Beowulf Hondbana: The Literary Context for Emending Line 1520b

Abstract

In this article I consider the debate over whether line 1520b ought to be read as the emended ''hond sweng'' or the scribal ''hord swenge.'' It is a small point philologically but it raises interesting cultural and literary questions about the attitude of the Beowulf poet to arms and armour, to aggressive and defensive war gear, and to swords in particular. It has widely been assumed that swords are important in Beowulf and yet, the question of what their significance might be has received very little attention. Throughout the poem the hero is plagued by breaking, melting, and failing swords. He borrows, finds, and is given swords but unlike other English and Germanic heroes he is never identified with a single, great sword. I suggest that this is because, ultimately, Beowulf is conceived as a hondbana, a designation which has implications for what kind of a hero he proves to be.

A Double-edged Sword: Swords, Bodies, and Personhood in Early Medieval Archaeology and Literature

“…The most obvious Anglo-Saxon example is Beowulf, who, unlike his men, is not 'waepnum gewurþad' (Beo. 331a) 'made worthy by his weapons', and who is regarded as a hondbana, a warrior who kills with his bare hands (Sebo, 2011). Although he is associated with a least six different swords, some of which he gives as gifts, the three he uses during the course of the poem fail, and the poet says:…”

“…This sword has greater symbolism than the father's killing alone and motivates a hereditary agency in which a son seeks to restore his father's legacy. The death does not prevent the warrior from making and accepting the truce but the sight of a former enemy carrying the sword ensures the warrior will break the treaty (Sebo, 2011).…”

“…The most obvious Anglo-Saxon example is Beowulf, who, unlike his men, is not ‘waepnum gewurþad’ ( Beo . 331a) ‘made worthy by his weapons’, and who is regarded as a hondbana, a warrior who kills with his bare hands (Sebo, 2011). Although he is associated with a least six different swords, some of which he gives as gifts, the three he uses during the course of the poem fail, and the poet says: ‘Him þæt gifeðe ne wæsþæt him irenna ecge mihtonhelpan æt hilde; wæs sio hond to strong,se ðe meca gehwane, mine gefræge,swenge ofersohte’ (2682b–6a).(‘It was not his fate that the edge of iron weapons could help in battle—his hand was too strong—that every blade, as I have heard, he overtaxed).Instead, his characteristic war-gear is the armour made by Weland that belonged to Hrethel and saves his life against Grendel's Mother; he asks for it to be returned to his lord if he dies fighting Grendel, and wishes he could leave to a son as he is dying.…”