There is a
possible
play on the
word lāf (Wīg-_lāf_, ende-_lāf_).
Beowulf
MS. reads wæteres weorpan, which R. would change to wætere
sweorfan.
l. 2806. "Men saw from its height the whales tumbling in the waves, and
called it Whale's Ness (Hrones-nǣs)."--Br. p. 28. Cf. l. 3137.
l. 2815. Wīglāf was the next of kin, the last of the race, and hence the
recipient of Beowulf's kingly insignia.
There is a
possible
play on the
word lāf (Wīg-_lāf_, ende-_lāf_).
l. 2818. gingeste word; cf. _novissima verba_, and Ger. _jüngst_, lately.
l. 2837. E. translates on lande, _in the world_, comparing _on līfe, on
worulde_.
l. 2840. gerǣsde = pret. of gerǣsan (omitted from the Gloss.), same as
rǣsan; cf. l.
