1Not the hero of this poem.↑2The gables were decorated with horns of stags and other beasts of the chase.↑3SeeAppendix V., and chaptersXXVIII, andXXIX.↑4Wyatt’s translation of ‘Ne his myne wisse.’↑5i.e. Beowulf.↑6Geats. The tribe to which Beowulf belonged. They inhabited southern Sweden between the Danes on the south and the Swedes on the north. SeeAppendix XI.↑7Literally, ‘Then was the sea traversed at the end of the ocean.’↑8Frequent references are made to the device of the boar on shield and helmet; cp. p. 77, in description of Hnaef’s funeral pyre.↑9The name of a reigning Danish dynasty.↑10For Scyld cp. Appendix II.↑11Hygelac, King of the Geats at the time, and uncle of Beowulf.↑12Weland—‘the famous smith of Germanic legend,’ says Wyatt—who also refers us to the Franks Casket in the British Museum.↑13Weird was a peculiarly English conception. It means Fate, or Destiny. Then Weird became a god or goddess—cp. ‘The Seafarer,’ an Old English poem in which we find ‘Weird is stronger, the Lord is mightier than any man’s thoughts.’↑14i.e. Wealtheow, Hrothgar’s Queen, who was of this tribe.↑15Healfdene was the father of Hrothgar, King of the Danes.↑16i.e. Beowulf.↑17Thus we see how sagas or legends came to be woven together into a song. SeeAppendix X.↑18Heremod was a King of the Danes, and is introduced, says Wyatt, as a stock example of a bad King.↑19Wyatt’s translation.↑20Byrny was a coat of mail. Swords were of greater value as they were ancient heirlooms, and had done good service.↑21SeeAppendix VI.↑22i.e. Hildeburh, wife of Finn.↑23i.e. Finn.↑24The boar then, as ever since, occupied a prominent place in heraldry.↑25See a similar passage in my version ofSir Gawain and the Green Knight, Canto II. 1 and 2.↑26Hrothulf, nephew of Hrothgar.↑27SeeAppendix III.↑28SeeAppendix IV.↑29Wyatt’s translation.↑30That is, ‘the harp.’↑31Rune—literally, ‘a secret.’↑32Cp. the phrase ‘Welsh marches,’ i.e. the boundaries or limits of Wales.↑33Cp. description of hunting inSir Gawain and the Green Knight, Canto III. 2.↑34Scyldings are the Danes.↑35i.e. Unferth.↑36Cp. ChapterVIII.↑37i.e. Hrothgar.↑38i.e. the sun.↑39Hrothgar.↑40Cp. pp. 66–68.↑41‘Honour-full’ is Wyatt’s translation.↑42Hrethric, one of Hrothgar’s sons.↑43Literally, ‘the gannet’s bath.’ The sea is also ‘Swan’s path,’ ‘Sail-path,’ &c.↑44A difficult phrase. Refers perhaps to old feuds between Danes and Geats.↑45Cp. ChapterIII.↑46Thrytho is referred to as a foil to Hygd. Thrytho was as bad a woman as Hygd was good. She was a woman of a wild and passionate disposition. She became the Queen of King Offa, and it seems to have been a case of the ‘taming of the shrew.’ Offa appears to have been her second husband. See below.↑47i.e. to Offa.↑48i.e. Hygelac; seeAppendices VII. andIX.↑49i.e. Hygd, Queen of the Geats, Hygelac’s wife.↑50i.e. Wealtheow, Hrothgar’s Queen.↑51i.e. Ingeld. See below.↑52Another episode, viz. that of Freawaru and Ingeld. Note also the artificial break of the narrative into chapters. SeeAppendix V.Hrothgar’s hopes by the marriage of his daughter Freawaru to Ingeld of the Heathobards was doomed to disappointment, cp. ‘Widsith,’ 45–9.↑53Numbers XXIX. and XXX. are lacking in the MS. The divisions here are as in Wyatt’s edition.↑54Withergyld—name of a Heathobard warrior.↑55Probably referring to the chanting of some ancient legend by the scop, or gleeman.↑56Wyatt’s translation.↑57Hygelac was killed in his historical invasion of the Netherlands, which is five times referred to in the poem. SeeAppendix VII.↑58SeeAppendix IX.↑59The MS. here is very imperfect. I have used the emended text of Bugge, which makes good sense. SeeAppendix XII.↑60Here again the text is imperfect.↑61Possibly a later insertion, ‘the ten commandments’ (Wyatt).