Waldere-Beowulf Connection
-Two
Heroes Compared The
Waldere-Beowulf Connection lies as much in the similarities and
differences between the two heroes as the fact that both poems refer
to Weland and Theodoric. Waldere and Beowulf share
characteristics as epic heroes: both are superb warriors, shown
fighting against desperate odds. But Beowulf, whether or
not he knows it, is on a divine mission, altruistically motivated, at least when
he's fighting the Grendel family. Waldere may invoke God, but
after all what he's fighting for is a woman and some loot.
Although we find later characters in Germanic literature who are altruistic in their motives (such as Njal of Njal's Saga),
Waldere is closer to the mainstream concept of a Germanic warrior-hero.
The Christian influence in Beowulf is easier to sense than pin down;
but it's definitely there. Beowulf has a bit of the saintliness we will
find in later heroes of Arthurian romance, for example Gawain of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
What's emphasized most in the eulogy at the end of the poem is
Beowulf's gentleness and desire for people to love him. From the little
we see of Waldere in the pieces we have, we can tell he's
just not that kind of guy!
All that has survived of
this epic poem are two vellum pages, Waldere A and B,
found among the Icelandic scholar G.J. Thorkelin's papers at the Royal
Library at Copenhagen in 1860. The manuscript had apparently been cut up to bind another book. The poem is thought to have
been composed about 770 CE.
The Story of WalthariusAlthough there are several
parallels to this fragment, the closest seems to be Waltharius, written
in Latin by Ekkehard of St. Gall, about 930 CE. To summarize:
Waltharius, Hagano and Hiltgunt are given by their respective
parents, the kings of the Aquitanians, Franks and
Burgundians, as hostages to the invading Attila, king of the
Huns. Waltharius and Hagano both win renown as Attila's
warriors. Hagano, realizing he is no longer safe as a
hostage, escapes back to the Franks.
Waltharius is in love with, and
betrothed to, Hiltgunt. When the Huns plan to marry
Waltharius off, he tricks them into a drunken stupor and escapes, with
Hiltgunt and two chests of Hunnish treasure – which Attila has earlier
extorted from the hostages' parents.
Meanwhile
Hagano has pledged his loyalty to the wily Guntharius, the new king of
the Franks. Guntharius hears about Waltharius and the
treasure, and sets out with eleven warriors to relieve him of it.
Hagano tries unsuccessfully to dissuade Guntharius, but goes along out
of loyalty to him. The Franks come upon Waltharius and
Hiltgunt where they are encamped behind a narrow pass in some
rocks.
Waltharius offers Guntharius some of the treasure, but
the king wants it all, along with Hiltgunt. Guntharius' eleven
picked warriors attack, but because they are forced to take on
Waltharius one at a time, he manages to kill all of them.
Finally the fight comes down to the three remaining men, Waltharius,
Guntharius and Hagano.
Hagano, like many a hero of Germanic legends,
is torn between two loyalties,
in this case his friendship for Waltharius and his duty to
Guntharius. In the final fight Waltharius wounds the other two
men but loses his right hand. He and Hiltgunt marry and
Waltharius rules Aquitaine for 30 years.
In these
Old English fragments, the hero is of course called Waldere; his friend
with the divided loyalties is called Hagena. Although she is not
actually named here, Waldere's lady would likely be called Hildegund,
and it seems to be she who is encouraging Waldere as Part A
opens.
Guntharius appears here as Gušhere (or Guthere), and he seems to be
speaking at the beginning of Part B. Waldere
addresses him as "friend of the Burgundians" (Part B, line 14), so
that this version of the story makes him ruler of a different kingdom.
A Note on SourcesThe
text used was that in Klaeber, Beowulf (1950),
pages 283-85. I consulted Alfred J. Wyatt's text, notes and a
glossary in An
Anglo-Saxon Reader (1919, reprinted 1965); R.K Gordon's translation
into prose in Anglo-Saxon
Poetry (1954); S.A.J. Bradley's translation and notes
in Anglo-Saxon Poetry(1982, 1995);
and Charles W. Kennedy's translation of it into alliterating verse in An Anthology of Old English
Poetry (1960).
I haven't been able to find the Latin text of Waltharius on the Web, but there's a translation at the Northvegr web site. Bartleby.com has posted The Cambridge History of English and American
Literature, which summarizes Waltharius in Chapter 5.
Tacitus
(55-120 CE) was a Roman historian who wrote mostly in admiration about the
German tribes along Rome's northern frontiers. The edition I used is Tacitus on Britain and Germany: A Translation of the 'Agricola' and the 'Germania', translated by H. Mattingly (Penguin Classics, 1948). Germania's
another essential read if you're deeply interested in Germanic,
Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon attitudes. Thomas Gordon's translation is
available at Fordham University's Medieval Sourcebook web site.
Also on the Web, the Anglo-Saxon text of Waldere A can be found here. Waldere B is available at Georgetown University's Labyrinth Project. (Both links are to this site.)
Waldere A.
. . [she] encouraged
him eagerly:
"Surely
Weland's* work won't fail
any
man who can manage to wield
Mimming
well; one man after another
fell
often in battle, bloodstained
and wounded.
Attila's best
warrior, don't let your might
yet
flag today . . .
soldier's honour . . . .
. . Now the day has
come when you must do only one
of two things: lose your
life, or longtime
glory
10earn among men,
Aelfhere's son!
