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Unferð

January 21, 2023

In the Old English epic poem Beowulf, Unferth or Hunferth is a thegn (a retainer, servant) of the Danish lord Hrothgar. He appears five times in the poem — four times by the name 'Hunferð' (at lines 499, 530, 1165 and 1488) and once by the appellation "the son of Eclafes" (at line 980). The name Unferth does not appear in any Old English manuscript outside of the Nowell Codex, which contains Beowulf, and the meaning of the name is disputed. Several scholarly theories about Unferth have been proposed. Unferth is also the name of a character in the modern novel Grendel by John Gardner, based upon the Beowulf epic.

"Beowulf replies haughtily to Hunferth" (1910) by John Henry F. Bacon

Etymology

Unferth's name can be understood in a number of ways. A common reading, by Morton W. Bloomfield is to see it as un + frith, "mar peace":[1] similarly, J. R. R. Tolkien considered the name to mean Unpeace/Quarrel, or perhaps 'Unfriend'.[2] However, Searle's Onomasticon Anglo-Saxonicum lists several mentions of medieval historic personages, such as bishops and archbishops, named Hunfrith.[3] Another reading, by Fred C. Robinson, is to see it as un + ferth, "no wit".[4]

Other scholars, such as R. D. Fulk, have suggested that Unferth's name should not be associated with frið (peace) but with ferhð, which translates as “soul, spirit, mind, and life.” Fulk writes that it is difficult to assign significance to names in Beowulf because some of the characters involved are historical figures. However, Fulk argues that this can be done in the case of Unferth because the name Un-ferth is not known to appear in history, or in any manuscript other than the Nowell Codex.[5] But the Chronicon Ex Chronicis, a 12th-century history of England, variously attributed to Florence of Worcester ("Florentii Wigorniensis") or to John of Worcester, mentions an 8th-century bishop of Winton whose name in Latin is given as "Hunfridus" and "Hunfertho".[6]

The first element of the name, un, appears exclusively as hun in the sole manuscript of Beowulf. Fred C. Robinson suggests that this h is a Celtic scribal habit which indicates that u has a vocal function by adding an unpronounced graphic h.[4] Fulk argues, however, that this use of the letter h does not appear anywhere else in the Beowulf manuscript.[5]

In Old English, un usually functions as a negative prefix. However, in certain contexts the meaning must be interpreted as 'abnormally', rather than 'not' (cf. German Untiefe, un-depth, which may mean either an excessive or an insufficient depth, or Old English unhar, "very old"). This use of un could add new possibilities to the meaning of the name Unferth. Despite the vast amount of research that has gone into the etymology of Unferth's name, there can be no easy consensus about its meaning.[5]

Appearances in Beowulf

Unferth appears a total of five times in Beowulf.

Challenge of Beowulf (lines 499–558)

 
The first mention of Unferth in Beowulf

Unferth first appears at line 499:

Hunferð maþelode, Ecglafes bearn,
þe æt fotum sæt frean Scyldinga.

Unferth spoke, Ecglaf's son,
He who sat at the feet of the lord of the Scyldings.

The poet states that Unferth is envious of Beowulf's fame (since Beowulf has offered to defeat the monster Grendel, which Unferth has failed to do).

At line 506, Unferth impugns Beowulf, bringing up the story of Beowulf's swimming-contest with Breca the son of Beanstan. Unferth makes fun of the young Beowulf's foolish decision to have a swimming (or rowing) contest in the North Sea, ignoring all advice, and declares that he lost. He ends by predicting a bad result if Beowulf dares face Grendel.

Beowulf answers the challenge by boasting that he is the strongest swimmer in the world, and entertains the company with a tale about how, in that contest, he swam the North Sea in full armor while carrying a sword, killed nine huge sea-monsters who dragged him to the ocean floor, and was carried by the currents to the shore of the land of the Finns.

Beowulf says that he has never heard of anyone else having such a great sea-fight as he had; and then adds particularly that he has never heard such stories told of Unferth, and in fact the story people tell about Unferth is how he killed his brothers, for which, Beowulf predicts, Unferth will be tormented in Hell despite his cleverness. Unferth silently concedes defeat and the feast continues.

Change of heart (lines 980–984)

After Beowulf kills Grendel, Unferth seems to have a change of heart. When Beowulf hangs up Grendel's torn-off arm at the door of Heorot, the poet says that "no man was more silent than Ecglaf's son", and that he made no more boasting speeches.

