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Studia Anglica Posnaniensia 49/2 2014
doi: 10.2478/stap-2014-0006
SAVING THE “UNDOOMED MAN” IN BEOWULF (572B-573)
SALENA SAMPSON ANDERSON
Valparaiso University
ABSTRACT
The maxim Wyrd oft nereð // unf3gne eorl, / þonne his ellen deah “Fate often spares an
undoomed man when his courage avails” (Beowulf 572b-573) has been likened to “For-
tune favors the brave,” with little attention to the word unf3gne, which is often trans-
lated “undoomed”. This comparison between proverbs emphasizes personal agency and
suggests a contrast between the proverb in 572b-573 and the maxim G3ð a wyrd swa
hio scel “Goes always fate as it must” (Beowulf 455b), which depicts an inexorable
wyrd. This paper presents the history of this view and argues that linguistic analysis and
further attention to Germanic cognates of (un)f3ge reveal a proverb that harmonizes
with 455b. (Un)f3ge and its cognates have meanings related to being brave or cowardly,
blessed or accursed, and doomed or undoomed. A similar Old Norse proverb also
speaks to the significance of the status of unf3ge men. Furthermore, the prenominal
position of unf3gne is argued to represent a characterizing property of the man. The
word unf3gne is essential to the meaning of this proverb as it indicates not the simple
absence of being doomed but the presence of a more complex quality. This interpretive
point is significant in that it provides more information about the portrayal of wyrd in
Beowulf by clarifying a well-known proverb in the text; it also has implications for
future translations of these verses.
Keywords: wyrd, Beowulf, proverbs, lexicology, adjectives, word order, translation,
Germanic languages
1. Introduction
After recounting his successful exploits at sea and his slaying of nine sea mon-
sters, Beowulf remarks, Wyrd oft nereð // unf3gne eorl, / þonne his ellen deah
“Fate often spares / an undoomed man when his courage avails” (572b-573).
Both Klaeber (2008: 153) and Tolkien (1936: 290, 291) liken this Old English
LINGUISTICS
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(OE) proverb to the proverb “Fortune favors the brave.” Drawing the same par-
allel, Deskis (1996: 73), however, suggests that “[t]he Beowulfian version is
somewhat complicated by the added condition that the eorl be unf3ge”. Indeed,
the interpretation of this proverb hinges on understanding the complex relation-
ship between wyrd, personal agency, and the state of being (un)f3ge.
Given the wealth of scholarship on the concept of wyrd (e.g., Phillpotts 1928;
Timmer 1941; Kasik 1979; Weil 1989; Pollack 2006) and Old English maxims
(e.g., Williams 1914; Cavill 1993, 1999; Deskis 1996, 2005, 2013; Shippey 1977,
1978; Thayer 2003; Kramer 2010; O’Camb 2013), this proverb has enjoyed con-
siderable scholarly attention.1 The significance of the word unf3ge in this prov-
erb, however, has received relatively less treatment. For more than a century,
readers have contrasted the proverb with the earlier assertion that G3ð a wyrd
swa hio scel “Goes always fate as it must” (455b), e.g., “Household Words”
(Dickens 1858); Williams (1914); Weil (1989); emphasizing the idea that a man
may change his fate through brave acts. This essay seeks to complicate this inter-
pretation by addressing the significance of the word unf3ge, as related to but
distinct from the meanings associated with the word wyrd and the phrase þonne
his ellen deah in this proverb. In doing so, this paper offers additional insight into
the concept of wyrd in Beowulf as well as further lexicographical information that
may be relevant to the definition of the word unf3ge.
With only two attestations of the word unf3ge in Old English (both of which
are in Beowulf), evidence from related languages, such as Old Norse (ON) and
other Germanic languages, provides some of the little information we have for
understanding this word. In addition to drawing parallels between this proverb
and others pertaining to bravery, as provided by Klaeber and Tolkien, we might
also compare the proverb with those that discuss individuals who are f3ge or
unf3ge. Related maxims in Old Norse suggest that being unf3ge is as immuta-
ble as being f3ge. Secondary meanings of these words pertaining to courage or
cowardice in Old Norse and other Germanic languages further indicate that a
man’s bravery may in fact be connected with his being unf3ge. In this case, the
maxims concerning wyrd in 572b-573 and 455b may present a coherent world-
view, in which fate – good or bad – is inescapable.
Patterns of word meaning and use associated with unf3ge and its cognates
may also be supplemented with insights from other fields, such as theoretical
linguistics, in an effort to offer additional glimpses into the specter of this word
and of the world it represents. In particular, the characterizing nature of the word
unf3ge in this maxim is corroborated by independent insights from theoretical
semantics and syntax. Haumann (2010) suggests that in Old English, as in many
1 See Kramer (2009) for an excellent discussion of some of the research on Old English
proverbs, including early research and more recent studies.
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languages, prenominal adjectives, e.g., unf3gne eorl, indicate a quality that is
characteristic of the noun modified, and this contrasts with the temporary or inci-
dental nature of qualities depicted by postnominal adjectives. In other words,
according to this theory, one of the defining or characterizing features of the eorl
in this maxim is that he is unf3ge. He is not incidentally undoomed as a result of
wyrd’s saving him because of his bravery at that moment, nor is he unf3ge simply
because he is not f3ge. In contrast, he is an unf3gne eorl, “an undoomed man”.2
The adjective’s prenominal position highlights the fact that the proverb addresses
a particular kind of man, not just someone who incidentally exhibits this quality,
measurable only by the outcome of the events themselves.
Considering these patterns of word order variation and their hypothesized
significance in Old English, this paper aims to illustrate how insight from lin-
guistic theory can supplement traditional philological insight in the analysis of a
well-known Old English proverb. Through surveying a diachronic sample of
scholarly discussion and translation of this proverb, this paper also illustrates
how subtle syntactic change can compound the challenges of interpreting Old
English proverbs since the reader has neither full knowledge of the cultural
context nor native speaker intuitions regarding the grammar of the language.
Both of these factors complicate our incomplete understanding of culturally
invested words such as wyrd and unf3ge, especially when one of these words is
a low frequency form, such as unf3ge. Using insights from Old Norse and other
Germanic languages and from theoretical linguistics, I argue that the meanings
of the word unf3ge and its cognates as well as the word’s prenominal position
suggest a relationship between being brave and being an unf3gne eorl. In this
case, being unf3ge and being brave need not be separate conditions for wyrd’s
sparing the man.
2. Survey of scholarly discussion
Before Klaeber’s first edition, before Tolkien’s famous lecture, there was al-
ready a growing body of literature on Beowulf and this maxim in particular. Yet,
some early readers struggled to interpret the proverb, perhaps because of the
‘universalizing’ quality of Old English maxims that can be foreign to modern
audiences (Fulk & Cain 2013: 241). For instance, Tolman (1887: 44) remarks:
2 This distinction is perhaps akin to Wallace Stevens’ “Nothing that is not there and the noth-
ing that is.” To use the prenominal adjective unf3gne is to assert the presence of a negated
quality, which is distinct from asserting the absence of an unnegated quality, as in n3s ic
f3ge þa gyt (2141b) or n3s he f3ge þa git (2975b), where the temporal nature of not being
f3ge is highlighted by the adverb gyt/git ‘yet’.
