I. Beowulf: an Anglo-Saxon poem. II. The fight at Finnsburh: a fragment.

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Beowulf, by Unknown

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Title: Beowulf

Author: Unknown

Editor: James A. Harrison

        Robert Sharp

Posting Date: November 22, 2011 [EBook #9701] Release Date: January, 2006 First Posted: October 12, 2003

Language: English

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** Preface to the Project Gutenberg Edition of Beowulf **

This text is a revised and corrected version of the fourth edition of Harrison and Sharp in its entirety. It comes in two basic versions. The base version (available in plain-text and HTML) presents the original text as printed. It preserves the source-text's idiosyncratic use of accented vowels with the exception of y-circumflex (ŷ), which is replaced by y-acute (ý) to fit within the Latin-1 character set. Manifestly unintentional errors in the text have been corrected. In general, this has only been done when the text is internally inconsistent (e.g., a quotation in the glossary does not match the main text). Forms that represent deliberate editorial choice have not been altered, even where they appear wrong. (For example, some of the markings of vowel length do not reflect current scholarly consensus.) In a few instances, quotations in the glossary use the correct vowel length where the main text does not. These have not been altered. Where an uncorrected problem may confuse the reader, I have inserted a note explaining the difficulty, signed KTH. A complete list of the changes made is appended at the end of the file. In order to make the text more useful to modern readers, I have also produced a revised edition (HTML only). The file you are reading is this revised version. Notes from the source text that indicate changes adopted in later editions have been incorporated directly into the text and apparatus. Further, long vowels are indicated with macrons, as is the common practice of most modern editions. Finally, the quantity of some words has been altered to the values currently accepted as correct. Quantities have not been changed when the difference is a matter of editorial interpretation (e.g., gæst vs. gǣst in l. 102, etc.) A list of these altered quantities appears at the end of the list of corrections. Your browser must support the Unicode character set to use this file. To tell if your browser supports the necessary characters, check the table of vowel equivalents below. If you see any empty boxes or question marks in the revised columns, you should use the basic version.

Explanation of the Vowel Accenting

In general, Harrison and Sharp use circumflex accents over vowels to mark long vowels. For ash, however, the actual character 'æ' represents the long vowel. Short ash is rendered with a-umlaut (ä). The long diphthongs (ēo, ēa, etc.) are indicated with an acute accent over the second vowel (eó, eá, etc.).

Vowel Equivalents in Different Versions:

Orig. Revised Orig. Revised ä æ Ô Ō Ä Æ û ū æ ǣ Û Ū Æ Ǣ ý ȳ â ā Ý Ȳ Â Ā eá ēa ê ē Eá Ēa Ê Ē eó ēo î ī Eó Ēo Î Ī ié īe ô ō ió īo

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I. BĒOWULF:

AN ANGLO-SAXON POEM.

II. THE FIGHT AT FINNSBURH:

A FRAGMENT.

WITH TEXT AND GLOSSARY ON THE

BASIS OF M. HEYNE.

EDITED, CORRECTED, AND ENLARGED, BY

JAMES A. HARRISON, LL.D., LITT. D.,

PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH AND MODERN LANGUAGES, WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY,

AND

ROBERT SHARP (PH.D. LIPS.), PROFESSOR OF GREEK AND ENGLISH, TULANE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA.

FOURTH EDITION. REVISED, WITH NOTES.

GINN & COMPANY

BOSTON-NEW YORK-CHICAGO-LONDON

Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1883, by JAMES ALBERT HARRISON AND ROBERT SHARP in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

DEDICATED

TO

PROFESSOR F. A. MARCH, OF LAFAYETTE COLLEGE, PA.,

AND

FREDERICK J. FURNIVALL, ESQ. FOUNDER OF THE NEW SHAKSPERE SOCIETY, THE CHAUCER SOCIETY, ETC., ETC.

PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.

The favor with which the successive editions of Bēowulf have been received during the past thirteen years emboldens the editors to continue the work of revision in a fourth issue, the most noticeable feature of which is a considerable body of explanatory Notes, now for the first time added. These Notes mainly concern themselves with new textual readings, with here and there grammatical, geographical, and archæological points that seemed worthy of explanation. Parallelisms and parallel passages are constantly compared, with the view of making the poem illustrate and explain itself. A few emendations and textual changes are suggested by the editors with all possible diffidence; numerous corrections have been made in the Glossary and List of Names; and the valuable parts of former Appendices have been embodied in the Notes.

For the Notes, the editors are much indebted to the various German periodicals mentioned on page 116, to the recent publications of Professors Earle and J. L. Hall, to Mr. S. A. Brooke, and to the Heyne-Socin edition of Bēowulf. No change has been made in the system of accentuation, though a few errors in quantity have been corrected. The editors are looking forward to an eventual fifth edition, in which an entirely new text will be presented.

October, 1893.

NOTE TO THE THIRD EDITION.

This third edition of the American issue of Bēowulf will, the editors hope, be found more accurate and useful than either of the preceding editions. Further corrections in text and glossary have been made, and some additional new readings and suggestions will be found in two brief appendices at the back of the book. Students of the metrical system of Bēowulf will find ample material for their studies in Sievers' exhaustive essay on that subject (Beiträge, X. 209-314).

Socin's edition of Heyne's Bēowulf (called the fifth edition) has been utilized to some extent in this edition, though it unfortunately came too late to be freely used. While it repeats many of the omissions and inaccuracies of Heyne's fourth edition, it contains much that is valuable to the student, particularly in the notes and commentary. Students of the poem, which has been subjected to much searching criticism during the last decade, will also derive especial help from the contributions of Sievers and Kluge on difficult questions appertaining to it. Wülker's new edition (in the Grein Bibliothek) is of the highest value, however one may dissent from particular textual views laid down in the 'Berichtigter Text.' Paul and Braune's Beiträge contain a varied miscellany of hints, corrections, and suggestions principally embodying the views of Kluge, Cosijn, Sievers, and Bugge, some of the more important of which are found in the appendices to the present and the preceding edition. Holder and Zupitza, Sarrazin and Hermann Möller (Kiel, 1883), Heinzel (Anzeiger f.d. Alterthum, X.), Gering (Zacher's Zeitschrift, XII.), Brenner (Eng. Studien, IX.), and the contributors to Anglia, have assisted materially in the textual and metrical interpretation of the poem.