The King's spokesman (lines 1165–1168)

At the celebratory feast after the killing of Grendel, the poet repeats that Unferth sat at the feet of the king, and calls him a þyle (also spelled ðyle) (pronounced thyle) (see Analysis below). The poet goes on to say that everyone knows of Unferth's courage and fealty, "though he did not show mercy to his kin in sword-play."

At the mere (lines 1455–1472)

When Grendel's mother attacks the hall, the Danes and Geats pursue her to the mere where she lives. As Beowulf arms himself to enter the mere, Unferth lends him his sword, Hrunting. Unferth is here referred to as a ðyle for the second and last time. The poet says that Unferth "did not bear in mind" his earlier challenging insults that he had spoken "when drunken", but acknowledged that Beowulf was "the better sword-fighter." The poet adds that Unferth "did not dare" to dive into the mere to attack Grendel's mother, and thus "his fame was lessened."

Beowulf is grateful for the loan, however, and at line 1488 he tells King Hroðgar that if he, Beowulf, does not return from the mere, then his own sword should be given to Unferth.

Parting (lines 1807–1812)

The morning after the celebratory feast on the occasion of Beowulf killing Grendel's mother, Beowulf and his people prepare to return to their home. Beowulf returns the sword Hrunting to Unferth, praising the weapon and its owner: he has "no ill word" for the sword (although it had not helped him against Grendel's mother), and he thanks Unferth for the loan. This is Unferth's last appearance in the poem.

Analysis in Beowulf

Unferth's presence in the poem has been a point of much scholarly debate. He is called a þyle or ðyle – thyle (the word occurs only twice, once in line 1165 with þ and then in line 1456 with ð; it seems most scholarly articles use the þ) – a term related to Old Norse thul, a court orator, reciter, or jester. It is noticed that Unferth's brief remarks against Beowulf's youthful risk-taking is "a masterpiece of invective" and yet there is no reprimand for it, which suggests that it may have been part of Unferth's duties or practices to make a visitor defend his reputation.[7] James L. Rosier, relying on Latin glosses in other Old English writings, interpreted the word to suggest something villainous or scurrilous.[8] This was, however, rejected by Ida M. Hollowell, who theorizes that the Anglo-Saxon audience who immediately know what a thyle was and would even identify Unferth as such by his position at the feet of the king, and it is someone innocuous or even worthy of respect. She refers to another suggestion for the meaning of thyle- a pagan priest, making Unferth a priest of Woden confronted by a presumably Christian Beowulf.[9] J.D.A. Ogilvy similarly speculates that Unferth's post at the feet of the king demonstrate that he was some sort of entertainer, and that he may have been a landless exile as a result of the misadventures with his kinsmen and given refuge by Hrothgar, as had been done with Ecgtheow (lines 459–472).[10] Unferth only speaks once (an insult aimed at Beowulf), is described as intelligent and a kin-slayer, and is responsible for lending Beowulf his legendary, yet ill-fated sword, Hrunting. Kenneth Sisam argues that readers would be advised not to speculate beyond these basic facts as laid out by the poet.[11] It should be kept in mind that, although the sword provided by Unferth was ineffective against Grendel's mother, we are told that this sword is an ancient treasure, "never had it failed", but although it had sliced through many a helmet, against Grendel's dam "this was the first time that the glorious treasure failed"; Unferth had no reason to foresee this failure, he gave his sword to Beowulf fully expecting it to be entirely successful. Another thought comes from Carroll Rich, who notes that the biblical tale of Cain and Abel is deeply woven into the poem, and as Unferth is a character who is notorious for slaying his own brother, a parallel might exist. Rich observes that "the depiction of Unferth as an envious fratricide makes clear the threat he poses to Beowulf and to a society dependent upon mutual trust."[12] However, Norman E. Eliason suggests that the mention of Unferth's fratricide, although apparently reiterated in line 1167, is not to be taken seriously but is a mere bit of billingsgate.[13] Eliason's theory is that Unferth is an admirable character, well-intentioned, despite the narrator's suggestions to the contrary.[14]

