"The dragon lies round the
treasures
in a cave, as Fafnir, like a
Python, lay coiled over his hoard.
Python, lay coiled over his hoard.
Beowulf
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. B. proposes sē þe on hearge hǣðen hord beweotode; cf. Ha. , p. 75.
l. 2215.
"The dragon lies round the treasures in a cave, as Fafnir, like a
Python, lay coiled over his hoard. So constant was this habit among the
dragons that gold is called Worms' bed, Fafnir's couch, Worms' bed-fire.
Even in India, the cobras . . . are guardians of treasure. "--Br. , p. 50.
l. 2216. nēode. E. translates _deftly_; Ha. , _with ardor_. H. -So. reads
nēode, = _with desire, greedily_, instr. of nēod.
l. 2223. E. begins his "Part Third" at this point as he begins "Part
Second" at l. 1252, each dragon-fight forming part of a trilogy.
ll. 2224, 2225. B. proposes: nealles mid gewealdum wyrmes weard gæst sylfes
willum. --_Zachers Zeitschr. _ iv. 211; _Beit. _ xii. 100.
l. 2225. For þēow read þegn. --K. and Z.
l. 2227. For ofer-þearfe read ǣrnes þearfa. --Z.
ll. 2229-2231. B. proposes:
secg synbysig sōna onwlātode,
þēah þām gyste gryrebrōga stōd,
hwæðre earmsceapen innganges þearfa
. . . . . . . . . .
fēasceapen, þā hyne se fǣr begeat.
--_Beit. _ xii. 101. Cf. Ha. , p. 69.
l. 2232. W. suggests seah or seīr for geseah, and Gr. suggests searolīc.
l. 2233. Z. surmises eorð-hūse (for -scræfe).
l. 2241. B. proposes lǣn-gestrēona, = _transitory_, etc. ; Th. , R. propose
leng (= _longer_) gestrēona; S. accepts the text but translates "the long
accumulating treasure. "
l. 2246. B. proposed (1) hard-fyndne, = _hard to find_; (2) hord-wynne
dǣl,--_a deal of treasure-joy_ (cf. l. 2271). --_Zachers Zeitschr. _ iv. 211;
_Beit. _ xii. 102.
l. 2247. fecword = _banning words_ (? ) MS. has fec.
l. 2254. Others read feor-[mie], = _furbish_, for fetige: _I own not one
who may_, etc.
l. 2261. The Danes themselves were sometimes called the "Ring-Danes," =
clad in ringed (or a ring of) armor, or possessing rings. Cf. ll. 116,
1280.
l. 2263. Koeppel suggests nis for næs.
The editors are much indebted to E. Koeppel (in _Eng. Stud. _ xiii. 3) for
numerous corrections in text and glossary.
l. 2264. Note the early reference to hawking. Minstrelsy (hearpan wyn),
saga-telling, racing, swimming, harpooning of sea-animals, feasting, and
the bestowal of jewels, swords, and rings, are the other amusements most
frequent in _Bēowulf_.
l. 2264. Cf. _Maldon_, ll. 8, 9, for a reference to hawking.
l. 2276. Z. suggests swȳðe ondrǣdað; Ho. puts gesēcean for Gr. 's gewunian.
l. 2277. Z. and K. read: hord on hrūsan. "Three hundred winters," at l.
2279, is probably conventional for "a long time," like hund missēra, l.
1499; hund þūsenda, l. 2995; þrītig (of Beowulf's strength), l. 379; þrītig
(of the men slain by Grendel), l. 123; seofan þūsendo, l. 2196, etc.
l. 2285. B. objects to hord as repeated in ll. 2284, 2285; but cf. Ha. , p.
77. C. prefers sum to hord. onboren = _inminutus_; cf. B. , _Beit. _ xii.
102.
l. 2285. onberan is found also at line 991, = _carry off_, with on- = E.
_un--(un-bind, -loose, -tie_, etc. ), G. _ent-_. The negro still pronounces
_on-do_, etc.
l. 2299. Cf. H. -So. , p. 112, for a defense of the text as it stands. B.
proposes "nor was there any man in that desert who rejoiced in conflict,"
etc. So ten Br.
l. 2326. B. and ten Br,. propose hām, = _home_, for him. --_Beit. _ xii. 103.
l. 2335. E. translates ēalond utan by _the sea-board front, the
water-washed land on the (its) outside_. See B. , _Beit. _ xii. 1, 5.
l. 2346. Cf. l. 425, where Beowulf resolves to fight the dragon
single-handed. E. compares _Guy of Warwick_, ll. 49, 376.
l. 2355. Ten Br. proposes laðan cynne as apposition to mǣgum.
l.
