NOTES

 

HOSPITALITY, HOSTILITY, AND PEACEMAKING IN BEOWULF 

 

 

 

* Cet article a été initialement publié dans la revue Philological Quarterly, n°94 : 1-2 (2015), p. 23-50. 

 

(1) Alain Montandon, "Les miroirs de l'hospitalité," Le livre de l'hospitalité, (éd.) Alain Montando, Paris, Bayard, 2004, p. 6-14 ; Conrad Lashley, "Towards a Theoretical Understanding", In Search of Hospitality : Theoretical Perspectives and Debates, (dir.) Conrad Lashley and Alison Morrison, Oxford, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2000) p. 3-17.

 

(2) Immanuel Kant, Zum ewigen Frieden. Mit Texten zur Rezeption 1796-1800, Leipzig, Reclam, 1984 ; Jacques Derrida et Anne Dufourmantelle, De l'hospitalité, Paris, Calmann-Levy, 1997. See also Paul Ricoeur, "La condition d' etranger", Esprit (March/ April 2006), p. 264-265 and 268 ; and Georg Simmel, "Exkurs uber den Fremden", Soziologie. Untersuchungen uber die Formen der Vergesellschaftung, Berlin, Duncker und Humblot, 1908, p. 509-512.

 

(3) Julie Kerr, Monastic Hospitality. The Benedictines in England, c. 1070-c. 1250, Woodbridge, Boydell, 2007.

 

(4) Katharine Simms, "Guesting and Feasting in Gaelic Ireland", Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland n° 108 (1978) p. 67-100 ; Llinos Beverly Smith, "On the Hospitality of the Welsh : A Comparative View", Power and Identity in the Middle Ages : Essays in Memory of Rees Davies, (dir.) Huw Pryce and John Watts, Oxford U. Press, 2007, p. 181-914.

 

(5) Levi Roach, "Hosting the King : Hospitality and the Royal Iter in Tenth-Century England", Journal of Medieval History n° 37 (2011), p. 34-46.

 

(6) Carlos Fonseca Clamote Carreto, "Le Don en anamorphose ou la réécriture du monde:  Configurations et enjeux de l'hospitalite dans le recit medieval (XIIe-XIIIe siecles)", COnTEXTES : Revue de Sociologie de la Litterature n°5 (2009), doi: 10.4000/contextes.4250 ; Siegfried Richard Christoph, "Hospitality and Status: Social Intercourse in Middle High German Arthurian Romance and Courtly Narrative", Arthuriana 20.3 (2010), p. 45-64.

 

(7) Katharine Simms, "Guesting and Feasting in Gaelic Ireland", art. cit. 

  

(8) Llinos Beverly Smith, "On the Hospitality of the Welsh : A Comparative View", art. cit. ; T. M. Charles-Edwards, Early Irish and Welsh Kinship, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1993, p. 364-395.

 

(9) Julie Kerr, "'Welcome the Coming and Speed the Parting Guest': Hospitality in Twelfth-Century England", Journal of Medieval History n° 33.2 (2007), p. 130-416 ; Felicity Heal, Hospitality in Early Modern England, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1990.

 

(10) Leopold Hellmuth, Gastfreundschaft und Gastrecht bei den Germanen, Oesterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-Historische Klasse, Vienna, 1984 ; Hans Conrad Peyer, Von der Gastfreundschaft zum Gasthaus. Studien zur Gastlichkeit im Mittelatler, MGH Schriften 31, Hanover, Hahnsche Buchhandlung, 1987.

 

(11) Alban Gautier, "Hospitality in Pre-Viking Anglo-Saxon England", Early Medieval Europe n°17 (2009), p. 23-44 ;  Hiizu Moriyama, "Synonyms and Synonymous Expressions in the Old English Semantic Field 'Hospitality, Harbouring, and Entertaining'", Waseda Global Forum n° 7 (2010), p. 172-181 ; and James A. W. Heffernan, Hospitality and Treachery in Western Literature, Yale U. Press, 2014. See also the recent special issue of the Journal of Medieval History n° 37 (2011), "Feasts and Gifts of Food in Medieval Europe: Ritualised Constructions of Hierarchy, Identity and Community."

 

(12) Julian Pitt-Rivers, "The Law of Hospitality", The Fate of Shechem or the Politics of Sex : Essays in the Anthropology of the Mediterranean, Cambridge U. Press, 1977, p. 94.

 

(13) See Gabriele Muller-Oberhauser, "Cynna gemyndig : Sitte und Etiquette in der altenglische Literatur", Fruhmittelalterliche Studien 30 (1996), p.19-59.

 

(14) Jean-Claude Schmitt, "The Rationale of Gestures in the West: Third to Thirteenth Centuries", A Cultural History of Gesture : From Antiquity to the Present Day, (dir.) Jan Bremmer and Herman Roodenburg, Cambridge, Polity Press, 1991, p. 61.

 

(15) For recent reflections on Beowulf and peacemaking, see Peter S. Baker, Honour, Exchange and Violence in Beowulf, Cambridge, Brewer, 2013, esp. chap. 6.

