and therefore it could not be touched.

l. 169. ne ... wisse: _nor had he desire to do so_ (W.). See Ha., p. 7, for
other suggestions.

l. 169. myne wisse occurs in _Wanderer_, l. 27.

l. 174. The gerundial inf. with tô expresses purpose, defines a noun or
adjective, or, with the verb be, expresses duty or necessity passively; cf.
ll. 257, 473, 1004, 1420, 1806, etc. Cf. tô + inf. at ll. 316, 2557.

ll. 175-188. E. regards this passage as dating the time and place of the
poem relatively to the times of heathenism. Cf. the opening lines, _In days
of yore_, etc., as if the story, even then, were very old.

l. 177. gâst-bona is regarded by Ettmüller and G. Stephens (_Thunor_, p.
54) as an epithet of Thor (= _giant-killer_), a kenning for Thunor or Thor,
meaning both _man_ and _monster_.--E.

l. 189. Cf. l. 1993, where similar language is used. H.-So. takes both
môd-ceare and mæl-ceare as accus., others as instr.

ll. 190, 1994. seáð: for this use of seóðan cf. Bede, _Eccles. Hist._, ed.
Miller, p. 128, where p. p. soden is thus used.

l. 194. fram hâm = _in his home_ (S., H.-So.); but fram hâm may be for fram
him (_from them_, i.e. _his people_, or _from Hrothgar's_). Cf. Ha., p. 8.

l. 197. Cf. ll. 791, 807, for this fixed phrase.