The Beowulf Discussion: Section XV (Long initial commentary)

[Michael]

This discussion was originally posted to the Endor mailing list. It used the Project Gutenberg eText based on Frances Barton Gummere's translation of the poem. The source can be found here:
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext97/bwulf11.txt

It is necessary to use a public domain translation, so while more modern translations may be better or preferable, we cannot legally cite their texts here.

Eventually, I switched over to using this source text:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16328/16328-8.txt

The section numbers differ by 1. I had to post a "null" section for Section XVI to make the transition between translations. Some of my comments address the translator's choices, and they are not relevant to other translations.

NOTE: This is the last section where I cite the Gummere translation.


XV


THERE was hurry and hest in Heorot now
for hands to bedeck it, and dense was the throng
of men and women the wine-hall to cleanse,
the guest-room to garnish. Gold-gay shone the hangings
that were wove on the wall, and wonders many
to delight each mortal that looks upon them.
Though braced within by iron bands,
that building bright was broken sorely; {15a}
rent were its hinges; the roof alone
held safe and sound, when, seared with crime,
the fiendish foe his flight essayed,
of life despairing. -- No light thing that,
the flight for safety, -- essay it who will!
Forced of fate, he shall find his way
to the refuge ready for race of man,
for soul-possessors, and sons of earth;
and there his body on bed of death
shall rest after revel.
Arrived was the hour
when to hall proceeded Healfdene's son:
the king himself would sit to banquet.
Ne'er heard I of host in haughtier throng
more graciously gathered round giver-of-rings!
Bowed then to bench those bearers-of-glory,
fain of the feasting. Featly received
many a mead-cup the mighty-in-spirit,
kinsmen who sat in the sumptuous hall,
Hrothgar and Hrothulf. Heorot now
was filled with friends; the folk of Scyldings
ne'er yet had tried the traitor's deed.
To Beowulf gave the bairn of Healfdene
a gold-wove banner, guerdon of triumph,
broidered battle-flag, breastplate and helmet;
and a splendid sword was seen of many
borne to the brave one. Beowulf took
cup in hall: {15b} for such costly gifts
he suffered no shame in that soldier throng.
For I heard of few heroes, in heartier mood,
with four such gifts, so fashioned with gold,
on the ale-bench honoring others thus!
O'er the roof of the helmet high, a ridge,
wound with wires, kept ward o'er the head,
lest the relict-of-files {15c} should fierce invade,
sharp in the strife, when that shielded hero
should go to grapple against his foes.
Then the earls'-defence {15d} on the floor {15e} bade lead
coursers eight, with carven head-gear,
adown the hall: one horse was decked
with a saddle all shining and set in jewels;
'twas the battle-seat of the best of kings,
when to play of swords the son of Healfdene
was fain to fare. Ne'er failed his valor
in the crush of combat when corpses fell.
To Beowulf over them both then gave
the refuge-of-Ingwines right and power,
o'er war-steeds and weapons: wished him joy of them.
Manfully thus the mighty prince,
hoard-guard for heroes, that hard fight repaid
with steeds and treasures contemned by none
who is willing to say the sooth aright.



INITIAL COMMENTARY:
Notes from the text say:

{15a} There is no horrible inconsistency here such as the critics
strive and cry about. In spite of the ruin that Grendel and Beowulf
had made within the hall, the framework and roof held firm, and
swift repairs made the interior habitable. Tapestries were hung on
the walls, and willing hands prepared the banquet.

{15b} From its formal use in other places, this phrase, to take cup
in hall, or "on the floor," would seem to mean that Beowulf stood up
to receive his gifts, drink to the donor, and say thanks.

{15c} Kenning for sword.

{15d} Hrothgar. He is also the "refuge of the friends of Ing,"
below. Ing belongs to myth.

{15e} Horses are frequently led or ridden into the hall where folk
sit at banquet: so in Chaucer's Squire's tale, in the ballad of
King Estmere, and in the romances.

I'm going to break with my reliance upon the Gummere text and cite a different one. The whole source file is available at:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16328/16328-8.txt

From section XVI in this translation:

Then the offspring of Healfdene offered to Beowulf
30 A golden standard, as reward for the victory,
A banner embossed, burnie and helmet;
Many men saw then a song-famous weapon
Borne 'fore the hero. Beowulf drank of
The cup in the building; that treasure-bestowing
35 He needed not blush for in battle-men's presence.

I wanted to point out that, again, Gummere translates "burnie" (byrnie) as "breastplate", which should really be "chain shirt". The sword is also not just a "splendid sword". It is "a song-famous weapon".

