Named Entities Glossary

Lemma	Gloss	Line	POS	Comment
Ægelmund	Agelmund	117	asn	first king of the Langobards
Ælfwine	Ælfwine	70	dsn	King Alboin of the Langobards, called Elvewine in König Rother(Gillespie 36)
Ænēnas	Ænēnas	61	dpn	Anenas, an unidentified tribe, potentially Aunonia of Kossinna argued by Malone pg 127
Ætla	Atilla	18	apn	the Hun.
Alewih	Alewih	35	nsn	unknown Danish king
Alexandreas	Alexander	15	nsn	proper name, Alexander the great
Amoþingas	the Amothings	86	dpn	Inhabitants of the island of Hindø in Norway, which appears in cap. 29 of the Ynglingasaga by Snorri
Baningas	the Baningas	19	dpn	Malone has a long note here connecting Baningum with Bainaib (Cuntz 1923) and Ptolemy's Βαινοχαιμαι, whom he argues are separate from the Bohemians (Boihœmum, Marquart)
Becca	Becca	19	nsn	from OE Beocca, possibly identified with Bikki from Snorra Edda and Völsungasaga, Ermanric's treacherous retainer, and Bicco in Saxo's Gesta Danorum* but Malone dismisses this as linguistically improbable (pg 131).*
Becca	Becca	115	asn	Berchtung of the Wolfdietrich story, occaisionally also indentified with the evil Bikki but this Becca is clearly in the wrong company to be associated wtih that story
Billing	Billing	25	nsn	Malone 132-133) According to Chambers and Redin the name is derived from a kind of sword called a bill
Breoca	Breoca	25	nsn	The Breca of Beowulf fame, the great swimmer, though his name likely refers to being a great breaker of rings or breaker of shield walls. (Malone 133)
Brondingas	Brondings	25	dpn	an unknown tribe, though Malone has some great speculation here (133-134)
Burgendan	the Burgundians	19	dpn	a Germanic tribe dwelling in the Rhine region and later the Rhone.
Casere	Caesar	20	nsn	The Byzantine Roman emperor in Constantinople
Casere	Caesar	76	dsn	Malone argues on pg 135 for an Eastern Roman emperor here, possibly Justinian
Dēan	Deans	63	dpn	unknown tribe in the southern Scandinavian peninsula, the Daukiones of Ptolemy (ii.11.16, Malone 135)
Eadgils	Eadgils	93	dsn	King of the Myrgings, otherwise unknown. Malone has LOTS to say on pgs 137-139
Eadwine	of Edwin	74	asn	King of the Langobards, Audoin
Eadwine	of Edwin	98	gsn	The father of Ealhhild but the timeline doesn't work for him to then also be Audoin, the Langobardish ging (Malone 140)
Eadwine	Edwin	117	asn	### Audoin, again
Ealhhild	Ealhhild	97	nsn	Eadwine's daughter
Ealhhilde	Ealhhilde	5	dsn	Ermanric's wife, daughter of the Eadwine of line 98. Whether she was a Langobard is debated, Guest 1838 calling her father the 'lord of the Myrgings'. Malone connects her wtih the Scandinavian Swanhild of legend (140), though there is none of the enmity between Ealhhild and her husband that there is between Swanhild and hers.
Eastgota	Ostrogotha	113	asn	Early king of the Ostrogoths, contemporary of Roman Emperor Philip (244-9) (Malone 142)
Eastþyringas	Thuringians	86	dpn	### Still the best sausages in Germany
Elsa	Elsa	117	asn	based on context, ought to be a Langobardish hero, but otherwise unknown
Emerca	Emerca	113	asn	Emerca is the Gothic hero Erpamara, found in Jordanes 43
Eormanrīc	Ermanric	8	gsn	Ostrogothic king in the late middle 4th century, see his contemporary historian, Ammanius Marcellinus, as well as Jordanes. Ammanius tells that his great empire was so threatened by Huns and Alans that he committed suicide, though Jordanes leaves this out (Malone 146). Son of Amelunc and uncle of Dietrich von Berne (Þeodric), Dietrichs Flucht paints him very badly, as do other Old German heroic tales (Gillespie 37, 38). Malone argues that these later heroic tales do not reflect the historical king, who seems to have behaved correctly for an old Germanic warlord (146-149).
