l. 865. Cf. _Voyage of Ôhthere and Wulfstân_ for an account of funeral horse-racing, Sweet's Read., p. 22. l. 868. See Ha., p. 31, for a variant translation. l. 871 _seq._ R. considers this a technical description of improvised alliterative verse, suggested by and wrought out on the spur of the moment. l. 872. R. and B. propose secg[an], = _rehearse_, for secg, which suits the verbs in the next two lines. ll. 878-98. "It pleases me to think that it is in English literature we possess the first sketch of that mighty saga [the Volsunga Saga = Wälsinges gewin] which has for so many centuries engaged all the arts, and at last in the hands of Wagner the art of music."--Br., p. 63. Cf. _Nibelung. Lied_, l. 739. l. 894. Intransitive verbs, as gân, weorðan, sometimes take habban, "to indicate independent action."--Sw. Cf. hafað ... geworden, l. 2027. l. 895. "brûcan (_enjoy_) always has the genitive."--Sw.; cf. l. 895; acc., gen., instr., dat., according to March, _A.-S. Gram._, p. 151. l. 898. Scherer proposes hâte, = _from heat_, instr. of hât, _heat_; cf. l. 2606. l. 901. hê þäs âron þâh = _he throve in honor_ (B.). Ten Br. inserts comma after þâh, making siððan introduce a depend. clause.--_Beit._ viii. 568. Cf. weorð-myndum þâh, l. 8; ll. 1155, 1243.--H.-So. l. 902. Heremôdes is considered by Heinzel to be a mere epithet = _the valiant_; which would refer the whole passage to Sigmund (Sigfrid), the eotenas, l. 903, being the Nibelungen. This, says H.-So., gets rid of the contradiction between the good "Heremôd" here and the bad one, l. 1710 _seq._--B. however holds fast to Heremôd.--_Beit._ xii. 41. on feónda geweald, l. 904,--_into the hands of devils_, says B.; cf. ll. 809, 1721, 2267; _Christ_, l. 1416; _Andreas_, l. 1621; for hine fyren onwôd, cf. _Gen._ l. 2579; Hunt's _Dan._ 17: hîe wlenco anwôd. l. 902 _seq._ "Heremôd's shame is contrasted with the glory of Sigemund, and with the prudence, patience, generosity, and gentleness of Beowulf as a chieftain."--Br., p. 66. l. 906. MS. has lemede. Toller-Bosw. corrects to lemedon. l. 917. Cf. Hunt's _Exod._, l. 170, for similar language. l. 925. hôs, G. hansa, _company_, "the word from which the mercantile association of the 'Hanseatic' towns took their designation."--E. l. 927. on staþole = _on the floor_ (B., Rask, ten Br.).--_Beit._ xii. 90. l. 927. May not steápne here = _bright_, from its being immediately followed by golde fâhne? Cf. Chaucer's "his eyen _stepe_," _Prol._ l. 201 (ed. Morris); Cockayne's _Ste. Marherete_, pp. 9, 108; _St. Kath._, l. 1647. l. 931. grynna may be for gyrnna (= _sorrows_), gen. plu. of gyrn, as suggested by one commentator. l. 937. B. (_Beit._ xii. 90) makes gehwylcne object of wîd-scofen (häfde). Gr. makes weá nom. absolute. l. 940. scuccum: cf. G. scheuche, scheusal; Prov. Eng. _old-shock_; perhaps the pop. interjection _O shucks!_ (!) l. 959. H. explains we as a "plur. of majesty," which Beówulf throws off at l. 964.