Food of
specific
sorts is rarely, if at all, mentioned in the
poem.
poem.
Beowulf
Cf.
also ll.
2015, 2145; and the gōd cyning of l.
11.
l. 1896. scaðan = _warriors_ (cf. l. 1804) has been proposed by C. ; but cf.
l. 253.
l. 1897. The boat had been left, at ll. 294-302, in the keeping of
Hrōðgār's men; at l. 1901 the bāt-weard is specially honored by Beowulf
with a sword and becomes a "sworded squire. "--E. This circumstance appears
to weld the poem together. Cf. also the speed of the journey home with ymb
ān-tīd ōþres dōgores of l. 219, and the similarity of language in both
passages (fāmig-heals, clifu, næssas, sǣlde, brim, etc. ). --The nautical
terms in Beowulf would form an interesting study.
l. 1904. R. proposes, gewāt him on naca, = _the vessel set out_, on
alliterating as at l. 2524 (_Zachers Zeitschr. _ iii. 402). B. reads on
nacan, but inserts irrelevant matter (_Beit. _ xii. 97).
l. 1913. Cf. the same use of cēol, = _ship_, in the _A. -S. Chron. _, ed.
Earle-Plummer; _Gnomic Verses_, etc.
l. 1914. S. inserts þæt hē before on lande.
l. 1916. B. makes lēofra manna depend on wlātode, = _looked for the dear
men ready at the coast_ (_Beit. _ xii. 97).
l. 1924. Gr. , W. , and Ho. propose wunade, = _remained;_ but cf. l. 1929. S.
conceives ll. 1924, 1925 as "direct speech" (_Beit. _ ix. 141).
l. 1927 _seq. _ "The women of Beowulf are of the fine northern type; trusted
and loved by their husbands and by the nobles and people; generous, gentle,
and holding their place with dignity. "--Br. , p. 67. Thrytho is the
exception, l. 1932 _seq. _
l. 1933. C. suggests frēcnu, = _dangerous, bold_, for Thrytho could not be
called "excellent. " G. writes "Modthrytho" as her name. The womanly Hygd
seems purposely here contrasted with the terrible Thrytho, just as, at l.
902 _seq. _, Sigemund and Heremōd are contrasted. For Thrytho, etc. , cf.
Gr. , _Jahrb. für rom. u. eng. Lit. _ iv. 279; Müllenhoff, _Haupts Zeitschr. _
xiv. 216; Matthew Paris; Suchier, _Beit. _ iv. 500-521; R. _Zachers
Zeitschr. _ iii. 402; B. , _ibid. _ iv. 206; Körner, _Eng. Stud. _ i. 489-492;
H. -So. , p. 106.
l. 1932-1963. K. first pointed out the connection between the historical
Offa, King of Mercia, and his wife Cwendrida, and the Offa and Þrȳðo
(Gr. 's _Drida_ of the _Vita Offǣ Secundi_) of the present passage. The tale
is told of her, not of Hygd.
l. 1936. Suchier proposes andǣges, = _eye to eye_; Leo proposes āndǣges, =
_the whole day_; G. , _by day_. No change is necessary if an be taken to
govqern hire, = _on her_, and dæges be explained (like nihtes, etc. ) as a
genitive of time, = _by day_.
l. 1943. R. and Suchier propose onsēce, = _seek, require_; but cf. 2955.
l. 1966. Cf. the _heofoncandel_ of _Exod. _ l. 115 (Hunt). Shak. 's 'night's
candles. '
l. 1969. Cf. l. 2487 _seq. _ for the actual slayer of Ongenþēow, i. e. Eofor,
to whom Hygelāc gave his only daughter as a reward, l. 2998.
l. 1981. meodu-scencum = _with mead-pourers_ or _mead-cups_ (G. , Ha. );
_draught or cup of mead_ (Toller-Bosw. ).
l. 1982. K. , Th. , W. , H. supply [heal-]reced; Holler [hēa-].