As social taunter

The social taunter[non sequitur] has many roles, as has been stated by Thalia Phillies Feldman in her article, "The Taunter in Ancient Epic: The Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid, and Beowulf". In a society of kings and warriors, the social taunter acts as the spokesman of the court, revealer of truths, means of social control, and provocateur. Unferth performs these functions, thus fulfilling the role of social taunter. He is able to do so mainly because of his characteristic fast tongue, unabashed speech and wit. The taunter, as opposed to a satirist, is able to make personal attacks on specific characters. He reveals a character's flaws and failures that other court members may not be aware of, or are too afraid to point out. Unferth does this as he questions the events that took place during the swimming contest. Because of Unferth's taunt, Beowulf has no choice (in fact it is part of his duty to defend his honour) but to correct Unferth's version of the story and to rectify himself once again. Unferth's taunt spurs Beowulf into action and reignites Hrothgar's and the people's faith in him. Their exchange also provides dramatic tension between the hero's arrival and the fight with Grendel.[15]

Modern influence

Unferth is also the anti-hero of John Gardner's novel, Grendel. Portrayed as a boastful but weak-willed warrior, Unferth is mocked by Grendel for false piety, hypocrisy, and failing to live up to the ideals of the heroic culture that Unferth claims to embrace. Late in the novel, Unferth is mocked publicly by Beowulf. In Gardner's adaptation of lines 580–607 of the epic, Beowulf responds to Unferth's verbal attacks by reminding all present that no one sings of Unferth's courage, and that Unferth is best known in the northern lands for having murdered his brothers. Beowulf concludes by telling Unferth and assembled guests that Unferth "will prowl the stalagmites of hell" for his crime.[16]

In film

In the 1981 animated film Grendel Grendel Grendel, Unferth (voiced by Ric Stone) captures Hrothgar in a bear pit, and blackmails him into making him his heir. Tension however arises from the two when Unferth falls in love with Wealhtheow and Hrothgar shows no sign of intending to keep his promise. Unferth begins to plot against the king with the court minstrel, but is murdered on Hrothgar's orders by Beowulf.

Unferth's role is expanded on in the 2007 animated film where he is played by John Malkovich. In this film he is shown to be the king's advisor and openly hostile but also learned in the ways of Christianity (he suggests to Hrothgar that they should also pray to "the new Roman God, Christ Jesus" after Grendel attacks Heorot at the beginning of the film). Deviating from the poem, Unferth's sword melts when Beowulf is seduced by Grendel's mother, forcing Beowulf to concoct a lie about having to leave his sword buried in Grendel's mother's corpse or else she would come back from the dead. Unferth also remains in the story until the final act. His family is killed in an attack by the dragon, which then has Unferth deliver a message to Beowulf – "the sins of the fathers" – revealing that the dragon is the son of Beowulf and Grendel's mother. In the film, Unferth has a servant named Cain which he continually abuses for the slightest mistake. Cain takes the role of the slave who upsets the dragon in the original story.

See also

References

  1. ^ Bloomfield, Morton W. (1963). Nicholson, Lewis E. (ed.). An Anthology of Beowulf Criticism. University of Notre Dame Press. pp. 155–164. ISBN 9780268000066.
  2. ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. (2015). Tolkien, Christopher (ed.). Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary. pp. 209 & 386. ISBN 9780544570306.
  3. ^ Searle, William George (1897). Onomasticon Anglo-Saxonicum: A list of Anglo-Saxon proper names from the time of Beda to that of King John. Cambridge University Press. p. 306.
  4. ^ a b Robinson, Fred C. (1974). "Elements of the Marvellous in the Characterization of Beowulf: A Reconsideration of the Textual Evidence". In Burlin, Robert B.; Irving, Edward B. (eds.). Old English Studies in Honour of John C. Pope. University of Toronto Press. pp. 127–131. ISBN 9780802021328.
  5. ^ a b c Fulk, R. D. (1987). "Unferth and His Name". Modern Philology. 85 (2): 113–127. doi:10.1086/391610. JSTOR 437181. S2CID 162290157.
  6. ^ Thorpe, Benjamin, ed. (1848). Florentii Wigorniensis, monachi, Chronicon Ex Chronicis. Chronicon ex chronicis. Vol. 1. English Historical Society. pp. 55–56.
  7. ^ Eliason 1963, p. 267-284.
  8. ^ Rosier 1962.
  9. ^ Hollowell.
  10. ^ Ogilvy 1964.
  11. ^ Sisam, Kenneth (1965). The Structure of Beowulf. Clarendon. p. 41. OCLC 499266.
  12. ^ Rich, Carroll Y. (1973). "Unferth and Cain's Envy". The South Central Bulletin. 33 (4): 213. doi:10.2307/3187087. JSTOR 3187087.
  13. ^ Eliason 1963, p. 273.
  14. ^ Eliason 1963, p. 276.
  15. ^ Feldman, Thalia Phillies (1979). "The Taunter in Ancient Epic: The Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid, and Beowulf". Papers on Language & Literature. 15 (1): 3–16. ISSN 0031-1294 – via Academic Search Premier.
  16. ^ Gardner, John (1989). Grendel. Vintage. pp. 162. ISBN 9780679723110.

