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 ^'llf.,S!,!?*®' English epic, Beowulf, Finnsbu 
 
 3 1924 013 339 365 
 
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THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 

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 NEW YORK • BOSTON - CHICAGO 
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THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 BEOWULF, FINNSBURG, WALDERE, 
 
 DEOR, WIDSITH, AND THE 
 
 GERMAN HILDEBRAND 
 
 TRANSLATED IN THE ORIGINAL METRES 
 WITH INTRODUCTIONS AND NOTES 
 
 BY 
 
 FRANCIS B. GUMMERE 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 1909 
 
 All HghU reserved 
 3i 
 

 f 
 
 C!OPTMQHT, 1909, 
 
 By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 
 
 Set up and electrotyped. Published April, 1909. 
 
 i^M) 
 
 Hotiaoati V»eg 
 
 J. S. Cushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 
 
 Norwood, Mass., n.S,A. 
 
Wo 
 
 GEOEGE LYMAN KITTREDGE 
 
 KEENEST OF CBITICS, KINDEST OE EBIBNDS 
 
PREFACE 
 
 Old English epic in the specific sense is that ancient 
 and wholly heathen narrative poetry which Englishmen 
 brought from their continental home and handed down 
 by the agency of professional singers. The material thus 
 accumulated either kept its original form of the short 
 lay, fit for chant or recitation at a banquet, full of 
 immediate effects, often dramatic and always vigorous, 
 or else it was worked over into longer shape, into more 
 leisurely considered and more leisurely appreciated poems. 
 This second class is represented by Beowulf, the sole sur- 
 vivor in complete form of all the West-Germanic epic. 
 Waldere, of which two brief fragments remain, seems also 
 to have been an epic poem; like Beowulf, it has been 
 adapted both in matter and in manner to the point of 
 view of a monastery scriptorium. Finnshurg, on the other 
 hand, so far as its brief and fragmentary form allows such 
 a judgment, has the appearance of a lay. Its nervous, 
 fiery verses rush on without comment or moral; and it 
 agrees with the description of a lay which the court 
 minstrel of Hrothgar sings before a festal throng, and 
 of which the poet of Beowulf gives a summary. Not 
 English at all, but closely related to English traditions 
 of heroic verse, and the sole rescued specimen of all its 
 kind in the old German language, is Hildehrand, evidently 
 a lay. By adding this to the English material, one has 
 
viii PREFACE 
 
 the entire salvage from oldest narrative poetry of the 
 West-Germanic peoples in mass. Finally, there are two 
 lays or poems purporting to describe at first hand the 
 life of these old minstrels, who either sang in permanent 
 and well-rewarded office for their king, or else wandered 
 from court to court and tasted the bounty of many chief- 
 tains. These two poems, moreover, contain many refer- 
 ences to persons and stories of Germanic heroic legends 
 that appear afterward in the second growth of epic, in the 
 Scandinavian poems and sagas, in the cycle of the Nihe- 
 lungen, G-udrun, and the rest. Such is the total rescue 
 from oldest English epic that fate has allowed^ It 
 deserves to be read in its full extent by the modern 
 English reader ; and it is now presented to him for the 
 first time in its bulk, and in a form which approximates 
 as closely as possible to the original. 
 
 The translator is under great obligations to Professor 
 Walter Morris Hart, of the University of California, not 
 only for his generous aid in reading the proof-sheets of 
 this book, but also for the substantial help afforded by his 
 admirable study of Ballad and Epic. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 OHAPTEE FAGE 
 
 I. Beowulf 1 
 
 II. The Attack on Finnsburg 159 
 
 in. Waldeke 164 
 
 IV. The Hildebeand Lay 171 
 
 V. The SisTGEK and His Lay 178 
 
 Index 201 
 
THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 BEOWULF 
 
 rpHE manuscript ^ is written in West-Saxon of the tenth 
 century, with some Kentish peculiarities; it is evi- 
 dently based on successive copies of an original in either 
 Northumbrian or Mercian, which probably belonged to 
 the seventh century. ^ Two scribes made this copy. One 
 wrote to verse 1939 ; the other, who seems to have con- 
 tributed those Kentish forms, finished the poem. There 
 is some attempt to mark the verses, and a few long syl- 
 lables are indicated ; but the general appearance is of prose. 
 The original epic seems to have been composed by a 
 single author,^ not for chant or recitation to the accom- 
 paniment of a harp, but for reading, as a "book." 
 
 1 Codez Vitellius, A, xv, British Museum ; injured by fire, but still 
 legible in most places, and, for Beowulf, complete. 
 
 2 There is no positive evidence for any date of origins. All critics 
 place it before the ninth century. The eighth brought monastic corrup- 
 tion to Northumbria ; while the seventh, described by Beda, -with its 
 austerity of morals, its gentleness, its tolerance, its close touch with 
 milder forms of heathenism, matches admirably the controlling mood of 
 the epic. 
 
 ' This attitude towards the so-called " Homeric question " in Beowulf 
 must be explained and defended elsewhere, though a few hints are given 
 in the following pages. 
 
 B 1 
 
2 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 Libraries were then forming in England, and so edifying 
 a poem as this could well find its place in them. Of 
 course, the number of persons who heard the manuscript 
 read aloud would be in vast excess of those who learned 
 its contents through the eye. The poet may or may not 
 have been a minstrel in early life; in any case he had 
 turned bookman. He was familiar to some extent with 
 the monastic learning of his day, but was at no great 
 distance from old heathen points of view; and while his 
 Christianity is undoubted, he probably lived under the 
 influence of that "confessional neutrality," which ten 
 Brink assumed for the special instance, and which his- 
 torians record for sundry places and times. Above all, 
 the poet knew ancient epic lays, dealing with Beowulf's 
 adventures, which were sung in the old home of the 
 Angles, and in Frisia, and were carried over to England ; 
 out of these he took his material, retaining their form,, 
 style, and rhythmic structure, many of their phrases, their 
 conventional descriptions, and perhaps for some passages 
 their actual language. Finnsburg and Hildebrand give 
 one an approximate idea of these older lays, which were 
 property of the professional minstrel, the gleeman or scop. 
 This scop, or "maker," is always mentioned by the epic 
 poet with respect. His business was to recite or chant to 
 the music of a harp the lays of bygone generations before 
 king or chieftain in court or haU, precisely as our epic 
 describes the scene. ^ He must also on occasion compose, 
 "put together" in the literal sense, a lay about recent 
 happenings, often carrying it abroad from court to court 
 as the news of the day.^ Out of such old lays of Beowulf's 
 
 1 See especially J5., 1066 fE., and the two poems Widsith and Dear. 
 " See B., 149 fE. For extemporizing, see the classical passage, £., 867 ff. 
 
BEOWULF 3 
 
 adventures, our poet selected, combined, and retold a 
 complete story from his own point of view. Comment, 
 reflection, and a certain heightening of effect, are his 
 peculiar work, along with a dash of sentiment and an 
 elegiac tone such as one feels one should not meet in a 
 Finnslurg, even if the whole of that lay were preserved. 
 Attempts to prove that the poem was translated or para- 
 phrased from a Scandinavian original have been utterly 
 unsuccessful. Quite obsolete, too, as in the case of Homer, 
 is the idea that Beowulf is primitive and " popular " poetry. 
 Its art is highly developed ; its material has been sifted 
 through many versions and forms. 
 
