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Wealhþēow (pronounced [ˈwæɑ̯lxθeːo̯w]; also rendered Wealhtheow or Wealthow) is a queen of the Danes in the Old English poem, Beowulf, first introduced in line 612.
Contents
Character overview
Wealhþēow is of the Wulfing clan, Queen of the Danes. She is married to Hrōðgār, the Danish king and is the mother of sons, Hreðric and Hroðmund, and a daughter Freawaru. The meaning of her name is disputed. One possible translation is "foreign slave" (Hill, 1990).
In her marriage to Hrōðgār she is described as friðusibb folca (l. 2017), 'the kindred pledge of peace between peoples', signifying interdynastic allegiance between Wulfing and Scylding achieved with her marriage to Hrōðgār. She is both 'Lady of the Helmings' (l. 620) (by descent, of the Wulfing clan of Helm) and 'Lady of the Scyldings' (l. 1168), by marriage and maternity.
Two northern sources associate the wife of Hrōðgār with England. The Skjöldunga saga, in Arngrímur Jónsson's abstract, chapter 3, tells that Hrōðgār (Roas) married the daughter of an English king. The Hrolfs saga kraka, chapter 5, tells that Hrōðgār (Hróarr) married Ögn who was the daughter of a king of Northumbria (Norðhymbraland) called Norðri.
The argument was advanced in 1897 that the Wulfing name may have been synonymous with the East Anglian Wuffing dynasty, and the family name Helmingas with the place-names 'Helmingham' in Norfolk and Suffolk, both of which lie in areas of 5th-6th century migrant occupation. Although the theory was not favoured by some, it has more recently resurfaced in a discussion of the identity of Hroðmund.
Role in the poem
Wealhþēow (like Hygd) fulfills the important role of hostess in the poem. The importance of this cup carrying practice is emphasized in lines 1161-1231. Here Wealhþēow, anxious that Hrōðgār secures the succession for her own offspring, gives a speech and recompenses Beowulf for slaying Grendel with three horses and a necklace.
The necklace is called Brosinga mene, and the name is held to be either a corruption or a misspelling of OE Breosinga mene, ON Brisingamen, Freyja's necklace. Richard North compares the gift of the necklace to Brosing, Freyja's Brisingamen and he comments that,
The wider Old Norse-Icelandic tradition attributes the Brisinga men or giroli Brisings (Brisinger's girdle c.900) to Freya who is at once the sister of Ingvi-freyr of the vanir, the leading Norse goddess of love, and a witch with the power to revive the dead. Freya's acquisition of this necklace and its theft by Loki are the central incidents in Sorlaþattr.Helen Damico (1984/1990) further suggests that Wealhþēow and Grendel's mother each represent different aspects of a goddess from Norse mythology, possibly the myth of the Valkyries.
Wealhþēow has also been examined as a representative of Hrōðgār’s kingdom and prestige and a fundamental component to the functioning of his court. According to Stacy Klein, Wealhþēow wore “elaborate garb” to demonstrate the “wealth and power” of the kingdom. As queen, Wealhþēow represents the “female’s duty to maintain peace between two warring tribes” and to “signify the status of the court.” While her position may appear ritualistic, she also maintains “the cohesiveness of the unity of the warriors.” The role of queens in the early Germania was to foster “social harmony through active diplomacy and conciliation.” Wealhþēow inhabits this role by constantly speaking to each of the men in her hall and reminding them of their obligations – obligations to their country, their family, or their king.
In a grimly ironic passage that would not be lost on the Anglo-Saxon audience of Beowulf Wealhþēow commends her sons to Hroðulf's generosity and protection, not suspecting that he will murder her sons to claim the throne for himself.