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AGL

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82 福島大学教育学部論集第40号 1986・-11

(2) hwaepre me gyfepe wear5,

pact io aglaecan orde geraehte,hildebi11e; heaporaes fornammihtig meredeor purh mine hand. (11. 555b_58)

(3) Licsar gebad

ato1 1leg11i ca; him on eaxle wear5syndolh sweoto1, seonowe onsprungon,burston b-an1ocan. (11. 81;)b_18a)

(4) hrof ana gen記s

ea11es ansund, pe se ag11lecafyrend全dum fag on aeam gewand,aldres orwena. (11. 999b_1002a)

The dragon:(5)

Nolde io sweord beran,wa pen to wyrme, git io wiste huwi5 5am ag1全cean cites meahtegylpe wi5gripan, swa ic g1o wi5 Grendle dyde; (11. 2518b_21)

(6) Nis p・et eower si?,

ne gemet mannes, nefn(e)min anes,?a t ho wl(? ag11i ・cean eofo5o daele,

eorlscype efne. (11. 2532b_35a)(7)

From 全rest cwomoru5 ag12ecean ut of stane,hat hildeswat; hruse dynode. (11. 25)6b_58)

In (7) the dragon spews flame (in this sense he is on the offensj、,e),but he still remains in the cave.

2)Fighter on the offensive,but unfair.Grendel:

(8) (ac se) Ii ・g1全ca ehtende wacs,deorc deapscua, dugupe ond geogo;)e,seomade ond syrede; sinnihte heoldmistige moras; men no cunnon,hwyder helrunan hwyrftum scripa0. (11. 159_63)

In (8)Grendel 'laid in wait for and entrapped them,'(1.161a)、?hich is quite an unfair、、,a、 of fighting (cf.11.646b-51a).(9) mynte 、)aet he gedaelde, ・or pen d?g cwo)me,

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、asuharu F?TO:AGL? C.4 Al、,D SCi At)A IN BEOWl l_F 83

atol ag1全ca anra gehwylceslit wi5 lice, pa him alumpen wacswistfy1le wen. (11. 731-34a)

(10) Ne p記t so agl1i・ca yldan pc)hte,ac be get-eng bra?e forman si5eslaependne rinc, (11. 739-41a)

In (9)Grendel intends to attack a warrior sleeping,and in (10)he is actually attacking a sleeping warrior,which is again quite unfair in a duel.

3)Fighter on the offensive,but preventable.Grendel(11)and Grendel's dam(12):

(11) Secge io pe to so5e, sunu Ecglafes,pact n1i f re Gre[nldel swa tela gryra gefremede,ato1全gill ・ca ealdre 1J,inum,hyn0o on Heorote, git pin hige waere,sefa swa searogrim, swa pu self talast; (11. 590-94)

(12) p全r him ag1全ca aetgraepe wear6;hw記pre he gemunde m.egenes strenge,gimfceste gife, ?e him God sealde,ond him to Anwaldan are gelyfde,frofre ond fultum; 5S he pone feond ofercwom,gehnaegde hello gast. (11. 1269-74a)

The general impressions we get from the abc、,e examples are negative ones; -aglieca is defensive、、、,hen offensi、,e it is a preventable one.Agliica is unfair in attacking a sleeping 、、,arrior.He is also reckless(11.433-34).9 This is probably the reason why the word'wretch' is found under agli-eca in Klaeber's glossary.

With this in mind I would like to tackle three other problematic cases.In line 893a in (13) Sigemund is described as ag1(-eca.1O

(13)

Hcefde ag1?ca elne gegongen,p:et he beahhordes brucan m(-)steselfes dome; (11. 893-95a)

I cannot but notice that just before this passage his glory after death is emphasized(11.884b- 87a).111 think that hereag1,i;ca means a fighter doomed to die,and w,ho yet can'enjoy the ring_ hoard at his own will.' Using (1gla-?c(1 death and glory are,in my 、,jew,effectively contrasted.

Agi o(-e('call (1.2592a)in (Ii ),which means both Beowulf and the dragon,can be understood as describing the duellers doomed to die.(14)

N'.os 5a 1ong to con,

p?t ea aglaecean by off gemetton. (11. 2591b-92)The passage(11. 2586b-91a)12 preceding the above has an anticipatory effect together with

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the use of the 、、・()l-d ,1g1(1.(、,1111:the、・ ar(_ doom ed to die (cf . 11. >:i41b-i ?; 11. )_i21、b-)_1).

Incidenta11、, it 1、h()uld b(_ n()ted that the d 1-ag on l、・ing dead o(、cur・:、 l・、 1-1g 1(-1(,)(111 (1. )9();)a t.

(cf i t 987b-91)).

