39
、'a s uh a r u E T ()1 '・,、i :、'(,、 1 I N j j 上
_()l「 t i t,
SYN(? IN BEOWULF
Yasuharu ETC
According to Klaeber's glossary,the use of s、,1(ii)is divided into two groups;'sin'or 'crime'
and '、、,rongdoing'or 'hostility.'' Under s_、,1[?1]in his glossary Wrenn gives the meanings 'sin,'
'crime'and 'enmity,'-but does not specifically mention which occurrence has which meaning.0n
the other hand,in Klaeber's glossary it is clearly shown that the instance in line2472 1s the case
、
l,hich means 'wrongdoing'or 'hostility.'3 Regarding this case,Hoops says ':
2472.synnond sacu a11iterierende Wendung Feindschaft unci Streit'(,、
、,n;1hier nicht in
christlichem Sinn).
From this it can be inferred that Wrenn gives themeaning 'enmity'especially for the instance
in line2472. And Hoops'comment in parentheses might suggest that the other instances of s、,11(11)
in Beoit111f are used in a Christian sense.
Under svm in his Anglo_Sal:on Dictionary,Clark Hall gives 'injury,''mischief,''enmity'and
feud'on the one hand,and 'sin,''guilt,'and'crime'on the other.、
) It should be noted that the one
group of meanings can be described as secular,and the other group,as ecclesiastical and legal.
We can quite safely say that the latter group is the product of a later semantic development of
the former,because there cannot be 'sin'and 'crime'without reference to Christianity and some
legal system. Incidentally,'guilt could be used in both senses,legal as well as Christian. For the
group of secular meanings,Holthausen more neatly gives'Beleidigung'and 'Feindschaft.'''
The purpose of this short essay is to show that we can establish the possibility that in every
occurrence of .sy;1(;1)in Be)u、
1tif ,the secular meaning,either 'hostility'(Feindschaft)or 'insult'
(Beleidigung),is intended,though Klaeber and Hoops S seem to suppose that 'hostility'(Feindschaft)is the meaning peculiar to the instance inline2472,which is contained in passage(1).
(1)
pa wacs synnond sacu Sweona ond Geata
ofer z
tid waeter wroht gem2ene,
herenia hearda,sy3aan Hreael swealt,
(11.2472- 74)
Here. ,・_、,1;f ond s(loll (1.2472a), It,1(-111t goIliac11t,(1.2473b)and 11ereli 1-0 11eal,d(1(1.2474a) are in apposi-
tion to each other. The fact thatv、
,hat these appositional phrases fundamentally mean is'enmity'
certainly corroborates the meaning of s、,1111(1.2472a),gi、,on by Klaeber and Hoops.
In Beolt,lilt the v、
,ord s_、リ1(;1)occurs four times as a simple word,including the instance in passage (1). Its derivative occurs three times. Sy;1(11)also appears t、、,o times as the first element of
the compound.l'
Nevi,I would like to discuss each instance,making frequent reference to Clark Hall's translation of Beolt,flit '°
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1987- 11
福島大字教育i・部論集第42号
S、,ii(;1)as a simple 、.、'ord:
(2)
Hvlae1?ere he his folme forlet
to lifwrape last weardian,
earm ond eaxle; no p1i r品nige swa peah
「easceaft guma frofre gebohte;
no py leng leofao laogeteona
synnum geswenced, ac hyne sar hafao
in nidgripe nearwe befongen,
balwon bendum; 0品r abidan scea1
maga mane fah miclan domes,
hu him scir Meted scrifan wi11e.
(11.970b- 79)
Clark Hall translates s- 11tmgestt,on(_ed (1.975a)into ''tortured by sins.''11 This is a common
translation of this phrase.1' But I would maintain that it contains two misunderstandings;in the
phrase (l.975a),1)synmm does not mean 'sin'and 2)ges'it'ell(eatdoes not mean 'to be tortured.' Il、
my view,syn(?1)means 'hostility'and it is the life-force of Grendel. Thus the half line (1.975a)
should be translated as 'driven by hostility'or 'propelled by hostility.'
Stt,encan (p.p.gesil,on(・ed)can mean 'to drive,'which is nothing unusual in view of the meaning
of the compound lyftgeslt,encea'(1.1913a)'driven by the v,,ind.'11 The wind does not 'vex,''trouble,'
affect,''torment'or 'oppress'l4 the keel,but it is the driving force of the keel. In the same way,
Grendel lived,driven and propelled by hostility.
