Beowulf (Harrison and Sharp)/List of Names

ABBREVIATIONS

 * m.: masculine.
 * f.: feminine.
 * n.: neuter.
 * nom., gen.: nominative, genitive, etc.
 * w.: weak.
 * w. v.: weak verb.
 * st.: strong.
 * st. v.: strong verb.
 * I., II., III.: first, second, third person.
 * comp.: compound.
 * imper.: imperative.
 * w.: with.
 * instr.: instrumental.
 * G. and Goth.: Gothic.
 * O.N.: Old Norse.
 * O.S.: Old Saxon.
 * O.H.G.: Old High German.
 * M.H.G.: Middle High German.

LIST OF NAMES
Ābel, Cain's brother, 108.

Ælf-here (gen. Ælf-heres, 2605), a kinsman of Wīglāf's, 2605.

Æsc-here, confidential adviser of King Hrōðgār (1326), older brother of Yrmenlāf (1325), killed by Grendel's mother, 1295, 1324, 2123.

Bān-stān, father of Breca, 524.

Bēo-wulf, son of Scyld, king of the Danes, 18, 19. After the death of his father, he succeeds to the throne of the Scyldings, 53. His son is Healfdene, 57.

Bēo-wulf (Bīowulf, 1988, 2390; gen. Bēowulfes, 857, etc., Bīowulfes, 2195, 2808, etc.; dat. Bēowulfe, 610, etc., Bīowulfe, 2325, 2843), of the race of the Gēatas. His father is the Wǣgmunding Ecgþēow (263, etc.); his mother a daughter of Hrēðel, king of the Gēatas (374), at whose court he is brought up after his seventh year with Hrēðel's sons, Herebeald, Hæðcyn, and Hygelāc, 2429 ff. In his youth lazy and unapt (2184 f., 2188 f.); as man he attains in the gripe of his hand the strength of thirty men, 379. Hence his victories in his combats with bare hands (711 ff., 2502 ff.), while fate denies him the victory in the battle with swords, 2683 f. His swimming-match with Breca in his youth, 506 ff. Goes with fourteen Gēatas to the assistance of the Danish king, Hrōðgār, against Grendel, 198 ff. His combat with Grendel, and his victory, 711 ff., 819 ff. He is, in consequence, presented with rich gifts by Hrōðgār, 1021 ff. His combat with Grendel's mother, 1442 ff. Having again received gifts, he leaves Hrōðgār (1818-1888), and returns to Hygelāc, 1964 ff.--After Hygelāc's last battle and death, he flees alone across the sea, 2360 f. In this battle he crushes Dæghrefn, one of the Hūgas, to death, 2502 f. He rejects at the same time Hygelāc's kingdom and the hand of his widow (2370 ff.), but carries on the government as guardian of the young Heardrēd, son of Hygelāc, 2378 ff. After Heardrēd's death, the kingdom falls to Bēowulf, 2208, 2390.--Afterwards, on an expedition to avenge the murdered Heardrēd, he kills the Scylfing, Ēadgils (2397), and probably conquers his country. --His fight with the drake, 2539 ff. His death, 2818. His burial, 3135 ff.

Breca (acc. Brecan, 506, 531), son of Bēanstān, 524. Chief of the Brondings, 521. His swimming-match with Bēowulf, 506 ff.

Brondingas (gen. Brondinga, 521), Breca, their chief, 521.

Brōsinga mene, corrupted from, or according to Müllenhoff, written by mistake for, Breosinga mene (O.N., Brisinga men, cf. Haupts Zeitschr. XII. 304), collar, which the Brisingas once possessed.

Cain (gen. Caines, 107): descended from him are Grendel and his kin, 107, 1262 ff.

Dæg-hrefn (dat. Dæghrefne, 2502), a warrior of the Hūgas, who, according to 2504-5, compared with 1203, and with 1208, seems to have been the slayer of King Hygelāc, in his battle against the allied Franks, Frisians, and Hūgas. Is crushed to death by Bēowulf in a hand-to-hand combat, 2502 ff.

