ST O R Y O F BEO WU L F

T R A NS L A T E D FR OM A NG L O S A X O N I NT O -

M OD ER N E NGL S H ! R OSE I

E R N E ST J . B . K I R T LAN
B A . .
(L OND ON ) R D (S T A N D R E W S )
, . .

Autho r o f a Tr an s l at l on o f Sl l G a w a m a n d th e Gr een n
‘

ht
’

D E CO R A TE D A N D D E SI G N E D B Y

FR ED ER C I L AWR E N C E

NEW Y O R K

T H O M AS Y. C R O WEL L C O M ! ANY
! UBL I SH ERS
 N OTE AS TO U SE OF A! ! E ND I X

I H AV E rel eg a t e d to th e App en d ix a ll n o t es
o f a n y c o n s i d e r a b l e l en g t h
. T he re a d e r is a d
vi s e d to c o n s u l t th e A pp en d i ces W h e r ev er
d irec t ed in th e f o o tn o t es H e w ill then
.

h ave a mu ch c l ea r e r co n c e p ti o n o f th e p ri n c ip a l
c h a r a c t e rs a n d even t s o f t h e p o em .
 I NTR O D UC TI O N

E OWULF
may rightly
be pro
n o u n ce d the

gr ea t n a
t io n a l epic
o f th e An g l o

S axon race .

Not that it
exalts the
r a ce so mu ch
as that it p resents the spirit of the
Anglo S axon p eo p les the ideals and
-
,

aims the manners and customs of our

, ,

ancestors an d that it does s o in setting

,

b efore us a great national hero B eo .

wulf himself wa s not an Anglo S axon -

.

He Wa s a Geat D ane but he belonged to

r -

that confraternity of nations that com

p osed the Teutonic p eop le He l ived in
.

7
8 I NT RO D U CT IO N
an heroic age when the songs of the
,

wandering singers were of the great

deeds of outstanding men The absolute
.

epic of the English people has yet to be

w ritt e n
. To some extent Arthur though ,

—
a B ritish King that is to s a y though ,

he w a s King of the Celtic British peo

ple wh o were subsequentl y driven into
,

the West into Cornwall and Wales and

,

S trathclyde by our S axon ancestors

,

became nationali z ed by our Anglo Nor -

man ancestors as a typical King of the

English people He has become the
.

epic King of the English in the poetry of

Tennyson It is always a mystery to the
.

writer that no competent singer among

us h a s ever laid hands upon o u r o wn
S axon hero King Alfred It is some
, .

t imes said that there is nothing n ew

under the s u n that there is nothing left
,

for the modern singer to sing about and ,

that the realm of possible musical pro

duction is fast vanishing out of V iew .

Certainly this i s not true of poetry B oth .

Al fred and Arthur are W aiting for the

s y mpathetic voice that wi ll tell forth to
the wor l d the immortal s p lendour of
 I NT RO D U CT IO N 9

their personalities And j ust as the

.

Anglo Normans idealized Arthur as a

-

hero king of the English nation though

-
,

he really fought against the English ,

so the S axon singer of B eowulf has

idealized this Geatish chieftain and in ,

some W ay set him forth as the idealized

chieftain of the Teutonic race .

Beo wu lf i s an Anglo S axon p oem -

It consists of 3 1 8 2 lines It is Written in.

the alliterative verse of our ancestors in

the Anglo S axon ton g ue which though
-
, ,

the mother tongue of the English i s yet

-
,

more difficult to read for the Englishman

th an L atin or Greek O ne wonders .

whether any genuine Anglo S axon e p ic -

existed and has b een destroyed in the

,

p assing of the centuries The curious .

feature about this p oem is that it con

cern s a man wh o wa s not an Anglo
S axon Our p oem is written in the
.

West S axon dialect The original p oem

.

wa s probably in Northumbrian and wa s ,

translated into West S axon during the

period of literary efil o r e s c e n c e in the
‘

West S axon Court We d o not know

.

whether it wa s a trans l ation or whether

10 INT RO D U CT IO N
it was original though the latter is I
, ,

believe the prevailing opinion Arnold

, .

has put forth what may b e called the

missionary theory of its origin He .

believes that b oth the choice of su b

j e c t and the grade of culture may be
connected with the missionar y efforts
of the English Church of those days
to extend Christianity in Friesland and
further east . It does not seem im
‘

probable that i t wa s in the interest

of the spread of Christianity that the
—
com p oser of B eowulf perha p s a mis
s i o n er
,
perhap s a layman attached
—
to the mission wa s attracted to the
S candin a vian lands ; that he resided
there long enough to become thoroughly
steeped in the folk lore and local tradi
-

tions ; that he found the grand figure

of B eowulf the Geat predominant in
them ; and that weaving into an o r
,

ga mic whole those which he found suit

able to his o wn purpose he com p osed ,

an epic which on his r e turn home must

, ,

soon have become known to all the

lovers of English song 1
D r S arrazin
.
’
.

1
S Arn ld p 1 15
ee o , . .
 I NT RO D U CT IO N 11

thought this unknown p oet might have

been the famou s Cynewu l f Arnold .
,

chiefly on sty l istic grounds differs from ,

thi s o p inion This is Arnold s o p inion

.
’

S agas either in the D anish dialect

,

—
or that of the G ea t s more p robabl y m

—
the latter were current in the S candi
navian countries in the seventh century .

Among these sagas that of B eowq ,

the Geat must have had a p rominent

p lace ; others celebrated H yg ela c his
uncle H n a e f the Viking the wars of
, ,

the D anes and the H ea th o b a rd s of ,

the D anes and the S wedes Ab out the .

end of the century missionaries from

England are known to have b een busy
in F riesland an d D enmark endeavouring ,

to convert the natives to Christianity .

S ome one of these Whose mind had a

,

turn for literature and dwelt with j oy

u p on the traditions of the p ast collected ,

or learnt by heart a numb er of these

sagas and taking that of Beowu lf as
, ,

a basis and weaving some others into

,

his work composed an e p ic p oem to

,

which a lthough it contains the record

,

of those a dventures the heroic sca l e

,
12 I NT RO D U CT IO N
of the figure who accomplishes them all
imparts a real unifying epic interest .
’

Whatever may be the truth as to its

origin there it lies in the British Museum
,

in its unique M S as a testimony to a ll

.

ages of the genius of t he An g lo S axon race

-
.

N o w it will be quite natura lly asked ,

What do we learn from B eo wu lf of the

genius and spirit of that race from
which we are sprung !
The one outstanding fact as it a p ,

pears to the writer i s the c o o p erative

,
-

princip le And this principle stands in

.

almost violent opposition to the ruling

principle of the modern W orld in which ,

society is divided into a number of

mutuall y opp osite sections or classes ,

whose interests clash with fatal results

to individual and corp orate well b eing -
.

In this p oem we s ee the whole c o mmu

n i t y from the King to the churl bound
, ,

b y one common interest . King and

chieftain and thane and churl freely i n
t e r m i n gle and converse . The y eat and
drink and sleep under one common roof ,

or at least in one common enclosure .

T emp om muta n tur ! but the idea of social

 I NT RO D U CT I ON 13

interaction and mutual interdependence

never found more vivid or real expres
sion than in the pictures presented in
Beo wu lf of Hart the Great Hall of H r o th
,

gar and in the Court and township of

,

H y g ela c King of the Geats In the Hall

, .

of Hart Hrothgar and his Queen and his

courtiers s it at the high table on the
dais and the lower orders at the long
,

table down the hall The s p ears and .

shields adorn the walls After the even .

ing meal the singer or s cop as he is

, , ,

called to the accompan iment of the

,

harp tells forth the deeds of som e

,

ancient feud such as that of Finn and

,

the D anes or the Fight at F in n sb ur gh ,

or the feud of the D anes and the H ea th o

’
bards in which F r e a w a r u Hrothgar s
, ,

daughter and I n g eld figu re so tragicall y

, .

Then the benches are removed and ,

the rude beds are s p read out on the

floor of the Great Hall and they seek
evening rest The whole is a picture
.
’

of fraternal and paternal government .

If Grendel the Fen monster carries away

,
-
,

one of their number then there is weep ,

ing and lamentation The King and .

 14 I NT RO D U CT IO N
the Queen and the nobility and the com
mo n a lty are all concerned in the tragedy .

The loss of one is the loss of all When . .

A es ch er e is slain by Gr e n d el s mother
’

Hrothgar thus b ewails his loss : S eek

no more after j oy sorrow is renewed for
the D anish folk Ae s ch er e is dead he
.
,

wh o wa s my wise counsellor and my

adviser and my comrade in arms when ,

in time of war we defend ed oursel ves ;

but now the hand lieth lo w which
bestowed every kind of j oy upon you .
’

And in the end of the p oem it is said of

B eowulf that he was most gentle to his
folk The King wa s king only for his
.
’

folk The interest of his folk their

.
’
,

physical and moral W ell being wa s his -

,

chief solicitude .

2 But not only wa s this so W ithin

.

any one nation or tribe but there wa s a

,

sense of comradeship and mutual r e

sponsibility among those of various
tribes and nations When B eowulf the
.

Geat hears in G a utla n d of the raids of

Grendel upon Hart he commands his ,

folk to make ready a boat that he may

fare across the s e a to the help of B roth
 I NTR O D UCT I O N 15

gar b ecause he wa s lacking in war

,

riors B eowulf s whole mission in Hart

.
’ ’

was the discharge of a solemn obligation

of help from the strong to the weak .

He announces to Hrothgar that he is

’
come to cleanse Hart of ill and this ,

he feels he mus t do Woe is me if I .

preach not the gos p el ! cried S t Paul ’

. .

“
Woe is m e if I help not the weak and
cleanse not the dem on infeste d palace -

‘
of my kin sman ! cried B eowulf Weird .

goes as he willeth that is Fate must ,

b e submitted to And Fate hath willed .

that h e should help the weak and

’
cleanse the ill .

3 Then there is the tremendous s ense

.

of loyalty on the p art of the folk to their

king or chieftain The idea of the Comi .

tatus b ound the folk to their leaders

’
.

Nothing more disgraceful could b e con

c e iv e d tha n the desertion of the lea d er .

Terrible were the re p roaches hurled at

the trembling cowards who had hurried
away into the woods to save their Own ,

skins whilst their King B eowulf wrestled

,

with the dragon the enemy of the ,

p eop le Y e a death i s better for any

.
,
16 I NT RO D U CT IO N
earl than a life of reproach L oyalty a .
’
,

passionate loyalty to the King wa s the ,

greatest of virtues and disloyalty and ,

cowardice the greatest of vices S ociety .

wa s an organic whole bound together by ,

the bands of loyalty and d evotion to the

common good .

4 There is
. too the fatalistic note
, ,

heard all through the poem B eowulf .

feels himself hard pressed by Fat e .

The Anglo S axon called Fate by the

-

’
name Weird which has survived in ,

modern English i n the sense of some

thing strange and mysterious Weird
was the God or Goddess of Fate Again
, .

and again in the poem we hear the solemn ,

"
minor dirge like refrain Weird hath
,
-
,
’ ‘
willed it ; Goeth Weird as sh e willeth ’

(cha p ter vi p . There . is this per

et u a l overshadowing and almost crush
p
ing sense of some inscrutable and irre
s i s t ibl e p ower that wi e l d e t h all things

and d i sp o s eth all things which is I b e , ,

lieve a pre eminent characteristic of the

,
-

Anglo S axon race and accounts for the

-
,

dare devil courage of her sons upon the

-

battle fi eld or on the high seas We

-
.
 I NT RO D U CT IO N 17

find it too in its morally less attractive

, ,

form in the recru d escent pessimism of

modern literature Thomas Hardy is .

the lineal descendant in literature of

the author of Beowu lf when he says
Thus the President of the Immortals
ha d finished his sport with poor Tess 1
.
’

5 And clo se ly allied to this sense of

.

D estiny is the sombre view of life that

is characteristic of the Teutonic p eop les .

There is none of that passionate j oy

in beauty and in love that we find in
the C eltic literature L ife is a serious .

thing in Beo wu lf and with us of the

Anglo S axon race The scenery of B eo
-
.

wulf is massive and threatening and

mist encircled Angry seas a r e b oiling
-
.

and surging and breaking at the foot

of lofty and p recip itou s cliffs Ab ove .

the ed ge of the cliffs stretch mysterious

and gloomy moor l an d s and treacherous ,

bogs and dense forests inhabited by

malignant and p owerful s p irits the foes ,

of humanity In a land like this there

.

is no time for love making E ating -

.
,

drinking slee p ing fighting there make

, ,

2
See l i
c o n c us o n o f T ess o f the D Ur ber mlles
’ ’

2
18 I NT RO D U CT IO N
up the business of life It is to the .

Celtic inflow that we owe the addition

of love in our modern literature The .

composer of Beo wu lf could not hav e

conceived the Arthur S aga or the Tris
tram love legend These things belong
-
.

to a later age when Celtic and Teutonic

,

elements were fused in the Anglo Nor -

man race But we still find in our

.

literature the sombre hues And after .

,

all it is in the forest of sorrow and

,

pain that we discover the most beautiful

flowers and the subtlest p erfumes .

I desire to exp ress my indebtedness to

A J Wyatt and William Morris for
. .

their translations ; to A J Wyatt for . .

his edition of the poem in the original ;

to Thomas Arnold for his terse and most
informing work on Beowu lf ; to the authors
of articles in the E n cyclop a edi a Br i ta n n i ca
and in Cha mbers s E n cyclop a edi a and The
’

Ca mbri dge Hi s to ry of En gli s h Li tera tur e .

E R N E S T J B K I R T L AN
. . .

B R I G H T ON ,
N o vember, 1 9 1 3 .
20 ! RELUD E
first he was found in a miserable case .

Afterward s he gave help when he grew

up under the welkin and worshipfully ,

he flourished until all his neighbours over

the s e a gave him obedience and yielded ,

him tribute He wa s a good king In

. .

after time there wa s born to him a son

-

in the C ourt whom God sent thither as

,

a saviour of the people He saw the .

dire distress that they formerly su ffered

when for a long while they were without
a prince Then it was that the L ord of
.

L ife the Wielder of glory gave to

, ,
1
him glory Famous was B eowulf Far
. .

and wide spread his fame Heir wa s he .

of S cyld in the land of the D anes .

Thus should a young man b e doing

good deeds with rich gifts to the friend s
,

of his father s o that in later days , ,

when war shall come upon them b oon ,

companions may stand at his side ,

helping their liege lord For in all .

nations by praiseworthy deeds shall

, ,

a man b e thriving .

At the fated hour S cyld passed away ,

v ery vigorous in spirit to the keeping ,

1
N o t th e hr
e o of th e p o em .
 ! RELU D E 21

of his L ord Then his pleasant com

.

panions carried him down to the ocean

flood as he himself had bidden them
, ,

whilst the friend of the Scy ldin g s was

wielding words he wh o as the dear L ord
,

of the L and had ru l ed it a long time .

And there in the h a ven stood the ship

, , ,

with rings at the prow icy and eager , ,

for the j ourney the ferry of the Atheling

, .

Then they laid down their dear L ord

the giver of rings the famous man , ,

on the bosom of the ship close to the ,

mast where were heaps of treasures

, ,

armour trappings that had b een brought

from far ways Never heard I of a .

comelier ship decked out with battle

,

weap ons and weeds of wa r with sword s ,

and byrnies In his bosom they laid

.

many a treasure when he wa s going on

a far j ourney into the p ower of the sea
, .

Nor did they provide for him less of

b ooty and of national treasures than
they had done who at the first had sent
,

him forth all alone o er the waves when

,
’
,

he was but a child Then moreover .

’
they set a golden standard high o er his
hea d an d let the se a take him and gave
, ,
22 ! RELU D E
all to the man of the sea Full s a d .

were their minds and all sorrowing were

,

they No man can s ay soothly no not

.
, ,

any hall ru l er nor hero under heaven

-
,
1
who took in that lading .

1
Op w ith thi s
. th e ! i
ass n g of A thur
r ,
’
as rltd
e a e

by T e n n ys o n . Th e me an i n g i
s l rc ea . Cp . l
a so

App en dix .
 (the Eton;

O R E O VE R
the D ani sh
1
B e ow ulf
the d ear
King of his
p eople wa s ,

a long time
r en own e d
amongst the
folk in the
c i t i e s (h i s
father the Prince had gone a faring else
, ,
-

where from this world ) Then was there

.

b orn to him a s o n the high H e a lfd en e

,

a n d while he lived he was ruling the

ha pp y D anish p eople and war fi er c e ,

-

an d a ncient was he F our children were

.

1
N t th h
o e f thi p o m
er o o s e .
24 T H E S T ORY OF BEO W U L F
b orn to him : H e o r o g a r the leader of
troop s and Hrothgar and Halga the
, ,

good And I heard say that Queen

.

Elan (W ife of On g en th e o w ) wa s his

daughter and she became the b e l oved
,

comrade of the S wede Then to .

Hrothgar wa s granted good speed in

warfare and honour in fighting s o ,

that his loyal subj ects eagerly ob eyed

him until the youths grew doughty a
, ,

very great band of warriors Then it .

burned in his mind that he would bid

men b e building a palace a greater ,

mead hall than the children of men ever

-

had heard of and that he would therein

,

distribute to young and to old as God ,

gave him p ower all the wealth that he

,

had save the share of the folk and the

lives of men .

Then I heard far and wide how he

gave commandment to many a people
throughout all the world this work to ,

b e doing and to deck out the f o lk st e a d

, .

In due time it happened that soon among

men this greatest of halls wa s now all
,

ready And Hart he called it whose

.
,

word had great wielding He broke .

 THE S T ORY OF BEOWU L F 25

not his promise but gave to them rings ,

and treasures at the banquet The hal l .

towered on high and the gables were ,

wide between the horns and awaite d

1
,

the surging of the loathsome flames .

Not long time should p as s ere hatred

was awakened after the battle slaughter -
,

twix t father i n law an d s o n in law

- - - -
.
2

Then it was that the p owerful s p rite

wh o abode in darkness scarce could ,

brook for a while that daily he heard

loud j oy in the hal l There was sound of .

harping and the clear so n g of the bard

, .

H e who knew it was tell ing of the

b eginning of mankind an d he said that ,

the Almighty created the world and ,

the bright fiel d s surrounded b v water .

And exulting He s et the s un and the

, ,

moon as lamp s to shine up on the earth

dwellers and adorned the world with
,

branches and leaves And life He wa s .

giving to every kind of li ving creature .

S o noble men lived in j oy and were all ,

blessed till one began to d o evil a devil ,

1
b l s w er d c ra te d with h o rn s o f s ta g
Th e ga e e e o s

an d o th r b s t s o f th c h s e
e ea e a .

2
S e App e d i x V an d c h a p te rs xxviii an d xxix
e n .
, . .
26 THE S T ORY OF BEOWU L F
from hell ; and this grim spirit was
called Grendel And he wa s a march
.

stepper who ru led on the moorlands

, ,

the fens and the stronghold For a

, .

while he kept guard this unhappy crea,

ture over the land of the race of mon

,

s t er s since the Creator had proscribed

,

him O n the race of Cain the Eternal

.

L ord brought death as v engeance when ,

he slew Abel Nor did he find j oy in

.

the feud but God for the crime drove

,

him far thence Thus it was that evil

.

things came to their birth giants and ,

elves and monsters of the deep like wise ,

those giants who for a long while were

striving with God Himself And well .

H e requited them .
28 THE S T ORY OF BEOWUL F
great p ain and endured sorrow for his
,

thanes when they s a w the track of the

,

loathly one the cursed sprite That , .

struggle wa s too strong loathsome and ,

long And after but one night (no

.

longer time w a s it ) he did them more

murder bale and r e eke d not a whit the
-
,

feu d and the crime Too quick was .

he therein Then he wh o had sought

.

elsewhere more at large a resting p lace -

,

a bed after b o wer wa s easil y found ,

when he was shown and told m ost truly ,

by the token s o clear the hate of the ,

hell thane H e went away farther and

-
.

faster he who would escap e the fiend

, .

S o he rul ed and strove against right he ,

alone against all of them until the b est ,

of houses stood quite idle And a great .

—
while it was the friend of the D anes
suffered distress and sorrows that were
great the time of twelve winters .

Then wa s it made known to the chil

dren of men by a sorrowful singing that
Grendel was striving this while against
Hrothgar and waged hateful enmity
,

of crime and feud for many a year with

lasting strife and would hol d no truce ,
 THE S T ORY OF BE OWU L F 29

against any man of the main host of

D anes nor put away the life bale or
,
-
,

settle feud with a fee nor did any man ,

need to hope for brighter b ette r ing at

the hand of the b a n e s m a n The terrible .

monster a dark death shadow was

,
-
,

pursuing the youth and the warriors ,

and he fettered and ensnared them and ,

ever was holding night after night the

misty m oorlands And men know not .
,

ever whither workers of hell runes -

wander to and fro Thus the foe of .

mankind the terrible and lonesome

,

traveller often he did them even greater

,

despite And he took up his d welling

.

in the treasure decked Hall of Hart in

-

the dark night nor could he come near

,

the throne the treasure of God nor did ,

he know His l ove .

1

And great was the evil to the friend

of the D anes and breakings of heart
, .

Many a strong one s a t in council and ,

much they discussed what wa s b est

for stout hearted men to d o against
-

the fearful terror And sometimes they .

went vo wing at their heathen shrines

1
Wy tt tr l ti
a
’
s f N hi m y
an s a wi on o e s n e sse .
’
30 THE S T ORY OF BEOWU L F
and offered sacrifices and with many
,

words pleaded that the devil himself

would give th e m his help against this
menace to the nation F or such was
.

their custom the hop e of the heathen

, .

And ever of Hell they thought in their

hearts ; the Creator they knew not ,

the Judge of all deeds nor knew they

,

the L ord God nor could they worship

,

the Protector of the heavens the Wiel d er

,

of glory Woe b e to that man who

.

shall shove down a soul through hurtful

malice into the b osom of the fire and ,

who hopes for no help nor for any change

—well shall it b e with that one who after
his death day shall seek the L ord and
desire protection in the embrace of the
Father .
 THE S T ORY OF BE OWUL F 31

O Beowulf son of H ea lf ,

dene ever wa s brood

,

i n g o v er t h i s t i me care -
,

nor could the brave

hero avert wo e That .

c o n fl i c t w a s t o o s tr o n g,
loathsome and long ,

that terrible and dire

distress the greatest of night bales ,
-

which came to the p eople .

Then the thane of H y g ela c th e good

1
,

man of the Geats heard from home of ,

’

the deeds of Grendel And on the day .

of this life he was the strongest of main

of all men in the world ; noble was he
and p owerful He bade a fair ship be .

made and said that he would b e seeking

,

the W ar King the famous prince o v er -

, ,

the swan path and that he needed men ,

.

A nd the proud churls little blamed him

1
i . e . B e o w ul f .

2
t T h trib t w hi h B wul f b l g d
Gea s . e e o c eo e on e .

