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- Herausgeber: Musaicum Books
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017
In the epic tale of 'Beowulf' by the mysterious author known only as Anonymous, readers are transported to a world of heroism, loyalty, and monstrous foes. Written in Old English, this literary masterpiece showcases the bravery of the titular character as he battles Grendel, Grendel's mother, and a fearsome dragon. The unique blend of storytelling, folklore, and warrior culture makes 'Beowulf' a classic work of literature that still resonates with readers today. The Collector's Edition of this timeless saga includes detailed annotations and historical context to enhance the reading experience. Anonymous's poetic language and vivid descriptions bring the world of Beowulf to life, drawing readers into a world of ancient warriors and mythical creatures. It is a must-read for anyone interested in epic poetry, Anglo-Saxon literature, or medieval storytelling.
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Beowulf (Collector's Edition)
Published by
Books
Table of Contents
By Anonymous, edited by Alfred John Wyatt
Contents
PREFACE.
ARGUMENT.
BEOWULF.
I
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
XV.
XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.
XIX.
XX.
XXI.
XXII.
XXIII.
XXIV.
XXV.
XXVI.
XXVII.
XXVIII.
XXIX.
XXXI.
XXXII.
XXXIII.
XXXIV.
XXXV.
XXXVI.
XXXVII.
XXXVIII.
XXXIX.
XL.
XLI.
XLII.
XLIII.
APPENDIX.
GENEALOGICAL TABLES.
PERSONS AND PLACES.
PLAN OF GLOSSARY.
GLOSSARY.
PREFACE.
A lengthy apology for preparing an English edition of the “Beowulf” is perhaps hardly necessary. The earlier English editions are long since out of print, and the poem has therefore been almost unobtainable, except in the German editions of Heyne and Holder.[1] Excellent as these may be in several ways, they are ill adapted for the average English student, besides having one or more very marked defects. Holder’s foot-notes are as unreliable as his text is reliable. Heyne’s glossary, like that of most German editions, stands self-condemned, in that he frequently forgets the absurd, artificial order of letters on which it is based. Furthermore, his glossary amounts to a translation; and this of itself tends to rob the work of much of its educative value for the serious student.
It has been felt therefore that an English edition was needed—for after all the “Beowulf” is essentially an English poem—which should give the readings of the MS. in foot-notes wherever they were departed from in the text, should provide an alphabetical glossary, and should furnish a due amount of help in difficult passages and no more. This need I have attempted to supply. I have of course made abundant use of the labours of my predecessors. The debt of an editor of “Beowulf” to the glossaries of Grein and Heyne is necessarily great. At the same time nothing has been accepted on mere authority. A glance at the glossary will suffice to show that it is no translation from the German. Of the text, in the same way, every line, every stop, almost every word, has been carefully considered. The genealogical tables and the index of proper names give, in a concise form, information that in many cases has hitherto had to be sought from various sources.[2]
The Manuscript. The excellent edition, with autotypes and transliteration of every folio of the MS., prepared for the Early English Text Society by Prof. Zupitza, is almost of equal authority with the MS. itself, and is therefore quite invaluable to the editor, the autotypes being above criticism. Upon these the present work is based. The transliteration of a few lines here will serve to show some of the more marked characteristics of the unique extant MS. (Cott. Vitellius A. xv. in the British Museum), and to make apparent how far and in what particulars, besides those indicated in the foot-notes, the edited text differs from the MS.:—
489[3] duguðe þe þa deað fornam *site nu to490symle on sæl meoto *sige hreð secgū491swa þin sefa hwette. *þawæs geat492mæcgum geador ætsom ne *on beor493sele benc geryrmed *þær swið ferhþe494sittan eodon *þryðum dealle þegn495nytte be heold *seþe on handa bær496hroden ealo wæge *scencte scir wered497scop hwilum sang *hador on heorote498þær wæs hæleða dream *duguð un lytel dena wedera.
946 947*bearn gebyrdo nu ic beowulf þec *secg betsta948me for sunu wylle *freogan on ferhþe heald949forð tela. *niwe sibbe nebið þe ænigre gad950 951*worolde wilna þe icge weald hæbbe *ful952oft ic for læs san lean teoh hode *hord953weorþunge hnahran rince *sæmran æt954sæcce þu þe self hafast. *dæ dum gefremed955 956þin lyfað *awa to aldre alwal da þec *gode957for gylde swa he nu gyt dyde. * beowulf958maþelode bearn ec þeo wes *we ellen weorc959estum miclum *feohtan fremedon frecne960 961ge neð don. *eafoð uncuþes uþe ic swiþor *962ðu hine selfne geseon moste *feond on963frætewum fyl werigne. *ic him hrædlice964heardan clam mū *on wæl bedde wriþan965þohte *he for hand gripe minum scolde
Here I have followed Zupitza in the division of the words, but a mere glance at the autotypes suffices to show the truth of what he himself says: “It is often very difficult, if not impossible, to decide whether the scribe intended one or more words.”
Several things are obvious from a perusal of the above passages:—
(1) That the lines of the MS. do not correspond with the verse-lines of the poem.
(2) That the punctuation of the MS. is meagre and unreliable.
(3) That proper names are not written with capital letters. On the other hand, the first word after a full-stop is not infrequently written with a capital.
(4) That vowel-length is not marked as a rule.
(5) That one word is sometimes written as two or even three words, and that two words are sometimes written as one word.
(6) That hyphens are unknown to the scribes.
(7) It would seem that the scribes were mere copyists, not writing from memory nor from dictation, and that sometimes at least they did not understand what they were copying.
It is impossible to illustrate, by the quotation of passages like the above, the divergences of the MS. in the method of writing and spelling the same word. One or two illustrations must suffice. The word ond, “and,” is written in full only three times, in ll. 600, 1148, 2040. Elsewhere it is represented by the symbol. The word ondlong occurs in the form “langne” (acc. m.) in l. 2115, “andlongne” (acc. m.) in l. 2695, “ondlonge” (acc. f.) in l. 2938. The word mon-cynn occurs as “mancynne” (dat.) in l. 110, “moncynnes” (gen.) in l. 196, “mon cynnes” (gen.) in l. 1955. These are only a few examples of the inconsistencies with which the MS. teems.
