occurs only twice (V. 670, 810) in the first 1000 verses of Beowulf in the same long-line, whilst the juxta-position of verses of this type is found 28 times (V. 4/5, 10/11, 15/16, 34/35, 99/100 etc.) in the transition of one long-line to the next.

In Beowulf and in older alliterative poetry in general the sentence pause is frequently found in the middle of the long-line (cp. § 14). The new sentence runs on into the next long-line. Later on, however, there is an increasing tendency to put the sentence pause at the end of the long-line. The former is called by Deutschbein (Zur Entwicklung des englischen Alliterationsverses. Halle 1902, p. 8) 'Hakenstil' (lit. 'hook-style'), the latter 'Zeilenstil' (lit. 'line-style').

106

§ 84. Examples.

The following will serve as examples to show how the six main types and the 90 subforms are used in continuous passages:

a) Scyld's Burial (Beowulf 26—52). Him þa Scyld gewāt to gescæp-hwile fela-hrōr feran on frēan wäre.

Hi hyne pa ætbæron to brimes farođe swæse gesīdas, swa hē selfa bæd benden wordum wēold wine Scyldinga, leof land-fruma lange ähte

þær æt hyde stöd hringed-stefna,

īsig ond üt-fus æđelinges fær.

Aledon pa leofne peoden,

beaga bryttan on bearm scipes,

mærne be mæste; þær wæs madma fela

of feor-wegum frætwa gelæded.

Ne hyrde ic cỹmlicor ceol gegyrwan hilde-wapnum ond heado-wædum, billum ond byrnum; him on bearme læg mādma mænigo þä him mid scoldon on flōdes æht feor gewitan.

Nalæs hi hine lassan lacum tēodan, peod-gestrēonum, bonne pa dydon be hine æt frumsceafte ford onsendon ænne ofer yde umbor-wesende.

þā gỹt hie him asetton segen gyldenne heah ofer heafod, lēton holm beran, geafon on gärsecg; him was geōmor sefa, murnende mōd.

Men ne cunnon

secgan to sođe sele-rædende

B,C2 | 34,65

A2,C3 11,68

A3,C3 27,70

A,B 2,31

B,D1 31,75
D1,A| 77,1

B,A 31,1
A2,E 15,53

7,32

hæled under heofenum hwa þæm hlæste onfeng. A,B

b) Edward's Death (AS. Chronicle 1066).

Hēr Eadward kinge Engla hläford

sende söd-fæste sawle to Criste,

on godes wæra gast hāligne.

He on worulda her wunōde prāge
on kyne-prymme craftig ræda
feower ond twentig frēolic wealdend
wintra gerīmes weolan brytnōde
ond healfe tid hæleđa wealdend

weold wel-(ge)þungen Walum ond Scottum
ond Bryttum eac byre Aeđelrēdes,
Englum ond Sexum, ōret-mægcum
swa ymb-clyppap cealde brimmas
þæt eall Eadwarde æđelum kinge
hyrdon holdlice hagestealde menn.

Was a blide-mod bealu-leas ky[ni]ng
beah he lange ær landes bereafod
wunōde wræc-lastum wide geond eordan,
syddan Cnut ofercōm kynn Aeđelrēdes
ond Dena weoldon deore rīce
Engla landes: eahta twentig

wintra gerîmes welan brytnōdan.

Syddan forp becom freolic in geatwum kyningc cystum gōd clæne ond milde Eadward sẽ ædela edel bewerode, land ond leode, oppæt lungre becom deap sẽ bitera, ond swa dẻore genam ædelne of eordan; englas feredon sop-fæste săwle innan swegles leoht.

§ 85. Later alliterative Verse. Alliterative Prose. In many later poems there are many variations in the 'filling' of the verse or in the position of

the alliteration. The general character of the alliterative verse, however, as we see from the examples above, was much the same in the eleventh century as in the eighth.

By the side of the strict alliterative verse there is in some works of Elfric also a kind of alliterating rhythmical prose, which is divided into small sections, corresponding to the alliterative half-lines of verse. Generally two sections are connected by the fact that one word in each section begins with the same sound. The alliterating words, however, are not always those most strongly stressed. The following passage from

Elfric is taken from Zupitza-Schipper Übungsbuch (8th ed.), p. 72:

An man was eardigende. on Israhela þeode. Manue gehäten. of dære mægđe Dan. his wif wæs untŷmende. and hig wunedon bütan cilde. him cōm þā gangende to. godes engel and cwæd. đæt hi sceoldon habban. sunu him gemæne. sẽ bid gode hālig. from his cild-kāde. and man ne mōt hine efsian. odde besciran. nẽ hẽ ealu ne drince. næfre oppe win. ne näht füles ne dicge. for þām be he ongind. tō alysenne his folc. Israhela peode. of Philistea peowte.

It is as impossible to arrange this alliterative prose in metrically definite verses as it is the early ME. legends of Katharina, Juliana, Margaretha. The latest attempt by W. Wagner to arrange Sawles Warde in verses (Sawles Warde. Kritische Textausgabe. Bonn 1908) cannot be said to be successful.

§ 86. The "Schwellverse".

By the side of the normal alliterative verses, which alone hitherto have been considered, there occur in nearly all long poems so-called "Schwellverse" (lengthened lines). These are generally arranged in groups of two or more long-lines. They occur particularly frequently in Genesis, Daniel, Judith, Gudlac, Crist, Dream of the Rood and also in the OS. alliterative poetry. Sievers gave a list of all the Schwellverse of OE. poetry in PBB 12, 454 f.; compare Engl. Stud. 21, 375. All the OE. Schwellverse were printed Engl. Stud. 21, 355–375.

NOTE. In addition to the works on the Schwellverse already quoted there have appeared the following: Sievers, Der angelsächsische Schwellvers. PBB 12, 454ff. — Luick, Über den Versbau des ags. Gedichts Judith. PBB 11, 470 ff.; Zur altenglischen und altsächsischen Metrik. Schwellvers und Normalvers, Alliteration und Versrhythmus. PBB 15, 441 ff. Kauffmann, Die sog. Schwellverse der alt- und angelsächsischen Dichtung. PBB 15, 360 ff. Cremer, Metrische und sprachliche Untersuchung der altenglischen Gedichte Andreas, Gudlac, Phoenix etc. Bonn 1888. Heusler, Über germanischen Versbau. Berlin 1894. G. Foster, Judith. Studies in Metre, Language and Style. QF. 71. Strassburg 1892. F. Heath, The Old English Alliterative Line. Transactions of the Philological Society 1891/93, 375-395. Kaluza, Die Schwellverse in der altenglischen Dichtung. Engl. Stud. 21, 337-383 (1895).

§ 87. The older Theories with regard to the Structure of the Schwellverse.

The views of the students of prosody with regard to the nature and structure of the Schwellverse,