līhan
was formerly given as the inf.
was formerly given as the inf.
Beowulf
"This is a fine piece of folk-lore in the oldest extant
form. . . . The authorities for the story are the rustics (ll. 1346, 1356). "
--E.
l. 1347. Cf. sele-rǣdende at l. 51.
l. 1351. "The ge [of gewitan] may be merely a scribal error,--a repetition
(dittography) of the preceding ge of gewislīcost. "--Sw.
l. 1352. ides, like fīras, _men_, etc. , is a poetic word supposed by Grimm
to have been applied, like Gr. νύμφη, to superhuman or semi-divine women.
ll. 1360-1495 _seq. _ E. compares this Dantesque tarn and scenery with the
poetical accounts of _AEneid_, vii. 563; _Lucretius_, vi. 739, etc.
l. 1360. firgenstrēam occurs also in the _Phoenix_ (Bright, p. 168) l. 100;
_Andreas_, ll. 779, 3144 (K. ); _Gnomic Verses_, l. 47, etc.
l. 1363. The genitive is often thus used to denote measure = by or in
miles; cf. l. 3043; and contrast with partitive gen. at l. 207.
l. 1364. The MS. reads hrinde = hrīnende (? ), which Gr. adopts; K. and Th.
read hrinde-bearwas; hringde, _encircling_ (Sarrazin, _Beit. _ xi. 163);
hrīmge = _frosty_ (Sw. ); _with frost-whiting covered_ (Ha. ). See Morris,
_Blickling Hom. _, Preface, vi. , vii.
l. 1364. Cf. Ruin, hrīmige edoras behrofene, _rimy, roofless halls_.
l. 1366. nīðwundor may = nið- (as in nið-sele, _q. v. _) wundor, _wonder of
the deep_.
l. 1368. The personal pronoun is sometimes omitted in subordinate and even
independent clauses; cf. wite here; and Hunt's _Exod. _, l. 319.
l. 1370. hornum. Such "datives of manner or respect" are not infrequent
with adj.
l. 1371. "seleð is not dependent on ǣr, for in that case it would be in the
subjunctive, but ǣr is simply an adverb, correlative with the conjunction
ǣr in the next line: 'he will (sooner) give up his life, before he will,'
etc. "--Sw.
l. 1372. Cf. ll. 318 and 543 for willan with similar omitted inf.
l. 1373. heafola is found only in poetry. --Sw. It occurs thirteen or
fourteen times in this poem. Cf. the poetic gamol, swāt (l. 2694), etc. ,
for eald, blōd.
l. 1391. uton: hortatory subj. of wītan, _go_, = _let us go;_ cf. French
_allons_, Lat. _eamus_, Ital. _andiamo_, etc. + inf. Cf. ll. 2649, 3102.
l. 1400. H. is dat. of person indirectly affected, = advantage.
l. 1402. geatolīc probably = _in his equipments_, as B. suggests (_Beit. _
xii. 83), comparing searolīc.
ll. 1402, 1413 reproduce the wk. form of the pret. of gān (Goth,
_gaggida_). Cf. _Andreas_, l. 1096, etc.
l. 1405. S. (_Beit. _ ix. 140) supplies [þǣr hēo] gegnum fōr; B. (_ibid. _
xii. 14) suggests hwǣr hēo.
l. 1411. B. , Gr. , and E. take ān-paðas = paths wide enough for only one,
like Norwegian _einstig_; cf. stīge nearwe, just above. _Trail_ is the
meaning. Cf. enge ānpaðas, uncūð gelād, _Exod. _ (Hunt), l. 58.
l. 1421. Cf. oncȳð, l. 831. The whole passage (ll. 1411-1442) is replete
with suggestions of walrus-hunting, seal-fishing, harpooning of sea-animals
(l. 1438), etc.
l. 1425. E. quotes from the 8th cent. Corpus Gloss. , "_Falanx_ foeða. "
l. 1428. For other mention of nicors, cf. ll. 422, 575, 846. E. remarks,
"it survives in the phrase 'Old Nick' . . . a word of high authority . . .
Icel. _nykr_, water-goblin, Dan. _nök, nisse_, Swed. _näcken_, G. _nix,
nixe_, etc. " See Skeat, _Nick. _
l. 1440. Sw. reads gehnǣged, _prostrated_, and regards nīða as gen. pl.
