Confusion ofuanda(Finn.3, 27, perhaps 44) cf.Gn.66." "c"e(Finn.12) cf.Cal.136,Gn.44." "e"æ(Finn.41) cf.Cal.44, 73,Gn.44." "e"a(Finn.22) cf.Cal.74." "eo"ea(Finn.28) cf.Cal.121." " letters involving long down stroke, e.g.,f,s,r,þ,w,p(Finn.2, 36) cf.Cal.97, 142, 180, 181,Gn.9.Addition ofn(Finn.22) cf.Cal.161.[424]Heimskringla, chap. 220.[425]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 wemustassume 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.[426]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.[427]Very possibly Guthere is uncle of Garulf. For Garulf is said to be son of Guthlaf (l. 35) and aGuthere would be likely to be a brother of aGuthlaf. Further, as Klaeber points out (Engl. Stud.XXXIX, 307) it is the part of the uncle to protect and advise the nephew.[428]Koegel,Geschichte d. deut. Litt.I, i, 165.[429]Klaeber (Engl. Stud.XXXIX, 308) reminds us that, as there are two warriors named Godric in theBattle of Maldon(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.[430]Finn is called thebana, "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.Beowulf, l. 1968.[431]The idea that Finn's Frisians are the "North Frisians" of Schleswig has been supported by Grein (Eberts Jahrbuch,IV, 270) and, following him, by many scholars, including recently Sedgefield (Beowulf, 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 (BookXIV, 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.),Ueber den Ursprung der Nordfriesen, 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,Om Nordfrisernes Indvandring i Sønderjylland, Historisk Tidsskrift, 6 R, 4 B.II, 318-67, Kjøbenhavn, 1893: Siebs,Zur Geschichte der Englisch-Friesischen Sprache, 1889, 23-6: Chadwick,Origin, 94: Much inHoops Reallexikon, s.v.Friesen; and Bremer inPauls Grdr.(2),III, 848, where references will be found to earlier essays on the subject.[432]The theory that Hnæf is a captain of Healfdene is based upon a rendering of l. 1064 which is in all probability wrong.[433]The view that theEotenasare the men of Hnæf and Hengest has been held by Thorpe (Beowulf, pp. 76-7), Ettmüller (Beowulf, 1840, p. 108), Bouterwek (Germania,I, 389), Holtzmann (Germania,VIII, 492), Möller (Volksepos, 94-5), Chadwick (Origin, 53), Clarke (Sidelights, 184).[434]"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,Morte Darthur, Bk.XX, chap. ix.[435]The argument of Bugge (P.B.B.XII, 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 (Sidelights, 181), as is shown by Lawrence (Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.XXX, 395).[436]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.[437]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 inZ.f.d.A.XLVII, 134.[438]In theSkjoldunga Saga[extant in a Latin abstract by Arngrim Jonsson, ed. Olrik, 1894], cap.IV, 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.Hūnlāf,OrdlāfandGūðlāf. That Hunlaf was well known in English story is proved by a remarkable passage unearthed by Dr Imelmann fromMS Cotton Vesp. D. IV(fol. 139b) where Hunlaf is mentioned together with a number of other heroes of Old English story—Wugda, Hama, Hrothulf, Hengest, Horsa (Hoc testantur gesta rudolphi et hunlapi, Unwini et Widie, horsi et hengisti, Waltef et hame). See Chadwick,Origin, 52: R. Huchon,Revue Germanique,III, 626: Imelmann, inD.L.Z.XXX, 999: April, 1909. This disposes of the translation "Hun thrust or placed in his bosom Lafing, best of swords," which was adopted by Bugge (P.B.B.XII, 33), Holder, ten Brink and Gering. Hun is mentioned inWidsith(l. 33) and in the IcelandicThulor.That Guthlaf, Ordlaf and Hunlaf must be connected together had been noted by Boer (Z.f.d.A.XLVII, 139) before this discovery of Chadwick's confirmed him.[439]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.[440]Cf.Beowulf, ll. 1900etc.[441]Das Altenglische Volksepos, 46-99.[442]C. P. Hansen,Uald' Söld'ring tialen, Møgeltønder, 1858. See Möller,Volksepos, 75etc.[443]See Müllenhoff inA.f.d.A.VI, 86.[444]So Möller,Volksepos, 152.[445]SeeBeowulf, ed. Wyatt, 1894, p. 145.[446]Volksepos, 71etc.[447]e.g., Sedgefield,Beowulf, 2nd ed., p. 258. So 1st ed., p. 13 (Hocbeing an obvious misprint).