Dene (gen. Dena, 242, etc., Denia, 2126, Deniga, 271, etc.; dat. Denum, 768, etc.), as subjects of Scyld and his descendants, they are also called Scyldings; and after the first king of the East Danes, Ing (Runenlied, 22), Ing-wine, 1045, 1320. They are also once called Hrēðmen, 445. On account of their renowned warlike character, they bore the names Gār-Dene, 1, 1857, Hring-Dene (Armor-Danes), 116, 1280, Beorht-Dene, 427, 610. The great extent of this people is indicated by their names from the four quarters of the heavens: Ēast-Dene, 392, 617, etc., West-Dene, 383, 1579, Sūð-Dene, 463, Norð-Dene, 784.--Their dwelling-place "in Scedelandum," 19, "on Scedenigge," 1687, "be sǣm twēonum," 1686.

Ecg-lāf (gen. Ecglāfes, 499), Hunferð's father, 499.

Ecg-þēow (nom. Ecgþēow, 263, Ecgþēo, 373; gen. Ecgþēowes, 529, etc., Ecgþīowes, 2000), a far-famed hero of the Gēatas, of the house of the Wǣgmundings. Bēowulf is the son of Ecgþēow, by the only daughter of Hrēðel, king of the Gēatas, 262, etc. Among the Wylfings, he has slain Heaðolāf (460), and in consequence he goes over the sea to the Danes (463), whose king, Hrōðgār, by means of gold, finishes the strife for him, 470.

Ecg-wela (gen. Ecg-welan, 1711). The Scyldings are called his descendants, 1711. Grein considers him the founder of the older dynasty of Danish kings, which closes with Heremōd. See Heremōd.

Elan, daughter of Healfdene, king of the Danes, (?) 62. According to the restored text, she is the wife of Ongenþēow, the Scylfing, 62, 63.

Earna-næs, the Eagle Cape in the land of the Gēatas, where occurred Bēowulf's fight with the drake, 3032.

Ēadgils (dat. Ēadgilse, 2393), son of Ōhthere, and grandson of Ongenþēow, the Scylfing, 2393. His older brother is

Ēanmund (gen. Ēanmundes, 2612). What is said about both in our poem (2201-2207, 2380-2397, 2612-2620) is obscure, but the following may be conjectured:--

The sons of Ōhthere, Ēanmund and Ēadgils, have rebelled against their father (2382), and must, in consequence, depart with their followers from Swīorīce, 2205-6, 2380. They come into the country of the Gēatas to Heardrēd (2380), but whether with friendly or hostile intent is not stated; but, according to 2203 f., we are to presume that they came against Heardrēd with designs of conquest. At a banquet (on feorme; or feorme, MS.) Heardrēd falls, probably through treachery, by the hand of one of the brothers, 2386, 2207. The murderer must have been Ēanmund, to whom, according to 2613, "in battle the revenge of Wēohstān brings death." Wēohstān takes revenge for his murdered king, and exercises upon Ēanmund's body the booty-right, and robs it of helm, breastplate, and sword (2616-17), which the slain man had received as gifts from his uncle, Onela, 2617-18. But Wēohstān does not speak willingly of this fight, although he has slain Onela's brother's son, 2619-20.--After Heardrēd's and Ēanmund's death, the descendant of Ongenþēow, Ēadgils, returns to his home, 2388. He must give way before Bēowulf, who has, since Heardrēd's death, ascended the throne of the Gēatas, 2390. But Bēowulf remembers it against him in after days, and the old feud breaks out anew, 2392-94. Ēadgils makes an invasion into the land of the Gēatas (2394-95), during which he falls at the hands of Bēowulf, 2397. The latter must have then obtained the sovereignty over the Swēonas (3005-6, where only the version, Scylfingas, can give a satisfactory sense).

Eofor (gen. Eofores, 2487, 2965; dat. Jofore, 2994, 2998), one of the Gēatas, son of Wonrēd and brother of Wulf (2965, 2979), kills the Swedish king, Ongenþēow (2487 ff., 2978-82), for which he receives from King Hygelāc, along with other gifts, his only daughter in marriage, 2994-99.

Eormen-rīc (gen. Eormenrīces, 1202), king of the Goths (cf. about him, W. Grimm, Deutsche Heldensage, p. 2, ff.). Hāma has wrested the Brōsinga mene from him, 1202.