"used instrumentally," = _by force. _
l. 1441. -bora = _bearer, stirrer;_ occurs in other compds. , as mund-,
rǣd-, wǣg-bora.
l. 1447. him = _for him_, a remoter dative of reference. --Sw.
l. 1455. Gr. reads brondne, = _flaming_.
l. 1457. lēon is the inf. of lāh; cf. onlāh (< onlēon) at l. 1468.
līhan
was formerly given as the inf. ; cf. lǣne = lǣhne.
l. 1458. Cf. the similar dat. of possession as used in Latin.
l. 1458. H. -So. compares the Icelandic saga account of Grettir's battle
with the giant in the cave. hæft-mēce may be = Icel. _heptisax_ (_Anglia_,
iii. 83), "hip-knife. "
l. 1459. "The sense seems to be 'pre-eminent among the old treasures. ' . . .
But possibly foran is here a prep. with the gen. : 'one before the old
treasures. '". --Sw. For other examples of foran, cf. ll. 985, 2365.
l. 1460. āter-tēarum = _poison-drops_ (C. , _Beit. _ viii. 571; S. , _ibid. _
xi. 359).
l. 1467. þæt, comp. relative, = _that which_; "we testify _that_ we do
know. "
l. 1480. forð-gewitenum is in appos. to me, = _mihi defuncto_. --M.
Callaway, _Am. Journ. of Philol. _, October, 1889.
l. 1482. nime. Conditional clauses of doubt or future contingency take gif
or būton with subj. ; cf. ll. 452, 594; of fact or certainty, the ind. ; cf.
ll. 442, 447, 527, 662, etc. For būton, cf. ll. 967, 1561.
l. 1487. "findan sometimes has a preterit funde in W. S. after the manner
of the weak preterits. "--Cook's Sievers' Cram. , p, 210.
l. 1490. Kl. reads wæl-sweord, = _battle-sword_.
l. 1507. "This cave under the sea seems to be another of those natural
phenomena of which the writer had personal knowledge (ll. 2135, 2277), and
which was introduced by him into the mythical tale to give it a local
color. There are many places of this kind. Their entrance is under the
lowest level of the tide. "--Br. , p. 45.
l. 1514. B. (_Beit. _ xii. 362) explains niðsele, hrōfsele as _roof-covered
hall in the deep_; cf. Grettir Saga (_Anglia_, iii. 83).
l. 1538. Sw. , R. , and ten Br. suggest feaxe for eaxle, = _seized by the
hair_.
l. 1543. and-lēan (R. ); cf. l. 2095. The MS. has hand-lēan.
l. 1546. Sw. and S. read seax. --_Beit. _ ix. 140.
l. 1557. H. -So. omits comma and places semicolon after ȳðelīce; Sw. and S.
place comma after gescēd.
l. 1584. ōðer swylc = _another fifteen_ (Sw. ); = _fully as many_ (Ha. ).
ll. 1592-1613 _seq. _ Cf. _Anglia_, iii; 84 (Grettir Saga).
l. 1595. blondenfeax = _grizzly-haired_ (Bright, Reader, p. 258); cf.
_Brunanb. _, l. 45 (Bright).
l. 1599. gewearð, impers. vb. , = _agree, decide = many agreed upon this,
that_, etc. (Ha. , p. 55; cf. ll. 2025-2027, 1997; B. , _Beit. _ xii. 97).
l. 1605. C. supposes wiston = wīscton = _wished_. --_Beit. _ viii. 571.
l. 1607. brōden mǣl is now regarded as a comp. noun, = _inlaid or
damascened sword_. --W. , Ho.
l. 1611. wæl-rāpas = _water-ropes = bands of frost_ (l. 1610) (? ). Possibly
the Prov. Eng. weele, _whirlpool_. Cf. wǣl, _gurges_, Wright, Voc. , _Gnom.