l. 1984. B. defends the MS. , reading hǣ nū (for hǣðnū), which he regards as
= Heinir, the inhabitants of the Jutish "heaths" (hǣð). Cf. H. -So. , p. 107;
_Beit. _ xii. 9.
l. 1985. sīnne. "In poetry there is a reflexive possessive of the third
person, sīn (declined like mīn). It is used not only as a true reflexive,
but also as a non-reflexive (= Lat. _ejus_)"--Sw. ; Cook's Sievers' Gram. ,
p. 185. Cf. ll. 1508, 1961, 2284, 2790.
l. 1994. Cf. l. 190 for a similar use of sēað; cf. to "glow" with emotion,
"boil" with indignation, "burn" with anger, etc. weallan is often so used;
cf. ll. 2332, 2066, etc.
l. 2010. B. proposes fācne, = _in treachery_, for fenne. Cf. _Juliana_, l.
350; _Beit. _ xii. 97.
l. 2022.
Food of specific sorts is rarely, if at all, mentioned in the
poem. Drink, on the other hand, occurs in its primitive varieties,--_ale_
(as here: ealu-wǣg), _mead, beer, wine, līð_ (cider? Goth. _leiþus_, Prov.
Ger. _leit-_ in _leit-haus_, ale-house), etc.
l. 2025. Kl. proposes is for wæs.
l. 2027. Cf. l. 1599 for a similar use of weorðan, = _agree, be pleased
with_ (Ha. ); _appear_ (Sw. , Reader, 6th ed. ).
ll. 2030, 2031. Ten Br. proposes: oft seldan ( = _gave_) wǣre æfter
lēod-hryre: lȳtle hwīle bongār būgeð, þēah sēo brȳd duge = _oft has a
treaty been given after the fall of a prince: but little while the
murder-spear resteth, however excellent the bride be. _ Cf. Kl. , _Beit. _ ix.
190; B. , _Beit. _ xii. 369; R. , _Zachers Zeitschr. _ in. 404; Ha. , p. 69; G. ,
p. 62.
l. 2036. Cf. Kl, _Beit. _ ix. 191; R. , _Zachers Zeitschr. _ iii. 404.
l. 2042. For bēah B. reads bā, = _both_, i. e. Freaware and the Dane.
l. 2063. Thorkelin and Conybeare propose wīgende, = _fighting_, for
lifigende.
l. 2068. W. 's edition begins section xxx. (not marked in the MS. ) with this
line. Section xxxix. (xxxviii. in copies A and B, xxxix. in Thorkelin) is
not so designated in the MS. , though þā (at l. 2822) is written with
capitals and xl. begins at l. 2893.
l. 2095. Cf. l. 1542, and note.
l. 2115 _seq. _ B. restores thus:
Þǣr on innan gīong
niðða nāthwylc, nēode tō gefēng
hǣðnum horde; hond ætgenam
seleful since fāh; nē hē þæt syððan āgeaf,
þēah þe hē slǣpende besyrede hyrde
þēofes cræfte: þæt se þīoden onfand,
bȳ-folc beorna, þæt hē gebolgen wæs.
--_Beit. _ xii. 99; _Zachers Zeitschr. _ iv. 210.
l. 2129. B. proposes fǣrunga, = _suddenly_, for Gr. 's reading in the
text. --_Beit. _ xii. 98.
l. 2132. MS. has þine life, which Leo translates _by thy leave_ (= ON.
