his wife twice, his mother, and his sister-in-law Helen (22. 477–514; 24. 724–
75). In the Indian epics we have, for example, laments for Abhimanyu and
Bhı ̄s
̇
ma by their mothers (7. 55; 13. 154), for Abhimanyu by his wife (11. 20.
10–26), for Das ́aratha by his son (Rm. 2. 70. 6–9), and for Va ̄lin by his wife
and daughter (Rm. 4. 24. 32–9, 40). Cú Chulainn sings a series of poetic
laments for Fer Dia, his former friend whom he has now fought and killed
(Táin (L) 3440–595). Poetic and rhetorical laments for the dead by men or
women remained a common element in Irish saga narratives.^155 Gudrun sings
a lament for Sigurd over his body (Guðrúnarkviða A 17–22).
While Beowulf ’s corpse burns on the pyre, a Geatish woman sings a lam-
ent; it is not given in direct speech but its subject matter is briefly indicated in
the compressed style of the poem (3150–5; cf. 1117 f.). She sang ‘how she
sorely dreaded her days of [illegible], much slaughter, the people’s terror,
abuse and captivity’. This is a typical theme of women’s laments when a hero
and protector has fallen. Andromache laments that she is left a widow and her
infant son an orphan who will suffer humiliation and deprivation; she antici-
pates the fall of Troy and the enslavement of its women (Il. 22. 483–507, 24.
725–38). Similarly, as Va ̄lin is expiring, his wife Ta ̄ra ̄ laments: ‘Once I was
filled with happiness, but now, in my wretchedness, I must helplessly lead the
life of a wretched, grief-anguished widow. And the delicate young warrior
Añgada [their son], used to pleasure, indulged by me –– what kind of a life will
he lead?’ (Rm. 4. 20. 14 f.; cf. MBh. 11. 25. 4). And as Andromache’s two
laments are both followed by ‘So she spoke; and the women wailed upon it’,
so Ta ̄ra ̄’s is followed by ‘Hearing her lament, those monkey women, afflicted
with sorrow, surrounded wretched Añgada on all sides and wailed’ (4. 20. 21).
Hector used to keep Troy’s gates and walls safe, ‘but now by the beaked
ships, away from your parents, the wriggling worms will eat you, after the
dogs have had their fill’ (Il. 22. 508–11). Similar pathetic contrasts are drawn
in the Indian epic. ‘The scorcher of the enemy who would go in the van of the
specially consecrated fighters now lies in the dust... now vultures sit around
him’ (MBh. 11. 17. 10–12). ‘And here, face up, lies Durmukha, who killed
brigades of the enemy... his face has been half eaten by the animals’ (11. 19.
7 f.; cf. 22. 2, 25. 20 f.; Rm. 4. 20, 23. 1–16, 25–30, 24. 33–8).
SutteeWe have noted that the king’s or hero’s funeral is liable to involve the deaths
of male and female servants, horses, and other animals. A recurrent motif of
(^155) Thurneysen (1921), 84.
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