All 4 Uses
guile
in
Beowulf
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- Beowulf speaks, tells how he would give his armour to his son if he had one; thanks God that he has not sworn falsely or done guilefully; and prays Wiglaf to bear out the treasure that he may see it before he dies.†
*
- There Finn unto Hengest
Strongly, unstrifeful, with oath-swearing swore,
That he the woe-leaving by the doom of the wise ones
Should hold in ail honour, that never man henceforth
With word or with work the troth should be breaking, 1100
Nor through craft of the guileful should undo it ever,
Though their ring-giver's bane they must follow in rank
All lordless, e'en so need is it to be:
But if any of Frisians by over-bold speaking
The murderful hatred should call unto mind,
Then naught but the edge of the sword should avenge it.†guileful = full of cunning (shrewdness and cleverness, and perhaps deceit) - Borne to him then the cup was, and therewith friendly bidding
In words was put forth; and gold about wounden
All blithely they bade him bear; arm-gearings twain,
Rail and rings, the most greatest of fashion of neck-rings
Of them that on earth I have ever heard tell of:
Not one under heaven wrought better was heard of
Midst the hoard-gems of heroes, since bore away Hama
To the bright burg and brave the neck-gear of the Brisings,
The gem and the gem-chest: from the foeman's guile fled he 1200
Of Eormenric then, and chose rede everlasting.† - Therefore the Heathobards' faith I account not,
Their deal of the folk-peace, unguileful to Danes,
Their fast-bounden friendship.†unguileful = without cunning (shrewdness and cleverness, and perhaps deceit)standard prefix: The prefix "un-" in unguileful means not and reverses the meaning of guileful. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
Definitions:
-
(1)
(guile) cunning (shrewdness and cleverness) and deceitful
- (2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)