T h y i h b it d
e th r S w d b tw th D
n a e s ou e n e en e e en e a n es

on th th d th S w d
e thsou th S an e e es on e n or . ee

App di X I en x .
32 THE S T ORY OF BE OWU L F
for that j ourney though dear he was to ,

them They urged on the valiant man

.

and marked the omen The good man .

of the Geats had chosen champions of

those who were k e ene st and sought ,

out the ship And one a s e a crafty .

,
-

man p ointed to the land marks Time

,
-
.

passed by ; the ship was on the w aves ,

the b oat under th e cli ff and the warriors ,

all readily went up to the stern And .

the currents were swirling with s e a ,

and sand And men were carrying on

.

to the naked deck bright ornaments and

splendid war armour Then t hey shove -
.

forth the ship that was well bound to

gether ; and it s et forth over the waves ,

driven by the wind this foamy necked ,

-

ship likest to a bird ; until ab out the

,

same time on the next day the ship ,

with its twisted stern had gone so far

that the sailing men could see the land ,

the shining s e a cliffs the steep moun -

,

tains and the wide s e a n e s s e s Then

,
~
.

they crossed the remaining p ortion of

1
the s e a The Geats went up quickly
.

L it r ll y
1
T h w th
e a tr v r d t th d
, en as e s ea a e se a e en
’
of th e o cean .
 T H E S T ORY OF BEOWULF 33

on to the shore and anchored the ship , .

War shirts and war weeds were rattling

- -
.

And they gave God thanks for their

easy crossing of the waves Then the .

ward of the S wedes wh o kept guard ,

over the s e a cliff s sa w them carry down

-
,

the gangways the bright shields and

armour all ready And full curious
, .

thought tortured him as to who these

men were He the thane of Hrothgar
.
, ,

rode down to the beach on his charger ,

and powerfully brandishe d the sp ear

i n his hand and took counsel with them .

‘
Who are y e armour b earers pro -
,

t e c t e d by byrnies who come here thus ,

b ringing the high v essel over the sea ,

and the ringed ship over the ocean !

I am he that sits at the en d of the land
and keep s e a guard s o that no one more
-
,

loathsome may scathe with ship army -

the land of the D ane s Never have .

shield bearers begun to come here more

-

openly yet ye seem n o t to know the

,

password of warriors the com p act of ,

kinsmen Nor ever have I seen a

.

greater earl up on earth than one of ,

your band a warrior in armour And

, .

3
34 THE S T ORY OF BE OWULF
except his face b elie him he that is thus
,

weap on bedecked is no hall man ; but

- -

a p eerless one to s ee N o w must I know

.

your lineage before you go farther with

your false spies in the land of the D anes .

Now 0 ye far dwellers and s e a farers

- -
,

—
hear my onefold thought haste is best
in making known whence ye are come .
’

"5 ”5 "5

H E N the eldest gave

answer and unlocked,

his treasure of words ,

the wise one of the

troop : We are of
the race of the Geats
and hearth comr ades -

on g el a c My father .

was well known to the folk a noble ,

prince was he called E c g th e o w And he .

bided many winters ere as an old man

,

he s et out on his j ourneys awa y from

the dwelling places And wellnigh every
.

councillor throughout all the world r e

36 THE S T ORY OF BE OW ULF
b and of warriors will b e very welcome
to the L ord of the D anes Go ye forth .
,

therefore b ear weap ons and armour as

, ,

I will direct you And I will command .

my thanes to hold against every f oe your ,

ship in honour new tarred as it is and , ,

dry on the sands until it shall carry the ,

dearly loved man that ship with the ,

twisted prow to the land of the Geats , .

To each of the well doers shall it b e -

given to escap e se c t free out of the battle -

rush Then they went forth carrying

.
’

their weapons And there the ship .

rested fastened by a rope the wide

, ,

b osomed vessel secured by its anchor .

1
The B oar held life ward bright and ,

battle hard and adorned with gold over

-
,

the neck guard of the handsome B eo

-

wulf There was snorting of the war

like minded whilst men were hastening
-
, ,

as they marched on together till they

caught sight of the splendid place decked
out in gold And it was the most famous
.

of palaces under the heavens of the, ,

1
Fr qu t rfr
e en m d t th d v i f
e e en ce s ar e a e o e e ce o

th b
e o ar hi l d d h lm t p p 7 7 i d ip
on s e an e e c . .
, n es c r

ti f B u s s i fu er l p y re
’
on o s n a .
 THE S T ORY OF BEOWULF 37

earth dwellers where the ruler w a s

-
,

biding Its glory shone over many

.

l ands Then the dear one in battle

.

showed them the bright house where

were the brave ones that they might
,

straightway make their way towards

it Then one of the warriors turned his
.

horse ro und and spake this word

,

Time it is for me to go May the Al .

mighty Father hold you i n favour and ,

keep you in safety in all your journey

ings I will go to the s e a coast to keep
.
-

mv watch against the fierce troop s .

’

a 0 5 "5

HE way was paved with

many coloured stones ,

and by it they knew

the path they should
take The coat of
.

mail shone brightly ,

which was firmly

hand locked The
-
.

bright iron ring sang in the armour as

they came on their w a y in their war l ike
38 THE S T ORY OF BEOWU L F
trappings at the first to the great hall .

Then the s e a weary men set down their

-

broad shields their shields that were won

,

d r o u s hard gainst the wall of the great

’

house and bo wed towards the b ench

, .

And byrnies were rattling the war ,

weap ons of men And the spears were .

standing in a row together the weapons ,

of the s e a m en and the spear grey ab ove

-
.

And the troop of armed men was made

glorious with weapons Then the proud .

chieftain asked the warriors of their

kindred : From whence are ye bringing
‘

such gold plated shields grey sarks and

-
,

helmets with visors and su c h a heap of ,

spears ! I am the servant and messen

ger of Hrothgar Never s a w I s o many
.

men prouder I tro w it was for pride

.

and not at all for banishment but for ,

greatness of mind that Hrothgar ye are

seeking .
’

Then answered the brave man the ,

chief of the Geats and spake these words , ,

hard under helmet : We are the com

rades at table of H y g ela c B eowulf is .

my name I will say fully this my

.

errand to t he son of He a lfd e n e the famous

 THE S T ORY OF BE O WU L F 39

chieftain unto thy lord and master if

, ,

he will grant us that we may salute him

’
wh o is so good .

Then spake Wulfgar (he was Prince

of the Wendels His courage wa s
known to all his valour and wisdom , .

I will make known to the Prince of the

D anes the L ord of the Scy ld in g s the
,
2

giver of rings the famous chieftain as

th ou art pleading about thy j ourney , ,

and will make known to thee quickly

the answer which he the good man
thinks fit to give m e Quickly he .
’

turned then to where Hrothgar wa s

sitting old and very grey with his
,

troop of earls The brave man then .

went and stood before the shoulders of

the L ord of the D anes Well he knew .

the custom of the doughty ones Wulf .

gar then sp oke to his lord and friend

‘
Here are come faring from a far
c ountry over the wide s ea a people ,

of the Geats and the eldest the wa r ,

riors call B eowulf And they are .

asking that they may exchange words

1
Th m e f r ig i g D i h dy ty
n a e o a e n n an s n as .

3 F r S c ld
o y p A p p d i x II
c . en .
40 THE S T ORY OF BEOWULF
with thee my lord O g la d m a n H r o th
,
.

gar do not refuse to b e talking with

,

them For worthy they seem a ll in

.

their war weeds in the j udgement of

-
,

earls At least he is a daring Prince

.

wh o hither hath led this band of

’
warriors .

“
h
“
5 05
“

H E N spake Hrothgar
the protector of the
D anes : Well I kn ew
him when he was a
child and his old ,

father was called E cg

theow And to him .

did H r eth el of the

Geats give his only daughter and his ,

so n is bravely come here and hath

s ought out a gracious friend Then ’
.

said the sea farers who had b rought the

-

goodly gifts of the Geats there for

thanks that he the battle brave had
,
-

in h is han d grip the m ain cra ft o f thirty

-
 THE S T ORY OF BE OWULF 41

men . And the holy God hath sent him

‘

for favour to us West D anes an d of ,

’
this I have hope gainst the terror of ,

Grendel I shall o ffer the goodman

.

gifts for his daring N o w make thou .

haste an d command the band of war

rior kinsmen into the presence B id .

them welcome to th e people of the

D anes Then went Wulfgar even to
.
’

the hall door and spake these wor d s

-
,

My liege lord the Prince of the E ast ,

D anes commands me to say that he

,

knows your lineage And ye who are .

bo l d of purpose are welcome hither

over the sea waves Now may ye go -
.

in your war weeds under your visored

-
,

helm ets to s e e Hrothgar L et y our .

swords stay behind here the wood and ,

the slaughter shafts and the issue of -

words . Then the Prince rose up and

’
,

ab out him was many a warrior a glorious ,

band of thanes And some bided there .

and held the battle garments as the -

brave man commanded And they .

hastened together under the roof of

Hrothgar as the man directed them .

The stout hear te d m an w en t forward

-
,
42 THE S T ORY OF BEOWU L F
hard under helmet til l he stoo d b y the
dais .

Then B eowulf spake (and the by r n y ‘

shone on him the coat of mail sewn , ,

by the cunning of the smith ) : O ‘

Hrothgar all hail ! I am the kinsman

,

and comrade of H y g ela c 1

Many mar .

vels I have set on foot in the days of

my youth The affair of Grendel was.

made known to me in my native l and .

S ea farers told how this best of a ll

-

palaces stood idle and useless to war

riors after evening light came d own
,

under the brightness of h eaven Then .

my p eople p ersuaded me the best and ,

the proudest of all my earls O my lor d ,

Hrothgar that I should seek thee for

, ,

they well knew my main strength For .

th ey themselves saw how I came forth

bloodstained from the p ower of the
fiend when I b ound the five an d
, ,

destroyed the giant s kin and slew ’

,
’
mongst the waves sea mon sters by ,
-

night and suffered su ch dire distress

, ,

and wreaked vengeance for the strife

1
H y g el a c , K i n g of th e Gea t s at th e tim e, an d
l
un c e o f Be o wulf .
44 THE S T ORY OF BE OWULF
me for he will s eize m e all b l ood
,

stained and will bury the slaughter all

,

bloody and will think to taste and

,

devour me alone and without any

sorrow and will stain the glens in the
,

moorlan d And thou needest not to

sorrow longer over the food of my bo d y .

And if battle take me send to Hy g ela c ,

this best of coats of mail the noblest of ,

garments It is the heirloom of H r eth el

.

the work of VVe la n d ; and let Weir d go

’

as it will .
’

8
“
0 5 “
h

gave a n OTH GAR

sw er the protector of ,

the D anes O my :

friend B eowulf now ,

thou hast sought us ,

for defence and for

favour Thy father .

fought in the greatest

of feuds He was b a n e sma n to H e a th o
.

1
W l d th f m u mith f G m n i l
e an e a o s s o er a c s

gend ,
’
t —
y Wy t w h l r f er us t th e Fran ks
sa s a o a so e s o

t
Cas ke in the B ritish Mu s eum .
 THE S T ORY OF BEOWULF 45

laf amongst the Wy lfin g s when for ,

battle terror the King of the Geats

-

could not hold him Thence he sought .

the folk of the S outh D anes over the

welter of waves Then first was I .

ruling the D anish folk and in my youth ,

ful days p ossessed the costly j ewels the ,

treasure city of heroes Then H er eg a r .

was dead my elder brother not living

,

was he the child of H e a lf d en e He was

, .

a b etter man than I was Then a pay .

ment of money settled the matter I .

sent to th e Wy lfin g s ancient presents

over the s e a ridges And he swore to
-
.

me oaths And it is to me great sorrow

.

in my heart to tell any man what Gren

del hath done in Hart through his malice ,

of humiliation and sudden horror My

hall troo p has grown less th e crowd
-
,
1
of my thanes ; Weird has swept
them towards the terror of G rendel .

But easily may the good God re strain

1
We ir d was a p e culi arl y
li h c ep ti o En g s on c n .

It m ean sF t a D e ti y
e, or Th W ird b m
s n . en e eca e a

go d o rg o dd s se— 0 p T h S f
. r r‘
a Ol d Eeg l i h ea a e ,
’
n n s

p o m i n w hi h w fi d W ir d i tr g er th e L o rd
e c e n e s s on ,

i s mi g h ti er th a a y m a n s th o ug h ts
’ ’
n n .
46 THE S T ORY OF BE OWU L F
the deeds of the foolish s c a t h er And .

drunken with b eer the warriors full

’
often boasted o er the ale cup that they -

would bide in the beer hall the battle of -

Grendel with the terror of swords Then .

was the mead hall all bloodstained in

-

the morning when dawn came shining ,

and all the b e n ch e s were wet with

gore the hall with sword blood And
,
-
.

s o much the less did I rule o er dear

’

doughty ones whom death had taken .

Now s it down to the banquet and u n

bind thy thoughts thy hop es to the ,

thanes as thy mind inspires thee

, .
’

Then was there room made in the beer

hall for the Geats all together And .

there they went and s a t down the strong ,

hearted men proud of their strength

, .

And a thane waited on them who bore ,

in his hands the ale cup bedecked and -

,

he poured out the sparkling mead ,

while the clear voiced bard kept sing

-

ing in H art There was j oy to the

.

heroes and a very great gathering of

,

D anes and of Geats .

!
“
h
“
"5
 T H E ST O RY OF BEOWULF 47

VIII
PAKE then Un f er th ,

the son of E g la f who ,

sat at the feet of the

L ord of the D anes
and opened a quarrel .

(F or the j ourney of
B eowulf of the brave,

sea farer was vexa

-
,

tion to him for he could not brook that

,

ever any other man than he himself

should obtain greater fame in all the
earth )
.

What 1 said h e art thou that

,

B eowul f who didst contend with Breea ,

and s tr o v e st for the mastery in swim

ming o er wide seas when ye two for
’
,

pride were searching the waves and for

foolish boasting risked your lives in
the dee p waters 7 N o man could dis
‘

suade you from that sorrowful j ourney ,

neither friend nor foe when ye two ,

swam in the s e a when ye two enfolded

,

the waves with your arms and measured

the sea ways and brandished your arm s
-

as you glided o er the ocean The s ea

’
.
48 THE S T ORY OF BE OWUL F
boiled with waves the wintry whelming .

And for seven nights long ye were toiling

in the stress of seas But he o er .
’

p owered thee in swimming for greater ,

strength had he Then at the morning

.

ti d e the s ea b ore him up to the lan d of

the H e a th o r em e s Thence he was seek
.

ing the friend of his p eople his own

dear country the land of the Br o n d i n g s
, ,

the fair city of refuge where he had his ,

own folk and a city and rings The

, .

so n of B e a n st a n soothly fulfilled his

boasting against thee S o do I d eem .

it a worse matter though thou art ,

everywhere doughty in the rush of

b attle and grim warfare if thou shal t ,

be daring to bide near Grendel a night

l ong space .
’

Then B eowulf spake the s o n of ,

E cg t h e o w : What my friend Un f e r th ,

drunken with b eer many things thou ,

art saying about that Breca and talkest

of his j ourney But soothly I tell thee
.

that I had the greater strength in that

swimming and endurance in the waves
, .

We two agreed when we were young

s t ers
,
and boasted (for we were both
 THE S T O RY O F BE OW ULF 49

still in the days of our youth ) that we

in the ocean w ould b e risking our lives .

And s o in deed we did We had a .

naked sword hard in our hands when we

were swimming We two were think
.

ing to guard us gainst whale fishes

’
.

Nor over the sea waves might he b e

-

floating a whit far from me more ,

quickly on the waters Then we to .

gether were in the sea for the space of

five nights until the flood the boiling ,

waters drove us asunder And the .

coldest of weather and the darkening

,

night and a wind from the north b attle

,

grim turned against us and rough were ,

the waves And the mind of the mere

.

fi s h e s was stirred when m y shirt of

mail that was hand locked gave to me -

help against the foe The decorated .

battle robe lay on my breast all adorned

-

with gold and the doom ed and dire

,

foe drew to the bottom and fast he ,

had me grim in his grip S till to me was .

granted that I reached to the monster

with the p oint of my sword And the .

mighty sea deer carried off the battl e

-

rush through my hand .

4!
50 T HE S T O RY OF BE OW ULF

then evil d oers did

0 -

often oppress me .

And I served them

with my dear sword
as was most fitting .

Not at all of the

feasti n g had they
any j oy Evil de .

stroyers s a t roun d the banquet at the

bottom of the s e a that they might ,

seize me But in the m orning wounded

.
,

by my sword they lay up on the fore

,

shore put to sleep by my weap on s o

,

that they hindered no m ore the faring

of the s e a goers L ight came from the
-
.

eastward the bright b eacon of God

, .

The waves grew less that I could catch

sight of the s e a nesses the windy walls
-
, .

Weird often saveth the earl that is u m

doomed when his courage is doughty .

Nevertheless it happened that I slew

with my sword nine of the sea monsters -
.

Nor have I heard under vault of heaven

of a harder night struggle nor of a more
-
,
 52 THE S T ORY OF BEOW ULF
from the D anes But I shall ere long .

o ffer him in wa r the strength and the

courage of the Geats L et him go who .

can to the mead all proudly when

morning light shall shine from the
south another day over the children of
,

m en .
’

Then in the hall the giver of rings

was grey haired and battle brave Th e
- -
.

Prince of the D anes was hopeful of

h elp The guardian of the folk fixed
.

on B eowulf his firm purp osed thought -

.

There was laughter mong heroes din !

’
,

r esounded and words were W insome , .

Wea lth e o w went forth the Queen of ,

,
Hrothgar mindful of kinship and ,

decked out in gold she greeted B eowulf ,

in the hall And then the lovely wife .

first proffered the gob let to the L ord of

the E ast D anes and bade him be blithe ,

at the b eer drinking he who was dear -

,

to all his p eople And gladly he took .

the b anquet and hall cup he the vic -

,

t o r i o u s King The lady of the H elmi n g s 1

.

went round about every one of the

1
i . We a lth e o w H r o thg a r s !
s. ,
’
u een , w h o w as of

th i s tri b e .
 THE S T ORY OF BE OWU L F 53

youthful warriors and proffered the ,

costly cup until the time came that the

,

ring adorned Queen most excellent in

-

spirit b ore the mead cup then to

,
-

B eowulf S he the wise in words

.
, ,

greeted the Geats and gave thanks to

God that she had her desire that she
might trust in any earl for help against
such crimes He gladly received it he
.
,

the battle fi er c e warrior from the hand

-
,

of We a lth e o w and then began singing

, ,

inspired by a warlike spirit .

B eowulf spake the s o n of E cgth e o w

,

I had intended at once to work out the

will of this your people when I set forth
over the s e a and s a t in my sea boat with -

the troop of my people or that I would ,

fall in the slaughter fast in the fien d s ’

grip I shall yet acquit myself as b e

.

fi t t et h an earl or in the mead hall

,
-

await my last day And well the lady

.
’

liked the words the b oasting of the,

Geat And that lovely queen went all

.

decked out in gold to s it by her lord .

Then mighty words were spoken in the

hall as b efore by the people in j oyance
,

a n d the noise of the victors until the ,

54 THE S T ORY OF BE OWU L F
so n of H e a lfd e n e straightway would 1

b e seeking his evening rest And he .

knew that a battle was doomed in the

high hall to the monster when no longer
they could s e e the light of the sun or ,

darkening night came stalking over all

the shap es of shadows The troop of .

warrior s rose up the L ord greeted the ,

other Hrothgar greeted B eow ulf and

, ,

wished him good health and the ward

ing of that wine hall and he spake the
-
,

w ord : S ince the time that I could

‘

lift my hand or my shield never have ,

I gi v en the mighty hall of the D anes

into the care of any except now to ,

thee Have now and hold thou this

.

best of houses be thou mindful of ,

honour and show thyself courageous

, ,

and wakeful gainst foes Nor shalt

’
.

thou lack j oy if thou es c a p e s t from that

’
brave work with life .

H lf d
1
ea w th e f th r f H r th g r K i g f th
en e as a e o o a , n o e

D an es .

"5 9>
7
 THE S T ORY OF BE OWU L F 55

HEN Hrothgar de
p arted with his troop
of heroes he the ,

Prince of the S cyld

ings ; out of Hall
went he for the ,

battle chieftain would -

b e seeking out Weal

theow his Queen that they might go to
,

rest The glory of kings had appointe d

.

a hall ward as men s ay against Grendel

-
, , .

A thane was in w aiting on the Prince

of the D anes and his watch was keep
,

ing against the giant The L ord of .

t h e Geats readily trusted the proud

strength the favour of God Then doffe d
, .

he the iron coat of mail and his helmet

from his head and gave his sword b e
,

decked the choicest o f weap ons to a

, ,

thane that was serving and bade him to

,

hold ready his armour Then the good.

man s p oke some words of boasting : I

r e ek not myse lf meaner in war powers -

an d works of b att l e than Grend el doth

56 THE S T ORY OF BEOWU L F
himself For I will not with sword put
.

him to sleep and b e taking his life away ,

though well I might do it He knows .

not of good things that he may strike

,

me or hew my shield though brave

, ,

he may b e in hostile working but we —

two by right will forbear the sword if
he dare b e seeking warfare without
weapon and then God all knowing the
,
-
,

holy L ord shall adj udge the glory on

,
’
whichever side H e may think meet .

Then the bold in fight got him to rest ,

and the pillow received the head of the

earl and many a keen sea warrior lay
,
-

down on his b ed in the hall about him .

None of them thought that he then c e

would ever seek another dear home ,

folk or free city where he was a child ;

for they had heard that fell death had
taken ere this too many in that wine
, ,

hall of the people of the D anes But

, .

the L ord gave weavings of wa r sp eed -

to the people of th e Geats b oth com ,

fort and help S o that they all over

.

came their enemies through the craft

of one man and by his might only And .

t ru ly it i s sa i d that Go d A lmi ghty d oth

 THE S T ORY OF BEO WULF 57

wield for ever the race of men Then .

came in the wan night the shadow

goer gliding Warriors were sleeping
.

when t h ev should have been keeping

guard over that palace ; all save one
only It was well known to men that
.

their constant foe could not draw them

into shadowy places when the Creator
was unwilling But he ever wakeful in
.
, ,

an gry mood and fiercely indignant

,

against the foe wa s waiting the issue

, .

"5 !
“
!

HENcame Grendel ,

stalking from the

moors among the
misty hill slopes and-
,

he b ore God s anger ’

.

And the wicked

s c a t h er of human
kind fully intended to
ensnare a certain one in the high hall .

S o he wended his way under the welkin

to where he kn ew that the b est of win e
58 THE S T ORY OF BEO W ULF
halls the gold hal l of man wa s adorned
,
-
,

with gold plating Nor was that the .

first tim e that he sought out the home

of Hrothgar Nor ever in former or .

later days did he find a harder welcome

from hall thanes Then the creature
-
.

b ereft of all j oy cam e to the great

hall and the door strongly bound w ith
, ,

fir e bands
-
soon sprang open at his
,

touch And the evil minded one in his

.
-

fury burst open the door of the palace .

