What are the tabs/spaces for in the Beowulf text

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Here and other places they have strange spacing as seen in the picture:



enter image description here



Wondering what it means and what the purpose of it / if it's necessary or has some significance.






literature anglo-saxons







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    up vote
    4
    down vote

    favorite












    Here and other places they have strange spacing as seen in the picture:



    enter image description here



    Wondering what it means and what the purpose of it / if it's necessary or has some significance.






    literature anglo-saxons







    share|improve this question

























      up vote
      4
      down vote

      favorite









      up vote
      4
      down vote

      favorite











      Here and other places they have strange spacing as seen in the picture:



      enter image description here



      Wondering what it means and what the purpose of it / if it's necessary or has some significance.






      literature anglo-saxons







      share|improve this question















      Here and other places they have strange spacing as seen in the picture:



      enter image description here



      Wondering what it means and what the purpose of it / if it's necessary or has some significance.






      literature anglo-saxons




      literature anglo-saxons






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited 56 mins ago









      sempaiscuba♦

      42.1k4148187




      42.1k4148187










      asked 2 hours ago









      Lance Pollard

      579127




      579127




















          1 Answer
          1






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          up vote
          6
          down vote



          accepted










          The spacing divides the 'half-lines' of the poem. This is fundamental to Old English metre, where each line of the poem consists of two half-lines, connected by alliteration.



          If you are interested, the Electronic Beowulf edition, that you have linked in the question, has a section describing the meter of the poem.




          By clicking the Meter option, the student may choose to have tooltips for any or all of the five different prevailing metrical theories.




          The meter option can be selected from the Options pane on the left of the viewer:



          meter option






          share|improve this answer






















          • Wondering if the spacing (not the concept of the half-line) is a modern invention, because I'm looking at the tablet in the link to Beowulf and don't see any spaces there. Wondering if it could be "implemented" in other ways, such as a new indented line, or however you want. Or if it must be a larger space like that.
            – Lance Pollard
            13 mins ago











          • The spacing is simply a modern way of representing the half-lines in a printed text as a way of preserving the Old English metre. The original bards wouldn't have required it since it would have been memorised (and the earliest surviving manuscript (Cotton Vitellius A in the British Library), which may have been written almost 300 years after the poem was composed, doesn't even have breaks at the end of full-lines).
            – sempaiscuba♦
            2 mins ago










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          1 Answer
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          active

          oldest

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          1 Answer
          1






          active

          oldest

          votes









          active

          oldest

          votes






          active

          oldest

          votes








          up vote
          6
          down vote



          accepted










          The spacing divides the 'half-lines' of the poem. This is fundamental to Old English metre, where each line of the poem consists of two half-lines, connected by alliteration.



          If you are interested, the Electronic Beowulf edition, that you have linked in the question, has a section describing the meter of the poem.




          By clicking the Meter option, the student may choose to have tooltips for any or all of the five different prevailing metrical theories.




          The meter option can be selected from the Options pane on the left of the viewer:



          meter option






          share|improve this answer






















          • Wondering if the spacing (not the concept of the half-line) is a modern invention, because I'm looking at the tablet in the link to Beowulf and don't see any spaces there. Wondering if it could be "implemented" in other ways, such as a new indented line, or however you want. Or if it must be a larger space like that.
            – Lance Pollard
            13 mins ago











          • The spacing is simply a modern way of representing the half-lines in a printed text as a way of preserving the Old English metre. The original bards wouldn't have required it since it would have been memorised (and the earliest surviving manuscript (Cotton Vitellius A in the British Library), which may have been written almost 300 years after the poem was composed, doesn't even have breaks at the end of full-lines).
            – sempaiscuba♦
            2 mins ago














          up vote
          6
          down vote



          accepted










          The spacing divides the 'half-lines' of the poem. This is fundamental to Old English metre, where each line of the poem consists of two half-lines, connected by alliteration.



          If you are interested, the Electronic Beowulf edition, that you have linked in the question, has a section describing the meter of the poem.




          By clicking the Meter option, the student may choose to have tooltips for any or all of the five different prevailing metrical theories.