The subject of Anglo-Saxon quantity has been discussed in several able essays by Sievers, Sweet, Ten Brink (Anzeiger, f.d. Alterthum, V.), Kluge (Beiträge, XI.), and others; but so much is uncertain in this field that the editors have left undisturbed the marking of vowels found in the text of their original edition, while indicating in the appendices the now accepted views of scholars on the quantity of the personal pronouns (mē, wē, þū, þē, gē, hē); the adverb nū, etc. Perhaps it would be best to banish absolutely all attempts at marking quantities except in cases where the Ms. has them marked.

An approximately complete Bibliography of Bēowulf literature will be found in Wülker's Grundriss and in Garnett's translation of the poem.

JAMES A. HARRISON,

ROBERT SHARP.

WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY, LEXINGTON, VA., May, 1888.

NOTE TO THE SECOND REVISED EDITION.

The editors feel so encouraged at the kind reception accorded their edition of Bēowulf (1883), that, in spite of its many shortcomings, they have determined to prepare a second revised edition of the book, and thus endeavor to extend its sphere of usefulness. About twenty errors had, notwithstanding a vigilant proof-reading, crept into the text,-errors in single letters, accents, and punctuation. These have been corrected, and it is hoped that the text has been rendered generally accurate and trustworthy. In the List of Names one or two corrections have been made, and in the Glossary numerous mistakes in gender, classification, and translation, apparently unavoidable in a first edition, have been rectified. Wherever these mistakes concern single letters, or occupy very small space, they have been corrected in the plates; where they are longer, and the expense of correcting them in the plates would have been very great, the editors have thought it best to include them in an Appendix of Corrections and Additions, which will be found at the back of the book. Students are accordingly referred to this Appendix for important longer corrections and additions. It is believed that the value of the book has been much enhanced by an Appendix of Recent Readings, based on late criticisms and essays from the pens of Sievers, Kluge, Cosijn, Holder, Wülker, and Sweet. A perplexed student, in turning to these suggested readings, will often find great help in unravelling obscure or corrupt passages.

The objectionable ä and æ, for the short and the long diphthong, have been retained in the revised edition, owing to the impossibility of removing them without entirely recasting the plates.

In conclusion, the editors would acknowledge their great indebtedness to the friends and critics whose remarks and criticisms have materially aided in the correction of the text,-particularly to Profs. C.P.G. Scott, Baskervill, Price, and J.M. Hart; to Prof. J.W. Bright; and to the authorities of Cornell University, for the loan of periodicals necessary to the completeness of the revision. While the second revised edition still contains much that might be improved, the editors cannot but hope that it is an advance on its predecessor, and that it will continue its work of extending the study of Old English throughout the land.

JUNE, 1885.

NOTE I.

The present work, carefully edited from Heyne's fourth edition, (Paderborn, 1879), is designed primarily for college classes in Anglo-Saxon, rather than for independent investigators or for seekers after a restored or ideal text. The need of an American edition of Bēowulf has long been felt, as, hitherto, students have had either to send to Germany for a text, or secure, with great trouble, one of the scarce and expensive English editions. Heyne's first edition came out in 1863, and was followed in 1867 and 1873 by a second and a third edition, all three having essentially the same text.

So many important contributions to the Bēowulf literature were, however, made between 1873 and 1879 that Heyne found it necessary to put forth a new edition (1879). In this new, last edition, the text was subjected to a careful revision, and was fortified by the views, contributions, and criticisms of other zealous scholars. In it the collation of the unique Bēowulf Ms. (Vitellius A. 15: Cottonian Mss. of the British Museum), as made by E. Kölbing in Herrig's Archiv (Bd. 56; 1876), was followed wherever the present condition of the Ms. had to be discussed; and the researches of Bugge, Bieger, and others, on single passages, were made use of. The discussion of the metrical structure of the poem, as occurring in the second and third editions, was omitted in the fourth, owing to the many controversies in which the subject is still involved. The present editor has thought it best to do the same, though, happily, the subject of Old English Metrik is undergoing a steady illumination through the labors of Schipper and others.

Some errors and misplaced accents in Heyne's text have been corrected in the present edition, in which, as in the general revision of the text, the editor has been most kindly aided by Prof. J.M. Garnett, late Principal of St. John's College, Maryland.

In the preparation of the present school edition it has been thought best to omit Heyne's notes, as they concern themselves principally with conjectural emendations, substitutions of one reading for another, and discussions of the condition of the Ms. Until Wülker's text and the photographic fac-simile of the original Ms. are in the hands of all scholars, it will be better not to introduce such matters in the school room, where they would puzzle without instructing.

For convenience of reference, the editor has added a head-line to each fit of the poem, with a view to facilitate a knowledge of its episodes.

WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY, LEXINGTON, VA., June, 1882.

NOTE II.

The editors now have the pleasure of presenting to the public a complete text and a tolerably complete glossary of Bēowulf. The edition is the first published in America, and the first of its special kind presented to the English public, and it is the initial volume of a Library of Anglo-Saxon Poetry, to be edited under the same auspices and with the coöperation of distinguished scholars in this country. Among these scholars may be mentioned Professors F.A. March of Lafayette College, T.K. Price of Columbia College, and W.M. Baskervill of Vanderbilt University.

In the preparation of the Glossary the editors found it necessary to abandon a literal and exact translation of Heyne for several reasons, and among others from the fact that Heyne seems to be wrong in the translation of some of his illustrative quotations, and even translates the same passage in two or three different ways under different headings. The orthography of his glossary differs considerably from the orthography of his text. He fails to discriminate with due nicety the meanings of many of the words in his vocabulary, while criticism more recent than his latest edition (1879) has illustrated or overthrown several of his renderings. The references were found to be incorrect in innumerable instances, and had to be verified in every individual case so far as this was possible, a few only, which resisted all efforts at verification, having to be indicated by an interrogation point (?). The references are exceedingly numerous, and the labor of verifying them was naturally great. To many passages in the Glossary, where Heyne's translation could not be trusted with entire certainty, the editors have added other translations of phrases and sentences or of special words; and in this they have been aided by a careful study of the text and a comparison and utilization of the views of Kemble and Professor J.M. Garnett (who takes Grein for his foundation). Many new references have been added; and the various passages in which Heyne fails to indicate whether a given verb is weak or strong, or fails to point out the number, etc., of the illustrative form, have been corrected and made to harmonize with the general plan of the work. Numerous misprints in the glossary have also been corrected, and a brief glossary to the Finnsburh-fragment, prepared by Dr. Wm. Hand Browne, and supplemented and adapted by the editor-in-chief, has been added.