 

(16) As Roy Liuzza observes, the disagreements that surround the date of Beowulf discourage "any close interpretation of the poem that depends on a specific period of Anglo-Saxon history." Roy Michael Liuzza, "On the Dating of Beowulf", Beowulf : Basic Readings, (dir.) Peter B. Baker, New York, Garland, 1995, p. 295. My reflections here do not depend on a precise date or audience for the poem ; rather, they try to highlight issues that might have appealed to various Anglo-Saxon audiences, and that might still appeal to contemporary readers of the poem.

 

(17) Leopold Hellmuth, Gastfreundschaft und Gastrecht bei den Germanen, Oesterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-Historische Klasse, op. cit., p. 24 ; Tom Selwyn, "An Anthropology of Hospitality", Search of Hospitality, p. 34 ; Michel Mollat, Les pauvres au moyen âge : étude sociale, Paris, Hachette, 1978, p. 53.

 

(18) See also Ps. 48(47):10 ; Matt. 10:40 ; Heb. 13:2 ; 1 Pet. 4:9 ; Rom. 12:13.

 

(19) "Anonymous Life of Saint Cuthhert, 2.2", Two Lives of St. Cuthbert : A Life by an Anonymous Monk of Lindisfarne and Bede's Prose Life, (éd.) Bertram Colgrave, Cambridge U. Press, 1985, p. 76-79 ; "AElfric, Catholic Homilies 2.10 "Depositio Sancti Cuthberti Episcopi", 83, lines 61-73, AElfric, Catholic Homilies : The Second Series Text, (éd.) Malcolm Godden, London, Oxford U. Press, 1979) ; Bede, "Ecclesiastical History 1.7, 28-29", Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, (éd. et trad.) Bertram Colgrave and R. A. B. Mynors, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1969 ; "AElfric", Lives of Saints 1.7 "Saint Agnes, Virgin" 192", lines 386-390, AElfric, Lives of Saints, vol. 1, (éd. et trad.) W. Skeat, London, Oxford U. Press, 1881 and 1885 ; 1966. On Bede's account of St. Alban, see also the illuminating reflections of Lynn Staley who links conversion with hospitality to the foreign. Lynn Staley, The Island Garden : England's Language of Nation from Gildas to Marvell, U. of Notre Dame Press, 2012, p. 67. See also AElfric, Lives of Saints 1.3, "Saint Basilius, bishop" (the priest Anastasius sheltering a leper), 74, lines 480-489 ; AElfric, Lives of Saints 2.30, "Passion of St. Eustache and his Companions," p. 204-206, 247-265, AElfric, Lives of Saints. vol. 2, (éd. et trad.) W. W. Skeat, London, Oxford U. Press, 1890 and 1900 ; 1966), ; Christine Rauer, (éd. et trad.), "15 September : Mamilian," The Old English Martyrology : Edition, Translation and Commentary, Cambridge, Brewer, 2013.

 

(20) AElfric, Catholic Homilies. The Second Series Text,  éd. cit., p. 163-164. See also in the same volume "Feria Secunda Letania Maiore", 2.19,181, lines 36-45, and the homily for the fifth Sunday in Lent (Assmann 12, 147 lines 81-89) in Angelsachsische Homilien und Heiligenleben, (éd.) B. Assmann, Bibliothek der angelsachsischen Prosa 3, Kassel, G. H. Wigand, 1889. 

 

(21) Marie-Claire Grassi, "Passer le seuil", Le livre de l'hospitalité, éd. cit., p. 22 and 32.

 

(22) On the language of hostility and hospitality, see Emile Benveniste, "Hospitalité", Le vocabulaire des institutions indo-europeennes. 1. Economie, parenté, société, Editions de Minuit, 1969, p.87-101; and Leopold Hellmuth, Gastfreundschaft und Gastrecht bei den Germanen, Oesterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-Historische Klasse, op. cit., p. 23.

 

(23) See for instance the Libellus Responsium that Bede integrates in chap. 27 of Book 1 of the Ecclesiastical History. It specifies that a fourth of the goods given to a monastery should be devoted to hospitality : Mos autem sedis apostolicae est ordinatis episcopis praecepta tradere, ut omni stipendio quod accedit quattuor debeant fieri portiones: una uidelicet episcopo et familiae propter hospitalitatem atque susceptionem [...] [It is a custom of the apostolic see to give instruction to those who have been consecrated bishops that all money received should be divided into four portions: that is, one for the bishop and his household for purposes of hospitality and entertainment]. Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, op. cit., p. 80-81.

