FOOTNOTES:
[33] Verba Dei legantur in sacerdotali conuiuio. ibi decet lectorem audiri, non citharistam; sermones patrum, non carmina gentilium. quid Hinieldus cum Christo? angusta est domus; utrosque tenere non poterit. non uult rex coelestis cum paganis et perditis nominetenus regibus communionem habere, quia rex ille aeternus regnat in coelo, ille paganus perditus plangit in inferno. uoces legentium audiri in domibus tuis, non ridentium turuam in plateis. Mon. Germ., Epist. Carol. II 124; cf. O. Jänicke, ZfdA. XV 314.
[34] The names Grendel, Cain, Abel, Alexandreas and Casere are not included.
[35] For the figures and the method of calculation see Note I.
[36] But open to very serious objections, as has been shown by Prof. W. W. Lawrence in the Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, XXIV 251 ff.
[37] Compound names containing wīd- or -sīþ (-sinþ-) are used in other Teutonic languages; but the latter apparently does not occur in England, while the former is extremely rare.
[38] In contrast with the body of the poem (vv. 10-134) it is non-strophic, after the general fashion of Anglo-Saxon poetry. Originally when the poem was recited it may have been introduced with a short explanation in prose, such as we find e.g. in Rígsmál or Atlakviða. The epilogue (vv. 135-143), which is likewise non-strophic, may belong to the same stratum.
[39] Especially the regular use of unsyncopated forms such as 3 sg. onwindeð, past part. onsended.
[40] The statistics for these poems are as follows: Juliana 27:3, Christ (II) 28:3, Elene 66:9, Guthlac (A) 42:6, Dream of the Cross 10:5, Exodus 10:14, Beowulf 13:65; see Brandl, S.-B. d. Akad. der Wiss. zu Berlin, 1905, p. 718 f.
[41] Cf. Brandl, l.c. (p. 721 ff.).
[42] Hist. Eccl., IV 24: canebat autem de creatione mundi et origine humani generis et tota genesis historia, de egressu Israel ex Aegypto et ingressu in terram repromissionis, de aliis plurimis sacrae scripturae historiis, de incarnatione dominica, passione, resurrectione et ascensione in caelum, de Spiritus Sancti aduentu et apostolorum doctrina. item de terrore futuri iudicii et horrore poenae gehennalis ac dulcedine regni caelestis multa carmina faciebat; sed et perplura de beneficiis et iudiciis diuinis, etc. Prof. Brandl (Grundr., II 1028) holds that the reference is to lyric poems throughout. But is this interpretation really necessary?
[43] On this date see Note II.
[44] For a brief discussion of this question see Note III.
[45] A few examples are given in the following chapter.
[46] vv. 27, 72, 101, 570, 670, 706, 711, 756 (?), 786, 788, 790, 801, 806, 811, 852, 940, 967, 975, 986 (?), 1201, 1255, 1379, 1626, 1658, 1680, 1682, 2088, 2182, 2216 (?), 2276 (?), 2469, 2650, 3083 (?).
[47] vv. 168 f. (?), 227 f., 440 f., 478 f., 588 f., 625 f., 945 f., 955 f., 1314 f., 1397 f., 1778 f., 1841 f., 1997 f., 2819 f., 2874 f., 3108 f.
[48] vv. 13-17, 90-8, 106-14, 316-8, 381-4, 665-7 (?), 685-7, 696-702, 928-31, 977-9, 1056-62, 1261-5, 1271-6, 1553-6, 1609-11, 1661-4, 1688-93, 1716-8, 2291-3, 2329-31, 2341-3 (?), 2741-3, 2794-7, 2855-9, 3054-7, 3069-73.
[49] vv. 588 f., 977-9. 2741-3. 2819 f.
[50] It is perhaps worth noting that in v. 2186 the expression dryhten wereda is used of Hygelac. Elsewhere in Anglo-Saxon poetry this phrase is applied only to the Deity.
[51] Clark Hall, Beowulf, p. xxviii.
[52] If there is Celtic influence at all it is more probably Welsh.