[448]On the poet's use of plural for singular here, see Osthoff,I.F.XX, 202-7.[449]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 (Origin, 53) still interprets "Eotens" as "Danes"; and Sedgefield (Beowulf(2), p. 258) gives Möller's view the place of honour.[450]The treachery of Finn is emphasized, for example, by Bugge (P.B.B.XII, 36), Koegel (Geschichte d. deut. Litt.164), ten Brink (Pauls Grdr.(1),II, 545), Trautmann (Finn und Hildebrand,59), Lawrence (Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.XXX, 397, 430), Ayres (J.E.G.Ph.XVI, 290).[451]syþðan morgen cōmðā hēo under swegle gesēon meahte,etc.[452]l. 36. The swords flashswylce eal Finnsburuh fȳrenu wǣre, "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.[453]Beowulf, 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 "hēaburhis a high sounding epic term that should not be pressed." This is the explanation offered by Klaeber (J.E.G.Ph.VI, 193) and endorsed by Lawrence (Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.XXX, 401). But it seems to me taking a liberty with the text to interprethēaburh(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 thatDyflen(Dublin) is not situated in Ireland according to theBattle of Brunanburh (gewitan him þā Norðmenn ... Dyflen sēcan and eft Īraland)." But how could anyone infer this from theBrunanburhlines? What wearejustified in inferring, is, surely, that thesite of the battle of Brunanburh(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 thehēaburh) was not identical with thehēaburh, and did not lie in Friesland. Accordingly the usual view, that Finnsburg is situated outside Friesland, seems incontestable. See Bugge (P.B.B.XII, 29-30), Trautmann (Finn und Hildebrand, 60) and Boer (Z.f.d.A.XLVII, 137). Cf. Ayres (J.E.G.Ph.XVI, 294).[454]See below, p.289.[455]So Brandl, 984, and Heinzel.[456]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.[457]Beowulf, l. 1831: cf. l. 409.[458]Leo (Beowulf, 1839, 67), Müllenhoff (Nordalbingische Studien,I, 157), Rieger (Lesebuch; Z.f.d.Ph.III, 398-401), Dederich (Studien, 1877, 96-7), Heyne (in his fourth edition) and in recent times Holthausen have interpretedeotenas a common noun "giant," "monster," and consequently "foe" in general. But they have failed to produce any adequate justification for interpretingeotenas "foe," and Holthausen, the modern advocate of this interpretation, has now abandoned it. Grundtvig (Beowulfes Beorh, 1861, pp. 133etc.) and Möller (Volksepos, 97etc.) also interpret "giant," Möller giving an impossible mythological explanation, which was, at the time, widely followed.[459]Likeoxnum,nefenum(cf. Sievers, § 277, Anm. 1).[460]I do not attach much importance to the argument which might be drawn from the statement of Binz (P.B.B.XX, 185) that the evidence of proper names shows that in the Hampshire district (which was colonized by Jutes) the legend ofFinnsburgwas 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?[461]p.97, note225.[462]See above, p.200. Zimmer,Nennius Vindicatus, 84, assumes that the Kentish pedigree borrowed these names from the Bernician: but there is no evidence for this.[463]Among those who have so held are Kemble, Thorpe (Beowulf, pp. 76-7), Ettmüller (Beowulf, 1840, p. 23), Bouterwek (Germania,I, 389), Grein (Eberts Jahrbuch,IV, 270), Köhler (Germania,XIII, 155), Heyne (in first three editions), Holder (Beowulf, p. 128), ten Brink (Pauls Grdr. (1),II, 548), Heinzel (A.f.d.A.X. 228), Stevenson (Asser, 1904, p. 169), Schücking (Beowulf, 1913, p. 321), Klaeber (J.E.G.Ph.XIV, 545), Lawrence (Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.XXX, 393), Moorman (Essays and Studies,V, 99), Björkman (Eigennamen im Beowulf, 21).So too, with some hesitation, Chadwick (Orgin, 52-3): with much more hesitation, Bugge (P.B.B.XII, 37). Whilst this is passing through the press Holthausen has withdrawn his former interpretationeotena, "enemies," in favour ofEotena=Ēotna, "Jutes" (Engl. Stud.LI, 180).[464]P.B.B.XII, 37.