 

(24) Omnes superuenientes hospites tamquam Christus suscipiantur, quia ipse dicturus est : Hospis fui et suscepistis me [All arriving guests should be welcomed like Christ, for he himself will say, "I was a stranger and you welcomed me"]. On this point, see Adalbert de Vogue, Reading Saint Benedict : Reflections on the Rule, (trad.) Colette Friedlander, Kalamazoo, Cistercian Publications, 1994, p. 255-256. Benedicti Regula, (éd.) Rudolph Hanslik, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 75, Vienna, Hoelder-Pichler-Tempsky, 1960, p.123. The translation is from The Rule of Saint Benedict, (éd. et trad.) Bruce L. Venarde, Harvard U. Press, 2011, p .173. Various rules were known and used in Anglo-Saxon England, and it is difficult to assess precisely which rule was observed in a particular monastery. The Benedictine Rule however was known throughout the period, as testified by Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Hatton 48, the oldest surviving manuscript of Benedict's Rule. It was produced in England and is dated to the eighth century. See Michael Lapidge, "The School of Theodore and Hadrian", Anglo-Saxon England 15 (2008), p.54-58 and 62-63. On the Rule of Benedict and other monastic rules, see Sarah Foot, Monastic Life in Anglo-Saxon England, c. 600-900, Cambridge U. Press, 2006, p. 48-69 ; Patrick Sims-Williams, Religion and Literature in Western England, 600-800, Cambridge U. Press, 1990, p. 117-118.

 

(25) 53.15 : Pauperum et peregrinorum maxime susceptioni cura sollicite exhibeatur, quia in ipsis magis Christus suscipitur; nam diuitum terror ipse sibi exigit honorem [The greatest care should be shown in the reception of the poor and pilgrims because in them especially Christ is welcomed (for awe of the rich itself secures honorable treatment)]. Benedicti Regula, éd. cit., p. 124-125. The Rule of Saint Benedict, éd. et trad. cit., p. 175. See Adalbert de Vogue, Reading Saint Benedict : Reflections on the Rule, trad. cit. p. 132, for observations on the much more circumspect reception of guests in the Regula magistri.

 

(26) 53.16 : Coquina abbatis et hospitum super se sit, ut incertis horis superuenientes hospites, qui numquam desunt monasterio, non inquietentur fratres [The kitchens of the abbot and the guests should be separate so that guests, who are never absent from a monastery and appear at unpredictable times, do not disturb the brothers]. 53.23 : Hospitibus autem, cui non praecipitur, ullatenus societur neque conloquatur [No one should associate or speak with guests at all unless permission is granted], Benedicti Regula, éd. cit., p. 125 and 126. The Rule of Saint Benedict, éd. et trad. cit., p. 175. See Adalbert de Vogue, Reading Saint Benedict : Reflections on the Rule, trad. cit. p. 258-259.

 

(27) On this distinction, see Christopher A. Jones, Aelfric's Letter to the Monks of Eynsham, Cambridge U. Press, 1999, p. 213n-296. Both AEthelwolds Regularis Concordia and AElfric's adaptation of it in the Letter to the Monks of Eynsham betray an interest in welcoming the poor. They abridge the concluding part of chap. 53 of the Benedictine Rule, the former briefly mentioning that departing wayfarers should be provided with a supply of victuals, the latter simply referring to the Rule concerning the treatment of guests.

 

(28) 2 Cnut 35.1 : "Witodlice, se de freondleasan 7 feorran cumenan wyrsan dom demed pronne his geferan, he dered him sylfum" [Indeed he who passes a worse judgment on a friendless and foreign man than on his associate living nearby, he injures himself], Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, (éd.) F. Liebermann, vol. 1, Halle, Niemeyer, 1898, p. 338. See also 8 AEthelred 33 and Edward and Guthrum 12. See also Alfred's prologue to his law-code and his exhortation to be kind to strangers "fordon de ge waeron giu eldeodige on Egipta londe" [for once you were strangers in the land of Egypt], This passage repeats Exod. 22.21. Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, éd. cit., p. 38. See also Ancient Laws and Institutes of England, (éd. et trad.) B. Thorpe, s.l: s. n, 1840, p. 24. Unless specified otherwise, all translations from the Old English are my own.

 

(29) Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, éd. cit., p. 11. See also lban Gautier, "Hospitality in Pre-Viking Anglo-Saxon England", rt. cit., p. 28-29. The host is however not held responsible for the behavior of guests he welcomes only for a short time : see for instance Hlothhere and Eadric 11,13, and 14. Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, éd. cit.,p. 10 -11. For Lisi Olivers comments on "legal responsibility in hospitality", see Lisi Oliver, The Beginnings of English Law, U. of Toronto Press, 2002, p. 138.

 

(30) About this guest coming "from over the border", Oliver says that he "may be an Anglo-Saxon from a different region of England, but Welshmen and foreigners from across the sea are not necessarily excluded." Lisi Oliver, The Beginnings of English Law, op. cit., p. 138.

 

(31) For instance, Ine 30 : "Gif mon cierliscne monnan fliemanfeorme teo, be his agnum were geladige he hine ; gif he ne maege, gielde hine his agne were ; 7 se gesidmon swa be his were" [If anyone accuses a commoner of harbouring a fugitive he shall clear himself by (an oath) equal in value to his own wergeld. If he cannot do so he shall pay for (harbouring) him (the fugitive), (a sum equal to) his own wergeld. A nobleman also shall pay according to the amount of his own wergeld]. Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, éd. cit., p. 102. The translation is from The Laws of the Earliest English Kings, (éd. et trad.) F. L. Attenborough, New York,n Russel and Russel, 1963, p. 47. See also Alfred 4 ; 2 Athelstan 8 ; 20.8, 4 Athelstan 6.3 ; 2 Edmund 1.2 ; 3 Edgar 7.3 ; 3 Ethelred 13, Cnut's letter to the people of England (1019-1020), 12.