Marks of length. The following vowels are the only ones marked long in the MS.:—
ût, 33; ân, 100; wât, 123; wôp, 128; wât, 210; bât, 211; bâd, 264 hâl, 300; bâd, 301; âr, 336; hâr, 357; hât, gân, 386; ân, 449; sǣ, 507; gâr, 537; sǣ, 564, 579; môt, 603; gâd, 660; nât, 681; sǣ, 690; bât, 742; stôd, 759; âbeag, 775; bân, 780; wîc, 821; sǣ, 895; hât, 897; sâr, 975; fâh, 1038; bân, dôn, 1116; blôd, 1121; sǣ, 1149; wîn, 1162; môd, 1167; âr, 1168; brûc, 1177; ǣr, 1187; rǣd, 1201; sǣ, 1223; wîn, 1233; wât, 1274; wîc, 1275; hâd, 1297; hâr, 1307; bâd, 1313; rûn, 1325; wât, 1331; ǣr, 1388; âris, 1390; gâ, 1394; hâm, 1407; bân, 1445; dôm, 1491, 1528; brûn, 1546; gôd, 1562; ǣr, 1587; sǣ, 1652; bâd, 1720; sǣ, 1850; lâc, wât, 1863; gôd, 1870; sǣ, 1882; râd, 1883; scîr, 1895; sǣ, 1896, 1924; scân, 1965; fûs, 1966; hwîl, 2002; lîe, 2080; rôf, 2084; dôn, 2090; côm, 2103; lîc, 2109; dôm, 2147; Hroðgâr, 2155; stôl, 2196; ân, 2210 (see note); fǣr, 2230 (see note); bâd, 2258;ân, 2280; wôc, 2287; bâd, 2302; fôr, 2308; gôd, 2342; wîd, 2346; dôm, 2376; sâr, 2468; mân, 2514; hârne stân, 2553; swât, 2558; swâf, 2559; bâd, 2568; wâc, 2577; swâc, 2584; gôd, 2586; wîc, 2607; Wiglâf, 2631; gâr, 2641; fâne, 2655; dôm, 2666; stôd, 2679; swâc, 2681; fŷr, 2689, 2701; wîs, 2716; bâd, 2736; lîf, 2743, 2751; stôd, 2769; dôm, 2820, 2858; râd, 2898; côm, 2944, 2992; âd, 3010; fûs, 3025; rôf, 3063; Wiglâf, 3076; bâd, 3116; fûs, 3119; hrôf, 3123; âd, 3138; rêc, 3144; bân-hûs, 3147.
Hyphens. It will have been seen that the MS. gives no help in one of the most difficult problems that beset the editor of O. E. poems, the question of the use of hyphens. Grein and Sweet discard them altogether. I cannot but question whether this is not to shirk one’s duty. At least it is a method that I have not been able at present to bring myself to adopt, tempting as it is. The difficulty of course is as to “where to draw the line”—where to use a hyphen or to write as one word, where to use a hyphen or write as two words. The former is the chief difficulty, and here as elsewhere I have endeavoured to find the path “of least resistance.” Prepositional prefixes in my text are not marked off by a hyphen from the following word; on the other hand, adverbial prefixes, such as ūp in ūp-lang, ūt in ūt-weard, are so marked off. This then is where I have, not without misgivings, “drawn the line.” Where the two parts of a compound seem to preserve their full notional force I have used a hyphen; where the force of one part seems to be quite subordinate to that of the other, I have written them as one word. It is the familiar distinction of compounds and derivatives over again, but at a stage of the language when some compounds were in course of becoming derivatives. Doubtless there are mistakes and inconsistencies I need hardly say I shall be glad to have them printed out.
Punctuation. The punctuation of “Beowulf” has hitherto been largely traditional, as it were, and largely German, and German punctuation of course differs in some respects from English. Some editors have shown daring originality in the substitution of colons for the semi-colons, and marks of exclamation for the full-stops, of previous editors. Periods have usually been held too sacred to question. I may say at once, that although I have been extremely conservative in my handling of the text, I have felt and have shown scant courtesy for much of the traditional punctuation. Let me state here the principles, right or wrong, upon which I have acted. First, I have made the punctuation as simple as possible. I have therefore done sway with the somewhat fine distinction between the colon and the semicolon, and have restricted the use of the former to marking the opening of an oratio recta, and to a very few similar loci, such as ll. 801, 1392, 1476. In the some way, I have, wherever possible, done away with parentheses, and with our modern meretricious marks of exclamation. If the reader’s sense or emotions do not tell him where he ought to feel exclamatory, he must suffer the consequences. Secondly, I have attempted to make the punctuation logical, especially by the use of pairs of commas wherever the sequence of a sentence is interrupted by parallelisms. This may be made clearer by a reference to ll. 1235–7, 1283–4, 3051–2. But, on the other hand, I have as far as possible avoided breaking up the metrical unit of the half line with a comma.
Foot-notes. The chief peculiarity of the footnotes is that, unlike Wülcker’s (to which I am greatly indebted), they are not intended to he read by the next “Beowulf” editor only. Therefore they are not lumbered with a mass of antiquated and impossible emendations, which no one but a “painful and studious” literary chiffonnier would think of collecting and perpetuating. Their main intention has been already referred to—to call attention to every departure in the text from the readings of the MS. If they have any influence towards making readers intolerant of the shameless, silent alterations of MS. readings which disfigure some O. E. texts—alterations such as have been banished from the best editions of the Latin and Greek classics—great indeed will he my reward.
A word or two of explanation must be added. “A” and “B” refer to the transcripts or copies of the poem, which the Danish scholar Thorkelin mode (one himself the other by a scribe ignorant of O. E.) in 1786, and which ere of great value for parts now defective. “Grein 1” is Grein’s Bibliothek der A. S. Poesie; “Grein 2” is his seperate edition of Beowulf. “Grein-Wülcker” and “Wülcker” refer to the latter’s new edition of the Bibliothek, which very rarely departs from Grein’s own readings. “Heyne 5” and “Heyne and Socin” refer to the 5th edition of Heyne’s Beowulf. “Zupitza” is the E. E. T. S. edition already mentioned. A, B, Wülcker, and Zupitza, do not mark vowel-length. The names of the proposers of the chief emendations adopted in the text are given for credit’s sake. Rejected emendations are quoted but sparsely; only when they are backed by considerable authority, or when I was in doubt as to the true reading. Points of grammar are discussed in the notes only in so far as they affect the question of readings. I have indulged but sparingly in the luxury of personal emendations, because they are obviously the greatest disqualification for discharging duly the functions of an editor.
Glossary. The plan on which the glossary is arranged must be tested by experience. Some decisions which had to be taken when I began to work on it may prove to have been mistaken; certainly I am not concerned to defend them here. I have endeavoured to furnish the requisite amount of help and no more. Every passage that struck me as really difficult I have translated under what appeared to me to be the crucial word, but I wish it to be distinctly understood that my renderings are meant to be suggestive and not authoritative.
Acknowledgments. It can but be a pleasure for me to make this public acknowledgment of the ready, willing, and efficient help which I have received, and without which the date of publication would have been seriously delayed. Mr C. Sapsworth, M.A., gave me his notes on the grammar of the poem, which have been of use in several ways. The labour of collating every line of the autotypes of the MS. with the texts of all the principal editions was done almost entirely by my wife, Mr D. Johnson, B.A., and other friends; and in the preparation of the glossary I have had the invaluable cooperation of my friends, Mr H. C. Notcutt, B.A., and Mr D. Johnson. I can only say that their help is as warmly appreciated as it was cordially given. One debt demands separate mention. The Rev. Prof. Skeat, Litt. D., has kindly spared time, from very great pressure of other work, to read the proofsheets, and has made many valuable suggestions which are embodied in the book with no other acknowledgment than this. I should ask him to allow me to dedicate this edition to him, as a small token of my gratitude, were I not of opinion that I should thereby be conferring far greater honour on my book than any that such a dedication could bring to his name.
I have but to add that I alone am responsible for the work as it stands; that I shall be grateful for criticisms and suggestions, especially from teachers and students; and that Mr William Morris has taken the text of this edition as the basis of his modern metrical rendering of the lay.
A. J. WYATT.
Cambridge,March, 1894.
ARGUMENT.
