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Figure 23. The use of the word good in <strong>Beowulf</strong> (Part I) . Figure 24. The use of the word good in Maldon. use the word good, he does so only once in the poems about Lupus. His usage is general, but when Venantius, on behalf of Lupus, appeals to Lupus’ brother Magnulf, there is more mentioning of goodness and of other qualities that go together with the Germanic ideal of being good. The poem (Venantius VII, Poem 10) consists of 22 lines and good is used in lines 6 and 18, i.e., in the end of the introduction and just before the petition for Lupus (cf. below p. 113). This means the each of the two sections building up to the request for the reinstallation of Lupus, ends by stressing the good. This is obviously Venantius’ way of reminding the minor Germanic petty chieftain Magnulf of why, when and how, he, with his Germanic background rather 65
than pious disposition, ought to do the good. The poem does not exhibit any deep insights into Germanic ways, but it is a practical example of the merging of the two cultural ideals that characterised the Merovingian society. As a petition Venantius’ short letter is not part of the Germanic ideal of goodness. On the contrary, the petition as a genre belongs to the Christian ideal. It is from his Christian point of view that Venantius makes use of his understanding of the Germanic ideal. The structured use of the word good in the texts offers two ideals: one is concerned with the use of a most significant word in the Germanic culture, the other linked to the classical and in effect Christian use. In texts where Pagan ideals are criticised or moderated by a Christian faith, good does not structure the texts as obviously as in the Anglo-Saxon poems concerning <strong>Beowulf</strong> and the Battle of Maldon. In texts written from a Christian point of view only that addressed to Magnulf uses the word to structure the text. The rune-stones constitute a special group characterised by the repeated use of formulaic prose and a few original poetic expressions. These texts seldom lend themselves to more elaborate analyses of composition and structure, but good is nonetheless a word which is often mentioned rather emphatically at the end of the texts. Here good is simply linked to words such as þegn, drengr, maðr, bóndi, faðir, sunr or broðir (thane, youth, man, master/husband, father, son or brother), to logocentric qualities, such as the ability to listen and negotiate, and to generosity with food. The very fact that the word good appears in the laconic setting of the runestone text may, however, well be a strong indication that its usage was conventional, corresponding to what was commonly understood by the word good over a period of some hundred years, during which the concept was changing. The Viking Age rune-stones were mainly a vogue phenomenon beginning in the 10th century in Denmark and ending in Northeast Uppland in the beginning of the 12th century (Moltke 1976; Jansson 1984; Sawyer 1991a and b; Gräslund 1991; 1992). During this period and parallel to the geographical shift in its centre of gravity, the fashion spread down from the uppermost stratum of society into broader layers (Sawyer 1991a). In time the Christian character of the monuments became deeply embedded in the tradition although demonstrative Christian symbols, such as crosses and prayers, were only a passing fashion within a greater tradition (Hallgren 1992; Herschend 1994). It is probable that the stones themselves, their ornament and text, are a reflection of the large-scale change in the Late Viking Age society of South Scandinavia (Herschend 1994, pp. 101 ff.), and although there is uniformity in the development there is also an abundance of regional and local traditions which should not be confused with the general development. Regional differences, such as the preference for stones mentioning bridges in Southeast Uppland (Herschend 1994, Figs 12 and 22, p. 33), can be explained by the lowland topography of that landscape. Other geographically defined preferences 66
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Occasional Papers in Archaeology 15
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Published with grants from Swedish
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6 The Two Panegyrics ..............
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I. Introduction This study seeks an
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(Herschend 1993). It has also becom
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democratic congregation had been es
Page 15 and 16: ample of a need for large storage f
Page 17 and 18: mately the sense applied to the oth
Page 19 and 20: is found at Borg in Lofoten and dat
Page 21 and 22: Figures 3a and b. (a) The hall at W
Page 23 and 24: (b) An early phase of a farm at Cow
Page 25 and 26: The Farm Owner’s Seat The positio
Page 27 and 28: place. Living quarters are limited
Page 29 and 30: Figure 9. A proposed schematic deve
Page 31 and 32: When eventually hall and power, kin
Page 33 and 34: Figures 12a and b. A comparison bet
Page 35 and 36: kitchen. The tempo in Northern Norw
Page 37 and 38: have their obvious counterparts in
Page 39 and 40: they, contrary to most of the guest
Page 42 and 43: accessible, elevated and at the sam
Page 44 and 45: Figures 17a-c. Three sections of ro
Page 46 and 47: this farm, however, the village was
Page 48 and 49: Figure 19. The Oelandic Iron Age vi
Page 50 and 51: 50 Figures 21a and b. (a), Early Me
Page 52 and 53: question. This is certainly a matte
Page 54 and 55: the sources used, houses as well as
Page 56 and 57: Although we may accept the argument
Page 58 and 59: The change in the meaning of the wo
Page 60 and 61: 60 UlfR ok þeR Ragnarr restu sten
Page 62: Earlier discussions of the Old Engl
Page 65: Figure 22. The structure of Wealhth
Page 69 and 70: Figure 25. Two partly overlapping e
Page 71 and 72: good father, good son or good broth
Page 73 and 74: 72 In reality it gives a significan
Page 75 and 76: and immediately afterwards he is cu
Page 77 and 78: current, throughout the poem as wel
Page 79 and 80: 2209 hé gehéold tela fiftig wintr
Page 81 and 82: Figure 30. The use of the word good
Page 83 and 84: to introduce Beowulf and to describ
Page 85 and 86: mate success, but there is no sharp
Page 87 and 88: Wealhtheow, whose name means ‘cel
Page 89 and 90: In verse 1810 the sword Hrunting is
Page 91 and 92: you and perhaps take a liking to yo
Page 93 and 94: it must be discussed how a Late Cla
Page 95 and 96: 45 Post tenebras noctis stellarum l
Page 97 and 98: Sigibert burn to marry the maid. Th
Page 99 and 100: why is the description of Brunhild
Page 101 and 102: Skírne-motif and hints at the para
Page 103 and 104: fourth belongs to a period after Si
Page 105 and 106: The second poem seems ultimately to
Page 107 and 108: 106 You have adopted the custom of
Page 109 and 110: Distant or stand-offish Germanic ki
Page 111 and 112: 110 So am I, exhausted by the might
Page 113 and 114: the first poem to express the unite
Page 115 and 116: How fast does Fame fly, rising on f
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order to survive and develop, but a
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Their peaceful role in general and
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eciprocal connection between a pair
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esult of a philosophical developmen
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connections is marked and dispropor
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and humans and animals on each side
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competition on the farm was smooth
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The established aristocracy is alwa
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166
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peasants, namely the marriage betwe
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have been their obvious right to ex
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not free to pass through the lower
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174 Then Ælfwine said, he talked b
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was a child. Today we would not cou
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Beowulf in the first part of the po
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180
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Andersson, K., 1993. Romersk guldsm
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Fabech, C., 1998. Slöinge i perspe
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⎯ 1993. The origin of the hall in
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Knudsen, S. Aa. & Hertz, E., 1994.
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Nielsen, K. M., 1945. Var thegnerne
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⎯ 1993. Vikingetidens volde og bo
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Williams, T. A., M. Shaw & V. Debha
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212
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214
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216
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3 Dejbjerg. The hall from Dejbjerg
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on a central farm among other large
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186 Appendix II An English version
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188 To him who strengthless fled th
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190 When I, as a stranger, saw Germ
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Notes 1 The translation follows the
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always fasting, incessantly praying
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7. When Atharidos got to know this
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Beowulf - Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia

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