Another problematic c1.1se that remains t()be di1、cussed i? (l_)1(t,'″11m(1.-)).、1(11))

・:・-?t ・d t'()r m o n i g

hildet1il.xum heres、roan b1'a、c、

ehton agla cal、. (11. 1、)1()b-1')a)

11、/,j ・(lit he・recot11d bl: under‘.、to(1d either as the n,)minat1、-e plural ・sea-met、ster',,-,、or the geniti、e

ii、gulal・ '1)l:・,)、、,ulf、、、l icit I thin、、: about the fact that n、an、・1、(二a-monster1、 are attacking the

1()n?,f igh,or I)e()、、・ult.11 th(_ 、、ord (、an 、、,ell 11-、can unfair attac1、?r1・、 nan、e1、' the sea-monster‘・、 1.1t h , l- th (111 B e ()、、,111f . 、、・h () f in a 11、・ 、、,i i、1、 111 t h? d u e l 、、-1th (、Jre n d e ] ,・,、 d a m .

SCI AI)A

In ti ・,,,・1111 、、,・,,,1,, ()(.(_、u l・、、 f()u r t i 1l l e 、、 1・、 1 、、in、p ie noun a nd f i f t ee n tim e?. in t he co m p()u nci

noun

1 ) l,、ightel・()1、the (、ffens1、,e.G re n d e l a n d l s - -m ()n ,、t (_r (i i ;

(16 1

jiLl 、、,at、t.gif hit ii、、、、、,a 、、,l_ ・、(-)p l i (:・?、 、、、t,cg a 1l h 、'r d o 1、.

1)(:et mid '、:-,c、・ldingum .?cea(?on1 ic 1、at h、、、1c.deog()1d◆edhata dl:orcum nihtum

ea、、,e(? l)urb egsan unci_11one ni(i .

h、・nOu ond brat、,1. (11. )72b--fi a)

(11)

Me t(-)grunde teahf-ih feondsca(ia, f.,_?to hTfde

grim on grape; (11. 、一).-)3b-;-).-)a)(181

m、,nte so mani、caOa manna c、-n1、e‘、

sumne bes、・r、、-an in 、、cto l,an、h,:In. (11. ,1 131(19)

f ir、・(?、、、・、・(? beht、,)1d

1M しg I I i g e l a ce s, hし1 se m a n i、c a(i a

under fa rgripum gefaran 、、-olde. (1]. ,:)6b-381(21))

To lang 、,s to reccenne. hL,I i(c o)am le・odscea?an

、fia gob、、,、Ices ,)ndlean f()rgeald; (11. 2()911-941

In (1?) (Jrendel does not kno、、、,et that the 、、,am or、;、in IIeorot ar(、11sleep.Thu'、、、'l_ cannot

ta、 that be t・:、 being unfair.When Bee、、,ulf explains his expedition t() Ii 、gelac he do、・:cribes (:,,rondel as 11),)tf、、(、('1,,1- In

(2()) Here (J,rondel's having been offens1、,e to people、seems to be implied.

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、 11・uhar 1 ET ()

(:rondel ,dam:

()1)

l it ?、t 、、ige gecra1、g

ca ldre1、・、c、・ldlg, ()nd nし、(-)1,or e、、'()m

m ihtig l1lan 1、ca(、.l, 、、,()1de h、1, m ・eg 、、-rt:c 1n, (l t. 1:)l i b -:19)

The dragon:

? 1) )

h i t 、t ? g しl(、? C_ (、(1 ( J(、(l t (1 1?'()(1(_、

ha t()d(_ ()nd h、11d l:; ,11. )11'1-19a1

1 ) 1)

g it m o o 、t n'j a n 、、c _ (、a

o f (o r(、 e l f' し1t g e s(ct (、. (11. )-)1・l b-1、))

( ) 1 1

1 1 1 、、・It、s i ll( ()d 1、c 一 、a 1lr l d d i 1l ? l (、t ',

trl_one f、・rdrac(1 t(-eh(、a gel、1、'ndig,

r t 1d l ()1、 (、o n e r (-)f i n . (1 1. )Ii(? (? - 9()a )

( t ?t-(・t,fi ji、 () )) e m il、t a j、 'a tta c l ' 1) r a th t、r t ha n j u'-、t m (.c t ' a t、 IS fo und i n C la 「1 f l a i l s

fr it、 1、tio n ()f the p()e m .

)1 Flghter tht_,、、trong.

、一,trt・l1g th 、、com、、t() l)l_ iml)1icd in tht、、,e cal t 1、.l i e ()、,・u l f a n d h i 1、 r l:t ・;f i l le r 、、:

,(1/)1111 11、 1_ -)1 111、d )l m ,- 11・、 'l ( ()、、・u l f (l n d h i ,,、 r?、t 、1 ne t、、 ()n t h t.lr 、,l e t()r i o u 、; 、、'a、' ba c k

h ()m t

) )

?、c (11) l tl (-)n e t t()t、.