_leyfi_); B. , _by thy life_. --_Beit. _ xii. 369.
l. 2150. B. renders gēn, etc. , by "now I serve thee alone again as my
gracious king" (_Beit. _ xii. 99).
l. 2151. The forms hafu [hafo], hafast, hafað, are poetic archaisms. --Sw.
l. 2153. Kl. proposes ealdor, = _prince_, for eafor. W. proposes the compd.
eafor-hēafodsegn, = _helm_; cf. l. 1245.
l. 2157. The wk. form of the adj. is frequent in the vocative, especially
when postponed: "Beowulf lēofa," l. 1759. So, often, in poetry in nom. :
wudu selesta, etc.
l. 2158. ǣrest is possibly the verbal subs. from ārīsan, _to arise, =
arising, origin_. R. suggested ǣrist, _arising, origin_. Cf. Bede, _Eccles.
Hist. _, ed. Miller, where the word is spelt as above, but = (as usual)
_resurrection_. See Sweet, Reader, p. 211; E. -Plummer's _Chronicle_, p.
302, etc. The MS. has est. See Ha. , p. 73; S. , _Beit. _ x. 222; and cf. l.
2166.
l. 2188. Gr. , W. , H. supply [wēn]don, = _weened_, instead of Th. 's [oft
sæg]don.
l. 2188. The "slack" Beowulf, like the sluggish Brutus, ultimately reveals
his true character, and is presented with a historic sword of honor. It is
"laid on his breast" (l. 2195) as Hun laid Lāfing on Hengest's breast, l.
1145.
l. 2188. "The boy was at first slothful, and the Geats thought him an
unwarlike prince, and long despised him. Then, like many a lazy third son
in the folk tales, a change came, he suddenly showed wonderful daring and
was passionate for adventure. "--Br. , p. 22.
l. 2196. "Seven of thousands, manor and lordship" (Ha. ). Kl. , _Beit. _ ix.
191, thinks with Ettm. that þūsendo means a hide of land (see Schmid, _Ges.
der Angl_, 610), Bede's familia = 1/2 sq. meter; seofan being used (like
hund, l. 2995) only for the alliteration.
l. 2196. "A vast Honour of 7000 hides, a mansion, and a judgment-seat"
[throne]. --E.
l. 2210. MS. has the more correct wintra.
l. 2211. Cf. similar language about the dragon at l. 100. Beowulf's
"jubilee" is fitly solemnized by his third and last dragon-fight.
l. 2213.
l. 1896. scaðan = _warriors_ (cf. l. 1804) has been proposed by C. ; but cf.
l. 253.
l. 1897. The boat had been left, at ll. 294-302, in the keeping of
Hrōðgār's men; at l. 1901 the bāt-weard is specially honored by Beowulf
with a sword and becomes a "sworded squire. "--E. This circumstance appears
to weld the poem together. Cf. also the speed of the journey home with ymb
ān-tīd ōþres dōgores of l. 219, and the similarity of language in both
passages (fāmig-heals, clifu, næssas, sǣlde, brim, etc. ). --The nautical
terms in Beowulf would form an interesting study.
l. 1904. R. proposes, gewāt him on naca, = _the vessel set out_, on
alliterating as at l. 2524 (_Zachers Zeitschr. _ iii. 402). B. reads on
nacan, but inserts irrelevant matter (_Beit. _ xii. 97).
l. 1913. Cf. the same use of cēol, = _ship_, in the _A. -S. Chron. _, ed.
Earle-Plummer; _Gnomic Verses_, etc.
l. 1914. S. inserts þæt hē before on lande.
l. 1916. B. makes lēofra manna depend on wlātode, = _looked for the dear
men ready at the coast_ (_Beit. _ xii. 97).
l. 1924. Gr. , W. , and Ho. propose wunade, = _remained;_ but cf. l. 1929. S.
conceives ll. 1924, 1925 as "direct speech" (_Beit. _ ix. 141).
l. 1927 _seq. _ "The women of Beowulf are of the fine northern type; trusted
and loved by their husbands and by the nobles and people; generous, gentle,
and holding their place with dignity. "--Br. , p. 67. Thrytho is the
exception, l. 1932 _seq. _
l. 1933. C. suggests frēcnu, = _dangerous, bold_, for Thrytho could not be
called "excellent. " G. writes "Modthrytho" as her name. The womanly Hygd
seems purposely here contrasted with the terrible Thrytho, just as, at l.