Eomǣr, son of Offa and Þrȳðo (cf. Þrȳðo), 1961.

Eotenas (gen. pl. Eotena, 1073, 1089, 1142; dat. Eotenum, 1146), the subjects of Finn, the North Frisians: distinguished from eoton, _giant_. Vid eoton. Cf. Bugge, Beit., xii. 37; Earle, Beowulf in Prose, pp. 146, 198.

Finn (gen. Finnes, 1069, etc.; dat. Finne, 1129), son of Folcwalda (1090), king of the North Frisians, i.e. of the Eotenas, husband of Hildeburg, a daughter of Hōc, 1072, 1077. He is the hero of the inserted poem on the Attack in Finnsburg, the obscure incidents of which are, perhaps, as follows: In Finn's castle, Finnsburg, situated in Jutland (1126-28), the Hōcing, Hnæf, a relative--perhaps a brother--of Hildeburg is spending some time as guest. Hnæf, who is a liegeman of the Danish king, Healfdene, has sixty men with him (Finnsburg, 38). These are treacherously attacked one night by Finn's men, 1073. For five days they hold the doors of their lodging-place without losing one of their number (Finnsburg, 41, 42). Then, however, Hnæf is slain (1071), and the Dane, Hengest, who was among Hnæf's followers, assumes the command of the beleaguered band. But on the attacking side the fight has brought terrible losses to Finn's men. Their numbers are diminished (1081 f.), and Hildeburg bemoans a son and a brother among the fallen (1074 f., cf. 1116, 1119). Therefore the Frisians offer the Danes peace (1086) under the conditions mentioned (1087-1095), and it is confirmed with oaths (1097), and money is given by Finn in propitiation (1108). Now all who have survived the battle go together to Friesland, the homo proper of Finn, and here Hengest remains during the winter, prevented by ice and storms from returning home (Grein). But in spring the feud breaks out anew. Gūðlāf and Oslāf avenge Hnæf's fall, probably after they have brought help from home (1150). In the battle, the hall is filled with the corpses of the enemy. Finn himself is killed, and the queen is captured and carried away, along with the booty, to the land of the Danes, 1147-1160.

Finna land. Bēowulf reaches it in his swimming-race with Breca, 580.

Fitela, the son and nephew of the Wälsing, Sigemund, and his companion in arms, 876-890. (Sigemund had begotten Fitela by his sister, Signȳ. Cf. more at length Leo on Bēowulf, p. 38 ff., where an extract from the legend of the Walsungs is given.)

Folc-walda (gen. Folc-waldan, 1090), Finn's father, 1090.

Francan (gen. Francna, 1211; dat. Froncum, 2913). King Hygelāc fell on an expedition against the allied Franks, Frisians, and Hūgas, 1211, 2917.

Frēsan, Frȳsan (gen. Frēsena, 1094, Frȳsna, 1105, Frēsna, 2916: dat. Frȳsum, 1208, 2913). To be distinguished, are: 1) North Frisians, whose king is Finn, 1069 ff.; 2) West Frisians, in alliance with the Franks and Hūgas, in the war against whom Hygelāc falls, 1208, 2916. The country of the former is called Frȳsland, 1127; that of the latter, Frēsna land, 2916.

Fr..es wæl (in Fr..es wæle, 1071), mutilated proper name.

Frēawaru, daughter of the Danish king, Hrōðgār; given in marriage to Ingeld, the son of the Heaðobeard king, Frōda, in order to end a war between the Danes and the Heaðobeardnas, 2023 ff., 2065.

Frōda (gen. Frōdan), father of Ingeld, the husband of Frēaware, 2026.

Gārmund (gen. Gārmundes, 1963) father of Offa. His grandson is Ēomǣr, 1961-63.

Gēatas (gen. Gēata, 205, etc.; dat. Gēatum, 195, etc.), a tribe in Southern Scandinavia, to which the hero of this poem belongs; also called Wedergēatas, 1493, 2552; or, Wederas, 225, 423, etc.; Gūðgēatas, 1539; Sǣgēatas, 1851, 1987. Their kings named in this poem are: Hrēðel; Hæðcyn, second son of Hrēðel; Hygelāc, the brother of Hæðcyn; Heardrēd, son of Hygelāc; then Bēowulf.

