adv. Gr. and B. take it as an adv. modifying _etan: Will eat the Geats
fearlessly_.--Kl. considers this reading absurd, and proposes
'anforhte' = timid.--Understanding 'unforhte' as an adj. has this
advantage, viz. that it gives a parallel to 'Geátena leóde': but to
take it as an adv. is more natural. Furthermore, to call the Geats
'brave' might, at this point, seem like an implied thrust at the
Danes, so long helpless; while to call his own men 'timid' would be
befouling his own nest.

[5] For 'head-watch,' cf. H.-So. notes and cf. v. 2910.--Th.
translates: _Thou wilt not need my head to hide_ (i.e., thou wilt have
no occasion to bury me, as Grendel will devour me whole).--Simrock
imagines a kind of dead-watch.--Dr. H. Wood suggests: _Thou wilt not
have to bury so much as my head_ (for Grendel will be a thorough
undertaker),--grim humor.

[6] S. proposes a colon after 'nimeð' (l. 447). This would make no
essential change in the translation.

[7] Owing to the vagueness of 'feorme' (451), this passage is
variously translated. In our translation, H.-So.'s glossary has been
quite closely followed. This agrees substantially with B.'s
translation (P. and B. XII. 87). R. translates: _Thou needst not take
care longer as to the consumption of my dead body._ 'Líc' is also a
crux here, as it may mean living body or dead body.




VIII.