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Yasuharu ETC:SIB(B)IN BE.0WULF 73

SIB(B)IN BEOWULF

Heyne-Schucking's glossary' Beeωtdf :

1) Sippe,Verwandtschaft.2) Freundschaft.3) Frieden.

Yasuharu ETC

gives the following three meanings for the word stb(b) in

To the modern readerof Beoumlf the three meanings might seem schizophrenically juxtaposed,but in the Ang]o-Saxon mind they are reasonably interwoven with each other. The Anglo-Saxon belongs to his own stb(b)('Sippe Verwandtschaft'),and to maintain order in the slb(b)group the claims and obligations of each member must be fulfilled2(hence,'Freundschaft').Moreover,when two slb(b)groups meet and behave like one,the situation existing between them is described as stb(b)(hence,'Frieden').Thus we can easily imagine that for the Anglo-Saxons the most serious evilis an offence against their own sib(b),and the greatest misfortune,the loss of members of their own sib(b)group_3

What underlies Heyne-Schucking's three meanings and connects them with each other is the implicit fact that kinship(=szb(b))entails both the claims and the obligations of each member to maintain order in the kin(= sib(b)、group. The purpose of this short essay is to show that the recognition of this implicit fact is essential to the proper appreciation of the word stb(b)in Beeωulf _

In accordance with Heyne-Schucking's classification,let us look at the use of stb(b) as it appears inBenmdf .4

Sib(b)as 'Sippe Verwandtschaft.' ・ When King Hroagar expresses his grateful thanks to Beowulf by starting a new stb(b) the

word is not used in a literal sense;for they belong to different tribes(= slb(b)groups).HroOgar says:

(1) Nu io,Beowulf,1pec, ,.,secg betsta, motor sunu wylle,freoganon ferhpe; heald for3 tela”niwe sibbe; no blot)ee na nigre gad ”worolde wilna, ]pe le geweald h2ebbe; (11.946b-50)

Sib(b)is used here in a figurative sense.5 The emphasis,therefore,is placed upon the implicit fact that they must fulfill their obligations as expected by the father-son relationship in Anglo-Saxon society.6

Looking back on his childhood Beowulf remarks that King HreOel as surrogate father treated him like his own sen.

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74 福島大学教育学部論集第50号 1991-11

(2) ,Ic wacs syfan-wintre, pa moo sinca baldor,”frea-wine folca cot minum fleder genam ;,;heold moo end h器fde Hreael cyning,,,geaf mesincond symbol, sibbe gemunde;n2es io him to life laaraowihte,boom in burgum penne his bearna hwylc,,,Herebeald ond H? 0cyn,00るe Hygelac min. (11.2428-34)

Beowulf and HreOel be1ong to the same ''Verwandtschaft”,as Hoops comments7:

2431. sibbe gemunde 'er gedachte der Verwandtschaft'; Hrethe1 1st Beowulfs Grogvatermutterlicherseits (374f.).

However,.Hoops'comment is not,I suppose,a sufficient explanation,because what is expected of King Hreael is to act as surrogate father,which is the requirement the king has to bear in mind. King Hreael is,as it were,a figurative father who is expected to behave as such.

In his fight with the dragon Beowulf is in desperate need of help from his retainers,but they flee to the wood.

(3) Nea11es him on heape hand-gestea11an, をaelinga beam ymbe gestodonhilde-cystum, ac by on holt bugon.,ealdre burgan. Hiora in anum weo11seta wili sorgum. Sibbをfre no m器g wiht onwendan, 'p-am ae we11pence3. (11.2596-601)

In the gnomic sentence that “nothing can change sib(b)in the man who thinks well(11.2600b-601)''8 the word does not mean'Sippe,but it certainly implies the obligations which stb(b)entails.

Hoops translates the word as “die Verwandtschaft (das Sippegefiih1)'9 while Dobbie more appropriately renders it as“loyalty.”'o Nothing can change“Verwandtschait 'in anyone,regardless of whether he thinks we]f or not. However, a senseof obligation can only be found in the right- minded.And this is what the gnomic sentence in Passage(3)expresses.

Si'b(b)as 'Freundschaft.'

(4) gan under gyldnum beage sa・ton suhterge-fa・deran; If'ghwylc oOrum trywe.

1:)ii cwom Weal?? o for(l)'parlpa godan twegen

pa gyt wles hiera sib ・etg2edere,(11.1162b-65a)

Hoops translates“sib''in1.1164b as“Friede.'''It seems to mean the situation in which their kin(= the kin of HroOgar and his nephew Hroaulf),which entails the claims and obligations of the kin group,is a closely knit one.As in Passage (3)“loyalty''is a reasonable rendering'2in view of the presence of the word“trywe''in1.1165a,which is a variationon 1.1164b.

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Yasuharu ETC:SIB(B)IN BEOWULF 75

Sib(b) as 'Frieden.'The word slb(b)is used again in a figurative sense in each of the three cases here.Twodifferent

tribes are referred to, Thus the originally implicit fact that kinship entails the claims and obliga_ tionsof the kin group comes to the fore in the following instances.