Hrothgar, king of the Danes, with whose ancestry the poem opens, in the pride of his success in war builds a great hall, Heorot, for feasting and the giving of treasure (ll. 1—85). But a monster named Grendel, enraged by the daily sounds of revelry, attacks the hall, makes a meal of fifteen thanes, and carries off fifteen more, returning with similar intent the next night. Thus Heorot is deserted, and remains so for twelve years (ll. 86—193). Then Beowulf, a mighty warrior of the Geats famous for the strength of his grip, hearing of Grendel’s ravages crosses the sea with fourteen comrades, keeps watch in Heorot, and, after seeing one of his men killed and eaten, grapples with the monster and pulls off his whole arm. Grendel escapes to his haunts, and dies (ll. 194—852). The following night, when the Danes are again in possession of the hall and Beowulf is lodged elsewhere, Grendel’s mother breaks in, and revenges the death of her son by slaying Aeschere, a noble Dane (ll. 853—1309). Beowulf undertakes the pursuit and revenge; he tracks the she-monster to her lair in the bottom of a mere, and slays her there. Seeing Grendel’s corpse, he severs the head from the body, and bears it back with him in triumph to Hrothgar’s court (ll. 1310—1798).
Loaded with rich gifts, the hero returns to his own land, and recites his adventures to Hygelac, his uncle, the king of the Geats (ll. 1799—2199). On the death of the latter, Beowulf refuses the throne for himself, and acts as guardian and adviser to the young king Heardred, who is, however, slain in battle.
Then Beowulf becomes king of the Geats, whom he rules wisely for fifty years, until a dragon begins to lay waste the land (ll. 2200–2400). The old hero’s spirit is undaunted as ever, but deserted by all his chosen warriors save one, although he succeeds in quelling the fiery “drake”, he himself meets with his death in the terrible encounter (ll. 2401—2820). With the burning of his body the poem ends (ll. 2821—3182).
Of the several episodes, the chief are the swimming-match with Breca (ll. 506 ff.), Sigemund and the dragon (ll. 874 ff.), and the Finn-episode (ll. 1068 ff.).
For the connexion between “The Fight at Finnsburg” (Appendix) and the Finn-episode in “Beowulf” see Finn in the index of Persons and Places.
ERRATA.
L. 27, for “frēan” read “Frēan.” L. 59, for “feower” read “fēower.” L. 63, for “Scilfinges” read “Scilfingas”; and in the note on l. 63, for “MS. ‘heaðo scilfingas’” read “See note on l. 2453.” L. 112, for “orcneas” read “orcnēas.” L. 366, for “wrīxlan” read “wrixlan.” L. 434, for “rēcceð” read “recceð.” L. 436, for “bliðe” read “blīðe.” L. 454, for “Hrædlan” read “Hrēðdlan”; and in place of the note on l. 454 read “MS. ‘hrædlan’; cf. l. 1485.” L. 484, for “morgen tīd” read “morgen-tīd.” L. 501, for “sið” read “sīð” Ll. 536, 769, for “begen” read “bēgen.” L. 674, for “-geātwe” read “-geatwe.” L. 706, for “metod” read “Metod.” L. 759, for “up-lang” read “ūp-lang.” To the note on l. 762 add “Cf. l. 797.” L. 902, for “ellen;” read “ellen,”. L. 1292, for “ōfste” read “ofste.” Ll. 1382, 1430, 2096, for “onweg” read “on weg.” L. 1479, for “forð-gewitenum” read “forð gewitenum.’ L. 1617, for “ǣttren” read “ættren.” L. 2066, for “-wælmum” read “-wǣlmum.” L. 2135, for wælmes” read “wǣlmes.” L. 2439, for “mercelses” read “mērcelses.” Ll. 2539, 2755, for “-sercean” read “-sērcean.” L. 2546, for “wælm” read “wǣlm.” L. 2598, for “bugon” read “bugon,”. L. 2713, for “swēlan” read “swelan.” Note on l. 2964, for
BEOWULF.[1]
Hwæt! wē Gār-Denain gēar-dagum Fol. 129a. þēod-cyningaþrym gefrūnon, hū ðā æþelingasell en fremedon. Oft Scyld Scēfingsceaþena þrēatum,5monegum mǣgþummeodo-setla oftēah. Egsode eorl,syððan ǣrest wearð fēa-sceaft funden;hē þæs frōfre gebād, wēox under wolcnum,weorð-myndum þāh, oð þæt him ǣghwylc þāra ymb-sittendra10ofer hron-rādehȳran scolde, gomban gyldan;þæt wæs gōd cyning. Ðǣm eafera wæsæfter cenned geong in geardum,þone God sende folce tō frōfre;fyren-ðearfe ongeat,15þæt[2] hīe ǣr drugonaldor-[lē]aselange hwīle.Him þæs Līf-frēa, wuldres Wealdend,worold-āre forgeaf; Bēowulf wæs brēme(blǣd wīde sprang), Scyldes eaferaScede-landum in.[3]20Swā sceal [geong g]uma[4]gōde gewyrcean, fromum feoh-giftumon fæder *[wi]ne,[5]Fol. 129b. þæt hine on yldeeft gewunigen wil-gesīþas,þonne wīg cume, lēode gelǣsten;lof-dǣdum sceal25in mǣgþa gehwǣreman geþeon. Him ða Scyld gewāttō gescæp-hwīle fela-hrōr fēranon frēan wǣre; hī hyne þā ætbǣrontō brimes faroðe, swǣse gesīþas,swā hē selfa bæd,30þenden wordum wēoldwine Scyldinga, lēof land-frumalange āhte. Þær æt hȳðe stōdhringed-stefna īsig ond ūt-fūs,æþelinges fær; ālēdon þālēofne þēoden,35bēaga bryttanon bearm scipes, mǣrne be mæste.Þǣr wæs mādma fela, of feor-wegumfrætwa gelǣded. Ne hȳrde ic cymlīcorcēol gegyrwan hilde-wǣpnumond heaðo-wǣedum,40billum ond byrnum;him on bearme lægmādma mænigo,þā him mid scoldon on flōdes ǣhtfeor gewītan. Nalæs hī hine lǣssanlācum tēodan, þēod-gestrēonum,þon[ne] þā dydon,45þe hine æt frum-sceafteforð onsendon ǣnne ofer ȳðeumbor-we*sende.Fol. 130a. Þa gyt hīe him āsettonsegen g[yl]denne[6] hēah ofer hēafod,lēton hohn beran, gēafon on gār-secg;him wæs gēomor sefa,50murnende mōd.Men ne cunnon secgan tō sōðe,sele-rǣdende,[7] hæleð under heofenum,hwā þǣm hlæste onfēng.
Bēowulf wæs brēme,blǣd wīde sprang Scyldes eafera[n]
I.
