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Ecgþeow
Ecgþēow (pronounced ), Edgetho (Proto-Norse *''Agiþewaz''), or Ecgtheow is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic ''Beowulf''. He is not mentioned outside the ''Bēowulf'' manuscript, and it is not known whether he was based on a real person. He belonged to a probably Swedish family (an ''ätt'', see Norse clans) called the '' Waegmundings''. He married the daughter of Hreðel, king of the Geats, and was the father of Bēowulf. His name could be read as ''eċġ'' + ''þēow'', "edge-servant" (that is, sword-thane); alternatively, if his name was a compound of the ancient ''bahuvrihi'' type as were many other Germanic heroic names, it would indicate proficiency with the sword, meaning literally, "whose servant is the sword". He is first mentioned in ''Bēowulf'' at lines 262–266, when Beowulf tells the coast-guardian that "My father was known to everyone," calls him a "noble battle-leader", and says that he died after living through "many winters" and that he is remembered w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beowulf (character)
Beowulf (; ang, Bēowulf ) is a legendary Geatish hero in the eponymous epic poem, one of the oldest surviving pieces of English literature. Etymology and origins of the character A number of origins have been proposed for the name ''Beowulf''. Beowulf Henry Sweet, a philologist and linguist specializing in Germanic languages, proposed that the name ''Bēowulf'' literally means in Old English "bee-wolf" or "bee-hunter" and that it is a kenning for "bear".Sweet, Henry. (1884) ''Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse'' The Clarendon Press, p. 202. Recorded instances of similar names mirror this etymology. The AD 1031 ''Liber Vitae'' records the name ''Biuuuwulf''. The name is attested to a monk from Durham and means ''bee wolf'' in the Old Northumbrian dialect.Chadwick, Hector Munro (1983) ''The Origin of the English Nation'', p. 294. The 11th century English ''Domesday Book'' contains a recorded instance of the name ''Beulf''. The scholar suggested that the name ''Beowulf'' de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hroðgar
Hrothgar ( ang, Hrōðgār ; on, Hróarr) was a semi-legendary Danish king living around the early sixth century AD. Hrothgar appears in the Anglo-Saxon epics ''Beowulf'' and ''Widsith'', in Norse sagas and poems, and in medieval Danish chronicles. In both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian tradition, Hrothgar is a Scylding, the son of Halfdan, the brother of Halga, and the uncle of Hrólfr Kraki. Moreover, in both traditions, the mentioned characters were the contemporaries of the Swedish king Eadgils; and both traditions also mention a feud with men named Fróði and Ingeld. The consensus view is that Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian traditions describe the same person. Names Hrothgar, also rendered ''Hrōðgār'', is an Old English form attested in ''Beowulf'' and ''Widsith'', the earliest sources to mention the character. In non-English sources, the name appears in more or less corresponding Old Icelandic, Old Danish, and Latinized versions. He appears as ''Hróarr'', ''Hroar'', etc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hreðel
Hrethel ( ang, Hrēðel; gem-x-proto, Hrōþilaz, italic=no) is a king of the Geats''. Name Hrethel's name appears with both the root vowel and and with both the consonant (i.e. the phoneme , pronounced in Old English) and (which would ordinarily represent the phoneme ). This is thought to be due to an early manuscript of ''Beowulf'' writing the root vowel using the early graphs (for the vowel resulting from the i-mutation of Common Germanic ) and (for the phoneme , pronounced ). Later scribes misread the former as and failed to recognise that the latter represented the sound rather than . The name also appears as a genitive weak noun, in the half-line "þæt is Hrǣdlan lāf" ('that is Hrǣdla's bequest'). Rendered in ordinary Late West Saxon spelling and in nominative form, this form of the name would presumably have been *''Hrēðla''. Role in ''Beowulf'' Hrethel is married to a sister or daughter of Swerting (Hygelac is the nefa of Swerting) and he has three sons: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weohstan
