PROLOG

It is an extreme, heightened set-up, I say: the whole hostage-taking, life-imperiled prolog.

And first of the Prolog of the first fyndyng, and interpretacioun of the said Buke out of diuerse langagis, etc.

The poem is relieved of all the episodes except the prolog and King Hrothgars discourse.

It will be found that only two of the episodes are passed without mention—the Prolog and the Tale of Thrytho.

The history of that town, from 258 to 142, is enveloped in almost total darkness: cf. Prolog.