The phrase syn1,111;,1geslt,enced is understood as a variation on,and parallel to, mane tab (1.
978a). Here,according to Hoops'')(and I agree with him),tab''gehort bier wohl eher z
ufall 'teindlich'als z
u fall 'bunt,befleckt.''' My translation of this phrase(1.978a)is,therefore,'ready to fight
with evil intentions,'quite different from Clark Hall's''stained 、、1th crime.”1')
The purport of the passage (11.974- 79)is that Grendel,though d;'It,ell b、'11(,st111t、',will live no
longer,but,badly wounded,he must,though (11flte 1,o ld、,t()f lg11t 1l,1th e1,111tlte11t1oils,await the judg-
ment of Meted.
(3)
Sigon pa t(-)st(i pe. Sum sare angeald
aefenraeste, swa him tut off gelamp,
si,can goldsele Grendel warode,
unriht ?fnde, op pact ende becwom,
swylt?fter synnum. P2et gesyne wearp,
widcup werum, paette wrecend pa gyt
1ifde aefter 1a-1)urn, lange prage,
配fter gu(iceare;
(11.1251- 58a)
The purport of the passage (11.1253- 55a)is that Grendel occupied the hall and did 、,、rong
until he died. That is to say,,s、,11川l;11(1.1255a)is expressed in the preceding lines (1.1253- 54a);
to bespecific,these lines mean Grendel's takeo、,er of Ileorot and his wrongdoing.
Clark Hall translates the phrase aefte1・s、,m11m (1.1255a)into ''after his crimes.''
2
''Crimes''
、 asuharu ET C: SI N (,V )IN lit?()m iLl'
41
might be a passable translation,but it sounds as if Grendel violated some legal system;he iS not
within reach of the law.18 This should preferably be translated into 'after his acts of hostilities.'
My view seems lo be corroborated by the phrases aefte1'1(i;)1t111(l.1257a)and ,ff ter g1?3cea「e (1・
1258a),11'coming soon after line 1255a_ From these expressions we can conclude that Grendel iS
a detested one (1(ip)'foe'and what he did is a war (gli5ceanl).
( 1)
Swa bit e3 domes daeg diope benemdon
l;eodnas m acre, lpa 02et paer dydon,
p.et se secg waere synnnum scildig,
hergum geheaaerod, helIbendum faest,
wommum gewitnad, se 3one、、'eng strtlde
naefne goldhwcete gearwor haefde
(ll.3069--75)
Agendesest a,r gesceawod.
In this passage sy11川1m (].3071b)means 'insult'(Beleidigung). The insults are specifica11、
explained in line 3072 'confined in the shrines,fast bound in the hell-bonds_' The half line3073a
probably means 'punished with disgrace,'?°which reiterates what is expressed by s_v?1nu'n '・,(_11dlg
(l.3071b),which I translate as 'liable to insults.'21
The purport of the passage (11.3071- 73)is that the man who should plunder the treasure
w,ould be liable lo lns1llts,confined in the shrines,fast bound in hell-bonds,punished with disgrace.
This reading goes quite well with Dr.Bruce Mitchell's translation of lines 3074- 75: ''if he had
not in the past seen and understood the gold-bestowing favour of God more clearly[than had the
dragon]'-2 It must be noted that gold is understood here not as a symbol of greed but as ''a
good,''as asserted by E.B.Irving,Jr.23
Clark Hall's translation ''guilty of sin''for line 3071b seems quite irrelevant.-1
Derivatives of s_、n(,1):
(5)
Nehuru Hildeburh herian1)orfte
Eotena treowe; unsynnum wear3
be1oren leofum aet pam 1lndplegan
bearnumond bro(irum; hie on gebyrd hruron
gare wunde; p2et wacs geomuru ides!
(lt.1071- 75)
clark Hall's translation ''without offence''for ltnsynnum (l.1072b)would be correct if he
meant the opposite of 'defence.'Klaeber in his glossary gives 'guiltlessly'2°for this we「d and
Wrenn also gives 'guiltlessly,'besides '゛,ithout guilt.'2''
Quite evident is the fact that Hildeburh is without hostility;she was supposed to play the 「ole
of 'peace_weaver,'but in vain. The following brief explanation will be informative here.