[465]The cognate of O.E.fǣr(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 compoundsfǣrconveys an idea of suddenness: "fǣr-dēað, repentina mors."[466]Volksepos, 69.[467]It has been surmounted in two ways. (1) By alteringeaferumtoeaferan(a very slight change) and then makingfǣrrefer to thefinalattack upon Finn, in which he certainlywason the defensive (Lawrence, 397etc., Ayres, 284, Trautmann,BB.II, Klaeber,Anglia,XXVIII, 443, Holthausen). (2) By makinghīērefer tohæleð Healf-Denawhich follows (Green inPub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.XXXI, 759-97); but this is forced. See also below, p.284.[468]Cf. Tacitus,Germania,XIV.[469]For examples of this see pp.278-82 below.[470]Fragment, 40-1.[471]See above, p.30.[472]Book II (ed. Holder, p. 67).[473]P.B.B.XII, 34.[474]For a discussion of the interpretation of the difficultforþringan, see Carlton Brown inM.L.N.XXXIV, 181-3.[475]J.E.G.Ph.XVI, 291-2.[476]Ib.293-4.[477]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.[478]See below, pp.276,288-9.[479]Ne hūru Hildeburh herian þorfte Eotena trēowe.[480]Ayres, inJ.E.G.Ph.XVI, 286. So Lawrence in a private communication.[481]ll. 2910,etc.[482]We can construct the situation from such historical information as we can get from Gregory of Tours and other sources. The author ofBeowulfmay 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.[483]I have argued this at some length below, but I do not think anyone would deny it. Bugge recognized it to be true (P.B.B.XII, 29-30) as does Lawrence (392). See below, pp.288-9.[484]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:"When Israel came out of Egypt and the house of Jacob from among the strange people" [Israel = house of Jacob: Egypt = strange people]."Judah was His sanctuary and Israel His dominion." [Judah is only one of the tribes of Israel.]"The sea saw that and fled: Jordan was driven back." [The Red Sea and Jordan are distinct, though parallel, examples.][485]J.E.G.Ph.XVI, 288.[486]Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.XXX, 430.[487]Plummer,Two Saxon Chronicles Parallel,II, 47.[488]Njáls Saga, cap. 45.[489]Pauls Grdr.(2),II, 524.[490]Helmhold.[491]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.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 ona priorigrounds, 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.[492]Koegel (164), Lawrence (382).[493]Björkman (Eigennamen im Beowulf, 23) interprets theEotenasas 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.[494]Ayres inJ.E.G.Ph.XVI, 288.[495]e.g.Njáls Saga, cap. 144:Laxdæla Saga, cap. 51.[496]Of course a primitive stage can be conceived at which homicide is regarded as worse than murder. Your brother shootsAintentionally: 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 shootingAby mere misadventure, involves you in a blood-feud.[497]Heimskringla, Ól. Tryggv.K. 111;Saga Olafs Tryggvasonar, K. 70 (Fornmanna Sǫgur, 1835,X.)[498]Saxo Grammaticus (ed. Holder, p. 67).[499]Heimskringla, Ól. Tryggv.K. 41.[500]lýsti vígi á hendr sér.Laxdæla Saga, cap. 49.[501]Cap. 55.[502]Cap. 85.[503]Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, anno 755.[504]Njáls Saga, cap. 158.[505]Fragment, ll. 40-1.[506]p. 213 (ed. Holder).[507]Finn may perhaps be holding a meeting of chieftains. For similar meetings of chieftains, compareSǫrla þáttr, cap. 4;Laxdæla Saga, cap. 12;Skáldskaparmál, cap. 47 (50).[508]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 iscopiedfrom 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 inZ.f.d.A.XLVII, 125etc.[509]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.[510]The situation would then be parallel to that inLaxdæla Saga, 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.[511]Bugge (P.B.B.XII, 36) interpreted thisswylceas meaning that sword-bale came upon Finn in like manner as it had previously come upon Hnæf. But this is to makeswylcein l. 1146 refer back to the death of Hnæf mentioned (72 lines previously) in l. 1074. Möller (Volksepos, 67) tries to explainswylceby supposing the passage it introduces to be a fragment detached from its context.