Wayland Smith (Wēlandes)

Background
Wayland the Smith, Wayland also spelled Weland, in Scandinavian, German, and Anglo-Saxon legend, a smith of outstanding skill. He was, according to some legends, a lord of the elves. A master blacksmith in the well known epic Beowulf. He forged the armor used by Beowulf in battle. He was enslaved by the Swedish king Nídud and was forced to be his blacksmith. He later got revenge by killing the king's two sons and raping his daughter. Escaping by making himself a winged cloak and flying away. An English tradition connects Wayland with a stone burial chamber near White Horse Hill, Berkshire, known as Wayland’s Smithy. A local legend says the chamber is haunted by an invisible smith who will shoe a horse for a traveler, provided that a coin is left on a stone and that the traveler absents himself while the work is in progress. If he tries to watch or if he looks toward the smithy, the charm will fail.

Strengths
-Master Blacksmith of weapons and armour

-Killed Swedish Kind Nídud's sons and made bowls from their skulls

-Escaped the king's slavery

Weaknesses
-His love for his family

-Raped the Swedish King's daughter

Role in Beowulf
He was only mentioned for making Beowulf's breast-webbing. When Beowulf is talking of how he will fight Grendel, he laments over if he were to be beaten and tells Hrothgar that if he is slain "send back this breast-webbing that Weland fashioned". This speaks to the legend of Beowulf because he is wearing the armor of a legendary blacksmith.

Lines in Beowulf Mentioned
Wayland Smith is only mentioned in one line throughout the whole text.

Translated Version
-"...if the battle takes me, send back this breast-webbing that Weland fashioned and Hrethel gave me..."

Heaney (452-453)

Old English
-"gif mec hild nime, beadu-scrūda betst, pæt mīne brēost wereõ, hrægla sēlest; pæt is Hrædlan lāf, Wēlandes geweorc.

(452-455)