、、, t r (Il i a 、1,e I 111g 1 、 ? f t t () 1?、()d u Il l

f しl、(, t() ta r(.li l le ; (1 1 1? 11、1b - ・) t1

) l?

c、、・(し、(、 1 t t 、、ilcum a1、 、¥ ed (r i le'()d um

( 11 ln c i r h(lm c t(-) 、、c ipe f(-)r()1、. l 11. l (?9?-'1.))

( r(_、li d?、]:

') 1

( ()d e l l )(_ m 1t、g

1,(111t d ()1sc - fl a il d 1し、d 11 g し、t 、、.t'f a ll : (] 1. ・l 「 8b - 「())

)

1)It't 、、It、、、 、](111111 ?、し11

1,(?、t h it_ l、,、 m ()、、t(_. 1)a _、 I l_t()d n ()1(]? .

e 、,lc 、・n、、ca t)a u1、dot 、、ceadu br,,gdan; 111. ,(1.)b-,)(1 1

t e ne t、、-n・、c a (、11、

l_111g ()fo r e ()r i a l、 1r e 1l n (1 c 、、、t.

g1-1(l b j]ta na il g rl_、t(In n()]dt、: (11. (H(li b- 1)

In ), ,a11d 1・、、 Il ea l、 be u1lder?t()()d t() m- n th 、t ,),1/1, God _ n pr(、'- t ( r(_ndel f r()m d()ing

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8 1') 1986 11

his e、,ii deeds.The dragon:The dragon appears first as ()(lid 1-flits(、ea,ja(1.2271a),then as s() ,うj1()d's(、ea(ja(1.2278a).The

successive occurrence of .、(、e(i(ラa at the beginning of the dragon's appearance probably implies the strength of the dragon as the 'instrument of Beowulf's death.'16m(30)strength is surely implied.(30)

H'L1ru ;,・et on lande 11,t manna cabm2egenagendra mine gefrlege,1)cab ?e he daeda geh、;、ces dyrstig w(ore,

1)aet ho wl? attorscea5an ore?e ger2esde, (11. 2836-39)If the dominant meaning of .、(、eat,a is a strong fighter,?、e 11ea11・nsca1)a in (31) is considered

an ironic e_xpression.(31)

p(et 、、,ces geocor sic,、)cot so heam scapa t(-)IIeorute ateah! (11. 76、)b-66)

Grendel intended to attack the warriors in Heorot but was frustrated by Beowulf.It was quite a sorry journo、' for the 1111・lnclb/e fighter Grendel.

The problematic case that remains to be discussed is 、一 c1111in the genitive in(32).This is quite commonly understood as 'enem、,foe.'17 But if the 、、,ord simp1、・implies strength and offensiveness it is (1uite probable that 、、,、(・l.)at- ta j)ri,at1l川means the 'troops of (Sc、1d's)strong fighters'in the instrumental case.(32)

Off Sc、1d Scef ng scea、)ena preatum,monegum m・egl,,urn meodosetla ofteah, (11. 4一、一))

The reason 、、,hy the opportunistic dichotom、bet、、・eon '、、,arrior'and 'mollster'is found in Klaeber's glossary is that he holds the 、,ie、,、, that ''The author(of B- lt、1f11-)has fairly exalted the fights 、、,1th fabled monsters into a conflict bet、、・eon the pc、?,ors of good and of e、,ii.''IS According to Klaeber Grendel is an ''impersonation of e、,ii and darkness,e、,on an Incarnation of the Christian do、,iI,''19 while in Beowulf he recognizes''features of the ChristianSa、,ior.'')11 The Christian interpretation of this sort would ha、,e quite natural]1, forced him to fall into the pitfall of dichotomy, bet、、,eon 'good 、、,arri()r'and 'e、,ii monster.'

Howev,or,as Prof.K.Schneider asserts,the met、sters are quite human.He sa、s:)1

The duels between Beowulf and the monsters are humanized.The monsters do notcommit evil for the sheer sake of e、,lt. They have good reasons for their actions.Grendel is suffering from the drinking bouts of the retinue in Heorot (86ff.).This isa kind of psychic terror.Grende1's mother wants to revenge the death of her son(1276f.,]339,1546,2120).The dragon burns the countryside because a cup was stolenfrom his treasure (2305).Beowulf's reflection of fairness before each fight is also afeature of humanization of the monsters.He wants to fight Grendel without weapons(433ff.,677ff.).Against Grendel's mother,hovlever,Beowulf protects himself with helmet

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、'asuharu ETC:A(u CA AND SetAl)A IN BEOWULF 87

and sword since she wants to take blood revenge for her dead son.And against thedragon Beowulf arms himself with a sword,a helmet,and a shield made of iron toprotect himself against the dragon's flames.By all these details the poet gives theduels the character of real heroic duels,of duels between heroes.We, therefore,mayca1l gco1i,ifj/an heroic epic in spite of the monsters against which the hero fights.