And soon after this the enemy angry ,

in mind was treading o er the doom ed

,
’

floor And a fearsome light streamed

.

forth from his eyes likest to a flame .

And he could s e e many a warrior in that

palace a troop of p eace lovers asleep
,
-

together a com p any of kinsmen and

, ,

he laughed aloud Then the terrible .

monster fully intended to cut off from

life every one of them there when he ,

was expecting abundance of meat But .

that fate was not yet that he should ,

lay hold of any more of human kin d after

that night .

Then did B eowulf kinsman of Hy ,

gelae s e e the dire distress ho w the

, ,
60 THE S T ORY OF B EOWU L F
giant was going forth but the ear l ,

stepped after The famous one intended

.

to escap e more widely howsoever he ,

might and to flee on his way thence

,

to th e sloping hollows of the fens .

That j ourney was sorrowful which the ,

harmful s c a th er took to Hart The .

lordly hall resounded And great terror

.

th ere was to all the D anes the castle ,

d wellers to each of the brave And

, .

both the mighty guardians were fiercely

angry T he hall resounded Then wa s
. .

it great wonder that the wine hal l -

withstood the b old fighters and that it ,

fell not to the earth that fair earth

,

dwelling But very firm it wa s stand

.

ing cunningly shaped by craft of the

,

smith within and without

, Then on .

the floor W as many a mead b ench as -

,

I have heard tell decke d out with gold

, ,

where the fierce ones were striving .

N or did the wise D anes form erly su p pose

that any man could break down a hall
so noble and decorated with antlers ,

or cunningly destroy it unless the ,

b osom of flame swallowed it up in

smoke The roaring went u p n ow
 T HE S T ORY O F B E OWULF 61

enough And an awful terror came to

.

the North D anes to each one of those

,

who heard weeping from the ramparts ,

the enemy of God singing a fierce song ,

a song that was empty of victory and ,

the captive of hell lamenting his sorrow .

For he that was strongest of m en in

strength held him fast on the day of his
life
.

"5 "5 "5

H E Prince of earls would

not at all let go alive
the murderous c o m er ,

nor did he count his

life as of use to any
of the p eoples And .

ma n y an earl of B eo
wu lf s brandished the
’

ol d heirloom and were wishful to defend

,

the life of their far famed liege lord

- -
,

if they might do s o And they knew

.

not when they entered the battle they

, ,

the hard thinking ones the battle men

-
,
-
,

and they thought to hew on all sides

62 TH E S TOR Y OF BE O W ULF
seeking out his spirit that not any ,

choice iron over the earth nor any battle

weap on could b e greeting the foe but ,

that he had forsworn all victorious wea

p ons and swords And miserable should
.

b e his p assing on the day of this life and ,

the hostile sprite should j ourney far

into the p ower of devils Then he found .

out that he who did crimes l ong before

,

this with mirthful mind to human kind ,

he who was a foe to God that his bod y ,

would not last out ; but the proud

kinsman of H yg e la c had him in his
hands . And each was loathsome to
the other while he li v ed The terrible .

monster s ore with w ound s was w aiting

, .

The gaping wound wa s seen on h i s

shoulder His sinew s sprang op en an d
.

the b one lockers burst

-
And great .

victory was given to B eo wulf Thenc e .

would Gren d el mortally wounded flee

, ,

under the fen slopes to seek out a j oyless

-

d we lling The more surely he kne w h e

.

had reached the end of his life the num ,

ber of his days Joy befell all the D anes

.

after the slaughter rush S o he had -

.

—
cleansed the hall of Hrothgar h e who
 THE ST O RY O F BE O W ULF ‘
63

had come from far the proud and stout

,

hearted one and saved them from strife

, .

He rej oiced in the night work and in the -

glorious deeds His boast he had ful

.

fill ed this leader o f the Geats which he

, ,

made to the E ast D anes and likewise ,

made good all the distresses and the

sorrows which they su ffered of yore from
the foe and which through dire need they
,

had to endure of distresses not a few

, .

And when the battle brave man laid -

down the hand the arm and shoulder

,

under the wide roof that was the mani ,

fest token .

5
“ ‘

h "5

XIII
HEN in the morning a s ,

I have heard say was ,

many a battle warrior -

round about the gift

hall Came the folk
.

leaders from far and

from near along th e
wide ways to look at
marvel . Nor did his p assing seem
64 TH E S T ORY O F BEOWUL F
a thing to grieve over to any of the
warriors of those who were scanning the
track of the glory less wight how weary
-
,

in mind he had dragged along his life

step s on the w a y thence doomed and
,

put to flight and overcome in the fight

,

at the lake of the s e a monsters There

-
.

w a s the s e a boiling with blood the ,

awful surge of waves all mingled with hot

gore Th e death doom ed one dyed the
.
-

lake when v oid of j oys he laid down his

life in the fen for refuge And hel l .

received him Thence after departed

.

the old companions likewise many a

,

young one from the j oyous j ourneys ,

proud from the lake to ride on mares ,

the yo uths on their horses And there .

wa s the glory of B eowulf proclaimed .

And ma n y a one was s aying that no

man was a better man no none in the , ,

whole wide world under arch of the sky ,

of all the shield bearers neither south

-
,

nor north by the two seas Nor a whit

, .

did they blame in the least their friend

and lord t h e glad Hrothgar for he was
,

a good king .

Meanwhile the fame d in battl e let

 T H E ST OR Y O F BE O W ULF 65

the fallo w mares leap and go faring

forth to the contest wherever the earth ,

ways seeme d fair unto them and wel l

known for their choiceness : and the
thane of the king h e who was laden with ,

many a vaunt and was mindful of songs , ,

and remembered a host of very many

old sagas he found other words but
, ,

b ound by the truth And a man began .

wisely to sing the j ourney of B eowulf ,

and to tell skilful tales with speeding

that wa s good and to interchange words , .

He told all that ever he had heard con

cerning S igmund with his deeds of
1
,

courage and much that is unknown the

, ,

strife of Wa el s in g ; and the wide j our

neys which the children of men knew
not at all the feud and the crimes when
, ,

F it ela was not with him when he would ,

b e saying any of su c h things the uncle ,

to the nephew for always they were ,

comrades in need at all the strivings .

They had laid low very many of the

giant s race by means of the sword
’
.

And after hi s death day a no little -

1
T hu s we s ee ho w s ag a s or l eg en d s ca me to b e
wo v en t o ge th i t er n o a s on g . Se e App en d xi X .

5
66 T HE S T O RY O F BE O WUL F
fame sprang up for S igmun d when he ,

the hard in batt l e killed the worm the , ,

guardian of the hoard He alone the .

child of the Atheling hazarded a fear ,

ful deed under the grey stone

,
N or was .

F i t ela with him S till it happ ened to .

him that his swor d p ierced through the

wondrous worm and it stood in the wa ll , ,

that doughty iron an d the dragon wa s ,

dead And s o this monster had gained

.

strength in that going s o that he might

enj oy the hoard of rings by his own doom .

H e loaded the s e a b oat and b ore the -

b right treasures on to the ship s bosom ’

,

he the s o n of Wa s ls The worm melted .

hot .He was of W anderers the most

widely famous in dee d s of courage ,

amongst men the protector of warriors , .

He formerly throve thus Then the .

warfare of H er emo d was w a ning his

1
,

strength and his courage and he was ,

b etrayed among the giants into the hand s

of the foes and sent quickly away And
, .

to o long did w helming sorrow vex his

1
H er emo d w a s a K i
n g of th e D an e s , an d 18

i tr du
n o ce d , s ay s Wy att , a s a s o ck e xat mpl e o f a b ad
 68 THE S T ORY OF B E OWULF

R OTH GAR spake H e .

went to the hall and

stood on the threshold
and saw the stee p roof
all decked out with
go l d and th e hand
o f Grendel L et .
‘

thanks b e given
’
quickly to God for this sight said he , .

‘
Often I waited for the loath some one ,

for the snares of Grendel May God .

always work wonder after wonder H e ,

the Guardian of glory It wa s not long

.

ago that I exp ected not a bettering of

any woes for ever when d o omed to
, ,

blood this b est of all houses stood al l

,

s tained with gore .Now has this Hero

done a deed through the power of the
,

L ord which none of us formerly could

,

e ver p erform with all our wisdom .

L o any woman wh o gave b irth to such

a s o n among human kind may s a y if
, ,

she yet l ive that the Creator w a s

,

g racious unto her in b earing of chi l d ren .

 THE S T ORY OF BE OWULF 69

No w , 0
B eowulf I will love the e in ,

heart as my son Hold wel l to this new

.

p eace Nor shall there b e any lack of

.

j oys to thee in the world over which I ,

have p ower Full oft I for less have

.

meted out re wards and worshipful gifts

to a meaner warrior one weaker in ,

strife Thou hast framed for thyself

.

mighty deeds s o that thy doom livet h

,

always and f or ever May the All .

wielder ever y ie l d thee good as He n o w

d oth .
’

B eowu l f s p ake the s o n of E c g theo w

,

‘
We framed to fight that brave work
W 1t h much favour and hazarded a deed ,

of daring and the might of the unknown .

I quickly gave you to s e e the monster

himself the enemy in his fretted armour
rea dy to fall I thought to twist him
.

quickly with hard grip on a bed of

slaughter s o that h e should lie in the
throes of death because of my hand ,

grip unless h e should escap e with his

,

b ody But I could not cut off his

.

going when the Creator willed it n o t .

I cleft him not readily that deadly fiend , .

He was too stron g on his feet Neve r .

70 THE S T ORY OF BEO W ULF
t h ele s she left b ehind his hand as a l ife
protection to show the track his arm ,

and his shoulders But not by any .

means thus did that wretched creature

get any help nor by that did the evil
,

doer brought low by s i n live any longer

, , .

But sorrow hath him in its fatal grip

closely encompassed with baleful bands .

There shall a man covered with sins

b e biding a mickle doom as the shining
’
Creator will prescribe .

Then was the man silent the s o n of ,

E c g la f in his b oasting speech ab out

,

deeds of battle when the Athelings ,

looked at the hand high up on the

roof by the craft of the earl and the
, ,

fingers of the foe there b efore each ,

one And each of the places of the

.

nails wa s likest to steel the claw of ,

the heathen the uncanny claw of the

,

battle warrior Every one wa s saying

.

that no very good iron of any of the ,

brave ones would touch him at all that

, ,

would bear away thence the bloody

battle hand of the monster
-
.

’ s
1
9 5 fl
 THE ST ORY OF BEO W ULF 71

HEN was it b i d den that

Hart sh ould b e
decked by their
han d s on the inside .

And many there were

of the men and wives
who adorne d that
wine hall the guest
-

cham b er And the tap estries shone

.

along the wall s brocaded with gold ;

many a wonderful sight for every man
who s t ar eth u p on them And that .

bright dwelling was greatly marred ,

though within it was fast b ound with

iron yet the door hinges had sprung
-

apart The roof alone escap ed all safe

.

and sound w hen the monster turned to

flight despairing of life and d oomed for
his crimes Nor wi ll it b e easy to escap e
.

from that fate whosoever may try to

, ,

but he shall get by strife the ready

place of the children of men of the
soul bearers who dwell u p on earth
-
, ,

by a fate that c a nnot b e esca p e d where

72 THE S T ORY OF BEOWULF
his b ody shall sleep after the banq uet
fast in the tomb .

Then wa s the time for H e a lfd en e s s o n ’

to go into the hall when the King him,

self would p arta ke o f t h e banquet .

Nor have I ever heard tell that any

people in greater numbers b ore them
selves b etter ab out their treasure giver -
.

And the wealthy ones s a t down on the

b ench and rej oiced in their feeding .

And full courteously their kinsmen took

m any a mead cup they the stout h e arted
-
,
-

Hrothgar and Hr o th ulf in the high hall .

And within was Hart filled with friends .

And by no means were the D anes the

while framing treacheries Then the .

son of H ea lf d e n e gave to B eowulf the

golden banner the decorated staff banner
,

as a reward for his conquest an d the ,

helm and the b y r n y And many a one .

saw the youth bear in front the b e

j ewelled s w ord B eowulf took the cup
.

in the hall Nor did he need to b e

.

ashamed of the fee gift in the presence -

of warriors Nor have I heard tell of

.

many men giving to others on any a l e

b ench four gifts gol d decked in fr ien d l ier
,
-
,
 THE S T ORY OF BE OWU L F 73

fashion The outside rim wound with

.

wires gave protection to the head on

the outer side around the crown of the
helmet S o that many an heirloom
.
1

could not hurt fiercely the helmet that

wa s hardened by being plunged in cold
water when the shield warrior should -

attack the angr y one The Protector .

of earls commanded eight horses to b e

brought in under the barriers with ,

bridles gold plated And a varicoloured .

saddle was fixed up on one of them ,

d ecked out with treasures and this ,

wa s the battle seat of the high King when -

the son of H e a lfd en e would b e doing the

sword play Never in the van did it
-
.

fail the warrior s o widely kenned when

the helmets were falling Then the .

Prince of the D anes gave to B eo wulf

the wielding of them both of horses ,

and weap ons ; and bade him we ll enj oy

them And thus in manly fashion the
.

famous chieftain the treasure guardian ,

-

of heroes rewarded the battle on slaught

,

1
Dyr n y w as a co a t of ma il Sw d
. or s we r e of

g r e a t er v lu a e asth y e we r e i t h irl
a n c en e oo ms , an d
h ad do n e g oo d rvi
se ce .
74 THE S T O RY OF BE O WULF
with horses and treasures so as no man
can blame them whoever will b e s a y
,

ing rightly the truth .

0 : ’ s
1

x vr

HEN the L ord of earls

as he s a t on the mead
beneh gave glorious
gifts to each one of
those who had fared
with B eowulf over the
ocean way s
-
,and
heirlooms they were
an d h e ba d e them atone for that one
with gold whom former ly Grendel had
wickedly killed as he would have d one
m ore of them unless Almighty God and
the spirit of B eowulf had withstood
Weird . The Creator ruleth all of
human kind as still He is doing And
, .

good understanding is always the b est

t h i n g i a n d forethought of mind And.

h e wh o long enj oys here the world in

these strife days shall b e biding both
-
,

p leasant and loathsome fate . Then

was there c l a mour an d sin gin g together
76 THE S T ORY OF BE OWULF
seize from the Prince s thane the wofu l ’

leavings by fighting But they o ffered .

him terms s o that they all made other

,

room for them on the floor and gave ,

them halls and a high seat that they

might have half the p ower with the
children of the Jutes ; and the s o n of
F o lc wa l d a honoured the D anes every
1

day with fee givings and bestowed

-
,

rings on the troop of Hengest y ea even , ,

great treasures plated with gold s o that ,

h e would b e making the kin of the

F r i s i a n s b old in the beer hall Then -
.

they swore on b oth sides a treaty of

peace Finn swore with Hengest and
.

all without strife that he held in honour

the wof ul remnant by the doom of the
wise men and that no man there by
,

word or work should break the treat y ,

or e ver annul it through treacherous

cunning though the y followed the
,

S layers of their R ing giver all b ereft of

-
,

their lord as was needful for them But .

if any one of the Frisians by daring

speech should bring to mind the mur
d eron s hate b etween them then shou ld ,

1
i . s. Fin n .
 THE S T ORY OF BE OWULF 77

the edge of the sword avenge it Then .

sworn was that oath and massive gold ,

was lifted u p from the hoard Then .

was H n a e f the best of the warriors

, ,

of the b old D anes ready on the funeral ,

p yre And the blood stained shirt of mail

.
-

was easily seen the golden b oar in the , ,

1
midst of the flame the iron hard b oar ,
-
,

and many an Atheling destroyed by

wounds S ome fell on the field of d eath
. .

Then H ild eb urh commanded her very

own s o n to be thrust in the flames of
the pyre of H n a e f his body to b e burned ,

and b e put in the fire And great wa s .

the moaning of the mother for her s o n ,

and dirge like lamenting as the warrior

-

ascended And the greatest of slaughter

.

fi r e s wound its wa y upwards towards the

welkin and roared before the cavern .

Heads were m elting wounds burst ,

asunder Then blood sprang forth from

.

the wounds of the b ody Flame s w a l .

lowed all that most cruel of ghosts

, ,

of both of those folk whom battle de

stroyed Their life wa s shaken out
. .

1
Th e b o a r th e n , a s ev e r i s n ce , o ccu p ied a pro mi n en t
pl a c e in h eral dry .
78 S T O R Y OF B E O W UL F

XVII

HEN the warriors

went forth to visit
the d w ellings which
were b ereft of
friends and to l ook ,

up on the land of the

Frisians the home ,

steads and the high

town And Hengest was still dwelling
.

with Finn that slaughter staine d win

,
-

ter all bravely without strife And he

, .

thought on the homeland though he ,

cou l d not b e sailing his ringed ship over

the waters The s ea b oiled with storm
.

and waged war with the wind An d .

winter locked up the ice bound waves -

till yet another year came in the court ,

as still it doth which ever guards the

,

seasons and the glory bright weather

,
-
.

Then winter was scattered and fair ,

was the b osom of the earth 1

An d the .

1
Se e a si mi la r p a s s ag e i n my v ers i o n of S i r Ga wa i n
an d the Gr een K n i ght, Can t II
o . 1 an d 2 .
 T H E ST ORY O F BE O W UL F 79

wanderer strove to go the guest from ,

the court An d much more he thought

.

of vengeance for the feud than of the

s ea voyage
-
as to how he could bring
,

ab out an angry encounter for he b ore ,

in mind the children of the Jutes And .

s o he escap ed not the lot of mortals

when Hu n la fin g did on his arm the b est

of swords the flashing light of the
,

battle whose edge wa s well known to

,

the Jutes And dire sword ba l e after

.
-

b e f el th e fi er c e minded Finn even in his

-
,

very o wn home when Guthlaf and,

O sla f lamented the grim grip of wa r an d

the sorrow after s ea j ourneys and were
-
,

charging him with his share in the woes .

Nor could he h e ld back in his o wn breast

his fluttering soul Then again wa s the
.

hall adorned with the b odies of foemen ,

and Finn wa s also slain the King with ,

his troop and the Queen wa s taken

, .

And the warriors of the D anes carried

to the ship s all the b elongings of the
earth king such as they could find in
-
,

the homestead of Fi r m of ornaments and ,

j ewels They b ore away also the noble

.

wife H ild eb urh d own to the sea a way

80 THE S T ORY OF B E OWULF
to the D anes , and led her to her
p eople .
’

S o a song sung a lay of the gleewa s ,

men and much mirth there wa s and

,

great noise from the benches And .

cup bearers offered wine from W ondrous

-

vessels Then cam e forth Queen V e a l

.
V

theow in her golden circlet where the ,

two good m en were sitting the uncle ,

and his nephew And still were they in .

peace together and each true to the ,

other L ikewise Un f er th the S p okes

.

man sat there at the foot of the L ord of

the D anes And each of them trusted
.

Un f er t h s good heart and that he had

’

a great soul though he was not loyal to

,

his kinsmen at the sword play -

.

Then spake the Queen of the D anes

Take this cup O my liege lord thou , ,

giver of rings B e thou right j oyful .

,

thou gold friend to men ; do thou speak

-

mild words to the Geats as a man ,

should b e doing B e glad of thy Geats .

and mindful of gifts N o w thou hast .

peace b oth near and far There is one .

who tol d me that thou woul d st hav e

 T HE S T ORY OF B EOWULF 81

the battle hero for thy s o n N o w Hart

-
.

is all cleansed the bright hall of rings

, .

Enj oy whilst thou mayest many r e

wards and leave to thy kinsmen b oth
,

folk and a kingdom when thou shalt go

forth to look on eternity I know my .

glad H r o t hu lf will hold in honour this

1

youth if thou O Hrothgar the friend of

,

the D anes dost leave the world earlier

,

than he I W een that he will yield

.

good to our children if he remembers

—
all that has passed h o w we two wo r
s h i p fu lly showed kindness to him in
former days when he was but a child .
’

Then she turned to the b ench where

were her sons H r o thr i c and H r o thmun d
and the children of heroes the youths ,

all together There s a t the good man

.

B eowulf of the Ge a ts by th e two ,

broth ers .

1
Hr o th ulf , ne p h ew of Hro thg a r .

"5 "
h 0 5
82 TH E ST ORY O F BE OWUL F

XVIII
ND the cup was b orne
to them and a f ri en d ,

ly invitation given to
them in words a n d ,

twi sted g ol d wa s
graciously proff ered
him two arm orna ,
-

ments armour and ,

rings and the greatest of neck rings of

,
-

which I heard tell anywhere on earth .

’
Ne er heard I of better hoard j ewels of
heroes under the s ky since Hama ,
1
carried away the Br o s in g a men to the -

bright city ornaments and treasure

,

vessel It was he wh o fled from the

.

cunning p lots of E o rma n ri c and chose ’

eternal gain H y g ela c of the Geats

.

next had the ring he wh o wa s the

,

grandson of Sw er t i n g when under the,

standard h e protected the treasure

and defended the plunder And Weird .

carried him off when he because of p ride ,

s u ffere d woes the feud with the Frisians

, .

S1
App n di x II I
ee e .

S3
App e d ix I V
ee n .
84 T HE ST O R Y O F BE OWUL F
Thanes are gentle the people all rea d y
, .

0 ye warriors wh o have drunk deep do ,

as I tell you S he went to the seat

.
’

where was a choice banquet and the ,

men drank w ine They knew not

.

Weird the Fate that was grim as it

, ,

ha d b efallen many an earl .

Then evening came on and Hrothgar ,

betook him to his o wn quarters the ,

Prince to his resting — place and a great ,

number of earls kept guard o er the ’

palace as often they had done in former

days They laid bare the b ench b oard
.
-

and spread it over with beds and bol

s t er s
. And one of the beer serva nts -

eager and fated went to his bed on the

floor And they s et at his head wa r
.

shields that were bright And over

, .

the Atheling there on the bench wa s

,

easily seen the towering helmet and

the ringed b y rn y the glorious sp ear It
,
.

was their wont to b e ready for war both

at home and in b attle at whatever time ,

their lord had need of them The season .

was propitious .

fi G a
 T H E ST O R Y OF B E OWULF 85

HEN they sank d ow n

to sleep And sorely
.

some of them p aid

for their evening r e
pose as full often it
,

had happ ened to them

since Grendel came to
the gold ha l l and d i d
-

evil until an end wa s made of him

, ,

death after sins It wa s easily seen and

.

widely known to men that an avenger

survived the l oathsome one for a l ong ,

time afte r the war sorrow A woman

-
.
,

the mother of Grendel a terrible wife

, ,

b ore in mind her woes S he who wa s

.

fate d to dwell in the awful lake in the

cold stream s since Cain became a sword
’
slayer to his only brother his father s ,

son H e th e n went forth marked for

.

the murder and fled from huma n j oy s

,

a n d dwelt in the wast e. And thence he

awoke man y a f atal d em on And Gren.
86 THE S T ORY OF B E OWULF
del w a s one of them the hatefu l fierce ,

wolf who found the man wide awake

,

awaiting the battle And there was the .

monster at grip s with him yet he r e ,

membered the main strength the wide

and ample gift which God gave to him ,

and trusted in the favour of the Al

might y for himself for comfort and help ,

by which he vanquished the enemy and

overcame t h e hell sprite Then he de -
.

parted abj ect bereft of j oy to visit the

, ,

death place he the enemy of mankind

-
, .