902 _seq. _, Sigemund and Heremōd are contrasted. For Thrytho, etc. , cf.
Gr. , _Jahrb. für rom. u. eng. Lit. _ iv. 279; Müllenhoff, _Haupts Zeitschr. _
xiv. 216; Matthew Paris; Suchier, _Beit. _ iv. 500-521; R. _Zachers
Zeitschr. _ iii. 402; B. , _ibid. _ iv. 206; Körner, _Eng. Stud. _ i. 489-492;
H. -So. , p. 106.
l. 1932-1963. K. first pointed out the connection between the historical
Offa, King of Mercia, and his wife Cwendrida, and the Offa and Þrȳðo
(Gr. 's _Drida_ of the _Vita Offǣ Secundi_) of the present passage. The tale
is told of her, not of Hygd.
l. 1936. Suchier proposes andǣges, = _eye to eye_; Leo proposes āndǣges, =
_the whole day_; G. , _by day_. No change is necessary if an be taken to
govqern hire, = _on her_, and dæges be explained (like nihtes, etc. ) as a
genitive of time, = _by day_.
l. 1943. R. and Suchier propose onsēce, = _seek, require_; but cf. 2955.
l. 1966. Cf. the _heofoncandel_ of _Exod. _ l. 115 (Hunt). Shak. 's 'night's
candles. '
l. 1969. Cf. l. 2487 _seq. _ for the actual slayer of Ongenþēow, i. e. Eofor,
to whom Hygelāc gave his only daughter as a reward, l. 2998.
l. 1981. meodu-scencum = _with mead-pourers_ or _mead-cups_ (G. , Ha. );
_draught or cup of mead_ (Toller-Bosw. ).
l. 1982. K. , Th. , W. , H. supply [heal-]reced; Holler [hēa-].
l. 1984. B. defends the MS. , reading hǣ nū (for hǣðnū), which he regards as
= Heinir, the inhabitants of the Jutish "heaths" (hǣð). Cf. H. -So. , p. 107;
_Beit. _ xii. 9.
l. 1985. sīnne. "In poetry there is a reflexive possessive of the third
person, sīn (declined like mīn). It is used not only as a true reflexive,
but also as a non-reflexive (= Lat. _ejus_)"--Sw. ; Cook's Sievers' Gram. ,
p. 185. Cf. ll. 1508, 1961, 2284, 2790.
l. 1994. Cf. l. 190 for a similar use of sēað; cf. to "glow" with emotion,
"boil" with indignation, "burn" with anger, etc. weallan is often so used;
cf. ll. 2332, 2066, etc.
l. 2010. B. proposes fācne, = _in treachery_, for fenne. Cf. _Juliana_, l.
350; _Beit. _ xii. 97.
l. 2022.
Food of specific sorts is rarely, if at all, mentioned in the
poem. Drink, on the other hand, occurs in its primitive varieties,--_ale_
(as here: ealu-wǣg), _mead, beer, wine, līð_ (cider? Goth. _leiþus_, Prov.
Ger. _leit-_ in _leit-haus_, ale-house), etc.
l. 2025. Kl. proposes is for wæs.
l. 2027. Cf. l. 1599 for a similar use of weorðan, = _agree, be pleased
with_ (Ha. ); _appear_ (Sw. , Reader, 6th ed. ).
ll. 2030, 2031. Ten Br. proposes: oft seldan ( = _gave_) wǣre æfter
lēod-hryre: lȳtle hwīle bongār būgeð, þēah sēo brȳd duge = _oft has a
treaty been given after the fall of a prince: but little while the
murder-spear resteth, however excellent the bride be. _ Cf. Kl. , _Beit. _ ix.