[512]f, r, s, þ, w, p (Old English Letters), all letters involving a long down stroke, are constantly confused. For examples, see above, p.245, and cf. e.g.Beowulf, l. 2882 (fergendraforwergendra);Crist, 12 (cræstgaforcræftga);Phoenix, 15 (fnæftforfnæst); RiddlesIII(IV), 18 (þyranforþywan);XL(XLI), 63 (þyrreforþyrse);XLII(XLIII), 4 (speopforspēow), 11 (wæsforþæs);LVII(LVIII), 3 (ropeforrōfeorrōwe),etc.[513]p. 392.[514]p. 431.[515]Nennius Interpretatus, ed. Mommsen (Chronica Minora,III, 179, inMon. Germ. Hist.)[516]"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,Fra Norges ældre Jernalderin theAarbøger for Nordisk Oldkyndighed og Historie, 1880, 89-184, esp. p. 173. See also Chadwick,Origin, 93. I am indebted to Chadwick's note for this reference to Undset.[517]Ravennatis anonymi cosmographia, ed. Pinder et Parthey, Berolini, 1860, pp. 27, 28 (§I, 11).[518]The modern Wijk bij Duurstede, not far from Utrecht, on the Lower Rhine.[519]An account of the numerous coins found among the ruins of the old town will be found in theForschungen zur deutschen Geschichte,IV(1864), pp. 301-303. They testify to its commercial importance.[520]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,Scriptores,VII, 1846, p. 369.[521]Alcuin'sLife of Willibrordin Migne (1851)—AlcuiniOpera, vol.II, 699-702.[522]See above, pp.199-200.[523]It had been disputed by Skeat, Earle, Boer, and others, but never with such strong reasons.[524]I use below the form "Beow," which I believe to be the correct one. "Beaw" is the form in theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle. But as the name of Sceldwa, Beaw's father, is there given in a form which is not West-Saxon (sceld, notscieldorscyld), it may well be that "Beaw" is also the Anglian dialect form, if it be not indeed a mere error: and this is confirmed byBeo(Ethelwerd),Beowius(William of Malmesbury),Boerinus(forBeowinus: Chronicle Roll), perhaps too byBeowa(Charter of 931) andBeowi, (MS Cott. Tib. B. IV). For the significance of this last, see pp.303-4, below, and Björkman inEngl. Stud.LII, 171,Anglia, Beiblatt,XXX, 23.[525]Vol.LXXXI, p. 517.[526]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."Pauls Grdr.(2),II, l. 1002.[527]Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th edit.,III, 760-1.[528]l. 2039, where a capital O occurs, but without a section number.[529]Moore, Namur, Cotton.[530]Cotton Tiberius B. XI.[531]Hatton, 20.[532]See above, pp.92-7.[533]See above, pp.43-4.[534]Ethelwerd.[535]Chronicle.[536]Boer,Beowulf, 135, 143:Arkiv f. nord. Filologi,XIX, 29.[537]Heroic Age, 126.[538]Postscript to Preface, p. ix.[539]Postscript, pp. xi, xiv.[540]SeeLokasennainDie Lieder der Edda, herausg. von Sijmons u. Gering,I, 134.Byggvir kvaþ:"[Veiztu] ef [ek] øþle ǽttak sem Ingunar-Freyr,ok svá sǽllekt setr,merge smǽra mølþak [þá] meinkrǫ́kook lemþa alla í liþo."[541]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,Popular Ballads and Songs, 1806,II, 241, 256.[542]Loki kvaþ:"Hvat's þat et lítla, es [ek] þat lǫggra sék,ok snapvíst snaper?at eyrom Freys mont[u] ǽ vesaok und kvernom klaka."[543]Jamieson,II, 239. So Burns: "John Barleycorn was a hero bold," and the balladJohn Barleycorn is the wightest manThat ever throve in land.[544]Byggvir kvaþ:"Byggver ek heite, en mik bráþan kveþagoþ ǫll ok gumar;því emk hér hróþogr, at drekka Hrópts megeraller ǫl saman."
Confusion ofuanda(Finn.3, 27, perhaps 44) cf.Gn.66." "c"e(Finn.12) cf.Cal.136,Gn.44." "e"æ(Finn.41) cf.Cal.44, 73,Gn.44." "e"a(Finn.22) cf.Cal.74." "eo"ea(Finn.28) cf.Cal.121." " letters involving long down stroke, e.g.,f,s,r,þ,w,p(Finn.2, 36) cf.Cal.97, 142, 180, 181,Gn.9.Addition ofn(Finn.22) cf.Cal.161.
Confusion ofuanda(Finn.3, 27, perhaps 44) cf.Gn.66." "c"e(Finn.12) cf.Cal.136,Gn.44." "e"æ(Finn.41) cf.Cal.44, 73,Gn.44." "e"a(Finn.22) cf.Cal.74." "eo"ea(Finn.28) cf.Cal.121." " letters involving long down stroke, e.g.,f,s,r,þ,w,p(Finn.2, 36) cf.Cal.97, 142, 180, 181,Gn.9.Addition ofn(Finn.22) cf.Cal.161.
Confusion ofuanda(Finn.3, 27, perhaps 44) cf.Gn.66.
" "c"e(Finn.12) cf.Cal.136,Gn.44.
" "e"æ(Finn.41) cf.Cal.44, 73,Gn.44.
" "e"a(Finn.22) cf.Cal.74.
" "eo"ea(Finn.28) cf.Cal.121.