But his m other greedy and sad in ,

mind would b e making a sorrowful

j ourney that sh e might avenge the death
of her s o n S he came then to Hart
.
,

where the R ing D anes were asleep in-

that great hall Then soon th ere came

.

misfortune to the earls when the m other

of Grendel entered the chamber Y e t .

less wa s the terror even by s o much as ,

the craft of maidens th e war terror of ,

-

a wife is less than that of men b e

1
,

weap oned when t he sword hard bound

-

and forged by the hammer and stained ,

with blood cuts the boar on the hel

,

Wy tt tr l ati
2
a
’
s an s on .
 T HE ST O RY O F B E O WULF 87

met of the foe with its edge Then .

in the hal l the hard e d ge wa s drawn the

, ,

swor d over the seats and many a broad

,

shield heaved up fast by the hand An d

, .

no one heeded the helmet nor the broa d

shield when terror seize d up on them .

S he was in great haste she would go ,

thence her life to b e saving when sh e

was discovered Quickly she had seize d
.

one of the Athelings fast in her grip

when forth she was fleeing away to the
fen l and
-
H e was to Hrothgar the
.

d earest of heroes in the numb er of his

,

comrades by the t wo seas a powerfu l ,

shield warrior whom she kil l ed as he

-
,

slumbered a youth of renown B eowulf

, .

wa s not there To another the place

.

was assigned after the treasure gift -

had been bestowed on the famous Geat .

Then a great tumult was made in Hart ,

and with bloodshed sh e ha d seized the

well known hand of Grendel her son
-
.

And care was renewe d in all the d well

ings Nor was that a good exchange
.

that they on both sides shoul d be buying

with the lives of their frien d s .

Then wa s the wise King the ho a r ,

88 THE S T ORY OF B E OWULF
battle warrior rough in his mood when
-
,

he came to know that the dearest of his

chief thanes wa s dead and bereft of life .

And B eowulf quickly wa s fetched into

the bower he the man all victorious
, , .

And at the dawning went one of the

earls a noble champion he and his
, ,

comrades where the proud man wa s

,

waiting to s ee whether the All W ielder

,
-

will ever b e causing a change after woe

spells . And the battle worthy man -

went along the floor with his band of

followers (the hall wood wa s resound
1

ing ) s o that he greeted the wise man

with words the L ord of the D anes and
, ,

asked him if he had had a quiet night

in spite of the pressing call .

Th t i th1h rp a s,
‘
e a .
’
 THE S T ORY OF B E OW ULF 89

R OTH GAR spake ,

he
the L ord of th e D a n e s
A sk not after our
luck for sorrow is r e ,

newed to th e folk of
the D anes A e s ch er e .

is dead the elder ,

brother of Yr m en la f
he wa s my councillor and my rune
1
teller my shoulder companion when we
,
-

in the battle protected our heads when

troops were clashing and helmets were
crashing H e was what an e a r ] ought
.

to b e a very good Atheling S uch a

, .

man wa s Ae s ch er e And a wandering

.

slaughter guest wa s his hand slayer in

- -
,

Hart . I know not whither that dire

woman exulting in carrion and by her ,

feeding made famous went on her j our ,

neys S he wa s wreaking vengeance for

.

the feud of thy making when thou

kille d st Grendel but yesternight in a ,

Ru l i ter l l y
1
n e- rt
a , a s ec e .
’
90 THE S T ORY OF B E OWULF
viol ent wa y with hard grips because
, ,

all too long he wa s lessening and destroy

ing my p eople H e fell in the strug .

gle gave his life as a forfeit ; and now

,

comes another a mighty man s ca t her ,

-
,

to avenge her s o n and the feud hath ,

renewed as may seem a heavy heart

woe to many a thane wh o weep s in
his min d over th e trea sure giver N o w -
.

lieth lo w the hand which availed you

we ll for every kin d of pleasure I
, .

hear d l and dwellers and hall counsellors

-
,
-
,

an d my people s ay that they s a w t wo ,

such monstrous March ste p pers alien

1 -
,

sprites holding the moorland And one

, .

of them was in the likeness of a woman

as far as they could tell ; the other ,

shapen wretchedly trod the path of ,

exiles in the form of a man except that ,

he wa s greater than any other man he ,

whom in former days the earth dwellers -

called by name Grendel They knew

not hi s father whether any secret S prite
,

was formerly b orn of him They kept .

guard over the hidden land and the ,

1
Op th p hr
. W lh m h
e i th
as e
‘
e s a rc es ,
’
. s . e

b u d ri
o n limit f W l
a es o r s o a es.
92 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF
p laces where thou couldest find the
sinful man ; seek it if thou d a r e s t I .

will reward thee for the feud with old

world treasures s o I did before with ,

twisted gold if thou comest thence on

,
.
,

’
thy way .

0 5 0 5

x xx

E OWULF s p ake the

’

of E c g th e o w
so n

S orrow not 0 wise ,

man It is better for .

each one to avenge

his friend when h e ,

IS much mourning .

E ach one of us must

wait for the end of his world life L et -
.

him work wh o may ere the doom of ,

death come ; that is afterwards best

for the noble dead Arise 0 W ard of
.
,

the kingdom L et us go forth quickl y

.

to trace out the going of Gr en d el s ’

kinswoman I bid thee do it For

. .

neither in the bosom of the earth nor ,

in forests of the mountains nor by the ,

 T HE S T OR Y OF B EOW ULF 93

ways of the sea go where s h e will shall , ,

she escap e into safety D o thou thi s .

day b e patient in every kind of trouble

as I also hop e to b e Th e old man .
’

leapt up and gave thanks to G od the ,

mighty L ord for the words of B eowulf , .

Then wa s bridled a horse for H r o th

gar a steed with twisted hair and a s a
, ,

wis e prince he went forth in splendid

array The troop of shield warriors
.
-

marched along And the traces were .

widely seen in the forest ways the goings -

,

of G r e n d el s m other over the ground

’
.

Forwards sh e had gone over the mirky

moorlands and had b orne in her grasp
, ,

b ereft of his soul the b est of the thanes ,

wh o were wont to keep watch over

Hrothgar s homestead Then B eowulf
’
.
,

the Atheling s child ste p ped o er the ’

,
’

steep and stony slopes and the narrow

p athways and the straitened single
,

tracks an unknown way by the steep

, ,

nesses and by many a s ea monster s

,
-
’

cavern An d one of the wise m en

.

went on b efore to seek out th e path ,

until all at once he found some mountain

tr e es overhanging the grey stones a
, ,
94 T H E S T O RY OF B E O W UL F
forest all j oyless And underneath was .

a water all bloodstained and troubled .

And a grievous thing it was for all the

D anes to endure for the friends of the ,

1
Sc y ld in g s and for many a thane and
, ,

distressful to a ll the earls when they ,

came u p on the head of Ae s ch er e on the

cliffs ab ove the s e a The flood b oi l ed .

with blood and with hot gore (the folk

looked up on it ) An d at times the horn
.

sounded a battle song rea d y prepare d -

.

All the troop s a t down And many .

kin d s of serpents they s a w in the water ,

and wonderful dragons searching th e

sea and on th e cliff slopes monsters
,
-
,

of the ocean were lying at full length ,

who at the m orning tide often make a

woful j ourney on the sail path ; and -

snakes and wild beasts they could see also .

And these living things fell down on

the path all bitter and angry when they
perceived the noise an d the blast of the ,

war horn -
And the Prince of t h e
.

Geats killed one of them with his b o w

and arrows and en d e d his wave strife -
,

an d h e was in the sea slower at swim ,

1
S cy l d i n gs a re th e D an es .
 THE STORY O F B E O W UL F 95

ming as death swept him away An d .

on the waves by fierce battle hard

pressed and with boar spears savagely
,
-

barbed the wondrous s e a monster was

,
-

assailed in the struggle and drawn up

on the headland And men were look
.

ing at the awful stranger And B eo .

wulf put on him his armour that was ,

fitting for an earl and by no means did

,

he lament over his life for the hand ,

woven coat of mail which wa s am p le ,

and of many colours was destined to ,

explore the deeps and knew well h o w

,

to defend his body so that neither ,

battle grip nor the hostile grasp of the

-

treacherous one might scathe breast o r

life and the white h e lm et th ere o f warded
his h ead that which was destined t o
,

search out the bottom of the s ea and

the welter of waters and which wa s ,

adorned with treasures and encircled

with noble chains wondrously decked
,

and s et round with b oar images as in -

,

days of yore a weap on smith had made -

it for him so that no brand nor battle

,

sword could bite him And by no .

means was that the least of aids i n

96 THE S T ORY OF B E OW ULF
battle that the S p okesman of Hrothgar 1

lent him at need even the hilted sword ,

which wa s called H r u n t i n g And it .

was one of the ancient treasures Its .

edge wa s of iron and p oison tipp ed and ,

-
,

hardened in battle sweat An d never -

.

did it fail in the fight any man who

brandished it in his hands or who dared ,

to go on fearful j ourneys to the field ,

of battle And that wa s not the first

.

time that it was to do deeds of courage .

And Un f er t h did not think he the kins ,

man o f E c gl a f crafty of strength of

, ,

what he formerly had said when ’

drunken with wine he had lent that ,

weap on to a braver sword warrior He -

.

himself durst not risk his life in the

stress of the waters and do a glorious
deed And thereby he lost his doom
.

of famous deeds But thus wa s it not .

with that other for he had got himsel f ,

ready for the battle .

1
i . s. Un f er th .
1
Op . C h pt r VIII
a e .

0 ) ”5 0 5
 THE ST O RY OF B E O WULF 97

XXII

E OWULF spake the ,

of E c g th eo w
so n

O kinsman of
H e a lfd e n e 1
thou ,

far fa m e d a n d p r o u d
-

prince thou gold ,

friend of men now ,

that eager I am for

this forth faring b ethink thee now of
-
,

what we two were s p eaking together ,

that if I should lose my life through

helping thee in thy need thou wouldst ,

be always to me in the place of a father

after my death B e thou a guardian
.

to my kinsmen my thanes and my , ,

hand comrades if battle should take

,

me And dear Hrothgar send thou

.
,

the gifts which thou didst give me t o

, ,

Hy g ela c. And the L ord of the Geats ,

the s o n of Hr eth el when he looks on the

,

treasure and perceives the gold will s ee ,

that I found a giver of rings one good ,

and open han d ed and that while I could

-
, ,

i Hr th g r
1
. s. o a .
98 THE S T ORY OF B E OWULF ‘

I enj oyed the treasures And do thou .

l e t Un f e r th the man wh o is far famed

,
-
,

have the old heirloom the curiously ,

wrought sword with its wave like device -

,

with its hard edge I work out my fate .

with H r un t i n g or death shall seize me

, .
’

After these words the L ord of the

Weder Geats courageously hastened and
-
,

by no means would he wait for an answer .

The whelming sea received the b attle

hero And it wa s a day s while b efore
.
’

he could s e e the b ottom of the s ea An d .

very soon the fierce and eager one who

had ruled the ex p anse of the floods for
a hundred years she the grim an d , ,

greedy s a w that a man wa s searching

,

out from ab ove the d welling of strange

monsters Then sh e ma d e a grab at him
.
,

and closed on the warrior with dire em

brace But not at first d id she scathe h i s
.

b ody safe and sound The ring s ur

, .

rounded i t on the outside s o that sh e ,

could not pierce the coat of mail or the

interlaced war shirt with loathsom e
-

finger .Then the s e a wo l f when she -

,

came to the bottom of the s ea bore th e ,

R ing Prince towar d s h er house so tha t

-
1 00 THE S T O RY OF B E OWULF
and not by any m eans did he fail in
courage that kinsman of Hyg ela c mind
, ,

ful of glory And this angry warrior

.

threw away the stout sword b ound round ,

with j ewels with its wavy decorations and ,

with its edge of steel s o that it lay prone ,

on the ground ; and henceforth h e

trusted in his strength and the hand
grasp of might S o should a man b e.

doing when he thinketh to b e gaining

long lasting praise in fighting and careth
-
,

not for his life Then the L ord of the

.

Geats seized by the shoulder the mother

of Grendel (nor at all did he m ourn over
that feud ) , and he th e hard in b attle , ,

threw down his deadly foe when he was ,

angry so that she lay prone on the floor

, .

B ut sh e very quickly with grimmest of ,

grip s requited him a hand reward and

,
-
,

ma d e a clutch at him And the weary .

in Soul that strongest of fighters h e

, ,

the foot warrior stumbled and fell

-
.

Then sh e sat on that hall guest and -

,

drew forth her axe broad and brown ,

edged and would fain b e avenging the

,

death of her chil d of her only s o n But

, .

o n his shoulder wa s the coat of mail all

 T H E S T OR Y OF B EO W UL F ‘

101

woven which saved his life and pre

,

vented the entrance o f the p oint and the

edge of the sword And the s o n of
.

E c g th e o w the Prince of Geats would

, ,

have surely gone a j ourney under the

wide earth unless that warlike coat of
mail had given him help that hard wa r
,

net and unless the Holy God He th e

,

cunning L ord and the R uler in the

,

heavens had wielded the victory and

, ,

easily decided the issue aright ; then

he st raightway stood up .

9 3 0 5 0 5

XXIII
HEN among the we a
p ons he caught sight
of a sword rich in ,

victories an old ,

weapon of the giants ,

and doughty of edge ,

the glory of warriors .

It wa s the choicest of
weapons and it was greater than any
,

other man coul d carry to the battle

1 02 THE S T OR Y OF B E OW UL F
p laying and all glorious and good a
, ,

work of the giants And he seized it by .

the belted hilt he the warrior of the ,

D anes rough and battle grim and he

,
-
,

brandished the ring sword ; and de -

s a ir i n of l ife he angrily struck that

p g , s o

hardly he graspe d at her neck and broke

the bone rings And the point pierced
-
.

through the doomed fl e sh covering -

.

And s h e fell on the floor The sword .

wa s all bloody and the man rej oiced

,

in his work S hone forth the bright

.

flame and a light stood within even as ,

1
shineth the candle from the bright
heavens And then he looked on the
.

'

hall a n d tur n e d to the wall And the

, .

thane of H y g ela c angry an d resolute , ,

heaved hard the weapon taking it by ,

the hilt And the edge wa s not worth

.

less to the battle warrior for he would -

,

b e quickly requiting Grendel many a wa r

rush which he had done upon the West
D anes many times oftener than once
,

when in sleeping he smote the hearth

comrade of Hrothgar and fed on them ,

s lee p ing of the D anish folk some fifteen

, ,

1
i . e . th e s un .
104 TH E S T ORY OF B E O WUL F
see again their liege lord himself Then
-
.

the sword b egan to grow less after the ,

battle sweat into icicles of steel An d

-
, .

a wonder it wa s that it all began to melt

likest to ice when Our Father doth loosen
,

the band of frost and unwinds the icicles ,

He wh o hath p ower over the seasons ,

He is the true God Nor in these .

dwellings did the L ord of the Geats take

any other treasure though much he ,

saw there except the head and the

,

hilt decked out with j ewels

,
The .

sword had melted and the decorated ,

weapon wa s burnt u p The blood was .

too hot and s o p oisonous th e alien

,

sprite wh o died in that conflict S oon .

B eowulf wa s swimming he wh o formerly ,

awaited the onset of the hostile one s

i n the striving and h e dived upward s
,

through the water And the weltering.

surge and the spacious lands were all

cleansed when the alien sprite gave up
his life and this fleeting existence .

He the stout hearted came swimming

-

to shore he the Prince of the s ea men

,
-

enj oying the s e a spoils the great bur

-
,

den o f that which h e ha d with him .

 T HE ST O RY OF B EOWU L F 10 5

They advanced towards him and gave

thanks to God that glorious crowd of
,

thanes and rej oiced in their lord that

,

they could s ee him once more Then .

wa s l oosed quickly from that valiant

man both helmet and shield The sea .

became turbid the water under welkin

, ,

all stained with blood And rej oicing .

in spirit the brave men went forth with

foot tracks and passed o ver the earth
-
,

the well known pathways And a hard

-
.

task it wa s for eac h one of those proud

m en to b ear that head away from the se a 1

cliff Four of them with difficulty on

.

a pole were bearing the head of Grendel

to the gold hall until suddenly valiant
-
, ,

and battle brave they came to the

-
,

p alace fourteen of the Geats marching

,

along with their liege lord who trod the-

field where the mead hall stood Then -

.

this Prince of the thanes this man s o ,

b old of deed and honoured by Fate this ,

battle dear warrior went into the hall to

-

greet King Hrothgar Then over the .

floor where warriors were drinking they

b ore Gr en d el s head a terror to the
’
,

e arls a n d also to the Q u een And men .

106 T HE ST O R Y OF B E O WUL F
were looking at the s p l en d id sight of the
treasures .

0 5 05
“
"5

XXIV
E OWULF spake , the
so n of E c g th e o w
Lo of H e a lf
, so n

d ene lord of the

,

D anes we have,

brought thee this

b ooty of the sea all
j oyfully this which ,

thou seest as a token of glory And .

I hardly escaped with my life and ,

hazarded an arduous task of war under

water . And nearly wa s the battle
ended for me but that God shielde d
,

me Nor could I in that conflict do

.

aught with H ru n t in g though the wea

,

p on was doughty But the R uler of

.

men grante d me to see hanging on t h e

wall a b eauteous sword mighty and
ancient (often He guides those wh o are
bereft of their comrades ) and I drew ,

the wea p on And I struck i n that

.
10 8 THE S TO R Y OF BEOW
VULF

Hrothgar spake and looked upon th e

hilt the old heirloom on which wa s
,

written the beginning of t h e ancient

feud since the flood the all embracing ,
-

ocean slew the giant race when they ,

b ore themselves presumptuously They .

were a folk strangers to the eternal God ,

to whom the ruler gave their deserts

t hrough whelming of waters Thus .

wa s there truly marked on the sword

guards of shining gold by means of ,

rune staves s et down and stated by

-
,

whom that sword was wrought at the

first that choicest of weap ons with its
, ,

twisted hilt adorned with a dragon

, .

Then spake the wise man the son of

H e a lf d en e and all kept silence :
,
He
wh o doeth truth and right among the
folk and he who can recall the far off
,
-

days he the old protector of hi s country

,

may s ay that this earl wa s well born .

Thy fair fame is spread throughout the

wide ways among all peo p les O my
, ,

friend B eowulf Thou dost hold all .

with patience and might with the , ,

p roud of mind I will p erform the .

c om p act as w e two agree d Thou shalt .

 THE S T ORY OF B E OWULF 109

b e a lasting aid to thy p eop le a help ,

to the heroes Not so wa s H er e m o d

.
1

to the sons of n ela the honour full ,

-

D anish folk For he did not b ecome

2

a j oy to them but slaughter and ,

death to the D anish people But in .

a fury he killed the table companions -

his b oon comrades ; until he alone the ,

famous chieftain turned away from ,

human j oys And though the mighty

.

God greatly exalted him by the j oys of

strength over all p eople and rendered
him help yet a fierce hoard of hate
,

grew up in his soul ; no rings did he

give to the D anes as the custom wa s ; ,

and j oyless he waited s o that he ,

suffered troublesome striving and to his

p eople a long time wa s baleful D o .

thou b e learning by that example and

seek out manly virtues I wh o am old .

in winters sing thee this song And .

a wonder is it to s a y h o w the mighty

God giveth wisdom to mankind through
wideness of mind lands and earlship , , .

He hath p ower over all S ometimes .

1
Op p p
. . 6 6—68 .

1
Ho n ou r full
-
is Wy tt tr
a
’
s an s al ti on .
110 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF
he letteth the thought of man of famous
kith and kin be turning to love and ,

giveth him earth j o y s in his own

-

country so that he holdeth the city of

,

refuge among men and giveth him to

,

rule over p arts of the world and very ,

wide kingdoms s o that he himself fool

,

ishly never thinketh of his end H e .

dwelleth in weal ; and neither disease

nor old age doth deceive him a whit nor ,

doth hostile sorrow darken his mind ,

nor anywhere do strife or sword hate -

show themselves ; but all the world

doth go as h e willeth .

"5 !
“
"5

X XV

E knoweth no evil
until his share of
pride W asteth and
groweth while sleep
,

eth the guardian ,

the ward of his soul .

And the slee p is too

deep bound up in
,

affl ictions , the b a n es ma n draweth

112 THE ST O RY OF B E O WULF
will sever thee from strength or the ,

lustre of thine eyes will fail or grow

dim Then forthwith will happen that
.

death will o er p o wer thee O thou noble

’
,

man Thus have I for fifty years held

.

s way over the R ing D anes under the -

welkin and made safe by wa r many a

trib e throughout the world with spears
and swords s o that I r ee ke d not any
,

man my foeman under the sweep of

heaven L o ! then there came to m e
.

change in my homeland sorrow after ,

gaming when Grendel that ancient

, ,

foe b ecame my invader And ever I .

b ore much sorrow of mind through that

feud And may God b e thanked the
.
,

eternal lord that I lingered in life till

, ,

I looked with mine eyes on that head

stained with sword blood after the old
-

strife G o n o w to thy seat and enj oy

.

the feasting thou wh o art glorious in

,

wa r . And when morning cometh the re

shall b e a host of treasures in common
’
b etween us .

And the Geat wa s gla d of mind an d ,

soon he went up to the high seat a s the

proud chief ha d bidden him Then .
 THE S T ORY OF B E O WULF 113

renewed wa s fair chanting as before

’
mongst these brave ones who s a t on
the floor And the helmet of night
.

grew dark over men And the noble wa r

.

riors arose The venerable king wished

.

to go to his bed the old prince of

,

the D anes And the Geat the shield

.
,

warrior desired greatly to go to h i s rest

, .

And straightway a hall thane guided -

the far comer weary of his j ourney he

-
, ,

wh o s o carefully attended to all his

needs such as that day the ocean goers -

would fain b e having And the great .

hearted one rested himself The House .

towered on high that wa s spacious and

gold decked
-
The guest slept within
.

until the black raven heralded the j oy

of heaven .

Then came the s u n hastening and ,

shining over the earth Warriors were .

hurrying an d Athelings were eager to

go to their people The bold hearted
.
-

comer would visit th e ship far away .