Ðā wæs on burgumBēowulf Scyldinga, lēof lēod-cyning,longe þrāge55folcum gefrǣge(fæder ellor hwearf, aldor of earde),oþ þæt him eft onwōc hēah Healfdene;hēold þenden lifde, gamol ond gūð-rēouw,glæde Scyldingas. Ðǣm feower bearnforð gerīmed60in worold wōcun,weoroda rǣswa Heorogār, ond Hrōðgārond Hālga til; hȳrde ic, þæt Elan cwēn[Ongenþēowes wæs][1]Heaðo-Scilfinges[2]heals-gebedda. Þā wæs Hrōðgārehere-spēd gyfen,65wīges weorð-mynd,þæt him his wine-māgas georne hȳrdon,oðð þæt sēo geogoð gewēox, mago-driht micel.Him on mōd bearn, þæt heal-reced[3]hātan wolde, *medo-ærn micelmen gewyrcean,Fol. 130b.70þon[n]e yldo bearnǣfre gefrūnon, ond þǣr on innaneall gedǣlan geongum ond ealdum,swylc him God sealde, būton folc-scareond feorum gumena. Ðā ic wīde gefrægnweorc gebannan75manigre mǣgþegeond þisne middan-geard, folc-stede frætwan.Him on fyrste gelomp ǣdre mid yldum,þæt hit wearð eal gearo, heal-ærna mǣst;scōp him Heort naman, sē þe his wordes gewealdwīde hæfde.80Hē bēot ne ālēh,bēagas dǣlde, sinc æt symle.Sele hlīfade hēah ond horn-gēap;heaðo-wylma bād lāðan līges.Ne wæs hit lenge þā, gēn, þæt se ecg-heteāþum-swerian[4]85æfter wæl-nīðewæcnan scolde.Ðā se ellen‐gǣst[5]earfoðlīce þrāge geþolode,sē þe in þȳstrum bād, þæt hē dōgora gehwāmdrēam gehȳrde hlūdne in healle;þǣr wæs hearpan swēg,90swutol sang scopes.Sægde sē þe cūþe frumsceaft fīrafeorran reccan, *cwæð þæt se Ælmihtigaeorðan worh[te],[6]Fol. 132a. wlite‐beorhtne wang,swā wæter bebūgeð; gesette sige‐hrēþigsunnan and mōnan95lēoman tō lēohteland‐būendum, ond gefrætwadefoldan scēatas leomum and lēafum;līf ēac gesceōp cynna gehwylcum,þāra ðe cwice hwyrfaþ. Swā ðā driht‐gumandrēamum lifdon100ēadiglīce,oð ðæt ān ongan fyrene fre[m]man,fēond on helle;[7] wæs se grimma gæstGrendel hāten, mǣre mearc‐stapa,sē þe mōras hēold, fen ond fæsten;fīfel‐cynnes eard105won‐sǣli[8] werweardode hwīle, siþðan him Scyppendforscrifen hæfde. In Caines cynneþone cwealm gewræc, ēce Drihten,[9]þæs þe hē Ābel slōg.Ne gefeah hē þǣere fǣhðe,ac hē hine feor forwræc,110Metod for þȳ māne,man-cynue fram. Ðanon untȳdrasealle onwōcon, eotenas ond ylfeond orcneas, swylce gī*gantas,þā wið Gode wunnonFol. 132b. lange þrāge;hē him ðæs lēan forgeald.
II.
115Gewāt ðā nēosian,syþðan niht becōm, hēan hūses,hū hit Hring-Dene æfter bēor-þegegebūn hæfdon. Fand þā ðǣr inneæþelinga gedriht swefan æfter symble;sorge ne cūðon,120wonsceaft wera.[1]Wiht unhǣlo, grim ond grǣdig,gearo sōna wæs, rēoc ond rēþe,ond on raeste genam þrītig þegna;þanon eft gewāt hūðe hrēmigtō hām faran,125mid þǣre wæl-fyllewica nēosan. Ða wæs on ūhtanmid ǣr-dæge Grendles guð-cræftgumum undyrne; þā wæs æfter wistewōp ūp āhafen, micel morgen-swēg.Mǣre þēoden,130 æþeling ǣr-gōd,unblīðe sæt, þolode ðrȳð-swȳðy,þegn-sorge drēah, syðþan hīe þæs lāðanlāst scēawedon, wergan gāstes;wæs þæt gewin tō strang, lāð ond longsum.Næs hit lengra *fyrst, Fol. 133a.135ac ymb āne nihteft gefremede morð-beala māreond nō mearn fore fǣhðe ond fyrene;wæs tō fæst on þām. Þā wæs ēað-fynde,þe him elles hwǣr gerūmlīcorræste [sōhte],[2]140bed æfter būrum,ðā him gebēacnod wæs, gesægd sōðlīce,sweotolan tācne heal-ðegnes hete;hēold hyne syðþan fyr ond fæstor,sē þǣm fēonde ætwand. Swā rixodeond wið rihte wan145āna wið eallum,oð þæt īdel stōd hūsa sēlest.[3]Wæs sēo hwīl micel; twelf[4] wintra tīdtorn geþolode wine Scyldinga,[5]wēana gehwelcne, sīdra sorga;forðam [syðþan][6] wearð150ylda bearnumundyrne cuð, gyddum gēomore,þætte Grendel wan hwīle wið Hrōþgār,hete-nīðas wæg, fyrene ond fǣhðefela missera, singale sæce;sibbe ne wolde155wið manna hwonemægenes Deniga feorh-bealo feorran,fēo[7] þingian, ne þǣr nǣnig witenawēnan þorfte beorhtre bōtetō banan[8] fohnum.*[Atol][9] ǣglǣcaēhtende wæs,Fol. 133b.160deorc dēaþ-scūa,duguþe ond geogoþe, seomade ond syrede,sin-nihte hēold mistige mōras;men ne cunnon, hwyder hel-rūnanhwyrftum scrīþað. Swā fela fyrenafēond man-cynnes,165atol ān-gengea,oft gefremede, heardra hȳnða;Heorot eardode, sinc-fāge selsweartum nihtum; nō hē þone gif-stōlgrētan mōste, māþðum for Metode,ne his myne wisse.[10]170Þæt wæs wrsec micelwine Scyldinga, mōdes brecða.Monig oft gesæt rīce tō rūne,rǣd eahtedon, hwæt swīð-ferhðumsēlest wǣre wið fǣr-gryrumtō gefremmanne.175 Hwīlum hīe gehētonæt hærg-trafum.[11] wīg-weorþunga,wordum bǣdon, þæt him gāst-bonagēoce gefremede wið þēod-þrēaum.Swylc wæs þēaw hyra, hǣþenra hyht;helle gemundon180 in mōd-sefan,Metod hīe ne cūþon, dǣda Dēmend,ne wiston hīe Drihten God, *ne hīe hūru heofena Helmherian ne cūþon,Fol. 134a. wuldres Waldend.Wā bið þǣm ðe sceal þurh slīðne nīðsāwle bescūfan185 in fȳres fæþm,frōfre ne wēnan, wihte gewendan;wel bið þǣm þe mōt
III.
