cui<i>us</i>da<i>m</i> + habitac<i>i</i>one<i>m</i> reperissent, ubi nocte s<i>upe</i>rueniente + quiescentes pernoctau<i>er</i>unt. In c<i>r</i>astinu<i>m</i> autem + solitarius ille uiarum <i>et</i> semitaru<i>m</i> peritus, regem + cu<i>m</i> comite sua usq<i>ue</i> ad fines domesticos, <i>et</i> loca + regi no<i>n</i> ignota<a name="NtA374" href="#Nt374"><sup>[374]</sup></a> + conduxit. Ad suos itaq<i>ue</i> rex rediens, desolate illius q<i>u</i>am + nup<i>er</i> inuenerat curam gerens, familiarib<i>us</i> <i>et</i> + domesticis generis sui sub diligenti custodia co<i>m</i>misit.</p> + + <p>Post hec aliq<i>u</i>ot annis elapsis, cu<i>m</i> rex celibem + age<i>n</i>s uitam, mente castus <i>et</i> corpore perseueraret, proceres + dic<i>i</i>onis sue, no<i>n</i> solum de tunc p<i>re</i>senti, s<i>ed</i> + de fut<i>ur</i>o sibi periculo precauentes, <i>et</i> nimiru<i>m</i> + multum solliciti, d<i>omi</i>n<i>u</i>m suum de uxore ducenda unanimiter + <i>con</i>uenerunt: ne sibi <i>et</i> regno successorem <i>et</i> heredem + no<i>n</i> habens, post obitum ipsi<i>us</i> iminens p<i>er</i>iculum + generaret. Etatis eni<i>m</i> iuuenilis pubertas, moru<i>m</i> maturitas, + <i>et</i> urgens regni necessitas, n<i>e</i>cno<i>n</i> <i>et</i> honoris + dignitas, itide<i>m</i> postularu<i>n</i>t. <span class="sidenotel">Fol. + 6 <i>b</i></span> | Et cum super hoc negocio, sepius regem <!-- Page 229 + --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page229"></a>{229}</span>sollicitarentur, <i>et</i> alloquerentur, + ipse multociens ioculando, <i>et</i> talia u<i>er</i>ba asserendo + int<i>er</i>ludia fuisse uanitatis, procerum suoru<i>m</i> constantiam + dissimulando differendoq<i>ue</i> delusit. Quod quidam + adu<i>er</i>tentes, co<i>m</i>municato cu<i>m</i> aliis consilio, regem + ad nubendu<i>m</i> incuntabiliter urgere ceperunt. Rex uero more optimi + principis, cui<i>us</i> primordia iam bene subarrauerat, nolens uoluntati + magnatu<i>m</i> suor<i>um</i> resistere, diu secum de thori socia, libra + profunde r<i>ati</i>onis, studiose cepit deliberare. Cu<i>m</i>q<i>ue</i> + hoc in mente sua sollicicius tractaret, uen<i>i</i>t forte i<i>n</i> + mente<i>m</i> suam illius iuuencule memoria, q<i>u</i>am dudum inter + uenandum i<i>n</i>uenit uagabundam, solam, feris <i>et</i> predonibus + miserabiliter expositam: quam ad tuciora ducens, familiaribus + gen<i>er</i>is sui co<i>m</i>mis<i>er</i>at alendam, ac carius + custodiendam. Que, ut rex audiuit, morib<i>us</i> laudabiliter redimita, + decoris existens exp<i>ec</i>tabilis, omnibus sibi cognitis amabilem + exhibuit <i>et</i> laudabilem; hec igit<i>ur</i> sola, relictis multis, + <i>eciam</i> regalis stematis sibi oblatis, complacuit; illamq<i>ue</i> + solam i<i>n</i> matrimoniu<i>m</i> sibi adoptauit.</p> + + <p>Cum aute<i>m</i> eam duxisset in uxorem, non int<i>er</i>ueniente + m<i>u</i>lta mora, elegantissime forme utriusq<i>ue</i> sexus liberos ex + eadem procreauit. Itaq<i>ue</i> cum p<i>r</i>ius e<i>ss</i>et rex propria + seueritate subditis suis formidabilis, magnates eius, n<i>e</i>cnon + <i>et</i> populus eius uniu<i>er</i>sus, heredum <i>et</i> + successor<i>um</i> apparentia animati, regni robur <i>et</i> leticiam + geminar<i>un</i>t. Rex q<i>u</i>o<i>que</i> ab uniu<i>er</i>sis suis, + <i>et</i> no<i>n</i> solum prope positis, i<i>m</i>mo alienigenis + <i>et</i> remotis, extit<i>i</i>t honori, uen<i>er</i>ac<i>i</i>oni, ac + dilecc<i>i</i>oni. Et cu<i>m</i> inter se in Britannia, (q<i>ue</i> tunc + temporis in plurima regna multiphariam diuisa fuisset) reg<i>u</i>li sibi + finitimi hostilit<i>er</i> se impet<i>er</i>ent, solus Rex Offa pace + regni sui potitus felicit<i>er</i>, se sibiq<i>ue</i> s<i>u</i>bditos in + pace regebat <i>et</i> lib<i>er</i>tate. Unde <i>et</i> adiacencium + prouinciarum reges ei<i>us</i> mendicabant auxilium, <i>et</i> i<i>n</i> + necc<i>ess</i>itatis articulo, consiliu<i>m</i>.</p> + + <p>Rex itaq<i>ue</i> Northamhi<i>m</i>bror<i>um</i>, a barbara + Scotor<i>um</i> gente, <i>et eciam</i> aliquib<i>us</i> suor<i>um</i>, + <i>gr</i>auit<i>er</i> <i>et</i> usq<i>ue</i> f<i>er</i>me ad + int<i>er</i>nec<i>i</i>onem percussus, <i>et</i> proprie defensionis + auxilio destitutus, ad Offam regem potentem legatos destinat; <i>et</i> + pacificum supplicans, ut p<i>re</i>sidii eius solacio cont<i>r</i>a + hostes suos roboretur. Tali mediante <i>con</i>dic<i>i</i>one, ut Offe + filiam sibi matrimonio copularet, <i>et</i> non se proprii regni, + <i>sed</i> Offam, primarium ac <!-- Page 230 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page230"></a>{230}</span>principem preferr<i>et</i>, <i>et</i> se + cu<i>m</i> suis om<i>n</i>ib<i>us</i> ip<i>s</i>i subiugaret. Nichil + itaq<i>ue</i> dotis cum Offe filia rogitauit, hoc sane contentus premio, + ut a regni sui finibus barbaros illos potenter <i>et</i> frequenter + experta fugaret strenuitate.</p> + + <p>Cum autem legatorum uerba rex Offa succepisset, consilio suorum fretus + <span class="sidenotel">Fol. 7 <i>a</i></span> sup|plicantis uoluntati ac + precibus adquieuit si t<i>ame</i>n rex ille pactum huiusmodi, tactis + sac<i>ro</i>s<i>an</i>c<i>t</i>is euuangeliis<a name="NtA375" + href="#Nt375"><sup>[375]</sup></a>, <i>et</i> obsidum tradic<i>i</i>one, + fideliter tenendum confirmaret. Sic igitur Rex Offa, super hiis + condic<i>i</i>onib<i>us</i> sub c<i>er</i>ta forma co<i>n</i>firmatus, + <i>et</i> ad plenum certificatus, in partes illas cu<i>m</i> equitum + numerosa multitudine proficiscitur. Cum autem illuc perueniss<i>et</i>, + timore eius consternata pars aduersa cessit, fuge presidio se saluando. + Quam t<i>ame</i>n rex Offa audacter prosecutus, non prius destitit fugare + fugientem, donec eam ex integro contriuisset; s<i>ed</i> nec eo + contentus, ulteri<i>us</i> progreditur, barbaros expugnaturus. + Int<i>er</i>ea ad patriam suam nunciu<i>m</i> + i<i>m</i>p<i>er</i>itu<i>m</i> destinau<i>i</i>t, ad primates et + precipuos regni sui, quib<i>us</i> tocius dic<i>i</i>onis sue regimen + commendau<i>er</i>at, et lit<i>er</i>as regii sigilli sui munimine + co<i>n</i>signatas<a name="NtA376" href="#Nt376"><sup>[376]</sup></a>, + eidem nunc<i>i</i>o commisit, deferendas. Q<i>u</i>i autem destinatus + fuit, iter arripiens u<i>er</i>sus Offe regnum, ut casu accidit + int<i>er</i> eundu<i>m</i>, hospitandi gr<i>aci</i>a aulam regiam + introiuit illi<i>us</i> regis, cuius filiam Offa sibi + m<i>at</i>rimo<i>n</i>io copulau<i>er</i>at. Rex au<i>tem</i> ille, cum + de statu <i>et</i> causa itineris sui subdole requirendo cognouisset, + uultus sui serenitate animi u<i>er</i>suciam mentitus, specie + ten<i>us</i> illum amantissime suscepit: <i>et</i> uelamen sceleris sui + querens, a conspectu publico sub quodam dilecc<i>i</i>onis pretexu, ad + regii thalami secreta penetralia ip<i>su</i>m nuncium nichil + sinist<i>r</i>i suspicantem introduxit: magnoq<i>ue</i> studio + elaborauit, ut ip<i>su</i>m, uino estuanti madentem, redderet temulentum, + et ip<i>s</i>o nuncio uel dormiente uel aliquo alio modo ignorante, + mandata d<i>omi</i>ni sui regis Offe tacit<i>us</i> ac subdolus apertis + <i>et</i> explicatis lit<i>er</i>is persc<i>r</i>utabatur; + cepitq<i>ue</i> perniciose immutare et p<i>er</i>uertere sub Offe nomine + sigillu<i>m</i> adultera<i>n</i>s, fallacesq<i>ue</i> <i>et</i> + perniciosas literas loco inuentarum occultauit. Forma autem + adulterinar<i>um</i> [l<i>ite</i>rar<i>um</i>]<a name="NtA377" + href="#Nt377"><sup>[377]</sup></a> hec est q<i>ue</i> subscribitur<a + name="NtA378" href="#Nt378"><sup>[378]</sup></a>:</p> + +<p><!-- Page 231 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page231"></a>{231}</span></p> + + <p><a name="NtA379" href="#Nt379"><sup>[379]</sup></a>"Rex Offa, + maioribus et p<i>re</i>cipuis regni sui, salutis et prosperitatis + augmentu<i>m</i>. Uniu<i>er</i>sitati u<i>est</i>re notum facio, + i<i>n</i> itin<i>er</i>e quod arripui infortunia <i>et</i> adu<i>er</i>sa + plurima tam michi q<i>u</i>am subditis meis accidisse, <i>et</i> maiores + excercitus mei, non ignauia propria, u<i>e</i>l hostium oppugnantium + uirtute, set pocius peccatis n<i>ost</i>ris iusto Dei iudicio interisse. + Ego autem instantis periculi causam p<i>er</i>tracta<i>n</i>s, <i>et</i> + consciencie mee intima perscrutatus, i<i>n</i> memetip<i>s</i>o nichil + aliud conicio altissimo displicere, nisi quod perditam <i>et</i> + maleficam illa<i>m</i> absq<i>ue</i> meorum consensu uxorem imperito + <i>et</i> infelici duxi matrimonio. Ut ergo de malefica memorata, + uoluntati u<i>est</i>re ad plenum q<i>u</i>a<i>m</i> temere offendi + satisfiat, asportetur cum lib<i>er</i>is ex ea genitis ad loca deserta, + ho<i>m</i>i<i>ni</i>b<i>us</i> i<i>n</i>cognita<a name="NtA380" + href="#Nt380"><sup>[380]</sup></a>, <span class="sidenotel">Fol. 7 + <i>b</i></span> | feris <i>et</i> auib<i>us</i> aut siluestribus + predonibus frequentata: ubi cum pueris suis puerpera, truncata manus et + pedes, exemplo pereat inaudito."</p> + + <p>Nuncius autem mane facto, uino quo maduerat digesto, co<i>m</i>pos iam + sui effectus, discessit: et post aliquot dies perueniens ad propria, + magnatib<i>us</i> qui regno regis Offe p<i>re</i>erant literas + do<i>mi</i>ni sui sigillo signatas exposuit. In quar<i>um</i> auditu + perlecta mandati serie, in stuporem <i>et</i> uehementissimam + admirac<i>i</i>one<i>m</i> uniu<i>er</i>si, plus q<i>u</i>am dici possit, + rapiuntur. Et super hiis, aliquot diebus co<i>m</i>municato cum + magnatibus consilio deliberantes, periculosum ducebant<a name="NtA381" + href="#Nt381"><sup>[381]</sup></a> mandatis ac iussionib<i>us</i> regiis + non obtemperare. Misera <i>i</i>gi<i>tur</i> seducta, deducta est in + remotissimu<i>m</i> <i>et</i> i<i>n</i>habitabilem locum horroris et + uaste solitudinis: cu<i>m</i> qua eciam liberi ei<i>us</i> miseri + <i>et</i> miserabiles queruli <i>et</i> uagientes, absq<i>ue</i> + mi<i>sericordi</i>a, ut cu<i>m</i> ea t<i>r</i>ahere<i>n</i>t<i>ur</i> + occidendi, iudiciu<i>m</i> acceperu<i>n</i>t.</p> + + <p>Nec mora, memorati apparitores matre<i>m</i> cu<i>m</i> + pignorib<i>us</i> suis in des<i>er</i>tu<i>m</i> uastissimu<i>m</i> + t<i>r</i>aheba<i>n</i>t. Mat<i>r</i>i uero p<i>ro</i>pt<i>er</i> + ei<i>us</i> forma<i>m</i> admirabile<i>m</i> p<i>ar</i>ce<i>n</i>tes, + lib<i>er</i>os ei<i>us</i>, n<i>e</i>c forme, n<i>e</i>c sexui, etati + u<i>e</i>l <i>con</i>dic<i>i</i>oni p<i>ar</i>c<i>e</i>ntes, + d<i>e</i>truncarunt menbratim, i<i>m</i>mo poci<i>us</i> frustatim<a + name="NtA382" href="#Nt382"><sup>[382]</sup></a> crudeliter in bestialem + feritate<i>m</i> seuientes. Completaq<i>ue</i> tam crudeli + sente<i>n</i>cia, cruenti apparitores ocius reuertunt<i>ur</i>. Nec mora, + solitarius quidam uitam in omni s<i>an</i>c<i>t</i>itate, uigiliis + assiduis, ieiuniis crebris, <i>et</i> continuis <!-- Page 232 --><span + class="pagenum"><a + name="page232"></a>{232}</span>or<i>ati</i>onib<i>us</i>, ducens + heremiticam, circa noctis crepusculum eo + p<i>er</i>t<i>r</i>ansie<i>n</i>s, mulieris cuiusdam luctus + lac<i>r</i>imabiles <i>et</i> querelas usq<i>ue</i> ad intima cordis + <i>et</i> ossuum<a name="NtA383" href="#Nt383"><sup>[383]</sup></a> + medullas penetratiuas, quas D<i>omi</i>n<i>u</i>s ex mortuorum + corporib<i>us</i> licet lac<i>er</i>atis elicuit, audiuit. + Infantulorumq<i>ue</i> uagitus lugubres nimis cu<i>m</i> doloris + ululatibus quasi in materno sinu audiendo similiter annotauit. + Mis<i>er</i>icordia autem s<i>an</i>c<i>tus</i> Dei motus, usq<i>ue</i> + ad lacrimaru<i>m</i> aduberem effusionem, quo ipsa uox ip<i>su</i>m + uocabat, Domino ducente peruenit. Et cu<i>m</i> illuc peruenisset, nec + aliud q<i>u</i>am corp<i>or</i>a humana in frusta detruncata reperisset, + cognouit<a name="NtA384" href="#Nt384"><sup>[384]</sup></a> in + sp<i>irit</i>u ip<i>s</i>a alicuius innocentis corp<i>us</i>, uel + aliquorum i<i>n</i>nocentiu<i>m</i> corpuscula extitisse, que tam + inhumanam sentenciam subierunt. Nec sine martirii palma, ipsos quorum hee + fuerunt exuuie, ab h<i>oc</i><a name="NtA385" + href="#Nt385"><sup>[385]</sup></a> sec<i>u</i>lo t<i>r</i>ansmigrasse + suspicabatur. Auxiliu<i>m</i> t<i>ame</i>n pro D<i>e</i>i amore <i>et</i> + caritatis intuitu postulatu<i>m</i> non denegans, se pro illorum + reparac<i>i</i>one prostrauit in deuotissima<i>m</i> cum lacrimis + or<i>aci</i>onem, maxime propter uocem celitus emissam, quam profecto + cognou<i>i</i>t<a href="#Nt384"><sup>[384]</sup></a> p<i>er</i> + D<i>eu</i>m li<i>n</i>g<i>u</i>as cadau<i>er</i>u<i>m</i> + p<i>ro</i>tulisse. Piis <i>i</i>gi<i>tur</i> s<i>an</i>c<i>tu</i>s + <i>com</i>mot<i>us</i> uisc<i>er</i>ib<i>us</i>, igneq<i>ue</i> + succe<i>n</i>s<i>us</i> caritatis, ex cognic<i>i</i>one<a name="NtA386" + href="#Nt386"><sup>[386]</sup></a> ei<i>us</i>, q<i>u</i>am, ut + ia<i>m</i> d<i>i</i>c<i>tu</i>m, dudu<i>m</i> uiderat, h<i>ab</i>uit, + f<i>a</i>c<i>tus</i> hilarior, pro ipsis <span class="sidenotel">Fol. 8 + <i>a</i></span> | flexis genib<i>us</i>, inundantibus oculis, + iunctisq<i>ue</i> palmis orauit, dicens: "D<i>omi</i>ne Jesu + Ch<i>rist</i>e, q<i>u</i>i Lazarum quatriduanu<i>m</i> ac fetidum + resuscitasti, immo qui omniu<i>m</i> n<i>ostro</i>r<i>u</i>m corpora + i<i>n</i> ext<i>r</i>emo examine suscitabis, u<i>est</i>ram oro + mis<i>er</i>icordiam, ut non habens ad me peccatorem, s<i>ed</i> ad horum + innocentum pressuras respectu<i>m</i> piissimu<i>m</i>, corpuscula + h<i>ec</i> iubeas resuscitari, ad laudem <i>et</i> gloriam tuam i<i>n</i> + se<i>m</i>pit<i>er</i>nu<i>m</i>, vt om<i>ne</i>s qui mortis horum causam + <i>et</i> forma<i>m</i> audierint, te glorificent Deum <i>et</i> Dominum + mundi Saluatorem."</p> + + <p>Sic igitur s<i>an</i>c<i>tu</i>s iste, D<i>omi</i>ni de fidei sue<a + name="NtA387" href="#Nt387"><sup>[387]</sup></a> uirtute i<i>n</i> Domino + presumens <i>et</i> co<i>n</i>fidens, int<i>er</i> orandum, membra + p<i>re</i>cisa recollige<i>n</i>s, <i>et</i> sibi particulas adaptans + <i>et</i> coniungens, <i>et</i> i<i>n</i> q<i>u</i>antum potuit + redintegrans, in parciu<i>m</i> q<i>u</i>amplurimu<i>m</i>, set in + integritate<i>m</i> pocius delectat<i>us</i>, Domino rei + consummac<i>i</i>onem q<i>u</i>i mortificat <i>et</i> uiuificat + co<i>m</i>mendauit. Coniuncta igitur corpora, signo crucis triumphali + consignauit. Mira fidei uirtus et <!-- Page 233 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page233"></a>{233}</span>efficacia, signo + c<i>r</i>ucis uiuifice et or<i>ati</i>onis ac fidei serui D<i>e</i>i + uirtute, no<i>n</i> solu<i>m</i> m<i>at</i>ris orbate anim<i>us</i> + reparat<i>ur</i>, s<i>ed</i> <i>et</i> filior<i>um</i> corp<i>us</i>cula + in pristinu<i>m</i> <i>et</i> integrum nature sunt reformata decorem, + necnon <i>et</i> anime mortuor<i>um</i> ad sua pristina domicilia sunt + reuerse. Ad mansiuncule igitur sue septa (a qua elongatus fuerat, + gr<i>aci</i>a lignor<i>um</i> ad pulmentaria deq<i>u</i>oquenda + colligendor<i>um</i>) ip<i>s</i>e senex: qui prius detruncati fuerant, + Domino iubente integ<i>r</i>i uiui <i>et</i> alacres sunt reuersi, ducem + s<i>an</i>c<i>tu</i>m suum sequentes pedetentim. Ubi more patris, + ip<i>s</i>am desolatam cum liberis sibi ip<i>s</i>is restitutis, + alimentis quibus potuit, <i>et</i> q<i>ue</i> ad manum habuit, pie ac + misericordit<i>er</i> <i>con</i>fouebat.</p> + + <p>Nesciens <i>er</i>go quo migraret regina, cu<i>m</i> suis infantulis + intra uastissimam heremum cum memorato solitario, diu moram ibidem + or<i>ati</i>onib<i>us</i>, uigiliis, ac aliis s<i>an</i>c<i>ti</i>s + operibus eius intenta <i>et</i> iamiam conuenienter informata, <i>et</i> + edulio siluestri sustentata, co<i>n</i>tinuabat. Post duoru<i>m</i> uero + mensium curricula, Rex Offa uictoriosissimus domu<i>m</i> let<i>us</i> + remeauit, spolia deuictorum suis magnatib<i>us</i> regali munificentia + gloriose distribuendo; uerunt<i>ame</i>n, ne lacrime gaudia regis, + <i>et</i> eoru<i>m</i> q<i>u</i>i cum eo aduen<i>er</i>ant, + miserabilit<i>er</i> int<i>er</i>rump<i>er</i>ent, consiliarii regii + q<i>u</i>e de regina <i>et</i> lib<i>er</i>is ei<i>us</i> + accid<i>er</i>a<i>n</i>t, diu sub silenc<i>i</i>o caute dissimulando, + <i>et</i> causas absencie eius fictas annectendo, <i>con</i>celabant. + Tandem cu<i>m</i> rex uehement<i>er</i> admiraretur ubinam regina + delituisset, q<i>ue</i> ip<i>s</i>i regi ab ancipiti bello + reu<i>er</i>tenti occurrisse gaudenter teneretur, <i>et</i> in + oscul<i>is</i> <i>et</i> amplexib<i>us</i> ceteris gaudentius + t<i>r</i>iumphatore<i>m</i> aduentante<i>m</i> suscepisse, sciscitabatur + instanti<i>us</i>, <i>et</i> toruius <i>et</i> p<i>ro</i>t<i>er</i>uius, + quid de ip<i>s</i>a fieret uel euenisset. Suspicabatur eni<i>m</i> eam + morbo detenta<i>m</i>, ipsa<i>m</i>q<i>ue</i> cu<i>m</i> lib<i>er</i>is + <span class="sidenotel">Fol. 8 <i>b</i></span> | suis, regis <i>et</i> + aliorum hominu<i>m</i>, ut quieti uacaret, frequentiam declinasse. + Tande<i>m</i> cum iratus nullatenus se uelle ampli<i>us</i> ignorare, + cu<i>m</i> iuramento, q<i>u</i>id de uxore sua <i>et</i> lib<i>er</i>is + euenisset, uultu toruo asseruisset, unus ex edituis omnia q<i>ue</i> + accid<i>er</i>ant, de tirannico ei<i>us</i> mandato, <i>et</i> mandati + plenaria execuc<i>i</i>one, seriatim enarrauit.</p> + + <p>Hiis auditis, risus in luctu<i>m</i>, gaudium i<i>n</i> lamenta, + iubilus in singultus flebilit<i>er</i> conu<i>er</i>tuntur, + totaq<i>ue</i> regia ululatibus personuit <i>et</i> merorib<i>us</i>. + Lugensq<i>ue</i> rex diu ta<i>m</i> i<i>m</i>mane infortuniu<i>m</i>, + induit se sacco cilicino, aspersum cin<i>er</i>e, ac multiplicit<i>er</i> + <!-- Page 234 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page234"></a>{234}</span>deformatum. Tandem monitu suorum, qui + dicebant n<i>on</i> uiror<i>um</i> magnificor<i>um</i> s<i>ed</i> pocius + effeminator<i>um</i>, dolorem int<i>er</i>iecto solacio nolle temperare<a + name="NtA388" href="#Nt388"><sup>[388]</sup></a>, e<i>ss</i>e + propriu<i>m</i> <i>et</i> <i>con</i>suetudine<i>m</i>, rex cepit + respirare, <i>et</i> dolori modu<i>m</i> imponere. Consilio igitur + p<i>er</i>itorum, qui nouerant regem libent<i>er</i> i<i>n</i> + te<i>m</i>pore p<i>ro</i>sp<i>er</i>o in studio uenatico plurimu<i>m</i> + delectari, conuocantur uenatores, ut rex spaciaturus uenando, dolorem + suu<i>m</i> diminueret <i>et</i> luctu<i>m</i> solacio demulceret. Qui + int<i>er</i> uenandum dum p<i>er</i> siluaru<i>m</i> abdita, Deo + misericordiaru<i>m</i> <i>et</i> toci<i>us</i> + co<i>n</i>solac[<i>i</i>]onis ducente, felicit<i>er</i> solus per inuia + oberrauit, <i>et</i> tandem ad heremitoriu<i>m</i> memorati + h<i>er</i>emite directe peruenit, eiusq<i>ue</i> exiguu<i>m</i> + domicilium subintrans, humaniss[<i>im</i>]e <i>et</i> cu<i>m</i> + su<i>m</i>mo gaudio receptus <i>est</i>. Et cu<i>m</i> humili residens + sedili, membra<a name="NtA389" href="#Nt389"><sup>[389]</sup></a> + fatigata quieti daret ad horam, recolens qual<i>ite</i>r uxore<i>m</i> + sua<i>m</i> ibidem quonda<i>m</i> diuinitus reperisset, <i>et</i> + feliciter educasset, <i>et</i> educatam duxisset i<i>n</i> uxorem, + <i>et</i> q<i>u</i>am elegantem ex ea prolem p<i>ro</i>tulisset, + eruperunt lacrime cu<i>m</i> gemitibus, <i>et</i> in querelas lugubres + ora resoluens, hospiti suo sinistru<i>m</i> de uxore sua q<i>u</i>i<a + name="NtA390" href="#Nt390"><sup>[390]</sup></a> infausto sidere + nup<i>er</i> euen<i>er</i>at qua<i>m</i> <i>et</i> ip<i>s</i>e + q<i>u</i>onda<i>m</i> viderat, enarrauit. At senex sereno uultu, factus + ex intrinsecus concepto gaudio alacrior, consolatus est regem, et in + uocem exultac<i>i</i>o<i>n</i>is eminus prorumpens: "Eia d<i>omi</i>ne mi + rex, eia, ait; uere Deus misericordiar<i>um</i>, D<i>omi</i>n<i>u</i>s, + famulos suos quasi p<i>ate</i>r filios in omni t<i>r</i>ibulacione + p<i>ost</i> pressuras consolatur, percutit <i>et</i> medetur, deicit ut + gloriosius eleuet pregrauatum. Uiuit uxor tua, cum lib<i>er</i>is tuis in + o<i>mn</i>i sospitate restauratis: non meis m<i>er</i>itis, s<i>ed</i> + poci<i>us</i> tuis, integritati, sanitati <i>et</i> leticie + pleni<i>us</i> qui trucidabantur restituunt<i>ur</i>. Recognosce<a + name="NtA391" href="#Nt391"><sup>[391]</sup></a> q<i>u</i>anta fecit + t<i>ib</i>i D<i>omi</i>n<i>u</i>s, <i>et</i> in laudes et + gr<i>aci</i>ar<i>um</i> acciones tot<i>us</i> exurge." Tunc prosiliens + s<i>an</i>c<i>tu</i>s pre gaudio, euocauit reginam, que in + int<i>er</i>iori diu<i>er</i>ticulo, pueros suos balneo micius + m<i>ate</i>rno studio <i>con</i>fouebat. Que cu<i>m</i> ad regem + int<i>r</i>oisset, uix se <span class="sidenotel">Fol. 9 <i>a</i></span> + | gaudio capiens, pedibus mariti sui p<i>ro</i>uoluta, in lacrimis + exultac<i>i</i>onis inundauit. In cuius amplexus desid<i>er</i>atissimos + rue<i>n</i>s rex, ipsam in maius q<i>u</i>am dici possit gaudiu<i>m</i> + suscepit. Interi<i>m</i> senex, pueros elegantissimos <i>et</i> ex + abluc<i>i</i>one elegantiores, uestit, comit, <i>et</i> p<i>ate</i>rno + more <i>et</i> aff<i>e</i>c<i>t</i>u componit, <i>et</i> ad + p<i>re</i>sentiam p<i>at</i>ris <i>et</i> matris int<i>r</i>oducit. Quos + p<i>ate</i>r int<i>r</i>a <!-- Page 235 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page235"></a>{235}</span>b<i>r</i>achia suscipiens, <i>et</i> ad + pectus arctiorib<i>us</i> amplexib<i>us</i> applicans, roseis + uultib<i>us</i> infantu<i>m</i> oscula i<i>m</i>p<i>r</i>imit + m<i>u</i>ltiplicata; quos t<i>ame</i>n rore lac<i>r</i>imarum, p<i>re</i> + nimia mentis exultac<i>i</i>one, madefecit. Et cu<i>m</i> diucius + eor<i>um</i> colloquiis pasceret<i>ur</i>, co<i>n</i>u<i>er</i>sus rex ad + senem, ait: "O p<i>ate</i>r s<i>anct</i>e, p<i>ate</i>r dulcissime<a + name="NtA392" href="#Nt392"><sup>[392]</sup></a>, me<i>n</i>tis mee + reparator, <i>et</i> gaudii cordis mei restaurator, qua merita + u<i>est</i>ra, caritatis officia, pietatisq<i>ue</i> beneficia, + p<i>ro</i>seq<i>u</i>ar remun<i>er</i>ac[<i>i</i>]one? Accipe + <i>er</i>go, licet m<i>u</i>lto maiora exigant m<i>er</i>ita tua, + q<i>u</i>icq<i>u</i>id erarium meu<i>m</i> ualet effund<i>er</i>e; me, + meos, et mea, tue expono uoluntati." At s<i>anctu</i>s, "D<i>omi</i>ne mi + rex, non decet me peccatore<i>m</i> conu<i>er</i>su<i>m</i> ad + Do<i>mi</i>n<i>u</i>m, ad insanias quas reliqui falsas respicere. Tu uero + pocius pro a<i>n</i>i<i>m</i>ab<i>us</i> p<i>at</i>ris tui <i>et</i> + matris tue, quib<i>us</i> q<i>u</i>andoq<i>ue</i> car<i>us</i> + fuera<i>m</i> ac familiaris, <i>et</i> tua, <i>et</i> uxoris tue, + <i>et</i> lib<i>er</i>or<i>um</i> tuor<i>um</i> corporali sanitate, + <i>et</i> salute sp<i>irit</i>uali, regni tui soliditate, <i>et</i> + successor<i>um</i> tuor<i>um</i> p<i>ro</i>sp<i>er</i>itate, Deo gratus, + qui tot in te congessit beneficia, cenobium quodda<i>m</i> fundare, + u<i>e</i>l aliquod dirutu<i>m</i> studeas restaurare: in quo digne + <i>et</i> laudabiliter Deo in perpetuum s<i>er</i>uiatur; <i>et</i> tui + memoria cu<i>m</i> p<i>re</i>cib<i>us</i> ad D<i>omi</i>n<i>u</i>m fusis, + cu<i>m</i> b<i>e</i>n<i>e</i>diccionib<i>us</i> semp<i>er</i> recenter + recolatur." Et <i>con</i>u<i>er</i>sus ad reginam, ait, "Et tu, filia, + q<i>u</i>amuis mulier, no<i>n</i> t<i>ame</i>n muliebrit<i>er</i>, ad hoc + regem accendas <i>et</i> admoneas diligenter, filiosq<i>ue</i> tuos + instrui facias, ut<a name="NtA393" href="#Nt393"><sup>[393]</sup></a> + <i>et</i> D<i>omi</i>n<i>u</i>m D<i>eu</i>m, qui eos uite reparauit, + studeant g<i>r</i>atant<i>er</i> honorare, <i>et</i> eidem + fidelit<i>er</i> famulando fundandi cenobii possessiones ampliare, + <i>et</i> tueri libertates."</p> + + <p>Desc<i>e</i>nsus ad sec<i>un</i>d<i>u</i>m Offa<i>m</i>.</p> + + <p>Sanctus autem ad cellam reu<i>er</i>sus, post paucu<i>m</i> temporis + ab i<i>n</i>colatu h<i>uiu</i>s mundi migrauit ad D<i>omi</i>n<i>u</i>m, + m<i>er</i>cedem et<i>er</i>nam pro labore temporali recepturus. Rex + au<i>tem</i>, cito monita ipsius salubria da<i>n</i>s obliuioni <i>et</i> + incurie, ex tunc ocio ac paci uacauit: prolemq<i>ue</i> copiosam + utriusq<i>ue</i> sexus expectabilis pulch<i>r</i>itudinis procreauit. + Unde semen regium a latere <i>et</i> descensu felix suscepit + incrementu<i>m</i>. Qui co<i>m</i>pleto vite sue tempore, post etatem + bonam q<i>u</i>ieuit in pace, <i>et</i> regaliter sepultus, appositus + <i>est</i> ad patres suos; in eo multu<i>m</i> redarguend<i>us</i>, quod + cenobium<a name="NtA394" href="#Nt394"><sup>[394]</sup></a> uotiuo + aff<i>ect</i>u repromissu<i>m</i>, thesauris parcendo no<i>n</i> + construxit. Post <!-- Page 236 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page236"></a>{236}</span>uictorias eni<i>m</i> a D<i>omin</i>o<a + name="NtA395" href="#Nt395"><sup>[395]</sup></a> sibi collatas, + amplexib<i>us</i> <i>et</i> ignauie n<i>e</i>cno<i>n</i> auaricie plus + equo indulsit. P<i>ro</i>speritas eni<i>m</i> secularis, animos, licet + <span class="sidenotel">Fol. 9 <i>b</i></span> uir|iles, solet frequenter + effeminare. Ueru<i>n</i>tamen hoc onus humeris filii sui moritu<i>r</i>us + apposuit: qui cum deuota assercione, illud sibi suscepit. S<i>ed</i> nec + ipse Deo auerso pollicita, prout p<i>at</i>ri suo promiserat, compleuit; + set filio suo huius uoti obligac<i>i</i>onem i<i>n</i> fine uite sue + dereliquit. Et sic memorati uoti uinculum, sine efficacia complementi de + p<i>at</i>re in filium descendens, usq<i>ue</i> ad temp<i>or</i>a + Pineredi filii Tuinfreth suspendebatur. Quibus pro pena negligentie, tale + euenit i<i>n</i>fortuniu<i>m</i>, ut om<i>ne</i>s principes, quos Offa + magnificus edomuerat, a subiecc<i>i</i>one ipsius Offe <i>et</i> + posteritatis sue procaciter recesseru<i>n</i>t, <i>et</i> ip<i>su</i>m + moriente<i>m</i> despexerunt. Quia ut p<i>re</i>d<i>i</i>c<i>tu</i>m est, + ad morte<i>m</i> u<i>er</i>gens, deliciis <i>et</i> senii ualitudine + marcuit eneruatus.</p> + +<p class="cenhead">De ortu secundi Offe.</p> + + <p>Natus est igitur memorato Tuinfred[o]<a name="NtA396" + href="#Nt396"><sup>[396]</sup></a> (<i>et</i> qui de stemate regum fuit) + filius, videlicet Pineredus, usq<i>ue</i> ad annos adolescentie + i<i>n</i>utilis, poplitib<i>us</i> cont<i>r</i>actis, qui n<i>e</i>c + oculor<i>um</i> uel aurium plene officio naturali + fung<i>er</i>et<i>ur</i>. Unde p<i>at</i>ri suo Tuin<i>fredo</i> + <i>et</i> m<i>at</i>ri sue Marcelline, oneri fuit no<i>n</i> honori, + <i>con</i>fusioni <i>et</i> n<i>on</i> exultac<i>i</i>oni. Et licet + unic<i>us</i> eis fuisset, mallent prole caruisse, q<i>u</i>a<i>m</i> + talem habuisse. Uer<i>un</i>t<i>ame</i>n memorie reducentes + euentu<i>m</i> Offe magni, qui in ten<i>er</i>a etate penitus erat + inutilis, <i>et</i> postea, Deo propicio, penit<i>us</i> sibi restitutus, + mirabili strenuitate om<i>ne</i>s suos edomuit adu<i>er</i>sarios, + <i>et</i> bello p<i>re</i>pote<i>n</i>s, gloriose multociens de magnis + hostib<i>us</i> t<i>r</i>iu<i>m</i>phauit: spem conceperunt, quod eodem + medico medente (Chr<i>ist</i>o uidelicet, qui <i>eciam</i> mortuos + suscitat, p<i>ro</i>piciatus) posset similiter uisitari <i>et</i> sibi + restitui. Pater igitur ei<i>us</i> <i>et</i> m<i>ate</i>r ip<i>s</i>um + pueru<i>m</i> inito salubri consilio, i<i>n</i> templo + presentaru<i>n</i>t Domino, votiua deuoc<i>i</i>one firmit<i>er</i> + promitte<i>n</i>tes: "Ut si ip<i>su</i>m Deus restauraret, q<i>uo</i>d + parentes eius negligenter omiserunt, ip<i>s</i>e puer cu<i>m</i> se + facultas offerret fidelit<i>er</i> adimpleret": videl<i>icet</i> de + cenobio<a name="NtA397" href="#Nt397"><sup>[397]</sup></a>, cui<i>us</i> + mencio p<i>re</i>libata est, honorifice construendo: uel de diruto + restaurando. Et cum h<i>ec</i> tam puer q<i>u</i>am p<i>ate</i>r + <i>et</i> m<i>ate</i>r deuotissime postularent, exaudita est + or<i>ati</i>o eorum a Deo, qui se nu<i>n</i>q<i>u</i>am difficilem + exhibet precib<i>us</i> iustis supplicantium, hoc modo.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 237 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page237"></a>{237}</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead">Q<i>u</i>om<i>od</i>o p<i>ro</i>sp<i>er</i>abat<i>ur</i>.</p> + + <p>Erat in eadem regione (Mercior<i>um</i> uidelic<i>et</i>) quidam + tirannus, pocius dest<i>r</i>uens <i>et</i> dissipans regni nobilitatem, + q<i>u</i>a<i>m</i> rege<i>n</i>s, no<i>m</i>i<i>n</i>e Beormredus<a + name="NtA398" href="#Nt398"><sup>[398]</sup></a>. Hic gen<i>er</i>osos, + quos regius sanguis preclaros [fecerat]<a name="NtA399" + href="#Nt399"><sup>[399]</sup></a>, usq<i>ue</i> ad int<i>er</i>necionem + subdole perseq<i>ue</i>batur, relegauit, <i>et</i> occulta nece + p<i>er</i>didit iugulandos. Sciebat eni<i>m</i>, q<i>uo</i>d + uniu<i>er</i>sis de regno m<i>er</i>ito extitit odiosus; et ne + aliq<i>u</i>is loco ipsius subrogaret<i>ur</i> (<i>et</i> + p<i>re</i>s<i>er</i>tim de sang<i>u</i>ine regio propagatus) uehementer + formidabat. Tetendit insuper laq<i>ue</i>os Tuinfredo <i>et</i> uxori + eius, ut ip<i>s</i>os de t<i>er</i>ra expelleret, u<i>e</i>l + poci<i>us</i> p<i>er</i>d<i>er</i>et t<i>r</i>ucidatos. <span + class="sidenotel">Fol. 10 <i>a</i></span> | Puerum autem Pinefredum<a + name="NtA400" href="#Nt400"><sup>[400]</sup></a> spreuit, n<i>e</i>c + ip<i>su</i>m querere ad perdendum dignabatur; reputa<i>n</i>s eu<i>m</i> + inutilem <i>et</i> ualitudinariu<i>m</i>. Fugientes igitur + memorat<i>us</i> T<i>uinfredus</i> <i>et</i> uxor ei<i>us</i> <i>et</i> + familia a facie p<i>er</i>seq<i>ue</i>ntis, sese in locis tucioribus + receperunt, ne gen<i>er</i>ali calu<i>m</i>pnie inuolu<i>er</i>entur. + Quod comp<i>er</i>iens Pinefredus adolescens, q<i>u</i>asi a g<i>r</i>aui + so<i>m</i>pno expergefactus, erexit se: <i>et</i> + co<i>m</i>pagib<i>us</i> neruor<i>um</i> laxatis, <i>et</i> miraculose + prot<i>e</i>nsis, sese de longa desidia redarguens, fecit alices, + b<i>r</i>achia, crura, pedes, extendendo. Et aliquocie<i>n</i>s oscitans, + cum loqui conaretur, solutum <i>est</i> uinculum lingue eius, <i>et</i> + loquebatur recte, u<i>er</i>ba proferens ore facundo + pro<i>m</i>pci<i>us</i> articulata. Quid plura? de cont<i>r</i>acto, + muto, <i>et</i> ceco, fit elegans corpore, eloquens s<i>er</i>mone, acie + p<i>er</i>spicax oculor<i>um</i>. Qui temp<i>or</i>e modico in tantam + floruit ac uiguit strenuitatem, ut null<i>us</i> in regno + M<i>er</i>cior<i>um</i>, ip<i>s</i>i in morib<i>us</i> <i>et</i> + probitate m<i>u</i>ltiplici ualuit co<i>m</i>parari, unde ip<i>s</i>i + Mercii, s<i>e</i>c<i>un</i>d<i>u</i>m Offam, <i>et</i> n<i>on</i> + Pinefredu<i>m</i>, iam no<i>m</i>i<i>n</i>antes (q<i>uia</i> a Deo + respectus <i>et</i> electus fuisset, eode<i>m</i> m<i>od</i>o quo + <i>et</i> rex Offa filius regis Warmundi) cep<i>er</i>unt ip<i>s</i>i + quasi D<i>omi</i>no uniu<i>er</i>salit<i>er</i> adherere; + ip<i>su</i>mq<i>ue</i> ia<i>m</i> f<i>a</i>c<i>tu</i>m milite<i>m</i>, + <i>contra</i> regem Beormredu<i>m</i> <i>et</i> eius insidias, potenter + ac prudent<i>er</i> protegere, dantes ei dextras, <i>et</i> fed<i>us</i> + cu<i>m</i> ip<i>s</i>o, prestitis iuramentis, ineuntes. Quod audiens + Beormredus, doluit, <i>et</i> dolens timuit sibi vehement<i>er</i>. + Penituitq<i>ue</i> eu<i>m</i> amarissime, ip<i>su</i>m Pinefredum<a + href="#Nt400"><sup>[400]</sup></a> (qui iam Offa nominabat<i>ur</i>) cum + cet<i>er</i>is fraudulenter no<i>n</i> int<i>er</i>emisse....</p> + +<p><!-- Page 238 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page238"></a>{238}</span></p> + +<div class="sidenotel">Fol. 11 <i>a</i></div> +<p class="cenhead">Qualiter Offa rex uxore<i>m</i> dux<i>er</i>it.</p> + + <p>Diebus itaq<i>ue</i> sub eisde<i>m</i>, regnante in Francia Karolo + rege magno ac uictoriosissimo, queda<i>m</i> puella, facie uenusta, + s<i>ed</i> mente nimis i<i>n</i>honesta, ip<i>s</i>i regi + co<i>n</i>sanguinea, pro quoda<i>m</i> q<i>u</i>od + pat<i>r</i>au<i>er</i>at c<i>r</i>imine flagiciosissimo, addicta est + iudicialiter morti ignominiose; ueru<i>m</i>, ob regie dignitatis + reuerentiam, igni uel ferro tradenda n<i>on</i> iudicatur, s<i>ed</i> in + nauicula armamentis carente, apposito uictu tenui, uentis <i>et</i> mari, + eor<i>um</i>q<i>ue</i> ambiguis casib<i>us</i> exponitur + <i>con</i>de<i>m</i>pnata. Que diu uariis<a name="NtA401" + href="#Nt401"><sup>[401]</sup></a> p<i>ro</i>cellis exagitata, + tande<i>m</i> fortuna trahente, litori Britonu<i>m</i> est appulsa, et + cu<i>m</i> in t<i>er</i>ra subiecta potestati regis Offe memorata + ci<i>m</i>ba applicuiss<i>et</i>, co<i>n</i>sp<i>e</i>ctui regis + p<i>ro</i>tin<i><i>us</i></i> p<i>re</i>sentat<i>ur</i>. + Int<i>er</i>ogata au<i>tem</i> q<i>ue</i>nam e<i>ss</i>et, respondens, + p<i>at</i>ria lingua affi<i>r</i>mauit, se Karolo regi + F<i>r</i>ancor<i>um</i> fuisse <i>con</i>sa<i>n</i>guinitate + p<i>ro</i>pi<i>n</i>q<i>u</i>am, Dridamq<i>ue</i> + no<i>m</i>i<i>n</i>ata<i>m</i>, s<i>ed</i> p<i>er</i> tirannide<i>m</i> + <span class="sidenotel">Fol. 11 <i>b</i></span> | quor<i>un</i>dam + ignobiliu<i>m</i> (quor<i>um</i> nuptias ne degeneraret, spreuit) tali + fuisse disc<i>r</i>imini adiudicatam, abortisq<i>ue</i> lac<i>r</i>imis + addidit dice<i>n</i>s, "Deus aute<i>m</i> qui innocentes a laq<i>ue</i>is + insidia<i>n</i>tiu<i>m</i> lib<i>er</i>at, me captiuam ad alas tue + p<i>ro</i>tec<i>i</i>onis, o regum serenissime, felicit<i>er</i> + transmisit, vt meu<i>m</i> infortuniu<i>m</i>, i<i>n</i> auspicium + fortunatu<i>m</i> t<i>r</i>ansmutet<i>ur</i>, <i>et</i> beatior i<i>n</i> + exilio q<i>u</i>a<i>m</i> in natali p<i>at</i>ria, ab o<i>mn</i>i + p<i>re</i>dicer post<i>er</i>itate."</p> + + <p>Rex au<i>tem</i> u<i>er</i>bor<i>um</i> suor<i>um</i> ornatu<i>m</i> + <i>et</i> eloq<i>ue</i>ntiam, <i>et</i> corporis puellaris cultu<i>m</i> + <i>et</i> elegantia<i>m</i> considerans<a name="NtA402" + href="#Nt402"><sup>[402]</sup></a>, motus pietate, precepit ut ad + comitissa<i>m</i> Marcellin[am]<a name="NtA403" + href="#Nt403"><sup>[403]</sup></a> matre<i>m</i> sua<i>m</i> tucius + duceretur alenda, ac mitius sub tam honeste matrone custodia, + don<i>e</i>c regiu<i>m</i> mandatu<i>m</i> audiret, co<i>n</i>fouenda. + Puelle igitur infra paucos dies, macie <i>et</i> pallore per alimenta + depulsis, rediit decor pristinus, ita ut mulieru<i>m</i> + pulch<i>er</i>ima censeretur. S<i>ed</i> cito in u<i>er</i>ba iactantie + <i>et</i> elac<i>i</i>onis (s<i>e</i>c<i>un</i>d<i>u</i>m p<i>at</i>rie + sue co<i>n</i>suetudine<i>m</i>) proru<i>m</i>pens, d<i>omi</i>ne sue + comitisse, q<i>ue</i> m<i>ate</i>rno aff<i>e</i>c<i>t</i>u eam + dulcit<i>er</i> educau<i>er</i>at, molesta nimis fuit, ip<i>s</i>am + procaciter conte<i>m</i>pnendo. S<i>ed</i> comitissa, pro amore filii sui + regis, o<i>mn</i>ia pacienter tolerauit: licet <i>et</i> ip<i>s</i>a + d<i>i</i>c<i>t</i>a puella, int<i>er</i> comite<i>m</i> <i>et</i> + comitissam u<i>er</i>ba discordie seminasset. Una igitur dieru<i>m</i>, + cu<i>m</i> rex ip<i>s</i>am causa uisitac<i>i</i>onis adiens, + u<i>er</i>b<i>is</i> <i>con</i>solatoriis <!-- Page 239 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page239"></a>{239}</span>alloq<i>ue</i>retur, + incidit i<i>n</i> retia amoris illius; erat eni<i>m</i> iam + sp<i>eci</i>es illius co<i>n</i>cupiscibilis. Clandestino + <i>i</i>gi<i>tur</i> ac repentino m<i>at</i>rimonio ip<i>s</i>am sibi, + i<i>ncon</i>sultis p<i>at</i>re <i>et</i> m<i>at</i>re, + n<i>e</i>cno<i>n</i> <i>et</i> magnatib<i>us</i> suis uniu<i>er</i>sis, + copulauit. Unde ut<i>er</i>q<i>ue</i> parentu<i>m</i>, dolore ac tedio + i<i>n</i> etate senili <i>con</i>tabescens, dies uite abreuiando, sue + mortis horam lugubrit<i>er</i> anticiparu<i>n</i>t; sciebant eni<i>m</i> + ipsam mulierculam fuisse <i>et</i> regalibus amplexibus prorsus indignam; + perpendebantq<i>ue</i> iamiam ueracissime, n<i>on</i> sine causa exilio + lacrimabili, ipsam, ut pr<i>e</i>d<i>i</i>c<i>tu</i>m <i>est</i>, fuisse + conde[<i>m</i>]pnatam. Cu<i>m</i> aut<i>em</i> annos longeue senectutis + vixisset<a name="NtA404" href="#Nt404"><sup>[404]</sup></a> comes + T<i>uinfredus</i>, <i>et</i> p<i>re</i> senectute caligasse<i>n</i>t + oculi ei<i>us</i>, data filio suo regi + b<i>e</i>n<i>e</i>d<i>i</i>c<i>i</i>one, nature debita persoluit; + cui<i>us</i> corpus magnifice, p<i>ro</i>ut decuit, tradidit sepulture. + Anno q<i>u</i>o<i>que</i> sub eode<i>m</i> uxor ei<i>us</i> comitissa + M<i>arcellina</i>, m<i>ate</i>r uidelic<i>et</i> regis, valedicens filio, + ab huius incolatu seculi feliciter tra<i>n</i>smigrauit....</p> + +<div class="sidenotel">Fol. 19<i>a</i></div> +<p class="cenhead">De s<i>anct</i>o Ælb<i>er</i>to<a name="NtA405" href="#Nt405"><sup>[405]</sup></a> cui t<i>er</i>cia filia regis Offe +t<i>r</i>ad<i>e</i>nda fuit nuptui.</p> + + <p>Erat quoq<i>ue</i> quida<i>m</i> iuuenis, cui rex Offa regnu<i>m</i> + Orientalium Anglor<i>um</i>, q<i>uo</i>d eu<i>m</i> iure sanguinis + <i>con</i>ti<i>n</i>gebat, co<i>n</i>cesserat, no<i>m</i>i<i>n</i>e + Ælbertus. De cui<i>us</i> virtutibus<a name="NtA406" + href="#Nt406"><sup>[406]</sup></a> q<i>u</i>ida<i>m</i> + u<i>er</i>sificator, solitus regu<i>m</i> laudes <i>et</i> gesta + describ<i>er</i>e, elegant<i>er</i> ait;</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Ælb<i>er</i>tus iuuenis fuerat rex, fortis ad arma,</p> + <p>Pace pius, pulch<i>er</i> corpore, me<i>n</i>te sagax.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Cu<i>m</i>q<i>ue</i> Hu<i>m</i>b<i>er</i>t<i>us</i> + Archiep<i>is</i>c<i>opus</i> Lichefeld<i>e</i>nsis, <i>et</i> Vnwona + Ep<i>is</i>c<i>opus</i> Legrecestr<i>en</i>sis, uiri s<i>anct</i>i + <i>et</i> discreti, et de nobili stirpe M<i>er</i>cior<i>um</i> oriundi, + speciales essent regis <i>con</i>siliarii, <i>et</i> semp<i>er</i> + q<i>ue</i> honesta era<i>n</i>t <i>et</i> iusta atq<i>ue</i> utilia, regi + Offe suggessissent, i<i>n</i>uidebat eis regina uxor Offe, q<i>ue</i> + p<i>r</i>ius Drida, postea u<i>er</i>o Quendrida, id est regina Drida, + q<i>uia</i> regi ex insp<i>er</i>ato nupsit, est app<i>e</i>llata: sicut + i<i>n</i> p<i>re</i>cedentib<i>us</i> pleni<i>us</i> enarrat<i>ur</i>. + Mulier auara et subdola, sup<i>er</i>biens, eo q<i>uo</i>d ex stirpe + Karoli origine<i>m</i> duxerat, et i<i>n</i>exorabili odio uiros + memoratos p<i>er</i>seq<i>ue</i>batur, tende<i>n</i>s eis muscipulas + muliebres. Porro cu<i>m</i> ip<i>s</i>i reges + sup<i>r</i>ad<i>i</i>c<i>t</i>os regi Offe in sp<i>irit</i>u consilii + salubrit<i>er</i> re<i>con</i>ciliassent, <i>et</i> ut eide<i>m</i> regi + fed<i>er</i>e m<i>at</i>rimoniali speciali<i>us</i> + <i>con</i>iungerent<i>ur</i>, dilig<i>e</i>nt<i>er</i> <i>et</i> + efficacit<i>er</i> p<i>ro</i>curassent, ip<i>s</i>a mulier + f<i>a</i>c<i>t</i>a eor<i>um</i> <!-- Page 240 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page240"></a>{240}</span>nitebat<i>ur</i> + i<i>n</i> irritu<i>m</i> reuocare, n<i>e</i>c pot<i>er</i>at, + quib<i>us</i> acriter inuidebat. Ip<i>s</i>as eni<i>m</i> puellas filias + suas, ultramarinis, alienigenis, in regis supplantac<i>i</i>one<i>m</i> + et regni M<i>er</i>c<i>i</i>or<i>um</i> p<i>er</i>niciem, credidit + t<i>r</i>adidisse marita<i>n</i>das. Cui<i>us</i> rei p<i>re</i>scii + d<i>i</i>c<i>t</i>i Ep<i>iscop</i>i, muliebre co<i>n</i>siliu<i>m</i> + prudencie repagulis impediebant. Uerum et adhuc tercia filia regis Offe + i<i>n</i> thalamo regine remansit maritanda, Ælfleda + no<i>m</i>i<i>n</i>e. Procurantib<i>us</i> <i>i</i>gi<i>tur</i> + sup<i>r</i>ad<i>i</i>c<i>t</i>is ep<i>iscop</i>is, inclinatu<i>m</i> + est<a name="NtA407" href="#Nt407"><sup>[407]</sup></a> cor regis ad + co<i>n</i>sensum, lic<i>et</i> <i>contr</i>adic<i>er</i>et regina, ut + <i>et</i><a name="NtA408" href="#Nt408"><sup>[408]</sup></a> h<i>ec</i> + regi Ælb<i>er</i>to nuptui trad<i>er</i>et<i>ur</i>: ut <i>et</i> sic + speciali<i>us</i> regi O<i>ffe</i> teneretur i<i>n</i> fidelitate + dilec<i>i</i>onis obligatus. Uocat<i>us i</i>gi<i>tur</i> rex + Ælb<i>er</i>t<i>us</i>, a rege O<i>ffa</i>, ut filiam sua<i>m</i> + desponsaret, affuit festiu<i>us</i> <span class="sidenotel">Fol. + 19<i>b</i></span> | et gaudens, ob honorem sibi a tanto rege oblatum. Cui + amicabiliter rex occurrens aduentanti, recepit ip<i>su</i>m in osculo + <i>et</i> p<i>ate</i>rno amplexu, dicens: "Prospere ueneris fili + <i>et</i> gen<i>er</i>, ex h<i>oc</i>, iuuenis amantissime, te in + filiu<i>m</i> adopto specialem." S<i>ed</i> h<i>ec</i> postq<i>u</i>am + eff<i>er</i>ate regine plenius i<i>n</i>notuer<i>i</i>t<a name="NtA409" + href="#Nt409"><sup>[409]</sup></a>, plus accensa est liuore ac furore, + dole<i>n</i>s eu<i>m</i> pietatis i<i>n</i> manu<a name="NtA410" + href="#Nt410"><sup>[410]</sup></a> regis <i>et</i> suor<i>um</i> fidelium + prosperari. Vide<i>n</i>sq<i>ue</i> sue neq<i>u</i>icie argumenta minime + p<i>re</i>ualere, n<i>e</i>c hanc salte<i>m</i> t<i>er</i>ciam filiam + sua<i>m</i>, ad uolu<i>n</i>tatem suam alic<i>u</i>i t<i>r</i>ansmarino + amico suo, i<i>n</i> regni subu<i>er</i>sione<i>m</i> (q<i>uo</i>d + c<i>er</i>tissime sperauerat) dare nuptui, cu<i>m</i> n<i>on</i> + p<i>re</i>ualuisset i<i>n</i> d<i>i</i>c<i>t</i>os ep<i>iscop</i>os + h<i>uius</i> rei auctores emin<i>us</i> malignari, i<i>n</i> + Ælb<i>er</i>tu<i>m</i> regem uir<i>us</i> sue malicie truculent<i>er</i> + euomuit, hoc m<i>od</i>o.</p> + +<p class="cenhead">Fraus mulieb<i>ri</i>s c<i>r</i>udelissima.</p> + + <p>Rex hui<i>us</i> rei ignarus tanta<i>m</i> latitasse fraude<i>m</i> + n<i>on</i> credebat, i<i>m</i>mo poci<i>us</i> credebat h<i>ec</i> + ip<i>s</i>i o<i>mn</i>ia placit<i>ur</i>a. Cu<i>m</i> igit<i>ur</i> rex + piissim<i>us</i> ipsa<i>m</i> sup<i>er</i> p<i>re</i>missis<a + name="NtA411" href="#Nt411"><sup>[411]</sup></a> secreci<i>us</i> + co<i>n</i>ueniret, <i>con</i>siliu<i>m</i> q<i>ue</i>rens + q<i>u</i>al<i>ite</i>r <i>et</i> q<i>u</i>ando forent <i>com</i>plenda, + h<i>ec</i> respondit: "Ecce t<i>r</i>adidit D<i>eu</i>s hodie + inimicu<i>m</i> tuu<i>m</i>, t<i>ib</i>i caute, si sapis, + t<i>r</i>ucidandu<i>m</i>, qui sub specie sup<i>er</i>ficiali, + uenenu<i>m</i> prodic<i>i</i>o<i>n</i>is i<i>n</i> te <i>et</i> + regnu<i>m</i> tuu<i>m</i> ex<i>er</i>cende, neq<i>u</i>it<i>er</i>, ut + fertur, occultauit. Et te cupit iam senesc<i>e</i>nte<i>m</i>, cu<i>m</i> + sit iuuenis <i>et</i> elegans, de regno supplanta<i>n</i>do precipitare; + <i>et</i> posteru<i>m</i> suor<i>um</i>, i<i>m</i>mo <i>et</i> + multoru<i>m</i>, ut iactitat, quos regnis <i>et</i> possessionibus + uiolent<i>er</i> <!-- Page 241 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page241"></a>{241}</span><i>et</i> iniuste spoliasti, iniurias + ui<i>n</i>dicare. In cui<i>us</i> rei fidem, michi a meis amicis + significatu<i>m</i> est, quod regis Karoli multis mun<i>er</i>ibus + <i>et</i> nu<i>n</i>ciis ocultis int<i>er</i>meantib<i>us</i>, implorat + ad h<i>oc</i> patrociniu<i>m</i>: se sponde<i>n</i>s ei fore + tributariu<i>m</i>. Illo igitur, dum se t<i>ib</i>i fortuna p<i>re</i>bet + fauorabile<i>m</i>, extincto latent<i>er</i>, regnu<i>m</i> ei<i>us</i> + in ius tuu<i>m</i> <i>et</i> successor<i>um</i> tuor<i>um</i> + t<i>r</i>anseat in et<i>er</i>nu<i>m</i>."</p> + + <p>Cui rex mente nimiu<i>m</i> p<i>er</i>turbatus, <i>et</i> de + u<i>er</i>bis quib<i>us</i> credidit i<i>n</i>e<i>ss</i>e ueraciter + falsitate<i>m</i> <i>et</i> fraude<i>m</i>, cu<i>m</i> indignacione ipsam + i<i>n</i>crepando, respondit: "Quasi una d<i>e</i> stultis + mulierib<i>us</i> locuta es! Absit a me, absit, tam detestabile + f<i>a</i>c<i>tu</i>m! Quo perpetrato, m<i>ih</i>i meisq<i>ue</i> + successorib<i>us</i> foret obprobriu<i>m</i> sempit<i>er</i>nu<i>m</i>, + et p<i>e</i>cc<i>atu</i>m i<i>n</i> gen<i>us</i> meu<i>m</i> c<i>um</i> + g<i>r</i>aui uind<i>i</i>c<i>t</i>a diuci<i>us</i> propagabile." Et hiis + d<i>i</i>c<i>t</i>is, rex iratus ab ea recessit; detestans ta<i>n</i>tos + ac tales occultos laq<i>ue</i>os in muliere latitasse.</p> + + <p>Interea mentis p<i>er</i>turbac<i>i</i>one paulati<i>m</i> deposita, + <i>et</i> hiis ciuilit<i>er</i> dissimulatis, reges co<i>n</i>sederunt ad + me<i>n</i>sam pransuri: ubi regalib<i>us</i> esculentis <i>et</i> + poculentis refecti, in ti<i>m</i>panis, citharis, <i>et</i> choris, diem + totu<i>m</i> in i<i>n</i>genti gaudio expleu<i>er</i>unt. S<i>ed</i> + regina malefica, int<i>er</i>im a ferali p<i>ro</i>posito n<i>on</i> + recedens, iussit i<i>n</i> dolo thalamu<i>m</i> more regio pallis sericis + <i>et</i> auleis solle<i>m</i>pnit<i>er</i> adornari, i<i>n</i> + q<i>u</i>o rex Ælb<i>er</i>tus nocturnu<i>m</i> caperet + so<i>m</i>pnu<i>m</i>; iuxta stratu<i>m</i> quoq<i>ue</i> regium sedile + p<i>re</i>parari fecit, cultu nobilissimo ext<i>r</i>uctu<i>m</i>, + <i>et</i> cortinis undiq<i>ue</i> redimitu<i>m</i>. Sub q<i>u</i>o + <i>eciam</i> fossam p<i>re</i>parari fecit profunda<i>m</i>, <span + class="sidenotel">Fol. 20<i>a</i></span> | ut nephandu<i>m</i> + propositu<i>m</i> perduc<i>er</i>et ad eff<i>e</i>c<i>tu</i>m.</p> + +<p class="cenhead">De martirio S<i>an</i>c<i>t</i>i Ælb<i>er</i>ti, regis innocentissimi.</p> + + <p>Regina uero uultu sereno <i>con</i>ceptu<i>m</i> scelus pallians, + intrauit i<i>n</i> palatiu<i>m</i>, ut tam regem Offanu<i>m</i> + q<i>u</i>am rege<i>m</i> Ælb<i>er</i>tu<i>m</i> exhilararet. Et + int<i>er</i> iocandu<i>m</i>, co<i>n</i>u<i>er</i>sa ad Ælb<i>er</i>tum, + n<i>ih</i>il sinistri<a name="NtA412" href="#Nt412"><sup>[412]</sup></a> + suspicantem, ait, "Fili, ueni uisendi causa puellam t<i>ib</i>i nuptu + copulanda<i>m</i>, te i<i>n</i> thalamo meo sicient<i>er</i> + exp<i>e</i>ctante<i>m</i>, ut s<i>er</i>monib<i>us</i> g<i>r</i>atissimis + amores subarres profut<i>ur</i>os." Surge<i>n</i>s <i>i</i>gi<i>tur</i> + rex Ælb<i>er</i>tus, secut<i>us</i> est regina<i>m</i> i<i>n</i> + thalamu<i>m</i> i<i>n</i>grediente<i>m</i>: rege Offano remanente, + q<i>u</i>i nil mali formidabat. Ingresso <i>i</i>gi<i>tur</i> rege + Æ<i>lberto</i> cu<i>m</i> regina, exclusi su<i>n</i>t om<i>ne</i>s qui + eundem e uestigio seq<i>ue</i>bant<i>ur</i> sui co<i>m</i>militones. Et + cu<i>m</i> puellam exp<i>e</i>ctasset, ait regina: "Sede fili du<i>m</i> + ueniat aduocata."</p> + +<p><!-- Page 242 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page242"></a>{242}</span></p> + + <p>Et cu<i>m</i> in memorato sedili residisset, cu<i>m</i> ip<i>s</i>a + sella in fosse corruit profunditate<i>m</i>. In q<i>u</i>a, subito a + lictorib<i>us</i> quos regina no<i>n</i> procul abscond<i>er</i>at, rex + innocens suffocatus expirauit. Na<i>m</i> ilico cu<i>m</i> corruisset, + proiec<i>er</i>unt sup<i>er</i> eu<i>m</i> regina <i>et</i> sui + <i>com</i>plices nepha<i>n</i>dissimi puluinaria cu<i>m</i> + uestib<i>us</i> <i>et</i> cortinis, ne clamans ab aliq<i>u</i>ib<i>us</i> + audiret<i>ur</i>. Et sic elegantissimus iuuenis rex <i>et</i> martir + Æ<i>lbertus</i>, innoce<i>n</i>t<i>er</i> <i>et</i> sine noxa extinctus, + accepit corona<i>m</i> uite, [q<i>ua</i>m]<a name="NtA413" + href="#Nt413"><sup>[413]</sup></a> ad i<i>n</i>star Joh<i>ann</i>is + Bapt<i>iste</i> mulieris laq<i>ue</i>is irretitus, meruit optinere.</p> + + <p>Puella u<i>er</i>o regis filia Ælfleda ui<i>r</i>guncula + uen<i>us</i>tissima, cu<i>m</i> h<i>ec</i> audisset, no<i>n</i> + t<i>antu</i>m mat<i>r</i>is detestata facinora, s<i>ed</i> toci<i>us</i> + seculi pomp<i>am</i> relinq<i>ue</i>ns, h<i>ab</i>itu<i>m</i> + suscep<i>i</i>t religio<i>n</i>is, u<i>t</i> ui<i>r</i>go martiris + uestigia seq<i>ue</i>ret<i>ur</i>. [<i>P</i>]orro<a name="NtA414" + href="#Nt414"><sup>[414]</sup></a> ad augmentu<i>m</i><a name="NtA415" + href="#Nt415"><sup>[415]</sup></a> muliebris tirannidis<a name="NtA416" + href="#Nt416"><sup>[416]</sup></a>, decollatu<i>m</i> <i>est</i> + corp<i>us</i>culu<i>m</i> exanime q<i>uia</i> adhuc palpitans uidebatur. + Clam <i>i</i>gi<i>tur</i> delatum est corpus cu<i>m</i> capite, + usq<i>ue</i> ad partes remociores ad occultandum sub profundo + t<i>er</i>re, et dum spiculator c<i>r</i>uentus ista ferret, caput obiter + amissu<i>m</i> est feliciter: nox eni<i>m</i> erat, <i>et</i> festinabat + lictor, <i>et</i> ap<i>er</i>to ore sacci, caput cecidit euolutu<i>m</i>, + ignorante h<i>oc</i> portitore. Corpus au<i>tem</i> ab ip<i>s</i>o + carnifice sine aliquo teste conscio ignobilit<i>er</i> est + humatu<i>m</i>. Contigit au<i>tem</i>, D<i>e</i>o sic disponente, + u<i>t</i> quida<i>m</i> cecus eadem via g<i>r</i>aderetur, baculo semitam + p<i>re</i>te<i>m</i>ptante. Habens au<i>tem</i> caput memoratu<i>m</i> + pro pedu<i>m</i> offendiculo, mirabatur q<i>u</i>idna<i>m</i> esset: erat + eni<i>m</i> pes ei<i>us</i> irretitus i<i>n</i> cincinnis capitis flauis + <i>et</i> prolixis. Et palpans c<i>er</i>cius cognouit<a name="NtA417" + href="#Nt417"><sup>[417]</sup></a> e<i>ss</i>e caput hominis decollati. + Et datu<i>m est</i> ei i<i>n</i> sp<i>irit</i>u intelligere, q<i>uo</i>d + alicui<i>us</i> s<i>an</i>c<i>t</i>i caput e<i>ss</i>et, ac iuuenis. Et + cu<i>m</i> maduissent man<i>us</i> ei<i>us</i> sanguine, apposuit + <i>et</i> sang<i>u</i>inem faciei sue: <i>et</i> loco ubi + q<i>ua</i>n<i>do</i>q<i>ue</i> oculi ei<i>us</i> extit<i>er</i>ant, et + ilico restitutus est ei uisus; et quod habuerat p<i>ro</i> pedum + offendiculo, factum est ei felix luminis restitucio. S<i>ed</i> et in + eodem loco q<i>u</i>o caput s<i>an</i>c<i>tu</i>m iacuerat, fons erupit + lucidissimus. Quod cum celebriter<a name="NtA418" + href="#Nt418"><sup>[418]</sup></a> fuerat diuulgatum, + comp<i>er</i>tu<i>m</i> <i>est</i> hoc fuisse caput s<i>an</i>c<i>t</i>i + adolescentis Æ<i>lberti</i>, q<i>ue</i>m regina i<i>n</i> thalamo + neq<i>u</i>iter fec<i>i</i>t sugillari ac decollari. Corp<i>us</i> + au<i>tem</i> ubinam locorum occultatu<i>m</i> fuerat, penit<i>us</i> + ignorat<i>ur</i>. H<i>oc</i> cu<i>m</i> <i>con</i>staret + Hu<i>m</i>b<i>er</i>to Archiep<i>iscop</i>o, f<i>act</i>a capside ex auro + <i>et</i> argento, illud iussit in tesauro recondi p<i>re</i>c<i>i</i>oso + in Ecc<i>lesi</i>a Herefordensi.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width:57%;"> + <a href="images/Beo6.jpg"><img style="width:100%" src="images/Beo6.jpg" + alt="Drida entraps Albertus" title="Drida entraps Albertus" /></a> + Drida (Thryth) entraps Albertus (Æthelberht) of East Anglia, and causes + him to be slain + + <p class="cenhead"><i>From MS Cotton Nero D. I, fol. 19 b.</i></p> + + <p class="poem"> </p> + + <p class="cenhead"> + hraþe seoþðan wæs<br /> + æfter mund-ȝripe mēce ȝepinȝed.<br /> + + + (<i>Beowulf</i>, ll. 1937-8.)</p> + </div> + +<p><!-- Page 243 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page243"></a>{243}</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead">De p<i>re</i>d<i>ict</i>i facinoris ul<i>ci</i>one.</p> + + <p>Cuius tande<i>m</i> detestabilis sceleris a regina perpetrati, ad + co<i>m</i>militonu<i>m</i> b<i>eat</i>i re<i>gis</i> <i>et</i> + Ma<i>rti</i>ris aures cum<a name="NtA419" + href="#Nt419"><sup>[419]</sup></a> p<i>er</i>ueniss<i>et</i>, fama + celeri<i>us</i> ante luce<i>m</i> aurore diei seq<i>ue</i>ntis clanculo + recesserunt, ne de ipsis simile fieret iudiciu<i>m</i> metuentes. Unde + dolens regina, in thalamo ficta i<i>n</i>firmitate decubans, q<i>u</i>asi + uulpecula latitabat.</p> + + <p>Rex u<i>er</i>o Offa cu<i>m</i> de co<i>m</i>misso facinore + c<i>er</i>titudine<i>m</i> co<i>m</i>perisset, sese lugens, in + cenac<i>u</i>lo int<i>er</i>iori recludens, pe[<i>r</i>]<a name="NtA420" + href="#Nt420"><sup>[420]</sup></a> tres dies cibum penit<i>us</i> + no<i>n</i> gustauit, anima<i>m</i> sua<i>m</i> lac<i>r</i>imis, + lamentac<i>i</i>o<i>n</i>ib<i>us</i>, <i>et</i> ieiunio uehement<i>er</i> + affligens. Et execrans mulieris impietate<i>m</i>, eam iussit + om<i>n</i>ib<i>us</i> uite sue dieb<i>us</i> inclusam i<i>n</i> loco + remota<i>m</i> secrec<i>i</i>ori pecc<i>at</i>a sua deplorare, si forte + s<i>i</i>bi celitus collata gr<i>aci</i>a, penite<i>n</i>do tanti + co<i>m</i>missi facinoris maculam posset abolere. Rex au<i>tem</i> + ip<i>s</i>am postea ut sociam lat<i>er</i>is in lecto suo dormire quasi + susp<i>e</i>cta<i>m</i> n<i>on</i> p<i>er</i>misit<a name="NtA421" + href="#Nt421"><sup>[421]</sup></a>.</p> + +<p class="cenhead">De morte illi<i>us</i> facinorose regine.</p> + + <p>In loco igitur sibi d<i>e</i>putato, co<i>m</i>morante regina annis + aliq<i>u</i>ot, insidiis latronu<i>m</i> preuenta, auro <i>et</i> argento + quo multu<i>m</i> habundabat spoliata<a name="NtA422" + href="#Nt422"><sup>[422]</sup></a>, in puteo suo prop<i>r</i>io + p<i>re</i>cipitata, spiritu<i>m</i> exalauit; iusto d<i>e</i>i + iudic<i>i</i>o sic <i>con</i>de<i>m</i>pnata, ut sicut regem + Ælb<i>er</i>tu<i>m</i> innocente<i>m</i> in foueam fecit + p<i>re</i>cipitari, <i>et</i> p<i>re</i>cipitatum suffocari, sic + i<i>n</i> putei profunditate s<i>u</i>bm<i>er</i>sa, uita<i>m</i> + mis<i>er</i>a<i>m</i> t<i>er</i>minaret.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead">O. <i><span class="sc">Widsith</span></i>, ll. 18, 24-49</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>18. Ætla, wēold Hūnum, Eormanrīc Ȝotum,</p> + <p class="i4"> * * * * * * </p> + <p class="i4">Þēodrīc wēold Froncum, þyle Rondinȝu<i>m</i>,</p> + <p>25. Breoca Brondinȝu<i>m</i>, Billinȝ Wernum.</p> + <p class="i4">Ōswine wēold Ēowum <i>ond</i> Ȳtum Ȝefwulf,</p> +<!-- Page 244 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page244"></a>{244}</span> + <p class="i4">Fin Folcwaldinȝ Frēsna cynne.</p> + <p class="i4">Siȝehere lenȝest Sǣ-Denum wēold,</p> + <p class="i4">Hnæf Hōcinȝum, Helm Wulfinȝu<i>m</i>,</p> + <p>30. Wald Wōinȝum, Wōd Þyrinȝu<i>m</i>,</p> + <p class="i4">Sǣferð Sycȝum, Swēom Onȝendþēow,</p> + <p class="i4">Sceafthere Ymbrum, Scēafa Lonȝ-Beardu<i>m</i>,</p> + <p class="i4">Hūn Hætwerum, <i>ond</i> Holen Wrosnum.</p> + <p class="i4">Hrinȝweald wæs hāten Herefarena cyning.</p> + <p>35. Offa wēold Ongle, Alewīh Denu<i>m</i>:</p> + <p class="i4">sē wæs þāra manna mōdȝast ealra;</p> + <p class="i4">nōhwæþre hē ofer Offan eorlscype fremede,</p> + <p class="i4">ac Offa ȝeslōȝ ǣrest monna</p> + <p class="i4">cniht wesende cynerīca mǣst;</p> + <p>40. nǣniȝ efen-eald him eorlscipe māran</p> + <p class="i4">on ōrette āne sweorde:</p> + <p class="i4">merce ȝemǣrde wið Myrȝinȝu<i>m</i></p> + <p class="i4">bī Fīfeldore; hēoldon forð siþþan</p> + <p class="i4">Enȝle <i>ond</i> Swǣfe, swā hit Offa ȝeslōȝ.</p> + <p>45. Hrōþwulf <i>ond</i> Hrōðȝār hēoldon lenȝest</p> + <p class="i4">sibbe ætsomne suhtorfædran,</p> + <p class="i4">siþþan hȳ forwrǣcon wīcinȝa cynn</p> + <p class="i4"><i>ond</i> Inȝeldes ord forbīȝdan,</p> + <p class="i4">forhēowan æt Heorote Heaðo-Beardna þrym.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<p><!-- Page 245 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page245"></a>{245}</span></p> + +<h2>PART III</h2> + +<h3>THE FIGHT AT FINNSBURG</h3> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section I. The <i>Finnsburg Fragment</i></span></p> + + <p>The <i>Finnsburg Fragment</i> was discovered two centuries ago in the + library of Lambeth Palace by George Hickes. It was written on a single + leaf, which was transcribed and published by Hickes: but the leaf is not + now to be found. This is to be regretted for reasons other than + sentimental, since Hickes' transcript is far from accurate<a + name="NtA423" href="#Nt423"><sup>[423]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>The <i>Fragment</i> begins and breaks off in the middle of a line: but + possibly not much has been lost at the beginning. For the <!-- Page 246 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page246"></a>{246}</span>first lines of + the fragment, as preserved, reveal a well-loved opening motive—the + call to arms within the hall, as the watcher sees the foes approach. It + was with such a call that the <i>Bjarkamál</i>, the poem on the death of + Rolf Kraki, began: "a good call to work" as a fighting king-saint thought + it<a name="NtA424" href="#Nt424"><sup>[424]</sup></a>. It is with a + similar summons to business that the <i>Finnsburg Fragment</i> begins. + The watchman has warned the king within the hall that he sees lights + approaching—so much we can gather from the two and a half words + which are preserved from the watchman's speech, and from the reply made + by the "war-young" king: "This is not the dawn which is rising, but dire + deeds of woe; to arms, my men." And the defending warriors take their + posts: at the one door Sigeferth and Eaha: at the other Ordlaf and + Guthlaf, and Hengest himself<a name="NtA425" + href="#Nt425"><sup>[425]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Then the poet turns to the foes, as they approach for the attack. The + text as reported by Hickes is difficult: but it seems that Garulf<a + name="NtA426" href="#Nt426"><sup>[426]</sup></a> is the name of the + warrior about to lead the assault on the hall. Another warrior, Guthere, + whether a friend, kinsman, or retainer<a name="NtA427" + href="#Nt427"><sup>[427]</sup></a> we do not know, is dissuading him, + urging him not to risk so precious a life in the first brunt. But Garulf + pays no heed; he challenges the champion on guard: "Who is it who holds + the door?"</p> + + <p>"Sigeferth is my name," comes the reply, "Prince I am of the Secgan: a + wandering champion known far and wide: many a woe, many a hard fight have + I endured: from me canst thou have what thou seekest."</p> + + <p>So the clash of arms begins: and the first to fall is Garulf, son of + Guthlaf: and many a good man round him. "The swords flashed as if all + Finnsburg were afire."</p> + +<p><!-- Page 247 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page247"></a>{247}</span></p> + + <p>Never, we are told, was there a better defence than that of the sixty + champions within the hall. "Never did retainers repay the sweet mead + better than his bachelors did unto Hnæf. For five days they fought, so + that none of the men at arms fell: but they held the doors." After a few + more lines the piece breaks off.</p> + + <p>There are many textual difficulties here. But these, for the most + part, do not affect the actual narrative, which is a story of clear and + straightforward fighting. It is when we try to fit this narrative into + relationship with the <i>Episode</i> in <i>Beowulf</i> that our troubles + begin. Within the <i>Fragment</i> itself one difficulty only need at + present be mentioned. Guthlaf is one of the champions defending the hall. + Yet the leader of the assault, Garulf, is spoken of as Guthlaf's son. Of + course it is possible that we have here a tragic incident parallel to the + story of Hildebrand and Hadubrand: father and son may have been separated + through earlier misadventures, and now find themselves engaged on + opposite sides. This would harmonize with the atmosphere of the + <i>Finnsburg</i> story, which is one of slaughter breaking out among men + near of kin, so that afterwards an uncle and a nephew are burnt on the + same pyre. And it has been noted<a name="NtA428" + href="#Nt428"><sup>[428]</sup></a> that Garulf rushes to the attack only + after he has asked "Who holds the door?" and has learnt that it is + Sigeferth: Guthlaf had gone to the opposite door. Can Garulf's question + mean that he knows his father Guthlaf to be inside the hall, and wishes + to avoid conflict with him? Possibly; but I do not think we can argue + much from this double appearance of the name Guthlaf. It is possible that + the occurrence of Guthlaf as Garulf's father is simply a scribal error. + For, puzzling as the tradition of <i>Finnsburg</i> everywhere is, it is + peculiarly puzzling in its proper names, which are mostly given in forms + that seem to have undergone some alteration. And even if + <i>Gūðlāfes sunu</i> be correctly written, it is possible + that the Guthlaf who is father of Garulf is not to be identified with the + Guthlaf whom Garulf is besieging within the hall<a name="NtA429" + href="#Nt429"><sup>[429]</sup></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 248 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page248"></a>{248}</span></p> + + <p>One or other of these rather unsatisfactory solutions must + unfortunately be accepted. For no theory is possible which will save us + from admitting that, according to the received text, Guthlaf is fighting + on the one side, and a "son of Guthlaf" on the other.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section II. The Episode in <i>Beowulf</i></span></p> + + <p>Further details of the story we get in the <i>Episode</i> of + <i>Finnsburg</i>, as recorded in <i>Beowulf</i> (ll. 1068-1159).</p> + + <p>Beowulf is being entertained in the court of the king of the Danes, + and the king's harper tells the tale of Hengest and Finn. Only the main + events are enumerated. There are none of the dramatic speeches which we + find in the <i>Fragment</i>. It is evident that the tale has been reduced + in scope, in order that it may be fitted into its place as an episode in + the longer epic.</p> + + <p>The tone, too, is quite different. Whereas the <i>Fragment</i> is + inspired by the lust and joy of battle, the theme of the <i>Episode</i>, + as told in <i>Beowulf</i>, is rather the pity of it all; the legacy of + mourning and vengeance which is left to the survivors:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>For never can true reconcilement grow</p> + <p>Where wounds of deadly hate have struck so deep.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>It is on this note that the <i>Episode</i> in <i>Beowulf</i> begins: + with the tragic figure of Hildeburh. Hildeburh is closely related to both + contending parties. She is sister to Hnæf, prince of the "Half-Danes," + and she is wedded to Finn, king of the Frisians. Whatever may be obscure + in the story, it is clear that a fight has taken place between the men of + Hnæf and those of Finn, and that Hnæf has been slain: probably by Finn + directly, though perhaps by his followers<a name="NtA430" + href="#Nt430"><sup>[430]</sup></a>. A son of Finn has also fallen.</p> + + <p>With regard to the peoples concerned there are difficulties. Finn's + Frisians are presumably the main Frisian race, dwelling in and around the + district still known as Friesland; for in the Catalogue of Kings in + <i>Widsith</i> it is said that "Finn Folcwalding <!-- Page 249 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page249"></a>{249}</span>ruled the kin of the + Frisians<a name="NtA431" href="#Nt431"><sup>[431]</sup></a>." Hnæf and + his people are called Half-Danes, Danes and Scyldings; Hnæf is therefore + presumably related to the Danish royal house. But, in no account which + has come down to us of that house, are Hnæf or his father Hoc ever + mentioned as kings or princes of Denmark, and their connection with the + family of Hrothgar, the great house of Scyldings who ruled Denmark from + the capital of Leire, remains obscure. In <i>Widsith</i>, the people + ruled over by Hnæf are called "children of Hoc" (<i>Hōcingum</i>), + and are mentioned immediately after the "Sea-Danes<a name="NtA432" + href="#Nt432"><sup>[432]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>Then there is a mysterious people called the <i>Eotens</i>, upon whom + is placed the blame of the struggle: "Verily Hildeburh had little reason + to praise the good faith of the Eotens." This is the typical + understatement of Old English rhetoric: it can only point to deliberate + treachery on the part of the Eotens. Our interpretation of the poem will + therefore hinge largely upon our interpretation of this name. There have + been two views as to the Eotens. The one view holds them to be Hnæf's + Danes, and consequently places on Hnæf the responsibility for the + aggression. This theory is, I think, quite wrong, and has been the cause + of much confusion: but it has been held by scholars of great weight<a + name="NtA433" href="#Nt433"><sup>[433]</sup></a>. The other view regards + the Eotens as subjects <!-- Page 250 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page250"></a>{250}</span>of Finn and foes of Hnæf. This view has + been more generally held, and it is, as I shall try to show, only along + these lines that a satisfactory solution can be found.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>The poet continues of the woes of Hildeburh. "Guiltless, she lost at + the war those whom she loved, child and brother. They fell as was fated, + wounded by the spear, and a sad lady was she. Not for naught did the + daughter of Hoc [i.e. Hildeburh] bewail her fate when morning came, when + under the sky she could behold the murderous bale of her + kinsfolk...."</p> + + <p>Then the poet turns to the figure of Finn, king of the Frisians. His + cause for grief is as deep as that of Hildeburh. For he has lost that + body of retainers which to a Germanic chief, even as to King Arthur, was + dearer than a wife<a name="NtA434" href="#Nt434"><sup>[434]</sup></a>. + "War swept away all the retainers of Finn, except some few."</p> + + <p>What follows is obscure, but as to the general drift there is no + doubt. After the death of their king Hnæf, the besieged Danes are led by + Hengest. Hengest must be Hnæf's retainer, for he is expressly so called + (<i>þēodnes þegn</i>) "the king's thegn." So able is the defence of + Hengest, and so heavy the loss among Finn's men, that Finn has to come to + terms. Peace is made between Finn and Hengest, and the terms are given + fully in the <i>Episode</i>. Unfortunately, owing to the confusion of + pronouns, we soon lose our way amidst the clauses of this treaty, and it + becomes exceedingly difficult to say who are the people who are alluded + to as "they." This is peculiarly unlucky because here again the critical + word <i>Eotena</i> occurs, but amid such a tangle of "thems" and "theys" + that it is not easy to tell from this passage to which side the Eotens + belong<a name="NtA435" href="#Nt435"><sup>[435]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>But one thing in the treaty is indisputable. In the midst of these + complicated clauses, it is said of the Danes, the retainers <!-- Page 251 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page251"></a>{251}</span>of Hnæf, that + they are not to be taunted with a certain fact: or perhaps it may be that + they are not, when speaking amongst themselves, to remind each other of a + certain fact. However that may be, what <i>is</i> clear is the + <i>fact</i>, the mention of which is barred. Nothing is to be said of it, + even though "<i>they were following the slayer (bana) of their lord, + being without a prince, since they were compelled so to do</i>." Here, at + least, are two lines about the interpretation of which we can be certain: + and I shall therefore return to them. We must be careful, however, to + remember that the word <i>bana</i>, "slayer," conveys no idea of fault or + criminality. It is a quite neutral word, although it has frequently been + mistranslated "murderer," and has thus helped to encourage the belief + that Finn slew Hnæf by treachery. Of course it conveys no such + implication: <i>bana</i> can be applied to one who slays another in + self-defence: it implies neither the one thing nor the other.</p> + + <p>Then the poet turns to the funeral of the dead champions, who are + burned on one pyre by the now reconciled foes. The bodies of Hnæf and of + the son (or sons)<a name="NtA436" href="#Nt436"><sup>[436]</sup></a> of + Hildeburh are placed together, uncle and nephew side by side, whilst + Hildeburh stands by lamenting.</p> + + <p>Then, we are told, the warriors, deprived of their friends, departed + to Friesland, to their homes and to their high-city.</p> + + <p>Hengest still continued to dwell for the whole of that winter with + Finn, and could not return home because of the winter storms. But when + spring came and the bosom of the earth became fair, there came also the + question of Hengest's departure: but he thought more of vengeance than of + his sea-journey: "If he might bring about that hostile meeting which he + kept in his mind concerning the child (or children) of the Eotens." Here + again the word <i>Eotena</i> is used ambiguously, but, I think, this time + not without some indication of its meaning. It has indeed been urged that + the child or children of the Eotens are Hnæf, and any other Danes who may + have fallen with him, and that when it is said that Hengest keeps them in + mind, it is meant that he is remembering his fallen comrades with a view + to taking <!-- Page 252 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page252"></a>{252}</span>vengeance for them. But this would be a + queer way of speaking, as Hengest and his living comrades would on this + theory be also themselves children of the Eotens<a name="NtA437" + href="#Nt437"><sup>[437]</sup></a>. We should therefore need the term to + be further defined: "children of the Eotens <i>who fell at + Finnsburg</i>." It seems far more likely, from the way in which the + expression is used here, that the children of the Eotens are the people + <i>upon</i> whom Hengest intends to take vengeance.</p> + + <p>Then, we are further told, Hunlafing places in the bosom of Hengest a + sword of which the edges were well known amongst the Eotens. Here again + there has been ambiguity, dispute and doubt. Hunlafing has been even + bisected into a chief "Hun," and a sword "Lafing" which "Hun" is supposed + to have placed in the bosom of Hengest (or of someone else). Upon this + act of "Hun" many an interpretation has been placed, and many a theory + built. Fortunately it has become possible, by a series of rather + extraordinary discoveries, such as we had little reason to hope for at + this time of day, to put Hunlafing together again. We now know (and this + I think should be regarded as outside the region of controversy) that the + warrior who put the sword into Hengest's bosom <i>was</i> Hunlafing. And + about Hunlafing we gather, though very little, yet enough to help us. He + is apparently a Dane, the son of Hunlaf, and Hunlaf is the brother of the + two champions Guthlaf and Ordlaf<a name="NtA438" + href="#Nt438"><sup>[438]</sup></a>. Now Guthlaf and Ordlaf, as we know + from the <i>Fragment</i>, were in the hall together <!-- Page 253 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page253"></a>{253}</span>with Hengest: + it was "Guthlaf, Ordlaf and Hengest himself" who undertook the defence of + one of the doors against the assailants. Guthlaf and Ordlaf were + apparently sons of the king of Denmark. As Scyldings they would be Hnæf's + kinsmen, and accompanied him to his meeting with Finn. Hunlafing, then, + is a nephew of two champions who were attacked in the hall, and it is + possible, though we cannot prove this, that his father Hunlaf was himself + also in the hall, and was slain in the struggle<a name="NtA439" + href="#Nt439"><sup>[439]</sup></a>. At any rate, when Hunlaf's son places + a sword in the bosom of Hengest, this can only mean one thing. It means + mischief. The placing of the sword, by a prince, in the bosom of another, + is a symbol of war-service. It means that Hengest has accepted + obligations to a Danish lord, a Scylding, a kinsman of the dead Hnæf, and + consequently that he means to break the troth which he has sworn to + Finn.</p> + + <p>Further, we are told concerning the sword, that its edges were well + known amongst the Eotens. At first sight this might seem, and to many has + seemed, an ambiguous phrase, for a sword may be well known amongst either + friends or foes. The old poets loved nothing better than to dwell upon + the adornments of a sword, to say how a man, by reason of a fine sword + which had been given to him, was honoured amongst his associates at + table<a name="NtA440" href="#Nt440"><sup>[440]</sup></a>. But if this had + been the poet's meaning here, he would surely have dwelt, not upon the + edges of the sword, but upon its gold-adorned hilt, or its jewelled + pommel. When he says the <i>edges</i> of the sword were well known + amongst the Eotens, this seems to convey a hostile meaning. We know that + the ill-faith of the Eotens was the cause of the trouble. The phrase + about the sword seems therefore to mean that Hengest used this sword in + order to take vengeance on the Eotens, presumably for their + treachery.</p> + + <p>The <i>Eotenas</i>, therefore, far from being the men of Hnæf and + Hengest, must have been their foes.</p> + + <p>Then the poet goes on to tell how "Dire sword-bale came upon the + valiant Finn likewise." The Danes fell upon Finn at <!-- Page 254 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page254"></a>{254}</span>his own home, + reddened the floor of his hall with the life-blood of his men, slew him, + plundered his town, and led his wife back to her own people.</p> + + <p>Here the <i>Episode</i> ends.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section III. Möller's Theory</span></p> + + <p>Now our first task is to find what is the relation between the events + told in the <i>Fragment</i> and the events told in the <i>Episode</i> in + <i>Beowulf</i>. It can, I think, be shown that the events of the + <i>Fragment</i> precede the events of the <i>Episode</i> in + <i>Beowulf</i>; that is to say that the fight in the hall, of which we + are told in the <i>Fragment</i>, is the same fight which has taken place + before the <i>Episode</i> in <i>Beowulf</i> begins, the fight which has + resulted in the slaughter over which Hildeburh laments, and which + necessitates the great funeral described in the first part of the + <i>Episode</i> (ll. 1108-24).</p> + + <p>How necessary it is to place the <i>Fragment</i> here, before the + beginning of the <i>Episode</i>, will be best seen, I think, if we + examine the theory which has tried to place it elsewhere.</p> + + <p>This is the theory, worked out elaborately and ingeniously by Möller<a + name="NtA441" href="#Nt441"><sup>[441]</sup></a>, a theory which has had + considerable vogue, and many of the assumptions of which have been widely + accepted. According to Möller and his followers, the story ran something + like this:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"Finn, king of the Frisians, had carried off Hildeburh, daughter of + Hoc (1076), probably with her consent. Her father Hoc seems to have + pursued the fugitives, and to have been slain in the fight which ensued + on his overtaking them. After the lapse of some twenty years, the + brothers Hnæf and Hengest, Hoc's sons, were old enough to undertake the + duty of avenging their father's death. They make an inroad into Finn's + country."</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Up to this, all is Möller's hypothesis, unsupported by any evidence, + either in the <i>Fragment</i> or the <i>Episode</i>. It is based, so far + as it has any real foundation, upon a mythical interpretation of Finn, + and upon parallels with the Hild-story, the Gudrun-story, and a North + Frisian folk-tale<a name="NtA442" href="#Nt442"><sup>[442]</sup></a>. + Some of the <!-- Page 255 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page255"></a>{255}</span>parallels are striking, but they are not + sufficient to justify Möller's reconstruction. The authenticity of large + portions of the folk-tale is open to doubt<a name="NtA443" + href="#Nt443"><sup>[443]</sup></a>: and these portions are vital to any + parallel with the story of <i>Finnsburg</i>; whilst we have no right to + read into the Finn story details from the Hild or Gudrun stories, unless + we can show that they are really versions of the same tale: and this + cannot be shown. Möller's suppositions as to the events before the + <i>Episode</i> in <i>Beowulf</i> opens, must therefore be dismissed. + Möller's reconstruction then gets into relation with the real story, as + narrated in <i>Beowulf</i>:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"A battle takes place in which many warriors, among them Hnæf and a + son of Finn (1074, 1079, 1115), are killed. Peace is therefore solemnly + concluded, and the slain warriors are burnt (1068-1124).</p> + + <p>As the year is too far advanced for Hengest to return home (ll. 1130 + ff.), he and those of his men who survive remain for the winter in the + Frisian country with Finn. But Hengest's thoughts dwell constantly on the + death of his brother Hnæf, and he would gladly welcome any excuse to + break the peace which has been sworn by both parties. His ill-concealed + desire for revenge is noticed by the Frisians, who anticipate it by + themselves taking the initiative and attacking Hengest and his men whilst + they are sleeping in the hall. <i>This is the night attack described in + the Fragment.</i> It would seem that after a brave and desperate + resistance Hengest himself falls in this fight<a name="NtA444" + href="#Nt444"><sup>[444]</sup></a>, but two of his retainers, Guthlaf and + Oslaf<a href="#Nt444"><sup>[444]</sup></a>, succeed in cutting their way + through their enemies and in escaping to their own land. They return with + fresh troops, attack and slay Finn, and carry his queen Hildeburh off + with them (1125-1159)<a name="NtA445" + href="#Nt445"><sup>[445]</sup></a>."</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Now the difficulties of this theory will, I think, be found to be + insuperable. Let us look at some of them.</p> + + <p>Möller's view rests upon his interpretation of the Eotens as the men + of Hnæf<a name="NtA446" href="#Nt446"><sup>[446]</sup></a>. Since the + Eotens are the aggressors, he <i>has</i> consequently to invent the + opening, which makes Hnæf and Hengest the invaders of Finn's country: and + he <i>has</i> therefore to relegate the <i>Fragment</i> (in which Hnæf's + men are clearly not the attacking party but the attacked) to a later + stage in the story. But we have already seen that this interpretation of + the Eotens as the men of Hnæf is not the natural one.</p> + + <p>Further, the assumption that Hnæf and Hengest are brothers, though + still frequently met with<a name="NtA447" + href="#Nt447"><sup>[447]</sup></a>, is surely not justifiable. <!-- Page + 256 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page256"></a>{256}</span>There is + nothing which demands any such relationship, and there is much which + definitely excludes it. <i>After Hnæf's death</i>, Hengest is described + as the thegn of Hnæf: an expression without parallel or explanation, if + he was really his brother and successor. Again, we are expressly told in + the <i>Episode</i> that the Danish retainers make terms with Finn, <i>the + slayer of their lord, being without a prince</i>. How could this be said, + if Hengest was now their lord and prince? These lines are, as we have + seen, one of the few clear and indisputable things in the poem. An + interpretation which contradicts them flatly, by making Hengest the lord + of the Danish retainers, seems self-condemned.</p> + + <p>Again, in <i>Beowulf</i>, the poet dwells upon the blameless sorrows + of Hildeburh. We gather that she wakes up in the morning to find that the + kinsfolk whom she loves have, during the night, come to blows. "Innocent, + she lost son and brother<a name="NtA448" + href="#Nt448"><sup>[448]</sup></a>—a sad lady she." Are such + expressions natural, if Hildeburh had eloped with Finn, and her father + had in consequence been slain by him some twenty years before? If she has + taken that calmly, and continued to live happily with Finn, would her + equanimity be so seriously disturbed by the slaughter of a brother in + addition?</p> + + <p>But these difficulties are nothing compared to the further + difficulties which Möller's adherents have to face when they proceed to + find a place for the night attack as told in the <i>Fragment</i>, in the + middle of the <i>Episode</i> in <i>Beowulf</i>, i.e. between lines 1145 + and 1146. In the first place we have no right to postulate that such + important events could have been passed over in silence in the summary of + the story as given in <i>Beowulf</i>. For Möller has to assume that after + the reconciliation between Hengest and Finn, Finn broke his pledges, + attacked Hengest by night, slew most of the men who were with him, + including perhaps Hengest himself; and that the <i>Beowulf</i>-poet + nevertheless omitted all reference to these events, though they occur in + the midst of the story, and are essential to an understanding of it.</p> + + <p>But even apart from this initial difficulty, we find that by no + process of explaining <i>can</i> we make the night attack narrated <!-- + Page 257 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page257"></a>{257}</span>in + the <i>Fragment</i> fit in at the point where Möller places it. In the + night attack the men are called to arms by a "war-young king." This + "war-young king" cannot be, as Möller supposes, Hengest, for the simple + reason that Hengest, as I have tried to show above, far from being the + brother of Hnæf, and his successor as king, is his servant and thegn. The + king can only be Hnæf. But Hnæf has already been slain before the + <i>Episode</i> begins: and this makes it impossible to place the + <i>Fragment</i> (in which Hnæf appears) in the middle of the + <i>Episode</i>. Further, it is said in the <i>Fragment</i> that never did + retainers repay a lord better than did his men repay Hnæf. Now these + words would only be possible if the retainers were fighting for their + lord; that is, either defending him alive or avenging him dead. But + Möller's theory assumes that we are dealing with a period when the + retainers have definitely left the service of their lord Hnæf, after his + death, and have entered the service of his slayer, Finn. They have thus + dissolved all bonds with their former lord: they have taken Finn's money + and become <i>his</i> men. If Finn then turns upon his new retainers and + treacherously tries to slay them, it might be said that the retainers + defended their own lives stoutly: but it would be far-fetched to say that + in doing so they repaid their lord Hnæf. Their lord, according to + Möller's view, is no longer Hnæf, but Finn, who is seeking their + lives.</p> + + <p>Against such difficulties as these it is impossible to make headway, + and we must therefore turn to some more possible view of the situation<a + name="NtA449" href="#Nt449"><sup>[449]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section IV. Bugge's Theory</span></p> + + <p>Let us therefore examine the second theory, which is more particularly + associated with the name of Bugge, though it was the current theory + before his time, and has been generally accepted since.</p> + + <p>According to this view, the <i>Eotenas</i> are the men of Finn, and + since upon them is placed the blame for the trouble, it <!-- Page 258 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page258"></a>{258}</span>must be Finn + that makes a treacherous attack upon his wife's brother Hnæf, who is his + guest in Finnsburg<a name="NtA450" href="#Nt450"><sup>[450]</sup></a>. + This is the fight of which the <i>Fragment</i> gives us the beginning. + Hnæf is slain, and then follow the events as narrated in the + <i>Episode</i>: the treaty which Finn makes with Hengest, the leader of + the survivors: and the ultimate vengeance taken upon Finn by these + survivors.</p> + + <p>Here I think we are getting nearer to facts, nearer to a view which + can command general acceptance: at any rate, in so far as the fight + narrated in the <i>Fragment</i> is placed before the beginning of the + <i>Episode</i> in <i>Beowulf</i>. Positive evidence that this is the + right place for the <i>Fragment</i> is scanty, yet not altogether + lacking. After all, the fight in the <i>Fragment</i> is a night attack, + and the fight which precedes the <i>Episode</i> in <i>Beowulf</i>, as I + have tried to show, is a night attack<a name="NtA451" + href="#Nt451"><sup>[451]</sup></a>. But our reason for putting the + <i>Fragment</i> before the commencement of the <i>Episode</i> is mainly + negative: it lies in the insuperable difficulties which meet us when we + try to place it anywhere else.</p> + + <p>But, it will be objected, there are difficulties also in placing the + <i>Fragment</i> before the <i>Episode</i>. Perhaps: but I do not think + these difficulties will be found to survive examination.</p> + + <p>The first objection to supposing that the <i>Fragment</i> narrates the + same fight as precedes the <i>Episode</i> is, that the fight in the + <i>Fragment</i> takes place at Finnsburg<a name="NtA452" + href="#Nt452"><sup>[452]</sup></a>, whilst the fight which precedes the + <i>Episode</i> apparently takes place away from Finn's capital: for after + the fighting is over, the dead burned, and the treaty made, the warriors + depart "to see Friesland, their homes, and their high-town + (<i>hēa-burh</i>)<a name="NtA453" + href="#Nt453"><sup>[453]</sup></a>."</p> + +<p><!-- Page 259 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page259"></a>{259}</span></p> + + <p>But I do not see that this involves us in any difficulty. It is surely + quite reasonable that Finnsburg—Finn's castle—where the first + fight takes place, is not, and was never meant to be, the same as Finn's + capital, his <i>hēaburh</i>, his "own home." After all, when a + king's name is given to a town, the presumption is rather that the town + is <i>not</i> his capital, but some new settlement built in a newly + acquired territory. <i>Ēadwinesburh</i> was not the capital of King + Eadwine: it was the stronghold which he held against the Picts on the + outskirts of his realm. Aosta was not the capital of Augustus, nor Fort + William of William III, nor Harounabad of Haroun al Raschid. So here: we + know that the chief town of the Frisians was not Finnsburg, but Dorestad: + "Dorostates of the Frisians<a name="NtA454" + href="#Nt454"><sup>[454]</sup></a>." The fight may have taken place at + some outlying castle built by Finn, and named after him <i>Finnsburg</i>: + then he returned, we are told, to his <i>hēaburh</i>: and it is + here, <i>æt his sylfes hām</i>, "in his own home" (the poet himself + seems to emphasize a distinction) that destruction in the end comes upon + him. There is surely no difficulty here.</p> + + <p>A second discrepancy has often been indicated. In the <i>Fragment</i> + the fight lasts five days before any one of the defenders fall: in the + <i>Episode</i> (it is argued) Hildeburh in the morning finds her brother + slain<a name="NtA455" href="#Nt455"><sup>[455]</sup></a>. Even were this + so, I do not know that it need trouble us much. In a detail like this, + which <!-- Page 260 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page260"></a>{260}</span>does not go to the heart of the story, + there might easily be a discrepancy between two versions<a name="NtA456" + href="#Nt456"><sup>[456]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>But the whole difficulty merely arises from reading more into the + words of the <i>Episode</i> than the text will warrant. It is not + asserted in the <i>Episode</i> that Hildeburh found her kinsfolk dead in + the morning, but that in the morning she found "murderous bale amid her + kinsfolk." Hildeburh woke up to find a fight in progress: how long it + went on, the <i>Episode</i> does not say: but that it was prolonged we + gather from ll. 1080-5: and there is no reason why the deadly strife + which Hildeburh found in the morning might not have lasted five days or + more, before it culminated in the death of Hnæf.</p> + + <p>Thirdly, the commander in the <i>Fragment</i> is called a "war-young + king." This, it has been said, is inapplicable to Hnæf, since he is + brother of Hildeburh, who is old enough to have a son slain in the + combat.</p> + + <p>But an uncle may be very young. Beowulf speaks of his uncle Hygelac as + young, even though he seems to imply that his own youth is partly past<a + name="NtA457" href="#Nt457"><sup>[457]</sup></a>. And no advantage, but + the reverse, is gained, even in this point, if, following Möller's + hypothesis, and assuming that the fight narrated in the <i>Fragment</i> + takes place after the treaty with Finn, we make the "war-young king" + Hengest. For those who, with Möller, suppose Hengest to be brother of + Hnæf, will have to admit the avuncular difficulty in him also.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section V. Some Difficulties in Bugge's Theory</span></p> + + <p>We may then, I think, accept as certain, that first come the events + narrated in the <i>Fragment</i>, then those told in the <i>Episode</i> in + <i>Beowulf</i>. But we are not out of our troubles yet. There are + difficulties in Bugge's view which have still to be faced.</p> + + <p>The cause of the struggle, according to Bugge and his adherents, is a + treacherous attack made by Finn upon his <!-- Page 261 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page261"></a>{261}</span>brother-in-law Hnæf. + According to the <i>Episode</i>, it is the Eotens who are treacherous; so + Eotens must be another name for the Frisians.</p> + + <p>The word occurs three times in the genitive, <i>Eotena</i>; once in + the dative, <i>Eotenum</i>: as a common noun it means "giant," "monster": + earlier in <i>Beowulf</i> it is applied to Grendel and to the other + misbegotten creatures descended from Cain. But how "giant" can be applied + to the Frisians, or to either of the contending parties in the Finnsburg + fight, remains inexplicable<a name="NtA458" + href="#Nt458"><sup>[458]</sup></a>. <i>Eotena</i> must rather be the name + of some tribe. But what tribe? The only people of whom we know, + possessing a name at all like this, are the people who colonized Kent, + whom Bede calls Jutes, but whose name would in Anglian be in the genitive + <i>Ēotna</i>, but in the dative <i>Ēotum</i>, or perhaps + occasionally <i>Ēotnum</i>, <i>Ēotenum</i><a name="NtA459" + href="#Nt459"><sup>[459]</sup></a>. Now a scribe transliterating a poem + from an Anglian dialect into West-Saxon should, of course, have altered + these forms into the corresponding West-Saxon forms <i>Ȳtena</i> + and <i>Ȳtum</i>. But nothing would have been more likely than that + he would have misunderstood the tribal name as a common noun, and + retained the Anglian forms (altering <i>eotum</i> or <i>eotnum</i> into + <i>eotenum</i>) supposing the word to mean "giants." After all, the + common noun <i>eotenum</i>, "giants," was quite as like the tribal name + <i>Ēotum</i>, which the scribe presumably had before him, as was + the correct West-Saxon form of that name, <i>Ȳtum</i>.</p> + + <p>It is difficult therefore to avoid the conclusion that the "Eotens" + are Jutes: and this is confirmed by three other pieces of evidence, not + convincing in themselves, but helpful as subsidiary arguments<a + name="NtA460" href="#Nt460"><sup>[460]</sup></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 262 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page262"></a>{262}</span></p> + + <p>(1) We should gather from <i>Widsith</i> that the Jutes were concerned + in the <i>Finnsburg</i> business. For in that poem generally (though not + always) tribes connected in story are grouped together; and the Jutes and + Frisians are so coupled:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i16">Ȳtum [weold] Gefwulf</p> + <p>Fin Folcwalding Frēsna cynne.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>(2) There is another passage in <i>Beowulf</i> in which <i>Eotenas</i> + is possibly used in the sense of "Jutes."</p> + + <p>We have seen above<a name="NtA461" href="#Nt461"><sup>[461]</sup></a> + that according to a Scandinavian tradition Lotherus was exiled <i>in + Jutiam</i>: and Heremod, who has been held to be the counterpart of + Lotherus</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i16"><i>mid Eotenum</i> wearð</p> + <p>on fēonda geweald forð forlācen.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>But the identification of Lotherus and Heremod is too hypothetical to + carry the weight of much argument.</p> + + <p>(3) Finn comes into many Old English pedigrees, which have doubtless + borrowed from one another. But the earliest in which we find him, and the + only one in which we find his father Folcwald, is that of the Jutish + kings of Kent<a name="NtA462" href="#Nt462"><sup>[462]</sup></a>. Here, + too, the name Hengest meets us.</p> + + <p>The view that the name "Eoten" in the <i>Finnsburg</i> story is a form + of the word "Jute" is, then, one which is very difficult to reject. It is + one which has in the past been held by many scholars and is, I think, + held by all who have recently expressed any opinion on the subject<a + name="NtA463" href="#Nt463"><sup>[463]</sup></a>. But this renders very + difficult the assumption of Bugge and his followers that the word "Eoten" + is synonymous with "Frisian<a name="NtA464" + href="#Nt464"><sup>[464]</sup></a>." For Frisians were not Jutes. <!-- + Page 263 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page263"></a>{263}</span>The + tribes were closely related; but the two words were not synonymous. The + very lines in <i>Widsith</i>, which couple Jutes and Frisians together, + as if they were related in story, show that the names were regarded as + those of distinct tribes. And this evidence from <i>Widsith</i> is very + important, because the compiler of that list of names clearly knew the + story of Finn and Hnæf.</p> + + <p>But this is not the only difficulty in Bugge's interpretation of the + Eotens as Frisians. The outbreak of war, we are told, is due to the + treachery of the Eotens. This Bugge and his followers interpret as + meaning that Finn must have treacherously attacked Hnæf. Yet the poet + speaks of "the warriors of Finn when the sudden danger fell upon them": + <i>þā hīē se fǣr begeat</i>. It is essential to + <i>fǣr</i> that it signifies a sudden and unexpected attack<a + name="NtA465" href="#Nt465"><sup>[465]</sup></a>: and the unexpected + attack must have come, not upon the assailants but upon the assailed.</p> + + <p>Yet this difficulty, though it has been emphasized by Möller<a + name="NtA466" href="#Nt466"><sup>[466]</sup></a> and other opponents of + Bugge's view, is not insuperable<a name="NtA467" + href="#Nt467"><sup>[467]</sup></a>, and I hope to show below that there + is no real difficulty. But it leads us to a problem not so easily + surmounted. If Finn made a treacherous attack upon Hnæf, and slew him, + how did it come that Hengest, and Hnæf's other men, made terms with their + murderous host?</p> + + <p>In the primitive heathen days it had been a rule that the retainer + must not survive his vanquished lord<a name="NtA468" + href="#Nt468"><sup>[468]</sup></a>. The ferocity of this rule was + subsequently softened, and, in point of fact, we <i>do</i> often hear, + after some great leader has been slain, of his followers accepting + quarter from a chivalrous foe, without being <!-- Page 264 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page264"></a>{264}</span>therefore regarded as + having acted disgracefully<a name="NtA469" + href="#Nt469"><sup>[469]</sup></a>. But, if Finn had invited Hnæf and + Hnæf's retainers to be his guests, and had fallen upon them by treachery, + the action of the retainers in coming to terms with Finn, in entering his + service, and stipulating how much of his pay they shall receive, would be + contrary to all standards of conduct as understood in the Heroic Age, and + would deprive Hnæf's men of any sympathy the audience might feel for + them. But Hnæf's men are not censured: they are in fact treated most + sympathetically in the <i>Episode</i>, and in the <i>Fragment</i>, at an + earlier point in the story, they are enthusiastically applauded<a + name="NtA470" href="#Nt470"><sup>[470]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>It is strange enough in any case that Hnæf's retainers should make + terms with the slayer of their lord. But it is not merely strange, it is + absolutely unintelligible, if we are to suppose that Finn has not merely + slain Hnæf, but has lured him into his power, and then slain him while a + guest.</p> + + <p>It is to the credit of Bugge that he felt this difficulty: but his + attempt to explain it is hardly satisfactory. He fell back upon a + parallel between the story of the death of Rolf Kraki and the story of + <i>Finnsburg</i>. We have already seen that the resemblance is very close + between the <i>Bjarkamál</i>, which narrates the death of Rolf, and the + opening of the <i>Finnsburg Fragment</i>. The parallel which Bugge + invoked comes from the sequel to the Rolf story<a name="NtA471" + href="#Nt471"><sup>[471]</sup></a> which tells how Hiarwarus, the + murderer of Rolf Kraki, astonished by the devotion of Rolf's retainers, + lamented their death, and said how gladly he would have given quarter to + such men, and taken them into his service. Thereupon Wiggo, the one + survivor, who had previously vowed to avenge his lord, and had concealed + himself with that object, came forward and offered to accept these terms. + Accordingly he placed his hand upon the hilt of his new master's drawn + sword, as if about to swear fealty to him: but instead of swearing, he + ran him through.</p> + + <p>"Glorious and ever memorable hero, who valiantly kept his vow," says + Saxo<a name="NtA472" href="#Nt472"><sup>[472]</sup></a>. Whether or no we + share the exultation of <!-- Page 265 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page265"></a>{265}</span>that excellent if somewhat bloodthirsty + ecclesiastic, we must admit that Wiggo's methods were sensible and + practical. If, singlehanded, he was to keep his vow, and avenge his lord, + he could only hope to do it by some such stratagem.</p> + + <p>Bugge tries to explain Hengest's action on similar lines: "He does not + hesitate to enter the service of Finn in order thereby to carry out his + revenge<a name="NtA473" href="#Nt473"><sup>[473]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>But the circumstances are entirely different. Wiggo was left alone, + the only survivor of Rolf's household, to face a whole army. But Hengest + is no single survivor: he and his fellows have made so good a defence + that Finn cannot overcome them by conflict on the <i>meðel-stede</i>. Not + only so, but, if we accept the interpretation that almost every critic + and editor has put upon the passage (ll. 1184-5), Hengest's position is + even stronger. Finn has lost almost all his thegns; the usual + interpretation puts him at the mercy of Hengest: at best it is a draw<a + name="NtA474" href="#Nt474"><sup>[474]</sup></a>. If, then, Hengest wants + vengeance upon Finn, why does he not pursue it? Instead of which, + according to Bugge, he enters Finn's service in order that he may get an + opportunity for revenge.</p> + + <p>And note, that Wiggo did not swear the oath of fealty to the murderer + of his master Rolf: he merely put himself in the posture to do so, and + then, instead, ran the tyrant through forthwith. But Hengest <i>does</i> + swear the oath, and <i>does not</i> forthwith slay the tyrant. He spends + the winter with him, receives a sword from Hunlafing, after which his + name does not occur again. Finn is ultimately slain, but the names which + are found in that connection are those of Guthlaf and Oslaf [Ordlaf].</p> + + <p>So Bugge's explanation comes to this: Hengest is fighting with success + against Finn, but he refrains from vengeance: instead, he treacherously + enters his service in order that he may take an opportunity of vengeance, + which opportunity, however, it is never made clear to us that he + takes.</p> + + <p>Had Hengest been a man of that kind, he would not have been a hero of + Old English heroic song.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p><!-- Page 266 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page266"></a>{266}</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section VI. Recent Elucidations. Prof. Ayres' Comments</span></p> + + <p>It is one of the merits of Bugge's view—one of the proofs of its + general soundness—that it admits of successive improvements at the + hands of succeeding commentators. No one has done more in this way than + has Prof. Ayres to clear up the story, particularly the latter part of + the <i>Episode</i>. Ayres evolves unity out of what had been before "a + rapid-fire of events that hit all around a central tragic situation and + do not once touch it." Hengest does not, Ayres thinks, enter the service + of Finn with any such well-formed plan of revenge as Bugge had attributed + to him. Hengest was in a difficult situation. It is his mental conflict, + "torn between his oath to Finn and his duty to the dead Hnæf," which + gives unity to all that follows. It is a tragedy of Hengest, hesitating, + like Shakespeare's Hamlet, over the duty of revenge. Prof. Ayres' + statement here is too good to summarize; it must be quoted at length:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"How did he feel during that long, blood-stained winter? He naturally + thought about home (<i>eard gemunde</i>, 1129), but there was no question + of sailing then, no need yet of decision while the storm roared outside. + By and by spring came round, as it has a way of doing. How did he feel + then? Then, like any other Northerner, he wanted to put to sea:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i16">fundode wrecca,</p> + <p>gist of geardum.