One or other of these rather unsatisfactory solutions must unfortunately be accepted. For no theory is possible which will save us from admitting that, according to the received text, Guthlaf is fighting on the one side, and a "son of Guthlaf" on the other.
Section II. The Episode in Beowulf
Further details of the story we get in the Episode of Finnsburg, as recorded in Beowulf (ll. 1068-1159).
Beowulf is being entertained in the court of the king of the Danes, and the king's harper tells the tale of Hengest and Finn. Only the main events are enumerated. There are none of the dramatic speeches which we find in the Fragment. It is evident that the tale has been reduced in scope, in order that it may be fitted into its place as an episode in the longer epic.
The tone, too, is quite different. Whereas the Fragment is inspired by the lust and joy of battle, the theme of the Episode, as told in Beowulf, is rather the pity of it all; the legacy of mourning and vengeance which is left to the survivors:
For never can true reconcilement grow
Where wounds of deadly hate have struck so deep.
It is on this note that the Episode in Beowulf begins: with the tragic figure of Hildeburh. Hildeburh is closely related to both contending parties. She is sister to Hnæf, prince of the "Half-Danes," and she is wedded to Finn, king of the Frisians. Whatever may be obscure in the story, it is clear that a fight has taken place between the men of Hnæf and those of Finn, and that Hnæf has been slain: probably by Finn directly, though perhaps by his followers[[430]]. A son of Finn has also fallen.