190; B. , _Beit. _ xii. 369; R. , _Zachers Zeitschr. _ in. 404; Ha. , p. 69; G. ,
p. 62.
l. 2036. Cf. Kl, _Beit. _ ix. 191; R. , _Zachers Zeitschr. _ iii. 404.
l. 2042. For bēah B. reads bā, = _both_, i. e. Freaware and the Dane.
l. 2063. Thorkelin and Conybeare propose wīgende, = _fighting_, for
lifigende.
l. 2068. W. 's edition begins section xxx. (not marked in the MS. ) with this
line. Section xxxix. (xxxviii. in copies A and B, xxxix. in Thorkelin) is
not so designated in the MS. , though þā (at l. 2822) is written with
capitals and xl. begins at l. 2893.
l. 2095. Cf. l. 1542, and note.
l. 2115 _seq. _ B. restores thus:
Þǣr on innan gīong
niðða nāthwylc, nēode tō gefēng
hǣðnum horde; hond ætgenam
seleful since fāh; nē hē þæt syððan āgeaf,
þēah þe hē slǣpende besyrede hyrde
þēofes cræfte: þæt se þīoden onfand,
bȳ-folc beorna, þæt hē gebolgen wæs.
--_Beit. _ xii. 99; _Zachers Zeitschr. _ iv. 210.
l. 2129. B. proposes fǣrunga, = _suddenly_, for Gr. 's reading in the
text. --_Beit. _ xii. 98.
l. 2132. MS. has þine life, which Leo translates _by thy leave_ (= ON.
_leyfi_); B. , _by thy life_. --_Beit. _ xii. 369.
l. 2150. B. renders gēn, etc. , by "now I serve thee alone again as my
gracious king" (_Beit. _ xii. 99).
l. 2151. The forms hafu [hafo], hafast, hafað, are poetic archaisms. --Sw.
l. 2153. Kl. proposes ealdor, = _prince_, for eafor. W. proposes the compd.
eafor-hēafodsegn, = _helm_; cf. l. 1245.
l. 2157. The wk. form of the adj. is frequent in the vocative, especially
when postponed: "Beowulf lēofa," l. 1759. So, often, in poetry in nom. :
wudu selesta, etc.
l. 2158. ǣrest is possibly the verbal subs. from ārīsan, _to arise, =
arising, origin_. R. suggested ǣrist, _arising, origin_. Cf. Bede, _Eccles.
Hist. _, ed. Miller, where the word is spelt as above, but = (as usual)
_resurrection_. See Sweet, Reader, p. 211; E. -Plummer's _Chronicle_, p.
302, etc. The MS. has est. See Ha. , p. 73; S. , _Beit. _ x. 222; and cf. l.
2166.
l. 2188. Gr. , W. , H. supply [wēn]don, = _weened_, instead of Th. 's [oft
sæg]don.
l. 2188. The "slack" Beowulf, like the sluggish Brutus, ultimately reveals
his true character, and is presented with a historic sword of honor. It is
"laid on his breast" (l. 2195) as Hun laid Lāfing on Hengest's breast, l.
1145.
l. 2188. "The boy was at first slothful, and the Geats thought him an
unwarlike prince, and long despised him. Then, like many a lazy third son
in the folk tales, a change came, he suddenly showed wonderful daring and
was passionate for adventure. "--Br. , p. 22.
l. 2196. "Seven of thousands, manor and lordship" (Ha. ). Kl. , _Beit. _ ix.
191, thinks with Ettm. that þūsendo means a hide of land (see Schmid, _Ges.
der Angl_, 610), Bede's familia = 1/2 sq. meter; seofan being used (like
hund, l. 2995) only for the alliteration.
l. 2196. "A vast Honour of 7000 hides, a mansion, and a judgment-seat"
[throne]. --E.
l. 2210. MS. has the more correct wintra.
l. 2211. Cf. similar language about the dragon at l. 100. Beowulf's
"jubilee" is fitly solemnized by his third and last dragon-fight.
l. 2213.