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>That is what he would naturally do. He would speak to Finn and be off; + in the spring his business was on the sea. That is all right as to Finn, + but as to the dead Hnæf it is very like running away; it is postponing + vengeance sadly. Will he prove so unpregnant of his cause as that? No; + though he would like to go to sea, he thought <i>rather</i> of vengeance, + and staid in the hope of managing a successful surprise against Finn and + his people:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i16">hē tō gyrn-wræce</p> + <p>swīðor þōhte þonne tō sǣ-lāde,</p> + <p>gif hē torn-gemōt þurhtēon mihte,</p> + <p>þæt hē Eotena bēarn inne gemunde.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>All this says clearly that Hengest was thinking things over, whether + he should or should not take vengeance upon Finn; it tells us also very + clearly, with characteristic anticipation of the outcome of the story, + that in the end desire for vengeance carried the day:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Swā hē ne-forwyrnde worold-rǣdenne,</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>he did not <i>thus</i> prove recreant to his duty. But we have not + been told the steps by which Hengest arrived at his decision. That seems + <!-- Page 267 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page267"></a>{267}</span>to be what we should naturally want to + know at this point, and that is precisely what we are about to be told. + Occasions gross as earth informed against him<a name="NtA475" + href="#Nt475"><sup>[475]</sup></a>."</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Then Ayres goes on to explain the "egging," through the presentation + of a sword by Hunlafing. This feature of the story is now pretty + generally so understood; but Ayres has an interpretation of the part + played by Guthlaf and Oslaf, which is new and enlightening.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"Hengest's almost blunted purpose was not whetted by Hunlafing alone. + The latter's uncles, Guðlaf and Oslaf [Ordlaf] took occasion to mention + to Hengest the fierce attack (the one, presumably, in which Hnæf had + fallen); cast up to him all the troubles that had befallen them ever + since their disastrous sea-journey to Finnsburg; they had plenty of woes + to twit him with:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>siððan grimne gripe Gūðlāf and Ōslāf</p> + <p>æfter sǣ-sīðe sorge mǣndon,</p> + <p>ætwiton wēana dǣl.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>The effect of all this on Hengest is cumulative. Where he was before + in perfect balance, he is now wrought to action by the words of his + followers; he can control himself no longer; the balance is destroyed. + The restless spirit (Hengest's in the first instance, but it may be + thought of as referring to the entire attacking party, now of one mind) + could no longer restrain itself within the breast:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i16">ne meahte wǣfre mōd</p> + <p>forhabban in hreðre.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Vengeance wins the day<a name="NtA476" + href="#Nt476"><sup>[476]</sup></a>."</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>By this interpretation Ayres has, as he claims, "sharpened some of the + features" of the current interpretation of the Finn story. For, as he + says, "in some respects the current version was very unsatisfactory; + there seemed to be little relation between the presentation of the sword + to Hengest and the spectacle of Guðlaf and Oslaf howling their complaints + in the face of Finn."</p> + + <p>That Ayres' interpretation enhances the coherency of the story is + beyond dispute: that it does so at the cost of putting some strain upon + the text in one or two places may perhaps be urged<a name="NtA477" + href="#Nt477"><sup>[477]</sup></a>. But that in its main lines it is + correct seems to me certain: the story of Finnsburg is the tragedy of + Hengest—his hesitation and his revenge. Keeping this well in view, + many of the difficulties disappear.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p><!-- Page 268 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page268"></a>{268}</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section VII. Problems still outstanding</span></p> + + <p>Many of the difficulties disappear: but the two big ones remain. + Firstly, if "Eoten" means "Jute," as it is usually agreed that it does, + why should the Frisians be called Jutes, seeing that a Frisian is not a + Jute? Secondly, when Hengest and the other thegns of Hnæf enter the + service of the slayer of their lord, they are not blamed for so doing, + but rather excused, <i>þā him swā geþearfod wæs</i>. Such a + situation is unusual; but it becomes incredible if that slayer, whose + service they enter, had fallen upon and slain their lord by treachery, + when his guest.</p> + + <p>It seems to me that neither of these difficulties is really inherent + in the situation, but rather accidental, and owing to the way Bugge's + theory, right enough in its main lines, has been presented both by Bugge + and his followers. For it is not necessary to assume that Frisians + <i>are</i> called <i>Eotenas</i> or Jutes. All that we are justified in + deducing from the text is that Frisians and <i>Eotenas</i> are both under + the command of Finn. If we suppose what the text demands, <i>and no + more</i>, we are at one stroke relieved of both our difficulties. Though + "Jute" can hardly have been synonymous with "Frisian," nothing is more + probable, as I shall try to show<a name="NtA478" + href="#Nt478"><sup>[478]</sup></a>, than that a great Frisian king should + have had a tribe of Jutes subject to him, or should have had in his pay a + band of Jutish mercenaries. Now if the trouble was due to these + "Eotens"—and we are told that it was<a name="NtA479" + href="#Nt479"><sup>[479]</sup></a>—our second difficulty is also + solved. It would be much more natural for Hengest to come to terms with + Finn, albeit the <i>bana</i> of his lord, if Finn's conduct had not been + stained by treachery, and if the blame for the original attack did not + rest with him.</p> + + <p>And, as I have said, there is nothing in the text which justifies us + in assuming that <i>Eotenas</i> means "Frisians" and that therefore + <i>Eotena trēowe</i> refers to Finn's breach of faith. It has + indeed been argued that <i>Eotenas</i> and Frisians are synonymous, <!-- + Page 269 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page269"></a>{269}</span>because in the terms of peace, whilst it + is stipulated that Hengest and his comrades are to have equal control + with the <i>Eotena bearn</i>, it is further stipulated that Finn is to + give Hengest's men gifts equal to those which he gives to the + <i>Frēsena cynn</i><a name="NtA480" + href="#Nt480"><sup>[480]</sup></a>. Here then <i>Eotena bearn</i> and + <i>Frēsena cynn</i> are certainly parallel, and are both contrasted + with Hengest and his troops. But surely this in no wise proves <i>Eotena + bearn</i> and <i>Frēsena cynn</i> synonymous: they may equally well + be different sections of Finn's host, just as in <i>Brunanburh</i> the + soldiers of Athelstan are spoken of first as <i>Westseaxe</i>, and then + as <i>Myrce</i>. Are we to argue that West-Saxons are Mercians? So in the + account of Hygelac's fatal expedition<a name="NtA481" + href="#Nt481"><sup>[481]</sup></a> the opponents are called Franks, + Frisians, <i>Hūgas</i>, <i>Hetware</i>. A reader ignorant of the + story might suppose these all synonymous terms for one tribe. But we know + that they are not: the <i>Hetware</i> were the people immediately + attacked—the Frankish overlord hastened to the rescue, and was + apparently helped by the neighbouring Frisians, who although frequently + at this date opposed to the Franks, would naturally make common cause + against the pirate from overseas<a name="NtA482" + href="#Nt482"><sup>[482]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>It was quite natural that the earlier students of the <i>Finnsburg + Episode</i>, thinking of the two opposing forces as two homogeneous + tribes, and finding mention of three tribal names, Danes, Eotens and + Frisians, should have assumed that the Eotens must be exactly synonymous + with <i>either</i> Danes <i>or</i> Frisians. But it is now recognized + that the conditions of the time postulate not so much tribes as groups of + tribes<a name="NtA483" href="#Nt483"><sup>[483]</sup></a>. In the + <i>Fragment</i> we have, on the side of the Danes, <i>Sigeferth</i>, + prince of the <i>Secgan</i>. The <i>Secgan</i> are not necessarily Danes, + because their lord is fighting on the Danish side. Neither need the + <i>Eotenas</i> be Frisians, because they are fighting on the Frisian + side.</p> + + <p>We cannot, then, argue that two tribes are identical, because engaged + in fighting a common foe: still less, because they are <!-- Page 270 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page270"></a>{270}</span>mentioned with + a certain parallelism<a name="NtA484" href="#Nt484"><sup>[484]</sup></a>. + And anyway, it is impossible to find in the use of the expression + <i>Eotena bearn</i> in l. 1088 any support for the interpretation which + makes <i>Eotena trēowe</i> signify the treachery of Finn himself. + For, assuredly, the proviso that Hengest and his fellows are to have half + control as against the <i>Eotena bearn</i> does not mean that they are to + have half control as against Finn himself. For the very next lines make + it clear that they are to enter Finn's service and become his retainers. + That Hengest and his men are to have equal rights with Finn's Jutish + followers (<i>Eotena bearn</i>) is reasonable enough: but they obviously + have not equal rights with Finn, their lord whom they are now to follow. + <i>Eotena bearn</i> in l. 1088, then, does <i>not</i> include Finn: how + <i>can</i> it then be used as an argument that <i>Eotena trēowe</i> + must refer to <i>Finn's</i> faith and his breach of it?</p> + + <p>Finn, then, is the <i>bana</i> of Hnæf, but there is nothing in the + text which compels us to assume that he is the slayer of his guest.</p> + + <p>The reader may regard my zeal to clear the character of Finn as + excessive. But it is always worth while to understand a good old tale. + And it is only when we withdraw our unjust aspersions upon Finn's good + faith that the tale becomes intelligible.</p> + + <p>This, I know, has been disputed, and by the scholars whose opinion I + most respect.</p> + + <p>The poet tells us that Finn was the <i>bana</i> of Hnæf, so, says + Ayres, "it is hard to see how it helps matters<a name="NtA485" + href="#Nt485"><sup>[485]</sup></a>" to argue that Finn was not guilty of + treachery. And Lawrence argues in the same way:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"How is it possible to shift the blame for the attack from Finn to the + Eotenas when Finn is called the <i>bana</i> of Hnæf? It does not matter + whether he killed him with his own hands or not; he is clearly held + responsible; the lines tell us it was regarded as disgraceful for the + <!-- Page 271 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page271"></a>{271}</span>Danes to have to follow him, and the + revenge at the end falls heavily upon him. The insult and hurt to Danish + pride would be very little lessened by the assumption that someone else + started the quarrel; and for this assumption, too, the lines give no + warrant<a name="NtA486" href="#Nt486"><sup>[486]</sup></a>."</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Let us take these objections in turn. I do not see how the fact that + Finn is called the <i>bana</i> of Hnæf can prove <i>anything</i> as to + "the blame for the attack." Of course the older editors may have thought + so. Kemble translates <i>bana</i> "slaughterer," which implies brutality, + and perhaps culpability. Bosworth-Toller renders <i>bana</i> "murderer," + which certainly implies blame for attack. But we know that these are mere + mistranslations. Nothing as to "blame for attack" is implied in the term + <i>bana</i>: "<i>bana</i> 'slayer' is a perfectly neutral word, and must + not be translated by 'murderer,' or any word connoting criminality. A man + who slays another in self-defence, or in righteous execution of the law, + is still his 'bane'<a name="NtA487" href="#Nt487"><sup>[487]</sup></a>." + Everyone admits this to be true: and yet at the same time <i>bana</i> is + quoted to prove that Finn is to blame; because, for want of a better + word, we half-consciously render <i>bana</i> "murderer": and "murderer" + <i>does</i> imply blame. "Words," says Bacon, "as a Tartar's bow, do + shoot back upon the understanding of the wisest."</p> + + <p>Lawrence continues: "The lines tell us that it was regarded as + disgraceful for the Danes to have to follow him." But surely this is + saying too much. That the Frisians are not to taunt the Danes with + following the slayer of their lord is only one of two possible + interpretations of the ll. 1101-3. And even if we accept this + interpretation, it does not follow that the Danes are regarded as having + done anything with which they can be <i>justly</i> taunted. It is part of + the settlement between Gunnar and Njal, that Njal's sons are not to be + taunted: if a man repeats the taunts he shall fall unavenged<a + name="NtA488" href="#Nt488"><sup>[488]</sup></a>. Surely a man may be + touchy about being taunted, without being regarded as having done + anything disgraceful. Indeed, in our case, the poet implies that taunts + would <i>not</i> be just, <i>þā him swā geþearfod wæs</i>. + But, as I try to show below, no <i>þearf</i> could have excused the + submission of retainers to a foe who had just slain their lord by + deliberate treachery.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 272 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page272"></a>{272}</span></p> + + <p>"The revenge at the end falls heavily upon Finn." It does; as so often + happens where the feud is temporarily patched up, it breaks out again, as + in the stories of Alboin, Ingeld or Bolli. But this does not prove that + the person upon whom the revenge ultimately falls heavily had been a + guest-slayer. The possibility of even temporary reconciliation rather + implies the reverse.</p> + + <p>"The insult and hurt to Danish pride would be very little lessened by + the assumption that someone else [than Finn] started the quarrel; and for + this assumption, too, the lines give no warrant." But they <i>do</i>: for + they tell us that it was due to the bad faith of the Eotens. Commentators + may argue, if they will, that "Eotens" means Finn. But the weight of + proof lies on them, and they have not met it, or seriously attempted to + meet it.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section VIII. The Weight of Proof: The Eotens</span></p> + + <p>Finn is surely entitled to be held innocent till he can be proved + guilty. And the argument for his guilt comes to this: the trouble was due + to the bad faith of the Eotens: "Eotens" means "Jutes": "Jutes" means + "Frisians": "Frisians" means "Finn": therefore the trouble was due to the + treachery of Finn.</p> + + <p>Now I agree that it is probable that <i>Eotenas</i> means Jutes; and, + as I have said, there is nothing improbable in a Frisian king having had + a clan of Jutes, or a body of Jutish mercenaries, subject to him. But + that the Frisians as a whole should be called Jutes is, <i>per se</i>, + exceedingly improbable, and we have no shadow of evidence for it. + Lawrence tries to justify it by the authority of Siebs:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"Siebs, perhaps the foremost authority on Frisian conditions, + conjectures that ... the occupation by the Frisians of Jutish territory + after the conquest of Britain assisted the confusion between the two + names."</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>But <i>did</i> the Frisians occupy Jutish territory? When we ask what + is Siebs' authority for the hypothesis that Frisians occupied Jutish + territory, we find it to be this: that because in <i>Beowulf</i> "Jute" + means "Frisian," some such event must have taken place to account for + this nomenclature<a name="NtA489" href="#Nt489"><sup>[489]</sup></a>. So + it comes to this: the Frisians must have been called Jutes, because they + occupied <!-- Page 273 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page273"></a>{273}</span>Jutish territory: the Frisians must have + occupied Jutish territory because they are called Jutes. I do not think + we could have a better example of what Prof. Tupper calls "philological + legend."</p> + + <p>Siebs rejects Bede's statement, which places the Jutes in what is now + Jutland: he believes them to have been immediately adjacent to the + Frisians. For this belief that the Jutes were immediate neighbours of the + Frisians there is, of course, some support, though not of a very + convincing kind: but the belief that the Frisians occupied the territory + of these adjacent Jutes rests, so far as I know, solely upon this + identification of the <i>Eotenas</i>-Jutes with the Frisians, which it is + then in turn used to prove.</p> + + <p>But if by Jutes we understand (following Bede) a people dwelling north + of the Angles, in or near the peninsula of Jutland, then it is of course + true that (at a much later date) a colony of Frisians <i>did</i> occupy + territory which is near Jutland, and which is sometimes included in the + name "Jutland." But, as I have tried to show above, this "North Frisian" + colony belongs to a period much later than that of the Finn-story: we + have no reason whatever to suppose that the Frisians of the Finn story + are the North Frisians of Sylt and the adjoining islands and + mainland—the <i>Frisiones qui habitabant Juthlandie</i><a + name="NtA490" href="#Nt490"><sup>[490]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>And when we have assumed, without evidence, that, at the period with + which we are dealing, Frisians had occupied Jutish territory, we are then + further asked to assume that, from this settlement in Jutish territory, + such Frisians came to be called Jutes. Now this is an hypothesis <i>per + se</i> conceivable, but very improbable. Throughout the whole Heroic Age, + for a thousand years after the time of Tacitus, Germanic tribes were + moving, and occupying the territory of other people. During this period, + how many instances can we find in which a tribe took the name of the + people whose territory it occupied? Even where the name of the new home + is adopted, the old tribal name is <i>not</i> adopted. For instance, the + Bavarians occupied the territory of the Celtic Boii, but they did not + call themselves Boii, but Bai(haim)varii, "the dwellers in the land of + the Boii"—a very <!-- Page 274 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page274"></a>{274}</span>different thing. In the same way the Jutes + who settled in the land of the Cantii did not call themselves + <i>Kente</i>, but <i>Cantware</i>, "dwellers in Cantium." Of course, + where the old name of a country survives, it does often <i>in the long + run</i> come to be applied to its new inhabitants; but this takes many + ages. It was not till a good thousand years after the English had + conquered the land of the Britons, that Englishmen began to speak and + think of themselves as "Britons." In feudal or 18th century days all the + subjects of the ruler of Britain, Prussia, Austria, may come to be called + British, Prussians, Austrians. But this is no argument for the period + with which we are dealing. The assumption, then, that a body of Frisians, + simply because they inhabited land which had once been inhabited by + Jutes, should have called themselves Jutes, is so contrary to all we know + of tribal nomenclature at this date, that one could only accept it if + compelled by very definite evidence to do so. And of such evidence there + is no scrap<a name="NtA491" href="#Nt491"><sup>[491]</sup></a>. Neither + is there a scrap of evidence for the underlying hypothesis that any + Frisians <i>were</i> settled at this date in Jutish territory.</p> + + <p>And as if this were not hypothetical enough, a further hypothesis has + then to be built upon it: viz., that this name "Jutes," belonging to such + of the Frisians as had settled in Jutish territory, somehow became + applicable to Frisians as a whole. Now this might conceivably have + happened, but only as a result of certain political events. If the Jutish + Frisians had become the governing element in Frisia, it would be + conceivable. But after all, we know something about Frisian history, and + I do not <!-- Page 275 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page275"></a>{275}</span>think we are at liberty to assume any such + changes as would have enabled the Frisian people, as a whole, to be + called Jutes. How is it that we never get any hint anywhere of this + Jutish preponderance and Jutish ascendancy?</p> + + <p>The argument that the "treachery of the Jutes" means the treachery of + Finn, King of the Frisians, has, then, no support at all.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>One further argument there is, for attributing treason to Finn.</p> + + <p>It has been urged that in other stories a husband entraps and betrays + the brother of his wife. But we are not justified in reading pieces of + one story into another, unless we believe the two stories to be really + connected. The Signy of the <i>Vǫlsunga Saga</i> has been quoted as + a parallel to Hildeburh<a name="NtA492" + href="#Nt492"><sup>[492]</sup></a>. Signy leaves the home of her father + Volsung and her brother Sigmund to wed King Siggeir. Siggeir invites the + kin of his wife to visit him, and then slays Volsung and all his sons, + save Sigmund. But it is the difference of the story, rather than its + likeness, which is striking. No hint is ever made of any possibility of + reconciliation between Siggeir and the kin of the men he has slain. The + feud admits of no atonement, and is continued to the utterance. Siggeir's + very wife helps her brother Sigmund to his revenge.</p> + + <p>How different from the attitude of Sigmund and Signy is the + willingness of Hengest to come to terms, and the merely passive and + elegiac bearing of Hildeburh! These things do not suggest that we ought + to read a King Siggeir treachery into the story of Finn.</p> + + <p>Again, the fact that Atli entices the brother of his wife into his + power, has been urged as a parallel. But surely it is rather unfair to + erect this into a kind of standard of conduct for the early Germanic + brother-in-law, and to assume as a matter of course that, because Finn is + Hnæf's brother-in-law, therefore he must have sought to betray him. The + whole atmosphere of the Finn-Hnæf story, with its attempted + reconciliation, is as opposed to that of the story of Atli as it is to + the story of Siggeir.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 276 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page276"></a>{276}</span></p> + + <p>The only epithet applied to Finn is <i>ferhð-freca</i>, "valiant in + soul." Though <i>freca</i> is not necessarily a good word, and is applied + to the dragon as well as to Beowulf, yet it denotes grim, fierce, almost + reckless courage. It does not suggest a traitor who invites his foes to + his house, and murders them by night.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>I interpret the lines, then, as meaning that the trouble arose from + the Jutes, and, since the context shows that these Jutes were on Finn's + side, and against the Danes, we must hold them to be a body of Jutes in + the service of Finn<a name="NtA493" + href="#Nt493"><sup>[493]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section IX. Ethics of the Blood Feud</span></p> + + <p>But, as we have seen, it is objected that this interpretation of the + situation, absolving Finn from any charge of treachery or aggression, + does not "help matters<a name="NtA494" + href="#Nt494"><sup>[494]</sup></a>." Or, as Prof. Lawrence puts it, "the + hurt to Danish pride [in entering the service of Finn] would be very + little lessened by the assumption that someone else [than Finn] started + the quarrel."</p> + + <p>These objections seem to me to be contrary to the whole spirit of the + old heroic literature.</p> + + <p>I quite admit that there is a stage in primitive society when the act + of slaying is everything, and the circumstances, or motives, do not + count. In the Levitical Law, it is taken for granted that, if a man + innocently causes the death of another, as for instance if his axe break, + and the axe-head accidentally kill his comrade, then the avenger of blood + will seek to slay the homicide, just as much as if he had been guilty of + treacherous murder. To meet such cases the Cities of Refuge are + established, where the homicide may flee till his case can be + investigated; but even though found innocent, the homicide may be at once + slain by the avenger, should he step outside the City of Refuge. And this + "eye for eye" vengeance yields slowly: it took long to establish legally + in our own country the distinction between murder and homicide.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 277 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page277"></a>{277}</span></p> + + <p>For "The thought of man" it was held "shall not be tried: as the devil + himself knoweth not the thought of man." Nevertheless, even the Germanic + <i>wer-gild</i> system permits consideration of circumstances: it often + happens that no <i>wer-gild</i> is to be paid because the slain man has + been unjust, or the aggressor<a name="NtA495" + href="#Nt495"><sup>[495]</sup></a>, or no <i>wer-gild</i> will be + accepted because the slaying was under circumstances making settlement + impossible.</p> + + <p>Doubtless in Germanic barbarism there was once a stage similar to that + which must have preceded the establishment of the Cities of Refuge in + Israel<a name="NtA496" href="#Nt496"><sup>[496]</sup></a>; but that stage + had passed before the period with which we are dealing; in the Heroic Age + the motive <i>did</i> count for a very great deal. Not but what there + were still the literal people who insisted upon "an eye for an eye," + without looking at circumstances; and these people often had their way; + but their view is seldom the one taken by the characters with whom the + poet or the saga-man sympathises. These generally hold a more moderate + creed. One may almost say that the leading motive in heroic literature is + precisely this difference of opinion between the people who hold that + under any circumstances it is shameful to come to an agreement with the + <i>bana</i> of one's lord or friend or kinsman, and the people who are + willing <i>under certain circumstances</i> to come to such an + agreement.</p> + + <p>It happens not infrequently that after some battle in which a great + chief has been killed, his retainers are offered quarter, and accept it; + but I do not remember any instance of their doing this if, instead of an + open battle, it is a case of a treacherous attack. The two most famous + downfalls of Northern princes afford typical examples: after the battle + of Svold, Kolbjorn Stallari accepts quarter from Eric, the chivalrous + <i>bani</i> of his lord Olaf<a name="NtA497" + href="#Nt497"><sup>[497]</sup></a>; but Rolf's men refuse quarter after + the treacherous murder of their lord by Hiarwarus<a name="NtA498" + href="#Nt498"><sup>[498]</sup></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 278 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page278"></a>{278}</span></p> + + <p>That men, after a fair fight, could take quarter from, or give it to, + those who had slain their lord or closest kinsman, is shown by abundant + references in the sagas and histories. For instance, when Eric, after the + fight with the Jomsvikings, offers quarter to his prisoners, that quarter + is accepted, even though their leaders, their nearest kin, and their + friends have been slain. The first to receive quarter is young Sigurd, + whose father Bui has just been killed: yet the writer obviously does not + the less sympathize with Sigurd, or with the other Jomsviking survivors, + and feels the action to be generous on the part of Eric, and in no wise + base on the part of the Jomsvikings<a name="NtA499" + href="#Nt499"><sup>[499]</sup></a>. But this is natural, because the + Jomsvikings have just been defeated by Eric in fair fight. It would be + impossible, if Eric were represented as a traitor, slaying the + Jomsvikings by a treacherous attack, whilst they were his guests. Is it + to be supposed that Sigurd, under such circumstances, would have taken + quarter from the slayer of Bui his father?</p> + + <p>In the <i>Laxdæla Saga</i>, Olaf the Peacock, in exacting vengeance + for the slaying of his son Kjartan, shows no leniency towards the sons of + Osvif, on whom the moral responsibility rests. But he accepts + compensation in money from Bolli, who had been drawn into the feud + against his will. Yet Bolli was the actual slayer of Kjartan, and he had + taken the responsibility as such<a name="NtA500" + href="#Nt500"><sup>[500]</sup></a>. And Olaf is not held to have lowered + himself by accepting a money payment as atonement from the slayer of his + son—on the contrary "he was considered to have grown in reputation" + from having thus spared Bolli. But after Olaf's death, the feud bursts + out again, and revenge in the end falls heavily upon Bolli<a + name="NtA501" href="#Nt501"><sup>[501]</sup></a>, as it does upon + Finn.</p> + + <p>On this question a fairly uniform standard of feeling will be found + from the sixth century to the thirteenth. That it <i>does</i> make all + the difference in composing a feud, whether the slaying from which the + feud arises was treacherous or not, can be abundantly proved from many + documents, from Paul the Deacon, and possibly earlier, to the Icelandic + Sagas. Such composition of feuds may or may not be lasting; it may or may + <!-- Page 279 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page279"></a>{279}</span>not expose to taunt those who make it; but + the questions which arise are precisely these: Who started the quarrel? + Was the slaying fair or treacherous? Upon the answer depends the + possibility of atonement. There may be some insult and hurt to a man's + pride in accepting atonement, even in cases where the other side has much + to say for itself. But if the slaying has been fair, composition is felt + to be possible, though not without danger of the feud breaking out + afresh.</p> + + <p>Prof. Lawrence has suggested that perhaps, in the original version of + the <i>Finnsburg</i> story, the Danes were reduced to greater straits + than is represented to be the case in the extant <i>Beowulf Episode</i>. + He thinks that it is "almost incomprehensible" that Hengest should make + terms with Finn, if he had really reduced Finn and his thegns to such a + degree of helplessness as the words of the <i>Episode</i> state. It seems + to me that the matter depends much more upon the treachery or the honesty + of Finn. If Finn was guilty of treachery and slaughter of his guests, + then it <i>is</i> "unintelligible" that Hengest should spare him: but if + Finn was really a respectable character, then the fact that Hengest was + making headway against him is rather a reason why Hengest should be + moderate, than otherwise. To quote the <i>Laxdæla Saga</i> again: though + Olaf the Peacock lets off Bolli, the <i>bani</i> of his son Kjartan, with + a money payment, he makes it clear that he is master of the situation, + before he shows this mercy. Paradoxical as it sounds, it was often easier + for a man to show moderation in pursuing a blood feud, just + <i>because</i> he was in a strong position. It is so again in the <i>Saga + of Thorstein the White</i>. But the adversary must be one who deserves to + be treated with moderation.</p> + + <p>Of course it is quite possible that Prof. Lawrence is right, and that + in some earlier and more correct version the Danes may have been + represented as so outnumbered by the Frisians that they had no choice + except to surrender to Finn, and enter his service, or else to be + destroyed. But, whether this be so or no, all parallel incidents in the + old literature show that their choice between these evil alternatives + will depend upon whether Finn, the <i>bana</i> of their lord, slew that + lord by deliberate and premeditated treachery whilst he was his guest, or + whether he <!-- Page 280 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page280"></a>{280}</span>was embroiled with him through the fault + of others, under circumstances which were perfectly honourable. If the + latter is the case, then Hnæf's men <i>might</i> accept quarter. Their + position is comparable with that of Illugi at the end of the <i>Grettis + Saga</i><a name="NtA502" href="#Nt502"><sup>[502]</sup></a>. Illugi is a + prisoner in the hands of the slayers of Grettir and he charges them with + having overcome Grettir, when already on the point of death from a + mortifying wound, which they had inflicted on him by sorcery and + enchantment. The slayers propose to Illugi terms parallel to those made + to the retainers of Hnæf. "I will give thee thy life," says their leader, + "if thou wilt swear to us an oath not to take vengeance on any of those + who have been in this business."</p> + + <p>Now, note the answer of Illugi: "That might have seemed to me a matter + to be discussed, if Grettir had been able to defend himself, and if ye + had overcome him with valour and courage; but now it is not to be looked + for that I will save my life by being such a coward as art thou. In a + word, no man shall be more harmful to thee than I, if I live, <i>for + never can I forget how it was that ye have vanquished Grettir</i>. Much + rather, then, do I choose to die."</p> + + <p>Now of course it would have been an "insult and hurt" to the pride of + Illugi, or of any other decent eleventh century Icelander, to have been + compelled to swear an oath not to avenge his brother, even though that + brother had been slain in the most chivalrous way possible; and it would + doubtless have been a hard matter, even in such a case, for Illugi to + have kept his oath, had he sworn it. But the treachery of the opponents + puts an oath out of the question, just as it must have done in the case + of the followers of King Cynewulf<a name="NtA503" + href="#Nt503"><sup>[503]</sup></a> or of Rolf Kraki, and as it must have + done in the case of the followers of Hnæf, had the slaying of Hnæf been a + premeditated act of treachery on the part of Finn.</p> + + <p>In the <i>Njáls Saga</i>, Flosi has to take up the feud for the slain + Hauskuld. Flosi is a moderate and reasonable man, so the first thing he + does is to enquire into the <i>circumstances</i> under which Hauskuld was + slain. Flosi finds that the circumstances, and the outrageous conduct of + the slayers, give him no choice <!-- Page 281 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page281"></a>{281}</span>but to prosecute the feud. So in the end + he burns Njal's hall, and in it the child of Kari.</p> + + <p>Now to have burned a man's child to death might well seem a deed + impossible of atonement. Yet in the end Flosi and Kari are reconciled by + a full atonement, <i>the father of the slain child actually taking the + first step</i><a name="NtA504" href="#Nt504"><sup>[504]</sup></a>. And + all this is possible because Flosi and Kari recognise that each has been + trying to play his part with justice and fairness, and that each is + dragged into the feud through the fault of others. When Flosi has said of + his enemy, "I would that I were altogether such a man as Kari is," we + feel that reconciliation is in sight.</p> + + <p>Very similar is the reconciliation between Alboin and Thurisind in + Longobard story, but with this difference, that here it is Alboin who + seeks reconciliation by going to the hall of the man whose son he has + slain, thus reversing the parts of Flosi and Kari; and reconciliation is + possible—just barely possible.</p> + + <p>Again, when Bothvar comes to the hall of Rolf, and slays one of Rolf's + retainers, the other retainers naturally claim full vengeance. Rolf + insists upon investigating the <i>circumstances</i>. When he learns that + it was his own man who gave the provocation, he comes to terms with the + slayer.</p> + + <p>Of course it was a difficult matter, and one involving a sacrifice of + their pride, for the retainers of Hnæf to come to any composition with + the <i>bana</i> of their lord; but it is not unthinkable, if the quarrel + was started by Finn's subordinates without his consent, and if Finn + himself fought fair. But had the slaying been an act of premeditated + treachery on the part of Finn, the atonement would, I submit, have been + not only difficult but impossible. If the retainers of Hnæf had had such + success as our poem implies, then their action under such circumstances + is, as Lawrence says, "almost incomprehensible." If they did it under + compulsion, and fear of death, then their action would be contrary to all + the ties of Germanic honour, and would entirely deprive them of any + sympathy the audience might otherwise have felt for them. Yet it is quite + obvious that the retainers of Hnæf are precisely the people with whom the + audience is expected to sympathise<a name="NtA505" + href="#Nt505"><sup>[505]</sup></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 282 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page282"></a>{282}</span></p> + + <p>In any case, the feud was likely enough to break out again as it did + in the case of Alboin and Thurisind, and equally in that of Hrothgar and + Ingeld.</p> + + <p>Indeed, the different versions of the story of the feud between the + house of Hrothgar and the house of Froda are very much to the point.</p> + + <p>Much the oldest version—probably in its main lines quite + historical—is the story as given in <i>Beowulf</i>. Froda has been + slain by the Danes in pitched battle. Subsequently Hrothgar, upon whom, + as King of the Danes, the responsibility for meeting the feud has + devolved, tries to stave it off by wedding his daughter Freawaru to + Ingeld, son of Froda. The sympathy of the poet is obviously with the + luckless pair, Ingeld and Freawaru, involved as they are in ancient + hatreds which are not of their making. For it is foreseen how some old + warrior, who cannot forget his loyalty to his former king, will stir up + the feud afresh.</p> + + <p>But Saxo Grammaticus tells the story differently. Froda (Frotho) is + treacherously invited to a banquet, and then slain. By this treachery the + whole atmosphere of the story is changed. Ingeld (Ingellus) marries the + daughter of his father's slayer, and, for this, the old version + reproduced by Saxo showers upon him literally scores of phrases of scorn + and contempt. The whole interest of the story now centres not in the + recreant Ingeld or his wife of treacherous race, but in the old warrior + Starkad, whose spirit and eloquence is such that he can bring Ingeld to a + sense of his "vast sin<a name="NtA506" + href="#Nt506"><sup>[506]</sup></a>," can burst the bonds of his iniquity, + and at last compel him to take vengeance for his father.</p> + + <p>In the <i>Saga of Rolf Kraki</i> the story of Froda is still further + changed. It is a tale not only of treachery but also of slaying of kin. + Consequently the idea of any kind of atonement, however temporary, has + become impossible; there is no hint of it.</p> + + <p>Now the whole atmosphere of the Hengest-story in <i>Beowulf</i> is + parallel to that of the <i>Beowulf</i> version of the Ingeld-story: + agreement is possible, though it does not prove to be permanent. There is + room for much hesitation in the minds of Hengest and of Ingeld: they + remain the heroes of the story. But if Finn had, as is usually supposed, + invited Hnæf to his fort and then <!-- Page 283 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page283"></a>{283}</span>deliberately slain him + by treachery, the whole atmosphere would have been different. Hengest + could not then be the hero, but the foil: the example of a man whose + spirit fails at the crisis, who does the utterly disgraceful thing, and + enters the service of his lord's treacherous foe. The hero of the story + would be some other character—possibly the young Hunlafing, who, + loyal in spite of the treachery and cowardice of his leader Hengest, yet, + remaining steadfast of soul, is able in the end to infuse his own courage + into the heart of the recreant Hengest, and to inspire all the perjured + Danish thegns to their final and triumphant revenge on Finn.</p> + + <p>But that is not how the story is presented.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section X. An Attempt at Reconstruction</span></p> + + <p>The theory, then, which seems to fit in best with what we know of the + historic conditions at the time when the story arose, and which fits in + best with such details of the story as we have, is this:</p> + + <p>Finn, King of Frisia, has a stronghold, Finnsburg, outside the limits + of Frisia proper. There several clans and chieftains are assembled<a + name="NtA507" href="#Nt507"><sup>[507]</sup></a>: Hnæf, Finn's + brother-in-law, prince of the Hocings, the Eotens, and Sigeferth, prince + of the Secgan; whether Sigeferth has his retinue with him or no is not + clear.</p> + + <p>But the treachery of the Eotens causes trouble: they have some old + feud with Hnæf and his Danes, and attack them by surprise in their hall. + There is no proof that Finn has any share in this treason. It is + therefore quite natural that in the <i>Episode</i>—although the + treachery of the Eotens is censured—Finn is never blamed; and that + in the <i>Fragment</i>, Finn has apparently no share in the attack on the + hall, at any rate during those first five days to which the account in + the <i>Fragment</i> is limited.</p> + + <p>The attack is led by Garulf (<i>Fragment</i>, l. 20), presumably the + prince of the Eotens: and some friend or kinsman is urging Garulf not to + hazard so precious a life in the first attack. And <!-- Page 284 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page284"></a>{284}</span>here, too, the + situation now becomes clearer: if Garulf is the chief of the attacking + people, we can understand one of his kinsmen or friends expostulating + thus: but if he is merely one of a number of subordinates despatched by + Finn to attack the hall, the position would not be so easily + understood.</p> + + <p>Garulf, however, does not heed the warning, and falls, "first of all + the dwellers in that land." The <i>Fragment</i> breaks off, but the fight + goes on: we can imagine that matters must have proceeded much as in the + great attack upon the hall in the <i>Nibelungen lied</i><a name="NtA508" + href="#Nt508"><sup>[508]</sup></a>. One man after another would be drawn + in, by the duty of revenge, and Finn's own men would wake to find a + battle in progress. "The sudden bale (<i>fǣr</i>) came upon them." + Finn's son joins in the attack, perhaps in order to avenge some young + comrade in arms; and is slain, possibly by Hnæf. Then Finn <i>has</i> to + intervene, and Hnæf in turn is slain, possibly, though not certainly, by + Finn himself. But Hengest, the thegn of Hnæf, puts up so stout a defence, + that Finn is unable to take a full vengeance upon all the Danes. He + offers them terms. What are Hengest and the thegns to do?</p> + + <p>Finn has slain their lord. But they are Finn's guests, and they have + slain Finn's son in his own house. Finn himself is, I take it, blameless. + <i>It is here that the tragic tension comes in.</i> We can understand + how, even if Hengest had Finn in his power, he might well have stayed his + hand. So peace is made, and all is to be forgotten: solemn oaths are + sworn. And Finn keeps his promise honestly. He resumes his position of + host, making no distinction between Eotens, Frisians and Danes, who are + all, for the time at least, his followers.</p> + + <p>I think we have here a rational explanation of the action of Hengest + and the other thegns of Hnæf, in following the slayer of their lord.</p> + + <p>The situation resembles that which takes place when Alboin seeks + hospitality in the hall of the man whose son he has slain, or when Ingeld + is reconciled to Hrothgar. Very similar, too, <!-- Page 285 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page285"></a>{285}</span>is the temporary + reconciliation often brought about in an Icelandic feud by the feeling + that the other side has something to say for itself, and that both have + suffered grievously. The death of Finn's son is a set off against the + death of Hnæf<a name="NtA509" href="#Nt509"><sup>[509]</sup></a>. But, as + in the case of Alboin and of Ingeld, or of many an Icelandic Saga, the + passion for revenge is too deep to be laid to rest permanently. This is + what makes the figure of Hengest tragic, like the figure of Ingeld: both + have plighted their word, but neither can keep it.</p> + + <p>The assembly breaks up. Finn and his men go back to Friesland, and + Hengest accompanies them: of the other Danish survivors nothing is said + for the moment: whatever longings they may have had for revenge, the poet + concentrates all for the moment in the figure of Hengest.</p> + + <p>Hengest spends the winter with Finn, but he cannot quiet his + conscience: and in the end, he accepts the gift of a sword from a young + Danish prince Hunlafing, who is planning revenge. The uncles of + Hunlafing, Guthlaf and Oslaf [Ordlaf], had been in the hall when it was + attacked, and had survived. It is possible that the young prince's + father, Hunlaf, was slain then, and that his son is therefore recognised + as having the nominal leadership in the operations of vengeance<a + name="NtA510" href="#Nt510"><sup>[510]</sup></a>. Hengest, by accepting + the sword, promises his services in the work of revenge, and makes a + great slaughter of the treacherous Eotens. Perhaps he so far respects his + oath that he leaves the simultaneous attack upon Finn to Guthlaf and + Oslaf [Ordlaf]. Here we should have an explanation of <i>swylce</i>: "in + like wise<a name="NtA511" href="#Nt511"><sup>[511]</sup></a>"; and also + an explanation of the omission of Hengest's name from the final act, the + slaying of Finn himself. Hengest made the Eotens <!-- Page 286 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page286"></a>{286}</span>feel the sharpness of + his sword: and in like wise Guthlaf and Oslaf conducted their part of the + campaign. Of course this is only a guess: but it is very much in the + manner of the Heroic Age to get out of a difficulty by respecting the + letter of an oath whilst breaking its spirit—just as Hogni and + Gunnar arrange that the actual slaying of Sigurd shall be done by + Guttorm, who had not personally sworn the oath, as they had.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section XI. Gefwulf, Prince of the Jutes</span></p> + + <p>Conclusive external evidence in favour of the view just put forward we + can hardly hope for: for this reason, amongst others, that the names of + the actors in the Finn tragedy are corrupted and obscured in the + different versions. Hnæf and Hengest are too well known to be altered: + but most of the other names mentioned in the <i>Fragment</i> do not agree + with the forms given in other documents. Sigeferth is the Sæferth of + <i>Widsith</i>: the Ordlaf (correct) of the <i>Fragment</i> is the Oslaf + of the <i>Episode</i>. The first Guthlaf is confirmed by the Guthlaf of + the <i>Episode</i>: the other names, the second Guthlaf, Eaha and + Guthere, we cannot control from other sources: but they have all, on + various grounds, been suspected.</p> + + <p>Tribal names are equally varied. Sigeferth's people, the Secgan, are + called Sycgan in <i>Widsith</i>. And he would be a bold man who would + deny (what almost all students of the subject hold) that <i>Eotena, + Eotenum</i> in the <i>Episode</i> is yet another scribal error: the + copyist had before him the Anglian form, <i>eotna, eotnum</i>, and + miswrote <i>eotena, eotenum</i>, when he should have written the + West-Saxon equivalent of the tribal name, <i>Ȳtena, + Ȳtum</i>—the name we get in <i>Widsith</i>:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i12">Ȳtum [weold] Gefwulf</p> + <p>Fin Folcwalding Frēsna cynne.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>But in <i>Widsith</i> names of heroes and tribes are grouped together + (often, but not invariably) according as they are related in story. + Consequently Gefwulf is probably (not certainly) a hero of the Finn + story. What part does he play? If, as I have been trying to show, the + Jutes are the aggressors, then, as their chief, Gefwulf would probably be + the leader of the attack upon the hall. <!-- Page 287 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page287"></a>{287}</span></p> + + <p>This part, in the <i>Fragment</i>, is played by Garulf.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>Now <i>Gārulf</i> is not <i>Gefwulf</i>, and I am not going to + pretend that it is. But <i>Gārulf</i> is very near <i>Gefwulf</i>: + and (what is important) more so in Old English script than in modern + script<a name="NtA512" href="#Nt512"><sup>[512]</sup></a>. It stands to + <i>Gefwulf</i> in exactly the same relation as <i>Heregār</i> to + <i>Heorogār</i> or <i>Sigeferð</i> to <i>Sǣferð</i> or + <i>Ordlāf</i> to <i>Ōslāf</i>: that is to say the + initial letter and the second element are identical. And no serious + student, I think, doubts that <i>Heregār</i> and + <i>Heorogār</i>, or <i>Sigeferð</i> and <i>Sǣferð</i>, or + <i>Ordlāf</i> and <i>Ōslāf</i> are merely corruptions + of one name. And if it be admitted to be probable that <i>Gefwulf</i> is + miswritten for <i>Gārulf</i>, then the theory that Garulf was + prince of the Jutes, and the original assailant of Hnæf, in addition to + being the only theory which satisfactorily explains the internal evidence + of the <i>Fragment</i> and the <i>Episode</i>, has also powerful external + support.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead"><span class="sc">Section XII. Conclusion</span></p> + + <p>But, apart from any such confirmation, I think that the theory offers + an explanation of the known facts of the case, and that it is the only + theory yet put forward which does. It enables us to solve many minor + difficulties that hardly otherwise admit of solution. But, above all, it + gives a tragic interest to the story by making the actions of the two + main characters, Finn and Hengest, intelligible and human: they are both + great chiefs, placed by circumstances in a cruel position. Finn is no + longer a treacherous host, plotting the murder of his guests, without + even having the courage personally to superintend the dirty work: and + Hengest is not guilty of the shameful act of entering the service of a + king who had slain his lord by treachery when a guest. The tale of + <i>Finnsburg</i> becomes one of tragic misfortune besetting great + heroes—a tale of the same type as the stories of Thurisind or + Ingeld, of Sigurd or Theodric.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p><!-- Page 288 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page288"></a>{288}</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead">FRISIA IN THE HEROIC AGE</p> + + <p>It is now generally recognised that loose confederacies of tribes + were, at the period with which we are dealing, very common. Lawrence says + this expressly: "The actors in this drama are members of two North Sea + tribes, or <i>rather groups of tribes</i><a name="NtA513" + href="#Nt513"><sup>[513]</sup></a>"; and again<a name="NtA514" + href="#Nt514"><sup>[514]</sup></a>: "At the time when the present poem + was put into shape, we surely have to assume for the Danes and Frisians, + not compact and unified political units, but groups of tribes held + somewhat loosely together, and sometimes known by tribal names."</p> + + <p>This seems to me a quite accurate view of the political situation in + the later Heroic Age. The independent tribes, as they existed at the time + of Tacitus, tended to coalesce, and from such coalition the nations of + modern Europe are gradually evolved. In the seventh and eighth centuries + a great king of Northumbria or Frisia is likely to be king, not of one + only, but of many allied tribes. I cannot therefore quite understand why + some scholars reject so immediately the idea that the Eotens are not + necessarily Frisians, but rather a tribe in alliance with the Frisians. + For if, as they admit, we are dealing not with two compact units, but + with two groups of tribes, why must we assume, as earlier scholars have + done, that <i>Eotenas</i> must be synonymous either with Frisians or + Danes? That assumption is based upon the belief that we <i>are</i> + dealing with two compact units. It has no other foundation. I can quite + understand Kemble and Ettmüller jumping at the conclusion that the Eotens + <i>must</i> be identical with the one side or the other. But once we have + recognised that confederacies of tribes, rather than individual tribes, + are to be expected in the period with which we are dealing, then surely + no such assumption should be made.</p> + + <p>I think we shall be helped if we try to get some clear idea of the + nationalities concerned in the struggle. For to judge by the analogy of + other contemporary Germanic stories, there probably is some historic + basis for the <i>Finnsburg</i> story: and even if the fight is purely + fictitious, and if Finn Folcwalding never existed, still the Old English + poets would represent the fictitious Frisian king in the light of what + they knew of contemporary kings.</p> + + <p>Now the Frisians were no insignificant tribe. They were a power, + controlling the coasts of what was then called the "Frisian Sea<a + name="NtA515" href="#Nt515"><sup>[515]</sup></a>." Commerce was in + Frisian hands. Archaeological evidence points to a lively trade between + the Frisian districts and the coast of Norway<a name="NtA516" + href="#Nt516"><sup>[516]</sup></a>. From about the sixth century, when + "Dorostates of the Frisians" is mentioned by the Geographer of Ravenna + (or the source from which he drew) in a manner which shows it to have + been known even in Italy as a place of peculiar <!-- Page 289 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page289"></a>{289}</span>importance<a + name="NtA517" href="#Nt517"><sup>[517]</sup></a>, to the ninth century, + when it was destroyed by repeated attacks of the Vikings, the Frisian + port of Dorestad<a name="NtA518" href="#Nt518"><sup>[518]</sup></a> was + one of the greatest trade centres of Northern Europe<a name="NtA519" + href="#Nt519"><sup>[519]</sup></a>. By the year 700 the Frisian power had + suffered severely from the constant blows dealt to it by the Frankish + Mayors of the Palace. Yet evidence seems to show that even at that date + the Frisian king ruled all the coast which intervened between the borders + of the Franks on the one side and of the Danes on the other<a + name="NtA520" href="#Nt520"><sup>[520]</sup></a>. When a zealous + missionary demonstrated the powerlessness of the heathen gods by + baptizing three converts in the sacred spring of Fosetisland, he was + carried before the King of Frisia for judgement<a name="NtA521" + href="#Nt521"><sup>[521]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>At a later date the "Danes" became the controlling power in the North + Sea; but in the centuries before the Viking raids began, the Frisians + appear to have had it all their own way.</p> + + <p>Finn, son of Folcwald, found his way into some English genealogies<a + name="NtA522" href="#Nt522"><sup>[522]</sup></a> just as the Roman + Emperor did into others. This also seems to point to the Frisian power + having made an impression on the nations around.</p> + + <p>We should expect all this to be reflected in the story of the great + Frisian king. How then would a seventh or eighth century Englishman + regard Finn and his father Folcwalda? Probably as paramount chiefs, + holding authority over the tribes of the South and East coast of the + North Sea, similar to that which, for example, a Northumbrian king held + over the tribes settled along the British coast. Indeed, the whole story + of the Northumbrian kings, as given in Bede, deserves comparison: the + relation with the subordinate tribes, the alliances, the feuds, the + attempted assassinations, the loyalty of the thegns—this is the + atmosphere amid which the Finn story grew up in England, and if we want + to understand the story we must begin by getting this point of view.</p> + + <p>But, if this be a correct estimate of tribal conditions at the time + the <i>Finnsburg</i> story took form, we no longer need far-fetched + explanations to account for Finnsburg not being in Friesland. It is + natural that it should not be, just as natural as that the contemporary + Eadwinesburg should be outside the ancient limits of Deira. Nor do we + need any far-fetched explanations why the Frisians should be called + <i>Eotenas</i>. That the King of Frisia should have had Jutes under his + rule is likely enough. And this is all that the words of the + <i>Episode</i> demand.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<p><!-- Page 290 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page290"></a>{290}</span></p> + +<p><!-- Page 291 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page291"></a>{291}</span></p> + +<h2>PART IV</h2> + +<h3>APPENDIX</h3> + + <p><a name="appA"></a></p> + +<p class="cenhead">A. A POSTSCRIPT ON MYTHOLOGY IN <i>BEOWULF</i></p> + +<p class="cenhead">(1) <i>Beowulf the Scylding and Beowulf son of Ecgtheow</i></p> + + <p>It is now ten years since Prof. Lawrence attacked the mythological + theories which, from the time when they were first enunciated by Kemble + and elaborated by Müllenhoff, had wielded an authority over + <i>Beowulf</i> scholars which was only very rarely disputed<a + name="NtA523" href="#Nt523"><sup>[523]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Whilst in the main I agree with Prof. Lawrence, I believe that there + <i>is</i> an element of truth in the theories of Kemble. It would, + indeed, be both astonishing and humiliating if we found that a view, + accepted for three-quarters of a century by almost every student, had no + foundation. What is really remarkable is, not that Kemble should have + carried his mythological theory too far, but that, with the limited + information at his disposal, he at once saw certain aspects of the truth + so clearly.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>The mythological theories involve three propositions:</p> + + <p>(<i>a</i>) That some, or all, of the supernatural stories told of + Beowulf the Geat, son of Ecgtheow (especially the Grendel-struggle and + the dragon-struggle), were originally told of Beowulf the Dane, son of + Scyld, who can be identified with the Beow or Beaw<a name="NtA524" + href="#Nt524"><sup>[524]</sup></a> of the genealogies.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 292 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page292"></a>{292}</span></p> + + <p>(<i>b</i>) That this Beow was an ancient "god of agriculture and + fertility."</p> + + <p>(<i>c</i>) That therefore we can allegorize Grendel and the dragon + into culture-myths connected with the "god Beow."</p> + + <p>Now (<i>c</i>) would not necessarily follow, even granting (<i>a</i>) + and (<i>b</i>); for though a hero of story be an ancient god, many of his + most popular adventures may be later accretion. However, these two + propositions (<i>a</i>) and (<i>b</i>) would, together, establish a very + strong probability that the Grendel-story and the dragon-story were + ancient culture-myths, and would entitle to a sympathetic hearing those + who had such an interpretation of them to offer.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>That Beow is an ancient "god of agriculture and fertility," I believe + to be substantially true. We shall see that a great deal of evidence, + unknown to Kemble and Müllenhoff, is now forthcoming to show that there + <i>was</i> an ancient belief in a corn-spirit Beow: and this Beow, whom + we find in the genealogies as son of Scyld or Sceldwa and descendant of + Sceaf, is pretty obviously identical with Beowulf, son of Scyld Scefing, + in the <i>Prologue</i> of <i>Beowulf</i>.</p> + + <p>So far as the <i>Prologue</i> is concerned, there is, then, almost + certainly a remote mythological background. But before we can claim that + this background extends to the supernatural adventures attributed to + Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, we must prove our proposition (<i>a</i>): that + these adventures were once told, not of Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, but of + Beowulf or Beow, son of Scyld.</p> + + <p>When it was first suggested, at the very beginning of + <i>Beowulf</i>-criticism, that Beowulf was identical with the Beow of the + genealogies, it had not been realized that there were in the poem + <i>two</i> persons named Beowulf: and thus an anonymous scholar in the + <i>Monthly Review</i> of 1816<a name="NtA525" + href="#Nt525"><sup>[525]</sup></a>, not knowing that Beowulf the slayer + of Grendel is (at any rate in the poem as it stands) distinct from + Beowulf, son of Scyld, connected both with Beow, son of Scyld, so + initiating a theory which, for almost a century, was accepted as + ascertained fact.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 293 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page293"></a>{293}</span></p> + + <p>Kemble's identification was probably made independently of the work of + this early scholar. Unlike him, Kemble, of course, realized that in our + poem Beowulf the Dane, son of Scyld, is a person distinct from, is in + fact not related to, Beowulf son of Ecgtheow. But he deliberately + identified the two: he thought that two distinct traditions concerning + the same hero had been amalgamated: in one of these traditions Beowulf + may have been represented as son of Scyld, in the other as son of + Ecgtheow, precisely as the hero Gunnar or Gunter is in one tradition son + of Gifica (Giuki), in another son of Dankrat.</p> + + <p>Of course such duplication as Kemble assumed is conceivable. Kemble + might have instanced the way in which one and the same hero reappears in + the pages of Saxo Grammaticus, with somewhat different parentage or + surroundings, as if he were a quite different person. The <i>Lives of the + Two Offas</i> present another parallel: the adventures of the elder Offa + have been transferred to the younger, so that, along with much that is + historical or semi-historical, we have much in the <i>Life of Offa II</i> + that is simply borrowed from the story of Offa I. In the same way it is + conceivable that reminiscences of the mythical adventures of the elder + Beowulf (Beow) might have been mingled with the history of the acts of + the younger Beowulf, king of the Geatas. A guarantee of the intrinsic + reasonableness of this theory lies in the fact that recently it has been + put forward again by Dr Henry Bradley. But it is not enough that a theory + should be conceivable, and be supported by great names. I cannot see that + there is any positive evidence for it at all.</p> + + <p>The arguments produced by Kemble are not such as to carry conviction + at the present day. The fact that Beowulf the Geat, son of Ecgtheow, "is + represented throughout as a protecting and redeeming being" does not + necessarily mean that we must look for some god or demigod of the old + mythology—Frey or Sceaf or Beow—with whom we can identify + him. This characteristic is strongly present in many Old English monarchs + and magnates of historic, Christian, times: Oswald or Alfred or + Byrhtnoth. Indeed, it might with much plausibility be argued that we are + to see in this "protecting" character <!-- Page 294 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page294"></a>{294}</span>of the hero evidence of + Christian rather than of heathen influence<a name="NtA526" + href="#Nt526"><sup>[526]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Nor can we argue anything from the absence of any historic record of a + king Beowulf of the Geatas; our records are too scanty to admit of + argument from silence: and were such argument valid, it would only prove + Beowulf fictitious, not mythological—no more necessarily an ancient + god than Tom Jones or Mr Pickwick.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>There remains the argument of Dr Bradley. He points out that</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"The poem is divided into numbered sections, the length of which was + probably determined by the size of the pieces of parchment of which an + earlier exemplar consisted. Now the first fifty-two lines, which are + concerned with Scyld and his son Beowulf, stand outside this numbering. + It may reasonably be inferred that there once existed a written text of + the poem that did not include these lines. Their substance, however, is + clearly ancient. Many difficulties will be obviated if we may suppose + that this passage is the beginning of a different poem, the hero of which + was not Beowulf the son of Ecgtheow, but his Danish namesake<a + name="NtA527" href="#Nt527"><sup>[527]</sup></a>."</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>In this Bradley sees support for the view that "there were circulated + in England two rival poetic versions of the story of the encounters with + supernatural beings: the one referring them to Beowulf the Dane" [of this + the <i>Prologue</i> to our extant poem would be the only surviving + portion, whilst] "the other (represented by the existing poem) attached + them to the legend of the son of Ecgtheow."</p> + + <p>But surely many objections have to be met. Firstly, as Dr Bradley + admits, the mention of Beowulf the Dane is not confined to the + <i>Prologue</i>; this earlier Beowulf "is mentioned at the beginning of + the first numbered section" and consequently Dr Bradley has to suppose + that "the opening lines of this section have undergone alteration in + order to bring them into connection with the prefixed matter." And why + should we assume that the "passus" of <i>Beowulf</i> correspond to pieces + of <!-- Page 295 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page295"></a>{295}</span>parchment of various sizes of which an + earlier exemplar consisted? These "passus" vary in length from 43 lines + to 142, a disproportion by no means extraordinary for the sections of one + and the same poem, but very awkward for the pages of one and the same + book, however roughly constructed. One of the "passus" is just twice the + average length, and 30 lines longer than the one which comes next to it + in size. Ought we to assume that an artificer would have made his book + clumsy by putting in this one disproportionate page, when, by cutting it + in two, he could have got two pages of just about the size he wanted? + Besides, the different "passus" do not seem to me to show signs of having + been caused by such mechanical reasons as the dimensions of the parchment + upon which they were written. On the contrary, the 42 places where + sections begin and end almost all come where a reader might reasonably be + expected to pause: 16 at the beginning or end of a speech: 18 others at a + point where the narrative is resumed after some digression or general + remark. Only eight remain, and even with these, there is generally some + pause in the narrative at the point indicated. In only two instances does + a "passus" end at a flagrantly inappropriate spot; in one of these there + is strong reason to suppose that the scribe may have caused the trouble + by beginning with a capital where he had no business to have done so<a + name="NtA528" href="#Nt528"><sup>[528]</sup></a>. Generally, there seems + to be some principle governing the division of chapter from chapter, even + though this be not made as a modern would have made it. But, if so, is + there anything extraordinary in the first chapter, which deals with + events three generations earlier than those of the body of the poem, + being allowed to stand outside the numbering, as a kind of prologue?</p> + + <p>The idea of a preface or prologue was quite familiar in Old English + times. The oldest <span class="scac">MSS</span><a name="NtA529" + href="#Nt529"><sup>[529]</sup></a> of Bede's <i>History</i> have, at the + end of the preface, <i>Explicit praefatio incipiunt capitula</i>. So we + have in one of the two oldest <span class="scac">MSS</span><a + name="NtA530" href="#Nt530"><sup>[530]</sup></a> of the <i>Pastoral + Care</i> "Ðis is seo forespræc." On the other hand, the prologue or + preface might be left without any heading or colophon, and the next <!-- + Page 296 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page296"></a>{296}</span>chapter begin as No. I. This is the case + in the other <span class="scac">MS</span> of the <i>Pastoral Care</i><a + name="NtA531" href="#Nt531"><sup>[531]</sup></a>. Is there, then, such + difficulty in the dissertation on the glory of the ancient Danish kings + being treated as what, in fact, it is: a prologue or preface; and being, + as such, simply left outside the numbering?</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>Still less can we argue for the identification of our hero, the son of + Ecgtheow, with Frotho, and through him with Beow, from the supposed + resemblances between the dragon fights of Beowulf and Frotho. Such + resemblances have been divined by Sievers, but we have seen that it is + the dissimilarity, not the resemblance, of the two dragon fights which is + really noteworthy<a name="NtA532" href="#Nt532"><sup>[532]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>To prove that Beow was the original antagonist of Grendel there + remains, then, only the mention in the charter of a <i>Grendles mere</i> + near a <i>Bēowan hamm</i><a name="NtA533" + href="#Nt533"><sup>[533]</sup></a>. Now this was not known to Kemble at + the time when he formed his theory that the original slayer of Grendel + was not Beowulf, but Beow. And if the arguments upon which Kemble based + his theory had been at all substantial, this charter would have afforded + really valuable support. But the fact that two names occur near each + other in a charter cannot confirm any theory, unless that theory has + already a real basis of its own.</p> + +<p class="cenhead">(2) <i>Beow</i></p> + + <p>Therefore, until some further evidence be discovered, we must regard + the belief that the Grendel and the dragon stories were originally myths + of Beow, as a theory for which sufficient evidence is not + forthcoming.</p> + + <p>But note where the theory breaks down. It seems indisputable that + Beowulf the Dane, son of Scyld Scefing, is identical with Beo(w) of the + genealogies: for Beo(w) is son of Scyld<a name="NtA534" + href="#Nt534"><sup>[534]</sup></a> or Sce(a)ldwa<a name="NtA535" + href="#Nt535"><sup>[535]</sup></a>, who is a Scefing. But here we must + stop. There is, as we have seen, no evidence that the Grendel or dragon + adventures were transferred from him to their present hero, <!-- Page 297 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page297"></a>{297}</span>Beowulf the + Geat, son of Ecgtheow. It would, of course, be quite possible to accept + such transference, and <i>still</i> to reject the mythological + interpretation of these adventures, just as it would be possible to + believe that Gawain was originally a sun-hero, whilst rejecting the + interpretation as a sun-myth of any particular adventure which could be + proved to have been once told concerning Gawain. But I do not think we + need even concede, as Boer<a name="NtA536" + href="#Nt536"><sup>[536]</sup></a> and Chadwick<a name="NtA537" + href="#Nt537"><sup>[537]</sup></a> do, that adventures have been + transferred from Beowulf the Dane to Beowulf the Geat. We have seen that + there is no evidence for such transference, however intrinsically likely + it may be. Till evidence <i>is</i> forthcoming, it is useless to build + upon Kemble's conjecture that Beowulf the Scylding sank into Beowulf the + Wægmunding<a name="NtA538" href="#Nt538"><sup>[538]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>But it is due to Kemble to remember that, while he only put this + forward as a tentative conjecture, what he <i>was</i> certain about was + the identity of Beowulf the Scylding with Beow, and the divinity of these + figures. And here all the evidence seems to justify him.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"The divinity of the earlier Beówulf," Kemble wrote, "I hold for + indisputable.... Beo or Beow is ... in all probability a god of + agriculture and fertility.... It strengthens this view of the case that + he is the grandson of Sceáf, <i>manipulus frumenti</i>, with whom he is + perhaps in fact identical<a name="NtA539" + href="#Nt539"><sup>[539]</sup></a>."</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Whether or no Beow and Sceaf were ever identical, it is certain that + Beow (grain) the descendant of Sceaf (sheaf) suggests a corn-myth, some + survival from the ancient worship of a corn-spirit.</p> + + <p>Now <i>bēow</i>, 'grain, barley,' corresponds to Old Norse + <i>bygg</i>, just as, corresponding to O.E. <i>trīewe</i>, we have + O.N. <i>tryggr</i>, or corresponding to O.E. <i>glēaw</i>, O.N. + <i>glǫggr</i>. Corresponding to the O.E. proper name + <i>Bēow</i>, we might expect an O.N. name, the first letters in + which would be <i>Bygg(v)-</i>.</p> + + <p>And pat he comes, like the catastrophe of the Old Comedy. When Loki + strode into the Hall of Ægir, and assailed with clamour and scandal the + assembled gods and goddesses, there were present, among the major gods, + also Byggvir and his wife <!-- Page 298 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page298"></a>{298}</span>Beyla, the servants of Frey, the god of + agriculture and fertility. Loki reviles the gods, one after the other: at + last he exchanges reproaches with Frey. To see his lord so taunted is + more than Byggvir can endure, and he turns to Loki with the words:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>Know thou, that were my race such as is that of Ingunar-Frey, and if I + had so goodly a seat, finer than marrow would I grind thee, thou crow of + ill-omen, and pound thee all to pieces<a name="NtA540" + href="#Nt540"><sup>[540]</sup></a>.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Byggvir is evidently no great hero: he draws his ideas from the + grinding of the homely hand-mill, with which John Barleycorn has reason + to be familiar:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">A miller used him worst of all,</p> + <p>For he crushed him between two stones<a name="NtA541" href="#Nt541"><sup>[541]</sup></a>.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Loki, who has addressed by name all the other gods, his acquaintances + of old, professes not to know who is this insignificant being: but his + reference to the hand-mill shows that in reality he knows quite well:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>What is that little creature that I see, fawning and sneaking and + snuffling: ever wilt thou be at the ears of Frey, and chattering at the + quern<a name="NtA542" href="#Nt542"><sup>[542]</sup></a>.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Byggvir replies with a dignity which reminds us of the traditional + characteristics of Sir John Barleycorn, or Allan O'Maut. For:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Uskie-bae ne'er bure the bell</p> + <p>Sae bald as Allan bure himsel<a name="NtA543" href="#Nt543"><sup>[543]</sup></a>.</p> + </div> + </div> + +<p><!-- Page 299 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page299"></a>{299}</span></p> + + <p>Byggvir adopts the same comic-heroic pose:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>Byggvir am I named, and all gods and men call me hasty; proud am I, by + reason that all the children of Odin are drinking ale together<a + name="NtA544" href="#Nt544"><sup>[544]</sup></a>.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>But any claims Byggvir may make to be a hero are promptly dismissed by + Loki:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>Hold thou silence, Byggvir, for never canst thou share food justly + among men: thou didst hide among the straw of the hall: they could not + find thee, when men were fighting<a name="NtA545" + href="#Nt545"><sup>[545]</sup></a>.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Now the taunts of Loki, though we must hope for the credit of Asgard + that they are false, are never pointless. And such jibes as Loki + addresses to Byggvir <i>would</i> be pointless, if applied to one whom we + could think of as in any way like our Beowulf. Later, Beyla, wife of + Byggvir, speaks, and is silenced with the words "Hold thy + peace—wife thou art of Byggvir." Byggvir must have been a + recognized figure of the old mythology<a name="NtA546" + href="#Nt546"><sup>[546]</sup></a>, but one differing from the + monster-slaying Beow of Müllenhoff's imagination.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>Byggvir is a little creature (<i>et lítla</i>), and we have seen + above<a name="NtA547" href="#Nt547"><sup>[547]</sup></a> that + Scandinavian scholars have thought that they have discovered this old god + in the Pekko who "promoted the growth of barley" among the Finns in the + sixteenth century, and who is still worshipped among the Esthonians on + the opposite side of the gulf as a three year old child; the form + <i>Pekko</i> being derived, it is supposed, from the primitive Norse form + *<i>Beggwuz</i>. This is a corner of a very big subject: the discovery, + among the Lapps and Finns, of traces of the heathendom of the most <!-- + Page 300 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page300"></a>{300}</span>ancient Teutonic world, just as Thomsen + has taught us to find in the Finnish language traces of Teutonic words in + their most antique form.</p> + + <p>The Lappish field has proved the most successful hunting ground<a + name="NtA548" href="#Nt548"><sup>[548]</sup></a>: among the Finns, apart + from the Thunder-god, connection with Norse beliefs is arguable mainly + for a group of gods of fruitfulness<a name="NtA549" + href="#Nt549"><sup>[549]</sup></a>. The cult of these, it is suggested, + comes from scattered Scandinavian settlers in Finland, among whom the + Finns dwelt, and from whom they learnt the worship of the spirits of the + seed and of the spring, just as they learnt more practical lessons. First + and foremost among these stands Pekko, whom we know to have been + especially the god of barley, and whose connection with Beow or Byggvir + (*<i>Beggwuz</i>) is therefore a likely hypothesis enough<a name="NtA550" + href="#Nt550"><sup>[550]</sup></a>. Much less certain is the connection + of Sämpsä, the spirit of vegetation, with any Germanic prototype; he may + have been a god of the rush-grass<a name="NtA551" + href="#Nt551"><sup>[551]</sup></a> (Germ. <i>simse</i>). Runkoteivas or + Rukotivo was certainly the god of rye, and the temptation to derive his + name from Old Norse (<i>rugr-tivorr</i>, "rye-god") is great<a + name="NtA552" href="#Nt552"><sup>[552]</sup></a>. But we have not + evidence for <!-- Page 301 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page301"></a>{301}</span>the worship among Germanic peoples of such + a rye-god, as we have in the case of the barley-god Byggvir-Beow. These + shadowy heathen gods, however, do give each other a certain measure of + mutual support.</p> + + <p>And, whether or no Pekko be the same as Byggvir, his worship is + interesting as showing how the spirit of vegetation may be honoured among + primitive folk. His worshippers, the Setukese, although nominally members + of the Greek Orthodox Church, speak their own dialect and often hardly + understand that of their Russian priests, but keep their old epic and + lyric traditions more than almost any other section of the + Finnish-Esthonian race. Pekko, who was honoured among the Finns in the + sixteenth century for "promoting the growth of barley," survives among + the present-day peasantry around Pskoff, not only as a spirit to be + worshipped, but as an actual idol, fashioned out of wax in the form of a + child, sometimes of a three year old child. He lives in the corn-bin, but + on certain occasions is carried out into the fields. Not everyone can + afford the amount of wax necessary for a Pekko—in fact there is + usually only one in a village: he lodges in turn with different members + of his circle of worshippers. He holds two moveable feasts, on moonlight + nights—one in spring, the other in autumn. The wax figure is + brought into a lighted room draped in a sheet, there is feasting, with + dancing hand in hand, and singing round Pekko. Then they go out to decide + who shall keep Pekko for the next year—his host is entitled to + special blessing and protection. Pekko is carried out into the field, + especially to preside over the sowing<a name="NtA553" + href="#Nt553"><sup>[553]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>I doubt whether, in spite of the high authorities which support it, we + can as yet feel at all certain about the identification of Beow and + Pekko. But I think we can accept with fair certainty the identification + of Beow and Byggvir. And we can at any rate use Pekko as a collateral + example of the way in which a grain-spirit is regarded. Now in either + case we find no support whatever for the supposition that the activities + of <!-- Page 302 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page302"></a>{302}</span>Beow, the spirit of the barley, could, or + would, have been typified under the guise of battles such as those which + Beowulf the Geat wages against Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon. + In Beowulf the Geat we find much that suggests the hero of folk-tale, + overlaid with much that belongs to him as the hero of an heroic poem, but + nothing suggestive of a corn-myth. On the other hand, so long as we + confine ourselves to Beow and his ancestor Sceaf, we <i>are</i> in touch + with this type of myth, however remotely. The way that Sceaf comes over + the sea, as recorded by William of Malmesbury, is characteristic. That + "Sheaf" should be, in the language of Müllenhoff, "placed in a boat and + committed to the winds and waves in the hope that he will return new-born + in the spring" is exactly what we might expect, from the analogy of + harvest customs and myths of the coming of spring.</p> + + <p>In Sætersdale, in Norway, when the ice broke up in the spring, and was + driven ashore, the inhabitants used to welcome it by throwing their hats + into the air, and shouting "Welcome, Corn-boat." It was a good omen if + the "Corn-boats" were driven high and dry up on the land<a name="NtA554" + href="#Nt554"><sup>[554]</sup></a>. The floating of the sheaf on a shield + down the Thames at Abingdon<a name="NtA555" + href="#Nt555"><sup>[555]</sup></a> reminds us of the Bulgarian custom, in + accordance with which the venerated last sheaf of the harvest was floated + down the river<a name="NtA556" href="#Nt556"><sup>[556]</sup></a>. But + every neighbourhood is not provided with convenient rivers, and in many + places the last sheaf is merely drenched with water. This is an essential + part of the custom of "crying the neck."</p> + + <p>The precise ritual of "crying the neck" or "crying the mare" was + confined to the west and south-west of England<a name="NtA557" + href="#Nt557"><sup>[557]</sup></a>. But there is no such local limitation + about the custom of drenching the <!-- Page 303 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page303"></a>{303}</span>last sheaf, or its + bearers and escort, with water. This has been recorded, among other + places, at Hitchin in Hertfordshire<a name="NtA558" + href="#Nt558"><sup>[558]</sup></a>, in Cambridgeshire<a name="NtA559" + href="#Nt559"><sup>[559]</sup></a>, Nottinghamshire<a name="NtA560" + href="#Nt560"><sup>[560]</sup></a>, Pembrokeshire<a name="NtA561" + href="#Nt561"><sup>[561]</sup></a>, Wigtownshire<a name="NtA562" + href="#Nt562"><sup>[562]</sup></a> as well as in Holstein<a name="NtA563" + href="#Nt563"><sup>[563]</sup></a>, Westphalia<a name="NtA564" + href="#Nt564"><sup>[564]</sup></a>, Prussia<a name="NtA565" + href="#Nt565"><sup>[565]</sup></a>, Galicia<a name="NtA566" + href="#Nt566"><sup>[566]</sup></a>, Saxon Transsylvania<a name="NtA567" + href="#Nt567"><sup>[567]</sup></a>, Roumania<a name="NtA568" + href="#Nt568"><sup>[568]</sup></a> and perhaps in ancient Phrygia<a + name="NtA569" href="#Nt569"><sup>[569]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Now it is true that drenching the last sheaf with water, as a rain + charm, is by no means the same thing as floating it down the river, in + the expectation that it will come again in the spring. But it shows the + same sense of the continued existence of the corn-spirit. That the + <i>seed</i>, when sown, should be sprinkled with water as a rain charm + (as is done in places) seems obvious and natural enough. But when the + <i>last sheaf</i> of the preceding harvest is thus sprinkled, to ensure + plenteous rain upon the crops of next year, we detect the same idea of + continuity which we find expressed when Sceaf comes to land from over the + sea: the spirit embodied in the sheaf of last year's harvest returning, + and bringing the renewed power of vegetation.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>The voyage of the Abingdonian sheaf on the Thames was conducted upon a + shield, and it may be that the "vessel without a rower" in which "Sheaf" + came to land was, in the original version, a shield. There would be + precedent for this. The shield was known by the puzzling name of "Ull's + ship" in Scaldic poetry, presumably because the god Ull used his shield + as a boat. Anyway, Scyld came to be closely connected with Sceaf and + Beow. In Ethelwerd he is son of the former and father of the latter: but + in the <i>Chronicle</i> genealogies five names intervene between Scyld + and Sceaf, and the son of Sceaf is Bedwig, or as he is called in one + version, Beowi. <i>Bedwig</i> and <i>Beowi</i> are probably derived from + <i>Beowius</i>, the Latinized <!-- Page 304 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page304"></a>{304}</span>form of <i>Beow</i>. A badly formed + <i>o</i> might easily be mistaken for a <i>d</i>, and indeed + <i>Beowius</i> appears in forms much more corrupt. In that case it would + appear that while some genealogies made Beow the son of Scyld, others + made him son of Sceaf, and that the compiler of the pedigree got over the + difficulty in the usual way, by adding the one version to the other<a + name="NtA570" href="#Nt570"><sup>[570]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>But all this is very hypothetical; and how and when Scyld came to be + connected with Sceaf and with Beow we cannot with any certainty say. At + any rate we find no trace of such connection in Danish traditions of the + primitive King Skjold of the Danes. But we can say, with some certainty, + that in Beowulf the Dane, the son of Scyld Scefing, in our poem, we have + a figure which is identical with Beow, son of Scyld or of Sceldwa and + descendant of Sceaf, in the genealogies, and that this Beow is likely to + have been an ancient corn-spirit, parallel to the Scandinavian Byggvir. + That amount of mythology probably <i>does</i> underlie the + <i>Prologue</i> to <i>Beowulf</i>, though the author would no doubt have + been highly scandalized had he suspected that his pattern of a young + prince was only a disguised heathen god. But I think that any further + attempt to proceed, from this, to mythologize the deeds of Beowulf the + Great, is pure conjecture, and probably quite fruitless conjecture.</p> + + <p>I ought not to conclude this note without reference to the admirable + discussion of this subject by Prof. Björkman in <i>Englische + Studien</i><a name="NtA571" href="#Nt571"><sup>[571]</sup></a>. This, + with the elucidation of other proper names in <i>Beowulf</i>, was + destined to be the last big contribution to knowledge made by that ripe + and good scholar, whose premature loss we all deplore; and it shows to + the full those qualities of wide knowledge and balanced judgment which we + have all learnt to admire in him.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead">B. GRENDEL</p> + + <p>It may be helpful to examine the places where the name of Grendel + occurs in English charters.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 305 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page305"></a>{305}</span></p> + + <p><span class="scac">A.D.</span> 708. Grant of land at Abbots Morton, + near Alcester, co. Worcester, by Kenred, King of the Mercians, to Evesham + (extant in a late copy).</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p><i>Ǣrest of grindeles pytt on wīðimære; of wīðimære + on þæt rēade slōh ... of ðēre dīce on þene blace + pōl; of þām pōle æfter long pidele in tō + þām mersce; of þām mersce þā æft on grindeles pytt<a + name="NtA572" href="#Nt572"><sup>[572]</sup></a>.</i></p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>The valley of the Piddle Brook is about a mile wide, with hills rising + on each side till they reach a height of a couple of hundred feet above + the brook. The directions begin in the valley and run "From Grindel's + 'pytt' to the willow-mere; from the willow-mere to the red morass"; then + from the morass the directions take us up the hill and along the lea, + where they continue among the downs till we again make our descent into + the valley, "from the ditch to the black pool, from the pool along the + Piddle brook to the marsh, and from the marsh back to Grindel's 'pytt.'" + In modern English a "pit" is an artificial hole which is generally dry: + but the word is simply Latin <i>puteus</i>, "a well," and is used in this + sense in the Gospel translations. Here it is a hole, and we may be sure + that, with the willow-mere and the red slough on the one side, and the + black pool and the marsh on the other, the hole was full of water.</p> + + <p><span class="scac">A.D.</span> 739. Grant of land at Creedy, co. + Devon, by Æthelheard, King of Wessex, to Bishop Forthhere.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p><i>of doddan hrycge on grendeles pyt; of grendeles pytte on + ifigbearo</i> (ivy-grove)...<a name="NtA573" + href="#Nt573"><sup>[573]</sup></a>.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>The spot is near the junction of the rivers Exe and Creedy, with + Dartmoor in the distance. The neighbourhood bears uncanny names, + <i>Cāines æcer, egesan trēow</i>. If, as has been suggested + by Napier and Stevenson, a trace of this pit still survives in the name + Pitt farm, the mere must have been in the uplands, about 600 feet above + sea level.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 306 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page306"></a>{306}</span></p> + + <p><span class="scac">A.D.</span> 931. Grant of land at Ham in Wiltshire + by Athelstan to his thane Wulfgar. Quoted above, p. <a + href="#page43">43</a>. It is in this charter that <i>on Bēowan + hammes hecgan, on Grendles mere</i><a name="NtA574" + href="#Nt574"><sup>[574]</sup></a> occur. "Grendel pits or meres" are in + most other cases in low-lying marshy country: but this, like (perhaps) + the preceding one, is in the uplands—it must have been a lonely + mere among the hills, under Inkpen Beacon.</p> + + <p><i>Circa</i> <span class="scac">A.D.</span> 957. A list of boundaries + near Battersea<a name="NtA575" href="#Nt575"><sup>[575]</sup></a>.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p><i>Ðis synd ðā landgemǣre tō Batriceseie. Ǣrst + at hēgefre; fram hēgefre to gætenesheale; fram gæteneshæle to + gryndeles syllen; fram gryndeles sylle to russemere; fram ryssemere to + bælgenham....</i></p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>All this is low-lying land, just south of the Thames. + <i>Hēgefre</i> is on the river; <i>Bælgenham</i> is Balham, co. + Surrey. "From Grendel's mire to the rushy mere" harmonizes excellently + with what we know of the swampy nature of this district in early + times.</p> + + <p><span class="scac">A.D.</span> 958. Grant of land at Swinford, on the + Stour, co. Stafford, by King Eadred to his thane Burhelm<a name="NtA576" + href="#Nt576"><sup>[576]</sup></a>.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p><i>Ondlong bæces wið neoþan eostacote; ondlong dīces in + grendels-mere; of grendels-mere in stāncōfan; of + stāncōfan ondlong dūne on stiran mere....</i></p> + +</blockquote> + + <p><span class="scac">A.D.</span> 972. Confirmation of lands to Pershore + Abbey (Worcester) by King Edgar<a name="NtA577" + href="#Nt577"><sup>[577]</sup></a>.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p><i>of Grindles bece swā þæt gemǣre ligð....</i></p> + +</blockquote> + + <p><span class="scac">A.D.</span> 972. Extract from an account of the + descent of lands belonging to Westminster, quoting a grant of King + Edgar<a name="NtA578" href="#Nt578"><sup>[578]</sup></a>.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p><i>andlang hagan to grendeles gatan æfter kincges mearce innan + brægentan....</i></p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>The property described is near Watling Street, between Edgware, + Hendon, and the River Brent. It is a low-lying <!-- Page 307 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page307"></a>{307}</span>district almost + surrounded by the hills of Hampstead, Highgate, Barnet, Mill Hill, + Elstree, Bushey Heath and Harrow. The bottom of the basin thus formed + must have been a swamp<a name="NtA579" + href="#Nt579"><sup>[579]</sup></a>. What the "gate" may have been it is + difficult to say. A foreign scholar has suggested that it may have been a + narrow mountain defile or possibly a cave<a name="NtA580" + href="#Nt580"><sup>[580]</sup></a>: but this suggestion could never have + been made by anyone who knew the country. The "gate" is likely to have + been a channel connecting two meres—or it might have been a narrow + piece of land between them—one of those <i>enge ānpaðas</i> + which Grendel and his mother had to tread. Anyway, there is nothing + exceptional in this use of "gate" in connection with a water-spirit. + Necker, on the Continent, also had his "gates." Thus there is a + "Neckersgate Mill" near Brussels, and the name "Neckersgate" used also to + be applied to a group of houses near by, surrounded by water<a + name="NtA581" href="#Nt581"><sup>[581]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>All the other places clearly point to a water-spirit: two meres, two + pits, a mire and a beck: for the most part situated in low-lying country + which must in Anglo-Saxon times have been swampy. All this harmonizes + excellently with the <i>fenfreoðo</i> of <i>Beowulf</i> (l. 851). Of + course it does not in the least follow that these places were named after + the Grendel of our poem. It may well be that there was in England a + current belief in a creature Grendel, dwelling among the swamps. Von + Sydow has compared the Yorkshire belief in Peg Powler, or the Lancashire + Jenny Greenteeth. But these aquatic monsters are not exactly parallel; + for they abide in the water, and are dangerous only to those who attempt + to cross it, or at any rate venture too near the bank<a name="NtA582" + href="#Nt582"><sup>[582]</sup></a>, whilst Grendel and even his mother + are capable of excursions of some distance from their fastness amid the + fens.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 308 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page308"></a>{308}</span></p> + + <p>Of course the mere-haunting Grendel <i>may</i> have been identified + only at a comparatively late date with the spirit who struggles with the + hero in the house, and flees below the earth in the folk-tale.</p> + + <p>At any rate belief in a Grendel, haunting mere and fen, is clearly + demonstrable for England—at any rate for the south and west of + England: for of these place-names two belong to the London district, one + to Wiltshire, one to Devonshire, two to Worcester and one to Stafford. + The place-name <i>Grendele</i> in Yorkshire is too doubtful to be of much + help. (<i>Domesday Book</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 302.) It is the + modern village Grindale, four miles N.W. of Bridlington. From it, + probably, is derived the surname <i>Grindle, Grindall</i> (Bardsley).</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>Abroad, the nearest parallel is to be found in Transsylvania, where + there is a <i>Grändels môr</i> among the Saxons of the Senndorf district, + near Bistritz. The Saxons of Transsylvania are supposed to have emigrated + from the neighbourhood of the lower Rhine and the Moselle, and there is a + <i>Grindelbach</i> in Luxemburg which may possibly be connected with the + marsh demon<a name="NtA583" href="#Nt583"><sup>[583]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Most of the German names in <i>Grindel-</i> or <i>Grendel-</i> are + connected with <i>grendel</i>, "a bar," and therefore do not come into + consideration here<a name="NtA584" href="#Nt584"><sup>[584]</sup></a>: + but the Transsylvanian "Grendel's marsh<a name="NtA585" + href="#Nt585"><sup>[585]</sup></a>," anyway, reminds us of the English + "Grendel's marsh" or "mere" or "pit." Nevertheless, the local story with + which the Transsylvanian swamp is connected—that of a peasant who + was ploughing with six oxen and was swallowed up in the earth—is + such that it requires considerable ingenuity to see any connection + between it and the <i>Beowulf-Grendel</i>-tale<a name="NtA586" + href="#Nt586"><sup>[586]</sup></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 309 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page309"></a>{309}</span></p> + + <p>The Anglo-Saxon place-names may throw some light upon the meaning and + etymology of "Grendel<a name="NtA587" + href="#Nt587"><sup>[587]</sup></a>." The name has generally been derived + from <i>grindan</i>, "to grind"; either directly<a name="NtA588" + href="#Nt588"><sup>[588]</sup></a>, because Grendel grinds the bones of + those he devours, or indirectly, in the sense of "tormentor<a + name="NtA589" href="#Nt589"><sup>[589]</sup></a>." Others would connect + with O.N. <i>grindill</i>, "storm," and perhaps with M.E. <i>gryndel</i>, + "angry<a name="NtA590" href="#Nt590"><sup>[590]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>It has recently been proposed to connect the word with <i>grund</i>, + "bottom": for Grendel lives in the <i>mere-grund</i> or <i>grund-wong</i> + and his mother is the <i>grund-wyrgin</i>. Erik Rooth, who proposes this + etymology, compares the Icelandic <i>grandi</i>, "a sandbank," and the + common Low German dialect word <i>grand</i>, "coarse sand<a name="NtA591" + href="#Nt591"><sup>[591]</sup></a>." This brings us back to the root "to + grind," for <i>grand</i>, "sand" is simply the product of the grinding of + the waves<a name="NtA592" href="#Nt592"><sup>[592]</sup></a>. Indeed the + same explanation has been given of the word "ground<a name="NtA593" + href="#Nt593"><sup>[593]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>However this may be, the new etymology differs from the old in giving + Grendel a name derived, not from his grinding or tormenting others, but + from his dwelling at the bottom of the lake or marsh<a name="NtA594" + href="#Nt594"><sup>[594]</sup></a>. The name would have a parallel in the + Modern English <i>grindle</i>, <i>grundel</i>, German <i>grundel</i><a + name="NtA595" href="#Nt595"><sup>[595]</sup></a>, a fish haunting the + bottom of the water.