↑62Beowulf saved his life by swimming across the sea, in Hygelac’s famous raid. SeeAppendix VII.↑63SeeAppendix IX.↑64SeeAppendix IX.↑65See p. 138.↑66SeeAppendix VIII.↑67SeeAppendices VII. andIX.↑68Waegmundings—the family to which both Beowulf and Wiglaf belonged.↑69SeeAppendix IX.↑70i.e. Beowulf.↑71Wyatt and Morris’s translations.↑72Wyatt and Morris translate ‘sun jewels.’↑73Wyatt’s translation.↑74i.e. Wiglaf.↑75i.e. it had been well hammered into shape.↑76Yet another reference to Hygelac’s famous raid. SeeAppendix VII.↑77Merovingian King of the Franks.↑78SeeAppendix IX.↑79Hrethel, King of Geats, father of Hygelac and grandfather of Beowulf.↑80Literally, ‘the sword-leavings.’↑81SeeAppendix IX.↑82Text in MS. faulty here. Wyatt and Morris have adopted Bugge’s emendation. The sense is that Beowulf’s widow with her hair bound up utters forth a dirge over her dead husband.↑83Probably the treasures that remained in the cavern. Seeprevious chapter.↑
1Not the hero of this poem.↑2The gables were decorated with horns of stags and other beasts of the chase.↑3SeeAppendix V., and chaptersXXVIII, andXXIX.↑4Wyatt’s translation of ‘Ne his myne wisse.’↑5i.e. Beowulf.↑6Geats. The tribe to which Beowulf belonged. They inhabited southern Sweden between the Danes on the south and the Swedes on the north. SeeAppendix XI.↑7Literally, ‘Then was the sea traversed at the end of the ocean.’↑8Frequent references are made to the device of the boar on shield and helmet; cp. p. 77, in description of Hnaef’s funeral pyre.↑9The name of a reigning Danish dynasty.↑10For Scyld cp. Appendix II.↑11Hygelac, King of the Geats at the time, and uncle of Beowulf.↑12Weland—‘the famous smith of Germanic legend,’ says Wyatt—who also refers us to the Franks Casket in the British Museum.↑13Weird was a peculiarly English conception. It means Fate, or Destiny. Then Weird became a god or goddess—cp. ‘The Seafarer,’ an Old English poem in which we find ‘Weird is stronger, the Lord is mightier than any man’s thoughts.’↑14i.e. Wealtheow, Hrothgar’s Queen, who was of this tribe.↑15Healfdene was the father of Hrothgar, King of the Danes.↑16i.e. Beowulf.↑17Thus we see how sagas or legends came to be woven together into a song. SeeAppendix X.↑18Heremod was a King of the Danes, and is introduced, says Wyatt, as a stock example of a bad King.↑19Wyatt’s translation.↑20Byrny was a coat of mail. Swords were of greater value as they were ancient heirlooms, and had done good service.↑21SeeAppendix VI.↑22i.e. Hildeburh, wife of Finn.↑23i.e. Finn.↑24The boar then, as ever since, occupied a prominent place in heraldry.↑25See a similar passage in my version ofSir Gawain and the Green Knight, Canto II. 1 and 2.↑26Hrothulf, nephew of Hrothgar.↑27SeeAppendix III.↑28SeeAppendix IV.↑29Wyatt’s translation.↑30That is, ‘the harp.’↑31Rune—literally, ‘a secret.’↑32Cp. the phrase ‘Welsh marches,’ i.e. the boundaries or limits of Wales.↑33Cp. description of hunting inSir Gawain and the Green Knight, Canto III. 2.↑34Scyldings are the Danes.↑35i.e. Unferth.↑36Cp. ChapterVIII.↑37i.e. Hrothgar.↑38i.e. the sun.↑39Hrothgar.↑40Cp. pp. 66–68.↑41‘Honour-full’ is Wyatt’s translation.↑42Hrethric, one of Hrothgar’s sons.↑43Literally, ‘the gannet’s bath.’ The sea is also ‘Swan’s path,’ ‘Sail-path,’ &c.↑44A difficult phrase. Refers perhaps to old feuds between Danes and Geats.↑45Cp. ChapterIII.↑46Thrytho is referred to as a foil to Hygd. Thrytho was as bad a woman as Hygd was good. She was a woman of a wild and passionate disposition. She became the Queen of King Offa, and it seems to have been a case of the ‘taming of the shrew.’ Offa appears to have been her second husband. See below.↑47i.e. to Offa.↑48i.e. Hygelac; seeAppendices VII. andIX.↑49i.e. Hygd, Queen of the Geats, Hygelac’s wife.↑50i.e. Wealtheow, Hrothgar’s Queen.