He the hardy one bade the s o n of

E c gla f carry forth H r u n t i n g and com ,

ma n d e d him to take h i s sword that ,

lovely piece of steel And he gave ,

3
1 14 THE S T ORY OF B E O WULF
thanks for the lending and sai d he ,

reckoned him a good wa r comrade and -

crafty in fighting Not at all did he

.

blame the edge of the sword He was .

a proud man When ready for the

.

j ourney were all the warriors then ,

B eowulf the Atheling of good worth to

,

the D anes went up to the d ais where

,

was Hrothgar the faithful an d b old ,

and greeted him there .

"5 "5 0 5

XXVI
E OW ULF spake , the
son of E c g th eo w
Now the sea we
farers that have come ,

from afar desire to ,

s a y th a t we a r e hasten

ing back to Hyg ela c .

And here have we

b een nobly waited on and well thou hast
,

treated us And if I then on earth can

.

g ain a whit further g reater heart lov e -

1 16 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF
an arrow or fierce battle shoul d take
away the children of H r e th el or disease
or sword destroy thy sovereign the ,

protector of the folk and thou art still ,

living that the S ea Geats will not have

,
-

to choose any better king if thou wilt ,

hold the kingdom of the kinsmen Thou .

hast brought about p eace to the folk

of the Geats and the S pear D anes and -
,

a ceasing of the strife and of the e n

mity which formerly they suffered And .

whilst I am ruling the wide king d om ,

treasures shall b e in common b etween

us And many a man shall greet ano
.

ther W ith gifts over the s ea 1

And the .

ring necked ship s h all b ear over th e

-

ocean b oth offerings and love tokens I -

.

know the t wo p eoples to b e steadfas t

towards friend and foe and blameless in ,
’
all things in the old wise .

Then in that hall the p rince of the

earls the s o n of H e a lfd en e ga v e him
, ,

twelve treasures and bade him b e seek ,

ing his own p eo p le in safety and with

the offerings and quickly to come back ,

1
L it r ll y
e a , th e g a n n e t b th ’
s a .
’
Th e s ea is l
a so

Swa n p th
’
s a
,
’
Sa il p th
-
a ,
’
it
c e.
 THE S TO RY OF B EOWULF 117

again Then the King the Prince of

.
,

the D anes he of good lineage kissed

, ,

the best of thanes and embraced his ,

neck And tears were falling down the

face of t h e old man And the old and .

wise man had hop e of both things but ,

most of all of the other that they might

s ee each the other those thoughtful ,

men in council .

For B eowulf was s o dear to him th at

he could not restrain the whelming in his
b osom but a secret longing fast in the
,

bonds of his soul was burning in his

breast against his blood 1
S o B eowulf .

the warrior proud of hi s golden gifts

, ,

went forth o er the grassy plain r ej o i c

’

ing in treasure And the s e a goer was .

-

awaiting her lord where s h e lay at

anchor And as he wa s going he often
.

thought on the gift of Hrothgar He .

wa s a king blameless in every W ay

, ,

until old age that s c a t h er of many, ,

bereft him of the j oys of strength .

1
A di ffi cult p hr ase . Re fers p erh a p s to o ld f e ud s
b etween D an ce an d G ea t s .

95
1 0 5 1
95
1 18 TH E S TOR Y OF B E OWULF

XXVII
0
many a proud young
warrior came to the
seaside And they .

were carry ing the

ring net the inter -
,

laced coats o i mail .

And the ward of the

shore notice d the
going of the earl s as he did their com
,

in g
.
1
Nor with evil intent did he hai l
the guests from the e d ge of the cliff ,

b ut rode u p to them and said that ,

welcome and b righ t coated warriors -

went to th e shi p to the p eo p le of the

Geats Then on the sand wa s the
.

spacious craft laden with battl e wee d s -

,

the ringed prow with horses and trea

sures and the mast towered high over
,

Hrothgar s gifts And he gave to the

’
.

ca p tain a sword b ound with gold s o ,

that by the mead b ench he wa s by that

-

the worthier b ecause of the treasure an d

th e h eir l oom Then he went on b oard
.
,

Op Ch pt r III
1 . a e .
1 20 TH E S T ORY OF B E O W UL F
near to the s ea wall And s p lendid was -
.

that building and the Prince wa s a bold ,

King and th e halls were high and

, ,

H yg d his wife wa s very young and wise

and mature in her figure though the ,

daughter of H eareth had bided in that

city but a very f ew years But she wa s .

not mean nor niggardly of gifts and

of treasures to the people of the Geats .

B ut T hry th o wa s fierce for she had

1
,

committed a terrible crim e that b ol d ,

Queen of the folk There wa s none .

that durst risk that dire thing of the

dear companions save only her lord , ,

that he should stare on her with his eyes

by day ; but if he did he might expect
that death bands were destined for him-

self for after the hand grip a wea p on

,
-

wa s quickly p repared that the sword ,

that was curiously inlaid should bring

to light and make known the death
bale Nor is it a queenly custom for
.

T h y th i r f rr d t
1
r f i l t B yg d T h y th
o s e e e o as a o o . r o

wa s as bad a w o m an as H yg d w a s g o o d . Sh e w a s a

w o ma n o f a w ild an d p a s s i o n a te di s p o s iti on . Sh e
be c a me th e ! u e en of K i n g O ff a , an d it s ee ms to
h v b
a e e en a case o f th e t a min g o f th e s hr ew .
’
O ff s
.

app r ea s to h av b e een h er s eco n d h u s b an d . Se e b e lo w .

 THE S T ORY O F B E OW ULF 121

a woman to perform though sh e might ,

b e peerless that s h e should assail the

,

life of a peace wearer of her dear lord

-
, ,

after a pretended insult At least King .

Off a the kinsman of Hemming checked

, ,

her in that But otherwise said the

.

ale drinkers namely that she did less of

-
,

bale to her people and of hostile acts ,

since the time when s h e was first given

a ll decked with gold to the young
1
champion to her dear lord since sh e
, ,

soug ht the Hall of Offa over the fallow

flood by the guidance of her father ,

where on the throne whilst s h e lived

s h e well did enj oy her fate that woman ,

famous for good works And she kept .

great love for the prince of heroes and ,

of all mankind he wa s as I have learne d ,

by asking the greatest by two seas

, .

For O ffa wa s a s p ear keen man in gifts -

and in warfare and widely wa s he ,

honoured And he ruled his people

.

wisely And to him and Thr y th o E o

.

m ser wa s b orn to the help of heroes he ,

the kinsman of Hemming the nephew ,

of G a rmun d wa s crafty in battle

, .

i e t O ff 1
. . o a.
12 2 T HE ST O RY O F B E OWULF

XXVIII

HEN the hardy one

himself with his troop ,

set forth to tread the

seashore going along ,

the sands the wide ,

sea b eaches The .

candle of the world

shone the s un that ,

was shining from the S outh An d j oy .

fully they j ourneyed and with courage ,

they marched along to where they heard

,

by inquiring that the good Prince of

,

earls the b a n e s ma n of On g en th e o w
,
1

the young war king was giving out

-
,

rings within the city And quickly wa s .

made known to H y g ela c the coming of

B eowulf that he the Prince of warriors
, ,

the comrade in arms wa s returning alive,

and hale from the battle play wa s -

,

coming to the p alace And straight .

i s H yg el e e A pp di s VI I a d I X
1 ce
. .
; ac s en . n .
124 T H E S T O RY OF B E OWULF
stranger but to let the S outh D anes
,

themselves wage war against Grendel .

And I now give God thanks that I s e e

thee safe and sound .
’

B eowulf answered th e s o n of Ecg ,

theow : O L ord Hyg ela c it is well ,

known to many a man our famous ,

m eeting and the battle we fought

, ,

Grendel and I on th e wide plain when

, ,

he was working great sorrow to the

D anes and misery for ever All that .

I avenged s o that no kinsman of Grendel

,

anywhere on earth needed to b oast of

that u p roar by twilight no not he of ,

that kindred wh o liveth the longest ,

encircled by the fen And first to .

,

greet Hrothgar I went to th e R ing ,

hall And straightway the famous kins

.

man o i H ea lfd en e when he knew my i h ,

t ention gave me a place with his o wn

,

s o n ; and the troop wa s all j oyful Nor .

ever have I seen greater j oy amongst any

hall dwellers under the arch of heaven
-
.

S ometimes the famous Queen the p eace ,

1

bringer of the folk walked over the ,

whole floor and encouraged the youn g

i1 We alth w Hro th g r s ! u n
. s . eo ,
a
’
ee .
 T HE S T ORY OF B EOWULF 125

sons And often s h e gave to the man

.

a twisted ring ere s h e went to the high

seat And sometimes for the noble
.

band the daughter of Hrothgar carried

the ale cups to th e earls at the end of
-

the high table And I heard those wh o

.

s a t in that hall calling her F r e a w a r u as

s h e gave the studded treasure to the

heroes And s h e young and gold decked

.
,
-
,
1
is b etrothed to the glad s o n of Froda .

The friend of the D anes and the guar

dian of the kingdom has brought this
to pass and taken that counsel s o as
, ,

to s e t at rest by that b etrothal many a

sla ughter feu d and ancient strife And
-
.

often it hap p ens that a little while

after the fall of a people the deadly ,

spear seldom lieth at rest though the

bride b e doughty And this may dis .

p lease the lord of the H e a th o b a r d s

and all of his thanes of the people ,

when he with his bride walketh over the

floor that his doughty warriors should
,

attend on a noble scion of the D anes ,

and the heirloom of the ancients should

g listen on him all hard and the , ri ng ,

1
i .s ., I n g e ld . Se e b lo w
e .
126 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF
swor d the treasure of the H e a th o
,

bards whilst they might be wielding

,

1
weap ons .

0 5 “
05 i s
1
x x rx

I LL the day on which

they risked their
own and their com
rades lives in the ’

battle Then said an .

old spear warrior -

w ho rememb ered all

that had hap pened ,

the d eath of men by s p ears (his mind

wa s grim ) and he began with sorrowful ,

mind to seek out the thought of the

youn g cham p ion by broodings of the
heart and to awaken the wa r bales and
,
-
,

“
this is what h e said : Canst thou r e
A th r pi d v i th t f F w u d
1
no e e so e, z . a o rea ar an

I n g el d . No t e a so l th e rtifi i l br
a c a ea k o f th e n a rr tiv
a e

in t h pt
o c a er s . Se e App dix V en .

Hr thg r h
o a
’
s o pes b y th m rri e a age o f d a u g hter
his
F r e a w a ru t o I n g e ld o f th e H ea th o b a r d s w as d o o m d t o e

i
d s a pp o n m e n , c p i t ‘
t
Wi d s i th , 4 5 9 .
’
-
.

1 Numb e r s X X X I . an d XX X . a re l a ckin g i n th e
MS . T he d ivi s i o n s he r e a re a s in Wya tt s ’
ed iti on .
1 28 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF
the troop p eace between them the
-
,

plighted troth .

‘
Now I speak out again ab out Grendel ,

for that thou knowest full well O giver ,

of treasure h o w went that hand to

,
-

hand fight of the heroes When the .

j ewel of heaven glided over the world ,

then the angry sprite the terrible ,

and evening fi er ce foe came to visit us

-
,

where we were dwelling in the hall all

safe and sound There wa s battle im .

pending to H o n d s ci o the life bale to the ,

-

doomed one And he first fell the

.
,

champion begirt For Grendel was to .

the famous thane a b an es m a n by biting ,

and devoured whole the dear man .

Nor would he the bloody toothed slayer

,
-
,

mindful of bales go out empty handed ,

-

any sooner again forth from the gold ,

hall ; but he proved my strength of

main and ready handed he grasped at
,
-

me An ample and wondrous glove

.

hung fast by cunning bands And it .

was cunningly fashioned by the craft of

devils and with skins of the dragon
,
.

And the fierce doer of deeds wa s wishful

to put me therein , o n e among many .
 T H E S T O R Y OF BE OW ULF 1 29

But he could not do so for I angrily ,

stood upright And too long would it .

b e to tell h o w I requited all evil to that

s c a t h e r of the people where I O my , ,

liege lord honoured thy p eople b y

-
,

means of good deeds He escaped on .

the way and for a little while he enj oyed

,

life pleasures
-
But his right hand
.

showed his tracks in Hart a n d he sank ,

to the bottom of the sea all abj ect and ,

sa d of heart And the lord of the .

D anes rewarded me for that battle rush -

with many a piece of plated gol d and ,

with ample treasure when morning ,

came and we had set ourselves down to

the feasting And there wa s singing .

and rej oicing And the wise man of the .

D anes wh o ha d learned many things

, ,

told us of olden d ays And the bold in .

battle sometimes touched the harp

strings the wood that wa s full of music
, ,

and sometimes he gave forth a song that

—
wa s true and s a d and sometimes large ,

hearted the King related a wondrous

,

spell well and truly 1

And sometimes .

1
! r b b l y r f rri g t th
o a h ti g o f m a i t
e e n o e c an n so e n c en

l g d b y th
e en p g l em
e s co , or e an .

9
130 THE S T O RY O F B E O WUL F
the old man encumb ered by years some ,

ancient warrior lamented his lost youth

,

and strength in battle His heart wa s .

tumu ltuous when he of many winters , ,

recalled all the number of them S o .

we rej oiced the livelong day until a n

other night came down u pon men .

Then was the mother of Grendel quickly

rea dy for vengeance and came on a ,

woful j ourney for D eath had carried off

,

her son that wa r hate of the Geats And

,
-
.

the uncanny wife a venged her child .

An d Ae s ch er e that wise and ancient

,

council lor d ep arted this life N or when

,

morning came might the D a n l sh p eo p le

b urn him with brand that d eath weary ,
-

man nor l ay the b e l oved man on the

,

funeral p yre For sh e bore away the

.

b ody in her fiendish grip un d er the

mountain streams An d that wa s to
-
.

Hrothgar the bitterest of griefs which

for l ong ha d b efallen the Prince of the
p eople Then th e Prince s a d in mood
.
, ,

by thy life entreated me that I should

do a deed worthy of an earl midst
, ,

welter of waters and risk my life and

,

achieve glory An d he p romise d me

.
1 32 THE S T ORY OF B E OWULF
will I proffer them Again all favour .

dep ends on thee for few chief kinsm en ,

have I save thee O H y g ela c H e com

, .
’

m a n d e d them to bring in the boar the ,

head sign the battle steep helmet the

-
,
-
,

hoary b y r n y the S plendid wa r sword

,
-
,

and then he chanted this song : It ‘

was Hrothgar that proud prince who , ,

b estowed upon m e all this battle gear -

.

And a certain word he uttered to me ,

that I should first give thee his kindly

1
greeting H e said that H rothgar the
.

King of the D anes possessed it a long

while .Nor formerly would he b e
giving the breast weeds to his s o n the -

brave H e o r o w a r d though dear he ,

’
was to him D o thou enj oy all well
. .

Then I heard that four horses of ,

reddish yellow hue followe d the armour , .

And thus he did him honour with horses

and gifts S o should a kinsman do
. .

By no means should they weave cun

ning nets for each other or with secret ,

craft devise death to a comrade His .

nephew wa s very gracious to H yg ela c ,

the b rave in strife and each was s triv ,

1
Wy a tt s ’
tr an s a l ti on .
 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF 1 33

ing to b estow favours on the other .

An d I heard that he gave to H y g d the

nec k ring s o curiously and wondrously
-

wrought which W e a lth e o w a daughter

,

of roy al birth had given him and three ,

horses also slen der and saddle bright -

.

And her breast was adorned with the

ring sh e had received .

And B eowulf son of E cg th e o w s o, ,

famous in warfare and in good deeds ,

b ore himself boldly a n d fulfilled his

fate nor did he slay the dr unken hearth
,

comrades H e was not s a d minded

.
-
,

but he the battle dear one by the

,
-
,

greatest of craft known to man h e ld

fast the lasting and generous gift whi ch
God gave him For long had he b een
.

despised s o that the warriors of the

,

Geats looke d not upon him as a good

man nor did the lord of troops esteem
,

him as of much worth on the mead

b ench B esi des they thought him slack
.
,

and by no means a warlike Atheling .

Then came a change from all his dis

tresses to this glorious man Then the .

Prince of E arls the battle brave King

,
-
,

comman d e d that the heirloo m of Hr e the l

1 34 THE S T ORY OF B EO WULF
a ll decke d out in gol d should b e brought
in For of swords there wa s no more
.

glorious treasure among the Geats .

And he laid it on the bosom of B eo

wulf and gave him seven thousand men
,

and a building and a throne And b oth .

of them held the land the earth the , ,

r i gh t s i n the land as an hereditary posses

sion ; but the other wh o was the b etter

man had more especially a wide kingdom .

And in after days it happ ened that

-

there were battle c r a shin g s and Hyg e

-
,

1
lac lay dead and swords under shields
,

b ecame a death bane to H e a r d r e d when

-
2
,

the brave battle wolves the S we d es -

, ,

sought him out among the vieto

rion s ones and assailed with strife the
nephew of H er er i e and it was then ,

that the broad kingdom came into the

possession of B eowulf And h e held .

sway there i n fifty winters (and a wise

King was he that old guar d ian of his
,

country ) until on d ark nights a dragon

1
H y g el a c w a s kill e d i n h i s s o hi t ri l i v i
ca n as on of

th e Ne th r
e l a n ds w , c hi h
i s fiv e m e s ti r f rr d t i
e e e o n th e
po em Se e Ap p en d x VI I
. i .

S e e Ap p en dix I X .
1 36 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF
slave fled the hateful blows of heroes ,

he that wa s shelterless and the man

troubled by guilt penetrated therein .

And soon it came to pass that an awful

1
terror arose upon the guest And .

in the earth house were all kinds of

-

ancient treasures such as I know not ,

what man of great thoughts had hidden

there in d ays of old the immense heir ,

looms of some nobl e race costly trea ,

sures And in former times death had

.

taken them all away and he alone of the ,

warriors of the people wh o longest

lingered there full lonely and s a d for
,

l oss of friends was he and he hoped for a ,

tarrying that he but for a l ittle while

,

might enj oy the ancient treasures And .

this hill wa s quite near to the ocean

waves and to the sea nesses and no
,
-
,

one could come near thereto

And he the guardian of rings carried
1n s 1d e the cave the h eavy treasures of

plated gold and uttered some f ew

,

words : D o thou O earth hold fast the , ,

treasures of earls which heroes may not

hold . What ! From thee in days of
H r g i th t xt i s i mp erf e t
1
e e a a n e e c .
 THE S T ORY OF B E OWULF 1 37

yore good men obtained it D eadly .

warfare and terrible life bale carrie d -

away all the men of my p eople of those

wh o gave up life They had seen hall
.

j oy And they s a w the j oys of heaven

. .

I have not any one wh o can carry a

swor d or polish the gold plated cup the -
,

dear drinking fl a g o n
-
The doughty ones
.

hav e hastened elsewhere The hard .

helmet dight with gold shall b e deprived

of gold plate The polishers sleep the
.

sleep of death wh o should make ready

the b attle grim likewise the coat of
,

mail which endured in the battle wa s

shattered over sh i elds by the bite of
the iron spears and p erishes after the
death of the warrior Nor can the .

ringed b y rn y go far and wide on b ehalf

of heroes after the passing of the war
,

chief .

‘
No j oy of harping is there nor mirth ,

of stringed instruments nor does the ,

goodly hawk swing through the hall ,

nor doth the swift horse paw in the

courtyard And death bale hath sent
.
-

away many generations of men Thus .

’

th en , s a d at heart he lamente d hi s
1 38 THE S T ORY OF B E OWULF
sorrowful plight one for many and un
, ,

blithely h e wept b oth day and night

until the w helming waters of death
touched his heart And the ancient
.

twilight s c a th er found the j oyous treasure

standing open and unprotected he it ,

was who flaming seeks the cli ff sides -

,

he the naked and hateful dragon who

,

fli eth by night wrapt about with fire .

And the dwellers upon earth greatly

fear him And he shoul d b e seeking the
.

hoar d upon earth where ol d in winters

he g u a r d e th the heathen gold Nor .

a ught is he the b etter thereby .

An d thus the s c a th er of the p eople ,

the mighty monster ha d in his p ower

,

the hall of the hoard three hun d re d

years upon the earth unti l a man in
anger kin d led his fury For h e carried
.

off to his liege lor d the plated drinking

-

fl a g o n and offered his master a treaty of

p eace Thus wa s the hoard discovered
. ,

the hoard of rings plundered And a .

boon wa s granted to the miserable

man An d the L ord s a w for the first
.

time this ancient work of men Then .

awo ke the d ra gon an d t he stri fe was

,
1 40 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF
wished day wa s departing Not any
, .

longer would he wait within W alls but ,

went forth girt with b aleful fire And .

terrible was this beginning to the p eople

in tha t country and sorrowful would
,

b e the ending to their Lord the giver of

,

treasure .

h
“
0 5 0 5

XXXIII
HEN the Fien d began
to b elch for th fire ,

and to burn up the

glorious palace And .

the flames there

of were a horror to
men Nor would the
.

loathly air fl i er leave -

aught living thereabouts And this

.

warfare of the dragon wa s seen far

and wide by m en this striving of the
,

foe wh o caused dire distress and h o w ,

the wa r sca ther hate d and harme d the

-
 THE S T ORY OF B E OWULF 1 41

people of the Geats And he hurried .

back to his hoard and the dark cave

hall of which he wa s lord ere it was ,

da dawn
!
-
He had encircled the dwel
.

lers in that land with fire and brand .

He trusted in his cavern and in battle ,

and his cliff wall But his hop e de

-
.

c e iv e d him Then was the terror made

.

known to B eowulf quickly and soothly , ,

namely that his very homestead that ,

b est of houses that throne of the Geats , ,

was dissolving in the wh elmmg fire .

And full rueful wa s it to the good man ,

and the very greatest of sorrows .

And the wise man was thinking that

he had bitterly angered the Wielder of
all things the eternal God in the matter
, ,

1
of some ancient customs And within .

his breast gloomy brooding was welling ,

as wa s by no means his wont The .

fiery dragon had destroyed by flame

the stronghold of the p eople b oth the ,

s e a b oard and neighbouring land

-
An d .

therefore the King of the We d er Geats -

devised revenge upon him .

1
! ib l y l t r i erti
o ss a th te c o mm
a e nsd on ,
‘
e n an

me ts (Wy tt )
n a .
1 42 TH E ST O R Y OF B E O WUL F
N o w B eowulf the Prince of earls and
protector of warriors commanded them
to fashion him a glorious wa r shield all
-

made of iron For he well knew that

.

a wooden shield would b e unavailing

against flames For he the age long
.
,
-

noble Atheling must await the end of

,

days that were fleeting of this world life -

,

he and the dragon together though ,

long he had held sway over the hoard

of treasur e And the Prince of ring s
scorned to employ a troop against the
wide fly in g monster in the great warfare
-
.

Nor did he dread the striving nor did ,

he think much of this battle with the

dragon of his might and courage for
, ,

that formerly in close conflict had he

escaped many a time from the c r a shi n g s
of battle since he the victorious sword
,

man cleansed the great hall in Hart of

, ,

Hrothgar his kinsman and had grappled

,

in the contest with the mother of Grendel ,

of the loathly kin .