 The characters of this epic of Beowulf are all continental 
 Germanic. The scene of action for the first adventure is 
 in Denmark ; and Hrothgar's hall was probably at a place 
 now called Leire, not far from the fiord of Roeskilde. 
 Where the fight with the dragon took place and Beowulf 
 came to his death, depends on the opinion which one holds 
 in regard to the home of the hero. There are two theo- 
 ries; certainty, despite the recent proclamation of it, is 
 out of the question. Beowulf is said to belong to the 
 "Geatas"; and the majority of scholars^ hold that these 
 Geatas were a tribe living in the southern part of Sweden. 
 But some powerful voices have been raised for the Geatas 
 as Jutes, who lived in what is now Jutland. In either 
 case. Angles and Frisians, and whatever peoples were 
 grouped about the Elbe, the Weser, and the Ems, would 
 note with great interest, and hold long in memory, an 
 expedition of Geatas which should proceed to the lower 
 Rhine and there find defeat at the hands of a Frankish 
 
 1 Including Henrik SoMck, whose essay on the Geatas (Upsala, 1907) 
 is thought by some reviewers to be final in its conclusions. 
 
4 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 prince. Such an expedition actually occurred; it is the 
 historical foundation not, to be sure, of the events of the 
 epic, but of the existence of its characters. It is men- 
 tioned several times in the poem,^ and is also matter of 
 sober chronicle; its date is in the second decade of the 
 sixth century. Gregory of Tours, in his History of the 
 Franks,^ says that Chochilaicus, king of the Danes, — in 
 another and later story, say of the seventh century, this 
 chieftain is called king of the " Getse," — invaded Holland 
 in viking fashion, took a good store of plunder, and got it 
 later on his boats ; but he was fought and killed by Theu- 
 debert, son of the Frankish king, his booty was recaptured, 
 and many prisoners were taken. It is etymologically 
 certain that Chochilaicus is the Hygelac of our epic, uncle 
 to Beowulf ; and there is no reason to doubt the tradition 
 that the hero himself, though not mentioned by the chron- 
 icle, was with his kinsman and chieftain, and escaped 
 after the defeat by a masterful piece of swimming. The 
 poem tells this ; ^ and its exaggeration in loading Beo- 
 wulf with thirty suits of armor is only proof that some- 
 thing of the sort took place. Legend is always false and 
 always true. History invents facts ; but legend can only 
 invent or transpose details; and there is sure to be some- 
 thing real within the field of the glass which legend holds 
 up to one's eyes, let the distortions be as they may be. 
 Surely some stirring epic lays were sung about fight and 
 fall and escape ; but in this phase of Beowulf's career our 
 poet was not interested. He mentions many feuds of 
 Franks, Frisians, Langobards, of Danes, Geats, Swedes; 
 
 1 See B., 1202, 2201, 2355, 2913 ; and the notes to these passages. 
 " in, 3. Dani, cum rege sua nomine Chochilaico, ... he begins. 
 8 See S., 2359 f. 
 
BEOWULF 5 
 
 and he gives a summary of the lay about one of these 
 feuds which a gleeman sang to Hrothgar's court. But 
 these, too, were outside of his main interest. 
 
 His interest in Beowulf seems to have centred in the 
 hero's struggles with those uncanny and demonic, but not 
 highly supernatural powers, who either dwell by moor- 
 lands and under dismal waters, or else, in the well-known 
 form of a dragon, haunt old barrows of the dead and fly 
 at midnight with fiery trail through the air. Undoubtedly 
 one is here on the border-land of myth. But in the actual 
 poem the border is not crossed. Whatever the remote 
 connection of Beowulf the hero with Beowa the god, 
 whatever this god may have in him of the old Ingeevonic 
 deity whom men worshipped by North Sea and Baltic as 
 god of fertility and peace and trade, whatever echo of 
 myths about a destroying monster of invading ocean tides 
 and storms may linger in the story of Grendel and his 
 horrible mother, nothing of the sort comes out of the 
 shadow of conjecture into the light of fact. To the poet 
 of the epic its hero is a man, and the monsters are such 
 as folk then believed to haunt sea and lake and moor. 
 Hrothgar's people who say they have seen the uncanny 
 pair ^ speak just as real rustics would speak about ghosts 
 and strange monsters which they had actually encountered. 
 In both cases one is dealing with folk-lore and not with 
 mythology. When these crude superstitions are devel- 
 oped by priest and poet along polytheistic lines, and in 
 large relations of time and space, myth is the result. But 
 the actual epic of Beowulf knows nothing of this process; 
 afld there is no need to regard Grendel or his mother as 
 backed by the artillery of doom, to regard Beowulf as the 
 
 13., 1346 ft. 
 
6 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 embodiment of heaven's extreme power and good-will. 
 The poet even rationalizes his folk-lore.^ Though there 
 are traces of " another story," traces which would doubt- 
 less lead to outright myth, the epic is told in terms of 
 human achievement. Though its hero, in this record of ad- 
 venture, neither fights other heroes nor leads armies, and 
 though, like many celebrated champions of vast strength, 
 he is not at ease with ordinary weapons, nevertheless 
 he is for the poet that same Beowulf who always fought 
 in the van with trusty blade,^ despatched the mother of 
 Grendel with a sword, and killed Dseghrefn, — presum- 
 ably the slayer of Hygelac, — in the fatal combat by the 
 lower Rhine. Yet Dseghrefn, one is abruptly told, as 
 Beowulf boasts of all his good blade has done and all it is 
 yet to do, was not slain by the sword, but " his bones were 
 broken by brawny gripe." 
 
 The inconsistency of this passage, taken with that ref- 
 erence elsewhere to the hero's inability to use a sword, 
 is supposed by a few scholars to prove different origins 
 for different portions of the actual epic. It really proves 
 that the poet combined Beowulf of the actual " war record " 
 with Beowulf of the struggles against monsters and 
 dragons, the hero with thirty men's strength in his grasp. 
 Every reader of popular tales knows that in these struggles 
 swords are rarely good for much. Like Samson, Beowulf 
 depends on his own might ; but that might must approach 
 the miraculous. Different formulas, if one may use the 
 term, are applied to different phases of the same hero's 
 adventures. For example, Beowulf is evidently in one 
 
 1 Accounting for Grendel's invulnerabUity, B., 984-990, somewhat as 
 in tlie case of the dragon (2699) which had to be pierced beneath, where 
 it had no scales. « B., 2490. —- ^' 
 
BEOWULF 7 
 
 formula a bright, capable, precocious boy ; bis grandfather 
 loves him as an own child; he performs, to his great renown, 
 a ptodigious feat of swimming when he is a mere lad.^ 
 On the other hand, conforming to the type of many popu- 
 lar tales, he is described ^ as " slack " in youth, a shiftless, 
 clumsy, disregarded encumbrance, whom the king will not 
 honor and whom the retainers despise : but the inevita- 
 ble change comes, the hero bursts into full glory. Here 
 is another formula. If it is not easy for modern criticism 
 to fit these stories with one another and with their subject, 
 let it be remembered how hard was the task which con- 
 fronted the poet in his constructive problem. Unity of 
 character was no object of the old lays ; vigorous narrative 
 of action was all they attempted. Yet this poet strove 
 manfully to make Beowulf a consistent character through- 
 out the epic; and in view of the divergence of the differ- 
 ent stories told of all heroes, one is inclined to think that 
 the Northumbrian bard did his work fairly well. On the 
 large plan he works out his design with evident intention 
 of harmony. Parts match parts ; scenes answer to scenes; 
 the pattern is plain. In detail, to be sure, he makes many 
 a blunder. Grendel "in his folly" despises weapons; 
 yet it is explained that he is " safe " against them all, — 
 and where is the folly ? Beowulf, in another place, will 
 take no mean advantage by bearing arms against one who 
 knows nothing of their use! ^ Grendel, again, terrible as he 
 is to the Danes, never has a shred of chance with Beowulf, 
 who is victor from the start; yet with the mother, who is 
 expressly described as far less formidable than her off- 
 spring, the hero is hard put to it, and nearly overcome. 
 He trusts now in his sword, which fails. Is this the 
 1 B., 2432 ; 535. " B., 2187. » See B., 433 f. and 801 ff. ; and 677 ff. 
 