The editors think that they may without immodesty put forth for themselves something more than the claim of being re-translators of a translation: the present edition is, so far as they were able to make it so, an adaptation, correction, and extension of the work of the great German scholar to whose loving appreciation of the Anglo-Saxon epic all students of Old English owe a debt of gratitude. While following his usually sure and cautious guidance, and in the main appropriating his results, they have thought it best to deviate from him in the manner above indicated, whenever it seemed that he was wrong. The careful reader will notice at once the marks of interrogation which point out these deviations, or which introduce a point of view illustrative of, or supplementary to, the one given by the German editor. No doubt the editors are wrong themselves in many places,-Bēowulf is a most difficult poem,-but their view may at least be defended by a reference to the original text, which they have faithfully and constantly consulted.

A good many cognate Modern English words have been introduced here and there in the Glossary with a view to illustration, and other addenda will be found between brackets and parenthetical marks.

It is hoped that the present edition of the most famous of Old English poems will do something to promote a valuable and interesting study.

JAMES A. HARRISON, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va.

ROBERT SHARP, University of Louisiana, New Orleans.

April, 1883.

The responsibility of the editors is as follows: H. is responsible for the Text, and for the Glossary from hrīnan on; S. for the List of Names, and for the Glossary as far as hrīnan.

ARGUMENT.

The only national [Anglo-Saxon] epic which has been preserved entire is Bēowulf. Its argument is briefly as follows:-The poem opens with a few verses in praise of the Danish Kings, especially Scild, the son of Sceaf. His death is related, and his descendants briefly traced down to Hroðgar. Hroðgar, elated with his prosperity and success in war, builds a magnificent hall, which he calls Heorot. In this hall Hroðgar and his retainers live in joy and festivity, until a malignant fiend, called Grendel, jealous of their happiness, carries off by night thirty of Hroðgar's men, and devours them in his moorland retreat. These ravages go on for twelve years. Bēowulf, a thane of Hygelac, King of the Goths, hearing of Hroðgar's calamities, sails from Sweden with fourteen warriors-to help him. They reach the Danish coast in safety; and, after an animated parley with Hroðgar's coastguard, who at first takes them for pirates, they are allowed to proceed to the royal hall, where they are well received by Hroðgar. A banquet ensues, during which Bēowulf is taunted by the envious Hunferhð about his swimming-match with Breca, King of the Brondings. Bēowulf gives the true account of the contest, and silences Hunferhð. At night-fall the King departs, leaving Bēowulf in charge of the hall. Grendel soon breaks in, seizes and devours one of Bēowulf's companions; is attacked by Bēowulf, and, after losing an arm, which is torn off by Bēowulf, escapes to the fens. The joy of Hroðgar and the Danes, and their festivities, are described, various episodes are introduced, and Bēowulf and his companions receive splendid gifts. The next night Grendel's mother revenges her son by carrying off AEschere, the friend and councillor of Hroðgar, during the absence of Bēowulf. Hroðgar appeals to Bēowulf for vengeance, and describes the haunts of Grendel and his mother. They all proceed thither; the scenery of the lake, and the monsters that dwell in it, are described. Bēowulf plunges into the water, and attacks Grendel's mother in her dwelling at the bottom of the lake. He at length overcomes her, and cuts off her head, together with that of Grendel, and brings the heads to Hroðgar. He then takes leave of Hroðgar, sails back to Sweden, and relates his adventures to Hygelac. Here the first half of the poem ends. The second begins with the accession of Bēowulf to the throne, after the fall of Hygelac and his son Heardred. He rules prosperously for fifty years, till a dragon, brooding over a hidden treasure, begins to ravage the country, and destroys Bēowulf's palace with fire. Bēowulf sets out in quest of its hiding-place, with twelve men. Having a presentiment of his approaching end, he pauses and recalls to mind his past life and exploits. He then takes leave of his followers, one by one, and advances alone to attack the dragon. Unable, from the heat, to enter the cavern, he shouts aloud, and the dragon comes forth. The dragon's scaly hide is proof against Bēowulf's sword, and he is reduced to great straits. Then Wiglaf, one of his followers, advances to help him. Wiglaf's shield is consumed by the dragon's fiery breath, and he is compelled to seek shelter under Bēowulf's shield of iron. Bēowulf's sword snaps asunder, and he is seized by the dragon. Wiglaf stabs the dragon from underneath, and Bēowulf cuts it in two with his dagger. Feeling that his end is near, he bids Wiglaf bring out the treasures from the cavern, that he may see them before he dies. Wiglaf enters the dragon's den, which is described, returns to Bēowulf, and receives his last commands. Bēowulf dies, and Wiglaf bitterly reproaches his companions for their cowardice. The disastrous consequences of Bēowulf's death are then foretold, and the poem ends with his funeral.-H. Sweet, in Warton's History of English Poetry, Vol. II. (ed. 1871). Cf. also Ten Brink's History of English Literature.

BĒOWULF.