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Some of the massive generalities in such passages are almost
‘Bunsbyisms’ in their solemn saying of little or nothing;3
Fate oft preserves
The undoomed earl, if his strength holds out.
Beo., 572
The beautiful close of ‘Widsith’ is weakened by an expression like
this. Passages which have a touch of the humorous to us, very
certainly did not have it to the serious Anglo-Saxons.
Beyond painting the Anglo-Saxons as humorless, this early interpretation of the
maxim illustrates a further misunderstanding of Anglo-Saxon culture, one that
is linguistically and culturally motivated. It illustrates the trouble with translat-
ing this maxim into a language and cultural context in which neither wyrd nor
the idea of being f3ge or unf3ge is a reality. The result is an amused (and be-
mused) reader who recognizes that he or she is not able to connect with the
original meaning of this maxim.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, this maxim was frequently
referenced in short summaries and discussions of the poem, often in contrast
with the maxim G3ð a wyrd swa hio scel (455b). “A Primitive Old Epic,”
which Howe (2005) attributes to Henry Morley, printed in Dickens’ Household
Words from May 1, 1858, includes both of these proverbs, translated as follows:
(1) a. What is to be goes ever as it must.
b. The Must Be often helps an undoomed man when he is brave. (461)
In A first sketch of English literature (1873), Morley discusses these lines to-
gether, introducing the idea of personal agency as a significant feature of the
second maxim and fatalism as the defining note of the first: “The poem includes
also expression of the heathen fatalism, ‘What is to be goes ever as it must,’
tinged by the energetic sense of men who feel that fate helps those who help
themselves; or as it stands in Beowulf, that ‘the Must Be often helps an un-
doomed man when he is brave’” (14). This same description appears in Burnett
(1886: 14) and Bell (1900: 37), and Baldwin (1882: 15) also contrasts these
proverbs.
3 The word ‘Bunsbyism’ here is apparently a coinage based on Charles Dickens’ character
Captain Jack Bunsby from Dombey and Son. Bunsby, who is ironically called a ‘sage,’ con-
founds those around him with his opinions because of the “difficulty (…) experienced in
making anything of out them” (123).
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Notions of Englishness were also attached to these two proverbs, especially
the proverb in 572b-573 because of its apparent attention to the importance of
personal agency, which writers appropriated as a feature of English identity. For
example, Scudder (1901) addresses the importance of “an inevitable Fate” as
illustrated by the maxim in 455b, but goes on to contrast this verse with the
maxim in 572b-573:
Yet blended with this [fatalism], in the illogical union always to be
found in the English race, and source of much of its power, is a stern
sense of personal duty. ‘Weird goeth ever as it must!’ exclaims
Beowulf; yet ‘Fate often preserves an undoomed earl, if his courage
is good’. The poem reveals to us many of the sources of the future
power of the English: it shows us a race that can dream as well as
fight, a race permeated by the instinct of moral responsibility, a race
that can compass much, but that cannot compass light-heartedness.
(Scudder 1901: 33-34).
Dixon (1912: 73) similarly contrasts the proverb in 572b-573 with other Beo-
wulf proverbs on fate, again emphasizing the Englishness of “challeng[ing] the
fates themselves,” as he interprets this proverb.
Welsh (1890) connects these proverbs and the poem more generally not only
with Englishness but also with masculinity: “Its [Beowulf’s] characteristics are
English to the root – Nature – worship, pride, melancholy, fatalism, manliness.
‘Let him who can, work high deeds ere he die’. ‘What is to be, goes ever as it
must.’ ‘The Must-Be often helps an undoomed man when he is brave’” (Welsh
1890: 5). Given the discourse that generally surrounds the comparison of 455b
and 572b-573, one cannot help but wonder if Welsh connects one proverb with
‘fatalism’ and the other with ‘manliness.’ In any case, here we see the same
translations from Morley’s writing in Household Words and A first sketch of
English literature, and one can see the influence of these texts in highlighting
these two maxims, and in setting up a contrast between them, where the first
maxim represents fatalism and the second maxim addresses the power of per-
sonal agency.
Some early scholars framed the discussion of the proverb concerning the un-
doomed man in terms of the paradox of the apparent claim that fate and bravery
might both play a role in the man’s success, but there is comparatively little
direct treatment of the word unf3ge. In their edition of Beowulf, the influential
scholars Wyatt and Chambers (1914: 31) note of verses 572b-573 that “The
paradox is a favorite one in Germanic literature. cf. ll. 670, 1056, 1552, where
Beowulf is saved by God and his mail”. Klaeber similarly writes on this proverb
of “die fast sprichwörtlich ausgeprägte Idee der Dualität von Geschick (Gott)
und eigener Kraft” [the almost proverbially formulated idea of the duality of
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10
fate (God) and one’s own strength] (1905b: 179). He goes on to connect this
proverb with the more modern one “God helps those that help themselves”.
Both in his choice of proverb for comparison and in his discussion, Klaeber
seems to judge the word unf3ge as inessential to the interpretation of the prov-
erb in verses 572b-573. Indeed, Klaeber (1905a) acknowledges the adjective as
an epithet, but suggests that it is pleonastic (247), and this interpretation helps
explain its omission in the discussion of these verses in his editions of Beowulf.
Klaeber expresses the same duality in the first edition of Beowulf (1922) in a
note for verses 572b-573, again with relatively less attention to the word un-
f3ge:
Fate does not render manly courage unnecessary. A proverbial
saying. (‘Fortune favors the brave.’) Frequently God is substituted
for fate: 669 f., 1056 f., 1270 ff., 1552 ff., Andr. 459 f. Cf. Grimm
D.M. iii 5 (1281 f.); Gummere G.O. 236f.; Cook, MLN. Viii 59
(classical and ME. Parallels); Arch. cxv 179.
In his comparison between the Beowulf proverb and the proverb “Fortune favors
the brave,” the duality of fate and personal agency is expressed in the tension
between the subject “Fortune” and the object “the brave”. Like Klaeber, Cook
also directly likens this proverb to the proverb “Fortune favors the brave” (59),
but Gummere more indirectly connects the two proverbs, also drawing attention
to the Old Norse proverbs concerning those who are fey (or feigr), and observ-
ing that the verses represent a “Germanic commonplace”. Gummere suggests
that “fate often spares a man who is not doomed, really devoted to death, if he is
a brave man, in a word, favors the brave if favor be possible” (1909: 48). While
the language of fate “favor[ing] the brave” is represented, it is tempered with an
overt treatment of the word unf3ge. With this emphasis on the word unf3ge,
Gummere’s treatment contrasts with Klaeber’s, which does not directly address
this aspect of the proverb.
Tolkien also connects the proverb in 572b-573 with the more recent “For-
tune favors the brave,” and further addresses the role of personal agency. In a
footnote that mentions this verse, Tolkien writes the following:
“[T]he words hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre, mod sceal þe
mare þe ure m3gen lytlað are not, of course, an exhortation to
simple courage. They are not reminders that fortune favours the
brave, or that victory may be snatched from defeat by the stubborn.
(Such thoughts were familiar, but otherwise expressed: Wyrd oft
nereð unf3gne eorl, þonne his ellen deah)”. (Tolkien 1936: 291).