Nor was that the l east han d to hand - -

fight when H yg ela c wa s slain there in

,

the Frisian land when the King of the

Geats the frien d ly lor d of the fo lk th e
, ,
1 44 THE ST O R Y OF B E OWUL F
counsel to the folk with grace and honour
until that he (H e a r d r e d ) wa s older and
held sway over the Weder Geats -
.

Then those exiles the sons of Oh th er e

sought him over the seas ; they had
rebelled against the L ord of the S wedes ,

the best of the sea kings that famous -

,

chieftain of those wh o bestowed rings in

S weden And that wa s life s limit to
.
’

him . For the s o n of Hyg ela c famish ,

ing there wa s allotted a deadly wound

,

by the swing of a sword And the s o n .

of On g en th eo w went away thence to visit

his homestead when H e a r d r e d lay d ead ,

and left B eowulf to sit on the throne and

to rule the Goths And he wa s a good
.

1
King .

1
Se e A pp en dix I X .
 T HE ST OR Y O F BE OWUL F 1 45

XXXIV

E wa s min d e d in after
days to b e requiting
the fall of the prince .

He wa s a friend to
the wretched E a d g ils ,

an d helped E a d g ils
the s o n of Oht h er e
with an army with
warriors and with weapons over the ,

wide seas And then he wrought ven

.

g e a n c e with cold and painful j ourney

ings and deprived the king (On ela ) of
life
.
1
Thus the s o n of E cg th e o w had
escape d all the malice and the hurt f ul
contests an d the courageous encounters ,

until the day on which he was to wage

war with the dragon And so it cam e
.

to pass that the L ord of the Geats went

forth with twelve others and inflamed
with fury to s p y out the dragon For
, .

he had heard tell of t h e malic e an d

1
Se e App e n d ix I X .
1 46 TH E STORY O F BE O W ULF
hatred he had shown to men whence ,

arose that feud .

And by the han d of the informer l

,

famous treasure came into their posses

sion ; he wa s the thirteenth man in
the troop wh o set on foot the b egin
ning of the conflict An d the sorrowful .

captive must show the wa y thither .

H e against his will went to the earth .

hall for he alone knew the barrow

,

under the ground near to the sea surge -

,

where it wa s seething the cavern that ,

wa s full of ornaments and fila g r e e .

And the uncanny guardian thereof the ,

panting war wolf held p ossession of

-
,

the treasures an d an ancient was he

,

un d er the earth And it was no easy

.

b argain to b e gaining for any living man .

S o the battle hardened King s a t down

-

on th e cli ff and took leave of his hearth

,

comrades he the gold friend of the

,
-

Geats And his h eart was s a d waver

.
,

ing and ready for deat h and Weird

, ,

came very near to him who would b e

greeting the venerable warrior and b e
seekin g his soul treasure to divi d e -
,

1
Se e p . 138 .
1 48 T HE S T O R Y O F B E O WULF
unavenged b e losing his life For s o .

is it a sorrowful thing for a venerable

man to s ee his s o n riding the gallows
tree when he singeth a dirge a sorrow
ful song as his s o n hangeth a j oy to
, ,

the ravens And he very old may

.
, ,

not g ive him any help And every .

morning at the feasting he is reminded

of his son s j ourney else whither And
’
-
.

he careth not to await another heir

within the cities when he alone through
,

the fatality of death hath found out the

deeds .

Heartbroken he looks on the b ower of

his s o n on the wasted wine hall become
,
-
,

the hiding place for the winds and

-

b ereft of the revels The riders are

.

sleeping the heroes in the tomb N or

, .

is any sound of harping or games in ,

the courts a s erewhile there w ere .

 THE S T ORY OF B E OWULF 1 49

XXXV

EN he goeth to
the sleeping place and -

c h a n t e th a sorrow
song the one for the
,

other And all too .

spacious seemed to
him the fields and the
dwell ing house So
-
.

the Prince of the Geats b ore welling

heart sorrow after H er eb a ld s death
-
’
,

nor a whit could he requite the feud on

the murderer nor visit his hate on that
,

warrior with loathly deeds though by ,

no means wa s he dear to him He then .

forsook the j oys of life because of that

sorrow wound which b efell him and
-
,

chose the light of God and left to his

,

sons land and towns when he departed

this life as a rich man doth Then was .

there strife and struggle between the

S wedes and the Geats and over the ,

wide seas there wa s warfare between

them a hardy battle striving when
,
-

H r eth el met with his death And the .

1 50 THE ST ORY OF B E OWULF
chil d ren of On g e n th eo w were brave an d
battle fierc e and wou l d not keep the
-
,

peace on the high seas but round about ,

H r e o s n a b o rg they often worke d terrible

an d dire distress An d my kinsmen .

wrought vengeance for that feud and

crime as all men know though the other ,

b ought his life with a har d bargain .

And wa r was threatening H aeth cy n the

l ord of the G eats The n I hear d tell .

that o n the morrow one brother the

other avenged on the slayer with the
1
edge of the sword whereas On g e n th e o w
,

seeketh out E o f o r The war helmet .

-

wa s shattered and the Ancient of the

,

S wedes fell prone all sword p ale And

,
-
.

we ll enough the hand kept in mind the

feud an d withheld not the d eadly blow .

An d I yielde d him back in the warfar e

the treasures he gave m e with th e
flashing s w ord as was granted to me
, .

And he gave me land and a dwelling

and a pleasant country And he had .

no need to seek among the G ifth a s o r

the S pear D anes or in S weden a worse
-

war wolf or to buy one that was worthy

-
, .

1
S e e Ap p en d ic es VI I . an d IX .
152 TH E S T O RY OF BE OWULF
of helmets the dear companions
, I .

would not carry a sword or weap on

against the dragon if I knew how else
I might maintain my b oast against the
monster as I formerly did against
,

Grendel But in this conflict I expect

.

the hot battle fir e b oth breath and

-
,

p oison Therefore I have both shield

.

and b y r n y I will not flee from the

.

warder of the barrow a foot s space ’

-
,

but it shall b e with me at the wall of

the barrow a s Weird sh a ll direct wh o ,

created all m en I am strong in sou l

.

s o that I will refrain from boasting

against the war fli er Await ye on the
-
.

barrow guarded by byrnies O ye ,

warriors in armour and see which of

,

u s t wo wil l b etter survive his wounds

after the battle rush This is no j our
-
.

ney for you nor fitting for any man

save only for me that he should share
,

a conflict with the monster and do

dee d s worthy of an earl I will gain .

p ossession of the gold by my courage ,

or battle and deadly evil shall take

’
away your lord .

Then the strong warrior har d un d er ,

 THE S T ORY OF B E OWULF 1 53

helm a ro s e b eside his shield and carried

,

his shirt of mail under the rocky

cliffs and trusted in the strength o f
himself alone Nor wa s that a coward s
.
’

j ourney Then B eowulf possessed of

.
,

manly virtues wh o had escaped in

,

many a conflict and crashing of battle

when men encountered on foot s a w ,

standing by the wall of the barrow an

arch of rock and a stream broke out
,

thence from the barrow and the whelm

,

ing of that river wa s hot with battle

fir e s
. Nor could he survive any while
near to the hoard unburnt because of
the flame of the dragon Then in a .

fury the Prince of the Weder Geats -

let a torrent of words escape from

his breast and the stout hearted one -

stormed .And his wa r clear voice r e

-

sounded under the hoar cli ffs And .

hatred wa s stirred for the guardian of

,

the hoard recognized well the voice of

B eowulf And that was no time to b e
.

seeking friendship And the breath of

.

the monster the hot battle sweat came

,
-
,

forth from the rock at the first and the

earth resoun d e d The warrior the L ord
.
,
154 T HE S T ORY OF B E O WULF
of the Geats raise d his shield under the
,

barrow against the terrib l e sprite No w .

the heart of the dragon wa s stirred up

to seek the conflict The good wa r king .
-

had formerly drawn his swor d the ,

ancient heirloom not slow of edge And

, .

each of them wh o inten d e d evil was a

terror the one to the other And the .

stern minded one he the Prince of

-
,

friendly rulers stood by his steep shield

, ,

and he and the dragon fell quickly to

gether B eowu lf waited warily all in
.

his wa r gear Then th e flaming monster

-
.

b ent as he charged hastening to his ,

d oom The shield well protected life

.

an d b o d y of the famous warrior for

a lesser while than h e had wille d it
if he wa s to b e wielding victory in that
contest on the fir s t day ; but Weird
’

had not s o fated it And the L ord of .

the Geats uplifted his hand and struck ,

at the horribly bright one heavy with

heirlooms so that the edge stained
,

with blood gave way on the b one an d

bit in less strongly than it s master had
nee d of when pressed by the business .

Then after the battle swin g the guar d i a n -

156 S T ORY OF B EOWULF

XXXV I
was he cal l ed
I GLAF ,

he who was the son

of We o h s t a n the b e ,

loved shield warrior -

,

the Prince of the

D anes and the kins
man of A elfh e r e .

He saw his lord su f

f er in g b urning p ain under his visor .

Then he called to mind the favour that

he (B eowulf ) had bestowed upon him
in days of yore the costly dwelling of
,

the W a eg mun d in g s and all the folk

1

rights which his father had possessed .

Then he could not restrain himself but ,

gripped the shiel d with his hand the ,

yellow wood and drew forth the old

,

swor d which was known among men as

the heirloom of E a n mu n d the s o n of ,

Oh th ere and in the striving W e o h s t a n

,

was b a n es ma n by the edge of the sword

to th at friendless exile and b ore away
1
W g mu d i g th f mi l y to wh i h b th B
ae n n sm e a c o eo

wu l fan d Wi gl f b l
a g d e on e .
 T HE S TOR Y O F B E OWULF 1 57

to his kinsman the brown hued helmet -

,

the ringed b y r n y and the old giant s

,
’

1
sword that On ela had given him the ,

war weeds of his comrade and the well

-
,

wrought armour for fighting Nor did .

he speak of the feud though he slew ,

his brother s s o n
’
And he held pos
.

session of the treasures many years ,

b oth the sword and the b y r n y until ,

such time as his s o n should hold the

earlship as his father had done And .

he gave to the Geats a countless numb er

of each kind of war weeds when he
, -
,

i n old age passed away from this l ife ,

on the outward j ourney That was the .

first time for the young champion that

he went into the war rush wi th his noble
-

lord Nor did his mind melt within him

. ,

nor d id the heirloom of his kinsman at

the war tide And the dragon discovered
-
.

it when they two came together .

Wigla f S pake many fitting words and ,

said to his comrades (for his mind was

sad within him ) : I remember the
tim e when we partook of the mead ,

and promised our liege lord in the b eer -

S
1
Ap p di x I X
ee en .
1 58 T HE ST OR Y O F BE O WUL F
hall he who gave to us rings that we
, ,

would yield to him war trappings b oth -

helmets and a hand sword if such need -

,

b efell him And he chose us for this

.

warfare and for this j ourney of his

, ,

own free will and reminde d us of glory ;

,

and to me he gave these gifts when he

counted us good spear warriors an d -

brave helmet bearers although our lord

-
, ,

this guardian of the people had it in

his mind all alone to do this brave work
for us for h e most of all men could do
,

glorious things an d desperate deeds of

war And now is the day come that
.

our lord hath need of our prowess and

of goodly warriors L et us then go to .

the hel p of our battle lord whi l e it -

lasts the grim terror of fire

, God .

knows well of me that I would much

rather that the fla me should embrace
my b ody together with that of my lord
the giver of gold Nor does it seem to .

m e to b e fitting that we should carry

shields back to the homestea d except
we have first laid low the foe and pro
t e cte d the l ife of the Prince of the We ders
1
.

i Be wul f
1
. e . o .
1 60 TH E ST O R Y OF BE O WU L F
destroye d by the flames Then again .

the war king b ethought him of glory

-
,

and struck a mighty blow with his

battle sword so that it fixed itself in
-

his head forced in by violence An d

, .

N a eg lin g B eowulf s sword old and grey

’
, ,

broke in pieces and faile d in the ,

contest It wa s not given to him that

.

sharp edges of swords should help him

in battle His hand was too strong
.
,

so that it overtaxed every sword as ,

I have b een told by the force of its ,

swing whenever he carrie d into battle

,

a wondrous hand weap on And h e was -

.

nowise the b etter for a sword The n .

for the third time the s c a t he r of the ,

people the terribl e F ire dragon was

,
-
,

mindful of feuds an d he rushe d on the ,

brave man when he saw that he had

room all hot and battle grim and
,
-
,

surrounded his neck with bitter b ones .

And he was all b e b l oo d ie d o ver with -

life bloo d an d the s weat w elle d u p i n

-
,

w a ves .

0 5 O:
“
h
 THE S TO RY OF B EOWULF 161

XXXV II

HEN I heard tell that

the E arl of the King
of the People showed
in his time of need
unfailing courage in
helping him with
craft and keenness as ,

was fitting for him to

do He paid no heed to the head of
.

the dragon (but the brave man s hand’

was being burnt when he helped his

kinsman ) but that warrior in arms
,

struck at the hostile sprite somewhat

lower in his bod y s o that his shining
and gold plated sword sank into his
-

body and the fire proceeding therefrom

,

b egan to abate Then the good King

.

B eowulf got possession of his wits

again and drew his bitter and battle
,

sharp short sword that he bore on his

shield And the King of the Geats
.

cut asunder the d ragon in the mid st

of his body And the fiend fell prone ;
.

11
162 TH E S T ORY OF B EOWULF
courage had driven out his life and ,

they two together had killed him noble ,

comrades in arms And thus should a

.

man who is a thane always b e helping

his lord at his need And that was .

the ver y last victory achieved by that

Prince during his life work -
.

Then the wound which the E arth

dragon had formerly dealt him b egan
to burn and to swell And he soon .

discovered that the baleful venom was

seething in his breast the internal ,

poison Then the young noble looked

.

on the giant s work as he s a t on a seat

’

musing by the cliff wall how arches

of rock firmly on columns held the
,

eternal earth house within Then the

-
.

most noble thane refreshed his blood

stained and famous L ord his dear and ,

friendly Prince with water with his own ,

hands and loosened the helmet for the

,

battle sated warrior

-
And B eowulf.

spake over his deathly pitiful wound

, ,

for well he knew that he had enj oyed the

day s while of his earthly j oy : and
’

the numb er of his days was all departed

and death was coming very near .
164 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF
lordship over the people whom I have ,

ruled s o long .
’

f ) h h

XXXV III

EN straightway I
heard tell how the s o n
of W e o h s t a n after ,

these words had b een

S poken obeyed the ,

b ehest of his lord ,

who was sick of his

wounds a n d carried ,

the ring net and the coat of mail

-

adorned under the roof of the barrow

, .

And as W ig la f exulting in victory came

, ,

b y the seat he s a w ma n y gems shining

,

1
and shaped like the sun and gleaming
gold all lying on the ground and ,

wondrous decorations on the wall and ,

he s a w too the den of the dragon the ,

ancient twilight fl i er and fl a g o n s stand

-
,

ing there and vessels of men of days

Wy tt d M i t l t u j w l
1
a an o rr s ran s a e s n e e s .
’
 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF 165

long gone by no longer polished but

,

shorn of adornment And there also .

w a s many a helmet ancient and rusty , ,

and many arm rings cunningl y twisted

-
.

The poss e ssion of treasure and of gold

on the earth may easily make proud all
of mankind let him hide it who will
, .

L ikewise he s a w the all gilded banner -

ly ing high over the hoard that greatest ,

of wondrous handiwork and all woven b y

the skill of human hands And therefrom .

went f orth a ray of light s o that he could ,

s e e the floor of the cave and look care ,

full y at the j ewels And there w a s no

.

sign of the dragon for the sword edge ,

-

had carried him off .

Then I heard tell how in that barrow

one at his own doom plunde r ed the hoard
1
,

that old work of giants and bore away ,

on his arms both cups and dishes And .

the banner also he took that brightest ,

of beacons B eowulf s sword with its

.
’
,

iron edge had formerl y inj ured him who

,

had been the protector of these treasures

for a long time and had waged fi e rce
,

fl a m e terror b ecause of the hoard fiercely

-
,

Wy tt tr l ti
1
a
’
s an s a on .
166 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF
welling in the midnight hour until he
was killed .

1
The messenger was in haste and ,

eager for the return j ourney and laden ,

with j ewels an d curiosity tormented

,

him as to whether he would find the

b old minded Prince of the Geats alive
-

on the battle fi eld and bereft of strength

-
,

where b efore he had left him Then he

with the treasures found the glorious
lord his own dear master at the last
, ,

gasp and all stained with blood And

, .

he b egan to throw water up on him ,

until the p ower of speech brake through

his mind and B eowulf spake and with
, ,

sorrow he looked upon the hoard .

I would utter words of thanks to the

L ord and wondrous King to the eternal ,

God for the treasures which now I am

,

looking upon that I have managed to

obtain them for m y dear p eople b efore
my death day Now that I have in
-
.

exchange for this hoard of treasure sold

my life in m y old age and laid it down , ,

do thou still b e h elping the people in their

need for I may no longer b e lingering
,

1
i . e . W i g la f .
168 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF

x x x rx

HEN had it sorrow f ully

come to pass for the
young warrior that
he saw his most b e
loved i n a miserable
plight on the earth at
his life s end L ike ’
.

wise the terrible

dragon his slayer lay there b ereft of
, ,

life and pressed sore by ruin And the .

coiled d ragon could no longer wield

the hoard of rings but the iron edges ,

of the sword well tempered and battle

,

1
gashed ; the hammer s leavings had ’
,

carried him off s o that the wide fl i er,

-
,

stilled because of his wounds fell to the ,

earth near to the hoard hall And no -

.

more in playful wise at the midnight

hour did he drift through the air ; this
,

dragon proud in his gainings of trea

,

sure showed not his face but was fallen

, ,

to the earth because of the handiwork

of the battle warr ior -
.

And as I have heard it would have ,

1
i . e . i t h ad b e en w e ll h a mm e rdi t
e n o s h p
a e .
 THE S T ORY OF B E OWULF 1 69

profited but few of the mighty men ,

even though they were doughty in deeds

of all kinds thou gh they should ru sh
,

forth against the flaming breath of the

p oisonous s c a t h e r even to the very dis
,

t u rb i n g of the R ing Hall with their -

hands if they should have found the

,

guardian thereof awake and dw e lling in ,

the cli ff c a ve Then B eowulf s share

-
’

of lordly treasure w a s paid for b y his

death And b oth he and the dragon had
.

come to an end of their fleeting days

-

And not long after that the laggards ,

,
—
in battle those cowardly treaty breakers ,

ten of them together came back from ,

the woodlands they who erewhile had

,

dreaded the play of j avelins when

their lord had sore need of their help .

But they were filled with shame and ,

carried their shields and battle weeds

,
-
,

to where the old prince was l y ing And .

they looked on W ig la f ; he the foot

warrior s a t awear y near to the shoulders
of his lord and sou ght to rouse him b y
,

S prinkling water upon him but he ,

succeeded not at all Nor could he .

,

though he wished it ever s o much keep ,

17 0 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF
life in the chieftain or avert a whit the
will of the Wielder of all things Every .

man s fate was decided by the act of

’

God as is still the case Then was a

, .

grim answer easil y given by the young

man to these who erewhile had lost
their courage .

W igla f spake he the son of We o h st a n

, ,

the s a d hearted
-
H e who will S p eak
.
‘

truth may s a y that the lord and mast e r

who gave you gifts and warlike trap ,

pings i n which ye are now standing

, ,

when he ver y often gave on the ale

b ench to them who s a t in the hall ,

both helmet and b y r n y the P rince to ,

his thanes as he could find a n y of you

,

most noble far or near that he wholly ,

wrongly b estowed upon you war trap -

pings when war befell him The King .

of the folk needed not indeed to boast of

h i s army comrades yet God th e W ielder
, ,

of Victory granted to him that alone he

,

avenged himself with the edge of the

sword when he had need of strength .

And but a little life protection could I -

give him in the battle yet I sought to ,

help him beyond my stren gth T he .

17 2 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF
of the end of the day and the return of
the dear man And he who rode to .

and fro o er the headland was little

’

sparing of fresh tidings but said to all ,

who were sitting there Now is the j oy ,

giver of the p eople of the Geats fast on

his death bed and by the deed of the
-
,

dragon he inhabits the place of rest

gained by a violent death And by his .

side lieth the enemy of his life sick of ,

his dagger wounds Nor could he inflict

-
.

with the sword an y wound on that

monster W igla f sits over B eowulf he ,

the s o n of We o h s t a n the earl over the ,

other one who is dead and reverently ,

keep s ward over the loath ed and the

belov ed But there is an expectation
.

of a time of war to the people since to ,

Franks and Frisians the fall of the King

has b ecome widely known The hard .

strife was shapen against th e Hugs when ,

H y g e la c came with a fleet into the

Frisian lands where the H e t w a r e over
1

came him in battle and by their great ,

strength and courage brought it to pass

1
Ye t an o th r r f e e er e n ce to H y g el a c ’
s fa m ous ra id .

See App en di VI I
x .
 THE ST o R Y OF B EOWULF 17 3

that the S h ield warrior should stoop -

.

H fell in h e
e t troop Nor did the Princ e .

give j ewelle d armour to the dought y

ones T h e . h n e r c y of the M er e w i n
g was 1

not always shown to us Nor do I .

expect augh t of p eace or good faith

from the S wedish People But it was .

well known that O n

g e n t h e o w b ereft 2

H aeth c y n t h e s o n of H r e th e l of life 3

over against R avenswood when b e ,

cause o f pri de the warlike S wedes first

sought out the people of the Geats .

S oon O n g en t h e o w the wise father of

O h t h er e the ancient
,
and “
terrible gave ,

him (H aeth cy ) a return blow destroyed

'
n ,

the s e a kin g s and

- rescued ‘

. his bride
(Queen Elan ) he the old man rescued
his wife ber ft e of gold the mother of ,

O n ela and o f Oh t h e r e and then followed ,

up the deadl y foe until with di ffi culty

they r e tr e a t fi d all lord less to R avens -

4
wood And .
he attacked the remnant

1
M er o vi g i
n an ;
K i g
n of th e F r an ks .

2
Se e App en di x IX ;

3
H r e th e l K , irlg of Gea t f th r
s, a e of H y g ela c

g ra n df th r
a e of B e o wu lf .

4
L it er a lly , the swo r d l vi -
ea n gs .
’
17 4 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF
with a great army weary though he
,

was with his wounds And the live.

long night he vowed w o e up on t h e

wretched troop and said that on the
,

morrow he would by the edge of the

sword slay som e and hang them up
on the gallows tree for a sport of the
-

birds But help cam e to the sorrowfu l

.

in soul at the dawn of day when they ,

heard the horn of Hy g ela c and the

blast of his trumpet when the good
man came on the track faring with the
doughty warriors of the people .

a i 9 5

ND the blood track of -

both S wedes and

Geats the slaughter
,

rush of warriors was ,

widely seen how th e

folk stirred up the
feud amongst them .