Hjldeburh,daughter of Hoc of the Half_Danes (a branch of the Danish royal family)
marries Finn,king of the Frisians. They belong to races that have hitherto been at wa「.
Hjldeburh's brother,Hnaef,with a group of Danes visits her;a quarrel breaks out be-
3
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1987- 11
福島大学教育,,'部論集第42・,・
tween the two groups of warriors and Hnaef and Hildeburh's son are killed in a night
attack.-'
All she wishes to do is settle the feud. This is not a matter of guilty or not guilty. She is a
woman of peace and has no intention of fighting. This is what unsynnum means. The purport of
passage (5) is,therefore,that though she 11ad not111ng to alo u、
111111ost11Mes she lost her son and
brother. Sure enough,Hildeburh was a tragic woman!
(6 )
Eard git ne const,
frecne stowe, ?? r1)u findan miht
sinnigne secg;sec git pudyrre!
Ic pc pa f1i hae feo leanige,
ealdgestreonum,swa ic aer dyde,
wundvz
mngolde,gyf puon wog cymest
(11.1377b- 1382.)
Slnnlgnesecg (1.1379a)is rendered into ''the sin-stained being''by Clark Hall.)? Both Klaeber
and Wrenn give'sinful'for the meaning of slnnlg in their glossaries.2) However,my translation
(1.1379a)is the'hostile man.' Incidentally,it should be noted that this hostile ma;1(secg)refers to
Grendel's mother! The masculine word secg is not simply used here because of the alliterative re_
quirement; the meaning of slnnz
g'hostile'also probably justifies the useof this masculine word.3°
Grendel's mother is not sinful but hostile,full of animosity,ready to avenge themurder of her
son. This is the reason why Hrothgar says that her dwelling place(e(u・d)(1.1377b)is a dangerous
one lf recne'stotoe)(1.1378a). Moreover,he adds,“Seek the place if you dare!''(I.1379b),and con_
dudes by saying that he will reward Beowulf if he comes back alive(lt.1380- 82).
(7)
Hemec pa,r on innan unsynnigne
dior daedfruma gedon wolde
manigra sumne; hyt ne mihteswa
sy03an ic on yrre uppriht astod.
2089- 92)
In Clark Hall's translation the word 11;isym lg11c(l.2089b)is quite correctly rendered as''unof_
fending.”'1 However,in their glossaries both Klaeber and Wrenn give'guiltless'for unsy11川g.・')
Another thing we must pay attention to in passage (7)is the verb god(-)11(1.2090b),which is
commonly translated into''put'',as in Clark Hall's translation.'3 This 、,erb,however,is equally
appropriately understood as a causative verb (cf.l.2186b). The purport of the passage is,there_
fore,that in it(= Grendel's glove)he(= Grendel)wished to make me lfnable to fig11t,but he could
not do so because I stood up in anger.
It is probable that the verb gedi)n as a causative verb still retains the meaning 'to place'or 'to
put'as a full verb. In that case the translation could be that he、
.、ished to put me into it and make
me unable to fight.
Syn(n)in the compound:
Synscaaa (1.801b)is an instance of the compound Klaeber in his glossary gives 'malefactor'
4
43
and 'miscreant'for the compound.'11 Wrenn gives 'wicked enemy'and miscreant.'') However
what the context (11.798- 803)3''definitely conveys to us is not Grendel's wickedness but his in
vulnerability. Thus my translation for thecompound is'hostilefighter,'、
、,hich suggests no evil.
Another instance of the compound is synbys、
1g(1.2226a).
(8 )
Nea11es mid gewealdum wyrmhord a-br3et
sylfes wi11um, seoe him sare gesceod,
ac for ti,reanedlan 1:,(coy、
,)nathwylces
h eleOa bearna heteswengeas fleah,
(acmes)pearfa,ond ?,i r inne fealh,
secg synbysig.
(11.2221- 26a)
Here in this passage,the outlaw who came upon the hoard of the dragon is described as ,,ynb、,、
1g,for which Klaeber gives 'distressed by sin'and 'guilty,'': while Wrenn gives 'troubled by
sin'and 'guilty.':l? Clark Hall translates .、
)(_・g s_、,1,1b、.、
、
1g (1.2226a)as ''a sin-perplexed soul.”:i'
A similar type of the compound found in Beott1llf is lifb、slg (1.966a),which,according to
Klaeber,means 'struggling for life.''' The context (11.960b- 66)11supports this meaning '''busy''
about life.'
