Wealhþēow (pronounced [ˈwæɑlxθeːow]) (also rendered Wealhtheow or Wealthow) is a legendary queen of the Danes in the Old English poem, Beowulf, first introduced in line 612.
She is the Wulfing queen of the Danes. She is married to Hroðgar, the Danish king and is the mother of sons Hreðric and Hroðmund and also of daughter Freawaru. The meaning of her name is disputed. One possible translation is "foreign slave" (Hill, 1990).
In her marriage to Hr...
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Wealhþēow (pronounced [ˈwæɑlxθeːow]) (also rendered Wealhtheow or Wealthow) is a legendary queen of the Danes in the Old English poem, Beowulf, first introduced in line 612.
She is the Wulfing queen of the Danes. She is married to Hroðgar, the Danish king and is the mother of sons Hreðric and Hroðmund and also of daughter Freawaru. The meaning of her name is disputed. One possible translation is "foreign slave" (Hill, 1990).
In her marriage to Hroðgar she is described as friðusibb folca (l. 1168), 'the kindred pledge of peace between peoples', signifying the Wulfing and Scylding interdynastic allegiance. Hence she is termed 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 Hroðgar with England. The Skjöldunga saga, in Arngrímur Jónsson's abstract, chapter 3, tells that Hroðgar (Roas) married the daughter of an English king. The Hrolfs saga kraka,...
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