" " letters involving long down stroke, e.g.,f,s,r,þ,w,p
(Finn.2, 36) cf.Cal.97, 142, 180, 181,Gn.9.
Addition ofn(Finn.22) cf.Cal.161.
[424]Heimskringla, chap. 220.
[425]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 wemustassume 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.
[426]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.
[427]Very possibly Guthere is uncle of Garulf. For Garulf is said to be son of Guthlaf (l. 35) and aGuthere would be likely to be a brother of aGuthlaf. Further, as Klaeber points out (Engl. Stud.XXXIX, 307) it is the part of the uncle to protect and advise the nephew.
[428]Koegel,Geschichte d. deut. Litt.I, i, 165.
[429]Klaeber (Engl. Stud.XXXIX, 308) reminds us that, as there are two warriors named Godric in theBattle of Maldon(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.
[430]Finn is called thebana, "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.Beowulf, l. 1968.
[431]The idea that Finn's Frisians are the "North Frisians" of Schleswig has been supported by Grein (Eberts Jahrbuch,IV, 270) and, following him, by many scholars, including recently Sedgefield (Beowulf, 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 (BookXIV, 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.),Ueber den Ursprung der Nordfriesen, 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,Om Nordfrisernes Indvandring i Sønderjylland, Historisk Tidsskrift, 6 R, 4 B.II, 318-67, Kjøbenhavn, 1893: Siebs,Zur Geschichte der Englisch-Friesischen Sprache, 1889, 23-6: Chadwick,Origin, 94: Much inHoops Reallexikon, s.v.Friesen; and Bremer inPauls Grdr.(2),III, 848, where references will be found to earlier essays on the subject.
[432]The theory that Hnæf is a captain of Healfdene is based upon a rendering of l. 1064 which is in all probability wrong.
[433]The view that theEotenasare the men of Hnæf and Hengest has been held by Thorpe (Beowulf, pp. 76-7), Ettmüller (Beowulf, 1840, p. 108), Bouterwek (Germania,I, 389), Holtzmann (Germania,VIII, 492), Möller (Volksepos, 94-5), Chadwick (Origin, 53), Clarke (Sidelights, 184).
[434]"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,Morte Darthur, Bk.XX, chap. ix.
[435]The argument of Bugge (P.B.B.XII, 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 (Sidelights, 181), as is shown by Lawrence (Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.XXX, 395).
[436]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.
[437]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 inZ.f.d.A.XLVII, 134.
[438]In theSkjoldunga Saga[extant in a Latin abstract by Arngrim Jonsson, ed. Olrik, 1894], cap.IV, 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.Hūnlāf,OrdlāfandGūðlāf. That Hunlaf was well known in English story is proved by a remarkable passage unearthed by Dr Imelmann fromMS Cotton Vesp. D. IV(fol. 139b) where Hunlaf is mentioned together with a number of other heroes of Old English story—Wugda, Hama, Hrothulf, Hengest, Horsa (Hoc testantur gesta rudolphi et hunlapi, Unwini et Widie, horsi et hengisti, Waltef et hame). See Chadwick,Origin, 52: R. Huchon,Revue Germanique,III, 626: Imelmann, inD.L.Z.XXX, 999: April, 1909. This disposes of the translation "Hun thrust or placed in his bosom Lafing, best of swords," which was adopted by Bugge (P.B.B.XII, 33), Holder, ten Brink and Gering. Hun is mentioned inWidsith(l. 33) and in the IcelandicThulor.
That Guthlaf, Ordlaf and Hunlaf must be connected together had been noted by Boer (Z.f.d.A.XLVII, 139) before this discovery of Chadwick's confirmed him.
[439]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.
[440]Cf.Beowulf, ll. 1900etc.
[441]Das Altenglische Volksepos, 46-99.
[442]C. P. Hansen,Uald' Söld'ring tialen, Møgeltønder, 1858. See Möller,Volksepos, 75etc.
[443]See Müllenhoff inA.f.d.A.VI, 86.
[444]So Möller,Volksepos, 152.
[445]SeeBeowulf, ed. Wyatt, 1894, p. 145.
[446]Volksepos, 71etc.
[447]e.g., Sedgefield,Beowulf, 2nd ed., p. 258. So 1st ed., p. 13 (Hocbeing an obvious misprint).
[448]On the poet's use of plural for singular here, see Osthoff,I.F.XX, 202-7.
[449]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 (Origin, 53) still interprets "Eotens" as "Danes"; and Sedgefield (Beowulf(2), p. 258) gives Möller's view the place of honour.
