Freawaru

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A princess in the Old English epic Beowulf, the daughter of King Hrothgar of the Danes, whose marriage to Ingeld is meant to end a feud
2. The Danish king Hrothgar's daughter in the Old English poem Beowulf, given in marriage to the Heathobard prince Ingeld as a peace pledge
3. In the Old English epic Beowulf, a royal daughter of Hrothgar who is wed to Ingeld in an attempt to reconcile two feuding peoples

Etymology: Freawaru is a name, not a common word, and it appears in only one surviving Old English poem. She is the daughter of Hrothgar, the Danish king in "Beowulf", and she is promised in marriage to Ingeld, prince of the Heathobards, to end a long feud between their peoples. The poet pauses his story to predict that the peace will fail. Old wrongs will resurface at a feast, when a young Dane's pride in an old heirloom sparks a fight, and Ingeld will be drawn back into war. The name is built from two Old English elements. "Frēa" meant lord or master, and "wǣr" meant faithful, true, or wary, so the name probably means something like "lady of faithfulness" or "faithful lady." This is a reasonable reading of the parts, though the exact sense of the whole name is not certain.