8 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 Beowulf whose irresistible and crushing grasp made 
 Grendel sing the wild song of death ? No, but it is the 
 Beowulf who had such a thrilling adventure with the 
 ~^" she-wolf of the seas," that it could on no account be 
 left out of the list. Adventures in the old cycles were 
 not made to modern order ; and it was something of a 
 triumph to combine the meagre account of the killing of 
 Grendel, described as almost a bagatelle for the hero, with 
 the far more detailed and interesting account of the des- 
 perate struggle under water. Probably this hulking, 
 swamp-haunting Grendel was originally no relative what- 
 ever of the vicious but indomitable old " she-wolf," and 
 their adventures were absqlutely distinct. The poet, in 
 one of the more modern passages, tells of their kinship 
 and describes their home ; and it is not unlikely that he 
 sought by this method of combination, which gave at the 
 same time scope to his poetic fancy, to bring about unity 
 in structure and conformity of general treatment. This 
 assumption, moreover, would credit him with the descrip- 
 tion of Hrothgar's court, the events there, the scene in 
 which riders chant Beowulf's praise and a minstrel makes 
 the lay about him, and, on the whole, a very handsome 
 portion of the epic at large. The poet's invention cannot 
 be denied. 
 
 In short, the best way to regard all the inconsistencies 
 in the epic account of Beowulf is neither to split him 
 into equal parts of hero and god, nor yet to divide him 
 among many poets, but simply to think of him as a hero 
 who not only has his own fairly authentic story, but has 
 attracted a whole cycle of more or less alien adventures 
 into his sphere. There is ample analogy in the round of 
 popular tales. Many a champion now fights in fierce 
 
BBOWULr 9 
 
 battle, and now goes to exterminate a monster. Norse 
 stories tell of heroes wliose adventures are so close to 
 Beowulf's as to rouse suspicion of copy or common origin. 
 In the present state of knowledge it is best to let the 
 adventures pass as adventures, and to renounce more 
 curious search. As was said, agnosticism is here the 
 only safe attitude towards myth. Beowulf's swimming- 
 match with Breca has been euhemerized into the mere 
 killing of sea-beasts, and etherialized into a myth of the 
 culture-god who taught a grateful folk how to navigate 
 the stormy seas. Beowulf must be accepted as the hero 
 of a tale. His capital adventures are the sort of thing 
 which heroes, real or fictitious, are always assumed to do. 
 They kill monsters, giants, dragons. " It is their nature 
 to," as the old verse ran. Such feats are expected from 
 a kindly and beneficent hero ; and such a hero the real 
 Beowulf may well have been. If he reminded folk of a 
 god Beowa, so much the better. He really rendered good 
 service to some northern king, though he is no glorified 
 rat-catcher. Perhaps he did destroy noxious beasts as 
 other heroes had done. His last fight, if one can accept 
 the dragon, is a most humanly told and everyday sort 
 of tale, though it is quite another story compared with 
 the former adventures. 
 
 The lays about all these adventures our poet heard 
 and knew and loved. He knew also the lore of devils 
 and hell's fiends, who vex the righteous man, and never- 
 theless can be met and conquered by a Christian champion. 
 He could not make a Christian out of Beowulf, but he 
 describes the hero in terms of one of the converted An- 
 glian kings and surrounds him with the amenities of the 
 new courts. Of Grendel he made a hell-fiend outright, 
 
10 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 and assigned him by superfluous genealogy to the tribe 
 of Cain. The wise saws and ancient instances may be 
 colored by a new theology; but they derived from the 
 old wisdom poetry in which Germanic minds had long 
 delighted. 
 
 We have thus come fairly close to an understanding of 
 the poet's conception of the characters in his epic and his 
 treatment of them. We must now look at the characters 
 themselves. 
 
 II 
 
 The persons^ of the epic fall into evident groups. 
 Apart from the prelude, which glorifies the Danish 
 royal house, and repeats the pretty myth of Scyld the 
 Sheaf-Child, we have the actual family and companions 
 of Hrothgar, king of the Danes. He himself is son of 
 Healfdene — that is, a king whose mother was not of the 
 Danish folk — and brother to Heorogar and Halga. The 
 three brothers, as so often in Germanic families, have 
 names in the same rime ; one thinks of Gunther, Giselher, 
 and Gemot in the Nibelungen. Heorogar, the oldest, 
 was king before Hrothgar, and had a son Heoroweard, 
 but for some reason did not leave favorite armor to 
 him. Halga was probably father of Hrothulf, — as in 
 the Norse account, Helgi was father of Hrolf Kraki, the 
 famous hero. Saxo tells the story of him, and his 
 betrayal by a relative, who probably answers to Heoro- 
 weard of our epic. In Widsith one is told more of 
 Hrothgar and this nephew Hrothulf. Together they 
 
 1 To the scholars who have studied these characters and solved sundry- 
 problems of relationship and parallel mention, it is impossible to render 
 adequate thanks and praise. Much is still left unsolved ; and some of the 
 problems are insoluble. 
 
BEOWULF 11 
 
 successfully repelled an attack by Ingeld, Hrothgar's son- 
 in-law, on their own land. Hrothgar's own sons are 
 Hrethric and Hrothmund ; and they seem to be consider- 
 ably younger than their cousin Hrothulf, judging by the 
 queen's appeal i to the latter, and her assumption that 
 he would treat the boys honorably and kindly if their father, 
 the king, should die. This queen of Hrothgar — who first 
 breaks the list of aspirated names — is Wealhtheow 
 (" foreign maid "), a dignified and charming woman so 
 far as she appears in the epic. She and the king have a 
 daughter, who made a favorable impression on the affable 
 Beowulf; 2 he heard men in hall call her Freawaru as she 
 went about, like her mother, pouring the ale. She was 
 betrothed to Ingeld, son of Froda, the Heathobard king ; 
 but the visitor forecasts no real good from this alliance. — 
 Such was Hrothgar's family. Besides unnamed officers 
 and attendants, three important men at his court were 
 -^schere, his beloved comrade and chancellor, whom 
 Grendel's mother destroys, a warrior of renown, rich in 
 counsel, elder brother to Yrmenlaf ; further, Wulfgar, a 
 prince of the Wendlas, chamberlain and marshal of the 
 court ; and Unferth, the orator or spokesman, who is a 
 puzzle in regard to his exact vocation and rank. He 
 undertakes to " haze " Beowulf at the first banquet, and 
 is badly beaten in the battle of words. He is a warrior, 
 and lends Beowulf his sword ; but dark things are hinted 
 about his character and perhaps about his reputation for 
 courage. Yet he is a favorite of Hrothgar, sits " at his 
 feet," — on a bench just below him, — and could be 
 regarded as a kind of jester and merrymaker, were not 
 his position so evidently above that class. " Orator " 
 
 1 J?., 1180. 2 .B., 2020. 
 
12 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 must do. He had the gift of tongues ; but there is no 
 hint that he made verses. 
 
