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The Relation of the Hrolfs Saga Kraka and the Bjarkarimur to Beowulf - A Contribution To The History Of Saga Development In England And The - Scandinavian Countries by Oscar Ludvig Olson
page 49 of 167 (29%)

The hilt was remarkable for other qualities than that it was of gold.

"Hroðgār maðelode, hylt scēawode,
ealde lāfe, on ðǣm wæs ōr writen
fyrn-gewinnes, syðþan flōd ofslōh,
gifen gēotende, gīganta cyn;
frēcne gefērdon; þæt wæs fremde þēod
ēcean Dryhtne; him þæs ende-lēan
þurh wæteres wylm Waldend sealde.
Swā wæs on ðǣm scennum scīran goldes
þurh rūn-stafas rihte gemearcod,
geseted ond gesæd, hwām þæt sweord geworht,
īrena cyst, ǣrest wǣre,
wreoþen-hilt ond wyrm-fāh."[94]

"Hylt"[95] cannot mean the whole sword, since Hrothgar could look at
only what was left of the sword. That was the "gylden hilt," which he
held in his hand; and the expression "hylt scēawode" leaves no doubt
that "gylden hilt" is not a designation of the whole sword.
"Wreoþen-hilt"[96] also obviously refers only to the hilt.

In no instance, therefore, in this connection, does the author of
_Beowulf_ use "hilt" to designate the whole sword; consequently, to
write "gylden hilt" as one word and capitalize it is both arbitrary and
illogical. There is, in fact, nothing in the poem to indicate that the
sword had a name.

Furthermore, the author refers to other swords that were distinguished
by being ornamented with gold. When Beowulf left the land of the Danes,
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