[450]The treachery of Finn is emphasized, for example, by Bugge (P.B.B.XII, 36), Koegel (Geschichte d. deut. Litt.164), ten Brink (Pauls Grdr.(1),II, 545), Trautmann (Finn und Hildebrand,59), Lawrence (Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.XXX, 397, 430), Ayres (J.E.G.Ph.XVI, 290).
[451]syþðan morgen cōmðā hēo under swegle gesēon meahte,etc.
[451]syþðan morgen cōmðā hēo under swegle gesēon meahte,etc.
syþðan morgen cōm
ðā hēo under swegle gesēon meahte,etc.
[452]l. 36. The swords flashswylce eal Finnsburuh fȳrenu wǣre, "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.
[453]Beowulf, 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 "hēaburhis a high sounding epic term that should not be pressed." This is the explanation offered by Klaeber (J.E.G.Ph.VI, 193) and endorsed by Lawrence (Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.XXX, 401). But it seems to me taking a liberty with the text to interprethēaburh(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 thatDyflen(Dublin) is not situated in Ireland according to theBattle of Brunanburh (gewitan him þā Norðmenn ... Dyflen sēcan and eft Īraland)." But how could anyone infer this from theBrunanburhlines? What wearejustified in inferring, is, surely, that thesite of the battle of Brunanburh(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 thehēaburh) was not identical with thehēaburh, and did not lie in Friesland. Accordingly the usual view, that Finnsburg is situated outside Friesland, seems incontestable. See Bugge (P.B.B.XII, 29-30), Trautmann (Finn und Hildebrand, 60) and Boer (Z.f.d.A.XLVII, 137). Cf. Ayres (J.E.G.Ph.XVI, 294).
[454]See below, p.289.
[455]So Brandl, 984, and Heinzel.
[456]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.
[457]Beowulf, l. 1831: cf. l. 409.
[458]Leo (Beowulf, 1839, 67), Müllenhoff (Nordalbingische Studien,I, 157), Rieger (Lesebuch; Z.f.d.Ph.III, 398-401), Dederich (Studien, 1877, 96-7), Heyne (in his fourth edition) and in recent times Holthausen have interpretedeotenas a common noun "giant," "monster," and consequently "foe" in general. But they have failed to produce any adequate justification for interpretingeotenas "foe," and Holthausen, the modern advocate of this interpretation, has now abandoned it. Grundtvig (Beowulfes Beorh, 1861, pp. 133etc.) and Möller (Volksepos, 97etc.) also interpret "giant," Möller giving an impossible mythological explanation, which was, at the time, widely followed.
[459]Likeoxnum,nefenum(cf. Sievers, § 277, Anm. 1).
[460]I do not attach much importance to the argument which might be drawn from the statement of Binz (P.B.B.XX, 185) that the evidence of proper names shows that in the Hampshire district (which was colonized by Jutes) the legend ofFinnsburgwas 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?
[461]p.97, note225.
[462]See above, p.200. Zimmer,Nennius Vindicatus, 84, assumes that the Kentish pedigree borrowed these names from the Bernician: but there is no evidence for this.
[463]Among those who have so held are Kemble, Thorpe (Beowulf, pp. 76-7), Ettmüller (Beowulf, 1840, p. 23), Bouterwek (Germania,I, 389), Grein (Eberts Jahrbuch,IV, 270), Köhler (Germania,XIII, 155), Heyne (in first three editions), Holder (Beowulf, p. 128), ten Brink (Pauls Grdr. (1),II, 548), Heinzel (A.f.d.A.X. 228), Stevenson (Asser, 1904, p. 169), Schücking (Beowulf, 1913, p. 321), Klaeber (J.E.G.Ph.XIV, 545), Lawrence (Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.XXX, 393), Moorman (Essays and Studies,V, 99), Björkman (Eigennamen im Beowulf, 21).
So too, with some hesitation, Chadwick (Orgin, 52-3): with much more hesitation, Bugge (P.B.B.XII, 37). Whilst this is passing through the press Holthausen has withdrawn his former interpretationeotena, "enemies," in favour ofEotena=Ēotna, "Jutes" (Engl. Stud.LI, 180).
[464]P.B.B.XII, 37.
[465]The cognate of O.E.fǣr(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 compoundsfǣrconveys an idea of suddenness: "fǣr-dēað, repentina mors."
[466]Volksepos, 69.
[467]It has been surmounted in two ways. (1) By alteringeaferumtoeaferan(a very slight change) and then makingfǣrrefer to thefinalattack upon Finn, in which he certainlywason the defensive (Lawrence, 397etc., Ayres, 284, Trautmann,BB.II, Klaeber,Anglia,XXVIII, 443, Holthausen). (2) By makinghīērefer tohæleð Healf-Denawhich follows (Green inPub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.XXXI, 759-97); but this is forced. See also below, p.284.
