'manna mildust' - Another disputed reading; Zupitza read an a at the end of manna, while Malone saw a u with a horizontal bar above it (the abbreviation tells the reader to supply a nasal, either n or m). ASPR go with Zupitza (translate 'most merciful of men'), while M-R prefer Malone's reading (translate 'most merciful to men').
Literary arguments can be adduced for both readings. Mannum mildust provides a better parallel to leodum liðost in the following line. On the other hand, the OE poem Exodus (often thought to have some relationship to Beowulf) describes Moses as manna mildost.