For themeaning of synbyslg wemust look to the context,which says that the outlaw angered
the dragon (11.2280b- 81a)and a strife was renewed (1.2287b). He is busy more about hostility
than about sin. Without being aware of it,he was actually seeking hostility.Thus the purport of
the passage(11.2221- 26a)is that he did not intend to disturb the dragon,but,breaking into his
hoard,he was in effect a man bu、
,、
_v abo1lt 11ost11ity.
In this ossa、we have explored the possibility that ・、、,n(11)in 1]:coil・111f means either 'hostility'or
insult'in every occurrence of the word. The major reason why such an interpretation has rarely
been discussed is that Beoitulf scholars are usually English-speaking Christians,who quite easily
associate OE sy1,1(11)with Mod E sin. Moreover,such great scholars as Klaeber and White1ock did
very much to contribute to the Christianiz
ation of Bee_ lf,') and so,perhaps,it is not surprising
that scholars quiteconfidently assume that OE syn(?1)means'sin.'
I assume that behind this Christianiz
ation of Beolt,111f;there exists the sentiment that this
greatest of poems,which stands at the threshold of English Iiterar、
, history,must not on any
account be considered a pagan work. This tendentious sentiment comes from the pride(ofier11ygd)
of English_speaking scholars,who wish to belie、e themse]、,os Christians and therefore civiliz
ed
from the outset of their literary history.In this connection,it must be noted that it took many
years for the meaning 'enmity'to be given for the word ・,、
_、,n(11)in Bosworth-To11er's A,z
g1o-Sa)co,1
Dietl(川at、,.l・' This is a fact symbolical of the reluctance of English-speaking peoples to accept a
pre-Christian meaning for the word sy11(11)in lie(11t,tflf.
I am not an enemy of Christianity,and yet,in the light of what has been discussed so far,I
must maintain that the meaning 'hostility'looms much larger in the word syn(1,t)in Beouulf than
the Christian idea of sin.''
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1987- 11
福島大学教育学部論集第42号
Notes
1. Klaeber Beou,ulf ,p.406,hereafter cited as “Klaeber.'' All the citations from Beou,ulf in this essay are
from Klaeber.
2. Wrenn-Bolton Beott,ldf (1973、
'),p.275,hereafter cited as ''Wrenn.”
3 See note 1.
4. Hoops Kommentar z
z
a・n Beo- df,p.263.
5. Clark Hall Anglo_Saxon Dict1ona;:y,s.v.synn.
6 Holthausen AltenglischesEtymo1ogische,s WOrterbuc;z
,s.v.synn.
7 See note 1.
8. See note4.
9. The instances are sy,Is(:aaa (1.801b)and synbyslg (1.2226a).
The MS.reading synscaf:,a (1.707a)is not discussed in this essay,because of the''irregular alliteration.'' See Dobbie Beoωulf andJuditlz
(1953),p.151.
10. Beeω1df and the Finnesburg Fragment(1950),hereafter cited as ''Clark Hall.”
11. Clark Hall,p.69.
12. See the following translations:
''Hard-pressed by his crimes''by Donaldson (1975)(in J.F.Tuso (1975)),p.17;''loathsome in crimes''
by Chickering (1977),p.105;and ''weighed down with sins''by Swanton (1978),p.81.
13. Klaeber,p.370.
14. These are the meanings found in Clark Hall Anglo_Saxon Dict1ona;y,s.v.±swencan.
The word su,encan is,moreover,described as 'causative of swincan.''
15. Hoops Kommentar,p.123.
16. Clark Hall,p.69.
17. Ibid.,p.84.
18. Cf.Chickering Beouuif (1977),pp.286- 87:
A bit later(154- 58),the grimly comic irony of the legal language has a double edge.The poet starts
from the notion that Grendel should pay the Danes wergild for the men he kills. The Danes should
like to expect this,of course,but he won't even cease killing,much less pay up. But how should a
creature from the darkness be expected to pay mankind? lt is possible,further,that here we are
meant to chuckle at the expenceof the Danes. Their hopes for negotiation may not seem very real
once couched in the negative and used to define the very hopelessness of their situation. But ironic
language often partly asserts as it partly negates,and their hopes may have more than a figurative
existence. The Danes will seem the more foolish if one reads this passage as leading toward 175-
188.