[54] The amount of freedom differs of course greatly from case to case (cf. Note IV, p. 101 ff.); but it is only in communities which have elaborated the art of minstrelsy to a very high degree that the form of words can become absolutely stereotyped.
[55] Beowulf (1889), pp. 110-160.
[56] Quellen und Forschungen, LXII (1888); summarised p. 242 ff.
[57] The Origin of the English Nation, p. 93, note.
[58] The references quoted on p. 41 ff. preclude the possibility that these stories were first acquired from the Danes, when the latter again became known in this country about the close of the eighth century.
[59] A different view is taken by Schücking, Beowulfs Rückkehr (Studien zur engl. Philologie, XXI), p. 65 ff.
[60] We may refer especially to the account of Attila's funeral given by Jordanes, cap. 49 (from Priscus).
[61] Apart from certain expressions the general tone of these speeches, especially the last words of all (v. 2813 ff.), is scarcely Christian; but they contain nothing which is obviously opposed to Christian doctrine.
[62] E.g. in the imprecation, v. 3069 ff. The imprecatory formulae of charters can scarcely be regarded as analogous.
[63] Cf. Brandl, op. cit., p. 1003.
[64] The same idea is frequently expressed in the Homeric poems, e.g. Il. VII 79 f., XXII 342 f., XXIII 75 f., XXIV 37 f., Od. XI 71 ff., etc.
[65] This date does not depend in any way on the question where the poem originated. Cremation may possibly have lingered in Northumbria longer than elsewhere; but that kingdom seems to have become entirely Christian between 626 and 642.
[66] E.g. possibly some of the elegiac passages (e.g. vv. 2236-2270, 2450-2464), which show a certain resemblance to such poems as the Ruin and the Wanderer.
[67] The name Hegelinge in Kûdrûn is probably a corruption of Hetelinge (i.e. Heodeningas).
[68] Presumably including vv. 88-108; but I am not prepared to suggest an elaborate analysis of the poem.
[69] These lists are perhaps derived in part from mnemonic catalogues—'inventories' of the stories known to the minstrels who composed them. Metrical catalogues of this kind are said to be in use among Servian minstrels at the present day; cf. Krauss, Slavische Volkforschungen, p. 186 ff., where a specimen is given.
[70] Waldhere, Deor and Widsith all contain 'Christian' passages, like Beowulf. The interpolations in Widsith (e.g. vv. 15 f., 82 ff.) appear to have been made by some one who possessed a certain amount of erudition; but there is no need to attribute them to a different period.
[71] Cf. Olrik, Kilderne til Sakses Oldhistorie, p. 132.
[72] The name appears to have been quite common in the North during the Viking Age; yet the apparent absence of umlaut suggests derivation from a (Frisian?) form corresponding to the Ang.-Sax. Aetla (cf. Aecci, Aeddi beside Acca, Adda).
[74] Such names may have been current before, though their frequent occurrence is no proof of this and may be due to the popularity of the heroic poems. It is perhaps worth noting that alliteration is shown by certain names which are generally believed to have been introduced into the story in Norway or Iceland, e.g. Oddrún, Erpr, Eitill with Atli, Giaflaug, Gullrönd (Guðrún?) with Giuki and Gunnarr. If we may judge from the genealogies in Landnámabók and elsewhere the principle of alliteration seems to have been generally given up in family names before the ninth century.
[75] The Cult of Othin, p. 51 f.
[76] Cf. Bugge, Beiträge, XII 45 ff.
[77] Cf. Sievers, Ges. d. Wiss. zu Leipzig, Ber. 1895, p. 180 ff.
[78] Kilderne til Sakses Oldhistorie, pp. 18 ff., 132.
[79] The Origin of the English Nation, p. 118 ff.
[80] Item barbara et antiquissima carmina, quibus ueterum regum actus et bella canebantur, scripsit memoriaeque mandauit (Vita Caroli Magni, cap. 29).
[81] Cassiodorus (Var. VIII 9) states that the Gothic king Gensimundus, who according to Jordanes (cap. 48) reigned shortly after Eormenric's death, was widely celebrated in poetry (toto orbe cantabilis); but his name is preserved only in Gothic records.