↑51i.e. Ingeld. See below.↑52Another episode, viz. that of Freawaru and Ingeld. Note also the artificial break of the narrative into chapters. SeeAppendix V.Hrothgar’s hopes by the marriage of his daughter Freawaru to Ingeld of the Heathobards was doomed to disappointment, cp. ‘Widsith,’ 45–9.↑53Numbers XXIX. and XXX. are lacking in the MS. The divisions here are as in Wyatt’s edition.↑54Withergyld—name of a Heathobard warrior.↑55Probably referring to the chanting of some ancient legend by the scop, or gleeman.↑56Wyatt’s translation.↑57Hygelac was killed in his historical invasion of the Netherlands, which is five times referred to in the poem. SeeAppendix VII.↑58SeeAppendix IX.↑59The MS. here is very imperfect. I have used the emended text of Bugge, which makes good sense. SeeAppendix XII.↑60Here again the text is imperfect.↑61Possibly a later insertion, ‘the ten commandments’ (Wyatt).↑62Beowulf saved his life by swimming across the sea, in Hygelac’s famous raid. SeeAppendix VII.↑63SeeAppendix IX.↑64SeeAppendix IX.↑65See p. 138.↑66SeeAppendix VIII.↑67SeeAppendices VII. andIX.↑68Waegmundings—the family to which both Beowulf and Wiglaf belonged.↑69SeeAppendix IX.↑70i.e. Beowulf.↑71Wyatt and Morris’s translations.↑72Wyatt and Morris translate ‘sun jewels.’↑73Wyatt’s translation.↑74i.e. Wiglaf.↑75i.e. it had been well hammered into shape.↑76Yet another reference to Hygelac’s famous raid. SeeAppendix VII.↑77Merovingian King of the Franks.↑78SeeAppendix IX.↑79Hrethel, King of Geats, father of Hygelac and grandfather of Beowulf.↑80Literally, ‘the sword-leavings.’↑81SeeAppendix IX.↑82Text in MS. faulty here. Wyatt and Morris have adopted Bugge’s emendation. The sense is that Beowulf’s widow with her hair bound up utters forth a dirge over her dead husband.↑83Probably the treasures that remained in the cavern. Seeprevious chapter.↑
1Not the hero of this poem.↑2The gables were decorated with horns of stags and other beasts of the chase.↑3SeeAppendix V., and chaptersXXVIII, andXXIX.↑4Wyatt’s translation of ‘Ne his myne wisse.’↑5i.e. Beowulf.↑6Geats. The tribe to which Beowulf belonged. They inhabited southern Sweden between the Danes on the south and the Swedes on the north. SeeAppendix XI.↑7Literally, ‘Then was the sea traversed at the end of the ocean.’↑8Frequent references are made to the device of the boar on shield and helmet; cp. p. 77, in description of Hnaef’s funeral pyre.↑9The name of a reigning Danish dynasty.↑10For Scyld cp. Appendix II.↑11Hygelac, King of the Geats at the time, and uncle of Beowulf.↑12Weland—‘the famous smith of Germanic legend,’ says Wyatt—who also refers us to the Franks Casket in the British Museum.↑13Weird was a peculiarly English conception. It means Fate, or Destiny. Then Weird became a god or goddess—cp. ‘The Seafarer,’ an Old English poem in which we find ‘Weird is stronger, the Lord is mightier than any man’s thoughts.’↑14i.e. Wealtheow, Hrothgar’s Queen, who was of this tribe.↑15Healfdene was the father of Hrothgar, King of the Danes.↑16i.e. Beowulf.↑17Thus we see how sagas or legends came to be woven together into a song. SeeAppendix X.↑18Heremod was a King of the Danes, and is introduced, says Wyatt, as a stock example of a bad King.↑19Wyatt’s translation.↑20Byrny was a coat of mail. Swords were of greater value as they were ancient heirlooms, and had done good service.↑21SeeAppendix VI.↑22i.e. Hildeburh, wife of Finn.↑23i.e. Finn.↑24The boar then, as ever since, occupied a prominent place in heraldry.↑25See a similar passage in my version ofSir Gawain and the Green Knight, Canto II. 1 and 2.↑26Hrothulf, nephew of Hrothgar.↑27SeeAppendix III.↑28SeeAppendix IV.↑29Wyatt’s translation.↑30That is, ‘the harp.’↑31Rune—literally, ‘a secret.’↑32Cp. the phrase ‘Welsh marches,’ i.e. the boundaries or limits of Wales.