l. 2391. Cf. [l. 11].
l. 2394. B., Gr., and Mûllenh. understand [ll. 2393-2397] to mean that Eádgils, Ôhthere's son, driven from Sweden, returns later, supported by Beowulf, takes the life of his uncle Onela, and probably becomes himself O.'s successor and king of Sweden. For another view see H.-So., p. 115. MS. has freond ([l. 2394]), which Leo, etc., change to feónd. G. translates friend.—Beit. xii. 13; Anzeiger f. d. Altert. iii. 177.
l. 2395. Eádgils is Ôhthere's son; cf. [l. 2381]; Onela is Ôhthere's brother; cf. [ll. 2933], [2617].
l. 2402. "Twelfsome"; cf. "fifteensome" at [l. 207], etc. As Beówulf is essentially the Epic of Philanthropy, of the true love of man, as distinguished from the ordinary love-epic, the number twelve in this passage may be reminiscent of another Friend of Man and another Twelve. In each case all but one desert the hero.
l. 2437. R. proposes stýred, = ordered, decreed, for strêd.—Zachers Zeitschr. iii. 409.
l. 2439. B. corrects to freó-wine = noble friend, asking, "How can Herebeald be called Hæðcyn's freá-wine [MS.], lord?"
l. 2442. feohleás gefeoht, "a homicide which cannot be atoned for by money—in this case an unintentional fratricide."—Sw.
l. 2445. See Ha., pp. 82, 83, for a discussion of [ll. 2445-2463]. Cf. G., p. 75.
l. 2447. MS. reads wrece, justified by B. (Tidskr. viii. 56). W. conceives wrece as optative or hortative, and places a colon before þonne.
l. 2449. For helpan read helpe.—K., Th., S. (Zeitschr. f. D. Phil. xxi. 3, 357).