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In this note, we see the framing of this maxim in terms of triumph in the face of
impending ‘defeat’ as a result of a man’s courage and ‘stubborn[ness]’. The
man is an agent who ‘snatch[es]’ victory and is apparently enabled by his char-
acter. This reading agrees with other early analyses of the proverb that empha-
size personal agency in the interpretation of the proverb. Again the significance
of the word unf3ge is diminished in the comparison with the proverb “Fortune
favors the brave”. It is more challenging to conceive of the possible defeat of an
undoomed man, who is literally fated to survive, than simply “the brave”. And
as is seen in comparison with Germanic cognates of the word unf3ge, there may
actually be a relationship between being unf3ge and being brave.
More recent scholarship often maintains the focus on the importance of
bravery and personal actions in the undoomed man’s fate, with little considera-
tion of the significance of being unf3ge. For example, Raffel (1963: 41) para-
phrases the maxim as “Fate saves the living when they drive away death by
themselves”, and Haarder (1975: 239) suggests that this line may be understood
to say that “through action man will confirm his own life”. As in earlier scholar-
ship, the contrast between the proverbs in 455b and 572b-573 persists. In indi-
cating two of Beowulf’s statements on wyrd, Weil (1989: 95) first quotes 455b
and then writes “yet also” followed by verses 572b-573. This same contrast is
also seen in Flieger (2009: 155) along with the comparison between the latter
maxim and “God helps those who help themselves”. In both of these cases,
572b-573 is presented in opposition to 455b, with an emphasis on personal ac-
tions in the maxim on the unf3gne eorl. Gwara (2009: 192) also highlights the
relationship between fate and courage, but with a slightly different interpreta-
tion: “[A] man’s courage in evading violent death may be looked upon as the
action of fate – a god’s protection”. Thus it is not the man’s being saved that is
a product of fate so much as the fact that he was brave enough to combat the
threat and triumph. Here bravery is the product of fate rather than a condition on
fate, but even so, this interpretation makes no explicit reference to the signifi-
cance of being unf3ge.
Scholars who do treat the word unf3ge in this proverb tend to treat it as indi-
cating the simple absence of being f3ge (similar to Gummere’s treatment), and
may not ascribe the same irreversibility to being unf3ge as to being f3ge. For
instance, Cavill (1993: 482) concurs with Raffel’s reading of the maxim, which
emphasizes personal agency, while acknowledging “some of the tensions of the
Beowulf passage” [i.e. 572b-573]. He argues that this maxim emphasizes cour-
age, but then goes on to observe that Beowulf dies in spite of his courage be-
cause he was f3ge. Mitchell (1963: 131), too, emphasizes the significance of
being f3ge, arguing the following: “that death will come on one’s death-day is
inevitable, for neither wyrd (572-3) nor Waldendes hyldo (2291-3) can do any-
thing for the man who is f3ge.” Tietjen (1975: 164) goes further, distinguishing
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between being f3ge and being unf3ge, and arguing that “a man’s fortunes can
be reversed if he is unf3ge, but cannot be reversed if he is f3ge”. She bases this
argument on the following readings of 572b-573 and the related maxim in
2291-93: “The first passage points out that fortune favours the brave man if it
has not already decreed that he die, and the second, that a man requires the fa-
vour of fate as well as the favour of God if he is to survive misfortune”. How-
ever, for the two maxims that Tietjen uses as evidence in making this claim,
other interpretations are available, ones in which bravery, God’s favor, and be-
ing unf3ge are not all distinct factors, as discussed below.
More recently Deskis (1996: 76) argues for an interpretation of this proverb that
incorporates the roles of “personal responsibility” and fate. And in contrast with
some of this earlier scholarship, she argues that “the state of being f3ge or unf3ge
seems to supersede the powers of wyrd” (77). While she compares this proverb with
“Fortune favours the brave”, she notes that the proverb in Beowulf “is somewhat
complicated by the added condition that the eorl be unf3ge” (73), and she further
draws parallels with Old Norse proverb Hverjum bergur nokkuð, er eigi er feigur
“He who is not doomed will escape somehow” (Deskis 1996: 89).
The fourth edition of Klaeber’s Beowulf (2008) also addresses the portion of
the proverb that pertains to the man’s being unf3ge in the introductory discus-
sion, but in this reference, only verses 572b-573a are included (thus omitting
the clause concerning bravery). These verses are paraphrased as “a person will
live if he is not ordained to die” (lxxv), reflecting a similar sentiment to that of
the Old Norse proverb above that was referenced by Deskis. Comparatively, the
footnote for these verses in this edition still focuses on the parallels with “for-
tune favors the brave” – thus appearing to put more emphasis on the clause
þonne his ellen deah, which was omitted in the introduction. As can be seen in
this text and many of the other sources referenced above discussions of this
proverb tend to focus on the relationship between triumph and being undoomed
or the relationship between courage and fate. It is difficult to express in natural
Present-Day English the Old English relationship between fate, bravery, and
being unf3ge.
Russom (2009: 245) discusses the difficulty with the proverb’s interpretation
well over a century after Tolman’s labeling the maxim a “Bunsbyism”. In doing
so, Russom addresses some of the same challenges in interpretation that still
inform more recent discussions of the proverb, for example, Shippey (1978:
55), who writes of the ‘semantic emptiness’ of the maxims in 572b-573 and
455b from the modern reader’s perspective. In response to precisely this type of
quandary, Russom (2009: 245) suggests that “[t]he abstract sense ‘fate’ seems
inadequate” for this passage, and that “[f]rom a Classical or Christian perspec-
tive, fate can hardly be conceived as a savior, and the idea of fate saving some-
one not fated to die seems bizarrely tautological”. Here he argues for the impor-
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tance of considering Old Norse literature, which features the mythological norns
that determine each person’s fate. This wider cultural context is invaluable in
interpreting such maxims. Based on this context, Russom attempts to rescue the
proverb from a tautological interpretation with this analysis: “[T]he author must
allude to some power that imposes an outer limit on each human life but also
saves courageous individuals from untimely death” (2009: 245). But what
seems tautological to a modern audience might have been part of the original
effect of the proverb.4 To avoid tautology, Russom reverses the modifiers in the
passage above: making ‘courageous’ (representing þonne his ellen deah) a
prenominal modifier and making the modifier representing unf3ge, i.e., “un-
timely”, part of the verb phrase, opposite of the original Old English proverb.
However, as Klaeber’s fourth edition of Beowulf suggests, the first part of the
proverb can be understood to mean something like “a person will live if he is
not ordained to die” (lxxv), a common sentiment in Germanic tradition. Based
on this reading, wyrd cannot do anything but spare the life of an unf3ge man.
This paper builds upon this point and upon Deskis’ analysis of the proverb, with
additional attention to the significance of the word unf3ge and its cognates.