The good man wise ,

and very s a d went away with his com

,

rades to seek out a stronghold Earl .

17 6 THE S T ORY OF B E OWULF
King of the people turned thither Nor .

could Wulf the bold s o n of Wa n r e d giv e

back a blow to the old churl for O n g en ,

theow had formerly cut his helmet in

two s o that he stained with blood
, , ,

fell prone p erforce to the ground But .

not yet was he doomed but he raised ,

himself up though the wound touched

,

him close An d the hardy thane of

.

H y g ela c (E o f o r ) when his brother lay

prostrate caused the broad sword the
, ,

old giant s sword to crash through the

’
,

wall of shields up on the gigantic helmet .

Then stooped the King the shepherd of ,

the p eople mortally wounded And

, .

there were many who b ound up his

kinsman and quickly upraised him
when room had been made s o that they
might possess the battl e fi eld while one -
,

warrior was plundering another One .

took the iron shield of O n g e n th e o w and ,

his hard hilted sword and his helmet

-
, ,

and carried the trappings of the old

man to Hy g ela c And he received the .

treasures and fairl y he promised reward

,

for the people and he did as he pro,

mi s e d .The lord of the Geats (Hy g ela c )

 THE S T ORY OF B E OWULF 17 7

son of H r e th el rewarded with ver y

,

costly gifts the battle onset of E o fo r

and Wulf when he got back to his
palace and bestowed upon e ach of th e m
,

a hundred thousand of land and locked

,

rings Nor could any man in the world

.

reproach him for that reward since they

,

had gained glory by fighting ; and he

gave to E o f o r his only daughter sh e ,

who graced his homestead to wed as,

a favour And this is the feud and the

.

enmity and hostile strife of men which ,

I expect the S wedish people will seek

to awaken against us when they shall
hear we have lost our Prince he who ,

in days of yore held treasure and king

dom against our foes after the fall of
heroes and held in check the fierce
,

S wede and did what w a s good for the

,

p eople and deeds worthy of an earl .

Now is it best for us to hasten to look

upon our King and bring him who gave
to us rings to the funeral p y re Nor .

shall a part only of the treasure b e

melted with the proud man but there ,

is a hoard of wealth an immense mass of

,

gold bought at a grim cost for now at

, ,

12
17 8 THE S T ORY OF B E OWULF
the very end of his life he bought for
us rings And the brand s shall devour
.

all the treasures and the flames of the

funeral fire they shall enfold them nor
, ,

shall an earl carry away any treasure

as a memorial nor shall any maid all
,

beauteous wear on her neck ring adorn

ments but shall go s a d of soul and
,

b ereft of gold and often not once only

,

tread an alien land now that the battle

wise man (B eowulf ) has laid aside
laughter the games and the j oys of
,

song . And many a morning cold shall

the sp ear in the hand grip be heaved up -

on high nor shall there b e the sound

,

of harping to awaken the warriors but ,

the war raven eager over the d oomed

-
,

ones shall s a y many things to the

,

eagle how it fared with him in eating

the carrion while he with the wolf , ,
’
plundered the slaughtered .

Thus then was the brave warrior

reciting loathly spells And he lied not .

at all in weird or word Then the troop .

rose up together and all unblithely ,

went under Eagles Ness to look on the ’

,

wonder and tears were welling Then

,
.
1 80 THE S T ORY OF B E OWULF
that R ing hall unless God only Him
-
, ,

self the true King o f victories gave ,

power to open up the hoard to whom

He would (for H e is the Protector of
men ) even to that man as it seemed
good to Him .

X L II

HEN was it quite clear

to them that the affair
had not prospered
with the monster who ,

had hidden ornaments

within the cave under
the cliff The guar .

dian thereof had slain

some few in former days Then had the.

feud b een wrathfully avenged And it .

is a mystery anywhere when a valiant

earl reaches the end of his destiny when ,

a man may no longer with his kins man

dwell in the mead hall And thus was it
-
.
 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF 1 81

with B eowulf when he sought out the

guardian of the cavern and his cunning
crafts And he himself knew not how
.

his departure from this world would

come ab out And thus famous chief
.

tains uttered deep curses until the da y

of doom b ecause they had allowed it
,

to come to pass that the monster should

'

b e g u ilty of such crimes and accursed , ,

and fast with hell bands as he was and-

, ,

tormented with plagues that he should

plunder the plain He (B eowulf ) was .

not greedy of gold and had more readil y

,

in former days seen the favour of God .

W igla f S pake the s o n of We o h s t a n

,

Often shall many an earl of his own

onl y will su ffer misery as is our fate , .

Nor could we teach the dear lord and

shepherd of the kingdom any wisdom
so that he would fail to b e meeting the
keeper of the gold treasures (the dragon )
or to let him stay where he had been
long time dwelling in h i s cavern until
the world s end ’
But h e held to his
.

high destiny Now the hoar d is seen

.

by us grimly got hold of a n o t too

, ,

great a cost wa s it yielded to tl King

1 82 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF
of the p eople whom he enticed to that
conflict I was within the cavern and
.
,

looked upon all the hoard the decora ,

tion of the palace when by no means ,

pleasantly room was made for me

, ,

and a faring was granted to me in

under the s e a cliff And in much haste
-
.

I took a very great burden of hoard

treasures in my hand and b ore it forth ,

hither to m y King He was still alive .

,

wise and witting well And he the ancient .

uttered many words in sadness and ,

bade me greet y ou and commanded ,

that y e should build after death of your

friend a high grave mound in the -

place of the funeral pyre a great and ,

famous monument for he himself was ,

the most worshipful of men throughout

the earth while he was enj oying the
,

wealth of his city L et us now go and

.

s e e and seek yet once again the heap of

treasures the wonder under the cliff

, .

I will direct you s o that ye may look

,

at close quarters upon the rings and

the wealth of gold L et the bier b e .

quickly made read y when we come

forth again and then let us carry
,
1 84 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF
some part unguarded remaining in the
Hall and ly ing there fleeting
, .

And little did any man mourn when

full heartily they carried forth the
costly treasures Then they shoved the
.

dragon the worm over the cliff wall -

,

and let the wave take him and the

flood embrace that guardian of the
treasures Then the twisted golden
.

ornaments were loaded on a wagon an ,

immense numb er of them And the .

noble Atheling the hoar battle warrior

,
-
,

wa s carried to Whales Ness

’
.

"5 "5 "5

X L III
HEN the People of the
Geats got ready the
mighty funeral pyre ,

and hung it round

with helmets and
battle shields and ,

bright byrnies as he
h a d a sk ed And
midst they lay the famous
and they lamented the Hero ,
 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF 1 85

their dear lord Then the warriors .

began to stir up the greatest of bale

fir e s on the cliff side And the reek of -
.

the wood smoke went up swart over

-
,

the flame which wa s resounding and

, ,

its roar mingled with weeping (and the

tumult of winds was still ) until it had ,

broken the body all hot into the heart , .

And unhappy in their thinkings and ,

with minds full of care they proclaim ,

the death of their lord likewise a sorrow ,

1
ful song the Bride . .

And heaven swallowed up the smoke .

Then on the cliff slopes the people of -

the Geats erected a mound very high ,

and very broad that it might b e b e ,

holden from afar by the wave farers ; -

and they s et up the b eacon of the

mighty in battle in ten days And .

the leavings of the funeral fire they su r

rounded with a wall s o that very proud ,

men might find it to b e most worthy of

reverence .

1
T e xt in MS . f a ul ty h r Wy tt d M rri
e e . a an o s

h v d pt d B g g
a e a o e u e s
’
m d ti
e Th en i a on . e s en s e s

th t B w lf w i d w
a eo u
’
s o w ith h h i b u d up utt r
er a r o n e s

f rth dirg v h
o a e o er er d d hu b d
ea s an .
1 86 THE S T ORY OF B EOWULF
And they did on the barrow rings and
necklaces an d all such adornments as
,

formerly warlike men had taken of the

hoard And they allowed the earth to
.

hold the treasure of earls the gold on ,

the ground where it still is to b e found

,

1
as useless to men as it always was .

Then the battle dear men rode round -

about the mound the children of the ,

Athelings twelve of them there were in

,

all and would b e uttering their sorrows

,

and lamenting their King and reciting ,

a dirge and sp eaking of their champion

, .

And the y talked of his earlship and of

his brave works and deemed them ,

doughty as is fitting that a man should

,

praise his lord in words and cherish

him in his heart when he shall have gone
f orth from the fleeting body S o the .

P eople of the G eats lamented over the

fall of their lord his hearth companions ,
-
,

and said that he was a world king and -

,

the mildest the gentlest of men and , ,

most tender to his people and most ,

eager for their praise .

1
! b b ly th tr u
ro a th t r m i d i th
e ea s r es a e a ne n e

ca v r S
e n pr vi o u s ch p t r
. ee e a e .
1 88 APPEND ICE S
7 . W en two rth Huy sh e , 1 90 7 .

8 . Au t ho r u n kn o w n
A t ra n s l a t i o n in 1 9 1 2 . .

Ma n y o f th e p e rs o s a n d ev en ts o f B eowulf
n

a r e a l s o kn o wn t o u s t h r o u g h va ri o u s S c a n

d in a v i a n a n d Fr en ch w o rk s a s f o l l o w s
S ca n di n avi a n R ec o rd s .

D a n i s h H i s to r y
’
1 . S a xo s .

2 . H rolf s S a ga K ra ka
’
.

3 . Yn gli n ga S a ga (a n d Yn gli n ga i dl) .

4 S ki oldun ga S a ga
. .

As i n s t a n c es o f i d e n ti c a l p e rs o n s a n d e v en ts
1 . Ski old r , t r of
a n c es o Skiold u n g a r , c o rr e

s
p o n d s to S c yl d th e a n c es o t r of Sc y l d u n g a s .

2 . Th e D a n is h Kin g Ha l fd an co rr es p o n d s
to H e a lf d e n e .

3 H i s s o n s H r o a r r a n d H elg i c o rr e s p o n d
.

to H ro t hg a r a n d H a l g a .

4 H r olf K r a ki c o rr e s p o n d s t o H r o thw ulf ,

.

n e p h ew o f H ro t h g a r .

5 . Fr o t h i co rr es p o n d s to Fro d a , and his son

I n g i a l d i t o I n g el d .

6 Ot a rr c o rr e s p o n d s t o Oht h er e ,
. an d his
so n At h ils t o E a d g il s .

W ith th e p ti o n o f t h e Yn gli n ga tai l a ll

e xc e

t h e s e r e co r d s a re qu it e l a t e h en c e t h ey d o ,

n o t a ff o r d a n y e v i d en c e f o r t h e d a t e s o f e v en t s

m e n ti o n e d in B eowu lf .

Fu rt h e r S ca n d in avi a n c o re s r p o n d en c es a re
 N O T E ON THE POEM 1 89

s e en i n Bo th v a r r B i a r ki , t h e i f
ch e of H r o lf
K r a ki k i g h ts H e is u pp o s e d rr e
’
s n . s to co

s
p o n d to B e o w u lf He
. ca me to L e ir e ,
the
D a n is h r o y a l r es i d en c e a n d kill e d a d e m o n
,

i n a n i m a l f o rm S a x o s a ys it w a s a b ea r
. .

T h is d em o n a tt a c k e d t h e Kin g s y a rd a t ’

Yu l e ti d e b u t B ia r ki a n d B e o w u lf d i ff e r a s t o
-
,

t h e ir f u tu r e f o r Bi arki s t a y e d w it h H r olf
,

K ra ki t o t h e en d a n d d i e d w it h h im .

I n t h e Gretti s S a ga t h e h e r o kill s tw o
'

d emo n s m a l e a n d f em a l e I t is tru e t h a t t h e
, .

s c e n e i s l a i d i n I c el a n d b u t m in o r d e t a il s o f
,

s c en e ry t h e c h a r a c t e r o f t h e d em o n s a n d
, ,

o t h e r s i m i l a riti e s m a k e it imp o s s ibl e t o b e li e v e

t h e t w o s t o ri e s t o b e d i ffe r en t i n o ri g in .

T h ey b o t h s p ra n g o u t o f a f o lk t a l e a s s o c i a t e d -

a ft e r t en c e n t u ri e s w it h G r e t t i s a n d i n E n g l a n d ,

a n d D en m a rk w it h a n h i s t o ri c a l p ri n c e o f t h e

G eat s .

FR E N CH R E COR D S

1 Hi s to ri a F r a n cor um a n d Ges ta R egum

.

F r a n co ru m (d i s c o v e r e d by O u t z en a n d L e o ) .

I n A D 5 2 0 a r a i d w a s m a d e o n t h e t e rrit o ry
. .

of t h e Ch a tu a r ii T h e ir kin g T h eo d b e r ht s o n
. ,

o f T h eo d r i c I d ef e a t e d Ch o c ila icu s w ho w a s
, ,

kil l e d T h is Ch o c ila i cus is i d e n tifi e d w it h

.

t h e H yg el a c o f o u r p o e m a n d t h e r a i d w it h ,

H yg el a c s r a i d o n t h e H et w a r e
’
Ch a tu a r ii ) ,
1 90 APPEND ICE S
th e F r a n ks a n d th e Fris i a n s T h is h el p s u s
, .

t o e s ti m a t e t h e d a t e f o r B eo wu lf a s h a v i n g
b een b o rn s o mewh e r e a b o u t th e e n d o f t he
fi f th c e n t ury .

2 H i s to r i a
. F r a n co r u m by Gr e g o ry o f
,

T o u rs T h e a u t h o r s p e a ks o f th e r a i d e r a s
.

t h e Ki n g o f t h e D a n es .

3 L i ber M on s tr o r u m
. I n t h i s w o rk t h e
.

r a i d e r is R e x Geta ru m Ki n g o f th e G ea t s
, ,

w h o m a y c o rr e s p o n d w it h t h e G ea t s o f o u r
p o e m T h e G e a t s w e r e t h e p eo p l e o f G a u tl a n d
.

i n S o u t h e r n S w e d en S e e A p p en d i x X I
. .

OR I G IN OF T HE A N G LO S A X O N -

P OEM
I t w a s p ro b a bly w ritt en i n N o rt hu mbri a n
o r Mi d l a n d b u t w a s p r e s e rve d i n a W es t
,

S a xo n tr a n s l a ti o n .

T h e r e w o u l d s e e m t o b e s o me j us tifi a b l e
d o u bt a s t o t h e u n ity o f t h e p o em T h o u g h .

o n t h e w h o l e p a g a n a n d p ri m iti v e i n t o n e ,

it h a s a c o n s i d e r a bl e a d m ix tu re o f Ch r is ti a n
e l e m e n t s e g o n pp 2 9 a n d 3 0 a n d p p
, . . . 109 .

1 12 ,
t ho u g h t h e l a tt e r p a s s a g e ma y b e a
l a t e in t e r p o l a tio n G en e r a l l y s p e a kin g th e
.
,

p o etry a n d s en tim en ts a r e Ch ris ti a n in t o n e ,

bu t th e cus to ms a r e p a ga n T h e a u th o r o f t h e
.

a rti c l e i n T he Ca mbr i dge Hi s to ry of E n gli s h

.
1 92 APPEND ICE S
o u gh t to b e t a k en t o g t h r wh il e Beo wul f s e e ,
’

r e c ep ti o n by H yg el c ( e e 3 b o v e ) is p r b ab l y
a s a o

a s p a ra te
e l y S o m e s ch l r h v e go e
a . o a s a n

m u c h f u rt h e r i t h e w o rk o f d i i t e g r a ti o n
n s n ,

e v en a ttrib u ti n g o n h lf o f t h e p e m t o e a o

i n t e rp o l a t o r w h il t o t h rs s u g g s t tw o
s, s e e

p a r ll l ve r i n
a e S u mm i g u p t h e w rit e r
s o s . n ,

i n T he Ca mbr i dge H i s to ry o f E n gli s hL i ter a tu r e

sa ys I a m d is p o s e d t o t h i n k t h a t a l a rg e
p o rti o n o f th e p o em e x is t e d i n e p i c f o rm
b ef o r e t h e c h a g e o f f a ith a n d t h a t t h e
n ,

a pp ea r a n c e o f Ch r is ti a n e l e m en t s i n t h po m e e

i s d u e t o r ev i i o n T h e Ch r is ti a n ity o f B eo wu lf
s .

i s o f a s i gu l a r l y i n d e fi n it e
n n d i n d iv i du a l a

ty p w h ic h c o tr a s ts s o m w h a t s tro n g l y
e, n e

w it h w h t is f u n d i n l a t e r O l d E g li s h p e try
a o n o .

T h i s r evis i o n mu s t h ave b e en m a d e a t a
ve ry a rly d a t e
e .
’

Th e p o em w a s b u i l t u p b e t w e en A D 5 1 2 t h e . .
,

d a t e o f t h e f a m u s r a i d o f H y g la c (Ch o e i
o e

l a i c u s ) g a i t t h e H e tw a e (Ch tu a i i ) a n d
a ns r a r ,

7 5 2 whe, t h e F r e c h M e r o v i n g i n d yn a s ty
n n a

f ell ; f r s a ys Arn o l d T h e p em c o n t a in s
o , , o

n ot w o r d w h i c h by a n y h u m n i g en u ity
a a n

c o u l d b e t o rt u r e d i n t o a r e f r to n y e v en t e en c e a

s u b s e qu t t o t h e f a ll f th e M e ro vin g i a n s
en o

( A D
. .
 THE P R E L UD E

II
T HE P RE LUD E
T HE Pr e l ud e w o ul d s e em t o b e a n a tt e mp t to
l in k u p th e h e ro o f th e p o em w ith th e my tho
l o g ica l p ro g en it o rs o f th e T eu to n i c n a tio n s .

T h o mas Arn o l d s a ys T h a t Sc e a f S cy l d a n d , ,

B ea w w e r e a mo n g t h e l e g en d a ry a n c es t o rs o f
t h e W es t S a xo n l i n e o f ki n g s n o o n e d i s p u t es .

Bu t t h i s d o e s n o t m ea n mu c h f o r th e p o em
,

its el f s h o ws t ha t th e s a m e th r ee w e r e a l s o
a m o n g t h e l e g en d a ry a n c e s t o r s o f t h e D a n i s h

kin g s E t h e l w a r d w h o w r o t e e a rl y i n t h e
,

t en t h c en tu ry g i v es t h e a n c es try o f E t h el
,

wu l f t h e f a t h e r o f Al fr e d
, E th e l w a r d s a y s
.

T h e s eve n t e en t h a n c es t o r fro m Ce r d i c w a s
B eo , t h e e i g h t een t h S c y l d t h e n in e t e en t h
,

S c ef.
’
E t h e lw a r d a l s o s a y s : S c ef h i m e l f s ,

w it h o n e l i gh t ve s s el a rri v e d in t h e i s l a n d o f
,

t h e o c e a n w h i c h i s c a ll e d Sc a n i d r es s e d i n
,

a r mo u r a d h e w a s a ve ry y o u n g b o y
, n an d,

t h e i n h a bit a n ts o f t h a t l a n d k n ew n o t h i n g
a b o u t h im ; h o w eve r h e w a s r e c e i v e d b y
,

t h em a n d k ep t w ith c a r e a n d a ffec tio n a

,
s

t ho u gh h e w e r e o f t h e ir o w n kin a n d a ft e r ,

w a r d s t h e y c h o s e h im t o b e ki n g fro m w ho e
, s

s t o c k t h e Ki n g At hu lf [ E t h elwulf ] d er i v es h is

l in e
1 94 APPENDICE S
It ma y b e n o t e d t h a t n e it h e r S c y l d n o r
S c ef i s men ti o n e d i n t h e A S Ch r o n i c l e
. .

(A D. . W i ll i a m o f M a l m e s b u ry i n h i s ,

Ges ta B egu m s a ys t h a t S c e f w a s s o c a l l e d
,

fro m t he s h e a f o f w h e a t t ha t la y a t h is h e a d ,

t h a t h e w a s a s l eep w he n h e a rriv e d a n d ,

t ha t w h en h e g re w up h e b ec a me a ki n g in
t h e t o w n t h en c a ll e d Sla s w i c n o w H a i t h e b i
,

( R o l l s E d 1 .

M ii llen h o ff s a y s : I f w e l o o k c l o s e ly in t o
the s aga , t h e s h i p a n d t h e s h e a f c l e a rl y
p o i n t t o n av i g a ti o n a n d a g ri cul tu r e t h e ,

a rms a n d j e w e l s t o ki g l y r u l e
n — a ll f o u r g ifts ,

t h e r ef o r e t o t h e m a i n e l e m e n t s a n d f o u n d a
,

tio n o f t he o l d es t t a t e o f cul tu r e a mo n g th e
s s

G e rm a n s [ T eu t o n s o f the s ea b o rd ;
-
an d
a

if th e b e a r e r o f t h es e s ymb o l s b e c a me t h e
fi rs t ki n g o f t h e c o u n try t h e me a n i n g c a n
,

o n l y b e t h is , t h a t fro m h is a p p ea ra n c e t h e
b e g i n n in g o f t h e o l d e s t s t a t e o f c u l t u r e d a t e s ,

a n d t h a t g e n e r a ll y b e f o r e hi m n o o r d e rly w a y

o f l e a d i n g a hu m a n l if e h a d e x is t e d
’
.

S c yl d (m e a n i n g S h i e l d ) r e f e rs t o t h e f a c t
t h a t t he kin g w a s t h e p ro t e c t o r o f t h e p eo p l e
i n w a r a n d is t h e r e f o r e s y mb o l i c a l lik e S c e f
, , .

T h e s h i p a n d t h e s h e a f t h e a rms a n d t h e
,

—
j ew e l s a n d t h e s h i el d t h s e a r e t h e s y m b o l
e s

.o f t h a t p rim iti v e c i v il i z a ti o n — the s h ea f th e ,

s y mb o l o f a g ri c u l t u r e a n d f o o d the s h i p o f
,
196 APPEND ICE S
fro m th e D wa rfs a n d w h i ch wa s to l en fro m
, s

h er by L o ki a is t o l d in t h e E dda (K e mb l e )
, s .

L o ki w a s a S c a n d i n av i a n d em i g o d H e was-
.

b ea u tif ul a n d cun n in g H e wa s t h e p rin c i p l e

.

o f s trif e t h e s p irit o f ev i l ; c p J o b s S a t n
’
, . a .

F r e y a wa s t h e S c a n d i n a v i a n G o dd e s o f L o ve s .

S h e c l a i me d h a lf o f t h e s l a i n in b a ttl e Sh e .

w a s t h e d i s p e n s e r o f j o y a n d h a pp in e s s .

T h e G e rma n fr a u i s d e rive d fro m F r ey a .