Further reading

  • Bjork, Robert E. (1980), "Unferth in the Hermeneutic Circle: A Reappraisal of James L. Rosier's 'Design for Treachery: The Unferth Intrigue'", Papers on Language and Literature, 16: 133–41.
  • Bjork, Robert E. (1998), "Digressions and Episodes", in Robert E. Bjork; John Niles (eds.), A Beowulf Handbook, University of Nebraska Press, pp. 193–212, pages 205–208 especially.
  • Boenig, Robert (1992), "Very Sharp/Unsharp, Unpeace/Firm Peace: Morphemic Ambiguity in Beowulf", Neophilologus, 76 (2): 275–82, doi:10.1007/bf00210175, S2CID 162232956.
  • Bonjour, Adrien (1965), The Digressions in Beowulf, Oxford University Press, pp. 17–24.
  • Bonjour, Adrien (1962), "Unferth: A Return to Orthodoxy", in Adrien Bonjour (ed.), Twelve Beowulf Papers, 1940–1960, Neuchâtel, pp. 129–33.
  • Church, A.P. (2000), "Beowulf's ane ben and the Rhetorical Context of the 'Hunferþ Episode'", Rhetorica, 18: 49–78, doi:10.1525/rh.2000.18.1.49.
  • Clover, Carol J. (1980), "The Germanic Context of the Unferþ Episode", Speculum, 55 (3): 444–68, doi:10.2307/2847235, JSTOR 2847235, S2CID 163023116.
  • Einarsson, S. (1934), "Old English Beot and Old Icelandic Heitstrenging", PMLA, 39 (4): 975–93.
  • Eliason, Norman E. (1963), "The þyle and Scop in Beowulf", Speculum, 38 (2): 267–284, doi:10.2307/2852453, JSTOR 2852453, S2CID 163024394.
  • Enright, Michael J. (1998), "The Warband Context of the Unferth Episode", Speculum, 73 (2): 297–337, doi:10.2307/2887155, JSTOR 2887155, S2CID 162666793.
  • Hardy, Adelaide (1969), "The Christian Hero Beowulf and Unferð Þyle", Neophilologus, 53 (1): 55–69, doi:10.1007/bf01511690, S2CID 162154877.
  • Hollowell, Ida Masters (1976), "Unferð the þyle in Beowulf", Studies in Philology, 73: 239–65.
  • Hughes, Geoffrey (1977), "Beowulf, Unferth and Hrunting: An Interpretation", English Studies, 58 (5): 385–95, doi:10.1080/00138387708597845.
  • Kabell, Aage (1979), "Unferð und die danischen Biersitten", Arkiv för Nordisk Filologi, 94: 31–41.
  • Martin-Clarke, D.E. (1936), "The Office of Thyle in Beowulf", The Review of English Studies, 12 (45): 61–6, doi:10.1093/res/os-XII.45.61.
  • Nagy, Michael S. (1996), "A Reassessment of Unferth's Fratricide in Beowulf", Proceedings of the Medieval Association of the Midwest, 3: 15–30.
  • Ogilvy, J.D.A. (1964), "Unferth. Foil to Beowulf?", PMLA, 79 (4): 370–5, doi:10.2307/460742, JSTOR 460742, S2CID 163905593.
  • Pope, John C. (1986), "Beowulf 505, 'gehedde,' and the Pretensions of Unferth", in Phyllis R. Brown; Georgia R. Crampton; Fred C. Robinson (eds.), Modes of Interpretation in Old English Literature: Essays in Honour of Stanley B. Greenfield, pp. 173–87.
  • Roberts, Jane (1980), "Old English un- 'very' and Unferth", English Studies, 61 (4): 289–92, doi:10.1080/00138388008598054.
  • Rosier, James L. (1962), "Design for Treachery: The Unferth Intrigue", PMLA, 77 (1): 1–7, doi:10.2307/460680, JSTOR 460680, S2CID 163772075.
  • Silber, Patricia (1981), "Rhetoric as Prowess in the Unferð Episode", Texas Studies in Literature and Language, 23: 471–83.
  • Vaughan, M.F. (1976), "A Reconsideration of Unferth", Neuphilologische Mitteilungen, 77: 32–48.