 

(32) On this point, see John Hudson, The Oxford History of the Laws of England, Vol. II : 871-1216, Oxford U. Press, 2012, p. 167-168.

 

(33) Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, éd. cit., p.  14.

 

(34) Ibidem, p.  98.

 

(35) Lisi Oliver, The Beginnings of English Law, op. cit., p. 179-180.

 

(36) Lisi Oliver, "Legal Documentation and the Practice of English Law", The Cambridge History of Early Medieval English Literature, (dir.) Clare A. Lees, Cambridge U. Press, 2013, p. 528. See also Carole Hough, "Legal and Documentary Writing", A Companion to Anglo-Saxon Literature, (dir.) Phillip Pulsiano and Elaine Treharne, Oxford, Blackwell, 2001, p. 170. Patrick Wormald, The Making of English Law : King Alfred to the Twelfth Century, vol. 1: Legislation and Its Limits, Oxford, Blackwell, 1999, p. 264 and 248, notes that "law-codes were preserved before 1066 for reasons other than the strictly utilitarian" and are perhaps best considered as an "index of governing mentalities." See also Patrick Wormald, "Lex Scripta and Verbum Regis : Legislation and Germanic Kingship, from Euric to Cnut", Legal Culture in the Early Medieval West : Law as Text, Image and Experience, (dir.) Patrick Wormald, London, Hambledon Press, 1999 p. 1-43.

 

(37) Stephen Pollington, "The Mead-Hall Community", Journal of Medieval History n° 37 (2011), p. 19-33 ; Eileen A. Joy, '"In His Eyes Stood a Light, Not Beautiful' : Levinas, Hospitality, Beowulf", Levinas and Medieval Literature : The 'Difficult Reading' of English and Rabbinic Texts, (dir.) Ann Asted and J. A. Jackson, Pittsburg, Duquesne U. Press, 2009, p. 57-84 ; Alban Gautier, Le festin dans l'Angleterre anglo-saxonne (Ve-XIe siecle), Rennes, Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2006 ;  Hugh Magennis, Images of Community in Old English Poetry, Cambridge U. Press, 1996, p. 60-81 ; Kathryn Hume, "The Concept of the Hall in Old English Poetry", Anglo-Saxon England 3 (1974), p. 63-74 ; James L. Rosier, "The Uses of Association : Hands and Feasts in Beowulf", PMLA n°78 (1963), p. 8-14.

 

(38) Robert E. Bjork, "Speech as Gift in Beowulf", Speculum 69 (1994),  p. 993-1022 ; T. A. Shippey, "Principles of Conversation in Beowulfian Speech", Techniques of Description : Spoken and Written Discourse, (dir.) John M. Sinclair, Michael Hoey, and Gwyneth Fox, London, Routledge, 1993, p. 109-126 ; Eric Jager, "Speech and the Chest in Old English Poetry:  Orality or Pectorality", Speculum 65 (1990), p. 845-859 ; Peter S. Baker, "Beowulf the Orator", Journal of English Linguistics 21 (1988), p.  3-23.

 

(39) David Rollason, "Protection and the Mead-Hall", Peace and Protection in the Middle Ages, (dir.) T. B. Lambert and David Rollason, Durham, Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2009, p. 19-35 ; Hugh Magennis, Anglo-Saxon Appetites : Food and Drink and their Consumption in Old English and Related Literatures, Dublin:,Four Courts Press, 1999, p. 51-58 and 78-84 ; Fred C. Robinson, Beowulf and the Appositive Style, U. of Tennessee Press, 1985, p. 75-77.

 

(40) Nathan A. Breen, "The King's Closest Counselor : The Legal Basis of Wealhtheow's Comments to Hrothgar, Beowulf 1169-1187", The Heroic Age 14 (2010), p. 29 paras ; Dorothy Carr Porter, "The Social Centrality of Women in Beowulf : A New Context", The Heroic Age 5 (2001) ; Michael J. Enright, Lady with a Mead Cup : Ritual, Prophecy and Lordship in the European Warband from La Tene to the Viking Age, Dublin, Four Courts Press, 1996, esp. chap. 1, "Ritual, Group Cohesion and Hierarchy in the Germanic Warband", p.1-37 ; Christopher Fee, "Beag and Beaghroden : Women, Treasure and the Language of Social Structure in Beowulf", Neuphilologische Mitteilungen 97 (1996), p. 285-294 ; Gillian R. Overing, "The Women of Beowulf : A Context for Interpretation", Beowulf : Basic Readings, (dir.) Peter S. Baker, New York, Garland, 1995, p. 219-220 ; Helen Damico, Beowulf's Wealhtheow and the Valkyrie Tradition, U. of Wisconsin Press, 1984 ; André Crepin, "Queen Wealhtheow's Offering of the Cup to Beowulf", Saints, Scholars and Heroes : Studies in Medieval Culture in Honour of Charles W. Jones, (dir.) Margot H. King and Wesley M. Stevens, Collegeville, MN, Hill Monastic Library, 1979, p. 45-58.