Ne'er heard I that many men on the ale-bench
In friendlier fashion to their fellows presented
Four bright jewels with gold-work embellished.
'Round the roof of the helmet a head-guarder outside
40 Braided with wires, with bosses was furnished,
That swords-for-the-battle fight-hardened might fail
Boldly to harm him, when the hero proceeded

The helmet is described being particularly helpful in defending its wearer against sword-blows. Turin's dragon-helm of Dor-lomin (made by Telchar and first worn among Men by Hador) has been compared to Beowulf's helmet.

Another interesting line appears shortly afterward:

50 The famous one's valor ne'er failed at the front when
Slain ones were bowing. And to Beowulf granted
The prince of the Ingwins, power over both,
O'er war-steeds and weapons; bade him well to enjoy them.

From Gummere's translation:
To Beowulf over them both then gave
the refuge-of-Ingwines right and power,
o'er war-steeds and weapons: wished him joy of them.
Manfully thus the mighty prince,
hoard-guard for heroes, that hard fight repaid
with steeds and treasures contemned by none
who is willing to say the sooth aright.

"Ingwines" means "friends of Ing". Well, who was Ing? No one really knows, although there has been much speculation.

A West German group, the Ingaevones, who lived in or near what is now Denmark are often identified with Ing, who is said to have been their ancestor. Ing is also thought, by some, to be the ancestor of the Ynglings (Inglings), the Swedish royal family (said to be descended from Yngvi, although Yngvi is also another name for the Norse god Freyr). If Ing and Yngvi were one and the same, then Beowulf and his family were "friends of the Svear" (they are themselves Geats). Does the poet imply that Beowulf is related to the Swedish royal family?

The Roman writer Pliny, around the year CE 80, listed the Cimbri, Teutons, and Chauci among the Ingaevonic tribes of the 1st century. The Cimbri and Teutons migrated south from Denmark and invaded the Roman Republic. Those who survived their battles with the Romans were enslaved.

The Chauci were closely related to the Frisians (who lived in what are now the Netherlands and Belgium) but when the Roman writers of the 3rd century began mentioning Saxons, the Chauci were listed as a Saxon tribe. The Saxons are thought to be named for a kind of short sword, a saex, which they typically favored. But they were all West German tribes. History books tend to speak of the Saxons as a culturally distinct people, but they were in fact a loosely related group of West German tribes.

The Kingdom of Kent, said to be founded by Hengest and Horse and comprised mostly of Jutes (from Jutland -- hence, Danes), is believed to have had a strong Frisian population.

Tacitus wrote this in his GERMANIA:

"...To Mannus (the ancestors of the Germans) they assign three sons, after whose names so many people are called; the Ingaevones, dwelling next the ocean; the Herminones, in the middle country; and all the rest, Instaevones...."

There is an Old English runic poem which goes thus:

Ing wæs ærest mid Eástdenum
gesewen secgum, oð he síððan eást
ofer wæg gewát. wæn æfter ran.
þus Heardingas þone hæle nemdon.

Ing was first amidst the East Danes
so seen, until he went eastward
over the sea. His wagon ran after.
Thus the Heardings named that hero.
But who were the Heardings? A number of writers identify them with the Haddings, descendants of a Scandinavian king named Hadding, who was mentioned by Saxo Grammatticus in his HISTORY OF THE DANES. In one source, Hadding is said to be a descendant of Heimdall, the Norse god who watches over the rainbow bridge (Bifrost) that stretches between Midgaard and Asgaard. In one account, the youthful Hadding is sent to live among the giants. His story in Saxo's book is somewhat more mundane, although he is crafty, brave, and warlike.

The Haddings are identified with the Swedish kings. That Hadding and the Haddings are mentioned in somewhat contemporary sources ("Beowulf" and HISTORY OF THE DANES) implies that he was widely believed to have lived. He is one of the ancient heroes of the northern world, much as Beowulf was.

If the Haddings are related to the Ynglings (perhaps the same family), then the legend of Ing's invasion of the east (referred to in the runic poem) would be part of their family lore. Hence, they are the runic poet's source of information.

There are quite a few translations of Old Norse and Old Germanic texts here:
http://www.northvegr.org/lore/main.php

You can easily get lost in reading them. The various histories (of the Goths, of the Danes, of the Lombards) are viewed as figurative or imaginitive stories intended to glorify dynasties. They don't meet the standards of today's history texts. Nonetheless, they do record names and traditions that were once widely cherished, even if the events were legendary or completely mythical.

Ing, nonetheless, had a profound influence on J.R.R. Tolkien. In THE BOOK OF LOST TALES, PART TWO (on page 304), Christopher Tolkien explained who Ing was to the reader (this is found in the section "The History of Eriol or Aelfwine"). It is very convenient that we had heard about Aelfwine earlier today.