↑33Cp. description of hunting inSir Gawain and the Green Knight, Canto III. 2.↑34Scyldings are the Danes.↑35i.e. Unferth.↑36Cp. ChapterVIII.↑37i.e. Hrothgar.↑38i.e. the sun.↑39Hrothgar.↑40Cp. pp. 66–68.↑41‘Honour-full’ is Wyatt’s translation.↑42Hrethric, one of Hrothgar’s sons.↑43Literally, ‘the gannet’s bath.’ The sea is also ‘Swan’s path,’ ‘Sail-path,’ &c.↑44A difficult phrase. Refers perhaps to old feuds between Danes and Geats.↑45Cp. ChapterIII.↑46Thrytho is referred to as a foil to Hygd. Thrytho was as bad a woman as Hygd was good. She was a woman of a wild and passionate disposition. She became the Queen of King Offa, and it seems to have been a case of the ‘taming of the shrew.’ Offa appears to have been her second husband. See below.↑47i.e. to Offa.↑48i.e. Hygelac; seeAppendices VII. andIX.↑49i.e. Hygd, Queen of the Geats, Hygelac’s wife.↑50i.e. Wealtheow, Hrothgar’s Queen.↑51i.e. Ingeld. See below.↑52Another episode, viz. that of Freawaru and Ingeld. Note also the artificial break of the narrative into chapters. SeeAppendix V.Hrothgar’s hopes by the marriage of his daughter Freawaru to Ingeld of the Heathobards was doomed to disappointment, cp. ‘Widsith,’ 45–9.↑53Numbers XXIX. and XXX. are lacking in the MS. The divisions here are as in Wyatt’s edition.↑54Withergyld—name of a Heathobard warrior.↑55Probably referring to the chanting of some ancient legend by the scop, or gleeman.↑56Wyatt’s translation.↑57Hygelac was killed in his historical invasion of the Netherlands, which is five times referred to in the poem. SeeAppendix VII.↑58SeeAppendix IX.↑59The MS. here is very imperfect. I have used the emended text of Bugge, which makes good sense. SeeAppendix XII.↑60Here again the text is imperfect.↑61Possibly a later insertion, ‘the ten commandments’ (Wyatt).↑62Beowulf saved his life by swimming across the sea, in Hygelac’s famous raid. SeeAppendix VII.↑63SeeAppendix IX.↑64SeeAppendix IX.↑65See p. 138.↑66SeeAppendix VIII.↑67SeeAppendices VII. andIX.↑68Waegmundings—the family to which both Beowulf and Wiglaf belonged.↑69SeeAppendix IX.↑70i.e. Beowulf.↑71Wyatt and Morris’s translations.↑72Wyatt and Morris translate ‘sun jewels.’↑73Wyatt’s translation.↑74i.e. Wiglaf.↑75i.e. it had been well hammered into shape.↑76Yet another reference to Hygelac’s famous raid. SeeAppendix VII.↑77Merovingian King of the Franks.↑78SeeAppendix IX.↑79Hrethel, King of Geats, father of Hygelac and grandfather of Beowulf.↑80Literally, ‘the sword-leavings.’↑81SeeAppendix IX.↑82Text in MS. faulty here. Wyatt and Morris have adopted Bugge’s emendation. The sense is that Beowulf’s widow with her hair bound up utters forth a dirge over her dead husband.↑83Probably the treasures that remained in the cavern. Seeprevious chapter.↑
1Not the hero of this poem.↑
2The gables were decorated with horns of stags and other beasts of the chase.↑
3SeeAppendix V., and chaptersXXVIII, andXXIX.↑
4Wyatt’s translation of ‘Ne his myne wisse.’↑
5i.e. Beowulf.↑
6Geats. The tribe to which Beowulf belonged. They inhabited southern Sweden between the Danes on the south and the Swedes on the north. SeeAppendix XI.↑
7Literally, ‘Then was the sea traversed at the end of the ocean.’↑
8Frequent references are made to the device of the boar on shield and helmet; cp. p. 77, in description of Hnaef’s funeral pyre.↑
9The name of a reigning Danish dynasty.↑
10For Scyld cp. Appendix II.↑
11Hygelac, King of the Geats at the time, and uncle of Beowulf.↑
12Weland—‘the famous smith of Germanic legend,’ says Wyatt—who also refers us to the Franks Casket in the British Museum.↑
13Weird was a peculiarly English conception. It means Fate, or Destiny. Then Weird became a god or goddess—cp. ‘The Seafarer,’ an Old English poem in which we find ‘Weird is stronger, the Lord is mightier than any man’s thoughts.’↑