Eowan	the Eows	26	dpn	A tribe Conybeare associates with the Baltic island of Öland
Fin	Fin	27	nsn	King of rhe Frisians and the Finn from Beowulf and the Finnsburuh Fragment
Folcwalding	son of Folcwalda	27	nsn	The patronymic of Finn's father, but Chambers suggests that it was a title that alliterated conveniently rather than Finn's father's real name (1921, 200)
Freoþerīc	Freoþeric	124	asn	unidentified king or hero, sometimes conneced with the Heathobards and other times with Rederic, King of the Rugians, but Malone mentions there is no evidence for this (150).
Fridla	Fridla	113	asn	Gothic king Fridigernus
Frumtingas	the Framtings	68	dpn	The people of King Framta, a faction of the Suevi in Spain. See Historia Svevorum(Malone 152)
Gēatas	the Geats	58	dpn	The Geats are common knowledge
Gefflēgan	The Gefflegans	60	dsn	The Aviones of Tacitus but location unknown
Gefwulf	Gefwulf	26	nsn	King of the Jutes (Ytum), but otherwise unknown
Gefþan	The Gibids	60	dpn	A tribe of the Gothic family mentioned in Beowulf @@@ Better notes.
Gifica	Gifica	19	nsn	Also the Gibica mentioned in King Gundobad's Leges Burgudionum (see Malone 154), believed by F. Bluhme to be the father of Gundomar, Gislahari (Gislhere, line 123) and Gundahari(Guðhere, line 66). Malone speculates that these may represent each a generation.
Gislhere	Gislaharius	123	asn	King of the Burgundians, who Malone speculates would have been an ancestor of the more famous Guðhere
Glomman	the Glomman	69	dpn	A tribe perhaps the same as Tacitus's Lemovii on the Oder estuary.
Guðhere	Guðhere	66	nsn	King of the Burgundians, Gunter/Gunther of OHG, who was defeated by the Huns in the Nibelungenlied, Þiðrikssaga, and the Volsungasaga.
hæleþ	heroes	81	dpn	WOW this is interesting. I had interpreted this on my read-through as 'heroes' but Malone and some other writers identify this with the inhabitants ot the Hala heret in Jordebog of King Valdemar II of Denmark. Lappenberg 1838 and Grein read it as Hæreþum, identifying the tribe with the Charudes of classical antiquity (all in Malone 157). Mackie and Dobbie keep the MS reading and take it as the dpn 'hæleþ' or hero, which I am adopting for the time being. I will copy this note into my log.
Hælsingas	Hælsings	22	ipn	An unknown tribe who etymology may be connected to the Chalusos river mapped by Ptolemy. Malone goes on to associate them with the Hæleþan of line 81 (Malone 158).
hæþen	heathens	81	dpn	Various editors believe this to be the word 'heathen' as below is the word 'hero', but Malone argues in the spirit of Lappenberg 1838, that these are the inhabitants of the Norwegian region called Hedemark (Malone 159). I am currently adopting the 'heathens and heroes' reading but am open to changing my mind.
Hagena	Hagen	21	nsn	a king of the Rugians, famous from the Hild Saga, also the foe of Heoden below
Hama	Hama	130	nsn	The Heime of German lore, an exile who has carved out a kingdom for himself and is paired in this poem with Wudga. Malone states that the poet clearly thought of them as joint rulers of a single kingdom, though Chambers argues they were outlaws a la Robin Hood (pg 159-160). This is the Hama of Beowulf who carried off the bright necklace of the Brosings.
Heaðobeardan	of the Heathobards	49	gpn	These are the Heathobards of Beowulf. Malone presumes that they were closely related to the Langobards.
Heaþoric	Heathoric	116	asn	Malone states that this is the Heiðrekr of the Harvararsaga, and while the phonology does not precisely align, the three remaining names in this line are all from Hervararsaga. He also draws a connection between this Heaþoric and the Hæðcyn of Beowulf.
Heðca	Hache	112	asn	Malone corrects this to Hehca, and associates him with 'Hache', a Germanic hero (Malone 168). Anscombe 1916 amends it to Hæþcan and identifies the character with King Hæðcyn of Beowulf.
Helm	Helm	29	nsn	Helm, King of the Wulfings
Heoden	Heoden	21	nsn	The ASPR XML has this word tagged as 'unclear' and boy howdy is it ever. The OEPIF project shows it as very unclear as well. Malone reads it as Henden but says it is the character Heoden of the Hild saga (pg 168). Chambers and ASPR both record it as 'Heoden', so that is what I'm going to stick with for now.
Heorot	Heorot	49	dsn	Heorot of Hroðgar in Beowulf.