In the ensuing passage,.in which Grendel;s antagonism is directed against the Danish tribe,st'b(b) occurs in one of the three appositive expressions.'3

(5) sibbe no wolde

will manna hwone miegenes Deniga,feorh-bea1o feorran, f-ea pingian, (11.154b-56)

Passage(5)may be translated as follows:

Grendel did not want stb(b)with any of the Danish men(11.154b-55),and did not want to ceasefrom murder (1_156a),and never did he want to settle the feud with money(1.156b).

Here stb(b)is usually translated as “peace'''4which is reasonable enough,but behind the word lies the fact that Grendel does not wish to behave like a member of the Danish kingroup.He would not fulfill the obligations imposed upon him if he were a member.

In passage (6)the fact that a figurative kin group is formed between the Goats and the Danes is poetically expressed.

(6) ,hafast pii gef-ered, p?t pam folcum scea1,”Geata1-eodum ond Gar-Denum,,sib gem2ene ond sacu restan,,,inwit-nipas, pc hie2er drugon,,,wesan,penden io wealde widan rices,,,m-ifpmas gemaene, manig opeme,,godum gegrettan ofer ganotes b記0;,,sceal hring-naca ofer heafu bringan,,lacond luf-tacen. Ic1)-a leode wat,,go wi6 feond go wiOfreond fleste geworhte,,.;aighw2es untlele ealde wisan.“ (11.1855-65)

After the poetic description of stb(b)io11ows a sentence(11.1863b-65)which is not always sufficient_ 1y explained.'5 Putting aside 1.1865,which is a real crux,'6 the purport of 11.1863b-64 might be paraphrased as follows:

We(=the Danes and the Goats)are now “freond,;'and I (=HroOgar)know that our tribes willbehave according to the claims and obligations which our sib(b)entails,whether we encounteras “feond,''or whether we meet as “freond.''

The underlying idea is that sib(b) in one kin group could be a good reason for a sac,,against another.

In sharp contrast with passage(6),Passage(7)is part of the dark prospect of the Geats'dynasty

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after Beowulf's death.

(7) ”Ne ic te Sweo-0eode,,wihte no wene,

sibbeoa3e treowe(11.2922-23a)

It is noteworthy that here again(cf.Passage (4))st'b(b)is juxtaposed with treou1('loyalty'),which is the most important of the claims and obligations necessary to maintain peace andorder.Passage (7)conveys the idea that the Goats are losing the loyalty of neighboring tribes.

InBeowulf sib(b)occurs also in some compounds.In such compounds as stb-?0eiing and sibbe-gedriht the first element sib(b)seems to be used

with the meaning of 'Sippe'or 'Verwandtschaft.''7 However,there is more fe lt.After their fight with the dragon Beowulf and his loyal retainer Wiglaf are referred teas“sib

-? aelingas.'

(8) Feond gefyldan - ferh ellen wriec-ond hi hynepa begen abroten haefdon,sib-ieOelingas. Swylc sceolde secg wesan,◆那記t aearfe l- (11.2706-9a)

Beowulf and Wiglaf be1ong to the same tribe. However, what the wordsib(b)conveys here is not just'Verwandtschaft'but the solidarity existing between them.

Si'bbe-gedriht occurs twotimes.It is first used when HroOgarpermits Beowulf and his retainers to be received in audience.'8

(9) ,,Beo auonofeste, hat in gan,”seen sibbe-gedriht samod i1etgをdere;,,gesaga him eac wordum, p2et hie sint wi1-cuman,,Deniga「eodum1“ (11.386-9a)

On another occasion,the same compound appears when Beowulf and his retainers are about to be attacked by Grendel。

Geseah he in recede swefan sibbe-gedriht mago-rinca heap;

rmca mamge,samod aetg?dere,

(11. 728-30a)

As in passage(8),by using sib(b)the solidarity of gedriht seems to be emphasized in Passages (9)and(10)。 This assumption is highly probable in view of the fact that in Anglo-Saxon times the “loyalty is personal,not tribal,for a successful chief may attract to him men from many tribes.'''9

The meaning of dryht-sib(b)in passage (11)is evident from the three appositive expressions.

(11) 1'y ic Hea0obearna hyldone telge,dryht-sibbe dae1 Denum unf全one,,,freondscipe f2estne. (11.2067-9a)

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Yasuharu ETC:SIB(B)IN BEOWULF 77

“Friede, Versohnung, Freundschaft (zwischen Gefolgsscharen)”2° is a reasonable gloss upon the compound.But what it implies is,I believe,the situation in which two tribal groups behave as if they belonged to one and the same kin group (cf.the marriage of Freawaru,Hroagar's daughter,to Ingeld of the Hea0obards).

The compoundfn0?-stb(b)is slightly complicated in its semantic structure_2'

a2) hwilum m2eru cwen,"friOu-sibb folca, fief ea11geondhwearf,,,bをdde byre geonge; (11.2016b-18a)

'Kinship(=sib(b))realized through peace(=fnau)'seems a possible meaning for the compound,but the phrase “ma'ru cwen''in apposition to the compound does not corroborate the meaning.The compound is,I suppose,an exocentric one and means 'a woman who has realized kinship(between two tribes)through peace.'The compound god-stb(b)supports this possibility as a para11elcase.God stb(b) means 'a person who has realized kinship (between two families) through God,'hence patron.'