 Another quite subordinate group of Danes may be 
 noted here as involved in the episode of Finn. Hnsef, 
 son of Hoc, brother to Hildeburh, is said by Widsith to 
 be ruler of the Hocings. His sister Hildeburh is married 
 to Finn the Frisian king, son of Folcwalda. When 
 Hnsef is killed, Hengest is leader of the Danes ; later he 
 too is slain. Guthlaf and Oslaf are Danish warriors. — 
 One Danish king, moreover, is mentioned as antitype for 
 Beowulf. This is Heremod, who resembles both Lotherus 
 of Saxo, and Hermod of the Hyndluljoth in Norse poetic 
 tradition. 
 
 The other main group is that of the house of Hygelac, 
 and his nephew Beowulf. Swerting, a king of the Geats, 
 had a son Hrethel, who had three sons, — one notes again 
 the rime and the aspirated names, — Herebeald, Hsethcyn, 
 and Hygelac. By a tragic accident, Haethcyn shot and 
 killed his elder brother ; he is killed himself in leading 
 his people against the Swedes ; and Hygelac then becomes 
 king. Hygelac falls on the historic raid, leaving a son, 
 Heardred, who is killed by Onela the Swede. Then 
 Beowulf comes to the throne. Professor Gering conjec- 
 tures the year 521 for this accession. Hygelac's queen is 
 Hygd, daughter of Hsereth; when her husband falls, she 
 offers the crown to Beowulf, but he prefers to act as re- 
 gent for Heardred. Hygd is described in terms of praise. 
 Hygelac, moreover, has a daughter whom he gives to Eof or 
 in reward for killing Ongentheow, the Swedish king. 
 Eofor and Wulf (" Boar " and " Wolf ") are sons of 
 Wonred. As for the hero, he is a Wsegmunding, son of 
 Ecgtheow of that tribe ; but his mother is only daughter 
 
BEOWULF 13 
 
 of King Hrethel the Geat, who adopts the boy at seven 
 years of age and brings him up. Ecgtheow, meanwhile, 
 has killed one Heatholaf, a Wylfing, and is not allowed to 
 stay with his wife's people, but takes refuge with Hrothgar 
 the Dane. The boy, of course, remains with Hrethel. 
 As sister's son to Hygelac, a very close relationship among 
 the old Germans, " by some accounted nearer than actual 
 sonship," Beowulf becomes virtually a Geat. Neverthe- 
 less, when he dies he has but one kinsman left, the faithful 
 Wiglaf, "last of the Wsegmundings." Beowulf's own 
 story ^ is mainly reminiscence of feuds in which he took 
 part. He tells Hrothgar's court of his swimming adven- 
 ture along with a friend of his youth, Breca, son of Bean- 
 stan and prince of the Brondings. He also names to 
 Hygelac a favorite thane who was killed by Grendel, 
 Hondscio, whose man-price is paid by the Danish king. 
 Beowulf leaves a widow,^ but no children. His " last 
 words " are very impressive.^ 
 
 One would like to have the lays which dealt with feud 
 between Geat and Swede ; but all one has in the epic is 
 allusion or summary.* Ongentheow, a capable king, has 
 the poet's good-will in spite of these hostile relations. He 
 kills Hsethcyn, but is killed by Eofor as deputy of Hygelac. 
 Ongentheow's son Onela becomes king of Swedes ; another 
 son, Ohthere, has himself two sons, Eanmund and Eadgils 
 (all these names rime by the initial vowels), who rebel 
 against their uncle, King Onela, and are banished, taking 
 refuge with Heardred the Geat. Onela invades Geatland 
 and kills Heardred, but, it would seem, allows Beowulf to 
 
 1 B., 2425 ff. 2 The reading is generally accepted : see S., 3150. 
 
 » See passages beginning B., 2729 ; 2794 ; 2813. 
 
 * Many of these names and stories appear, more or less disguised, 
 in Norse traditions. 
 
14 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 succeed to the throne undisturbed. Later, Beowulf sup- 
 ports Eadgils in an expedition of revenge ; the nephew 
 kills Onela and succeeds to the Swedish throne. 
 
 Other persons are mentioned incidentally. Dseghrefn, 
 champion of the Hugas, or Franks, probably killed 
 Hygelac, and was killed by Beowulf on the famous raid. 
 Far more enticing are the dim traditions of Offa the old 
 Anglian king, son of Garmund, and father of Eomer. 
 Offa still was known by later generations, and by his kin 
 beyond the German Ocean, as the best warrior and wage- 
 giver who ever reigned in the sea-girt lands of the north. ^ 
 Something of the Offa legend besides mere reminiscence 
 and comparison has surely slipped into the epic ; but it is 
 hard to follow in detail. A wider range of legend, touch- 
 ing the heroic times which have given so many names and 
 stories to Germanic verse, includes Eormanric the Goth, 
 typical tyrant; Hama, also a Goth, who bore away the 
 mysterious Brosings' necklace ; and that famous pair, 
 Sigemuhd and Fitela, the Wselsings, of whom the Volsung 
 saga afterwards told so full a tale.^ 
 
 Biblical names are few ; our poet was no pedant, and 
 carried his learning with ease. Probably the burden was 
 light. Cain and Abel decorate Grendel's family tree. 
 " God " is used mainly in the Christian sense, even when 
 divine dealings with a heathen people are in point. 
 " Hel " is the place,^ not the goddess. But. Weland, god 
 of the forge, is named as maker of Beowulf's armor ; and 
 if the conception of Wyrd, or Fate, is now and then a 
 philosophical projection of the heathen goddess, it is more 
 often a personal name. Devils, fiends, monsters, dragons, 
 occur in indiscriminate execration of the Christian and 
 1 See Widsith, 38 ft. 2 See B., 1201, 1198, 879. » B., 852. 
 
BEOWULF 15 
 
 heathen vocabulary. " Eotens " are giants, but also ene- 
 mies, also devils ; in complimentary use, also Frisians. 
 
 Geography is not very clearly visualized, but it was 
 conceived. The Frisians, Franks, Finns, place themselves. 
 The Heathobards are either the Langobards, or a small 
 tribe on the Elbe. The Danes are called Bright-Danes, 
 Spear-Danes, and Ring-Danes; also, and quite indifEer- 
 ently,^ North, South, East, and West Danes. The Geats 
 are called Weather or Storm Geats, War Geats, and Sea 
 Geats. Of their place names. Eagle Cliff and Whale's 
 Cliff are mentioned, and "Hreosnabeorh." Ravenswood 
 is probably to be sought in Swedish lands. 
 
 Ill 
 
 The poet used the old lays for facts and events, but he 
 must have taken many of the descriptions as well as most 
 of the comment into his own hand. The conditions of 
 culture in the epic are fairly English; though the very 
 raid on which Hygelac lost his life testifies to commerce, 
 however predatory, on the part of continental Germanic 
 tribes with the civilized section of Europe, and to their ac- 
 quaintance with things of civilized life. The actual Beo- 
 wulf surely knew wine, beds, ornaments and gold of all 
 sorts, armor and weapons of the best ; these were objects 
 of plunder. So, perhaps, even with tapestry. But the 
 construction of the hall Heorot is certainly helped by ex 
 'post facto information of the poet, and so are the paved 
 street, the mosaic floor, trappings of war-horses, musical 
 instruments. Above all, the courtesy, refinement, reti- 
 cence, and self-control not only of the main characters, but 
 of chamberlains, watchmen, and the like, must be a reflec- 
 1 £., 383, 392. 
 
