Nu [ƿ]ue sc[iu]lun[2] herga hefunricaes [ƿ]ueard,
metudaes mechti, and his modgedanc[3],
[ƿ]uerc [ƿ]uldurfadur— suae[4] he [ƿ]undra gihuaes,
5 He aerist scoop eordu[5] bearnum
hefen[6] to hrofe, halig sceppend;
1a [ƿ]ue] pue Di puc P1 Br. 1a sc[iu]lun] scwlun Di scinlun Br scııılııı P1. 1a herga] horga Br. 1b hefunricaes] hesimruicaes Br hesıııȷrıııcaes P1. 1b [ƿ]ueard] pueard Di P1 Br. 2a metudaes] metundaes Br ıııetııııdaes P1. 2a mechti] ıııechtı P1. 2b modgedanc] modgedauc Br modgedeanc Di. 3a [ƿ]uerc] puerc Di puere P1 Br. 3a [ƿ]uldurfadur] puldurfudur Di fadur P1 Br. 3b he] hae Di. 3b [ƿ]undra] pundra Di Br puııdra P1. 3b gihuaes] gihnaes Br. 4a drichtin] drıchtııı P1. 4b astalde] astnlde Br. 5a He] her P1. 5a aerist] aeırst P1 uaerst Di. 5b bearnum] pearıııım P1 peannum Br. 6a hefen] efen Di P1. 7a [ð]a] dā P1 da̽ Br da Di. 7a middu[n]geard] mıddumgeard Di P1 middumgaerd Br. 7b moncinnes] moneinnes Br moııeıııııes P1. 7b [ƿ]eard] peard Di P1 Br. 8a eci] eeı P1 Br. 8a drichtin] drıchtıııı P1 drıntın Di. 8b aefter] cefter Di. 8b tiade] ciade Br. 9a firum] fırııııȷ P1. 9a on] ol P1 Br. 9b frea] fre Br. 9b allmechtig] allıııechtıg P1.
[1]None of the scribes responsible for copying this recension appear to have understood their text. See §§ 7.8 and 7.42 for a discussion of the editorial conventions used in establishing the text of this recension.
[2]sc[iu]lun] Wuest 1906 reads scuilun. Smith 1978, Dobbie 1937, O’Donnell 1996b read sciulun. See §§ 7.36, above; O’Donnell 1996b, 159; Cavill 2000, 513.
[3]modgedanc] Wuest 1906 and Dobbie 1937 have a medial <ð> in this word. Smith 1978 and O’Donnell 1996b both read <d>. See §§ 7.36-7.40, above; O’Donnell 1996b, 159-160; Cavill 2000, 513.
[4]suae] Howlett suggests that suae may be intended as an adverb (“thus”) rather than a causal conjunction (“as, because”). For a discussion of the evidence, see above, § C.9. The punctuation here assumes suae is a conjunction.
[5]eordu] Dobbie 1937 reads eorðu. Wuest 1906, Smith 1978, and O’Donnell 1996b read eordu. See §§ 7.36-7.40, above; O’Donnell 1996b, 159-160; Cavill 2000, 513.
[6]hefen] Wuest 1906, Dobbie 1937, and Smith 1978, none of whom had access to Br, omit the initial <h> on the authority of Di and P1. The letter is added here and in O’Donnell 1996b on the basis of the reading in Br. See §§ 7.41 above.
[7][ð]a] Wuest 1906, Dobbie 1937, and O’Donnell 1996b read ða; Smith 1978 reads da. See above, §§ 7.36-7.40, above; O’Donnell 1996b, 159-160; Cavill 2000, 513.
ða can be construed as either a causal conjunction (“when”) or an adverb (“then”). While the reading has considerable effect on our understanding of the poem’s structure and theology (see above, § C.9, and esp. Blockley 1998, 20-26), neither reading can be ruled out conclusively. The punctuation in this edition follows that of most modern editions in treating ða as an adverb.
[8]middu[n]geard] <um> for expected <un> may go back to the original exemplar of this tradition. Although as Cavill notes, “the addition of an extra minim in a sequence such as -un- is one of the commoner scribal mistakes” in this tradition (Cavill 2000, 519), this is the only example in the recension in which all surviving manuscripts agree in the error.