Gifðas (dat. Gifðum, 2495), Gepidǣ, mentioned in connection with Danes and Swedes, 2495.

Grendel, a fen-spirit (102-3) of Cain's race, 107, 111, 1262, 1267. He breaks every night into Hrōðgār's hall and carries off thirty warriors, 115 ff., 1583ff. He continues this for twelve years, till Bēowulf fights with him (147, 711 ff.), and gives him a mortal wound, in that he tears out one of his arms (817), which is hung up as a trophy in the roof of Heorot, 837. Grendel's mother wishes to avenge her son, and the following night breaks into the hall and carries off Æschere, 1295. Bēowulf seeks for and finds her home in the fen-lake (1493 ff.), fights with her (1498 ff.), and kills her (1567); and cuts off the head of Grendel, who lay there dead (1589), and brings it to Hrōðgār, 1648.

Gūð-lāf and Oslāf, Danish warriors under Hnæf, whose death they avenge on Finn, 1149.

Hālga, with the surname, _til_, the younger brother of the Danish king, Hrōðgār, 61. His son is Hrōðulf, 1018, 1165, 1182.

Hāma wrests the _Brōsinga mene_ from Eormenrīc, 1199.

Hæreð (gen. Hæreðes, 1982), father of Hygd, the wife of Hygelāc, 1930, 1982.

Hæðcyn (dat. Hæðcynne, 2483), second son of Hrēðel, king of the Gēatas, 2435. Kills his oldest brother, Herebeald, accidentally, with an arrow, 2438 ff. After Hrēðel's death, he obtains the kingdom, 2475, 2483. He falls at Ravenswood, in the battle against the Swedish king, Ongenþēow, 2925. His successor is his younger brother, Hygelāc, 2944 ff., 2992.

Helmingas (gen. Helminga, 621). From them comes Wealhþēow, Hrōðgār's wife, 621.

Heming (gen. Heminges, 1945, 1962). Offa is called Heminges mǣg, 1945; Ēomǣr, 1962. According to Bachlechner (Pfeiffer's Germania, I., p. 458), Heming is the son of the sister of Gārmund, Offa's father.

Hengest (gen. Hengestes, 1092; dat. Hengeste, 1084): about him and his relations to Hnæf and Finn, see Finn.

Here-beald (dat. Herebealde, 2464), the oldest son of Hrēðel, king of the Gēatas (2435), accidentally killed with an arrow by his younger brother, Hæðcyn, 2440.

Here-mōd (gen. Heremōdes, 902), king of the Danes, not belonging to the Scylding dynasty, but, according to Grein, immediately preceding it; is, on account of his unprecedented cruelty, driven out, 902 ff., 1710.

Here-rīc (gen. Hererīces, 2207) Heardrēd is called Hererīces nefa, 2207. Nothing further is known of him.

Het-ware or Franks, in alliance with the Frisians and the Hūgas, conquer Hygelāc, king of the Gēatas, 2355, 2364 ff., 2917.

Healf-dene (gen. Healfdenes, 189, etc.), son of Bēowulf, the Scylding (57); rules the Danes long and gloriously (57 f.); has three sons, Heorogār, Hrōðgār, and Hālga (61), and a daughter, Elan, who, according to the renewed text of the passage, was married to the Scylfing, Ongenþēow, 62, 63.

Heard-rēd (dat. Heardrēde, 2203, 2376), son of Hygelāc, king of the Gēatas, and Hygd. After his father's death, while still under age, he obtains the throne (2371, 2376, 2379); wherefore Bēowulf, as nephew of Heardrēd's father, acts as guardian to the youth till he becomes older, 2378. He is slain by Ōhthere's sons, 2386. This murder Bēowulf avenges on Ēadgils, 2396-97.

Heaðo-beardnas (gen. -beardna, 2033, 2038, 2068), the tribe of the Lombards. Their king, Frōda, has fallen in a war with the Danes, 2029, 2051. In order to end the feud, King Hrōðgār has given his daughter, Frēawaru, as wife to the young Ingeld, the son of Frōda, a marriage that does not result happily; for Ingeld, though he long defers it on account of his love for his wife, nevertheless takes revenge for his father, 2021-2070 (Wīdsīð, 45-49).