16 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 tion of English life at one of the Christianized courts. 
 Weapons and armor are perhaps traditional in the main. 
 The corselet or coat of mail was very carefully made, and 
 required a year of one man's time to forge it and to join 
 its twenty thousand small rings, — the " ring-mail " of the 
 poem.i Shields are perpetually mentioned, and were 
 mainly of wood, strengthened by leather and even by 
 metal bands. The sword is so valued as to have name 
 and pedigree. All this could be traditional; and so 
 could be the use of runes or letters for inscriptions on the 
 hilt or blade of a sword. The poet still held to old be- 
 lief in the magic effects of such runes, as well as in the 
 efficacy of spells and bannings generally. One must not 
 too closely regard this attitude of the bard, his puerility 
 and pettiness of tone. Even Chaucer sins in the same 
 fashion, if it be a sin to breathe the intellectual and artistic 
 air of one's own day, and to reveal this habit in one's 
 work. 
 
 IV 
 
 Metre and style of the epic are traditional ; the art of 
 the minstrel was unchanged by the poet. His rhythm 
 holds to that four-stressed verse with initial rimes which 
 dominates all Anglo-Saxon poetry and rests on the com- 
 mon Germanic tradition. Its essential principles, as 
 observed in the present translation, may be stated as 
 follows. The single verse consists of two obvious half- 
 verses, each of which has two stressed syllables ; and 
 these stressed syllables of the verse must be also accented 
 syllables of the word, — as in modern, but not as in clas- 
 sical metres. The first stressed syllable of the second 
 half — third of the whole — is the "rime-giver." "With 
 1 J. E. Clark Hall, Beovndf, p. 179, quoting Sophus Mtiller. 
 
BEOWULF 17 
 
 it must rime one and may rime both of the two preceding 
 stressed syllables. The fourth stressed syllable, however, 
 — second in the second half -verse, — must not rime with 
 the third, or rime-giving syllable, but may rime with that 
 one of the other two which happens not to match the 
 rime-giver. For example, in the usual form, — 
 
 " Oft Scyld the Sceflng from squadroned foes," 
 
 " foes " rimes with no stressed syllable, as both first and 
 second match the rime-giving third ; but in — 
 
 " There laid they down their darling lord," 
 
 a cross-rime prevails. It must be remembered that all 
 vowels rime with one another: so, — 
 
 " ice-flecked, outbound, atheling's barge." 
 
 By observing these rules in translation, one may count on 
 a rhythmic movement which fairly represents the old 
 verse. The translation, to be sure, must alternate stressed 
 and unstressed syllables with more " regularity " than can 
 be found in the original, which followed rules of detail 
 now impossible to observe. The preponderance of falling 
 rhythm cannot always be maintained, nor can the trans- 
 lator always keep his rimed verse-stresses on the words 
 to which they belong in the old metrical system. But 
 these are not vital objections. Nothing meets the reader 
 in this old rhythm with which he is not familiar in 
 modern poetry ; he recognizes initial rime as an orna- 
 mental factor in verse, though he is not wont to find 
 it the controlling factor. 
 
 This same statement holds true of the style of the 
 old epic. Modern poetry has occasional variant repeti- 
 tion ; but repetition is not the ■ controlling factor, the 
 
18 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 inevitable cross-pattern, as it is in old poetic diction. 
 Modern poetry makes ample use of metaphor; but the 
 practical necessity of " kennings " in alternate statement 
 or epithet is no longer known. Considering now these 
 old factors of poetic style for themselves, one finds that 
 variant repetition is woven into the very stuff of epic ; 
 it is closely allied, as in Hebrew poetry, with the rhyth- 
 mic principle. But our epic verse is continuous, and 
 has no stanzaic balance, no limit, such as exists in He- 
 brew ; so that in oldest English poetry the unrestrained 
 process of variant repetition piles epithet on epithet and 
 phrase on phrase. In Beowulf there have been counted a 
 hundred different appellations for the hero, and fifty -six 
 for King Hrothgar.^ Occasionally there is a " couplet " 
 which resembles the Hebrew: 
 
 " To him the stateliest spake in answer ; 
 The warriors' leader his word-hoard unlocked." 
 
 On this variant repetition great force is bestowed by the 
 use of metaphor, particularly by " kennings." A ken- 
 ning is where one speaks of the sea as " the whale's road " 
 or " the gannet's bath," — as if the phrase were a " token " 
 of the thing. So in the couplet just quoted, " spake in 
 answer " is literal ; its variant, " unlocked the word-hoard," 
 is metaphorical ; and " word -hoard " is kenning for 
 " thoughts " or " intention." When the reader grows 
 accustomed to this cross-pattern of repetition, — and he 
 has no quarrel with it in its somewhat different guise 
 in the Psalms, — he will appreciate its importance as a 
 factor in the old poetry, and he will not be unduly baffled 
 
 1 Illustrations of variant repetition, taken almost at random, are B., 
 120-125, 2794 f., and 3110 fl. The " couplet " is B., 258 f. 
 
BEOWULF 19 
 
 by its persistence.^ One can easily get rid of it, or sup- 
 press it to the vanishing point, by a prose translation ; 
 but that is not only to renounce real knowledge of the 
 poetical ways of the epic, but to get an utterly false idea 
 of it. 
 
 Other features of the style of the epic call for little or no 
 comment. Litotes, or emphasis by understatement, — as 
 when the best of warriors is called " not the worst," — is 
 a prime favorite with the poet of Beowulf; it can be found 
 on almost every page. The simile occurs a few times, to 
 be sure, but it is an exotic ; and any long simile may be 
 set down as copied from learned sources. 
 
 No greater mistake exists than to suppose that the 
 rhythm and style of these early English poems cannot 
 be rendered adequately in modern English speech. It is 
 not a question of classical hexameters, but of English verse 
 old and new. As a practical problem solvitur amlulando; 
 one can point to the fact that all the accredited German 
 translations of Beowulf and Finnshurg, with one exception, 
 have been made in the verse of the original ; ^ and this 
 exception is a failure just so far as it fails to give account 
 of verse and style. As a matter of theory nothing is 
 more absurd than to contend that the old system of verse 
 was an art suddenly and utterly lost in the abyss of the 
 Norman Conquest. To be sure, its exact prosody could not 
 survive changes in linguistic structure ; compromises with 
 
 1 Now and then it is puzzling, as when it seems to make two persons 
 out of one : see B., 688 f. ; 1866 f . ; 2129 f. 
 
 2 Heyne's is in blank Terse. The latest of the German translations, 
 that of Professor Gering, gives the four-stress verse with admirable effect, 
 retains the rime, and in itself refutes the charge of the prosemen. 
 
20 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 foreign forms of verse took it into new ways, and sent it, 
 say as " tumbling verse," down to our own time, justified 
 by such a line as Browning's 
 
 " Seethed in fat and suppled in flame "... 
 yet in its own person it passed the stage of the conquest, 
 kept its vigor, suffered few notable changes, and appears 
 as a popular and effective verse, some six centuries from 
 the date of the original Beowulf, in the Piers Plowman 
 poems. En^ishmen of that day had ears to hear " rum- 
 ram-ruf " in no mocking spirit, as well as to greet the 
 harmonious flow of Chaucer's pentameter. That very 
 pentameter, too, reveals from time to time in the actual 
 four-stress tendency, and, — though not so often, — in 
 its initial rimes, a hint of the old rhythmic structure : 
 
 " Ther shyveren shaftes upon sheeldes thikke " . . .. 
 