Swā ðā mǣl-cearemaga Healfdenes190singala sēað;ne mihte snotor hæleð wēan onwendan;wæs þæt gewin tō swȳð, lāþ ond longsum,þe on ðā lēode becōm, nȳd-wracu nīþ-grim,niht-bealwa mǣst. Þaet fram hām gefrægnHigelāces þegn,195gōd mid Gēatum,Grendles dǣda; sē wæs mon-cynnesmægenes strengest on þǣm dægeþysses līfes, æþele ond ēacen.Hēt him ȳð-lidan gōdne gegyrwan;cwæð, hē gūð-cyning200ofer swan-rādesēcean wolde, mǣrne þēoden,þā him wæs manna þearf. Ðone sīð-fæt himsnotere ceorlas lȳt-hwon lōgon,*þēah hē him lēof wǣre; Fol. 134b. hwetton hige-[r]ōfne,[1]hǣl scēawedon.205Hæfde se gōdaGēata lēoda cempan gecorone,þāra þe hē cēnoste findan mihte;fiftena[2] sum sund-wudu sōhte;secg wīsade, lagu-cræftig mon,land-gemyrcu.210Fyrst forð gewāt;flota wæs on ȳðum, bāt under beorge.Beornas gearwe on stefn stigon;strēamas wundon sund wið sande;secgas bǣron on bearm nacanbeorhte frætwe,215gūð-searo geatolīc;guman ūt scufon, weras on wil-sīð,wudu bundenne. Gewât þā ofer wǣg-holmwinde gefȳsed flota fāmi-heals[3]fugle gelīcost, oð þæt ymb an-tīd[4]ōþres dōgores220wunden-stefnagewaden hæfde, þæt ðā līðendeland gesāwon, brim-clifu blīcan,beorgas stēape, sīde sǣ-næssas;þā wæs sund liden eoletes æt ende.Þanon up hraðe225Wedera lēodeon wang stigon, sǣ-wudu sǣldon;syrcan hrysedon, gūð-gewǣdo;Gode þancedon, þæs þe him ȳþ-lādeēaðe wurdon. *Þā of wealle geseahweard Scildinga,Fol. 135a.230sē þe holm-clifuhealdan scolde, beran ofer bolcanbeorhte randas, fyrd-searu fūslicu;hine fyrwyt bræc mōd-gehygdum,hwæt þā men wǣron. Gewāt him þā tō waroðewicge rīdan235þegn Hrōðgāres,þrymmum cwehte mægen-wudu mundum,meþel-wordum frægn: “Hwæt syndon gēsearo-hæbbendra byrnum werede,þe þus brontne cēol ofer lagu-strǣtelǣdan cwōmon,240hider ofer holmas[hringed-stefnan]?[5]Ic wæs ende-sǣta,ǣg-wearde hēold, þē on land Denalāðra nǣnig mid scip-hergesceðþan ne meahte. Nō hēr cūðlīcorcuman ongunnon245lind-hæbbende;ne gē lēafnes-word gūð-fremmendragearwe ne wisson, māga gemēdu.Nǣfre ic māran geseah eorla ofer eorþan,ðonne is ēower sum, secg on searwum;nis þæt seld-guma250wǣpnum geweorðad,næfne[6] him his wlite lēoge, ǣnlīc an-sȳn.Nū ic ēower sceal frum-cyn witan,ǣr gē fyr *heonan,Fol. 135b. lēas[e][7] scēaweras,on land Dena furþur fēran.Nū gē feor-būend,255mere-līðende,mīn[n]e[8] gehȳrað ān-fealdne geþōht;ofost is sēlest tō gecȳðanne,hwanan ēowre cyme syndon.”
IV.
Him se yldestaondswarode, werodes wīsa,word-hord onlēac:260“Wē synt gum-cynnesGēata lēode ond Higelācesheoið-genēatas. Wæs mīn fæderfolcum gecȳþed, æþele ord-frumaEcgþēow hāten; gebād wintra worn,ǣr hē on weg hwurfe265gamol of geardum;hine gearwe geman witena wel-hwylcwīde geond eorþan. Wē þurh holdne higehlāford þīnne, sunu Healfdenes,sēcean cwōmon, lēod-gebyrgean;wes þū ūs lārena gōd.270Habbað wē tō þǣm mǣranmicel ǣrende Deniga frēan;ne sceal þǣr dyrne sum wesan, þæs ic wēne.Þū wāst gif hit is, swā wē sōþlīce*secgan hȳrdon,Fol. 136a. þæt mid Scyldingumsceaðona[1] ic nāt hwylc,275dēogol dǣd-hata,[2]deorcum nihtum ēaweð þurh egsanuncūðne nīð, hȳnðu ond hrā-fyl.Ic þæs Hrōðgār mæg þurh rūmne sefanrǣd gelǣran, hū hē frōd ond gōdfēond oferswȳðeþ,280gyf him ed-wendanǣfre scolde bealuwa bisigu,bōt eft cuman, ond þā cear-wylmascōlran wurðaþ; oððe ā syþðanearfoð-þrāge,þrēa-nȳd þolað,þenden þǣr wunað285on hēah-stedehūsa sēlest.” Weard maþelode,ðǣr on wicge saet, ombeht unforht:“Ǣghwaþres sceal scearp scyld-wigagescād witan, worda ond worca,sē þe wel þenceð.290Ic þæt gehȳre,þæt þis is hold weorod frēan Scyldinga.Gewītaþ forð beran wǣpen ond gewǣdu,ic ēow wīsige; swylce ic magu-þegnasmīne hāte wið fēonda gehwoneflotan ēowerne,295nīw-tyrwydnenacan on sande, ārum healdan,oþ þæt eft byreð ofer lagu-strēa*maslēofne mannanFol. 136b. wudu wunden-halstō Weder-mearce. Gōd-fremmendra[3]swylcum gifeþe bið,300þæt þone hilde-rǣshāl gedīgeð.” Gewiton him þā fēran;[4]flota stille bād, seomode on sāle[5]sīd-fæþmed scip, on ancre fæst.[6]Eofor-līc scionon[7]ofer hlēor-ber[g]an,[8]gehroden golde,305fāh ond fȳr-heard;ferh wearde hēold. Gūþmōd[9] grummon,guman ōnetton, sigon ætsomne,oþ þæt hȳ [s]æl timbred,[10] geatolīc ond gold-fāh,ongyton mihton; þæt wæs fore-mǣrostfold-būendum310receda underroderum, on þǣm se rīca bād; līxte se lēomaofer landa fela. Him þā hilde-dēor[h]of[11] mōdigra torht getǣhte,þæt hīe him tō mihton gegnum gangan;gūð-beorna sum315wicg gewende,word æfter cwæð: “Mǣl is mē tō fēran;Fæder al-walda mid ār-stafumēowic gehealde sīða gesunde!Ic tō sǣ wille wið *wrāð werodwearde healdan.”Fol. 137a.
V.