Heaðo-lāf (dat. Heaðo-lāfe, 460), a Wylfingish warrior. Ecgþēow, Bēowulf's father, kills him, 460.

Heaðo-rǣmas reached by B. in the swimming-race with Bēowulf, 519.

Heoro-gār (nom. 61; Heregār, 467; Hiorogār, 2159), son of Healfdene, and older brother of Hrōðgār, 61. His death is mentioned, 467. He has a son, Heoroweard, 2162. His coat of mail Bēowulf has received from Hrōðgār (2156), and presents it to Hygelāc, 2158.

Heoro-weard (dat. Heorowearde, 2162), Heorogār's son, 2161-62.

Heort, 78. Heorot, 166 (gen. Heorotes, 403; dat. Heorote, 475, Heorute, 767, Hiorte, 2100). Hrōðgār's throne-room and banqueting hall and assembly-room for his liegemen, built by him with unusual splendor, 69, 78. In it occurs Bēowulf's fight with Grendel, 720 ff. The hall receives its name from the stag's antlers, of which the one-half crowns the eastern gable, the other half the western.

Hildeburh, daughter of Hōc, relative of the Danish leader, Hnæf, consort of the Frisian king, Finn. After the fall of the latter, she becomes a captive of the Danes, 1072, 1077, 1159. See also under Finn.

Hnæf (gen. Hnæfes, 1115), a Hōcing (Wīdsīð, 29), the Danish King Healfdene's general, 1070 ff. For his fight with Finn, his death and burial, see under Finn.

Hond-scīo, warrior of the Gēatas: dat. 2077.

Hōc (gen. Hōces, 1077), father of Hildeburh, 1077; probably also of Hnæf (Wīdsīð, 29).

Hrēðel (gen. Hrēðles, 1486), son of Swerting, 1204. King of the Gēatas, 374. He has, besides, a daughter, who is married to Ecgþēow, and has borne him Bēowulf, (374), three sons, Herebeald, Hæðcyn, and Hygelāc, 2435. The eldest of these is accidentally killed by the second, 2440. On account of this inexpiable deed, Hrēðel becomes melancholy (2443), and dies, 2475.

Hrēðla (gen. Hrēðlan, MS. Hrǣdlan, 454), the same as Hrēðel (cf. Müllenhoff in Haupts Zeitschrift, 12, 260), the former owner of Bēowulf's coat of mail, 454.

Hrēðling, son of Hrēðel, Hygelāc: nom. sg. 1924; nom. pl., the subjects of Hygelāc, the Geats, 2961.

Hrēð-men (gen. Hrēð-manna, 445), the Danes are so called, 445.

Hrēð-rīc, son of Hrōðgār, 1190, 1837.

Hrefna-wudu, 2926, or Hrefnes-holt, 2936, the thicket near which the Swedish king, Ongenþēow, slew Hæðcyn, king of the Gēatas, in battle.

Hrēosna-beorh, promontory in the land of the Gēatas, near which Ongenþēow's sons, Ōhthere and Onela, had made repeated robbing incursions into the country after Hrēðel's death. These were the immediate cause of the war in which Hrēðel's son, King Hæcyn, fell, 2478 ff.

Hrōð-gār (gen. Hrōðgāres, 235, etc.; dat. Hrōðgāre, 64, etc.), of the dynasty of the Scyldings; the second of the three sons of King Healfdene, 61. After the death of his elder brother, Heorogār, he assumes the government of the Danes, 465, 467 (yet it is not certain whether Heorogār was king of the Danes before Hrōðgār, or whether his death occurred while his father, Healfdene, was still alive). His consort is Wealhþēow (613), of the stock of the Helmings (621), who has borne him two sons, Hrēðrīc and Hrōðmund (1190), and a daughter, Frēaware (2023), who has been given in marriage to the king of the Heaðobeardnas, Ingeld. His throne-room (78 ff.), which has been built at great cost (74 ff.), is visited every night by Grendel (102, 115), who, along with his mother, is slain by Bēowulf (711 ff., 1493 ff). Hrōðgār's rich gifts to Bēowulf, in consequence, 1021, 1818; he is praised as being generous, 71 ff., 80, 1028 ff., 1868 ff.; as being brave, 1041 ff., 1771 ff.; and wise, 1699, 1725.--Other information about Hrōðgār's reign for the most part only suggested: his expiation of the murder which Ecgþēow, Bēowulf's father, committed upon Heaðolāf, 460, 470; his war with the Heaðobeardnas; his adjustment of it by giving his daughter, Frēaware, in marriage to their king, Ingeld; evil results of this marriage, 2021-2070.--Treachery of his brother's son, Hrōðulf, intimated, 1165-1166.