 In short, if the two systems — old four-stressed initial- 
 rimed and new pentameter — could appeal to the same 
 hearers, and if Chaucer is now the delight for lovers of 
 verse that he was in his own day, there should be no 
 difficulty for modern ears to allow the dual presence. 
 William Morris employed something akin to the old 
 rhythm in parts of his charming Love is Enough: 
 
 " For as lone as thou liest in a land that we see not, 
 When the world loseth thee, what is left for its losing? " 
 
 Yet, apart from its haphazard and unregulated initial 
 rimes, this rhythm is far too swift in its pace for the old 
 verse. Professor J. L. Hall used it for his translation of 
 Beowulf very effectively ; but though he curbed it here 
 and there, it is still too rapid, and the initial rimes are 
 not fully carried out. The translation of Beowulf by 
 Morris and Wyatt cannot be called an improvement on 
 
BEOWULF 21 
 
 Professor Hall's translation, for their vocabulary is archaic 
 or invented to an intolerable degree, and the rimes are 
 not followed on any fixed principle. However, Jhe pres- 
 ent writer's business lies not at all with the criticism of 
 verse-translations of Beowulf; his affair consists in pre- 
 senting to modern readers a rendering, faithful as he can 
 make it, of the entire body of oldest traditional narrative 
 poetry in English, as handed down by the minstrel, or as 
 worked over into longer epic form. 
 
BEOWULF 
 
 PBELUDE OF THE FOUNDER OF THE DANISH HOUSE 
 
 Lo, praise of the prowess of people-kings 
 
 of spear-armed Danes, in days long sped, 
 
 we have heard, and what honor the athelings won ! 
 
 Oft Scyld the Scefing ^ from squadroned foes, 
 
 5 from many a tribe, the mead-bench tore, 
 awing the earls. ^ Since erst he lay 
 friendless, a foundling, fate repaid him : 
 for he waxed under welkin, in wealth he throve, 
 till before him the folk, both far and near, 
 
 10 who house by the whale-path,^ heard his mandate, 
 gave him gifts : a good king he ! 
 To him an heir was afterward born, 
 a son in his halls, whom heaven * sent 
 to favor the folk, feeling their woe 
 
 1 English historians knew the story or myth of this Scyld (" Shield "), 
 ■who as a helpless child drifts ashore in an oarless boat. The hoat is filled 
 with weapons, but a "sheaf" of grain serves as pillow for the little 
 sleeper; and hence the people call him Shield the Sheaf-Child. They 
 make him their king. He ruled, so William of Malmesbury says, " where 
 Heithebi stands, once called Slaswic." The term "Sheaf-Child" came 
 to be misunderstood as "Child of Sheaf," and Scyld was furnished with 
 a father, Scef or Sceaf . 
 
 2 An ' earl " was the freeman, the warrior in a chosen band ; though 
 not yet indicating specific rank, the word carried a general idea of nobil- 
 ity. 
 
 8 Kenning for " sea." Tribes across the water, say In southern Sweden, 
 or westward of the Danish lands in Zealand, became tributary to. Scyld. 
 4 LiteraUy, " God." 
 
 22 
 
BEOWULP 23 
 
 15 that erst they had lacked an earl for leader 
 so long a while ; the Lord endowed him, 
 the Wielder of Wonder, with world's renown. 
 Famed was this Beowulf : ^ far flew the boast of 
 
 him, 
 son of Scyld, in the Scandian lands. 
 
 20 So 2 becomes it a youth ^ to quit him well 
 with his father's friends, by fee and gift, 
 that to aid him, ag^d, in after days, 
 come warriors willing, should war draw nigh, 
 liegemen loyal: by lauded deeds 
 
 25 shall an earl have honor in every clan. 
 Forth he fared at the fated moment, 
 sturdy Scyld to the shelter of God.* 
 Then they bore him over to ocean's billow, 
 loving clansmen, as late he charged them, 
 
 30 while wielded words the winsome Scyld, 
 
 the leader beloved who long had ruled. . . . 
 In the roadstead rocked a ring-dight vessel, 
 ice-flecked, outbound, atheling's barge : 
 there laid they down their darling lord 
 
 1 Not, of course, Beowulf the Geat, hero of the epic. Genealogies of 
 Anglo-Saxon kings name this son of Scyld as Beaw, Beo, Bedwig, Bead- 
 wig, Beowinus, etc., all shorter forms or corruptions of a common origi- 
 nal name. The name Beowulf may mean " Wolf-of-the-Crof t " (Gering), 
 but its etymology is uncertain. 
 
 2 Sc. "as Scyld did." Beowulf's coming fame is mentioned, so to 
 speak, as part of Scyld's assets, and the whole passage is praise of the 
 "pious founder " of the Danish line. 
 
 ' The Exeter Maxims, w. 14 f., say ■ 
 
 Let the atheling young by his honest comrades 
 be emboldened to battle and breaking of rings, — 
 i.e. liberal gifts to his clansmen. 
 
 * To heaven, the other world. Various metaphors are used for death ; 
 e.g. " he chose the other light." See also v. 2469. 
 
24 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 35 on the breast of the boat, the breaker-of -rings/ 
 by the mast the mighty one. Many a treasure 
 fetched from far was freighted with him. 
 No ship have I known so nobly dight 
 with weapons of war and weeds of battle,^ 
 
 40 with breastplate and blade : on his bosom lay 
 a heaped hoard that hence should go 
 far o'er the flood with him floating away. 
 No less ^ these loaded the lordly gifts, 
 thanes' huge treasure, than those had done 
 
 45 who in former time forth had sent him 
 sole on the seas, a suckling child. 
 High o'er his head they hoist the standard, 
 a gold-wove banner ; let billows take him, 
 gave him to ocean. Grave were their spirits, 
 
 50 mournful their mood. No man is able 
 to say in sooth, no son of the halls, 
 no hero 'neath heaven, — who harbored that freight!* 
 
 1 Kenning for king or chieftain of a comitatus : he breaks off gold 
 from the spiral rings — often worn on the arm — and so rewards his 
 followers. In ^Ifric's famous Colloquy, early in the eleventh century, 
 the huntsman says he sometimes gets gift of a horse or an arm-ring from 
 his king. 
 
 2 Professor Garnett's rendering. 
 
 ^ The poet's favorite figure of litotes or understatement. He means 
 that the treasure which they sent out with the dead king far exceeded 
 what came with him in the boat that brought him, a helpless child, to 
 their shores. 
 
 * While the reader should guard against putting into these effective 
 lines sentiment and suggestion which they do not really contain, he should 
 compare this close with the close of Tennyson's Morte d^ Arthur. The 
 classical passage for ship-burial among the old Germans is the descrip- 
 tion of Balder's funeral in the prose Edda. On the " greatest of all 
 ships " was laid the corpse of the god ; and a balefire was made there ; 
 and rings, and costly trappings, and Balder's own horse, were consumed 
 along with the body. 
 
BEOWULF 25 
 
 Now Beowulf bode in the burg of the Scyldings, 
 
 leader beloved, and long he ruled 
 55 in fame with all folk, since his father had gone 
 
 away from the world, till awoke an heir, 
 
 haughty Healfdene, who held through life, 
 
 sage and sturdy, the Scyldings glad.^ 
 
 Then, one after one, there woke to him, 
 60 to the chieftain of clansmen, children four: 
 
 Heorogar, then Hrothgar, then Halga brave; 
 
 and I heard that was 's queen," 
 
 the Heathoscylfing's helpmate dear. 
 