3. The relationship between wyrd and (un)f3ge men
While the literature on the concept of wyrd is extensive, and a more general
analysis of wyrd in Anglo-Saxon literature is beyond the scope of this paper,
consideration of the relationship between wyrd and free will in Beowulf may
shed some light on this proverb.5 Weil (1989: 97) provides a thoughtful analysis
of hand-related words in the text, arguing that they are evidence that “the indi-
vidual was the primary shaper of his fate in Anglo-Saxon poetry”. She argues in
particular for the importance of bravery, a significant theme in the proverb of
572b-573 and a theme that will emerge again with a closer analysis of the word
unf3ge. Here Weil’s qualification “primary” seems especially important. While
many scholars have pointed to the importance of bravery in a person’s fate even
in the discussion of this proverb, it is conceivable that bravery may be related to
other factors, such as a person’s status as an (un)f3ge individual. While Weil
briefly references this proverb in her discussion of wyrd, contrasting it with the
4 Donoghue (1987: 124) argues for the Beowulf proverb “G3ð
a wyrd swa hio scel”
(455b)
that the translation ‘Then the occurrences occurred’ or ‘Occurrences having occurred’ is
“even more faithful to the tautological originals” than “the smooth Modern English transla-
tions” ‘Then the event happened’ and ‘Events brought to pass’. In other words, he argues
tautology to be a feature of the original proverb. This is possibly similar to the effect ob-
served in 572b-573.
5 For a more recent discussion of wyrd, a brief history on its research, and a call for additional
updated research on this concept, see Pollack (2006).
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earlier proverb “G3ð a wyrd swa hio scel” (455b), she does not consider the
significance of the word unf3ge as a complicating factor in the interpretation of
this maxim. Weil (1989: 102) cautions against “attempts to make Beowulf squ-
are with the tenets of modern Christianity” in the analysis of wyrd in Beowulf,
yet it seems equally important not to impose contemporary Western notions of
personal agency on the text, as well. Since there may be unique interactions
between wyrd and (un)f3ge individuals, statements from Old English texts that
feature the relationship between these words are the ideal source of evidence for
the analysis of this specific proverb.
The two surviving instances of the word unf3ge in Beowulf, and the Old
English corpus, provide important glimpses of the relationships between wyrd,
God, and unf3ge individuals. In addition to verses 572b-573, we must also con-
sider the assertion that Swa m3g unf3ge eaðe gedigan wean ond wr3csið, se ðe
waldendes hyldo gehealdeþ (2291-2293a) [“So may an undoomed man easily
survive woes and misery, he who enjoys the ruler’s favor.”]. In these maxims,
the relationships between wyrd, God, and unf3ge men are illuminated, at least
in part, by consideration of the relationships between main clauses and subordi-
nate clauses. While previous scholarship, e.g., Tietjen (1975), treats the clauses
þonne his ellen deah (573b) and se þe waldendes hyldo gehealdeþ (2292b-
2293a) as additional stipulations on whether one is spared, they may be descrip-
tions extending naturally from the person’s status as an unf3ge man. In 2291-
93a, it is possible to understand the clause se þe Waldendes hyldo gehealdeþ as
an appositive beginning “he who” or “he whom” rather than an additional re-
strictive modifier.6 Thus an unf3ge man is one who God favors. And in 572b-
573, the clause þonne his ellen deah may be understood to indicate “the expec-
tation (…) that courage, as part of the very nature of the eorl, will assert itself in
a crisis at some stage” (Cavill 1993: 483).7 According to this interpretation,
bravery is taken as a prerequisite to being an unf3gne eorl, and this clause is not
an additional condition on wyrd’s saving the man. Thus, given these readings, it
is also possible that the word unf3ge has the same status as f3ge in terms of
being an irreversible state. This possibility complicates the traditional interpre-
tation of the maxim in which the adjective unf3ge and the clause þonne his
ellen deah are treated separately, if the adjective unf3ge is treated at all.
6 For this interpretation, see Klaeber’s Beowulf, 4th ed. (2008: 241).
7 The DOE, in senses 1a and 1b, defines an eorl as a “nobleman” or a “man of noble birth or
rank, a noble, ‘earl’ (as distinguished from a ceorl)” and “in poetry: warrior, man”. Thus,
the meaning of eorl may be specialized in relation to a man’s noble birth, or it may take on
a more general meaning in verse. Therefore, some of the meaning of the phrase unf3gne
eorl may come from certain assumptions about the status of being an eorl, though this is not
necessary in Old English verse, where eorl can simply mean “warrior” or “man.”
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Consideration of the verb nereð may also shed light on the relationship be-
tween wyrd and the unf3gne eorl. The verb nereð is often translated as “saves”
or “spares,” but these two translations allow subtly different meanings. The
former translation of this verb possibly suggests that fate takes a more active
role in protecting the man, and the latter allows the possibility that fate is treat-
ing the unf3gne eorl as it must: fate cannot destroy the unf3ge. Either reading
is possible, though recent translators have favored the translation “spares”. Fur-
ther, this reading seems to be more in line with the earlier assertion that “G3ð a
wyrd swa hio scel” (455b). Additional evidence of the relationship between
wyrd and (un)f3ge individuals may help inform our understanding of this verb
and the proverb more generally.
Besides the proverb in question, unfortunately there are no other cases in the
extant Old English corpus where wyrd collocates with unf3ge, but a statement
in Guthlac B on the relationship between wyrd and being f3ge provides impor-
tant evidence of wyrd’s limitations in (re)assigning fate once a person is already
f3ge. As such, this passage provides additional support for claims concerning
the immutable nature of being f3ge, e.g., Mitchell (1963). It also points to one
of wyrd’s limitations that may be relevant for the interpretation of Beowulf
572b-573.
As Guthlac anticipates his death from illness and his servant mourns his im-
pending death, the narrator comments:
Wyrd ne meahte
in f3gum leng feorg gehealdan,
deore fr3twe, þonne him gedemed w3s. (1057b-1059)
[Fate could not restrain the spirit, a precious treasure, in the doomed
man longer than was allotted to him.]
Gerould (1917: 87) demonstrates these verses to be part of an expansion of a
short section in the Latin Vita Sancti Guthlaci Auctore Felice: His auditis,
praedictus frater flens et gemens crebris lacrimarum rivulis maestas genas ri-
gavit. Quem vir Dei consolans ait:… “At these words this same brother wept
and sighed, bedewed his sad cheeks with floods of tears. But the man of God
consoled him, saying:…” (Colgrave 1956: 154-155). In the Latin text, Guthlac
goes on to explain that his servant should not be sad since Guthlac anticipates
eternity with God: Fili mi, tristitiam ne admittas; non enim mihi labor est ad
Dominum meum, cui servivi, in requiem venire aeternam. “My son, do not give
way to sadness, for it is no hardship to me to enter on eternal rest with my Lord
whom I have served” (Colgrave 1956: 154-155). The content of the Old English
verses 1057b-1059, however, is original to Guthlac B, a reflection on the nature
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16
of fate added by the Anglo-Saxon poet. Thus the relationship between the words
wyrd and f3ge depicted in these lines must represent a relationship native to Old
English, rather than a product of translation. In these lines we see what appears
to be wyrd’s inability to preserve life longer þonne him gedemed w3s (“than
was allotted to him”) in an individual who is f3ge. As suggested by previous
scholarship on the Beowulf 572b-573 and 2291-2293a, once a person is f3ge,
wyrd’s ability to overrule that status is checked. In the absence of additional Old
English data on the relationship between wyrd and unf3ge men, Old Norse data
may provide supplementary data from a related cultural context. Indeed, a re-
lated maxim in Old Norse suggests that the same irreversibility associated with
being a f3ge man may have applied to unf3ge men, as well.