I. THE PASSING OF SCYLD.

Hwæt! wē Gār-Dena in geār-dagum þēod-cyninga þrym gefrūnon, hū þā æðelingas ellen fremedon. Oft Scyld Scēfing sceaðena þrēatum, 5 monegum mǣgðum meodo-setla oftēah. Egsode eorl, syððan ǣrest wearð fēa-sceaft funden: hē þæs frōfre gebād, wēox under wolcnum, weorð-myndum ðāh, oð þæt him ǣghwylc þāra ymb-sittendra 10 ofer hron-rāde hȳran scolde, gomban gyldan: þæt wæs gōd cyning! þǣm eafera wæs æfter cenned geong in geardum, þone god sende folce tō frōfre; fyren-þearfe ongeat, 15 þæt hīe ǣr drugon aldor-lēase lange hwīle. Him þæs līf-frēa, wuldres wealdend, worold-āre forgeaf; Bēowulf wæs brēme (blǣd wīde sprang), Scyldes eafera Scede-landum in. 20 Swā sceal geong guma, gōde gewyrcean, fromum feoh-giftum on fæder wine, þæt hine on ylde eft gewunigen wil-gesīðas, þonne wīg cume, lēode gelǣsten: lof-dǣdum sceal 25 in mǣgða gehwǣre man geþēon. Him þā Scyld gewāt tō gescæp-hwīle fela-hrōr fēran on frēan wǣre; hī hyne þā ætbǣron tō brimes faroðe. swǣse gesīðas, swā hē selfa bæd, 30 þenden wordum wēold wine Scyldinga, lēof land-fruma lange āhte. Þǣr æt hȳðe stōd hringed-stefna, īsig and ūtfūs, æðelinges fær; ā-lēdon þā lēofne þēoden, 35 bēaga bryttan on bearm scipes, mǣrne be mæste. Þǣr wæs mādma fela, of feor-wegum frætwa gelǣded: ne hȳrde ic cȳmlīcor cēol gegyrwan hilde-wǣpnum and heaðo-wǣdum, 40 billum and byrnum; him on bearme læg mādma mænigo, þā him mid scoldon on flōdes ǣht feor gewītan. Nalas hī hine lǣssan lācum tēodan, þēod-gestrēonum, þonne þā dydon, 45 þē hine æt frumsceafte forð onsendon ǣnne ofer ȳðe umbor wesende: þā gȳt hīe him āsetton segen gyldenne hēah ofer hēafod, lēton holm beran, gēafon on gār-secg: him wæs geōmor sefa, 50 murnende mōd. Men ne cunnon secgan tō soðe sele-rǣdende, hæleð under heofenum, hwā þǣm hlæste onfēng.

II. THE HALL HEOROT.

Þā wæs on burgum Bēowulf Scyldinga, lēof lēod-cyning, longe þrāge 55 folcum gefrǣge (fæder ellor hwearf, aldor of earde), oð þæt him eft onwōc hēah Healfdene; hēold þenden lifde, gamol and gūð-rēow, glæde Scyldingas. Þǣm fēower bearn forð-gerīmed 60 in worold wōcun, weoroda rǣswan, Heorogār and Hrōðgār and Hālga til; hȳrde ic, þat Elan cwēn Ongenþēowes wæs Heaðoscilfinges heals-gebedde. Þā wæs Hrōðgāre here-spēd gyfen, 65 wīges weorð-mynd, þæt him his wine-māgas georne hȳrdon, oð þæt sēo geogoð gewēox, mago-driht micel. Him on mōd bearn, þæt heal-reced hātan wolde, medo-ærn micel men gewyrcean, 70 þone yldo bearn ǣfre gefrūnon, and þǣr on innan eall gedǣlan geongum and ealdum, swylc him god sealde, būton folc-scare and feorum gumena. Þā ic wīde gefrægn weorc gebannan 75 manigre mǣgðe geond 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 geweald wīde hæfde. 80 Hē bēot ne ālēh, bēagas dǣlde, sinc æt symle. Sele hlīfade hēah and horn-gēap: heaðo-wylma bād, lāðan līges; ne wæs hit lenge þā gēn þæt se ecg-hete āðum-swerian 85 æfter wæl-nīðe wæcnan scolde. Þā se ellen-gǣst earfoðlīce þrāge geþolode, sē þe in þȳstrum bād, þæt hē dōgora gehwām drēam gehȳrde hlūdne in healle; þǣr wæs hearpan swēg, 90 swutol sang scopes. Sægde sē þe cūðe frum-sceaft fīra feorran reccan, cwæð þæt se ælmihtiga eorðan worhte, wlite-beorhtne wang, swā wæter bebūgeð, gesette sige-hrēðig sunnan and mōnan 95 lēoman tō lēohte land-būendum, and gefrætwade foldan scēatas leomum and lēafum; līf ēac gesceōp cynna gehwylcum, þāra þe cwice hwyrfað. Swā þā driht-guman drēamum lifdon 100 ēadiglīce, oð þæt ān ongan fyrene fremman, fēond on helle: wæs se grimma gæst Grendel hāten, mǣre mearc-stapa, sē þe mōras hēold, fen and fæsten; fīfel-cynnes eard 105 won-sǣlig wer weardode hwīle, siððan him scyppend forscrifen hæfde. In Caines cynne þone cwealm gewræc, ēce drihten, þæs þe hē Ābel slōg; ne gefeah hē þǣre fǣhðe, ac hē hine feor forwræc, 110 metod for þȳ māne man-cynne fram. Þanon untȳdras ealle onwōcon, eotenas and ylfe and orcnēas, swylce gīgantas, þā wið gode wunnon lange þrāge; hē him þæs lēan forgeald.