Herelingas	Herelingas	112	apn	The followers of Herela, or King Herla of Water Map, the leader of the Wild Host (or Woden in disguise), but the poet here is likely referring to the Harlun brothers (Malone 170).
Hlīþe	Lotherus	116	asn	Hlǫðr of the HErvararsaga, Lotherus of Saxo Grammaticus, a mythical Gothic or Geatish king, though in the past he was identified with King Leth of the Langobards (Grienberger 1922, 377)
Hnæf	Hnæf	29	nsn	King of the Hocingas, appears in both Beowulf and the Finnsburuh Fragment
Hocingas	the Hocings	29	dpn	The Hocings are clarified as Danes in Beowulf (1090, 1158), Here-Scyldings (1069, 1108, 1154), and Healfdenes (1069). Malone has notes on them on pgs 172-173.
Holen	Holen	33	nsn	Malone takes Holen to mean 'protector' in l 80 of the Exeter Book Gnomic Verses. Others associate it with OE holegn meaning 'holly'. (Malone 173)
Holmrygas	the Rugians	21	dpn	All editions note that the 'g' is missing from the manuscript and they add it back in. Malone, in his glossary, makes the additional correction of a 'c', rendering this holmrycgas, holmrycgum. Malone identifies the Rugians as the Hulmerugi of Jordanes, in the islands of the estuary of the Vistula. (174)
Hræde	Hræde	120	gsn	###
Hreðcyning	King of the Goths	7	gsn	refers to Ermanric, named in the next line
Hringwald	Hringwald	34	nsn	means Ring-Ruler, great name
Hroðgar	Hroðgar	45	nsn	Our old buddy
Hronan	Hronan	63	dpn	a tribe otherwise unknown. Lots of possibilities (Malone 176).
Hroþwulf	Hroþwulf	45	nsn	Hroþgar's nephew
Hundingas	the Hundings	23	dpn	nickname for the Langobards
Hungar	Hungar	117	asn	Second king of the Langobards, also called Lamissio by Paulus Diaconus.
Hwala	Hwala	14	nsn	Grandson of Sceaf but otherwise unknown
Idumingas	Idumings	87	dpn	Ydumaci of Henricus Lettus, a Livonian tribe.
Ilwan	the Ilwan	87	dpn	The Elvaeones of Ptolemy, the Helvecones of Tacitus
Incgenþeow	Incgenþeow	116	asn	Angantyr of the Hervararsaga and the historical King Ongenþeow of Sweden, who appears in Beowulf.
Indeas	THe Hindus	83	dpn	Inhabitants of India
Ingeld	Ingeld	48	gsn	king of the Heathobards and son of Froda
Iste	the Austrogoths	87	dpn	A specific tribe of the Ostrogoths
Lidwicingas	the Lidwiccas	80	dpn	Malone emends this to Lidingum and associates them with the Liðungar of Islenzkir Analar, but others associate it as is with the Lidwiccas in the OE Annals. I have chosen to leave it unchanged for the moment
Meaca	Meaca	23	nsn	Unknown king of the Myrgings
Mearchealf	Mearchealf	23	nsn	unknowng king of the Hundings, but his name may be derived from mearh 'horse' and ealf 'elf'.
Mofdingas	Mofdings	85	dpn	Malone changes this to the 'Ofdingas' for complex reasons. Nobody else does this, so I have elected to leave it, though he makes a compelling argument (pg2 186-187).
Moide	the Moids	84	dpn	Malone 183: Moide are the inhabitates of Møn in the Danish archipelago, and a well known harbor and battle-site. Earlier editors associated the Moide with the Medes but this spelling would be a one-off then, as the Medes are usuall spelled Meðas or Mœðe.
Myrgingas	the Myrgings	4	dpn	the tribe to which Widsið belonged. 'By virtue of the Offa episode, the Myrgings can be localized with some precision; they lived south of the river Eider, in a region apparently identical with that held by the Saxons of Ptolemy and certainly identical with that held by the Nordalbings of later times, themselves a branch of the Old Saxons (to use King Alfred's term).' (Malone 183). The Myrgings were likely a Saxonish tribe called the Maurungani of the Geographer of Ravenna.
nsn	Ongenþeow	31	Ongendþeow	A king of the Swedes mentioned in Beowulf (as Ongenþoew), his name becongs Angantyr in Old Norse. The Ongend- element means sting or prick and Malone then extrapolates to 'phallus', associating Ongend- with a priest of a fertility cult, perhaps Yngvi Freyr.