4. Insights from an Old Norse maxim and narrative
Many scholars have highlighted the importance of using Old Norse data in in-
terpreting this proverb (e.g., Shippey (1978: 55); Russom (2009: 245); Williams
(1914: 37); Gummere (1892: 236, 237)). However, scholarly discussion that
juxtaposes this Beowulf proverb with Old Norse proverbs, if it treats the word
(un)f3ge, tends to focus on Old Norse proverbs that discuss feigr individuals,
not úfeigr individuals. With only two attestations of the word unf3ge in the
extant Old English corpus, consideration of relevant proverbs concerning the
úfeigr, the Old Norse cognate of unf3ge, can provide invaluable evidence re-
lated to the meaning and use of this word in Old English.
Deskis (1996: 85) discusses the Old Norse proverb Ecki kemr vfeigum i hel
ok ecki ma feigum forda “No undoomed person is sent to death and one cannot
save the doomed” from Sverris saga as a useful proverb for providing insight
into the relationship between death and fate in Beowulf.8 However, it may also
shed light on the meaning of the word unf3ge by providing a similar proverbial
usage of its cognate vfeigr in Old Norse. The proverb appears at the conclusion
of a short narrative featuring a dialog between a father and son in which the
father encourages his son to be brave in battle since his triumph or fall in battle
is already predetermined (Hauksson 2007: 72-73). In this narrative and proverb,
the vfeigr ‘undoomed’ and the feigr ‘doomed’ are treated the same: in both
cases, the person’s fate is sealed, whether it is victory or death.
8 Cleasby, Vigfusson and Craigie (1957: 57) in their entry for bella also provide the maxim
Ekki má ófeigum bella, which they translate “One not fated to die is proof against all shots”
or more literally “Nothing can hurt the undoomed”. This Old Norse maxim expresses a
similar sentiment, though its source, Heiðarvíga Saga, is somewhat problematic since the
manuscript was badly damaged in a fire, and parts of the text were reconstructed from
memory (Kålund 1904).
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5. Defining (un)f3ge
Further consideration of the meaning of the word unf3ge and its cognates pro-
vides additional insight into the relationship between bravery, blessing, and
being unf3ge: in particular, secondary meanings associated with (un)f3ge and
its cognates complicate the translation of this word as simply ‘undoomed.’ The
OE words (un)f3ge and other Germanic cognates have various usages associ-
ated with bravery or cowardice, blessing or curse, and doom or long life – as
described by a range of lexicographical sources. The presence of these secon-
dary meanings contributes additional dimensions to the idea of fate saving a
brave man, where the word unf3ge is taken to indicate merely the absence of
being doomed. With these senses, the unf3ge man takes on qualities that are
more obviously inherent, such as bravery. Given these secondary meanings of
unf3ge, the clause þonne his ellen deah becomes more temporal than condi-
tional.
A range of dictionaries depict the complexity of the meaning of f3ge, open-
ing the possibility for a similarly complex meaning of unf3ge. While Bosworth-
Toller defines unf3ge simply as “Not fey, not appointed to die”, supplying just
the two attestations from Beowulf, the definition of f3ge is more detailed. Be-
sides being defined as “fated, doomed, destined” or “dead, killed, slain”, this
word is listed with a third sense: “accursed, condemned,” which is illustrated in
Bosworth-Toller by the following sentences:
Ðonne þ3r ofer ealle egeslicne cwide sylf sigora weard, sares fulne,
ofer þ3t f3ge folc forð forl3teð, cwið to þara synfulra sawla feþan:
Farað nu, awyrgde, willum biscyrede engla dreames, on ece fir þ3t
w3s Satane ond his gesiþum mid, deofle gegearwad ond þ3re
deorcan scole, hat ond heorogrim. (DOE Corpus; Christ A,B,C
A3.1; 0418 (1515))9
Swapeð sigemece mid þ3re <swiðran> hond þ3t on þ3t deope d3l
deofol gefeallað in sweartne leg, synfulra here under foldan
sceat, f3ge g3stas on wraþra wic, womfulra scolu werge to
forwyrde on witehus, deaðsele <deofles>. (DOE Corpus; Christ
A,B,C A3.1; 0424 (1530))
Further, Bosworth-Toller lists a fourth sense: “feeble, timid,” which they illus-
trate with the following sentences:
9 While the selection of sentences originates from Bosworth-Toller, the actual language of the
quotations comes from the Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus, thus providing data from
more modern editions of these texts. The citations indicate specific sentence numbers in the
DOE Web Corpus.
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Nis min breostsefa forht ne f3ge, ac me friðe healdeð ofer monna
cyn se þe m3gna gehw3s weorcum wealdeð. (DOE Corpus; Guth
A,B A3.2; 0100 (309))
Ne willað eow andr3dan deade feðan, f3ge ferhðlocan, fyrst is 3t
ende l3nes lifes. (DOE Corpus; Ex A1.2; 0075 (266))
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) supplies Old English, Middle English,
and Early Modern English citations of both of these senses under the headword
“fey”. The Dictionary of Old English (DOE) lists the third sense, with citations
from Guthlac A and Christ C. It also makes reference to a possible meaning of
“afraid” in its discussion of f3ge gast from a passage in Exodus – though it does
not list a separate sense such as sense IV in Bosworth-Toller.10 While there is
some variation in terms of the number of senses attributed to this word, what
one can see from these citations and dictionary entries is that the meaning of
f3ge is more complicated than a simple indication of a person’s impending
death. It appears that the meaning of unf3ge is similarly complicated.
With so few attestations of the word unf3ge in Old English, to understand
the possible relationship between the meaning of f3ge and the meaning of un-
f3ge, one must take care to analyze the range of meanings of adjectives with
un- prefixes in Old English verse. With reference to a specific set of such adjec-
tives, Gwara (2009: 367) argues, “Adjectives for ‘brave’ formulated with un-
plus a term having the opposite sense of the target portray the ambivalence of
heroic action in the face of certain death”. For instance, with reference to un-
forhte in Maldon 79b, Gwara argues that “[b]eing ‘unafraid’ differs from being
‘confident’ or ‘bold’ in contexts of inevitable downfall”. Shuman and Hutchings
II (1960: 219) argue understatement to be the intended effect for a larger set of
such adjectives in Beowulf: “As verbal negation, the un- prefix very often
achieves a high level of understatement by negating a word which is, in itself,
essentially negative, unpleasant, or pejorative in connotation.” These studies
focus on a single reading of adjectives with un- prefixes, whose root forms have
negative connotations.
Comparatively, however, Bracher (1937: 916) provides a more nuanced dis-
cussion of modifiers with negative prefixes in Old English verse. He provides
examples of words that he takes to demonstrate more literal meanings with no
understatement, e.g., in the prose Guthlac, the word unforhtlice “used in reference
to the birds who sat on Guthlac’s shoulder, a translation of the Latin non h3si-
tantes”. He also provides examples where the modifier with the negative prefix
takes on a more positive meaning, e.g., “undyrne is used twice in Beowulf (150,
10 The DOE does not yet include an entry for unf3ge; and as the word has not been preserved
in Modern English, neither does the OED.
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410: ‘undyrne cuð’) in contexts which indicate pretty clearly that it meant
‘plainly, manifestly’” (Bracher 1937: 917). Bracher suggests that consideration of
the verse context as well as the meanings of these words in prose, where under-
statement was not such a common rhetorical device, may help provide insight into
the meanings of these words with negative prefixes. He ultimately does not focus
his discussion of understatement in Old English verse on these forms, however,
since generally speaking “we cannot tell to what extent such words had acquired
positive meanings, and since we have consequently no good reason for assuming
that they were intended as understatement” (1937: 917).