Verses_, l. 39. --E.
l. 1611. wǣgrāpas (Sw. ) = _wave-bands_ (Ha. ).
l. 1622. B. suggests eatna = eotena, eardas, _haunts of the giants_
(Northumbr. ea for eo).
l. 1635. cyning-holde (B. , _Beit. _ xii. 369); cf. l. 290.
l. 1650. H. , Gr. , and Ettmüller understand idese to refer to the queen.
form. . . . The authorities for the story are the rustics (ll. 1346, 1356). "
--E.
l. 1347. Cf. sele-rǣdende at l. 51.
l. 1351. "The ge [of gewitan] may be merely a scribal error,--a repetition
(dittography) of the preceding ge of gewislīcost. "--Sw.
l. 1352. ides, like fīras, _men_, etc. , is a poetic word supposed by Grimm
to have been applied, like Gr. νύμφη, to superhuman or semi-divine women.
ll. 1360-1495 _seq. _ E. compares this Dantesque tarn and scenery with the
poetical accounts of _AEneid_, vii. 563; _Lucretius_, vi. 739, etc.
l. 1360. firgenstrēam occurs also in the _Phoenix_ (Bright, p. 168) l. 100;
_Andreas_, ll. 779, 3144 (K. ); _Gnomic Verses_, l. 47, etc.
l. 1363. The genitive is often thus used to denote measure = by or in
miles; cf. l. 3043; and contrast with partitive gen. at l. 207.
l. 1364. The MS. reads hrinde = hrīnende (? ), which Gr. adopts; K. and Th.
read hrinde-bearwas; hringde, _encircling_ (Sarrazin, _Beit. _ xi. 163);
hrīmge = _frosty_ (Sw. ); _with frost-whiting covered_ (Ha. ). See Morris,
_Blickling Hom. _, Preface, vi. , vii.
l. 1364. Cf. Ruin, hrīmige edoras behrofene, _rimy, roofless halls_.
l. 1366. nīðwundor may = nið- (as in nið-sele, _q. v. _) wundor, _wonder of
the deep_.
l. 1368. The personal pronoun is sometimes omitted in subordinate and even
independent clauses; cf. wite here; and Hunt's _Exod. _, l. 319.
l. 1370. hornum. Such "datives of manner or respect" are not infrequent
with adj.
l. 1371. "seleð is not dependent on ǣr, for in that case it would be in the
subjunctive, but ǣr is simply an adverb, correlative with the conjunction
ǣr in the next line: 'he will (sooner) give up his life, before he will,'
etc. "--Sw.
l. 1372. Cf. ll. 318 and 543 for willan with similar omitted inf.
l. 1373. heafola is found only in poetry. --Sw. It occurs thirteen or
fourteen times in this poem. Cf. the poetic gamol, swāt (l. 2694), etc. ,
for eald, blōd.
l. 1391. uton: hortatory subj. of wītan, _go_, = _let us go;_ cf. French
_allons_, Lat. _eamus_, Ital. _andiamo_, etc. + inf. Cf. ll. 2649, 3102.
l. 1400. H. is dat. of person indirectly affected, = advantage.
l. 1402. geatolīc probably = _in his equipments_, as B. suggests (_Beit. _
xii. 83), comparing searolīc.
ll. 1402, 1413 reproduce the wk. form of the pret. of gān (Goth,
_gaggida_). Cf. _Andreas_, l. 1096, etc.
l. 1405. S. (_Beit. _ ix. 140) supplies [þǣr hēo] gegnum fōr; B. (_ibid. _
xii. 14) suggests hwǣr hēo.
l. 1411. B. , Gr. , and E. take ān-paðas = paths wide enough for only one,
like Norwegian _einstig_; cf. stīge nearwe, just above. _Trail_ is the
meaning. Cf. enge ānpaðas, uncūð gelād, _Exod. _ (Hunt), l. 58.
l. 1421. Cf. oncȳð, l. 831. The whole passage (ll. 1411-1442) is replete
with suggestions of walrus-hunting, seal-fishing, harpooning of sea-animals
(l. 1438), etc.
l. 1425. E. quotes from the 8th cent. Corpus Gloss. , "_Falanx_ foeða. "
l. 1428. For other mention of nicors, cf. ll. 422, 575, 846. E. remarks,
"it survives in the phrase 'Old Nick' . . . a word of high authority . . .
Icel. _nykr_, water-goblin, Dan. _nök, nisse_, Swed. _näcken_, G. _nix,
nixe_, etc. " See Skeat, _Nick. _
l. 1440. Sw. reads gehnǣged, _prostrated_, and regards nīða as gen. pl.