III. GRENDEL'S VISITS.

115 Gewāt þā nēosian, syððan niht becōm, hēan hūses, hū hit Hring-Dene æfter bēor-þege gebūn hæfdon. Fand þā þǣr inne æðelinga gedriht swefan æfter symble; sorge ne cūðon, 120 won-sceaft wera. Wiht unhǣlo grim and grǣdig gearo sōna wæs, rēoc and rēðe, and on ræste genam þrītig þegna: þanon eft gewāt hūðe hrēmig tō hām faran, 125 mid þǣre wæl-fylle wīca nēosan. Þā wæs on ūhtan mid ǣr-dæge Grendles gūð-cræft gumum undyrne: þā wæs æfter wiste wōp up āhafen, micel morgen-swēg. Mǣre þēoden, 130 æðeling ǣr-gōd, unblīðe sæt, þolode þrȳð-swȳð, þegn-sorge drēah, syððan hīe þæs lāðan lāst scēawedon, wergan gāstes; wæs þæt gewin tō strang, lāð and longsum. Næs hit lengra fyrst, 135 ac ymb āne niht eft gefremede morð-beala māre and nō mearn fore fǣhðe and fyrene; wæs tō fæst on þām. Þā wæs ēað-fynde, þē him elles hwǣr gerūmlīcor ræste sōhte, 140 bed æfter būrum, þā him gebēacnod wæs, gesægd sōðlīce sweotolan tācne heal-þegnes hete; hēold hine syððan fyr and fæstor, sē þǣm fēonde ætwand. Swā rīxode and wið rihte wan 145 āna wið eallum, oð þæt īdel stōd hūsa sēlest. Wæs sēo hwīl micel: twelf wintra tīd torn geþolode wine Scyldinga, wēana gehwelcne, sīdra sorga; forþām syððan wearð 150 ylda bearnum undyrne cūð, gyddum geōmore, þætte Grendel wan, hwīle wið Hrōðgār;— hete-nīðas wæg, fyrene and fǣhðe fela missēra, singāle sæce, sibbe ne wolde 155 wið manna hwone mægenes Deniga feorh-bealo feorran, fēo þingian, nē þǣr nǣnig witena wēnan þorfte beorhtre bōte tō banan folmum; atol ǣglǣca ēhtende wæs, 160 deorc dēað-scūa duguðe and geogoðe seomade and syrede. Sin-nihte hēold mistige mōras; men ne cunnon, hwyder hel-rūnan hwyrftum scrīðað. Swā fela fyrena fēond man-cynnes, 165 atol ān-gengea, oft gefremede heardra hȳnða; Heorot eardode, sinc-fāge sel sweartum nihtum (nō hē þone gif-stōl grētan mōste, māððum for metode, nē his myne wisse); 170 þæt wæs wrǣc micel wine Scyldinga, mōdes brecða. Monig-oft gesæt rīce tō rūne; rǣd eahtedon, hwæt swīð-ferhðum sēlest wǣre wið fǣr-gryrum tō gefremmanne. 175 Hwīlum hīe gehēton æt hærg-trafum wīg-weorðunga, wordum bǣdon, þæt him gāst-bona gēoce gefremede wið þēod-þrēaum. Swylc wæs þēaw hyra, hǣðenra hyht; helle gemundon 180 in mōd-sefan, metod hīe ne cūðon, dǣda dēmend, ne wiston hīe drihten god, nē hīe hūru heofena helm herian ne cūðon, wuldres waldend. Wā bið þǣm þe sceal þurh slīðne nīð sāwle bescūfan 185 in fȳres fæðm, frōfre ne wēnan, wihte gewendan; wēl bið þǣm þe mōt æfter dēað-dæge drihten sēcean and tō fæder fæðmum freoðo wilnian.

IV. HYGELAC'S THANE.

Swā þā mǣl-ceare maga Healfdenes 190 singāla sēað; ne mihte snotor hæleð wēan onwendan: wæs þæt gewin tō swȳð, lāð and longsum, þē on þā lēode becōm, nȳd-wracu nīð-grim, niht-bealwa mǣst. Þæt fram hām gefrægn Higelāces þegn, 195 gōd mid Gēatum, Grendles dǣda: sē wæs mon-cynnes mægenes strengest on þǣm dæge þysses līfes, æðele and ēacen. Hēt him ȳð-lidan gōdne gegyrwan; cwæð hē gūð-cyning 200 ofer swan-rāde sēcean wolde, mǣrne þēoden, þā him wæs manna þearf. Þone sīð-fæt him snotere ceorlas lȳt-hwōn lōgon, þēah hē him lēof wǣre; hwetton higerōfne, hǣl scēawedon. 205 Hæfde se gōda Gēata lēoda cempan gecorone, þāra þe hē cēnoste findan mihte; fīftȳna sum sund-wudu sōhte; secg wīsade, lagu-cræftig mon, land-gemyrcu. 210 Fyrst forð gewāt: flota wæs on ȳðum, bāt under beorge. Beornas gearwe on stefn stigon; strēamas wundon sund wið sande; secgas bǣron on bearm nacan beorhte frætwe, 215 gūð-searo geatolīc; guman ūt scufon, weras on wil-sīð wudu bundenne. Gewāt þā ofer wǣg-holm winde gefȳsed flota fāmig-heals fugle gelīcost, oð þæt ymb ān-tīd ōðres dōgores 220 wunden-stefna gewaden hæfde, þæt þā līðende land gesāwon, brim-clifu blīcan, beorgas stēape, sīde sǣ-næssas: þā wæs sund liden, eoletes æt ende. Þanon up hraðe 225 Wedera lēode on wang stigon, sǣ-wudu sǣldon (syrcan hrysedon, gūð-gewǣdo); gode þancedon, þæs þe him ȳð-lāde ēaðe wurdon. Þā of wealle geseah weard Scildinga, 230 sē þe holm-clifu healdan scolde, beran ofer bolcan beorhte randas, fyrd-searu fūslīcu; hine fyrwyt bræc mōd-gehygdum, hwæt þā men wǣron. Gewāt him þā tō waroðe wicge rīdan 235 þegn Hrōðgāres, þrymmum cwehte mægen-wudu mundum, meðel-wordum frægn: Hwæt syndon gē searo-hæbbendra byrnum werede, þē þus brontne cēol ofer lagu-strǣte lǣdan cwōmon, 240 hider ofer holmas helmas bǣron? Ic wæs ende-sǣta, ǣg-wearde hēold, þæt on land Dena lāðra nǣnig mid scip-herge sceððan ne meahte. Nō hēr cūðlīcor cuman ongunnon 245 lind-hæbbende; nē gē lēafnes-word gūð-fremmendra gearwe ne wisson, māga gemēdu. Nǣfre ic māran geseah eorla ofer eorðan, þonne is ēower sum, secg on searwum; nis þæt seld-guma 250 wǣpnum geweorðad, næfne him his wlite lēoge, ǣnlīc an-sȳn. Nū ic ēower sceal frum-cyn witan, ǣr gē fyr heonan lēase scēaweras on land Dena furður fēran. Nū gē feor-būend, 255 mere-līðende, mīnne gehȳrað ān-fealdne geþōht: ofost is sēlest tō gecȳðanne, hwanan ēowre cyme syndon.

