Royal Names in Old English Poetry
Year: 1953
Type: article
Abstract: Names we read that "the Danish Seyl• dings" got their name "from their shields" (p.27).Here our revered Robert Ramsay echoes an old explanation of Scylding which I believe to be wrong.I will begin this paper by setting forth my views about this name, and I will proceed by taking up other names found in our oldest poetry and best explained as royal epithets.Scyl1ing occurs twice in Beowulf) both times in the sense 'descendant of Scyld.'The corresponding plural usually has the sense 'Danes' but in at least one passage (line 1069) it means 'Danish royal house.'The plural meaning 'Danes' is thus explained by Klaeber in his edition of the poem: "(descendants of Scyld, members of Danish dynasty), Danes" (p.439).Here the meanings set in round brackets give us the first two stages in the semantic development of the plural, the meaning 'Danes' being the third and last stage.This is the usual explanation found for the tribal or national sense of the plural, and I think it is correct.In other words, the Scyldings of Beowulf) the Skj6ldungar of the Scandinavians, were properly a royal family, and their name could be applied to the Danes as such only by extension, on the rhetorical principle of a part for the whole.In fact, the Danes are called Scyldings only in poetry; we have no evidence that the Scylding name was ever thought of as properly belonging to the Danish people.Beowulf begins with some account of King Scyld, the traditional founder of the Scylding dynasty.We learn that he was highly successful in warfare, defeating all the neighboring tribes and forcing them to pay tribute.The poet sums up the matter for us in the words, "that was a good king" (line 11).It is clear that Scyld lived up to his name: he served most effectively as the shield of his people.It is equally clear that he belongs to legend, not to history.Students of story agree that no such king ever in fact reigned in Denmark.
Source: Names
Author: Kemp Malone
Language: English
Subfield: Classics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2015480600