As we have seen in this essay the understanding of Beowulf and the monsters as fighters or duellers is quite appropriate to comprehend the meaning of the wordsag1?ca and sceaJ)a used jn Beefし、111f However,at the same time,no one can deny the possibility that Beo-df iS a christian allegory.22 This fuzzy character of the work is the main reason wh、 it iS a P「Ob- 1ematjc one And it is probable,as Sisam says,23 that the author was ''not much COnCe「ned v、,jth Christianity and paganism.''But it could be that he was simply concerned With the poetic expression of human exjstence.Thus one clear-cut interpretation ignoring the othe「 will certainly fall short of the overa11understanding oi Beouulf as a poem.

Notes

1.Klaeber Beo1lulf,p.298,hereafter cited as ''Klaeber.''2.Klaeber,p.391.3.Ibid.,p.298.4.Ibid.,p.391.?:).Ibid.,p.388.6.Ibid.,p.395.7.wyatt and Chambers Beef,1,If (1920)、p.229;Sedgefield Be)1- If (19353)、p.216;Wrenn Beom11f

(19582),p.283;Heyne-Schiicking B.en、ulf 3.Tell (1961),p.179.8.All the citations from Beolt、ulf are from Klaeber.9.

II記bbc ic eac geahsod, 11・et so 3egl全cafor his 、、,onh、dum w全pna no recce5; (11. 433-34)

1(1 Debbie Be()11,1flf a11d J11(jlt11,p.160,offers another explanation,which I find jess convincing. 11.

Sigemunde gesprong.offer deaOd.ege d(-)m unlS'tel,

s、-、)5an w iges heard ゛・、Tm ac、、,ealde、

hordes by,rde; (11. 884b-87a)12.

N o w a s 11・ae・t eOe s i5,

1.et so m.era maga EcgOeowes

grundwong pone ofgyfan wolde;sceolde [oferl wi11an wic eardiancites hwergen, s、、a sceal aeghwylc monalaetan 11i ・ndagas. (11. 2586b-91a)

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13.See Debbie B(,()1t111f 1111d Jlfdm1,p.197.

1.:l.It should be noted that 、、,hen Bee゙ ,ulf 、、-ins he fight_? alone(e.g. his fight・:、、、-1th (、Jrend(_1and his dam),but he die・、、、-hen he needs 、、'iglaf、1、 help in hi・、 batt1( 、、,1th the dragon. Ibelie、,e that the aestheticism of the Anglo-Sa.xon due11er should be found in fighting at()11(_.

1 ) C la r k H a l l 4 11g 1()- S t_ )11 1)1(・/1,),11,1、、 1、.、,. ' ・:二e c an .

16 B Mitche ll, .~- p1111()1()g lt、、、i 7 (1963). 1)1.

17 . S e e H o o p s K ,),1m - 1(11, 1f 111 1i ,,,,11、1f11. p .li . D o b b i e B ,・一 、1111 - d ./11(//1/1、 p .1 1:). a nd 、、 r e fi ll

Be()111f11 (19,3)、p.96.

18.Klaeber,p.1.19.Ibid.)0.Ibid.,p.1i2 1. S ()p h ia L, (.・tit,( ・、 ()11 11,.,(,1(,1f l f 、 (T a i s h u k a 1、. 19 86 )、 p p . 1 _l - ,b .

)2. In OE Christian poetr、・,ho、、,e、,or、lt Is (luite con・、mon t()r the 、、'ordl、,1g1(t,・(f ind 、,,.'(11),, to

refer to satan'or 'do、,ii' and 'enem、・' ()r ・per?e・cut()r. In th1、-、・,、(.n・e the u e ()f th(、、e t、、()

、、ords in Bt,1,11、1f11 1s uni(tue and diff erent.

)3 T ilt , 1・;t 1 1l 1、1111 (・ ,)f B ,- l ,1f 11. p . i 8 .

1( L E C ・l a nd '・)o f 4 り_i ill B l ・,)11・lf//:A bs tr a c t

T h e purpose of this ossa 、・i? to e・、ta bl i?h the p()、??ib i l it、・ tha t jil l (.,,1,・lf1/ th(_ 、、・()rd、、,-1_、111、(・ll a lld

(e?Ip(1essentia11、 mean 'fighter.、but the former 11、 u・,・ed to m_ n a defe1、‘、i、,e、unfair or u1lluc1、、・ one 、、hile offensi、,ones_? i、、implied in the latter.From thi1、、・ie、、・point the e1、a、?bed、-、light ()11 s om e p r o b l e m a t ic c a s e s re g a rd i 11g th t 111(_ o f 11g 11-i 、l ・ll a n d 、、、1・(,11J ,f in i i(',,11・lf /1.