"Beowulf" and Other Old English Poems

GLOSSARYOF PROPER NAMES

GLOSSARY OF PROPER NAMES In the glossary below, all line references are to Beowulf unless otherwise indicated . Abbreviations for other poems are AL⳱“Advent Lyric”; D⳱“Deor”; DR⳱“The Dream of the Rood”; M⳱“The Battle of Maldon”; MII⳱ “Maxims II”; PhP⳱“Physiologus: Panther”; PhW⳱“Physiologus: Whale”; R⳱“Riddle”; W/E⳱“Wulf and Eadwacer.” The letter æ is alphabetized between ad and af. The abbreviation mult means that there are multiple occurrences of the term in that text. Wherever possible I have also tried to indicate the identity of the person or place in the translation itself. A Abel: Biblical son of Adam and Eve, killed by his brother Cain, 109 Adam: Biblical first man created by God, DR 108 Ælfhere: one of the ford guardians at Maldon, M 79 Ælfnoth: one of the loyal Anglo-Saxon warriors who falls with Byrhtnoth, M 184 Ælfric: father of Ælfwine, M 208 Ælfwine: kinsman of Byrhtnoth who is the son of Ælfric and grandson of Ealhelm, M 208, 230 Æschere: Hrothgar’s retainer and counselor who is killed by Grendel’s mother, 1324, 1419, 2122 Æscferth: Northumbrian hostage in Byrhtnoth’s household, M 267 Æsir: gods in the Old Norse cosmology; probably a reference to pagan gods in “Charm for a Sudden Stitch,” 23, 25 Æthelgar: father of Godric (the loyal Godric who did not flee from Maldon), M 324 Æthelred: King of England (978–1016), M 56, 151, 201 Ætheric: retainer of Byrhtnoth, brother of Sibyrht, M 283 238 | GLOSSARY OF PROPER NAMES B Beadohild: daughter of Nithhad, mother of a son by Weland, D 9 Beanstan: father of Breca, 523 Beow: legendary early Danish king, son of Scyld, 19, 56 Beowulf: son of Ecgtheow and Hygelac’s unnamed sister, mult Breca: warrior of the Brondings, Beowulf’s swimming opponent, 506, 515, 531, 540 Brondings: a Germanic people, the tribe of Breca and Beanstan, 520 Brosings: tribe that made or owned Hama’s legendary necklace or collar, 1198 Byrhthelm: Byrhtnoth’s father, M 91 Byrhtnoth: Earl of Essex who led the troops against the Vikings at Maldon and was killed, M mult Byrhtwold: old retainer of Byrhtnoth, M 313 C Cain: Biblical son of Adam and Eve, killer of his brother Abel, 107, 112, 1261, 1263 Ceola: father of Wulfstan who guarded the ford at Maldon with Ælfhere and Maccus, M 76 Christ: Biblical Son of God, R 57.11, MII 4, AL iv 30, DR 61, 107, 123, 135, 147 D Dæghrefn: warrior of the Franks, killed by Beowulf, 2501 Danes: Danish people, mult (see also compounds such as Bright-Danes, SpearDanes , South-Danes, etc.) in Beowulf and “Maldon” David: Biblical King of Israel, slayer of Goliath, and ancestor of Christ, AL iv 31, AL vii 2, 32 Deor: singer or scop of the Heodenings, D 36 Dunnere: freeman who fought at Maldon, M 255 E Eadgils: son of Ohthere the Swedish king and brother of Eanmund, 2380, 2392 Eadric: retainer of Byrhtnoth, M 13 Eadweard: (1) retainer of Byrhtnoth, M 119; (2) Edward the Tall, also a retainer of Byrhtnoth (possibly the same person), M 274 Eadwacer: husband of speaker of “Wulf and Eadwacer” (or possibly an epithet for Wulf meaning “guardian of property”), W/E 19 Eadwold: retainer of Byrhtnoth, brother of Oswold, M 308 Ealhelm: Mercian grandfather of Ælfwine, M 218 GLOSSARY OF PROPER NAMES | 239 Eanmund: son of Ohthere the Swedish king and brother of Eadgils, killed by Weohstan, 2380, 2611, 2613, 2617 Earnaness: promontory on the Geatish coast, near where Beowulf fights the dragon, 3033 Ecglaf: (1) father of Unferth, mult (2) father of Æscferth, M 267 Ecgtheow: father of Beowulf, son-in-law of Hrethel mult Ecgwela: Danish king whose sons were slain by Heremod, 1712 Eofor: Geatish warrior who slew the Swedish King Ongentheow and was rewarded with the hand of Hygelac’s daughter in marriage, mult Eomer: son of Offa, king of the Angles, 1962 Eormanric (Eormenric): fourth-century tyrannical ruler of the Goths, 1201, D 21 Eve: Biblical first woman created by God, AL iv 32 F Fastitocalon: corrupted form in Latin of the Greek word for a kind of turtle that was the disappearing island in earlier forms of the story about the whale, PhW 9 Finn: king of the Frisians, husband of Hildeburh, killed by Hengest, mult Finns: Finns or Lapps, 581 Fitela: son of Sigemund and Sigemund’s sister; thus his father is also his uncle...