</p> + + <p>The Old English place-names, associating Grendel as they do with meres + and swamps, seem rather to support this.</p> + + <p>As to the Devonshire stream <i>Grendel</i> (now the Grindle or + Greendale Brook), it has been suggested that this name is also <!-- Page + 310 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page310"></a>{310}</span>connected + with the root <i>grand</i>, "gravel," "sand." But, so far as I have been + able to observe, there is no particular suggestion of sand or gravel + about this modest little brook. If we follow the River Clyst from the + point where the Grindle flows into it, through two miles of marshy land, + to the estuary of the Exe, we shall there find plenty. But it is clear + from the charter of 963 that the name was then, as now, restricted to the + small brook. I cannot tell why the stream should bear the name, or what, + if any, is the connection with the monster Grendel. We can only note that + the name is again found attached to water, and, near the junction with + the Clyst, to marshy ground.</p> + + <p>Anyone who will hunt Grendel through the shires, first on the 6-in. + ordnance map, and later on foot, will probably have to agree with the + Three Jovial Huntsmen</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i10">This huntin' doesn't pay,</p> + <p>But we'n powler't up an' down a bit, an' had a rattlin' day.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>But, if some conclusions, although scanty, can be drawn from + place-names in which the word <i>grendel</i> occurs, nothing can be got + from the numerous place-names which have been thought to contain the name + <i>Bēow</i>. The clearest of these is the <i>on Bēowan hammes + hecgan</i>, which occurs in the Wiltshire charter of 931. But we can + learn nothing definite from it: and although there are other instances of + strong and weak forms alternating, we cannot even be quite certain that + the Beowa here is identical with the Beow of the genealogies<a + name="NtA596" href="#Nt596"><sup>[596]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>The other cases, many of which occur in <i>Domesday Book</i> are + worthless. Those which point to a weak form may often be derived from the + weak noun <i>bēo</i>, "bee": "The Anglo-Saxons set great store by + their bees, honey and wax being indispensables to them<a name="NtA597" + href="#Nt597"><sup>[597]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p><i>Bēas brōc</i>, <i>Bēas feld</i> (<i>Bewes + feld</i>) occur in charters: but here a connection with + <i>bēaw</i>, "horsefly," is possible: for parallels, one has only + to consider the long list of places enumerated by Björkman, the names of + which are derived from those of beasts, <!-- Page 311 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page311"></a>{311}</span>birds, or insects<a + name="NtA598" href="#Nt598"><sup>[598]</sup></a>. And in such a word as + <i>Bēolēah</i>, even if the first element be + <i>bēow</i>, why may it not be the common noun "barley," and not + the name of the hero at all?</p> + + <p>No argument can therefore be drawn from such a conjecture as that of + Olrik, that <i>Bēas brōc</i> refers to the water into which + the last sheaf (representing Beow) was thrown, in accordance with the + harvest custom, and in the expectation of the return of the spirit in the + coming spring<a name="NtA599" href="#Nt599"><sup>[599]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + + <p><a name="appC"></a></p> + +<p class="cenhead">C. THE STAGES ABOVE WODEN IN THE WEST-SAXON +GENEALOGY</p> + + <p>The problems to which this pedigree gives rise are very numerous, and + some have been discussed above. There are four which seem to need further + discussion.</p> + + <p>(I) A "Sceafa" occurs in <i>Widsith</i> as ruling over the Longobards. + Of course we cannot be certain that this hero is identical with the Sceaf + of the genealogy. Now there is no one in the long list of historic or + semi-historic Longobard kings, ruling after the tribe had left + Scandinavia, who bears a name at all similar. It seems therefore + reasonable to suppose that Sceafa, if he is a genuine Longobard king at + all, belongs to the primitive times when the Longobardi or Winnili dwelt + in "Scadan," before the historic or semi-historic times with which our + extant list deals. And Old English accounts, although making Sceaf an + ancestor of the Saxon kings, are unanimous in connecting him with Scani + or Scandza.</p> + + <p>Some scholars<a name="NtA600" href="#Nt600"><sup>[600]</sup></a> have + seen a serious difficulty in the weak form "Sceafa," as compared with + "Sceaf." But we have the exactly parallel cases of <i>Horsa</i><a + name="NtA601" href="#Nt601"><sup>[601]</sup></a> compared with + <i>Hors</i><a name="NtA602" href="#Nt602"><sup>[602]</sup></a>, and + <i>Hrǣdla</i><a name="NtA603" href="#Nt603"><sup>[603]</sup></a> + compared with <i>Hrǣdel</i><a name="NtA604" + href="#Nt604"><sup>[604]</sup></a>, <i>Hrēðel</i>. Parallel, but + not quite so certain, are <i>Sceldwa</i><a name="NtA605" + href="#Nt605"><sup>[605]</sup></a> and <i>Scyld</i><a name="NtA606" + href="#Nt606"><sup>[606]</sup></a>, <i>Gēata</i><a name="NtA607" + href="#Nt607"><sup>[607]</sup></a> and <i>Gēat</i><a name="NtA608" + href="#Nt608"><sup>[608]</sup></a>, <i>Bēowa</i><a name="NtA609" + href="#Nt609"><sup>[609]</sup></a> and <i>Bēaw, Bēo(w)</i><a + name="NtA610" href="#Nt610"><sup>[610]</sup></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 312 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page312"></a>{312}</span></p> + + <p>I do not think it has ever been doubted that the forms <i>Hors</i> and + <i>Horsa</i>, or <i>Hrēðel</i> and <i>Hrǣdla</i>, relate to + one and the same person. Prof. Chadwick seems to have little or no doubt + as to the identity of <i>Scyld</i> and <i>Sceldwa</i><a name="NtA611" + href="#Nt611"><sup>[611]</sup></a>, or <i>Bēo</i> and + <i>Bēowa</i><a name="NtA612" href="#Nt612"><sup>[612]</sup></a>. + Why then should the identity of <i>Scēaf</i> and + <i>Scēafa</i> be denied because one form is strong and the other + weak<a name="NtA613" href="#Nt613"><sup>[613]</sup></a>? We cannot + demonstrate the identity of the figure in the genealogies with the figure + in <i>Widsith</i>; but little difficulty is occasioned by the weak + form.</p> + + <p>(II) Secondly, the absence of the name <i>Scēaf</i> from the + oldest <span class="scac">MS</span> of the <i>Chronicle</i> (the + <i>Parker MS</i>, <i>C.C.C.C.</i> 173) has been made the ground for + suggesting that when that <span class="scac">MS</span> was written + (<i>c.</i> 892) Sceaf had not yet been invented (Möller, + <i>Volksepos</i>, 43; Symons in <i>Pauls Grdr</i>. (2), <span + class="scac">III</span>, 645; Napier, as quoted by Clarke, + <i>Sidelights</i>, 125). But Sceaf, and the other names which are omitted + from the <i>Parker MS</i>, are found in the other <span + class="scac">MSS</span> of the <i>Chronicle</i> and the allied pedigrees, + which are known to be derived independently from one and the same + original. Now, unless the names were older than the <i>Parker MS</i>, + they could not appear in so many independent transcripts. For, even + though these transcripts are individually later, their <i>agreement</i> + takes us back to a period earlier than that of the <i>Parker MS</i> + itself<a name="NtA614" href="#Nt614"><sup>[614]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>An examination of the different versions of the genealogy, given on + pp. <a href="#page202">202</a>-3, above, and of the tree showing the + connection between them, on p. <a href="#page315">315</a>, will, I think, + make this clear.</p> + + <p>The versions of the pedigree given in the <i>Parker MS</i> of the + <i>Chronicle</i>, in Asser and in <i>Textus Roffensis I</i>, all contain + the stages <i>Friþuwald</i> and <i>Friþuwulf</i>. Asser and <i>Roff. + I</i> are connected by the note about <i>Gēata</i>: but <i>Roff. + I</i> is not derived from that text of Asser which has come down to us, + as that <!-- Page 313 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page313"></a>{313}</span>text has corrupted <i>Fin</i> and + <i>Godwulf</i> into one name and has substituted <i>Seth</i> for + <i>Scēaf</i> ["Seth, <i>Saxonice</i> Sceaf": Florence of + Worcester]. <i>Roff. I</i> is free from both these corruptions.</p> + + <p>Ethelwerd is obviously connected with a type of genealogy giving the + stages <i>Friþuwald</i> and <i>Friþuwulf</i>, but differs from all the + others in giving no stages between <i>Scyld</i> and + <i>Scēf</i>.</p> + + <p>None of the other versions contain the names <i>Friþuwald</i> and + <i>Friþuwulf</i>. They are closely parallel, but fall into groups showing + special peculiarities.</p> + + <p><i>MSS Tib. A. VI</i> and <i>Tib. B. I</i> of the <i>Chronicle</i> + show only trifling differences of spelling. The <span + class="scac">MSS</span> belong respectively to about the years 1000 and + 1050, and are both derived from an Abingdon original of about 977<a + name="NtA615" href="#Nt615"><sup>[615]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p><i>MS Cott. Tib. B. IV</i> is derived from a copy of the + <i>Chronicle</i> sent North about 892<a name="NtA616" + href="#Nt616"><sup>[616]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p><i>MS Cott. Tib. B. V</i> and <i>Textus Roffensis II</i> are closely + connected, but neither is derived from the other. For <i>Roff. II</i> + preserves <i>Teþwa</i> and <i>Hwāla</i>, who are lost in <i>Tib. B. + V; Tib. B. V</i> preserves <i>Iterman</i>, who is corrupted in <i>Roff. + II.</i> Both <i>Tib. B. V</i> and <i>Roff. II</i> carry the pedigree down + to Edgar, mentioning his three sons <i>Ēadweard and Ēadmund + and Æþelred æðelingas syndon Ēadgāres suna cyninges</i>. The + original therefore apparently belongs to some date before 970, when + Edmund died (cf. Stevenson's Asser, 158, note).</p> + + <p>Common features of <i>MS Cott. Tib. B. V</i> and <i>Roff. II</i> are + (1) <i>Eat(a)</i> for <i>Geat(a)</i>, (2) the omission of <i>d</i> from + <i>Scealdwa</i>, and (3) the expression <i>se Scēf</i>, "this + Scef." Features (1) and (3) are copied in the Icelandic pedigrees. + <i>Scealdwa</i> is given correctly there, but the Icelandic transcriber + could easily have got it from <i>Scealdwaging</i> above. The Icelandic + was, then, ultimately derived either from <i>Tib. B. V</i> or from a + version so closely connected as not to be worth distinguishing.</p> + + <p>Accordingly <i>Cott. Tib. B. V</i>, <i>Textus Roffensis II</i>, + <i>Langfeðgatal</i> and <i>Flateyarbók</i> form one group, pointing to an + archetype <i>c.</i> 970.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 314 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page314"></a>{314}</span></p> + + <p>The pedigrees can accordingly be grouped on the system shown on the + opposite page<a name="NtA617" href="#Nt617"><sup>[617]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>(III) Prof. Chadwick, in his <i>Origin of the English Nation</i>, + draws wide deductions from the fact that the Danes traced the pedigree of + their kings back to Skjold, whilst the West-Saxons included Sceldwa + (Scyld) in their royal pedigree:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"Since the Angli and the Danes claimed descent from the same ancestor, + there can be no doubt that the bond was believed to be one of blood<a + name="NtA618" href="#Nt618"><sup>[618]</sup></a>."</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>This belief, Prof. Chadwick thinks, went back to exceedingly early + times<a name="NtA619" href="#Nt619"><sup>[619]</sup></a>, and he regards + it as well-founded:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"It is true that the Angli of Britain seem never to have included + themselves among the Danes, but the reason for this may be that the term + <i>Dene</i> (<i>Danir</i>) had not come into use as a collective term + before the invasion of Britain<a name="NtA620" + href="#Nt620"><sup>[620]</sup></a>."</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Doubtless the fact that the name of a Danish king <i>Scyld</i> or + <i>Sceldwa</i> is found in a pedigree of West-Saxon kings, as drawn up at + a period certainly not later than 892, points to a belief, at that date, + in some kind of a connection. But we have still to ask: How close was the + connection supposed to be? And how old is the belief?</p> + + <p>Firstly as to the closeness of the connection. Finn also occurs in the + pedigree—possibly the Frisian king: Sceaf occurs, possibly, though + not certainly, a Longobard king. Noah and Adam occur; are we therefore to + suppose that the compiler of the <i>Genealogy</i> believed his kings to + be of one blood with the Hebrews? Certainly he did: but only remotely, as + common descendants of Noah. And the occurrence of Sceldwa and Sceaf and + Finn in the genealogies—granting the identity of these heroes with + Skjold of the Danes, Sceafa of the Longobards and Finn of the Frisians, + might only prove that the genealogist believed in their common (Germanic) + race.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 315 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page315"></a>{315}</span></p> + +<pre> + 900 950 1000 1050 1100 1125 + | | | | | | + + | A. Chron | W. Chron. + _| Parker MS ______________________________| MS Cott, Otho B. XI, 2. + / | c. 890-900 | c. 1025 + / + / | Asser + /______________________________________| MS Cott. Otho A. XII, + / \ | c. 1000 + / \________________________________________________________| Textus Roffensis I, + / | c. 1120 +Transcript of \ ................ | B. Chron. +Chronicle from Copy sent to Abingdon, : presumed : /| MS Cott. Tib. A. VI, +which all kept there till c. 977__: Abingdon :/ | c. 1000 +extant \ : copy, c. 977 :\ | C. Chron. +MSS are \ :..............: \_______________| MS Cott. Tib. B. I, +derived \____________ | c. 1050 + Copy sent to Ripon\ + \ | D. Chron. + \_________________________________| MS Cott. Tib. B. IV, + \ | c. 1050 + \ | Common original + \_| compiled about _ + | 970 \ + \ \____________________________________| Textus Roffensis II, + \ | c. 1120 + \ | Genealogy + \_| MS Cott. Tib. B. V, + | c. 1000 ________________________________| Icelandic + | Genealogies + + ==> +</pre> +<p><!-- Page 316 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page316"></a>{316}</span></p> + + <p>Secondly, how old is the belief? The Anglian genealogies + (Northumbrian, Mercian and East Anglian), as reproduced in the + <i>Historia Brittonum</i> and in the <i>Vespasian MS</i>, form part of + what is doubtless, as is said above, the oldest extant English historical + document. But in this document <i>there is no mention of Scyld</i>. + Indeed, it contains no pedigree of the West-Saxon kings at all. From + whatever cause, the West-Saxon genealogy is not extant from so early a + date as are the pedigrees of the Northumbrian, Mercian, East Anglian and + Kentish kings<a name="NtA621" href="#Nt621"><sup>[621]</sup></a>. Still, + this may well be a mere accident, and I am not prepared to dispute that + the pedigree which traces the West-Saxon kings to Woden dates back, like + the other genealogies connecting Old English kings with Woden, to + primitive and heathen times. Now the West-Saxon pedigree is found in many + forms: some which trace the royal house only to Woden, and some which go + beyond Woden and contain a list of names by which Woden is connected with + Sceaf, and then with Noah and Adam.</p> + + <p>(1) The nucleus of the whole pedigree is to be found in the names + between Cynric or Cerdic and Woden. These occur in every version. The + pedigree in this, its simplest form, is found twice among the entries in + the <i>Chronicle</i> which deal with the events of heathen times, under + 552 and 597. These names fall into verse:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>[Cynrīc Cerdicing], Cerdic Elesing,</p> + <p>Elesa Esling, Esla GiWising,</p> + <p>GiWis Wīging, Wīg Frēawining,</p> + <p>Frēawine Friðugāring, Friðugār Bronding,</p> + <p>Brond Bǣldæging, Bǣldæg Wōdening.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Like the mnemonic lists in <i>Widsith</i>, these lines are probably + very old. Their object is clearly to connect the founder of the + West-Saxon royal house with Woden. Note, that not only do the names + alliterate, but the alliteration is perfect. Every line attains double + alliteration in the first half, with one alliterating word only in the + second half. The lines must go back to times when lists of royal + ancestors, both real and imaginary, had to <!-- Page 317 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page317"></a>{317}</span>be arranged in correct + verse; times when such things were recorded by memory rather than by + writing. They are pre-literary, and were doubtless chanted by retainers + of the West-Saxon kings in heathen days.</p> + + <p>(2) An expanded form of this genealogy occurs in <i>MSS C.C.C.C.</i> + 183 and <i>Cotton Tib. B. V</i>. Woden is here furnished with a father + Frealaf. We know nothing of any Frealaf as father of the All-Father in + heathen days, though Frealaf is found in this capacity in other + genealogies written down in the ages after the conversion. Frealaf breaks + the correct alliterative system. In both <span class="scac">MSS</span> + the pedigree is brought down to King Ine (688-726): both <span + class="scac">MSS</span> are ultimately, no doubt, derived from a list + current in the time of that king, that is to say less than a century + after the conversion of Wessex.</p> + + <p>(3) A further expansion, which Prof. Napier has held on linguistic + grounds<a name="NtA622" href="#Nt622"><sup>[622]</sup></a> to have been + written down as early as 750, is incorporated in a genealogical and + chronological note regarding the West-Saxon kings, which is extant in + many <span class="scac">MSS</span><a name="NtA623" + href="#Nt623"><sup>[623]</sup></a>. <i>In its present form</i> this + genealogical note is a recension, under Alfred, of a document coming down + to the death of his father Æthelwulf. It traces the pedigree of Æthelwulf + to Cerdic, but it keeps this district from the rhythmical nucleus, in + which it traces Cerdic to Woden, and no further.</p> + + <p>(4) Then, in the <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i>, under the year 855, the + pedigree is given in its most elaborate form. There the genealogy of + Æthelwulf is traced in one unbroken series, not merely through Cerdic to + Woden, but from Woden through a long line of Woden's ancestors, including + Frealaf, Geat, Sceldwa and Sceaf, to Noah and Adam.</p> + + <p>It has been noted above<a name="NtA624" + href="#Nt624"><sup>[624]</sup></a> that none of the <i>Chronicle</i> + pedigrees <!-- Page 318 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page318"></a>{318}</span>stop at Sceaf. The <i>Chronicle</i>, in + the stages above Woden, recognizes as stopping places only Geat + (Northumbrian pedigree, anno 547) or Adam (West-Saxon pedigree, anno + 855).</p> + + <p>(5) The Chronicle of Ethelwerd (<i>c.</i> 1000) does, however, stop at + Scef<a name="NtA625" href="#Nt625"><sup>[625]</sup></a>. Now it has been + argued that Ethelwerd's pedigree is merely abbreviated from the pedigree + in the <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i> under 855, and that, in making Scef + the final stage, and in what he tells us about that hero, Ethelwerd is + merely adapting what he had read in <i>Beowulf</i> about Scyld<a + name="NtA626" href="#Nt626"><sup>[626]</sup></a>. But this seems hardly + possible. Ethelwerd, it is true, borrows most of his facts from the + <i>Chronicle</i>, from Bede, and other known sources: but there are some + passages which show that he had access to a source now lost. Ethelwerd + was a member of the West-Saxon royal house, and he wrote his Chronicle + for a kinswoman, Matilda, in order, as he says, to explain their common + stock and race. They were both descended from Æthelwulf, the chronicler + being great-great-grandson of Æthelred, and the lady to whom he dedicates + his work being great-great-granddaughter of Alfred. So he writes to tell + "who and whence were their kin, so far as memory adduces, and our parents + have taught us." Accordingly, though he begins his Chronicle with the + Creation, the bulk of it is devoted to the deeds of his or Matilda's + ancestors. Is it credible that he would have cut out all the stages in + their common pedigree between Scyld and Scef, that he would have + sacrificed all the ancestors of Scef, thus severing relations with Noah + and Adam, and that he would have attributed to Scef the story which in + <i>Beowulf</i> is attributed to Scyld, all this simply in order to bring + his English pedigree into some harmony with what is told about the Danish + pedigree in <i>Beowulf</i>—a poem of which we have no evidence that + he had ever heard?</p> + + <p>To suppose him to have done this, is to make him sacrifice, <i>without + any reason</i>, just that part of the pedigree in the <i>Chronicle</i> + under 855 which, from all we know of Ethelwerd, was most likely to have + interested him: that which connected his race with Noah and Adam. + Further, it is to suppose him to have reproduced just those stages in the + pedigree which on critical <!-- Page 319 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page319"></a>{319}</span>grounds modern scholars can show to be the + oldest, and to have modified or rejected just those which on critical + grounds modern scholars can show to be later accretion. When Brandl + supposes Ethelwerd to have produced his pedigree by comparing together + merely the materials which have come down to us to-day, namely + <i>Beowulf</i> and the <i>Chronicle</i>, he is, in reality, attributing + to him the mind and acumen of a modern critic. An Anglo-Saxon alderman + could only have detected and rejected the additions by using some + material which has <i>not</i> come down to us. What more natural than + that Ethelwerd, who writes as the historian of the West-Saxon royal + family, should have known of a family pedigree which traced the line up + to Sceaf and his arrival in the boat, and that he should have (rightly) + thought this to be more authoritative than the pedigree in the + <i>Chronicle</i> under the year 855, which had been expanded from it? + Prof. Chadwick, it seems to me, is here quite justified in holding that + Ethelwerd had "acquired the genealogy from some unknown source, in a more + primitive form than that contained in the <i>Chronicle</i><a + name="NtA627" href="#Nt627"><sup>[627]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>But, because the source of Ethelwerd's pedigree is more primitive than + that contained in the <i>Chronicle</i> under the year 855, it does not + follow that it goes back to heathen times. Wessex had been converted more + than two centuries earlier.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>We are now in a position to make some estimate of the antiquity of + Scyld and Sceaf in the West-Saxon pedigree. The nucleus of this pedigree + is to be found in the verses connecting Cynric and Cerdic with Woden. + (Even as late as Æthelwulf and Alfred this nucleus is often kept distinct + from the later, more historic stages connecting Cerdic with living men.) + Pedigrees of other royal houses go to Woden, and many stop there; + however, in times comparatively early, but yet Christian, we find Woden + provided with five ancestors: later, Ethelwerd gives him ten: the + <i>Chronicle</i> gives him twenty-five. It is evidently a process of + accumulation.</p> + + <p>Now, if the name of Scyld had occurred in the portion of the pedigree + which traces the West-Saxon kings up to Woden, <!-- Page 320 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page320"></a>{320}</span>it would possess + sufficient authority to form the basis of an argument. But Scyld, like + Heremod, Beaw and Sceaf, occurs in the fantastic development of the + pedigree, by which Woden is connected up with Adam and Noah. The fact + that these heroes occur <i>above</i> Woden makes it almost incredible + that their position in the pedigree can go back to heathen times. Those + who believed in Woden as a god can hardly have believed at the same time + that he was a descendant of the Danish king Scyld. This difficulty Prof. + Chadwick admits: "It is difficult to believe that in heathen times Woden + was credited with five generations of ancestors, as in the + <i>Frealaf-Geat</i> list." Still less is it credible that he was credited + with 25 generations of ancestors, as in the + <i>Frealaf-Geat-Sceldwa-Sceaf-Noe-Adam</i> list.</p> + + <p>The obvious conclusion seems to me to be that the names above Woden + were added in Christian times to the original list, which in heathen + times only went back to Woden, and <i>which is still extant in this + form</i>. A Christian, rationalizing Woden as a human magician, would + have no difficulty in placing him far down the ages, just as Saxo + Grammaticus does<a name="NtA628" href="#Nt628"><sup>[628]</sup></a>. + Obviously <i>Noe-Adam</i> must be an addition of Christian times, and the + same seems to me to apply to all the other names above Woden, which, + though ancient and Germanic, are not therefore ancient and Germanic in + the capacity of ancestors of Woden.</p> + + <p>And even if these extraordinary ancestors of Woden were really + believed in in heathen times, they cannot have been regarded as the + special property of any one nation. For it was never claimed that the + West-Saxon kings had any unique distinction in tracing their ancestry to + Woden, such as would give them a special claim upon Woden's forefathers. + How then can the ancient belief (if indeed it <i>were</i> an ancient + belief) that Woden was descended from Scyld, King of Denmark, prove that + the Anglo-Saxons regarded <i>themselves</i> as specially related to the + Danes? For any such relationship derived through Woden must have been + shared by all descendants of the All-Father.</p> + + <p>Prof. Chadwick avoids this difficulty by supposing that Woden did not + originally occur in the pedigree, but is a later <!-- Page 321 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page321"></a>{321}</span>insertion<a + name="NtA629" href="#Nt629"><sup>[629]</sup></a>. But how can this be so + when, of the two forms in which the West-Saxon pedigree appears, one + (and, so far as our evidence goes, much the older one) traces the kings + to Woden <i>and stops there</i>. The <i>object</i> of this pedigree is to + connect the West-Saxon kings with Woden. The expanded pedigrees, which + carry on the line still further, from Woden to Sceldwa, Sceaf and Adam, + though very numerous, are all traceable to one, or at most two, sources. + It is surely not the right method to regard Woden as an interpolation + (though he occurs in that portion of the pedigree which is common to all + versions, some of which we can probably trace back to primitive times), + and to regard as the original element Scyld and Sceaf (though they form + part of the continuation of the pedigree found only in, at most, two + families of <span class="scac">MSS</span> which we cannot trace back + beyond the ninth century).</p> + + <p>Besides, there is the strongest external support for Woden in the very + place which he occupies in the West-Saxon pedigree. That pedigree is + traced in all its texts up to one Baldæg and his father Woden. Those + texts which further give Woden's ancestry make him a descendant of + Frealaf—they generally make Woden son of Frealaf, though some texts + insert an intermediate Frithuwald.</p> + + <p>Now the very ancient Northumbrian pedigree also goes up, by a + different route, to "Beldæg," and gives him Woden for a father. In some + versions (e.g. the <i>Historia Brittonum</i>) the Northumbrian pedigree + stops there: in others (e.g. the <i>Vespasian MS</i>) Woden has a father + Frealaf. How then <i>can</i> it be argued, contrary to the unanimous + evidence of all the dozen or more <span class="scac">MSS</span> of the + West-Saxon pedigree, that <i>Woden</i>, standing as he does between his + proper father and his proper son, is an interpolation? There is no + evidence whatsoever to support such an argument, and everything to + disprove it.</p> + + <p>The fact that Sceaf, Sceldwa and Beaw occur above Woden, that some + versions of the pedigree stop at Woden, and that in heathen times + presumably all must have stopped when they reached the All-Father, seems + to me a fatal argument—not against the antiquity of the legends of + Sceaf, Sceldwa, and <!-- Page 322 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page322"></a>{322}</span>Beaw, but against the antiquity of these + characters in the capacity (given to them in the <i>Anglo-Saxon + Chronicle</i>) of ancestors of the West-Saxon kings, and against the vast + deduction concerning the origin of the English nation which Prof. + Chadwick draws from this supposed antiquity.</p> + + <p>(IV) Precisely the same argument—that Sceaf, Sceldwa and Beaw + are found <i>above Woden</i> in the pedigree of the English kings, and + are not likely to have occupied that place in primitive heathen times, is + fatal to the attempt to draw from this pedigree any argument that the + myths of these heroes were specially and exclusively Anglo-Saxon. The + argument of Müllenhoff and other scholars for an ancient, <i>purely + Anglo-Saxon</i> Beowa-myth<a name="NtA630" + href="#Nt630"><sup>[630]</sup></a> falls, therefore, to the ground.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + + <p><a name="appD"></a></p> + +<p class="cenhead">D. EVIDENCE FOR THE DATE OF <i>BEOWULF</i>. THE +RELATION OF <i>BEOWULF</i> TO THE CLASSICAL EPIC</p> + + <p>A few years ago there was a tendency to exaggerate the value of + grammatical forms in fixing the date of Old English poetry, and attempts + were made to arrange Old English poems in a chronological series, + according to the exact percentage of "early" to "late" forms in each. + There has now been a natural reaction against the assumption that, + granting certain forms to be archaic, these would necessarily be found in + a percentage diminishing exactly according to the dates of composition of + the various poems in which they occur. The reaction has now gone to the + other extreme, and grammatical facts are in danger of being regarded as + not being "in any way valid or helpful indications of dates<a + name="NtA631" href="#Nt631"><sup>[631]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>Schücking<a name="NtA632" href="#Nt632"><sup>[632]</sup></a>, in an + elaborate recent monograph on the date of <i>Beowulf</i>, rejects the + grammatical evidence as valueless, and proceeds to date the poem about + two centuries later than has usually been held, placing its composition + at the court of some christianized Scandinavian monarch in England, about + 900 <span class="scac">A.D.</span></p> + +<p><!-- Page 323 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page323"></a>{323}</span></p> + + <p>But it surely does not follow that, because grammatical data have been + misused, therefore no use can be made of them. And, if <i>Beowulf</i> was + composed about the year 900, from stories current among the Viking + settlers, how are we to account for the fact that the proper names in + <i>Beowulf</i> are given, not in the Scandinavian forms of the Viking + age, nor in corruptions of such forms, but in the correct English forms + which we should expect, according to English sound laws, if the names had + been brought over in the sixth century, and handed down traditionally<a + name="NtA633" href="#Nt633"><sup>[633]</sup></a>?</p> + + <p>For example, King Hygelac no doubt called himself <i>Hugilaikaz</i>. + The <i>Chochilaicus</i> of Gregory of Tours is a good—if + uncouth—shot at reproducing this name. The name became, in Norse, + <i>Hugleikr</i> and in Danish <i>Huglek</i> (<i>Hugletus</i> in Saxo): + traditional kings so named are recorded, though it is difficult to find + that they have anything in common with the King Hygelac in + <i>Beowulf</i><a name="NtA634" href="#Nt634"><sup>[634]</sup></a>. Had + the name been introduced into England in Viking times, we should expect + the Scandinavian form, not <i>Hygelāc</i><a name="NtA635" + href="#Nt635"><sup>[635]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Even in the rare cases where the character in <i>Beowulf</i> and his + Scandinavian equivalent bear names which are not phonologically + identical, the difference does not point to any corruption such as might + have arisen from borrowing in Viking days<a name="NtA636" + href="#Nt636"><sup>[636]</sup></a>. We have only to contrast the way in + which the names of Viking chiefs are recorded in the <i>Anglo-Saxon + Chronicle</i>, to be convinced that the Scandinavian stories recorded in + <i>Beowulf</i> are due to contact during the age when Britain was being + conquered, not during the Viking period three or four centuries later<a + name="NtA637" href="#Nt637"><sup>[637]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>And the arguments from literary and political history, which Schücking + adduces to prove his late date, seem to me to point in exactly the + opposite direction, and to confirm the orthodox view which would place + <i>Beowulf</i> nearer 700 than 900.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 324 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page324"></a>{324}</span></p> + + <p>Schücking urges that, however highly we estimate the civilizing effect + of Christianity, it was only in the second half of the seventh century + that England was thoroughly permeated by the new faith. Can we expect + already, at the beginning of the eighth century, a courtly work, showing, + as does <i>Beowulf</i>, such wonderful examples of tact, modesty, + unselfishness and magnanimity? And this at the time when King Ceolwulf + was forced by his rebellious subjects to take the cowl. For Schücking<a + name="NtA638" href="#Nt638"><sup>[638]</sup></a>, following Hodgkin<a + name="NtA639" href="#Nt639"><sup>[639]</sup></a>, reminds us how, in the + eighth century, out of 15 Northumbrian kings, five were dethroned, five + murdered; two abdicated, and only three held the crown to their death; + and how at the end of the century Charlemagne called the Northumbrian + Angles "a perfidious and perverse nation, murderers of their lords."</p> + + <p>But surely, at the base of all this argument, lies the same assumption + which, as Schücking rightly holds, vitiates so many of the grammatical + arguments; the assumption that development must necessarily be in steady + and progressive proportion. We may take Penda as a type of the + unreclaimed heathen, and Edward the Confessor of the chaste and saintly + churchman; but Anglo-Saxon history was by no means a development in + steady progression, of diminishing percentages of ruffianism and + increasing percentages of saintship.</p> + + <p>The knowledge of, and interest in, heathen custom shown in + <i>Beowulf</i>, such as the vivid accounts of cremation, would lead us to + place it as near heathen times as other data will allow. So much must be + granted to the argument of Prof. Chadwick<a name="NtA640" + href="#Nt640"><sup>[640]</sup></a>. But the Christian tone, so far from + leading us to place <i>Beowulf</i> late, would <i>also</i> lead us to + place it near the time of the conversion. For it is precisely in these + times just after the conversion, that we get the most striking instances + in all Old English history of that "tact, modesty, generosity, and + magnanimity" which Schücking rightly regards as characteristic of + <i>Beowulf</i>.</p> + + <p>King Oswin (who was slain in 651) was, Bede tells us, handsome, + courteous of speech and bearing, bountiful both to great <!-- Page 325 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page325"></a>{325}</span>and lowly, + beloved of all men for his qualities of mind and body, so that noblemen + came from all over England to enter his service—yet of all his + endowments gentleness and humility were the chief. We cannot read the + description without being reminded of the words of the thegns in praise + of the dead Beowulf. Indeed, I doubt if Beowulf would have carried + gentleness to those around him quite so far as did Oswin. For Oswin had + given to Bishop Aidan an exceptionally fine horse—and Aidan gave it + to a beggar who asked alms. The king's mild suggestion that a horse of + less value would have been good enough for the beggar, and that the + bishop needed a good horse for his own use, drew from the saint the stern + question "Is that son of a mare dearer to thee than the Son of God?" The + king, who had come from hunting, stood warming himself at the fire, + thinking over what had passed; then he suddenly ungirt his sword, gave it + to his squire, and throwing himself at the feet of the bishop, promised + never again to grudge anything he might give in his charities.</p> + + <p>Of course such conduct was exceptional in seventh century + Northumbria—it convinced Aidan that the king was too good to live + long, as indeed proved to be the case. But it shows that the ideals of + courtesy and gentleness shown in <i>Beowulf</i> were by no means beyond + the possibility of attainment—were indeed surpassed by a seventh + century king. I do not know if they could be so easily paralleled in + later Old English times.</p> + + <p>And what is true from the point of view of morals is true equally from + that of art and learning. In spite of the misfortunes of Northumbrian + kings in the eighth century, the <i>first third</i> of that century was + "the Golden Age of Anglo-Saxon England<a name="NtA641" + href="#Nt641"><sup>[641]</sup></a>." And not unnaturally, for it had been + preceded by half a century during which Northumbria had been free both + from internal strife and from invasion. The empire won by Oswiu over + Picts and Scots in the North had been lost at the battle of Nectansmere: + but that battle had been followed by the twenty years reign of the + learned Aldfrid, whose scholarship did not prevent him from nobly + retrieving the state of the kingdom<a name="NtA642" + href="#Nt642"><sup>[642]</sup></a>, though he could not recover the lost + dominions.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 326 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page326"></a>{326}</span></p> + + <p>Now, whatever we may think of <i>Beowulf</i> as poetry, it is + remarkable for its conscious and deliberate art, and for the tone of + civilization which pervades it. And this half century was distinguished, + above any other period of Old English history, precisely for its art and + its civilization. Four and a half centuries later, when the works of + great Norman master builders were rising everywhere in the land, the + buildings which Bishop Wilfrid had put up during this first period of + conversion were still objects of admiration, even for those who had seen + the glories of the great Roman basilicas<a name="NtA643" + href="#Nt643"><sup>[643]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Nor is there anything surprising in the fact that this "golden age" + was not maintained. On the contrary, it is "in accordance with the + phenomena of Saxon history in general, in which seasons of brilliant + promise are succeeded by long eras of national eclipse. It is from this + point of view quite in accordance with natural likelihood that the age of + conversion was one of such stimulus to the artistic powers of the people + that a level of effort and achievement was reached which subsequent + generations were not able to maintain. The carved crosses and the coins + certainly degenerate in artistic value as the centuries pass away, and + the fine barbaric gold and encrusted work is early in date<a + name="NtA644" href="#Nt644"><sup>[644]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>Already in the early part of the eighth century signs of decay are to + be observed. At the end of his <i>Ecclesiastical History</i>, Bede + complains that the times are so full of disturbance that one knows not + what to say, or what the end will be. And these fears were justified. A + hundred and forty years of turmoil and decay follow, till the + civilization of the North and the Midlands was overthrown by the Danes, + and York became the uneasy seat of a heathen jarl.</p> + + <p>How it should be possible to see in these facts, as contrasted with + the Christian and civilized tone of <i>Beowulf</i>, any argument for late + date, I cannot see. On the contrary, because of its Christian + civilization combined with its still vivid, if perhaps not always quite + exact, recollection of heathen customs, we should be inclined to put + <i>Beowulf</i> in the early Christian ages.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 327 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page327"></a>{327}</span></p> + + <p>A further argument put forward for this late date is the old one that + the Scandinavian sympathies of <i>Beowulf</i> show it to have been + composed for a Scandinavian court, the court, Schücking thinks, of one of + the princes who ruled over those portions of England which the Danes had + settled<a name="NtA645" href="#Nt645"><sup>[645]</sup></a>. Of course + Schücking is too sound a scholar to revive at this time of day the old + fallacy that the Anglo-Saxons ought to have taken no interest in the + deeds of any but Anglo-Saxon heroes. But how, he asks, are we to account + for such <i>enthusiasm</i> for, such a burning interest in, a people of + alien dialect and foreign dynasty, such as the Scyldings of Denmark?</p> + + <p>The answer seems to me to be that the enthusiasm of <i>Beowulf</i> is + not for the Danish nation as such: on the contrary, <i>Beowulf</i> + depicts a situation which is most humiliating to the Danes. For twelve + years they have suffered the depredations of Grendel; Hrothgar and his + kin have proved helpless: all the Danes have been unequal to the need. + Twice at least this is emphasized in the most uncompromising, and indeed + insulting, way<a name="NtA646" href="#Nt646"><sup>[646]</sup></a>. The + poet's enthusiasm is not, then, for the Danish race as such, but for the + ideal of a great court with its body of retainers. Such retainers are not + necessarily native born—rather is it the mark of the great court + that it draws men from far and wide to enter the service, whether + permanently or temporarily, even as Beowulf came from afar to help the + aged Hrothgar in his need.</p> + + <p>It is this ideal of personal valour and personal loyalty, rather than + of tribal patriotism, which pervades <i>Beowulf</i>, and which certainly + suits the known facts of the seventh and early eighth centuries. The + bitterest strife in England in the seventh century had been between the + two quite new states of Northumbria and Mercia, both equally of Anglian + race. Both these states had been built up by a combination of smaller + units, and not without violating the old local patriotisms of the diverse + elements from which they had been formed. At first, at any rate, no such + thing as Northumbrian or Mercian patriotism can have existed. Loyalty was + personal, to the king. Neither the kingdom nor the <i>comitatus</i> was + homogeneous. We have seen <!-- Page 328 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page328"></a>{328}</span>that Bede mentions it as a peculiar honour + to a Northumbrian prince that <i>from all parts of England</i> nobles + came to enter his service. We must not demand from the seventh or eighth + century our ideals of exclusive enthusiasm for the land of one's birth, + ideals which make it disreputable for a "mercenary" to sell his sword. + The ideal is, on the contrary, loyalty to a prince whose service a + warrior <i>voluntarily</i> enters. And the Danish court is depicted as a + pattern of such loyalty—before the Scyldings began to work evil<a + name="NtA647" href="#Nt647"><sup>[647]</sup></a>, by the treason of + Hrothulf.</p> + + <p>Further, the fact that the Danish court at Leire had been a heathen + one might be matter for regret, but it would not prevent its being + praised by an Englishman about 700. For England was then entirely + Christian. In the process of conversion no single Christian had, so far + as we know, been martyred. There had been no war of religion. If Penda + had fought against Oswald, it had been as the king of Mercia against the + king of Northumbria. Penda's allies were Christian, and he showed no + antipathy to the new faith<a name="NtA648" + href="#Nt648"><sup>[648]</sup></a>. So that at this date there was no + reason for men to feel any deep hostility towards a heathendom which had + been the faith of their grandfathers, and with which there had never been + any embittered conflict.</p> + + <p>But in 900 the position was quite different. For more than a + generation the country had been engaged in a life-and-death struggle + between two warring camps, the "Christian men" and the "heathen men." The + "heathen men" were in process of conversion, but were liable to be ever + recruited afresh from beyond the sea. It seems highly unlikely that + <i>Beowulf</i> could have been written at this date, by some English + poet, for the court of a converted Scandinavian prince, with a view + perhaps, as Schücking suggests, to educating his children in the English + speech. In such a case the one thing likely to be avoided by the English + poet, with more than two centuries of Christianity behind him, would + surely have been the praise of that Scandinavian heathendom, from which + his patron had freed himself, and from which his children were to be + weaned. The martyrdom of S. Edmund might have seemed a more appropriate + theme<a name="NtA649" href="#Nt649"><sup>[649]</sup></a>. <!-- Page 329 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page329"></a>{329}</span>The tolerant + attitude towards heathen customs, and the almost antiquarian interest in + them, very justly, as it seems to me, emphasized by Schücking<a + name="NtA650" href="#Nt650"><sup>[650]</sup></a>, is surely far more + possible in <span class="sc">a.d.</span> 700 than in <span + class="scac">A.D.</span> 900. For between those dates heathendom had + ceased to be an antiquarian curiosity, and had become an imminent + peril.</p> + + <p>If those are right who hold that <i>Beowulf</i> is no purely native + growth, but shows influence of the classical epic, then again it is + easier to credit such influence about the year 700 than 900. At the + earlier date we have scholars like Aldhelm and Bede, both well acquainted + with Virgil, yet both interested in vernacular verse. It has been urged, + as a <i>reductio ad absurdum</i> of the view which would connect + <i>Beowulf</i> with Virgil, that the relation to the <i>Odyssey</i> is + more obvious than that to the <i>Æneid</i>. Perhaps, however, some remote + and indirect connection even between <i>Beowulf</i> and the + <i>Odyssey</i> is not altogether unthinkable, about the year 700. At the + end of the seventh century there was a flourishing school of Greek + learning in England, under Hadrian and the Greek Archbishop Theodore, + both "well read in sacred <i>and in secular</i> literature." In 730 their + scholars were still alive, and, Bede tells us, could speak Greek and + Latin as correctly as their native tongue. Bede himself knew something + about the <i>Iliad</i> and the <i>Odyssey</i>. Not till eight centuries + have passed, and we reach Grocyn and Linacre, was it again to be as easy + for an Englishman to have a first-hand knowledge of a Greek classic as it + was about the year 700. What scholarship had sunk to by the days of + Alfred, we know: and we know that all Alfred's patronage did not produce + any scholar whom we can think of as in the least degree comparable to + Bede.</p> + + <p>So that from the point of view of its close touch with heathendom, its + tolerance for heathen customs, its Christian magnanimity and gentleness, + its conscious art, and its learned tone, all historic and artistic + analogy would lead us to place <i>Beowulf</i> in the great age—the + age of Bede.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>This has brought us to another question—more interesting to many + than the mere question of date. Are we to suppose <!-- Page 330 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page330"></a>{330}</span>any direct connection + between the classical and the Old English epic?</p> + + <p>As nations pass through their "Heroic Age," similar social conditions + will necessarily be reflected by many similarities in their poetry. In + heroic lays like <i>Finnsburg</i> or <i>Hildebrand</i> or the Norse + poems, phrases and situations may occur which remind us of phrases and + situations in the <i>Iliad</i>, without affording any ground for + supposing classical influence direct or indirect.</p> + + <p>But there is much more in <i>Beowulf</i> than mere accidental + coincidence of phrase or situation.</p> + + <p>A simple-minded romancer would have made the <i>Æneid</i> a biography + of Æneas from the cradle to the grave. Not so Virgil. The story begins + with mention of Carthage. Æneas then comes on the scene. At a banquet he + tells to Dido his earlier adventures. Just so <i>Beowulf</i> begins, not + with the birth of Beowulf and his boyhood, but with Heorot. Beowulf + arrives. At the banquet, in reply to Unferth, he narrates his earlier + adventures. The <i>Beowulf</i>-poet is not content merely to tell us that + there was minstrelsy at the feast, but like Virgil or Homer, he must give + an account of what was sung. The epic style leads often to almost verbal + similarities. Jupiter consoling Hercules for the loss of the son of his + host says:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>stat sua cuique dies, breve et inreparabile tempus</p> + <p>omnibus est vitae; sed famam extendere factis</p> + <p>hoc virtutis opus<a name="NtA651" href="#Nt651"><sup>[651]</sup></a>.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>In the same spirit and almost in the same words does Beowulf console + Hrothgar for the loss of his friend:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Ūre ǣghwylc sceal ende gebīdan</p> + <p>worolde līfes; wyrce sē þe mōte</p> + <p>dōmes ǣr dēaþe; þæt biþ drihtguman</p> + <p>unlifgendum æfter sēlest.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>On the other hand, though we are often struck by the likeness in + spirit and in plan, it must be allowed that there is no tangible or + conclusive proof of borrowing<a name="NtA652" + href="#Nt652"><sup>[652]</sup></a>. But the influence may have been none + the less effective for being indirect: nor is <!-- Page 331 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page331"></a>{331}</span>it quite certain that + the author, had he known his Virgil, would necessarily have left traces + of direct borrowing. For the deep Christian feeling, which has given to + <i>Beowulf</i> its almost prudish propriety and its edifying tone, is + manifested by no direct and dogmatic reference to Christian personages or + doctrines.</p> + + <p>I sympathize with Prof. Chadwick's feeling that a man who knew Virgil + would not have disguised his knowledge, and would probably have lacked + both inclination and ability to compose such a poem as <i>Beowulf</i><a + name="NtA653" href="#Nt653"><sup>[653]</sup></a>. But does not this + feeling rest largely upon the analogy of other races and ages? Is it + borne out by such known facts as we can gather about this period? The + reticence of <i>Beowulf</i> with reference to Christianity does not + harmonize with one's preconceived ideas; and Bishop Aldhelm gives us an + even greater surprise. Let anyone read, or try to read, Aldhelm's + <i>Epistola ad Acircium, sive liber de septenario et de metris</i>. Let + him then ask himself "Is it possible that this learned pedant can also + have been the author of English poems which King Alfred—surely no + mean judge—thought best of all he knew?" These poems may of course + have been educated and learned in tone. But we have the authority of King + Alfred for the fact that Aldhelm used to perform at the cross roads as a + common minstrel, and that he could hold his audiences with such success + that they resorted to him again and again<a name="NtA654" + href="#Nt654"><sup>[654]</sup></a>. Only after he had made himself + popular by several performances did he attempt to weave edifying matter + into his verse. And the popular, secular poetry of Aldhelm, his <i>carmen + triviale</i>, remained current among the common people for centuries. Nor + was Aldhelm's classical knowledge of late growth, something superimposed + upon an earlier love of popular poetry, for he had <!-- Page 332 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page332"></a>{332}</span>studied under Hadrian + as a boy<a name="NtA655" href="#Nt655"><sup>[655]</sup></a>. Later we are + told that King Ine imported two Greek teachers from Athens for the help + of Aldhelm and his school<a name="NtA656" + href="#Nt656"><sup>[656]</sup></a>; this may be exaggeration.</p> + + <p>Everything seems to show that about 700 an atmosphere existed in + England which might easily have led a scholarly Englishman, acquainted + with the old lays, to have set to work to compose an epic. Even so + venerable a person as Bede, during his last illness, uttered his last + teaching not, as we should expect on <i>a priori</i> grounds, in Latin + hexameters, but in English metre. The evidence for this is conclusive<a + name="NtA657" href="#Nt657"><sup>[657]</sup></a>. But, at a later date, + Alcuin would surely have condemned the minstrelsy of Aldhelm<a + name="NtA658" href="#Nt658"><sup>[658]</sup></a>. Even King Alfred seems + to have felt that it needed some apology. It would have rendered Aldhelm + liable to severe censure under the Laws of King Edgar<a name="NtA659" + href="#Nt659"><sup>[659]</sup></a>; and Dunstan's biographer indignantly + denies the charge brought against his hero of having learnt the heathen + songs of his forefathers<a name="NtA660" + href="#Nt660"><sup>[660]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>The evidence is not as plentiful as we might wish, but it rather + suggests that the chasm between secular poetry and ecclesiastical + learning was more easily bridged in the first generations after the + conversion than was the case later.</p> + + <p>But, however that may be, it assuredly does not give any grounds for + abandoning the old view, based largely upon grammatical and metrical + considerations, which would make <i>Beowulf</i> a product of the early + eighth century, and substituting for it a theory which would make our + poem a product of mixed Saxon and Danish society in the early tenth + century.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p><!-- Page 333 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page333"></a>{333}</span></p> + + <p><a name="appE"></a></p> + +<p class="cenhead">E. THE "JUTE-QUESTION" REOPENED</p> + + <p>The view that the Geatas of <i>Beowulf</i> are the Jutes (Iuti, Iutae) + of Bede (i.e. the tribe which colonized Kent, the Isle of Wight and + Hampshire) has been held by many eminent scholars. It was dealt with only + briefly above (pp. 8-9) because I thought the theory was now recognized + as being no longer tenable. Lately, however, it has been maintained with + conviction and ability by two Danish scholars, Schütte and Kier. It + therefore becomes necessary once more to reopen the question, now that + the only elaborate discussion of it in the English language favours the + "Jute-theory," especially as Axel Olrik gave the support of his great + name to the view that "the question is still open<a name="NtA661" + href="#Nt661"><sup>[661]</sup></a>" and that "the last word has not been + said concerning the nationality of the Geatas<a name="NtA662" + href="#Nt662"><sup>[662]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>As in most controversies, a number of rather irrelevant side issues + have been introduced<a name="NtA663" href="#Nt663"><sup>[663]</sup></a>, + so that from mere weariness students are sometimes inclined to leave the + problem undecided. Yet the interpretation of the opening chapters of + Scandinavian history turns upon it.</p> + + <p>Supporters of the "Jute-theory" have seldom approached the subject + from the point of view of Old English. Bugge<a name="NtA664" + href="#Nt664"><sup>[664]</sup></a> perhaps did so: but the "Jute-theory" + has been held chiefly by students of Scandinavian history, literature or + geography, like Fahlbeck<a name="NtA665" + href="#Nt665"><sup>[665]</sup></a>, Steenstrup<a name="NtA666" + href="#Nt666"><sup>[666]</sup></a>, Gering<a name="NtA667" + href="#Nt667"><sup>[667]</sup></a>, Olrik<a name="NtA668" + href="#Nt668"><sup>[668]</sup></a>, Schütte<a name="NtA669" + href="#Nt669"><sup>[669]</sup></a> and Kier<a name="NtA670" + href="#Nt670"><sup>[670]</sup></a>. But, now that the laws of Old English + sound-change have been <!-- Page 334 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page334"></a>{334}</span>clearly defined, it seldom happens that + anyone who approaches the subject primarily as a student of the + Anglo-Saxon language holds the view that the Geatas are Jutes.</p> + + <p>And this is naturally so: for, from the point of view of language, the + question is not disputable. The <i>Gēatas</i> phonologically are + the <i>Gautar</i> (the modern Götar of Southern Sweden). It is admitted + that the words are identical<a name="NtA671" + href="#Nt671"><sup>[671]</sup></a>. And, equally, it is admitted that the + word <i>Gēatas</i> cannot be identical with the word <i>Iuti</i>, + <i>Iutae</i>, used by Bede as the name of the Jutes who colonized Kent<a + href="#Nt671"><sup>[671]</sup></a>. Bede's <i>Iuti</i>, <i>Iutae</i>, on + the contrary, would correspond to a presumed Old English + <i>*Īuti</i> or <i>*Īutan</i><a name="NtA672" + href="#Nt672"><sup>[672]</sup></a>, current in his time in Northumbria. + This in later Northumbrian would become <i>Īote</i>, + <i>Īotan</i> (though the form <i>Īute</i>, <i>Īutan</i> + might also survive). The dialect forms which we should expect (and which + we find in the genitive and dative) corresponding to this would be: + Mercian, <i>Ēote</i>, <i>Ēotan</i>; Late West-Saxon, + <i>Ȳte</i>, <i>Ȳtan</i> (through an intermediate Early + West-Saxon <i>*Īete</i>, <i>*Īetan</i>, which is not + recorded).</p> + + <p>If, then, the word <i>Gēatas</i> came to supplant the correct + form <i>Īote</i>, <i>Īotan</i> (or its Mercian and West-Saxon + equivalents <i>Ēote</i>, <i>Ēotan</i>, <i>Ȳte</i>, + <i>Ȳtan</i>), this can only have been the result of confusion. Such + confusion is, on abstract grounds, conceivable: it is always possible + that the name of one tribe may come to be attached to another. "Scot" has + ceased to mean "Irishman," and has come to mean "North Briton"; and there + is no intrinsic impossibility in the word <i>Gēatas</i> having been + transferred by Englishmen, from the half-forgotten Gautar, to the Jutes, + and having driven out the correct name of the latter, <i>Īote</i>, + <i>Īotan</i>. For example, there might have been an exiled Geatic + family among the Jutish invaders, which might have become so prominent as + to cause <!-- Page 335 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page335"></a>{335}</span>the name <i>Gēatas</i> to supplant + the correct <i>Īote</i>, <i>Ēote</i>, etc. But, whoever the + Geatas may have been, <i>Beowulf</i> is their chief early record: indeed, + almost all we know of their earliest history is derived from + <i>Beowulf</i>. In <i>Beowulf</i>, therefore, if anywhere, the old names + and traditions should be remembered. The word <i>Gēat</i> occurs + some 50 times in the poem. The poet obviously wishes to use other + synonyms, for the sake of variety and alliteration: hence we get + <i>Weder-Gēatas</i>, <i>Wederas</i>, <i>Sǣ-Gēatas</i>, + <i>Gūð-Gēatas</i>. Now, if these Geatas are the Jutes, how + comes it that the poet <i>never</i> calls them such, never speaks of them + under the correct tribal name of <i>Ēote</i>, etc., although this + was the current name at the time <i>Beowulf</i> was written, and indeed + for centuries later?</p> + + <p>For, demonstrably, the form <i>Ēote</i>, etc., <i>was</i> + recognized as the name of the Jutes till at least the twelfth century. + Then it died out of current speech, and only Bede's Latin <i>Iuti</i> + (and the modern "Jute" derived therefrom) remained as terms used by the + historians. The evidence is conclusive:</p> + + <p>(<i>a</i>) Bede, writing about the time when <i>Beowulf</i>, in its + present form, is supposed to have been composed, uses <i>Iuti</i>, + <i>Iutae</i>, corresponding to a presumed contemporary Northumbrian + <i>*Īuti</i>, <i>*Īutan</i>.</p> + + <p>(<i>b</i>) In the O.E. translation of Bede, made in Mercia perhaps two + centuries after Bede's time, we do indeed in one place find "Geata," + "Geatum" used to translate "Iutarum," "Iutis," instead of the correctly + corresponding Mercian form "Eota," "Eotum." Only two <span + class="scac">MSS</span> are extant at this point. But since both agree, + and since they belong to different types, it is probable that "Geata" + here is no mere copyist's error, but is due to the translator himself<a + name="NtA673" href="#Nt673"><sup>[673]</sup></a>. But, later, when the + translator <!-- Page 336 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page336"></a>{336}</span>has to render Bede's "Iutorum," he gives, + not "Geata," but the correct Mercian "Eota." There can be no possible + doubt here, for five <span class="scac">MSS</span> are extant at this + point, and all give the correct form—four in the Mercian, "Eota," + whilst one gives the West-Saxon equivalent, "Ytena."</p> + + <p>Now the <i>Gēata</i>-passage in the Bede translation is the + chief piece of evidence which those who would explain the Geatas of + <i>Beowulf</i> as "Jutes" can call: and it does not, in fact, much help + them. What they have to prove is that the <i>Beowulf</i>-poet could + <i>consistently and invariably</i> have used <i>Gēatas</i> in the + place of <i>Ēote</i>. To produce an instance in which the two terms + are both used by the same translator is very little use, when what has to + be proved is that the one term had already, at a much earlier period, + entirely ousted the other.</p> + + <p>All our other evidence is for the invariable use of the correct form + <i>Īote</i>, <i>Īotan</i>, etc. in Old English.</p> + + <p>(<i>c</i>) The passage from Bede was again translated, and inserted + into a copy of the <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i>, which was sent quite + early to one of the great abbeys of Northumbria<a name="NtA674" + href="#Nt674"><sup>[674]</sup></a>. In this, "Iutis, Iutarum" is + represented by the correct Northumbrian equivalent, "Iutum," "Iotum"; + "Iutna."</p> + + <p>(<i>d</i>) This Northumbrian Chronicle, or a transcript of it, + subsequently came South, to Canterbury. There, roughly about the year + 1100, it was used to interpolate an Early West-Saxon copy of the + Chronicle. Surely at Canterbury, the capital of the old Jutish kingdom, + people must have known the correct form of the Jutish name, whether + <i>Gēatas</i> or <i>Īote</i>. We find the forms "Iotum," + "Iutum"; "Iutna."</p> + + <p>(<i>e</i>) Corresponding to this Northumbrian (and Kentish) form + <i>Īote</i>, Mercian <i>Ēote</i>, the Late West-Saxon form + should be <i>Ȳte</i>. Now <i>MS Corpus Christi College, + Cambridge</i>, 41, gives us "the Wessex version of the English Bede" and + is written by a scribe who knew the Hampshire district<a name="NtA675" + href="#Nt675"><sup>[675]</sup></a>. In this <span class="scac">MS</span> + the "Eota" of the Mercian original has been transcribed as "Ytena," + "Eotum" as "Ytum," showing that the scribe understood the tribal name and + its equivalent correctly. This was about the <!-- Page 337 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page337"></a>{337}</span>time of the Norman + Conquest, but the name continued to be understood till the early twelfth + century at least. For Florence of Worcester records that William Rufus + was slain <i>in Noua Foresta quae lingua Anglorum Ytene nuncupatur</i>; + and in another place he speaks of the same event as happening <i>in + prouincia Jutarum in Noua Foresta</i><a name="NtA676" + href="#Nt676"><sup>[676]</sup></a>, which shows that Florence understood + that "Ytene" was <i>Ȳtena land</i>, "the province of the + Jutes."</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>It comes, then, to this. The "Jute-hypothesis" postulates not only + that, at the time <i>Beowulf</i> was composed, <i>Gēatas</i> had + come to mean "Jutes," but also that it had so completely ousted the + correct old name <i>Īuti, Īote, Ēote, Ȳte</i>, + that none of the latter terms are ever used in the poem as synonyms for + Beowulf's people<a name="NtA677" href="#Nt677"><sup>[677]</sup></a>. Yet + all the evidence shows that <i>Īuti</i> etc. was the recognized + name when Bede wrote, and we have evidence at intervals showing that it + was so understood till four centuries later. But not only was + <i>Īuti</i>, <i>Īote</i> never superseded in O.E. times; + there is no real evidence that <i>Gēatas</i> was ever + <i>generally</i> used to signify "Jutes." The fact that one translator in + one passage (writing probably some two centuries after <i>Beowulf</i> was + composed) uses "Geata," "Geatum," where he should have used "Eota," + "Eotum," does not prove the misnomer to have been + general—especially when the same translator subsequently uses the + correct form "Eota."</p> + + <p>I do not think sufficient importance has been attached to what seems + (to me) the vital argument against the "Jute-theory." It is not merely + that <i>Gēatas</i> is the exact phonological equivalent of + <i>Gautar</i> (Götar) and cannot be equivalent to Bede's <i>Iuti</i>. + This difficulty may be got over by the assumption that somehow the + <i>Iuti</i>, or some of them, had adopted the name <i>Gēatas</i>: + and we are not in a position to disprove such assumption. But the + advocates of the "Jute-theory" have further to assume that, at the date + when <i>Beowulf</i> was written, the correct name <i>Iuti</i> + (Northumbrian <i>Īote</i>, Mercian <i>Ēote</i>, West-Saxon + <i>Ȳte</i>) must have so passed into disuse that it could not be + once used as a <!-- Page 338 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page338"></a>{338}</span>synonym for Beowulf's people, by our + synonym-hunting poet. And this assumption we <i>are</i> in a position to + disprove.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>The Jute-theory would therefore still be untenable on the ground of + the name, even though it were laboriously proved that, from the + historical and geographical standpoint, there was more to be said for it + than had hitherto been recognized. But even this has not been proved: + quite the reverse. As I have tried to show above, historical and + geographical considerations, though in themselves not absolutely + conclusive, point emphatically to an identification with the Götar, + rather than with the Jutes<a name="NtA678" + href="#Nt678"><sup>[678]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>The relations of Beowulf and the Geatas with the kings of Denmark and + of Sweden are the constant topic of the poem. Now the land of the Götar + <i>was</i> situated between Denmark and Sweden. But if the Geatas be + Jutes, their neighbours were the Danes on the east and the Angles on the + south; farther away, across the Cattegat lay the Götar, and beyond these + the Swedes. If the Geatas be Jutes, why should their immediate + neighbours, the Angles, never appear in <i>Beowulf</i> as having any + dealings with them? And why, above all, should the Götar never be + mentioned, whilst the Swedes, far to the north, play so large a part? + Even if Swedes and Götar had at this time been under one king, the Götar + could not have been thus ignored, seeing that, owing to their position, + the brunt of the fighting must have fallen on them<a name="NtA679" + href="#Nt679"><sup>[679]</sup></a>. But we know that the Götar were + independent. The strictly contemporary evidence of Procopius shows quite + conclusively that they were one of the strongest of the Scandinavian + kingdoms<a name="NtA680" href="#Nt680"><sup>[680]</sup></a>. How then + could warfare be carried on for three generations between Jutes and + Swedes without concerning the Götar, whose territory lay in between?</p> + + <p>Again, in the "Catalogue of Kings" in <i>Widsith</i>, the Swedes are + named with their famous king Ongentheow. The Jutes (<i>Ȳte</i>) are + also mentioned, with <i>their</i> king. And their king is <!-- Page 339 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page339"></a>{339}</span>not Hrethel, + Hæthcyn, Hygelac or Heardred, but a certain Gefwulf, whose name does not + even alliterate with that of any known king of the Geatas<a name="NtA681" + href="#Nt681"><sup>[681]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Again, in the (certainly very early) <i>Book on Monsters</i>, Hygelac + is described as <i>Huiglaucus qui imperavit Getis</i>. Now Getis can mean + Götar<a name="NtA682" href="#Nt682"><sup>[682]</sup></a>, but can hardly + mean Jutes.</p> + + <p>The geographical case against the identification of Geatas and Götar + depends upon the assumption that the western sea-coast of the Götar in + ancient times must have coincided with that of West Gothland + (Vestra-Götland) in mediæval and modern times. Now as this coast consists + merely of a small strip south of the river Götaelv, it is argued that the + Götar could not be the maritime Geatas of <i>Beowulf</i>, capable of + undertaking a Viking raid to the mouth of the Rhine. But the assumption + that the frontiers of the Götar about <span class="scac">A.D.</span> 500 + were the same as they were a thousand years later, is not only improbable + on <i>a priori</i> grounds, but, as Schück has shown<a name="NtA683" + href="#Nt683"><sup>[683]</sup></a>, can be definitely disproved. Adam of + Bremen, writing in the eleventh century, speaks of the river Gothelba + (Götaelv) as running through the midst of the peoples of the Götar. And + the obvious connection between the name of the river and the name of the + people seems to make it certain that Adam is right, and that the original + Götar must have dwelt around the river Götaelv. But, if so, then they + were a maritime folk: for the river Götaelv is merely the outlet which + connects Lake Wener with the sea, running a course almost parallel with + the shore and nowhere very distant from it<a name="NtA684" + href="#Nt684"><sup>[684]</sup></a>. But even when Adam wrote, the <!-- + Page 340 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page340"></a>{340}</span>Götar + to the north of the river had long been politically subject to Norway<a + name="NtA685" href="#Nt685"><sup>[685]</sup></a>: and the + <i>Heimskringla</i> tells us how this happened.</p> + + <p>Harold Fairhair, King of Norway (a contemporary of King Alfred), + attacked them: they had staked the river Götaelv against him, but he + moored his ships to the stakes<a name="NtA686" + href="#Nt686"><sup>[686]</sup></a> and harried <i>on either shore</i>: he + fought far and wide in the country, had many battles <i>on either side of + the river</i>, and finally slew the leader of the Götar, Hrani Gauzki + (the Götlander). Then he annexed to Norway all the land north of the + river and west of Lake Wener. Thenceforward the Götaelv was the boundary + between Norway and West Gothland, though the country ultimately became + Swedish, as it now is. But it is abundantly clear from the + <i>Heimskringla</i> that Harold regarded as hostile all the territory + north of the Götaelv, and between Lake Wener and the sea<a name="NtA687" + href="#Nt687"><sup>[687]</sup></a> (the old Ránriki and the modern + Bohuslän).</p> + + <p>But, if so, then the objection that the Götar are not a sufficiently + maritime people becomes untenable. For precisely to this region belong + the earliest records of maritime warfare to be found in the north of + Europe, possibly the earliest in Europe. The smooth rocks of Bohuslän are + covered with incised pictures of the Bronze age: and the favourite + subject of these is ships and naval encounters. About 120 different + pictures of ships and sea fights are reproduced by one scholar alone<a + name="NtA688" href="#Nt688"><sup>[688]</sup></a>. And at the present day + this province of Göteborg and Bohus is the most important centre in + Sweden both of fishery and shipping. Indeed, more than one quarter of the + total tonnage of the modern Swedish mercantile marine comes from this + comparatively tiny strip of coast<a name="NtA689" + href="#Nt689"><sup>[689]</sup></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 341 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page341"></a>{341}</span></p> + + <p>It is surely quite absurd to urge that the men of this coast could not + have harried the Frisians in the manner in which Hygelac is represented + as doing. And surely it is equally absurd to urge that the people of this + coast would not have had to fear a return attack from the Frisians, after + the downfall of their own kings. The Frisians seem to have been "the + chief channel of communication between the North and West of Europe<a + name="NtA690" href="#Nt690"><sup>[690]</sup></a>" before the rise of the + Scandinavian Vikings, and to have been supreme in the North Sea. The + Franks were of course a land power, but the Franks, <i>when in alliance + with the Frisians</i>, were by no means helpless at sea. Gregory of Tours + tells us that they overthrew Hygelac on land, and <i>then in a sea fight + annihilated his fleet</i>. Now the poet says that the Geatas may expect + war when the Franks <i>and Frisians</i> hear of Beowulf's fall. The + objection that, because they feared the Franks, the Geatas must have been + reachable by land, depends upon leaving the "and Frisians" out of + consideration.</p> + + <p>"Now we may look for a time of war" says the messenger "when the fall + of our king is known among the Franks and Frisians": then he gives a + brief account of the raid upon the land of the Frisians and concludes: + "Ever since then has the favour of the Merovingian king been denied us<a + name="NtA691" href="#Nt691"><sup>[691]</sup></a>." What is there in this + to indicate whether the raiders came from Jutland, or from the coast of + the Götar across the Cattegat, 50 miles further off? The messenger goes + on to anticipate hostility from the Swedes<a name="NtA692" + href="#Nt692"><sup>[692]</sup></a>. To this, at any rate, the Götar were + more exposed than the Jutes. Further, he concludes by anticipating the + utter overthrow of the Geatas<a name="NtA693" + href="#Nt693"><sup>[693]</sup></a>: and the poet expressly tells us that + these forebodings were justified<a name="NtA694" + href="#Nt694"><sup>[694]</sup></a>. There must therefore be a reference + to some famous national catastrophe. Now the Götar <i>did</i> lose their + independence, and <i>were</i> incorporated into the Swedish kingdom. When + did the Jutes suffer any similar downfall at the hands of either + Frisians, Franks, or Swedes?</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>The other geographical and historical arguments urged in favour of the + Jutes, when carefully scrutinized, are found either <!-- Page 342 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page342"></a>{342}</span>equally + indecisive, or else actually to tell against the "Jute-theory." Schütte<a + name="NtA695" href="#Nt695"><sup>[695]</sup></a> thinks that the name + "Wederas" (applied in <i>Beowulf</i> to the Geatas) is identical with the + name <i>Eudoses</i> (that of a tribe mentioned by Tacitus, who + <i>may</i><a name="NtA696" href="#Nt696"><sup>[696]</sup></a> have dwelt + in Jutland). But this is impossible phonologically: <i>Wederas</i> is + surely a shortened form of <i>Weder-Gēatas</i>, "the Storm-Geatas." + Indeed, we have, in favour of the Götar-theory, the fact that the very + name of the Wederas survives on the Bohuslän coast to this day, in the + Wäder Öar and the Wäder Fiord.</p> + + <p>Advocates of the "Jute-theory" lay great stress upon the fact that + Gregory of Tours and the <i>Liber Historiae Francorum</i> call Hygelac a + Dane<a name="NtA697" href="#Nt697"><sup>[697]</sup></a>: <i>Dani cum rege + suo Chochilaico</i>. Now, when Gregory wrote in the sixth century, either + the Jutes were entirely distinct from, and independent of, the Danes, or + they were not. If they were distinct, how do Gregory's words help the + "Jute-theory"? He must be simply using "Dane," like the Anglo-Saxon + historians, for "Scandinavian." But if the Jutes were not distinct from + the Danes, then we have an argument against the "Jute-theory." For we + know from <i>Beowulf</i> that the Geatas <i>were</i> quite distinct from + the Danes<a name="NtA698" href="#Nt698"><sup>[698]</sup></a>, and quite + independent of them<a name="NtA699" + href="#Nt699"><sup>[699]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>It is repeatedly urged that the Geatas and Swedes fight <i>ofer + sǣ</i><a name="NtA700" href="#Nt700"><sup>[700]</sup></a>. But + <i>sǣ</i> can mean a great fresh-water lake, like Lake Wener, just + as well as the ocean<a name="NtA701" href="#Nt701"><sup>[701]</sup></a>: + and as a matter of fact we know that the decisive battle did take place + on Lake Wener, <i>in stagno Waener, á Vænis ísi</i><a name="NtA702" + href="#Nt702"><sup>[702]</sup></a>. Lake Wener is an obvious battle place + for Götar and Swedes. They were separated by the great and almost + impassable forests of "Tived" and "Kolmård," and the lake was their + simplest way of meeting<a name="NtA703" + href="#Nt703"><sup>[703]</sup></a>. But it does not equally fit Jutes and + Swedes.</p> + + <p>It is repeatedly objected that the Götar are remote from the + Anglo-Saxons<a name="NtA704" href="#Nt704"><sup>[704]</sup></a>. + Possibly: but remoteness did not prevent <!-- Page 343 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page343"></a>{343}</span>the Anglo-Saxons from + being interested in heroes of the Huns or Goths or Burgundians or + Longobards, who were much more<a name="NtA705" + href="#Nt705"><sup>[705]</sup></a> distant. And the absence of any direct + connection between the history of the Geatas and the historic Anglo-Saxon + records, affords a strong presumption that the Geatas <i>were</i> a + somewhat alien people. If the people of Beowulf, Hygelac, and Hrethel, + were the same people as the Jutes who colonized Kent and Hampshire, why + do we never, in the Kentish royal genealogies or elsewhere, find any + claim to such connection? The Mercians did not so forget their connection + with the old Offa of Angel, although a much greater space of time had + intervened. The fact that we have no mention among the ancestors of + Beowulf and Hygelac of any names which we can connect with the Jutish + genealogy affords, therefore, a strong presumption that they belonged to + some other tribe.</p> + + <p>The strongest historical argument for the "Jute-theory" was that + produced by Bugge. The <i>Ynglinga tal</i> represents Ottar (who is + certainly the Ohthere of <i>Beowulf</i>) as having fallen in Vendel, and + this Vendel was clearly understood as being the district of that name in + North Jutland. The body of this Swedish king was torn asunder by carrion + birds, and he was remembered as "the Vendel-crow," a mocking nickname + which pretty clearly goes back to primitive times. Other ancient authors + attributed this name, not to Ottar, but to his father, who can be + identified with the Ongentheow of <i>Beowulf</i>. This would seem to + indicate that the hereditary foes of Ongentheow and the Swedish kings of + his house were, after all, the Jutes of Vendel.</p> + + <p>But Knut Stjerna has shown that the Vendel from which "Ottar + Vendel-crow" took his name was probably not the Vendel of Jutland at all, + but the place of that name north of Uppsala, famous for the splendid + grave-finds which show it to have been of peculiar importance during our + period<a name="NtA706" href="#Nt706"><sup>[706]</sup></a>. And subsequent + research has shown that a huge grave-mound, near this Vendel, is + mentioned in a record of the seventeenth century as King <!-- Page 344 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page344"></a>{344}</span>Ottar's mound, + and is still popularly known as the mound of Ottar Vendel-crow<a + name="NtA707" href="#Nt707"><sup>[707]</sup></a>. But, if so, this story + of the Vendel-crow, so far from supporting the "Jute-hypothesis," tells + against it: nothing could be more suitable than Vendel, north of Uppsala, + as the "last ditch" to which Ongentheow retreated, if we assume his + adversaries to have been the Götar: but it would not suit the Jutes so + well.</p> + + <p>An exploration of the mound has proved beyond reasonable doubt that it + <i>was</i> raised to cover the ashes of Ottar Vendel-crow, the Ohthere of + <i>Beowulf</i><a name="NtA708" href="#Nt708"><sup>[708]</sup></a>. That + Ohthere fell in battle against the Geatas there is nothing, in + <i>Beowulf</i> or elsewhere, to prove. But the fact that his ashes were + laid in mound at Vendel in Sweden makes it unlikely that he fell in + battle against the Jutes, and is quite incompatible with what we are told + in the <i>Ynglinga saga</i> of his body having been torn to pieces by + carrion fowl on a mound in Vendel in Jutland. It now becomes clear that + this story, and the tale of the crow of wood made by the Jutlanders in + mockery of Ottar, is a mere invention to account for the name + Vendel-crow: the name, as so often, has survived, and a new story has + grown up to give a reason for the name.</p> + + <p>What "Vendel-crow" originally implied we cannot be quite sure. + Apparently "Crow" or "Vendel-crow" is used to this day as a nickname for + the inhabitants of Swedish Vendel. Ottar may have been so called because + he was buried (possibly because he lived) in Vendel, not, like other + members of his race, his son and his father, at Old Uppsala. But however + that may be, what is clear is that, as the name passed from the Swedes to + those Norwegian and Icelandic writers who have handed it down <!-- Page + 345 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page345"></a>{345}</span>to us, + Vendel of Sweden was naturally misunderstood as the more familiar Vendel + of Jutland. Stjerna's conjecture is confirmed. The Swedish king's + nickname, far from pointing to ancient feuds between Jute and Swede, is + shown to have nothing whatsoever to do with Jutland.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>It appears, then, that <i>Gēatas</i> is phonologically the + equivalent of "Götar," but not the equivalent of "Jutes"; that what we + know of the use of the word "Jutes" (<i>Īote</i>, etc.) in Old + English makes it incredible that a poem of the length of <i>Beowulf</i> + could be written, concerning their heroes and their wars, without even + mentioning them by their correct name; that in many respects the + geographical and historical evidence fits the Götar, but does <i>not</i> + fit the Jutes; that the instances to the contrary, in which it is claimed + that the geographical and historical evidence fits the Jutes but does not + fit the Götar, are all found on examination to be either inconclusive or + actually to favour the Götar.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + + <p><a name="appF"></a></p> + +<p class="cenhead">F. <i>BEOWULF</i> AND THE ARCHÆOLOGISTS</p> + + <p>The peat-bogs of Schleswig and Denmark have yielded finds of the first + importance for English archæology. These "moss-finds" are great + collections, chiefly of arms and accoutrements, obviously deposited with + intention. The first of these great discoveries, that of Thorsbjerg, was + made in the heart of ancient Angel: the site of the next, Nydam, also + comes within the area probably occupied by either Angles or Jutes; and + most of the rest of the "moss-finds" were in the closest neighbourhood of + the old Anglian home. The period of the oldest deposits, as is shown by + the Roman coins found among them, is hardly before the third century + <span class="scac">A.D.</span>, and some authorities would make it + considerably later.</p> + + <p>An account of these discoveries will be found in Engelhardt's + <i>Denmark in the Early Iron Age</i><a name="NtA709" + href="#Nt709"><sup>[709]</sup></a>, 1866: a volume which <!-- Page 346 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page346"></a>{346}</span>summarizes the + results of Engelhardt's investigations during the preceding seven years. + He had published in Copenhagen <i>Thorsbjerg Mosefund</i>, 1863; <i>Nydam + Mosefund</i>, 1865. Engelhardt's work at Nydam was interrupted by the war + of 1864: the finds had to be ceded to Germany, and the exploration was + continued by German scholars. Engelhardt consoled himself that these + "subsequent investigations ... do not seem to have been carried on with + the necessary care and intelligence," and continued his own researches + within the narrowed frontiers of Denmark, publishing two monographs on + the mosses of Fünen: <i>Kragehul Mosefund</i>, 1867; <i>Vimose + Fundet</i>, 1869.</p> + + <p>These deposits, however, obviously belong to a period much earlier + than that in which <i>Beowulf</i> was written: indeed most of them + certainly belong to a period earlier than that in which the historic + events described in <i>Beowulf</i> occurred; so that, close as is their + relation with Anglian civilization, it is with the civilization of the + Angles while still on the continent.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>The Archæology of <i>Beowulf</i> has been made the subject of special + study by Knut Stjerna, in a series of articles which appeared between + 1903 and his premature death in 1909. A good service has been done to + students of <i>Beowulf</i> by Dr Clark Hall in collecting and translating + Stjerna's essays<a name="NtA710" href="#Nt710"><sup>[710]</sup></a>. They + are a mine of useful information, and the reproductions of articles from + Scandinavian grave-finds, with which they are so copiously illustrated, + are invaluable. The magnificent antiquities from Vendel, now in the + Stockholm museum, are more particularly laid under contribution<a + name="NtA711" href="#Nt711"><sup>[711]</sup></a>. Dr Clark Hall added a + most useful "Index of things mentioned in <i>Beowulf</i><a name="NtA712" + href="#Nt712"><sup>[712]</sup></a>," well illustrated. Here again the + illustrations, with few exceptions, are from Scandinavian finds.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 347 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page347"></a>{347}</span></p> + + <p>Two weighty arguments as to the origin of <i>Beowulf</i> have been + based upon archæology. In the first place it has been urged by Dr Clark + Hall that:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"If the poem is read in the light of the evidence which Stjerna has + marshalled in the essays as to the profusion of gold, the prevalence of + ring-swords, of boar-helmets, of ring-corslets, and ring-money, it + becomes clear how strong the distinctively Scandinavian colouring is, and + how comparatively little of the <i>mise-en-scène</i> must be due to the + English author<a name="NtA713" href="#Nt713"><sup>[713]</sup></a>."</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Equally, Prof. Klaeber finds in Stjerna's investigations a strong + argument for the Scandinavian character of <i>Beowulf</i><a name="NtA714" + href="#Nt714"><sup>[714]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Now Stjerna, very rightly and naturally, drew his illustrations of + <i>Beowulf</i> from those Scandinavian, and especially Swedish, + grave-finds which he knew so well: and very valuable those illustrations + are. But it does not follow, because the one archæologist who has chosen + to devote his knowledge so wholeheartedly to the elucidation of + <i>Beowulf</i> was a Scandinavian, using Scandinavian material, that + therefore <i>Beowulf</i> is Scandinavian. This, however, is the inference + which Stjerna himself was apt to draw, and which is still being drawn + from his work. Stjerna speaks of our poem as a monument raised by the + Geatas to the memory of their saga-renowned king<a name="NtA715" + href="#Nt715"><sup>[715]</sup></a>, though he allows that certain + features of the poem, such as the dragon-fight<a name="NtA716" + href="#Nt716"><sup>[716]</sup></a>, are of Anglo-Saxon origin.</p> + + <p>Of course, it must be allowed that accounts such as those of the + fighting between Swedes and Geatas, if they are historical (and they + obviously are), must have originated from eyewitnesses of the + Scandinavian battles: but I doubt if there is anything in <i>Beowulf</i> + so purely Scandinavian as to compel us to assume that any line of the + story, in the poetical form in which we now have it, was + <i>necessarily</i> composed in Scandinavia. Even if it could be shown + that the conditions depicted in <i>Beowulf</i> can be better illustrated + from the grave-finds of Vendel in Sweden than from English diggings, this + would not prove <i>Beowulf</i> Scandinavian. Modern scientific archæology + is surely based on chronology as well as geography. The English finds + date from <!-- Page 348 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page348"></a>{348}</span>the period before 650 <span + class="scac">A.D.</span>, and the Vendel finds from the period after. + <i>Beowulf</i> might well show similarity rather with contemporary art + abroad than with the art of earlier generations at home. For intercourse + was more general than is always realized. It was not merely trade and + plunder which spread fashions from nation to nation. There were the + presents of arms which Tacitus mentions as sent, not only privately, but + with public ceremony, from one tribe to another<a name="NtA717" + href="#Nt717"><sup>[717]</sup></a>. Similar presentations are indicated + in <i>Beowulf</i><a name="NtA718" href="#Nt718"><sup>[718]</sup></a>; we + find them equally at the court of the Ostrogothic Theodoric<a + name="NtA719" href="#Nt719"><sup>[719]</sup></a>; Charles the Great sent + to Offa of Mercia <i>unum balteum et unum gladium huniscum</i><a + name="NtA720" href="#Nt720"><sup>[720]</sup></a>; according to the famous + story in the <i>Heimskringla</i>, Athelstan sent to Harold Fairhair of + Norway a sword and belt arrayed with gold and silver; Athelstan gave + Harold's son Hakon a sword which was the best that ever came to Norway<a + name="NtA721" href="#Nt721"><sup>[721]</sup></a>. It is not surprising, + then, if we find parallels between English poetry and Scandinavian + grave-finds, both apparently dating from about the year 700 <span + class="scac">A.D.</span> But I do not think that there is any + <i>special</i> resemblance, though, both in <i>Beowulf</i> and in the + Vendel graves, there is a profusion lacking in the case of the simpler + Anglo-Saxon tomb-furniture.</p> + + <p>Let us examine the five points of special resemblance, alleged by Dr + Clark Hall, on the basis of Stjerna's studies.</p> + + <p>"The profusion of gold." Gold is indeed lavishly used in + <i>Beowulf</i>: the golden treasure found in the dragon's lair was so + bulky that it had to be transported by waggon. And, certainly, gold is + found in greater profusion in Swedish than in English graves: the most + casual visitor to the Stockholm museum must be impressed by the + magnificence of the exhibits there. But, granting gold to have been rarer + in England than in Sweden, I cannot grant Stjerna's contention that + therefore an English poet could not have conceived the idea of a vast + gold hoard<a name="NtA722" href="#Nt722"><sup>[722]</sup></a>; or that, + even if the poet does deck his warriors with gold somewhat more + sumptuously than was actually the case in England, <!-- Page 349 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page349"></a>{349}</span>we can draw any + argument from it. For, if the dragon in <i>Beowulf</i> guards a treasure, + so equally does the typical dragon of Old English proverbial lore<a + name="NtA723" href="#Nt723"><sup>[723]</sup></a>. Beowulf is spoken of as + <i>gold-wlanc</i>, but the typical thegn in <i>Finnsburg</i> is called + <i>gold-hladen</i><a name="NtA724" href="#Nt724"><sup>[724]</sup></a>. + The sword found by Beowulf in the hall of Grendel's mother has a golden + hilt, but the English proverb had it that "gold is in its place on a + man's sword<a name="NtA725" href="#Nt725"><sup>[725]</sup></a>." Heorot + is hung with golden tapestry, but gold-inwoven fabric has been unearthed + from Saxon graves at Taplow, and elsewhere in England<a name="NtA726" + href="#Nt726"><sup>[726]</sup></a>. Gold glitters in other poems quite as + lavishly as in <i>Beowulf</i>, sometimes more so. Widsith made a hobby of + collecting golden <i>bēagas</i>. The subject of <i>Waldere</i> is a + fight for treasure. The byrnie of Waldere<a name="NtA727" + href="#Nt727"><sup>[727]</sup></a> is adorned with gold: so is that of + Holofernes in <i>Judith</i><a name="NtA728" + href="#Nt728"><sup>[728]</sup></a>, so is that of the typical warrior in + the <i>Elene</i><a name="NtA729" href="#Nt729"><sup>[729]</sup></a>. Are + all these poems Scandinavian?</p> + + <p>"The prevalence of ring-swords." We know that swords were sometimes + fitted with a ring in the hilt<a name="NtA730" + href="#Nt730"><sup>[730]</sup></a>. It is not clear whether the object of + this ring was to fasten the hilt by a strap to the wrist, for convenience + in fighting (as has been the custom with the cavalry sword in modern + times) or whether it was used to attach the "peace bands," by which the + hilt of the sword was sometimes fixed to the scabbard, when only being + worn ceremonially<a name="NtA731" href="#Nt731"><sup>[731]</sup></a>. The + word <i>hring-mǣl</i>, applied three times to the sword in + <i>Beowulf</i>, has been interpretated as a reference to these + "ring-swords," though it is quite conceivable that it may refer only to + the damascening of the sword with a ringed pattern<a name="NtA732" + href="#Nt732"><sup>[732]</sup></a>. Assuming that the reference in + <i>Beowulf</i> <i>is</i> to a "ring-sword," Stjerna illustrates the + allusion from seven ring-swords, or fragments of ring-swords, found in + Sweden. But, as Dr Clark Hall himself points out (whilst oddly enough + accepting this argument <!-- Page 350 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page350"></a>{350}</span>as proof of the Scandinavian colouring of + <i>Beowulf</i>) four ring-swords at least have been found in England<a + name="NtA733" href="#Nt733"><sup>[733]</sup></a>. And these English + swords are <i>real</i> ring-swords; that is to say, the pommel is + furnished with a ring, within which another ring moves (in the oldest + type of sword) quite freely. This freedom of movement seems, however, to + be gradually restricted, and in one of these English swords the two rings + are made in one and the same piece. In the Swedish swords, however, this + restriction is carried further, and the two rings are represented by a + knob growing out of a circular base. Another sword of this "knob"-type + has recently been found in a Frankish tomb<a name="NtA734" + href="#Nt734"><sup>[734]</sup></a>, and yet another in the Rhineland<a + name="NtA735" href="#Nt735"><sup>[735]</sup></a>. It seems to be agreed + among archæologists that the English type, as found in Kent, is the + original, and that the Swedish and continental "ring-swords" are merely + imitations, in which the ring has become conventionalized into a knob<a + name="NtA736" href="#Nt736"><sup>[736]</sup></a>. But, if so, how can the + mention of a ring-sword in <i>Beowulf</i> (if indeed that be the meaning + of <i>hring-mǣl</i>) prove Scandinavian colouring? If it proved + anything (which it does not) it would tend to prove the reverse, and to + locate <i>Beowulf</i> in Kent, where the true ring-swords have been + found.</p> + + <p>"The prevalence of boar-helmets." It is true that several + representations of warriors wearing boar-helmets have been found in + Scandinavia. But the only certainly Anglo-Saxon <!-- Page 351 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page351"></a>{351}</span>helmet yet found in + England has a boar-crest<a name="NtA737" + href="#Nt737"><sup>[737]</sup></a>; and this is, I believe, the only + actual boar-helmet yet found. How then can the boar-helmets of + <i>Beowulf</i> show Scandinavian rather than Anglo-Saxon origin?</p> + + <p>"The prevalence of ring-corslets." It is true that only one trace of a + byrnie, and that apparently not of ring-mail, has so far been found in an + Anglo-Saxon grave. (We have somewhat more abundant remains from the + period prior to the migration to England: a peculiarly fine corslet of + ring-mail, with remains of some nine others, was found in the moss at + Thorsbjerg<a name="NtA738" href="#Nt738"><sup>[738]</sup></a> in the + midst of the ancient Anglian continental home; and other ring-corslets + have been found in the neighbourhood of Angel, at Vimose<a name="NtA739" + href="#Nt739"><sup>[739]</sup></a> in Fünen.) But, for the period when + <i>Beowulf</i> must have been composed, the ring-corslet is almost as + rare in Scandinavia as in England<a name="NtA740" + href="#Nt740"><sup>[740]</sup></a>; the artist, however, seems to be + indicating a byrnie upon many of the warriors depicted on the Vendel helm + (Grave 14: seventh century). Equally, in England, warriors are + represented on the Franks Casket as wearing the byrnie: also the laws of + Ine (688-95) make it clear that the byrnie was by no means unknown<a + name="NtA741" href="#Nt741"><sup>[741]</sup></a>. Other Old English + poems, certainly not Scandinavian, mention the ring-byrnie. How then can + the mention of it in <i>Beowulf</i> be a proof of Scandinavian + origin?</p> + + <p>"The prevalence of ring-money." Before minted money became current, + rings were used everywhere among the Teutonic peoples. Gold rings, + <i>intertwined</i> so as to form a chain, have been found throughout + Scandinavia, presumably for use as a medium of exchange. The term + <i>locenra bēaga</i> (gen. plu.) occurs in <i>Beowulf</i>, and this + is interpreted by Stjerna as "rings <i>intertwined or locked</i> + together<a name="NtA742" href="#Nt742"><sup>[742]</sup></a>." But + <i>locen</i> in <i>Beowulf</i> need not have the meaning of + "intertwined"; it occurs elsewhere in Old English of a single jewel, + <i>sincgim locen</i><a name="NtA743" href="#Nt743"><sup>[743]</sup></a>. + Further, even if <i>locen</i> does mean <!-- Page 352 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page352"></a>{352}</span>"intertwined," such + intertwined rings are not limited to Scandinavia proper. They have been + found in Schleswig<a name="NtA744" href="#Nt744"><sup>[744]</sup></a>. + And almost the very phrase in <i>Beowulf</i>, <i>londes ne locenra + bēaga</i><a name="NtA745" href="#Nt745"><sup>[745]</sup></a>, + recurs in the <i>Andreas</i>. The phrase there may be imitated from + <i>Beowulf</i>, but, equally, the phrase in <i>Beowulf</i> may be + imitated from some earlier poem. In fact, it is part of the traditional + poetic diction: but its occurrence in the <i>Andreas</i> shows that it + cannot be used as an argument of Scandinavian origin.