Here is a lengthy citation:

Also in (20) is the first appearance of the idea of the Seven Invasions of Luthany [Michael: Luthany = England]. One of these was that of the Rumhoth (mentioned also in (14)) or Romans; and the seventh was that of the Ingwaiwar, who were not hostile to the Elves.

Here something must be said of the name ING (INGWE, INGWAIAR) in these passages. As with the introduction of Hengest and Horse, the association of the mythology with ancient English legend is manifest. But it would serve no purpose, I believe, to enter here into the obscure and speculative scholarship of English and Scandinavian origins: the Roman writers' term INGUAEONES for the Baltic maritime peoples from whom the English came; the name INGWINE (interpretable either as ING-WINE 'the friends of Ing'or as containing the same INGW- seen in INGUAEONES); or the mysterious personage ING who appears in the Old English RUNIC POEM [he provides the actual Old English text]

[-] which may be translated: 'Ing was first seen by men among the East Danes, until he departed eastwards over the waves; his car sped after him.' It would serve no purpose, because although the connection of my father's ING, INGWE with the shadowy ING (INGW-) of northern historical legend is certain and indeed obvious he seems to have been intending no more than an ASSOCIATION of his mythology with known traditions (though the words of the RUNIC POEM were clearly influential). The mater is made particularly obscure by the fact that in these notes the names ING and INGWE intertwine with each other, but are never expressly differentiated or identified.

Thus Aelfwine was 'of the king of Ing, King of Luthany' (15, 16), but the Elves retreated 'to Luthany where Ingwe was king' (18). The Elves of Luthany throve again 'after the coming of the sons of Ing' (19), and the Ingwaiwar, seventh of the invaders of Luthany, were more friendly to the Elves (20), while Ingwe 'founded' the Ingwaiwar (20). This name is certainly to be equated with the Inguaeones (see above), and the invasion of the Ingwaiwar (or 'sons of Ing') equally certainly represents the 'Anglo-Saxon' invasion of Britain. Can ING, INGWE be equated? So far as this present material is concerned, I Hardly see how they can not be. Whether this ancestor-founder is to be equated with Inwe (whose son was Ingil) of the LOST TALES is another question. It is hard to believe that there is no connection (especially since INWE in THE COTTAGE OF LOST PLAY is emended from ING, I 22), yet it is equally difficult to see what that connection could be, since Inwe of the LOST TALES is an Elda of Kor (Ingwe Lord of the Vanyar in THE SILMARILLION) while Ing(we) of 'the Aelfwine story' is a Man, the King of Luthany and Aelfwine's ancestor. (In outlines for GILFANON'S TALE it is said that Ing King of Luthany was descended from Ermon, or from Ermon and Elmir (the first Men, I 236-7)).

The following outlines tell some more concerning Ing(we) and the Ingwaiwar:

(22) How Ing sailed away at eld [i.e. in old age] into the twilight, and Men say he came t the Gods, but he dwells on Tol Eressea, and will guide the fairies on eday back to Luthany when the Faring Forth takes place.

Here he prophesied that his kin should fare back again and possess Luthany until the days of the coming of the Elves.

How the land of Luthany was seven times invaded by Men, until at the seventh the children of the children of Ing came back to their own.

How at each new war and invasion the Elves faded, and each loved the Elves less, until the Rumhoth came -- and they did not even believe they existed, and the Elves all fled, so that save for a few the isle was empty of the Elves for three hundred years.

(23) How Ingwe drank LIMPE at the hands of the Elves and reigned ages in Luthany.

How Earendel came to Luthany to find the Elves gone.

How Ingwe aided him, but was not suffered to go with him. Earendel blessed all his progeny as the mightiest sea-rovers of the world.

How Osse made war upon Ingwe because of Earendel, and Ing longing for the Elves set sail, and all were wrecked after being driven far east.

How Ing the immortal came among the Dani OroDani Urdainoth East Danes.

How he became the half-divine king of the Ingwaiwar, and taught them many things of Elves and Gods, so that some true knowledge of the Gods and Elves lingered in that folk alone.

It goes on, actually. But I think many of you will recognize some familiar ideas here, including that of an aging mortal leader of Men taking ship and sailing west in search of the Elves, ultimately to be admitted to their ranks (which is what Tolkien suggests happened to Tuor). The Ing-Earendel connection survived into the future myths, where Tuor was Earendil's father.

The proposed mythological history of the Anglo-Saxons is so distinct and so unique among these writings (many of the stories in THE BOOK OF LOST TALES make no mention of them -- they are simply accounts of the ancient Elves related to Aelfwine by the Elvish narrators who entertain and educate him) that it just could not be retained when JRRT started over and created the world of the Silmarillion.

But there are other elements which survived. Ing (Ingwe) passes over the Sea, where the name is now used solely of the King of the Vanyar, and he never returns. The Edain are "three houses of Men" who enter Beleriand -- they are the first Men to arrive in the west of the World, and they are the ancestors of the Men of the West (the Numenoreans), just as the ancient Germans were divided into three groups.