External links

  • cliffsnotes.com on Unferth

January 21, 2023
unferð, english, epic, poem, beowulf, unferth, hunferth, thegn, retainer, servant, danish, lord, hrothgar, appears, five, times, poem, four, times, name, hunferð, lines, 1165, 1488, once, appellation, eclafes, line, name, unferth, does, appear, english, manusc. In the Old English epic poem Beowulf Unferth or Hunferth is a thegn a retainer servant of the Danish lord Hrothgar He appears five times in the poem four times by the name Hunferd at lines 499 530 1165 and 1488 and once by the appellation the son of Eclafes at line 980 The name Unferth does not appear in any Old English manuscript outside of the Nowell Codex which contains Beowulf and the meaning of the name is disputed Several scholarly theories about Unferth have been proposed Unferth is also the name of a character in the modern novel Grendel by John Gardner based upon the Beowulf epic Beowulf replies haughtily to Hunferth 1910 by John Henry F Bacon Contents 1 Etymology 2 Appearances in Beowulf 2 1 Challenge of Beowulf lines 499 558 2 2 Change of heart lines 980 984 2 3 The King s spokesman lines 1165 1168 2 4 At the mere lines 1455 1472 2 5 Parting lines 1807 1812 3 Analysis in Beowulf 4 As social taunter 5 Modern influence 6 In film 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksEtymology EditUnferth s name can be understood in a number of ways A common reading by Morton W Bloomfield is to see it as un frith mar peace 1 similarly J R R Tolkien considered the name to mean Unpeace Quarrel or perhaps Unfriend 2 However Searle s Onomasticon Anglo Saxonicum lists several mentions of medieval historic personages such as bishops and archbishops named Hunfrith 3 Another reading by Fred C Robinson is to see it as un ferth no wit 4 Other scholars such as R D Fulk have suggested that Unferth s name should not be associated with frid peace but with ferhd which translates as soul spirit mind and life Fulk writes that it is difficult to assign significance to names in Beowulf because some of the characters involved are historical figures However Fulk argues that this can be done in the case of Unferth because the name Un ferth is not known to appear in history or in any manuscript other than the Nowell Codex 5 But the Chronicon Ex Chronicis a 12th century history of England variously attributed to Florence of Worcester Florentii Wigorniensis or to John of Worcester mentions an 8th century bishop of Winton whose name in Latin is given as Hunfridus and Hunfertho 6 The first element of the name un appears exclusively as hun in the sole manuscript of Beowulf Fred C Robinson suggests that this h is a Celtic scribal habit which indicates that u has a vocal function by adding an unpronounced graphic h 4 Fulk argues however that this use of the letter h does not appear anywhere else in the Beowulf manuscript 5 In Old English un usually functions as a negative prefix However in certain contexts the meaning must be interpreted as abnormally rather than not cf German Untiefe un depth which may mean either an excessive or an insufficient depth or Old English unhar very old This use of un could add new possibilities to the meaning of the name Unferth Despite the vast amount of research that has gone into the etymology of Unferth s name there can be no easy consensus about its meaning 5 Appearances in Beowulf EditUnferth appears a total of five times in Beowulf Challenge of Beowulf lines 499 558 Edit The first mention of Unferth in Beowulf Unferth first appears at line 499 Hunferd mathelode Ecglafes bearn the aet fotum saet frean Scyldinga Unferth spoke Ecglaf s son He who sat at the feet of the lord of the Scyldings The poet states that Unferth is envious of Beowulf s fame since Beowulf has offered to defeat the monster Grendel which Unferth has failed to do At line 506 Unferth impugns Beowulf bringing up the story of Beowulf s swimming contest with Breca the son of Beanstan Unferth makes fun of the young Beowulf s foolish decision to have a swimming or rowing contest in the North Sea ignoring all advice and declares that he lost He ends by predicting a bad result if Beowulf dares face Grendel Beowulf answers the challenge by boasting that he is the strongest swimmer in the world and entertains the company with a tale about how in that contest he swam