 

(41) Haruko Momma, "The Education of Beowulf and the Affair of the Leisure Class", Verbal Encounters : Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse Studies for Roberta Frank, (dir.) Antonina Harbus and Russell Poole, U. of Toronto Press, 2005, 163-182 ; Bob Barringer, "Adding Insult to the Inquiry : A Study of Rhetorical Jousting in Beowulf", In Geardagum 19 (1998),  p. 19-26 ; E. G. Stanley, "Courtliness and Courtesy in Beowulf and Elsewhere in English Medieval Literature", Words and Works : Studies in Medieval English Language and Literature in Honour of Fred C. Robinson, (dir.) Peter Baker and Nicholas Howe, U. of Toronto Press, 1998, p. 67-103 ; Michael J. Enright, "The Warband Context of the Unferth Episode", Speculum 73 (1996), p. 297-337 ; Ward Parks, "Flyting and Fighting : Pathways in the Realization of the Epic Contest", Neophilologus 70 (1986), p. 292-306 ; Patricia Silber, "Rhetoric as Prowess in the Unferth Episode", Texas Studies in Literature and Language 23 (1981), p. 471-483 ; C. J. Clover, "The Germanic Context of the Unferth Episode", Speculum 55 (1980), p. 444-468 ; Jane Roberts, "Old English un- 'very' and Unferth", English Studies 61 (1980), p. 289-292.

 

(42) See especially the ambiguities surrounding the term geest (gdst "spirit, demon" or gist "stranger, visitor") ; J. R. R. Tolkien, Beowulf : A Translation and Commentary, together with Sellic Spell, (dir.) Christopher Tolkien, London, Harper Collins, 2014, p. 159 ; Jana K. Schulman, "Monstrous Introductions : Ellengoest and Agloecwif", Beowulf at Kalamazoo : Essays on Translation and Performance, (dir.) Jana K. Schulman and Paul E. Szarmach, Kalamazoo, Medieval Institute Publications, 2012, p. 69-92 ; Carolyn Anderson, "Goest, Gender, and Kin in Beowulf. Consumption of Boundaries", The Heroic Age 5 (2001) ; Joyce Tally Lionarons, "Beowulf. Myth and Monsters", English Studies IT (1996), p. 1-14. See also Megan Cavell, "Constructing the Monstrous Body in Beowulf", Anglo-Saxon England 43 (2014), p. 155-181;  Renee Trilling, "Beyond Abjection:  The Problem with Grendel's Mother Again"  Parergon 24 (2007), p.1-20 ; Kathryn Powell, "Meditating on Men and Monsters : A Reconsideration of the Thematic Unity of the Beowulf Manuscript", RES 57 (2006), p. 1-15 ; Jennifer Neville, "Monsters and Criminals : Defining Humanity in Old English Poetry", Monsters and the Monstrous in Medieval Northern Europe, (dir.) K. E. Olsen and L. A. J. R. Houwen, Leuven, Peeters, 2001, p. 103-122 ; André Crepin, "Beowulf : monstre ou modèle", Etudes Anglaises 51 (1998), p. 387-398 ; Andy Orchard, Pride and Prodigies : Studies in the Monsters of the Beowulf-Manuscript, Cambridge, Brewer, 1995 ;  Katherine O'Brien O'Keeffe, "Beowulf, lines 702b-836 : Transformations and the Limits of the Human," Texas Studies in Literature and Language 23 (1981), p. 484-494.

 

(43) On this point, see in particular Andy Orchard, Pride and Prodigies : Studies in the Monsters of the Beowulf-Manuscript, op. cit., p. 29-33.

 

(44) Joyce Tally Lionarons, "Beowulf. Myth and Monsters", art. cit., p. 5 and 7.

 

(45) Grendel is repeatedly linked with obscurity (Beowulf, v. 115b, 166b-167, 275b, 710b, 714a, 731b). The Danes do not know where the monsters live (Beowulf, 162b-63, 1331b-132, 1357b-1358a, 1366b-1367), and yet, the king surprisingly also says that Grendel's abode is not far from Heorot (Beowulf, 1361b-1362) and that people have seen the two creatures from afar (Beowulf, 1347-1349a). Klaeber's Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, (éd.) R. D. Fulk, Robert E. Bjork, and John D. Niles, U. of Toronto Press, 2008.

 

(46) When Beowulf plunges into the mere, Grendel's mother soon discovers his presence. She seizes him and "Baer pa seo brimwylf, pa heo to botme com, / hringa Jaengel to hofe sinum" [Then when she reached the bottom, the she-wolf of the sea carried the prince of rings to her house] (Beowulf, v. 1506-1507).

 

(47) Beowulf, v. 2312-2327a.

 

(48) On the motif of the hero calling the dragon to emerge from the cave in Beowulf and hagiographic tradition, see Christine Rauer, Beowulf and the Dragon : Parallels and Analogues, Cambridge, Brewer, 2000, p. 80-8.

 

(49) Jennifer Neville, "Monsters and Criminals : Defining Humanity in Old English Poetry", art. cit., p.117.