Sib(b)does not mean just'peace,'but it means figurative kinship in which the tribal groups live as if they were of the same ancestra1origin.f Nor does the word mean just ']oyalty.'But it means kinship (literal or figurative)within which individuals behave cohesively as brothers and sisters.'

The word is pre-Christian in oribin,but what it denotes is quite Christian insofar as in a sib(b) relationship individuals are expected to love their neighbors.In spite of all this,the word virtually disappeared from the English language,22 probably because it could not stand clear of the pre- Christian connotation of ancestor-worship,as for instance in:

(13) Uton nu halgum gelice scyldum biscyrede scyndan generede,wommum biwerede, wuldre generede,p證r moncyn met for meotude rotscone god geseon, end aa in sibbe gefean. (TheRimtng Poem,11.83b-7)

Here23stb(b)does denote 'peace,'but the connotation 'peace in the ki'n group'could have still lingered on in the mindset the Anglo-Saxons;241t is only the pagans who in their future lives rejoice in their own tribal peace.And this is certainly a concept of the Beyond that pious Christians would hesitate to accept_

Notes1. Heyne-SchiickingsBeouulf (1961),3.Tell :G1ossar,p.190(s.v_sib),hereafter cited as“Heyne-Schuck_ings Glossar.''

Also cf.Klaeber Beomulf ,p.397(s.v.sib(b)),hereafter cited as “Klaeber.''2. Cf.DorothyWhitelock TheBegirmtngsof English Society (Penguin Books,1952),pp_38-47.3. Cf.Yasuharu Etc 'Bemmif 1.2441b,''Bulletin of the Factdty of Edumtion,Fukushima tJnt1,erstty,Liberal Arts,No.49,(Fukushima,March 1991),35-40.

4. Beotottlf is quoted from Heyne-Sch流ckivlgs Beoωtdf (1963),1_Tell:Text.

5. In this connection it should be noted that in his The Sltident's Dictionary of Arlgio-Saxon,one of the

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meanings Sweet gives for sib(b)is'spiritual relationship'(s。v.sibb).6. Klaeber's note on 11.946ff.(p_167)says:

The relationship entered into by HroOgar and Beowulf does not signify adoption in the strict legalsense but implies fatherly friendship and devoted helpfulness respectively,suggesting at any rate thebonds of royal retainership.

Specifically,HroOgar's obligation is expressed in tl_949b-50 in passage(1),while later on in tl_1822-39 Beowulf states his own role which he is to play for HroOgar.

7. Hoops K;ornmentar zum Beomdf (1932),p.259,hereafter cited as“Hoops。''8. On another possible interpretation,see Klaeber's note on 11.2600f.(p.217).9_ Hoops,p_27610. DobbieBeolmlf and Judith in The Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records vol。IV(1953),p.251,hereafter cited as

''Debbie.'

11. Hoops,p.148_12_ Klaeber's noteon11.1164f.(p.177)describes the lines as a ''hint at Hroaulf's disloyalty,''13. Cf.Dobbie's notes on 11.154b-56(p.124).14. See such translations as Clark HaH(1950),p.28;Donaldson (1975)(in J_F.Tuso (1975)),p.4;and

Chickering (1977),p.57.15. Hoops,p.201,translates 11_1863f.as“Ich weiB die Leute test(treu,einig)gestimmt,''without a furtherexplanation.

16, See Debbie,pp_210-11.17. Cf.Heyne-Schuckings Glossar,p。190(s_v.sib-if Oeling and sibbe-gedriht).18. As to whether the compound in 1_3871s subject or object of “seen'see Debbie,p.136.19. White1ock,p_29.20_ Heyne-Schuckings Glossar p_47(s.v.dryht-sib)。21. Thus the compound demands a sort of free translation.For instance,“Friedensburgin,''“Friedens-

stifterin''(Hoops,p.221).22. In Med E the word sib is either archaic er dialectal_Cf_0ED (s_v_Sib).23. Cited from Krapp and Debbie The Ang1o-Saxon Poettc Records Vol. m (1936),p.169.24. For detecting an“ambivalent pagan-Christian view'in the use of sib(b)in 1.87in TheRiming Poem,

the credit should go to Prof_Kari Schneider.For further information on Prof. Schneider;s interpretationof The Rimmg Poem,see his article,“The OE Riming Poem:An Analysis,''in W.McConne11(ed.),G6ppmger Arbeiien zur Germanistik No.480 (Goppingen,1989),347-77.

SIB(B) in Beomtlf :AbstractIn this essay the meanings of stb(b)in Beowtdf are discussed in the light of the implicit fact that

the kin group entails the claims and obligations on each member to maintain peace andorder.It has been found that in BeolMdf slb(b) is usually used in a figurative sense with emphasis on the cohesiveness of the kin group.