the North Sea in full armor while carrying a sword killed nine huge sea monsters who dragged him to the ocean floor and was carried by the currents to the shore of the land of the Finns Beowulf says that he has never heard of anyone else having such a great sea fight as he had and then adds particularly that he has never heard such stories told of Unferth and in fact the story people tell about Unferth is how he killed his brothers for which Beowulf predicts Unferth will be tormented in Hell despite his cleverness Unferth silently concedes defeat and the feast continues Change of heart lines 980 984 Edit After Beowulf kills Grendel Unferth seems to have a change of heart When Beowulf hangs up Grendel s torn off arm at the door of Heorot the poet says that no man was more silent than Ecglaf s son and that he made no more boasting speeches The King s spokesman lines 1165 1168 Edit At the celebratory feast after the killing of Grendel the poet repeats that Unferth sat at the feet of the king and calls him a thyle also spelled dyle pronounced thyle see Analysis below The poet goes on to say that everyone knows of Unferth s courage and fealty though he did not show mercy to his kin in sword play At the mere lines 1455 1472 Edit When Grendel s mother attacks the hall the Danes and Geats pursue her to the mere where she lives As Beowulf arms himself to enter the mere Unferth lends him his sword Hrunting Unferth is here referred to as a dyle for the second and last time The poet says that Unferth did not bear in mind his earlier challenging insults that he had spoken when drunken but acknowledged that Beowulf was the better sword fighter The poet adds that Unferth did not dare to dive into the mere to attack Grendel s mother and thus his fame was lessened Beowulf is grateful for the loan however and at line 1488 he tells King Hrodgar that if he Beowulf does not return from the mere then his own sword should be given to Unferth Parting lines 1807 1812 Edit The morning after the celebratory feast on the occasion of Beowulf killing Grendel s mother Beowulf and his people prepare to return to their home Beowulf returns the sword Hrunting to Unferth praising the weapon and its owner he has no ill word for the sword although it had not helped him against Grendel s mother and he thanks Unferth for the loan This is Unferth s last appearance in the poem Analysis in Beowulf EditUnferth s presence in the poem has been a point of much scholarly debate He is called a thyle or dyle thyle the word occurs only twice once in line 1165 with th and then in line 1456 with d it seems most scholarly articles use the th a term related to Old Norse thul a court orator reciter or jester It is noticed that Unferth s brief remarks against Beowulf s youthful risk taking is a masterpiece of invective and yet there is no reprimand for it which suggests that it may have been part of Unferth s duties or practices to make a visitor defend his reputation 7 James L Rosier relying on Latin glosses in other Old English writings interpreted the word to suggest something villainous or scurrilous 8 This was however rejected by Ida M Hollowell who theorizes that the Anglo Saxon audience who immediately know what a thyle was and would even identify Unferth as such by his position at the feet of the king and it is someone innocuous or even worthy of respect She refers to another suggestion for the meaning of thyle a pagan priest making Unferth a priest of Woden confronted by a presumably Christian Beowulf 9 J D A Ogilvy similarly speculates that Unferth s post at the feet of the king demonstrate that he was some sort of entertainer and that he may have been a landless exile as a result of the misadventures with his kinsmen and given refuge by Hrothgar as had been done with Ecgtheow lines 459 472 10 Unferth only speaks once an insult aimed at Beowulf is described as intelligent and a kin slayer and is responsible for lending Beowulf his legendary yet ill fated sword Hrunting Kenneth Sisam argues that readers would be advised not to speculate beyond these basic facts as laid out by the poet 11 It should be kept in mind that although the sword provided by Unferth was ineffective against Grendel s mother we are told that this sword is an ancient treasure never had it failed but although it had sliced through many a