Dedication; Preface; Contents; List of tables; Abbreviations and symbols; 1 Introduction; 1.1 The corpus of metrical data; 1.2 An overview of verse structure: metrical positions, verse types, and alliteration; 1.3 The meter as a prototypebased system of gradient organization; 1.4 Statistical analysis; Part I. Fornyrðislag; Introduction; 2 Verse types and their realizations; 2.1 Type A1 (/ x / x); 2.1.1 The first drop; 2.1.2 The second drop; 2.1.3 Marked variants of type A1; 2.1.3.1 The configuration PS#px; 2.1.3.2 The configuration Px ... px; 2.1.3.3 The configurations Pxx#Px and PXx#Px.

2.1.3.4 The configuration PxSx2.2 Type A2; 2.2.1 Type A2a (/ \ / x); 2.2.2 Type A2b (/ x / \ and / \ / \); 2.3 Type A3 ([/] x / x); 2.3.1 The configurations x ... Px, x ... PS, and x ... PP; 2.3.2 The configuration x ... px; 2.4 Type A1 (/ x / [x]); 2.5 Type A2a (/ \ / [x]); 2.6 Type A3 ([/] x / [x]); 2.7 Type B (x / x /); 2.8 Type C (x / / x); 2.8.1 The first and second drops; 2.8.2 The second lift: the six major configurations x ... PPx, x ... Ppx, x ... PSx, x ... Psx, x ... PXx, and x ... Pxx; 2.8.3 The configuration x ... pXx; 2.9 Type C (x / / [x]); 2.10 Type D (/ / x x).

2.10.1 Major variants and the status of the heavy drop2.10.2 The configuration PPPx: apparent ambiguity of types A2a and D; 2.10.3 The configuration PPpx: apparent ambiguity of type D and subtype A1s; 2.10.4 The configurations PpXx and PsXx; 2.11 Type D (/ / x [x]); 2.12 Type D* (/ x / x x); 2.12.1 Major variants; 2.12.2 The configurations Px ... Ppx and Px ... Psx: on resolving ambiguity between types A2b and D*; 2.12.3 The configuration Pxxx ... P with single alliteration: on resolving ambiguity between types A1 and D*; 2.13 Type E (/ \ x /); 2.13.1 Major variants.

2.13.2 The configurations PSxpx and PXxpx: on resolving ambiguity between type E and subtype A1s2.13.3 The configuration PXx ... P: on resolving ambiguity between types E and A1; 2.13.4 The configuration PPx ... P with double alliteration: on resolving ambiguity between types E and A1; 2.13.5 The configuration PPx ... P with single alliteration: on resolving ambiguity between types E, D, and A1; 2.14 Twoposition verses; 2.15 The system of verse types: a first approximation; 3 Anacrusis and catalexis; 3.1 Anacrusis; 3.2 Catalexis.

3.3 The organization of anacrusis and catalexis, and the system of verse types reconsidered4 Resolution; 4.1 Resolution and the drop: Auflösung and Verschleifung; 4.2 Resolution according to position and verse type; 4.2.1 The first lift of type A1; 4.2.2 The first lift of type B; 4.2.3 The first lift of type C; 4.2.4 The first lift of type D; 4.2.5 The first lift of types D*, D/E, and E; 4.2.6 A synchronic account of the varied incidences of resolution according to verse type; 4.2.7 The second lift of types A1, A2a, and A2b; 4.2.8 The second lift of type B.