‘Warriors’ in<i>Beowulf</i>: an analysis of the nominal compounds and an evaluation of the poet's use of them

Abstract

Beowulf is a secular heroic story. Its main action is set in the three great fifthand sixth-century Scandinavian kingdoms of the Danes, the Geats and the Swed.s, with other action recounted or alluded to in exemplary or informative ‘episodes and digressions’ placed in the same kingdoms or in lesser ones along the northern coastlands. The most important human characters in its dramatis personae are warriors. The present study comprises an analysis of the eighty-eight nominal compounds, thirteen genitive combinations and the many (uncounted) genitive collocations which the poet uses with direct reference to these warriors. However, although the poet refers to warriors by all these terms, some of them do not mean ‘warrior’, even periphrastically, and not all refer to a warrior in respect of his military duties. (The genitive collocations are especially numerous if we count all the epithets of kinship (e.g., Ecglafes bearn ) and of tribal relationship (e.g., Wendla leod ).)