          The meter option can be selected from the Options pane on the left of the viewer:



          meter option






          share|improve this answer






















          • Wondering if the spacing (not the concept of the half-line) is a modern invention, because I'm looking at the tablet in the link to Beowulf and don't see any spaces there. Wondering if it could be "implemented" in other ways, such as a new indented line, or however you want. Or if it must be a larger space like that.
            – Lance Pollard
            13 mins ago











          • The spacing is simply a modern way of representing the half-lines in a printed text as a way of preserving the Old English metre. The original bards wouldn't have required it since it would have been memorised (and the earliest surviving manuscript (Cotton Vitellius A in the British Library), which may have been written almost 300 years after the poem was composed, doesn't even have breaks at the end of full-lines).
            – sempaiscuba♦
            2 mins ago












          up vote
          6
          down vote



          accepted







          up vote
          6
          down vote



          accepted






          The spacing divides the 'half-lines' of the poem. This is fundamental to Old English metre, where each line of the poem consists of two half-lines, connected by alliteration.



          If you are interested, the Electronic Beowulf edition, that you have linked in the question, has a section describing the meter of the poem.




          By clicking the Meter option, the student may choose to have tooltips for any or all of the five different prevailing metrical theories.




          The meter option can be selected from the Options pane on the left of the viewer:



          meter option






          share|improve this answer














          The spacing divides the 'half-lines' of the poem. This is fundamental to Old English metre, where each line of the poem consists of two half-lines, connected by alliteration.



          If you are interested, the Electronic Beowulf edition, that you have linked in the question, has a section describing the meter of the poem.




          By clicking the Meter option, the student may choose to have tooltips for any or all of the five different prevailing metrical theories.




          The meter option can be selected from the Options pane on the left of the viewer:



          meter option







          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited 22 mins ago

























          answered 2 hours ago









          sempaiscuba♦

          42.1k4148187




          42.1k4148187











          • Wondering if the spacing (not the concept of the half-line) is a modern invention, because I'm looking at the tablet in the link to Beowulf and don't see any spaces there. Wondering if it could be "implemented" in other ways, such as a new indented line, or however you want. Or if it must be a larger space like that.
            – Lance Pollard
            13 mins ago











          • The spacing is simply a modern way of representing the half-lines in a printed text as a way of preserving the Old English metre. The original bards wouldn't have required it since it would have been memorised (and the earliest surviving manuscript (Cotton Vitellius A in the British Library), which may have been written almost 300 years after the poem was composed, doesn't even have breaks at the end of full-lines).
            – sempaiscuba♦
            2 mins ago
















          • Wondering if the spacing (not the concept of the half-line) is a modern invention, because I'm looking at the tablet in the link to Beowulf and don't see any spaces there. Wondering if it could be "implemented" in other ways, such as a new indented line, or however you want. Or if it must be a larger space like that.
            – Lance Pollard
            13 mins ago











          • The spacing is simply a modern way of representing the half-lines in a printed text as a way of preserving the Old English metre. The original bards wouldn't have required it since it would have been memorised (and the earliest surviving manuscript (Cotton Vitellius A in the British Library), which may have been written almost 300 years after the poem was composed, doesn't even have breaks at the end of full-lines).
            – sempaiscuba♦
            2 mins ago















          Wondering if the spacing (not the concept of the half-line) is a modern invention, because I'm looking at the tablet in the link to Beowulf and don't see any spaces there. Wondering if it could be "implemented" in other ways, such as a new indented line, or however you want. Or if it must be a larger space like that.
          – Lance Pollard
          13 mins ago





          Wondering if the spacing (not the concept of the half-line) is a modern invention, because I'm looking at the tablet in the link to Beowulf and don't see any spaces there. Wondering if it could be "implemented" in other ways, such as a new indented line, or however you want. Or if it must be a larger space like that.
          – Lance Pollard
          13 mins ago













          The spacing is simply a modern way of representing the half-lines in a printed text as a way of preserving the Old English metre. The original bards wouldn't have required it since it would have been memorised (and the earliest surviving manuscript (Cotton Vitellius A in the British Library), which may have been written almost 300 years after the poem was composed, doesn't even have breaks at the end of full-lines).
          – sempaiscuba♦
          2 mins ago




          The spacing is simply a modern way of representing the half-lines in a printed text as a way of preserving the Old English metre. The original bards wouldn't have required it since it would have been memorised (and the earliest surviving manuscript (Cotton Vitellius A in the British Library), which may have been written almost 300 years after the poem was composed, doesn't even have breaks at the end of full-lines).
          – sempaiscuba♦
          2 mins ago

















           

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