Modþryð - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Modthryth, Thryth and Fremu are reconstructed names for a character who figures as the queen of King Offa in Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...

.

Naming problem: Modthryth, Thryth or Fremu?

The reason for the usage of both Thryth and the compound name Modthryth is that the latter name is an emendation by Klaeber http://www.mun.ca/mst/heroicage/issues/5/Osborn2.html. Mod appears just before Þryð on line 1932 of the poem, where she is introduced, and scholars are divided as to whether mod is part of her name, or a separate word.

The queen of the eighth-century Mercian king Offa in the thirteenth-century Vitae duorum Offarum
Vitae duorum Offarum
The Vitae duorum Offarum "The lives of the two Offas" is a literary history written in the mid-thirteenth century, apparently by the St Albans monk Matthew Paris.-Account:...

, which portrays both this Offa and his fifth-century namesake, is called Quendrida, a somewhat flawed Latin rendering of Cynethryth

Cynethryth

Cynethryth was the wife of Offa of Mercia and mother of Ecgfrith of Mercia. Cynethryth is the only Anglo-Saxon Queen consort in whose name coinage was definitely issued.-Origins and marriage:...

, the actual name of Offa's wife. The author, moreover, etymologised the word as consisting of the words quen 'queen' and the personal name Drida: Quendrida, id est regina Drida. This parallel has sometimes been taken as a further argument that the Offa of Beowulf had a queen called Thryth and that the passage was intended as a veiled reference to the eighth-century queen.

More recently, R.D. Fulk has challenged the long-held view that the queen was named either Modthryth or Thryth, pointing out difficulties with the ending -o, its implications for the overall syntax, and the weaknesses of the Drida argument. Instead, he revives the suggestion made by Ernst A. Kock in 1920 that fremu is not an adjective modifying folces cwen "the people's princess" and meaning "excellent" (which would be inappropriate at this stage of the narrative), but her actual name. On the basis of such parallels as higeþryðe wæg "bore arrogance" (Old English Genesis A line 2240b), he likewise treats Mod þryðo as a common noun, although this necessitates an emendation of the ending -o to -a.

From wicked princess to virtuous queen

The relevant passage immediately follows, almost interrupts, a favourable description of Hygelac's queen Hygd

Hygd

Queen Hygd, introduced in line 1925 of the poem Beowulf, is the wife of King Hygelac of Geatland.After Beowulf defeats Grendel and Grendel's mother, he and his men returned to their native country, where they are received by Hygelac and Hygd. Hygd is beautiful, wise, courteous, and attentive...

. First, the portrayal focuses on the princess's character in her early days before her marriage to Offa. She is a powerful and vengeful woman who punishes any man beneath her station who dares to look her directly in the eye:

Old English text (lines 1931b-1943)

[...] Mod Þryðo wæg,

fremu folces cwen, firen ondrysne.

Nænig þæt dorste deor geneþan

swæsra gesiða, nefne sinfrea,

þæt hire an dæges eagum starede;

ac him wælbende weotode tealde,

handgewriþene; hraþe seoþðan wæs

æfter mundgripe mece geþinged,

þæt hit sceadenmæl scyran moste,

cwealmbealu cyðan. Ne bið swylc cwenlic þeaw

idese to efnanne, þeah ðe hio ænlicu sy,

þætte freoðuwebbe feores onsæce

æfter ligetorne leofne mannan.

Translation by Michael Swanton
Michael Swanton
Michael James Swanton is a British literary critic, translator, archaeologist and historian specializing in Old English literature and the Anglo-Saxon period....

(p. 127)

[...] "Thryth,

imperious queen of the nation, showed haugtiness,

a terrible sin. There was no brave man

among the dear companions, save for her overlord,

who by day dared venture to gaze at her with his eyes;

but he might reckon deadly fetters,

twisted by hand, assured for him;

that after seizure, the sword would be prescribed,

the patterned blade should settle it,

make known a violent death. Such a thing is no queenly custom

for a lady to practise, peerless though she may be -

that a 'peace-weaver' should take the life of a beloved man

on account of a fancied insult."

Loose translation by R.D. Fulk (first lines, p. 628)

[...] It was with arrogance

that Fremu, a princess of the people, acted,

with terrible wickedness; there was none so bold

among her own companions, save her great lord,

that he dared venture to lay eyes on her by day.

She changes her ways after being married to Offa

Offa of Angel

Offa was the 4th-great-grandfather of Creoda of Mercia, and was reputed to be a great-grandson of Woden, English god of war and poetry and creator of Middle-Earth, the realm of man. Offa was the son of Wermund, and the father of Angeltheow...

, becoming a gracious hostess and gaining fame for her good deeds and devotion to her husband:

Old English text (lines 1944-1962)

Huru þæt onhohsnode Hemminges mæg.

Ealodrincende oðer sædan,

þæt hio leodbealewa læs gefremede,

inwitniða, syððan ærest wearð

gyfen goldhroden geongum cempan,

æðelum diore, syððan hio Offan flet

ofer fealone flod be fæder lare

siðe gesohte. Đær hio syððan well

in gumstole, gode mære,

lifgesceafta lifigende breac,

hiold heahlufan wið hæleþa brego,

ealles moncynnes mine gefræge

þone selestan bi sæm tweonum,

eormencynnes. Forðam Offa wæs

geofum ond guðum, garcene man

wide geweorðod; wisdome heold

eðel sinne. Þonon Eomer woc

hæleðum to helpe, Hemminges mæg,

nefa Garmundes, niða cræftig.

Translation by Michael Swanton (pp. 127-9)

"However, Hemming's kinsman put a stop to that.

Those drinking ale told another tale -

that she brought about fewer acts of malice,

injuries to the people, as soon as she was given,

adorned with gold, to the young champion,

the dear prince, when at her father's bidding

she sought out Offa's hall in a journey

across the yellowish flood. There she subsequently occupied

the throne well, famous for virtue,

while living made good use of the life destined for her,

maintained a profound love for the chief of heroes -

the best, as I have heard,

of all mankind, of the entire race

between the seas. Indeed, Offa,

a spear-bold man, was widely honoured

for gifts and battles; he held his homeland

with wisdom. Thence sprang Eomer,

to be a help to the heroes - a kinsman of Hemming,

grandson of Garmund, skilful in conflicts."

The poet juxtaposes the vice of the queen with the virtues of Hygd

Hygd

(introduced a few lines prior in l. 1926), not only condemning Modthryth's behavior but reinforcing the idea that it is the role of a queen to be a freoðuwebbe or "peaceweaver" (lines 1940-1944).

Based on the similarity of name, the portrayal of 'Thryth' has been interpreted as an attack upon Offa of Mercia

Offa of Mercia

Offa was the King of Mercia from 757 until his death in July 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of Æthelbald after defeating the other claimant Beornred. In the early years of Offa's reign it is likely...

's wife Cynethryth

Cynethryth

Cynethryth was the wife of Offa of Mercia and mother of Ecgfrith of Mercia. Cynethryth is the only Anglo-Saxon Queen consort in whose name coinage was definitely issued.-Origins and marriage:...

Primary sources

Beowulf, ed. and tr. Michael Swanton
Michael Swanton
Michael James Swanton is a British literary critic, translator, archaeologist and historian specializing in Old English literature and the Anglo-Saxon period....

, Beowulf. 2nd ed. New York, 1997. Swanton's prose translation is re-arranged as verse-lines above.

Naming problem: Modthryth, Thryth or Fremu?

From wicked princess to virtuous queen

See also

Primary sources

Further reading