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>Whilst, therefore, accepting with gratitude the numerous illustrations + which Stjerna has drawn from Scandinavian grave-finds, we must be careful + not to read a Scandinavian colouring into features of <i>Beowulf</i> + which are at least as much English as Scandinavian, such as the + ring-sword or the boar-helmet or the ring-corslet.</p> + + <p>There is, as is noted above, a certain atmosphere of profusion and + wealth about some Scandinavian grave-finds, which corresponds much more + nearly with the wealthy life depicted in <i>Beowulf</i> than does the + comparatively meagre tomb-furniture of England. But we must remember + that, after the spread of Christianity in the first half of the seventh + century, the custom of burying articles with the bodies of the dead + naturally ceased, or almost ceased, in England. Scandinavia continued + heathen for another four hundred years, and it was during these years + that the most magnificent deposits were made. As Stjerna himself points + out, "a steadily increasing luxury in the appointment of graves" is to be + found in Scandinavia in these centuries before the introduction of + Christianity there. When we find in Scandinavia things (complete ships, + for example) which we do not find in England, we owe this, partly to the + nature of the soil in which they were embedded, but also to the + continuance of such burial customs after they had died out in + England.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>Helm and byrnie were not necessarily unknown, or even very rare in + England, simply because it was not the custom to bury them with the dead. + On the other hand, the frequent mention of them in <i>Beowulf</i> does + not imply that they were common: for <!-- Page 353 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page353"></a>{353}</span><i>Beowulf</i> deals + only with the aristocratic adherents of a court, and even in + <i>Beowulf</i> fine specimens of the helm and byrnie are spoken of as + things which a king seeks far and wide to procure for his retainers<a + name="NtA746" href="#Nt746"><sup>[746]</sup></a>. We cannot, therefore, + argue that there is any discrepancy. However, if we do so argue, it would + merely prove, not that <i>Beowulf</i> is Scandinavian as opposed to + English, but that it is comparatively late in date. Tacitus emphasizes + the fact that spear and shield were the Teutonic weapons, that helmet and + corslet were hardly known<a name="NtA747" + href="#Nt747"><sup>[747]</sup></a>. Pagan graves show that at any rate + they were hardly known <i>as tomb-furniture</i> in England in the fifth, + sixth, and early seventh centuries. The introduction of Christianity, and + the intercourse with the South which it involved, certainly led to the + growth of pomp and wealth in England, till the early eighth century + became "the golden age of Anglo-Saxon England."</p> + + <p>It might therefore conceivably be argued that <i>Beowulf</i> reflects + the comparative abundance of early Christian England, as opposed to the + more primitive heathen simplicity; but to argue a Scandinavian origin + from the profusion of <i>Beowulf</i> admits of an easy <i>reductio ad + absurdum</i>. For the same arguments would prove a heathen, Scandinavian + origin for the <i>Andreas</i>, the <i>Elene</i>, the <i>Exodus</i>, or + even for the Franks Casket, despite its Anglo-Saxon inscription and + Christian carvings.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>However, though the absence of helm and byrnie from Anglo-Saxon graves + does not prove that these arms were not used by the living in heathen + times, one thing it assuredly <i>does</i> prove: that the Anglo-Saxons in + heathen times did not sacrifice helm and byrnie recklessly in funeral + pomp. And this brings us to the second argument as to the origin of + <i>Beowulf</i> which has been based on archæology.</p> + + <p>Something has been said above of this second contention<a + name="NtA748" href="#Nt748"><sup>[748]</sup></a>—that the accuracy + of the account of Beowulf's funeral is confirmed in every point by + archæological evidence: that it must <!-- Page 354 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page354"></a>{354}</span>therefore have been + composed within living memory of a time when ceremonies of this kind were + still actually in use in England: and that therefore we cannot date + <i>Beowulf</i> later than the third or fourth decade of the seventh + century.</p> + + <p>To begin with; the pyre in <i>Beowulf</i> is represented as hung with + helmets, bright byrnies, and shields. Now it is impossible to say exactly + how the funeral pyres were equipped in England. But we <i>do</i> know how + the buried bodies were equipped. And (although inhumation cemeteries are + much more common than cremation cemeteries) all the graves that have been + opened have so far yielded only one case of a helmet and byrnie being + buried with the warrior, and one other very doubtful case of a helmet + without the byrnie. Abroad, instances are somewhat more common, but still + of great rarity. For such things could ill be spared. Charles the Great + forbade the export of byrnies from his dominions. Worn by picked + champions fighting in the forefront, they might well decide the issue of + a battle. In the mounds where we have reason to think that the great + chiefs mentioned in <i>Beowulf</i>, Eadgils or Ohthere, lie buried, any + trace of weapons was conspicuously absent among the burnt remains. + Nevertheless, the belief that his armour would be useful to the champion + in the next life, joined perhaps with a feeling that it was unlucky, or + unfair on the part of the survivor to deprive the dead of his personal + weapons, led in heathen times to the occasional burial of these treasures + with the warrior who owned them. The fifth century tomb of Childeric I, + when discovered twelve centuries later, was found magnificently + furnished—the prince had been buried with treasure and much + equipment<a name="NtA749" href="#Nt749"><sup>[749]</sup></a>, sword, + scramasax<a name="NtA750" href="#Nt750"><sup>[750]</sup></a>, axe, spear. + But these were his own. Similarly, piety might have demanded that Beowulf + should be burnt with his full equipment. But would the pyre have been + hung with helmets and byrnies? Whose? Were the thegns asked to sacrifice + theirs, and go naked into the next fight in honour of their lord? If so, + what archæological authority have we for such a custom in England?</p> + +<p><!-- Page 355 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page355"></a>{355}</span></p> + + <p>Then the barrow is built, and the vast treasure of the dragon (which + included "many a helmet<a name="NtA751" + href="#Nt751"><sup>[751]</sup></a>") placed in it. Now there are + instances of articles which have not passed through the fire being placed + in or upon or around an urn with the cremated bones<a name="NtA752" + href="#Nt752"><sup>[752]</sup></a>. But is there any instance of the + thing being done on this scale—of a wholesale burning of helmets + and byrnies followed by a burial of huge treasure? If so, one would like + to know when, and where. If not, how can it be argued that the account in + <i>Beowulf</i> is one of which "the accuracy is confirmed in every point + by archæological or contemporary literary evidence?" Rather we must say, + with Knut Stjerna, that it is "too much of a good thing<a name="NtA753" + href="#Nt753"><sup>[753]</sup></a>."</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>For the antiquities of Anglo-Saxon England, the student should consult + the <i>Victoria County History</i>. The two splendid volumes of Professor + G. Baldwin Brown on <i>Saxon Art and Industry in the Pagan Period</i><a + name="NtA754" href="#Nt754"><sup>[754]</sup></a> at length enable the + general reader to get a survey of the essential facts, for which up to + now he has had to have recourse to innumerable scattered treatises. + <i>The Archæology of the Anglo-Saxon Settlements</i> by Mr E. Thurlow + Leeds will also be found helpful.</p> + + <p>Side-lights from the field of Teutonic antiquities in general can be + got from Prof. Baldwin Brown's <i>Arts and Crafts of our Teutonic + Forefathers</i>, 1910, and from Lindenschmit's <i>Handbuch der deutschen + Alterthumskunde, I. Theil: Die Alterthümer der Merovingischen Zeit</i> + (Braunschweig, 1880-89), a book which is still indispensable. Hoops' + <i>Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde</i>, Strassburg, 1911-19, + 4 vols., includes a large number of contributions of the greatest + importance to the student of <i>Beowulf</i>, both upon archæological and + other subjects. By the completion<a name="NtA755" + href="#Nt755"><sup>[755]</sup></a> of this most valuable work, amid + heart-breaking difficulties, Prof. Hoops has placed all students under a + great obligation.</p> + + <p>Much help can be got from an examination of the antiquities of + Teutonic countries other than England. The following books are + useful—for Norway: <!-- Page 356 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page356"></a>{356}</span>Gustafson (G.), <i>Norges Oldtid</i>, + 1906; for Denmark: Müller (S.), <i>Vor Oldtid</i>, 1897; for Sweden: + Montelius (O.), <i>Civilization of Sweden in Heathen Times</i>, 1888, + <i>Kulturgeschichte Schwedens</i>, 1906; for Schleswig: Mestorf (J.), + <i>Vorgeschichtliche Alterthümer aus Schleswig</i>; for the Germanic + nations in their wanderings on the outskirts of the Roman Empire: Hampel + (J.), <i>Alterthümer des frühen Mittelalters in Ungarn</i>, 3 Bde, 1905; + for Germanic remains in Gaul: Barrière-Flavy (M. C.), <i>Les Arts + industriels des peuples barbares de la Gaule du V<sup>m</sup>e au + VIII<sup>m</sup>e siècle</i>, 3 tom. 1901.</p> + + <p>Somewhat popular accounts, and now rather out of date, are the two + South Kensington handbooks: Worsaae (J. J. A.), <i>Industrial Arts of + Denmark</i>, 1882, and Hildebrand (H.), <i>Industrial Arts of + Scandinavia</i>, 1883.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p class="cenhead"><i>Scandinavian Burial Mounds</i></p> + + <p>The three great "Kings' Mounds" at Old Uppsala were explored between + 1847 and 1874: cremated remains from them can be seen in the Stockholm + Museum. An account of the tunnelling, and of the complicated structure of + the mounds, was given in 1876 by the Swedish State-Antiquary<a + name="NtA756" href="#Nt756"><sup>[756]</sup></a>. From these finds Knut + Stjerna dated the oldest of the "Kings' Mounds" about 500 <span + class="scac">A.D.</span><a name="NtA757" + href="#Nt757"><sup>[757]</sup></a>, and the others somewhat later. Now, + as we are definitely told that Athils (Eadgils) and the two kings who + figure in the list of Swedish monarchs as his grandfather and + great-grandfather (Aun and Egil) were "laid in mound" at Uppsala<a + name="NtA758" href="#Nt758"><sup>[758]</sup></a>, and as the chronology + agrees, it seems only reasonable to conclude that the three Kings' Mounds + were raised over these three kings<a name="NtA759" + href="#Nt759"><sup>[759]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>That Athils' father Ottar (Ohthere) was not regarded as having been + buried at Uppsala is abundantly clear from the account given of his + death, and of his nickname Vendel-crow<a name="NtA760" + href="#Nt760"><sup>[760]</sup></a>. A mound near Vendel north of Uppsala + is known by his name. Such names are often the result of quite modern + antiquarian conjecture: but that such is not the case here was proved by + the recent discovery that an antiquarian survey (preserved in <span + class="scac">MS</span> in the Royal Library at Stockholm) dating from + 1677, mentions in Vendel "widh Hussby, [en] stor jorde högh, som heeter + Otters högen<a name="NtA761" href="#Nt761"><sup>[761]</sup></a>." An + exploration of Ottar's mound showed a striking similarity with the + Uppsala mounds. The structure was the same, a cairn of stones covered + over with earth; the <!-- Page 357 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page357"></a>{357}</span>cremated remains were similar, there were + abundant traces of burnt animals, a comb, half-spherical draughts with + two round holes bored in the flat side, above all, there was in neither + case any trace of weapons. In Ottar's mound a gold Byzantine coin was + found, pierced, having evidently been used as an ornament. It can be + dated 477-8; it is much worn, but such coins seldom remained in the North + in use for a century after their minting<a name="NtA762" + href="#Nt762"><sup>[762]</sup></a>. Ottar's mound obviously, then, + belongs to the same period as the Uppsala mounds, and confirms the date + attributed by Stjerna to the oldest of those mounds, about 500 <span + class="scac">A.D.</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead"><i>Weapons</i></p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>For weapons in general see Lehmann (H.), <i>Über die Waffen im + angelsächsischen Beowulfliede</i>, in <i>Germania</i>, <span + class="scac">XXXI</span>, 486-97; Keller (May L.), <i>The Anglo-Saxon + weapon names treated archæologically and etymologically</i>, Heidelberg, + 1906 (<i>Anglistische Forschungen</i>, <span class="scac">XV</span>: cf. + Holthausen, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XVIII</span>, + 65-9, Binz, <i>Litteraturblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XXXI</span>, + 98-100); ‡Wagner (R.), <i>Die Angriffswaffen der + Angelsächsischen</i>, Diss., Königsberg; and especially Falk (H.), + <i>Altnordische Waffenkunde</i>, in <i>Videnskapsselskapets Skrifter, + Hist.-Filos. Klasse</i>, 1914, Kristiania.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p><b>The Sword.</b> The sword of the Anglo-Saxon pagan period (from the + fifth to the seventh century) "is deficient in quality as a blade, and + also ... in the character of its hilt<a name="NtA763" + href="#Nt763"><sup>[763]</sup></a>." In this it contrasts with the sword + found in the peat-bogs of Schleswig from an earlier period: "these swords + of the Schleswig moss-finds are much better weapons<a name="NtA764" + href="#Nt764"><sup>[764]</sup></a>," as well as with the later Viking + sword of the ninth or tenth century, which "is a remarkably effective and + well-considered implement<a name="NtA765" + href="#Nt765"><sup>[765]</sup></a>." It has been suggested that both the + earlier Schleswig swords and the later Viking swords (which bear a + considerable likeness to each other, as against the inferior Anglo-Saxon + sword) are the product of intercourse with Romanized peoples<a + name="NtA766" href="#Nt766"><sup>[766]</sup></a>, whilst the typical + Anglo-Saxon sword "may represent an independent Germanic effort at sword + making<a name="NtA767" href="#Nt767"><sup>[767]</sup></a>." However this + may be, it is noteworthy that nowhere in <i>Beowulf</i> do we have any + hint of the skill of any sword-smith who is regarded as contemporary. A + good sword is always "an old heirloom," "an ancient treasure<a + name="NtA768" href="#Nt768"><sup>[768]</sup></a>." The sword of Wiglaf, + which had belonged to Eanmund, or the sword with which Eofor slays + Ongentheow, are <!-- Page 358 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page358"></a>{358}</span>described by the phrase <i>ealdsweord + eotenisc</i>, as if they were weapons of which the secret and origin had + been lost—indeed the same phrase is applied to the magic sword + which Beowulf finds in the hall of Grendel's mother.</p> + + <p>The blade of these ancestral swords was sometimes damascened or + adorned with wave-like patterns<a name="NtA769" + href="#Nt769"><sup>[769]</sup></a>. The swords of the Schleswig + moss-finds are almost all thus adorned with a variegated surface, as + often are the later Viking swords; but those of the Anglo-Saxon graves + are <i>not</i>. Is it fanciful to suggest that the reference to + damascening is a tradition coming down from the time of the earlier sword + as found in the Nydam moss? A few early swords might have been preserved + among the invaders as family heirlooms, too precious to be buried with + the owner, as the product of the local weapon-smith was.</p> + + <p>See, for a full discussion of the sword in <i>Beowulf</i>, Stjerna, + <i>Hjälmar och svärd i Beovulf</i> (<i>Studier tillägnade O. + Montelius</i>, Stockholm, pp. 99-120 = <i>Essays</i>, transl. Clark Hall, + pp. 1-32). The standard treatise on the sword, <i>Den Yngre Jernalders + Sværd</i>, Bergen, 1889, by A. L. Lorange, deals mainly with a rather + later period.</p> + + <p><b>The Helmet.</b> The helmet found at Benty Grange in Derbyshire in + 1848 is now in the Sheffield Museum<a name="NtA770" + href="#Nt770"><sup>[770]</sup></a>: little remains except the boar-crest, + the nose-piece, and the framework of iron ribs radiating from the crown, + and fixed to a circle of iron surrounding the brow (perhaps the + <i>frēawrāsn</i> of <i>Beowulf</i>, 1451). Mr Bateman, the + discoverer, described the helmet as "coated with narrow plates of horn, + running in a diagonal direction from the ribs, so as to form a + herring-bone pattern; the ends were secured by strips of horn, radiating + in like manner as the iron ribs, to which they were riveted at intervals + of about an inch and a half: all the rivets had ornamented heads of + silver on the outside, and on the front rib is a small cross of the same + metal. Upon the top or crown of the helmet, is an elongated oval brass + plate, upon which stands the figure of an animal, carved in iron, now + much rusted, but still a very good representation of a pig: it has bronze + eyes<a name="NtA771" href="#Nt771"><sup>[771]</sup></a>." Helmets of very + similar construction, but without the boar, have been found on the + Continent and in Scandinavia (Vendel, Grave 14, late seventh century). + The continental helmets often <!-- Page 359 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page359"></a>{359}</span>stand higher<a name="NtA772" + href="#Nt772"><sup>[772]</sup></a> than the Benty Grange or Vendel + specimens, being sometimes quite conical (cf. the epithet "war-steep," + <i>heaðo-stēap</i>, <i>Beowulf</i>). Many of the continental + helmets are provided with cheek-protections, and these also appear in the + Scandinavian representations of warriors on the Torslunda plates and + elsewhere. These side pieces have become detached from the magnificent + Vendel helmet, which is often shown in engravings without them<a + name="NtA773" href="#Nt773"><sup>[773]</sup></a>, but they can be seen in + the Stockholm Museum<a name="NtA774" href="#Nt774"><sup>[774]</sup></a>. + If it ever possessed them, the Benty Grange helmet has lost these side + pieces. Such cheek-protections are, however, represented, together with + the nose-protection, on the head of one of the warriors depicted on the + Franks Casket. In the Vendel helms, the nose-pieces were connected under + the eyes with the rim of the helmet, so as to form a mask<a + href="#Nt774"><sup>[774]</sup></a>; the helmet in <i>Beowulf</i> is + frequently spoken of as the battle-mask<a name="NtA775" + href="#Nt775"><sup>[775]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Both helmet and boar-crest were sometimes gold-adorned<a name="NtA776" + href="#Nt776"><sup>[776]</sup></a>: the golden boar was a symbol of the + god Freyr: some magic protective power is still, in <i>Beowulf</i><a + name="NtA777" href="#Nt777"><sup>[777]</sup></a>, felt to adhere to these + swine-likenesses, as it was in the days of Tacitus<a name="NtA778" + href="#Nt778"><sup>[778]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>In Scandinavia, the Torslunda plates show the helmet with a + boar-crest: the Vendel helmet has representations of warriors whose + crests have an animal's head tailing off to a mere rim or roll: this may + be the <i>walu</i> or <i>wala</i> which keeps watch over the head in + <i>Beowulf</i><a name="NtA779" href="#Nt779"><sup>[779]</sup></a>. The + helmet was bound fast to the head<a name="NtA780" + href="#Nt780"><sup>[780]</sup></a>; exactly how, we do not know.</p> + + <p>See Lehmann (H.), <i>Brünne und Helm im ags. Beowulfliede</i> + (Göttingen Diss., Leipzig; cf. Wülker, <i>Anglia</i>, <span + class="scac">VIII</span>, <i>Anzeiger</i>, 167-70; Schulz, <i>Engl. + Stud.</i>, <span class="scac">IX</span>, 471); Hoops' <i>Reallexikon</i>, + s.v. <i>Helm</i>; Baldwin Brown, <span class="scac">III</span>, 194-6; + Falk, <i>Altnord. Waffenkunde</i>, 155-73; Stjerna, <i>Hjälmar och + svärd</i>, 1907, as above: but the attempt of Stjerna to arrange the + helmets he depicts in a <!-- Page 360 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page360"></a>{360}</span>chronological series is perilous, and + depends on a dating of the Benty Grange helmet which is by no means + generally accepted.</p> + + <p><b>The Corslet.</b> This in <i>Beowulf</i> is made of rings<a + name="NtA781" href="#Nt781"><sup>[781]</sup></a>, twisted and interlaced + by hand<a name="NtA782" href="#Nt782"><sup>[782]</sup></a>. As stated + above, the fragments of the only known Anglo-Saxon byrnie were not of + this type, but rather intended to have been sewn "upon a doublet of + strong cloth<a name="NtA783" href="#Nt783"><sup>[783]</sup></a>." Byrnies + were of various lengths, the longer ones reaching to the middle of the + thigh (<i>byrnan sīde</i>, <i>Beow.</i> 1291, cf. <i>loricæ longæ, + síðar brynjur</i>).</p> + + <p>See Falk, 179; Baldwin Brown, <span class="scac">III</span>. 194.</p> + + <p><b>The Spear.</b> Spear and shield were the essential Germanic weapons + in the days of Tacitus, and they are the weapons most commonly found in + Old English tombs. The spear-shaft has generally decayed, analysis of + fragments surviving show that it was frequently of ash<a name="NtA784" + href="#Nt784"><sup>[784]</sup></a>. The butt-end of the spear was + frequently furnished with an iron tip, and the distance of this from the + spear-head, and the size of the socket, show the spear-shaft to have been + six or seven feet long, and three-quarters of an inch to one inch in + diameter.</p> + + <p>See Falk, 66-90; Baldwin Brown, <span class="scac">III</span>, + 234-41.</p> + + <p><b>The Shield.</b> Several round shields were preserved on the Gokstad + ship, and in the deposits of an earlier period at Thorsbjerg and Nydam. + These are formed of boards fastened together, often only a quarter of an + inch thick, and not strengthened or braced in any way, bearing out the + contemptuous description of the painted German shield which Tacitus puts + into the mouth of Germanicus<a name="NtA785" + href="#Nt785"><sup>[785]</sup></a>. It was, however, intended that the + shield should be light. It was easily pierced, but, by a rapid twist, the + foe's sword could be broken or wrenched from his hand. Thus we are told + how Gunnar gave his shield a twist, as his adversary thrust his sword + through it, and so snapped off his sword at the hilt<a name="NtA786" + href="#Nt786"><sup>[786]</sup></a>. The shield was held by a bar, + crossing a hole some four inches wide cut in the middle. The hand was + protected by a hollow conical boss or umbo, fixed to the wood by its + brim, but projecting considerably. In England the wood of the shield has + always perished, but a large number of bosses have been preserved. The + boss seems to have been called <i>rond</i>, a word which is also used for + the shield as a whole. In <i>Beowulf</i>, 2673, <i>Gifts of Men</i>, 65, + the meaning "boss" suits <i>rond</i> best, also in <i>rand sceal on + scylde, fæst fingra gebeorh</i> (<i>Cotton. Gnomic Verses</i>, 37-8). But + the original meaning of <i>rand</i> must have been the circular rim round + the edge, and this <!-- Page 361 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page361"></a>{361}</span>meaning it retains in Icelandic (Falk, + 131). The linden wood was sometimes bound with bast, whence <i>scyld + (sceal) gebunden, lēoht linden bord</i> (<i>Exeter Gnomic + Verses</i>, 94-5).</p> + + <p>See Falk (126-54); Baldwin Brown, <span class="scac">III</span>, + 196-204; Pfannkuche (K.), <i>Der Schild bei den Angelsachsen</i>, Halle + Dissertation, 1908.</p> + + <p><b>The Bow</b> is a weapon of much less importance in <i>Beowulf</i> + than the spear. Few traces of the bow have survived from Anglo-Saxon + England, though many wooden long-bows have been preserved in the + moss-finds in a remarkably fine state. They are of yew, some over six + feet long, and in at least one instance tipped with horn. The bow + entirely of horn was, of course, well known in the East, and in classical + antiquity, but I do not think traces of any horn-bow have been discovered + in the North. It was a difficult weapon to manage, as the suitors of + Penelope found to their cost. Possibly that is why Hæthcyn is represented + as killing his brother Herebeald accidentally with a horn-bow: he could + not manage the exotic weapon.</p> + + <p>See Falk, 91-103; Baldwin Brown, <span class="scac">III</span>, + 241.</p> + +<p class="cenhead"><i>The Hall</i></p> + + <p>It may perhaps be the fact that in the church of Sta. Maria de + Naranco, in the north of Spain, we have the hall of a Visigothic king + driven north by the Mohammedan invasion. But, even if this surmise<a + name="NtA787" href="#Nt787"><sup>[787]</sup></a> be correct, the + structure of a stone hall of about 750 <span class="scac">A.D.</span> + gives us little information as to the wooden halls of early Anglo-Saxon + times. Heorot is clearly built of timber, held together by iron clamps<a + name="NtA788" href="#Nt788"><sup>[788]</sup></a>. These halls were + oblong, and a famous passage in Bede<a name="NtA789" + href="#Nt789"><sup>[789]</sup></a> makes it clear that, at any rate at + the time of the Conversion, the hall had a door at both ends, and the + fire burnt in the middle. (The smoke escaped through a hole in the roof, + through which probably most of the light came, for windows were few or + none.) The <i>Finnsburg Fragment</i> also implies two doors. Further + indications can be drawn from references to the halls of Norse chiefs. + The Scandinavian hall was divided by rows of wooden pillars into a + central nave and side aisles. The pillars in the centre were known as the + "high-seat pillars." Rows of seats ran down the length of the hall on + each side. The central position, facing the high-seat pillars and the + fire, was the most honourable. The place of honour for the chief guest + was opposite: and it is quite clear that in <i>Beowulf</i> also the guest + did not sit next his host<a name="NtA790" + href="#Nt790"><sup>[790]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Other points we may note about Heorot, are the tapestry with which its + walls are draped<a name="NtA791" href="#Nt791"><sup>[791]</sup></a>, and + the paved and variegated floor<a name="NtA792" + href="#Nt792"><sup>[792]</sup></a>. Unlike so <!-- Page 362 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page362"></a>{362}</span>many later halls, + Heorot has a floor little, if anything, raised above the ground: horses + can be brought in<a name="NtA793" href="#Nt793"><sup>[793]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>In later times, in Iceland, the arrangement of the hall was changed, + and the house consisted of many rooms; but these were formed, not by + partitioning the hall, but by building several such halls side by side: + the <i>stufa</i> or hall proper, the <i>skáli</i> or sleeping hall, + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p>See M. Heyne, <i>Ueber die Lage und Construction der Halle Heorot</i>, + Paderborn, 1864, where the scanty information about Heorot is collected, + and supplemented with some information about Anglo-Saxon building. For + the Icelandic hall see Valtyr Guðmundsson, <i>Privatboligen på Island i + Sagatiden</i>, København, 1889. This has been summarized, in a more + popular form, in a chapter on <i>Den islandske Bolig i Fristatstiden</i>, + contributed by Guðmundsson to Rosenberg's <i>Træk af Livet paa Island i + Fristatstiden</i>, 1894 (pp. 251-74). Here occurs the picture of an + Icelandic hall which has been so often reproduced—by Olrik, + Holthausen, and in <i>Beowulf</i>-translations. But it is a conjectural + picture, and we can by no means assume all its details for Heorot. + Rhamm's colossal work is only for the initiated, but is useful for + consultation on special points (<i>Ethnographische Beiträge zur + Germanischslawischen Altertumskunde</i>, von K. Rhamm, 1905-8. I. <i>Die + Grosshufen der Nordgermanen</i>; II. <i>Urzeitliche Bauernhöfe</i>). For + various details see Hoops' <i>Reallexikon</i>, s.v. <i>flett</i>; Neckel + in <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XLI</span>, 1916, 163-70 (<i>under + edoras</i>); Meiringer in <i>I.F.</i>, especially <span + class="scac">XVIII</span>, 257 (<i>under eoderas</i>); Kaufmann in + <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XXXIX</span>, 282-92.</p> + +<p class="cenhead"><i>Ships</i></p> + + <p>In a tumulus near Snape in Suffolk, opened in 1862, there were + discovered, with burnt bones and remains thought to be of Anglo-Saxon + date, a large number of rivets which, from the positions in which they + were found, seemed to give evidence of a boat 48 feet long by over nine + feet wide<a name="NtA794" href="#Nt794"><sup>[794]</sup></a>. A boat, + similar in dimensions, but better preserved, was unearthed near Bruges in + 1899, and the ribs, mast and rudder removed to the Gruuthuuse Museum<a + name="NtA795" href="#Nt795"><sup>[795]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Three boats were discovered in the peat-moss at Nydam in Schleswig in + 1863, by Engelhardt. The most important is the "Nydam boat," + clinker-built (i.e. with overlapping planks), of oak, 77 feet [23.5 m.] + long, by some 11 [3.4 m.] broad, with rowlocks for fourteen oars down + each side. There was no trace of any mast. Planks and framework had been + held together, partly by iron bolts, and partly by ropes of bast. The + boat had fallen to pieces, and had to be laboriously put together in the + museum at Flensborg. Another boat was quite fragmentary, but a third + boat, of fir, was found tolerably complete. Then the war of 1864 ended + Engelhardt's labours at Nydam.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width:61%;"> + <a href="images/Beo7.jpg"><img style="width:100%" src="images/Beo7.jpg" + alt="The Gokstad Ship" title="The Gokstad Ship" /></a> + THE GOKSTAD SHIP + </div> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width:61%;"> + <a href="images/Beo8.jpg"><img style="width:100%" src="images/Beo8.jpg" + alt="The Oseberg Ship" title="The Oseberg Ship" /></a> + THE OSEBERG SHIP + </div> + +<p><!-- Page 363 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page363"></a>{363}</span></p> + + <p>The oak-boat was removed to Kiel, where it now is.</p> + + <p>The fir-boat was allowed to decay: many of the pieces of the oak-boat + had been rotten and had of necessity been restored in facsimile, and it + is much less complete than might be supposed from the numerous + reproductions, based upon the fine engraving by Magnus Petersen. The + rustic with a spade, there depicted as gazing at the boat, is apt to give + a wrong impression that it was dug out intact<a name="NtA796" + href="#Nt796"><sup>[796]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Such was, however, actually the case with regard to the ship excavated + from the big mound at Gokstad, near Christiania, by Nicolaysen, in 1880. + This was fitted both as a rowing and sailing ship; it was 66 feet [20.1 + m.] long on the keel, 78 feet [23.8 m.] from fore to aft and nearly 17 + feet [5.1 m.] broad, and was clinker-built, out of a much larger number + of oaken planks than the Nydam ship. It had rowlocks for sixteen oars + down each side, the gunwale was lined with shields, some of them well + preserved, which had been originally painted alternately black and + yellow. The find owed its extraordinary preservation to the blue clay in + which it was embedded. Its discoverer wrote, with pardonable pride: + "Certain it is that we shall not disinter any craft which, in respect of + model and workmanship, will outrival that of Gokstad<a name="NtA797" + href="#Nt797"><sup>[797]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>Yet the prophecy was destined to prove false: for on Aug. 8, 1903, a + farmer came into the National Museum at Christiania to tell the curator, + Prof. Gustafson, that he had discovered traces of a boat on his farm at + Oseberg. Gustafson found that the task was too great to be begun so late + in the year: the digging out of the ship, and its removal to Christiania, + occupied from just before Midsummer to just before Christmas of 1904. The + potter's clay in which the ship was buried had preserved it, if possible, + better than the Gokstad ship: but the movement of the soft subsoil had + squeezed and broken both ship and contents. The ship was taken out of the + earth in nearly two thousand fragments. These were carefully numbered and + marked: each piece was treated, bent back into its right shape, and the + ship was put together again plank by plank, as when it was first built. + With the exception of a piece about half a yard long, five or six little + bits let in, and one of the beams, the ship as it stands now consists of + the original woodwork. Two-thirds of the rivets are the old ones. Till + his death in 1915 Gustafson was occupied in treating and preparing for + exhibition first the ship, and then its extraordinarily rich contents: a + waggon and sledges beautifully carved, beds, chests, kitchen utensils + which had been buried with the princess who had owned them. A full + account of the find is only now being published<a name="NtA798" + href="#Nt798"><sup>[798]</sup></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 364 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page364"></a>{364}</span></p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>The Oseberg ship is the pleasure boat of a royal lady: clinker-built, + of oak, exquisitely carved, intended not for long voyages but for the + land-locked waters of the fiord, 70½ feet [21.5 m.] long by some 16½ feet + [5 m.] broad. There are holes for fifteen oars down each side, and the + ship carried mast and sail.</p> + + <p>The upper part of the prow had been destroyed, but sufficient + fragments have been found to show that it ended in the head of a + snake-like creature, bent round in a coil. This explains the words + <i>hringed-stefna</i><a name="NtA799" href="#Nt799"><sup>[799]</sup></a>, + <i>hring-naca</i><a name="NtA800" href="#Nt800"><sup>[800]</sup></a>, + <i>wunden-stefna</i><a name="NtA801" href="#Nt801"><sup>[801]</sup></a>, + used of the ship in <i>Beowulf</i>. A similar ringed prow is depicted on + an engraved stone from Tjängvide, now in the National Historical Museum + at Stockholm. This is supposed to date from about the year 1000<a + name="NtA802" href="#Nt802"><sup>[802]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>The Gokstad and Oseberg ships, together with the ship of Tune, a much + less complete specimen (unearthed in 1867, and found like the others on + the shore of the Christiania fiord) owe their preservation to the clay, + and the skill of Scandinavian antiquaries. Yet they are but three out of + thousands of ship- or boat-burials. Schetelig enumerates 552 known + instances from Norway alone. Often traces of the iron rivets are all that + remain.</p> + + <p>Ships preserved from the Baltic coast of Germany can be seen at + Königsberg, Danzig and Stettin; they are smaller and apparently later; + the best, that of Brösen, was destroyed.</p> + + <p>The seamanship of <i>Beowulf</i> is removed by centuries from that of + the (? fourth or fifth century) Nydam boat, which not only has no mast or + proper keel, but is so built as to be little suited for sailing. In + <i>Beowulf</i> the sea is a "sail-road," the word "to row" occurs only in + the sense of "swim," sailing is assumed as the means by which Beowulf + travels between the land of the Geatas and that of the Danes. Though he + voyages with but fourteen companions, the ship is big enough to carry + back four horses. How the sail may have been arranged is shown in many + inscribed stones of the eighth to the tenth centuries: notably those of + Stenkyrka<a name="NtA803" href="#Nt803"><sup>[803]</sup></a>, Högbro<a + name="NtA804" href="#Nt804"><sup>[804]</sup></a>, and Tjängvide<a + name="NtA805" href="#Nt805"><sup>[805]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>The Oseberg and Gokstad ships are no doubt later than the composition + of <i>Beowulf</i>. But it is when looking at the Oseberg ship, especially + if we picture the great prow like the neck of a swan ending in a + serpent's coil, that we can best understand the words of + <i>Beowulf</i></p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>flota fāmī-heals fugle gelīcost,</p> + <p>wunden-stefna,</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>well rendered by Earle "The foamy-necked floater, most like to a + bird—the coily-stemmed."</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p><!-- Page 365 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page365"></a>{365}</span></p> + + <p>See Boehmer (G. H.), <i>Prehistoric Naval Architecture of the North of + Europe, Report of the U.S. National Museum for 1891</i> (now rather out + of date); Guðmundsson (V.), <i>Nordboernes Skibe i Vikinge- og + Sagatiden</i>, København, 1900; [*]Schnepper, <i>Die Namen der Schiffe + u. Schiffsteile im Altenglischen</i> (Kiel Diss.), 1908; Falk (H.), + <i>Altnordisches Seewesen</i> (<i>Wörter u. Sachen</i>, <span + class="scac">IV</span>, Heidelberg, 1912); Hoops' <i>Reallexikon</i>, + s.v. <i>Schiff</i>.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + + <p><a name="appG"></a></p> + +<p class="cenhead">G. LEIRE BEFORE ROLF KRAKI</p> + + <p>That Leire was the royal town, not merely of Rolf Kraki, but of Rolf's + predecessors as well, is stated in the <i>Skjoldunga Saga</i>, extant in + the Latin abstract of Arngrim Jonsson: <i>Scioldus in arce Selandiae + Hledro sedes posuit, quae et sequentium plurimorum regum regia fuit</i> + (ed. Olrik, København, 1894, p. 23 [105]). Similarly we are told in the + <i>Ynglinga Saga</i>, concerning Gefion, <i>Hennar fekk Skjǫldr, + sonr Óðins; þau bjoggu at Hleiðru</i> (<i>Heimskringla</i>, udgivne ved + F. Jónsson, København, <span class="scac">I</span>, 15 [cap. <span + class="scac">V</span>]).</p> + + <p>Above all, it is clear from the <i>Annales Lundenses</i> that, in the + twelfth century, Dan, Ro (Hrothgar) and Haldan (Healfdene) were + traditionally connected with Leire, and three of the grave mounds there + were associated with these three kings. See the extract given above, pp. + <a href="#page204">204</a>-5, and cf. p. <a href="#page17">17</a>.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + + <p><a name="appH"></a></p> + +<p class="cenhead">H. BEE-WOLF AND BEAR'S SON</p> + + <p>The obvious interpretation of the name <i>Bēowulf</i> is that + suggested by Grimm<a name="NtA806" href="#Nt806"><sup>[806]</sup></a>, + that it means "wolf, or foe, of the bee." Grimm's suggestion was repeated + independently by Skeat<a name="NtA807" + href="#Nt807"><sup>[807]</sup></a>, and further reasons for the + interpretation "bee-foe" have been found by Sweet<a name="NtA808" + href="#Nt808"><sup>[808]</sup></a> (who had been anticipated by Simrock<a + name="NtA809" href="#Nt809"><sup>[809]</sup></a> in some of his points), + by Cosijn<a name="NtA810" href="#Nt810"><sup>[810]</sup></a>, Sievers<a + name="NtA811" href="#Nt811"><sup>[811]</sup></a>, von Grienberger<a + name="NtA812" href="#Nt812"><sup>[812]</sup></a>, Panzer<a name="NtA813" + href="#Nt813"><sup>[813]</sup></a> and Björkman<a name="NtA814" + href="#Nt814"><sup>[814]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>From the phonological point of view the etymology is a <!-- Page 366 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page366"></a>{366}</span>perfect one, + but many of those who were convinced that "Beowulf" meant "bee-foe" had + no satisfactory explanation of "bee-foe" to offer<a name="NtA815" + href="#Nt815"><sup>[815]</sup></a>. Others, like Bugge, whilst admitting + that, so far as the form of the words goes, the etymology is + satisfactory, rejected "bee-foe" because it seemed to them meaningless<a + name="NtA816" href="#Nt816"><sup>[816]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>Yet it is very far from meaningless. "Bee-foe" means "bear." The bear + has got a name, or nickname, in many northern languages from his habit of + raiding the hives for honey. The Finnish name for bear is said to be + "honey-hand": he is certainly called "sweet-foot," <i>sötfot</i>, in + Sweden, and the Old Slavonic name, "honey-eater," has come to be accepted + in Russian, not merely as a nickname, but as the regular term for + "bear."</p> + + <p>And "bear" is an excellent name for a hero of story. The O.E. + <i>beorn</i>, "warrior, hero, prince" seems originally to have meant + simply "bear." The bear, says Grimm, "is regarded, in the belief of the + Old Norse, Slavonic, Finnish and Lapp peoples, as an exalted and holy + being, endowed with human understanding and the strength of twelve men. + He is called 'forest-king,' 'gold-foot,' 'sweet-foot,' 'honey-hand,' + 'honey-paw,' 'honey-eater,' but also 'the great,' 'the old,' 'the old + grandsire<a name="NtA817" href="#Nt817"><sup>[817]</sup></a>.'" + "Bee-hunter" is then a satisfactory explanation of <i>Bēowulf</i>: + while the alternative explanations are none of them satisfactory.</p> + + <p>Many scholars have been led off the track by the assumption that Beow + and Beowulf are to be identified, and that we must therefore assume that + the first element in Beowulf's name is <i>Bēow</i>—that we + must divide not <i>Bēo-wulf</i> but <i>Bēow-ulf</i>, "a + warrior after the manner of Beow<a name="NtA818" + href="#Nt818"><sup>[818]</sup></a>." But there is no ground <!-- Page 367 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page367"></a>{367}</span>for any such + assumption. It is true that in ll. 18, 53, "Beowulf" is written where we + should have expected "Beowa." But, even if two words of similar sound + have been confused, this fact affords no reason for supposing that they + must necessarily have been in the first instance connected + etymologically. And against the "warrior of Beow" interpretation is the + fact that the name is recorded in the early Northumbrian <i>Liber + Vitae</i> under the form "Biuuulf<a name="NtA819" + href="#Nt819"><sup>[819]</sup></a>." This name, which is that of an early + monk of Durham, is presumably the same as that of the hero of our poem, + though it does not, of course, follow that the bearer of it was named + with any special reference to the slayer of Grendel. Now <i>Biuuulf</i> + is correct Northumbrian for "bee-wolf," but the first element in the word + cannot stand for <i>Bēow</i><a name="NtA820" + href="#Nt820"><sup>[820]</sup></a>, unless the <!-- Page 368 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page368"></a>{368}</span>affinities and forms of + that word are quite different from all that the evidence has hitherto led + us to believe. So much at least seems certain. Besides, we have seen that + Byggvir is taunted by Loki precisely with the fact that he <i>is</i> no + warrior. If we can estimate the characteristics of the O.E. Beow from + those of the Scandinavian Byggvir, the name "Warrior after the manner of + Beow" would be meaningless, if not absurd. Bugge<a name="NtA821" + href="#Nt821"><sup>[821]</sup></a>, relying upon the parallel O.N. form + <i>Bjólfr</i><a name="NtA822" href="#Nt822"><sup>[822]</sup></a>, which + is recorded as the name of one of the early settlers in Iceland<a + name="NtA823" href="#Nt823"><sup>[823]</sup></a>, tried to interpret the + word as <i>Bœjólfr</i> "the wolf of the farmstead," quoting as + parallels <i>Heimulf</i>, <i>Gardulf</i>. But <i>Bjólfr</i> itself is + best interpreted as "Bee-wolf<a name="NtA824" + href="#Nt824"><sup>[824]</sup></a>." And admittedly Bugge's explanation + does not suit the O.E. <i>Bēowulf</i>, and necessitates the + assumption that the word in English is a mere meaningless borrowing from + the Scandinavian: for <i>Bēowulf</i> assuredly does not mean "wolf + of the farmstead<a name="NtA825" href="#Nt825"><sup>[825]</sup></a>."</p> + + <p>Neither can we take very seriously the explanation of Sarrazin and + Ferguson<a name="NtA826" href="#Nt826"><sup>[826]</sup></a> that + <i>Bēowulf</i> is an abbreviation of <i>Beadu-wulf</i>, "wolf of + war." Our business is to interpret the name <i>Bēowulf</i>, or, if + we cannot, to admit that we cannot; not to substitute some quite distinct + name for it, and interpret that. Such theories merely show to what + straits we may be reduced, if we reject the obvious etymology of the + word.</p> + + <p>And there are two further considerations, which confirm, almost to a + certainty, this obvious interpretation of "Beowulf" as "Bee-wolf" or + "Bear." The first is that it agrees excellently with Beowulf's bear-like + habit of hugging his adversaries to death—a feature which surely + belongs to the original kernel of our story, since it is incompatible + with the chivalrous, <!-- Page 369 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page369"></a>{369}</span>weapon-loving trappings in which that + story has been dressed<a name="NtA827" + href="#Nt827"><sup>[827]</sup></a>. The second is that, as I have tried + to show, the evidence is strongly in favour of Bjarki and Beowulf being + originally the same figure<a name="NtA828" + href="#Nt828"><sup>[828]</sup></a>: and Bjarki is certainly a bear-hero<a + name="NtA829" href="#Nt829"><sup>[829]</sup></a>. His name signifies as + much, and in the <i>Saga of Rolf Kraki</i> we are told at length how the + father of Bjarki was a prince who had been turned by enchantment into a + bear<a name="NtA830" href="#Nt830"><sup>[830]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>If, then, Beowulf is a bear-hero<a name="NtA831" + href="#Nt831"><sup>[831]</sup></a>, the next step is to enquire whether + there is any real likeness between his adventures at Heorot and under the + mere, and the adventures of the hero of the widely-spread "Bear's Son" + folk-tale. This investigation has, as we have seen above<a name="NtA832" + href="#Nt832"><sup>[832]</sup></a>, been carried out by Panzer in his + monumental work, which marks an epoch in the study of <i>Beowulf</i>.</p> + + <p>Panzer's arguments in favour of such connection would, I think, have + been strengthened if he had either quoted textually a number of the more + important and less generally accessible folk-tales, or, since this would + have proved cumbersome, if he had at least given abstracts of them. The + method which Panzer follows, is to enumerate over two hundred tales, and + from them to construct a story which is a compound of them all. This is + obviously a method which is liable to abuse, though I do not say that + Panzer has abused it. But we must not let a story so constructed usurp in + our minds the place of the actual recorded folk-tales. Folk-tales, as + Andrew Lang wrote long ago, "consist of but few incidents, grouped + together in a kaleidoscopic variety of arrangements." A collection of + over two hundred cognate tales offers a wide field for the selection + therefrom of a composite story. Further, some geographical discrimination + is necessary: these tales are scattered over Europe and Asia, and it is + important to keep constantly in mind whether a given type of tale + belongs, for example, to Greece or to Scandinavia.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 370 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page370"></a>{370}</span></p> + + <p>A typical example of the Bear's son tale is <i>Der Starke Hans</i> in + Grimm<a name="NtA833" href="#Nt833"><sup>[833]</sup></a>. Hans is brought + up in a robber's den: but quite apart from any of the theories we are now + considering, it has long been recognized that this is a mere toning down + of the original incredible story, which makes a bear's den the nursery of + the strong youth<a name="NtA834" href="#Nt834"><sup>[834]</sup></a>. Hans + overcomes in an empty castle the foe (a mannikin of magic powers) who has + already worsted his comrades Fir-twister and Stone-splitter. He pursues + this foe to his hole, is let down by his companions in a basket by a + rope, slays the foe with his club and rescues a princess. He sends up the + princess in the basket; but when his own turn comes to be pulled up his + associates intentionally drop the basket when halfway up. But Hans, + suspecting treason, has only sent up his club. He escapes by magic help, + takes vengeance on the traitors, and weds the princess.</p> + + <p>In another story in Grimm<a name="NtA835" + href="#Nt835"><sup>[835]</sup></a>, the antagonist whom the hero + overcomes, but does not in this case slay, is called the Earthman, <i>Dat + Erdmänneken</i>. This type begins with the disappearance of the + princesses, who are to the orthodox number of three; otherwise it does + not differ materially from the abstract given above. Grimm records four + distinct versions, all from Western Germany.</p> + + <p>The versions of this widespread story which are most easily accessible + to English readers are likely to prejudice such readers against Panzer's + view. The two versions in Campbell's <i>Popular Tales of the West + Highlands</i><a name="NtA836" href="#Nt836"><sup>[836]</sup></a>, or the + version in Kennedy's <i>Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts</i><a + name="NtA837" href="#Nt837"><sup>[837]</sup></a> are not of a kind to + remind any unprejudiced reader strongly of <i>Beowulf</i>, or of the + <i>Grettir</i>-story either. Indeed, I believe that from countries so + remote as North Italy or Russia parallels can be found which are closer + than any so far quoted from the Celtic portions of the British Isles. + Possibly more Celtic parallels may be forthcoming in the future: some + striking ones at any rate are promised<a name="NtA838" + href="#Nt838"><sup>[838]</sup></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 371 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page371"></a>{371}</span></p> + + <p>So, too, the story of the "Great Bird Dan" (<i>Fugl Dam</i><a + name="NtA839" href="#Nt839"><sup>[839]</sup></a>), which is accessible to + English readers in Dasent's translation<a name="NtA840" + href="#Nt840"><sup>[840]</sup></a>, is one in which the typical features + have been overlaid by a mass of detail.</p> + + <p>A much more normal specimen of the "Bear's son" story is found, for + example, in a folk-tale from Lombardy—the story of <i>Giovanni + dell' Orso</i><a name="NtA841" href="#Nt841"><sup>[841]</sup></a>. + Giovanni is brought up in a bear's den, whither his mother has been + carried off. At five, he has the growth of a man and the strength of a + giant. At sixteen, he is able to remove the stone from the door of the + den and escape, with his mother. Going on his adventures with two + comrades, he comes to an empty palace. The comrades are defeated: it + becomes the turn of Giovanni to be alone. An old man comes in and "grows, + grows till his head touched the roof<a name="NtA842" + href="#Nt842"><sup>[842]</sup></a>." Giovanni mortally wounds the giant, + who however escapes. They all go in search of him, and find a hole in the + ground. His comrades let Giovanni down by a rope. He finds a great hall, + full of rich clothes and provision of every kind: in a second hall he + finds three girls, each one more beautiful than the other: in a third + hall he finds the giant himself, drawing up his will<a name="NtA843" + href="#Nt843"><sup>[843]</sup></a>. Giovanni kills the giant, rescues the + damsels, and, in spite of his comrades deserting the rope, he escapes, + pardons them, himself weds the youngest princess and marries his comrades + to the elder ones.</p> + + <p>I cannot find in this version any mention of the hero smiting the + giant below with a magic sword which he finds there, as suggested by + Panzer<a name="NtA844" href="#Nt844"><sup>[844]</sup></a>. But even + without this, the first part of the story has resemblances to + <i>Beowulf</i>, and still more to the <i>Grettir</i>-story.</p> + + <p>There are many Slavonic variants. The South Russian story of the + Norka<a name="NtA845" href="#Nt845"><sup>[845]</sup></a> begins with the + attack of the Norka upon the King's park. The King offers half his + kingdom to whomsoever will destroy the beast. The youngest prince of + three watches, <!-- Page 372 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page372"></a>{372}</span>after the failure of his two elder + brothers, chases and wounds the monster, who in the end pulls up a stone + and disappears into the earth. The prince is let down by his brothers, + and, with the help of a sword specially given him in the underworld, and + a draught of the water of strength, he slays the foe, and wins the + princesses. In order to have these for themselves, the elder brothers + drop what they suppose to be their youngest brother, as they are drawing + him up: but it is only a stone he has cautiously tied to the rope in + place of himself. The prince's miraculous return in disguise, his feats, + recognition by the youngest princess, the exposure of the traitors, and + marriage of the hero, all follow in due course<a name="NtA846" + href="#Nt846"><sup>[846]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>A closer Russian parallel is that of <i>Ivashko Medvedko</i><a + name="NtA847" href="#Nt847"><sup>[847]</sup></a>. "John Honey-eater" or + "Bear." John grows up, not by years, but by hours: nearly every hour he + gains an inch in height. At fifteen, there are complaints of his rough + play with other village boys, and John Bear has to go out into the world, + after his grandfather has provided him with a weapon, an iron staff of + immense weight. He meets a champion who is drinking up a river: "Good + morning, John Bear, whither art going?" "I know not whither; I just go, + not knowing where to go." "If so, take me with you." The same happens + with a second champion whose hobby is to carry mountains on his shoulder, + and with a third, who plucks up oaks or pushes them into the ground. They + come to a revolving house in a dark forest, which at John's word stands + with its back door to the forest and its front door to them: all its + doors and windows open of their own accord. Though the yard is full of + poultry, the house is empty. Whilst the three companions go hunting, the + river-swallower stays in the house to cook dinner: this done, he washes + his head, and sits at the window to comb his locks. Suddenly the earth + shakes, then stands still: a stone is lifted, and from under it appears + Baba Yaga driving in her mortar with a pestle: behind her comes barking a + little dog. A short dialogue ensues, and the champion, at her request, + gives her food; but the second helping she throws to her dog, and + thereupon beats the champion with <!-- Page 373 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page373"></a>{373}</span>her pestle till he + becomes unconscious; then she cuts a strip of skin from his back, and + after eating all the food, vanishes. The victim recovers his senses, ties + up his head with a handkerchief, and, when his companions return, + apologizes for the ill-success of his cooking: "He had been nearly + suffocated by the fumes of the charcoal, and had had his work cut out to + get the room clear." Exactly the same happens to the other champions. On + the fourth day it is the turn of John Bear, and here again the same + formulas are repeated. John does the cooking, washes his head, sits down + at the window and begins to comb his curly locks. Baba Yaga appears with + the usual phenomena, and the usual dialogue follows, till she begins to + belabour the hero with her pestle. But he wrests it from her, beats her + almost to death, cuts three strips from her skin, and imprisons her in a + closet. When his companions return, they are astonished to find dinner + ready. After dinner they have a bath, and the companions try not to show + their mutilated backs, but at last have to confess. "Now I see why you + all suffered from suffocation," says John Bear. He goes to the closet, + takes the three strips cut from his friends, and reinserts them: they + heal at once. Then he ties up Baba Yaga by a cord fastened to one foot, + and they all shoot at the cord in turn. John Bear hits it, and cuts the + string in two; Baba Yaga falls to the earth, but rises, runs to the stone + from under which she had appeared, lifts it, and vanishes. Each of the + companions tries in turn to lift the stone, but only John can accomplish + it, and only he is willing to go down. His comrades let him down by a + rope, which however is too short, and John has to eke it out by the three + strips previously cut from the back of Baba Yaga. At the bottom he sees a + path, follows it, and reaches a palace where are three beautiful maidens, + who welcome him, but warn him against their mother, who is Baba Yaga + herself: "She is asleep now, but she keeps at her head a sword. Do not + touch it, but take two golden apples lying on a silver tray, wake her + gently, and offer them to her. As soon as she begins to eat, seize the + sword, and cut her head off at one blow." John Bear carries out these + instructions, and sends up the maidens, two to be wives to his + companions, and the youngest to be his own wife. This leaves the third + companion wifeless <!-- Page 374 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page374"></a>{374}</span>and, in indignation, he cuts the rope when + the turn comes to pull John up. The hero falls and is badly hurt. [John + has forgotten, in this version, to put his iron club into the basket + instead of himself—indeed he has up to now made no use of his + staff.] In time the hero sees an underground passage, and makes his way + out into the white world. Here he finds the youngest maiden, who is + tending cattle, after refusing to marry the false companion. John Bear + follows her home, slays his former comrades with his staff, and throws + their bodies on the field for the wild beasts to devour. He then takes + his sweetheart home to his people, and weds her.</p> + + <p>The abstract given above is from a translation made by one of my + students, Miss M. Steine, who tells me that she had heard the tale in + this form many times from her old nurse "when we were being sent to + sleep, or sitting round her in the evening." I have given it at this + length because I do not know of any accessible translation into any + Western language.</p> + + <p>Panzer enumerates two hundred and two variants of the story: and there + are others<a name="NtA848" href="#Nt848"><sup>[848]</sup></a>. But there + is reason in the criticism that what is important for us is the form the + folk-tale may have taken in those countries where we must look for the + original home of the <i>Beowulf</i>-story<a name="NtA849" + href="#Nt849"><sup>[849]</sup></a>. The Mantuan folk-tale may have been + carried down to North Italy from Scandinavia by the Longobards: who can + say? But Panzer's theory must stand or fall by the parallels which can be + drawn between the <i>Beowulf-Grettir</i>-story on the one hand, and the + folk-tales as they have been collected in the countries where this story + is native: the lands, that is to say, adjoining the North Sea.</p> + + <p>Now it is precisely here that we do find the most remarkable + resemblances: in Iceland, the Faroes, Norway, Denmark, Jutland, + Schleswig, and the Low German lands as far as the Scheldt.</p> + + <p>An Icelandic version exists in an unprinted MS at Reykjavik<a + name="NtA850" href="#Nt850"><sup>[850]</sup></a> which can be consulted + in a German translation<a name="NtA851" + href="#Nt851"><sup>[851]</sup></a>. In this <!-- Page 375 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page375"></a>{375}</span>version a bear, who is + really an enchanted prince, carries off a princess. He resumes his human + form and weds the princess, but must still at times take the bear's form. + His child, the Bear-boy (Bjarndreingur), is to be kept in the house + during the long periods when the enchanted husband is away. But at twelve + years old the Bear-boy is too strong and unmanageable, bursts out, and + slays a bear who turns out to be his father. His mother's heart is + broken, but Bear-boy goes on his adventures, and associates with himself + three companions, one of whom is Stein. They build a house in the wood, + which is attacked by a giant, and, as usual, the companions are unable to + withstand the attacks. Bear-boy does so, ties the giant's hands behind + his back, and fastens him by his beard. But the giant tears himself free. + As in <i>Beowulf</i>, Bear-boy and his companions follow the track by the + drops of blood, and come to a hole. Stein is let some way down, the other + companions further, but only Bear-boy dares to go to the bottom. There he + finds a weeping princess, and learns that she, and her two sisters, have + been carried off by three giants, one of whom is his former assailant. He + slays all three, and sends their heads up, together with the maidens and + other treasures. But his companions desert the rope, and he has to climb + up unaided. In the end he weds the youngest princess.</p> + + <p>The story from the Faroe Islands runs thus:</p> + + <p>Three brothers lived together and took turns, two to go out fishing, + and one to be at home. For two days, when the two elder brothers were at + home, came a giant with a long beard (Skeggjatussi) and ate and drank all + the food. Then comes the turn of the despised youngest brother, who is + called in one version Øskudólgur—"the one who sits and rakes in the + ashes"—a kind of male Cinderella. This brother routs the giant, + either by catching his long beard in a cleft tree-trunk, or by branding + him in the nose with a hot iron. In either case the mutilated giant + escapes down a hole: in one version, after the other brothers come home, + they follow him to this hole by the track of his blood. The two elder + brothers leave the task of plunging down to the youngest one, who finds + below a girl (in the second version, two kidnapped princesses). He finds + also a magic sword hanging <!-- Page 376 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page376"></a>{376}</span>on the wall, which he is only able to lift + when he has drunk a magic potion. He then slays the giant, rescues the + maiden or maidens, is betrayed in the usual way by his brothers: in the + one version they deliberately refuse to draw him up: in the other they + cut the rope as they are doing so: but he is discreetly sending up only a + big stone. The hero is helped out, however, by a giant, "Skræddi Kjálki" + or "Snerkti risi," and in the end marries the princess<a name="NtA852" + href="#Nt852"><sup>[852]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p>In the Norwegian folk-tale the three adventurers are called + respectively the Captain, the Lieutenant and the Soldier. They search for + the three princesses, and watch in a castle, where the Captain and + Lieutenant are in turn worsted by a strange visitor—who in this + version is not identical with the troll below ground who guards the + princesses<a name="NtA853" href="#Nt853"><sup>[853]</sup></a>. When the + turn of the Soldier comes, he seizes the intruder (the man, as he is + called).</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"Ah no, Ah no, spare my life," said the man, "and you shall know all. + East of the castle is a great sandheap, and down in it a winch, with + which you can lower yourself. But if you are afraid, and do not dare to + go right down, you only need to pull the bell rope which you will find + there, and up you will come again. But if you dare venture so far as to + come to the bottom, there stands a flask on a shelf over the door: you + must drink what is in it: so will you become so strong that you can + strike the head off the troll of the mountain. And by the door there + hangs a Troll-sword, which also you must take, for no other steel will + bite on his body."</p> + + <p>When he had learnt this, he let the man go. When the Captain and the + Lieutenant came home, they were not a little surprised to find the + Soldier alive. "How have you escaped a drubbing," said they, "has not the + man been <!-- Page 377 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page377"></a>{377}</span>here?" "Oh yes, he is quite a good fellow, + he is," said the Soldier, "I have learnt from him where the princesses + are," and he told them all. They were glad when they heard that, and when + they had eaten, they went all three to the sandheap.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>As usual, the Captain and the Lieutenant do not dare to go to the + bottom: the hero accomplishes the adventure, is (as usual) betrayed by + his comrades, but is saved because he has put a stone in the basket + instead of himself, and in the end is rescued by the interposition of + "Kløverhans."</p> + + <p>What is the explanation of the "sandheap" (<i>sandhaug</i>) I do not + know. But one cannot forget that Grettir's adventure in the house, + followed by his adventure with the troll under the earth, is localized at + Sandhaugar. This may be a mere accident; but it is worth noting that in + following up the track indicated by Panzer we come across startling + coincidences of this kind. As stated above, it can hardly be due to any + influence of the <i>Grettis Saga</i> upon the folk-tale<a name="NtA854" + href="#Nt854"><sup>[854]</sup></a>. The likeness between the two is too + remote to have suggested a transference of such details from the one + story to the other.</p> + + <p>We find the story in its normal form in Jutland<a name="NtA855" + href="#Nt855"><sup>[855]</sup></a>. The hero, a foundling, is named + Bjørnøre (Bear-ears). There is no explanation offered of this name, but + we know that in other versions of the story, where the hero is half bear + and half man, his bear nature is shown by his bear's ears. "Bear-ears" + comes with his companions to an empty house, worsts the foe (the old man, + <i>den gamle</i>) who has put his companions to shame, and fixes him by + his beard in a cloven tree. The foe escapes nevertheless; they follow him + to his hole: the companions are afraid, but "Bear-ears" is let down, + finds the enemy on his bed, and slays him. The rest of the story follows + the usual pattern. "Bear-ears" rescues and sends up the princesses, his + comrades detach the rope, which however is hauling up only the hero's + iron club. He escapes miraculously from his confinement below, and + returns to marry the youngest princess. In another Danish version, from + the South of Zealand<a name="NtA856" href="#Nt856"><sup>[856]</sup></a>, + the hero, "Strong Hans" (nothing is said <!-- Page 378 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page378"></a>{378}</span>about his bear-origin), + comes with his companions to a magnificent but empty castle. The old + witch worsts his comrades and imprisons them under the trap-door: but + Hans beats her and rescues them, though the witch herself escapes. Hans + is let down, rescues the princesses, is betrayed by his comrades (who, + thinking to drop him in drawing him up, only drop his iron club), and + finally weds the third princess.</p> + + <p>A little further South we have three versions of the same tale + recorded for Schleswig-Holstein<a name="NtA857" + href="#Nt857"><sup>[857]</sup></a>. The hero wins his victory below by + means of "a great iron sword" (<i>en grotes ysernes Schwäert</i>) which + he can only wield after drinking of the magic potion.</p> + + <p>From Hanover comes the story of Peter Bär<a name="NtA858" + href="#Nt858"><sup>[858]</sup></a>, which shows all the familiar + features: from the same district came some of Grimm's variants. Others + were from the Rhine provinces: but the fullest version of all comes from + the Scheldt, just over the Flemish border. The hero, Jean l'Ourson, is + recovered as a child from a bear's den, is despised in his youth<a + name="NtA859" href="#Nt859"><sup>[859]</sup></a>, but gives early proof + of his strength. He defends an empty castle <i>un superbe château</i>, + when his companion has failed, strikes off an arm<a name="NtA860" + href="#Nt860"><sup>[860]</sup></a> of his assailant + <i>Petit-Père-Bidoux</i>, chases him to his hole, <i>un puits vaste et + profond</i>. He is let down by his companion, but finding the rope too + short, plunges, and arrives battered at the bottom. There he perceives + <i>une lumière qui brillait au bout d'une longue galerie</i><a + name="NtA861" href="#Nt861"><sup>[861]</sup></a>. At the end of the + gallery he sees his former assailant, attended by <i>une vieille femme à + cheveux blancs, qui semblait âgée de plus de cent ans</i>, who is salving + his wounded arm. The hero quenches the light (which is a magic one) + smites his foe on the head and kills him, and then rekindles the lamp<a + name="NtA862" href="#Nt862"><sup>[862]</sup></a>. His companion above + seeks to rob him of the two princesses he has won, by detaching the rope. + Nevertheless, he escapes, weds the good princess, and punishes his + faithless companion by making him wed the bad one.</p> + + <p>The white-haired old woman is not spoken of as the mother <!-- Page + 379 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page379"></a>{379}</span>of the foe + she is nursing, and it may be doubted whether she is in any way parallel + to Grendel's mother. The hero does not fight her: indeed it is she who, + in the end, enables him to escape. Still the parallels between Jean + l'Ourson and Beowulf are striking enough. Nine distinct features recur, + in the same order, in the <i>Beowulf</i>-story and in this folk-tale. It + needs a more robust faith than I possess to attribute this solely to + chance.</p> + + <p>Unfortunately, this French-Flemish tale is found in a somewhat + sophisticated collection. Its recorder, as Sainte-Beuve points out in his + letter introductory to the series<a name="NtA863" + href="#Nt863"><sup>[863]</sup></a>, uses literary touches which diminish + the value of his folk-tales to the student of origins. Any contamination + from the <i>Beowulf</i>-story or the <i>Grettir</i>-story is surely + improbable enough in this case: nevertheless, one would have liked the + tale taken down verbatim from the lips of some simple-minded narrator as + it used to be told at Condé on the Scheldt.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>But if we take together the different versions enumerated above, the + result is, I think, convincing. Here are eight versions of one folk-tale + taken as representatives from a much larger number current in the + countries in touch with the North Sea: from Iceland, the Faroes, Norway, + Jutland, Zealand, Schleswig, Hanover, and the Scheldt. The champion is a + bear-hero (as Beowulf almost certainly is, and as Bjarki quite certainly + is); he is called, in Iceland, <i>Bjarndreingur</i>, in Jutland, + <i>Bjørnøre</i>, in Hanover, <i>Peter Bär</i>, on the Scheldt <i>Jean + l'Ourson</i>. Like Beowulf, he is despised in his youth (Faroe, Scheldt). + In all versions he resists his adversary in an empty house or castle, + after his comrades have failed. In most versions of the folk-tale this is + the third attack, as it is in the case of Grettir at Sandhaugar and of + Bjarki: in <i>Beowulf</i>, on the contrary, we gather that Heorot has + been raided many times. The adversary, though vanquished, escapes; in one + version after the loss of an arm (Scheldt): they follow his track to the + hole into which he has vanished, sometimes, as in <i>Beowulf</i>, marking + traces of his blood (Iceland, Faroe, Schleswig). The hero always ventures + down alone, and gets into <!-- Page 380 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page380"></a>{380}</span>an underworld of magic, which has left + traces of its mysteriousness in <i>Beowulf</i>. In one tale (Scheldt) the + hero sees a magic lamp burning below, just as he sees the fire in + <i>Beowulf</i> or the <i>Grettis Saga</i>. He overcomes either his + original foe, or new ones, often by the use of a magic sword (Faroe, + Norway, Schleswig); this sword hangs by the door (Norway) or on the wall + (Faroe) as in <i>Beowulf</i>. After slaying his foe, the hero rekindles + the magic lamp, in the Scheldt fairy tale, just as he kindles a light in + the <i>Grettis Saga</i>, and as the light flashes up in <i>Beowulf</i> + after the hero has smitten Grendel's mother. The hero is in each case + deserted by his companions: a feature which, while it is marked in the + <i>Grettis Saga</i>, can obviously be allowed to survive in + <i>Beowulf</i> only in a much softened form. The chosen retainers whom + Beowulf has taken with him on his journey could not be represented as + unfaithful, because the poet is reserving the episode of the faithless + retainers for the death of Beowulf. To have twice represented the escort + as cowardly would have made the poem a satire upon the <i>comitatus</i>, + and would have assured it a hostile reception in every hall from + Canterbury to Edinburgh. But there is no doubt as to the faithlessness of + the comrade Stein in the <i>Grettis Saga</i>. And in Zealand, one of the + faithless companions is called <i>Stenhuggeren</i> (the Stone-hewer), in + Schleswig <i>Steenklöwer</i>, in Hanover <i>Steinspieler</i>, whilst in + Iceland he has the same name, <i>Stein</i>, which he has in the + <i>Grettis Saga</i>.</p> + + <p>The fact that the departure home of the Danes in <i>Beowulf</i> is due + to the same cause as that which accounts for the betrayal of his trust by + Stein, shows that in the original <i>Beowulf</i>-story also this feature + must have occurred, however much it may have become worn down in the + existing epic.</p> + + <p>I think enough has been said to show that there is a real likeness + between a large number of recorded folk-tales and the + <i>Beowulf-Grettir</i> story. The parallel is not merely with an + artificial, theoretical composite put together by Panzer. But it becomes + equally clear that <i>Beowulf</i> cannot be spoken of as a version of + these folk-tales. At most it is a version of a portion of them. The + omission of the princesses in <i>Beowulf</i> and the <i>Grettis Saga</i> + is fundamental. With the princesses much else falls away. There is no + longer any motive for the betrayal of trust <!-- Page 381 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page381"></a>{381}</span>by the watchers. The + disguise of the hero and his vengeance are now no longer necessary to the + tale.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>It might be argued that there was something about the three princesses + which made them unsatisfactory as subjects of story. It has been thought + that in the oldest version the hero married all three: an awkward episode + where a <i>scop</i> had to compose a poem for an audience certainly + monogamous and most probably Christian. The rather tragic and sombre + atmosphere of the stories of Beowulf and Grettir fits in better with a + version from which the princesses, and the living happily ever + afterwards, have been dropped. On the other hand, it might be argued that + the folk-tale is composite, and that the source from which the + <i>Beowulf-Grettir</i>-story drew was a simpler tale to which the + princesses had not yet been added.</p> + + <p>And there are additions as well as subtractions. Alike in + <i>Beowulf</i> and in the <i>Grettis Saga</i>, the fight in the house and + the fight below are associated with struggles with monsters of different + sex. The association of "The Devil and his Dam" has only few and remote + parallels in the "Bear's-son" folk-tale.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>But Panzer has, I think, proved that the struggle of Beowulf in the + hall, and his plunging down into the deep, is simply an epic + glorification of a folk-tale motive.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="short" /> + +<p class="cenhead">I. THE DATE OF THE DEATH OF HYGELAC.</p> + + <p>Gregory of Tours mentions the defeat of Chochilaicus (Hygelac) as an + event of the reign of Theudoric. Now Theudoric succeeded his father + Chlodoweg, who died 27 Nov. 511. Theudoric died in 534. This, then, gives + the extreme limits of time; but as Gregory mentions the event among the + first occurrences of the reign, the period 512-520 has generally been + suggested, or in round numbers about 515 or 516.</p> + + <p>Nevertheless, we cannot attach much importance to the mere order + followed by Gregory<a name="NtA864" href="#Nt864"><sup>[864]</sup></a>. + He may well have had no means of dating the event exactly. Of much more + importance than the order, is the fact he records, that Theudoric did not + <!-- Page 382 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page382"></a>{382}</span>defeat Chochilaicus in person, but sent + his son Theudobert to repel the invaders.</p> + + <p>Now Theudobert was born before the death of his grandfather Chlodoweg. + For Gregory tells us that Chlodoweg left not only four sons, but a + grandson Theudobert, <i>elegantem atque utilem</i><a name="NtA865" + href="#Nt865"><sup>[865]</sup></a>: <i>utilem</i> cannot mean that, at + the time of the death of Chlodoweg, Theudobert was of age to conduct + affairs of state, for Chlodoweg was only 45 at death<a name="NtA866" + href="#Nt866"><sup>[866]</sup></a>. The Merovingians were a precocious + race; but if we are to allow Theudobert to have been at least fifteen + before being placed in charge of a very important expedition, and + Chlodoweg to have been at least forty before becoming a grandfather, the + defeat of Hygelac cannot be put before 521; and probability would favour + a date five or ten years later.</p> + + <p>There is confirmation for this. When Theudobert died, in 548, he left + one son only, quite a child and still under tutelage<a name="NtA867" + href="#Nt867"><sup>[867]</sup></a>; probably therefore not more than + twelve or thirteen at most. We know the circumstances of the child's + birth. Theudobert had been betrothed by his father Theudoric to a + Longobardic princess, Wisigardis<a name="NtA868" + href="#Nt868"><sup>[868]</sup></a>. In the meantime he fell in love with + the lady Deoteria<a name="NtA869" href="#Nt869"><sup>[869]</sup></a>, and + married her<a name="NtA870" href="#Nt870"><sup>[870]</sup></a>. The + Franks were shocked at this fickleness (<i>valde scandalizabantur</i>), + and Theudobert had ultimately to put away Deoteria<a name="NtA871" + href="#Nt871"><sup>[871]</sup></a>, although they had this young son + (<i>parvulum filium</i>), who, as we have seen, could hardly have been + born before 535, and possibly was born years later. Theudobert then + married the Longobardic princess, in the seventh year after their + betrothal. So it cannot have been much before 530 that Theudobert's + father was first arranging the Longobardic match. A king is not likely to + have waited to find a wife for a son, upon whom his dynasty was to + depend, till fifteen years after that son was of age to win a memorable + victory<a name="NtA872" href="#Nt872"><sup>[872]</sup></a>.</p> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<p><!-- Page 383 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page383"></a>{383}</span></p> + +<h3>BIBLIOGRAPHY OF <i>BEOWULF</i> AND +<i>FINNSBURG</i></h3> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>I remember it was with extreme difficulty that I could bring my master + to understand the meaning of the word <i>opinion</i>, or how a point + could be disputable; because reason taught us to affirm or deny only + where we are certain; and beyond our knowledge we cannot do either. So + that controversies, wranglings, disputes, and positiveness in false or + dubious propositions are evils unknown among the <i>Houyhnhnms</i>.... He + would laugh that a creature pretending to reason should value itself upon + the knowledge of other people's conjectures, and in things, where that + knowledge, if it were certain, could be of no use....</p> + + <p>I have often since reflected what destruction such a doctrine would + make in the libraries of Europe.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p><i>Gulliver's Travels.</i></p> + </div> + </div> + +</blockquote> + + <p>The following items are (except in special cases) not included in this + bibliography:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>(<i>a</i>) Articles dealing with single passages in <i>Beowulf</i>, or + two passages only, in cases where they have already been recorded under + the appropriate passage in the footnotes to the text, or in the glossary, + of my revision of Wyatt's edition.</p> + + <p>(<i>b</i>) Articles dealing with the emendation or interpretation of + single passages, in cases where such emendations have been withdrawn by + their author himself.</p> + + <p>(<i>c</i>) Purely popular paraphrases or summaries.</p> + + <p>(<i>d</i>) Purely personal protests (e.g., <i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XXI</span>, 436), however well founded, in which no point of + scholarship is any longer involved.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Books dealing with other subjects, but illustrating <i>Beowulf</i>, + present a difficulty. Such books may have a value for <i>Beowulf</i> + students, even though the author may never refer to our poem, and have + occasionally been included in previous bibliographies. But, unless + <i>Beowulf</i> is closely concerned, these books are not usually + mentioned below: such enumeration, if carried out consistently, would + clog a bibliography already all too bulky. Thus, Siecke's + <i>Drachenkämpfe</i> does not seem to come within the scope of this + bibliography, because the author is not concerned with Beowulf's + dragon.</p> + + <p>Obviously every general discussion of Old English metre must concern + itself largely with <i>Beowulf</i>: for such treatises the student is + referred to the section <i>Metrik</i> of Brandl's Bibliography (<i>Pauls + Grdr.</i>); and, for Old English heroic legend in general, to the + Bibliography of my edition of <i>Widsith</i>.</p> + + <p>Many scholars, e.g. Heinzel, have put into their reviews of the books + of others, much original work which might well have formed the material + for independent articles. Such reviews are noted as "weighty," but it + must not be supposed that the reviews not so marked are negligible; + unless of some value to scholarship, reviews are not usually mentioned + below.</p> + + <p>The title of any book, article or review which I have not seen and + verified is denoted by the sign ‡. <!-- Page 384 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page384"></a>{384}</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead">SUMMARY</p> + + <p><a href="#Bib1">§ 1</a>. Periodicals.</p> + + <p><a href="#Bib2">§ 2</a>. Bibliographies.</p> + + <p><a href="#Bib3">§ 3</a>. The MS and its transcripts.</p> + + <p><a href="#Bib4">§ 4</a>. Editions.</p> + + <p><a href="#Bib5">§ 5</a>. Concordances, <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a href="#Bib6">§ 6</a>. Translations (including early summaries).</p> + + <p><a href="#Bib7">§ 7</a>. Textual criticism and interpretation.</p> + + <p><a href="#Bib8">§ 8</a>. Questions of literary history, date and + authorship. <i>Beowulf</i> in the light of history, archæology<a + name="NtA873" href="#Nt873"><sup>[873]</sup></a>, heroic legend, + mythology and folk-lore.</p> + + <p><a href="#Bib9">§ 9</a>. Style and Grammar.</p> + + <p><a href="#Bib10">§ 10</a>. Metre.</p> + +<p class="cenhead"><a name="Bib1">§ 1</a>. PERIODICALS</p> + + <p>The periodicals most frequently quoted are:</p> + + <p><i>A.f.d.A.</i> = Anzeiger für deutsches Alterthum. Berlin, 1876 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><i>A.f.n.F.</i> = Arkiv för nordisk Filologi. Christiania, Lund, 1883 + <i>etc.</i> <i>Quoted according to the original numbering.</i></p> + + <p><i>Anglia.</i> Halle, 1878 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><i>Archiv</i> = Herrigs Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen + und Litteraturen. Elberfeld, Braunschweig, 1846 <i>etc.</i> <i>Quoted + according to the original numbering.</i></p> + + <p><i>D.L.Z.</i> = Deutsche Literatur-Zeitung. Berlin, 1880 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><i>Engl. Stud.</i> = Englische Studien. Heilbronn, Leipzig, 1877 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><i>Germania.</i> Wien, 1856-92.</p> + + <p><i>I.F.</i> = Indogermanische Forschungen. Strassburg, 1892 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><i>J.(E.)G.Ph.</i> = Journal of (English and) Germanic Philology. + Bloomington, Urbana, 1897 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><i>Lit. Cbl.</i> = Literarisches Centralblatt. Leipzig, 1851 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><i>Literaturblatt</i> für germanische und romanische Philologie. + Heilbronn, Leipzig, 1880 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><i>M.L.N.</i> = Modern Language Notes. Baltimore, 1886 <i>etc.</i> + <i>Quoted by the page, not the column.</i></p> + + <p><i>M.L.R.</i> = The Modern Language Review. Cambridge, 1906 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><i>Mod. Phil.</i> = Modern Philology. Chicago, 1903 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><i>Morsbachs Studien</i> zur englischen Philologie. Halle, 1897 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><i>P.B.B.</i> = Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache u. + Litteratur. Halle, 1874 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> = Publications of the Modern + Language Association of America. Baltimore, 1889 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><i>Z.f.d.A.</i> = Zeitschrift für deutsches Alterthum. Leipzig, + Berlin, 1841 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> = Zachers Zeitschrift für deutsche Philologie. Halle, + 1869 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><i>Z.f.ö.G.</i> = Zeitschrift für die österreichischen Gymnasien. + Wien, 1850 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p>The titles of other periodicals are given with sufficient fulness for + easy identification.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 385 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page385"></a>{385}</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead"><a name="Bib2">§ 2</a>. BIBLIOGRAPHIES</p> + + <p>Bibliographies have been published from time to time as a supplement + to <i>Anglia</i>; also in the <i>Jahresbericht über...german. + Philologie</i>; by Garnett in his <i>Translation</i>, 1882 <i>etc.</i>; + and will be found in</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>Wülker's <i>Grundriss</i> (with very useful abstracts), 1885, pp. 245 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p>Clark Hall's <i>Translation</i>, 1901, 1911.</p> + + <p>Holthausen's <i>Beowulf</i>, 1906, 1909, 1913, 1919.</p> + + <p>Brandl's <i>Englische Literatur</i>, in <i>Pauls Grdr.</i>(2), <span + class="scac">II</span>, 1015-24 (full, but not so reliable as + Holthausen's).</p> + + <p>Sedgefield's <i>Beowulf</i>, 1910, 1913 (carefully selected).</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>An excellent critical bibliography of <i>Beowulf</i>-translations up + to 1903 is that of Tinker: see under <a href="#Bib6">§ 6</a>, + <i>Translations</i>.</p> + +<p class="cenhead"><a name="Bib3">§ 3</a>. THE MS AND ITS TRANSCRIPTS</p> + + <p><i>Beowulf</i> fills ff. 129 (132)<i>a</i> to 198 (201)<i>b</i> of the + British Museum <span class="scac">MS</span> <i>Cotton Vitellius A. + XV.</i></p> + + <p><i>Beowulf</i> is written in two hands, the first of which goes to l. + 1939. This hand was identified by Prof. Sedgefield (<i>Beowulf</i>, + <i>Introduction</i>, p. xiv, footnote) with that of the piece immediately + preceding <i>Beowulf</i> in the <span class="scac">MS</span>, and by Mr + Kenneth Sisam, in 1916, with that of all three immediately preceding + pieces: the <i>Christopher</i> fragment, the <i>Wonders of the East</i>, + and the <i>Letter of Alexander on the Wonders of India</i>. The pieces + preceding these, however (the <i>Soliloquies of S. Augustine</i>, the + <i>Gospel of Nicodemus</i>, <i>Salomon and Saturn</i>), are certainly not + in the same hand, and their connection with the <i>Beowulf</i>-<span + class="scac">MS</span> is simply due to the bookbinder.</p> + + <p>From l. 1939 to the end, <i>Beowulf</i> is written in a second hand, + thicker and less elegant than the first. This second hand seems to be + clearly identical with that in which the poem of <i>Judith</i>, + immediately following <i>Beowulf</i>, is written. This was pointed out by + Sievers in 1872 (<i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XV</span>, 457), and + has never, I think, been disputed (cf. Sisam, p. 337; Förster, p. 31). + Nevertheless the two poems have probably not always formed one book. For + the last page of <i>Beowulf</i> was apparently once the last page of the + volume, to judge from its battered condition, whilst <i>Judith</i> is + imperfect at the beginning. And there are trifling differences, e.g. in + the frequency of the use of contractions, and the form of the capital + H.</p> + + <p>This identity of the scribe of the second portion of <i>Beowulf</i> + and the <i>Judith</i> scribe, together with the identity (pointed out by + Mr Sisam) of the scribe of the first portion of <i>Beowulf</i> and the + scribe of the three preceding works, is important. A detailed comparison + of these texts will throw light upon the characteristics of the + scribes.</p> + + <p>That the three preceding works are in the same hand as that of the + first <i>Beowulf</i> scribe was again announced, independently of Mr + Sisam, by Prof. Max Förster, in 1919. Sievers had already in 1871 arrived + at the same result (see Förster, p. 35, note) but had not published + it.</p> + + <p>It seems to me in the highest degree improbable that the + <i>Beowulf</i>-<span class="scac">MS</span> has lost its ending, as Prof. + Förster thinks (pp. 82, 88). Surely nothing could be better than the + conclusion of the poem as it stands in the <span class="scac">MS</span>: + that the <!-- Page 386 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page386"></a>{386}</span>casual loss of a number of leaves could + have resulted in so satisfactory a conclusion is, I think, not + conceivable. Moreover, the scribe has crammed as much material as + possible into the last leaf of <i>Beowulf</i>, making his lines + abnormally long, and using contractions in a way he does not use them + elsewhere. The only reason for this must be to avoid running over into a + new leaf or quire: there could be no motive for this crowded page if the + poem had ever run on beyond it.</p> + + <p>There is pretty general agreement that the date of the + <i>Beowulf</i>-<span class="scac">MS</span> is about the year 1000, and + that it is somewhat more likely to be before that date than after.</p> + + <p>The <i>Beowulf</i>-<span class="scac">MS</span> was injured in the + great Cottonian fire of 1731, and the edges of the parchment have since + chipped away owing to the damage then sustained. Valuable assistance can + therefore be derived from the two transcripts now preserved in the Royal + Library of Copenhagen, made in 1787, when the <span + class="scac">MS</span> was much less damaged.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>A. Poema anglosaxonicum de rebus gestis Danorum ... fecit exscribi + Londini <span class="scac">A.D. MDCCLXXXVII</span> Grimus Johannis + Thorkelin.</p> + + <p>B. Poema anglosaxonicum de Danorum rebus gestis ... exscripsit Grimus + Johannis Thorkelin. Londini <span class="scac">MDCCLXXXVII</span>.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>The first description of the <i>Beowulf</i>-<span + class="scac">MS</span> is in 1705 by <span class="sc">H. Wanley</span> + (<i>Librorum Septentrionalium ... Catalogus</i>, pp. 218—19, + Oxoniæ, forming vol. <span class="scac">II</span> of Hickes' + <i>Thesaurus</i>). Two short extracts from the <span + class="scac">MS</span> are given by Wanley. He describes the poem as + telling of the wars <i>quæ Beowulfus quidam Danus, ex regio Scyldingorum + stirpe ortus, gessit contra Sueciæ regulos</i>. The text was printed by + <span class="sc">Thorkelin</span> in 1815, and the <span + class="scac">MS</span> was collated by <span class="sc">Conybeare</span>, + who in his <i>Illustrations</i> (1826) issued 19 pages of corrections of + Thorkelin. These corrections were further corrected by <span + class="sc">J. M. Kemble</span> in 1837 (Letter to M. Francisque Michel, + in Michel's <i>Bibliothèque Anglo-Saxonne</i>, pp. 20, 51-8). Meantime + Kemble's text had been issued in 1833, based upon his examination of the + <span class="scac">MS</span>. The <span class="scac">MS</span> was also + seen by <span class="sc">Thorpe</span> (in 1830: Thorpe's text was not + published till 1855) and by <span class="sc">Grundtvig</span> (pub. + 1861). A further collation was that of <span class="sc">E. Kölbing</span> + in 1876 (Zur Beóvulf-handschrift, <i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">LVI</span>, 91-118). Kölbing's collation proves the + superiority of Kemble's text to Grundtvig's. Line for line transcripts of + the MS were those of Holder, Wülker and Zupitza:</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1881 <span class="sc">Holder, A.</span> Beowulf. Bd. I. Abdruck der + Handschrift. Freiburg u. Tübingen. (‡1881, from collation made in + 1875.) Reviews: Kölbing, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">VII</span>, 488; Kluge, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, 1883, 178; + Wülker, <i>Lit. Cbl.</i> 1882, 1035-6.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1882. 2 Aufl.</p> + + <p>1895. 3 Aufl. Reviews: Dieter, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">VI</span>, 260-1; Brandl, <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XL</span>, 90.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1881 <span class="sc">Wülker, R. P.</span> Beowulf: Text nach der + handschrift, in Grein's <i>Bibliothek</i>, I, 18-148.</p> + + <p>1882 <span class="sc">Zupitza, J.</span> Beowulf. Autotypes of the + unique Cotton <span class="scac">MS</span>. Vitellius A <span + class="scac">XV</span>; with a transliteration and notes. <i>Early + English Text Society</i>, London. Reviews: Trautmann, <i>Anglia</i>, + <span class="scac">VII</span>, <i>Anzeiger</i>, 41; Kölbing, <i>Engl. + Stud.</i> <span class="scac">VII</span>, 482 <i>etc.</i>; Varnhagen, + <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">X</span>, 304; Sievers, <i>Lit. + Cbl.</i> 1884, 124.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p><!-- Page 387 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page387"></a>{387}</span></p> + + <p>Further discussion of the <span class="scac">MS</span> by</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1890 <span class="sc">Davidson, C.</span> Differences between the + scribes of Beowulf. <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">V</span>, 43-4; + <span class="sc">McClumpha, C.</span>, criticizes the above, + <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">V</span>, 123; reply by <span + class="sc">Davidson</span>, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">V</span>, + 189-90.</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Lamb, Evelyn H.</span> "Beowulf": Hemming of + Worcester. <i>Notes and Queries</i>, Ser. <span class="scac">XI</span>, + vol. <span class="scac">I</span>, p. 26. (Worthless. An assertion, + unsupported by any evidence, that <i>both</i> the hands of the Beowulf + <span class="scac">MS</span> are those of Hemming of Worcester, who + flourished c. 1096.)</p> + + <p>1916 <span class="sc">Sisam, K.</span> The Beowulf Manuscript. + <i>M.L.R.</i> <span class="scac">XI</span>, 335-7. (Very important. Gives + results of a scrutiny of the other treatises in <i>MS Vitellius A. XV</i> + (see above) and shows, among other things, that the Beowulf <span + class="scac">MS</span>, before reaching the hands of Sir Robert Cotton, + was (in 1563) in those of Lawrence Nowell, the Elizabethan Anglo-Saxon + scholar.)</p> + + <p>1919 <span class="sc">Förster, Max.</span> Die Beowulf-Handschrift, + Leipzig, <i>Berichte der Sächs</i>. <i>Akad. der Wissenschaften</i>, Bd. + 71. (An excellent and detailed discussion of the problems of the MS, + quite independent of that of Mr Sisam, whose results it confirms.) + Review: Schröder, <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">LVIII</span>, + 85-6.</p> + + <p>1920 <span class="sc">Rypins, S. I.</span> The Beowulf Codex. <i>Mod. + Phil.</i> <span class="scac">XVII</span>, 541-8 (promising further + treatment of the problems of the <span class="scac">MS</span>).</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>The <span class="scac">MS</span> of Finnsburg has been lost. See + above, p. <a href="#page245">245</a>.</p> + +<p class="cenhead"><a name="Bib4">§ 4</a>. EDITIONS OF BEOWULF AND FINNSBURG</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1705 <span class="sc">Hickes, G.</span> Linguarum Vett. + Septentrionalium Thesaurus. Oxoniæ. (Vol. <span class="scac">I</span>, + 192-3, text of Finnsburg Fragment.)</p> + + <p>1814 <span class="sc">Conybeare, J. J.</span> The Battle of + Finsborough, in Brydges' <i>British Bibliographer</i>, vol. <span + class="scac">IV</span>, pp. 261-7; No. <span class="scac">XV</span> + (Text, Latin translation, and free verse paraphrase in English: some + brief notes).</p> + + <p>1815 <span class="sc">Thorkelin, G. J.</span> De Danorum rebus gestis + secul. <span class="scac">III</span> et <span class="scac">IV</span>. + Poëma Danicum dialecto Anglo-Saxonica. (Copenhagen, with Lat. transl.) + Reviews: See <a href="#Bib7">§ 7</a>, <i>Textual Criticism</i>, 1815, + Grundtvig; also <i>Dansk Litteratur-Tidende</i>, 1815, 401-32, 437-46, + 461-2 (defending Thorkelin against Grundtvig); <i>Iduna</i>, vii, 1817, + 133-59; <i>Monthly Review</i>, <span class="scac">LXXXI</span>, 1816, + 516-23; ‡<i>Jenaische Literatur-Zeitung</i>, 1816, + <i>Ergänzungsblätter</i>, 353-65 (summary in Wülker's <i>Grundriss</i>, + p. 252); Outzen in <i>Kieler Blätter</i>, 1816, see <a href="#Bib8">§ + 8</a>, below.</p> + + <p>1817 <span class="sc">Rask, R. K.</span> Angelsaksisk sproglære. + Stockholm (pp. 163-6 contain Beowulf, ll. 53-114, with commentary).</p> + + <p>1820 Text of Finnsburg, given by <span class="sc">Grundtvig</span> in + <i>Bjowulfs Drape,</i> pp. xl-xlv.</p> + + <p>1826 Text of Finnsburg, and of large portions of Beowulf, given in + <span class="sc">Conybeare's</span> <i>Illustrations</i>. See <a + href="#Bib5">§ 5</a>, <i>Translations</i>.</p> + + <p>1833 <span class="sc">Kemble, J. M.</span> Beowulf, the Travellers + Song, and the Battle of Finnesburh, edited with a glossary ... and an + historical preface. London.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1835. Second edit.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1847 <span class="sc">Schaldemose, F.</span> Beo-wulf og Scopes Widsið + ... med Oversættelse. Kjøbenhavn. (Follows Kemble's text of 1835: Text + and transl. of Finnsburg also given, pp. 161-4.) 1851, Reprinted.</p> + + <p>1849 <span class="sc">Klipstein, L. F.</span> Analecta Anglo-Saxonica. + New York. (Selections from Beowulf, <span class="scac">II</span>, 227-61: + Text of Finnsburg, 426-7.)</p> + + <p>1850 <span class="sc">Ettmüller, L.</span> Engla and Seaxna scopas and + bōceras. Quedlinburg u. Leipzig. (Text of large portions of + Beowulf, with Finnsburg, pp. 95-131.)</p> + + <p>1855 <span class="sc">Thorpe, B.</span> The A.S. poems of Beowulf, the + scop or gleeman's tale, and Finnesburg, with a literal translation ... + Oxford. ‡1875, Reprinted.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 388 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page388"></a>{388}</span></p> + + <p>1857 <span class="sc">Grein, C. W. M.</span> Bibliothek der + angelsächsischen Poesie, <span class="scac">I</span>. Göttingen (pp. + 255—343, Beóvulf, Ueberfall in Finnsburg).</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1861-4. Bd. III, IV. Sprachschatz.