Ofer Hronrade—Defining the Long-Enigmatic “Hron” of Old English.

The poetic compound <italic>hronrad</italic> at the beginning of <italic>Beowulf</italic> is often translated as “whale road”, despite protestations from J.R.R. Tolkien that have hitherto been unheeded. Through an exhaustive contextual study of the Old English word <italic>hron</italic>—and its relationship with the common word <italic>hwæl</italic>—as well as statistical analysis of British marine biology, this paper seeks to demonstrate that the meaning of <italic>hron</italic> should indeed be separated from the Modern English word “whale”, with “orca” or “large dolphin” likely being more accurate translations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]