V. THE ERRAND.

Him se yldesta andswarode, werodes wīsa, word-hord onlēac: 260 Wē synt gum-cynnes Gēata lēode and Higelāces heorð-genēatas. Wæs mīn fæder folcum gecȳðed, æðele ord-fruma Ecgþēow hāten; gebād wintra worn, ǣr hē on weg hwurfe, 265 gamol of geardum; hine gearwe geman witena wēl-hwylc wīde geond eorðan.- Wē þurh holdne hige hlāford þinne, sunu Healfdenes, sēcean cwōmon, lēod-gebyrgean: wes þū ūs lārena gōd! 270 Habbað wē tō þǣm mǣran micel ǣrende Deniga frēan; ne sceal þǣr dyrne sum wesan, þæs ic wēne. Þū wāst, gif hit is, swā wē sōðlice secgan hȳrdon, þæt mid Scyldingum sceaða ic nāt hwylc, 275 dēogol dǣd-hata, deorcum nihtum ēaweð þurh egsan uncūðne nīð, hȳnðu and hrā-fyl. Ic þæs Hrōðgār mæg þurh rūmne sefan rǣd gelǣran, hū hē frōd and gōd fēond oferswȳðeð, 280 gyf him ed-wendan ǣfre scolde bealuwa bisigu, bōt eft cuman and þā cear-wylmas cōlran wurðað; oððe ā syððan earfoð-þrāge, þrēa-nȳd þolað, þenden þǣr wunað 285 on hēah-stede hūsa sēlest. Weard maðelode, þǣr on wicge sæt ombeht unforht: Ǣghwæðres sceal scearp scyld-wiga gescād witan, worda and worca, sē þe wēl þenceð. 290 Ic þæt gehȳre, þæt þis is hold weorod frēan Scyldinga. Gewītað forð beran wǣpen and gewǣdu, ic ēow wīsige: swylce ic magu-þegnas mīne hāte wið fēonda gehwone flotan ēowerne, 295 nīw-tyrwedne nacan on sande ārum healdan, oð þæt eft byreð ofer lagu-strēamas lēofne mannan wudu wunden-hals tō Weder-mearce. Gūð-fremmendra swylcum gifeðe bið, 300 þæt þone hilde-rǣs hāl gedīgeð. Gewiton him þā fēran (flota stille bād, seomode on sāle sīd-fæðmed scyp, on ancre fæst); eofor-līc scionon ofer hlēor-beran gehroden golde 305 fāh and fȳr-heard, ferh wearde hēold. Gūðmōde grummon, guman ōnetton, sigon ætsomne, oð þæt hȳ sæl timbred geatolīc and gold-fāh ongytan mihton; þæt wæs fore-mǣrost fold-būendum 310 receda under roderum, on þǣm se rīca bād; līxte se lēoma ofer landa fela. Him þā hilde-dēor hof mōdigra torht getǣhte, þæt hīe him tō mihton gegnum gangan; gūð-beorna sum 315 wicg gewende, word æfter cwæð: Mǣl is mē tō fēran; fæder alwalda mid ār-stafum ēowic gehealde sīða gesunde! ic tō sǣ wille, wið wrāð werod wearde healdan."

VI. BĒOWULF'S SPEECH.

320 Strǣt wæs stān-fāh, stīg wīsode gumum ætgædere. Gūð-byrne scān heard hond-locen, hring-īren scīr song in searwum, þā hīe tō sele furðum in hyra gryre-geatwum gangan cwōmon. 325 Setton sǣ-mēðe sīde scyldas, rondas regn-hearde wið þæs recedes weal, bugon þā tō bence; byrnan hringdon, gūð-searo gumena; gāras stōdon, sǣ-manna searo, samod ætgædere, 330 æsc-holt ufan grǣg: wæs se īren-þrēat wǣpnum gewurðad. Þā þǣr wlonc hæleð ōret-mecgas æfter æðelum frægn: Hwanon ferigeað gē fǣtte scyldas, grǣge syrcan and grīm-helmas, 335 here-sceafta hēap?— Ic eom Hrōðgāres ār and ombiht. Ne seah ic el-þēodige þus manige men mōdiglīcran. Wēn' ic þæt gē for wlenco, nalles for wræc-sīðum, ac for hige-þrymmum Hrōðgār sōhton. 340 Him þā ellen-rōf andswarode, wlanc Wedera lēod word æfter spræc, heard under helme: Wē synt Higelāces bēod-genēatas; Bēowulf is mīn nama. Wille ic āsecgan suna Healfdenes, 345 mǣrum þēodne mīn ǣrende, aldre þīnum, gif hē ūs geunnan wile, þæt wē hine swā gōdne grētan mōton. Wulfgār maðelode (þæt wæs Wendla lēod, wæs his mōd-sefa manegum gecȳðed, 350 wīg and wīs-dōm): ic þæs wine Deniga, frēan Scildinga frīnan wille, bēaga bryttan, swā þū bēna eart, þēoden mǣrne ymb þīnne sīð ; and þē þā andsware ǣdre gecȳðan, 355 þē mē se gōda āgifan þenceð. Hwearf þā hrædlīce, þǣr Hrōðgār sæt, eald and unhār mid his eorla gedriht; ēode ellen-rōf, þæt hē for eaxlum gestōd Deniga frēan, cūðe hē duguðe þēaw. 360 Wulfgār maðelode tō his wine-drihtne: Hēr syndon geferede feorran cumene ofer geofenes begang Gēata lēode: þone yldestan ōret-mecgas Bēowulf nemnað. Hȳ bēnan synt, 365 þæt hīe, þēoden mīn, wið þē mōton wordum wrixlan; nō þū him wearne getēoh, þīnra gegn-cwida glædnian, Hrōðgār! Hȳ on wīg-geatwum wyrðe þinceað eorla geæhtlan; hūru se aldor dēah, 370 sē þǣm heaðo-rincum hider wīsade."