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. B. proposes sē þe on hearge hǣðen hord beweotode; cf. Ha. , p. 75.
l. 2215.
"The dragon lies round the treasures in a cave, as Fafnir, like a
Python, lay coiled over his hoard. So constant was this habit among the
dragons that gold is called Worms' bed, Fafnir's couch, Worms' bed-fire.
Even in India, the cobras . . . are guardians of treasure. "--Br. , p. 50.
l. 2216. nēode. E. translates _deftly_; Ha. , _with ardor_. H. -So. reads
nēode, = _with desire, greedily_, instr. of nēod.
l. 2223. E. begins his "Part Third" at this point as he begins "Part
Second" at l. 1252, each dragon-fight forming part of a trilogy.
ll. 2224, 2225. B. proposes: nealles mid gewealdum wyrmes weard gæst sylfes
willum. --_Zachers Zeitschr. _ iv. 211; _Beit. _ xii. 100.
l. 2225. For þēow read þegn. --K. and Z.
l. 2227. For ofer-þearfe read ǣrnes þearfa. --Z.
ll. 2229-2231. B. proposes:
secg synbysig sōna onwlātode,
þēah þām gyste gryrebrōga stōd,
hwæðre earmsceapen innganges þearfa
. . . . . . . . . .
fēasceapen, þā hyne se fǣr begeat.
--_Beit. _ xii. 101. Cf. Ha. , p. 69.
l. 2232. W. suggests seah or seīr for geseah, and Gr. suggests searolīc.
l. 2233. Z. surmises eorð-hūse (for -scræfe).
l. 2241. B. proposes lǣn-gestrēona, = _transitory_, etc. ; Th. , R. propose
leng (= _longer_) gestrēona; S. accepts the text but translates "the long
accumulating treasure. "
l. 2246. B. proposed (1) hard-fyndne, = _hard to find_; (2) hord-wynne
dǣl,--_a deal of treasure-joy_ (cf. l. 2271). --_Zachers Zeitschr. _ iv. 211;
_Beit. _ xii. 102.
l. 2247. fecword = _banning words_ (? ) MS. has fec.
l. 2254. Others read feor-[mie], = _furbish_, for fetige: _I own not one
who may_, etc.
l. 2261. The Danes themselves were sometimes called the "Ring-Danes," =
clad in ringed (or a ring of) armor, or possessing rings. Cf. ll. 116,
1280.
l. 2263. Koeppel suggests nis for næs.
The editors are much indebted to E. Koeppel (in _Eng. Stud. _ xiii. 3) for
numerous corrections in text and glossary.
l. 2264. Note the early reference to hawking. Minstrelsy (hearpan wyn),
saga-telling, racing, swimming, harpooning of sea-animals, feasting, and
the bestowal of jewels, swords, and rings, are the other amusements most
frequent in _Bēowulf_.
l. 2264. Cf. _Maldon_, ll. 8, 9, for a reference to hawking.
l. 2276. Z. suggests swȳðe ondrǣdað; Ho. puts gesēcean for Gr. 's gewunian.
l. 2277. Z. and K. read: hord on hrūsan. "Three hundred winters," at l.
2279, is probably conventional for "a long time," like hund missēra, l.
1499; hund þūsenda, l. 2995; þrītig (of Beowulf's strength), l. 379; þrītig
(of the men slain by Grendel), l. 123; seofan þūsendo, l. 2196, etc.
l. 2285. B. objects to hord as repeated in ll. 2284, 2285; but cf. Ha. , p.
77. C. prefers sum to hord. onboren = _inminutus_; cf. B. , _Beit. _ xii.
102.
l. 2285. onberan is found also at line 991, = _carry off_, with on- = E.
_un--(un-bind, -loose, -tie_, etc. ), G. _ent-_. The negro still pronounces
_on-do_, etc.
l. 2299. Cf. H. -So. , p. 112, for a defense of the text as it stands. B.
proposes "nor was there any man in that desert who rejoiced in conflict,"
etc. So ten Br.
l. 2326. B. and ten Br,. propose hām, = _home_, for him. --_Beit. _ xii. 103.
l. 2335. E. translates ēalond utan by _the sea-board front, the
water-washed land on the (its) outside_. See B. , _Beit. _ xii. 1, 5.
l. 2346. Cf. l. 425, where Beowulf resolves to fight the dragon
single-handed. E. compares _Guy of Warwick_, ll. 49, 376.
l. 2355. Ten Br. proposes laðan cynne as apposition to mǣgum.
l.