helmet against Grendel s dam this was the first time that the glorious treasure failed Unferth had no reason to foresee this failure he gave his sword to Beowulf fully expecting it to be entirely successful Another thought comes from Carroll Rich who notes that the biblical tale of Cain and Abel is deeply woven into the poem and as Unferth is a character who is notorious for slaying his own brother a parallel might exist Rich observes that the depiction of Unferth as an envious fratricide makes clear the threat he poses to Beowulf and to a society dependent upon mutual trust 12 However Norman E Eliason suggests that the mention of Unferth s fratricide although apparently reiterated in line 1167 is not to be taken seriously but is a mere bit of billingsgate 13 Eliason s theory is that Unferth is an admirable character well intentioned despite the narrator s suggestions to the contrary 14 As social taunter EditThe social taunter non sequitur has many roles as has been stated by Thalia Phillies Feldman in her article The Taunter in Ancient Epic The Iliad Odyssey Aeneid and Beowulf In a society of kings and warriors the social taunter acts as the spokesman of the court revealer of truths means of social control and provocateur Unferth performs these functions thus fulfilling the role of social taunter He is able to do so mainly because of his characteristic fast tongue unabashed speech and wit The taunter as opposed to a satirist is able to make personal attacks on specific characters He reveals a character s flaws and failures that other court members may not be aware of or are too afraid to point out Unferth does this as he questions the events that took place during the swimming contest Because of Unferth s taunt Beowulf has no choice in fact it is part of his duty to defend his honour but to correct Unferth s version of the story and to rectify himself once again Unferth s taunt spurs Beowulf into action and reignites Hrothgar s and the people s faith in him Their exchange also provides dramatic tension between the hero s arrival and the fight with Grendel 15 Modern influence EditUnferth is also the anti hero of John Gardner s novel Grendel Portrayed as a boastful but weak willed warrior Unferth is mocked by Grendel for false piety hypocrisy and failing to live up to the ideals of the heroic culture that Unferth claims to embrace Late in the novel Unferth is mocked publicly by Beowulf In Gardner s adaptation of lines 580 607 of the epic Beowulf responds to Unferth s verbal attacks by reminding all present that no one sings of Unferth s courage and that Unferth is best known in the northern lands for having murdered his brothers Beowulf concludes by telling Unferth and assembled guests that Unferth will prowl the stalagmites of hell for his crime 16 In film EditIn the 1981 animated film Grendel Grendel Grendel Unferth voiced by Ric Stone captures Hrothgar in a bear pit and blackmails him into making him his heir Tension however arises from the two when Unferth falls in love with Wealhtheow and Hrothgar shows no sign of intending to keep his promise Unferth begins to plot against the king with the court minstrel but is murdered on Hrothgar s orders by Beowulf Unferth s role is expanded on in the 2007 animated film where he is played by John Malkovich In this film he is shown to be the king s advisor and openly hostile but also learned in the ways of Christianity he suggests to Hrothgar that they should also pray to the new Roman God Christ Jesus after Grendel attacks Heorot at the beginning of the film Deviating from the poem Unferth s sword melts when Beowulf is seduced by Grendel s mother forcing Beowulf to concoct a lie about having to leave his sword buried in Grendel s mother s corpse or else she would come back from the dead Unferth also remains in the story until the final act His family is killed in an attack by the dragon which then has Unferth deliver a message to Beowulf the sins of the fathers revealing that the dragon is the son of Beowulf and Grendel s mother In the film Unferth has a servant named Cain which he continually abuses for the slightest mistake Cain takes the role of the slave who upsets the dragon in the original story See also EditFlyting Heitstrenging Sir Kay WormtongueReferences Edit Bloomfield Morton W 1963 Nicholson Lewis E ed An