H a ma c a r ri e d o ff t h i s n ec kl a c e w h en h e fl ed
fro m E o rma n r ic Th e o rig in o f t h is l eg en d
.
,

th o ugh w o rk e d up in t h e Edda s ee ms to ,

h a v e b e e n G e rm a n o r G o t h i c a n d Bro s in g a
,

h a s r e f e r en c e t o t h e r o c k p l a t ea u o f B r e i s g a u
-

o n the R h i n e I t is p ro b a bly a r e l ic o f t h e
.

l o s t s a g a o f E o rma n r ic (s ee A pp en d ix
t h e f a mo u O s t r o go th i c kin g r e f e rre d t o in
s

Ch a p t e r XV III E o rma n r i c is o n e o f t h e
.

f ew h is t o ri c a l p e rs o n a g es o f t h e p o e m .

E OR M ANR I C

GI B B O N men ti o n s E o rma n r ic in h is c ha p ter

xxv . of t h e D ecli n e an d F a ll, an d , in s p it e o f

r l i l d is c rep a n c ies t h is Eo rma n ric is

c h o n o o g ca ,

p ro b a b l y i d en tic a l w ith th e o n e m en tio n e d

i n B eowu lf (Cha p t er in J o rn a n d es
(Ch a p te r an d in t h e E dda .
 E OR M ANR I C 1 97

I n J o rn a n d es t h e s to ry is as f o ll o ws .

Char a cter s
1 . E n m m rc
t it
.

2 . A Chi ef o f t h e R o xo lan r ib e w h o w a s a it ra o r.
3 . S m mnn S W AN H I L D ) w e o f t h e c h e if if .

4 S u ms ,
}
.

b ro t h ers o f S an i elh
5 Am
.
. vs ’

E rm a n a ri c p u t s Sa n i elh t o d e a t h by c a us i n g
h e r t o b e t o rn t o p i e c e s by w il d h o rs es b ec a u e , s

o f t h e tr e a c h e ry o f h e r h u s b a n d t h e c h i e f o f ,

t h e R o xo l a n i H e r br o t h e rs Am mius a n d
.
,

S a ru s a v e n g e h e r d e a t h by a tt a c kin g E r
,

m a n a r ic b u t t h e y o n ly s u cc e e d in w o un d in g
,

h im a n d d i s a bli n g h im f o r t h e r e s t o f h i s lif e .

I n t h e E dda t h e s t o ry i s a s f o ll o w s .

Cha ra cters
1 G U D R UN , wi d w f S i gu d d Atli
o o r an
d g ht f G d u b y S i gu d
. .

2 S W AN H I L D , au er o u r n r

G d u thi d h b d
. .

’
3 . J O N AK U R , u r n s r us an .

} f G d
.

5 . H AM T H I R , 8 0 11 8 o d J ku
u run an on a r.
6 . ER ! ,
7 . n s x (E OR M AN R I C )
J o n u urx .

8 . R A N D VE R , s on o f J o rmun r ek.

J o rm u n r e k h e a rs b e a u ty o f Swa n hild
of t he
an d s n ds hi
e s o n R a n d v er t o
s e k h r o ut s e e

f o r h i m i n m a rri a g e G u d ru n c o n e t ; o n . s n s

t h e w a y R a n d v e r i s i c it e d by t h e t r a it o r n

Bi cc i t o b tr a y Sw a n h ild
e n d is t h en u ed , a a cc s

by h im to t he kin g Fo r t his tre a c he ry .

l 98 APPEND ICE S
J o r mun r ek h a n gs R a n d v er a n d c a us es S wa n
h i l d t o b e tr a mp l e d t o d ea t h by w il d ho rs es .

T h en t h r e s o n s o f G u d ru n s e t o u t t o
the e

a v e n g e t h e ir s is t e r On t h e w a y hi s t wo
.

b r o the r s ki ll E rp a n d a r e c o n s e qu en tly u n
,

a bl e t o kill J o r mu n r e k T he y o n l y s uc c e ed .

in m a i m i n g h im .

S a xo G r a mma t i cu s , t o w ho m w e a sol o we

the s to ry of H a ml e t , t ell s a s im il a r s to ry .

Cha r a cters

1 . J u mm uc , a D an i s n h Ki g .

2 S W AW I LD A ( S W AN H I L D ) , w e
n if of J ar meri c
th
. .

3 H E LL E S ! O N T I N E B R O T H E R S , b r o ers o f S wa w i lda
t
. .

4 . B I CC O , a s erv an o f J armer i c .

Bic c o a cc u s e s Sw a w ild a to J a r mer i c of

un af ithf u l n es s H e c a u s es h er to b e to rn
.

t o p i ec es by w i l d h o rs s T he n h e r bro t h e rs e .

kill J a rm e ri e w it h th e h el p o f a w it ch Gu d ru n , ,

h ew in g o ff h is h a n d s a n d f e e t .

T h es e th ree s t o ri e s a re vi d en tly b as e d
e on

o n e co mm o n o rig in a l .
 20 0 APPENDICE S

F INN

T H E F in n p is o d e (Ch a p t e rs XV I a n d XV II )
e . .

is o n e o f t h o s e e v en t s i n B eo wu lf t h a t w o u l d
b e q u it e w e ll k n o w n t o t h e firs t h e a r ers o f t h e
so n
g b u t t o u s i s l a c kin g i n t h a t c l e a r n es s
,

we mig ht d e s ir e Fo rt u n a t e l y D r H i c ke s
.
, .

d is c o v e re d a fra gme n t en titl ed Th e F ig ht ,

a t F in n s b u r h
g o n t h e b
,
a
’
c k o f a M S o f t h e .

Ho mi li es .F r o m B eo wu lf a n d fr o m t h is
fra gmen t w e a r e a b l e t o p i ece to g eth e r a n
i n t e ll ig ib l e s t o ry I t i s p ro b a b l y a s f o l l o w s
.

Cha r a cters
- FINN,
a
Ki gn of th e No r h Fr t ii
s an s a n d Ju t es .
h
s H o e , a D an s i h h i ft c e ai n

ght
.

a H IL D E B U R H , d a u er of Ho e .

fl H N AE F , s o n o f H o e .

s
HE N G E S T , s o n o f H o e
w Tw
e o son s o f i
d H i ld eb ur h
F nn an
.

ih i
.

n H U N L A F I N G , a F i n n s w a rr o r
G ih
.

8 . U TH L A F an d O SL AF , t w o D an s war r i o rs .

F in n b d ucts H il d ebu r h th e da u g ht e r o f
a ,

Ho e the D a n e
, H o c p u r u es t h e tw o f u g i
. s

f iv es a n d i ki ll e d i n t h e mel ee T w e n ty y e a rs
s .

s —
p s b y Hn a ef a n d H en g es t s o n s o f H o e
a , ,

t a k e u p t h e v en d e tt a I n t h fi gh ti n g Hn a e f
’
. e

a n d a s o n o f F i n n a n d H i ld e bur h a r e s l a in .

A p ea c e i s p a t c h e d u p H e n g e s t s o n o f H o e .
, ,
 FINN 201

is p e rs u a d e d t o re m a in a s a gu es t o f F in n f o r
t h e w in t e r a n d it i s a g r e e d t h a t n o r e f e r e n c e
,

s h a ll b e m a d e by e it h e r s i d e to th e feud
b e t w e e n t h e m T h e n t h e b o d i es o f H n a e f
.
,

H il d e b ur h s bro t h e r a n d o f h er s o n a r e b u rn t
’
,

t o g e t h e r o n t h e f u n e r a l p yr e an d
g r e a t is the ,

m o u rn in g o f H ild e b ur h f o r h e r s o n Bu t .
’

H e n g e s t i s e v e r br o o d in g v en g ea n c e The .

s trif e br e a ks o u t a n e w i n t h e s p ri n H
g en .

g e s t i s kil l e d b u t t w o o
, f h is w a rri o r s G u t h l a f ,

a n d Os l a f br e a k t h ro ugh t h e en emy r etu rn

, ,

t o F in n s c o u n try a n d s l a y h i m a n d c a rry
’
,

o ff H il d e b ur h T h e F i g h t a t F i n n s b u rg h
‘ ’
.
,

w h i c h is H o m e ri c i n s tyl e i s t h e a c c o u n t o f t h e
‘

firs t in v a s io n o f Fin n by Hn a ef a n d H en g es t ,

a n d W y a tt fi t s i t in b e f o r e t h e F in n e p i s o d e

on p . 75 M bll er p l a c e s it a ft e r t h e p h r a s e
.
,

w h o s e e d g e w a s w e ll kn o wn t o t h e J u t es
‘ ’
,

on p 79 . .

V II
H Y GE LAC

HY G E L AC ,
son ki n g o f t he
of H re t h e l w a s ,

G a ts a d u n l e o f Beo wulf hi i t e r o n
e , n c ,
s s s
’
s s .

He w t h r i g n i n g ki g o f B eo w u lf f ll o w ’
as e e n s e

c o u n try m e n t h e G a ts d u ri n g t h e g r ea t e r p a rt
e

o f t h e a c ti o n o f t h e p o e m B e o wu lf i s o ft e n .
2 02 APPEND ICE S
ca ll d Hyg ela c s kin s ma n a n d w h e n h e
e
’
,
’

w en t f o rt h t o h is b a tt l e w it h G n d el s
’
re

mo t h e r (Ch a p t e r XX I I ) h e b a d e H ro t h g a r ,

i n c as o f h i d e a t h en d t h e tr e as u r
e s he ha d s es

g i v en t o h i m t o H yg e l a c H yg e l a m rri e d . c a

H y g d w h o is p r es en t e d t o u s a a g o d ! ue e n
, s o ,

t h e d a ug h t e r o f H aare t h Sh e w s v e ry . a

y o u n g o f n o b l e c h a r a c t e r n d w is e S h e
,
’
,
’
a .
’

i c o m p a r e d t o h e a d v a n t a g e w i t h T h ry t ho
s , r , ,

w h o w a s a s h r ew i h w o m a n No o n e d a r e d s .

t o l o o k u p o n h er e xc e p t h er h u b a n d Ho w s .

e ve r h er
, e on d hu s b a n d O ffa s e e ms t o
s c , ,

h a v e t a me d t h e h r e w (s e e p H y g el a c
s .

h as b ee n i d en tifi e d w it h Ch o c il a i c u s w h o ,

w as kill e d i n t h e f a m o u r i d o n t h e Cha t u a r u s a

r f e rr ed t o in th e Hi s to ri a F ra n co rum a n d t h e
e

Ges ta B egum w h o a re i d n tifi e d w it h t h e

,
e

H e tw o f thi
a re p o e m ( ee p 1 4 3 a n d A pp en
s s .

d ix
f a mo u r i d o f Hyg el c u p o n t he H et
The s a a

w a r e i n w h i c h h e m e t h is d e a t h i r ef er r e d t o s

fiv e t im e in t h e p o e m a s f o l l ws : Ch a p t e r s
s ,
o

XV III p 8 3 ; XXX I p 1 3 4 ; XXX III

.
, . .
, .

p 1 4 2 ; XXXV p 1 5 1 ; XL p 1 7 2
. .
, . .
, . .

On t h e d e a t h o f H y g e l a c h i s n H e a r d r e d s o

su cc e e d e d t o t h e t h r o n e (Ch a p t e r XXX I p .
, .

a n d a ft e r a bri e f i n t e r v a l h e w a s kil l e d
, ,

i n b a ttl e by On el a ( e e A pp en d i x T h en s

B eo w ul f s u c c e e d e d t o t h e t h r o n e o f t h e
204 APPEND ICE S
p o em . The or r d Sc ylfin g is
ig in of t he w o
d o u btf u l On g e n t h eo w w e n t t o w a r w it h
.

H az th c y n Ki g o f t h e G e a ts a n d br o t h e r o f
, n

H yg ela c ; a n d On g e n t h eo w w h o w a s w el l ,

a dv an ce d in y e a r s tr u c k d o w n h is f o e (Ch a p
s,

t er X L p 1 7 3 ) a t t h e b a tt l e o f R a ve n s w o o d
.
, . .

T h is w a t h e fir t ti m e t h a t t h e S w e d es in
s s

v a d e d t h e Gea ts T h e G e a t s r e tr e a t e d i n t o
.

t h e R a v e n s w o o d a t n i g h tf a ll b u t w it h t h e ,

d a wn t h e y h ea r d t h e h o rn o f H yg ela c s th e a

o o d p ri n c e c a m e m a r c h i n g o n tr a ck
’

g t h e .

O n g e n t h e o w n o w w a s a l a r m e d f o H y g el a c s
’
, r

p ro w es i n b a tt l e w a s f a r f a me d H w it h
s -
. e

d re w in t o s o me fo rtifi c a tio n d w a s a tt a c k e d
n , a

by t h e G e a ts T w o bro th r E o fo r a n d Wulf
. e s, ,

a s s a il e d t h e v e t e r a n w a rri o r H e d ef n d e d . e

h i ms e l f w it h g r ea t V g o u r a n d kill e d Wu l f ;
'

b u t Bo f o r c a me t o t h e h e l p o f h is bro t h e r a n d
d e a l t On g en th eo w h is d ea t h b l o w o v e r t he -

g u a r d o f hi s s h i el d .

On g en t h eo w s t w o w e r e On c l and
’
on s s a

Oht h e r e . O ht h e r e h a d t w o so n s, E a n mu n d
and E a d g ils .

T h es e two so n s b a n is he d
of Oh t h er e w e r e
fro m S we d e n f o r r e b el lio n a n d to o k r efu g e a t ,

t h e Co u rt o f t h e G e a t Ki n g H e a r d r e d T h is .

g r e a tly en r a g e d t h e ir u n c l e On e l a t h a t t h e y ,

s h o u l d r e s o rt t o t h e Co u rt o f t h e ir h e r e d it a ry

fo es ( ee a b o v e ) On ela in v a d e d th e l a n d o f
s .
 S WEDE S AND GEAT S 20 5

th e G e a ts (Ch a p t e rs XXXIII a n d XXX I V . .

,

pp 1 4 4 s q) a n d s l ew H ea r d r ed T h en it w a s
. . .

th a t Beo wulf b ec a me Kin g o f th e G ea ts T hu s .

t wo G e a tis h ki n g s h a d b e en s l a i n by t h e
S w e d es v i z Ha th c y n a n d H ea r d r e d
, . In .

r ev en ge l a t e r o n Beo wu l f s u pp o rt e d E a d g ils
, ,

in h is c o u n t e r a tt a c k o n h i s o w n f a t h e rl a n d
-

w h en E a d g ils ki ll e d h is u n c l e On ela Th is .

s t o ry i s c o n firm e d by t h e S ca n d i n av i a n
a c co u n t s i n w h i c h At hils E a d g ils ) s l e w A l i
On ela ) o n t h e i ce o f L a k e W en e r ; c p .

th e p h ra s e co l d j o u rn eyin gs (Cha p t er
‘ ’

XXX I V p .
, .

T h is is W y a tt s Ve rs i o n o f t h e s to ry
’
.

X
S I GM UND

S I G M U N D (p a g e 6 5 ) is t h e f a t h er a n d un c e l
of F i t el a t a t e d in B eowulf t o h a v e
. H e is s

kil l e d a s e rp en t w h o kep t g ua r d o ver a ho a r d

o f tr e as u r e I n t h e I c el a n d i c s a g a kn o wn a s
.

t h e Vols un ga S a ga S i g mu n d i r ep res en t e d
,
s

a s t h e f a t h e r o f S i g ur d it is S igur d ‘
an d ,

w h o ri fles t h e tr ea s u r e o f t h e N ib l un g s a d n

kill s th e s e rp en t (Fa fn ir ) its gu a r d i a n (Arn o l d ,

’
,

p . a n d h e c a rri es it a w a y o n t h e b a c k

o f h is h o rs e Gr a n i S ig mu n d i s r ep r es e n t e d
.

a s t h e s o n o f a V o l s u n g ; t h a t is a B eo wu lf ,
s

h a s it t h e h e i r o f Wa els Wa els w a a ft e r ’
, . s
2 06 APPEND ICE S
wa rd f o rgo tt en ho w e v e r a n d Wa els in g wa s
s , ,

r eg a r d e d a s a p ro p e r n a me i n s t e a d o f a
p a tr o n ym ic d en o ti n g d es c en t fro m Wa els .

I n a s i mil a r w a y a s Ar n o l d p o in t s o u t
, ,

S i gm u n d i s p us h e d in t o t h e b a c k g r o u n d t o
m a k e r o o m f o r h is s o n S i gu r d (S i egfri e d ) .

An d s o i n t h e G e rm a n N i belun gen L a y it
is S i gu r d (S i eg fri e d ) w h o w i n s t h e h o a r d b ut ,

d o e s s o by d ef e ti n g a n d kil l i n g i ts f o rme r
a

p o s s ess o rs Sch ilbu g a n d N ib el un g (Arn o l d

n ,

p . Att emp ts h ave b e en ma d e t o c l a i m

a G erman o rig in f o r t h is s a g a bu t i n f a ce ,

o f t h e ev i d en c e o f B eo wu lf a n d t h e Vols un ga

S a ga a n d t h e E dda t h e r e i s I t h in k w it h ,

Arn o l d l itt l e d o u bt b u t t h a t i ts o rig in w a s

,

S ca n d in avi an . P o s s ibl y a n d p ro b a bly w e

o w e t h e l a t e r el a b o r a ti o n o f t h e s a g a i n t h e

N i belun gen L a y t o G e rm an i n fl u e n c e Fo r .

d is cus s i o n o f t he w ho l e qu e s ti o n s e e Arn o l d s ’

,
—
N o tes o n Beowu lf pp 6 7 7 5 E d it 1 8 9 8 c a p v
.
, .
, . .

T R I BE S M E N T I O N E D IN P OEM
TH E

l Bro n di n gs
. . B r e c a w as a Br o n d in g Aft e r .

h is f a m o u s s w i mm i n g ma t c h w it h B eo w u l f
-

(C h a p t e r h e i s s a i d t o h a v e s o u g h t
o u t h is p l eas a n t f a t h e rl a n d th e l a n d o f the
208 APPEND ICE S
G ea ts a c ro s s the s ea ,
’
an d a g a in in Ch a p t e r
XXXV th e S w e d es a n d t h e G e a ts a re s a i d
.

t o h a ve f o u gh t o v e r w i d e w a t er
Z b
’
; u t a s ,

Arn o l d p o in ts o ut t hes e p h ra s es c a n b e in t e r
,

p r e t e d in s uch a wa y as n ot to b e in co m
p a tib l e w it h t h e t h eo ry t h a t t h ey d w el t o n th e
s a m e s i d e o f t h e Ca tt e g a t i e o n t h e n o rt h e r n
, . .

s i d e a n d in t h e e x tr em e s o u t h o f S w e d en
, .

T h e q u e s ti o n a s t o w h e t h e r t h e y a re i d e n
ti c a l w it h th e G o t hs o f R o ma n h is t o ry is
s till a n o p en o n e Arn o l d s a ys T he re is a
.
,

g r ea t w e i g h t o f ev i d e n c e t e n d in g t o i d e n tify

t he G ea t s w it h t h e Go ths a n d h e quo t es ,
’

e v i d e n c e fro m Gibb o n (c h a p t e r Pyth ea s

o f M a r s e i ll e s in th e f o u rt h c e n t u ry s a y s t h a t
, , ,

p as s in g th ro ugh th e Ba lti c Sea h e m et w ith ,

trib es o f Go ths T euto n s a n d Es ts

, , .

T a c itus in c h a p t e r xl i ii o f Ger ma n i a
,
.
,

s p ea ks o f t h e Go t hs a s d w el l in g n ea r t h e
S w e d es J o rn a n d es tra c es th e Go ths to Sca n z ia
.
,

a n i s l a n d i n t h e N o r t h e rn S e a I t i s p ro b a b l e .
,

t h en t ha t t h Go ths h a d a n o rt h e rn a n d
,
e

i n d e e d S ca n d in a v i a n o rig in I f s o B eo wul f
a .
,

t h e G e a t w a s p r o b a b l y a G o th .

7 H ea lfden es
. T h e tr ib e t o w h i ch Hn a e f
.

b el o n g e d .

8 H ea thoremes T h e p eo p l e o n who s e s ho r es
. .

Beo wul f w a s cas t u p a ft er h is s w i mmin g

m a t ch w it h Breca .
 T R IBE S MENTIONED 209

9 . I n gwi n e . F ri en ds of In g — an o th e r n a m e
fo r th e D a n es .

10 . A n o th e r n a m e f o r t h e
S cy ldi n ga s .

D a n e a s d e c en d e d fro m S cyl d
s, s .

1 1 S cy lfin ga s
. N a me f o r t h S we d es . e .

1 2 Wa egmun di n gs
. T h e trib e t o w h i c h .

b o t h Beo w u lf n d Wigla f b el o g e d
a n .

1 3 Wy lfin gs
. Pro b a bly a Go th i c trib e
. .

Pa g e 135

The t ex t h r e is mu ch mu til a t ed a n d c a n
e ,
,

o n ly b e r es t o r e d by i n g e i u co n j e c t u r e n o s .

Gr e in a n d Bugg a n d th r h a v e r ec o n e o e s

s tru c t e d it On th e w ho l e Bu gg e s t xt w h ich
.
’
e ,

I h a v e f o ll o w e d s e ems t o m e th e mo s t r e a s o n
,

a bl e I t is u f o rtu na te tha t th e t e x t s h o u l d
. n
:
b e s o imp e rf e c t j u s t at: t his : cri tic al p o int i n
t h e lin ki g u p o f t h e t w o t d i vi s i on o f
n
g a re s

t h e t o rys I n t h e a n c i ent dai s; s ome r mo t e

. e

p r e d ec es s o rs o f th e G e at s s eem t o h av he p e d e a

u p in t h e n e i g h b o u r h o od a p ii of : won d e rf u l !
e
‘

ves s el s j ew el b d e ck e d a n d tr ea u r es o f a ll
-
e ,
s

ki d o f in c o n c e iv a bl e V a l u e Th en th e l a s t
n s, .

o f t h e r a c e c rri t h e tr a u r t o a b rro w
a es e s e a

o r c v e rn i n t h
a c liff n e a r t h e s it e
e in a ft r s , e

g e n e r a ti o n s f B w u,
lfo p a l a c e a n d d e li v r a
eo
’
s ,
e s

p a t h eti c f a r ew ell a dd r es s (pp 1 3 6 et The .

1 41
210 APPENDICE S
d ra g o n fi n ds th e c a v e rn a n d t h e tre a s u re a n d
a pp r o p ri a t e s it f o r t h r ee h u n d r e d y e a rs
. T h en
o n e o f B e o w u lf s r e t a i n e rs fi n d s t h e tr e a s u r e
’

a n d t a k e s a g o l d e n g o bl e t w h il e t h e d r a g o n is

s l e ep in g a n d o ff e r s it t o h i
,
s l o rd a s a p e a ce
o ff e ri n g
. T h i s br o ugh t a b o u t B e o wu l f s f eu d
’

w it h t h e d r a g o n i n w h i ch h e met h i s d e a t h .