 

(50) Joyce Tally Lionarons, "Beowulf. Myth and Monsters", art. cit., p. 8.

 

(51) Adrien Bonjour, The Digressions in Beowulf, Oxford, Blackwell, 1950, p. 16. See also John M. Hill, The Narrative Pulse of Beowulf : Arrivals and Departures, U. of Toronto Press, 2008, p. 31, and Frederick M. Biggs, "The Naming of Beowulf and Ecgtheow's Feud", PQ 80 (2001), p. 102.

 

(52) Michael R. Kightley, "Reinterpreting Threats to Face : The Use of Politeness in Beowulf, lines 407-472", Neophilologus 93 (2009), p. 517-518. On this point, see also Antje G. Frotscher, "Treasure and Violence : Mapping a Conceptual Metaphor in Medieval Heroic Literature", Neophilologus 97 (2013), p. 758-759 ; John M. Hill, The Narrative Pulse of Beowulf : Arrivals and Departures, op. cit., p. 31.

 

(53) Frederick M. Biggs, "The Naming of Beowulf and Ecgtheow's Feud", art. cit., p. 105.

 

(54) See Hlothhere and Eadric 15 quoted above ; and the laws of Edward the Confessor, 23, esp. 23.1. Gods Peace and Kings Peace : The Laws of Edward the Confessor, (dir.) Bruce R. O'Brien, U. of Pennsylvania Press, 1999, p. 182. See also Alban Gautier, "Hospitality in Pre-Viking Anglo-Saxon England", art. cit., p. 28-29 ; Julie Kerr, "'Welcome the Coming and Speed the Parting Guest' : Hospitality in Twelfth-Century England", art. cit., p. 142-44.

 

(55) John M. Hill, The Narrative Pulse of Beowulf : Arrivals and Departures, op. cit., p. 24-29 ; Andy Orchard, A Critical Companion to Beowull, Brewer, 2003, p. 208-123 ; Robert E. Kaske, "The Coastwarden's Maxim in Beowulf. A Clarification", N&Q 31.3 (1984), p. 16-18 ; Thomas Hamel, "Guests, Heroes and the Fall of Beowulf", Old English Newsletter 13.2 (1980), p. 37 ; Norman E. Eliason, "The Arrival at Heorot", Studies in Language, Literature, and Culture of the Middle Ages and Later, (dir.) E. Bagby Atwood and Archibald A. Hill, U. of Texas Press, 1969, p. 235-242 ; John Halverson, "The World of Beowulf", Journal of English Literary History n°36 (1969), p.595 ; Margaret W. Pepperdene, "Beowulf and the Coast-Guard", English Studies 47 (1966), p. 409-419.

 

(56) J. R. R. Tolkien, Beowulf : A Translation and Commentary, together with Sellic Spell, éd. cit., p. 195-196.

 

(57) Fritz Mezger, "Two Notes on Beowulf", Modern Language Notes n°66 (1951), p. 36-38, adduces Old Norse parallels for a meaning "tramp, vagabond." See also Biggs, "The Naming of Beowulf and Ecgtheow's Feud","art. cit., p. 97.

 

(58) Andy Orchard, A Critical Companion to Beowull, op. cit., p. 209 has "peerless face". Liuzza translates the phrase as "incomparable appearance" ; Beowulf, (trad.) R. M. Liuzza, Peterborough, Broadview, 2013. Crossley-Holland has "his lordly bearing" ; Beowulf, (trad.) Kevin Crossley-Holland, Oxford U. Press, 1999. Jack glosses the two words as "matchless appearance" ; Beowulf : A Student Edition, (éd.) George Jack, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1994. Swanton translates it as "unique form" ; Beowulf, (éd. et trad.) Michael Swanton, Manchester U. Press, 1978. Chickering has "noble bearing" ; Beowulf : A Dual-Language Edition, (éd. et trad.) Howell. D. Chickering Jr., New York, Anchor Press, 1977.

 

(59) The Dictionary of Old English records ca. 1400 occurrences, mostly in glosses. Dictionary of Old English : A to G online, (dir.) Angus Cameron, Ashley Crandell Amos, Antonette diPaolo Healey, et al., Toronto, Dictionary of Old English Project, 2007. 

 

(60) Beowulf, éd. cit., v. 251a, v. 928a, v. 2772a and v. 2834a.

 

(61) Julian Pitt-Rivers, "The Law of Hospitality", art. cit., p. 97.

 

(62) See also John M. Hill, The Narrative Pulse of Beowulf : Arrivals and Departures, op. cit., p. 24-25.

 

(63) It may be worth mentioning here that Beowulf's first words to Hygelac are Hygelac is undyrne, dryhten Higelac / maeru gemeting monegum fira ..." [My lord Hygelac, the great encounter is revealed to many people ...] (Beowulf, v. 2000-2001).

 

(64) On the echoes between the coastguards and Wulfgar's speeches, see Andy Orchard, A Critical Companion to Beowull, op. cit., p. 208.

 

(65) The manuscript reads "orfeorme", but the emendation "for feorme" is widely accepted. For a detailed discussion of this passage, and in particular of Beowulf's role in the struggle for the Swedish throne, see James W. Earl, "The Swedish Wars in Beowulf", JEGP 114 (2015), p. 43-48.