[468]Cf. Tacitus,Germania,XIV.
[469]For examples of this see pp.278-82 below.
[470]Fragment, 40-1.
[471]See above, p.30.
[472]Book II (ed. Holder, p. 67).
[473]P.B.B.XII, 34.
[474]For a discussion of the interpretation of the difficultforþringan, see Carlton Brown inM.L.N.XXXIV, 181-3.
[475]J.E.G.Ph.XVI, 291-2.
[476]Ib.293-4.
[477]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.
[478]See below, pp.276,288-9.
[479]Ne hūru Hildeburh herian þorfte Eotena trēowe.
[480]Ayres, inJ.E.G.Ph.XVI, 286. So Lawrence in a private communication.
[481]ll. 2910,etc.
[482]We can construct the situation from such historical information as we can get from Gregory of Tours and other sources. The author ofBeowulfmay 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.
[483]I have argued this at some length below, but I do not think anyone would deny it. Bugge recognized it to be true (P.B.B.XII, 29-30) as does Lawrence (392). See below, pp.288-9.
[484]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:
"When Israel came out of Egypt and the house of Jacob from among the strange people" [Israel = house of Jacob: Egypt = strange people].
"Judah was His sanctuary and Israel His dominion." [Judah is only one of the tribes of Israel.]
"The sea saw that and fled: Jordan was driven back." [The Red Sea and Jordan are distinct, though parallel, examples.]
[485]J.E.G.Ph.XVI, 288.
[486]Pub. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.XXX, 430.
[487]Plummer,Two Saxon Chronicles Parallel,II, 47.
[488]Njáls Saga, cap. 45.
[489]Pauls Grdr.(2),II, 524.
[490]Helmhold.
[491]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.
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 ona priorigrounds, 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.
[492]Koegel (164), Lawrence (382).
[493]Björkman (Eigennamen im Beowulf, 23) interprets theEotenasas 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.
[494]Ayres inJ.E.G.Ph.XVI, 288.
[495]e.g.Njáls Saga, cap. 144:Laxdæla Saga, cap. 51.
[496]Of course a primitive stage can be conceived at which homicide is regarded as worse than murder. Your brother shootsAintentionally: 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 shootingAby mere misadventure, involves you in a blood-feud.
[497]Heimskringla, Ól. Tryggv.K. 111;Saga Olafs Tryggvasonar, K. 70 (Fornmanna Sǫgur, 1835,X.)
[498]Saxo Grammaticus (ed. Holder, p. 67).
[499]Heimskringla, Ól. Tryggv.K. 41.
[500]lýsti vígi á hendr sér.Laxdæla Saga, cap. 49.
[501]Cap. 55.
[502]Cap. 85.
[503]Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, anno 755.
[504]Njáls Saga, cap. 158.
[505]Fragment, ll. 40-1.
[506]p. 213 (ed. Holder).
[507]Finn may perhaps be holding a meeting of chieftains. For similar meetings of chieftains, compareSǫrla þáttr, cap. 4;Laxdæla Saga, cap. 12;Skáldskaparmál, cap. 47 (50).
[508]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 iscopiedfrom 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 inZ.f.d.A.XLVII, 125etc.
[509]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.
[510]The situation would then be parallel to that inLaxdæla Saga, 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.
[511]Bugge (P.B.B.XII, 36) interpreted thisswylceas meaning that sword-bale came upon Finn in like manner as it had previously come upon Hnæf. But this is to makeswylcein l. 1146 refer back to the death of Hnæf mentioned (72 lines previously) in l. 1074. Möller (Volksepos, 67) tries to explainswylceby supposing the passage it introduces to be a fragment detached from its context.
[512]f, r, s, þ, w, p (Old English Letters), all letters involving a long down stroke, are constantly confused. For examples, see above, p.245, and cf. e.g.Beowulf, l. 2882 (fergendraforwergendra);Crist, 12 (cræstgaforcræftga);Phoenix, 15 (fnæftforfnæst); RiddlesIII(IV), 18 (þyranforþywan);XL(XLI), 63 (þyrreforþyrse);XLII(XLIII), 4 (speopforspēow), 11 (wæsforþæs);LVII(LVIII), 3 (ropeforrōfeorrōwe),etc.
[513]p. 392.
[514]p. 431.
[515]Nennius Interpretatus, ed. Mommsen (Chronica Minora,III, 179, inMon. Germ. Hist.)
[516]"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,Fra Norges ældre Jernalderin theAarbøger for Nordisk Oldkyndighed og Historie, 1880, 89-184, esp. p. 173. See also Chadwick,Origin, 93. I am indebted to Chadwick's note for this reference to Undset.
