called by Sievers C2: on fæder béarme, ofer lágu-stráte, hū pa ddelingas, the second arsis, however, can be resolved (aufgelöst) only when the first arsis also is represented by two short syllables: tō brímes fárođe, swā féla fýrena.

The final thesis is monosyllabic, as in type A. The initial thesis, as in type B, generally contains two or more syllables, e.g. oft Scyld Scefing, pone god sende, ofer hron-rāde, hū þā ædelingas, þæt him his wine-māgas, pāra þe he cenoste etc.

From the normal types C1 and C2 the so-called shortened type C3 must be distinguished. Here the second beat falls not on a long syllable, but on a short one (see above § 28): xlúx, e.g. on béarm scípes, in geár-dágum, hwat we Gár-Déna. In this case the first arsis may not be resolved. As a rule only the first arsis of the first as well as of the second half-verse alliterates: pone god sende, on bearm scipes ofer hron-rāde, pe on

land Dena.

Double alliteration in the first half-verse is rare: oft Scyld Scefing, swă sceal geong guma, in worold wōcun; still rarer is simple alliteration on the second hebung: was min fæder, gesloh pin fæder.

§ 33. Type D.

Types D and E are rarer than types A, B and C. Some 16% of the verses in Beowulf are D verses, of which the majority (11%) belong to D1, the other 5% to D2 (D4). To type E about

5% of the verses of Beowulf belong. Type D1 is about equally distributed in the two half-verses; types D2 and E, on the other hand, are more frequently found in the second half-verse than in the first.

Type D falls into two divisions, according as the subsidiary accent rests on the second or third member of the foot with three members:

D1: 1× féond | máncỳnnes.

D2: 12×1 blæd | wide spràng.

Later Sievers called the latter type D4, and introduced D2 and D3 as varieties of D1, in which either the nebenhebung or the second haupthebung is represented by a short syllable (shortened D1), D2: 1× léof lánd-frùma

D3: lú±× þéod-cýninga.

In this book the older and more practical D2 for the type: blad wide sprang (= Sievers' D4) is retained.

In type D, of course, resolved stress of the first two arses is allowed, e.g. fromum feohgiftum, heall heoru-dreore, hroden ealo-wage

Beorht-Dena

brego

flota stille bad, wlanc Wedera leod. By the introduction of a thesis after the first haupthebung type D may be 'expanded' ('erweitert') to a verse of five members (fünfgliedriger Vers). We then get types consisting of one foot with two members and of one foot with three members (2+3):

D1*: ×× side sæ-nàssas, hwétton híge-ròfne, D2*: 2×× máre méarc-stapa,

D**: 2×2×1 grette Géata leod, ýdde éotena cỳn. These 'expanded' D-verses with five members occur only in the first half-verse.

The final thesis of D1, D2, D3 is always monosyllabic, as in the A and C types (see examples above); but the inner thesis of D1 may be disyllabic: séon sibbe-gedrìht, atol yda geswing. Occasionally anacrusis is found: ge|sægd sõđlice.

In the second half-verse the first arsis only of D verses alliterates: feond mancynnes, sunu Healfdenes blad wide sprang. In the first half-verse, however, double alliteration of the first two arses is more frequent than simple alliteration of the first arsis: min mon-drihten, heall heoru-drēore; leof land-fruma; mare mearc-stapa, side să-næssas wlanc Wedera leod, flota famig-heals, grette să-līdende, cwēn Hrōdgāres, þēod

Geata leod cyninga etc.

§ 34. Type E.

Type E falls into two divisions according to the position of the subsidiary stress of the foot with three members:

E1: 2×2 wéord-myndum þáh,

E2: 2x mórdor-bèd stréd.

But E2 is rare, so is shortening of the nebenhebung: Luxl, béag-hròden cun.

The first and second haupthebung may be resolved:

The inner

wlite-beorhtne wang, să-manna searo. thesis may contain two syllables: Welandes geweorc, worold-are forgeaf.

In the second half-line only the first arsis alliterates: weord-myndum þāh; in the first half-line only the first arsis can alliterate, if the alliteration is simple: heal-ærna mæst; more frequently double alliteration of the two haupthebungen occurs: murnende mod, wlite-beorhtne wang.

§ 35. The Combination of two Types to form a Long Line.

Any two types may be combined to form a long line, e.g. Beow. 47-52:

hæled under heofenum,

hwa þæm hlæste onfeng. (A-B)

It is comparatively rare that a long line consists of two like types, as e.g. Beow. 1:

Hwæt! we Gār-Dena in gear-dagum.

(C-C)

NOTE. It has already been mentioned (§ 30 ff.) that some types are found chiefly in the first or in the second halfverse; that A2, A3 and the 'expanded' D-verses occur generally only in the first half-verse.

§ 36. Criticism of Sievers' System.

Sievers has rendered a great service to English prosody. He recognized the rhythmical series',

which Lachmann (§ 17) unclearly pointed out, in his five types. At the same time he has established beyond doubt the number four as being the measure of the Germanic alliterative verses. It is a pity that Sievers started out from the two-beat theory. If Sievers had brought his four members into harmony with Lachmann's four beats, he would have established his system on a firm basis and avoided many a peculiarity of his types, which seems inexplicable.

Later, indeed, (Altgerm. Metrik § 139 ff., Paul's Grundriss II, 1, 869 ff.) he brought his types into connection with the eight-syllable verses of the Old Indian Gayatrî-stanza, and derived them from an Indo-Germanic verse of the form ×××××××× by a gradation in strength (Stärkeabstufung') of the individual beats. But he did not recognize that the same four beats are still found in Old Germanic alliterative verse in various gradation in strength. He allowed himself to be misled by Saran into seeing the cause of the fall of the two weaker hebungen to 'senkungen' in the assumed transition in the delivery of verse from the song to the recitation. And thus he found a connection with the two-beat theory. In my Studien zum germ. Alliterationsvers I § 5-8 I have already shown that OE. verse can have been no spoken verse ('Sprechvers') in the modern sense of the word, and that an eventual transition from a delivery by singing to one by recitation could not have the effect