United States or Côte d'Ivoire ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
That was the "gylden hilt," which he held in his hand; and the expression "hylt scēawode" leaves no doubt that "gylden hilt" is not a designation of the whole sword. "Wreoþen-hilt" also obviously refers only to the hilt.
It is highly improbable that the sword-name "Gullinhjalti" in the saga is connected with the words "gylden hilt" in Beowulf.
In no instance, therefore, in this connection, does the author of Beowulf use "hilt" to designate the whole sword; consequently, to write "gylden hilt" as one word and capitalize it is both arbitrary and illogical. There is, in fact, nothing in the poem to indicate that the sword had a name. Furthermore, the author refers to other swords that were distinguished by being ornamented with gold.
"Þā wæs gylden hilt gamelum rince, hārum hild-fruman, on hand gyfen, enta ǣr-geweorc." In this passage, "hilt" cannot refer to the whole sword, because the blade had melted; only the hilt remained. The word "gylden" is used in this passage apparently for two reasons: 1. that the hilt is of gold renders it more appropriate as a gift, to the king; 2. "gylden" alliterates with "gamelum."
The fact of the matter is that it is the requirement of the plot that has supplied both the name and the unusual quality of the sword Gullinhjalti in the Hrólfssaga. Other requirements would have produced other results. The text shows clearly that the author of Beowulf did not intend "gylden hilt" as a proper noun.
And when, both in the term "gylden hilt" and in the word "Gullinhjalti," the hilt of the sword is made prominent, it is due, in the one instance, to the fact that nothing but the hilt remains; in the other, to the fact that the word "hjalti" is just the word that the author must have in order to explain the origin of Hjalti's name.
William Witherle Lawrence thinks that "we may have to do with late influence of Beowulf upon the Hrólfssaga". He identifies "gylden hilt" with Gullinhjalti.
"Gylden hilt" he identifies with Gullinhjalti; and Hott-Hjalti, whom Sarrazin regards as a personification of swords in Beowulf, he identifies with Hondscio, Beowulf's companion who is devoured by Grendel. The Story in the HRÓLFSSAGA of Bjarki's Slaying the Winged Monster. The life of Siward, briefly summarized from the Dictionary of National Biography, is as follows.
Word Of The Day