Weohstan, Wēohstān or Wīhstān (Proto-Norse *'' Wīha stainaz'', meaning "sacred stone", non, Vésteinn and ''Wǣstēn'') is a legendary character who appears in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem ''Beowulf'' and scholars have pointed out that he also appears to be present in the Norse ''Kálfsvísa''. In both ''Beowulf'' and ''Kálfsvísa'', Weohstan (''Vésteinn'') fought for his king Onela (''Áli'') against Eadgils (''Aðils''). ''Beowulf'' According to ''Beowulf'', Weohstan is the father of Wiglaf, and he belongs to a clan called the '' Wægmundings''. Ecgþeow, the father of Beowulf, also belonged to this clan, so Weohstan is in some degree related to Beowulf. Thus he counts Weohstan's son Wiglaf as his kinsman. Weohstan is said to have died of old age before the action of the later part of the poem. Weohstan is first mentioned at line 2602. We learn that he had held a Geatland estate and rights in common land which Beowulf gave to him. When the Scylfing prince Eanmund rebel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wiglaf
Wiglaf (Proto-Norse: *'' Wīga laibaz'', meaning "battle remainder"; ang, Wīġlāf ) is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem ''Beowulf''. He is the son of Weohstan, a Swede of the Wægmunding clan who had entered the service of Beowulf, king of the Geats. Wiglaf is called ''Scylfing'' as a metonym for Swede, as the Scylfings were the ruling Swedish clan. While in the service of the Scylfing Onela, king of the Swedes, Weohstan killed the rebel prince Eanmund and took his sword as a trophy;Lines 2612-2615. Wiglaf later inherited it.Lines 2620-2624. Weohstan belonged to the clan of the Wægmundings, the same clan Beowulf's father Ecgþeow belonged to; so Wiglaf is Beowulf's distant cousin, and his only living relative at the time of Beowulf's death. Scholars have proposed various interpretations of Wiglaf's role in the poem, but agree that he is important, and that he was Beowulf's nephew, a key relationship in heroic tales of the period. Wiglaf has a counterpart in Scandin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wergild
Weregild (also spelled wergild, wergeld (in archaic/historical usage of English), weregeld, etc.), also known as man price (blood money), was a precept in some archaic legal codes whereby a monetary value was established for a person's life, to be paid as a fine or as compensatory damages to the person's family if that person was killed or injured by another. Overview A weregild was a defined value placed on every man graded according to rank, used as a basis of a fine or compensation for murder, disablement, injury (or certain other serious crimes) against that person. It was assessed from the guilty party, payable as restitution to the victim's family. The weregild was codified, for example, under Frankish Salic Code. Weregild payment was an important legal mechanism in early Germanic society; the other common form of legal reparation at this time was blood revenge. The payment was typically made to the family or to the clan. Similar to the way a payment was made to family, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wulfing
The Wulfings, Wylfings or YlfingsWord initial ''w'' was lost before rounded vowels in Proto-Norse, e.g. ''wulf'' corresponds to ''ulf'', and ''Wulfing''/''Wylfing'' corresponds to ''Ylfing'', because the ''i'' in the second syllable causes an umlaut in the first syllable ''u''->''y''. (the name means the "wolf clan") was a powerful clan in ''Beowulf'', ''Widsith'' and in the Norse sagas. While the poet of ''Beowulf'' does not locate the Wulfings geographically, Scandinavian sources define the Ylfings (the Old Norse form of the name) as the ruling clan of the Eastern Geats. The Wulfings play an important role in ''Beowulf'' as Beowulf's father Ecgþeow of the Wægmunding clan had slain one of its members, and was banished for not paying the weregild. The Danish king Hroðgar, who was married to Wealhþeow, a Wulfing woman, graciously paid the weregild, and when Beowulf arrived at the Danish court in order to slay Grendel, Hroðgar interpreted this as a son's gratitude. In Old Nors ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proto-Norse