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1861 <span class="sc">Rieger, M.</span> Alt- u. angelsächsisches + Lesebuch. Giessen. (Der Kampf zu Finnsburg, pp. 61-3: aus dem Beovulf, + 63-82.)</p> + + <p>1861 <span class="sc">Grundtvig, N. F. S.</span> Beowulfes Beorh eller + Bjovulfs-Drapen. Kiöbenhavn, London. (The Finnsburg Fragment is inserted + in the text of Beowulf, after l. 1106.)</p> + + <p>1863 <span class="sc">Heyne, M.</span> Beovulf, mit ausführlichem + Glossar. Paderborn. (Anhang: Der Ueberfall in Finnsburg.) Reviews: Grein, + <i>Lit. Cbl.</i> 1864, 137—8; Holtzmann, <i>Germania</i>, <span + class="scac">VIII</span>, 506-7.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1868. ‡2 Aufl. Review: Rieger, <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">II</span>, 371-4.</p> + + <p>1873. 3 Aufl. Review: Sievers, <i>Lit. Cbl.</i> 1873, 662-3, brief but + severe.</p> + + <p>1879. 4 Aufl. [in this, Kölbing's collation of 1876 was utilized; see + p. 82]. Reviews: Brenner, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">IV</span>, 135-9; Gering, <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XII</span>, 122-5.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1867 <span class="sc">Grein, C. W. M.</span> Beovulf, nebst den + Fragmenten Finnsburg u. Valdere. Cassel u. Göttingen.</p> + + <p>1875 <span class="sc">Ettmüller, L.</span> Carmen de Beóvulfi, + Gautarum regis, rebus praeclare gestis atque interitu, quale fuerit + antequam in manus interpolatoris, monachi Vestsaxonici, inciderat. + (Zürich. University Programme. The additions of the "interpolator" being + omitted, the edition contains 2896 lines only.) Reviews: Schönbach, + <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">III</span>, 36-46; ‡Suchier, + <i>Jenaer Literatur-Zeitung</i>, <span class="scac">XLVII</span>, 1876, + 732.</p> + + <p>1876 <span class="sc">Arnold, T.</span> Beowulf, with a translation, + notes and appendix. London. Reviews (unfavourable): Sweet, + <i>Academy</i>, <span class="scac">X</span>, 1876, 588; Wülker, <i>Lit. + Cbl.</i> 1877, 665-6, and <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, + 177-86.</p> + + <p>1879 <span class="sc">Wülker, R. P.</span> Kleinere angelsächsische + Dichtungen. Halle, Leipzig. (Finnsburg, pp. 6-7.)</p> + + <p>1883 <span class="sc">Möller, H.</span> Das altenglische Volksepos in + der ursprünglichen strophischen Form. I. Abhandlungen. II. Texte. Kiel. + (Containing only those parts of the Finn-story and of Beowulf which + Möller regarded as "genuine," in strophic form.) Reviews: Heinzel, + <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">X</span>, 215-33 (important); + Schönbach, <i>Z.f.ö.G.</i> <span class="scac">XXXV</span>, 37-46.</p> + + <p>1883 <span class="sc">Wülker, R. P.</span> Das Beowulfslied, nebst den + kleineren epischen ... stücken. Kassel. (In the second edit. of Grein's + <i>Bibliothek der ags. Poesie.</i>) Review: Kölbing, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> + <span class="scac">VII</span>, 482 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p>1883 <span class="sc">Harrison, J. A.</span> and <span + class="sc">Sharp, R.</span> Beowulf. Boston, U.S.A. (‡1883, on the + basis of Heyne's edition; with Finnsburg.) Reviews: York Powell, + <i>Academy</i>, <span class="scac">XXVI</span>, 1884, 220-1; reply by + Harrison, 308-9; by York Powell, 327; Kölbing, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">VII</span>, 482; Bright, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, 1884, + 221—3.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1892. Third edit.</p> + + <p>1894. Fourth edit. Reviews: Wülker, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">V</span>, 65-7; Glöde, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XX</span>, 417-18.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1884 <span class="sc">Holder, A.</span> Beowulf, <span + class="scac">II</span>. Berichtigter Text u. Wörterbuch. Freiburg u. + Tübingen. Reviews: York Powell, <i>Academy</i>, <span + class="scac">XXVI</span>, 1884, 220-1; Wülker, <i>Lit. Cbl.</i> 1885, + 1008-9; Krüger, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, 1884, 468-70.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1899. 2 Aufl. [with suggestions of Kluge and Cosijn]. Reviews: + Trautmann, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt,</i> <span class="scac">X</span>, 257; + Wülfing, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XXIX</span>, 278-9; + Holthausen, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, 1900, 60-2 (important + corrections).</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1888 <span class="sc">Heyne, M.</span> and <span class="sc">Socin, + A.</span> [Fifth edit. of Heyne's text.] Paderborn u. Münster. Reviews: + Koeppel, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XIII</span>, 466-72; + Heinzel, <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XV</span>, 189-94; Sievers, + <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XXI</span>, 354-65 (very important + corrections); Schröer, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, 1889, 170-1.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 389 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page389"></a>{389}</span></p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1898. 6 Aufl. Reviews: Trautmann, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">X</span>, 257; Holthausen, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">X</span>, 265; Sarrazin, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XXVIII</span>, 408-10; Jantzen, <i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">CIII</span>, 175-6.</p> + + <p>1903. 7 Aufl. Reviews: Holthausen, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XVIII</span>, 193-4; Klaeber, the same, 289-91; Kruisinga, + <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XXXV</span>, 401-2; v. Grienberger, + <i>Z.f.ö.G.</i> <span class="scac">LVI</span>, 744-61 (very full); E. + Kock, <i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span class="scac">XXII</span>, 215 (brief).</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1894 <span class="sc">Wyatt, A. J.</span> Beowulf, edited with textual + footnotes, index of proper names, and glossary. (Text of Finnsburg.) + Cambridge. Reviews: Bradley, <i>Academy</i>, <span + class="scac">XLVI</span>, 1894, 69-70; Wülker, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, + <span class="scac">V</span>, 65-7; Brenner, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XX</span>, 296; Zupitza, <i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">XCIV</span>, 326-9.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1898. Second edit. Reviews: Trautmann, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">X</span>, 257; Sarrazin, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XXVIII</span>, 407-8.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1902 <span class="sc">Kluge, F.</span> Angelsächsisches Lesebuch. 3 + Aufl. Halle. (<span class="scac">XXX.</span> Der Überfall von Finnsburuh, + pp. 127-8.)</p> + + <p>1903 <span class="sc">Trautmann, M.</span> Finn u. Hildebrand. + <i>Bonner Beiträge</i>, <span class="scac">VII</span>. (Text, translation + and comment on the Episode and Fragment.) Reviews: Binz, <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> + <span class="scac">XXXVII</span>, 529-36; Jantzen, <i>Die Neueren + Sprachen</i>, <span class="scac">XI</span>, 543-8; <i>Neue philol. + Rundschau</i>, 1903, 619-21 (signed -tz- ? Jantzen). Some additional + notes by Trautmann, "Nachträgliches zu Finn u. Hildebrand" appeared in + <i>Bonner Beiträge</i>, <span class="scac">XVII</span>, 122.</p> + + <p>1904 <span class="sc">Trautmann, M.</span> Das Beowulflied ... das + Finn-Bruchstück u. die Waldhere-Bruchstücke. Bearbeiteter Text u. + deutsche Übersetzung. <i>Bonner Beiträge</i>, <span + class="scac">XVI</span>. Reviews: Klaeber, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span + class="scac">XX</span>, 83-7 (weighty); Eckhardt, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> + <span class="scac">XXXVII</span>, 401-3; Schücking, <i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">CXV</span>, 417-21; Barnouw, <i>Museum</i>, <span + class="scac">XIV</span>, 96-8; <i>Neue philologische Rundschau</i> (? by + Jantzen), 1905, 549-50.</p> + + <p>1905-6 <span class="sc">Holthausen, F.</span> Beowulf nebst dem + Finnsburg-Bruchstück. I. Texte. II. Einleitung, Glossar u. Anmerkungen. + Heidelberg. Reviews: Lawrence, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">VII</span>, 125-9; Klaeber, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span + class="scac">XXIV</span>, 94-5; Schücking, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXIX</span>, 94-111 (weighty); Deutschbein, <i>Archiv</i>, + <span class="scac">CXXI</span>, 162-4; v. Grienberger, <i>Z.f.ö.G.</i> + 1908, <span class="scac">LIX</span>, 333-46 (giving an elaborate list of + etymological parallels); Barnouw, <i>Museum</i>, <span + class="scac">XIV</span>, 169-70; Wülker, <i>D.L.Z.</i> 1906, 285-6; + ‡Jantzen, <i>Neue philologische Rundschau</i>, 1907, 18.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1908-9. 2 Aufl., nebst den kleineren Denkmälern der Heldensage, + Finnsburg, Waldere, Deor, Widsith, Hildebrand. Reviews: Eichler, + <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XXI</span>, 129-33; <span + class="scac">XXII</span>, 161-5; Schücking, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XLII</span>, 108-11; Brandl, <i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">CXXI</span>, 473, <span class="scac">CXXIV</span>, 210; + Binz, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XXXII</span>, 1911, 53-5: + see also Koeppel, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXIII</span>, 297.</p> + + <p>1912-13. 3 Aufl.</p> + + <p>1914-19. 4 Aufl. Reviews: Binz, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XLI</span>, 1920, 316-17; Fischer, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">LIV</span>, 404-6.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1908 <span class="sc">Schücking, L. L.</span> Beowulf [8th edit. of + Heyne's text]. Paderborn. Reviews: Lawrence, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span + class="scac">XXV</span>, 155-7; Klaeber, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXIX</span>, 425-33 (weighty); Imelmann, <i>D.L.Z.</i> + 1909, 995 (contains important original contributions); v. Grienberger, + <i>Z.f.ö.G.</i> <span class="scac">LX</span>, 1089; Boer, <i>Museum</i>, + <span class="scac">XVI</span>, 139 (brief).</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1910. 9 Aufl. Reviews: Sedgefield, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XLIII</span>, 267-9; F. Wild, <i>Z.f.ö.G.</i> <span + class="scac">LXIV</span>, 153-5.</p> + + <p>1913. 10 Aufl. Reviews: Klaeber, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXIV</span>, 289-91; <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XLIX</span>, 424; ‡Degenhart, <i>Blätter f. + gymnasialschulwesen</i>, <span class="scac">LI</span>, 130; E. A. Kock, + <i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span class="scac">XXXII</span>, 222-3; Holthausen, + <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XLVIII</span>, 127-31 (weighty).</p> + + <p>1918. 11, 12 Aufl. Reviews: Björkman, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXX</span>, 121-2, 180; Fischer, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">LIII</span>, 338-9.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + +<p><!-- Page 390 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page390"></a>{390}</span></p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Sedgefield, W. J.</span> Beowulf, edited with + Introduction, Bibliography, Notes, Glossary and Appendices. Manchester. + Reviews: Thomas, <i>M.L.R.</i> <span class="scac">VI</span>, 266-8; + Lawrence, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">X</span>, 633-40; Wild, + <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XXIII</span>, 253-60; + Klaeber, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XLIV</span>, 119-26; + Brandl, <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CXXVI</span>, 279.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1913. Second edit. Reviews: <i>M.L.R.</i> <span + class="scac">IX</span>, 429; Lawrence, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XIV</span>, 609-13; Klaeber, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXV</span>, 166-8.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1912 Text of the Finn episode given in <span class="sc">Meyer, + W.,</span> Beiträge zur Geschichte der Eroberung Englands durch die + Angelsachsen.</p> + + <p>1914 <span class="sc">Chambers, R. W.</span> Beowulf with the + Finnsburg Fragment, ed. by <span class="sc">A. J. Wyatt</span>. New + edition, revised. Cambridge. Reviews: Jones, <i>M.L.R.</i> <span + class="scac">XI</span>, 230-1: Lawrence, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XIV</span>, 609-13; Bright, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXI</span>, 188-9; Schücking, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">LV</span>, 88-100.</p> + + <p>1915 <span class="sc">Dickins, B.</span> Runic and Heroic Poems (Text + of Finnsburg with Notes). Cambridge. Review: Mawer, <i>M.L.R.</i> <span + class="scac">XII</span>, 82-4.</p> + + <p>1917 <span class="sc">Mackie, W. L.</span> The Fight at Finnsburg + (Introduction, Text and Notes). <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XVI</span>, 250-73.</p> + + <p>1919 <span class="sc">Schücking, L. L.</span> Kleines angelsächsisches + Dichterbuch. [Includes Finnsburg Fragment, Finnsburg Episode and + "Beowulf's Return" (ll. 1888-2199).] Reviews: Binz, + <i>Literaturblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XLI</span>, 1920, pp. 315-16; + Imelmann, <i>D.L.Z.</i> <span class="scac">XL</span>, 1919, 423-5; + Fischer, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">LIV</span>, 1920, + 302-3.</p> + + <p>1920 Text of Finnsburg Fragment and Episode, with commentary, in <span + class="sc">Imelmann's</span> "Forschungen zur altenglischen Poesie."</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>An edition of Beowulf by Prof. <span class="sc">F. Klaeber</span> is + in the press.</p> + +<p class="cenhead"><a name="Bib5">§ 5</a>. CONCORDANCES, etc.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1896 <span class="sc">Holder, A.</span> Beowulf, vol. <span + class="scac">II</span><i>b</i>, Wortschatz. Freiburg. Review: Brandl, + <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XXIII</span>, 107.</p> + + <p>1911 <span class="sc">Cook, A. S.</span> Concordance to Beowulf. + Halle. Reviews: Klaeber, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XI</span>, + 277-9; Garnett, <i>Amer. Jnl. Philol.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXIII</span>, 86-7.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p class="cenhead"><a name="Bib6">§ 6</a>. TRANSLATIONS (INCLUDING EARLY SUMMARIES)</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1881 <span class="sc">Wülker, R. P.</span> Besprechung der + Beowulfübersetzungen, <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">IV</span>, + <i>Anzeiger</i>, 69-80.</p> + + <p>1886 <span class="sc">Gummere, F. B.</span> The translation of + Beowulf, and the relations of ancient and modern English verse, <i>Amer. + Jour. of Phil.</i> <span class="scac">VII</span>, 46-78. (A weighty + argument for translation into "the original metre.")</p> + + <p>1891 <span class="sc">Garnett, J. M.</span> The translation of A.S. + poetry, <i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span class="scac">VI</span>, + 95-105. (Agreeing in the main with Gummere.)</p> + + <p>1897 <span class="sc">Frye, P. H.</span> The translation of Beowulf, + <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XII</span>, 79-82. (Advocating blank + verse.)</p> + + <p>1898 <span class="sc">Fulton, E.</span> On translating A.S. poetry, + <i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span class="scac">XIII</span>, + 286-96. (Recommending an irregular four-accent line.)</p> + + <p>1903 <span class="sc">Garnett, J. M.</span> Recent translations of + O.E. poetry, <i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span + class="scac">XVIII</span>, 445-58.</p> + + <p>1903 <span class="sc">Tinker, C. B.</span> The translations of + Beowulf. A critical bibliography. <i>Yale Studies in English</i>. New + York. Reviews: Klaeber, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">V</span>, + 116-8; Binz, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt,</i> <span class="scac">XVI</span>, + 291-2.</p> + + <p>1909 <span class="sc">Child, G. C.</span> "Gummere's Oldest English + Epic," <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXIV</span>, 253-4. (A criticism + advocating prose translation.)</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Gummere, F. B.</span> Translation of Old English + Verse, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXV</span>, 61-3. (Advocating + alliterative verse.) Reply by <span class="sc">Child</span>, + <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXV</span>, 157-8. See also reviews of + Gummere, under year 1909, below.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 391 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page391"></a>{391}</span></p> + + <p>1918 <span class="sc">Leonard, W. E.</span> Beowulf and the + Niebelungen couplet, <i>Univ. of Wisconsin Studies in Language and + Literature</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 99-152.</p> + + <p> </p> + + <p>1805 <span class="sc">Turner, Sharon.</span> History of the manners + ... poetry ... and language of the Anglo-Saxons. London. (From p. 398 to + p. 408 is a summary, with translations, of Beowulf, Prol.-<span + class="scac">VIII</span>. Turner was misled as to the subject of the + poem, because a leaf had been misplaced in the <span + class="scac">MS</span>, so that the account of the fighting between + Grendel and Beowulf (ll. 740-82) occurred immediately after l. 91. The + struggle between Beowulf and an (unnamed) adversary being thus made to + follow the account of Hrothgar's court at Heorot, Turner was led to + suppose that the poem narrated the attempt of Beowulf to avenge <i>on + Hrothgar</i> the feud for a homicide he had committed. "The transition," + Turner not unreasonably complains, "is rather violent." The correct + placing of the shifted leaf is due to Thorkelin.)</p> + + <p>1815 <span class="sc">Thorkelin, G. J.</span> [Latin version in his + edition, q.v.] The reviewers gave summaries of the poem, with + translations of portions of it: English in the <i>Monthly Review</i>, + <span class="scac">LXXXI</span>, 1816, 516-23 (less inaccurate than + Turner's summary); Danish in the <i>Dansk Litteratur-Tidende</i>, 1815, + 401-32, 437-46, and by Grundtvig in the <i>Nyeste Skilderie</i> (see + below, <a href="#Bib7">§ 7</a>); Swedish in <i>Iduna</i>, <span + class="scac">VII</span>, 1817, 133-59.</p> + + <p>1819 <span class="sc">Grundtvig, N. F. S.</span> Stykker af + Skjoldung-Kvadet eller Bjovulfs Minde, <i>Dannevirke</i>, <span + class="scac">IV</span>, 234-62.</p> + + <p>1820 <span class="sc">Grundtvig, N. F. S.</span> Bjowulfs Drape, + Kjøbenhavn. (Free rhymed translation of Beowulf: Finnsburg rendered into + short lines, unrhymed: Introduction and most important critical notes.) + Review: J. Grimm in <i>Gött. Anzeigen</i>, 1823 = <i>Kleinere + Schriften</i>, <span class="scac">IV</span>, 178-86. For second edit., + see 1865.</p> + + <p>1820 <span class="sc">Turner, Sharon.</span> History of the + Anglo-Saxons ... third edit. London. (Vol. <span class="scac">III</span>, + pp. 325-48, contains a summary, with translations, of the earlier part of + the poem, much less inaccurate than that of 1805.)</p> + + <p>1826 <span class="sc">Conybeare, J. J.</span> Illustrations of + Anglo-Saxon poetry. London. (Pp. 35-136 contain a summary of Beowulf, + with blank verse transl. and the corresponding text in A.S. and Latin; + pp. 175-82, Finnsburg, text with transl. into Latin and into English + verse.)</p> + + <p>1832 <span class="sc">Grundtvig, N. F. S.</span> Nordens mythologi. + Anden Udgave. Kiöbenhavn. (Pp. 571-94 give a summary of the + Beowulf-stories. This was, of course, wanting in the first edit. of + 1808.)</p> + + <p>1837 <span class="sc">Kemble, J. M.</span> Translation ... with ... + glossary, preface and notes. London. (The "postscript to the preface" in + which Kemble supplemented and corrected the "Historical Preface" to his + edition of 1833, is the basis of the mythological explanations of Beowulf + as an Anglian god, Beowa.)</p> + + <p>1839 <span class="sc">Leo, H.</span> [Summary with translation of + extracts.] See <a href="#Bib8">§ 8</a>, below.</p> + + <p>1840 <span class="sc">Ettmüller, L.</span> Beowulf, stabreimend + übersetzt, mit Einleitung und Anmerkungen (Finnsburg, pp. 36-8). + Zürich.</p> + + <p>1845 <span class="sc">Longfellow, H. W.</span> The Poets and Poetry of + Europe. Philadelphia. (Pp. 8-10 contain transl. of extracts from + Beowulf.)</p> + + <p>1847 <span class="sc">Schaldemose, F.</span> [Danish transl. of + Beowulf and Finnsburg, in his edit., q.v.]</p> + + <p>1849 <span class="sc">Wackerbarth, A. D.</span> Beowulf, translated + into English verse. London. (Imitation of Scott's metre.)</p> + + <p>1855 <span class="sc">Thorpe, B.</span> [In his edit., q.v.]</p> + + <p>1857 <span class="sc">Uhland, L.</span> [Prose transl. of Finnsburg.] + <i>Germania</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 354-5.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 392 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page392"></a>{392}</span></p> + + <p>1857 <span class="sc">Grein, C. W. M.</span> Dichtungen der + Angelsachsen, stabreimend übersetzt. Göttingen. (Vol. <span + class="scac">I</span>, pp. 222—308, Beowulf, trans. into + alliterative verse.)</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1883. 2 Aufl. [Incorporating Grein's manuscript corrections, seen + through the press by Wülker.] Cassel. Review: Krüger, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> + <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 139—42.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1859 <span class="sc">Simrock, K.</span> Beowulf übersetzt u. + erläutert. Stuttgart u. Augsburg. (Alliterative verse: Finnsburg Fragment + inserted after l. 1124.)</p> + + <p>1859 <span class="sc">Sandras, G. S.</span> De carminibus + anglo-saxonicis Caedmoni adjudicatis. Paris. (Pp. 8—10 contain + extract from Beowulf and Latin transl.)</p> + + <p>1861 <span class="sc">Haigh, D. H.</span> (Prose transl. of + Finnsburg.) In <i>Anglo-Saxon Sagas,</i> pp. 32—3, q.v.</p> + + <p>1863 <span class="sc">Heyne, M.</span> Beowulf übersetzt. Paderborn. + (Blank verse.) Review: Holtzmann, <i>Germania</i>, <span + class="scac">VIII</span>, 506—7.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1897—8. 2 Aufl. Paderborn. Reviews: Holthausen, <i>Archiv</i>, + <span class="scac">CIII</span>,</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b3n"> + + <p>373—6; Wülker, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">IX</span>, 1; Jantzen,<i> Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XXV</span>,</p> + + <p>271—3; Löhner, <i>Z.f.ö.G.</i> <span class="scac">XLIX</span>, + 563.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1915. 3 Aufl. Paderborn.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1865 <span class="sc">Grundtvig, N. F. S.</span> Bjovulfs-Drapen. + Anden Udgave.</p> + + <p>1872 <span class="sc">von Wolzogen, H.</span> Beovulf aus dem ags. + Leipzig. (Verse.)</p> + + <p>1876 <span class="sc">Arnold, T.</span> [In his edit., q.v.]</p> + + <p>1877 <span class="sc">Botkine, L.</span> Beowulf traduite en français. + Havre. (Prose: some omissions.) Review: Körner, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> II, + 248—51.</p> + + <p>1881 <span class="sc">Zinsser, G.</span> Der Kampf Beowulfs mit + Grendel [vv. 1—836] als Probe einer metrischen Uebersetzung. + Saarbrücken. Reviews: <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">LXVIII</span>, + 446; Krüger, <i>Engl. Stud</i>. <span class="scac">VII</span>, + 370—2.</p> + + <p>1881 <span class="sc">Lumsden, H. W.</span> Beowulf ... transl. into + modern rhymes. London. (Some omissions.) Reviews: <i>Athenæum</i>, April + 1881, p. 587; Garnett, <i>Amer. Jour. of Phil.</i> <span + class="scac">II</span>, 355—61; Wülker, <i>Anglia</i>, <span + class="scac">IV</span>, <i>Anzeiger</i>, 69—80.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1883. ‡Second edit. Review: York Powell, <i>Academy</i>, XXVI, + 1884, pp. 220—1.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1882 <span class="sc">Schuhmann, G.</span> Beovulf, antichissimo poema + epico de' popoli germanici. <i>Giornale Napoletano di filosofia e + lettere</i>. Anno <span class="scac">IV</span>, vol. 7, 25—36, + 175—190. (A summary only.)</p> + + <p>1882 <span class="sc">Garnett, J. M.</span> Beowulf and the Fight at + Finnsburg, translated. Boston, U.S.A. Reviews: <i>Nation</i> (New York), + No. 919, 1883; Harrison, <i>Amer. Jour. of Phil.</i> <span + class="scac">IV</span>, 84—6, reply by Garnett, 243—6; + Schipper, <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">VI</span>, <i>Anzeiger</i>, + 120—4; Krüger, <i>Engl. Stud</i>. <span class="scac">VIII</span>, + 133—8, and (second edit.) <span class="scac">IX</span>, 151; + Bright, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, 1883, 386—7.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1885. Second edit., revised.</p> + + <p>1900. Fourth edit.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1883 <span class="sc">Grion, Giusto</span>. Beovulf, poema epico + anglòsassone del VII secolo, tradotto e illustrato. In the <i>Atti della + reale Accademia Lucchese</i>, <span class="scac">XXII</span>. (First + Italian translation.) Review: Krüger, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">IX</span>, 64—77.</p> + + <p>1889 ‡<span class="sc">Wickberg, R.</span> Beowulf, en + fornengelsk hjältedikt översatt. Westervik.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1914. ‡Second edit. Upsala. Review: Kock, <i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXII</span>, 223—4.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1892 <span class="sc">Hall, John Lesslie</span>. Beowulf translated. + (Verse, with notes.) Boston, U.S.A. Reviews: <i>M.L.N.</i> <span + class="scac">VII</span>, 128, 1892 (brief mention); Miller, <i>Viking + Club Year Book</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 91—2; Holthausen, + <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span class="scac">IV</span>, 33—6; Glöde, + <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XIX</span>, 257—60.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1893. ‡Student's edit.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1892 (1891) <span class="sc">Earle, John</span>. The deeds of Beowulf. + Oxford. (Prose translation, somewhat spoilt by its artificial and + sometimes grotesque vocabulary; very valuable introduction, with summary + of the controversy to date, <!-- Page 393 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page393"></a>{393}</span>and notes.) Reviews: <i>Athenæum</i>, 1 + Oct. 1892; Koeppel, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XVIII</span>, + 93-5 (fair, though rather severe).</p> + + <p>1893 <span class="sc">Hoffmann, P.</span> Beówulf ... aus dem + angelsächsischen übertragen. Züllichau. (In the measure of the + Nibelungenlied; ind. Finnsburg.) Reviews (mostly unfavourable): Shipley, + <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">IX</span>, 121-3, 1894; Wülker, + <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span class="scac">V</span>, 67; Wülker, <i>Lit. + Cbl.</i> 1894, p. 1930; Glöde, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XIX</span>, 412-5; ‡Detter, <i>Öster. + Literaturblatt</i>, <span class="scac">V</span>, 9; ‡Marold, + <i>Deut. Literaturblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XXIII</span>, 332.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1900. ‡Second edit. Hannover.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1895 <span class="sc">Morris, W.</span> and <span class="sc">Wyatt, A. + J.</span> The Tale of Beowulf. Kelmscott Press, Hammersmith. (Verse: + archaic vocabulary.)</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1898. New edit. Review: Hulme, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span + class="scac">XV</span>, 22-6, 1900.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1896 <span class="sc">Simons, L.</span> Beówulf ... vertaald in + stafrijm en met inleiding en aanteekeningen. Gent (<i>Koninklijke + vlaamsche Academie</i>). Reviews: Glöde, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XXV</span>, 270-1; Uhlenbeck, <i>Museum</i> (Groningen), + <span class="scac">V</span>, 217-8.</p> + + <p>1898 <span class="sc">Steineck, H.</span> Altenglische Dichtungen + (Beowulf, Elene, u.a.) in wortgetreuer Übersetzung. Leipzig. (Prose, line + for line.) Reviews: Binz, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">IX</span>, 220-2; Holthausen, <i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">CIII</span>, 376-8 (both very unfavourable).</p> + + <p>1901 <span class="sc">Hall, J. R. Clark.</span> Beowulf and the fight + at Finnsburg. A translation into modern English prose. London. Reviews: + <i>Athenæum</i>, 1901, July, p. 56; <i>Academy</i>, <span + class="scac">LX</span>, 1901, 342; Stedman, <i>Viking Club Year Book</i>, + <span class="scac">III</span>, 72-4; Tinker, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">IV</span>, 379-81; Holthausen, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, + <span class="scac">XIII</span>, 225-8; Dibelius, <i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">CIX</span>, 403-4; Vietor, <i>Die neueren Sprachen</i>, + <span class="scac">XI</span>, 439; Wülker, <i>Lit. Cbl.</i> 1902, 30-1 + ("sehr zu empfehlen").</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1911 (q.v.). New edit., with considerable additions.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1902 <span class="sc">Tinker, C. B.</span> Beowulf translated out of + the Old English. New York. (Prose.) Reviews: Klaeber, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> + <span class="scac">V</span>, 91-3; Holthausen, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, + <span class="scac">XIV</span>, 7.</p> + + <p>1903 ‡<span class="sc">Björkman, E.</span> Swedish transl. + (prose) of Beowulf, Part <span class="scac">II</span> (in Schück's + <i>Världslitteraturen</i>, with introd. by Schück).</p> + + <p>1903-4 <span class="sc">Trautmann, M.</span>, in his editions, + q.v.</p> + + <p>1904 <span class="sc">Child, C. G.</span> Beowulf and the Finnesburh + Fragment translated. London and Boston. Reviews: Grattan, <i>M.L.R.</i> + <span class="scac">III</span>, 303-4 ("a good prose translation which + steers an even course between pseudo-archaisms and modern + colloquialisms"); Miller, <i>Viking Club Year Book</i>, <span + class="scac">I</span>, 91-2; Klaeber, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XVI</span>, 225-7; Brandl, <i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">CXXI</span>, 473.</p> + + <p>1904 ‡<span class="sc">Hansen, A.</span> Transl. into Danish of + Beowulf, ll. 491-924, <i>Danske Tidsskrift</i>.</p> + + <p>1905 <span class="sc">Vogt, P.</span> Beowulf ... übersetzt. Halle. + (Text rearranged according to theories of interpolation: Finnsburg + Fragment translated, following Möller's text.) Reviews: Binz, <i>Anglia, + Beiblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XXI</span>, 289-91; Eichler, + <i>Z.f.ö.G.</i> <span class="scac">LVII</span>, 908-10; Klaeber, + <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CXVII</span>, 408-10: Jantzen, <i>Lit. + Cbl.</i> 1906, 257-8.</p> + + <p>1906 <span class="sc">Gering, H.</span> Beowulf nebst dem + Finnsburg-Bruchstück übersetzt. Heidelberg. (Verse.) Reviews: Lawrence, + <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">VII</span>, 129-33 ("thoroughly + scholarly"); Jantzen, <i>Lit. Cbl.</i> 1907, 64-5; Ries, <i>A.f.d.A.</i> + <span class="scac">XXXIII</span>, 143-7; Binz, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, + <span class="scac">XXXI</span>, 397-8 ("Fliessend und ungezwungen, + sinngetreu ..."); ‡Zehme, <i>Monatsschrift</i>, <span + class="scac">XIV</span>, 597-600; v. Grienberger, <i>Z.f.ö.G.</i> 1908, + <span class="scac">LIX</span>, 423-8.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1914. 2 Aufl.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1907 <span class="sc">Huyshe, W.</span> Beowulf ... translated into + ... prose ("Appendix: The Fight at Finn's burgh"). London. + ("Translation," to quote Clark Hall, "apparently such as might have been + compiled from previous translations by a person ignorant of Ags. Some + original mistakes.") Reviews: <i>Athenæum</i>, 1907, <span + class="scac">II</span>, 96 ("Mr Huyshe displays sad ignorance of Old <!-- + Page 394 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page394"></a>{394}</span>English ... but an assiduous study of the + work of his predecessors has preserved him from misrepresenting seriously + the general sense of the text"); <i>Notes and Queries</i>, Ser. <span + class="scac">X</span>, vol. <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 58; Garnett, + <i>Amer. Jnl. Philol.</i> <span class="scac">XXIX</span>, 344-6; Klaeber, + <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XIX</span>, 257.</p> + + <p>1909 <span class="sc">Gummere, F. B.</span> The oldest English Epic. + Beowulf, Finnsburg, Waldere, Deor and the German Hildebrand, translated + in the original metres. New York. Reviews: <i>Athenæum</i>, 1909, <span + class="scac">II</span>, 151; Trautmann, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXXIII</span>, 353-60 (metrical debate); Sedgefield, + <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XLI</span>, 402-3 (discussing + possibility of reproducing in Mod. Eng. the Old Eng. alliterative + verse-rhythm); Derocquigny, <i>Revue Germanique</i>, <span + class="scac">VI</span>, 356-7; see also above, p. 390.</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Hansen, Adolf.</span> Bjovulf, oversat af A. + Hansen, og efter hans død gået efter og fuldført samt forsynet med en + inledning og en oversættelse af brudstykket om kampen i Finsborg, af + Viggo Julius von Holstein Rathlou; udgivet ved Oskar Hansen. København og + Kristiania. An account of this translation, by v. Holstein Rathlou, in + <i>Tilskueren</i>, June, 1910, pp. 557-62; Review: Olrik, <i>Danske + Studier</i>, 1910, 112-13.</p> + + <p>1911 <span class="sc">Clark Hall, J. R.</span> Beowulf and the + Finnsburg Fragment. A translation into Modern English Prose. London. + Reviews: Mawer, <i>M.L.R.</i> <span class="scac">VI</span>, 542 + ("probably the best working translation that we have, enriched by a + valuable introduction and excellent appendices"); <i>Academy</i>, 1911, + <span class="scac">I</span>, 225-6; Björkman, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XLIV</span>, 127-8; <i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">CXXVI</span>, 492-3; Binz, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXXII</span>, 232.</p> + + <p>1912 <span class="sc">Pierquin, H.</span> Le poème Anglo-Saxon de + Beowulf. (An extraordinary piece of work; the version mainly follows + Kemble's text, which is reproduced, but with many misprints: Kemble's + <i>Saxons in England</i> is translated by way of introduction. The + Finnsburg Fragment is included.) Reviews: <i>Academy</i>, 1912, <span + class="scac">II</span>, 509-10 (seems to regard Pierquin as author of + <i>Les Saxons en Angleterre</i>); Sedgefield, <i>M.L.R.</i> <span + class="scac">VIII</span>, 550-2; Klaeber, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXIV</span>, 138-9; Imelmann, <i>D.L.Z.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXIV</span> (1913), 1062-3 (very unfavourable); + ‡Luick, <i>Mitt. d. inst. f. österr. gesch.-forsch.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXVI</span>, 401; ‡Barat, <i>Moyen Âge</i>, <span + class="scac">XXVI</span> (see. ser. <span class="scac">XVII</span>), + 298-302.</p> + + <p>1913 <span class="sc">Kirtlan, E. J.</span> The Story of Beowulf. + London. (A fair specimen of the less scholarly translations; nicely got + up and not exceedingly incorrect.) Reviews: <i>Athenæum</i>, 1914, <span + class="scac">II</span>, 71; Klaeber, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXVII</span>, 129-31.</p> + + <p>1914 <span class="sc">Clark Hall, J. R.</span> Beowulf: a metrical + translation. Cambridge. (Not so successful as the same writer's prose + translation.) Reviews: Sedgefield, <i>M.L.R.</i> <span + class="scac">X</span>, 387-9 (discussing the principles of metrical + translation); Klaeber, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXVI</span>, 170-2.</p> + + <p>1915 <span class="sc">Olivero, F.</span> Traduzioni dalla Poesia + Anglo-sassone. Bari. (Pp. 73-119, extracts from Beowulf.) Review: + <i>M.L.R.</i> <span class="scac">XI</span>, 509.</p> + + <p>1916 ‡<span class="sc">Benedetti, A.</span> La canzone di + Beowulf, poema epico anglo-sassone del <span class="scac">VI</span> + secolo. Versione italiana, con introduzione e note. Palermo.</p> + + <p>1918 <span class="sc">Leonard, W. E.</span> [Specimen, Passus <span + class="scac">IX</span>, of forthcoming transl., in the measure of the + Nibelungenlied.] In <i>Univ. of Wisconsin Studies</i>, <span + class="scac">II</span>, 149-52; see above.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>A translation of Beowulf into the Norwegian "landsmaal," by <span + class="sc">H. Rytter</span>, will appear shortly.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + +</blockquote> + + <p>Popular paraphrases of Beowulf are not included in the above list. An + account will be found in Tinker's <i>Translations</i> of those of E. H. + Jones (in <span class="sc">Cox's</span> <i>Popular Romances</i>, 1871); + J. Gibb, 1881-4; Wägner-MacDowall, 1883 <i>etc.</i>; Miss Z. A. Ragozin, + 1898, 1900; A. J. Church, 1898; Miss C. L. Thomson, 1899, 1904. Mention + may also be made of those of ‡F. A. Turner, 1894; H. E. Marshall, + 1908; T. Cartwright, 1908; Prof. J. H. Cox, 1910. An illustrated summary + of <!-- Page 395 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page395"></a>{395}</span>the <i>Beowulf</i> story was issued by Mr + W. T. Stead in his penny "Books for the Bairns." The versions of Miss + Thomson and Prof. Cox are both good. The paraphrase in the <i>Canadian + Monthly</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 83 (1872), attributed in + several bibliographies to Earle, is assuredly not the work of that + scholar: it is an inaccurate version based upon Jones. An account will be + found in Tinker of the German paraphrase of Therese Dahn, 1883 + <i>etc.</i>; mention may also be made of those of J. Arnheim, 1871; + ‡ F. Bässler, sec. edit. 1875 (praised highly by Klaeber in + <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">V</span>, 118).</p> + +<p class="cenhead"><a name="Bib7">§ 7</a>. TEXTUAL CRITICISM AND INTERPRETATION</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1815 <span class="sc">Grundtvig, N. F. S.</span> Et Par Ord om det nys + udkomne angelsaxiske Digt. <i>Nyeste Skilderie af Kjøbenhavn</i>, No. 60 + <i>etc.</i>, cols. 945, 998, 1009, 1025, 1045; Nok et Par Ord om Bjovulfs + Drape, 1106, 1121, 1139 (comment upon Thorkelin's text and + translation).</p> + + <p>1815 <span class="sc">Thorkelin, G. J.</span> Reply to Grundtvig in + <i>Nyeste Skilderie</i>, cols. 1057, 1073. (There were further articles + in the same magazine, but they were purely personal.)</p> + + <p>1820 <span class="sc">Grundtvig, N. F. S.</span> Emendations to + Thorkelin's text, added to <i>Bjowulfs Drape</i>, 267-312.</p> + + <p>1826 <span class="sc">Conybeare, J. J.</span> Illustrations of + Anglo-Saxon poetry. London. (Beowulf and "Finnsborough," pp. 30-182.)</p> + + <p>1859 <span class="sc">Bouterwek, K. W.</span> Zur Kritik des + Beowulfliedes, <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XI</span>, 59-113.</p> + + <p>1859 <span class="sc">Dietrich, F.</span> Rettungen, <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> + <span class="scac">XI</span>, 409-20.</p> + + <p>1863 <span class="sc">Holtzmann, A.</span> Zu Beowulf, + <i>Germania</i>, <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 489-97. (Incl. + Finnsburg.)</p> + + <p>1865 <span class="sc">Grein, C. W. M.</span> Zur Textkritik der + angelsächsischen Dichter: Finnsburg, <i>Germania</i>, <span + class="scac">X</span>, 422.</p> + + <p>1868-9 <span class="sc">Bugge, Sophus.</span> Spredte iagttagelser + vedkommende de oldengelske digte om Beówulf og Waldere; <i>Tidskrift for + Philologi og Pædagogik</i>, <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 40-78 and + 287-307 (incl. Finnsburg, 304-5). Important.</p> + + <p>1871 <span class="sc">Rieger, M.</span> Zum Beowulf, <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> + <span class="scac">III</span>, 381-416.</p> + + <p>1873 <span class="sc">Bugge, S.</span> Zum Beowulf, <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> + <span class="scac">IV</span>, 192-224.</p> + + <p>1880 <span class="sc">Kölbing, E.</span> Kleine Beiträge (Beowulf, + 168, 169), <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">III</span>, 92 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p>1882 <span class="sc">Kluge, F.</span> Sprachhistorische Miscellen + (Beowulf, 63, 1027, 1235, 1267), <i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">VIII</span>, 532-5.</p> + + <p>1882 <span class="sc">Cosijn, P. J.</span> Zum Beowulf, <i>P.B.B.</i> + <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 568-74.</p> + + <p>1883 <span class="sc">Sievers, E.</span> Zum Beowulf, <i>P.B.B.</i> + <span class="scac">IX</span>, 135-44, 370.</p> + + <p>1883 <span class="sc">Kluge, F.</span> Zum Beowulf, <i>P.B.B.</i> + <span class="scac">IX</span>, 187-92.</p> + + <p>1883 <span class="sc">Krüger, Th.</span> Zum Beowulf, <i>P.B.B.</i> + <span class="scac">IX</span>, 571-8.</p> + + <p>1889 <span class="sc">Miller, T.</span> The position of Grendel's arm + in Heorot, <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XII</span>, 396-400.</p> + + <p>1890 <span class="sc">Joseph, E.</span> Zwei Versversetzungen im + Beowulf, <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XXII</span>, 385-97.</p> + + <p>1891 <span class="sc">Schröer, A.</span> Zur texterklärung des + Beowulf, <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XIII</span>, 333-48.</p> + + <p>1891-2 <span class="sc">Cosijn, P. J.</span> Aanteekeningen op den + Beowulf. Leiden. (Important.) Reviews: Lübke, <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XIX</span>, 341-2; Holthausen, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, 1895, + p. 82.</p> + + <p>1892 <span class="sc">Sievers, E.</span> Zur texterklärung des + Beowulf, <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XIV</span>, 133-46.</p> + + <p>1895 <span class="sc">Bright, J. W.</span> Notes on the Beowulf (ll. + 30, 306, 386-7, 623, 737), <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">X</span>, + 43-4.</p> + + <p>1899 <span class="sc">Trautmann, M.</span> Berichtigungen, Vermutungen + und Erklärungen zum Beowulf (ll. 1-1215). <i>Bonner Beiträge zur + Anglistik</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 121-92. Reviews: Binz, + <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XIV</span>, 358-60; + Holthausen, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, 1900, 62-4 (important). See Sievers, + <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XXVII</span>, 572; <span + class="scac">XXVIII</span>, 271.</p> + + <p>1901 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> A few Beowulf notes (ll. 459, + 847 <i>etc.</i>, 1206, 3024 <i>etc.</i>, 3171); <i>M.L.N.</i> <span + class="scac">XVI</span>, 14-18.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 396 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page396"></a>{396}</span></p> + + <p>1902 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> Zum Beowulf (497-8; 1745-7), + <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CVIII</span>, 368-70.</p> + + <p>1902 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> Beowulf's character, + <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XVII</span>, 162.</p> + + <p>1903 <span class="sc">Krackow, O.</span> Zu Beowulf, 1225, 2222, + <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CXI</span>, 171-2.</p> + + <p>1904 <span class="sc">Bryant, F. E.</span> Beowulf, 62, <i>M.L.N.</i> + <span class="scac">XIX</span>, 121-2.</p> + + <p>1904 <span class="sc">Abbott, W. C.</span> Hrothulf, <i>M.L.N.</i> + <span class="scac">XIX</span>, 122-5. (Abbott suggests that Hrothulf is + the name—missing in whole or part from l. 62—of the husband + of the daughter of Healfdene. This suggestion is quite untenable, for + many reasons: Hrothulf (Rolf Kraki) is a Dane, and the missing husband is + a Swede: but the article led to a long controversy between Bryant and + Klaeber; see <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XX</span>, 9-11; <span + class="scac">XXI</span>, 143, 255; <span class="scac">XXII</span>, 96, + 160. Klaeber is undoubtedly right.)</p> + + <p>1904 <span class="sc">Krapp, G. B.</span> Miscellaneous Notes: + <i>Scūrheard</i>; <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XIX</span>, + 234.</p> + + <p>1904 <span class="sc">Sievers, E.</span> Zum Beowulf, <i>P.B.B.</i> + <span class="scac">XXIX</span>, 305-31. (Criticism of Trautmann's + emendations.)</p> + + <p>1904 <span class="sc">Kock, E. A.</span> Interpretations and + Emendations of Early English Texts: <span class="scac">III</span> + (Beowulf), <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XXVII</span>, 218-37.</p> + + <p>1904 <span class="sc">Sievers, E.</span> Zum Beowulf (l. 5, Criticism + of Kock), <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XXIX</span>, 560-76. Reply by + Kock, <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XXVIII</span> (1905), 140-2.</p> + + <p>1905 <span class="sc">Trautmann, M.</span> Auch zum Beowulf: ein gruss + an herren Eduard Sievers, <i>Bonner Beiträge zur Anglistik</i>, <span + class="scac">XVII</span>, 143-74. (Reply to Sievers' criticism of + Trautmann's conjectural emendations.) Review: Klaeber, <i>M.L.N.</i> + <span class="scac">XXII</span>, 252.</p> + + <p>1905 <span class="sc">Swiggett, G. L.</span> Notes on the Finnsburg + fragment, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XX</span>, 169-71.</p> + + <p>1905 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> Notizen zur texterklärung des + Beowulf, <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XXVIII</span>, 439-47 (incl. + Finnsburg); Zum Beowulf, the same, 448-56.</p> + + <p>1905 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> Bemerkungen zum Beowulf, + <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CXV</span>, 178-82. (Incl. + Finnsburg.)</p> + + <p>1905 <span class="sc">Holthausen, F.</span> Beiträge zur Erklärung des + altengl. epos. <span class="scac">I</span>, Zum Beowulf; <span + class="scac">II</span>, Zum Finnsburg-fragment; <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXVII</span>, 113-25.</p> + + <p>1905-6 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> Studies in the Textual + Interpretation of "Beowulf," <i>Mod. Phil.</i> <span + class="scac">III</span>, 235-66, 445-65 (Most important).</p> + + <p>1906 <span class="sc">Child, C. G.</span> Beowulf, 30, 53, 132 (i.e. + 1323), 2957, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXI</span>, 175-7, + 198-200.</p> + + <p>1906 <span class="sc">Horn, W.</span> Textkritische Bemerkungen + (Beowulf, 69 <i>etc.</i>), <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XXIX</span>, + 130-1.</p> + + <p>1906 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> Notizen zum Beowulf, + <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XXIX</span>, 378-82.</p> + + <p>1907 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> Minor Notes on the Beowulf, + <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">VI</span>, 190-6.</p> + + <p>1908 <span class="sc">Tinker, C. B.</span> Notes on Beowulf, + <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXIII</span>, 239-40.</p> + + <p>1908 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> Zum Beowulf, <i>Engl. + Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XXXIX</span>, 463-7.</p> + + <p>1909 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> Textual Notes on Beowulf, + <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 254-9.</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">von Grienberger, T.</span> Bemerkungen zum + Beowulf, <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XXXVI</span>, 77-101. (Incl. + Finnsburg.)</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Sievers, E.</span> Gegenbemerkungen zum Beowulf, + <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XXXVI</span>, 397-434. (Incl. + Finnsburg.)</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Sedgefield, W. J.</span> Notes on "Beowulf," + <i>M.L.R.</i> <span class="scac">V</span>, 286-8.</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Trautmann, M.</span> Beiträge zu einem künftigen + "Sprachschatz der altenglischen Dichter," <i>Anglia</i>, <span + class="scac">XXXIII</span>, 276-9 (<i>gedræg</i>).</p> + + <p>1911 <span class="sc">Blackburn, F. A.</span> Note on Beowulf, + 1591-1617, <i>Mod. Phil.</i> <span class="scac">IX</span>, 555-66. + (Argues that a loose leaf has been misplaced and the order of events thus + disturbed.)</p> + + <p>1911 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> Zur Texterklärung des + Beowulf, vv. 767, 1129, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXII</span>, 372-4.</p> + + <p>1912 <span class="sc">Hart, J. M.</span> Beowulf, 168-9, <i>M.L.N.</i> + <span class="scac">XXVII</span>, 198.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 397 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page397"></a>{397}</span></p> + + <p>1912-14 <span class="sc">Grein, C. W. M.</span> Sprachschatz der + angelsächsischen dichter. Unter mitwirkung von F. Holthausen neu + herausgegeben von J. J. Köhler. Heidelberg. Reviews: Trautmann, + <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XXIV</span>, 36-43; + Schücking, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XLIX</span>, 113-5.</p> + + <p>1915 <span class="sc">Chambers, R. W.</span> The "Shifted leaf" in + Beowulf, <i>M.L.R.</i> <span class="scac">X</span>, 37-41. (Points out + that the alleged "confused order of events" is that also followed in the + Grettis saga.)</p> + + <p>1916 <span class="sc">Green, A.</span> The opening of the episode of + Finn in Beowulf, <i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXI</span>, 759-97.</p> + + <p>1916 <span class="sc">Bright, J. W.</span> Anglo-Saxon <i>umbor</i> + and <i>seld-guma</i>, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXXI</span>, 82-4; + Beowulf, 489-90, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXXI</span>, + 217-23.</p> + + <p>1917 <span class="sc">Green, A.</span> An episode in Ongenþeow's fall, + <i>M.L.R.</i> <span class="scac">XII</span>, 340-3.</p> + + <p>1917 <span class="sc">Hollander, L. M.</span> Beowulf, 33, + <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXXII</span>, 246-7. (Suggests the + reading <i>ītig</i>.)</p> + + <p>1917 <span class="sc">Holthausen, F.</span> Zu altenglischen + Denkmälern—Beowulf, 1140, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">LI</span>, 180.</p> + + <p>1918 <span class="sc">Hubbard, F. G.</span> Beowulf, 1598, 1996, 2026: + uses of the impersonal verb <i>geweorþan</i>, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XVII</span>, 119.</p> + + <p>1918 <span class="sc">Kock, E. A.</span> Interpretations and + emendations of early English Texts: <span class="scac">IV</span>, + Beowulf, <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XLII</span>, 99-124. + (Important.)</p> + + <p>1918 ‡<span class="sc">Kock, E. A.</span> Jubilee Jaunts and + Jottings, in the <i>Lunds univ. årsskrift</i>, N. F. avd. I, bd. 14, nr. + 26 (<i>Festskrift vid ... 250-årsjubileum</i>). Reviews: Holthausen, + <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XXX</span>, 1-5; Klaeber, + <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XIX</span>, 409-13.</p> + + <p>1919 <span class="sc">Moore, Samuel.</span> Beowulf Notes (Textual), + <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XVIII</span>, 205-16.</p> + + <p>1919 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> Concerning the functions of + O.E. <i>geweorðan</i>, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XVIII</span>, + 250-71. (Cf. paper of Prof. Hubbard above, by which this was + suggested.)</p> + + <p>1919 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> Textual notes on "Beowulf," + <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXXIV</span>, 129-34.</p> + + <p>1919 <span class="sc">Brown, Carleton.</span> Beowulf, 1080-1106, + <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXXIV</span>, 181-3.</p> + + <p>1919 <span class="sc">Brett, Cyril.</span> Notes on passages of Old + and Middle English, <i>M.L.R.</i> <span class="scac">XIV</span>, 1-9.</p> + + <p>1919-20 <span class="sc">Kock, E. A.</span> Interpretations and + emendations of Early English Texts: <span class="scac">V</span> (Incl. + Beowulf, 2030, 2419-24); <span class="scac">VI</span> (Incl. Beowulf 24, + 154-6, 189-90, 1992-3, 489-90, 581-3, 1745-7, 1820-1, 1931-2, 2164); + <span class="scac">VII</span> (Incl. Beowulf, 1230, 1404, 1553-6); + <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XLIII</span>, 303-4; <span + class="scac">XLIV</span>, 98 <i>etc.</i>, 245 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p>1920 <span class="sc">Bryan W. F.</span> Beowulf Notes (303-6, 532-4, + 867-71), <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XIX</span>, 84-5.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p class="cenhead"><a name="Bib8">§ 8</a>. QUESTIONS OF LITERARY HISTORY, DATE AND AUTHORSHIP: +BEOWULF IN THE LIGHT OF HISTORY, ARCHÆOLOGY, HEROIC +LEGEND, MYTHOLOGY AND FOLKLORE</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>See also preceding section.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p>No attempt is made here to deal with Old English heroic legend in + general: nor to enumerate the references to <i>Beowulf</i> in histories + of literature. Probably the earliest allusion to our poem by a great + writer is in Scott's <i>Essay on Romance</i> (1824):</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>"The Saxons had, no doubt, Romances, ... and Mr Turner ... has given + us the abridgement of one entitled Caedmon, in which the hero, whose + adventures are told much after the manner of the ancient Norse Sagas, + encounters, defeats and finally slays an evil being called + Grendel...."</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1816 <span class="sc">Outzen, N.</span> Das ags. Gedicht Beowulf, + <i>Kieler Blätter</i>, <span class="scac">III</span>, 307-27. (See above, + p. 4, note.) <!-- Page 398 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page398"></a>{398}</span></p> + + <p>1816 (Review of Thorkelin in) <i>Monthly Review</i>, <span + class="scac">LXXXI</span>, 516-23. (Beowulf identified with Beaw + Sceldwaing of the West Saxon genealogy; see above, p. 292.)</p> + + <p>1817 <span class="sc">Grundtvig, N. F. S.</span> <i>Danne-Virke</i>, + <span class="scac">II</span>, 207-89. (Identifies Chochilaicus; see + above, p. 4, note.)</p> + + <p>1826 <span class="sc">Grimm, W.</span> Einleitung über die Elfen, + <i>Kleinere Schriften</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 405, esp. p. 467 + (extract relating to Grendel's hatred of song). From ‡<i>Irische + Elfenmärchen</i>.</p> + + <p>1829 <span class="sc">Grimm, W.</span> Die deutsche Heldensage. + Göttingen. (Pp. 13-17. Extracts from Beowulf, with translation, relating + to Weland, Sigemund, Hama and Eormenric.)</p> + + <p>1836 <span class="sc">Kemble, J. M.</span> Über die Stammtafel der + Westsachsen. München. Review: J. Grimm, <i>Göttingische gelehrte + Anziegen</i>, 1836, 649-57, = <i>Kleinere Schriften</i>, <span + class="scac">V</span>, 240.</p> + + <p>1836 <span class="sc">Mone, F. J.</span> Zur Kritik des Gedichts von + Beowulf (in Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der teutschen Heldensage). + Quedlinburg u. Leipzig. (Pp. 129-36.)</p> + + <p>1839 <span class="sc">Leo, H.</span> Bëówulf ... nach seinem inhalte, + und nach seinen historischen und mythologischen beziehungen betrachtet. + Halle.</p> + + <p>1841 <span class="sc">Disraeli, I.</span> Amenities of Literature. + London. (Beowulf; the Hero-Life. Vol. <span class="scac">I</span>, pp. + 80-92.)</p> + + <p>1841 <span class="sc">Grundtvig, N. F. S.</span> Bjovulfs Drape, + <i>Brage og Idun</i>, <span class="scac">IV</span>, 481-538. (Discusses + the story, with criticism of previous scholars, and especially of + Kemble.)</p> + + <p>1843-9 <span class="sc">Grimm, W.</span> Einleitung zur Vorlesung über + Gudrun [with an abstract of Beowulf]; see <i>Kleinere Schriften</i>, + <span class="scac">IV</span>, 557-60.</p> + + <p>1844 <span class="sc">Müllenhoff, K.</span> Die deutschen Völker an + Nord- und Ostsee in ältester Zeit, <i>Nordalbingische Studien</i>, <span + class="scac">I</span>, 111 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p>1845 A brief discussion of Beowulf in <i>Edinburgh Review</i>, <span + class="scac">LXXXII</span>, 309-11.</p> + + <p>1845 <span class="sc">Haupt, M.</span> Zum Beowulf, <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> + <span class="scac">V</span>, 10. (Drawing attention to the reference to + Hygelac in the <i>liber de monstris</i>; see above, p. 4.)</p> + + <p>1848 <span class="sc">Müllenhoff, K.</span> Die austrasische + Dietrichssage, <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">VI</span>, 435 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p>1849 <span class="sc">Müllenhoff, K.</span> Sceáf u. seine Nachkommen, + <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">VII</span>, 410-19; Der Mythus von + Beóvulf, <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">VII</span>, 419-41.</p> + + <p>1849 <span class="sc">Grimm, J.</span> Ueber das Verbrennen der + Leichen, <i>Abhandl. d. Berl. Akad.</i>, 1849, 191 <i>etc.</i> = + <i>Kleinere Schriften</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 211-313 (esp. + 261-4).</p> + + <p>1849 <span class="sc">Bachlechner, J.</span> Die Merovinge im Beowulf, + <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">VII</span>, 524-6.</p> + + <p>1851 <span class="sc">Zappert, G.</span> Virgil's Fortleben im + Mittelalter, <i>Denkschriften der k. Akad. Wien, Phil.-Hist. Classe</i>, + Bd. <span class="scac">II</span>, Abth. 2, pp. 17-70. (Gives numerous + parallels between Virgil and "Beowulf," somewhat indiscriminately.)</p> + + <p>1852 <span class="sc">Brynjulfsson, G.</span> Oldengelsk og + Oldnordisk, <i>Antikuarisk Tidsskrift</i>, Kjøbenhavn, 1852-4, pp. + 81-143. (An important paper which has been unduly overlooked. + Brynjulfsson notes the parallel between Beowulf and Bjarki (see above, p. + 61) and in other respects anticipates later scholars, e.g., in noting the + close relationship between Angles and Danes (p. 143) and less fortunately + (pp. 129-31) in identifying the Geatas with the Jutes.)</p> + + <p>1856 <span class="sc">Bachlechner, J.</span> Eomaer und Heming + (Hamlac), <i>Germania</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 297-303 and + 455-61.</p> + + <p>1856 <span class="sc">Bouterwek, K. W.</span> Das Beowulflied: Eine + Vorlesung; <i>Germania</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 385-418.</p> + + <p>1857 <span class="sc">Uhland, L.</span> Sigemund und Sigeferd, + <i>Germania</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 344-63 = <i>Schriften</i>, + <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 479 <i>etc.</i> (Incl. Finnsburg.)</p> + +<p><!-- Page 399 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page399"></a>{399}</span></p> + + <p>1858 <span class="sc">Weinhold, K.</span> Die Riesen des germanischen + Mythus, <i>Sitzungberichte der K. Akad., Wien, Phil-Hist. Classe</i>, + <span class="scac">XXVI</span>, 225-306. (Grendel and his mother, p. + 255.)</p> + + <p>1859 <span class="sc">Rieger, M.</span> Ingaevonen, Istaevonen, + Herminonen, <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XI</span>, 177-205.</p> + + <p>1859 <span class="sc">Müllenhoff, K.</span> Zur Kritik des + angelsächsischen Volksepos, 2, Widsith, <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XI</span>, 275-94.</p> + + <p>1860 <span class="sc">Müllenhoff, K.</span> Zeugnisse u. Excurse zur + deutschen Heldensage, <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XII</span>, + 253-386. (<i>This portion</i> of vol. <span class="scac">XII</span> was + published in 1860.)</p> + + <p>1861 <span class="sc">Haigh, D. H.</span> The Anglo-Saxon Sagas. + London. (An uncritical attempt to identify the proper names in Beowulf + and Finnsburg with sites in England.)</p> + + <p>1862 <span class="sc">Grein, C. W. M.</span> Die historischen + Verhältnisse des Beowulfliedes, <i>Eberts Jahrbuch für roman. u. engl. + Litt.</i> <span class="scac">IV</span>, 260-85. (Incl. Finnsburg.)</p> + + <p>1864 ‡<span class="sc">Schultze, M.</span> Ueber das + Beowulfslied. <i>Programm der städtischen Realschule zu Elbing.</i> (Not + seen, but contents, including the mythical interpretations current at the + period, noted in <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">XXXVII</span>, + 232.)</p> + + <p>1864 <span class="sc">Heyne, M.</span> Ueber die Lage und Construction + der Halle Heorot. Paderborn.</p> + + <p>1868 <span class="sc">Köhler, A.</span> Germanische Alterthümer im + Beóvulf, <i>Germania</i>, <span class="scac">XIII</span>, 129-58.</p> + + <p>1869 <span class="sc">Müllenhoff, K.</span> Die innere Geschichte des + Beovulfs, <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XIV</span>, 193-244. + (Reprinted in <i>Beovulf</i>, 1889. See above, p. 113 <i>etc.</i>)</p> + + <p>1870 <span class="sc">Köhler, A.</span> Die Einleitung des + Beovulfliedes. Die beiden Episoden von Heremod, <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">II</span>, 305-21.</p> + + <p>1875 <span class="sc">Schrøder, L.</span> Om Bjovulfs Drapen. + København. (See above, p. 30.)</p> + + <p>1876 <span class="sc">Botkine, L.</span> Beowulf. Analyse historique + et géographique. Havre. (Material subsequently incorporated in + translation, q.v. <a href="#Bib6">§ 6</a>.) Review: Körner, <i>Engl. + Stud.</i> <span class="scac">I</span>, 495-6.</p> + + <p>1877 <span class="sc">Skeat, W. W.</span> The name "Beowulf," + <i>Academy</i>, <span class="scac">XI</span> (Jan.-June), p. 163. + (Suggests Beowulf = "woodpecker"; see above, pp. 365-6, <i>note</i>.)</p> + + <p>1877 <span class="sc">ten Brink, B.</span> Geschichte der englischen + Litteratur. (Beowulf, Finnsburg, pp. 29-40.)</p> + + <p>1877 <span class="sc">Dederich, H.</span> Historische u. geographische + Studien zum ags. Beóvulfliede. Köln. (Incl. Finnsburg.) Reviews: Körner, + <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">I</span>, 481-95; Müllenhoff, + <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">III</span>, 172-82; ‡Suchier, + <i>Jenaer Literatur-Zeitung</i>, <span class="scac">XLVII</span>, 732, + 1876.</p> + + <p>1877 <span class="sc">Hornburg, J.</span> Die Composition des Beowulf. + <i>Programm des K. Lyceums in Metz.</i> Full summary by F. Hummel in + <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">LXII</span>, 231-3. See also under + 1884.</p> + + <p>1877 <span class="sc">Schultze, M.</span> Alt-heidnisches in der + angelsächsischen Poesie, speciell im Beowulfsliede. Berlin.</p> + + <p>1877 <span class="sc">Suchier, H.</span> Ueber die Sage von Offa u. + Þryðo, <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">IV</span>, 500-21.</p> + + <p>1878 <span class="sc">Müller, N.</span> Die Mythen im Beówulf, in + ihrem Verhältniss zur germanischen Mythologie betrachtet. Dissertation, + Heidelberg. Leipzig.</p> + + <p>1879 <span class="sc">Laistner, L.</span> Nebelsagen. Stuttgart. (See + above, p. 46, note.)</p> + + <p>1879 <span class="sc">Sweet, H.</span> Old English etymologies: <span + class="scac">I</span>, <i>Beóhata</i>, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">II</span>, 312-14. (See above, p. 365.)</p> + + <p>1880 <span class="sc">Gering, H.</span> Der Beówulf u. die isländische + Grettissaga, <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">III</span>, 74-87. + (Important. Gering announced Vigfússon's discovery to a wider circle of + readers, with translation of the Sandhaugar episode, and useful comment. + The discovery was further announced to American readers by <span + class="sc">Garnett</span> in the <i>American Journal of Philology</i>, + <span class="scac">I</span>, 492 (1880), though its importance was there + rather understated. See above, p. 54.)</p> + +<p><!-- Page 400 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page400"></a>{400}</span></p> + + <p>1881 <span class="sc">Smith, C. Sprague.</span> Beówulf Gretti, <i>New + Englander</i>, <span class="scac">XL</span> (N. S. <span + class="scac">IV</span>), 49-67. (Translation of corresponding passages in + Grettis saga and Beowulf.)</p> + + <p>1882 <span class="sc">March, F. A.</span> The World of Beowulf, + <i>Proceedings of Amer. Phil. Assoc.</i> pp. xxi-xxiii.</p> + + <p>1883 <span class="sc">Rönning, F.</span> Beovulfs-kvadet; en + literær-historisk undersøgelse. København. Review: Heinzel, + <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">X</span>, 233-9. (Rönning criticises + Müllenhoff's theories of separate lays. His book and Heinzel's review are + both important.)</p> + + <p>1883 <span class="sc">Merbot, R.</span> Aesthetische Studien zur Ags. + Poesie. Breslau. Reviews: Koch, <i>Anglia</i>, <span + class="scac">VI</span>, <i>Anzeiger</i>, 100-3; Kluge, <i>Engl. + Stud.</i>, <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 480-2.</p> + + <p>1884 <span class="sc">Earle, J.</span> Anglo-Saxon Literature (The + dawn of European Literature). London. (Pp. 120-39 deal with Beowulf. + Earle holds Beowulf to be "a genuine growth of that junction in time ... + when the heathen tales still kept their traditional interest, and yet the + spirit of Christianity had taken full possession of the Saxon mind.")</p> + + <p>1884 <span class="sc">Fahlbeck, P.</span> Beowulfs-kvädet såsom källa + för nordisk fornhistoria, <i>Antikvar. tidskr. för Sverige</i>, <span + class="scac">VIII</span>, 1-87. Review: <i>Academy</i>, <span + class="scac">XXIX</span>, 1886, p. 12. (See above, pp. 8, 333.)</p> + + <p>1884 <span class="sc">Harrison, J. A.</span> Old Teutonic life in + Beowulf, <i>Overland Monthly</i>, Sec. Ser. vol. <span + class="scac">IV</span>, 14-24; 152-61.</p> + + <p>1884 <span class="sc">Hertz, W.</span> Beowulf, das älteste + germanische Epos, <i>Nord und Süd</i>, <span class="scac">XXIX</span>, + 229-53.</p> + + <p>1884 <span class="sc">Hornburg, J.</span> Die komposition des Beovulf, + <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">LXXII</span>, 333-404. (Rejects + Müllenhoff's "Liedertheorie.")</p> + + <p>1884 <span class="sc">Krüger, Th.</span> Zum Beowulfliede. Bromberg. + Reviewed favourably by Kölbing, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">IX</span>, 150; severely by Kluge, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, + 1884, 428-9. (A useful summary, which had the misfortune to be superseded + next year by the publication of Wülker's <i>Grundriss</i>.)</p> + + <p>1884 <span class="sc">Krüger, Th.</span> Über Ursprung u. Entwickelung + des Beowulfliedes, <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">LXXI</span>, + 129-52.</p> + + <p>1884-5 <span class="sc">Earle, J.</span> Beowulf, in <i>The Times</i>, + London (Aug. 25, 1884, p. 6 (not signed); Oct. 29, 1885, p. 3; Sept. 30, + 1885, p. 3. "The Beowulf itself is a tale of old folk-lore which, in + spite of repeated editing, has never quite lost the old crust of its + outline.... This discovery, if established, must have the effect of quite + excluding the application of the Wolffian hypothesis to our poem.")</p> + + <p>1885 <span class="sc">Wülker, R.</span> Grundriss zur geschichte der + angelsächsischen Litteratur. Leipzig. 6. Die angelsächsische + Heldendichtung, Beowulf, Finnsburg, 244-315. (An important and useful + summary.)</p> + + <p>1885 <span class="sc">Lehmann, H.</span> Brünne und Helm im + angelsächsischen Beowulfliede. Dissertation, Göttingen. Leipzig. Reviews: + Wülker, <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">VIII</span>, <i>Anzeiger</i>, + 167-70; Schulz, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">IX</span>, 471.</p> + + <p>1886 <span class="sc">Skeat, W. W.</span> On the signification of the + monster Grendel ... with a discussion of ll. 2076-2100. Read before the + Cambridge Philological Society. <i>Journal of Philology</i>, <span + class="scac">XV</span>, 120-31. (Not <i>American Jour. of Phil.</i>, as + frequently quoted.)</p> + + <p>1886 <span class="sc">Sarrazin, G.</span> Die Beowulfsage in Dänemark, + <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">IX</span>, 195-9; Beowa und Böthvar, + <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">IX</span>, 200-4; Beowulf und Kynewulf, + <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">IX</span>, 515-50; Der Schauplatz des + ersten Beowulfliedes und die Heimat des Dichters, <i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XI</span>, 159-83 (see above, p. 101).</p> + + <p>1886 <span class="sc">Sievers, E.</span> Die Heimat des + Beowulfdichters, <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XI</span>, 354-62.</p> + + <p>1886 <span class="sc">Sarrazin, G.</span> Altnordisches im + Beowulfliede, <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XI</span>, 528-41. (See + above, p. 102.)</p> + + <p>1886 <span class="sc">Sievers, E.</span> Altnordisches im Beowulf? + <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XII</span>, 168-200.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 401 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page401"></a>{401}</span></p> + + <p>1886 <span class="sc">Schilling, H.</span> Notes on the Finnsaga, + <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">I</span>, 89-92; 116-17.</p> + + <p>1886 <span class="sc">Lehmann, H.</span> Über die Waffen im + angelsächsischen Beowulfliede, <i>Germania</i>, <span + class="scac">XXXI</span>, 486-97.</p> + + <p>1887 <span class="sc">Schilling, H.</span> The Finnsburg-fragment and + the Finn-episode, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">II</span>, 146-50.</p> + + <p>1887 <span class="sc">Morley, H.</span> Beowulf and the Fight at + Finnsburg, in <i>English Writers</i>, vol. <span class="scac">I</span>, + 276-354. London.</p> + + <p>1887 <span class="sc">Bugge, S.</span> Studien über das Beowulfepos, + <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XII</span>, 1-112, 360-75. Important. + (Das Finnsburgfragment, pp. 20-8.)</p> + + <p>1887 ‡<span class="sc">Schneider, F.</span> Der Kampf mit + Grendels Mutter. <i>Program des Friedrichs Real-Gymnasiums.</i> + Berlin.</p> + + <p>1888 <span class="sc">ten Brink, B.</span> Beowulf. Untersuchungen. + (<i>Quellen u. Forschungen</i>, <span class="scac">LXII</span>.) + (Important. See above, p. 113.) Strassburg. Reviews: Wülker, + <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XI</span>, 319-21 and <i>Lit. Cbl.</i> + 1889, 251; Möller, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XIII</span>, + 247-315 (weighty, containing some good remarks on the Jutes-Geatas); + Koeppel, <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XXIII</span>, 113-22; + Heinzel, <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XV</span>, 153-82 (weighty); + Liebermann, <i>Deut. Zeitschr. f. Geschichtswissenschaft</i>, <span + class="scac">II</span>, 1889, 197-9; Kraus, <i>D.L.Z.</i> <span + class="scac">XII</span>, 1891, 1605-7, 1846: reply by ten Brink + ("Beowulfkritik und <i>ABAB</i>"), <i>D.L.Z.</i> 1892, 109-12.</p> + + <p>1888 <span class="sc">Sarrazin, G.</span> Beowulf-Studien. Berlin. + Reviews: Koeppel, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XIII</span>, + 472-80; Sarrazin, Entgegnung, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XIV</span>, 421 <i>etc.</i>, reply by Koeppel, <span + class="scac">XIV</span>, 427; Sievers, <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XXI</span>, 366; Dieter, <i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">LXXXIII</span>, 352-3; Heinzel, <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="sc">xv</span>, 182-9; Wülker, <i>Lit. Cbl.</i> 1889, 315-16; + Wülker, <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XI</span>, 536-41. Holthausen, + <i>Literaturblatt</i>, 1890, 14-16; Liebermann, <i>Deut. Zeitschr. f. + Geschichtswissenschaft</i>, <span class="scac">VI</span>, 1891, 138; + Kraus, <i>D.L.Z.</i> <span class="scac">XII</span>, 1891, pp. 1822-3. + (All these reviews express dissent from Sarrazin's main conclusions, + though many of them show appreciation of details in his work. See above, + p. 101.)</p> + + <p>1888 <span class="sc">Kittredge, G. L.</span> Zu Beowulf, 107 + <i>etc.</i>, <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XIII</span>, 210 (Cain's + kin).</p> + + <p>1889 <span class="sc">Müllenhoff, K.</span> Beovulf (pp. + 110-65=<i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XIV</span>, 193-244). Berlin. + See above, pp. 46-7, 113-15. Reviews: Schirmer, <i>Anglia</i>, <span + class="scac">XII</span>, 465-7; Sarrazin, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XVI</span>, 71-85 (important); Wülker, <i>Lit. Cbl.</i> + 1890, 58-9; Heinzel, <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XVI</span>, + 264-75 (important); Koeppel, <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XXIII</span>, 110-13; Holthausen, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, + 1890, 370-3; Liebermann, <i>Deut. Zeitschr. f. + Geschichtswissenschaft</i>, <span class="sc">vi</span>, 1891, 135-7; + Kraus, <i>D.L.Z.</i> <span class="scac">XII</span>, 1891, pp. 1820-2; + Logeman, <i>Le Moyen Âge</i>, <span class="scac">III</span>, 266-7 + ("personne ne conteste plus ... que le poème se composait originairement + de plusieurs parties"). Müllenhoff's book, like that of ten Brink, is + based on assumptions generally held at the time, but now not so widely + accepted; yet it remains important.</p> + + <p>1889 <span class="sc">Laistner, L.</span> Das Rätsel der Sphinx. + Berlin. (See above, p. 67.)</p> + + <p>1889 <span class="sc">Lüning, O.</span> Die Natur ... in der + altgermanischen und mittelhochdeutschen Epik. Zürich. Reviews: Weinhold, + <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XXII</span>, 246-7; Golther, + <i>D.L.Z.</i> 1889, 710-2; Ballerstedt, <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XVI</span>, 71-4; Fränkel, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, 1890, + 439-44.</p> + + <p>1890 ‡<span class="sc">Deskau, H.</span> Zum studium des + Beowulf. Berichte des freien deutschen Hochstiftes, 1890. Frankfurt.</p> + + <p>1890 ‡<span class="sc">Klöpper, C.</span> Heorot-Hall in the + Anglo-Saxon poem of Beowulf. Festschrift für K. E. Krause. Rostock.</p> + + <p>1891 <span class="sc">Jellinek, M. H.</span> and <span + class="sc">Kraus, C.</span> Die Widersprüche im Beowulf, <i>Z.f.d.A</i>, + <span class="scac">XXXV</span>, 265-81.</p> + + <p>1891 <span class="sc">Bugge, S.</span> and <span class="sc">Olrik, + A.</span> Røveren ved Gråsten og Beowulf, <i>Dania</i>, <span + class="scac">I</span>, 233-45.</p> + + <p>1891 <span class="sc">Jellinek, M. H.</span> Zum Finnsburgfragment, + <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XV</span>, 428-31.</p> + + <p>1892 <span class="sc">Earle, J.</span> The Introduction to his + Translation (q.v.) gave a summary of the controversy, with "a + constructive essay."</p> + +<p><!-- Page 402 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page402"></a>{402}</span></p> + + <p>1892 <span class="sc">Brooke, Stopford A.</span> History of Early + English Literature (Beowulf, pp. 17-131). London. Reviews: McClumpha, + <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 27-9, 1892 (attacks in a + letter of unnecessary violence); Wülker, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i> <span + class="scac">IV</span>, 170-6, 225-33; Glöde, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XXII</span>, 264-70.</p> + + <p>1892 <span class="sc">Gummere, F. B.</span> Germanic Origins. A study + in primitive culture. New York.</p> + + <p>1892 <span class="sc">Ferguson, R.</span> The Anglo-Saxon name + Beowulf, <i>Athenæum</i>, June, 1892 p. 763. See above, p. 368.</p> + + <p>1892 <span class="sc">Haack, O.</span> Zeugnisse zur altenglischen + Heldensage. Kiel.</p> + + <p>1892 ‡<span class="sc">Kraus, K.</span> Hrodulf. (P. Moneta, + zum 40 jähr. Dienstjub.) Wien. (p. 4 <i>etc.</i>)</p> + + <p>1892 <span class="sc">Olrik, A.</span> Er Uffesagnet indvandret fra + England? <i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span class="scac">VIII</span> (N.F. <span + class="scac">IV</span>), 368-75.</p> + + <p>1892 <span class="sc">Sarrazin, G.</span> Die Abfassungszeit des + Beowulfliedes, <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XIV</span>, 399-415.</p> + + <p>1892 <span class="sc">Sievers, E.</span> Sceaf in den nordischen + Genealogien, <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XVI</span>, 361-3.</p> + + <p>1892 <span class="sc">Kögel, R.</span> Beowulf, <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXVII</span>, 268-76. (Etymology of the name.) Discussed by + Sievers, <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XVIII</span>, 413. See above, + p. 367, footnote.</p> + + <p>1893 <span class="sc">Ward, H. L. D.</span> Catalogue of Romances in + the British Museum; Beowulf: vol. <span class="scac">II</span>, pp. 1-15, + 741-3.</p> + + <p>1893 <span class="sc">ten Brink, B.</span> Altenglische Literatur, + <i>Pauls Grdr.</i>(1), <span class="scac">II</span>, <span + class="scac">I</span>, 510-50. (Finnsburg, 545-50.)</p> + + <p>1894 <span class="sc">McNary, S. J.</span> Beowulf and Arthur as + English Ideals, <i>Poet-Lore</i>, <span class="scac">VI</span>, + 529-36.</p> + + <p>1894 ‡<span class="sc">Detter, F.</span> Über die Heaðobarden + im Beowulf, <i>Verhandl. d. Wiener Philologenversammlung</i>, Mai, 1893. + Leipzig, p. 404 <i>etc.</i> (Argues that the story is not historical, but + mythical—<i>Ragnarok</i>.)</p> + + <p>1895 <span class="sc">Sievers, E.</span> Beowulf und Saxo, <i>Berichte + der kgl. sächs. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften</i>, <span + class="scac">XLVII</span>, 175-93. (Important, see above, pp. 90-7.)</p> + + <p>1895 <span class="sc">Binz, G.</span> Zeugnisse zur germanischen sage + in England, <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XX</span>, 141-223. (A most + useful collection, though the significance of many of the names collected + is open to dispute.)</p> + + <p>1895 <span class="sc">Kluge, F.</span> Zeugnisse zur germanischen sage + in England, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XXI</span>, 446-8.</p> + + <p>1895-6 <span class="sc">Kluge, F.</span> Der Beowulf u. die Hrolfs + Saga Kraka, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XXII</span>, 144-5.</p> + + <p>1896 Sarrazin, G. Neue Beowulf-studien, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XXIII</span>, 221-67.</p> + + <p>1897 Ker, W. P. Epic and Romance. London. (Beowulf, pp. 182-202. + Important. See above, p. 116.) Reviews: Fischer, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, + <span class="scac">X</span>, 133-5; Brandl, <i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">C</span>, 198-200. New edit. 1908.</p> + + <p>1897 <span class="sc">Blackburn, F. A.</span> The Christian coloring + in the Beowulf, <i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span + class="scac">XII</span>, 205-25. (See above, p. 125.)</p> + + <p>1897 <span class="sc">Sarrazin, G.</span> Die Hirschhalle, + <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XIX</span>, 368-92; Der Balder-kultus + in Lethra, <i>ibid.</i> 392-7; Rolf Krake und sein Vetter im + Beowulfliede, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XXIV</span>, 144-5. + (Important. See above, p. 31.)</p> + + <p>1897 <span class="sc">Henning, R.</span> Sceaf und die westsächsische + Stammtafel, <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XLI</span>, 156-69.</p> + + <p>1898 <span class="sc">Arnold, T.</span> Notes on Beowulf. London. + Reviews: Hulme, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XV</span>, 22-6, 1900; + Sarrazin, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XXVIII</span>, 410-18; + Garnett, <i>Amer. Jour. of Phil.</i> <span class="scac">XX</span>, + 443.</p> + + <p>1898 <span class="sc">Niedner, F.</span> Die Dioskuren im Beowulf, + <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XLII</span>, 229-58.</p> + + <p>1899 <span class="sc">Cook, A. S.</span> An Irish Parallel to the + Beowulf Story, <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CIII</span>, 154-6.</p> + + <p>1899 <span class="sc">Axon, W. E. A.</span> A reference to the evil + eye in Beowulf, <i>Trans. of the Royal Soc. of Literature</i>, London. + (Very slight.)</p> + +<p><!-- Page 403 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page403"></a>{403}</span></p> + + <p>1899 ‡<span class="sc">Furst, Clyde.</span> "Beowulf" in "A + Group of Old Authors." Philadelphia. (Popular.) Review: Child, + <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XV</span>, 31-2.</p> + + <p>1900 <span class="sc">Förster, Max.</span> Bêowulf-Materialien, zum + Gebrauch bei Vorlesungen. Braunschweig. Reviews: Holthausen, <i>Anglia, + Beiblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XI</span>, 289; Behagel, + <i>Literaturblatt</i>, 1902, 67 (very brief).</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b2n"> + + <p>1908. 2 Aufl.</p> + + <p>1912. 3 Aufl. Review: Wild, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXIV</span>, 166-7.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1901 <span class="sc">Powell, F. York.</span> Beowulf and + Watanabe-No-Tsema, <i>Furnivall Miscellany</i>, pp. 395-6. Oxford. (A + parallel from Japanese legend.)</p> + + <p>1901 <span class="sc">Lehmann, E.</span> Fandens Oldemor, + <i>Dania</i>, <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 179-94. Repeated ("Teuffels + Grossmutter"), <i>Archiv f. Religionswiss.</i> <span + class="scac">VIII</span>, 411-30. (See above, p. 49, note, and p. + 381.)</p> + + <p>1901 ‡<span class="sc">Otto, E.</span> Typische Motive in dem + weltlichen Epos der Angelsachsen. Berlin. Reviews: Binz, <i>Engl. + Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XXXII</span>, 401-5; Spies, <i>Archiv</i>, + <span class="scac">CXV</span>, 222.</p> + + <p>1901 <span class="sc">Ohlenbeck, C. C.</span> Het Béowulf-epos als + geschiedbron, <i>Tijdschrift voor nederlandsche taal- en letterkunde</i>, + <span class="scac">XX</span> (N. R. <span class="scac">XII</span>), + 169-96.</p> + + <p>1902 <i>Gerould, G. H.</i> Offa and Labhraidh Maen, <i>M.L.N.</i> + <span class="scac">XVII</span>, 201-3. (An Irish parallel of the story of + the dumb young prince.)</p> + + <p>1902 <span class="sc">Gough, A. B.</span> The Constance-Saga. Berlin. + (The "Thrytho saga," pp. 53-83.) Reviews: Eckhardt, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> + <span class="scac">XXXII</span>, 110-3; Weyrauch, <i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">CXI</span>, 453.</p> + + <p>1902 <span class="sc">Boer, R. C.</span> Die Béowulfsage. <span + class="scac">I.</span> Mythische reconstructionen; <span + class="scac">II.</span> Historische untersuchung der überlieferung; + <i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span class="scac">XIX</span> (N. F. <span + class="scac">XV</span>), 19-88.</p> + + <p>1902 <span class="sc">Brandl, A.</span> Ueber den gegenwärtigen Stand + der Beowulf-Forschung, <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CVIII</span>, + 152-5.</p> + + <p>1903 <span class="sc">Anderson, L. F.</span> The Anglo-Saxon Scop. + (<i>Univ. of Toronto Studies, Phil. Ser. 1.</i>) Review: Heusler, + <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XXXI</span>, 113-5.</p> + + <p>1903 <span class="sc">Olrik, A.</span> Danmarks Heltedigtning: <span + class="scac">I</span>, Rolf Krake og den ældre Skjoldungrække. Kobenhavn. + (Most important.) Reviews: Heusler, <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XXX</span>, 26-36; Golther, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXVIII</span>, 1907, pp. 8-9; Ranisch, <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XXI</span>, 276-80. Revised translation 1919 (q.v.).</p> + + <p>1903 ‡<span class="sc">Boer, R. C.</span> Eene episode uit den + Beowulf, <i>Handelingen van het 3 nederl. phil. congres.</i>, p. 84 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p>1903 A Summary of the <i>Lives of the Offas</i>, with reproductions of + a number of the drawings in <i>MS Cotton Nero D. I</i>, in <i>The + Ancestor</i>, <span class="scac">V</span>, 99-137.</p> + + <p>1903 <span class="sc">Hart, J. M.</span> Allotria [on the forms + <i>Bēanstān</i>, l. 524 and <i>Þrȳðo</i>, l. 1931], + <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XVIII</span>, 117.</p> + + <p>1903 <span class="sc">Stjerna, K.</span> Hjälmar och svärd i Beovulf, + <i>Studier tillägnade O. Montelius</i>, 99-120. Stockholm. See above, pp. + 346 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p>1903-4 <span class="sc">Boer, R. C.</span> Finnsage und + Nibelungen-sage, <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XLVII</span>, + 125-60.</p> + + <p>1904 <span class="sc">Rickert, E.</span> The O.E. Offa-saga, <i>Mod. + Phil.</i> <span class="scac">II</span>, 29-76 and 321-76. (Important. See + above, pp. 34 <i>etc.</i>)</p> + + <p>1904 <span class="sc">Hagen, S. N.</span> Classical names and stories + in Beowulf, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XIX</span>, 65-74 and + 156-65. (Very fantastic).</p> + + <p>1904 <span class="sc">Stjerna, K.</span> Vendel och Vendelkråka, + <i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span class="scac">XXI</span> (N. F. <span + class="scac">XVII</span>), 71-80. (Most important: see above, pp. + 343-5.)</p> + + <p>1904 ‡<span class="sc">Vetter, F.</span> Beowulf und das + altdeutsche Heldenzeitalter in England, <i>Deutschland</i>, <span + class="scac">III</span>, 558-71.</p> + + <p>1905 <span class="sc">Moorman, F. W.</span> The interpretation of + nature in English poetry from Beowulf to Shakespeare. Strassburg. + <i>Quellen u. Forschungen</i>, 95.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 404 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page404"></a>{404}</span></p> + + <p>1905 <span class="sc">Routh, J. E.</span> Two studies on the Ballad + Theory of the Beowulf: <span class="scac">I</span>. The Origin of the + Grendel legend; <span class="scac">II</span>. Irrelevant Episodes and + Parentheses as features of Anglo-Saxon Poetic Style. Baltimore. Reviews: + Eckhardt, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XXXVII</span>, 404-5; + Heusler, <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XXXI</span>, 115-16; + Schücking, <i>D.L.Z.</i> 1905, pp. 1908-10.</p> + + <p>1905 <span class="sc">Heusler, A.</span> Lied und Epos in germanischer + Sagendichtung. Dortmund. (See above, p. 116.) Reviews: Kauffmann, + <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XXXVIII</span>, 546-8; Seemüller, + <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XXXIV</span>, 129-35; Meyer, + <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CXV</span>, 403-4; Helm, + <i>Literaturblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XXVIII</span>, 237-8.</p> + + <p>1905 <span class="sc">Schücking, L. L.</span> Beowulfs Rückkehr. + (<i>Morsbachs Studien</i>, <span class="scac">XXI</span>.) Halle. + (Important: see above, pp. 118-20.) Review: Brandl, <i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">CXV</span>, 421-3 (dissenting).</p> + + <p>1905 <span class="sc">Schück, H.</span> Studier i Ynglingatal, <span + class="scac">I-III</span>. Uppsala.</p> + + <p>1905 <span class="sc">Hanscom, E. D.</span> The Feeling for Nature in + Old English Poetry, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">V</span>, + 439-63.</p> + + <p>1905 <span class="sc">Sarrazin, G.</span> Neue Beowulf Studien, + <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XXXV</span>, 19-27.</p> + + <p>1905 <span class="sc">Stjerna, K.</span> Skölds hädanfärd, <i>Studier + tillägnade H. Schück</i>, 110-34. Stockholm.</p> + + <p>1905 ‡<span class="sc">Stjerna, K.</span> Svear och Götar under + folkvandringstiden, <i>Svenska Förnminnesforeningens Tidskr.</i> <span + class="scac">XII</span>, 339-60. (Transl. by Clark Hall in <i>Essays</i>. + See under 1912.)</p> + + <p>1905-6 <span class="sc">Rieger, M.</span> Zum Kampf in Finnsburg, + <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XLVIII</span>, 9-12.</p> + + <p>1905-6 <span class="sc">Heusler, A.</span> Zur Skiöldungendichtung, + <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XLVIII</span>, 57-87.</p> + + <p>1905-6 <span class="sc">Neckel, J.</span> Studien über Fróði, + <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XLVIII</span>, 163-86.</p> + + <p>1905-7 <span class="sc">Stjerna, K.</span> Arkeologiska anteckningar + till Beovulf, <i>Kungl. vitterhets akademiens månadsblad</i> for 1903-5 + (1907), pp. 436-51.</p> + + <p>1906 <span class="sc">Emerson, O. F.</span> Legends of Cain, + especially in Old and Middle English (see particularly § <span + class="scac">VI</span>, "Cain's Descendants"), <i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. + Amer.</i> <span class="scac">XXI</span>, 831-929. (Important.)</p> + + <p>1906 <span class="sc">Skemp, A. R.</span> Transformation of scriptural + story, motive, and conception in Anglo-Saxon poetry, <i>Mod. Phil.</i> + <span class="scac">IV</span>, 423-70.</p> + + <p>1906 <span class="sc">Duff, J. W.</span> Homer and Beowulf: a literary + parallel, <i>Saga-Book of the Viking Club</i>. London.</p> + + <p>1906 <span class="sc">Morsbach, L.</span> Zur datierung des + Beowulf-epos, <i>Nachrichten der kgl. Ges. d. Wiss. zu Göttingen, + Phil.-Hist. Klasse</i>, pp. 252-77. (Important. See above, pp. + 107-12.)</p> + + <p>1906 <span class="sc">Pfändler, W.</span> Die Vergnügungen der + Angelsachsen, <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XXIX</span>, 417-526.</p> + + <p>1906 <span class="sc">Garlanda, F.</span> Béowulf. Origini, + bibliografia, metrica ... significato storico, etico, sociologico. Roma. + (Slight.)</p> + + <p>1906 <span class="sc">Stjerna, K.</span> Drakskatten i Beovulf, + <i>Fornvännen</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 119-44.</p> + + <p>1907 <span class="sc">Chadwick, H. M.</span> Origin of the English + Nation. Cambridge. (Important.) Reviews: Andrews, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span + class="scac">XXIII</span>, 261-2; Chambers, <i>M.L.R.</i> <span + class="scac">IV</span>, 262-6; Schütte, <i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span + class="scac">XXV</span> (N. F. <span class="scac">XXI</span>), 310-32 (an + elaborate discussion of early Germanic ethnology and geography); Huchon, + <i>Revue Germanique</i>, <span class="scac">III</span>, 625-31.</p> + + <p>1907 <span class="sc">Chadwick, H. M.</span> "Early National Poetry," + in <i>Cambridge History of English Literature</i>, vol. <span + class="scac">I</span>, 19-32, 421-3. Important. See above, pp. 122-6.</p> + + <p>1907 <span class="sc"> Hart, Walter Morris.</span> Ballad and Epic. + Boston: Harvard <i>Studies and Notes in Philology and Literature</i>. + (Important: see above, p. 116.) Review: <i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">CXIX</span>, 468.</p> + + <p>1907 <span class="sc">Olrik, A.</span> Nordisk Aandsliv i Vikingetid + og tidlig Middelalder. København og Kristiania. (Translated into German + by W. Ranisch, 1908, as "Nordisches Geistesleben.")</p> + +<p><!-- Page 405 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page405"></a>{405}</span></p> + + <p>1907 <span class="sc">Schück, H.</span> Folknamnet Geatas i den + fornengelska dikten Beowulf. Uppsala. (Important. See above, pp. 8-10, + 333 <i>etc.</i>) Reviews: Mawer, <i>M.L.R.</i> <span + class="scac">IV</span>, 273; Freeburg, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XI</span>, 279-83.</p> + + <p>1907 <span class="sc">Cook, A. S.</span> Various notes, <i>M.L.N.</i> + <span class="scac">XXI</span>, 146-7. (Further classical parallels to + Beowulf, 1408 ff., in succession to a parallel from Seneca quoted in + <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XVII</span>, 209-10.)</p> + + <p>1907 <span class="sc">Sarrazin, G.</span> Zur Chronologie u. + Verfasserfrage Ags. Dichtungen, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXVIII</span>, 145 <i>etc.</i>, esp. 170-95 (Das + Beowulflied und die ältere Genesis).</p> + + <p>1907 <span class="sc">Brandl, A.</span> Entstehungsgeschichte des + Beowulfepos. A five-line summary of this lecture is given in the + <i>Sitzungsberichte d. k. preuss. Akad. Phil.-Hist. Classe</i>, p. + 615.</p> + + <p>1907 <span class="sc">Holthausen, F.</span> Zur altenglischen + literatur—Zur datierung des Beowulf, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XVIII</span>, 77.</p> + + <p>1907 ‡<span class="sc">Grüner, H.</span> Mathei Parisiensis + vitae duorum Offarum, in ihrer manuskript- und textgeschichte. + Dissertation, Munich. Kaiserslautern.</p> + + <p>1908 <span class="sc">Brandl, A.</span> Geschichte der alteng. + Literatur. (Offprint from <i>Pauls Grdr.</i>(2): Beowulf, pp. 988-1024; + Finnsburg, pp. 983-6; an exceedingly useful and discriminating + summary.)</p> + + <p>1908 <span class="sc">Schücking, L. L.</span> Das Angelsächsische + Totenklagelied, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XXXIX</span>, + 1-13.</p> + + <p>1908 <span class="sc">Weyhe, H.</span> König Ongentheow's Fall, + <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XXXIX</span>, 14-39.</p> + + <p>1908 <span class="sc">Neckel, G.</span> Beiträge zur Eddaforschung; + Anhang: Die altgermanische heldenklage (pp. 495-6: cf. p. 376). + Dortmund.</p> + + <p>1908 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> Zum Finnsburg Kampfe, + <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XXXIX</span>, 307-8.</p> + + <p>1908 <span class="sc">Björkman, E.</span> Über den Namen der Jüten, + <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XXXIX</span>, 356-61.</p> + + <p>1908 <span class="sc">Levander, L.</span> Sagotraditioner om + Sveakonungen Adils, <i>Antikvarisk Tidskrift för Sverige</i>, <span + class="scac">XVIII</span>, 3.</p> + + <p>1908 <span class="sc">Stjerna, K.</span> Fasta fornlämningar i + Beovulf, <i>Antikvarisk Tidskrift för Sverige</i>, <span + class="scac">XVIII</span>, 4.</p> + + <p>1908 <span class="sc">Grau, G.</span> Quellen u. Verwandtschaften der + älteren germanischen Darstellungen des jüngsten Gerichtes. Halle. (See + esp. pp. 145-56.) Review: Guntermann, <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XLI</span>, 401-415.</p> + + <p>1909 <span class="sc">Schück, H.</span> Studier i Beowulfsagan. + Uppsala. Review: Freeburg, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XI</span>, + 488-97 (a very useful summary).</p> + + <p>1909 <span class="sc">Lawrence, W. W.</span> Some disputed questions + in Beowulf-criticism, <i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span + class="scac">XXIV</span>, 220-73. (Very important.) Review: Brandl, + <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CXXIII</span>, 473.</p> + + <p>1909 <span class="sc">Ehrismann, G.</span> Religionsgeschichtliche + Beiträge zum germanischen Frühchristentum, <i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXV</span>, 209-39.</p> + + <p>1909 <span class="sc">Bugge, S.</span> Die Heimat der Altnordischen + Lieder von den Welsungen u. den Nibelungen, <span class="scac">II</span>, + <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XXXV</span>, 240-71.</p> + + <p>1909 <span class="sc">Deutschbein, M.</span> Die Sagenhistorischen u. + literarischen Grundlagen des Beowulfepos, <i>Germanisch-Romanische + Monatsschrift</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 103-19.</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Olrik, A.</span> Danmarks Heltedigtning: <span + class="scac">II</span>, Starkad den gamle og den yngre Skjoldungrække. + København. (Most important.) Reviews: Heusler, <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXV</span>, 169-83 (important); Ussing, <i>Danske + Studier</i>, 1910, 193-203; Boer, <i>Museum</i>, <span + class="scac">XIX</span>, 1912, 171-4.</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Panzer, F.</span> Studien zur germanischen + Sagengeschichte. <span class="scac">I.</span> Beowulf. München. (Most + important: see above, pp. 62-8; 365-81. Valuable criticisms and + modifications are supplied by the reviews, more particularly perhaps that + of von Sydow (<i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XXXV</span>, 123-31), + but also in the elaborate discussions of Heusler (<i>Engl. Stud.</i> + <span class="scac">XLII</span>, 289-98), Binz (<i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, + <span class="scac">XXIV</span>, 321-37), Brandl (<i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">CXXVI</span>, 231-5), Kahle <!-- Page 406 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page406"></a>{406}</span>(<i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XLIII</span>, 383-94) and the briefer ones of Lawrence + (<i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXVII</span>, 57-60) Sedgefield + <i>(M.L.R.</i> <span class="scac">VI</span>, 128-31) and Golther (<i>Neue + Jahrbücher f. das klassische Altertum</i>, <span class="scac">XXV</span>, + 610-13).)</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Bradley, H.</span> Beowulf, in <i>Encyclopædia + Britannica</i>, <span class="scac">III</span>, pp. 758-61. (Important. + See above, pp. 121, 127-8.)</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Schück, H.</span> Sveriges förkristna + konungalängd. Uppsala.</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Clark Hall, J. R.</span> A note on Beowulf, + 1142-5, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXV</span>, 113-14. + <i>(Hūnlāfing.</i>)</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Sarrazin, G.</span> Neue Beowulf-studien, + <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XLII</span>, 1-37.</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> Die ältere Genesis und der + Beowulf, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XLII</span>, 321-38.</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Heusler, A.</span> Zeitrechnung im Beowulf-epos, + <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CXXIV</span>, 9-14.</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Neckel, G.</span> Etwas von germanischer + Sagenforschung, <i>Germ.-Rom. Monatsschrift</i>, <span + class="scac">II</span>, 1-14.</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Smithson, G. A.</span> The Old English Christian + Epic ... in comparison with the Beowulf. Berkeley. <i>Univ. of California + Pub. in Mod. Phil.</i> (See particularly pp. 363-8, 376-90.)</p> + + <p>1911 <span class="sc">Clarke, M. G.