"I'll never, my
friend, say the words,that
I saw you at the swordplaythrough
cowardliness from any manflinch
from fighting, or flee to the
wallto save your
life, though lots of foemen hewed
your war-shirt with their
blades;but you always
further sought to fight, to
drive past the limit; I dreaded
your fate,lest you too
rashly rushed to
fight,
20standing up to the
next man'sbattle-tactics.
Better your name
with good
deeds, while God may guard you!Don't
fret about your sword: that
fine heirloom wasgiven for your
help. With it Guthhere's boast will
be brought to nothing, as the
battle was onethat he
began, against what's right.He
turned down the sword and the
splendid treasures,the many
rings; now he'll ringlessreturn
from this battle, the lord seek
out
30his ancient land,
or sleep here forever,if he then . . . " Waldere B
" . .
. a better sword except
for the one which I have also
quietly
hidden in a stone sheath.
I
know that Theoderic thought to
send it
to Widia
himself, and also much treasure
heirlooms
with the blade, and others
beside it
garnished with
gold; He paid back an old debt,
because
Nithhad's kinsman, Weland's* son,
Widia,
had taken him out of a tight
spot;
through the monsters'
lair he hastened
forth."
10
Waldere
spoke, the mighty warrior —
he
hefted in his hand the
battle-helper,
gripped the
sword, and said these words:
"Hey,
you sure thought, friend of the
Burgundians,
that Hagen's
hand would wage some warfare,
and
make me stop fighting. Fetch,
if you dare,
from war-weary
me, my old grey war-shirt!
It
stands here on my shoulders,
Aelfhere's legacy,
good and
loose-woven, gold-trimmed,
nothing's
wrong with this prince's
garment,
20
fit to wear, when
the hand defends
the body's life from a
foe! It won't turn against me
when
men we can't trust try again
to
seek me with swords, the way
you did.
"Yet He can give
victory who is always
timely
and wise in questions of right;
he
who in the holy help believes,
in
God's aid, he'll find it there
readily;
if the earning of
it he thinks of beforehand.
Then
may the proud share their
wealth,
30
wield their power;
that is . . . "
Commentary on Waldere A and B Part A1-32 [she]
encouraged him eagerly: ... Hildegund's
pep talk to Waldere – Tacitus reports that "armies wavering on the
point of collapse have been restored by the women. They have
pled heroically with their men, thrusting their bosoms before them and
forcing them to realize the imminent prospect of their
enslavement — a fate which they fear more desperately for their women
than for themselves." -(Germania 8, trans. Mattingly, page
107.) Understanding this heightens the pathos of
Ongentheow's last stand at Ravenswood ( Beowulf lines 2949-88).
4 Mimming A famous sword crafted by Weland the Smith, bequeathed
to his son Widia. Welund is mentioned in Beowulf, line 455, and also in Deor,
where the Weland story is alluded to in the first two stanzas. Widia,
the mighty warrior mentioned below, is the son Beadohild is carrying in
verse 2 of Deor. Swords were
important and valuable personal weapons, and better-quality ones were
sometimes given names, e.g. Hrunting and Naegling in Beowulf. 5
bloodstained and wounded Hildegund (or the speaker) says Mimming's
victims went down "swatfag ond sweordwund", which would translate as
"sweatstained and sword-wounded".
19
to drive past the limit Hildegund (or the speaker) seems to be
praising Waldere's courage in taking the fight to his attackers, out
beyond the safety of the rocks. She may also mean this
metaphorically.
22 Better your
name Hildegund says, "Weorša še selfne," or "Bring honour to (be worthy
of) yourself."
28-9 He turned down the
sword ... the many rings; Gušhere
(Guthere) has refused Waldere's offer of part of the treasure to let him be; thus
he deserves, thinks Hildegund, to go back to his homeland
empty-handed.
31 ancient land
As Wyatt notes, the scribe uses the rune named "ethel", 8th from the right in the line below, as an
abbreviation for the word ešel, meaning "homeland". This rune
is used in the same way in Beowulf, line 520.  The first 6 runes spell futhorc. Thus a set of runes was (and still is) called a futhorc, not an alphabet. Runic futhorcs evolved through time, from about 200 to 1500 CE. There's more about later futhorcs used in Viking-age Sweden, at Vallentuna-Area-Runestones.html. There's also a sample Danish runestone at Copenhagen-Nationalmuseet- treasures.
Part B 1-10 "... A better sword / except for the one which I have..."Gušhere's speech – Gušhere seems to be engaging in a game of "My sword's better than yours." 4 TheodoricThis
would be Theodoric the Ostrogoth (ca 455-526 CE). The reference is to a
story that Theodoric owed Widia a favour, and sent him the sword of
which Guthere is boasting. 11-31 Waldere spoke, The mighty warrior – /...Waldere replies to Gušhere
– The hero responds, "Come and get this mail-shirt, if you dare; it's a
better friend than you are. And by the way, God's on my side ..."
Take me to England-Beowulf-resourcesfor the Sutton Hoo Treasures and the Maldon Battlefield Take me to Denmark-Beowulf-resourcesfor viking ship building, rune stones and Grendel country Take me to Sweden-Beowulf-resourcesfor burial mounds, runestones, jewellery, weapons and clothing Take me to Norway-Beowulf-resources for two complete viking burial ships, weapons, jewellery, and stave churches
Copyright: The
above translation is from The
Book of Beowulf (Cayuga, Ontario: Copyright 2007),
pages 219-224. The introduction and Commentary are also adapted from this book. You may
use the material above in an essay or for private Beowulf
study, but not commercially. Do credit
your source!
-- Mike Walton
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