 To Hrothgar ^ was giyen such glory of war, 
 65 such honor of combat, that all his kin 
 
 obeyed him gladly till great grew his band 
 
 of youthful comrades. It came in his mind 
 
 to bid his henchmen a hall uprear, 
 
 a master mead-house, mightier far 
 70 than ever was seen by the sons of earth, 
 
 and within it, then, to old and young 
 
 he would all allot that the Lord had sent him, 
 
 save only the land * and the lives of his men. 
 
 1 K glcBde is adverb, read : 
 
 Haughty Healfdene : hardy and wise, 
 though old, he graciously governed the Scyldings. 
 The name " Halfdane " means that his mother was foreign bom. 
 
 2 "I heard," the epic formula, often has a merely coniunctive force, 
 as here, when it may be rendered, as Klaeber notes, "and further." — 
 The name of the daughter is lost ; no suggestion so far has enough weight 
 to gain preference. The " Battle-Scylfings " are the race known in 
 Scandinavian annals as Ynglings, a Swedish people. Kluge, using the 
 Saga of HroU KraM, reads: " Sigeneow was Ssswela's queen." 
 
 * Heorogar's reign, noted below, vv. 465, 2158, is here passed over 
 by the poet, who wishes to come at once to the story. 
 
 ' Literally, " folk's share." Gering translates " all that God had given 
 him along with his land and his people." 
 
26 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 Wide, I heard, was the work commanded, 
 
 75 for many a tribe this mid-earth round, 
 
 to fashion the folkstead. It fell, as he ordered, 
 in rapid achievement that ready it stood Ihere, 
 of halls the noblest: Heorot ^ he named it 
 whose message had might in many a land. 
 
 80 Not reckless of promise, the rings he dealt, 
 treasure at banquet: there towered the hall, 
 high, gabled wide, the hot surge waiting 
 of furious flame.^ Nor far was that day 
 when father and son-in-law stood in feud 
 
 85 for warfare and hatred that woke again.^ 
 
 1 That is, "The Hart," or "The Stag," so called from decorations in the 
 gahles that resembled the antlers of a deer. This hall has been carefully 
 described in a pamphlet by Heyne. The building was rectangular, with 
 opposite doors — mainly west and east — and a hearth in the middle of 
 the single room. A row of pillars down each side, at some distance from 
 the walls, made a space which was raised a little above the main floor, 
 and was furnished with two rows of seats. On one side, usually south, 
 was the high-seat, midway between the doors. Opposite this, on the other 
 raised space, was another seat of honor. At the banquet soon to be de- 
 scribed, Hrothgar sat in the south or chief high-seat, and Beowulf op- 
 posite to him. The scene for a flyting (see below, v. 499) was thus 
 very effectively set. Planks on trestles — the "board" of later English 
 literature — formed the tables just in front of the long rows of seats, 
 and were taken away after banquets, when the retainers were ready to 
 stretch themselves out for sleep on the benches. Some additional com- 
 ment will be found in the excellent notes in Mr. Clark Hall's translation 
 of Beowulf, p. 174. 
 
 2 Fire was the usual end of these halls. See v. 781, below. One thinks 
 of the splendid scene at the end of the Nibelungen, of the Nialssaga, of 
 Saxo's story of Amlethus, and many a less famous instance. 
 
 ' It is to be supposed that all hearers of this poem knew how Hroth- 
 gar's hall was burnt, — perhaps in the unsuccessful attack made on 
 him by his son-in-law Ingeld. See vv. 2020 fl., and the note, where 
 Beowulf tells of an old feud which this marriage is to set aside, and hints 
 that the trouble will not be cured even by such a remedy. He too thinks 
 that " warfare and hatred will wake again." — See also Widsith, vv. 45 ff. 
 
BEOWULF 27 
 
 With envy and anger/an evil spirit 
 
 endured the dole in his dark abode, 
 
 that he heard each day /xhe din of jrevel 
 
 high in the hall:/ there harps rang out, 
 90 clear song of the singer./ He sang who knew ^ 
 
 tales of the early time of man, 
 
 how the Almighty, made the earth, 
 
 fairest iields' enfolded by watei", 
 
 set, triumphant, sun and moon 
 95 for a light to lighten'the land-dwellers, 
 
 and braided bright the breast of earth 
 
 with limbs and leaves, made life for all 
 
 of mortal beings that breathe and move. 
 So lived the clansmen in cheer and revel 
 100 a winsome life, till one began 
 
 to fashion evils, that fiend of hell. 
 
 Grendel this monster grim was called, 
 
 march-riever ^ mighty, in moorland living,^ 
 
 in fen and fastness ; fief of the giants 
 105 the hapless wight a while had kept 
 
 since the Creator his exile doomed. 
 n^ On kin of Cain was the killing avenged 
 
 by sovran God for slaughtered Abel. 
 
 1 A skilled minstrel. The Danes are heathens, as one is told presently; 
 but this lay of beginnings is taken from Genesis. 
 
 2 A disturber of the border, one who sallies from his haunt in the fen 
 and roams over the country near by. This probably pagan nuisance is 
 now furnished with biblical credentials as a fiend or devil in good stand- 
 ing, so thatall Christian Englishmen might read about him. " Grendel " 
 may mean one who grinds and crushes. 
 
 " See notes below on the notion of a water-hell. " Hell and the lower 
 world," says Bugge, " were connected to some extent in the popular mind 
 with deep or boundless morasses." Some of the Eddie Poems, tr. Scho- 
 field, p. Ixxiv. 
 
28 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 111 fared his f eud,^ and far was he driven, 
 110 for the slaughter's sake, from sight of men. 
 Of Cain awoke all that woful breed, 
 Etins ^ and elves and evil-spirits, 
 as well as the giants that warred with God 
 weary while : but their wage was paid them I 
 
 II 
 
 115 Went he forth to find at fall of night 
 that haughty house, and heed wherever 
 the Ring-Danes, outrevelled, to rest had gone. 
 Found within it the atheling band 
 asleep after feasting and fearless of sorrow, 
 
 120 of human" hardship. Unhallowed wight, 
 grim and greedy, he grasped betimes, 
 wrathful, reckless, from resting-places, 
 thirty ^ of the thanes, and thence he rushed 
 fain of his fell spoil, faring homeward, 
 
 125 laden with slaughter, his lair to seek. 
 
 Then at the dawning, as day was breaking, 
 the might of Grendel to men was known ; 
 then after wassail was wail uplifted, 
 loud moan in the morn. The mighty chief, 
 
 1 Cain's. 
 
 i2 The eoten, ISorsejotun, or giant, survives in the English ballad-title, 
 Hind Etin. The " giants " of v. 113 come from Genesis, vi, 4. See 
 also the apocryphal book of Enoch, noted by Kittredge, Paul und 
 Braune's Beitrdge, xiii, 210, who accounts for this tradition that Cain': 
 was the ancestor of evil monsters. 
 
 'Beowulf, the coming champion, has the strength (v. 379) of " thirty " 
 men in his hand's grasp, and (v. 2361) swims to safety after Hygelao's 
 defeat laden with " thirty " suits of mail on his arm. The reader will 
 note the meagreness and haste of this account of the actual attack. No 
 details are given. This brevity is of course due to the poet ; and one. can 
 only guess at his motive. 
 
