and has involved special consideration of two portions of the saga,
namely, the _Bọðvarsþáttr_, and the _Fróðaþáttr_, and such portions of
the early literature in England and the Scandinavian countries as seem
to bear some relationship to the stories contained in these two
portions of the saga. Some of the results achieved may seem to be
outside the limits of the main theme. But they are not without value
in this connection, for they throw light on the manner in which the
_Hrólfssaga_ and some of the other compositions in question came to
assume the form in which we now find them. Thus these results assist
us in determining the extent to which the saga and the _Bjarkarímur_
are related to _Beowulf_.

As the field under consideration has been the object of investigation by
a number of scholars, much that otherwise would need to be explained to
prepare the way for what is to be presented lies ready at hand, and this
is used as a foundation on which to build further.

In order to give the reader who is interested in the subject, but has
not made a special study of it, an idea of the problems involved, and
the solutions that have been offered, the discussion is preceded by a
brief summary of the principal conclusions reached by various scholars.


BIBLIOGRAPHY AND ABBREVIATIONS

_Aarb._--_Aarböger for nordisk Oldkyndighed og Historie, 1894._

_Ark._--_Arkiv för Nordisk Filologi._

_Ang._--_Anglia._