Notes

black text = note on Old English text
red text = gloss of kennings
blue text = explanatory commentary on a section

[1] MS wurman (='by a serpent, dragon'); em. to wurma ('by serpents/dragons') mine. Malone retains MS wurman (lit. serpent), but suggests that it refers to a sword with a serpentine pattern (i.e. a pattern-welded sword (see Beowulf l.1461, 1700); Grein emends to wimman or wifman (i.e. 'by a woman, Weland was exiled'), which could refer to Beadohild (see l. 8 below); Rieger erads be wornum , Sedgefield be wearnum, both interpretating 'in abundance, to the full'; Koegel proposed be wurnan (from a noun weorne 'pain, sorrow'); Klaeber be wynnum ('Weladn tested misery by joy')

[1]Weland is a famous Germanic maker of weapons, mentioned in Beowulf at l. 454, Waldere A at l.2. His capture and mutilation by Nithhad is mentioned here at l. 5 and also in Waldere B at l.8. Weland's revenge against Nithhad's daughter, Beadohild, is mentioned here at l. 8. This story of Weland is told in much greater detail in the Old Norse V�lundarkvi�a in the Elder Edda. Weland is depicted on the famed Franks Casket [click here for photo] [click here for more information on the Franks Casket]

[5] Nithhad captures Weland and hamstrings him in order to retain Weland's services as a wonderous smith

[8] Beadohild (ON. B��vildr) is Nithhad's daughter. In revenge for his hamstringing and captivity, Weland kills her brothers and ravishes her

[14] I read M��hilde as a single name, following Ettm�ller, Thorpe; Grein reads m�� Hilde ('violation of [a woman named] Hild'); Holthausen reads m��el Hilde ('the affair of Hild'). on monge ('many'), Klaeber emends to man or mon ; Malone suggests that monge is the dat. sg. of a noun mong 'company, commerce, intercourse'

[14-15] This reference remains rather obscure, apparently it concerns a story of a man named Geat who desires a woman named M��hild (or maybe just Hild) - see introduction and also Malone (1961), North (pp. 153-71) for further speculation

[16] MS hi ; em. from Grein

[18] Possible Theodric, king of the Ostrogoths, 454-526 (see introduction and also Waldere B l.4-10)

[21] Eormanric, powerful king of the East Goths, portrayed as a tyrant in heroic poetry - see further Beowulf n. 1203.

[36] Heoden, lord of the Heodenings, appears in Old Norse as He�inn in the Prose Edda, Sk�ldskaparm�l, ch. 50 and as Hetele in the Middle High German Kudrun.

[37] a pun - the narrator's name is Deor (lit. 'wild animal'), but in l. 37a he says he was dryhtne dyre('dear to (my) lord').

[39] Heorrenda appears as Hjarrandi in the Old Norse Sk�ldskaparm�l , ch. 50, of the Prose Edda and H�rant in the Middle High German Kudrun