Hrōð-mund, Hrōðgār's son, 1190.

Hrōð-ulf, probably a son of Hālga, the younger brother of King Hrōðgār, 1018, 1182. Wealhþēow expresses the hope (1182) that, in case of the early death of Hrōðgār, Hrōð-ulf would prove a good guardian to Hrōðgār's young son, who would succeed to the government; a hope which seems not to have been accomplished, since it appears from 1165, 1166 that Hrōð-ulf has abused his trust towards Hrōðgār.

Hrones-næs (dat. -næsse, 2806, 3137), a promontory on the coast of the country of the Gēatas, visible from afar. Here is Bēowulf's grave-mound, 2806, 3137.

Hrunting (dat. Hruntinge, 1660), Hunferð's sword, is so called, 1458, 1660.

Hūgas (gen. Hūga, 2503), Hygelāc wars against them allied with the Franks and Frisians, and falls, 2195 ff. One of their heroes is called Dæghrefn, whom Bēowulf slays, 2503.

[H]ūn-ferð, the son of Ecglāf, þyle of King Hrōðgār. As such, he has his place near the throne of the king, 499, 500, 1167. He lends his sword, Hrunting, to Bēowulf for his battle with Grendel's mother, 1456 f. According to 588, 1168, he slew his brothers. Since his name is always alliterated with vowels, it is probable that the original form was, as Rieger (Zachers Ztschr., 3, 414) conjectures, Unferð.

Hūn-lāfing, name of a costly sword, which Finn presents to Hengest, 1144. See Note.

Hygd (dat. Hygde, 2173), daughter of Hæreð, 1930; consort of Hygelāc, king of the Gēatas, 1927; her son, Heardrēd, 2203, etc.--Her noble, womanly character is emphasized, 1927 ff.

Hyge-lāc (gen. Hige-lāces, 194, etc., Hygelāces, 2387; dat. Higelāce, 452, Hygelāce, 2170), king of the Gēatas, 1203, etc. His grandfather is Swerting, 1204; his father, Hrēðel, 1486, 1848; his older brothers, Herebeald and Hæðcyn, 2435; his sister's son, Bēowulf, 374, 375. After his brother, Hæðcyn, is killed by Ongenþēow, he undertakes the government (2992 in connection with the preceding from 2937 on). To Eofor he gives, as reward for slaying Ongenþēow, his only daughter in marriage, 2998. But much later, at the time of the return of Bēowulf from his expedition to Hrōðgār, we see him married to the very young Hygd, the daughter of Hæreð, 1930. The latter seems, then, to have been his second wife. Their son is Heardrēd, 2203, 2376, 2387.--Hygelāc falls during an expedition against the Franks, Frisians, and Hūgas, 1206, 1211, 2356-59, 2916-17.

Ingeld (dat. Ingelde, 2065), son of Frōda, the Heaðobeard chief, who fell in a battle with the Danes, 2051 ff. in order to end the war, Ingeld is married to Frēawaru, daughter of the Danish king, Hrōðgār, 2025-30. Yet his love for his young wife can make him forget only for a short while his desire to avenge his father. He finally carries it out, excited thereto by the repeated admonitions of an old warrior, 2042-70 (Wīdsīð, 45-59).

Ing-wine (gen. Ingwina, 1045, 1320), friends of Ing, the first king of the East Danes. The Danes are so called, 1045, 1320.

Mere-wīoingas (gen. Mere-wīoinga, 2922), as name of the Franks, 2922.

Nægling, the name of Bēowulf's sword, 2681.