Proto-Norse (also called Ancient Nordic, Ancient Scandinavian, Ancient Norse, Primitive Norse, Proto-Nordic, Proto-Scandinavian and Proto-North Germanic) was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved as a northern dialect of Proto-Germanic in the first centuries CE. It is the earliest stage of a characteristically North Germanic language, and the language attested in the oldest Scandinavian Elder Futhark inscriptions, spoken from around the 2nd to the 8th centuries CE (corresponding to the late Roman Iron Age and the Germanic Iron Age). It evolved into the dialects of Old Norse at the beginning of the Viking Age around 800 CE, which later themselves evolved into the modern North Germanic languages ( Faroese, Icelandic, the three Continental Scandinavian languages, and their dialects). Phonology Proto-Norse phonology probably did not differ substantially from that of Proto-Germanic. Although the phonetic realisation of several phonemes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wealhþeow
Wealhtheow (also rendered Wealhþēow or Wealthow; ang, Ƿealhþēoƿ ) is a queen of the Danes in the Old English poem, ''Beowulf'', first introduced in line 612. Character overview Wealhtheow is of the Wulfing clan, Queen of the Danes. She is married to Hrothgar (Hrōðgār), the Danish king and is the mother of sons, Hreðric and Hroðmund, and a daughter Freawaru. The meaning of her name is disputed. One possible translation is "foreign slave" (Hill, 1990). In her marriage to Hrothgar she is described as ''friðusibb folca'' (l. 2017), 'the kindred pledge of peace between peoples', signifying interdynastic allegiance between Wulfing and Scylding achieved with her marriage to Hrothgar. She is both 'Lady of the Helmings' (l. 620) (by descent, of the Wulfing clan of Helm) and 'Lady of the Scyldings' (l. 1168), by marriage and maternity. Two northern sources associate the wife of Hrothgar with England. The ''Skjöldunga saga'', in Arngrímur Jónsson's abstract, chapter 3, tells ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Widsith
"Widsith" ( ang, Wīdsīþ, "far-traveller", lit. "wide-journey"), also known as "The Traveller's Song", is an Old English poem of 143 lines. It survives only in the ''Exeter Book'', a manuscript of Old English poetry compiled in the late-10th century, which contains approximately one-sixth of all surviving Old English poetry. "Widsith" is located between the poems " Vainglory" and " The Fortunes of Men". Since the donation of the ''Exeter Book'' in 1076, it has been housed in Exeter Cathedral in southwestern England. The poem is for the most part a survey of the people, kings, and heroes of Europe in the Heroic Age of Northern Europe. Date of original composition There is some controversy as to when "Widsith" was first composed. Some historians, such as John Niles, argue that the work was invented after King Alfred's rule to present "a common glorious past", while others, such as Kemp Malone, have argued that the piece is an authentic transcription of old heroic songs. Among ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old English Language
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th century, and the first Old English literary works date from the mid-7th century. After the Norman conquest of 1066, English was replaced, for a time, by Anglo-Norman (a relative of French) as the language of the upper classes. This is regarded as marking the end of the Old English era, since during this period the English language was heavily influenced by Anglo-Norman, developing into a phase known now as Middle English in England and Early Scots in Scotland. Old English developed from a set of Anglo-Frisian or Ingvaeonic dialects originally spoken by Germanic tribes traditionally known as the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. As the Germanic settlers became dominant in England, their language replaced the languages of Roman Britain: Common Br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blood Feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one party perceives itself to have been attacked, insulted, injured, or otherwise wronged by another. Intense feelings of resentment trigger an initial retribution, which causes the other party to feel greatly aggrieved and vengeful. The dispute is subsequently fuelled by a long-running cycle of retaliatory violence. This continual cycle of provocation and retaliation usually makes it extremely difficult to end the feud peacefully. Feuds can persist for generations and may result in extreme acts of violence. They can be interpreted as an extreme outgrowth of social relations based in family honor. Until the early modern period, feuds were considered legitimate legal instruments and were regulated to some degree. For example, Montenegrin culture ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
