§ 26. The chief type B, ×–́|×–́, has apart from resolutions only one form. But as the second thesis may consist of either one or two syllables, we may distinguish between two sub-types, B1 (with monosyllabic second thesis) and B2 (with disyllabic second thesis). The commonest variation of the type occurs in the first thesis, which may be polysyllabic.
(i) The simplest form, sub-type B1, ×–́|×–́, is not very common; according to Sievers there are only 59 instances in the whole of Beowulf, as ond Hā́lga tíl Beow. 61, þām hā́lig gód An. 14; with resolution of the first arsis in séle þām hḗan Beow. 714, and of the second arsis, þurh rū̀mne séfan Beow. 278, and of both, ǣr súmeres cýme El. 1228. Hemistichs of this type, on the other hand, with a disyllabic first thesis are not uncommon, syððan fúrðum wḗox Beow. 914, him pā Scýld gewā́t Beow. 26; with resolution of the first arsis, under Héorotes hrṓf Beow. 403; with resolution of the second, þæt sēo céaster híder An. 207, and of both, æfter hǽleða hrýre Beow. 2053; a trisyllabic first thesis is also common, þēah þe hē ā́tres drýnc An. 53, oð þæt him éft onwṓc Beow. 56, sē þe on hánda bǽr Beow. 495; with resolution of the first arsis, forðan hīe mǽgenes crǽft Beow. 418; of the second arsis, ond hū þȳ þríddan dǽge El. 185; of both, þæt hē þā géoguðe wíle Beow. 1182; with first thesis of four syllables, ne hȳrde ic sī́ð ne ǣ́r El. 240, swylce hīe æt Fínnes hā́m Beow. 1157; with first thesis of five syllables (rare) siððan hē hire fólmum hrā́n Beow. 723, and with resolution of second arsis þonne hȳ him þurh mī́nne nóman Cri. 1351.
(ii) The sub-type B2, or B with disyllabic second thesis, is rarely found when the first thesis has only one syllable, þe drýhtnes bibṓd Cri. 1159, þū wá̄st gif hit is Beow. 272, þām wī́fe þā wórd Beow. 640; with resolution of the first arsis, þurh dároða gedrép An. 1446, and of the second, þurh níhta genípu Gū. 321; it is commoner with a disyllabic first thesis, þā of wéalle geséah Beow. 229, hē þæs frṓfre gebā́d Beow. 76; with resolution of the first arsis, mid his hǽleða gedríht Beow. 663, ofer wároða gewéorp An. 306; with trisyllabic first thesis, þonne hē ǣ́r oððe sī́ð El. 74, wes þū ūs lā́rena gṓd Beow. 269; with resolution of the first arsis, þēah hē þǣr mónige geséah Beow. 1614, and of the second arsis, þæt nǣfre Gréndel swā féla Beow. 592; with first thesis of four and five syllables, hwæðre hē in brḗostum þā gít An. 51, þæs be hire sē wílla gelámp Beow. 627.
Verses with trisyllabic second thesis are extremely rare and doubtful.[76] It should be noticed that, in this second type too, the thesis seldom consists of a second part of a compound, as hine fýrwìt brǽc Beow. 232, the exceptions are proper names, as nū ic Bḗowùlf þéc Beow. 947, ne wearð Héremṑd swā́ Beow. 1710.
Type B, according to Sievers, occurs 1014 times in Beowulf, of which 293 are in the first hemistich and 721 in the second.
§ 27. The Type C has three sub-types: (i) C1, the normal type ×–́|–́×, without resolution, as oft Scýld Scḗfing Beow. 4, gebū̀n hǽfdon 117. Here too the first thesis may consist of two, three, four, or five syllables, þæt hīe ǣ́ghwýlcne An. 26, þone gód sénde Beow. 13, ofer hrónrā́de Beow. 10, ǣr hē onwég hwúrfe Beow. 264, mid þǣre wǽlfýlle Beow. 125, þe ic him tṓ sḗce El. 319 þāra þe mid Bḗowúlfe Beow. 1052, oð þæt hine sémnínga An. 821, þāra þe hē him míd hǽfde Beow. 1625, swylce hīe ofer sǣ́e cṓmon, An. 247. (ii) C 2 is the normal type C with resolution of the first arsis, and is of such frequent occurrence that it may be looked on as a special type, on hérefélda An. 10, forscrífen hǽfde Beow. 106, in wórold wṓcun Beow. 60; a less common form is that with resolution of the first and second arsis, tō brímes fároðe Beow. 28, swā féla fýrena Beow. 164; sometimes with resolution of the second arsis only, tō sǣ́es fároðe An. 236 and 1660, for frḗan égesan An. 457, but not in Beowulf. The first thesis may have two, three, or four syllables, þā wið góde wúnnon Beow. 113, ofer lágustrǣ́te; with two resolutions, ic þæs wíne Déniga Beow. 350, hū sē mága frémede An. 639, þæt him his wínemā́gas Beow. 65, ne hīe hūru wínedríhten Beow. 863. (iii) C3 is type C with short second arsis, ×–́|⏑́×, and is pretty common, in gḗardágum Beow. 1, of fḗorwégum Beow. 37; the first thesis may have from two to five syllables, þæt wæs gṓd cýning Beow. 11, þæt hīe in bḗorséle Beow. 482, sē þe hine dḗað nímeð Beow. 441, ne meaht þū þæs sī́ðfǽtes An. 211, þonne hē on þæt sínc stárað Beow. 1486. Resolution seems to be avoided, though it occurs here and there, of hlíðes nósan Beow. 1892, on þǣm méðelstéde Beow. 1083. Thesis with secondary accent is not found. The number of hemistichs of type C in Beowulf is, according to Sievers, 564