Here we see that there is a range of different views on the understanding of
Old English adjectives with un-prefixes. Since there are no Old English prose
instances of unf3ge, this is not a possible data source for exploring the meaning
of this word. However, it is difficult to imagine the shades of meaning argued
by Gwara (2009) being applied to the word unf3ge. F3ge individuals always
die: as many scholars have pointed out, neither God nor wyrd can save such
individuals. Thus it is difficult to imagine varying degrees of being (un)f3ge.
Still we have a limited sense of the full meaning of (un)f3ge in Old English,
rendering direct assertions about this status in Old Norse prose and Germanic
cognates important sources of data.
As a negated form of f3ge, the word unf3ge might involve meanings related
to being brave or blessed (in contrast with the two secondary senses of f3ge
listed above).11 The word f3ge appears in religious contexts, for instance, with
reference to doomed people on Judgment Day (Christ C 1515). Indeed, cognates
of (un)f3ge are used with similar senses in other Germanic languages.
For instance, Cleasby and Vigfusson’s Icelandic-English Dictionary of Old
Icelandic references a sense of feigr meaning ‘mad, frantic, evil’ that appears in
old poetry, and the entry goes on to list the usage feigr menn in Vsp. 33, which
is taken to mean ‘evil men, inmates of hell’. Thus if the word f3ge and its cog-
nates took on religiously charged meanings, it seems possible that the negated
form could also. This could explain the references to God on both occasions in
which the word unf3ge appears (i.e. the beorht beacen Godes that shines before
the unf3gne eorl is saved, and the waldendes hyldo that accompanies the sur-
vival of the unf3ge in the dragon’s lair).
Similarly, if the meaning of f3ge could be extended to indicate feeble or
timid individuals, it is possible that the negated form could be extended to indi-
cate brave or courageous individuals. In the entry for feigr, Cleasby and Vigfus-
11 Here the term “negated form” simply refers to a feature at the level of morphology, as
discussed by Kjellmer (2005). This term does not assume a direct and literal negation of the
meaning of f3ge. As is seen in this section, the meaning of unf3ge is likely more compli-
cated than that.
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S. Sampson Anderson
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son’s Icelandic-English Dictionary also lists the German cognate feig, which
means ‘coward’ or ‘craven’. The Nynorskordboka also indicates a similar sec-
ondary meaning of feig in Norwegian: reddhuga, unmannsleg, stakkarsleg or
‘afraid’, ‘unmanly’, and ‘pitiful’. Thus there may even be a comment on some-
one’s masculinity implicit in the use of these words (as suggested in Klaeber’s
note for verse 572b-573, which mentions ‘manly courage’). In the entry for the
Swedish cognate feg, the Svenska Akademiens Ordbok actually speculates on
the relationship between these meanings, suggesting an older culture and time
in which losing courage was associated with death in battle. Further according
to Ordbog over det Danske Sprog, the word ufej, the Danish cognate of unf3ge,
can mean modig, dristig or ‘brave’ and ‘bold’. And according to the Svenska
Akademiens Ordbok, the word ofeg, the Swedish cognate, can mean orädd,
oförfärad, oförskräckt or ‘fearless’, ‘dauntless’, or ‘intrepid’. Thus a number of
Germanic cognates of unf3ge indicate bravery, suggesting that a similar asso-
ciation might have been available in Old English. This could explain why the
Beowulf poet was comfortable with the word þonne (as opposed to gif) intro-
ducing the clause þonne his ellen deah. As Cavill suggests, perhaps we can
assume that the unf3gne eorl will be brave, and it is not a question of “if” but
“when”. Here the expectation of bravery could be associated with the fact that
the man is an unf3gne eorl, where an extended meaning of the word unf3ge
indicates bravery, in contrast with f3ge individuals who may be “timid” or
“afraid.”
Even the sense of the word unf3ge that pertains directly to impending death
is likely subtly different from the simple negation of f3ge. Johnsson’s Oldnord-
isk Ordbog (1863) defines úfeigr as som Skjebnen har bestemt at ikke skal döe
[‘that fate has decided should not die’]. Fritzner’s Ordbok (1883-96) even goes
so far as to define úfeigr as saadan som Skj3bnen har be-skikket et langt Liv
[‘such as fate has be-suited a long life’]. In other words, if unf3ge shares any of
the same meaning and associations with its ON cognate úfeigr, rather than indi-
cating the simple absence of a death curse, unf3ge may indicate on the contrary
someone who is destined for a long life. All of these meanings would help ex-
plain how a word that seems so temporal in its PDE translation (i.e. ‘un-
doomed’) could have meanings that are more inherently or permanently associ-
ated with a person: meanings related to bravery, long life, and blessing.
6. The significance of adjective word order
The insights gained from comparison with the ON word úfeigr and cognates
may also be reinforced in Old English by insights from theoretical syntax and
semantics. According to Haumann (2010), we may consider the significance of
the prenominal position of unf3gne in the interpretation of this maxim. In par-
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ticular, prenominal position in Old English is associated with adjectives that
indicate a characterizing property of a person or thing, as opposed to an inciden-
tal or temporary property. In other words, according to this interpretation, un-
f3gne eorl ‘an undoomed man’ should be understood as a specific kind of per-
son, with the quality of being ‘undoomed’ as a feature that defines this person,
independent of wyrd’s doings as described in this maxim.
Since this phrase appears in a verse text, extra consideration is required of
word order patterns, especially as related to verse constraints. While scholars
agree that adjectives are “characteristically in prenominal position” in Old Eng-
lish (Lightfoot 1979: 205), it has been suggested that negated adjectives may
have elevated frequencies of postnominal position in Old English. Fischer re-
marks, “It is striking in my data that strong, negated adjectives occur much
more frequently after the noun than adjectives without negation” (2001: 263-
264). And as unf3gne eorl alliterates, and as both word orders are well-formed
verse types in Old English, either word order would have theoretically been
available to the poet. Thus it is possible that linguistic factors such as those
described by Haumann motivated this word order choice.
A wealth of linguistic literature points to the interpretive differences between
prenominal and postnominal adjectives in many languages, including Old Eng-
lish.12 Fischer (2000, 2001) is concerned with differences in meaning related to
the position of the adjective. She argues that Old English adjective position
demonstrates some of the same iconicity discussed by Bolinger (1952) and
Stavrou (1996) for Spanish and Modern Greek respectively.13 In particular,
Fischer (2000, 2001), with Bolinger and Stavrou, argues that there is a connec-
tion between prenominal adjective position and an inherent or pre-existing
property of the noun, as well as a connection between postnominal adjective
position and a more temporary possession of such a property. Raumolin-
Brunberg (1991: 76) makes a similar argument for Early Modern English, and
this same distinction is preserved in some cases in Present-Day English.
To illustrate this contrast, Haumann (2010: 72) provides the following pair
of frequently discussed sentences:
(2) a. The visible stars include Capella.
b. The stars visible include Capella.
12 See Bolinger (1967); Sadler & Arnold (1994); Stavrou (1996); Larson (1998); Fischer
(2000, 2001, 2006); Cinque (2010); Larson & Marušić (2004); Larson & Takahashi (2010).