320Strǣt wæs stān-fāh,stīg wīsode gumum ætgædere.Gūð-byrne scān heard hond-locen,hring-īren scīr song in searwum,þā hīe tō sele furðam in hyra gryre-geatwumgangan cwōmon.325Setton sǣ-mēþesīde scyldas, rondas regn-hearde,wið þæs recedes weal, bugon þā tō bence;byrnan hringdon, gūð-searo gumena;gāras stōdon, sǣ-manna searo,samod ætgædere,330æsc-holt ufan grǣg;wæs se īren-þrēat wǣpnum gewurþad.Þā ðǣr wlonc hæleð ōret-mecgasæfter æþelum[1] frægn: “Hwanon ferigeað gēfǣtte scyldas, grǣge syrcanond grīm-helmas,335here-sceafta hēap?Ic eom Hrōðgāres ār ond ombiht.Ne seah ic el-þēodige þus manige menmōdiglīcran. Wēn[2] ic þæt gē for wlenco,nalles for wræc-sīðum ac for hige-*þrymmum,Hrōðgār sōhton.”Fol. 137b.340Him þā ellen-rōfandswarode, wlanc Wedera lēodword æfter spræc, heard under helme:“Wē synt Higelāces bēod-genēatas;Bēowulf is mīn nama. Wille ic āsecgansunu[3] Healfdenes,345mǣrum þēodne,mīn ǣrende, aldre þīnum,gif hē ūs geunnan wile, þæt wē hine swā gōdnegrētan mōton.” Wulfgār maþelode(þæt wæs Wendla lēod, wæs his mōd-sefamanegum gecȳðed,350wīg ond wīs-dōm):“Ic þæs wine Deniga, frēan Scildinga,frinan wille,bēaga bryttan,swā þū bēna eart, þēoden mǣrne,ymb þīnne sīð, ond þē þā, ondswareǣdre gecȳðan,355ðe mē se gōdaāgifan þenceð.” Hwearf þā hrædlīce,þǣr Hrōðgār sæt eald ond unhārmid his eorla gedriht; ēode ellen-rōf,þæt hē for eaxlum gestōd Deniga frēan;cūþe hē duguðe þēaw.360Wulfgār maðelode*tō his wine-drihtne:Fol. 138a. “Hēr syndon geferede,feorran cumene ofer geofenes begang,Gēata lēode; þone yldestanōret-mecgas Bēowulf nemnað.Hȳ bēnan synt,365þæt hīe, þēoden mīn,wið þē mōton wordum wrīxlan;nō ðū him wearne getēoh ðīnra gegn-cwida,glædman[4] Hrōðgār. Hȳ on wīg-getāwumwyrðe þinceað eorla geæhtlan;hūru se aldor dēah,370sē þǣm heaðo-rincumhider wīsade.”
VI.
Hrōðgār maþelode,helm Scyldinga: “Ic hine cūðecniht-wesende; wæs his eald fæder[1]Ecgþēo hāten,ðǣm tō hām forgeafHrēþel Gēata375āngan dohtor;is his eafora[2] nū heard hēr cumen,sōhte holdne wine. Ðonne sægdon þæetsǣ-līþende, þā ðe gif-sceattasGēata[3] fyredon þyder tō þance,þæt hē þrit*tiges[4]Fol. 138b.380manna mægen-cræfton his mund-gripe heaþo-rōf hæbbe.Hine hālig God for ār-stafumūs onsende, tō West-Denum,þæs ic wēn hæbbe, wið Grendles gryre;ic þǣm gōdan sceal385for his mōd-þræcemādmas bēodan. Bēo ðū on ofeste,hāt in gān[5] sēon sibbe-gedrihtsamod ætgædere; gesaga him ēac wordum,þæt hīe sint wil-cuman Deniga lēodum.”[Þā wið duru healle390Wulfgār ēode,][6]word inne ābēad; “Ēow hēt secgansige-drihten mīn, aldor Ēast-Dena,þæt hē ēower æþelu can,ond gē him syndonofer sǣ-wylmas, heard-hicgende,hider wil-cuman.395Nū gē mōton ganganin ēowrum gūð-geatawum,[7] under here-grīman,Hrōðgār gesēon; lǣtað hilde-bordhēr onbīdan, wudu, wæl-sceaftas,worda geþinges.” Ārās þā se rīca,ymb hine rinc manig,400þrȳðlīc þegna hēap;sume þǣr bidon, heaðo-rēaf hēoldon,swā him se *hearda bebēad.Fol. 139a. Snyredon ætsomne,þā secg wīsode, under Heorotes hrōf;[hyge-rōf ēode,][8] heard under helme,þæt hē on hēoðe[9] gestōd.405Bēowulf maðelode(on him byrne scān, searo-net sēowedsmiþes or-þancum): “Wæs[10] þū, Hrōðgār, hāl!Ic eom Higelāces mǣg ond mago-ðegn;hæbbe ic mǣrða fela ongunnen on geogoþe.Mē wearð Grendles þing410on mīnre ēþel-tyrfundyrne cūð; secgað sǣ-līðend,þæt þes[11] sele stande, reced sēlesta,rinca gehwylcum īdel ond unnyt,siððan ǣfen-lēoht under heofenes hador[12]beholen weorþeð.415Þā mē þæt gelǣrdonlēode mīne,þā sēlestan,snotere ceorlas, þēoden Hrōðgār,þæt ic þē sōhte, forþan hīe mægenes cræftmīn[n]e[13] cūþon; selfe ofersāwon,ðā ic of searwum cwōm,420fāh from fēondum,þǣr ic fīfe geband, ȳðde eotena cyn,ond on ȳðum slōg niceras nihtes,nearo-þearfe drēah, wræc *Wedera nīð(wēan āhsodon),Fol. 139b. forgrand gramum;ond nū wið Grendel sceal,425wið þām āglǣcan,āna gehēgan ðing wið þyrse.Ic þē nū ðā, brego Beorht-Dena,biddan wille, eodor Scyldinga,ānre bēne, þæt ðū mē ne forwyrne,wīgendra hlēo,430frēo-wine folca,nū ic þus feorran cōm, þæt ic mōte āna[ond][14] mīnra eorla gedryht, þes hearda hēap,Heorot fǣlsian. Hæbbe ic ēac geāhsod,þæt se ǣglǣca for his won-hȳdumwǣpna ne rēcceð;435ic þæt þonne forhicge,swā mē Higelāc sīe, mīn mon-drihten,mōdes bliðe, þæt ic sweord bereoþðe sīdne scyld, geolo-rand tō gūþe;ac ic mid grāpe sceal fōn wið fēonde,ond ymb feorh sacan440lāð wið lāþum;ðǣr gelȳfan sceal Dryhtnes dōmesē þe hine dēað nimeð. Wēn ic þæt hē wille,gif hē wealdan mōt, in þǣm. gūð-seleGēatena[15] lēodeetan unforhte,swa hē *oft dyde Fol. 140a.445mægen Hrēð-manna.Nā þū mīnne þearft hafalan hȳclan,ac hē me habban wile d[r]ēore fāhne,gif mec dēað nimeð; byreð blōdig wæl,byrgean þenceð, eteð ān-gengaunmurnlīce,450mearcað mōr-hopu;nō ðū ymb mīnes ne þearft līces feormeleng sorgian. Onsend Higelāce,gif mec hild nime, beadu-scrūda betst,þæt mīne brēost wereð, hrægla sēlest;þæt is Hrædlan[16] lāf,455Wēlandes geweorc.Gǣð ā wyrd swā hīo scel.”
VII.