</span> Sidelights on Teutonic + History. Cambridge. Reviews: Mawer, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span + class="scac">VII</span>, 126-7; Chambers, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XLVIII</span>, 166-8; Fehr, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXVI</span>, 19-20; Imelmann, <i>D.L.Z.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXIV</span>, 1913, 1062 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p>1911-19 <span class="sc">Heusler, A.</span> A series of articles in + Hoops' <i>Reallexikon</i>: Beowulf, Dichtung, Ermenrich, Gautensagen, + Heldensage, Hengest, Heremod, Offa, Skjǫldungar, Ynglingar, + <i>etc.</i> Strassburg. (Important.)</p> + + <p>1911 <span class="sc">Neckel, G.</span> Ragnacharius von Cambrai, + <i>Festschrift zur Jahrhundertfeier der Universität zu Breslau = Mitt. d. + Schlesischen Gesellschaft für Volkskunde</i>, <span + class="scac">XIII-XIV</span>, 121-54. (A historical parallel between the + treatment of Ragnachar by Chlodowech and that of Hrethric by + Hrothulf.)</p> + + <p>1911 <span class="sc">Schönfeld, M.</span> Worterbuch der + altgermanischen Personen- und Völkernamen. Heidelberg. See also Schütte, + Noter til Schönfelds Navnesamling, in <i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXIII</span>, 22-49.</p> + + <p>1911 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> Aeneis und Beowulf, + <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CXXVI</span>, 40-8, 339-59. (Important: + see above, p. 330.)</p> + + <p>1911 <span class="sc">Liebermann, F.</span> Grendel als Personenname, + <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CXXVI</span>, 180.</p> + + <p>1911-12 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> Die Christlichen Elemente + im Beowulf, <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XXXV</span>, 111-36, + 249-70, 453-82; <span class="scac">XXXVI</span>, 169-99. (Most important: + demonstrates the fundamentally Christian character of the poem.)</p> + + <p>1912 <span class="sc">Chadwick, H.</span> Munro. The Heroic Age. + Cambridge. (Important: see above, p. 122.) Reviews: Mawer, <i>M.L.R.</i> + <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 207-9; Chambers, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XLVIII</span>, 162-6.</p> + + <p>1912 <span class="sc">Stjerna, K.</span> Essays on questions connected + with the O.E. poem of Beowulf, transl. and ed. by John R. Clark Hall, + (Viking Club), Coventry. (Important: see above, pp. 346 <i>etc.</i>) + Reviews: Klaeber, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XIII</span>, + 167-73, weighty; Mawer, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">VIII</span>, + 242-3; <i>Athenæum</i>, 1913, <span class="scac">I</span>, 459-60; + Brandl, <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CXXXII</span>, 238-9; Schütte, + <i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span class="scac">XXXIII</span>, 64-96, elaborate; + Olrik, <i>Nord. Tidskr. f. Filol.</i> <span class="scac">IV</span>, 2. + 127; Mogk, <i>Historische Vierteljahrsschrift</i>, <span + class="scac">XVIII</span>, 196-7.</p> + + <p>1912 <span class="sc">Chambers, R. W.</span> Widsith: a study in Old + English heroic legend. Cambridge. Reviews: Mawer, <i>M.L.R.</i> <span + class="scac">VIII</span>, 118-21; Lawrence, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span + class="scac">XXVIII</span>, 53-5; Fehr, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXVI</span>, 289-95; Jordan, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XLV</span>, 300-2; Berendsohn, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXXV</span> (1914), 384-6.</p> + + <p>1912 <span class="sc">Boer, R. C.</span> Die Altenglische + Heldendichtung. <span class="scac">I</span>. Béowulf. Halle. (Important.) + Reviews: ‡Jantzen, <i>Z. f. französischen u. englischen + Unterricht</i>, <span class="scac">XIII</span>, 546-7; Berendsohn, + <i>Literaturblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XXXV</span>, 152-4; Dyboski, + <i>Allgemeines Literaturblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XXII</span>, 1913, + 497-9; Imelmann, <i>D.L.Z.</i> <span class="scac">XXXIV</span>, 1913, + 1062-6 (weighty criticisms); Barnouw, <i>Museum</i>, <span + class="scac">XXI</span>, 53-8.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 407 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page407"></a>{407}</span></p> + + <p>1912 <span class="sc">von der Leyen, F.</span> Die deutschen + Heldensagen (Beowulf, pp. 107-23, 345-7). München.</p> + + <p>1912 <span class="sc">Meyer, W.</span> Beiträge zur Geschichte der + Eroberung Englands. Dissertation, Halle. (Finn story.)</p> + + <p>1912 <span class="sc">Lawrence, W. W.</span> The haunted mere in + Beowulf. <i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span + class="scac">XXVII</span>, 208-45. (Important. See above, pp. 52-3.)</p> + + <p>1912 <span class="sc">Schütte, G.</span> The Geats of Beowulf, + <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XI</span>, 574-602. (See above, pp. + 8, 333 <i>etc.</i>)</p> + + <p>1912 <span class="sc">Stefanovič, S.</span> Ein beitrag zur + angelsächsischen Offa-sage, <i>Anglia</i>, <span + class="scac">XXXV</span>, 483-525.</p> + + <p>1912 <span class="sc">Much, R.</span> Grendel, <i>Wōrter u. + Sachen</i>, <span class="scac">IV</span>, 170-3. (Deriving + <i>Vendsyssel</i>, Vandal, and the <i>Wendle</i> of Beowulf from + <i>wandil</i>—"a bough, wand.")</p> + + <p>1912 <span class="sc">Chambers, R. W.</span> Six thirteenth century + drawings illustrating the story of Offa and of Thryth (Drida) from <i>MS + Cotton Nero D. I.</i> London, <i>privately printed</i>.</p> + + <p>1913 ‡<span class="sc">Fahlbeck, P.</span> Beowulfskvädet som + källa för nordisk fornhistoria. (Stockholm, <i>N. F. K. Vitterhets + Historie och Antikvitets Akademiens Handlingar</i>, 13, 3.) Review: + Klaeber, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XLVIII</span>, 435-7.</p> + + <p>1913 <span class="sc">Nerman, B.</span> Studier över Svärges hedna + litteratur. Uppsala.</p> + + <p>1913 <span class="sc">Nerman, B.</span> Vilka konungar ligga i Uppsala + högar? Uppsala.</p> + + <p>1913 <span class="sc">Lawrence, W. W.</span> The Breca episode in + Beowulf (Anniversary papers to G. L. Kittredge). Boston.</p> + + <p>1913 <span class="sc">Sarrazin, G.</span> Von Kädmon bis Kynewulf. + Berlin. Reviews: Dudley, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XV</span>, + 313-17; Berendsohn, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XXXV</span> + (1914), 386-8; Funke, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXXI</span>, 121-33.</p> + + <p>1913 <span class="sc">Thomas, P. G.</span> Beowulf and Daniel A, + <i>M.L.R.</i> <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 537-9. (Parallels between + the two poems.)</p> + + <p>1913 <span class="sc">Belden, H. M.</span> Onela the Scylfing and Ali + the Bold, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXVIII</span>, 149-53.</p> + + <p>1913 <span class="sc">Stedman, D.</span> Some points of resemblance + between Beowulf and the Grettla (or Grettis Saga). From the <i>Saga Book + of the Viking Club</i>, London. (It should have been held unnecessary to + prove the relationship yet once again.)</p> + + <p>1913 <span class="sc">von Sydow, C. W.</span> Irisches in Beowulf<a + name="NtA874" href="#Nt874"><sup>[874]</sup></a>. (<i>Verhandlungen der + 52 Versammlung deutscher Philologen in Marburg</i>, pp. 177-80.)</p> + + <p>1913 <span class="sc">Berendsohn, W. A.</span> Drei Schichten + dichterischer Gestaltung im Beowulfepos, <i>Münchener Museum</i>, <span + class="scac">II</span>, i, pp. 1-33.</p> + + <p>1913 <span class="sc">Deutschbein, M.</span> Beowulf der Gautenkönig, + <i>Festschrift für Lorenz Morsbach</i>, Halle, pp. 291-7, <i>Morsbachs + Studien</i>, <span class="scac">L</span>. (Very important. Expresses very + well, and with full working out of details, the doubts which some of us + had already felt as to the historic character of the reign of Beowulf + over the Geatas.)</p> + +<p><!-- Page 408 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page408"></a>{408}</span></p> + + <p>1913 <span class="sc">Benary, W.</span> Zum Beowulf-Grendelsage, + <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CXXX</span>, 154-5. (Grändelsmôr in + Siebenbürgen: see above, p. 308.)</p> + + <p>1913 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> Das Grändelsmôr—eine + Frage, <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CXXXI</span>, 427.</p> + + <p>1913 <span class="sc">Brate, E.</span> Betydelsen av ortnamnet Skälv + [cf. Scilfingas], <i>Namn och Bygd</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, + 102-8.</p> + + <p>1914 <span class="sc">Müller, J.</span> Das Kulturbild des + Beowulfepos. Halle. <i>Morsbachs Studien</i>, <span + class="scac">LIII</span>. Reviews: Klaeber, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, + <span class="scac">XXVII</span>, 241-4; Brunner, <i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">CXXXVIII</span>, 242-3.</p> + + <p>1914 <span class="sc">Moorman, F. W.</span> English place-names and + Teutonic Sagas, in <i>Essays and Studies by members of the English + Association</i>, vol. <span class="scac">V</span>, pp. 75-103. (Argues + that "Gilling" and other place-names in Yorkshire, point to an early + colony of Scandinavian "Gautar," who may have been instrumental in + introducing Scandinavian traditions into England.)</p> + + <p>1914 <span class="sc">Olson, O. L.</span> Beowulf and the Feast of + Bricriu, <i>Mod. Phil.</i> <span class="scac">XI</span>, 407-27. + (Emphasises the slight character of the parallels noted by + Deutschbein.)</p> + + <p>1914 <span class="sc">von Sydow, C. W.</span> Grendel i anglosaxiska + ortnamn, in <i>Nordiska Ortnamn, hyllningsskrift tillägnad Adolf + Noreen</i>, Uppsala, pp. 160-4=<i>Namn och Bygd</i>, <span + class="scac">II</span>. (Important).</p> + + <p>1915 <span class="sc">Kier, Chr.</span> Beowulf, et Bidrag til Nordens + Oldhistorie. København. (An elaborate and painstaking study of the + historic problems of Beowulf, vitiated throughout by quite unjustifiable + assumptions. See above, p. <a href="#page333">333</a> <i>etc.</i>) + Review: Björkmann, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXVII</span>, 244-6.</p> + + <p>1915 <span class="sc">Bradley, H.</span> The Numbered Sections in Old + English Poetical MSS, <i>Proc. Brit. Acad.</i> vol. <span + class="scac">VII</span>.</p> + + <p>1915 <span class="sc">Lawrence, W. W.</span> Beowulf and the tragedy + of Finnsburg, <i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span + class="scac">XXX</span>, 372-431. (Important. An excellent survey of the + Finnsburg problems.)</p> + + <p>1915 <span class="sc">van Sweringen, G. F.</span> The main ... types + of men in the Germanic Hero-Sagas, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XIV</span>, 212-25.</p> + + <p>1915-19 <span class="sc">Lindroth, H.</span> Är Skåne de gamles + Scadinavia? <i>Namn och Bygd</i>, <span class="scac">III</span>, 1915, + 10-28. Lindroth denied that the two words are the same, and was answered + by A. Kock (<i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span class="scac">XXXIV</span>, 1917, 71 + <i>etc.</i>), A. Noreen (in ‡<i>Studier tillegn. E. Tegnér</i>, + 1918) and E. Björkman ("Scedeland, Scedenig," <i>Namn och Bygd</i>, <span + class="scac">VI</span>, 1918, 162-8). Lindroth replied ("Äro Scadinavia + och Skåne samma ord," <i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span class="scac">XXXV</span>, + 1918, 29 <i>etc.</i>, and "Skandinavien och Skåne," <i>Namn och Bygd</i>, + <span class="scac">VI</span>, 1918, 104-12) and was answered by Kock + ("Vidare om Skåne och Scadinavia," <i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXVI</span>, 74-85). Björkman's discussion is the one of + chief importance to students of Beowulf.</p> + + <p>1915 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> Observations on the Finn + episode, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XIV</span>, 544-9.</p> + + <p>1915 <span class="sc">Anscombe, A.</span> Beowulf in High-Dutch saga, + <i>Notes and Queries</i>, Aug. 21, 1915, pp. 133-4.</p> + + <p>1915 <span class="sc">Berendsohn, Walter A.</span> Die Gelage am + Dänenhof zu Ehren Beowulfs, <i>Münchener Museum</i>, <span + class="scac">III</span>, i, 31-55.</p> + + <p>1915-16 <span class="sc">Pizzo, E.</span> Zur frage der ästhetischen + einheit des Beowulf, <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XXXIX</span>, + 1-15. (Sees in Beowulf the uniform expression of the early Anglo-Saxon + Christian ideal.)</p> + + <p>1916 <span class="sc">Olson, O. L.</span> The relation of the Hrólfs + Saga Kraka and the Bjarkarímur to Beowulf. Chicago. (Olson emphasises + that the monster slain by Bjarki in the <i>Saga</i> does not attack the + hall, but the cattle outside, and is therefore a different kind of + monster from Grendel (p. 30). But he does not disprove the general + equation of Beowulf and Bjarki: many of the most striking points of + resemblance, such as the support given to Eadgils (Athils) against Onela + (Ali), lie outside the scope of his study.) Review: Hollander, + <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XVI</span>, 147-9.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 409 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page409"></a>{409}</span></p> + + <p>1916 <span class="sc">Neckel, G.</span> Adel und gefolgschaft, + <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XLI</span>, 385-436 (esp. pp. 410 ff. + for social conditions in Beowulf).</p> + + <p>1917 <span class="sc">Flom, G. T.</span> Alliteration and Variation in + Old Germanic name giving, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXXII</span>, + 7-17.</p> + + <p>1917 <span class="sc">Mead, G. W.</span> Wiðerȝyld of Beowulf, + 2051, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXXII</span>, 435-6. (Suggests, + very reasonably, that Wiðerȝyld is the father of the young + Heathobard warrior who is stirred to revenge.)</p> + + <p>1917 <span class="sc">Ayres, H. M.</span> The tragedy of Hengest in + Beowulf, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XVI</span>, 282-95. (See + above, pp. 266-7.)</p> + + <p>1917 <span class="sc">Aurner, N. S.</span> An analysis of the + interpretations of the Finnsburg documents. (<i>Univ. of Iowa Monographs: + Humanistic Studies</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 6.)</p> + + <p>1917 <span class="sc">Björkman, E.</span> Zu ae. <i>Eote</i>, + <i>Yte</i>, usw., dän. <i>Jyder</i>, "Jüten," <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, + <span class="scac">XXVIII</span>, 275-80. (See above, p. 334.)</p> + + <p>1917 <span class="sc">Rooth, E. G. T.</span> Der name Grendel in der + Beowulfsage, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XXVIII</span>, + 335-40. (Etymologies. Grendel is the "sandman," a man-eating monster of + the sea-bottom. With this, compare Panzer's interpretation of Grendel as + the "earthman." See above, p. 309.)</p> + + <p>1917 <span class="sc">Schücking, L. L.</span> Wann entstand der + Beowulf? Glossen, Zweifel und Fragen, <i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XLII</span>, 347-410. (Important. See above, pp. + 322-32.)</p> + + <p>1917 <span class="sc">Fog, Reginald</span>. Trolden "Grendel" i + Bjovulf: en hypothese, <i>Danske Studier</i>, 1917, 134-40. (Grendel is + here interpreted as an infectious disease, prevalent among those who + sleep in an ill-ventilated hall in a state of intoxication, but to which + Beowulf, whose health has been confirmed by a recent sea-voyage, is not + liable. This view is not as new as its author believes it to be, and a + letter from von Holstein Rathlau is added, pointing this out. It might + further have been pointed out that as early as 1879 Grendel was explained + as the malaria. Cf. the theories of Laistner, Kögel and Golther, and see + above, p. 46.)</p> + + <p>1917 <span class="sc">Neuhaus, J.</span> Sillende = vetus patria = + Angel, <i>Nordisk Tidsskrift för Filologi</i>, <span + class="scac">IV</span>. Række, Bd. <span class="scac">V</span>, 125-6; + Helges Prinsesse Svåvå = Eider = den svebiske Flod hos Ptolemæos, <span + class="scac">VI</span>, 29-32; Halfdan = Frode = Hadbardernes Konge, hvis + Rige forenes med det danske, <span class="scac">VI</span>, 78-80; + Vestgermanske Navne i dansk Historie og Sprog, 141-4. The inherent + difficulty of the subject is enhanced by the obscurity of the writer's + style: but much of the argument (e.g. that Halfdan and Frode are + identical) is obviously based upon quite reckless conjectures. The + question is complicated by political feeling: many of Neuhaus' arguments + are repeated in his pamphlet, <i>Die Frage von Nordschleswig im Lichte + der neuesten vorgeschichtlichen Untersuchungen</i>, Jena, 1919. His + theories were vigorously refuted by <span class="sc">G. Schütte</span>, + "Urjyske 'Vestgermaner,'" <i>Nordisk Tidsskrift för Filologi</i>, <span + class="scac">IV</span>. Række, Bd. <span class="scac">VII</span>, 129 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p>1917 ‡<span class="sc">Fredborg.</span> Det första årtalet i + Sveriges historia. Umeå.</p> + + <p>1917 <span class="sc">Nerman, B.</span> Ynglingasagan i arkeologisk + belysning, <i>Fornvännen</i>, 1917, 226-61.</p> + + <p>1917 <span class="sc">Nerman, B.</span> Ottar Vendelkråka och + Ottarshögen i Vendel, <i>Upplands Fornminnesförenings Tidskrift</i>, + <span class="scac">VII</span>, 309-34.</p> + + <p>1917 <span class="sc">Björkman, E.</span> Bēowulf och Sveriges + Historia, <i>Nordisk Tidskrift</i>, 1917, 161-79.</p> + + <p>1917-18 ‡<span class="sc">von Sydow, C. W.</span> Draken som + skattevaktare, <i>Danmarks folkeminder</i>, <span + class="scac">XVII</span>, 103 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p>1918 <span class="sc">Hackenberg, E.</span> Die Stammtafeln der + angelsächsischen Königreiche, Dissertation, Berlin. (A useful + collection.) Reviews: Fischer, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXXI</span>, 73-4; Ekwall, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">LIV</span>, 307-10; Liebemann, <i>D.L.Z.</i> 1 March, + 1919.</p> + + <p>1918 <span class="sc">Lawrence, W. W.</span> The dragon and his lair + in Beowulf, <i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXIII</span>, 547-83.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 410 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page410"></a>{410}</span></p> + + <p>1918 <span class="sc">Belden, H. M.</span> Beowulf 62, once more, + <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXXIII</span>, 123.</p> + + <p>1918 <span class="sc">Belden, H. M.</span> Scyld Scefing and Huck + Finn, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXXIII</span>, 315.</p> + + <p>1918 <span class="sc">Klaeber, F.</span> Concerning the relation + between Exodus and Beowulf, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXIII</span>, 218-24.</p> + + <p>1918 <span class="sc">Björkman, E.</span> Bēow, Bēaw, und + Bēowulf, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">LII</span>, 145-93. + (Very important. See above, p. 304.)</p> + + <p>1918 <span class="sc">Brandl, A.</span> Die Urstammtafel der + Westsachsen und das Beowulf-Epos, <i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">CXXXVII</span>, 6-24. (See above, p. 200, note.)</p> + + <p>1918 <span class="sc">Brandl, A.</span> Die urstammtafel der + englischen könige, <i>Sitzungsberichte d. k. preuss. Akad., Phil.-Hist. + Classe</i>, p. 5. (Five line summary only published).</p> + + <p>1918 ‡<span class="sc">Björkman, E.</span> + Bēowulf-forskning och mytologi, <i>Finsk Tidskrift</i>, 151 + <i>etc.</i> (Cf. <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XXX</span>, + 207.)</p> + + <p>1918 <span class="sc">Björkman, E.</span> Sköldungaättens mytiska + stamfäder, <i>Nordisk Tidskrift</i>, 163 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p>1918 <span class="sc">v. Unwerth, W.</span> Eine schwed. Heldensage + als deutsches Volksepos, <i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span class="scac">XXXV</span>, + 113-37. (An attempt to connect the story of Hygelac and Hæthcyn with the + M.H.G. <i>Herbort ûz Tenelant</i>.)</p> + + <p>1918 <span class="sc">Neuhaus, J.</span> Om Skjold, <i>A.f.n.F.</i> + <span class="scac">XXXV</span>, 166-72. (A dogmatic assertion of errors + in Olrik's arguments in the <i>Heltedigtning</i>.)</p> + + <p>1918 <span class="sc">Clausen, H. V.</span> Kong Hugleik, <i>Danske + Studier</i>, 137-49. (Conjectures based upon the assumption Geatas = + Jutes.)</p> + + <p>1918 ‡<span class="sc">Lund</span> University "Festskrift" + contains <span class="sc">Norlind</span>, Skattsägner; <span + class="sc">von Sydow</span>, Sigurds strid med Favne.</p> + + <p>1919 <span class="sc">Olrik, A.</span> The heroic legends of Denmark + translated ... and revised in collaboration with the author by Lee M. + Hollander. New York. (Very important.) Review: Flom, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> + <span class="scac">XIX</span>, 284-90.</p> + + <p>1919 <span class="sc">Björkman, E.</span> Bedwig in den + westsächsischen genealogien, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXX</span>, 23.</p> + + <p>1919 <span class="sc">Björkman, E.</span> Zu einigen Namen im + Bēowulf: <i>Breca</i>, <i>Brondingas</i>, <i>Wealhþēo(w)</i>; + <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XXX</span>, 170-80.</p> + + <p>1919 <span class="sc">Mogk, E.</span> Altgermanische Spukgeschichten: + Zugleich ein Beitrag zur Erklärung der Grendelepisode im Beowulf, <i>Neue + Jahrbücher für das klass. altertum ... und deutsche literatur</i>, <span + class="scac">XXXIV</span>, 103-17. (Mogk here abandons his older + allegorical interpretation of Grendel as the destroying power of the sea, + and sees in the Grendel-story a Germanic ghost-tale, poetically + adorned.)</p> + + <p>1919 <span class="sc">Björkman, E.</span> Skialf och Skilfing [edited + by E. Ekwall, with a note on Björkman's work], <i>Namn och Bygd</i>, + <span class="scac">VII</span>, 163-81.</p> + + <p>1919 <span class="sc">Linderholm, E.</span> Vendelshögens konunganamn + i socknens 1600-tals-tradition, <i>Namn och Bygd</i>, <span + class="scac">VII</span>, 36-40.</p> + + <p>1919 <span class="sc">Fog, R.</span> Bjarkemaals "Hjalte," <i>Danske + Studier</i>, 1919, 29-35. (With a letter from A. Olrik.)</p> + + <p>1919 <span class="sc">Severinsen, P.</span> Kong Hugleiks Dødsaar, + <i>Danske Studier</i>, 1919, 96.</p> + + <p>1920 <span class="sc">Imelmann, R.</span> Forschungen zur + altenglischen Poesie. (<span class="scac">IX</span>. Hengest u. Finn; + <span class="scac">X.</span> <i>Enge ānpaðas, uncūð + gelād</i>; <span class="scac">XII.</span> <i>Þrȳðo</i>; <span + class="scac">XIII.</span> <i>Hǣþenra hyht.</i>) Berlin. (A weighty + statement of some original views).</p> + + <p>1920 <span class="sc">Björkman, E.</span> Studien über die Eigennamen + im Beowulf. Halle. <i>Morsbachs Studien</i>, <span + class="scac">LVIII</span>. (An extremely valuable and discriminating + digest. See above, p. 304.)</p> + + <p>1920 <span class="sc">Barto, P. S.</span> The + <i>Schwanritter-Sceaf</i> Myth in <i>Perceval le Gallois</i>, + <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XIX</span>, 190-200.</p> + + <p>1920 <span class="sc">Hubbard, F. G.</span> The plundering of the + Hoard. <i>Univ. Wisconsin Stud.</i> 11.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 411 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page411"></a>{411}</span></p> + + <p>1920 <span class="sc">Schücking, L. L.</span> Wiðergyld (Beowulf, + 2051), <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">LIII</span>, 468-70. + (Schücking, like Mead, but independently, interprets Withergyld as the + name of the warrior whose son is being stirred to revenge.)</p> + + <p>1920 <span class="sc">Björkman, E.</span> Hæðcyn und Hákon, <i>Engl. + Stud.</i> <span class="scac">LIV</span>, 24-34.</p> + + <p>1920 <span class="sc">Hoops, J.</span> Das Verhüllen des Haupts bei + Toten, ein angelsächsisch-nordischer Brauch (Zu Beowulf, 446, <i>hafalan + hȳdan</i>), <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">LIV</span>, + 19-23.</p> + + <p>1920 <span class="sc">Noreen, A.</span> Yngve, Inge, Inglinge + [Ingwine], <i>Namn och Bygd</i>, <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 1-8.</p> + + <p>1920 <span class="sc">La Cour, V.</span> Lejrestudier, <i>Danske + Studier</i>, 1920, 49-67. (Weighty. Emphasizing the importance of the + site of Leire in the sixth century.) A discussion on the date and origin + of Beowulf, by <span class="sc">Liebermann</span>, is about to appear + (<i>Gott. Gelehrt. Gesellschaft</i>).</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p class="cenhead"><a name="Bib9">§ 9</a>. STYLE AND GRAMMAR</p> + + <p>Titles already given in previous sections are not repeated here. + General treatises on O.E. style and grammar are recorded here only if + they have a special and exceptional bearing upon <i>Beowulf</i>.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1873 <span class="sc">Lichtenheld, A.</span> Das schwache adjectiv im + ags., <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XVI</span>, 325-93. (Important. + See above, pp. 105-7.)</p> + + <p>1875 <span class="sc">Heinzel, R.</span> Über den Stil der + altgermanischen Poesie. Strassburg. (<i>Quellen u. Forschungen</i>, <span + class="scac">X</span>.) (Important and suggestive: led to further studies + on the style of Beowulf, such as those of Hoffmann and Bode.) Review: + Zimmer, <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">II</span>, 294-300.</p> + + <p>1877 ‡<span class="sc">Arndt, O.</span> Über die altgerm. + epische Sprache. Paderborn.</p> + + <p>1877 <span class="sc">Schönbach, A.</span> [A discussion of words + peculiar to sections of Beowulf, added to a review of Ettmüller's + Beowulf], <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">III</span>, 36-46. See also + Möller, <i>Volksepos</i>, 60 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p>1879 <span class="sc">Nader, E.</span> Zur Syntax des Béowulf. + <i>Progr. der Staats-Ober-Realschule</i>, in Brünn. Review: Bernhardt, + <i>Literaturblatt</i>, 1880, 439-40 (unfavourable: reply by Nader and + answer by Bernhardt, 1881, 119-20).</p> + + <p>1881 ‡<span class="sc">Gummere, F. B.</span> The Anglo-Saxon + metaphor. Dissertation, Freiburg.</p> + + <p>1882 <span class="sc">Schemann, K.</span> Die Synonyma im + Beówulfsliede, mit Rücksicht auf Composition u. Poetik des Gedichtes. + Hagen. Dissertation, Münster. (Examines the use of noun-synonyms in the + different sections of the poem as divided by Müllenhoff, and finds no + support for Müllenhoff's theories.) Review: Kluge, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, + 1883, 62-3.</p> + + <p>1882 ‡<span class="sc">Nader, E.</span> Der Genitiv im Beówulf. + Brünn. Review: Klinghardt, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">VI</span>, 288.</p> + + <p>1882 <span class="sc">Schulz, F.</span> Die Sprachformen des + Hildebrand-Liedes im Beovolf. Königsberg.</p> + + <p>1883 <span class="sc">Nader, E.</span> Dativ u. Instrumental im + Beówulf. Wien. Review: Klinghardt, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">VII</span>, 368-70.</p> + + <p>1883 <span class="sc">Harrison, J. A.</span> List of irregular + (strong) verbs in Béowulf, <i>Amer. Jour. of Phil.</i> <span + class="scac">IV</span>, 462-77.</p> + + <p>1883 <span class="sc">Hoffmann, A.</span> Der bildliche Ausdruck im + Beówulf u. in der Edda, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">VI</span>, + 163-216.</p> + + <p>1886 <span class="sc">Bode, W.</span> Die Kenningar in der + angelsächsischen Dichtung. Darmstadt and Leipzig. Reviews: Gummere, + <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">II</span>, 17-19 + (important—praises Bode highly); Kluge, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">X</span>, 117; Brandl, <i>D.L.Z.</i> 1887, 897-8; Bischoff, + <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">LXXIX</span>, 115-6; Meyer, + <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XIII</span>, 136.</p> + + <p>1886 ‡<span class="sc">Köhler, K.</span> Der syntaktische + gebrauch des Infinitivs und Particips im Beowulf. Dissertation, + Münster.</p> + + <p>1886 <span class="sc">Banning, A.</span> Die epischen Formeln im + Bêowulf. <span class="scac">I</span>. Die verbalen synonyma. + Dissertation, Marburg.</p> + +<p><!-- Page 412 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page412"></a>{412}</span></p> + + <p>1887 <span class="sc">Tolman, A. H.</span> The style of Anglo-Saxon + poetry, <i>Trans. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span + class="scac">III</span>, 17-47.</p> + + <p>1888-9 <span class="sc">Nader, E.</span> Tempus und modus im Beowulf, + <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">X</span>, 542-63; <span + class="scac">XI</span>, 444-99.</p> + + <p>1889 <span class="sc">Kail, J.</span> Über die Parallelstellen in der + Ags. Poesie, <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XII</span>, 21-40. (A + <i>reductio ad absurdum</i> of the theories of Sarrazin. Important.)</p> + + <p>1891 <span class="sc">Davidson, C.</span> The Phonology of the + Stressed Vowels in Béowulf, <i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span + class="scac">VI</span>, 106-33. Review: Karsten, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XVII</span>, 417-20.</p> + + <p>1892 <span class="sc">Sonnefeld, G.</span> Stilistisches und + Wortschatz im Beówulf. Dissertation, Strassburg. Würzburg.</p> + + <p>1893 <span class="sc">Todt, A.</span> Die Wortstellung im Beowulf, + <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XVI</span>, 226-60.</p> + + <p>1898 <span class="sc">Kistenmacher, R.</span> Die wörtlichen + Wiederholungen im Bêowulf. Dissertation, Greifswald. Reviews: Mead, + <i>J.(E.)G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">II</span>, 546-7; Kaluza, <i>Engl. + Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XXVII</span>, 121-2 (short but + valuable).</p> + + <p>1902 <span class="sc">Barnouw, A. J.</span> Textkritische + Untersuchungen nach dem gebrauch des bestimmten Artikels und des + schwachen Adjektivs in der altenglischen Poesie. Leiden. (Important, see + above, p. 107.) Reviews: Kock, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXII</span>, 228-9; Binz, <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXVI</span>, 269-74; Schücking, <i>Göttingische gelehrte + Anzeigen</i>, 1905, 730-40.</p> + + <p>1902 <span class="sc">Heusler, A.</span> Der dialog in der + altgermanischen erzählenden Dichtung. <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XLVI</span>, 189-284.</p> + + <p>1903 <span class="sc">Shipley, G.</span> The genitive case in + Anglo-Saxon Poetry. Baltimore. Reviews: Kock, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XXV</span>, 92-5; Mourek, <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XXX</span>, 172-4.</p> + + <p>1903 <span class="sc">Krackow, O.</span> Die Nominalcomposita als + Kunstmittel im altenglischen Epos. Dissertation, Berlin. Review: + Björkman, <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CXVII</span>, 189-90.</p> + + <p>1904 <span class="sc">Schücking, L. L.</span> Die Grundzüge der + Satzverknüpfung im Beowulf. Pt. <span class="scac">I</span>. + (<i>Morsbachs Studien</i>, <span class="scac">XV</span>.) Halle. + (Important.) Reviews: Eckhardt, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXVII</span>, 396-7; Pogatscher, <i>D.L.Z.</i> 1905, 922-3; + Behagel, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XXVIII</span>, 100-2; + Grossmann, <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CXVIII</span>, 176-9.</p> + + <p>1904 <span class="sc">Häuschkel, B.</span> Die Technik der Erzählung + im Beowulfliede. Dissertation, Breslau.</p> + + <p>1905 <span class="sc">Krapp, G. P.</span> The parenthetic exclamation + in Old English poetry, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XX</span>, + 33-7.</p> + + <p>1905 <span class="sc">Scheinert, M.</span> Die Adjektiva im + Beowulfepos als Darstellungsmittel, <i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XXX</span>, 345-430.</p> + + <p>1906 <span class="sc">Thomas, P. G.</span> Notes on the language of + Beowulf, <i>M.L.R.</i> <span class="scac">I</span>, 202-7. (A short + summary of the dialectal forms.)</p> + + <p>1906 <span class="sc">Barnouw, A. J.</span> Nochmals zum ags. Gebrauch + des Artikels, <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CXVII</span>, 366-7.</p> + + <p>1907 <span class="sc">Ries, J.</span> Die Wortstellung im Beowulf. + Halle. (An important and exhaustive study by an acknowledged specialist.) + Reviews: Binz, <i>Anglia</i>, <i>Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXII</span>, 65-78 (important); Borst, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> + <span class="scac">XLII</span>, 93-101; Delbrück, <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXI</span>, 65-76 (important); Reis, <i>Literaturblatt</i>, + <span class="scac">XXVIII</span>, 328-30; <i>Lit. Cbl.</i> 1907, p. 1474; + Huchon, <i>Revue germanique</i>, <span class="scac">III</span>, + 634-8.</p> + + <p>1908 <span class="sc">Krauel, H.</span> Der Haken- und Langzeilenstil + im Beowulf. Dissertation, Göttingen.</p> + + <p>1908 <span class="sc">Lors, A.</span> Aktionsarten des Verbums im + Beowulf. Dissertation, Würzburg.</p> + + <p>1908 ‡<span class="sc">Mourek, E.</span> Zur Syntax des + konjunktivs im Beowulf, <i>Prager deutsche stud.</i> <span + class="scac">VIII</span>.</p> + + <p>1909-10 <span class="sc">Rankin, J. W.</span> A study of the Kennings + in Ags. poetry, <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 357-422; + <span class="scac">IX</span>, 49-84. (Latin parallels; very + important.)</p> + +<p><!-- Page 413 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page413"></a>{413}</span></p> + + <p>1909 <span class="sc">Shearin, H. G.</span> The expression of purpose + in Old English poetry, <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XXXII</span>, + 235-52.</p> + + <p>1909 ‡<span class="sc">Riggert, G.</span> Der syntaktische + Gebrauch des Infinitivs in der altenglischen Poesie. Dissertation, + Kiel.</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Richter, C.</span> Chronologische Studien zur + angelsächsischen Literatur auf grund sprachl.-metrischer Kriterien. + Halle. (<i>Morsbachs Studien</i>, <span class="scac">XXXIII</span>.) + Reviews: Binz, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XXII</span>, + 78-80; Imelmann, <i>D.L.Z.</i> 1910, 2986-7; Hecht, <i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">CXXX</span>, 430-2.</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Wagner, R.</span> Die Syntax des Superlativs ... + im Beowulf. Berlin. (<i>Palaestra</i>, <span class="scac">XCI</span>.) + Reviews: Schatz, <i>D.L.Z.</i> 1910, 2848-9; Kock, <i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span + class="scac">XXVIII</span>, 347-9.</p> + + <p>1910 <span class="sc">Schuchardt, R.</span> Die negation im Beowulf. + Berlin. (<i>Berliner Beiträge zur germ. u. roman. Philol.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXVIII</span>.)</p> + + <p>1912 <span class="sc">Bright, J. W.</span> An Idiom of the Comparative + in Anglo-Saxon, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXVII</span>, 181-3. + (Bearing particularly upon Beowulf, 69, 70.)</p> + + <p>1912 <span class="sc">Exner, P.</span> Typische Adverbialbestimmungen + in frühenglischer Poesie. Dissertation, Berlin.</p> + + <p>1912 <span class="sc">Grimm, P.</span> Beiträge zum Pluralgebrauch in + der altenglischen Poesie. Dissertation, Halle.</p> + + <p>1913 <span class="sc">Paetzel, W.</span> Die Variationen in der + altgermanischen Alliterationspoesie. Berlin. See pp. 73-84 for Beowulf + and Finnsburg. (<i>Palaestra</i>, <span class="scac">XLVIII</span>.) Pt. + <span class="scac">I.</span> had appeared in 1905 as a Berlin + dissertation.</p> + +</blockquote> + +<p class="cenhead"><a name="Bib10">§ 10</a>. METRE</p> + + <p>For bibliography of O.E. metre in general, see <i>Pauls Grdr.</i> (2), + <span class="scac">II</span>, 1022-4.</p> + +<blockquote class="b1n"> + + <p>1870 <span class="sc">Schubert, H.</span> De Anglosaxonum arte + metrica. Dissertatio inauguralis, Berolini.</p> + + <p>1884 <span class="sc">Sievers, E.</span> Zur rhythmik des germanischen + alliterationsverses: <span class="scac">I.</span> Vorbemerkungen. Die + metrik des Beowulf: <span class="scac">II.</span> Sprachliche Ergebnisse, + <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">X</span>, 209-314 and 451-545. (Most + important.)</p> + + <p>1894 <span class="sc">Kaluza, M.</span> Studien zum altgermanischen + alliterationsvers. <span class="scac">I.</span> Kritik der bisherigen + theorien. <span class="scac">II.</span> Die Metrik des Beowulfliedes. + (Important.) Reviews: Martin, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XX</span>, 293-6; Heusler, <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XXI</span>, 313-17; Saran, <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XXVII</span>, 539-43.</p> + + <p>1905 <span class="sc">Trautmann, M.</span> Die neuste Beowulfausgabe + und die altenglische verslehre, <i>Bonner Beiträge zur Anglistik</i>, + <span class="scac">XVII</span>, 175-91. (A discussion of O.E. metre in + view of Holthausen's edition.) Review: Klaeber, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span + class="scac">XXII</span>, 252.</p> + + <p>1908 <span class="sc">Morgan, B. Q.</span> Zur lehre von der + alliteration in der westgermanischen dichtung: <span + class="scac">I.</span> Die tonverhältnisse der hebungen im Beowulf: <span + class="scac">II.</span> Die gekreuzte alliteration; <i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXIII</span>, 95-181.</p> + + <p>1908 <span class="sc">Bohlen, A.</span> Zusammengehörige Wortgruppen, + getrennt durch Cäsur oder Versschluss, in der angelsächsischen Epik. + Dissertation, Berlin. Reviews: Dittes, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XX</span>, 199-202; Kroder, <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XL</span>, 90.</p> + + <p>1912 <span class="sc">Trautmann, M.</span> Zum altenglischen Versbau, + <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XLIV</span>, 303-42.</p> + + <p>1913 <span class="sc">Seiffert, F.</span> Die Behandlung der Wörter + mit auslautenden ursprünglich silbischen Liquiden oder Nasalen und mit + Kontraktionsvokalen in der Genesis A und im Beowulf. Dissertation, Halle. + (Concludes the dialect of the two poems to be distinct, but finds no + evidence on these grounds which is the earlier.)</p> + + <p>1914 <span class="sc">Fijn van Draat, P.</span> The cursus in O.E. + poetry, <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XXXVIII</span>, 377-404.</p> + + <p>1918 <span class="sc">Leonard, W. E.</span> Beowulf and the + Niebelungen couplet, in <i>Univ. of Wisconsin Studies in Language and + Literature</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 98-152. (Important. Pp. + 123-46 advocating the "four-accent theory.")</p> + + <p>1920 ‡<span class="sc">Neuner, E.</span> Ueber ein- und + dreihebige Halbverse in der altenglischen alliterierenden Poesie. Berlin. + Review: Bright, <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXXVI</span>, 59-63.</p> + +</blockquote> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<p><!-- Page 414 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page414"></a>{414}</span></p> + +<p class="cenhead">INDEX</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Abingdon, sheaf ordeal at, <a href="#page83">83</a>-4, <a href="#page303">303</a></p> + <p>Adam of Bremen, on the Götar, <a href="#page339">339</a></p> + <p>Æthelbert of East Anglia, <a href="#page239">239</a>-43</p> + <p>Agnerus, <a href="#page132">132</a>-3</p> + <p>Alboin and Thurisind, <a href="#page281">281</a>, <a href="#page282">282</a>, <a href="#page285">285</a></p> + <p>Alcester, <i>Grindeles pytt</i> near, <a href="#page305">305</a></p> + <p>Alcuin, <a href="#page22">22</a>, <a href="#page332">332</a></p> + <p>Aldfrid, <a href="#page325">325</a></p> + <p>Aldhelm, <a href="#page331">331</a></p> + <p>Alfsola, <a href="#page69">69</a></p> + <p>Ali, <i>see</i> Onela</p> + <p>Aliel, <i>see</i> Riganus</p> + <p><i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i>, Pedigrees in, <a href="#page72">72</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page312">312</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Archæology in relation to <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page122">122</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page345">345</a>-65</p> + <p>Asbiorn, <a href="#page186">186</a>-92</p> + <p>Athils, Athislus, <i>see</i> Eadgils</p> + <p>Attila, funeral of, compared with that of Beowulf, <a href="#page124">124</a></p> + <p>Atuarii, <i>see</i> Hetware</p> + <p>Ayres, Prof. H. M., on the <i>Finnsburg</i> story, <a href="#page266">266</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Baldæg, <a href="#page321">321</a></p> + <p>Baldr, <a href="#page69">69</a></p> + <p><i>bana</i>, <a href="#page270">270</a>-1</p> + <p>Battersea, <i>Gryndeles sylle</i> near, <a href="#page306">306</a></p> + <p>"Bear's-son" folk-tale, <a href="#page62">62</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page369">369</a>-81</p> + <p><i>Bēas broc</i>, <i>Bēas feld</i>, <a href="#page310">310</a></p> + <p>Bede, the Venerable, <a href="#page326">326</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Bedwig, <a href="#page303">303</a>-4</p> + <p>Beow(a), Beaw, <a href="#page10">10</a>, <a href="#page42">42</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page87">87</a>-8, <a href="#page202">202</a>-3, <a href="#page291">291</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page296">296</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Beowi, <a href="#page303">303</a></p> + <p>Beowulf the Dane (Beowulf Scyldinga), <a href="#page41">41</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page88">88</a>, <a href="#page92">92</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page291">291</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Beowulf son of Ecgtheow, king of the Geatas, <a href="#page10">10</a>-13;</p> + <p class="i2">his struggle with Grendel and Grendel's mother, <a href="#page41">41</a> <i>etc.</i>;</p> + <p class="i2">with the dragon, <a href="#page92">92</a> <i>etc.</i>;</p> + <p class="i2">his funeral rites, <a href="#page122">122</a> <i>etc.</i>;</p> + <p class="i2">etymology and meaning of the name, <a href="#page365">365</a>-9</p> + <p><i>Beowulf</i>, suggested translation from a Scandinavian original, <a href="#page98">98</a>-104;</p> + <p class="i2">dialect, syntax and metre of, <a href="#page104">104</a>-12;</p> + <p class="i2">theories as to the structure of, <a href="#page112">112</a>-20;</p> + <p class="i2">the Christian elements in, <a href="#page121">121</a>-8;</p> + <p class="i2">date of, <a href="#page122">122</a>, <a href="#page322">322</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page353">353</a> <i>etc.</i>;</p> + <p class="i2">possible classical influence upon, <a href="#page329">329</a> <i>etc.</i>;</p> + <p class="i2">archæology of, <a href="#page345">345</a>-65;</p> + <p class="i2">division into fittes or passus, <a href="#page294">294</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Biar, <a href="#page7">7</a>, <a href="#page45">45</a></p> + <p><i>Biuuulf</i>, <a href="#page367">367</a></p> + <p><i>Bjarkamál</i>, <a href="#page26">26</a>, <a href="#page264">264</a>;</p> + <p class="i2">Saxo's Latin translation quoted, <a href="#page135">135</a>-6</p> + <p><i>Bjarka rímur</i>, <a href="#page58">58</a>, <a href="#page182">182</a>-6</p> + <p>Bjarki, <a href="#page9">9</a>, <a href="#page12">12</a>, <a href="#page54">54</a>-61, <a href="#page132">132</a>-6, <a href="#page138">138</a>-46, <a href="#page182">182</a>-6</p> + <p>Bjarndreingur, <a href="#page374">374</a>-5</p> + <p>Bjørnøre, <a href="#page377">377</a></p> + <p>Blackburn, Prof., on the Christian element in <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page125">125</a></p> + <p>Blood-feud, in primitive society, <a href="#page276">276</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Boar-helmets, <a href="#page350">350</a>-1, <a href="#page358">358</a>-9</p> + <p>Bocus, <a href="#page26">26</a>, <a href="#page135">135</a></p> + <p>Boerinus, <a href="#page201">201</a></p> + <p>Bothvar Bjarki, <i>see</i> Bjarki</p> + <p>Bow, the, in <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page361">361</a></p> + <p>Bradley, Dr Henry, on the Christian elements in <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page127">127</a>;</p> + <p class="i2">on Beow and Beowulf the Dane, <a href="#page293">293</a> <i>etc.</i>;</p> + <p class="i2">on the passus in <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page294">294</a>-5</p> + <p>Brusi, <a href="#page187">187</a>-92</p> + <p>Brutus (Hildebrandus), <a href="#page222">222</a></p> + <p>Bugge, Sophus, on the <i>Finnsburg</i> story, <a href="#page257">257</a>-66</p> + <p>Burial mounds, Scandinavian, <a href="#page356">356</a></p> + <p>Burials, <a href="#page122">122</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page353">353</a>-5</p> + <p>Byggvir, <a href="#page45">45</a>, <a href="#page297">297</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Cerdic, his ancestry, <a href="#page316">316</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Chadwick, Prof. H. M., on the date of <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page122">122</a>, <a href="#page353">353</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Chatuarii, <i>see</i> Hetware</p> + <p>Chochilaicus, <a href="#page2">2</a>, <a href="#page3">3</a></p> + <p>Christianity of <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page121">121</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page322">322</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Cities of Refuge, <a href="#page276">276</a>-7</p> + <p>Clyst, river, <a href="#page44">44</a>, <a href="#page310">310</a></p> + <p>Creedy, the, <i>Grendeles pyt</i> near, <a href="#page305">305</a></p> + <p>Crying the Neck, <a href="#page82">82</a>-3, <a href="#page302">302</a></p> + <p>Cynethryth, <a href="#page37">37</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Dan, king of the Danes, <a href="#page129">129</a>, <a href="#page204">204</a></p> + <p>Danes, first mentioned soon after <span class="scac">A.D.</span> 500, <a href="#page14">14</a>;</p> + <p class="i2">their early kings, <a href="#page13">13</a>-31;</p> + <p class="i2">their early history as recorded in Saxo, <a href="#page129">129</a>-37;</p> + <p class="i2">in the <i>Little Chronicle of the Kings of Leire</i>, <a href="#page204">204</a>-6;</p> + <p class="i2">in Sweyn Aageson, <a href="#page211">211</a>;</p> + <p class="i2">their relation to the English, <a href="#page314">314</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Date of <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page122">122</a>, <a href="#page322">322</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page353">353</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Dialect of <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page104">104</a></p> + <p>Dorestad, <a href="#page259">259</a>, <a href="#page288">288</a>-9</p> + <p>Dragons, not extinct in 1649, <a href="#page11">11</a> (note);</p> + <p class="i2">Frotho's dragon, <a href="#page92">92</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page130">130</a>-1;</p> + <p class="i2">the Vendsyssel dragon, <a href="#page192">192</a>-5</p> + <p>Dunstan, <a href="#page332">332</a></p> + <p>Drida, <a href="#page36">36</a> <i>etc.</i>; <a href="#page238">238</a>-43; <i>see also</i> Thryth</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Eadgils (Athils, Athislus), <a href="#page5">5</a>-8; <a href="#page184">184</a>, <a href="#page186">186</a>, <a href="#page356">356</a></p> +<!-- Page 415 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page415"></a>{415}</span> + <p>Eaha, <a href="#page246">246</a></p> + <p>Eanmund, <a href="#page5">5</a></p> + <p><i>Edda</i> of Snorri, <a href="#page69">69</a></p> + <p>Engelhardt, on the Moss-finds, <a href="#page345">345</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Eomaer (Eamer), <a href="#page31">31</a>, <a href="#page197">197</a>-8</p> + <p>Eotan, Eote, <i>see</i> Jutes</p> + <p>Eotenas, part played by them in the <i>Finnsburg Episode</i>, <a href="#page219">219</a> <i>etc.</i>; <a href="#page260">260</a> <i>etc.</i>; <a href="#page283">283</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Eric, jarl, <a href="#page277">277</a>, <a href="#page278">278</a></p> + <p>Esthonian cult of Pekko, <a href="#page299">299</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Ethelwerd, <a href="#page70">70</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page202">202</a>, <a href="#page318">318</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Fahlbeck, Pontus, his Jute-theory, <a href="#page8">8</a>, <a href="#page333">333</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Faroe "Bear's-son" tale, <a href="#page375">375</a>-6</p> + <p><i>ferhð-freca</i>, <a href="#page276">276</a></p> + <p>Fifeldor, <a href="#page35">35</a>, <i>note</i></p> + <p>Finn, son of Folcwald, <a href="#page199">199</a>, <a href="#page200">200</a>, <a href="#page248">248</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page253">253</a>-4, <a href="#page283">283</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page289">289</a></p> + <p>Finnsburg, the story of, <a href="#page245">245</a>-89;</p> + <p class="i2">site of, <a href="#page259">259</a></p> + <p>Florence of Worcester, <a href="#page8">8</a></p> + <p>Folcwald(a), <a href="#page199">199</a></p> + <p>Frealaf, <a href="#page321">321</a></p> + <p>Freawaru, daughter of Hrothgar, <a href="#page21">21</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page282">282</a></p> + <p>Frisia in the Heroic Age, <a href="#page288">288</a>-9</p> + <p>Froda (Frothi, Frotho), <a href="#page21">21</a>, <a href="#page24">24</a>-5, <a href="#page211">211</a>, <a href="#page282">282</a></p> + <p>Frotho and the dragon, <a href="#page92">92</a>-7, <a href="#page130">130</a>-1</p> + <p>Frowinus, <a href="#page33">33</a>-4</p> + <p>Funeral rites, <i>see</i> Burials</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Garulf, his part in the <i>Finnsburg</i> story, <a href="#page246">246</a>-7; <a href="#page283">283</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page287">287</a></p> + <p>Gautar, <i>see</i> Geatas</p> + <p>Geatas (O.N. Gautar), <a href="#page2">2</a>, <a href="#page8">8</a>-10, <a href="#page333">333</a>-45;</p> + <p class="i2">their kings, <a href="#page2">2</a>-13;</p> + <p class="i2">boundaries of their territory, <a href="#page339">339</a></p> + <p>Gefwulf, <a href="#page286">286</a>-7</p> + <p>Genealogies, <a href="#page311">311</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Giovanni dell' Orso, <a href="#page371">371</a></p> + <p>Glam, <a href="#page48">48</a>, <a href="#page147">147</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page164">164</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Godulf, <a href="#page200">200</a></p> + <p>Götar, <i>see</i> Geatas</p> + <p>Gokstad ship, <a href="#page363">363</a>-4</p> + <p>Gold in the Heroic Age, <a href="#page348">348</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Gram Guldkølve, <a href="#page192">192</a>, <a href="#page194">194</a></p> + <p>Grändels môr in Transsylvania, <a href="#page308">308</a></p> + <p><i>grandi</i>, <a href="#page309">309</a></p> + <p>Greek scholarship in Anglo-Saxon times, <a href="#page329">329</a></p> + <p>Gregory of Tours, his account of the death of Hygelac, <a href="#page3">3</a>-4, <a href="#page9">9</a>, <a href="#page342">342</a></p> + <p>Grendel, <a href="#page41">41</a> <i>etc.</i>;</p> + <p class="i2">occurrence of the name in English charters, <a href="#page305">305</a>-6;</p> + <p class="i2">etymology, <a href="#page309">309</a>-10</p> + <p><i>Grendles mere</i>, <a href="#page43">43</a>-4, <a href="#page306">306</a></p> + <p>Grettir Asmundarson, <a href="#page48">48</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page152">152</a>-62, <a href="#page169">169</a>-82</p> + <p><i>Grettis Saga</i>, <a href="#page162">162</a>;</p> + <p class="i2">extracts from, <a href="#page146">146</a>-62;</p> + <p class="i2">translation, <a href="#page162">162</a>-82;</p> + <p class="i2">death of Illugi, <a href="#page280">280</a></p> + <p>Grimm's story of <i>Der Starke Hans</i>, <a href="#page370">370</a></p> + <p>Grindale village, <a href="#page308">308</a></p> + <p>Grindle or Greendale brook, near Exeter, <a href="#page44">44</a>, <a href="#page309">309</a></p> + <p><i>grundel</i>, <a href="#page309">309</a></p> + <p>Grundtvig, his identification of Chochilaicus, <a href="#page4">4</a></p> + <p>Guest (Gestr), <i>see</i> Grettir</p> + <p>Gullinhjalti, <a href="#page141">141</a>, <a href="#page146">146</a></p> + <p>Guthlaf, <a href="#page246">246</a>-7, <a href="#page252">252</a>, <a href="#page267">267</a>, <a href="#page285">285</a></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Haki, <a href="#page68">68</a>-9</p> + <p>Halga (Helgi, Helgo), <a href="#page14">14</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page132">132</a>, <a href="#page205">205</a>, <a href="#page211">211</a></p> + <p>Hall, Dr Clark, on the archæology of <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page346">346</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Hall, the, in <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page361">361</a></p> + <p>Ham, <i>Grendles mere</i> near, <a href="#page43">43</a>-4, <a href="#page306">306</a></p> + <p>Hamlet (Amlethus), <a href="#page39">39</a>;</p> + <p class="i2">Hengest's hesitation compared to that of Shakespeare's Hamlet, <a href="#page266">266</a></p> + <p>Hans, der starke, <a href="#page370">370</a></p> + <p>Harold Fairhair and the Gautar, <a href="#page340">340</a></p> + <p>Harvest customs, <a href="#page81">81</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p><i>hēaburh</i>, <a href="#page259">259</a> <i>note</i></p> + <p>Healfdene (Halfdan, Haldanus), <a href="#page14">14</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page131">131</a>, <a href="#page205">205</a>, <a href="#page211">211</a></p> + <p>Heardred, slain by Onela, <a href="#page5">5</a>, <a href="#page13">13</a></p> + <p>Heathobeardan, <a href="#page20">20</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page244">244</a></p> + <p>Hendon, "Grendels gate" near, <a href="#page306">306</a>-7</p> + <p>Hengest, <a href="#page246">246</a>, <a href="#page250">250</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page284">284</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Henry (Henrik) slays a dragon, <a href="#page192">192</a>-5</p> + <p>Heorogar, <a href="#page14">14</a>, <a href="#page287">287</a></p> + <p>Heorot, <a href="#page13">13</a>-20; <i>see also</i> Leire</p> + <p>Heoroweard (Hjǫrvarðr, Hiarwarus), <a href="#page14">14</a>, <a href="#page15">15</a>, <a href="#page29">29</a>-30, <a href="#page134">134</a>-7, <a href="#page205">205</a>-6, <a href="#page277">277</a></p> + <p>Heremod, <a href="#page89">89</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Hermuthruda, <a href="#page39">39</a></p> + <p>Heruli, identified by some with the Heathobeardan, <a href="#page24">24</a></p> + <p>Hetware (Atuarii), <a href="#page2">2</a>-3</p> + <p>Hiarthwarus, Hiarwarus, <i>see</i> Heoroweard</p> + <p>Hickes, his text of the <i>Finnsburg Fragment</i>, <a href="#page245">245</a>-6</p> + <p>Hildebrandus, another name for Brutus, <i>q.v.</i></p> + <p>Hildeburh, <a href="#page248">248</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Hjalti (Hott), <a href="#page55">55</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page132">132</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page138">138</a>-46, <a href="#page182">182</a>-6</p> + <p>Hnæf, <a href="#page247">247</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page283">283</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Hocingas, <a href="#page249">249</a></p> + <p>Hott, <i>see</i> Hjalti</p> + <p>Hrethric, <a href="#page25">25</a>-7, <a href="#page135">135</a> (Röricus), <a href="#page211">211</a> (Rökil)</p> + <p>Hrothgar (Hroarr, Roe), <a href="#page14">14</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page132">132</a>, <a href="#page204">204</a>, <a href="#page244">244</a></p> +<!-- Page 416 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page416"></a>{416}</span> + <p>Hrothulf (Rolf Kraki, Roluo), <a href="#page15">15</a>, <a href="#page25">25</a>-9, <a href="#page132">132</a>-7, <a href="#page139">139</a>-46, <a href="#page205">205</a>-6, <a href="#page244">244</a></p> + <p>Hugleikr, <a href="#page323">323</a></p> + <p>Huglek, <a href="#page323">323</a></p> + <p>Humblus, <a href="#page129">129</a></p> + <p>Hunlafing, <a href="#page252">252</a>, <a href="#page267">267</a>, <a href="#page283">283</a></p> + <p>Hygelac, death of, <a href="#page2">2</a>-4</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Ialto, <i>see</i> Hjalti</p> + <p>Icelandic "Bear's-son" tale, <a href="#page374">374</a>-5</p> + <p>Illugi, <i>see Grettis Saga</i></p> + <p>Ingeld, son of Froda, <a href="#page21">21</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page244">244</a>, <a href="#page282">282</a>, <a href="#page284">284</a>-5</p> + <p>Intercourse between tribes in Heroic Age, <a href="#page348">348</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Ivashko Medvedko, <a href="#page372">372</a>-4</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Jean l'Ourson, <a href="#page378">378</a>-9</p> + <p>Jenny Greenteeth, <a href="#page307">307</a></p> + <p>Jomsvikings, <a href="#page278">278</a></p> + <p>Jovial huntsmen, the Three, their views, <a href="#page310">310</a></p> + <p>Jutes, attempt to identify them with the Geatas, <a href="#page8">8</a>-10, <a href="#page333">333</a>-45;</p> + <p class="i2">Jutes and <i>Eotenas</i>, <a href="#page261">261</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page272">272</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Jutland, "Bear's-son" tale in, <a href="#page377">377</a></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p><i>Kálfsvísa</i>, <a href="#page7">7</a>, <a href="#page45">45</a></p> + <p>Kemble, his mythological theories, <a href="#page291">291</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Keto, <a href="#page33">33</a>-4</p> + <p>Klaeber, on the Christian element in <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page126">126</a></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Lawrence, Prof. W. W., on mythology in <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page43">43</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page291">291</a> <i>etc.</i>;</p> + <p class="i2">on <i>Finnsburg</i>, <a href="#page270">270</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p><i>Laxdæla Saga</i>, parallels from, <a href="#page278">278</a>-9</p> + <p>Leifus, <a href="#page252">252</a>, <i>note</i></p> + <p>Leire, <a href="#page16">16</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page134">134</a>, <a href="#page204">204</a>, <a href="#page211">211</a>, <a href="#page216">216</a>, <a href="#page365">365</a>;</p> + <p class="i2"><i>see also</i> Heorot</p> + <p><i>Leire, Little Chronicle of the Kings of</i>, extracts from, <a href="#page204">204</a>-6</p> + <p>Lethra, <i>see</i> Leire</p> + <p><i>Liber Historiae Francorum</i>, account of the death of Chochilaicus (Hygelac) in, <a href="#page3">3</a></p> + <p>"Lichtenheld's Test," <a href="#page105">105</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p><i>Lokasenna</i> quoted, <a href="#page297">297</a>-9</p> + <p>Loki, <a href="#page297">297</a>-9</p> + <p>Lombard story of the "Bear's-son," <a href="#page371">371</a></p> + <p>Longobardi, relation to the Heathobeardan, <a href="#page23">23</a>; <a href="#page311">311</a>;</p> + <p class="i2"><i>see also</i> Alboin</p> + <p>Lother(us), <a href="#page89">89</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page129">129</a></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Malmesbury, William of, <i>see</i> William of Malmesbury</p> + <p>Mercian genealogy, <a href="#page195">195</a>-8</p> + <p>Milio, <a href="#page220">220</a></p> + <p>Minstrelsy forbidden to priests, <a href="#page332">332</a></p> + <p>Mitunnus, <a href="#page218">218</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Möller, on <i>Finnsburg</i>, <a href="#page254">254</a>-7</p> + <p><i>Monsters and Strange Beasts</i>, account of Hygelac in the <i>Book of (Liber Monstrorum)</i>, <a href="#page4">4</a>, <a href="#page339">339</a></p> + <p>"Morsbachs Test," <a href="#page107">107</a>-12</p> + <p>Moss-finds, <a href="#page345">345</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Müllenhoff's theories on <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page113">113</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page292">292</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Myrgingas, <a href="#page31">31</a>-2, <a href="#page244">244</a></p> + <p>Mythology in <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page46">46</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page291">291</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Neck, <i>see</i> Crying the Neck</p> + <p>Neckersgate, <a href="#page307">307</a></p> + <p><i>Njáls Saga</i>, parallels from, <a href="#page271">271</a>, <a href="#page277">277</a>, <a href="#page280">280</a>-1</p> + <p>Norka, the, <a href="#page371">371</a>-2</p> + <p>North Frisians, <a href="#page249">249</a>, <i>note</i>, <a href="#page273">273</a></p> + <p>Northumbrian anarchy in the eighth century, <a href="#page324">324</a></p> + <p>Norwegian folk-tale ("Bear's-son" type), <a href="#page376">376</a>-7</p> + <p>Nydam, <a href="#page345">345</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Nydam boat, <a href="#page362">362</a>-3</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p><i>Odyssey</i>, parallels with <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page329">329</a></p> + <p>Offa I, king of Angel, <a href="#page31">31</a>-40, <a href="#page197">197</a>-8, <a href="#page206">206</a>-15, <a href="#page217">217</a>-35, <a href="#page244">244</a></p> + <p>Offa II, <a href="#page36">36</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page235">235</a>-43</p> + <p>Ohthere, <a href="#page5">5</a>, <a href="#page343">343</a> <i>etc.</i>;</p> + <p class="i2"><i>see also</i> Ottar Vendel-crow</p> + <p>Onela, <a href="#page5">5</a>-8, <a href="#page184">184</a>-6</p> + <p>Ongentheow, <a href="#page4">4</a>-5, <a href="#page8">8</a></p> + <p>Ordlaf (Oslaf), <a href="#page246">246</a>, <a href="#page252">252</a>, <a href="#page267">267</a>, <a href="#page285">285</a>, <a href="#page287">287</a></p> + <p>Origin of the English, <a href="#page314">314</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Orm Storolfsson, <a href="#page53">53</a>, <a href="#page186">186</a>-92</p> + <p>Oseberg ship, <a href="#page363">363</a>-4</p> + <p>Oslaf, <i>see</i> Ordlaf</p> + <p>Oswin, king, <a href="#page324">324</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Oswiu, king, <a href="#page325">325</a></p> + <p>Otta, <a href="#page220">220</a></p> + <p>Ottar Vendelcrow, his mound, <a href="#page343">343</a>-5, <a href="#page356">356</a>;</p> + <p class="i2"><i>see also</i> Ohthere</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Panzer, his derivation of the story of <i>Beowulf</i> from the "Bear's-son" folk-tale, <a href="#page67">67</a>-8, <a href="#page369">369</a>-81</p> + <p>passus of <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page294">294</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Peg o' Nell, <a href="#page307">307</a></p> + <p>Peg Powler, <a href="#page307">307</a></p> + <p>Pekko, <a href="#page87">87</a>, <a href="#page299">299</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Pellon-Pecko, <i>see</i> Pekko</p> + <p>Peter Bär, <a href="#page378">378</a></p> + <p>Pinefredus, <i>see</i> Offa II</p> + <p>Procopius, mentions the Goutai (Geatas), <a href="#page8">8</a>-9, <a href="#page338">338</a></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Riganus (or Aliel), <a href="#page218">218</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Ring-corslets, <a href="#page351">351</a>, <a href="#page360">360</a></p> + <p>Ring-money, <a href="#page351">351</a>-2</p> + <p>Ring-swords, <a href="#page349">349</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Roe, <i>see</i> Hrothgar</p> +<!-- Page 417 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page417"></a>{417}</span> + <p>Rökil, <i>see</i> Hrethric</p> + <p>Röricus, <i>see</i> Hrethric</p> + <p><i>Rolf Kraki, Saga of</i>, <a href="#page16">16</a>, <a href="#page55">55</a> <i>etc.</i>;</p> + <p class="i2">extract from, <a href="#page138">138</a>-46;</p> + <p class="i2">quoted in illustration of the <i>Finnsburg</i> story, <a href="#page281">281</a>, <a href="#page282">282</a></p> + <p>Rolf Kraki, <i>see</i> Hrothulf</p> + <p>Roluo, <i>see</i> Hrothulf</p> + <p>Roskilde, <a href="#page18">18</a>, <a href="#page132">132</a>, <a href="#page204">204</a></p> + <p>Runkoteivas, <a href="#page300">300</a></p> + <p>Russian variants of the "Bear's-son" story, <a href="#page371">371</a>-4</p> + <p>Ruta, <a href="#page133">133</a></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Sämpsä, <a href="#page84">84</a>-5, <a href="#page300">300</a></p> + <p><i>Saga of Rolf Kraki</i>, see <i>Rolf Kraki, Saga of</i></p> + <p>Sandhaugar, <a href="#page48">48</a>, <a href="#page66">66</a>, <a href="#page156">156</a>-62, <a href="#page175">175</a>-82</p> + <p>Saxo Grammaticus, <a href="#page16">16</a>;</p> + <p class="i2">his story of Starcatherus, <a href="#page22">22</a>-3;</p> + <p class="i2">of Röricus, <a href="#page26">26</a>;</p> + <p class="i2">of Hiarwarus, <a href="#page30">30</a>;</p> + <p class="i2">of Uffo (Offa), <a href="#page32">32</a>-3;</p> + <p class="i2">of Biarco (Bjarki), <a href="#page57">57</a> <i>etc.</i>;</p> + <p class="i2">of Skyoldus, <a href="#page77">77</a>;</p> + <p class="i2">of Lotherus, <a href="#page89">89</a> <i>etc.</i>;</p> + <p class="i2">of Frotho, <a href="#page91">91</a> <i>etc.</i>;</p> + <p class="i2">on cremation, <a href="#page123">123</a>;</p> + <p class="i2">extracts from, <a href="#page129">129</a>-37, <a href="#page206">206</a>-11;</p> + <p class="i2">on text of, <a href="#page215">215</a>-16; <a href="#page282">282</a></p> + <p>Sceaf, <a href="#page68">68</a>-86, <a href="#page200">200</a>-3, <a href="#page302">302</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page311">311</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Sceafa, <a href="#page311">311</a></p> + <p>Scenery of <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page101">101</a></p> + <p>Schücking, Prof.,</p> + <p class="i2">on the structure of <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page117">117</a>-20;</p> + <p class="i2">on the date of <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page322">322</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Schütte, on the Geatas, <a href="#page8">8</a>, <a href="#page333">333</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Sculda, <a href="#page133">133</a>-4, <a href="#page204">204</a>-5</p> + <p>Scyld, <a href="#page68">68</a>-86, <a href="#page201">201</a>-4, <a href="#page303">303</a>, <a href="#page314">314</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Secgan, <a href="#page269">269</a>, <a href="#page286">286</a></p> + <p>Setukese, <a href="#page301">301</a></p> + <p>Sheaf, <i>see</i> Sceaf</p> + <p>Shield, <i>see</i> Scyld</p> + <p>Shield, the, in Anglo-Saxon times, <a href="#page360">360</a>-1</p> + <p>Ships, <a href="#page362">362</a>-4</p> + <p>Sigeferth, <a href="#page246">246</a>-7, <a href="#page269">269</a>, <a href="#page286">286</a>, <a href="#page287">287</a></p> + <p>Sigmund, <a href="#page91">91</a></p> + <p>Sigurd Ring, <a href="#page69">69</a></p> + <p>Sinfjotli, his foul language, <a href="#page28">28</a></p> + <p>Skeggjatussi, <a href="#page375">375</a></p> + <p>Skjold (Skyoldus), <a href="#page71">71</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page130">130</a>, <a href="#page211">211</a></p> + <p><i>Skjoldunga Saga</i>,</p> + <p class="i2">account of Adilsus (Eadgils) in, <a href="#page7">7</a>;</p> + <p class="i2">of Rolf Kraki (Hrothulf), <a href="#page16">16</a> <i>etc.</i>;</p> + <p class="i2">quoted, <a href="#page69">69</a>, <a href="#page252">252</a> <i>note</i></p> + <p>Spear, the, in Anglo-Saxon times, <a href="#page360">360</a></p> + <p>Starkad (Starcatherus), <a href="#page22">22</a>-3</p> + <p>Steenklöwer, Stenhuggeren, <a href="#page380">380</a></p> + <p>Stein, <a href="#page49">49</a>, <a href="#page66">66</a>, <a href="#page156">156</a>-62, <a href="#page175">175</a>-82, <a href="#page380">380</a></p> + <p>Steinspieler, <a href="#page380">380</a></p> + <p>Steinvǫr, <a href="#page157">157</a>-62, <a href="#page175">175</a>-82</p> + <p>Stjerna, Knut,</p> + <p class="i2">on the funeral customs of <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page124">124</a>;</p> + <p class="i2">on Ottar Vendelcrow, <a href="#page343">343</a>-5;</p> + <p class="i2">on the archæology of <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page346">346</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Sueno, <a href="#page222">222</a></p> + <p>Svold, battle of, <a href="#page277">277</a></p> + <p>Sweden, kings of, <a href="#page4">4</a>-8;</p> + <p class="i2"><i>see</i> Eadgils, Ohthere, Onela, Ongentheow</p> + <p>Sweyn Aageson, his account of Uffo (Offa), <a href="#page33">33</a>;</p> + <p class="i2">extract from, <a href="#page211">211</a>-15; <a href="#page216">216</a></p> + <p>Swinford, <i>Grendels mere</i> near, <a href="#page306">306</a></p> + <p>Swords in <i>Beowulf</i> and in Anglo-Saxon grave-finds, <a href="#page357">357</a></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Ten Brink's theories on <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page113">113</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Theodoric, king of the Franks, <a href="#page3">3</a></p> + <p>Thorgaut, <a href="#page150">150</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page167">167</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Thorhall Grimsson, <a href="#page146">146</a>-56, <a href="#page163">163</a>-74</p> + <p>Thorsbjerg, <a href="#page345">345</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Thryth, <a href="#page37">37</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page238">238</a>-43</p> + <p>Tours, Gregory of, <i>see</i> Gregory of Tours</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Uffo, <i>see</i> Offa</p> + <p>Ull, <a href="#page303">303</a></p> + <p>Unferth, <a href="#page27">27</a>-30</p> + <p>Ursula, <a href="#page205">205</a></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Vendel finds, <a href="#page347">347</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p>Vendsyssel, dragon of, <a href="#page192">192</a>-5</p> + <p>Virgil, possible influence of, upon <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page329">329</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p><i>Vitae duorum Offarum</i>, <a href="#page34">34</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page217">217</a>-43</p> + <p><i>Vǫlsunga Saga</i>, parallels from, <a href="#page275">275</a>, <a href="#page286">286</a></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Wäder Öar and Wäder Fiord, <a href="#page342">342</a></p> + <p>Warmundus, <i>see</i> Wermundus</p> + <p>Weak and strong forms of heroic names used alternatively, <a href="#page311">311</a></p> + <p>Wealhtheow, her forebodings, <a href="#page25">25</a></p> + <p>Weapons in <i>Beowulf</i>, <a href="#page357">357</a>-61</p> + <p>Wederas, name applied to the Geatas, <a href="#page342">342</a></p> + <p>Wener, Lake, <a href="#page9">9</a>, <a href="#page342">342</a></p> + <p><i>wer-gild</i>, <a href="#page277">277</a></p> + <p>Wermund, <a href="#page32">32</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page197">197</a>-8, <a href="#page206">206</a>-15, <a href="#page217">217</a>-26</p> + <p>West-Saxon genealogy, <a href="#page72">72</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page198">198</a>-201, <a href="#page311">311</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + <p><i>Widsith</i>,</p> + <p class="i2">account of the Heathobeardan in, <a href="#page20">20</a> <i>etc.</i>;</p> + <p class="i2">of Hrothulf, <a href="#page25">25</a>;</p> + <p class="i2">of Offa, <a href="#page31">31</a>;</p> + <p class="i2">of Sceafa, <a href="#page80">80</a>;</p> + <p class="i2">extract from, <a href="#page243">243</a>-4; <a href="#page286">286</a>; <a href="#page338">338</a></p> + <p>Wiggo, <a href="#page133">133</a>-7, <a href="#page264">264</a>-5</p> + <p>Wigo, <a href="#page33">33</a>-4</p> + <p>Wijk bij Duurstede, <i>see</i> Dorestad</p> + <p>William of Malmesbury, <a href="#page70">70</a> <i>etc.</i>, <a href="#page203">203</a>, <a href="#page302">302</a></p> + <p>Woden's ancestors, <a href="#page311">311</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p><i>Ynglinga tal</i> and <i>Ynglinga Saga</i>, <a href="#page5">5</a>-7, <a href="#page68">68</a>-9, <a href="#page344">344</a></p> + <p>Yte, <i>see</i> Jutes</p> + <p>Ytene, <a href="#page8">8</a>, <a href="#page337">337</a></p> + </div> + </div> + + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + +<h3>NOTES</h3> + +<div class="note"> + <p><a name="Nt1" href="#NtA1">[1]</a> The exact equivalent to + <i>Hrōðgar</i> is found in O.N., in the form <i>Hróðgeirr</i>. The + by-form <i>Hróarr</i>, which is used of the famous Danish king, is due to + a number of rather irregular changes, which can however be paralleled. + The Primitive Germanic form of the name would have been + *<i>Hrōþugaisaz</i>: for the loss of the <i>g</i> at the beginning + of the second element we may compare <i>Aðils</i> with + <i>Ēadgils</i> (Noreen, <i>Altisländische Grammatik</i>, 1903, § + 223); for the loss of <i>ð</i> before <i>w</i> compare <i>Hrólfr</i> with + <i>Hrōðwulf</i> (Noreen, § 222); for the absence of <i>R-</i> + umlaut in the second syllable, combined with loss of the <i>g</i>, + compare O.N. <i>nafarr</i> with O.E. <i>nafugār</i> (Noreen, § + 69).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt2" href="#NtA2">[2]</a> Corresponding to O.N. <i>Aðils</i> + we should expect O.E. <i>Æðgils</i>, <i>Æðgisl</i>. The form + <i>Ēadgils</i> may be due to confusion with the famous Eadgils, + king of the Myrgingas, who is mentioned in <i>Widsith</i>. The name comes + only once in <i>Beowulf</i> (l. 2392) and may owe its form there to a + corruption of the scribe. That the O.E. form is corrupt seems more likely + than that the O.N. <i>Aðils</i>, so well known and so frequently + recorded, is a corruption of <i>Auðgisl</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt3" href="#NtA3">[3]</a> It must be remembered that the + sound changes of the Germanic dialects have been worked out so minutely + that it is nearly always possible to decide quite definitely whether two + names do or do not exactly correspond. Only occasionally is dispute + possible [e.g. whether <i>Hrothgar</i> is or is not phonetically the + exact equivalent of <i>Hroarr</i>].</p> + + <p><a name="Nt4" href="#NtA4">[4]</a> See below, pp. 8-10.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt5" href="#NtA5">[5]</a> <i>Chochilaicus</i>, which appears + to be the correct form, corresponds to <i>Hygelac</i> (in the primitive + form <i>Hugilaikaz</i>) as <i>Chlodovechus</i> to <i>Hludovicus</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt6" href="#NtA6">[6]</a> The passages in <i>Beowulf</i> + referring to this expedition are:</p> + + <p>1202 <i>etc.</i>. Frisians (adjoining the Hetware) and Franks + mentioned as the foes.</p> + + <p>2354 <i>etc.</i> Hetware mentioned.</p> + + <p>2501 <i>etc.</i> Hugas (= Franks) and the Frisian king mentioned.</p> + + <p>2914 <i>etc.</i> Franks, Frisians, Hugas, Hetware and "the + Merovingian" mentioned.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt7" href="#NtA7">[7]</a> The identification of Chochilaicus + with Hygelac is the most important discovery ever made in the study of + <i>Beowulf</i>, and the foundation of our belief in the historic + character of its episodes. It is sometimes attributed to Grundtvig, + sometimes to Outzen. It was first vaguely suggested by Grundtvig + (<i>Nyeste Skilderie af Kjøbenhavn</i>, 1815, col. 1030): the importance + of the identification was worked out by him fully, two years later + (<i>Danne-Virke</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 285). In the meantime + the passage from Gregory had been quoted by Outzen in his review of + Thorkelin's <i>Beowulf</i> (<i>Kieler Blätter</i>, <span + class="sc">iii</span>, 312). Outzen's reference was obviously made + independently, but he failed to detect the real bearing of the passage + upon <i>Beowulf</i>. Credit for the find accordingly belongs solely to + Grundtvig.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt8" href="#NtA8">[8]</a> Ongentheow is mentioned in + <i>Widsith</i> (l. 31) as a famous king of the Swedes. Many of the kings + mentioned in the same list can be proved to be historical, and the + reference in <i>Widsith</i> therefore supports Ongentheow's historic + character, but is far, in itself, from proving it.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt9" href="#NtA9">[9]</a> Strictly <i>Anganþér</i>. See + Heusler, <i>Heldennamen in mehrfacher Lautgestalt, Z.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">LII</span>, 101.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt10" href="#NtA10">[10]</a> ll. 2382-4.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt11" href="#NtA11">[11]</a> ll. 2612-9.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt12" href="#NtA12">[12]</a> Whether it be accuracy or + accident, these names Ottar and Athils come just at that place in the + list of the <i>Ynglinga tal</i> which, when we reckon back the + generations, we find to correspond to the beginning of the sixth century. + And this is the date when we know from <i>Beowulf</i> that they should + have been reigning.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt13" href="#NtA13">[13]</a> But the accounts are quite + inconsistent. Saxo (ed. Holder, pp. 56-7) implies a version in which + Athils was deposed, if not slain, by Bothvar Bjarki, which is quite at + variance with other information given by Saxo.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt14" href="#NtA14">[14]</a> Unless they are among the + fragments carried off to the Stockholm Museum. Little of interest was + found in these mounds when they were opened: everything had been too + thoroughly burnt.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt15" href="#NtA15">[15]</a> See Schück, <i>Folknamnet + Geatas</i>, 22 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt16" href="#NtA16">[16]</a> See below, p. <a + href="#page98">98</a> and <a href="#appE">Appendix (E)</a>; The + "Jute-Question."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt17" href="#NtA17">[17]</a> See below, pp. <a + href="#page45">45</a> <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt18" href="#NtA18">[18]</a> Olrik (<i>Heltedigtning</i>, I, + 22 <i>etc.</i>). The Danish house—Healfdene, Heorogar, Hrothgar, + Halga, Heoroweard, Hrethric, Hrothmund, Hrothulf: the + Swedish—Ongentheow, Onela, Ohthere, Eanmund, Eadgils: the + Geatic—Hrethel, Herebeald, Hætheyn, Hygelac, Heardred. The same + principle is strongly marked in the Old English pedigrees.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt19" href="#NtA19">[19]</a> ll. 3018 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt20" href="#NtA20">[20]</a> As is done, e.g., by Schück + (<i>Studier i Beowulf-sagan</i>, 27).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt21" href="#NtA21">[21]</a> "Dragon fights are more + frequent, not less frequent, the nearer we come to historic times": + Olrik, <i>Heltedigtning</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 313. The dragon + survived much later in Europe than has been generally recognized. He was + flying from Mount Pilatus in 1649. (See J. J. Scheuchzer, <i>Itinera per + Helvetiae Alpinas regiones</i>, 1723, <span class="scac">III</span>, p. + 385.) The same authority quotes accounts of dragons authenticated by + priests, his own contemporaries, and supplies many bloodcurdling + engravings of the same.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt22" href="#NtA22">[22]</a> Cf. on this point Klaeber in + <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XXXVI</span> (1912) p. 190.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt23" href="#NtA23">[23]</a> l. 2382.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt24" href="#NtA24">[24]</a> l. 2393.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt25" href="#NtA25">[25]</a> Of course, even if Beowulf's + reign over the Geatas is not historic, this does not exclude the + possibility of his having <i>some</i> historic foundation.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt26" href="#NtA26">[26]</a> Attempts at working out the + chronology of <i>Beowulf</i> have been made by Gering (in his + translation) and by Heusler (<i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">CXXIV</span>, 9-14). On the whole the chronology of + <i>Beowulf</i> is self-consistent, but there are one or two discrepancies + which do not admit of solution.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt27" href="#NtA27">[27]</a> l. 468.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt28" href="#NtA28">[28]</a> l. 2161.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt29" href="#NtA29">[29]</a> <i>Widsith</i>, l. 46.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt30" href="#NtA30">[30]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, l. 2160. Had + Hrothulf been a son of Heorogar he could not have been passed over in + silence here. Neither can Hrothulf be Hrothgar's sister's son: for since + the sister married the Swedish king, Hrothulf would in that case be a + Swedish prince, and presumably would be living at the Swedish court, and + bearing a name connected by alliteration with those of the Swedish, not + the Danish house. Besides, had he been a Swedish prince, he must have + been heard of in connection with the dynastic quarrels of the Swedish + house.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt31" href="#NtA31">[31]</a> ll. 1163-5.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt32" href="#NtA32">[32]</a> ll. 1188-91.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt33" href="#NtA33">[33]</a> ll. 1180 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt34" href="#NtA34">[34]</a> Doubts are expressed, for + example, in Trap's monumental topographical work (<i>Kongeriket + Danmark</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 328, 1898).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt35" href="#NtA35">[35]</a> For example Sweyn Aageson (c. + 1200) had no doubt that the little village of Leire near Roskilde was + identical with the Leire of story: <i>Rolf Kraki, occisus in Lethra, qvae + tunc famosissima Regis extitit curia, nunc autem Roskildensi vicina + civitati, inter abjectissima ferme vix colitur oppida.</i> Svenonis + Aggonis <i>Historia Regum Daniae</i>, in Langebek, <span + class="scac">I</span>, 45.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt36" href="#NtA36">[36]</a> <i>Ro ... patrem vero suum Dan + colle apud Lethram tumulavit Sialandie ubi sedem regni pro eo pater + constituit, qvam ipse post eum divitiis multiplicibus ditavit.</i> In the + so-called <i>Annales Esromenses</i>, in Langebek, <span + class="scac">I</span>, 224. Cf. Olrik, <i>Heltedigtning</i>, <span + class="scac">I</span>, 188, 194. For further evidence, see <a + href="#appG">Appendix (G)</a> below.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt37" href="#NtA37">[37]</a> We must not think of Heorot as + an isolated country seat. The Royal Hall would stand in the middle of the + Royal Village, as in the case of the halls of Attila (Priscus in Möller's + <i>Fragmenta</i>, <span class="scac">IV</span>, 85) or Cynewulf (<i>A.S. + Chronicle</i>, Anno 755).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt38" href="#NtA38">[38]</a> <i>Lethram pergitur, quod + oppidum, a Roluone constructum eximiisque regni opibus illustratum, + ceteris confinium prouinciarum urbibus regie fundacionis et sedis + auctoritate prestabat.</i> Saxo, Book <span class="scac">II</span> (ed. + Holder, p. 58).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt39" href="#NtA39">[39]</a> <i>His cognitis Helgo filium + Roluonem Lethrica arce conclusit, heredis saluti consulturus</i> (p. + 52).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt40" href="#NtA40">[40]</a> <i>A Roe Roskildia condita + memoratur.</i> Saxo, Book <span class="scac">II</span> (ed. Holder, p. + 51). Roe's spring, after being a feature of the town throughout the ages, + is now (owing perhaps to its sources having been tapped by a neighbouring + mineral-water factory) represented only by a pump in a market-garden.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt41" href="#NtA41">[41]</a> I owe this paragraph to + information kindly supplied me by Dr Sofus Larsen, librarian of the + University Library, Copenhagen.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt42" href="#NtA42">[42]</a> It was once believed that, in + prehistoric times, the sea came up to Leire also (Forchhammer, Steenstrup + and Worsaae: <i>Undersøgelser i geologisk-antiqvarisk Retning</i>, + Kjøbenhavn, 1851). A most exact scrutiny of the geology of the coast-line + has proved this to be erroneous. (Danmarks geologiske Undersøgelse I.R. + 6. <i>Beskrivelse til Kaartbladene Kjøbenhavn og Roskilde</i>, af K. + Rørdam, Kjøbenhavn, 1899.)</p> + + <p><a name="Nt43" href="#NtA43">[43]</a> The presence at Leire of early + remains makes it tempting to suppose that it may have been from very + primitive times a stronghold or sacred place. It is impossible here to + examine these conjectures, which would connect Heorot ultimately with the + "sacred place on the isle of the ocean" mentioned by Tacitus. The curious + may be referred to Much in <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XVII</span>, + 196-8; Mogk in <i>Pauls Grdr.</i> (2) <span class="scac">III</span>, 367; + Kock in the Swedish <i>Historisk Tidskrift</i>, 1895, 162 <i>etc.</i>; + and particularly to the articles by Sarrazin: <i>Die Hirsch Halle</i> in + <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XIX</span>, 368-91, <i>Neue + Beowulfstudien</i> (<i>Der Grendelsee</i>) in <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XLII</span>, 6-15.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt44" href="#NtA44">[44]</a> This seems to me much more + probable than, as Olrik supposes, that Froda fell in battle against + Healfdene (<i>Skjoldungasaga</i>, 162 [80]).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt45" href="#NtA45">[45]</a> <i>Saga of Rolf Kraki</i>, cap. + <span class="scac">IV</span>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt46" href="#NtA46">[46]</a> Olrik wishes to read the whole + of this account, not as a prediction in the present future tense, but as + a narrative of past events in the historic present. + (<i>Heltedigtning</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 16; <span + class="scac">II</span>, 38.) Considering the rarity of the historic + present idiom in Old English poetry, this seems exceedingly unlikely.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt47" href="#NtA47">[47]</a> ll. 2047-2056.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt48" href="#NtA48">[48]</a> <i>Verba dei legantur in + sacerdotali convivio; ibi decet lectorem audiri, non citharistam, + sermones patrum, non carmina gentilium. Quid Hinieldus cum Christo?</i> + See Jaffé's <i>Monumenta Alcuiniana</i> (<i>Bibliotheca Rer. Germ.</i> + <span class="scac">VI</span>), Berlin, 1873, p. 357; <i>Epistolae</i>, + 81.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt49" href="#NtA49">[49]</a> Saxo, Book <i>VI</i> (ed. + Holder, 205, 212-13).</p> + + <p>The contrast between this lyrical outburst, and the matter-of-fact + speech in which the old warrior in <i>Beowulf</i> eggs on the younger + man, is thoroughly characteristic of the difference between Old English + and Old Scandinavian heroic poetry. This difference is very noticeable + whenever we have occasion to compare a passage in <i>Beowulf</i> with any + parallel passage in a Scandinavian poem, and should be carefully pondered + by those who still believe that <i>Beowulf</i> is, in its present form, a + translation from the Scandinavian.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt50" href="#NtA50">[50]</a> Saxo, Book <span + class="scac">VIII</span> (ed. Holder, p. 274); <i>Helga kviþa + Hundingsbana</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 19. See also Bugge, + <i>Helge-digtene</i>, 157.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt51" href="#NtA51">[51]</a> <i>Þáttr Þorsteins Skelks</i> in + <i>Flateyarbók</i> (ed. Vigfússon and Unger), <span + class="scac">I</span>, 416.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt52" href="#NtA52">[52]</a> Similarly, there is certainly a + primitive connection between the names of the Geatas (Gautar) and of the + Goths: but they are quite distinct peoples: we should not be justified in + speaking of the Geatas as identical with the Goths.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt53" href="#NtA53">[53]</a> Müllenhoff (<i>Beovulf</i>, + 29-32) followed by Much (<i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XVII</span>, + 201) and Heinzel (<i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XVI</span>, 271). + The best account of the Heruli is in Procopius (<i>Bell. Gott.</i> <span + class="scac">II</span>, 14, 15).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt54" href="#NtA54">[54]</a> See also Olrik, + <i>Heltedigtning</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 21, 22: Sarrazin in + <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XLII</span>, 11: Bugge, + <i>Helgi-digtene</i>, 151-63; 181: Chambers, <i>Widsith</i>, p. 82 + (note), pp. 205-6.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt55" href="#NtA55">[55]</a> <i>Saga of Rolf Kraki: + Skjoldungasaga.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt56" href="#NtA56">[56]</a> Best represented in Saxo.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt57" href="#NtA57">[57]</a> See above, p. <a + href="#page15">15</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt58" href="#NtA58">[58]</a> ll. 1180-87.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt59" href="#NtA59">[59]</a> ll. 1188-91.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt60" href="#NtA60">[60]</a> ll. 1163-5.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt61" href="#NtA61">[61]</a> ll. 1017-19.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt62" href="#NtA62">[62]</a> ll. 45-6.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt63" href="#NtA63">[63]</a> For a contrary view see Clarke, + <i>Sidelights</i>, 100.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt64" href="#NtA64">[64]</a> Saxo has mistaken a title + <i>hnøggvanbaugi</i> for a father's name, (<i>hins</i>) <i>hnøggva + Baugs</i> "(son of the) covetous Baug."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt65" href="#NtA65">[65]</a> <i>Langfeðgatal</i> in Langebek, + <span class="scac">I</span>, 5. The succession given in + <i>Langfeðgatal</i> is Halfdan, Helgi and Hroar, Rolf, Hrærek: it should, + of course, run Halfdan, Helgi and Hroar, Hrærek, Rolf. Hrærek has been + moved from his proper place in order to clear Rolf of any suspicion of + usurpation.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt66" href="#NtA66">[66]</a> l. 1189.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt67" href="#NtA67">[67]</a> See Olrik, <i>Episke Love</i> in + <i>Danske Studier</i>, 1908, p. 79. Compare the remark of Goethe in + <i>Wilhelm Meister</i>, as to the necessity of there being <i>both</i> a + Rosencrantz <i>and</i> a Guildenstern (<i>Apprenticeship</i>, Book V, + chap. <span class="sc">v</span>).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt68" href="#NtA68">[68]</a> ll. 587-9.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt69" href="#NtA69">[69]</a> ll. 1165-8.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt70" href="#NtA70">[70]</a> Perhaps such murder of kin was + more common among the aristocratic houses than among the bulk of the + population (Chadwick, <i>H.A.</i> 348). In some great families it almost + becomes the rule, producing a state of things similar to that in present + day Afghanistan, where it has become a proverb that a man is "as great an + enemy as a cousin" (Pennell, <i>Afghan Frontier</i>, 30).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt71" href="#NtA71">[71]</a> This is proposed by Cosijn + (<i>Aanteekeningen</i>, 21) and again independently by Lawrence in + <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXV</span>, 157.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt72" href="#NtA72">[72]</a> ll. 467-9.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt73" href="#NtA73">[73]</a> ll. 2155-62.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt74" href="#NtA74">[74]</a> See <i>Widsith</i>, ed. + Chambers, pp. 92-4.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt75" href="#NtA75">[75]</a> See Rickert, "The Old English + Offa Saga" in <i>Mod. Phil.</i> <span class="scac">II</span>, esp. p. + 75.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt76" href="#NtA76">[76]</a> The common ascription of the + <i>Lives of the Offas</i> to Matthew Paris is erroneous: they are + somewhat earlier.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt77" href="#NtA77">[77]</a> The identification of + <i>Fifeldor</i> with the Eider has been doubted, notably by Holthausen, + though he seems less doubtful in his latest edition (third edit. <span + class="scac">II</span>, 178). The reasons for the identification appear + to me the following. Place names ending in <i>dor</i> are exceedingly + rare. When, therefore, two independent authorities tell us that Offa + fought at a place named <i>Fifel-dor</i> or <i>Egi-dor</i>, it appears + unlikely that this can be a mere coincidence: it seems more natural to + assume that the names are corruptions of one original. But further, the + connection is not limited to the second element in the name. For the + Eider (<i>Egidora</i>, <i>Ægisdyr</i>) would in O.E. be <i>Egor-dor</i>: + and <i>Egor-dor</i> stands to <i>Fifel-dor</i> precisely as + <i>egor-stream</i> (Boethius, <i>Metra</i>, <span class="scac">XX</span>, + 118) does to <i>fifel-stream</i> (<i>Metra</i>, <span + class="scac">XXVI</span>, 26), <i>"egor" and "fifel" being + interchangeable synonyms</i>. See note to <i>Widsith</i>, l. 43 (p. 204). + It is objected that the interchange of <i>fifel</i> and <i>egor</i>, + though frequent in common nouns, would be unusual in the name of a place. + The reply is that the Old English scop may not have regarded it as a + place-name. He may have substituted <i>fifel-dor</i> for the synonymous + <i>egor-dor</i>, "the monster gate," without realizing that it was the + name of a definite place, just as he would have substituted + <i>fifel-stream</i> for <i>egor-stream</i>, "the monster stream, the + sea," if alliteration demanded the change.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt78" href="#NtA78">[78]</a> <i>The Deeds of Beowulf</i>, + <span class="scac">LXXXV</span>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt79" href="#NtA79">[79]</a> See below, pp. <a + href="#page105">105</a>-12, and <a href="#appD">Appendix (D)</a> + below.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt80" href="#NtA80">[80]</a> Wihtlæg appears in Saxo as + <i>Vigletus</i> (Book <span class="scac">IV</span>, ed. Holder, p. + 105).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt81" href="#NtA81">[81]</a> <i>Nibelungen Lied</i>, ed. + Piper, 328.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt82" href="#NtA82">[82]</a> Book <span + class="scac">IV</span> (ed. Holder, p. 102).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt83" href="#NtA83">[83]</a> Kemble, <i>Beowulf</i>, + <i>Postscript</i> <span class="scac">IX</span>; followed by Müllenhoff, + <i>etc.</i> So, lately, Chadwick (<i>H.A.</i> 126): cf. also Sievers + ('Beowulf und Saxo' in the <i>Berichte d. k. sächs. Gesell. d. + Wissenschaften</i>, 1895, pp. 180-88); Bradley in <i>Encyc. Brit.</i> + <span class="scac">III</span>, 761; Boer, <i>Beowulf</i>, 135. See also + Olrik, <i>Danmarks Heltedigtning</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 246. + For further discussion see below, <a href="#appA">Appendix (A)</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt84" href="#NtA84">[84]</a> + <i>Beo</i>—<i>Scyld</i>—<i>Scef</i> in Ethelwerd: + <i>Beowius</i>—<i>Sceldius</i>—<i>Sceaf</i> in William of + Malmesbury. But in the <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i> five generations + intervene between Sceaf and his descendant Scyldwa, father of Beaw.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt85" href="#NtA85">[85]</a> "Item there is vii acres lond + lying by the high weye toward the grendyll": <i>Bury Wills</i>, ed. S. + Tymms (Camden Soc. <span class="scac">XLIX</span>, 1850, p. 31).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt86" href="#NtA86">[86]</a> I should hardly have thought it + worth while to revive this old "cesspool" theory, were it not for the + statement of Dr Lawrence that "Miller's argument that the word + <i>grendel</i> here is not a proper name at all, that it means 'drain,' + has never, to my knowledge, been refuted." (<i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. + Amer.</i> <span class="scac">XXIV</span>, 253.)</p> + + <p>Miller was a scholar whose memory should be reverenced, but the letter + to the <i>Academy</i> was evidently written in haste. The only evidence + which Miller produced for <i>grendel</i> standing alone as a common noun + in Old English was a charter of 963 (Birch, 1103: vol. <span + class="scac">III</span>, p. 336): <i>þanon forð eft on grendel: þanon on + clyst</i>: <i>grendel</i> here, he asserted, meant "drain": and + consequently <i>gryndeles sylle</i> and <i>grendles mere</i> in the other + charters must mean "cesspool." But the locality of this charter of 963 is + known (Clyst St Mary, a few miles east of Exeter), and the two words + exist there as names of streams to this day—"thence again along the + Greendale brook, thence along the river Clyst." The Grindle or Greendale + brook is no sewer, but a stream some half dozen miles in length which + "winds tranquilly through a rich tract of alluvial soil" (<i>Journal of + the Archaeol. Assoc.</i> <span class="scac">XXXIX</span>, 273), past + three villages which bear the same name, Greendale, Greendale Barton and + Higher Greendale, under Greendale Bridge and over the ford by Greendale + Lane, to its junction with the Clyst. Why the existence of this charming + stream should be held to justify the interpretation of <i>Grendel</i> or + <i>Gryndel</i> as "drain" and <i>grendles mere</i> as "cesspool" has + always puzzled me. Were a new Drayton to arise he might, in a new + <i>Polyolbion</i>, introduce the nymph complaining of her hard lot at the + hands of scholars in the Hesperides. I hope, when he next visits England, + to conduct Dr Lawrence to make his apologies to the lady. Meantime a + glance at the "six inch" ordnance map of Devon suffices to refute + Miller's curious hypothesis.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt87" href="#NtA87">[87]</a> It is often asserted that the + same Beowa appears as a witness to a charter (Müllenhoff, <i>Beovulf</i>, + p. 8: Haak, <i>Zeugnisse zur altenglischen Heldensage</i>, 53). But this + rests upon a misprint of Kemble (<i>C.D.S.