"used instrumentally," = _by force. _
l. 1441. -bora = _bearer, stirrer;_ occurs in other compds. , as mund-,
rǣd-, wǣg-bora.
l. 1447. him = _for him_, a remoter dative of reference. --Sw.
l. 1455. Gr. reads brondne, = _flaming_.
l. 1457. lēon is the inf. of lāh; cf. onlāh (< onlēon) at l. 1468.
līhan
was formerly given as the inf. ; cf. lǣne = lǣhne.
l. 1458. Cf. the similar dat. of possession as used in Latin.
l. 1458. H. -So. compares the Icelandic saga account of Grettir's battle
with the giant in the cave. hæft-mēce may be = Icel. _heptisax_ (_Anglia_,
iii. 83), "hip-knife. "
l. 1459. "The sense seems to be 'pre-eminent among the old treasures. ' . . .
But possibly foran is here a prep. with the gen. : 'one before the old
treasures. '". --Sw. For other examples of foran, cf. ll. 985, 2365.
l. 1460. āter-tēarum = _poison-drops_ (C. , _Beit. _ viii. 571; S. , _ibid. _
xi. 359).
l. 1467. þæt, comp. relative, = _that which_; "we testify _that_ we do
know. "
l. 1480. forð-gewitenum is in appos. to me, = _mihi defuncto_. --M.
Callaway, _Am. Journ. of Philol. _, October, 1889.
l. 1482. nime. Conditional clauses of doubt or future contingency take gif
or būton with subj. ; cf. ll. 452, 594; of fact or certainty, the ind. ; cf.
ll. 442, 447, 527, 662, etc. For būton, cf. ll. 967, 1561.
l. 1487. "findan sometimes has a preterit funde in W. S. after the manner
of the weak preterits. "--Cook's Sievers' Cram. , p, 210.
l. 1490. Kl. reads wæl-sweord, = _battle-sword_.
l. 1507. "This cave under the sea seems to be another of those natural
phenomena of which the writer had personal knowledge (ll. 2135, 2277), and
which was introduced by him into the mythical tale to give it a local
color. There are many places of this kind. Their entrance is under the
lowest level of the tide. "--Br. , p. 45.
l. 1514. B. (_Beit. _ xii. 362) explains niðsele, hrōfsele as _roof-covered
hall in the deep_; cf. Grettir Saga (_Anglia_, iii. 83).
l. 1538. Sw. , R. , and ten Br. suggest feaxe for eaxle, = _seized by the
hair_.
l. 1543. and-lēan (R. ); cf. l. 2095. The MS. has hand-lēan.
l. 1546. Sw. and S. read seax. --_Beit. _ ix. 140.
l. 1557. H. -So. omits comma and places semicolon after ȳðelīce; Sw. and S.
place comma after gescēd.
l. 1584. ōðer swylc = _another fifteen_ (Sw. ); = _fully as many_ (Ha. ).
ll. 1592-1613 _seq. _ Cf. _Anglia_, iii; 84 (Grettir Saga).
l. 1595. blondenfeax = _grizzly-haired_ (Bright, Reader, p. 258); cf.
_Brunanb. _, l. 45 (Bright).
l. 1599. gewearð, impers. vb. , = _agree, decide = many agreed upon this,
that_, etc. (Ha. , p. 55; cf. ll. 2025-2027, 1997; B. , _Beit. _ xii. 97).
l. 1605. C. supposes wiston = wīscton = _wished_. --_Beit. _ viii. 571.
l. 1607. brōden mǣl is now regarded as a comp. noun, = _inlaid or
damascened sword_. --W. , Ho.
l. 1611. wæl-rāpas = _water-ropes = bands of frost_ (l. 1610) (? ). Possibly
the Prov. Eng. weele, _whirlpool_. Cf. wǣl, _gurges_, Wright, Voc. , _Gnom.
Verses_, l. 39. --E.
l. 1611. wǣgrāpas (Sw. ) = _wave-bands_ (Ha. ).
l. 1622. B. suggests eatna = eotena, eardas, _haunts of the giants_
(Northumbr. ea for eo).
l. 1635. cyning-holde (B. , _Beit. _ xii. 369); cf. l. 290.
l. 1650. H. , Gr. , and Ettmüller understand idese to refer to the queen.