§ 28. The type D always ends with a disyllabic thesis, of which the first is generally the second syllable of a compound and has the secondary accent. There are four sub-types. (i) D1 is the normal form, –́|–́×̀×, as hélm ǽlwìhta An. 118, fḗond máncỳnnes Beow. 164, wī́gwéorðùnga Beow. 176, wéard Scýldìnga Beow. 95, lándbúèndum Beow. 95, hríng gýldènne, Beow. 2810, hóf mṓdìgra Beow. 312, frḗan ū̀sèrne Beow. 3003. The chief variations arise from resolution of the first arsis, cýning ǽlmìhtig El. 145, fǽder álwàlda Beow. 316, mérelī́ðènde Beow. 255, flótan ḗowèrne Beow. 294, cýning ǣ́nìgne Beow. 1851, or of the second arsis, hḗan hýgegḕomor An. 1089, mǣ́g Hígelà̄ces Beow. 738 and 759; resolution of first and second arsis, hláden hérewǣ̀dum Beow. 1898, néfan Hérerī̀ces Beow. 2207. Hemistichs like wiht unhǣlo Beow. 120, which have compounds with un, may be read wíht únhǽlo according to type D2, or wíht unhǣ́lo according to type A, –́×|–́× (Sievers, Paul-Braune’s Beiträge, x. 251, and Kluge in Paul’s Grundriss, i2, p. 1051). (ii) D2 is the same form, but with the thesis short and with secondary accent, –́|–́⏑̀× béorht blǽdgìfa An. 84, lḗof lándfrùma Beow. 31, strḗam ū́t þònan Beow. 2546, rǣ́d éahtèdon Beow. 172; with resolution of the first arsis, mǽgen sámnòde El. 55, mága Héalfdènes Beow. 189; with resolution of the second arsis, hórd ópenìan Beow. 3057, the only example. (iii) D 3 is the normal type, but with short second arsis (rare), –́|⏑́×̀×, éorðcýnìnga El. 1174; with resolution of the first arsis, rádorcýnìnges El. 624. (iv) D 4 has the form –́|–́××̀, and is closely allied to the type E (–́×̀×|–́), as it has the secondary accent on the last syllable of the thesis (Sievers, Paul-Braune’s Beiträge, x. 256), brḗost ínnanwèard An. 649, hólm ū̀p ætbæ̀r Beow. 519, fýrst fórð gewā́t ib. 210; varied by resolution of the first arsis, géaro gū̀ðe fràm An. 234, flóta fā́mighèals Beow. 218, súnu dḗað fornàm Beow. 2120; by resolution of the second arsis, wlánc Wédera lṑod 341, and of both first and second arsis, wlítig wéoruda hḕap An. 872; and resolution of the last thesis with secondary accent, wṓp úp āhàfen Beow. 128, wúnað wíntra fèla Ph. 580. Certain hemistichs which may belong to this sub-type admit of an alternative accentuation, and may belong to the following type; for example, scop hwlum sang Beow. 496 may be read –́|–́××̀, or as E –́×̀×|–́, so werod eall ārās Beow. 652.
§ 29. The type E has two sub-types, distinguished by the position of the syllable bearing the secondary accent; this syllable is generally the second syllable of a compound or the heavy middle syllable of a trisyllabic word with a long root-syllable.
E1 has the form –́×̀×|–́, the syllable with secondary accent standing first in the thesis, mṓdsòrge wǽg El. 61, wéorðmỳndum þā́h Beow. 8, Sū̀ðdèna fólc Beow. 463, ḗhtènde wǽs Beow. 159, hǣ́ðènra hýht Beow. 179, ǣ́nìgne þónc Cri. 1498, wórdhòrd onléac Beow. 259, úplàng āstṓd Beow. 760, scóp hwī̀lum sáng Beow. 496 (cf. above, § 29); varied by resolution of the first arsis, héofonrī̀ces weárd El. 445, Scédelàndum ín Beow. 19, wlítebèorhtne wáng Beow. 93, lífigènde cwṓm Beow. 1974, ǽðelìnges wḗox El. 12, médofùl ætbǽr Beow. 625, dúguð èall ārā́s Beow. 1791; resolution of the second arsis is rare, tī́rḕadge hǽleð An. 2 (the MS. reading ēadige must be corrected to ēadge, see Sievers, Beiträge, x. 459 on these middle vowels after long root-syllable), hélþègnes héte Beow. 142; resolution of both is rare, sélewèard āséted Beow. 668, wínedrỳhten frǽgen An. 921; resolution of the accented thesis, glḗdègesa grím Beow. 2651.
E2 has the last syllable of the thesis with secondary accent, and is very rare, –́××̀|–́, mórðorbèd strḗd Beow. 2437; with resolution of last arsis, gḗomorgìdd wrécen An. 1550, bǣ́ron ū̀t hrǽðe An. 1223.