</i> <span + class="scac">V</span>, 44). The name is really <i>Beoba</i> (Birch, + <i>Cart. Sax.</i> <span class="scac">I</span>, 212).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt88" href="#NtA88">[88]</a> <i>Beaf er ver kollum Biar</i>, + in the descent of Harold Fairhair from Adam, in <i>Flateyarbók</i>, ed. + Vigfússon and Unger, Christiania, 1859, <span class="scac">I</span>, 27. + [The genealogy contains many names obviously taken from a <span + class="scac">MS</span> of the O.E. royal pedigrees, not from oral + tradition, as is shown by the miswritings, e.g., <i>Beaf</i> for + <i>Beaw</i>, owing to mistaking the O.E. <i>w</i> for <i>f</i>.] "This is + no proof," Dr Lawrence urges, "of popular acquaintance with Bjár as a + Scandinavian figure." (<i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span + class="scac">XXIV</span>, 246.) But how are we to account for the + presence of his name among a mnemonic list of some of the most famous + warriors and their horses—mention along with heroes like Sigurd, + Gunnar, Atli, Athils and Ali, unless Bjar was a well-known figure?</p> + + <p><a name="Nt89" href="#NtA89">[89]</a> <i>en Bjárr [reið] Kerti</i>. + <i>Kortr</i>, "short" (Germ. <i>Kurz</i>), if indeed we are so to + interpret it, is hardly an Icelandic word, and seems strange as the name + of a horse. Egilsson (<i>Lex. Poet.</i> 1860) suggests <i>kertr</i>, + "erect," "with head high" (cf. Kahle in <i>I.F.</i> <span + class="scac">XIV</span>, 164).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt90" href="#NtA90">[90]</a> See <a href="#appA">Appendix + (A)</a> below.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt91" href="#NtA91">[91]</a> Müllenhoff derived Beaw from the + root <i>bhū</i>, "to be, dwell, grow": Beaw therefore represented + settled dwelling and culture. Müllenhoff's mythological explanation + (<i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">VII</span>, 419, <i>etc.</i>, + <i>Beovulf</i>, 1, <i>etc.</i>) has been largely followed by subsequent + scholars, e.g., ten Brink (<i>Pauls Grdr.</i> <span + class="scac">II</span>, 533: <i>Beowulf</i>, 184), Symons (<i>Pauls + Grdr.</i> (2), <span class="scac">III</span>, 645-6) and, in general + outline, E. H. Meyer (<i>Mythol. der Germanen</i>, 1903, 242).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt92" href="#NtA92">[92]</a> Uhland in <i>Germania</i>, <span + class="scac">II</span>, 349.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt93" href="#NtA93">[93]</a> Laistner (<i>Nebelsagen</i>, 88, + <i>etc.</i>, 264, <i>etc.</i>), Kögel (<i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXVII</span>, 274: <i>Geschichte d. deut. Litt.</i> <span + class="scac">I</span>, 1, 109), and Golther (<i>Handbuch der germ. + Mythologie</i>, 1895, 173) see in Grendel the demon of combined storm and + pestilence.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt94" href="#NtA94">[94]</a> E. H. Meyer (<i>Germ. + Mythol.</i> 1891, 299).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt95" href="#NtA95">[95]</a> Mogk (<i>Pauls Grdr.</i> (2), + <span class="scac">III</span>, 302) regards Grendel as a + "water-spirit."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt96" href="#NtA96">[96]</a> Boer (<i>Ark. f. nord. + Filol.</i> <span class="scac">XIX</span>, 19).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt97" href="#NtA97">[97]</a> This suggestion is made (very + tentatively) by Brandl, in <i>Pauls Grdr.</i> (2), <span + class="scac">II</span>, i, 992.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt98" href="#NtA98">[98]</a> This view has been enunciated by + Wundt in his <i>Völkerpsychologie</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, i, + 326, <i>etc.</i>, 382. For a discussion see A. Heusler in <i>Berliner + Sitzungsberichte</i>, <span class="scac">XXXVII</span>, 1909, pp. + 939-945.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt99" href="#NtA99">[99]</a> Cf. Lawrence in <i>Pub. Mod. + Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span class="scac">XXIV</span>, 265, <i>etc.</i>, + and Panzer's "Beowulf" throughout.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt100" href="#NtA100">[100]</a> The tradition of "the devil + and his dam" resembles that of Grendel and his mother in its coupling + together the home-keeping female and the roving male. See E. Lehmann, + "Fandens Oldemor" in <i>Dania</i>, <span class="scac">VIII</span>, + 179-194; a paper which has been undeservedly neglected in the + <i>Beowulf</i> bibliographies. But the devil beats his dam (cf. <i>Piers + Plowman</i>, C-text, <span class="scac">XXI</span>, 284): conduct of + which one cannot imagine Grendel guilty. See too Lehmann in <i>Arch. f. + Religionswiss.</i> <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 411-30: Panzer, + <i>Beowulf</i>, 130, 137, <i>etc.</i>: Klaeber in <i>Anglia</i>, <span + class="scac">XXXVI</span>, 188.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt101" href="#NtA101">[101]</a> Cf. <i>Beowulf</i>, ll. + 1282-7.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt102" href="#NtA102">[102]</a> There are other coincidences + which <i>may</i> be the result of mere chance. In each case, before the + adventure with the giants, the hero proves his strength by a feat of + endurance in the ice-cold water. And, at the end of the story, the hero + in each case produces, as evidence of his victory, a trophy with a runic + inscription: in <i>Beowulf</i> an engraved sword-hilt; in the <i>Grettis + saga</i> bones and a "rune-staff."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt103" href="#NtA103">[103]</a> Vigfússon, <i>Corp. Poet. + Boreale</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 502: Bugge, <i>P.B.B.</i> + <span class="scac">XII</span>, 58.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt104" href="#NtA104">[104]</a> Boer, for example, believes + that <i>Beowulf</i> influenced the <i>Grettis saga</i> (<i>Grettis + saga</i>, Introduction, xliii); so, tentatively, Olrik + (<i>Heltedigtning</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 248).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt105" href="#NtA105">[105]</a> For this argument and the + following, cf. Schück, <i>Studier i Beowulfssagan</i>, 21.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt106" href="#NtA106">[106]</a> Even assuming that a <span + class="scac">MS</span> of <i>Beowulf</i> had found its way to Iceland, it + would have been unintelligible. This is shown by the absurd blunders made + when Icelanders borrowed names from the O.E. genealogies.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt107" href="#NtA107">[107]</a> Cf. Olrik, <i>A. f. n. + F.</i>, <span class="scac">VIII</span> (N.F. <span + class="scac">IV</span>), 368-75; and Chadwick, <i>Origin</i>, 125-6.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt108" href="#NtA108">[108]</a> <i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. + Amer.</i> <span class="scac">XXVII</span>, 208 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt109" href="#NtA109">[109]</a> <i>Cotton. Gnomic Verses</i>, + ll. 42-3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt110" href="#NtA110">[110]</a> <i>Fornmannasǫgur</i>, + <span class="scac">III</span>, 204-228.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt111" href="#NtA111">[111]</a> Hammershaimb, + <i>Færōiske Kvœder</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 1855, + Nos. 11 and 12.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt112" href="#NtA112">[112]</a> A. I. Arwidsson, <i>Svenska + Fornsånger</i>, 1834-42, Nos. 8 and 9.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt113" href="#NtA113">[113]</a> Boer, <i>Beowulf</i>, + 177-180.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt114" href="#NtA114">[114]</a> ll. 1553-6.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt115" href="#NtA115">[115]</a> l. 455.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt116" href="#NtA116">[116]</a> The attacks have taken place + at Yule for two successive years, exactly as in the <i>Grettis saga</i>. + [In <i>Beowulf</i> it is, of course, "twelve winters" (l. 147).] Is this + mere accident, or does the <i>Grettis saga</i> here preserve the original + time limit, which has been exaggerated in <i>Beowulf</i>? If so, we have + another point of resemblance between the <i>Saga of Rolf Kraki</i> and + the earliest version of the <i>Beowulf</i> story.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt117" href="#NtA117">[117]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, ll. + 801-5.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt118" href="#NtA118">[118]</a> Cf. <i>Beowulf</i>, ll. + 590-606.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt119" href="#NtA119">[119]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, l. 679.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt120" href="#NtA120">[120]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, ll. 1508-9, + 1524.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt121" href="#NtA121">[121]</a> It is only in this adventure + that Rolf carries the sword <i>Gullinhjalti</i>. His usual sword, as well + known as Arthur's Excalibur, was <i>Skofnungr</i>. For <i>Gyldenhilt</i>, + whether descriptive, or proper noun, see <i>Beowulf</i>, 1677.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt122" href="#NtA122">[122]</a> Cf. Symons in <i>Pauls + Grdr.</i> (2), <span class="scac">III</span>, 649: Züge aus dem + anglischen Mythus von Béaw-Biar (Biarr oder Bjár?; s. Symons Lieder der + Edda, <span class="scac">I</span>, 222) wurden auf den dänischen + Sagenhelden (Boðvarr) Bjarki durch Ähnlichkeit der Namen veranlasst, + übertragen. Cf. too, Heusler in <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XXX</span>, 32.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt123" href="#NtA123">[123]</a> See p. <a + href="#page87">87</a> and <a href="#appA">Appendix (A)</a> below.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt124" href="#NtA124">[124]</a> <i>Heltedigtning</i>, <span + class="scac">I</span>, 1903, 135-6.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt125" href="#NtA125">[125]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, 1518.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt126" href="#NtA126">[126]</a> See Heusler in + <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XLVIII</span>, 62.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt127" href="#NtA127">[127]</a> Cf. on this Heusler, + <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XLVIII</span>, 64-5.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt128" href="#NtA128">[128]</a> Cf. <i>Skjoldunga saga</i>, + cap. <span class="scac">XII</span>; and see Olrik, <i>Heltedigtning</i>, + <span class="scac">I</span>, 201-5; <i>Bjarka rímur</i>, <span + class="scac">VIII</span>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt129" href="#NtA129">[129]</a> Similarly + <i>Skáldskaparmál</i>, 41 (44).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt130" href="#NtA130">[130]</a> Bärensohn. Jean l'Ours. The + name is given to the group because the hero is frequently (though by no + means always) represented as having been brought up in a bear's den. The + story summarized above is a portion of Panzer's "Type A." See <a + href="#appH">Appendix (H)</a>, below.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt131" href="#NtA131">[131]</a> ll. 704, 729.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt132" href="#NtA132">[132]</a> ll. 691-6.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt133" href="#NtA133">[133]</a> In the <i>Beowulf</i> it was + even desirable, as explained above, to go further, and completely to + exculpate the Danish watchers.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt134" href="#NtA134">[134]</a> From the controversial point + of view Panzer has no doubt weakened his case by drawing attention to so + many of these, probably accidental, coincidences. It gives the critic + material for attack (cf. Boer, <i>Beowulf</i>, 14)</p> + + <p><a name="Nt135" href="#NtA135">[135]</a> ll. 2183 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt136" href="#NtA136">[136]</a> ll. 408-9.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt137" href="#NtA137">[137]</a> It comes out strongly in the + <i>Bjarki</i>-story.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt138" href="#NtA138">[138]</a> It can hardly be argued that + Stein is mentioned because he was an historic character who in some way + came into contact with the historic Grettir: for in this case his descent + would have been given, according to the usual custom in the sagas. (Cf. + note to Boer's edition of <i>Grettis saga</i>, p. 233.)</p> + + <p><a name="Nt139" href="#NtA139">[139]</a> P. E. K. Kaalund, <i>Bidrag + til en historisk-topografisk Beskrivelse af Island</i>, Kjøbenhavn, 1877, + <span class="scac">II</span>, 151.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt140" href="#NtA140">[140]</a> The localization in <i>en + stor sandhaug</i> is found in a version of the story to which Panzer was + unable to get access (see p. 7 of his <i>Beowulf</i>, Note 2). A copy is + to be found in the University Library of Christiania, in a small book + entitled <i>Nor, en Billedbog for den norske Ungdom</i>. Christiania, + 1865. (<i>Norske Folke-Eventyr ... fortalte af P. C. Asbjørnsen</i>, pp. + 65-128.)</p> + + <p>The <i>sandhaug</i> is an extraordinary coincidence, if it <i>is</i> a + mere coincidence. It cannot have been imported into the modern folk-tale + from the <i>Grettis saga</i>, for there is no superficial resemblance + between the two tales.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt141" href="#NtA141">[141]</a> Cf. Boer, <i>Beowulf</i>, + 14.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt142" href="#NtA142">[142]</a> Yet both Beowulf and Orm are + saved by divine help.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt143" href="#NtA143">[143]</a> Panzer exaggerates the case + against his own theory when he quotes only six versions as omitting the + princesses (p. 122). Such unanimity as this is hardly to be looked for in + a collection of 202 kindred folk-tales. In addition to these six, the + princesses are altogether missing, for example, in the versions Panzer + numbers 68, 69, 77: they are only faintly represented in other versions + (e.g. 76). Nevertheless the rescue of the princesses may be regarded as + the most essential element in the tale.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt144" href="#NtA144">[144]</a> I cannot agree with Panzer + when (p. 319) he suggests the possibility of the <i>Beowulf</i> and the + <i>Grettir</i>-story having been derived independently from the + folk-tale. For the two stories have many features in common which do not + belong to the folk-tale: apart from the absence of the princesses we have + the <i>hæft-mēce</i> and the strange conclusion drawn by the + watchers from the blood-stained water.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt145" href="#NtA145">[145]</a> Ipse Scef cum uno dromone + advectus est in insula Oceani, quae dicitur Scani, armis circundatus, + eratque valde recens puer, & ab incolis illius terrae ignotus; + attamen ab eis suscipitur, & ut familiarem diligenti animo eum + custodierunt, & post in regem eligunt.</p> + + <p>Ethelwerdus, <span class="scac">III</span>, 3, in Savile's <i>Rerum + Anglicarum Scriptores post Bedam</i>, Francofurti, 1601, p. 842.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt146" href="#NtA146">[146]</a> See Chadwick, <i>Origin</i>, + 259-60.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt147" href="#NtA147">[147]</a> Sceldius [fuit filius] Sceaf. + Iste, ut ferunt, in quandam insulam Germaniae Scandzam, de qua Jordanes, + historiographus Gothorum, loquitur, appulsus navi sine remige, puerulus, + posito ad caput frumenti manipulo, dormiens, ideoque Sceaf nuncupatus, ab + hominibus regionis illius pro miraculo exceptus et sedulo nutritus: + adulta aetate regnavit in oppido quod tunc Slaswic, nunc vero Haithebi + appellatur. Est autem regio illa Anglia vetus dicta....</p> + + <p>William of Malmesbury, <i>De Gestis Regum Anglorum</i>. Lib. <span + class="scac">II</span>, § 116, vol. <span class="scac">I</span>, p. 121, + ed. Stubbs, 1887.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt148" href="#NtA148">[148]</a> Although Saxo Grammaticus has + provided some even earlier kings.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt149" href="#NtA149">[149]</a> Cf. Müllenhoff in + <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">VII</span>, 413.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt150" href="#NtA150">[150]</a> In <i>Grímnismál</i>, 54, + Odin gives <i>Gautr</i> as one of his names.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt151" href="#NtA151">[151]</a> See below.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt152" href="#NtA152">[152]</a> Excluding, of course, the + Hebrew names.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt153" href="#NtA153">[153]</a> <i>Scyld</i> appears as + <i>Scyldwa</i>, <i>Sce(a)ldwa</i> in the <i>Chronicle</i>. The forms + correspond.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt154" href="#NtA154">[154]</a> See Part II.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt155" href="#NtA155">[155]</a> <i>armis circundatus</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt156" href="#NtA156">[156]</a> For a list of the scholars + who have dealt with the subject, see <i>Widsith</i>, p. 119.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt157" href="#NtA157">[157]</a> <i>Beovulf</i>, p. 6 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt158" href="#NtA158">[158]</a> <i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. + Amer.</i> <span class="scac">XXIV</span>, 259 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt159" href="#NtA159">[159]</a> This objection to the + Scyld-theory has been excellently expressed by Olrik—at a time, + too, when Olrik himself accepted the story as belonging to Scyld rather + than Sceaf. "Binz," says Olrik, "rejects William of Malmesbury as a + source for the Scyld story. But he has not noticed that in doing so he + saws across the branch upon which he himself and the other investigators + are sitting. For if William is not a reliable authority, and even a more + reliable authority than the others, then 'Scyld with the sheaf' is left + in the air." <i>Heltedigtning</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 238-9, + note.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt160" href="#NtA160">[160]</a> The discussion of Skjold by + Olrik (<i>Danmarks Heltedigtning</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, + 223-271) is perhaps the most helpful of any yet made, especially in + emphasizing the necessity of differentiating the stages in the story. But + it must be taken in connection with the very essential modifications made + by Dr Olrik in his second volume (pp. 249-65, especially pp. 264-5). Dr + Olrik's earlier interpretation made Scyld the original hero of the story: + <i>Scefing</i> Olrik interpreted, not as "with the sheaf," but as "son of + Scef." To the objection that any knowledge of Scyld's parentage would be + inconsistent with his unknown origin, Olrik replied by supposing that + Scyld was a foundling whose origin, though unknown to the people of the + land to which he came, was well known to the poet. The poet, Dr Olrik + thought, regarded him as a son of the Langobardic king, Sceafa, a + connection which we are to attribute to the Anglo-Saxon love of framing + genealogies. But this explanation of Scyld Scefing as a human foundling + does not seem to me to be borne out by the text of <i>Beowulf</i>. "The + child is a poor foundling," says Dr Olrik, "<i>he suffered distress from + the time when he was first found as a helpless child</i>. Only as a grown + man did he get compensation for his childhood's adversity" (p. 228). But + this is certainly not the meaning of <i>egsode eorl[as]</i>. It is "<i>He + inspired the earl[s] with awe</i>."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt161" href="#NtA161">[161]</a> See below (<a + href="#appC">App. C</a>) for instances of ancestral names extant both in + weak and strong forms, like <i>Scyld</i>, <i>Sceldwa</i> (the identity of + which no one doubts) or <i>Sceaf</i>, <i>Sceafa</i> (the identity of + which has been doubted).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt162" href="#NtA162">[162]</a> "As for the name + <i>Scyldungas-Skjöldungar</i>, we need not hesitate to believe that this + originally meant 'the people' or 'kinsmen of the shield.' Similar + appellations are not uncommon, e.g., <i>Rondingas</i>, <i>Helmingas</i>, + <i>Brondingas</i> ... probably these names meant either 'the people of + <i>the</i> shield, <i>the</i> helmet,' <i>etc.</i>, or else the people + who used shields, helmets, <i>etc.</i>, in some special way. In the + former case we may compare the Ancile of the Romans and the Palladion of + the Greeks; in either case we may note that occasionally shields have + been found in the North which can never have been used except for + ceremonial purposes." Chadwick, <i>Origin</i>, p. 284: cf. Olrik, + <i>Heltedigtning</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 274.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt163" href="#NtA163">[163]</a> Sweyn Aageson, <i>Skiold + Danis primum didici praefuisse</i>, in Langebek, <i>S.R.D.</i> <span + class="scac">I</span>, 44.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt164" href="#NtA164">[164]</a> Olrik, <i>Heltedigtning</i>, + <span class="scac">I</span>, 246; Lawrence, <i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc.</i> + <span class="scac">XXIV</span>, 254.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt165" href="#NtA165">[165]</a> It is odd that Binz, who has + recorded so many of these, should have argued on the strength of these + place-names that the Scyld story is not Danish, but an ancient possession + of the tribes of the North Sea coast (p. 150). For Binz also records an + immense number of names of heroes of alien stock—Danish, Gothic or + Burgundian—as occurring in England (<i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XX</span>, 202 <i>etc.</i>).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt166" href="#NtA166">[166]</a> <i>Beovulf</i>, p. 7.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt167" href="#NtA167">[167]</a> Chadwick, <i>Origin</i>, p. + 278.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt168" href="#NtA168">[168]</a> The scandals about King Edgar + (<i>infamias quas post dicam magis resperserunt cantilenae</i>: see + <i>Gesta Regum Anglorum</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, § 148, ed. + Stubbs, vol. <span class="scac">I</span>, p. 165); the story of Gunhilda, + the daughter of Knut, who, married to a foreign King with great pomp and + rejoicing, <i>nostro seculo etiam in triviis cantitata</i>, was unjustly + suspected of unchastity till her English page, in vindication of her + honour, slew the giant whom her accusers had brought forward as their + champion (<i>Gesta</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, § 188, ed. Stubbs, + <span class="scac">I</span>, pp. 229, 230); the story of King Edward and + the shepherdess, learnt from <i>cantilenis per successiones temporum + detritis</i> (<i>Gesta</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, § 138, ed. + Stubbs, <span class="scac">I</span>, 155). Macaulay in the <i>Lays of + Ancient Rome</i> has selected William as a typical example of the + historian who draws upon popular song. Cf. Freeman's <i>Historical + Essays</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt169" href="#NtA169">[169]</a> Olrik, <i>Heltedigtning</i>, + <span class="scac">I</span>, 245.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt170" href="#NtA170">[170]</a> <i>Origin</i>, pp. + 279-281.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt171" href="#NtA171">[171]</a> Brand, <i>Popular + Antiquities</i>, 1813, <span class="scac">I</span>, 443.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt172" href="#NtA172">[172]</a> Henderson, <i>Folklore of the + Northern Counties</i>, 87-89.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt173" href="#NtA173">[173]</a> Hone's <i>Every Day Book</i>, + 1827, p. 1170.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt174" href="#NtA174">[174]</a> <i>The Tamar and the + Tavy</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>. 330 (1836).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt175" href="#NtA175">[175]</a> Raymond, <i>Two men o' + Mendip</i>, 1899, 259.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt176" href="#NtA176">[176]</a> Miss M. A. Courtney, + <i>Glossary of West Cornwall</i>; T. Q. Couch, <i>Glossary of East + Cornwall</i>, s. v. Neck (<i>Eng. Dial. Soc.</i> 1880); Jago, <i>Ancient + Language of Cornwall</i>, 1882, s. v. Anek.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt177" href="#NtA177">[177]</a> <i>Notes and Queries</i>, 4th + Ser. <span class="scac">XII</span>, 491 (1873).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt178" href="#NtA178">[178]</a> Holland's <i>Glossary of + Chester</i> (<i>Eng. Dial. Soc.</i>), s.v. <i>Cutting the Neck.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt179" href="#NtA179">[179]</a> Burne, <i>Shropshire Folk + Lore</i>, 1883, 371.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt180" href="#NtA180">[180]</a> "to cry the Mare." Blount, + <i>Glossographia</i>, 4th edit. 1674, s.v. <i>mare</i>. Cf. <i>Notes and + Queries</i>, 5th Ser. <span class="scac">VI</span>, 286 (1876).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt181" href="#NtA181">[181]</a> Wright, <i>Eng. Dial. + Dict.</i>, s.v. <i>neck</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt182" href="#NtA182">[182]</a> Frazer, <i>Spirits of the + Corn</i>, 1912, <span class="scac">I</span>, 268. The word was understood + as = "neck" by the peasants, because "They'm taied up under the chin + laike" (<i>Notes and Queries</i>, 5th Ser. <span class="scac">X</span>, + 51). But this may be false etymology.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt183" href="#NtA183">[183]</a> Wright, <i>Eng. Dial. + Dict.</i> Cf. <i>Notes and Queries</i>, 5th Ser. <span + class="scac">X</span>, 51.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt184" href="#NtA184">[184]</a> <i>Heltedigtning</i>, <span + class="scac">II</span>, 252.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt185" href="#NtA185">[185]</a> The earliest record of the + term "cutting the neck" seems to be found in Randle Holme's <i>Store + House of Armory</i>, 1688 (<span class="scac">II</span>, 73). It may be + noted that Holme was a Cheshire man.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt186" href="#NtA186">[186]</a> Mannhardt, <i>Mythologische + Forschungen</i>, Strassburg, 1884, 326 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt187" href="#NtA187">[187]</a> Quod dum servi Dei propensius + actitarent, inspiratum est eis salubre consilium et (ut pium est credere) + divinitus provisum. Die etenim statuto mane surgentes monachi sumpserunt + scutum rotundum, cui imponebant manipulum frumenti, et super manipulum + cereum circumspectae quantitatis et grossitudinis. Quo accenso scutum cum + manipulo et cereo, fluvio ecclesiam praetercurrenti committunt, paucis in + navicula fratribus subsequentibus. Praecedebat itaque eos scutum et quasi + digito demonstrans possessiones domui Abbendoniae de jure adjacentes nunc + huc, nunc illuc divertens; nunc in dextra nunc in sinistra parte + fiducialiter eos praeibat, usquedum veniret ad rivum prope pratum quod + Beri vocatur, in quo cereus medium cursum Tamisiae miraculose deserens se + declinavit et circumdedit pratum inter Tamisiam et Gifteleia, quod hieme + et multociens aestate ex redundatione Tamisiae in modum insulae aqua + circumdatur.</p> + + <p><i>Chronicon Monasterii de Abingdon</i>, ed. Stevenson, 1858, vol. + <span class="scac">I</span>, p. 89.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt188" href="#NtA188">[188]</a> Chadwick, <i>Origin</i>, + 278.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt189" href="#NtA189">[189]</a> Olrik, <i>Heltedigtning</i>, + <span class="scac">II</span>, 251.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt190" href="#NtA190">[190]</a> But is this so? "The word + Sämpsä (now sämpsykka) 'small rush, <i>scirpus silvaticus</i>, forest + rush,' is borrowed from the Germanic family (Engl. semse; Germ. simse)." + Olrik, 253. But the Engl. "semse" is difficult to track.</p> + + <p>See also note by A. Mieler in <i>Finnisch-Ugrische Forschungen</i>, + <span class="scac">X</span>, 43, 1910.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt191" href="#NtA191">[191]</a> Kaarle Krohn, "Sampsa + Pellervoinen" in <i>Finnisch-Ugrische Forschungen</i> <span + class="scac">IV</span>, 231 <i>etc.</i>, 1904.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt192" href="#NtA192">[192]</a> Cf. Olrik, + <i>Heltedigtning</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 252 <i>etc.</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt193" href="#NtA193">[193]</a> I do not understand why Olrik + (<i>Heltedigtning</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 235) declares the + coming to land in Scani (Ethelwerd) to be inconsistent with Sceaf as a + Longobardic king (<i>Widsith</i>). For, according to their national + historian, the Longobardi came from "Scadinavia" [Paul the Deacon, <span + class="scac">I</span>, 1-7]. It is a more serious difficulty that Paul + knows of no Longobardic king with a name which we can equate with + Sceaf.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt194" href="#NtA194">[194]</a> So, corresponding to O.E. + <i>trīewe</i> we have Icel. <i>tryggr</i>; to O.E. + <i>glēaw</i>, Icel. <i>glǫggr</i>; O.E. <i>scūwa</i>, + Icel. <i>skugg-</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt195" href="#NtA195">[195]</a> Olrik, <i>Heltedigtning</i>, + <span class="scac">II</span>, 1910, pp. 254-5.</p> + + <p>An account of the worship of Pekko will be found in + <i>Finnisch-Ugrische Forschungen</i>, <span class="scac">VI</span>, 1906, + pp. 104-111: <i>Über den Pekokultus bei den Setukesen</i>, by M. J. + Eisen. See also <a href="#appA">Appendix (A)</a> below.</p> + + <p>Pellon-Pecko is mentioned by Michael Agricola, Bishop of Åbo, in his + translation of the Psalter into Finnish, 1551. It is here that we are + told that he "promoted the growth of barley."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt196" href="#NtA196">[196]</a> l. 15. </p> + + <p><a name="Nt197" href="#NtA197">[197]</a> That Heremod is a Danish king + is clear from ll. 1709 <i>etc.</i> And as we have all the stages in the + Scylding genealogy from Scyld to Hrothgar, Heremod must be placed + earlier.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt198" href="#NtA198">[198]</a> Of Grein in <i>Eberts + Jahrbuch</i>, <span class="scac">IV</span>, 264.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt199" href="#NtA199">[199]</a> A good example of this is + supplied by the Assyrian records, which make Jehu a son of + Omri—whose family he had destroyed.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt200" href="#NtA200">[200]</a> This reconstruction is made + by Sievers in the <i>Berichte d. k. sächs. Gesellschaft der + Wissenschaften</i>, 1895, pp. 180-88.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt201" href="#NtA201">[201]</a> The god <i>Hermóðr</i> who + rides to Hell to carry a message to the dead Baldr is here left out of + consideration. His connection with the king <i>Hermóðr</i> is + obscure.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt202" href="#NtA202">[202]</a> On this see Dederich, + <i>Historische u. geographische Studien</i>, 214; Heinzel in + <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XV</span>, 161; Chadwick, + <i>Origin</i>, 148; Chadwick, <i>Cult of Othin</i>, 51.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt203" href="#NtA203">[203]</a> Chadwick, <i>Cult of + Othin</i>, pp. 50, <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt204" href="#NtA204">[204]</a> <i>puerulus ... pro miraculo + exceptus</i> (William of Malmesbury). Cf. <i>Beowulf</i>, l. 7. In Saxo, + Skjold distinguishes himself at the age of fifteen.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt205" href="#NtA205">[205]</a> <i>omnem Alemannorum gentem + tributaria ditione perdomuit.</i> Cf. <i>Beowulf</i>, l. 11.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt206" href="#NtA206">[206]</a> See above, p. <a + href="#page77">77</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt207" href="#NtA207">[207]</a> This relationship of Frothi + and Skjold is preserved by Sweyn Aageson: Skiold Danis primum didici + praefuisse.... A quo primum.... Skioldunger sunt Reges nuncupati. Qui + regni post se reliquit haeredes Frothi videlicet & Haldanum. Svenonis + Aggonis <i>Hist. Regum Dan.</i> in Langebek, <i>S.R.D.</i> <span + class="scac">I</span>, 44.</p> + + <p>In Saxo Frotho is not the son, but the great grandson of + Skioldus—but this is a discrepancy which may be neglected, because + it seems clear that the difference is due to Saxo having inserted two + names into the line at this point—those of Gram and Hadding. There + seems no reason to doubt that Danish tradition really represented Frothi + as son of Skjold.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt208" href="#NtA208">[208]</a> Those who accept the + identification would regard <i>Fróði</i> (O.E. <i>Frōda</i>, 'the + wise') as a title which has ousted the proper name.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt209" href="#NtA209">[209]</a> Boer, <i>Ark. f. nord. + filol.</i>, <span class="scac">XIX</span>, 67, calls this theory of + Sievers "indisputable."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt210" href="#NtA210">[210]</a> Sievers, p. 181.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt211" href="#NtA211">[211]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, 2405. Cf. + 2215, 2281.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt212" href="#NtA212">[212]</a> So Regin guides Sigurd: Una + the Red Cross Knight. The list might be indefinitely extended. Similarly + with giants: "Then came to him a husbandman of the country, and told him + how there was in the country of Constantine, beside Brittany, a great + giant".... <i>Morte d'Arthur</i>, Book <span class="scac">V</span>, cap. + <span class="scac">V</span>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt213" href="#NtA213">[213]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, 895.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt214" href="#NtA214">[214]</a> l. 2338.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt215" href="#NtA215">[215]</a> ll. 2570 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt216" href="#NtA216">[216]</a> intrepidum mentis habitum + retinere memento.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt217" href="#NtA217">[217]</a> ll. 2663 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt218" href="#NtA218">[218]</a> Cf. <i>Beowulf</i>, 2705: + <i>forwrāt Wedra helm wyrm on middan</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt219" href="#NtA219">[219]</a> Cf. <i>Cotton. Gnomic + verses</i>, ll. 26-7: <i>Draca sceal on hlǣwe: frōd, frætwum + wlanc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt220" href="#NtA220">[220]</a> virusque profundens: <i>wearp + wæl-fȳre</i>, 2582.</p> + + <p></p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="unpoem"><a name="Nt221" href="#NtA221">[221]</a></span> + <p>implicitus gyris serpens crebrisque reflexus</p> + <p>orbibus et caudae sinuosa volumina ducens</p> + <p>multiplicesque agitans spiras.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Cf. <i>Beowulf</i>, 2567-8, 2569, 2561 (<i>hring-boga</i>), 2827 + (<i>wōhbogen</i>).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt222" href="#NtA222">[222]</a> <i>Volospá</i>, 172-3 in + <i>Corpus Poeticum Boreale</i>. <span class="scac">I</span>, 200.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt223" href="#NtA223">[223]</a> Cf. on this Olrik, + <i>Heltedigtning</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 305-15.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt224" href="#NtA224">[224]</a> Panzer, <i>Beowulf</i>, + 313.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt225" href="#NtA225">[225]</a> A further and more specific + parallel between Lotherus and Heremod has been pointed out by Sarrazin + (<i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XIX</span>, 392). It seems from + <i>Beowulf</i> that Heremod went into exile (ll. 1714-15), and apparently + <i>mid Eotenum</i> (l. 902) which (in view of the use of the word + <i>Eotena</i>, <i>Eotenum</i>, in the <i>Finnsburg</i> episode) very + probably means "among the Jutes." A late Scandinavian document tells us + that <i>Lotherus ... superatus in Jutiam profugit</i> (Messenius, + <i>Scondia illustrata</i>, printed 1700, but written about 1620).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt226" href="#NtA226">[226]</a> Pointed out by Panzer. A + possible parallel to the old man who hides his treasure is discussed by + Bugge and Olrik in <i>Dania</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 233-245 + (1890-92).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt227" href="#NtA227">[227]</a> Cf. Ettmüller, <i>Scopas and + Boceras</i>, 1850, p. ix; <i>Carmen de Beovvulfi rebus gestis</i>, 1875, + p. iii.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt228" href="#NtA228">[228]</a> <i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XI</span>, 167-170.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt229" href="#NtA229">[229]</a> Sarrazin, <i>Der Schauplatz + des ersten Beowulfliedes</i> (<i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XI</span>, + 170 <i>etc.</i>); Sievers, <i>Die Heimat des Beowulfdichters</i> + (<i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XI</span>, 354 <i>etc.</i>); Sarrazin, + <i>Altnordisches im Beowulfliede</i> (<i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XI</span>, 528 <i>etc.</i>); Sievers, <i>Altnordisches im + Beowulf?</i> (<i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XII</span>, 168 + <i>etc.</i>)</p> + + <p><a name="Nt230" href="#NtA230">[230]</a> <i>Beovulf-Studien</i>, + 68.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt231" href="#NtA231">[231]</a> Sarrazin has countered this + argument by urging that since the present day Swedes and Danes have + better manners than the English, they therefore presumably had better + manners already in the eighth century. I admit the premises, but deny the + deduction.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt232" href="#NtA232">[232]</a> Sedgefield, <i>Beowulf</i> + (1st ed.), p. 27.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt233" href="#NtA233">[233]</a> Schück, <i>Studier i + Beovulfsagan</i>, 41.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt234" href="#NtA234">[234]</a> The brief <i>Fata + Apostolorum</i> is doubted by Sievers (<i>Anglia</i>, <span + class="scac">XIII</span>, 24).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt235" href="#NtA235">[235]</a> Two of these occur twice: + <i>hātan heolfre</i>, 1423, 849; <i>nīowan stefne</i>, 1789, + 2594; the rest once only, 141, 561, 963, 977, 1104, 1502, 1505, 1542, + 1746, 2102, 2290, 2347, 2440, 2482, 2492, 2692. See Barnouw, 51.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt236" href="#NtA236">[236]</a> 74, 99, 122, 257, 390, + 412.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt237" href="#NtA237">[237]</a> <i>Christ</i>, 510.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt238" href="#NtA238">[238]</a> Lichtenheld omits 2011, <i>se + mǣra mago Healfdenes</i>, inserting instead 1474, where the same + phrase occurs, but with a vocative force.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt239" href="#NtA239">[239]</a> 758, 813, 2011, 2587, 2928, + 2971, 2977, 3120.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt240" href="#NtA240">[240]</a> 1199.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt241" href="#NtA241">[241]</a> 102, 713, 919, 997, 1016, + 1448, 1984, 2255, 2264, 2675, 3024, 3028, 3097.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt242" href="#NtA242">[242]</a> Saintsbury in <i>Short + History of English Literature</i>, <span class="scac">I.</span> 3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt243" href="#NtA243">[243]</a> Morsbach, 270.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt244" href="#NtA244">[244]</a> Morsbach, 271.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt245" href="#NtA245">[245]</a> Chadwick, <i>Heroic Age</i>, + 4.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt246" href="#NtA246">[246]</a> "Thus in place of the + expression <i>to widan feore</i> we find occasionally <i>widan feore</i> + in the same sense, and even in <i>Beowulf</i> we meet with <i>widan + feorh</i>, which is not improbably the oldest form of the phrase. Before + the loss of the final <i>-u</i> it [<i>widan feorhu</i>] would be a + perfectly regular half verse, but the operation of this change would + render it impossible and necessitate the substitution of a synonymous + expression. In principle, it should be observed, the assumption of such + substitutions seems to be absolutely necessary, unless we are prepared to + deny that any old poems or even verses survived the period of apocope." + Chadwick, <i>Heroic Age</i>, pp. 46-7.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt247" href="#NtA247">[247]</a> <i>Heroic Age</i>, 46.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt248" href="#NtA248">[248]</a> Birch, <i>Cart. Sax.</i> No. + 81. See Morsbach, 260.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt249" href="#NtA249">[249]</a> The most important examples + being <i>breguntford</i> (Birch, <i>Cart. Sax.</i> No. 115, dating + between 693 and 731; perhaps 705): <i>heffled</i> in the life of St + Gregory written by a Whitby monk apparently before 713: <i>-gar</i> on + the Bewcastle Column, earlier than the end of the first quarter of the + eighth century and perhaps much earlier: and many names in <i>ford</i> + and <i>feld</i> in the Moore <span class="scac">MS</span> of Bede's + <i>Ecclesiastical History</i> (a <span class="scac">MS</span> written + about 737).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt250" href="#NtA250">[250]</a> An English Miscellany + presented to Dr Furnivall, 370.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt251" href="#NtA251">[251]</a> Grienberger, <i>Anglia</i>, + <span class="scac">XXVII</span>, 448.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt252" href="#NtA252">[252]</a> i.e. <i>flodu ahof</i> might + stand for <i>flōd u[p] ăhōf</i>, as is suggested by + Chadwick, <i>Heroic Age</i>, 69.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt253" href="#NtA253">[253]</a> In the Franks casket <i>b</i> + already appears as <i>f</i>, and the <i>n</i> of <i>sefu</i>, "seven," + has been lost.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt254" href="#NtA254">[254]</a> Birch, <i>Cart. Sax.</i> No. + 45.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt255" href="#NtA255">[255]</a> Chadwick, <i>Heroic Age</i>, + 67: "In personal names we must clearly allow for traditional + orthography." Morsbach admits this in another connection (p. 259).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt256" href="#NtA256">[256]</a> Lübke's preface to + Müllenhoff's <i>Beovulf</i>. Both the tendencies specially associated + with Müllenhoff's name—the "mythologizing" and the + "dissecting"—are due to the influence of Lachmann. It must be + frankly admitted that on these subjects Müllenhoff did not begin his + studies with an open mind.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt257" href="#NtA257">[257]</a> "Es ist einfach + genug"—<i>Beovulf</i>, 110.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt258" href="#NtA258">[258]</a> Möller, <i>V.E.</i> 140: cf. + Schücking, <i>B.R.</i> 14.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt259" href="#NtA259">[259]</a> Earle, <i>Deeds of + Beowulf</i>, xlix (an excellent criticism of Müllenhoff).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt260" href="#NtA260">[260]</a> Heusler, <i>Lied u. Epos</i>, + 26.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt261" href="#NtA261">[261]</a> <i>Epic and Romance</i>, + Chap. <span class="scac">II</span>, § 2.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt262" href="#NtA262">[262]</a> <i>Ballad and Epic</i>, + 311-12.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt263" href="#NtA263">[263]</a> <i>Beowulfs Rückkehr</i>, + 1905.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt264" href="#NtA264">[264]</a> e.g. <i>Genesis</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt265" href="#NtA265">[265]</a> Chap. <span + class="scac">IV</span>, pp. 29-33.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt266" href="#NtA266">[266]</a> Chap. <span + class="scac">V</span>, pp. 34-41.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt267" href="#NtA267">[267]</a> Chap. <span + class="scac">VI</span>, cf. esp. p. 50.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt268" href="#NtA268">[268]</a> In the portion which + Schücking excludes, we twice have <i>gǣð</i> = <i>gāið</i> + (2034, 2055). Elsewhere in the <i>Return</i> we have <i>dōn</i> = + <i>dōan</i> (2166) whilst <i>frēa</i> (1934), + <i>Hondsciō</i> (2076) need to be considered.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt269" href="#NtA269">[269]</a> 2069.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt270" href="#NtA270">[270]</a> 2093.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt271" href="#NtA271">[271]</a> <i>Satzverknüpfung im + Beowulf</i>, 139.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt272" href="#NtA272">[272]</a> <i>Þȳlǣs</i> = + "lest" (1918); <i>ac</i> in direct question (1990); <i>þā</i> + occurring unsupported late in the sentence (2192); <i>forþām</i> + (1957) [see Sievers in <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XXIX</span>, + 313]; <i>swā</i> = "since," "because" (2184). But Schücking admits + in his edition two other instances of <i>forþām</i> (146 and 2645), + so this can hardly count.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt273" href="#NtA273">[273]</a> <i>hȳrde ic</i> as + introducing a statement, 62, 2163, 2172; <i>sið ðan ǣrest</i>, 6, + 1947.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt274" href="#NtA274">[274]</a> A similar use of + <i>þā</i>, 1078, 1988; cf. 1114, 1125, 2135.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt275" href="#NtA275">[275]</a> <i>hæbbe</i>, 1928; + <i>gēong</i>, 2019.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt276" href="#NtA276">[276]</a> <i>þurfe</i>, 2495.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt277" href="#NtA277">[277]</a> Schücking, Chap. <span + class="scac">VIII</span>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt278" href="#NtA278">[278]</a> Cf. Brandl in Herrigs + <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CXV</span>, 421 (1905).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt279" href="#NtA279">[279]</a> e.g. Blackburn in <i>Pub. + Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span class="scac">XII</span>, 204-225; + Bradley in the <i>Encyc. Brit.</i> <span class="scac">III</span>, 760; + Chadwick, <i>H.A.</i> 49; Clarke, <i>Sidelights</i>, 10.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt280" href="#NtA280">[280]</a> Chadwick, in <i>Cambridge + History</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 30.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt281" href="#NtA281">[281]</a> We may refer especially to + the account of Attila's funeral given by Jordanes. [Mr Chadwick's + note.]</p> + + <p><a name="Nt282" href="#NtA282">[282]</a> Chadwick in <i>The Heroic + Age</i>, 53.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt283" href="#NtA283">[283]</a> It is adopted, e.g., by + Clarke, <i>Sidelights</i>, 8.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt284" href="#NtA284">[284]</a> Yet this is very doubtful: + see Leeds, <i>Archæology</i>, 27, 74.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt285" href="#NtA285">[285]</a> Notably in Book <span + class="scac">VIII</span> (ed. Holder, 264) and Book <span + class="scac">III</span> (ed. Holder, 74).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt286" href="#NtA286">[286]</a> 'Fasta fornlämningar i + Beowulf,' in <i>Ant. Tidskrift för Sverige</i>, <span + class="scac">XVIII</span>, 4, 64.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt287" href="#NtA287">[287]</a> See Schücking, <i>Das + angelsächsische Totenklaglied</i>, in <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXIX</span>, 1-13.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt288" href="#NtA288">[288]</a> Blackburn, in <i>Pub. Mod. + Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> Cf. Hart, <i>Ballad and Epic</i>, 175.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt289" href="#NtA289">[289]</a> Clark Hall, xlvii.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt290" href="#NtA290">[290]</a> Blackburn, as above, p. + 126.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt291" href="#NtA291">[291]</a> Chadwick, in <i>Cambridge + History</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 30.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt292" href="#NtA292">[292]</a> Clark Hall, xlvii. See, to + the contrary, Klaeber in <i>Anglia</i>, <span class="scac">XXXVI</span>, + 196.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt293" href="#NtA293">[293]</a> This point is fully developed + by Brandl, 1002-3. As Brandl points out, if we want to find a parallel to + the hero Beowulf, saving his people from their temporal and ghostly foes, + we must look, not to the other heroes of Old English heroic poetry, such + as Waldhere or Hengest, but to Moses in the Old English <i>Exodus</i>. + [Since this was written the essentially Christian character of + <i>Beowulf</i> has been further, and I think finally, demonstrated by + Klaeber, in the last section of his article on <i>Die Christlichen + Elemente im Beowulf</i>, in <i>Anglia</i>, <span + class="scac">XXXVI</span>; see especially 194-199.]</p> + + <p><a name="Nt294" href="#NtA294">[294]</a> Cf. <i>Beowulf</i>, ll. 180 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt295" href="#NtA295">[295]</a> Bradley, in <i>Encyc. + Brit.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt296" href="#NtA296">[296]</a> Bradley, in <i>Encyc. + Brit.</i> <span class="scac">III</span>, 760-1.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt297" href="#NtA297">[297]</a> Blackburn, 218.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt298" href="#NtA298">[298]</a> See Finnur Jónsson, <i>Den + Norsk-Islandske Skjaldedigtning</i>, B. ii. 473-4.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt299" href="#NtA299">[299]</a> <span class="scac">MS</span> + A, followed by Magnússon, makes Glam <i>bláeygðr</i>, "blue-eyed": Boer + reads <i>gráeygðr</i>, considering grey a more uncanny colour.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt300" href="#NtA300">[300]</a> <span class="scac">MS</span> + A has <i>fon<sup>m</sup></i> or <i>fen<sup>m</sup></i>, it is difficult + to tell which. Magnússon reads <i>fenum</i>, "morasses."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt301" href="#NtA301">[301]</a> Immediately inside the door + of the Icelandic dwelling was the <i>anddyri</i> or vestibule. For want + of a better word, I translate <i>anddyri</i> by "porch": but it is a + porch inside the building. Opening out of this 'porch' were a number of + rooms. Chief among which were the <i>skáli</i> or "hall," and the + <i>stufa</i> or "sitting room," the latter reached by a passage + (<i>gǫng</i>). These were separated from the "porch" by panelling. + In the struggle with Glam, Grettir is lying in the hall (<i>skáli</i>), + but the panelling has all been broken away from the great cross-beam to + which it was fixed. Grettir consequently sees Glam enter the outer door; + Glam turns to the <i>skáli</i>, and glares down it, leaning over the + cross-beam; then enters the hall, and the struggle begins. See + Guðmundssen (V.), <i>Privatbolegen på Island i Sagatiden</i>, 1889.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt302" href="#NtA302">[302]</a> The partition beams + (<i>set-stokkar</i>) stood between the middle of the <i>skáli</i> or hall + and the planked daïs which ran down each side. The strength of the + combatants is such that the <i>stokkar</i> give way. Grettir gets no + footing to withstand Glam till they reach the outer-door. Here there is a + stone set in the ground, which apparently gives a better footing for a + push than for a pull. So Grettir changes his tactics, gets a purchase on + the stone, and at the same time pushes against Glam's breast, and so + dashes Glam's head and shoulders against the lintel of the + outer-door.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt303" href="#NtA303">[303]</a> So <span + class="scac">MS</span> 551 <i>a</i>. Magnússon reads <i>dvaldist þar</i> + "he stayed there."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt304" href="#NtA304">[304]</a> Meaning that an attack by the + evil beings would at least break the monotony.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt305" href="#NtA305">[305]</a> A passage (<i>gǫng</i>) + had to be traversed between the door of the room (<i>stufa</i>) and the + porch (<i>anddyri</i>).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt306" href="#NtA306">[306]</a> <span class="scac">MSS</span> + <i>bælt</i>. Boer reads <i>bolat</i> "hewn down."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt307" href="#NtA307">[307]</a> A night troll, if caught by + the sunrise, was supposed to turn into stone.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt308" href="#NtA308">[308]</a> <i>Skúta</i> may be acc. of + the noun <i>skúti</i>, "overhanging precipice, cave"; or it may be the + verb, "hang over." Grettir and his companion see that the sides of the + ravine are precipitous (<i>skúta upp</i>) and so clean-cut + (<i>meitil-berg: meitill</i>, "a chisel") that they give no hold to the + climber. Hence the need for the rope. The translators all take + <i>skúta</i> as acc. of <i>skúti</i>, which is quite possible: but they + are surely wrong when they proceed to identify the <i>skúti</i> with the + <i>hellir</i> behind the waterfall. For this cave behind the waterfall is + introduced in the <i>saga</i> as something which Grettir discovers + <i>after</i> he has dived beneath the fall, the fall in front naturally + hiding it till then.</p> + + <p>The verb <i>skúta</i> occurs elsewhere in <i>Grettis saga</i>, of the + glaciers overhanging a valley. Boer's attempt to reconstruct the scene + appears to me wrong: cf. Ranisch in <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XXVIII</span>, 217.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt309" href="#NtA309">[309]</a> The old editions read <i>fimm + tigir faðma</i> "fifty fathoms": but according to Boer's collation the + best <span class="scac">MS</span> (A) read X, whilst four of the five + others collated give XV (<i>fimtán</i>). The editors seem dissatisfied + with this: yet sixty to ninety feet seems a good enough height for a + dive.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt310" href="#NtA310">[310]</a> <i>ok sat þar hjá</i>, not in + <span class="scac">MS</span> A, nor in Boer's edition.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt311" href="#NtA311">[311]</a> The two poems are given + according to the version of William Morris.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt312" href="#NtA312">[312]</a> On his first arrival at + Leire, Bjarki had been attacked by, and had slain, the watch-dogs + (<i>Rímur</i>, <span class="scac">IV</span>, 41): this naturally brings + him now into disfavour, and he has to dispute with men.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt313" href="#NtA313">[313]</a> Reading <i>kappana</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt314" href="#NtA314">[314]</a> The <span + class="scac">MSS</span> have either <i>Sandeyar</i> or <i>Saudeyar</i> + (<i>Sauðeyar</i>). But that <i>Sandeyar</i> is the correct form is shown + by the name Sandø, which is given still to the island of Dollsey, where + Orm's fight is localized (Panzer, 403).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt315" href="#NtA315">[315]</a> Literally "she-cat," + <i>ketta</i>; but the word may mean "giantess." It is used in some <span + class="scac">MSS</span> of the <i>Grettis saga</i> of the giantess who + attacks Grettir at Sandhaugar.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt316" href="#NtA316">[316]</a> See Sweet, <i>Oldest English + Texts</i>, 1885, p. 170.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt317" href="#NtA317">[317]</a> See <i>Catalogue of MSS. in + the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge</i> by Montague Rhodes + James, Camb., 1912, p. 437.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt318" href="#NtA318">[318]</a> See <i>Publications of the + Palæographical Society</i>, 1880, where a facsimile of part of the + <i>Vespasian MS</i> is given. (Pt. 10, Plate 165: subsequently Ser. <span + class="scac">I</span>, Vol. <span class="scac">II</span>.)</p> + + <p><a name="Nt319" href="#NtA319">[319]</a> So Zimmer, <i>Nennius + Vindicatus</i>, Berlin, 1893, pp. 78 etc., and Duchesne (<i>Revue + Celtique</i>, <span class="scac">XV</span>, 196). Duchesne sums up these + genealogies as "un recueil constitué, vers la fin du <span + class="scac">VII</span><sup>e</sup> siècle, dans le royaume de + Strathcluyd, mais complété par diverses retouches, dont la dernière est + de 796."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt320" href="#NtA320">[320]</a> This is shown by one of the + supplementary Mercian pedigrees being made to end, both in the + <i>Vespasian</i> genealogy and the <i>Historia Brittonum</i>, in + Ecgfrith, who reigned for a few months in 796. See Thurneysen + (<i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XXVIII</span>, 101).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt321" href="#NtA321">[321]</a> Ed. Mommsen, p. 203.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt322" href="#NtA322">[322]</a> Anno 626: a similar genealogy + will be found in these <span class="scac">MSS</span> and in the Parker + <span class="scac">MS</span>, anno 755 (accession of Offa II).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt323" href="#NtA323">[323]</a> Zimmer (<i>Nennius + Vindicatus</i>, p. 84) argues that this <i>Geta-Woden</i> pedigree + belongs to a portion of the <i>Historia Brittonum</i> written down <span + class="scac">A.D.</span> 685. Thurneysen (<i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XXVIII</span>, 103-4) dates the section in which it occurs + 679; Duchesne (<i>Revue Celtique</i>, <span class="scac">XV</span>, 196) + places it more vaguely between the end of the sixth and the beginning of + the eighth century; van Hamel (<i>Hoops Reallexikon</i> s.v. + <i>Nennius</i>) between much the same limits, and clearly before 705.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt324" href="#NtA324">[324]</a> Zimmer (p. 275) says <span + class="scac">A.D.</span> 796; Duchesne (p. 196) <span + class="scac">A.D.</span> 800; Thurneysen (<i>Zeitschr. f. Celtische + Philologie</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 166) <span + class="scac">A.D.</span> 826; Skene (<i>Four Ancient Books of Wales</i>, + 1868, <span class="scac">I</span>, 38) <span class="scac">A.D.</span> + 858; van Hamel (p. 304) <span class="scac">A.D.</span> 820-859. See also + Chadwick, <i>Origin</i>, 38.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt325" href="#NtA325">[325]</a> Bradshaw, <i>Investigations + among Early Welsh, Breton and Cornish MSS.</i> in <i>Collected + Papers</i>, 466.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt326" href="#NtA326">[326]</a> See above, p. <a + href="#page196">196</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt327" href="#NtA327">[327]</a> Cf. <i>Bretwalda</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt328" href="#NtA328">[328]</a> The genealogies have recently + been dealt with by E. Hackenberg, <i>Die Stammtafeln der angelsächsischen + Königreiche</i>, Berlin, 1918; and by Brandl, (Herrig's <i>Archiv</i>, + <span class="scac">CXXXVII</span>, 1-24). Most of Brandl's derivations + seem to me to depend upon very perilous conjectures. Thus he derives + <i>Scēfing</i> from the Gr.-Lat. <i>scapha</i>, "a skiff": a word + which was not adopted into Old English. This seems to be sacrificing all + probability to the desire to find a new interpretation: and, even so, it + is not quite successful. For Riley in the <i>Gentleman's Magazine</i>, + August, 1857, p. 126, suggested the derivation of the name of Scef from + the <i>schiff</i> or <i>skiff</i> in which he came.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt329" href="#NtA329">[329]</a> For a list of the Icelandic + versions, see Heusler, <i>Die gelehrte Urgeschichte im altisländischen + Schrifttum</i>, pp. 18-19, in the <i>Abhandlungen d. preuss. Akad.</i>, + <i>Phil. Hist. Klasse</i>, 1908, Berlin.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt330" href="#NtA330">[330]</a> The names are given as in the + Trinity Roll (T), collated with Corpus (C) and Moseley (M). For Paris (P) + I follow Kemble's report (<i>Postscript to Preface</i>, 1837, pp. vii, + viii: <i>Stammtafel der Westsachsen</i>, pp. 18, 31). All seem to agree + in writing <i>t</i> for <i>c</i> in Steph and Steldius, and in Boerinus, + <i>obviously, as Kemble pointed out, r is written by error for ƿ = + Beowinus</i> [or <i>Beowius</i>]; Cinrinicius T, Cinrinicus C, Cininicus + P, Siuruncius M; Suethedus TCP, Suechedius M; Gethius T, Thecius M, + Ehecius CP; Geate T, Geathe CM, Geathus P.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt331" href="#NtA331">[331]</a> I follow the spelling of the + Moseley roll in this note.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt332" href="#NtA332">[332]</a> <i>Dacia</i> = "Denmark": + <i>Dacia</i> and <i>Dania</i> were identified.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt333" href="#NtA333">[333]</a> <i>uocabitur</i>, Gertz; + <i>uocatur</i>, all <span class="scac">MSS</span>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt334" href="#NtA334">[334]</a> This account of the peaceful + reign of Ro is simply false etymology from Danish <i>ro</i>, "rest."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt335" href="#NtA335">[335]</a> Note that Ro (Hrothgar), the + son of Haldanus (Healfdene), is here represented as his father. Saxo + Grammaticus, combining divergent accounts, as he often does, accordingly + mentions two Roes—one the brother of Haldanus, the other his son. + See above, pp. 131-2.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt336" href="#NtA336">[336]</a> <i>cum piratica classe</i>, + Langebek; the <span class="scac">MSS</span> have <i>cum pietate</i> (!) + with or without <i>classe</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt337" href="#NtA337">[337]</a> <i>post quem</i>, + Holder-Egger, Gertz; <i>postquam</i>, all <span + class="scac">MSS</span>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt338" href="#NtA338">[338]</a> Snyo: the viceroy whom Athisl + had placed over the Danes.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt339" href="#NtA339">[339]</a> <i>in</i> added by Gertz; + omitted in all <span class="scac">MSS</span>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt340" href="#NtA340">[340]</a> A scribal error for + <i>transalbinas</i>, "beyond the Elbe."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt341" href="#NtA341">[341]</a> Assembly.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt342" href="#NtA342">[342]</a> Island.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt343" href="#NtA343">[343]</a> I have substituted <i>u</i> + for <i>v</i>, and have abandoned spellings like <i>theutones</i>, + <i>thezauro</i>, <i>orrifico</i>, <i>charitas</i>, <i>phas</i> (for + <i>fas</i>), <i>atlethas</i>, <i>choercuit</i>, <i>iocundum</i>, + <i>charum</i>, <i>fœlicissima</i>, <i>nanque</i>, + <i>hæreditarii</i>, <i>exoluere</i>.</p> + + <p>The actual reading of the 1514 text is abandoned by substituting: p. + 130, l. 3 <i>ingeniti</i> for <i>ingenitis</i> (1514); p. 132, l. 22, + <i>iacientis</i> for <i>iacentis</i>; p. 134, l. 2, <i>diutinæ</i> for + <i>diutiuæ</i>; p. 136, l. 11, <i>fudit</i> for <i>fugit</i>; p. 136, l. + 20, <i>ut</i> for <i>aut</i>; p. 137, l. 8, <i>ammirationi</i> for + <i>ammirationis</i>; p. 137, l. 16, <i>offert</i> for <i>affert</i>; p. + 137, l. 17, <i>Roluoni</i> for <i>Rouolni</i>; p. 137, l. 27, + <i>ministerio</i> for <i>ministros</i>; p. 137, l. 33 <i>diuturnus</i> + for <i>diuturnius</i>; p. 206, l. 22, <i>diutinam</i> for <i>diutina</i>; + p. 207, l. 3, <i>ei</i> for <i>eique</i>; p. 207, l. 5, <i>destituat</i> + for <i>deficiat</i>; p. 209, l. 2, <i>latere</i> for <i>latera</i>; p. + 209, l. 5, <i>conscisci</i> for <i>concissi</i>; p. 209, l. 14, + <i>defoderat</i> for <i>defodera</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt344" href="#NtA344">[344]</a> <i>Above this heading</i> B + <i>has</i> Gesta Offe Regis mercior<i>um</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt345" href="#NtA345">[345]</a> A <i>repeats</i> sibi + <i>after</i> constitueret.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt346" href="#NtA346">[346]</a> Hic Riganus binomin[i]s + fuit. Vocabat<i>ur</i> eni<i>m</i> alio nomine Aliel. Rigan<i>us</i> + u<i>er</i>o a rigore. Huic erat fili<i>us</i> Hildebrand<i>us</i>, miles + strenuus, ab ense sic d<i>i</i>c<i>tu</i>s. Hu<i>n</i>c uoluit + p<i>ate</i>r p<i>ro</i>mouere: <i>Contemporary rubric in</i> A, + <i>inserted in the middle of the sketch representing Riganus demanding + the kingdom from Warmundus.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt347" href="#NtA347">[347]</a> optat, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt348" href="#NtA348">[348]</a> celebri, B; celibri, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt349" href="#NtA349">[349]</a> hoc, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt350" href="#NtA350">[350]</a> ueheement<i>er</i>, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt351" href="#NtA351">[351]</a> ueheementi, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt352" href="#NtA352">[352]</a> eciam, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt353" href="#NtA353">[353]</a> <i>Added in margin in</i> A; + <i>not in</i> B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt354" href="#NtA354">[354]</a> hec <i>omitted</i>, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt355" href="#NtA355">[355]</a> <i>Added in margin in</i> A; + <i>not in</i> B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt356" href="#NtA356">[356]</a> dereliqueru<i>n</i>t, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt357" href="#NtA357">[357]</a> precipue <i>omitted</i>, + B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt358" href="#NtA358">[358]</a> ei <i>omitted</i>, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt359" href="#NtA359">[359]</a> Qualmhul <i>vel</i> + Q<i>u</i>almweld <i>in margin</i>, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt360" href="#NtA360">[360]</a> planies, A: planicies, + <i>perhaps corrected from</i> planies, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt361" href="#NtA361">[361]</a> blodifeld, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt362" href="#NtA362">[362]</a> Gloria t<i>r</i>iumphi, <i>in + margin</i>, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt363" href="#NtA363">[363]</a> tripudium, B; tripuduum, + A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt364" href="#NtA364">[364]</a> scis, A, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt365" href="#NtA365">[365]</a> menbra, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt366" href="#NtA366">[366]</a> gracias, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt367" href="#NtA367">[367]</a> hosstibus, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt368" href="#NtA368">[368]</a> romotis, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt369" href="#NtA369">[369]</a> co<i>n</i>gnou<i>er</i>unt, + A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt370" href="#NtA370">[370]</a> Warmandi, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt371" href="#NtA371">[371]</a> habenas <i>repeated after</i> + regni <i>above in</i> A, <i>but cancelled in</i> B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt372" href="#NtA372">[372]</a> exaggeret, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt373" href="#NtA373">[373]</a> pulcritudi<i>ni</i>s, B; + pulch<i>r</i>itudini, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt374" href="#NtA374">[374]</a> i<i>n</i>gnota, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt375" href="#NtA375">[375]</a> euuangelii, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt376" href="#NtA376">[376]</a> co<i>n</i>si<i>n</i>gnatas, + A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt377" href="#NtA377">[377]</a> <i>from</i> B, <i>written + over erasure</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt378" href="#NtA378">[378]</a> scrib<i>itu</i>r, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt379" href="#NtA379">[379]</a> Ep<i>isto</i>la, <i>in + margin</i>, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt380" href="#NtA380">[380]</a> i<i>n</i>co<i>n</i>gnita, + A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt381" href="#NtA381">[381]</a> dicebant, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt382" href="#NtA382">[382]</a> frustratim, A, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt383" href="#NtA383">[383]</a> ossium, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt384" href="#NtA384">[384]</a> co<i>n</i>gnouit, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt385" href="#NtA385">[385]</a> hoc <i>omitted</i>, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt386" href="#NtA386">[386]</a> co<i>n</i>gnic<i>i</i>one, + A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt387" href="#NtA387">[387]</a> sui, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt388" href="#NtA388">[388]</a> obtemp<i>er</i>are, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt389" href="#NtA389">[389]</a> menbra, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt390" href="#NtA390">[390]</a> qui, AB; quae, Wats.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt391" href="#NtA391">[391]</a> reco<i>n</i>gnosce, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt392" href="#NtA392">[392]</a> sancte <i>et</i> dulcissime, + B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt393" href="#NtA393">[393]</a> ut <i>added above line</i>, + A, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt394" href="#NtA394">[394]</a> scenobium, A; <i>the + </i>s<i>i s erased in</i> B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt395" href="#NtA395">[395]</a> deo, B</p> + + <p><a name="Nt396" href="#NtA396">[396]</a> tuinfreth, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt397" href="#NtA397">[397]</a> scenobio, A; s <i>erased</i> + B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt398" href="#NtA398">[398]</a> de tiran<i>n</i>ide Beormredi + reg<i>is</i> Mercie, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt399" href="#NtA399">[399]</a> fecerat, <i>wanting in</i> A; + <i>added in margin</i>, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt400" href="#NtA400">[400]</a> Pinefredum, B; Penefredum, A, + <i>but with</i> i <i>above in first case.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt401" href="#NtA401">[401]</a> uariis <i>repeated</i>, A; + <i>second</i> variis <i>cancelled</i>, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt402" href="#NtA402">[402]</a> considerans, B, <i>inserted + in margin; omitted</i>, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt403" href="#NtA403">[403]</a> Marcelline, A; Marcell, + B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt404" href="#NtA404">[404]</a> vixisset, B, <i>inserted in + margin</i>; <i>omitted</i>, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt405" href="#NtA405">[405]</a> Alberto, <i>etc. passim</i>, + B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt406" href="#NtA406">[406]</a> virtutibus, <i>in margin, + later hand,</i> A; <i>in</i> B, <i>over erasure.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt407" href="#NtA407">[407]</a> est <i>in margin</i>, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt408" href="#NtA408">[408]</a> et <i>omitted</i>, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt409" href="#NtA409">[409]</a> innotuerunt, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt410" href="#NtA410">[410]</a> in pietatis manu, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt411" href="#NtA411">[411]</a> p<i>re</i>missimis, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt412" href="#NtA412">[412]</a> sinistrum, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt413" href="#NtA413">[413]</a> quam <i>in margin</i>, A; + <i>over erasure</i>, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt414" href="#NtA414">[414]</a> <i>Space for cap. left + vacant</i>, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt415" href="#NtA415">[415]</a> aucmentu<i>m</i>, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt416" href="#NtA416">[416]</a> facinoris, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt417" href="#NtA417">[417]</a> co<i>n</i>gnouit, A.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt418" href="#NtA418">[418]</a> celeriter, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt419" href="#NtA419">[419]</a> cum <i>in</i> A <i>is + inserted after</i> p<i>er</i>ueniss<i>et</i>, <i>instead of before: and + this was probably the original reading in</i> B, <i>although subsequently + corrected.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt420" href="#NtA420">[420]</a> <i>per</i>, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt421" href="#NtA421">[421]</a> <i>corrected to</i> + nullaten<i>us</i> dormire quasi suspecta<i>m</i> p<i>er</i>misit, B.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt422" href="#NtA422">[422]</a> Justa Vindicta, A, <i>in + margin</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt423" href="#NtA423">[423]</a> Mr Mackie, in an excellent + article on the <i>Fragment</i> (<i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XVI</span>, 251) objects that my criticism of Hickes' + accuracy "is not altogether judicial." Mackie urges that, since the <span + class="scac">MS</span> is no longer extant, we cannot tell how far the + errors are due to Hickes, and how far they already existed in the <span + class="scac">MS</span> from which Hickes copied.</p> + + <p>But we must not forget that there are other transcripts by Hickes, of + <span class="scac">MSS</span> which <i>are</i> still extant, and from + these we can estimate his accuracy. It is no disrespect to the memory of + Hickes, a scholar to whom we are all indebted, to recognize frankly that + his transcripts are not sufficiently accurate to make them at all a + satisfactory substitute for the original <span class="scac">MS</span>. + Hickes' transcript of the <i>Cottonian Gnomic Verses</i> + (<i>Thesaurus</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 207) shows an average of + one error in every four lines: about half these errors are mere matters + of spelling, the others are serious. Hickes' transcript of the + <i>Calendar</i> (<i>Thesaurus</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 203) + shows an average of one error in every six lines. When, therefore, we + find in the <i>Finnsburg Fragment</i> inaccuracies of exactly the type + which Hickes often commits, it would be "hardly judicial" to attribute + these to the <span class="scac">MS</span> which he copied, and to + attribute to Hickes in this particular instance an accuracy to which he + has really no claim.</p> + + <p>Mr Mackie doubts the legitimacy of emending <i>Garulf</i> to + <i>Garulf[e]</i>: but we must remember that Hickes (or his printer) was + systematically careless as to the final <i>e</i>: cf. <i>Calendar</i>, + 15, 23, 41, 141, 144, 171, 210; <i>Gnomic Verses</i>, 45. Other forms in + the <i>Finnsburg Fragment</i> which can be easily paralleled by Hickes' + miswritings in the <i>Calendar</i> and <i>Gnomic Verses</i> are</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Confusion of <i>u</i> and <i>a</i> (<i>Finn.</i> 3, 27, perhaps 44) cf. <i>Gn.</i> 66.</p> + <p> " " <i>c</i> " <i>e</i> (<i>Finn.</i> 12) cf. <i>Cal.</i> 136, <i>Gn.</i> 44.</p> + <p> " " <i>e</i> " <i>æ</i> (<i>Finn.</i> 41) cf. <i>Cal.</i> 44, 73, <i>Gn.</i> 44.</p> + <p> " " <i>e</i> " <i>a</i> (<i>Finn.</i> 22) cf. <i>Cal.</i> 74.</p> + <p> " " <i>eo</i> " <i>ea</i> (<i>Finn.</i> 28) cf. <i>Cal.</i> 121.</p> + <p> " " letters involving long down stroke, e.g., <i>f</i>, <i>s</i>, <i>r</i>, <i>þ</i>, <i>w</i>, <i>p</i></p> + <p class="i24">(<i>Finn.</i> 2, 36) cf. <i>Cal.</i> 97, 142, 180, 181, <i>Gn.</i> 9.</p> + <p>Addition of <i>n</i> (<i>Finn.</i> 22) cf. <i>Cal.</i> 161.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p><a name="Nt424" href="#NtA424">[424]</a> <i>Heimskringla</i>, chap. + 220.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt425" href="#NtA425">[425]</a> It has been suggested that + the phrase "Hengest himself" indicates that Hengest is the "war-young + king." But surely the expression merely marks Hengest out as a person of + special interest. If we <i>must</i> assume that he is one of the people + who have been speaking, then it would be just as natural to identify him + with the watcher who has warned the king, as with the king himself. The + difficulties which prevent us from identifying Hengest with the king are + explained below.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt426" href="#NtA426">[426]</a> Garulf must be an assailant, + since he falls at the beginning of the struggle, whilst we are told that + for five days none of the defenders fell.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt427" href="#NtA427">[427]</a> Very possibly Guthere is + uncle of Garulf. For Garulf is said to be son of Guthlaf (l. 35) and a + <i>Guth</i>ere would be likely to be a brother of a <i>Guth</i>laf. + Further, as Klaeber points out (<i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXIX</span>, 307) it is the part of the uncle to protect + and advise the nephew.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt428" href="#NtA428">[428]</a> Koegel, <i>Geschichte d. + deut. Litt.</i> <span class="scac">I</span>, i, 165.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt429" href="#NtA429">[429]</a> Klaeber (<i>Engl. Stud.</i> + <span class="scac">XXXIX</span>, 308) reminds us that, as there are two + warriors named Godric in the <i>Battle of Maldon</i> (l. 325), so there + may be two warriors named Guthlaf here. But to this it might possibly be + replied that "Godric" was, in England, an exceedingly common name, + "Guthlaf" an exceedingly rare one.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt430" href="#NtA430">[430]</a> Finn is called the + <i>bana</i>, "slayer" of Hnæf. But this does not necessarily mean that he + slew him with his own hand; it would be enough if he were in command of + the assailants at the time when Hnæf was slain. Cf. <i>Beowulf</i>, l. + 1968.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt431" href="#NtA431">[431]</a> The idea that Finn's Frisians + are the "North Frisians" of Schleswig has been supported by Grein + (<i>Eberts Jahrbuch</i>, <span class="scac">IV</span>, 270) and, + following him, by many scholars, including recently Sedgefield + (<i>Beowulf</i>, p. 258). The difficulties of this view are very many: + one only need be emphasized. We first hear of these North Frisians of + Schleswig in the 12th century, and Saxo Grammaticus tells us expressly + that they were a colony from the greater Frisia (Book <span + class="scac">XIV</span>, ed. Holder, p. 465). At what date this colony + was founded we do not know. The latter part of the 9th century has been + suggested by Langhans: so has the end of the 11th century by Lauridsen. + However this may be, all the evidence precludes our supposing this North + Friesland, or, as Saxo calls it, Fresia Minor, to have existed at the + date to which we must attribute the origin of the Finn story. On this + point the following should be consulted: Langhans (V.), <i>Ueber den + Ursprung der Nordfriesen</i>, Wien, 1879 (most valuable on account of its + citation of documents: the latter part of the book, which consists of an + attempt to rewrite the Finn story by dismissing as corrupt or spurious + many of the data, must not blind us to the value of the earlier + portions): Lauridsen, <i>Om Nordfrisernes Indvandring i Sønderjylland, + Historisk Tidsskrift</i>, 6 R, 4 B. <span class="scac">II</span>, 318-67, + Kjøbenhavn, 1893: Siebs, <i>Zur Geschichte der Englisch-Friesischen + Sprache</i>, 1889, 23-6: Chadwick, <i>Origin</i>, 94: Much in <i>Hoops + Reallexikon</i>, s.v. <i>Friesen</i>; and Bremer in <i>Pauls Grdr.</i> + (2), <span class="scac">III</span>, 848, where references will be found + to earlier essays on the subject.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt432" href="#NtA432">[432]</a> The theory that Hnæf is a + captain of Healfdene is based upon a rendering of l. 1064 which is in all + probability wrong.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt433" href="#NtA433">[433]</a> The view that the + <i>Eotenas</i> are the men of Hnæf and Hengest has been held by Thorpe + (<i>Beowulf</i>, pp. 76-7), Ettmüller (<i>Beowulf</i>, 1840, p. 108), + Bouterwek (<i>Germania</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 389), Holtzmann + (<i>Germania</i>, <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 492), Möller + (<i>Volksepos</i>, 94-5), Chadwick (<i>Origin</i>, 53), Clarke + (<i>Sidelights</i>, 184).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt434" href="#NtA434">[434]</a> "And therefore, said the King + ... much more I am sorrier for my good knights' loss, than for the loss + of my fair queen. For queens I might have enow: but such a fellowship of + good knights shall never be together in no company." Malory, <i>Morte + Darthur</i>, Bk. <span class="scac">XX</span>, chap. ix.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt435" href="#NtA435">[435]</a> The argument of Bugge + (<i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XII</span>, 37) that the Eotens here + (l. 1088) must be the Frisians, is inconclusive: but so is Miss Clarke's + argument that they must be Danes (<i>Sidelights</i>, 181), as is shown by + Lawrence (<i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span + class="scac">XXX</span>, 395).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt436" href="#NtA436">[436]</a> I say "son" in what follows, + without prejudice to the possibility of more than one son having fallen. + It in no wise affects the argument.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt437" href="#NtA437">[437]</a> For example, it might well be + said of Achilles, whilst thirsting for vengeance upon the Trojans for the + death of Patroclus, that "he could not get the children of the Trojans + out of his mind." But surely it would be unintelligible to say that "he + could not get the child of the Achaeans out of his mind," meaning + Patroclus, for "child of the Achaeans" is not sufficiently distinctive to + denote Patroclus. Cf. Boer in <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XLVII</span>, 134.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt438" href="#NtA438">[438]</a> In the <i>Skjoldunga Saga</i> + [extant in a Latin abstract by Arngrim Jonsson, ed. Olrik, 1894], cap. + <span class="scac">IV</span>, mention is made of a king of Denmark named + Leifus who had six sons, three of whom are named Hunleifus, Oddleifus and + Gunnleifus—corresponding exactly to O.E. <i>Hūnlāf</i>, + <i>Ordlāf</i> and <i>Gūðlāf</i>. That Hunlaf was well + known in English story is proved by a remarkable passage unearthed by Dr + Imelmann from <i>MS Cotton Vesp. D. IV</i> (fol. 139 <i>b</i>) where + Hunlaf is mentioned together with a number of other heroes of Old English + story—Wugda, Hama, Hrothulf, Hengest, Horsa (<i>Hoc testantur gesta + rudolphi et hunlapi, Unwini et Widie, horsi et hengisti, Waltef et + hame</i>). See Chadwick, <i>Origin</i>, 52: R. Huchon, <i>Revue + Germanique</i>, <span class="scac">III</span>, 626: Imelmann, in + <i>D.L.Z.</i> <span class="scac">XXX</span>, 999: April, 1909. This + disposes of the translation "Hun thrust or placed in his bosom Lafing, + best of swords," which was adopted by Bugge (<i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XII</span>, 33), Holder, ten Brink and Gering. Hun is + mentioned in <i>Widsith</i> (l. 33) and in the Icelandic + <i>Thulor</i>.</p> + + <p>That Guthlaf, Ordlaf and Hunlaf must be connected together had been + noted by Boer (<i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XLVII</span>, 139) + before this discovery of Chadwick's confirmed him.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt439" href="#NtA439">[439]</a> The fragment which tells of + the fighting in the hall is so imperfect that there is nothing impossible + in the assumption, though it is too hazardous to make it.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt440" href="#NtA440">[440]</a> Cf. <i>Beowulf</i>, ll. 1900 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt441" href="#NtA441">[441]</a> <i>Das Altenglische + Volksepos</i>, 46-99.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt442" href="#NtA442">[442]</a> C. P. Hansen, <i>Uald' + Söld'ring tialen</i>, Møgeltønder, 1858. See Möller, <i>Volksepos</i>, 75 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt443" href="#NtA443">[443]</a> See Müllenhoff in + <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">VI</span>, 86.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt444" href="#NtA444">[444]</a> So Möller, <i>Volksepos</i>, + 152.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt445" href="#NtA445">[445]</a> See <i>Beowulf</i>, ed. + Wyatt, 1894, p. 145.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt446" href="#NtA446">[446]</a> <i>Volksepos</i>, 71 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt447" href="#NtA447">[447]</a> e.g., Sedgefield, + <i>Beowulf</i>, 2nd ed., p. 258. So 1st ed., p. 13 (<i>Hoc</i> being an + obvious misprint).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt448" href="#NtA448">[448]</a> On the poet's use of plural + for singular here, see Osthoff, <i>I.F.</i> <span class="scac">XX</span>, + 202-7.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt449" href="#NtA449">[449]</a> I have thought it necessary + to give fully the reasons why Möller's view cannot be accepted, because + in whole or in part it is still widely followed in England. Chadwick + (<i>Origin</i>, 53) still interprets "Eotens" as "Danes"; and Sedgefield + (<i>Beowulf</i> (2), p. 258) gives Möller's view the place of honour.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt450" href="#NtA450">[450]</a> The treachery of Finn is + emphasized, for example, by Bugge (<i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XII</span>, 36), Koegel (<i>Geschichte d. deut. Litt.</i> + 164), ten Brink (<i>Pauls Grdr.</i> (1), <span class="scac">II</span>, + 545), Trautmann (<i>Finn und Hildebrand,</i> 59), Lawrence (<i>Pub. Mod. + Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span class="scac">XXX</span>, 397, 430), Ayres + (<i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XVI</span>, 290).</p> + + <p></p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="unpoem"><a name="Nt451" href="#NtA451">[451]</a></span> + <p class="i8">syþðan morgen cōm</p> + <p>ðā hēo under swegle gesēon meahte, <i>etc.</i></p> + </div> + </div> + + <p><a name="Nt452" href="#NtA452">[452]</a> l. 36. The swords flash + <i>swylce eal Finnsburuh fȳrenu wǣre</i>, "as if all + Finnsburg were afire." I think we may safely argue from this that the + swords are flashing near Finnsburg. It would be just conceivable that the + poet's mind travels back from the scene of the battle to Finn's distant + home: "the swords made as great a flash as would have been made had + Finn's distant capital been aflame": but this is a weak and forced + interpretation, which we have no right to assume, though it may be + conceivable.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt453" href="#NtA453">[453]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, ll. 1125-7. I + doubt whether it is possible to explain the difficulty away by supposing + that "the warriors departing to see Friesland, their homes and their + head-town" simply means that Finn's men, "summoned by Finn in preparation + for the encounter with the Danes, return to their respective homes in the + country," and that "<i>hēaburh</i> is a high sounding epic term + that should not be pressed." This is the explanation offered by Klaeber + (<i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">VI</span>, 193) and endorsed by + Lawrence (<i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span + class="scac">XXX</span>, 401). But it seems to me taking a liberty with + the text to interpret <i>hēaburh</i> (singular) as the "respective + homes in the country" to which Finn's warriors resort on demobilisation. + And the statement of ll. 1125-7, that the warriors departed from the + place of combat to see Friesland, seems to necessitate that such place of + combat was not in Friesland. Klaeber objects to this (surely obvious) + inference: "If we are to infer [from ll. 1125-7] that Finnsburg lies + outside Friesland proper, we might as well conclude that <i>Dyflen</i> + (Dublin) is not situated in Ireland according to the <i>Battle of + Brunanburh (gewitan him þā Norðmenn ... Dyflen sēcan and eft + Īraland</i>)." But how could anyone infer this from the + <i>Brunanburh</i> lines? What we <i>are</i> justified in inferring, is, + surely, that the <i>site of the battle of Brunanburh</i> (from which the + Northmen departed to visit Ireland and Dublin) was not identical with + Dublin, and did not lie in Ireland. And by exact parity of reason, we are + justified in arguing that Finnsburg, the site of the first battle in + which Hnæf fell (from which site the warriors depart to visit Friesland + and the <i>hēaburh</i>) was not identical with the + <i>hēaburh</i>, and did not lie in Friesland. Accordingly the usual + view, that Finnsburg is situated outside Friesland, seems incontestable. + See Bugge (<i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XII</span>, 29-30), Trautmann + (<i>Finn und Hildebrand</i>, 60) and Boer (<i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XLVII</span>, 137). Cf. Ayres (<i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XVI</span>, 294).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt454" href="#NtA454">[454]</a> See below, p. <a + href="#page289">289</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt455" href="#NtA455">[455]</a> So Brandl, 984, and + Heinzel.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt456" href="#NtA456">[456]</a> Or just as the attack on the + Danes began at night, we might suppose (as does Trautmann) that it + equally culminated in a night assault five days later. There would be + obvious advantage in night fighting when the object was to storm a hall: + Flugumýrr was burnt by night, and so was the hall of Njal. So, too, was + the hall of Rolf Kraki. It would be, then, on the morning after this + second night assault, that Hildeburh found her kinsfolk dead.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt457" href="#NtA457">[457]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, l. 1831: cf. + l. 409.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt458" href="#NtA458">[458]</a> Leo (<i>Beowulf</i>, 1839, + 67), Müllenhoff (<i>Nordalbingische Studien</i>, <span + class="scac">I</span>, 157), Rieger (<i>Lesebuch; Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">III</span>, 398-401), Dederich (<i>Studien</i>, 1877, 96-7), + Heyne (in his fourth edition) and in recent times Holthausen have + interpreted <i>eoten</i> as a common noun "giant," "monster," and + consequently "foe" in general. But they have failed to produce any + adequate justification for interpreting <i>eoten</i> as "foe," and + Holthausen, the modern advocate of this interpretation, has now abandoned + it. Grundtvig (<i>Beowulfes Beorh</i>, 1861, pp. 133 <i>etc.</i>) and + Möller (<i>Volksepos</i>, 97 <i>etc.</i>) also interpret "giant," Möller + giving an impossible mythological explanation, which was, at the time, + widely followed.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt459" href="#NtA459">[459]</a> Like <i>oxnum</i>, + <i>nefenum</i> (cf. Sievers, § 277, Anm. 1).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt460" href="#NtA460">[460]</a> I do not attach much + importance to the argument which might be drawn from the statement of + Binz (<i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XX</span>, 185) that the evidence + of proper names shows that in the Hampshire district (which was colonized + by Jutes) the legend of <i>Finnsburg</i> was particularly remembered. For + on the other hand, as Binz points out, similar evidence is markedly + lacking for Kent. And why, indeed, should the Jutes have specially + commemorated a legend in which their part appears not to have been a very + creditable one?</p> + + <p><a name="Nt461" href="#NtA461">[461]</a> p. <a href="#page97">97</a>, + note <a href="#Nt225">225</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt462" href="#NtA462">[462]</a> See above, p. <a + href="#page200">200</a>. Zimmer, <i>Nennius Vindicatus</i>, 84, assumes + that the Kentish pedigree borrowed these names from the Bernician: but + there is no evidence for this.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt463" href="#NtA463">[463]</a> Among those who have so held + are Kemble, Thorpe (<i>Beowulf</i>, pp. 76-7), Ettmüller (<i>Beowulf</i>, + 1840, p. 23), Bouterwek (<i>Germania</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, + 389), Grein (<i>Eberts Jahrbuch</i>, <span class="scac">IV</span>, 270), + Köhler (<i>Germania</i>, <span class="scac">XIII</span>, 155), Heyne (in + first three editions), Holder (<i>Beowulf</i>, p. 128), ten Brink + (<i>Pauls Grdr</i>. (1), <span class="scac">II</span>, 548), Heinzel + (<i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">X</span>. 228), Stevenson + (<i>Asser</i>, 1904, p. 169), Schücking (<i>Beowulf</i>, 1913, p. 321), + Klaeber (<i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XIV</span>, 545), Lawrence + (<i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span class="scac">XXX</span>, 393), + Moorman (<i>Essays and Studies</i>, <span class="scac">V</span>, 99), + Björkman (<i>Eigennamen im Beowulf</i>, 21).</p> + + <p>So too, with some hesitation, Chadwick (<i>Orgin</i>, 52-3): with much + more hesitation, Bugge (<i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XII</span>, 37). + Whilst this is passing through the press Holthausen has withdrawn his + former interpretation <i>eotena</i>, "enemies," in favour of + <i>Eotena</i>=<i>Ēotna</i>, "Jutes" (<i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">LI</span>, 180).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt464" href="#NtA464">[464]</a> <i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XII</span>, 37.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt465" href="#NtA465">[465]</a> The cognate of O.E. + <i>fǣr</i> (Mod. Eng. "fear") in other Germanic languages, such as + Old Saxon and Old High German, has the meaning of "ambush." In the nine + places where it occurs in O.E. verse it has always the meaning of a peril + which comes upon one suddenly, and is applied, e.g. to the Day of + Judgement (twice) or some unexpected flood (three times). In compounds + <i>fǣr</i> conveys an idea of suddenness: + "<i>fǣr-dēað</i>, repentina mors."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt466" href="#NtA466">[466]</a> <i>Volksepos</i>, 69.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt467" href="#NtA467">[467]</a> It has been surmounted in two + ways. (1) By altering <i>eaferum</i> to <i>eaferan</i> (a very slight + change) and then making <i>fǣr</i> refer to the <i>final</i> attack + upon Finn, in which he certainly <i>was</i> on the defensive (Lawrence, + 397 <i>etc.</i>, Ayres, 284, Trautmann, <i>BB.</i> <span + class="scac">II</span>, Klaeber, <i>Anglia</i>, <span + class="scac">XXVIII</span>, 443, Holthausen). (2) By making + <i>hīē</i> refer to <i>hæleð Healf-Dena</i> which follows + (Green in <i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXI</span>, 759-97); but this is forced. See also below, p. + <a href="#page284">284</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt468" href="#NtA468">[468]</a> Cf. Tacitus, <i>Germania</i>, + <span class="scac">XIV</span>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt469" href="#NtA469">[469]</a> For examples of this see pp. + <a href="#page278">278</a>-82 below.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt470" href="#NtA470">[470]</a> <i>Fragment</i>, 40-1.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt471" href="#NtA471">[471]</a> See above, p. <a + href="#page30">30</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt472" href="#NtA472">[472]</a> Book II (ed. Holder, p. + 67).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt473" href="#NtA473">[473]</a> <i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XII</span>, 34.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt474" href="#NtA474">[474]</a> For a discussion of the + interpretation of the difficult <i>forþringan</i>, see Carlton Brown in + <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">XXXIV</span>, 181-3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt475" href="#NtA475">[475]</a> <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XVI</span>, 291-2.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt476" href="#NtA476">[476]</a> <i>Ib.</i> 293-4.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt477" href="#NtA477">[477]</a> I wish I could feel + convinced, with Ayres, that the person whom Guthlaf and Oslaf blame for + their woes is Hengest rather than Finn. Such an interpretation renders + the story so much more coherent; but if the poet really meant this, he + assuredly did not make his meaning quite clear.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt478" href="#NtA478">[478]</a> See below, pp. <a + href="#page276">276</a>, <a href="#page288">288</a>-9.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt479" href="#NtA479">[479]</a> Ne hūru Hildeburh + herian þorfte Eotena trēowe.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt480" href="#NtA480">[480]</a> Ayres, in <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> + <span class="scac">XVI</span>, 286. So Lawrence in a private + communication.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt481" href="#NtA481">[481]</a> ll. 2910, <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt482" href="#NtA482">[482]</a> We can construct the + situation from such historical information as we can get from Gregory of + Tours and other sources. The author of <i>Beowulf</i> may not have been + clear as to the exact relation of the different tribes. We cannot tell, + from the vague way he speaks, how much he knew.