 

(66) "Guman onetton, / sigon aetsomne, op paet hy sael timbred / geatolic ond goldfah ongyton mihton" [the men hurried, they marched together until they could see the built hall, splendid and ornamented with gold] (Beowulf, v. 306b-308).

 

(67) "Aris, rices weard, uton hrape feran, / Grendles magan gang sceawigan" [Arise, guardian of the kingdom, let us go quickly look at the track of Grendel's kinswoman] (Beowulf, v. 1390-1391).

 

(68) "Wisa fengel / geatolic gende; gumfepa stop / lindhaebbendra" [The wise king rode stately; the band of shield-bearers marched] (Beowulf, 1400b-1402a).

 

(69) Julian Pitt-Rivers, "The Law of Hospitality", art. cit., p. 108.

 

(70) "Ic hwile waes / endesaeta, aegwearde heold" [I have long been a border resident, I kept watch by the sea, Beowulf] (Beowulf, v. 240b-241).

 

(71) See notes to Klaeber's Beowulf, (éd.) Fulk, Bjork, and Niles, p. 143. J. Hoops, "Das Verhullen des Haupts bei Toten, ein angelsachsisch-nordischer Brauch (Zu Beowulf 446: hafelan hydan)", Englische Studien 54 (1920), p. 19-23, understands this line to refer to the custom of covering the head of a dead body. Fritz Mezger, "Two Notes on Beowulf", art. cit., p. 36-38, argues that Beowulf here means that Hrothgar will not be held responsible for avenging his death. For Arthur E. DuBois, '"Hafelan Hydan' Beowulf, lines 446, 1372", Modern Language Notes 70.1 (1955), p. 3-5, the phrase simply means "to die." See also Roberta Frank, "Skaldic Verse and the Date of Beowulf in The Dating of Beowulf", (dir.) Colin Chase, U. of Toronto Press, 1981, p. 136.

 

(72) Dictionary of Old English, "feorm". See also Andy Orchard, A Critical Companion to Beowulf, op. cit., p. 213 ;  Michael R. Kightley, "Reinterpreting Threats to Face : The Use of Politeness in Beowulf, lines 407-472", art. cit., p. 515 ; Andreas Fischer, "Engagement, Wedding and Marriage in Old English", Anglistische Forschungen n°176, Heidelberg, Carl Winter Universitatsverlag, 1986, p. 46-48. J. R. R. Tolkien, Beowulf :  A Translation and Commentary, together with Sellic Spell, éd. cit., p. 241-242, detects both irony and folklore motifs. See the note to Klaeber's Beowulf, (éd.) Fulk, Bjork, and Niles, p. 144, for a mention of the various interpretations to which this phrase has given rise.

 

(73) For instance Andy Orchard, A Critical Companion to Beowulf, op. cit., p. 213. See also Beowulf, trad cit. v. 81 ; Beowulf : A Student Edition, éd. cit., v. 54 ; and Martin Puhvel, "Lices feorm", English Language Notes 1 (1964), p.  159-163.

 

(74) Jacques Derrida and Anne Dufourmantelle, Of Hospitality, (trad.) Rachel Bowlby, Stanford U. Press, 2000, p. 87.

 

(75) Beowulf, éd. cit., lines 2802-288, is a good instance of the importance that the barrow will have in keeping Beowulf's memory alive among his people. See also Jennifer Neville, Representations of the Natural World in Old English Poetry, Cambridge U. Press, 1999, p. 137-138 ; Andy Orchard, A Critical Companion to Beowulf, op. cit., p. 36-39.

 

(76) Marie-Claire Grassi, "Passer le seuil", Le livre de l'hospitalité, éd. cit., p. 23.

 

(77) Leopold Hellmuth, "Gastfreundschaft und Gastrecht bei den Germanen, Oesterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-Historische Klasse" art. cit., p. 24, points out that hospitality is useful for the host because it is "ein Instrument zur Aufrechterhaltung dessen, was in der entsprechenden Kultur als Ordnung im weitesten Sinn verstanden und empfunden wird."

 

(78) Beowulf, éd. cit., v 1175-1180a et 1225b-1231.

 

(79) Ibidem, v. 1180b-1187. For Shippey, Wealhtheow associates Beowulf and Hrothulf in the threat that they represent to her sons. T. A. Shippey, "Principles of Conversation in Beowulfian Speech", art. cit., p. 113-114.

 

(80) Haruko Momma, "The Education of Beowulf and the Affair of the Leisure Class", art. cit., p.  172.

 

(81) Andy Orchard, A Critical Companion to Beowulf, op. cit., p. 174.

 

(82) This reading is based on the widespread emendation adding "ne" to line 1130a. For a different interpretation of this passage, see Richard North, "Tribal Loyalties in the 'Finnsburh Fragment' and Episode", Leeds Studies in English 21 (1990), p. 26-27 ; and John F. Vickrey, "The Narrative Structure of Hengest's Revenge in Beowulf", Anglo-Saxon England 6 (1977), p. 91-103.

