Acknowledgements			xvii
Signs and Abbreviations			xix

1.	Introduction: Beowulf, an Early Anglo-Saxon Epic		1

Part I. Ice, Candle and Cross: Images of the Giant Sword in Beowulf			33
2.	The Giant Sword and the Ice		35
	Prior Views on the Melting of the Giant Sword		37
	Old Norse Ice-Swords		42

3.	The Giant Sword and the Candle		47
	Vargeisa’s Candle-Sword		51
	Grýla’s Icicle-Candle		65
	The Giant Sword as Solar Candle		71
		Sörli and Sigrljómi ‘Victory-Light’	79
	The Giant Sword as Paschal Candle		84

4.	The Giant Sword and the Cross		93
	The Cross in the Lake		94
	Three Old English Heavenly Candle-Crosses		98
	Sword-Hilts, Sword-Blades and Crosses		100
	Beowulf and Christ as Bearers of the Sword-Cross		112
	The Battle-Standard and the Cross		113
		Wiglaf as Sword-Bearer and Cross-Bearer	118

Part II. Sun-Swords and Moon-Monsters: On the Theft and Recovery of Sunlight in Beowulf and Other Early Northern Texts			121
5.	Whose Sword Is it, Anyway?		123
	Giant-Forged and Giant-Stolen?		124
	The Giant Sword and the Theft of Mjǫllnir		129
	The Cup-Thief, Grendel’s Glove and Grendel’s ‘Un-Sword’: Aspects of Recurrent Thievery in Beowulf		131
	The Basis for Detecting Germanic Myth in Beowulf		137

6.	Ing, Ingvi-Freyr and Hroðgar		143
	The Ingwine ‘Ing-Friends’ and Ing, Son of Man		143
	Ing and Ingi-/Yngvi-Freyr		145
	Freyr, the Friendly God		147
	Worship of Ing in England?		147
	Ing in the Old English Rune Poem		148
	The Inge-Peoples and the Sun-God of Psalm 112		156
	Hroðgar and Danish Worship of an Unnamed Devil		158
	Hroðgar, Healfdene’s ‘Firebrand’ and the Incgelaf		159
	Ingunar-Freyr and Freyr’s Sword		166
	Hroðgar as Frea		167
	Wealhþeo’s Brosinga Mene and Freyja’s Brísingamen		168
	Freawaru		169
	The Danes and the ‘Life-Lord’		169

7.	Freyr, Skírnir and Gerðr		171
	Fǫr Skírnis and Beowulf’s Mere-Episode		172
	Lokasenna, Gylfaginning and the Gifted Sword		184
	Gymir and Gerðr as Sea-Giants		185
		Hjálmþér, Ýma and Margerðr	188
	The Burning Candle and the Barley Isle		194

8.	Lævateinn and the Maelstrom-Giantess		197
	Svipdagr’s Quest for Menglǫð		197
	Loki’s Taking of the Twig		206
	More About Lævateinn and Mistilteinn		210
	Saxo’s Hotherus, Balderus and the Sword of Mimingus		212
	Lævateinn in the Lúðr		216
	The Maelstrom-Giantess in Sagas of Hjálmþér, Grettir and Samson		219
	Grendel’s Mother as Maelstrom-Giantess		222

9.	Freyr’s Solar Power and the Purifying Sword		225
	Solar Aspects of Freyr in the Eddas		225
	Skírnir as Purifier		227
	Beowulf and the Giant Sword as Purifiers		230
	Freyr as Thawer		232

10.	Freyr, Heorot and the Hunt for the Solar Stag		235
	Freyr, Beli and the Hart’s Horn		235
	Heorot, the Hart-Hall		236
	The ‘Hunted Hart’ Passage in Beowulf		238
	The Solar Stag in Early Europe		244
	The Hunt for the Sun		251
		The ‘Battle-Thief/Wolf of the Sky-Shield’	252
		Skǫll and Hati	252
		The Old One, the Pitchforker and Mánagarmr	255
		Wolf-Snake versus Sun-Stag: Norse Myth on the Gosforth Cross	261
		Hunted Stags on Other Anglo-Saxon Crosses	279
		The Ovingham Stone	281
		One Man (in the Moon) and His Dog	282

11.	A Tale of Two Creatures: The Theft and Recovery of Sunlight in Riddle 29		287
	The Lunar Thief and Grendel		289
	The Solar Repossessor and Beowulf		291

12.	Another Tale of Two Creatures: The Loss and Recovery of the Solar Draught-Beast in Wið Dweorh		293
	An Old English Dwarf-Horse-Deer?		298
	A Headache(?)-Causing Dwarf from Denmark		304
	Another Headache-Causing Dwarf and a Radiant Sword		305
	The Sun as Healer, Especially in Old English Remedies		308
	The Dwarf and Grendel as ‘In-Going’ Fever-Demons		309

13.	The Solar Antler in Sólarljóð		315
	The Buried Antler and Christian Legends, Especially of the Cross		317
	The Solar Antler, the Dwarf-Horse-Stag(?) and a Solar Sword		321
		Svafrlami and Dvalinn	324
		Dvalinn and the Deaths of Alvíss and Hrímgerðr	328
	Runes of Resurrection		335
	Sólarljóð and Beowulf		337

14.	Grendel, His Mother and Other Moon-Monsters		339
	Trees of Sun and Moon, and a Monster Called Quasi Caput Luna		340
	Grendel the Wan		346
	Grimm Brothers’ Fairy Tale 175: Der Mond ‘The Moon’		351
	The Dead Moon, a Blickling Homily and Beowulf		352
	Nið ‘Waning/Dark Moon’(?) in Beowulf		358
	Grendel and Glámr, the Monster with Moonlit Eyes		368
	Grendel’s Mother and Norse Moon-Giantesses		372
		Mána, Moon-Giantess and Thief	373
		Mána and Brana	374
		Skjaldvör, the ‘Dark-Moon Chest’ and More about the Nið-Dragon	376
		Hyndla at the ‘Darkness of Darknesses’	388
		Þórgunna, Mána-Ljótur and the Half-Moon	390
	The Old One and the Pitchforker, Again		391
	Ýma and the Boatforker		395
	Two More Male Forkers and a Sword of Lunar Waning		399
		King Dagr and the Hayforker	399
		Kolr the Gibbous, His Fork-Wielding Son and the Sword Angrvaðill	400
	Anger, Death and the Dismembered Moon		406
	The Lunar Head and the Solar Head		408

15.	The Sun in the Pike		411
	Three Golden Eggs, a Fallen Spark and a Pike		412
	Tyrfingr and the Pike		413
	Mistilteinn and the Pike		414
		Hrómundr Gripsson, Þráinn and Mistilteinn	415
	Grendel’s Mother as Pike		418

16.	Conclusion: Beowulf, an Anglo-Saxon Song of Ice and Fire		425

Bibliography			471
Supplementary Note			519
List of Illustrations			521
Index			523

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