[517]Ravennatis anonymi cosmographia, ed. Pinder et Parthey, Berolini, 1860, pp. 27, 28 (§I, 11).
[518]The modern Wijk bij Duurstede, not far from Utrecht, on the Lower Rhine.
[519]An account of the numerous coins found among the ruins of the old town will be found in theForschungen zur deutschen Geschichte,IV(1864), pp. 301-303. They testify to its commercial importance.
[520]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,Scriptores,VII, 1846, p. 369.
[521]Alcuin'sLife of Willibrordin Migne (1851)—AlcuiniOpera, vol.II, 699-702.
[522]See above, pp.199-200.
[523]It had been disputed by Skeat, Earle, Boer, and others, but never with such strong reasons.
[524]I use below the form "Beow," which I believe to be the correct one. "Beaw" is the form in theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle. But as the name of Sceldwa, Beaw's father, is there given in a form which is not West-Saxon (sceld, notscieldorscyld), it may well be that "Beaw" is also the Anglian dialect form, if it be not indeed a mere error: and this is confirmed byBeo(Ethelwerd),Beowius(William of Malmesbury),Boerinus(forBeowinus: Chronicle Roll), perhaps too byBeowa(Charter of 931) andBeowi, (MS Cott. Tib. B. IV). For the significance of this last, see pp.303-4, below, and Björkman inEngl. Stud.LII, 171,Anglia, Beiblatt,XXX, 23.
[525]Vol.LXXXI, p. 517.
[526]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."Pauls Grdr.(2),II, l. 1002.
[527]Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th edit.,III, 760-1.
[528]l. 2039, where a capital O occurs, but without a section number.
[529]Moore, Namur, Cotton.
[530]Cotton Tiberius B. XI.
[531]Hatton, 20.
[532]See above, pp.92-7.
[533]See above, pp.43-4.
[534]Ethelwerd.
[535]Chronicle.
[536]Boer,Beowulf, 135, 143:Arkiv f. nord. Filologi,XIX, 29.
[537]Heroic Age, 126.
[538]Postscript to Preface, p. ix.
[539]Postscript, pp. xi, xiv.
[540]SeeLokasennainDie Lieder der Edda, herausg. von Sijmons u. Gering,I, 134.
Byggvir kvaþ:"[Veiztu] ef [ek] øþle ǽttak sem Ingunar-Freyr,ok svá sǽllekt setr,merge smǽra mølþak [þá] meinkrǫ́kook lemþa alla í liþo."
Byggvir kvaþ:"[Veiztu] ef [ek] øþle ǽttak sem Ingunar-Freyr,ok svá sǽllekt setr,merge smǽra mølþak [þá] meinkrǫ́kook lemþa alla í liþo."
Byggvir kvaþ:
"[Veiztu] ef [ek] øþle ǽttak sem Ingunar-Freyr,
ok svá sǽllekt setr,
merge smǽra mølþak [þá] meinkrǫ́ko
ok lemþa alla í liþo."
[541]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,Popular Ballads and Songs, 1806,II, 241, 256.
[542]Loki kvaþ:"Hvat's þat et lítla, es [ek] þat lǫggra sék,ok snapvíst snaper?at eyrom Freys mont[u] ǽ vesaok und kvernom klaka."
[542]Loki kvaþ:"Hvat's þat et lítla, es [ek] þat lǫggra sék,ok snapvíst snaper?at eyrom Freys mont[u] ǽ vesaok und kvernom klaka."
Loki kvaþ:
"Hvat's þat et lítla, es [ek] þat lǫggra sék,
ok snapvíst snaper?
at eyrom Freys mont[u] ǽ vesa
ok und kvernom klaka."
[543]Jamieson,II, 239. So Burns: "John Barleycorn was a hero bold," and the ballad
John Barleycorn is the wightest manThat ever throve in land.
John Barleycorn is the wightest manThat ever throve in land.
John Barleycorn is the wightest man
That ever throve in land.
[544]Byggvir kvaþ:"Byggver ek heite, en mik bráþan kveþagoþ ǫll ok gumar;því emk hér hróþogr, at drekka Hrópts megeraller ǫl saman."
[544]Byggvir kvaþ:"Byggver ek heite, en mik bráþan kveþagoþ ǫll ok gumar;því emk hér hróþogr, at drekka Hrópts megeraller ǫl saman."
Byggvir kvaþ:
"Byggver ek heite, en mik bráþan kveþa
goþ ǫll ok gumar;
því emk hér hróþogr, at drekka Hrópts meger
aller ǫl saman."