Offa	Offa	35	nsn	King of Ongel also in Beowulf, and as Uffa in Saxo Grammaticus and Sweyn Aageson. Latter half of the 4th century and king of the Angles.
Ongel	the Angles land	8	dpn	The original homeland of the Angles before Britain, and probably covered most of Sleswick,
Ongendmyrgingas	the Ongendmyrgings	85	dpn	Malone has this combined with the previous word to form the Ongendmyrgingum but neither Chambers nor the ASPR does this. If it were correct, it might be identical to the later Wiþmyrgingas in 116. Malone takes his cue from Rieger and Langenfelt in following the structure of 'Ongendþeow' and placing the Ongend as a prefix of the word. Because of the presence of the 'regular' Myrgings in this same stanza, I have opted for Malone's reading.
Oswine	Oswin	26	nsn	Otherwise unknown
Peohtas	the Picts	79	dpn	###
Perse	the Perse	84	dpn	because of the exotic peoples listed in the previous sentence, these often get translated to the Medes and the Persians; however, Malone points out that in this couplet, they are actually paired with Scandinavian and Germanic tribes. Because of this, the identity of the Perse is unknown.
Rædhere	Rædhere	123	asn	an unknown king or hero, whose name means 'command (or counsel) the army'.
Rondhere	Rondhere	123	asn	unknown hero whose name means shield-army, or less literally, 'protector'.
Rondingas	The Rondings	24	dpn	The men of Telemark, famously weird skiers with whom no self-respecting Alpine skier would associate. The name means 'borderers' and seems to be a poetic appelation based on their region being called a mark or borderland. (Malone 191-192)
Rugas	the Rugi	69	dpn	### Who are the Rugis??
Rumstan	Rumstan	123	asn	often connected with the Germanic hero Rimstien, but Widsith seems to associate him with Gislhere of the Burgundians and the German hero is a Goth. Malone (192) supposes the hero was forgotten and then his name reborrowed as the Gothic legend cycle grew.
Rumwalas	Rome-foreigners	69	dpn	Malone (193) identifies the Rumwalas as the eastern Roman empire, which is heavily disputed by other authors ### Check Weiskott
Sæferð	Sæferð	31	nsn	King of the Sycgan, some debate that he is the Sigeferþ of Beowulf and Holthausen translates the name Seefried. We cannot be certain of his identity.
Sceafa	Sheaf	32	nsn	A king of the Langobards but Price 1826 identified him as the mythical 'Scef', father of the equally mythical 'Scyld Scefing'. Malone rejects this association because Scyld was, of course, mythical.
Sceafthere	Sceafthere	32	nsn	unknown king but his name means 'spear-army (compare with Rondhere, 'shield-army).
Scilling	Scilling	103	nsn	A scop who sang with Widsith on at least one occasion, Malone compares this to rune-singers in Finnish tradition (194).
Scottas	the Irish	79	dpn	Not the Scots
Scridefinnas	The Lapps	79	dpn	The Lapps of arctic Norway, Scride- (skis) exists to differentiate them from the Finns proper.
Seafola	Seafola	115	asn	A legendary traitorous retainer from the Wolfdietrich tale, according to Malone 194-195. Chambers instead has this as Sabene of Rabene in the Dietrich von Berne story (see Gillespie 28).
Seaxan	the Saxons	62	dpn	The original Saxons of Germany
Secca	Secca	115	asn	The young Sigiwald of history, kinsmen of the Frankish Þeodric. His story is found in Gregory of Tours' Historia Fancorum iii (Malone 196).
Sercingas	the Sercings	75	dpn	Perhaps Tacitus's Siraci, a Black Sea tribe, or perhaps the Serica of the ancients (Sedgefield 1922, 136), though Malone notes this would then connect them with the Serkland and Serkir in the same line (197).
Seringas	the Serae	75	dpn	The Serae of the ancients,
Sifeca	Sifeca	116	asn	An evil counselor of unknown origin but with lots of speculation (Malone 199).
Sigehere	Sighere	28	nsn	King of the Sea-Danes, the Sigarr of the Snorra Edda
Swæfe	Swæfe	22	dpn	The Eider-Suebi, a branch of the Suebi that settled in western Sleswick. Malone mentions that with their close association with the Angles as well as Bede's mention of their ruler Witta being the grandfather of Hengest, it is not unreasonable ot infer that they took part in the Anglo-Saxon conquest of Britannia (201).
