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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] |
Hrothgar
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'', ''Hr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hygd
Hygd, introduced in line 1925 of the poem ''Beowulf'', is the wife of King Hygelac of Geatland. She is the daughter of Hæreth. After Beowulf defeats Grendel and Grendel's mother, he and his men returned to their native country, where they are received by Hygelac and Hygd. Hygd is beautiful, wise, courteous, and attentive. She pours mead in the drinking horns of the warriors thus fulfilling (in the same vein as Wealhþeow, the queen of Denmark) the important role of ''hostess'' and cup-bearer in the poem. The poet juxtaposes this virtue with the vice of Queen Modþryð (who appears in line 1932). Beowulf gives her three horses and a magnificent torc (the ''Brosing'', i.e. Brisingamen, the necklace of the goddess Freyja) that he received from Wealhþeow. Hygd shows her wisdom and love for the Geatish people when her husband falls in the raid in Frisia against the Franks. Instead of securing the throne for her own offspring, she offers it to Beowulf as she considers her son Heardr ... [...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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hreðric And Hroðmund
Hreðric and Hroðmund were the sons of the Danish king Hroðgar and his queen, Wealhþeow, in the Old English epic ''Beowulf''. They are only mentioned in passing, and there seems to be some foreshadowing in ''Beowulf'' that their cousin, Halga's son Hroðulf, i.e. Hrólfr Kraki, would usurp the throne from them. Scandinavian tradition It has been suggested that Hreðric corresponds to Hrörekr/Rørik in Scandinavian tradition. However, the traditions vary and so Hrörekr is either killed by Hrólfr Kraki or his successor as the ruler of Zealand (the Danish heartland). In Saxo Grammaticus's '' Gesta Danorum'' (Book 2), Hrólfr Kraki kills a Rørik: "... our king, who laid low Rorik (i.e. Rørik), the son of Bok the covetous, and wrapped the coward in death." ''Rørik'' is the expected Old East Norse form of ''Hreðric'', and personages named ''Rørik'', ''Hrok'' or similar such names can be found in most versions of the Hrólf Kraki tradition. In the '' Skjöldunga saga'', V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freawaru
Freawaru, introduced in l. 2020 of the poem ''Beowulf'', is the daughter of King Hroðgar and Queen Wealhþeow. Freawaru is a ''freoðuwebbe'' or peace-weaver (an important concept in the poem) who is married to Ingeld, King of the Heaðobards and son of Froda. This marriage was created as a means of ending a feud between the two kingdoms (due to the murder of Froda by the Danes). It was an unsuccessful attempt to end the feud. An old warrior urged the Heaðobards to revenge, and Beowulf predicts to Hygelac that Ingeld will turn against his father-in-law Hroðgar.lines 2067-2069. In a version given in the Danish chronicle '' Gesta Danorum'' (see below), the old warrior appears as Starkad, and he succeeded in making Ingeld divorce his bride and in turning him against her family. Scandinavian sources In '' Gesta Danorum'' (book 6), Freawaru also appears, but unnamed. Froda and Ingeld are rendered as Danish kings, in conflict with the Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, germa ... [...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' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grendel
Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem ''Beowulf'' (700–1000). He is one of the poem's three antagonists (along with his mother and the dragon), all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf. Grendel is feared by all in Heorot but Beowulf. A descendant of Cain, Grendel is described as "a creature of darkness, exiled from happiness and accursed of God, the destroyer and devourer of our human kind". He is usually depicted as a monster or a giant, although his status as a monster, giant, or other form of supernatural being is not clearly described in the poem and thus remains the subject of scholarly debate. The character of Grendel and his role in the story of ''Beowulf'' have been subject to numerous reinterpretations and re-imaginings. Story Grendel is a character in the poem ''Beowulf,'' preserved in the '' Nowell Codex''. Grendel, being cursed as the descendant of the Biblical Cain, is "harrowed" by the sounds of singing that come every nig ... [...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: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their Viking expansion, overseas settlements and chronologically coincides with the Viking Age, the Christianization of Scandinavia and the consolidation of Scandinavian kingdoms from about the 7th to the 15th centuries. The Proto-Norse language developed into Old Norse by the 8th century, and Old Norse began to develop into the modern North Germanic languages in the mid-to-late 14th century, ending the language phase known as Old Norse. These dates, however, are not absolute, since written Old Norse is found well into the 15th century. Old Norse was divided into three dialects: Old West Norse, ''Old West Norse'' or ''Old West Nordic'' (often referred to as ''Old Norse''), Old East Norse, ''Old East Norse'' or ''Old East Nordic'', and ''Ol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wealhtheow
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, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket, and Felixstowe which has one of the largest container ports in Europe. The county is low-lying but can be quite hilly, especially towards the west. It is also known for its extensive farming and has largely arable land with the wetlands of the Broads in the north. The Suffolk Coast & Heaths and Dedham Vale are both nationally designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. History Administration The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Suffolk, and East Anglia generally, occurred on a large scale, possibly following a period of depopulation by the previous inhabitants, the Romanised descendants of the Iceni. By the fifth century, they had established control of the region. The Anglo-Saxon inhabitant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
