ABSTRACT
The Beowulf-poem is preceded by a sort of introduction (v. 1-v. 52), which contains a recognised myth and stands in no necessary connection with the poem itself. It is the myth of Skild, the ancestor of the Skildings, i.e. the old Danish kings. But as ancestor of the ruling race he is also at the same time ancestor of the people, since ruler and people are branches of the same stock-and so not only the kings of the Danes, but also the Danes themselves are called Scildings, ON Skiöldungar. [Compares other Nordic names, and cites Kemble’s now-familiar Latin references to Sceaf, father of Scyld, to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Scanunga godh, etc.] But now what is this myth of Scild doing at the start of the poem of Beowulf, since the latter certainly does not belong to the Danish people, but to the Geats, and the poem also does not at all want to glorify the former, but the latter? I was earlier of the opinion that Beowulf son of Ecgtheow must be regarded as the reborn Beowulf, son of Scyld, as Nordic heathendom knows of several such reincarnations; but I now reject this opinion, as absolutely no connection can be discovered between the two Beowulfs, which however occurs and must occur with all reincarnations. I now rather believe that the connection of the myth of Scild with the Beowulf-poem must be one purely accidental or arbitrary, i.e. not compelled by any inner necessity. For as it is not
was not originally constructed by one poet, but was put together from separate folk-poems, for which opinion still other reasons will later be given. But at the same time one can grant the writer of the separate poems no great artistic skill; otherwise he would at least have used this myth for presenting the relationship between Geats and Danes, which would be easy to carry out. [Uses Kemble’s genealogies to prove the relationship of Scyld and the god Geat, and to argue for the mythic nature of Scyld and his son Beowulf, introducing also much Old Norse material. Pp. 16-18.]
I expect no further proof will now be needed that we find ourselves here in mythological territory throughout, and that even if Beowulf the son of Scild seems to have nothing mythical about him in our poem, he is still nonetheless a mythical being.