The golden-haired Folk of Marach become the core group of the Numenoreans, who become great mariners. They are idealized Northmen (and their relatives who remain in Middle-earth became the ancestors of the Northmen of THE LORD OF THE RINGS).

The Elves gradually withdraw before the incursions of new men, until the arrival of the Ingwaiwar, who are friendly toward them. In the Second Age, the Elves build up a great civilization throughout Lindon and Eriador, but after the War of the Elves and Sauron their civilization is diminished until the Numenoreans become strong enough to (temporarily) suppress Sauron's power.

The connections are numerous, but it cannot really be shown that Tolkien looked back to these notes and drew upon them directly for inspiration. In fact, most of the history of the Second Age was composed after he wrote THE LORD OF THE RINGS, when he was preparing materials for both the LoTR appendices and the proposed "Companion Volume" (many of the materials for which were ultimately published by Christopher in UNFINISHED TALES OF NUMENOR AND MIDDLE-EARTH).

Well, that is a long digression from "Beowulf", I know, but it underscores just how profoundly the poem influenced Tolkien -- really in ways that are almost never mentioned in the popular literature. I would not be surprised to see references to these things in various papers published in the journals, but they don't get much attention from the online Tolkien community.

And after all that, I want to be sure to mention that this section of the "Beowulf" poem is marked by the poet's references to himself (two). He has thus inserted himself into the story in a very familiar mode, a mode that Tolkien would adopt for his children's stories, including THE HOBBIT.

[Michael]

In a followup to that message on the Endor list, I posted the following, which is appropriate for inclusion here as well:

Ing, nonetheless, had a profound influence on J.R.R. Tolkien. In THE BOOK OF LOST TALES, PART TWO (on page 304), Christopher Tolkien explained who Ing was to the reader (this is found in the section "The History of Eriol or Aelfwine"). It is very convenient that we had heard about Aelfwine earlier today.

It's probably not a supportable postulate, most definitely not provable, but I've sometimes wondered if Tolkien didn't start working on a mythology for England because of the mysterious Ing. "Ing", in his Elvish languages, means "first". Was there a sort of intellectual Ing Bang in Tolkien's mind, from which everything else progressed in its inevitable fashion?

[Martin Read]

Another historical/mythical connection could be through "Ermon." This sounds very like the name Heremon. Heremon was the youngest son, and eventual successor, of Mil Espaine. Mil or Milesius (whose name means "Spanish Warrior") was the chieftain who tradition says led the Gaels, or "Sons of Mil" from Spain to settle Ireland. This event was supposed to have taken place in the 17th century BC. From Heremon, it is claimed, were descended many of the leading families of Ireland including that of Niall of the Nine Hostages, High King of Ireland in about 400 AD. Niall is claimed as an ancestor by the O'Neills, O'Donnells and the Dalys (O'Dalaigh), and in theory by me.

[Turambar]

Finally, a thread concerning my own name and its relations to Tolkiens Ingwe, hehe.

My name is Yngve, and I was apparently indeed named after the Norse god of fertility and hunt, Frey. According to several scholars, theres evidence that Frey was merely a title, resembling "lord" and that his name was Yngve (i) with the title Frey: Yngvi-Frey.

Whether this Yngvi-Frey is the same as the Ing of the more southern Germanic tribes can of course be debated. It seems to me, however, that both the Angles and Saxons who later invaded the british isles, carrying with them their Gods and stories (as I beleive Beowulf to be), and the other Germanic tribes had many of the same gods, albeit with slightly altered names; Examples include Donar (Thor) the god of thunder and Woten (Odin) the god-king of wisdom. I am afraid I am not very well versed in either ancient norse or germanic, so I cant say whether Yngve would translate to Ingwe, but it seems likely to me.

An interesting point which supports Tolkiens use of Frey, or Yngve or Ingwe as the high king of elves is that Frey in the norse mythology ruled his realm: Alvheim. Literally elf-home.

The Ynglings were indeed the first and almost mythical line of rulers of the swedes, which later also spread to Norway and became the first great kings there (or should I say chieftains, there were many small kings in Norway at that early time). They claimed to be descendants of Yngve-Frey and thus have a divine right to rule.

In light of the profound impact of the norse sagas on Tolkiens literature, it would not seem strange that he should borrow the name of Yngve-Frey, as he did for many other names.

[Michael]

I had forgotten the connection between Frey and Alfheim. I believe you have raised a valid point. Delving into Tolkien's sources is risky business. While many popular conceptions focus on Norse/Germanic mythology in broad scope, there is a great deal of quibbling over the details. I think the roots of Ing are very revealing, though.