13 Note that Fischer discusses these examples as being “iconic in that the meaning is deter-
mined by the linear order of the elements: what is perceived first, colours the interpretation
of the rest of the utterance” (2001: 256).
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S. Sampson Anderson
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Haumann points out that (2a) can be interpreted as indicating the stars that are
currently visible, i.e. a stage-level interpretation; or it can indicate the stars that
are generally or always visible, i.e. an individual-level interpretation. In con-
trast, (2b) can only refer to those stars that are currently visible, the stage-level
interpretation. In other words, the postnominal adjective indicates a quality that
is temporary or incidental. Comparatively, the prenonominal adjective can indi-
cate a characterizing and inherent quality or an incidental quality.
Interestingly, however, the case was a bit different during the Old English pe-
riod, which could result in difficulties for modern readers when interpreting an
Old English text, in particular, with lines such as Beowulf 572b-573. Haumann
(2010: 69, 70) argues that the relationship between Old English prenominal and
postnominal adjectives “is a symmetric one with the prenominal expressing at-
tributive function, given information, individual-level properties and nonrestric-
tive modification and the postnominal position flagging predicative function, new
information, stage-level properties and restrictive modification,” with these prop-
erties being largely “dissociated from adjectival inflection”.14 She illustrates these
distinctions with examples such as (3) and (4):15
(3) [hi] ofslogon anne giongne<STR> Brettisc monnan (ChronA, 501.1)
= they killed a Britoni, hei was young
≠ they killed a Britoni whoi was young
(4) se geara mid þone ilcan Ceaddan iungne<STR> . . . syndrig munuclif
hæfdon (LS 3 (Chad), 184)
≠ who long ago had separate cloisters with Chadi, hei was young
= who long ago had separate cloisters with Chadi whoi was young
(then)
According to Haumann’s analysis, the adjective giongne receives an individual-
level interpretation since this adjective characterizes monnan for the speaker.
This interpretation contrasts with the stage-level interpretation of iungne in (4),
where the adjective does not characterize Chad but instead provides a descrip-
tion that is true of Chad at a given point in time. Contrasting (2) and (3)-(4), we
see a different relationship between word order and the interpretation of the
adjective-noun relationship as inherent or incidental.
14 For a recent alternative view on the significance of adjectival inflection, see Fischer (2011).
15 The full sentence from which (3) is taken, also provided by Haumann, is as follows: Her
cuom Port on Bretene & his ii suna Bieda & M3gla mid ii scipum. on þ3re stowe þe is
gecueden Portesmuþa & ofslogon anne giongne<STR> Brettisc monnan, swiþe 3þelne
monnan.
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This contrast, resulting from linguistic change, has the potential to inform
the interpretation of verses 572b-573. Namely, in Old English, prenominal posi-
tion regularly signals individual-level properties, while in PDE, prenominal
position can indicate either individual-level or stage-level properties. Thus,
because of this syntactic and semantic change, it is possible for modern readers
of Beowulf to interpret the NP unf3gne eorl with a stage-level reading, where
the fact that the man is unf3ge may seem more incidental, and perhaps less
central to the interpretation of the maxim. Indeed, we see some translations –
both older and more recent – that use postnominal modification to render the
phrase unf3gne eorl, possibly signalling this subtle interpretive difference, as
discussed below.
7. Translation of the proverb
The question of how to interpret this maxim finds practical realization in trans-
lation decisions. As scholarly interpretations of lines 572a-573 vary, so do
translations, which make different choices in rendering the words unf3gne eorl,
wyrd, and even þonne. Some translators preserve unf3gne as an attributive ad-
jective; others render it as a postnominal modifier. Many translators render
wyrd as ‘fate’, but ‘events’ is another viable alternative. In some translations,
þonne is rendered as ‘when’ and in others as ‘if’. Often subtly different choices
in translation create a poetic world that emphasizes either bravery or fate or that
attempts to balance both with attention to the unf3gne eorl. And these choices
reflect the world of Beowulf in respect to this culturally important point with
varying degrees of accuracy.
Besides variation with the notoriously difficult translation of wyrd, some of
the greatest variation in the translation of this proverb centers on the rendering
of the phrase unf3gne eorl. Recent translations are divided in terms of their
translation of unf3gne as a prenominal adjective, as in (5), or as a postnominal
modifier, as in (6):
(5) a. Fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good.
(Howe 2002)
b. So fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage holds.
(Chickering 1977)
c. Wyrd often spares an undoomed man, when his courage endures.
(Liuzza 2013)
d. Fate will often spare an undoomed man, if his courage is good.
(Crossley-Holland & O’Donoghue 1999)
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S. Sampson Anderson
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(6) a. Often, for undaunted courage, fate spares the man it has not already
marked. (Heaney 2000)
b. Wyrd often spares the man unmarked by death if his courage holds.
(Hudson 2007)
c. Events often spare a man who is not doomed when his courage is up
to it! (Fulk 2010)
Compared with more recent translations, in older translations, prenominal modi-
fication, as seen in (7), is not as well represented as other strategies, including
postnominal modifiers, as in (8), and modification of only the verb phrase, as in
(9). This may be related to an archaizing tendency in some of the earlier transla-
tions, where postnominal position of modifiers may be felt as an older feature,
along with preservation of the words wyrd and oft and use of the inflected -th
verb endings, as seen in several examples in (7) and (8).16
(7) a. Weird often preserves an unfated earl, when his might has availed.
(Garnett 1892)
b. Fate often saves an undoomed man when his valour avails. (Thorpe
1855)
c. Fate often saveth an intrepid earl, when his courage is of true metal.
(Arnold 1876)
(8) a. Thuswise Weird oft will be saving the earl that is unfey when his
valour availeth. (Morris 1898)
b. Wyrd often saveth the warrior not doomed to die, if he be of good
courage. (Cook & Tinker 1902)
c. Wyrd oft spareth one not marked for death, if his courage be good.
(Child 1904)
d. For Wyrd oft saveth earl undoomed if he doughty be. (Gummere
1909)
e. While yet his Courage lasteth good, Fate oft preserves a warrior true.
(Wackerbath 1849)
(9) Fortune often rescues the warrior, if he is not fated to die; provided that
his courage is sound. (Earle 1892)
Presumably, Heaney, Hudson, and Fulk are not motivated by archaism in their
use of postnominal modifiers to render unf3gne, though these translations, too, in
16 This perception, of course, is independent of the original word order in any particular
phrase, such as the phrase unf3gne eorl, which features a prenominal adjective.
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25
their own way, may be subject to the weight of linguistic change. The OE adjec-
tive unf3gne is commonly translated as a participle in Present-Day English, e.g.,
‘undoomed’; and participles commonly appear in postnominal position in con-
temporary (and Old) English. Thus the choice of a postnominal verbal modifier,
either in the form of a participle (as in Hudson’s translation), or in the form of a
verb in a dependent clause (as in Fulk’s and Heaney’s translations) is natural to
PDE, though deviating from the original Old English word order.