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt483" href="#NtA483">[483]</a> I have argued this at some + length below, but I do not think anyone would deny it. Bugge recognized + it to be true (<i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XII</span>, 29-30) as + does Lawrence (392). See below, pp. <a href="#page288">288</a>-9.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt484" href="#NtA484">[484]</a> We can never argue that words + are synonymous because they are parallel. Compare Psalm cxiv; in the + first verse the parallel words are synonymous, but in the second and + third not:</p> + + <p>"When Israel came out of Egypt and the house of Jacob from among the + strange people" [Israel = house of Jacob: Egypt = strange people].</p> + + <p>"Judah was His sanctuary and Israel His dominion." [Judah is only one + of the tribes of Israel.]</p> + + <p>"The sea saw that and fled: Jordan was driven back." [The Red Sea and + Jordan are distinct, though parallel, examples.]</p> + + <p><a name="Nt485" href="#NtA485">[485]</a> <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XVI</span>, 288.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt486" href="#NtA486">[486]</a> <i>Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. + Amer.</i> <span class="scac">XXX</span>, 430.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt487" href="#NtA487">[487]</a> Plummer, <i>Two Saxon + Chronicles Parallel</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 47.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt488" href="#NtA488">[488]</a> <i>Njáls Saga</i>, cap. + 45.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt489" href="#NtA489">[489]</a> <i>Pauls Grdr.</i> (2), <span + class="scac">II</span>, 524.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt490" href="#NtA490">[490]</a> Helmhold.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt491" href="#NtA491">[491]</a> I know of only one parallel + for such assumed adoption of a name: that also concerns the Jutes. The + Angles, says Bede, dwelt between the Saxons and Jutes: the Jutes must, + then, according to Bede, have dwelt north of the Angles, since the Saxons + dwelt south. But the people north of the Angles are now, and have been + from early times, Scandinavian in speech, whilst the Jutes who settled + Kent obviously were not. The best way of harmonizing known linguistic + facts with Bede's statement is, then, to assume that Scandinavians + settled in the old continental home of these Jutes and took over their + name, whilst introducing the Scandinavian speech.</p> + + <p>Now many scholars have regarded this as so forced and unlikely an + explanation that they reject it, and refuse to believe that the Jutes who + settled Kent can have dwelt north of the Angles, in spite of Bede's + statement. If we are asked to reject the "Scandinavian-Jute" theory, as + too unlikely on <i>a priori</i> grounds, although it is demanded by the + express evidence of Bede, it is surely absurd to put forward a precisely + similar theory in favour of "Frisian-Jutes" upon no evidence at all.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt492" href="#NtA492">[492]</a> Koegel (164), Lawrence + (382).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt493" href="#NtA493">[493]</a> Björkman (<i>Eigennamen im + Beowulf</i>, 23) interprets the <i>Eotenas</i> as Jutist subjects of + Finn. This suggestion was made quite independently of anything I had + written, and confirms me in my belief that it is a reasonable + interpretation.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt494" href="#NtA494">[494]</a> Ayres in <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> + <span class="scac">XVI</span>, 288.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt495" href="#NtA495">[495]</a> e.g. <i>Njáls Saga</i>, cap. + 144: <i>Laxdæla Saga</i>, cap. 51.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt496" href="#NtA496">[496]</a> Of course a primitive stage + can be conceived at which homicide is regarded as worse than murder. Your + brother shoots <i>A</i> intentionally: he must therefore have had good + reasons, and you fraternally support him. But you may feel legitimate + annoyance if he aims at a stag, and shooting <i>A</i> by mere + misadventure, involves you in a blood-feud.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt497" href="#NtA497">[497]</a> <i>Heimskringla, Ól. + Tryggv.</i> K. 111; <i>Saga Olafs Tryggvasonar</i>, K. 70 (<i>Fornmanna + Sǫgur</i>, 1835, <span class="scac">X</span>.)</p> + + <p><a name="Nt498" href="#NtA498">[498]</a> Saxo Grammaticus (ed. Holder, + p. 67).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt499" href="#NtA499">[499]</a> <i>Heimskringla, Ól. + Tryggv.</i> K. 41.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt500" href="#NtA500">[500]</a> <i>lýsti vígi á hendr + sér.</i> <i>Laxdæla Saga</i>, cap. 49.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt501" href="#NtA501">[501]</a> Cap. 55.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt502" href="#NtA502">[502]</a> Cap. 85.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt503" href="#NtA503">[503]</a> <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i>, + anno 755.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt504" href="#NtA504">[504]</a> <i>Njáls Saga</i>, cap. + 158.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt505" href="#NtA505">[505]</a> <i>Fragment</i>, ll. + 40-1.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt506" href="#NtA506">[506]</a> p. 213 (ed. Holder).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt507" href="#NtA507">[507]</a> Finn may perhaps be holding a + meeting of chieftains. For similar meetings of chieftains, compare + <i>Sǫrla þáttr</i>, cap. 4; <i>Laxdæla Saga</i>, cap. 12; + <i>Skáldskaparmál</i>, cap. 47 (50).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt508" href="#NtA508">[508]</a> There is assuredly a + considerable likeness between the Finn story and the Nibelungen story: + this has been noted often enough. It is more open to dispute whether the + likeness is so great as to justify us in believing that the Nibelungen + story is <i>copied</i> from the Finn story, and may therefore safely be + used as an indication how gaps in our existing versions of that story may + be filled. See Boer in <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XLVII</span>, + 125 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt509" href="#NtA509">[509]</a> The fact that both sides have + suffered about equally facilitates a settlement in the Teutonic feud, + just as it does among the Afridis or the Albanians at the present + day.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt510" href="#NtA510">[510]</a> The situation would then be + parallel to that in <i>Laxdæla Saga</i>, cap. 60-5, where the boy + Thorleik, aged fifteen, is nominally in command of the expedition which + avenges his father Bolli, but is only able to accomplish his revenge by + enlisting the great warrior Thorgils, who is the real leader of the + raid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt511" href="#NtA511">[511]</a> Bugge (<i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XII</span>, 36) interpreted this <i>swylce</i> as meaning + that sword-bale came upon Finn in like manner as it had previously come + upon Hnæf. But this is to make <i>swylce</i> in l. 1146 refer back to the + death of Hnæf mentioned (72 lines previously) in l. 1074. Möller + (<i>Volksepos</i>, 67) tries to explain <i>swylce</i> by supposing the + passage it introduces to be a fragment detached from its context.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt512" href="#NtA512">[512]</a> f, r, s, þ, w, p (<a + href="images/Beo297.png"><img src="images/Beo297.png" class="middle" + style="height:2ex" alt="Old English Letters" /></a>), all letters + involving a long down stroke, are constantly confused. For examples, see + above, p. <a href="#page245">245</a>, and cf. e.g. <i>Beowulf</i>, l. + 2882 (<i>fergendra</i> for <i>wergendra</i>); <i>Crist</i>, 12 + (<i>cræstga</i> for <i>cræftga</i>); <i>Phoenix</i>, 15 (<i>fnæft</i> for + <i>fnæst</i>); Riddles <span class="scac">III</span> (<span + class="scac">IV</span>), 18 (<i>þyran</i> for <i>þywan</i>); <span + class="scac">XL</span> (<span class="scac">XLI</span>), 63 (<i>þyrre</i> + for <i>þyrse</i>); <span class="scac">XLII</span> (<span + class="scac">XLIII</span>), 4 (<i>speop</i> for <i>spēow</i>), 11 + (<i>wæs</i> for <i>þæs</i>); <span class="scac">LVII</span> (<span + class="scac">LVIII</span>), 3 (<i>rope</i> for <i>rōfe</i> or + <i>rōwe</i>), <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt513" href="#NtA513">[513]</a> p. 392.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt514" href="#NtA514">[514]</a> p. 431.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt515" href="#NtA515">[515]</a> <i>Nennius Interpretatus</i>, + ed. Mommsen (<i>Chronica Minora</i>, <span class="scac">III</span>, 179, + in <i>Mon. Germ. Hist.</i>)</p> + + <p><a name="Nt516" href="#NtA516">[516]</a> "De norske oldsager synes at + vidne om, at temmelig livlige handelsforbindelser i den ældre jernalder + har fundet sted mellem Norge og de sydlige Nordsøkyster." Undset, <i>Fra + Norges ældre Jernalder</i> in the <i>Aarbøger for Nordisk Oldkyndighed og + Historie</i>, 1880, 89-184, esp. p. 173. See also Chadwick, + <i>Origin</i>, 93. I am indebted to Chadwick's note for this reference to + Undset.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt517" href="#NtA517">[517]</a> <i>Ravennatis anonymi + cosmographia</i>, ed. Pinder et Parthey, Berolini, 1860, pp. 27, 28 (§ + <span class="scac">I</span>, 11).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt518" href="#NtA518">[518]</a> The modern Wijk bij + Duurstede, not far from Utrecht, on the Lower Rhine.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt519" href="#NtA519">[519]</a> An account of the numerous + coins found among the ruins of the old town will be found in the + <i>Forschungen zur deutschen Geschichte</i>, <span class="scac">IV</span> + (1864), pp. 301-303. They testify to its commercial importance.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt520" href="#NtA520">[520]</a> So Adam of Bremen, following + Alcuin. Concerning "Heiligland" Adam says: "Hanc in vita Sancti + Willebrordi Fosetisland appellari discimus, quae sita est in confinio + Danorum et Fresonum." Adam of Bremen in Pertz, <i>Scriptores</i>, <span + class="scac">VII</span>, 1846, p. 369.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt521" href="#NtA521">[521]</a> Alcuin's <i>Life of + Willibrord</i> in Migne (1851)—Alcuini <i>Opera</i>, vol. <span + class="scac">II</span>, 699-702.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt522" href="#NtA522">[522]</a> See above, pp. <a + href="#page199">199</a>-200.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt523" href="#NtA523">[523]</a> It had been disputed by + Skeat, Earle, Boer, and others, but never with such strong reasons.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt524" href="#NtA524">[524]</a> I use below the form "Beow," + which I believe to be the correct one. "Beaw" is the form in the + <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i>. But as the name of Sceldwa, Beaw's father, + is there given in a form which is not West-Saxon (<i>sceld</i>, not + <i>scield</i> or <i>scyld</i>), it may well be that "Beaw" is also the + Anglian dialect form, if it be not indeed a mere error: and this is + confirmed by <i>Beo</i> (Ethelwerd), <i>Beowius</i> (William of + Malmesbury), <i>Boerinus</i> (for <i>Beowinus</i>: Chronicle Roll), + perhaps too by <i>Beowa</i> (Charter of 931) and <i>Beowi</i>, (<i>MS + Cott. Tib. B. IV</i>). For the significance of this last, see pp. <a + href="#page303">303</a>-4, below, and Björkman in <i>Engl. Stud.</i> + <span class="scac">LII</span>, 171, <i>Anglia, Beiblatt</i>, <span + class="scac">XXX</span>, 23.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt525" href="#NtA525">[525]</a> Vol. <span + class="scac">LXXXI</span>, p. 517.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt526" href="#NtA526">[526]</a> It has indeed been so argued + by Brandl: "Beowulf ... ist nur der Erlöser seines Volkes ... und dankt + es schliesslich dem Himmel, in einer an den Heiland gemahnenden Weise, + dass er die Seinen um den Preis des eigenen Lebens mit Schätzen beglücken + konnte." <i>Pauls Grdr.</i> (2), <span class="scac">II</span>, l. + 1002.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt527" href="#NtA527">[527]</a> <i>Encyclopædia + Britannica</i>, 11th edit., <span class="scac">III</span>, 760-1.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt528" href="#NtA528">[528]</a> l. 2039, where a capital O + occurs, but without a section number.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt529" href="#NtA529">[529]</a> <i>Moore, Namur, + Cotton.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt530" href="#NtA530">[530]</a> <i>Cotton Tiberius B. + XI.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt531" href="#NtA531">[531]</a> <i>Hatton</i>, 20.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt532" href="#NtA532">[532]</a> See above, pp. <a + href="#page92">92</a>-7.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt533" href="#NtA533">[533]</a> See above, pp. <a + href="#page43">43</a>-4.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt534" href="#NtA534">[534]</a> Ethelwerd.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt535" href="#NtA535">[535]</a> <i>Chronicle.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt536" href="#NtA536">[536]</a> Boer, <i>Beowulf</i>, 135, + 143: <i>Arkiv f. nord. Filologi</i>, <span class="scac">XIX</span>, + 29.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt537" href="#NtA537">[537]</a> <i>Heroic Age</i>, 126.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt538" href="#NtA538">[538]</a> <i>Postscript to Preface</i>, + p. ix.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt539" href="#NtA539">[539]</a> <i>Postscript</i>, pp. xi, + xiv.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt540" href="#NtA540">[540]</a> See <i>Lokasenna</i> in + <i>Die Lieder der Edda</i>, herausg. von Sijmons u. Gering, <span + class="scac">I</span>, 134.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i16">Byggvir kvaþ:</p> + <p>"[Veiztu] ef [ek] øþle ǽttak sem Ingunar-Freyr,</p> + <p class="i12">ok svá sǽllekt setr,</p> + <p>merge smǽra mølþak [þá] meinkrǫ́ko</p> + <p class="i12">ok lemþa alla í liþo."</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p><a name="Nt541" href="#NtA541">[541]</a> Lines corresponding to these + of Burns are found both in the Scotch ballad recorded by Jamieson, and in + the English ballad (Pepys Collection). See Jamieson, <i>Popular Ballads + and Songs</i>, 1806, <span class="scac">II</span>, 241, 256.</p> + + <p></p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="unpoem"><a name="Nt542" href="#NtA542">[542]</a></span> + <p class="i10">Loki kvaþ:</p> + <p>"Hvat's þat et lítla, es [ek] þat lǫggra sék,</p> + <p class="i10">ok snapvíst snaper?</p> + <p>at eyrom Freys mont[u] ǽ vesa</p> + <p class="i10">ok und kvernom klaka."</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p><a name="Nt543" href="#NtA543">[543]</a> Jamieson, <span + class="scac">II</span>, 239. So Burns: "John Barleycorn was a hero bold," + and the ballad</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>John Barleycorn is the wightest man</p> + <p class="i4">That ever throve in land.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p></p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="unpoem"><a name="Nt544" href="#NtA544">[544]</a></span> + <p class="i10">Byggvir kvaþ:</p> + <p>"Byggver ek heite, en mik bráþan kveþa</p> + <p class="i10">goþ ǫll ok gumar;</p> + <p>því emk hér hróþogr, at drekka Hrópts meger</p> + <p class="i10">aller ǫl saman."</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p></p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="unpoem"><a name="Nt545" href="#NtA545">[545]</a></span> + <p class="i10">Loki kvaþ:</p> + <p>"þege þú, Byggver! þú kunner aldrege</p> + <p class="i10">deila meþ mǫnnom mat;</p> + <p>[ok] þik í flets strae finna né mǫ́tto,</p> + <p class="i10">þás vǫ́go verar."</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p><a name="Nt546" href="#NtA546">[546]</a> This follows from the + allusive way in which he and his wife are introduced—there must be + a background to allusions. If the poet were inventing this figure, and + had no background of knowledge in his audience to appeal to, he must have + been more explicit. Cf. Olsen in Christiania <i>Videnskapsselskapets + Skrifter</i>, 1914, <span class="scac">II</span>, 2, 107.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt547" href="#NtA547">[547]</a> p. <a + href="#page87">87</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt548" href="#NtA548">[548]</a> See Olrik, "Nordisk og + Lappisk Gudsdyrkelse," <i>Danske Studier</i>, 1905, pp. 39-57; + "Tordenguden og hans dreng," 1905, pp. 129-46; "Tordenguden og hans dreng + i Lappernes myteverden," 1906, pp. 65-9; Krohn, "Lappische beiträge zur + germ. mythologie," <i>Finnisch-Ugrische Forschungen</i>, <span + class="scac">VI</span>, 1906, pp. 155-80.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt549" href="#NtA549">[549]</a> See Axel Olrik in <i>Festgabe + f. Vilh. Thomsen</i>, 1912 (= <i>Finnisch-Ugrische Forschungen</i>, <span + class="scac">XII</span>, 1, p. 40). Olrik refers therein to his earlier + paper on the subject in <i>Danske Studier</i>, 1911, p. 38, and to a + forthcoming article in the <i>Germanisch-Romanische Monatsschrift</i>, + which has, I think, never appeared. See also K. Krohn in <i>Göttingische + gelehrte Anzeigen</i>, 1912, p. 211. Reviewing Meyer's <i>Altgermanische + Religionsgeschichte</i>, Krohn, after referring to the Teutonic gods of + agriculture, continues "Ausser diesen agrikulturellen Gottheiten sind aus + der finnischen Mythologie mit Hülfe der Linguistik mehrere germanische + Naturgötter welche verschiedene Nutzpflanzen vertreten, entdeckt worden: + der Roggengott Runkoteivas oder Rukotivo, der Gerstengott Pekko (nach + Magnus Olsen aus urnord. Beggw-, vgl. Byggwir) und ein Gott des + Futtergrases Sämpsä (vgl. Semse od. Simse, 'die Binse')." See also Krohn, + "Germanische Elemente in der finnischen Volksdichtung," <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> + <span class="scac">LI</span>, 1909, pp. 13-22; and Karsten, "Einige + Zeugnisse zur altnordischen Götterverehrung in Finland," + <i>Finnisch-Ugrische Forschungen</i>, <span class="scac">XII</span>, + 307-16.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt550" href="#NtA550">[550]</a> As proposed by K. Krohn in a + publication of the Finnish Academy at Helsingfors which I have not been + able to consult, but as to which see Setälä in <i>Finnisch-Ugrische + Forschungen</i>, <span class="scac">XIII</span>, 311, 424. Setälä accepts + the derivation from <i>beggwu-</i>, rejecting an alternative derivation + of Pekko from a Finnish root.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt551" href="#NtA551">[551]</a> This is proposed by J. J. + Mikkola in a note appended to the article by K. Krohn, "Sampsa + Pellervoinen < Njordr, Freyr?" in <i>Finnisch-Ugrische + Forschungen</i>, <span class="scac">IV</span>, 231-48. See also Olrik, + "Forårsmyten hos Finnerne," in <i>Danske Studier</i>, 1907, pp. 62-4.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt552" href="#NtA552">[552]</a> See note by K. Krohn, + <i>Finnisch-Ugrische Forschungen</i>, <span class="scac">VI</span>, + 105.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt553" href="#NtA553">[553]</a> See above, p. <a + href="#page87">87</a>, and M. J. Eisen, "Ueber den Pekokultus bei den + Setukesen," <i>Finnisch-Ugrische Forschungen</i>, <span + class="scac">VI</span>, 104-11.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt554" href="#NtA554">[554]</a> See M. Olsen, <i>Hedenske + Kultminder i Norske Stedsnavne</i>, Christiania <i>Videnskapsselskapets + Skrifter</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 2, 1914, pp. 227-8.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt555" href="#NtA555">[555]</a> See above, p. <a + href="#page84">84</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt556" href="#NtA556">[556]</a> Mannhardt, <i>Mythologische + Forschungen</i>, 332.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt557" href="#NtA557">[557]</a> In view of the weight laid + upon this custom by Olrik as illustrating the story of Sceaf, it is + necessary to note that it seems to be confined to parts of England + bordering on the "Celtic fringe." See above, pp. <a + href="#page81">81</a>, <i>etc.</i> Olrik and Olsen quote it as Kentish + (see <i>Heltedigtning</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 252) but this is + certainly wrong. Frazer attributes the custom of "crying the mare" to + Hertfordshire and Shropshire (<i>Spirits of the Corn</i>, <span + class="scac">I</span>, 292 = <i>Golden Bough</i>, 3rd edit., <span + class="scac">VII</span>, 292). In this he is following Brand's <i>Popular + Antiquities</i> (1813, <span class="scac">I</span>, 443; 1849, <span + class="scac">II</span>, 24; also Carew Hazlitt, 1905, <span + class="scac">I</span>, 157). But Brand's authority is Blount's + <i>Glossographia</i>, 1674, and Blount says <i>Herefordshire</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt558" href="#NtA558">[558]</a> Brand, <i>Popular + Antiquities</i>, 1849, <span class="scac">II</span>, 24.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt559" href="#NtA559">[559]</a> Frazer in the <i>Folk-Lore + Journal</i>, <span class="scac">VII</span>, 1889, pp. 50, 51; <i>Adonis, + Attis and Osiris</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 237.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt560" href="#NtA560">[560]</a> Frazer, <i>Adonis, Attis and + Osiris</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 238 (<i>Golden Bough</i>, 3rd + edit.).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt561" href="#NtA561">[561]</a> Frazer, <i>Spirits of the + Corn and of the Wild</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 143-4.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt562" href="#NtA562">[562]</a> Frazer in the <i>Folk-Lore + Journal</i>, <span class="scac">VII</span>, 1889, pp. 50, 51.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt563" href="#NtA563">[563]</a> Mannhardt, + <i>Forschungen</i>, 317.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt564" href="#NtA564">[564]</a> Frazer, <i>Spirits of the + Corn</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 138.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt565" href="#NtA565">[565]</a> Mannhardt, 323; Fraser, + <i>Adonis</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 238.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt566" href="#NtA566">[566]</a> Mannhardt, 330.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt567" href="#NtA567">[567]</a> Mannhardt, 24; Frazer, + <i>Adonis</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 238.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt568" href="#NtA568">[568]</a> Frazer, <i>Adonis</i>, <span + class="scac">I</span>, 237.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt569" href="#NtA569">[569]</a> Frazer, <i>Spirits of the + Corn</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 217.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt570" href="#NtA570">[570]</a> See Björkman in <i>Anglia, + Beiblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XXX</span>, 1919, p. 23. In a similar + way Sceaf appears twice in William of Malmesbury, once as Sceaf and once + as Strephius.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt571" href="#NtA571">[571]</a> Vol. <span + class="scac">LII</span>, p. 145.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt572" href="#NtA572">[572]</a> <i>MS Cott. Vesp. B. + XXIV</i>, fol. 32 (Evesham Cartulary). See Birch, <i>Cart. Sax.</i> <span + class="scac">I</span>, 176 (No. 120); Kemble, <i>Cod. Dipl.</i> <span + class="scac">III</span>, 376. Kemble prints <i>þæt æft</i> for + <i>þā æft</i> (<span class="scac">MS</span> "þ<span + class="x1"><span class="x6">¯</span></span> æft"). For examples of + "þ<span class="x1"><span class="x6">¯</span></span>" for <i>þā</i>, + see <i>Ælfrics Grammatik</i>, herausg. Zupitza, 1880; 38, 3; 121, 4; 291, + 1.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt573" href="#NtA573">[573]</a> There are two copies, one of + the tenth and one of the eleventh century, among the Crawford Collection + in the Bodleian. See Birch, <i>Cart. Sax.</i> <span + class="scac">III</span>, ..7 (No. 1331); Napier and Stevenson, <i>The + Crawford Collection</i> (<i>Anecdota Oxoniensia</i>), 1895, pp. 1, 3, + 50.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt574" href="#NtA574">[574]</a> <i>MS Cotton Ch. VIII</i>, + 16. See Birch, <i>Cart. Sax.</i> <span class="scac">II</span>, 363 (No. + 677); Kemble, <i>Cod. Dipl.</i> <span class="scac">II</span>, 172.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt575" href="#NtA575">[575]</a> A nearly contemporary copy: + <i>Westminster Abbey Charters</i>, <span class="scac">III</span>. See + Birch, <i>Cart. Sax.</i> <span class="scac">III</span>, 189 (No. 994), + and W. B. Sanders, <i>Ord. Surv. Facs.</i> <span class="scac">II</span>, + plate <span class="scac">III</span>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt576" href="#NtA576">[576]</a> A fourteenth to fifteenth + century copy preserved at Wells Cathedral (<i>Registr. Album</i>, f. 289 + <i>b</i>). See Birch, <i>Cart. Sax.</i> <span class="scac">III</span>, + 223 (No. 1023).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt577" href="#NtA577">[577]</a> <i>MS Cotton Aug. II</i>, 6. + See Birch, <i>Cart. Sax.</i> <span class="scac">III</span>, 588 (No. + 1282).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt578" href="#NtA578">[578]</a> <i>Brit. Mus. Stowe + Chart.</i> No. 32. See Birch, <i>Cart. Sax.</i> <span + class="scac">III</span>, 605 (No. 1290).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt579" href="#NtA579">[579]</a> Cf. the <i>Victoria + History</i>, Middlesex, <span class="scac">II</span>, p. 1.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt580" href="#NtA580">[580]</a> "<i>Grendeles gate</i> har + väl snarast varit någon naturbildning t. ex. ett trångt bergpass eller + kanske en grotta": C. W. von Sydow, in an excellent article on <i>Grendel + i anglosaxiska ortnamn</i>, in <i>Nordiska Ortnamn: Hyllningsskrift + tillägnad A. Noreen</i>, Upsala, 1914, pp. 160-4.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt581" href="#NtA581">[581]</a> Près du <i>Neckersgat + molen</i>, il y avait jadis, antérieurement aux guerres de religion, des + maisons entourées d'eau et appelées <i>de hoffstede te Neckersgate</i>: + Wauters (A.), <i>Histoire des Environs de Bruxelles</i>, 1852, <span + class="scac">III</span>, 646.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt582" href="#NtA582">[582]</a> Peg Powler lived in the Tees, + and devoured children who played on the banks, especially on Sundays: Peg + o' Nell, in the Ribble, demanded a life every seven years. See Henderson + (W.), <i>Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England</i>, + 1879 (<i>Folk-Lore Society</i>), p. 265.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt583" href="#NtA583">[583]</a> See Kisch (G.), + <i>Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der siebenbürgischen und + moselfränkischluxemburgischen Mundart, nebst + siebenbürgischniederrheinischem Ortsund Familiennamen-verzeichnis</i> + (vol. <span class="scac">XXXIII</span>, 1 of the <i>Archiv des Vereins f. + siebenbürg</i>. <i>Landeskunde</i>, 1905).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt584" href="#NtA584">[584]</a> See <i>Grindel</i> in + Förstemann (E.), <i>Altdeutsches Namenbuch</i>, Dritte Aufl., herausg. + Jellinghaus, <span class="scac">II</span>, 1913, and in Fischer (H.), + <i>Schwäbisches Wörterbuch</i>, <span class="scac">III</span>, 1911 + (nevertheless Rooth legitimately calls attention to the names recorded by + Fischer in which <i>Grindel</i> is connected with <i>bach</i>, + <i>teich</i> and <i>moos</i>).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt585" href="#NtA585">[585]</a> There is an account of this + by G. Kisch in the <i>Festgabe zur Feier der Einweihung des neuen evang. + Gymnasial Bürger- und Elementar-schulgebäudes in Besztercze (Bistritz) am + 7 Oct. 1911</i>; a document which I have not been able to procure.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt586" href="#NtA586">[586]</a> Such a connection is + attempted by W. Benary in Herrig's <i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">CXXX</span>, 154. Alternative suggestions, which would + exclude any connection with the Grendel of <i>Beowulf</i>, are made by + Klaeber, in <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CXXXI</span>, 427.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt587" href="#NtA587">[587]</a> A very useful summary of the + different etymologies proposed is made by Rooth in <i>Anglia, + Beiblatt</i>, <span class="scac">XXVIII</span> (1917), 335-8.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt588" href="#NtA588">[588]</a> So Skeat, "On the + significance of the monster Grendel," <i>Journal of Philology</i>, + Cambridge, <span class="scac">XV</span> (1886), p. 123; Laistner, + <i>Rätsel der Sphinx</i>, 1889, p. 23; Holthausen, in his edition.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt589" href="#NtA589">[589]</a> So Weinhold in the <i>SB. der + k. Akad. Wien, Phil.-Hist. Classe</i>, <span class="scac">XXVI</span>, + 255.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt590" href="#NtA590">[590]</a> Cf. Gollancz, + <i>Patience</i>, 1913, Glossary. For <i>grindill</i> as one of the + synonyms for "storm," see <i>Edda Snorra Sturlusonar</i>, Hafniae, 1852, + <span class="scac">II</span>, 486, 569.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt591" href="#NtA591">[591]</a> This will be found in several + of the vocabularies of Low German dialects published by the <i>Verein für + Niederdeutsche Sprachforschung</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt592" href="#NtA592">[592]</a> See <i>grand</i> in Falk and + Torp, <i>Etymologisk Ordbog</i>, Kristiania, 1903-6.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt593" href="#NtA593">[593]</a> See Feist, <i>Etymol. + Wörterbuch der Gotischen Sprache</i>, Halle, 1909; + <i>grunduwaddjus.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt594" href="#NtA594">[594]</a> With Grendel, thus explained, + Rooth would connect the "Earth man" of the fairy-tale "Dat Erdmänneken" + (see below, p. <a href="#page370">370</a>) and the name <i>Sandhaug</i>, + <i>Sandey</i>, which clings to the Scandinavian <i>Grettir-</i> and + <i>Orm-</i>stories. We have seen that a <i>sandhaug</i> figures also in + one of the Scandinavian cognates of the folk-tale (see above, p. <a + href="#page67">67</a>). These resemblances may be noted, though it would + be perilous to draw deductions from them.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt595" href="#NtA595">[595]</a> <i>Schweizerisches + Idiotikon</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 1885, p. 776.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt596" href="#NtA596">[596]</a> See above, pp. <a + href="#page43">43</a>, <i>etc.</i>; below, p. <a href="#page311">311</a>. + </p> + + <p><a name="Nt597" href="#NtA597">[597]</a> Duignan, <i>Warwickshire + Place Names</i>, p. 22. Duignan suggests the same etymology for + <i>Beoshelle</i>, <i>beos</i> being "the Norman scribe's idea of the gen. + plu." This, however, is very doubtful.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt598" href="#NtA598">[598]</a> <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">LII</span>, 177.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt599" href="#NtA599">[599]</a> <i>Heltedigtning</i>, <span + class="scac">II</span>, 255. See above, pp. <a + href="#page81">81</a>-7.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt600" href="#NtA600">[600]</a> Binz in <i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XX</span>, 148; Chadwick, <i>Origin</i>, 282. So Clarke, + <i>Sidelights</i>, 128. Cf. Heusler in <i>A.f.d. A.</i> <span + class="scac">XXX</span>, 31.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt601" href="#NtA601">[601]</a> <i>A.-S. Chronicle.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt602" href="#NtA602">[602]</a> <i>Historia + Brittonum.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt603" href="#NtA603">[603]</a> "hrædlan" (gen.), + <i>Beowulf</i>, 454.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt604" href="#NtA604">[604]</a> "hrædles," <i>Beowulf</i>, + 1485.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt605" href="#NtA605">[605]</a> <i>A.-S. Chronicle.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt606" href="#NtA606">[606]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, + Ethelwerd.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt607" href="#NtA607">[607]</a> Geata, Geta, <i>Historia + Brittonum</i>; Asser; <i>MS Cott. Tib. A. VI; Textus Roffensis</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt608" href="#NtA608">[608]</a> <i>A.-S. Chronicle.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt609" href="#NtA609">[609]</a> Charter of 931.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt610" href="#NtA610">[610]</a> <i>A.-S. Chronicle</i>, + Ethelwerd.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt611" href="#NtA611">[611]</a> <i>Origin</i>, 273.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt612" href="#NtA612">[612]</a> <i>Origin</i>, 282.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt613" href="#NtA613">[613]</a> Some O.H.G. parallels will be + found in <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XII</span>, 260. The weak + form <i>Gēata</i>, Mr Stevenson argues, is due to Asser's attempt + to reconcile the form <i>Gēat</i> with the Latin <i>Geta</i> with + which he identifies it (Asser, pp. 160-161). See also Chadwick, <i>Heroic + Age</i>, 124 footnote. Yet we get <i>Gēata</i> in one text of the + <i>Chronicle</i>, and in other documents.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt614" href="#NtA614">[614]</a> This is the view taken by + Plummer, who does not seem to regard any solution as possible other than + that the names are missing from the <i>Parker MS</i> by a transcriber's + slip (see <i>Two Saxon Chronicles Parallel</i>, <span + class="scac">II</span>, p. xciv).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt615" href="#NtA615">[615]</a> Plummer, <span + class="scac">II</span>, pp. xxix, xxxi, lxxxix.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt616" href="#NtA616">[616]</a> Plummer, <span + class="scac">II</span>, p. lxxi. Note <i>Beowi</i> for <i>Bedwig</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt617" href="#NtA617">[617]</a> This table shows the + relationship of the genealogies only, not of the whole <span + class="scac">MSS</span>, of which the genealogies form but a small part. + <span class="scac">MS</span>-relationships are always liable to + fluctuation, as we pass from one part of a <span class="scac">MS</span> + to another, and for obvious reasons this is peculiarly the case with the + <i>Chronicle</i> <span class="scac">MSS</span>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt618" href="#NtA618">[618]</a> <i>Origin</i>, 295.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt619" href="#NtA619">[619]</a> <i>Origin</i>, 292.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt620" href="#NtA620">[620]</a> <i>Origin</i>, 296.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt621" href="#NtA621">[621]</a> The absence of the West-Saxon + pedigree may be due to the document from which the <i>Historia + Brittonum</i> and the <i>Vespasian MS</i> derive these pedigrees having + been drawn up in the North: Wessex may have been outside the purview of + its compiler; though against this is the fact that it contains the + Kentish pedigree. But another quite possible explanation is, that Cerdic, + with his odd name, was not of the right royal race, but an adventurer, + and that it was only later that a pedigree was made up for his + descendants, on the analogy of those possessed by the more blue-blooded + monarchs of Mercia and Northumbria.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt622" href="#NtA622">[622]</a> See <i>M.L.N.</i> 1897, <span + class="scac">XII</span>, 110-11.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt623" href="#NtA623">[623]</a> It is prefixed to the + <i>Parker MS</i> of the <i>Chronicle</i>, and is found also in the + Cambridge <span class="scac">MS</span> of the Anglo-Saxon Bede (<i>Univ. + Lib. Kk.</i> 3. 18) printed in Miller's edition; in <i>MS Cott. Tib. A. + III</i>, 178 (printed in Thorpe's <i>Chronicle</i>): and in <i>MS + Add.</i> 34652, printed by Napier in <i>M.L.N.</i> 1897, <span + class="scac">XII</span>, 106 <i>etc.</i> There are uncollated copies in + <i>MS C.C.C.C.</i> 383, fol. 107, and according to Liebermann (Herrig's + <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CIV</span>, 23) in the <i>Textus + Roffensis</i>, fol. 7 <i>b</i>. There is also a fragment, which does not + however include the portion under consideration, in <i>MS Add.</i> 23211 + (<i>Brit. Mus.</i>) printed in Sweet's <i>Oldest English Texts</i>, p. + 179. The statement, sometimes made, that there is a copy in <i>MS + C.C.C.C.</i> 41, rests on an error of Whelock, who was really referring + to the <i>Parker MS</i> of the <i>Chronicle</i> (<i>C.C.C.C.</i> + 173).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt624" href="#NtA624">[624]</a> p. <a + href="#page73">73</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt625" href="#NtA625">[625]</a> See above, p. <a + href="#page70">70</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt626" href="#NtA626">[626]</a> Brandl in Herrig's + <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CXXXVII</span>, 12-13.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt627" href="#NtA627">[627]</a> <i>Origin</i>, p. 272.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt628" href="#NtA628">[628]</a> So Ethelwerd (<i>Lib.</i> + <span class="scac">I</span>) sees in Woden a <i>rex multitudinis + Barbarorum</i>, in error deified. It is the usual point of view, and + persists down to Carlyle (<i>Heroes</i>).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt629" href="#NtA629">[629]</a> <i>Origin</i>, p. 293.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt630" href="#NtA630">[630]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, p. 5. For a + further examination of this "Beowa-myth" see <a href="#appA">Appendix + A</a>, above.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt631" href="#NtA631">[631]</a> Cf. Tupper in <i>Pub. Mod. + Lang. Assoc. Amer.</i> <span class="scac">XXVI</span>, 275.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt632" href="#NtA632">[632]</a> <i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XLII</span>, 347-410. A theory as to the date of + <i>Beowulf</i>, in some respects similar, was put forward by Mone in + 1836: <i>Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der teutschen Heldensage</i>, p. + 132.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt633" href="#NtA633">[633]</a> See above, p. <a + href="#page103">103</a>; and Brandl in <i>Pauls Grdr.</i> (2) <span + class="scac">II</span>, 1000, where the argument is excellently + stated.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt634" href="#NtA634">[634]</a> See Olrik, <i>Sakses + Oldhistorie</i>, 1894, 190-91.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt635" href="#NtA635">[635]</a> See Björkman, <i>Eigennamen + im Beowulf</i>, 77.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt636" href="#NtA636">[636]</a> Sarrazin's attempt to prove + such corruption is an entire failure. Cf. Brandl in Herrig's + <i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CXXVI</span>, 234; Björkman, + <i>Eigennamen im Beowulf</i>, 58 (<i>Heaðo-Beardan</i>).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt637" href="#NtA637">[637]</a> A few Geatic adventurers may + have taken part in the Anglo-Saxon invasion, as has been argued by + Moorman (<i>Essays and Studies</i>, <span class="scac">V</span>). This is + likely enough on <i>a priori</i> grounds, though many of the etymologies + of place-names quoted by Moorman in support of his thesis are open to + doubt.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt638" href="#NtA638">[638]</a> <i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XLII</span>, 366-7.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt639" href="#NtA639">[639]</a> <i>History of England to the + Norman Conquest</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 245.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt640" href="#NtA640">[640]</a> <i>Heroic Age</i>, 52-6. I + have tried to show (<a href="#appF">Appendix F</a>) that these accounts + of cremation are not so archaeologically correct as has sometimes been + claimed.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt641" href="#NtA641">[641]</a> Oman, <i>England before the + Norman Conquest</i>, 319.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt642" href="#NtA642">[642]</a> Bede, <i>Hist. Eccles.</i> + <span class="scac">IV</span>, 26.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt643" href="#NtA643">[643]</a> "Nunc qui Roma veniunt idem + allegant, ut qui Haugustaldensem fabricam vident ambitionem Romanam se + imaginari jurent." William of Malmesbury, <i>Gesta Pontificum</i>, Rolls + Series, p. 255.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt644" href="#NtA644">[644]</a> Baldwin Brown, <i>The Arts in + Early England</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 1903, p. 325.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt645" href="#NtA645">[645]</a> p. 407.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt646" href="#NtA646">[646]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, ll. 201, + 601-3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt647" href="#NtA647">[647]</a> Cf. <i>Beowulf</i>, l. + 1018.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt648" href="#NtA648">[648]</a> Bede, <i>Eccles. Hist.</i> + <span class="scac">III</span>, 21.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt649" href="#NtA649">[649]</a> See Oman, pp. 460, 591, for + the honour done to this saint by converted Danes.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt650" href="#NtA650">[650]</a> p. 393.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt651" href="#NtA651">[651]</a> <i>Æneid</i>, <span + class="scac">X</span>, 467-9.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt652" href="#NtA652">[652]</a> In the two admirable articles + by Klaeber (<i>Archiv</i>, <span class="scac">CCXVI</span>, 40 + <i>etc.</i>, 399 <i>etc.</i>) every possible parallel is drawn: the + result, to my mind, is not complete conviction.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt653" href="#NtA653">[653]</a> Chadwick, <i>Heroic Age</i>, + 74.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt654" href="#NtA654">[654]</a> "Litteris itaque ad plenum + instructus, nativae quoque linguae non negligebat carmina; adeo ut, teste + libro Elfredi, de quo superius dixi, nulla umquam aetate par ei fuerit + quisquam. Poesim Anglicam posse facere, cantum componere, <i>eadem + apposite vel canere vel dicere</i>. Denique commemorat Elfredus carmen + triviale, quod adhuc vulgo cantitatur, Aldelmum fecisse, aditiens causam + qua probet rationabiliter tantum virum his quae videantur frivola + institisse. Populum eo tempore semibarbarum, parum divinis sermonibus + intentum, statim, cantatis missis, domos cursitare solitum. Ideo sanctum + virum, super pontem qui rura et urbem continuat, abeuntibus se opposuisse + obicem, quasi artem cantitandi professum. Eo plusquam semel facto, plebis + favorem et concursum emeritum. Hoc commento sensim inter ludicra verbis + Scripturarum insertis, cives ad sanitatem reduxisse." William of + Malmesbury, <i>De gestis pontificum Anglorum</i>, ed. Hamilton, <i>Rolls + Series</i>, 1870, 336.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt655" href="#NtA655">[655]</a> "Reverentissimo patri meaeque + rudis infantiae venerando praeceptori Adriano." <i>Epist.</i> (Aldhelmi + <i>Opera</i>, ed. Giles, 1844, p. 330).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt656" href="#NtA656">[656]</a> Faricius, Life, in Giles' + edition of Aldhelm, 1844, p. 357.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt657" href="#NtA657">[657]</a> Letter of Cuthbert to + Cuthwine, describing Bede's last illness. "Et in nostra lingua, hoc est + anglica, ut erat doctus in nostris carminibus, nonnulla dixit. Nam et + tunc Anglico carmine componens, multum compunctus aiebat, <i>etc.</i>" + The letter is quoted by Simeon of Durham, ed. Arnold, <i>Rolls + Series</i>, 1882, <span class="scac">I</span>, pp. 43-46, and is extant + elsewhere, notably in a ninth century <span class="scac">MS</span> at St + Gall.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt658" href="#NtA658">[658]</a> "quid Hinieldus cum + Christo."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt659" href="#NtA659">[659]</a> "Þæt ǣnig prēost + ne bēo ealuscop, ne on ǣnige wīsan glīwige, mid + him sylfum oþþe mid ōþrum mannum"—Thorpe, <i>Ancient Laws and + Institutes of England</i>, 1840, p. 400 (Laws of Edgar, cap. 58).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt660" href="#NtA660">[660]</a> "avitae gentilitatis + vanissima didicisse carmina." This charge is dismissed as "scabiem + mendacii." <i>Vita Sancti Dunstani</i>, by "B," in <i>Memorials of + Dunstan</i>, ed. Stubbs, <i>Rolls Series</i>, 1874, p. 11. Were these + songs heroic or magic?</p> + + <p><a name="Nt661" href="#NtA661">[661]</a> <i>The Heroic Legends of + Denmark</i>, New York, 1919, p. 32 (footnote).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt662" href="#NtA662">[662]</a> <i>Ibid.</i> p. 39.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt663" href="#NtA663">[663]</a> Thus, much space has been + devoted to discussing whether "Gotland," in the eleventh century Cotton + <span class="scac">MS</span> of Alfred's Orosius, signifies Jutland. I + believe that it does; but fail to see how it can be argued from this that + Alfred believed the Jutes to be "Geatas." Old English had no special + symbol for the semi-vowel <i>J</i>; so, to signify <i>Jōtland</i>, + Alfred would have written "Geotland" (Sievers, <i>Gram.</i> §§ 74, 175). + Had he meant "Land of the Geatas" he would have written "Geataland" or + "Geatland." Surely "Gotland" is nearer to "Geotland" than to + "Geatland."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt664" href="#NtA664">[664]</a> <i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XII</span>, 1-10.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt665" href="#NtA665">[665]</a> See above, p. <a + href="#page8">8</a>. Fahlbeck has recently revised and re-stated his + arguments.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt666" href="#NtA666">[666]</a> <i>Danmarks Riges + Historie</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 79 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt667" href="#NtA667">[667]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, übersetzt von + H. Gering, 1906, p. vii.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt668" href="#NtA668">[668]</a> See above, also <i>Nordisk + Aandsliv</i>, 10, where Olrik speaks of the Geatas as "Jyderne." His + arguments as presented to the Copenhagen <i>Philologisk-historisk + Samfund</i> are summarized by Schütte, <i>J.E.G. Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XI</span>, 575-6. Clausen also supports the Jute-theory, + <i>Danske Studier</i>, 1918, 137-49.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt669" href="#NtA669">[669]</a> <i>J.E.G. Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XI</span>, 574-602.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt670" href="#NtA670">[670]</a> <i>Beowulf, et Bidrag til + Nordens Oldhistorie</i> af Chr. Kier, København, 1915.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt671" href="#NtA671">[671]</a> This is admitted by Bugge, + <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XII</span>, 6. "<i>Geátas</i> ... ist + sprachlich ein ganz anderer name als altn. <i>Jótar</i>, <i>Jútar</i>, + bei Beda <i>Jutae</i>, und nach Beda im <i>Chron. Sax.</i> 449 + <i>Jotum</i>, <i>Jutna</i> ... Die <i>Geátas</i> ... tragen einen namen + der sprachlich mit altn. <i>Gautar</i> identisch ist."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt672" href="#NtA672">[672]</a> From a presumed Prim. Germ. + <i>*Eutiz</i>, <i>*Eutjaniz</i>. The word in O.E. seems to have been + declined both as an <i>i</i>-stem and an <i>n</i>-stem, the <i>n</i>-stem + forms being used more particularly in the gen. plu., just as in the case + of the tribal names, <i>Seaxe</i>, <i>Mierce</i> (Sievers, § 264). The + Latinized forms show the same duplication, the dat. <i>Euciis</i> + pointing to an <i>i</i>-stem, the nom. <i>Euthio</i> to an <i>n</i>-stem, + plu. <i>*Eutiones</i>. For a discussion of the relation of the O.E. name + to the Danish <i>Jyder</i>, see Björkman in <i>Anglia, Beiblatt,</i> + <span class="scac">XXVIII</span>, 274-80: "Zu ae. <i>Eote</i>, + <i>Yte</i>, dän. <i>Jyder</i> 'Jüten'."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt673" href="#NtA673">[673]</a> I regard it as simply an + <i>error</i> of the translator, possibly because he had before him a text + in which Bede's <i>Iutis</i> had been corrupted in this place into + <i>Giotis</i>, as it is in Ethelwerd: <i>Cantuarii de Giotis traxerunt + originem, Vuhtii quoque</i>. (Bk. <span class="scac">I</span>: other + names which Ethelwerd draws from Bede in this section are equally + corrupt.)</p> + + <p>Bede's text runs: (<span class="scac">I</span>, 15) <i>Aduenerant + autem de tribus Germaniae populis fortioribus, id est Saxonibus, Anglis, + Iutis. De Iutarum origine sunt Cantuarii et Victuarii</i>; in the + translation: "Comon hi of þrim folcum ðam strangestan Germanie, þæt [is] + of Seaxum and of Angle and of Geatum. Of Geata fruman syndon Cantware and + Wihtsætan": (<span class="scac">IV</span>, 16) <i>In proximam Iutorum + prouinciam translati ... in locum, qui uocatur Ad Lapidem</i>; "in þa + neahmægðe, seo is gecegd Eota lond, in sume stowe seo is nemned Æt Stane" + (Stoneham, near Southampton). <i>MS C.C.C.C.</i> 41 reads "Ytena land": + see below.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt674" href="#NtA674">[674]</a> <i>Two Saxon Chronicles</i>, + ed. Plummer, 1899. <i>Introduction</i>, pp. lxx, lxxi.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt675" href="#NtA675">[675]</a> <i>The O.E. version of Bede's + Ecclesiastical History</i>, ed. Miller, <span class="scac">II</span>, xv, + xvi, 1898.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt676" href="#NtA676">[676]</a> Florentii Wigorn. + <i>Chron.</i>, ed. Thorpe, <span class="scac">II</span>, 45; <span + class="scac">I</span>, 276.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt677" href="#NtA677">[677]</a> It cannot be said that this + is due to textual corruption in our late copy, for the alliteration + constantly demands a G-form, not a vowel-form.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt678" href="#NtA678">[678]</a> See pp. <a + href="#page8">8</a>, 9 above, §§ 2-7.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt679" href="#NtA679">[679]</a> Just as, for example, in + <i>Heimskringla: Haraldz saga ins hárfagra</i>, 13-17, the Götar are + constantly mentioned, because the kingdom of Sweden is being attacked + from their side.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt680" href="#NtA680">[680]</a> Procopius tells us that there + were in Thule (i.e. the Scandinavian peninsula) thirteen nations, each + under its own king: <span title="basileis te eisi kata ethnos hekaston ... hôn ethnos hen poluanthrôpon hoi Gautoi eisi" class="grk" + >βασιλεῖς + τέ εἰσι κατὰ + ἔθνος + ἕκαστον ... ὧν + ἔθνος ἓν + πολυάνθρωπον + οἱ Γαυτοί + εἰσι</span> (<i>Bell. Gott.</i> ii, 15).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt681" href="#NtA681">[681]</a> On this alliteration-test, + which is very important, see above, pp. <a href="#page10">10</a>-11.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt682" href="#NtA682">[682]</a> <i>Geta</i> was the + recognized Latin synonym for <i>Gothus</i>, and is used in this sense in + the sixth century, e.g. by Venantius Fortunatus and Jordanes. And the + Götar are constantly called <i>Gothi</i>, e.g. in the formula <i>rex + Sueorum et Gothorum</i> (for the date of this formula see Söderqvist in + the <i>Historisk Tidskrift</i>, 1915: <i>Ägde Uppsvearne rätt att taga + och vräka konung</i>); or Saxo, Bk. <span class="scac">XIII</span> (ed. + Holder, p. 420, describing how the <i>Gothi</i> invited a candidate to be + king, and slew the rival claimant, who was supported by the legally more + constitutional suffrages of the Swedes); or Adam of Bremen (as quoted + below).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt683" href="#NtA683">[683]</a> <i>Folknamnet Geatas</i>, p. + 5 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt684" href="#NtA684">[684]</a> Speaking of the Götaelv, Adam + says "Ille oritur in praedictis alpibus, perque <i>medios Gothorum + populos</i> currit in Oceanum, unde et Gothelba dicitur." Adami Canonici + Bremensis, <i>Gesta Hamm. eccl. pontificum</i>, Lib. <span + class="scac">IV</span>, in Migne, <span class="scac">CXLVI</span>, 637. + Modern scholars are of the opinion that the borrowing has been rather the + other way. According to Noreen the river Götaelv (Gautelfr) gets its name + as the outflow from Lake Væner. (Cf. O.E. <i>gēotan</i>, + <i>gēat</i>, "pour.") Götland (Gautland) is the country around the + river, and the Götar (Gautar) get their name from the country. See + Noreen, <i>Våra Ortnamn och deras Ursprungliga Betydelse</i>, in + <i>Spridda Studier</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 91, 139.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt685" href="#NtA685">[685]</a> The Scholiast, in his + commentary on Adam, records the later state of things, when the Götar + were confined to the south of the river: "Gothelba fluvius a Nordmannis + Gothiam separat."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt686" href="#NtA686">[686]</a> <i>Heimskringla</i>, cap. + 17.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt687" href="#NtA687">[687]</a> "Hann [Haraldr] er úti á + herskipum allan vetrinn ok herjar á Ránríki" (cap. 15). "Haraldr konungr + fór víða um Gautland herskildi, ok átti þar margar orrostur tveim megin + elfarinnar.... Síðan lagði Haraldr konungr land alt undir sik fyrir + norðan elfina ok fyrir vestan Væni" (cap. 17). <i>Heimskringla: Haraldz + saga ins hárfagra</i>, udgiv. F. Jónsson, København, 1893-1900.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt688" href="#NtA688">[688]</a> Baltzer (L.), <i>Glyphes des + rochers du Bohuslän, avec une préface de V. Rydberg</i>, Gothembourg, + 1881. See also Baltzer, <i>Några af de viktigaste Hällristningarna</i>, + Göteborg, 1911.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt689" href="#NtA689">[689]</a> Guinchard, <i>Sweden: + Historical and Statistical Handbook</i>, 1914, <span + class="scac">II</span>, 549.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt690" href="#NtA690">[690]</a> See Chadwick, <i>Origin</i>, + 93; <i>Heroic Age</i>, 51.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt691" href="#NtA691">[691]</a> ll. 2910-21. See Schütte, + 579, 583.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt692" href="#NtA692">[692]</a> ll. 2922-3007.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt693" href="#NtA693">[693]</a> ll. 3018-27.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt694" href="#NtA694">[694]</a> ll. 3029-30.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt695" href="#NtA695">[695]</a> pp. 575, 581.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt696" href="#NtA696">[696]</a> The reason for locating the + <i>Eudoses</i> in Jutland is that the name has, very hazardously, been + identified with that of the Jutes, <i>Eutiones</i>. Obviously this + argument could no longer be used, if the <i>Eudoses</i> were the + "Wederas."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt697" href="#NtA697">[697]</a> See e.g. Schütte, 579-80.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt698" href="#NtA698">[698]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, 1856.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt699" href="#NtA699">[699]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, 1830 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt700" href="#NtA700">[700]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, 2394. See + Schütte, 576-9.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt701" href="#NtA701">[701]</a> <i>Sēo ēa + þǣr wyrcþ micelne sǣ.</i> Orosius, ed. Sweet, 12, 24.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt702" href="#NtA702">[702]</a> See above, p. <a + href="#page7">7</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt703" href="#NtA703">[703]</a> As Miss Paues, herself a + <i>Geat</i>, points out to me.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt704" href="#NtA704">[704]</a> Kier, 39; Schütte, 582, 591 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt705" href="#NtA705">[705]</a> See above, pp. <a + href="#page99">99</a>, <a href="#page100">100</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt706" href="#NtA706">[706]</a> <i>Vendel och Vendelkråka</i> + in <i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span class="scac">XXI</span>, 71-80: see + <i>Essays</i>, trans. Clark Hall, 50-62.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt707" href="#NtA707">[707]</a> This grave mound is mentioned + as "Kong Ottars Hög" in <i>Ättartal för Swea och Götha Kununga Hus</i>, + by J. Peringskiöld, Stockholm, 1725, p. 13, and earlier, in 1677, it is + mentioned by the same name in some notes of an antiquarian survey. That + the name "Vendel-crow" is now attached to it is stated by Dr Almgren. + These early references seem conclusive: little weight could, of course, + be carried by the modern name alone, since it might easily be of learned + origin. The mound was opened in 1914-16, and the contents showed it to + belong to about 500 to 550 <span class="scac">A.D.</span>, which agrees + excellently with the date of Ohthere. See two articles in + <i>Fornvännen</i> for 1917: an account of the opening of the mound by S. + Lindqvist entitled "Ottarshögen i Vendel" (pp. 127-43) and a discussion + of early Swedish history in the light of archaeology, by B. Nerman, + "Ynglingasagan i arkeologisk belysning" (esp. pp. 243-6). See also + Björkman in <i>Nordisk Tidskrift</i>, Stockholm, 1917, p. 169, and + <i>Eigennamen im Beowulf</i>, 1920, pp. 86-99.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt708" href="#NtA708">[708]</a> See <a href="#appF">Appendix + F</a>: <i>Beowulf</i> and the Archæologists, esp. p. <a + href="#page356">356</a>, below.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt709" href="#NtA709">[709]</a> By the Early Iron Age, + Engelhardt meant from 250 to 450 <span class="scac">A.D.</span>: but more + recent Danish scholars have placed these deposits in the fifth century, + with some overlapping into the preceding and succeeding centuries + (Müller, <i>Vor Oldtid</i>, 561; Wimmer, <i>Die Runenschrift</i>, 301, + <i>etc.</i>). The Swedish archæologists, Knut Stjerna and O. Almgren, + agree with Engelhardt, dating the finds between about 250 and 450 <span + class="scac">A.D.</span> (Stjerna's <i>Essays</i>, trans. Clark Hall, p. + 149, and <i>Introduction</i>, xxxii-iii).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt710" href="#NtA710">[710]</a> <i>Essays on questions + connected with the O.E. poem of Beowulf</i>, trans. and ed. by John R. + Clark Hall, (Viking Club), Coventry. (Reviews by Klaeber, + <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XIII</span>, 167-73, weighty; Mawer, + <i>M.L.N.</i> <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 242-3; <i>Athenæum</i>, + 1913, <span class="scac">I</span>, 459-60; <i>Archiv</i>, <span + class="scac">CXXXII</span>, 238-9; Schütte, <i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXIII</span>, 64-96, elaborate.)</p> + + <p><a name="Nt711" href="#NtA711">[711]</a> An account of these was given + at the time by H. Stolpe, who undertook the excavation. See his + <i>Vendelfyndet</i>, in the <i>Antiqvarisk Tidskrift för Sverige</i>, + <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 1, 1-34, and Hildebrand (H.) in the same, + 35-64 (1884). Stolpe did not live to issue the definitive account of his + work, <i>Graffältet vid Vendel, beskrifvet af</i> H. Stolpe och T. J. + Arne, Stockholm, 1912.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt712" href="#NtA712">[712]</a> Also added as an Appendix to + his <i>Beowulf</i> translation, 1911.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt713" href="#NtA713">[713]</a> Clark Hall's <i>Preface</i> + to Stjerna's <i>Essays</i>, p. xx.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt714" href="#NtA714">[714]</a> <i>J.E.G.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XIII</span>, 1914, p. 172.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt715" href="#NtA715">[715]</a> <i>Essays</i>, p. 239: cf. p. + 84.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt716" href="#NtA716">[716]</a> p. 39.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt717" href="#NtA717">[717]</a> <i>Germania</i>, cap. <span + class="scac">XV</span>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt718" href="#NtA718">[718]</a> ll. 378, 470.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt719" href="#NtA719">[719]</a> Cassiodorus, <i>Variae</i>, + <span class="scac">V</span>, 1.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt720" href="#NtA720">[720]</a> Walter, <i>Corpus juris + Germanici antiqui</i>, 1824, <span class="scac">II</span>, 125.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt721" href="#NtA721">[721]</a> <i>Heimskringla, Haraldz + saga</i>, cap. 38-40.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt722" href="#NtA722">[722]</a> "The idea of a gold hoard + undoubtedly points to the earlier version of the <i>Beowulf</i> poem + having originated in Scandinavia. No such 'gold period' ever existed in + Britain." <i>Essays</i>, p. 147.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt723" href="#NtA723">[723]</a> <i>Cottonian Gnomic + Verses</i>, ll. 26-7.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt724" href="#NtA724">[724]</a> l. 14.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt725" href="#NtA725">[725]</a> <i>Exeter Gnomic Verses</i>, + l. 126.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt726" href="#NtA726">[726]</a> Baldwin Brown, <span + class="scac">III</span>, 385, <span class="scac">IV</span>, 640.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt727" href="#NtA727">[727]</a> <i>B.</i> l. 19.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt728" href="#NtA728">[728]</a> l. 339.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt729" href="#NtA729">[729]</a> l. 991.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt730" href="#NtA730">[730]</a> Cf. Falk, <i>Altnordische + Waffenkunde</i>, 28.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt731" href="#NtA731">[731]</a> I would suggest this as the + more likely because, if the ring were inserted for a practical purpose, + it is not easy to see why it later survived in the form of a mere knob, + which is neither useful nor ornamental. But if it were used to attach the + symbolical "peace bands," it may have been retained, in a "fossilized + form," with a symbolical meaning.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt732" href="#NtA732">[732]</a> Most editors indeed do take + it in this sense, though recently Schücking has adopted Stjerna's + explanation of "ring-sword." In l. 322, Falk (27) takes + <i>hring-īren</i> to refer to a "ring-adorned sword," though it may + well mean a ring-byrnie.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt733" href="#NtA733">[733]</a> Actually, I believe, more: + for two ring-swords were found at Faversham, and are now in the British + Museum. For an account of one of them see Roach Smith, <i>Collectanea + Antiqua</i>, 1868, vol. <span class="scac">VI</span>, 139. In this + specimen both the fixed ring and the ring which moves within it are + complete circles. But in the Gilton sword (<i>Archæologia</i>, <span + class="scac">XXX</span>, 132) and in the sword discovered at Bifrons + (<i>Archæologia Cantiana</i>, <span class="scac">X</span>, 312) one of + the rings no longer forms a complete circle, and in the sword discovered + at Sarre (<i>Archæol. Cant.</i> <span class="scac">VI</span>, 172) the + rings are fixed together, and one of them has little resemblance to a + ring at all.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt734" href="#NtA734">[734]</a> At Concevreux. It is + described by M. Jules Pilloy in <i>Mémoires de la Société Académique de + St Quentin</i>, 4<sup>e</sup> Sér. tom. <span class="scac">XVI</span>, + 1913; see esp. pp. 36-7.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt735" href="#NtA735">[735]</a> See Lindenschmit, + "Germanisches Schwert mit ungewöhnlicher Bildung des Knaufes," in <i>Die + Altertümer unserer heidnischen Vorzeit</i>, <span class="scac">V</span> + Bd., <span class="scac">V</span> Heft, Taf. 30, p. 165, Mainz, 1905.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt736" href="#NtA736">[736]</a> Salin has no doubt that the + Swedish type from Uppland (his figure 252) is later than even the latest + type of English ring-sword (the Sarre pommel, 251) which is itself later + than the Faversham (249) or Bifrons (250) pommel. See Salin (B.), <i>Die + Altgermanische Thierornamentik</i>, Stockholm, 1904, p. 101. The same + conclusion is arrived at by Lindenschmit: "Die ursprüngliche Form ist + wohl in dem, unter Nr. 249 von Salin abgebildeten Schwertknopf aus Kent + zu sehen"; and even more emphatically by Pilloy, who pronounces the + Swedish Vendel sword both on account of its "ring" and other + characteristics, as "inspirée par un modèle venu de cette contrée + [Angleterre]."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt737" href="#NtA737">[737]</a> The Benty Grange helmet; see + below, p. <a href="#page358">358</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt738" href="#NtA738">[738]</a> Depicted by Clark Hall, + Stjerna's <i>Essays</i>, p. 258.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt739" href="#NtA739">[739]</a> Clark Hall's <i>Beowulf</i>, + p. 227.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt740" href="#NtA740">[740]</a> "Von Skandinavien gibt es aus + der Völkerwanderungszeit und Wikingerepoche keine archäologischen + Anhaltspunkte für das Tragen des Panzers, weder aus Funden noch aus + Darstellungen," Max Ebert in Hoops' <i>Reallexikon</i>, <span + class="scac">III</span>, 395 (1915-16). But surely this is too sweeping. + Fragments of an iron byrnie, made of small rings fastened together, were + found in the Vendel grave 12 (seventh century). See <i>Graffältet vid + Vendel, beskrifvet af</i> H. Stolpe och T. J. Arne, pp. 49, 60, plates + xl, xli, xlii.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt741" href="#NtA741">[741]</a> 54-<span + class="scac">I</span>. Liebermann, p. 114.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt742" href="#NtA742">[742]</a> <i>Essays</i>, 34-5.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt743" href="#NtA743">[743]</a> <i>Elene</i>, 264.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt744" href="#NtA744">[744]</a> Engelhardt, <i>Denmark in the + Early Iron Age</i>, p. 66.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt745" href="#NtA745">[745]</a> <i>Andreas</i>, 303.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt746" href="#NtA746">[746]</a> l. 2869.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt747" href="#NtA747">[747]</a> "Few have corslets and only + one here and there a helmet" (<i>Germania</i>, 6). In the <i>Annals</i> + (<span class="scac">II</span>, 14) Tacitus makes Germanicus roundly deny + the use of either by the Germans: <i>non loricam Germano, non + galeam</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt748" href="#NtA748">[748]</a> See above, p. <a + href="#page124">124</a>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt749" href="#NtA749">[749]</a> See Chifflet, J. J., + <i>Anastasis Childerici I ... sive thesaurus sepulchralis</i>, Antverpiæ, + <i>Plantin</i>, 1655.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt750" href="#NtA750">[750]</a> That <i>both</i> sword and + scramasax were buried with Childeric is shown by Lindenschmit, + <i>Handbuch</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 236-9: see also pp. 68 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt751" href="#NtA751">[751]</a> l. 2762-3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt752" href="#NtA752">[752]</a> Worsaae, <i>Nordiske + Oldsager</i>, Kjøbenhavn, 1859; see No. 499; Roach Smith, <i>Collectanea + Antiqua</i>, 1852, <span class="scac">II</span>, 164; Montelius, + <i>Antiq. Suéd.</i> 1873, No. 294 (p. 184).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt753" href="#NtA753">[753]</a> <i>Essays</i>, p. 198. See + also above, p. 124. Mr Reginald Smith writes to me: "Unburnt objects with + cremated burials in prehistoric times (Bronze, Early and late Iron Ages) + are the exception, and are probably accidental survivals from the funeral + pyre. In such an interpretation of <i>Beowulf</i> I agree with the late + Knut Stjerna, who was an archæologist of much experience."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt754" href="#NtA754">[754]</a> Forming vols. 3 and 4 of + <i>The Arts in Early England</i>, 1903-15.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt755" href="#NtA755">[755]</a> It was, however, necessary to + leave over for a supplementary volume some of the contributions most + interesting from the point of view of the archæology of <i>Beowulf</i>: + e.g. spatha, speer, schild.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt756" href="#NtA756">[756]</a> B. E. Hildebrand, + <i>Grafhögarne vid Gamla Upsala, Kongl. Vitterhets Historie och + Antiqvitets Akademiens Månadsblad</i>, 1875-7, pp. 250-60.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt757" href="#NtA757">[757]</a> <i>Fasta fornlämningar i + Beovulf</i>, in <i>Antiqvarisk Tidskrift för Sverige</i>, <span + class="scac">XVIII</span>, 48-64.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt758" href="#NtA758">[758]</a> <i>Heimskringla: + Ynglingasaga</i>, cap. 25, 26, 29.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt759" href="#NtA759">[759]</a> See B. Nerman, <i>Vilka + konungar ligga i Uppsala högar?</i> Uppsala, 1913, and the same scholar's + <i>Ynglingasagan i arkeologisk belysning</i>, in <i>Fornvännen</i>, 1917, + 226-61.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt760" href="#NtA760">[760]</a> <i>Heimskringla: + Ynglingasaga</i>, cap. 27.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt761" href="#NtA761">[761]</a> A discovery made by Otto v. + Friesen in 1910: see S. Lindqvist in <i>Fornvännen</i>, 1917, 129. Two + years earlier (1675) "Utters högen i Wändell" is mentioned in connection + with an investigation into witchcraft. See Linderholm, <i>Vendelshögens + konunganamn</i>, in <i>Namn och Bygd</i>, <span class="scac">VII</span>, + 1919, 36, 40.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt762" href="#NtA762">[762]</a> For a preliminary account of + the discovery, see <i>Ottarshögen i Vendel</i>, by S. Lindqvist in + <i>Fornvännen</i>, 1917, 127-43, and for discussion of the whole subject, + B. Nerman, <i>Ottar Vendelkråka och Ottarshögen i Vendel</i>, in + <i>Upplands Fornminnesförenings Tidskrift</i>, <span + class="scac">VII</span>, 309-34.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt763" href="#NtA763">[763]</a> Baldwin Brown, <span + class="scac">III</span>, 216.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt764" href="#NtA764">[764]</a> 213.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt765" href="#NtA765">[765]</a> 218.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt766" href="#NtA766">[766]</a> So Baldwin Brown, <span + class="scac">III</span>, 213; Lorange, <i>Den Yngre Jernalders Sværd</i>, + Bergen, 1889, passim.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt767" href="#NtA767">[767]</a> Baldwin Brown, <span + class="scac">III</span>, 215.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt768" href="#NtA768">[768]</a> It is somewhat similar in + Norse literature, where swords are constantly indicated as either + inherited from of old, or coming from abroad: cf. Falk, 38-41.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt769" href="#NtA769">[769]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, 1489, + <i>wǣgsweord</i>; cf. <i>Vægir</i> as a sword-name in the + <i>Thulur</i>. In ll. 1521, 1564, 2037, <i>hringmǣl</i> may refer + to the ring in the hilt, and terms like <i>wunden</i>- are more likely to + refer to the serpentine ornament of the hilt. This must be the case with + <i>wyrm-fāh</i> (1698) as it is a question of the hilt alone. + Stjerna (p. 111 = <i>Essays</i>, 20) and others take + <i>āter-tānum fāh</i> (1459) as referring to the + damascened pattern (cf. <i>eggjar ... eitrdropom innan fáþar; Brot af + Sigurðarkviðu</i>). It is suggested however by Falk (p. 17) that + <i>tān</i> here refers to an edge welded-on: the Icelandic + <i>egg-teinn</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt770" href="#NtA770">[770]</a> The only certainly + Anglo-Saxon helmet as yet discovered: traces of what may have been a + similar head-piece were found near Cheltenham: Roach Smith, + <i>Collectanea Antiqua</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 1852, 238.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt771" href="#NtA771">[771]</a> <i>Coll. Ant.</i> <span + class="scac">II</span>, 1852, 239; Bateman, <i>Ten Years' Diggings</i>, + 30; <i>Catalogue of the Antiquities preserved in the Museum of Thomas + Bateman</i>, Bakewell, 1855.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt772" href="#NtA772">[772]</a> A very good description of + these continental "Spangenhelme" is given in the magnificent work of I. + W. Gröbbels, <i>Der Reihengräberfund von Gammertingen</i>, München, 1905. + These helms had long been known from a specimen (place of origin + uncertain) in the Hermitage at Petrograd, and another example, that of + Vézeronce, supposed to have been lost in the battle between Franks and + Burgundians in 524. Seven other examples have been discovered in the last + quarter of a century, including those of Baldenheim (for which see + Henning (R.), <i>Der helm von Baldenheim und die verwandten helme des + frühen mittelalters</i>, Strassburg, 1907, cf. Kauffmann, + <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span class="scac">XL</span>, 464-7) and Gammertingen. + They are not purely Germanic, and may have been made in Gaul, or among + the Ostrogoths in Ravenna, or further east.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt773" href="#NtA773">[773]</a> Stjerna, <i>Essays</i>, p. 11 + = <i>Studier tillägnade Oscar Montelius af Lärjungar</i>, 1903, p. 104: + Clark Hall, <i>Beowulf</i>, 1911, p. 228.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt774" href="#NtA774">[774]</a> See also <i>Graffältet vid + Vendel, beskrifvet af</i> H. Stolpe och T. J. Arne, Stockholm, 1912, pp. + 13, 54; Pl. v, xli.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt775" href="#NtA775">[775]</a> ll. 396, 2049, 2257, 2605; + cf. <i>grīmhelm</i>, 334.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt776" href="#NtA776">[776]</a> 2811, 304, 1111 (cf. Falk, + 156).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt777" href="#NtA777">[777]</a> 1453-4 (cf. Falk, 157-9).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt778" href="#NtA778">[778]</a> <i>securum etiam inter hostes + praestat.</i> <i>Germ.</i> cap. 45.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt779" href="#NtA779">[779]</a> 1031 (cf. Falk, 158).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt780" href="#NtA780">[780]</a> 1630, 2723. Cf. + <i>Exodus</i>, 174, <i>grīmhelm gespēon cyning cinberge</i>, + and <i>Genesis</i>, 444. (See Falk, 166.)</p> + + <p><a name="Nt781" href="#NtA781">[781]</a> Cf. ll. 1503, 1548, 2260, + 2754.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt782" href="#NtA782">[782]</a> Cf. ll. 322, 551, 1443.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt783" href="#NtA783">[783]</a> Bateman, <i>Ten Years' + Diggings</i>, 1861, p. 32.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt784" href="#NtA784">[784]</a> Cf. <i>Beowulf</i>, 330, + 1772, 2042.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt785" href="#NtA785">[785]</a> "ne scuta quidem ferro + neruoue firmata, sed ... tenuis et fucatas colore tabulas," + <i>Annals</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 14; cf. <i>Germania</i>, 6, + "scuta tantum lectissimis coloribus distinguunt."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt786" href="#NtA786">[786]</a> <i>Njáls Saga</i>, cap. <span + class="scac">XXX</span>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt787" href="#NtA787">[787]</a> It is the guess of A. Haupt, + <i>Die Älteste Kunst der Germanen</i>, p. 213.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt788" href="#NtA788">[788]</a> ll. 773-5, 998.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt789" href="#NtA789">[789]</a> <i>Hist. Eccl.</i> <span + class="scac">II</span>, 13. The life of man is compared to the transit of + a sparrow flying from door to door of the hall where the king sits + feasting with his thanes and warriors, with a fire in the midst.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt790" href="#NtA790">[790]</a> ll. 617-24, 2011-3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt791" href="#NtA791">[791]</a> 995.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt792" href="#NtA792">[792]</a> 725.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt793" href="#NtA793">[793]</a> 1035 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt794" href="#NtA794">[794]</a> <i>Proc. Soc. Ant., Sec. + Ser.</i> <span class="scac">II</span>, 177-82.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt795" href="#NtA795">[795]</a> Jonckheere (É.), <i>L'origine + de la Côte de Flandre et le Bateau de Bruges</i>, Bruges, 1903.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt796" href="#NtA796">[796]</a> Engelhardt (H. C. C.), + <i>Nydam Mosefund</i>, Kjöbenhavn, 1865.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt797" href="#NtA797">[797]</a> Nicolaysen (N.), + <i>Langskibet fra Gokstad</i>, Kristiania, 1882.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt798" href="#NtA798">[798]</a> <i>Osebergfundet. Udgit av + den Norske Stat, under redaktion av</i> A. W. Brøgger, Hj. Falk, H. + Schetelig. Bd. <span class="scac">I</span>, Kristiania, 1917.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt799" href="#NtA799">[799]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, ll. 32, 1131, + 1897.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt800" href="#NtA800">[800]</a> 1862.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt801" href="#NtA801">[801]</a> 220.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt802" href="#NtA802">[802]</a> Noreen, <i>Altschwedische + Grammatik</i>, 1904, p. 499.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt803" href="#NtA803">[803]</a> All these places are in + Gotland. The Stenkyrka stone is reproduced in Stjerna's <i>Essays</i>, + transl. Clark Hall, fig. 24.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt804" href="#NtA804">[804]</a> The same, fig. 27.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt805" href="#NtA805">[805]</a> Reproduced in Montelius, + <i>Sveriges Historia</i>, p. 283.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt806" href="#NtA806">[806]</a> <i>Deutsche Mythologie</i>, + 3te Ausgabe, 1854, pp. 342, 639.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt807" href="#NtA807">[807]</a> <i>Academy</i>, <span + class="scac">XI</span>, 1877, p. 163.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt808" href="#NtA808">[808]</a> <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">II</span>, 314.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt809" href="#NtA809">[809]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, p. 177.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt810" href="#NtA810">[810]</a> <i>Aanteekeningen op den + Beowulf</i>, 1892, p. 42.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt811" href="#NtA811">[811]</a> <i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XVIII</span>, 413.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt812" href="#NtA812">[812]</a> <i>Z.f.ö.G.</i> <span + class="scac">LVI</span>, 759.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt813" href="#NtA813">[813]</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, p. 392.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt814" href="#NtA814">[814]</a> <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">LII</span>, 191. Among the many who have accepted the + explanation "bee-wolf," without giving additional reasons, may be + mentioned R. Müller, <i>Untersuchungen über die Namen des Liber + Vitae</i>, 1901, p. 94.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt815" href="#NtA815">[815]</a> Both Grimm and Skeat + suggested the woodpecker, which feeds upon bees and their larvae: Grimm + appealing to classical mythology, Skeat instancing the bird's courage. + But nothing seems forthcoming from Teutonic mythology to favour this + interpretation. Cosijn, following Sijmons, <i>Z.f.d.Ph.</i> <span + class="scac">XXIV</span>, 17, thought bees might have been an omen of + victory. But there is no satisfactory evidence for this. The term + <i>sigewīf</i> applied to the swarming bees in the <i>Charms</i> + (Cockayne's <i>Leechdoms</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 384) is + insufficient.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt816" href="#NtA816">[816]</a> <i>Tidskr. f. Philol. og + Pædag.</i> <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 289.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt817" href="#NtA817">[817]</a> <i>Deutsches Wörterbuch</i>, + 1854, <span class="scac">I</span>, 1122.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt818" href="#NtA818">[818]</a> "Das compositum Beóvulf, wie + Gôzolf, Irminolf, Reginolf, und andre gebildet, zeigt nur einen helden + und krieger im geist und sinn oder von der art des Beówa an. Ihm + entspricht altn. Biôlfr." (Müllenhoff, in <i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XII</span>, 284.) But certainly this interpretation is + impossible for O.N. <i>Biólfr</i>: "warrior of Beowa" would be + <i>*Byggulfr</i>, which we nowhere find. See Björkman in <i>Engl. + Stud.</i> <span class="scac">LII</span>, 191. Müllenhoff at this date, + whilst not connecting <i>Bēowulf</i> directly with + <i>bēo</i>, "bee," did so connect <i>Bēowa</i>, whom he + interpreted as a bee-god or bee-father. But there is no evidence for + this, and the <i>w</i> of <i>Bēowa</i> tells emphatically against + it. Müllenhoff subsequently abandoned this explanation.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt819" href="#NtA819">[819]</a> It is actually written + <i>Biu<sup>u</sup>ulf</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt820" href="#NtA820">[820]</a> <i>Biu</i> in <i>Biuuulf</i> + cannot stand for <i>Bēo</i> [older <i>Beu</i>] because in Old + Northumbrian <i>iu</i> and <i>eo</i> are rigidly differentiated, as an + examination of all the other names in the <i>Liber Vitae</i> shows. As + Sievers points out, if <i>Biuuulf</i> is to be derived from <i>*Beuw + (w)ulf</i>, then it would afford an isolated and inexplicable case of + <i>iu</i> for <i>eo[eu]</i>, unique in the <i>Liber Vitae</i>, as in the + whole mass of the oldest English texts: "Soll ein zusammenhang mit st. + <i>beuwa-</i> stattfinden, so muss man auch diesen stamm für einen urspr. + s-stamm erklären, und unser <i>biu-</i> auf die stammform + <i>biuwi(z)-</i> nicht auf <i>beuwa(z)-</i> zurückführen." (Sievers, + <i>P.B.B.</i> <span class="scac">XVIII</span>, 413.) The word however is + a neut. <i>wa</i>-stem, whether in O.E. (<i>bēow</i>), Old Saxon + (<i>bēo</i>) or Icelandic (<i>bygg</i>): see Sievers, <i>Ags. + Grammatik</i>, 3te Aufl. § 250; Gallée, <i>Altsächsische Grammatik</i>, + 2te Aufl. § 305; Noreen, <i>Altisländische Grammatik</i>, 3te Aufl. § + 356. The word is extant in Old English only in the Glossaries, in the + gen. sing., "handful beouaes," <i>etc.</i>, and in Old Saxon only in the + gen. plu. <i>beuuo</i>. It is thought to have been originally a + <i>wu</i>-stem, which subsequently, as e.g. in O.E., passed into a + <i>wa</i>-stem. (See Noreen, <i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span class="scac">I</span>, + 166, arguing from the form <i>begg</i> in the Dalecarlian dialect.) The + presumed Primitive Norse form is <i>beggwu</i>, whence the various + Scandinavian forms, Icel. <i>bygg</i>, Old Swedish and Old Danish + <i>biug(g)</i>. See Hellquist in <i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span + class="scac">VII</span>, 31; von Unwerth, <i>A.f.n.F.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXIII</span>, 331; Binz, <i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XX</span>, 153; von Helten, <i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XXX</span>, 245; Kock, <i>Umlaut u. Brechung im Aschw.</i> + p. 314, in <i>Lunds Universitets årsskrift</i>, Bd. <span + class="scac">XII</span>. The proper name <i>Byggvir</i> is a + <i>ja</i>-stem, but <i>Bēow</i> cannot have been so formed, as a + <i>ja</i>-stem would give the form <i>Bēowe</i>. Cosijn + (<i>Aanteekeningen</i>, 42) was accordingly justified in pointing to the + form <i>Biuuulf</i> as refuting Kögel's attempt to connect + <i>Bēowulf</i> with <i>Bēow</i> through a form + <i>*Bawiwulf</i> (<i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XVIII</span>, 56). + Kögel replied with a laboured defence (<i>Z.f.d.A.</i> <span + class="scac">XXXVII</span>, 268): he starts by assuming that + <i>Bēow</i> and <i>Bēowulf</i> are etymologically connected, + which is the very point which has to be proved: he has to admit that, if + his etymology be correct, the <i>Biuuulf</i> of the <i>Liber Vitae</i> is + not the same form as <i>Bēowulf</i>, which is the very point Cosijn + urged as telling against his etymology: and even so his etymological + explanations depend upon stages which cannot be accepted in the present + state of our knowledge (see especially Sievers in <i>P.B.B.</i> <span + class="scac">XVIII</span>, 413; Björkman in <i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">LII</span>, 150).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt821" href="#NtA821">[821]</a> <i>Tidskr. f. Philol og + Pædag.</i> <span class="scac">VIII</span>, 289.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt822" href="#NtA822">[822]</a> First pointed out by + Grundtvig in Barfod's <i>Brage og Idun</i>, <span class="scac">IV</span>, + 1841, p. 500, footnote.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt823" href="#NtA823">[823]</a> "Lodmundr hinn gamli het madr + enn annarr. Biólfr fostbrodir hans. Þeir foru til Islands af Vors af + Þvlvnesi" (Voss in Norway). See <i>Landnámabók</i>, København, 1900, p. + 92.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt824" href="#NtA824">[824]</a> Noreen, <i>Altisländische + Grammatik</i>, 3te Aufl. p. 97. See also Noreen in <i>Festskrift til H. + F. Feilberg</i>, 1911, p. 283. Noreen seems to have no doubt as to the + explanation of <i>Bjólfr</i> as <i>Bý-olfr</i>, "Bee-wolf."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt825" href="#NtA825">[825]</a> Bugge, has, however, been + followed by Gering, <i>Beowulf</i>, 1906, p. 100.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt826" href="#NtA826">[826]</a> Ferguson in the + <i>Athenæum</i>, June 1892, p. 763: "Beadowulf by a common form of + elision (!) would become Beowulf." Sarrazin admits "Freilich ist das eine + ungewöhnliche verkürzung" (<i>Engl. Stud.</i> <span + class="scac">XLII</span>, 19). See also Sarrazin in <i>Anglia</i>, <span + class="scac">V</span>, 200; <i>Beowulf-Studien</i>, 33, 77; <i>Engl. + Stud.</i> <span class="scac">XVI</span>, 79.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt827" href="#NtA827">[827]</a> This incompatibility comes + out very strongly in ll. 2499-2506, where Beowulf praises his sword + particularly for the services it has <i>not</i> been able to render + him.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt828" href="#NtA828">[828]</a> See above, pp. <a + href="#page60">60</a>-1.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt829" href="#NtA829">[829]</a> Olrik, <i>Heltedigtning</i>, + <span class="scac">I</span>, 140: F. Jónsson, <i>Hrólfs Saga Kraka</i>, + 1904, <i>Inledning</i>, <span class="scac">XX</span>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt830" href="#NtA830">[830]</a> <i>Hrólfs Saga Kraka</i>, + cap. 17-20.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt831" href="#NtA831">[831]</a> The trait is wanting in the + <i>Grettis saga</i>: Grettir son of Asmund was too historical a character + for such features to be attributed to him.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt832" href="#NtA832">[832]</a> See pp. <a + href="#page62">62</a>-7.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt833" href="#NtA833">[833]</a> No. 166. Translated as + "Strong Hans." (<i>Grimm's Household Tales, trans. by M. Hunt, with + introduction by A. Lang</i>, 1884.)</p> + + <p><a name="Nt834" href="#NtA834">[834]</a> As, for example, by Cosquin, + <i>Contes populaires de Lorraine</i>, <span class="scac">I</span>, 7. A + comparison of the different versions in which the "strange theme" is + toned down, in a greater or less degree, seems to make this certain.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt835" href="#NtA835">[835]</a> No. 91.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt836" href="#NtA836">[836]</a> Edinburgh, 1860, vol. <span + class="scac">I</span>, No. <span class="scac">XVI</span>, "The king of + Lochlin's three daughters": vol. <span class="scac">III</span>, No. <span + class="scac">LVIII</span>, "The rider of Grianaig."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt837" href="#NtA837">[837]</a> London, 1866: p. 43, "The + Three Crowns."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt838" href="#NtA838">[838]</a> Notably by von Sydow.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt839" href="#NtA839">[839]</a> Asbjørnsen og Moe, <i>Norske + Folkeeventyr</i>, Christiania, 1852, No. 3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt840" href="#NtA840">[840]</a> <i>Popular Tales from the + Norse</i> (third edit., Edinburgh, 1888, p. 382).</p> + + <p><a name="Nt841" href="#NtA841">[841]</a> Visentini, <i>Fiabe + Mantovane</i>, 1879, No. 32, 157-161.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt842" href="#NtA842">[842]</a> "fino a che col capo tocca le + travi." Cf. Glam in the <i>Grettis Saga</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt843" href="#NtA843">[843]</a> "e qui vede il gigante + seduto, che detteva il suo testamento."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt844" href="#NtA844">[844]</a> p. 153. This is Panzer's + version 97.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt845" href="#NtA845">[845]</a> "A fabulous creature, but + zoologically the name Norka (from <i>nora</i>, a hole) belongs to the + otter," Ralston, <i>Russian Folk Tales</i>, p. 73.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt846" href="#NtA846">[846]</a> Afanasief (A. N.), + <i>Narodnuiya Russkiya Skazki</i>, Moscow, 1860-63, <span + class="scac">I</span>, 6. See Ralston, p. 73. </p> + + <p><a name="Nt847" href="#NtA847">[847]</a> Afanasief, <span + class="scac">VIII</span>, No. 6.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt848" href="#NtA848">[848]</a> For example, "Shepherd Paul," + in <i>The Folk-Tales of the Magyars</i>, by W. H. Jones and L. L. Knopf, + <i>Folk-Lore Society</i>, 1889, p. 244. The latest collection contains + its version, 'The Story of Tāling, the Half-boy' in <i>Persian + Tales, written down for the first time and translated</i> by D. L. R. and + E. O. Lorimer, London, 1919.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt849" href="#NtA849">[849]</a> Cf. von Sydow in + <i>A.f.d.A.</i> <span class="scac">XXXV</span>, 126.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt850" href="#NtA850">[850]</a> Ión Arnason's <span + class="scac">MSS</span>, No. 536, 4<sup>o</sup>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt851" href="#NtA851">[851]</a> Rittershaus (A.), <i>Die + Neuisländischen Volksmärchen</i>, Halle, 1902, No. 25.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt852" href="#NtA852">[852]</a> <i>Færøske Folkesagn og + Æventyr</i>, ed. by Jakob Jakobsen, 1898-1901, pp. 241-4 (<i>Samfund til + Udgivelse af gammel Nordisk Litteratur.</i>)</p> + + <p><a name="Nt853" href="#NtA853">[853]</a> This folk-tale is given in a + small book, to be found in the Christiania University Library, and no + doubt elsewhere in Norway: <i>Nor, en Billedbog for den norske Ungdom</i> + (Tredie Oplag, Christiania, 1865). <i>Norske Folke-Eventyr og Sagn</i>, + fortalte af P. Chr. Asbjørnsen. A copy of the story, slightly altered, + occurs in the <i>Udvalgte Eventyr og Sagn for Børn</i>, of Knutsen, + Bentsen and Johnsson, Christiania, 1877, p. 58 <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt854" href="#NtA854">[854]</a> pp. <a + href="#page66">66</a>-7.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt855" href="#NtA855">[855]</a> Berntsen (K.), + <i>Folke-Æventyr</i>, 1873, No. 12, pp. 109-115.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt856" href="#NtA856">[856]</a> Grundtvig (Sv.), <i>Gamle + Danske Minder</i>, 1854, No. 34, p. 33: from Næstved.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt857" href="#NtA857">[857]</a> <i>Hans mit de ysern + Stang'</i>, Müllenhoff, <i>Sagen, Märchen u. Lieder</i> ... 1845, No. + <span class="scac">XVI</span>, p. 437.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt858" href="#NtA858">[858]</a> Colshorn (C. and Th.), + <i>Märchen u. Sagen</i>, Hannover, 1854, No. <span class="scac">V</span>, + pp. 18-30.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt859" href="#NtA859">[859]</a> Cf. <i>Beowulf</i>, ll. + 2183-8.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt860" href="#NtA860">[860]</a> Cf. <i>Beowulf</i>, ll. 815 + <i>etc.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt861" href="#NtA861">[861]</a> Cf. <i>Beowulf</i>, ll. + 1516-17; cf. <i>Grettis Saga</i>, <span class="scac">LXVI</span>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt862" href="#NtA862">[862]</a> Cf. <i>Grettis Saga</i>, + <span class="scac">LXVI</span>, <i>hann kveikti ljós</i>; cf. + <i>Beowulf</i>, 1570.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt863" href="#NtA863">[863]</a> <i>Contes du roi + Cambrinus</i>, par C. Deulin, Paris, 1874 (I. <i>L'intrépide Gayant</i>). + The story is associated with Gayant, the traditional hero of Douai.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt864" href="#NtA864">[864]</a> Cf. Schmidt, <i>Geschichte + der deutschen Stämme</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 495, 499, + <i>note</i> 4.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt865" href="#NtA865">[865]</a> <span + class="scac">III</span>, 1.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt866" href="#NtA866">[866]</a> <span class="scac">II</span>, + 43.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt867" href="#NtA867">[867]</a> <span title="Pais ... neos ên komidêi, kai eti hupo paidokomôi tithênoumenos" class="grk" + >Παῖς ... νέος + ἦν κομιδῇ, + καὶ ἔτι ὑπὸ + παιδοκόμῳ + τιθηνούμενος</span>, + Agathias, <span class="scac">I</span>, 4: <i>parvulus</i>, Gregory, <span + class="scac">IV</span>, 6.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt868" href="#NtA868">[868]</a> Gregory, <span + class="scac">III</span>, 20.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt869" href="#NtA869">[869]</a> <span + class="scac">III</span>, 22.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt870" href="#NtA870">[870]</a> <span + class="scac">III</span>, 23.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt871" href="#NtA871">[871]</a> <span + class="scac">III</span>, 27.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt872" href="#NtA872">[872]</a> Many recent historians have + expressed doubts as to the conventional date, 515, for Hygelac's death. + J. P. Jacobsen, in the Danish translation of Gregory (1911) suggested + 525-30: following him Severinsen (<i>Danske Studier</i>, 1919, 96) + suggested c. 526, as did Fredborg, <i>Det första årtalet i Sveriges + historia</i>. L. Schmidt (<i>Geschichte der deutschen Stämme</i>, <span + class="scac">II</span>, 500, <i>note</i>, 1918) suggested c. 528.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt873" href="#NtA873">[873]</a> Archæological works bearing + less directly upon <i>Beowulf</i> are enumerated in <i><a + href="#appF">Appendix F</a></i>; that enumeration is not repeated + here.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt874" href="#NtA874">[874]</a> Most students nowadays will + probably agree with v. Sydow's contention that the struggle of Beowulf, + first above ground and then below, is a folk-story, one and indivisible, + and that therefore there is no reason for attributing the two sections to + different authors, as do Boer, Müllenhoff and ten Brink. But that the + folk-tale is exclusively Celtic remains to be proved; v. Sydow's + contention that Celtic influence is shown in <i>Beowulf</i> by the + inhospitable shamelessness of Unferth (compare that of Kai) is surely + fanciful. Also the statement that the likeness of Bjarki and Beowulf is + confined to the freeing of the Danish palace from a dangerous monster by + a stranger from abroad, and that "das sonstige Beiwerk völlig verschieden + ist" surely cannot be maintained. As argued above (pp. 54-61) there are + other distinct points of resemblance.</p> + + <p>v. Sydow's statement no doubt suffers from the brevity with which it + is reported, and his forthcoming volume of <i>Beowulf studien</i> will be + awaited with interest.</p> + +</div> + <p><br style="clear:both" /></p> +<hr class="full" /> + + <p><a name="atend"></a></p> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width:70%;"> + <a href="images/Beo9.jpg"><img style="width:100%" src="images/Beo9.jpg" + alt="Southern Scandinavia in the Sixth Century. " title="Southern Scandinavia in the Sixth Century. " /></a> + SOUTHERN SCANDINAVIA IN THE SIXTH CENTURY + </div> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width:57%;"> + <a href="images/Beo10.jpg"><img style="width:100%" src="images/Beo10.jpg" + alt="English Boar-Helmet and Ring-Swords." title="English Boar-Helmet and Ring-Swords." /></a> + ENGLISH BOAR-HELMET AND RING-SWORDS + + <p class="poem">I. Benty Grange Helmet (Roach Smith, <i>Collectanea + Antiqua</i>, <span class="scac">II</span>, 238).</p> + + <p class="poem">II. Pommel of Ring-Sword from Faversham, Kent + (<i>Ibid.</i>, <span class="scac">VI</span>, 139).</p> + + <p class="poem">III. Pommel of Ring-Sword from Gilton, Kent + (<i>Archæologia</i>, <span class="scac">XXX</span>, 132). </p> + </div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Beowulf, by R. W. 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