l. 53. The poem proper begins with this, "There was once upon a time," the first 52 lines being a prelude. Eleven of the "fitts," or cantos, begin with the monosyllable þâ, four with the verb gewîtan, nine with the formula Hrôðgâr (Beówulf, Unferð) maðelode, twenty-four with monosyllables in general (him, swâ, sê, hwät, þâ, hêht, wäs, mäg, cwôm, stræt). l. 58. gamel. "The ... characteristics of the poetry are the use of archaic forms and words, such as mec for mé, the possessive sín, gamol, dógor, swát for eald, dæg, blód, etc., after they had become obsolete in the prose language, and the use of special compounds and phrases, such as hildenædre (_war-adder_) for 'arrow,' gold-gifa (_gold-giver_) for 'king,' ... goldwine gumena (_goldfriend of men, distributor of gold to men_) for 'king,'" etc.--Sw. Other poetic words are ides, ielde (_men_), etc. l. 60. H.-So. reads ræswa (referring to Heorogâr alone), and places a point (with the Ms.) after Heorogâr instead of after ræswa. Cf. l. 469; see B., _Zachers Zeitschr._ iv. 193. l. 62. Elan here (OHG. _Elana, Ellena, Elena, Elina, Alyan_) is thought by B. (_Tidskr_. viii. 43) to be a remnant of the masc. name Onela, and he reads: [On-]elan ewên, Heaðoscilfingas(=es) healsgebedda. l. 68. For hê, omitted here, cf. l. 300. Pronouns are occasionally thus omitted insubord. clauses.--Sw. l. 70. þone, here = þonne, _than_, and micel = mâre? The passage, by a slight change, might be made to read, medo-ärn micle mâ gewyrcean,--þone = _by much larger than_,--in which þone (þonne) would come in naturally. l. 73. folc-scare. Add _folk-share_ to the meanings in the Gloss.; and cf. gûð-scearu. l. 74. ic wide gefrägn: an epic formula very frequent in poetry, = _men said._ Cf. _Judith_, ll. 7, 246; _Phoenix_, l. 1; and the parallel (noun) formula, mîne gefræge, ll. 777, 838, 1956, etc. ll. 78-83. "The hall was a rectangular, high-roofed, wooden building, its long sides facing north and south. The two gables, at either end, had stag-horns on their points, curving forwards, and these, as well as the ridge of the roof, were probably covered with shining metal, and glittered bravely in the sun."--Br., p. 32. l. 84. _Son-in-law and father-in-law;_ B., a so-called _dvanda_ compound. Cf. l. 1164, where a similar compound means _uncle and nephew;_ and Wîdsîð's suhtorfædran, used of the same persons. l. 88. "The word dreám conveys the buzz and hum of social happiness, and more particularly the sound of music and singing."--E. Cf. l. 3021; and _Judith_, l. 350; _Wanderer_, l. 79, etc. ll. 90-99. There is a suspicious similarity between this passage and the lines attributed by Bede to Cædmon: Nû wê sculan herian heofonrices Weard, etc. --Sw., p. 47. ll. 90-98 are probably the interpolation of a Christian scribe.