[1] See Arnold, p. 115.
[2] See conclusion of Tess of the D'Urbervilles.
[3] See Appendix II.
[4] Not the hero of the poem.
[5] Cp. with this the 'Passing of Arthur,' as related by Tennyson. The
meaning is clear. Cp. also Appendix.
[6] Not the hero of this poem.
[7] The gables were decorated with horns of stags and other beasts
of the chase.
[8] See Appendix V., and chapters XXVIII, and XXIX.
[9] Wyatt's translation of 'Ne his myne wisse.'
[10] i.e. Beowulf.
[11] Geats. The tribe to which Beowulf belonged. They inhabited
southern Sweden between the Danes on the south and the Swedes on the
north. See Appendix XI.
[12] Literally, 'Then was the sea traversed at the end of the ocean.'
[13] Frequent references are made to the device of the boar on shield
and helmet; cp. p. 77, in description of Hnaef's funeral pyre.
[14] The name of a reigning Danish dynasty.
[15] For Scyld cp. Appendix II.
[16] Hygelac, King of the Geats at the time, and uncle of Beowulf.
[17] Weland--'the famous smith of Germanic legend,' says Wyatt--who
also refers us to the Franks Casket in the British Museum.
[18] Weird 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.'
[19] i.e. Wealtheow, Hrothgar's Queen, who was of this tribe.
[20] Healfdene was the father of Hrothgar, King of the Danes.
[21] i.e. Beowulf.
[22] Thus we see how sagas or legends came to be woven together into
a song. See Appendix X.
[23] Heremod was a King of the Danes, and is introduced, says Wyatt,
as a stock example of a bad King.
[24] Wyatt's translation.
[25] Byrny was a coat of mail. Swords were of greater value as they
were ancient heirlooms, and had done good service.
[26] See Appendix VI.
[27] i.e. Hildeburh, wife of Finn.
[28] i.e. Finn.
[29] The boar then, as ever since, occupied a prominent place in
heraldry.
[30] See a similar passage in my version of Sir Gawain and the Green
Knight, Canto II. 1 and 2.
[31] Hrothulf, nephew of Hrothgar.
[32] See Appendix III.
[33] See Appendix IV.
[34] Wyatt's translation.
[35] That is, 'the harp.'
[36] Rune--literally, 'a secret.'
[37] Cp. the phrase 'Welsh marches,' i.e. the boundaries or limits
of Wales.
[38] Cp. description of hunting in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,
Canto III. 2.
[39] Scyldings are the Danes.
[40] i.e. Unferth.
[41] Cp. Chapter VIII.
[42] i.e. Hrothgar.
[43] i.e. the sun.
[44] Hrothgar.
[45] Cp. pp. 66-68.
[46] 'Honour-full' is Wyatt's translation.
[47] Hrethric, one of Hrothgar's sons.
[48] Literally, 'the gannet's bath.' The sea is also 'Swan's path,'
'Sail-path,' &c.
[49] A difficult phrase. Refers perhaps to old feuds between Danes
and Geats.
[50] Cp. Chapter III.
[51] Thrytho 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.
[52] i.e. to Offa.
[53] i.e. Hygelac; see Appendices VII. and IX.
[54] i.e. Hygd, Queen of the Geats, Hygelac's wife.
[55] i.e. Wealtheow, Hrothgar's Queen.
[56] i.e. Ingeld. See below.
[57] Another episode, viz. that of Freawaru and Ingeld. Note also
the artificial break of the narrative into chapters. See Appendix V.
Hrothgar's hopes by the marriage of his daughter Freawaru to Ingeld
of the Heathobards was doomed to disappointment, cp. 'Widsith,' 45-9.
[58] Numbers XXIX. and XXX. are lacking in the MS. The divisions here
are as in Wyatt's edition.
[59] Withergyld--name of a Heathobard warrior.
[60] Probably referring to the chanting of some ancient legend by
the scop, or gleeman.
[61] Wyatt's translation.
[62] Hygelac was killed in his historical invasion of the Netherlands,
which is five times referred to in the poem. See Appendix VII.
[63] See Appendix IX.
[64] The MS. here is very imperfect. I have used the emended text of
Bugge, which makes good sense. See Appendix XII.
[65] Here again the text is imperfect.
[66] Possibly a later insertion, 'the ten commandments' (Wyatt).
[67] Beowulf saved his life by swimming across the sea, in Hygelac's
famous raid. See Appendix VII.
[68] See Appendix IX.
[69] See Appendix IX.
[70] See p. 138.
[71] See Appendix VIII.
[72] See Appendices VII. and IX.
[73] Waegmundings--the family to which both Beowulf and Wiglaf
belonged.
[74] See Appendix IX.
[75] i.e. Beowulf.
[76] Wyatt and Morris's translations.
[77] Wyatt and Morris translate 'sun jewels.'
[78] Wyatt's translation.
[79] i.e. Wiglaf.
[80] i.e. it had been well hammered into shape.
[81] Yet another reference to Hygelac's famous raid. See Appendix VII.
[82] Merovingian King of the Franks.
[83] See Appendix IX.
[84] Hrethel, King of Geats, father of Hygelac and grandfather
of Beowulf.
[85] Literally, 'the sword-leavings.'
[86] See Appendix IX.
[87] Text 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.
[88] Probably the treasures that remained in the cavern. See previous
chapter.