Hrōðgār maþelode,helm Scyldinga: “F[or w]ere-fyhtum[1] þū,wine mīn Bēowulf, ond for ār-stafumūsic sōhtest. Geslōh þin fæderfǣhðe mǣste,460wearþ hē Heaþolāfetō hand-bonan mid Wilfingum;ðā hine Wedera[2] cyn for here-brōganhabban ne mihte. Þanon hē gesōhteSūð-Dena folc ofer ȳða gewealc,Ār-*Scyldinga;Fol. 140b.465ðā ic furþum wēoldfolce Deniga,[3] ond on geogoðe hēoldgimme-rīcehord-burh hæleþa.Ðā wæs Heregār dēad, mīn yldra mǣgunlifigende, bearn Healfdenes;sē wæs betera ðonne ic.470Siððan þā fǣhðefēo þingode; sende ic Wylfingumofer wæteres hrycg ealde mādmas;hē mē āþas swōr. Sorh is mē tō secganneon sefan mīnum gumena ǣngum,hwæt mē Grendel hafað475hȳnðo on Heorotemid his hete-þancum, fǣr-nīða gefremed;is mīn flet-werod, wīg-hēap, gewanod;hīe wyrd forswēop on Grendles gryre.God ēaþe mæg þone dol-sceaðan[4]dǣda getwǣfan.480Ful oft gebēotedonbēore druncne ofer ealo-wǣgeōret-mecgas, þæt hīe in bēor-selebīdan woldon Grendles gūþemid gryrum ecga. Ðonne wæs þēos medo-healon morgen tīd,485driht-sele drēor-fāh,þonne dæg līxte, eal *benc-þelublōde bestȳmed,Fol. 141a. heall heoru-drēore;āhte ic holdra þȳ lǣs, dēorre duguðe,þē þā dēað fornam. Site nū tō symleond onsǣl meoto,490sige-hrēð secgum,[5]swā þīn sefa hwette.” Þā wæs Gēat-mæcgumgeador ætsomne on bēor-selebene gerȳmed;þǣr swīð-ferhþesittan ēodon, þrȳðum dealle.Þegn nytte behēold,495sē þe on handa bærhroden ealo-wǣge, scencte scīr wered.Scop hwīlum sang hādor on Heorote;þǣr wæs hæleða drēam, duguð unlȳtelDena ond Wedera.
VIII.
Unferð[1] maþelode,Ecglāfes bearn,500þe æt fōtum sætfrēan Scyldinga, onband beadu-rūne(wæs him Bēowulfes sið, mōdges mere-faran,micel æf-þunca, forþon þe hē ne ūþe,þæt ǣnig ōðer man ǣfre *mǣrða þon māmiddan-geardesFol. 141b.505gehēdde under heofenumþonne hē sylfa): “Eart þū se Bēowulf,sē þe wið Brecan wunne, on sīdne sǣymb sund flite, ðǣr git for wlencewada cunnedon, ond for dol-gilpeon dēop wæter510aldrum nēþdon?Ne inc ǣnig mon, ne lēof nē lāð,belēan mihte sorh-fullne sīð,þā git on sund rēon; þǣr git ēagor-strēamearmum þehton, mǣton mere-strǣta,mundum brugdon,515glidon ofer gār-secg;geofon ȳþum wēol, wintrys wyhn.[2]Git on wæteres ǣhtseofon niht swuncon;hē þē æt sunde oferflāt, hæfde māre mægen.Þā hine on morgen-tīd on Heaþo-Rǣmas[3]holm up ætbær;520ðonon hē gesōhteswǣsne ēðel,[4] lēof his lēodumlond Brondinga, freoðo-burh fægere,þǣr hē folc āhte, burh ond bēagas.*Bēot eal wið þēFol. 142a. sunu Bēanstānessōðe gelǣste.525Ðonne wēne ic tō þēwyrsan geþingea, ðēah þū heaðo-rǣsagehwǣr dohte, grimre gūðe,gif þū Grendles dearst niht-longne fyrstnēan bīdan.” Bēowulf maþelode,bearn Ecgþēowes:530“Hwæt! þū worn fela,wine mīn Unferð,[5] bēore druncenymb Brecan sprǣce, sægdest from his sīðe.Sōð ic talige, þæt ic mere-strengomāran āhte, earfeþo[6] on ȳþum,ðonne ǣnig ōþer man.535Wit þæt gecwǣdoncniht-wesende ond gebēotedon(wǣron begen þā git on geogoð-fēore),þæt wit on gār-secg ūt aldrum nēðdon;ond þæt geæfndon swā. Hæfdon swurd nacod,þā wit on sund rēon,540heard on handa;wit unc wið hron-fixas werian þōhton.Nō hē wiht fram mē flōd-ȳþum feorflēotan meahte,hraþor on holme;nō ic fram him wolde. Ðā wit æt *somneon sǣ wǣronFol. 142b.545fīf nihta fyrst,oþ þæt unc flōd tōdrāf, wado weallende;wedera cealdost, nīpende nihtond norþan wind, heaðo-grim ondhwearf;[7]hrēo wǣron ȳþa. Wæs mere-fixamōd onhrēred;550þǣr mē wið lāðumlīc-syrce mīn, heard hond-locen,helpe gefremede; beado-hrægl brōdenon brēostum læg, golde gegyrwed.Mē tō grunde tēah fāh fēond-scaða,fæste hæfde555grim on grāpe;hwæþre mē gyfeþe wearð, þæt ic āglǣcanorde gerǣhte, hilde-bille;heaþo-rǣs fornam mihtig mere-dēorþurh mīne hand.
‘geofon-yðum weol wintrys wylm.’
Other editions needlessly change wylm to wylme or wylmum.3519. MS. ‘heaþoræmes.’4IX.
Swā mec gelōmelāð-getēonan560þrēatedon þearle.Ic him þēnode dēoran sweorde,swa hit gedēfe wæs; næs hīe ðǣre fyllegefēan hæfdon, mān-fordǣdlan,þæt hīe mē þēgon, symbel ymb-sǣtonsǣ-grunde nēah;565ac on mergennemēcum *wundeFol. 143a. be ȳð-lāfeuppe lǣgon,sweo[r]dum[1] āswefecle,þæt syðþan nā ymb brontne fordbrim-līðende lāde ne letton.Lēoht ēastan cōm,570beorht bēacen Godes;brimu swaþredon, þæt ic sǣ-næssasgesēon mihte, windige weallas.Wyrd oft nereð unfǣgne eorl,þonne his ellen dēah. Hwæþere mē gesǣlde,þæt ic mid sweorde ofslōh575niceras nigene.Nō ic on niht gefrægn under heofones hwealfheardran feohtan, ne on ēg-strēamumearmran mannon; hwæþere[2] ic fāra fengfēore gedīgde, sīþes wērig.Ðā mec sǣ oþbær,580flod æfter faroðe,on Finna land, wadu[3] weallendu.Nō ic wiht fram þē swylcra searo-nīðasecgan hȳrde, billa brōgan;Breca nǣfre git æt heaðo-lāce,ne gehwæþer incer,585swā dēorlīcedǣd gefremede fāgum sweordum(nō ic þæs [fela][4] gylpe), þēah ðū þīnum brōðrumtō banan wurde, hēafod-mǣgum;þæs þū in *helle scealtFol. 143b. werhðo drēogan.