 

(83) For a recent discussion of this passage, see Peter S. Baker, Honour, Exchange and Violence in Beowulf, op. cit., p. 187-196.

 

(84) Klaeber's Beowulf, (éd.) Fulk, Bjork, and Niles, v. 183.

 

(85) Baker, Honour, Exchange and Violence in Beowulf, op. cit., p. 194-195.

 

(86) This reading assumes that Hunlafing designates a person and is not the name of the sword.

 

(87) This is again a passage that has been extensively discussed. For more details, see Klaeber's Beowulf, (éd.) Fulk, Bjork, and Niles, v. 89-90, and Andy Orchard, A Critical Companion to Beowulf, op. cit., p. 185.

 

(88) Jean-Claude Schmitt, "The Rationale of Gestures in the West: Third to Thirteenth Centuries", art. cit., p. 61.

 

(89) When discussing the Finnsburh episode, John Niles observes that this passage demonstrates "just how heinous the Frisians' initial attack upon their guests was felt to be. The episode serves as a reminder of the crucial role played by guest friendship in early Germanic society[...]" John D. Niles, "The Myth of the Feud in Anglo-Saxon England", JEGP 114 (2015), p. 189.

 

(90) Julian Pitt-Rivers, "The Law of Hospitality", art. cit., p. 111.

 

(91) "Gladian" appears only here in poetry, though it occurs in prose with the meaning "to gladden" or "to be glad, rejoice." This passage in Beowulf is the only instance for which the Dictionary of Old English records the meaning "gleam, be bright, shine."

 

(92) Gabriele Muller-Oberhauser, "Cynna gemyndig : Sitte und Etiquette in der altenglische Literatur", art. cit., p. 38, quotes Jan Assman at this point : "Was einzelne Individuen zu einem solchen Wir zusammenbindet, ist die konnektive Struktur eines gemeinsamen Wissens und Selbstbilds, das sich[...] auf die Erinnerungan eine gemeinsam bewohnte Vergangenheit stutzt." She adds : "Dem Fest kommt hier besondere Bedeutung zu, denn es dient als 'primare Organisationsform des kulturellen Gedachtnisses' der Vergegenwartigung der Vergangenheit." Jan Assmann, Das kulturelle Gedachtnis. Schrift, Erinnerung und politische Identitat in fruhen Hochkulturen, Munich, Verlag C. H. Beck, 1992), 16ff.

 

(93) For a different view, see Shippey, for whom "there is no sign the Dane with the sword has been insolently boastful at all, but since the whole situation is imaginary, that can hardly be tested." T. A. Shippey, "Principles of Conversation in Beowulfian Speech", art. cit., p. 116.

 

(94) It is worth pointing out here that when leaving Hrothgar, Beowulf promises him help if he hears "paet pec ymbsittend egesan pywad" [that neighbors threaten you with terror] (Beowulf  v.1827).

 

(95) See for instance Adrien Bonjour, The Digressions in Beowulf , op. cit., p. 3-11.

 

(96) On this point, and for arguments that the controlling theme of Beowulf is "threats to social order", see Kathryn Hume, "The Theme and Structure of Beowulf", SP 72 (1975), p. 1-27.

 

(97) The first promise of the Promissio Regis reads : "An aerest paet godes cyrice and eall cristen folc minra gewealda sode sibbe healde" [First, that God's church and all Christian people in my dominions preserve true peace]. Mary Clayton, "The Old English Promissio Regis", Anglo-Saxon England 37 (2008, p. 148 ; translation 149. For comparison, the Latin text of the Leofric Missal has Inprimis, ut ecclesia dei, et omnis populus christianus, ueram pacem seruent, in omnipotenti deo [First, that the Church of God and all Christian people preserve true peace]. The quotation and translation of the Leofric Missal are from Mary Clayton, "The Old English Promissio Regis", art. cit., p. 108. Janet Nelson has shown that the coronation rite in England was remarkably stable and persisted through most (possibly all) of the ninth century to most of the eleventh. Janet L. Nelson, "The Earliest Surviving Royal Ordo : Some Liturgical and Historical Aspects", Authority and Power : Studies on Medieval Law and Government Presented to Walter Ullmann, (dir.) B. Tierney and P. Lineham, Cambridge U. Press, 1980, p. 48. See also Janet L. Nelson, "Inauguration Rituals", Politics and Ritual in Early Medieval Europe, London, Hambledon Press, 1986, p. 283-307.

 

(98) Andre Crépin, "Beowulf : monstre ou modèle," art. cit. ;  Levin L. Schucking, "The Ideal of Kingship in Beowulf", An Anthology of Beowulf Criticism, (dir.) Lewis E. Nicholson, Notre Dame U. Press, 1963 ; first publ. as "Das Konigsideal im Beowulf", MHRA Bulletin 3 (1929), p.143-154 ; Felix Liebermann, "Ort und Zeit der Beowulfdichtung", Nachrichten von der Koniglichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zur Gottingen, philosophisch-historische Klasse (1920), p. 255-275. For an opposing view, see J. M. Wallace-Hadrill, Early Germanic Kingship in England and on the Continent, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1971, p. 122.