believe, to show frequently signified _a shield_; which was, probably
for lightness, made of the wood of the _lime tree_, and covered with
skin, or leather of various colours. Thus we have "sealwe linde" and
"hwite linde" in _Cædm._, "geolwe linde" in _Beowulf_.

All this is superfluous to you, sir, I know--"_Retournons à nos
moutons_," as Maistre Pierre Pathelin says.

The sense required in the passage in _Brythnoth_ seems to me to be:--

"bærst bordes lærig=the empty (hollow concave) shields

"and seo byrne sang=and the armour (_lorica_) resounded."

And in _Cædmon_:--

"ofer linde lærig=over the empty (hollow concave) shield."

In Judith, _Th. Anal._ 137, 53. we have a similar epithet:--

"hwealfum lindum=vaulted (arched concave) shields."

We should remember that Somner has _ge-lær_, void, empty, _vacuus_; and
Lye, with a reference to the Herbarium, _lær-nesse_, vacuitas. In the
_Teuthonista_ we have _lær_, vacuus, _concavus_. In _Heiland_, 3, 4.
"_larea_ stodun thar stenuatu sehsi=_empty_ stood there stone-vats six."
I need not call to your mind the O.H.G. _lári_.

I think, therefore, we cannot doubt that what is intended to be
expressed by the A.-S. _lærig_ is _empty_, _hollow_, _concave_. But if