Offa (gen. Offan, 1950), king of the Angles (Wīdsīð, 35), the son of Gārmund, 1963; married (1950) to Þrȳðo (1932), a beautiful but cruel woman, of unfeminine spirit (1932 ff.), by whom he has a son, Ēomǣr, 1961.

Ōht-here (gen. Ōhtheres, 2929, 2933; Ōhteres, 2381, 2393, 2395, 2613), son of Ongenþēow, king of the Swedes, 2929. His sons are Ēanmund (2612) and Ēadgils, 2393.

Onela (gen. Onelan, 2933), Ōhthere's brother, 2617, 2933.

Ongen-þēow (nom. -þēow, 2487, -þīo, 2952; gen. -þēowes, 2476, -þīowes, 2388; dat. -þīo, 2987), of the dynasty of the Scylfings; king of the Swedes, 2384. His wife is, perhaps, Elan, daughter of the Danish king, Healfdene (62), and mother of two sons, Onela and Ōhthere, 2933. She is taken prisoner by Hæðcyn, king of the Gēatas, on an expedition into Sweden, which he undertakes on account of her sons' plundering raids into his country, 2480 ff. She is set free by Ongenþēow (2931), who kills Hæðcyn, 2925, and encloses the Gēatas, now deprived of their leader, in the Ravenswood (2937 ff.), till they are freed by Hygelāc, 2944. A battle then follows, which is unfavorable to Ongenþēow's army. Ongenþēow himself, attacked by the brothers, Wulf and Eofor, is slain by the latter, 2487 ff., 2962 ff.

Ōs-lāf, a warrior of Hnæf's, who avenges on Finn his leader's death, 1149 f.

Scede-land, 19. Sceden-īg (dat. Sceden-īgge, 1687), O.N., Scān-ey, the most southern portion of the Scandinavian peninsula, belonging to the Danish kingdom, and, in the above-mentioned passages of our poem, a designation of the whole Danish kingdom.

Scēf or Scēaf. See Note.

Scēfing, the son (?) of Scēf, or Scēaf, reputed father of Scyld, 4. See Note.

Scyld (gen. Scyldes, 19), a Scēfing. 4. His son is Bēowulf, 18, 53: his grandson, Healfdene, 57; his great-grandson, Hrōðgār, who had two brothers and a sister, 59 ff.--Scyld dies, 26; his body, upon a decorated ship, is given over to the sea (32 ff.), just as he, when a child, drifted alone, upon a ship, to the land of the Danes, 43 ff. After him his descendants bear his name.

Scyldingas (Scyldungas, 2053; gen. Scyldinga, 53, etc., Scyldunga, 2102, 2160; dat. Scyldingum, 274, etc.), a name which is extended also to the Danes, who are ruled by the Scyldings, 53, etc. They are also called Ār-Scyldingas, 464; Sige-Scyldingas, 598, 2005; Þēod-Scyldingas, 1020; Here-Scyldingas, 1109.

Scylfingas, a Swedish royal family, whose relationship seems to extend to the Gēatas, since Wīglāf, the son of Wīhstān, who in another place, as a kinsman of Bēowulf, is called a Wǣgmunding (2815), is also called lēod Scylfinga, 2604. The family connections are perhaps as follows:--

Scylf. |     Wǣgmund. .......        |                | --  -- Ecgþēow. Wēohstān. Ongenþēow. |        |           |   --- Bēowulf. Wīglāf. Onela. Ōhthere. |                 -                  Ēaumund. Ēadgils.

The Scylfings are also called Heaðo-Scilfingas, 63, Gūð-Scylfingas, 2928.

Sige-mund (dat. -munde, 876, 885), the son of Wæls, 878, 898. His (son and ) nephew is Fitela, 880, 882. His fight with the drake, 887 ff.

Swerting (gen. Swertinges, 1204), Hygelāc's grandfather, and Hrēðel's father, 1204.

Swēon (gen. Swēona, 2473, 2947, 3002), also Swēo-þēod, 2923. The dynasty of the Scylfings rules over them, 2382, 2925. Their realm is called Swīorice, 2384, 2496.