Sweon	Swedes	31	dpn	The Swedes of Uppland
Sweordwere	Suardones	62	dpn	From Tacitus, as Malone so adeptly argues in 202-203.
Sycgan	Sycgan	31	dpn	Only otherwise known from the Finnsburug Fragment, l24, where they are the Secgena(gpn).
Unwen	of Unwen	114	gsm	Son of Eastgota l 113, meaning 'unexpected one'
Wada	Wada	22	nsn	King of the Hælsings, in this poem not the father of mythical Weland or grandfather of Wudga. (Malone 206-207)
Wærne	the Varni	59	dpn	The Varni of Procopius and the Varini of Tacitus, and perhaps the Varinnae of Pliny. Procopius puts this tribe east of the Rhine, in the region controlled by the Saxons. Tacitus puts them in Jutland.
Walas	of the Romans	78	gpn	A generic word meaning 'foreigners' but usually referring to Romans. This name was later to be come the appelation given to the land of 'Wales' or of 'foreigners'
Wald	Wald	30	nsn	King of the Woings, otherwise unknown
Wenlas	Wenlas	59	dpn	The Wendlas of Beowulf 348, though whether he was Wendlas of the Vandili of Pliny, or of the Winnili (the Langobards), or still further a dweller of the Vendel of northern Jutland (called the Wandali by Saxo Grammaticus), is unknown for certain. (Malone 209)
Wicingas	the Wicings	59	dpn	This is a reference to the Heaðobeards, according to Malone, but often translated as Vikings.
Widsið	Widsith	1	nsn	the fictitious scop celebrated in this poem
Winedas	Winedas	60	dpn	The Wends, a generic German name for the Slavs.
Wistlawudu	The Wistle wood	121	gpn	The forest of the Vistula goths
Witta	Witta	22	nsn	King of the Swæfe, and according to Bede, grandfather to Hengest and Horsa.
Wiþergield	Wiþergield	124	asn	The Wiðergyld of Beowulf 2051, a Heathobeard.
Wiþmyrgingas	the Wiþmyrgings	118	gpn	### need to check Chambers 123, 215, 221, but Malone (211) has these as the Myrgings who dwell in the valley of the With (Vid) river, and perhaps identical to the Ongendmyrgings.
Wod	Wod	30	nsn	King of the Þyringas, otherwise unknown
Woingas	the Woings	30	dpn	A tribe otherwise unknown
Wrosnan	Wrosnan	33	dpn	A Danish island tribe
Wudga	Wudga	124	asn	THe hero Widia from Waldere and the Viðga of Þiðrrikssaga
Wulfhere	Wulfhere	119	asn	One of two princes of the Hræde who let their people in a war against the Huns (Malone 213).
Wulfingas	the Wulfings	29	dpn	The Ylfingar of Norse tradition and the Wylfingas of Beowulf. Malone identifies them with the Vulgares of Paulus. (213)
Wyrmhere	Wyrmhere	119	asn	The Ormarr of the Hervararsaga, also the Olimarus of Saxo's 5th book. One of two princes of the Hræde who let their people in a war against the Huns (Malone 214).
Yte	the Jutes	26	dpn	The Euts or Jutes, one of the three tribes Bede names as taking part in the English conquest of Britain (Malone 215).
Yumbran	the Ymbran	32	dpn	An unknown tribe
þeodric	Theodric	115	asn	This Theodric is not the same as the one above according to Chambers (See Malone 204). Chambers associates this Theodric as Dietrich von Bern, which would make Seafola above Sabene von Rabene. Malone considers this impossible based on Jiriczek's paper (1920 in Englische Studien) in which Seafola is identified as the Wolfdietrich villain.
Þeodric	Theodric	24	nsn	Malone has him as the oldest son of Clovis and king of the Franks, and says that this Theodric is the same Theodric as in l. 115. Chambers and other dispute this. This Theodric is, indeed, Hugdietrich, king of the Franks (as stated in the poem), but l.115 would then be Dietrich of Bern.
Þrowend	Þrowend	64	dpn	The inhabitants of Norway's Trøndelagen, the Þrøndr (Malone 205).
Þyle	Thyle	24	nsn	King of the Rondings. Malone explains the name as the eponym of the Þilir, a tribe in the Telemark, giving identification to the Rondings below.
Þyringas	the Thuringians	30	dpn	Either the Thoringi of Gregory of Tours or the Tungri (Thuringians) of inland Germany. It is not impossible that these are actually the same tribe. (Malone 206)