þēah þīn wit duge.590Secge ic þē tō sōðe,sunu Ecglāfes, þæt nǣfre Gre[n]del[5] swā felagryra gefremede,atol ǣglǣca,ealdre þīnum, hȳnðo on Heorote,gif þīn hige wǣre, sefa swā searo-grim,swā þū self talast;595ac hē hafað onfunden,þæt hē þā fǣhðe ne þearf, atole ecg-þræce,ēower lēode swīðe onsittan,Sige-Scyldinga; nymeð nȳd-bāde,nǣnegum ārað lēode Deniga,ac hē [on][6] lust wīgeð,600swefeð ond sendeþ,secce[7] ne wēneþ tō Gar-Denum.Ac ic[8] him Gēata sceal eafoð ond ellenungēara nū gūþe gebēodan.Gǣþ eft sē þe mōt tō medo mōdig,siþþan morgen-lēoht605ofer ylda bearnoþres dōgores, sunne swegl-wered,sūþan scīneð.” Þā wæs on sālumsinces brytta, gamol-feax ond gūð-rōf;gēoce gelȳfde *brego Beorht-Dena;gehȳrde on BēowulfeFol. 144a.610folces hyrdefæst-rǣdne geþōht. Ðǣr wæs hæleþa hleahtor,hlyn swynsode, word wǣron wynsume.Ēode Wealhþēow forð, cwēn Hrōðgāres,cynna gemyndig, grētte gold-hrodenguman on healle;615ond þā frēolic wīfful gesealde ǣrest Ēast-Denaēþel-wearde, bæd hine blīðneæt þǣre bēor-þege, lēodum lēofne;hē on lust geþeah symbel ond sele-ful,sige-rōf kyning.620Ymb-ēode þaides Helminga duguþe ond geogoþedǣl ǣghwylcne, sinc-fato sealde,oþ þæt sǣl ālamp, þæt hīo Bēowulfe,bēag-hroden cwēn, mōde geþungen,medo-ful ætbær;625grētte Gēata lēod,Gode þancode wīs-fæst wordum,þæs ðe hire se willa gelamp, þæt hēo on ǣnigneeorl gelȳfde fyrena frōfre.He þæt ful geþeah, wæl-rēow wiga,*æt Wealhþēon,Fol. 144b.630ond þā gyddodegūþe gefȳsed; Bēowulf maþelode,bearn Eegþēowes: “Ic þæt hogode,þā ic on holm gestāh, sǣ-bāt gesætmid mīnra secga gedriht, þæt ic ānungaēowra lēoda635willan geworhte,oþðe on wæl crunge fēond-grāpum fæst.Ic gefremman sceal eorlīc ellen,oþðe ende-dæg on þisse meodu-heallemīnne gebīdan.” Ðām wīfe þā wordwel līcodon,640gilp-cwide Gēates;ēode gold-hroden frēolicu folc-cwēntō hire frēan sittan. ̄Þā wæs eft swā ǣrinne on healle þrȳð-word sprecen,ðēod on sǣlum, sige-folca swēg,oþ þæt semninga645sunu Healfdenessēcean wolde ǣfen-ræste;wiste þǣm āhlǣcantō þǣm hēah-selehilde geþinged, siððan hīe sunnan lēohtgesēon [ne][9] meahton, oþðe nīpendeniht ofer ealle,650scadu-helma gesceapuscrīðan cwōman, wan under wolcnum.Werod eall ārās; grētte þā[10]guma ōþerne, Hrōðgār Bēowulf,ond him hǣl ābēad, wīn-ærnes *geweald,ond þæt word ācwæð:Fol. 145a.655“Nǣfre ic ǣnegum menǣr ālȳfde, siþðan ic hond ond rondhebban mihte, ðrȳþ-ærn Denabūton þē nū ðā. Hafa nū ond gehealdhūsa sēlest, gemyne mǣrþo,mægen-ellen cȳð,660waca wið wrāþum.Ne bið þē wilna gād, gif þū þæt ellen-weorcaldre gedīgest.”
X.
Ða him Hrōðgār gewātmid his hæleþa gedryht, eodur Scyldinga,ūt of healle; wolde wīg-frumaWealhþēo sēcan,665cwēn tō gebeddan.Hæfde kyning[a][1] wuldor Grendle tō-gēanes,swā guman gefrungon,sele-weard āseted;sundor-nytte behēold ymb aldor Dena,eoton-weard ābēad.[2] Hūru Gēata lēodgeorne trūwode670mōdgan mægnes,Metodes hyldo. Ðā hē him of dydeīsern-byrnan, helm of hafelan,sealde his hyrsted sweord, īrena cyst,ombiht-þegne, ond gehealdan hēthilde-geātwe.675Gesprsec þā se gōdagylp-worda sum, Bēowulf *Gēata,ǣr hē on bed stige:Fol. 145b. “Nō ic mē an here-wǣsmun[3]hnāgran talige gūþ-geweorcaþonne Grendel hine; forþan ic hine sweordeswebban nelle,680aldre benēotan,þēah ic eal mæge. Nāt hē þāra gōda,þæt hēe mē ongēan slēa, rand gehēawe,þēah ðe hē rōf sīe nīþ-geweorca;ac wit on niht sculon secge ofersittan,gif hē[4] gesēcean dear685wīg ofer wǣpen,ond siþðan wītig God on swā hwæþere hond,hālig Dryhten, mǣrðo dēme,swā him gemet þince.” Hylde hine þā heaþo-dēor,hlēor-bolster onfēng eorles andwlitan,ond hine ymb monig690snellīc sǣ-rincsele-reste gebēah. Nǣnig heora þōhte,þæt hē þanon scolde eft eard-lufanǣfre gesēcean, folc oþðe frēo-burh,þǣr hē āfēded wæs:ac hīe hæfdon gefrūnen,þǣt hīe ǣr tō fela micles695in þǣm wīn-selewǣl-dēað fornam, Denigea lēode.Ac him Dryhten forgeaf wīg-spēda gewiofu,*Wedera lēodumFol. 146a. frōfor ond fultum,þæt hīe fēond heora ðurh ānes cræftealle ofercōmon,700selfes mihtum;sōð is gecȳþed, þæt mihtig Godmanna cynnes wēold wīde-ferhð.[5]Cōm on wanre niht scrīðan sceadu-genga.Scēotend swǣfon, þā þæt horn-recedhealdan scoldon,705ealle būton ānum.Þæt wæs yldum cūþ, þæt hīe ne mōste,þā metod nolde, se syn-scaþaunder sceadu bregdan; ac hē wæccendewrāþum on andan bād bolgen-mōdbeadwa geþinges.
XI.
710Ðā cōm of mōreunder mist-hleoþum Grendel gongan,Godes yrre bær; mynte se mān-scaðamanna cynnes sumne besyrwanin sele þām hēan. Wōd under wolcnum,tō þæs þe hē wīn-reced,715gold-sele gumena,gearwost wisse, fǣttum fāhne;ne wæs þæt forma sīð, þæt hē Hrōþgāreshām gesōhte. Nǣfre hē on aldor-dagumǣr *ne siþðanFol. 146b. heardran hæle,heal-ðegnas fand.720Cōm þā tō recederinc siðian drēamum bedǣled;duru sōna onarn, fȳr-bendum fæst,syþðan hē hire folmum [hr]ān;[1] onbrǣd þā bealo-hȳdig,ðā [hē ge]bolgen[2] wæs, recedes mūþan.Raþe æfter þon725on fāgne flōrfēond treddode, ēode yrre-mōd;him of ēagum stōd ligge gelīcostlēoht unfæger. Geseah hē in recederinca manige, swefan sibbe-gedrihtsamod ætgædere,730mago-rinca hēap.Þā his mōd āhlōg; mynte þæt hē gedǣlde,ǣ þon dæg cwōme, atol āglǣca,ānra gehwylces līf wið līce,þā him ālumpen wæs wist-fylle wēn.