19. Hoops Kommentar,p.156 says:
1258.,offer gu(iceare 'nach der Kampfessorge,nach clem sorgenvo11en Kampf';Variation z
u afte,
1apum.
20. Klaeber translates u,ommun,1in this half line as 'grievously"in his glossary (p.427).
21. A similar instance is found in Bosworth_Toller Anglo_Saxon Dlctlonar、,Sllppiement,s.v. scyldig V2.
22 Poettca 13 (1982 for 1980),24.
23. See A Reading of Beou,ulf ,pp.208- 13.
24. See the following translations:
''Guilty of sins''by Donaldson,p.53;and ''guilty of sin''by Chickering,p.235,and by Swanton,p.181
(and also Clark Hall,p.172).
25. Klaeber,p.417.
6
45
、asuharu ET()
26. Wrenn,p.281(cf.Clark Hall,p.75).
27. G.D.Caie Beou,ulf (Longman,1984),p.27.
28. Clark Hall,p.90.
29. Klaeber,p.398,and Wrenn(1958 f ),p.287,(in the glossary to Wrenn-Bolton(19733),the word is missing,but s.v.felasinnig,p.233).
30. Some masculine pronouns refer to Grendel's mother. See Klaeber,pp.180- 81.
31. Clark Hall,p.126.
32. Klaeber,p.417,and Wrenn,p.281.
33. See the following translations:
''put me therein''by Donaldson,p.37;“stuff me into it" by Chickering,p.171;and ''put me inside it"
by Swanton,p.135.(Clark Hall,p.126).
34. Klaeber,p.406.
35. Wrenn,p.275.
36_
Hie Ip2et ne wiston, pa hie gewin drugon,
heardhicgende hildemecgas,
73
83
90
1
3
41
ond on healfa gehwone heawan pohton,
sawle secan: pone synsca3an
品nig ofer eorpan irenna cyst,
gu3billa nan gretan nolde;
(11.798- 803)
Klaeber,p.406.
Wrenn,p.275.
Clark Hall,p.133.
Klaeber,p.368.
Upe io swi por,
pa,t au hine selfne geseon moste,
feond on fraetewum fylwerigne!
Ic hine・hr?dlice heardan clammum
on w2elbedde wripan pohte,
pact he for mlaldgripe m1num scolde
licgean lifbysig, butan his tic swice;
(11.960b- 66)
42 cf w hjte1ock T11e Audjence of Beojl,tilt,and Klaeber,''Die christlichen Elemente im Beou'ulJ;''Anglia
35(1911-12),111- 36,249- 70,453- 82,and 36(1912),169- 99.
43 The first edition was published in 1898,and the meaning 'enmity'for the instance in Beolt'ulf 1.2472
v as given in E;11arged Adde,fda (1;id eo;・,・lgenda (in which the line number (1.2472)is erroneously print・
ed as ''1.1472'')published in 1972.
jj Thjs conclusion is true of the verb gesy11g1(In (p.p.gesy?gad (1.2441b))which,in my view,does not
mean 'Io sin'but 'to injure'or 'to attack.、 It must be noted that Hae?cyn accidentally killed his
brother;it is not a sin,but it is a grie、,ous trauma to HreOe1.
The original meaning 'to injure'can be detected in the idiom 'to sin one's soul''in Scots. of.
Wright Ettglis11Dlalect Dict1o11aly,、'ol.V,s.v.sin,、'1.
7
1987- 11
46
S I N(tv) in Beo1l、
111f : Abstract
The original meanings for s_、リ1(11)are 'hostility'and 'insult,'while 'sin'and 'guilt'are its deriv-
ati、,e meanings. The purpose of this essay is to establish the possibility that sy11(Ii)is used in its
original meaning in every occurrence in Beo1lulf.
The words discussed are:
S、,11(11)(II.2472,975,1255,3071)・
、111,1svi1川・fm (l.1072);sln111g (1.1379);11nsynnlg (1.2089);s_、,v2scaa(1(1.
801);s、,ilbyslg (l.2226).
8