Þrȳðo, consort of the Angle king, Offa, 1932, 1950. Mother of Ēomǣr, 1961, notorious on account of her cruel, unfeminine character, 1932 ff. She is mentioned as the opposite to the mild, dignified Hygd, the queen of the Gēatas.

Wæls (gen. Wælses, 898), father of Sigemund, 878, 898.

Wǣg-mundingas (gen. Wǣgmundinga, 2608, 2815). The Wǣgmundings are on one side, Wīhstān and his son Wīglāf; on the other side, Ecgþēow and his son Bēowulf (2608, 2815). See under Scylfingas.

Wederas (gen. Wedera, 225, 423, 498, etc.), or Weder-gēatas. See Gēatas.

Wēland (gen. Wēlandes, 455), the maker of Bēowulf's coat of mail, 455.

Wendlas (gen. Wendla, 348): their chief is Wulfgār. See Wulfgār. The Wendlas are, according to Grundtvig and Bugge, the inhabitants of Vendill, the most northern part of Jutland, between Limfjord and the sea.

Wealh-þēow (613, Wealh-þēo, 665, 1163), the consort of King Hrōðgār, of the stock of the Helmings, 621. Her sons are Hrēðrīc and Hrōðmund, 1190; her daughter, Frēawaru, 2023.

Wēoh-stān (gen. Wēox-stānes, 2603, Wēoh-stānes, 2863, Wih-stānes, 2753, 2908, etc.), a Wǣgmunding (2608), father of Wīglāf, 2603. In what relationship to him Ælfhere, mentioned 2605, stands, is not clear.--Wēohstān is the slayer of Ēanmund (2612), in that, as it seems, he takes revenge for his murdered king, Heardrēd. See Ēanmund.

Wīg-lāf, Wēohstān's son, 2603, etc., a Wǣgmunding, 2815, and so also a Scylfing, 2604; a kinsman of Ælfhere, 2605. For his relationship to Bēowulf, see the genealogical table under Scylfingas.--He supports Bēowulf in his fight with the drake, 2605 ff., 2662 ff. The hero gives him, before his death, his ring, his helm, and his coat of mail, 2810 ff.

Won-rēd (gen. Wonrēdes, 2972), father of Wulf and Eofor, 2966, 2979.

Wulf (dat. Wulfe, 2994), one of the Gēatas, Wonrēd's son. He fights in the battle between the armies of Hygelāc and Ongenþēow with Ongenþēow himself, and gives him a wound (2966), whereupon Ongenþēow, by a stroke of his sword, disables him, 2975. Eofor avenges his brother's fall by dealing Ongenþēow a mortal blow, 2978 ff.

Wulf-gār, chief of the Wendlas, 348, lives at Hrōðgār's court, and is his "ār and ombiht," 335.

Wylfingas (dat. Wylfingum, 461). Ecgþēow has slain Heoðolāf, a warrior of this tribe, 460.

Yrmen-lāf, younger brother of Æschere, 1325.

ABBREVIATIONS.

 * B.: Bugge.
 * Br.: S.A. Brooke, Hist. of Early Eng. Lit.
 * C.: Cosijn.
 * E.: Earle, Deeds of Beowulf in Prose.
 * G.: Garnett, Translation of Beowulf
 * Gr.: Grein.
 * H.: Heyne.
 * Ha.: Hall, Translation of Beowulf.
 * H.-So.: Heyne-Socin, 5th ed.
 * Ho.: Holder.
 * K.: Kemble.
 * Kl.: Kluge.
 * Müllenh.: Müllenhoff.
 * R.: Rieger.
 * S.: Sievers.
 * Sw.: Sweet, Anglo-Saxon Reader, 6th ed.
 * Ten Br.: Ten Brink.
 * Th.: Thorpe.
 * Z.: Zupitza.

PERIODICALS.

 * Ang.: Anglia.
 * Beit.: Paul und Branne's Beiträge.
 * Eng. Stud.: Englische Studien.
 * Germ.: Germania.
 * Haupts Zeitschr.: Haupts Zeitschrift, etc.
 * Mod. Lang. Notes: Modern Language Notes.
 * Tidskr.: Tidskrift for Philologi.
 * Zachers Zeitschr.: Zachers Zeitschrift, etc.