VII. HROTHGAR'S WELCOME.

Hrōðgār maðelode, helm Scyldinga: Ic hine cūðe cniht-wesende. Wæs his eald-fæder Ecgþēo hāten, þǣm tō hām forgeaf Hrēðel Gēata 375 āngan dōhtor; is his eafora nū heard hēr cumen, sōhte holdne wine. þonne sægdon þæt sǣ-līðende, þā þe gif-sceattas Gēata fyredon þyder tō þance, þæt hē þrīttiges 380 manna mægen-cræft on his mund-grīpe heaðo-rōf hæbbe. Hine hālig god for ār-stafum us onsende, tō West-Denum, þæs ic wēn hæbbe, wið Grendles gryre: ic þǣm gōdan sceal 385 for his mōd-þræce mādmas bēodan. Bēo þū on ofeste, hāt hig in gān, sēon sibbe-gedriht samod ætgædere; gesaga him ēac wordum, þæt hīe sint wil-cuman Deniga lēodum. Þā wið duru healle 390 Wulfgār ēode, word inne ābēad: Ēow hēt secgan sige-drihten mīn, aldor Ēast-Dena, þæt hē ēower æðelu can and gē him syndon ofer sǣ-wylmas, heard-hicgende, hider wil-cuman. 395 Nū gē mōton gangan in ēowrum guð-geatawum, under here-grīman, Hrōðgār gesēon; lǣtað hilde-bord hēr onbidian, wudu wæl-sceaftas, worda geþinges. Ārās þā se rīca, ymb hine rinc manig, 400 þrȳðlīc þegna hēap; sume þǣr bidon, heaðo-rēaf hēoldon, swā him se hearda bebēad. Snyredon ætsomne, þā secg wīsode under Heorotes hrōf; hyge-rōf ēode, heard under helme, þæt hē on heoðe gestōd. 405 Bēowulf maðelode (on him byrne scān, searo-net sēowed smiðes or-þancum): Wes þū Hrōðgār hāl! ic eom Higelāces mǣg and mago-þegn; hæbbe ic mǣrða fela ongunnen on geogoðe. Mē wearð Grendles þing 410 on mīnre ēðel-tyrf undyrne cūð: secgað sǣ-līðend, þæt þes sele stande, reced sēlesta, rinca gehwylcum īdel and unnyt, siððan ǣfen-lēoht under heofenes hādor beholen weorðeð. 415 Þā mē þæt gelǣrdon lēode mīne, þā sēlestan, snotere ceorlas, þēoden Hrōðgār, þæt ic þē sōhte; forþan hīe mægenes cræft mīnne cūðon: selfe ofersāwon, þā ic of searwum cwōm, 420 fāh from fēondum, þǣr ic fīfe geband, ȳðde eotena cyn, and on ȳðum slōg niceras nihtes, nearo-þearfe drēah, wræc Wedera nīð (wēan āhsodon) forgrand gramum; and nū wið Grendel sceal, 425 wið þām āglǣcan, āna gehegan þing wið þyrse. Ic þē nū þā, brego Beorht-Dena, biddan wille, eodor Scyldinga, ānre bēne; þæt þū mē ne forwyrne, wīgendra hlēo, 430 frēo-wine folca, nū ic þus feorran cōm, þæt ic mōte āna and mīnra eorla gedryht, þes hearda hēap, Heorot fǣlsian. Hæbbe ic ēac geāhsod, þæt se ǣglǣca for his won-hȳdum wǣpna ne rēceð; 435 ic þæt þonne forhicge, swā mē Higelāc sīe, mīn mon-drihten, mōdes blīðe, þæt ic sweord bere oððe sīdne scyld geolo-rand tō gūðe; ac ic mid grāpe sceal fōn wið fēonde and ymb feorh sacan, 440 lāð wið lāðum; þǣr gelȳfan sceal dryhtnes dōme sē þe hine dēað nimeð. Wēn' ic þæt hē wille, gif hē wealdan mōt, in þǣm gūð-sele Gēatena lēode etan unforhte, swā hē oft dyde 445 mægen Hrēðmanna. Nā þū mīnne þearft hafalan hȳdan, ac hē mē habban wile drēore fāhne, gif mec dēað nimeð; byreð blōdig wæl, byrgean þenceð, eteð ān-genga unmurnlīce, 450 mearcað mōr-hopu: nō þū ymb mīnes ne þearft līces feorme leng sorgian. Onsend Higelāce, gif mec hild nime, beadu-scrūda betst, þæt mīne brēost wereð, hrægla sēlest; þæt is Hrēðlan lāf, 455 Wēlandes geweorc. Gǣð ā Wyrd swā hīo scel!

VIII. HROTHGAR TELLS OF GRENDEL.

Hrōðgār maðelode, helm Scyldinga: for were-fyhtum þū, wine mīn Bēowulf, and for ār-stafum ūsic sōhtest. Geslōh þin fæder fǣhðe mǣste, 460 wearð hē Heaðolāfe tō hand-bonan mid Wilfingum; þā hine Wedera cyn for here-brōgan habban ne mihte. Þanon hē gesōhte Sūð-Dena folc ofer ȳða gewealc, Ār-Scyldinga; 465 þā ic furðum wēold folce Deninga, and on geogoðe hēold gimme-rīce hord-burh hæleða: þā wæs Heregār dēad, mīn yldra mǣg unlifigende, bearn Healfdenes. Sē wæs betera þonne ic! 470 Siððan þā fǣhðe fēo þingode; sende ic Wylfingum ofer wæteres hrycg ealde mādmas: hē mē āðas swōr. Sorh is mē tō secganne on sefan mīnum gumena ǣngum, hwæt mē Grendel hafað 475 hȳnðo on Heorote mid his hete-þancum, fǣr-nīða gefremed. Is mīn flet-werod, wīg-hēap gewanod; hīe Wyrd forswēop on Grendles gryre. God ēaðe mæg þone dol-scaðan dǣda getwǣfan! 480 Ful oft gebēotedon bēore druncne ofer ealo-wǣge ōret-mecgas, þæt hīe in bēor-sele bīdan woldon Grendles gūðe mid gryrum ecga. Þonne wæs þēos medo-heal on morgen-tīd, 485 driht-sele drēor-fāh, þonne dæg līxte, eal benc-þelu blōde bestȳmed, heall heoru-drēore: āhte ic holdra þȳ lǣs, dēorre duguðe, þē þā dēað fornam. Site nū tō symle and onsǣl meoto, 490 sige-hrēð secgum, swā þīn sefa hwette!" Þā wæs Gēat-mæcgum geador ætsomne on bēor-sele benc gerȳmed; þǣr swīð-ferhðe sittan ēodon þrȳðum dealle. Þegn nytte behēold, 495 sē þe on handa bær hroden ealo-wǣge, scencte scīr wered. Scop hwīlum sang hādor on Heorote; þǣr wæs hæleða drēam, duguð unlȳtel Dena and Wedera.