14i.e. Wealtheow, Hrothgar’s Queen, who was of this tribe.↑
15Healfdene was the father of Hrothgar, King of the Danes.↑
16i.e. Beowulf.↑
17Thus we see how sagas or legends came to be woven together into a song. SeeAppendix X.↑
18Heremod was a King of the Danes, and is introduced, says Wyatt, as a stock example of a bad King.↑
19Wyatt’s translation.↑
20Byrny was a coat of mail. Swords were of greater value as they were ancient heirlooms, and had done good service.↑
21SeeAppendix VI.↑
22i.e. Hildeburh, wife of Finn.↑
23i.e. Finn.↑
24The boar then, as ever since, occupied a prominent place in heraldry.↑
25See a similar passage in my version ofSir Gawain and the Green Knight, Canto II. 1 and 2.↑
26Hrothulf, nephew of Hrothgar.↑
27SeeAppendix III.↑
28SeeAppendix IV.↑
29Wyatt’s translation.↑
30That is, ‘the harp.’↑
31Rune—literally, ‘a secret.’↑
32Cp. the phrase ‘Welsh marches,’ i.e. the boundaries or limits of Wales.↑
33Cp. description of hunting inSir Gawain and the Green Knight, Canto III. 2.↑
34Scyldings are the Danes.↑
35i.e. Unferth.↑
36Cp. ChapterVIII.↑
37i.e. Hrothgar.↑
38i.e. the sun.↑
39Hrothgar.↑
40Cp. pp. 66–68.↑
41‘Honour-full’ is Wyatt’s translation.↑
42Hrethric, one of Hrothgar’s sons.↑
43Literally, ‘the gannet’s bath.’ The sea is also ‘Swan’s path,’ ‘Sail-path,’ &c.↑
44A difficult phrase. Refers perhaps to old feuds between Danes and Geats.↑
45Cp. ChapterIII.↑
46Thrytho is referred to as a foil to Hygd. Thrytho was as bad a woman as Hygd was good. She was a woman of a wild and passionate disposition. She became the Queen of King Offa, and it seems to have been a case of the ‘taming of the shrew.’ Offa appears to have been her second husband. See below.↑
47i.e. to Offa.↑
48i.e. Hygelac; seeAppendices VII. andIX.↑
49i.e. Hygd, Queen of the Geats, Hygelac’s wife.↑
50i.e. Wealtheow, Hrothgar’s Queen.↑
51i.e. Ingeld. See below.↑
52Another episode, viz. that of Freawaru and Ingeld. Note also the artificial break of the narrative into chapters. SeeAppendix V.
Hrothgar’s hopes by the marriage of his daughter Freawaru to Ingeld of the Heathobards was doomed to disappointment, cp. ‘Widsith,’ 45–9.↑
53Numbers XXIX. and XXX. are lacking in the MS. The divisions here are as in Wyatt’s edition.↑
54Withergyld—name of a Heathobard warrior.↑
55Probably referring to the chanting of some ancient legend by the scop, or gleeman.↑
56Wyatt’s translation.↑
57Hygelac was killed in his historical invasion of the Netherlands, which is five times referred to in the poem. SeeAppendix VII.↑
58SeeAppendix IX.↑
59The MS. here is very imperfect. I have used the emended text of Bugge, which makes good sense. SeeAppendix XII.↑
60Here again the text is imperfect.↑
61Possibly a later insertion, ‘the ten commandments’ (Wyatt).↑
62Beowulf saved his life by swimming across the sea, in Hygelac’s famous raid. SeeAppendix VII.↑
63SeeAppendix IX.↑
64SeeAppendix IX.↑
65See p. 138.↑
66SeeAppendix VIII.↑
67SeeAppendices VII. andIX.↑
68Waegmundings—the family to which both Beowulf and Wiglaf belonged.↑
69SeeAppendix IX.↑
70i.e. Beowulf.↑
71Wyatt and Morris’s translations.↑
72Wyatt and Morris translate ‘sun jewels.’↑
73Wyatt’s translation.↑
74i.e. Wiglaf.↑
75i.e. it had been well hammered into shape.↑
76Yet another reference to Hygelac’s famous raid. SeeAppendix VII.↑
77Merovingian King of the Franks.↑
78SeeAppendix IX.↑
79Hrethel, King of Geats, father of Hygelac and grandfather of Beowulf.↑
80Literally, ‘the sword-leavings.’↑
81SeeAppendix IX.↑
82Text in MS. faulty here. Wyatt and Morris have adopted Bugge’s emendation. The sense is that Beowulf’s widow with her hair bound up utters forth a dirge over her dead husband.↑
83Probably the treasures that remained in the cavern. Seeprevious chapter.↑