Anthology of Beowulf Criticism University of Notre Dame Press pp 155 164 ISBN 9780268000066 Tolkien J R R 2015 Tolkien Christopher ed Beowulf A Translation and Commentary pp 209 amp 386 ISBN 9780544570306 Searle William George 1897 Onomasticon Anglo Saxonicum A list of Anglo Saxon proper names from the time of Beda to that of King John Cambridge University Press p 306 a b Robinson Fred C 1974 Elements of the Marvellous in the Characterization of Beowulf A Reconsideration of the Textual Evidence In Burlin Robert B Irving Edward B eds Old English Studies in Honour of John C Pope University of Toronto Press pp 127 131 ISBN 9780802021328 a b c Fulk R D 1987 Unferth and His Name Modern Philology 85 2 113 127 doi 10 1086 391610 JSTOR 437181 S2CID 162290157 Thorpe Benjamin ed 1848 Florentii Wigorniensis monachi Chronicon Ex Chronicis Chronicon ex chronicis Vol 1 English Historical Society pp 55 56 Eliason 1963 p 267 284 Rosier 1962 Hollowell sfn error no target CITEREFHollowell help Ogilvy 1964 Sisam Kenneth 1965 The Structure of Beowulf Clarendon p 41 OCLC 499266 Rich Carroll Y 1973 Unferth and Cain s Envy The South Central Bulletin 33 4 213 doi 10 2307 3187087 JSTOR 3187087 Eliason 1963 p 273 Eliason 1963 p 276 Feldman Thalia Phillies 1979 The Taunter in Ancient Epic The Iliad Odyssey Aeneid and Beowulf Papers on Language amp Literature 15 1 3 16 ISSN 0031 1294 via Academic Search Premier Gardner John 1989 Grendel Vintage pp 162 ISBN 9780679723110 Further reading EditBjork Robert E 1980 Unferth in the Hermeneutic Circle A Reappraisal of James L Rosier s Design for Treachery The Unferth Intrigue Papers on Language and Literature 16 133 41 Bjork Robert E 1998 Digressions and Episodes in Robert E Bjork John Niles eds A Beowulf Handbook University of Nebraska Press pp 193 212 pages 205 208 especially Boenig Robert 1992 Very Sharp Unsharp Unpeace Firm Peace Morphemic Ambiguity in Beowulf Neophilologus 76 2 275 82 doi 10 1007 bf00210175 S2CID 162232956 Bonjour Adrien 1965 The Digressions in Beowulf Oxford University Press pp 17 24 Bonjour Adrien 1962 Unferth A Return to Orthodoxy in Adrien Bonjour ed Twelve Beowulf Papers 1940 1960 Neuchatel pp 129 33 Church A P 2000 Beowulf s ane ben and the Rhetorical Context of the Hunferth Episode Rhetorica 18 49 78 doi 10 1525 rh 2000 18 1 49 Clover Carol J 1980 The Germanic Context of the Unferth Episode Speculum 55 3 444 68 doi 10 2307 2847235 JSTOR 2847235 S2CID 163023116 Einarsson S 1934 Old English Beot and Old Icelandic Heitstrenging PMLA 39 4 975 93 Eliason Norman E 1963 The thyle and Scop in Beowulf Speculum 38 2 267 284 doi 10 2307 2852453 JSTOR 2852453 S2CID 163024394 Enright Michael J 1998 The Warband Context of the Unferth Episode Speculum 73 2 297 337 doi 10 2307 2887155 JSTOR 2887155 S2CID 162666793 Hardy Adelaide 1969 The Christian Hero Beowulf and Unferd THyle Neophilologus 53 1 55 69 doi 10 1007 bf01511690 S2CID 162154877 Hollowell Ida Masters 1976 Unferd the thyle in Beowulf Studies in Philology 73 239 65 Hughes Geoffrey 1977 Beowulf Unferth and Hrunting An Interpretation English Studies 58 5 385 95 doi 10 1080 00138387708597845 Kabell Aage 1979 Unferd und die danischen Biersitten Arkiv for Nordisk Filologi 94 31 41 Martin Clarke D E 1936 The Office of Thyle in Beowulf The Review of English Studies 12 45 61 6 doi 10 1093 res os XII 45 61 Nagy Michael S 1996 A Reassessment of Unferth s Fratricide in Beowulf Proceedings of the Medieval Association of the Midwest 3 15 30 Ogilvy J D A 1964 Unferth Foil to Beowulf PMLA 79 4 370 5 doi 10 2307 460742 JSTOR 460742 S2CID 163905593 Pope John C 1986 Beowulf 505 gehedde and the Pretensions of Unferth in Phyllis R Brown Georgia R Crampton Fred C Robinson eds Modes of Interpretation in Old English Literature Essays in Honour of Stanley B Greenfield pp 173 87 Roberts Jane 1980 Old English un very and Unferth English Studies 61 4 289 92 doi 10 1080 00138388008598054 Rosier James L 1962 Design for Treachery The Unferth Intrigue PMLA 77 1 1 7 doi 10 2307 460680 JSTOR 460680 S2CID 163772075 Silber Patricia 1981 Rhetoric as Prowess in the Unferd Episode Texas Studies in Literature and Language 23 471 83 Vaughan M F 1976 A Reconsideration of Unferth Neuphilologische Mitteilungen 77 32 48 External links Editcliffsnotes com on Unferth 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