IX. HUNFERTH OBJECTS TO BĒOWULF.

Unferð maðelode, Ecglāfes bearn, 500 þē æt fōtum sæt frēan Scyldinga; onband beadu-rūne (wæs him Bēowulfes sīð, mōdges mere-faran, micel æf-þunca, forþon þe hē ne ūðe, þæt ǣnig ōðer man ǣfre mǣrða þon mā middan-geardes 505 gehēdde under heofenum þonne hē sylfa): Eart þū sē Bēowulf, sē þe wið Brecan wunne, on sīdne sǣ ymb sund flite, þǣr git for wlence wada cunnedon and for dol-gilpe on dēop wæter 510 aldrum nēðdon? Nē inc ǣnig mon, nē lēof nē lāð, belēan mihte sorh-fullne sīð; þā git on sund rēon, þǣr git ēagor-strēam earmum þehton, mǣton mere-strǣta, mundum brugdon, 515 glidon ofer gār-secg; geofon ȳðum wēol, wintres wylme. Git on wæteres ǣht seofon niht swuncon; hē þē æt sunde oferflāt, hæfde māre mægen. Þā hine on morgen-tīd on Heaðo-rǣmas holm up ætbær, 520 þonon hē gesōhte swǣsne ēðel lēof his lēodum lond Brondinga, freoðo-burh fægere, þǣr hē folc āhte, burg and bēagas. Bēot eal wið þē sunu Bēanstānes sōðe gelǣste. 525 Þonne wēne ic tō þē wyrsan geþinges, þēah þū heaðo-rǣsa gehwǣr dohte, grimre gūðe, gif þū Grendles dearst niht-longne fyrst nēan bīdan! Bēowulf maðelode, bearn Ecgþēowes: 530 Hwæt! þū worn fela, wine mīn Unferð, bēore druncen ymb Brecan sprǣce, sægdest from his sīðe! Sōð ic talige, þæt ic mere-strengo māran āhte, earfeðo on ȳðum, þonne ǣnig ōðer man. 535 Wit þæt gecwǣdon cniht-wesende and gebēotedon (wǣron bēgen þā gīt on geogoð-feore) þæt wit on gār-secg ūt aldrum nēðdon; and þæt geæfndon swā. Hæfdon swurd nacod, þā wit on sund rēon, 540 heard on handa, wit unc wið hron-fixas werian þōhton. Nō hē wiht fram mē flōd-ȳðum feor flēotan meahte, hraðor on holme, nō ic fram him wolde. Þā wit ætsomne on sǣ wǣron 545 fīf nihta fyrst, oð þæt unc flōd tōdrāf, wado weallende, wedera cealdost, nīpende niht and norðan wind heaðo-grim andhwearf; hrēo wǣron ȳða, Wæs mere-fixa mōd onhrēred: 550 þǣr mē wið lāðum līc-syrce mīn, heard hond-locen, helpe gefremede; beado-hrægl brōden on brēostum læg, golde gegyrwed. Mē tō grunde tēah fāh fēond-scaða, fæste hæfde 555 grim on grāpe: hwæðre mē gyfeðe wearð, þæt ic āglǣcan orde gerǣhte, hilde-bille; heaðo-rǣs fornam "mihtig mere-dēor þurh mīne hand.

X. BĒOWULF'S CONTEST WITH BRECA.-THE FEAST.

Swā mec gelōme lāð-getēonan 560 þrēatedon þearle. Ic him þēnode dēoran sweorde, swā hit gedēfe wæs; næs hīe þǣre fylle gefēan hæfdon, mān-fordǣdlan, þæt hīe mē þēgon, symbel ymb-sǣton sǣ-grunde nēah, 565 ac on mergenne mēcum wunde be ȳð-lāfe uppe lǣgon, sweordum āswefede, þæt syððan nā ymb brontne ford brim-līðende lāde ne letton. Lēoht ēastan cōm, 570 beorht bēacen godes; brimu swaðredon, þæt ic sǣ-næssas gesēon mihte, windige weallas. Wyrd oft nereð unfǣgne eorl, ðonne his ellen dēah! Hwæðere mē gesǣlde, þæt ic mid sweorde ofslōh 575 niceras nigene. Nō ic on niht gefrægn under heofones hwealf heardran feohtan, nē on ēg-strēamum earmran mannan; hwæðere ic fāra feng fēore gedīgde, siðes wērig. Þā mec sǣ oðbær, 580 flōd æfter faroðe, on Finna land, wadu weallendu. Nō ic wiht fram þē swylcra searo-nīða secgan hȳrde, billa brōgan: Breca nǣfre gīt æt heaðo-lāce, nē gehwæðer incer 585 swā dēorlīce dǣd gefremede fāgum sweordum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . nō ic þæs gylpe; þēah þū þīnum brōðrum tō banan wurde, hēafod-mǣgum; þæs þū in helle scealt 590 werhðo drēogan, þēah þīn wit duge, Secge ic þē tō sōðe, sunu Ecglāfes, þæt nǣfre Grendel swā fela gryra gefremede, atol ǣglǣca ealdre þīnum, hȳnðo on Heorote, gif þīn hige wǣre, 595 sefa swā searo-grim, swā þū self talast. Ac hē hafað onfunden, þæt hē þā fǣhðe ne þearf, atole ecg-þræce ēower lēode swīðe onsittan, Sige-Scyldinga; nymeð nȳd-bāde, nǣnegum ārað 600 lēode Deniga, ac hē on lust wīgeð, swefeð ond sendeð, secce ne wēneð tō Gār-Denum. Ac him Gēata sceal eafoð and ellen ungeāra nū gūðe gebēodan. Gǣð eft sē þe mōt 605 tō medo mōdig, siððan morgen-lēoht ofer ylda bearn ōðres dōgores, sunne swegl-wered sūðan scīneð! Þā wæs on sālum sinces brytta gamol-feax and gūð-rōf, gēoce gelȳfde 610 brego Beorht-Dena; gehȳrde on Bēowulfe folces hyrde fæst-rǣdne geþōht. Þǣr wæs hæleða hleahtor; hlyn swynsode, word wǣron wynsume. Ēode Wealhþēow forð, cwēn Hrōðgāres, cynna gemyndig, 615 grētte gold-hroden guman on healle, and þā frēolīc