The choice between prenominal and postnominal modification in the render-
ing of this phrase may seem like a relatively small point; however, given
Haumann’s insights concerning the significance of adnominal adjective position
in Old English, this choice would have subtle consequences in the modern in-
terpretation of this maxim. For instance, there are interpretive differences be-
tween a maxim describing an unf3gne eorl whose status as such is assigned by
wyrd’s ruling at a crucial moment of human bravery and a maxim in which this
status is assigned by the grammar of the sentence itself (reflecting a much ear-
lier dictate from wyrd that is not directly informed by a person’s brave acts or
personal agency at the critical moment). This latter interpretation is supported
by the grammar of Old Norse analogs, which go so far as to indicate the (ú)feigr
as a substantive, where the characteristic of being (ú)feigr is so central to the
interpretation of the maxims that it supplies the basis of the nominalized forms
used in them. This interpretation is also supported by Old Norse mythology,
where “the norns’ decision, the final outcome of which is death, can never be
changed” (Pulsiano & Wolf 1993: 626).17 If the word unf3ge shares a similar
meaning and cultural context with ON cognate úfeigr, the unf3ge eorl must
survive the situation, just as a f3ge person cannot be spared by wyrd and live
past his or her appointed time, as seen in Guthlac B. Wyrd cannot suddenly
change its previous dictates in response to human action or inaction or other
factors.18
In this case, rendering þonne as ‘when’ (as opposed to ‘if’) in the translation
is not only more loyal to the original text, but it also avoids imposing conditions
on the survival of the unf3gne eorl. Cavill (1999: 148) argues for a temporal
sense of the word in this proverb, suggesting that bravery is an inherent charac-
teristic of the man: it is assumed that he will be brave, and it is not a question of
if he will be brave. Thus þonne is appropriate for introducing this clause, which
contrasts with the gif that introduces a similar clause in Andreas (460).
17 Wyrd is cognate with Urðr, the oldest of the norns (Pulsiano & Wolf 1993: 625) and dem-
onstrates some of the same powers and properties.
18 Though the appearance of oft (as opposed to a ‘always’) in this proverb may seem to sug-
gest that wyrd may sometimes behave in other ways, it is worth noting that oft can provide
“the temporal generalization required by proverbs, especially if ‘oft’ is read as litotes for
‘always’” (Deskis 2013: 675).
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S. Sampson Anderson
26
Translation of þonne as ‘when’ appears with a bit more frequency than trans-
lations as ‘if’, with ‘if’ translations in particular suggesting an interpretation of
the maxim in which personal agency plays a central role. Thorpe (1855); Arnold
(1876); Garnett (1892); Morris (1898); Howe (2002); Chickering (1977);
Liuzza (2013); and Fulk (2010) all translate þonne as ‘when’. Comparatively,
Cook and Tinker (1902); Child (1904); Gummere (1909); Crossley-Holland &
O’Donoghue (1999); and Hudson (2007) translate this word as ‘if’. Other strate-
gies for translation of the clause beginning with þonne include “while yet his
Courage lasteth good” (Wackerbath 1849); “provided that his courage is sound”
(Earle 1892); and “for undaunted courage” (Heaney 2000).
Of those translations sampled, the use of ‘when’ as the translation for þonne
correlates with the translation of unf3gne as a prenominal adjective. Con-
versely, the use of alternative translations, such as ‘if’, correlates with a post-
nominal rendering of unf3gne in the translation, as seen in Table 1.
Table 1. The relationship between the translation of unf3gne eorl and þonne
Translation of unf3gne Translation of
þonne
‘When’ ‘If’ Other
Prenominal Adjective 6 1
Postnominal Modifier 2 4 3
The correlation between the prenominal translation of unf3gne and the render-
ing of þonne as ‘when’ could be the simple function of a translator’s loyalty to
the original text, since this most closely mirrors the form of the original Old
English proverb. However, the correlation between alternative translations such
as ‘if’ and a postnominal rendering of unf3gne creates a unified picture in
which the undoomed man’s being spared is incidental or conditional, a stage-
level interpretation of unf3gne. This table illustrates the significance of the
adjective position as a marker of how readers understand the adjective, either as
essential or inessential, and thus the clause þonne his ellen deah (573b) as pri-
marily temporal or as an additional stipulation.
8. Conclusion
In the preface to Bosworth and Toller’s Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Toller writes
of the challenges associated with compiling an Old English dictionary, pointing
out the particular challenge associated with treating words found predominantly
in verse, which are often less represented in later stages of Old English. Of the
cultural distance between modern readers and the Anglo-Saxons, he writes
“there is the difficulty of realizing the condition of those who used the language
and thus of appreciating the significance of the language they used”. In response
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to this problem, Toller supplies many citations and indicates hope that these
citations “by shewing the actual use of those words, may help to the apprecia-
tion of their significance, and so supplement the often necessarily imperfect
explanations afforded by Modern English words that are used as the nearest
equivalents to the old forms” (1898: ii).
Surely if ever there were a word to which Toller refers in this passage, it is
the word unf3ge. With only two attestations, both from the single verse text
Beowulf, and with all of the culturally invested meaning associated with fate
and doom, the vestiges of this word linger – in the poem and in scholarship,
almost as inscrutable as wyrd itself. From the range of different translations and
from the scholarly treatment of the maxims in which this word appears, it seems
that Present-Day English struggles to capture the full meaning of this word. And
the citations Toller hopes will fill in the gaps provide scarcely enough points to
make even a line, let alone a full picture.
In the same way that the original Anglo-Saxon audience’s cultural and lin-
guistic context would have informed their understanding of the word unf3ge
and the oft-quoted proverb in which it is preserved, so too our own context in-
forms our contemporary understanding of it. Some of the early discussion of
this proverb is undoubtedly informed by nineteenth century notions of nation,
ethnicity, masculinity, and “personal freedom”. As contemporary readers, we
have our own biases, cultural and linguistic. On interpreting the significance of
adjective word order in Old English, Fischer (2001: 257) concedes the difficulty
in “prov[ing] the meaningfulness of the variable position conclusively” in the
absence of native speakers of Old English. This issue, of course, affects our
understanding of the phrase unf3gne eorl in Beowulf and the meaning of the
proverb more generally. In this case, comparison with an Old Norse maxim and
related Germanic cognates of unf3ge may assist in the interpretation of this
maxim by supplying additional attestations of a cognate form and its meaning
and use in a similar cultural context. Indeed, the comparison of maxims has
long informed the analysis of verses 572b-573, as evidenced by the long period
during which this maxim has been most closely associated with the familiar
maxim “Fortune favors the brave”. But the act of comparison – selecting which
parallels are most relevant – is also culturally invested.
Without native speakers of Old English to query or even a more substantial
extant corpus, consideration of a range of data types and sources is essential to
the interpretation of Old English proverbs. In this case, theoretical linguistics,
lexicographical data, and a related Old Norse maxim all suggest a more compli-
cated meaning of the word unf3ge, and in turn, a more (and less) complicated
interpretation of the proverb of 572b-573. If being unf3ge also entails being
brave, this quality could be intrinsic to a person; and the unf3gne eorl would be
assured a long life as much as a f3ge man would be assured death. The man’s
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S. Sampson Anderson
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bravery is not an additional stipulation on wyrd’s protection of the unf3gne
eorl: it is an inherent characteristic of the man by the virtue of the fact that he is
unf3ge. Thus, the proverbs of 455b and 572b-573 may present a single, coher-
ent world-view; and the contrast between these proverbs depicted in much of
the early and even recent literature may be exaggerated. Wyrd spares the ‘un-
doomed’ man because he is unf3ge (‘undoomed, brave, blessed’): G3ð a wyrd
swa hio scel.
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