As you'll remember, this Beowulf project purports to establish what I guess I will call an intermediary or transitional Beowulf text.
At this stage, the first pass through the text, I'm accounting for manuscript points by rendering them as dashes. I account for small caps by making them new paragraphs. I am not lineating, and I am not introducing capital letters or other punctuation that I don't see in the manuscript/facsimile.
Fitt #4 is an unusual section. There seem to be more points in this section than in the previous ones. There is no break anywhere, that is, no place where a small cap comes in. In two instances, we get an "a" with a diacritical mark.
Take note of this fitt, friends.
Him se yldesta ondswarode werodes wisa wordhord onleac we synt gumcynnes geata leode ond higelaces heorðgeneatas – wæs min fæder folcum gecyþed æþele ordfruma ecgþeow haten – gebâd wintra worn ær he on weg hwurfe – gamol of geardum hine gearwe geman witena welhwylc wide geond eorþan – we þurh holdne hige hlaford þinne sunu healfdenes secean cwomon leodgebyrgean wes þu us larena god – habbað we to þæm mæran micel ærende deniga frean – ne sceal þær dyrne sum wesan þæs ic wene þu wast gif hit is swa we – soþlice secgan hyrdon þæt mid scyldingum sceaðona ic nat hwylc – deogol dædhata deorcum nihtum eaweð þurh egsan uncuðne nið hynðu ond hrafyl ic þæs hroðgar mæg þurh rumne sefan ræd gelæran –hu he frod – ond god feond oferswyðeþ gyf him edwendan æfre scolde – bealuwa bisigu bot eft cuman ond þa cearwylmas colran wurðaþ oððe a syþðan earfoðþrage þreanyd þolað þenden þær wunað on heahstede husa selest – weard maþelode ðær on wicge sæt ombeht unforht æghwæþres sceal scearp scyldwiga gescad witan worda ond worca se þe wel þenceð ic þæt gehyre þæt þis is hold weorod frean scyldinga gewitaþ forð beran wæpen ond gewædu ic eow wisige swylce ic maguþegnas mine hate wið feonda gehwone flotan eowerne niwtyrwydne nacan on sande arum healdan oþðæt eft byreð ofer lagustreamas leofne mannan wudu wundenhals to wedermearce godfremmendra swylcum gifeþe bið þæt þone hilderæs hâl gedigeð – gewiton him þa feran flota stille bad seomode on sale sidfæþmed scip on ancre fæst eoforlic scionon ofer hleorbergan gehroden golde fah ond fyrheard ferhwearde heold guþmod grimmon guman onetton sigon ætsomne oþþæt hy sæl timbred – geatolic ond goldfah ongyton mihton – þæt wæs foremærost foldbuendum receda under roderum on þæm se rica bad – lixte se leoma ofer landa fela – him þa hildedeor hof modigra torht getæhte þæt hie him to mihton gegnum gangan guðbeorna sum wicg gewende word æfter cwæð – mæl is me to feran fæder alwalda mid arstafum eowic gehealde –siða gesunde ic to sæ wille wið wrað werod wearde healdan.This is perhaps the time to note that I have not yet "de-emended" the text. This version has whatever emendations the ASPR editors adopted. When I go through a second pass of the text, I'll need to have a strategy for how to deal with these cases. Opinions welcome on this.