BEOWDLF 29 
 
 130 atheling excellent, unblithe sat, 
 
 labored in woe for the loss of his thanes, 
 
 when once had been traced the trail of the fiend, 
 
 spirit accurst : too cruel that sorrow, 
 
 too long, too loathsome.^ Not late the respite ; 
 
 135 with night returning, anew began 
 ruthless murder ; he recked no whit, 
 firm in his guilt, of the feud and crime. 
 They were easy to find who elsewhere sought 
 in room remote their rest at night, 
 
 140 bed in the bowers,^ when that bale was shown, 
 was seen in sooth, with surest token, — 
 the hall-thane's * hate. Such held themselves 
 far and fast who the fiend outran ! 
 Thus ruled unrighteous and raged his fill 
 
 145 one against all ; until empty stood 
 
 that lordly building, and long it bode so. 
 Twelve years' tide the trouble he bore, 
 sovran of Scyldings, sorrows in plenty, 
 boundless cares. There came unhidden 
 
 150 tidings true to the tribes of men, 
 
 in sorrowful songs,* how ceaselessly Grendel 
 harassed Hrothgar, what hate he bore him, 
 ^hat murder and massacre, many a year, 
 feud unfading, — refused consent 
 
 iee V. 191. 
 
 t 2 The smaller buildings within the main enclosure but separate from 
 j^hall. 
 
 ^^■° So the text. Grendel, by his ravaging, is master of the hall ; and 
 ^Here is no need to change to " hell-thane." 
 ^B * The journalists of the day, Widsiths, Deors, Bernlefs, carried such 
 
 ifcings in their " sorrowful songs." So, too, perhaps, began the story 
 
 of the actual downfall of the Burgundian kings, afterward the epic of the 
 
 Nibelungs. . 
 
 L 
 
30 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 155 to deal with any of Daneland's earls, 
 
 make pact of peace, or compound for gold : 
 still less did the wise men ween to get 
 great fee for the feud from his fiendish hands.^ 
 But the evil one ambushed old and young, 
 
 160 death-shadow dark, and dogged them still, 
 lured, and lurked in the livelong night 
 of misty moorlands : men may say not 
 where the haunts of these Hell-Runes ^ be. 
 Such heaping of horrors the hater of men, 
 
 165 lonely roamer, wrought unceasing, 
 
 harassings heavy. O'er Heorot he lorded, 
 gold-bright hall, in gloomy nights ; 
 and ne'er could the prince^ approach his throne, 
 — 'twas judgment of God, — or have joy in his hall. 
 
 170 Sore was the sorrow to Scyldings'-friend, 
 heart-rending misery. Many nobles 
 sat assembled, and searched out counsel 
 how it were best for bold-hearted men 
 . against harassing terror to try their hand. 
 
 175 Whiles they vowed in their heathen fanes 
 altar-offerings, asked with words* 
 that the slayer-of-souls * would succor give them 
 for the pain of their people. Their practice this, 
 
 1 He -would of course pay no wergild for the men he had slain. So 
 boasted a Norse bully once. 
 
 2 " Soroerers-of-hell." Bune is still used in Low German dialects f A 
 " witch." 
 
 ' Hrothgar, who is the " Scyldings'-friend " of 170. A diffiou| 
 passage. 
 
 * That is, in fortnal or prescribed phrase. 
 
 6 In Psalm xovi, 5 (Grein-Wiilker, number 95) : "All the gods of tl 
 nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens." The Anglo-Saxon 
 version reads : " All heathen gods are devils-of-war." . . . 
 
 m 
 
BEOWULF 31 
 
 their heathen hope ; 'twas Hell they thought of 
 180 in mood of their mind. Almighty they knew not, 
 Doomsman of Deeds ^ and dreadful Lord, 
 nor Heave'n's-Helmet heeded they ever, 
 Wielder-of- Wonder. — Woe for that man 
 who in harm and hatred hales his soul 
 185 to fiery embraces ; — nor favor nor change 
 awaits he ever. But well for him 
 that after death-day may draw to his Lord, 
 and friendship find in the Father's arms I 
 
 III 
 
 Thus seethed 2 unceasing the son of Healfdene 
 190 with the woe of these days; not wisest men 
 assuaged his sorrow; too sore the anguish, 
 loathly and long, that lay on his folk, 
 most baneful of burdens and bales of the night. 
 
 This heard in his home Hygelac's thane, 
 196 great among Geats, of Grendel's doings. 
 He was the mightiest man of valor 
 in that same day of this our life, 
 stalwart and stately. A stout wave-walker 
 he bade make ready.* Yon battle-king, said he, 
 200 far o'er the swan-road he fain would seek, 
 the noble monarch who needed men ! 
 
 1 The complimentary excess of kennings for " God" is like the pro- 
 fusion in naming king or chieftain. See v. 345 f. 
 
 ' How fast-colored this metaphor remained for poets it is hard to say. 
 Certainly " bore " or " suffered " is too pale a rendering. 
 
 ' This verse, rimed in modern fashion, must represent v. 194 of the 
 original, which runs : 
 
 ThsBt fram hSm gefraegn HygelSces thegn. . . . 
 
32 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 The prince's journey by prudent folk 
 
 was little blamed, though they loved him dear ; 
 
 they whetted the hero, and failed good omens. ^ 
 
 205 And now the bold one from bands of Geats 
 comrades chose, the keenest of warriors 
 e'er he could find; with fourteen men ^ 
 the sea- wood ^ he sought, and, sailor * proved, 
 led them on to the land's confines. 
 
 210 Time had now flown; ^ afloat was the ship, 
 boat under bluff. On board they climbed, 
 warriors ready; waves were churning 
 sea with sand; the sailors bore 
 on the breast of the bark their bright array, 
 
 215 their mail and weapons: the men pushed off, 
 on its willing way, the well-braced craft. 
 Then moved o'er the waters by might of the wind 
 that bark like a bird with breast of foam, 
 till in season due, on the second day, 
 
 220 the curved prow such course had run 
 
 1 Literally, " looked about for signs and omens "; but by implication 
 the omens are good. Many of these old customs are preserved in tradition 
 or by record ; and the chapter of Tacitus's Germania is familiar which 
 describes one of them in detail. By Hygelac's own account (w. 1994 ff.) 
 the friends of Beowulf did try to hold him back from his perilous 
 undertaking. 
 
 ^ In the language of the original, and of modem golf, Beowulf goes 
 on a " fifteen-some," as one of fifteen. 
 
 8 Ship. 
 
 * In the Nibelungen Lay one is told that Siegfried — also a slayer of 
 dragons and a winner of gold — is a good sailor (367, 3) : 
 
 Die rehten wazzerstrSze sint mir wol bekant. 
 
 In the next stanza the start of the ship is described; and Siegfried him- 
 self helps to push ofE from shore, using " a pole." 
 
 6 That Is, since Beowulf selected his ship and led his men to the 
 harbor. 
 
r BEOWULF 33 
 
 that sailors now could see the land, 
 
 sea-cliffs shining, steep high hills, 
 
 headlands broad. Their haven was found, 
 
 their journey ended. Up then quickly 
 225 the Weders' ^ clansmen climbed ashore, 
 
 anchored their sea-wood, with armor clashing 
 
 and gear of battle: God they thanked 
 
 for passing in peace o'er the paths of the sea. 
 Now saw from the cliff a Scylding clansman, 
 230 a warden ^ that watched the water-side, 
 . how they bore o'er the gangway glittering shields, 
 
 war-gear in readiness ; wonder seized him 
 
 to know what manner of men they were. 
 
 Straight to the strand his steed he rode, 
 235 Hrothgar's henchman ; with hand of might 
 
 he shook his spear,^ and spake in parley. 
 
 " Who are ye, then, ye armed men, 
 
 mailed folk, that yon mighty vessel 
 
 have urged thus over the ocean ways, 
 240 here o'er the waters ? A warden I, 
 
 sentinel set o'er the sea-march here, 
 
 lest any foe to the folk of Danes 
 
 with harrying fleet should harm the land. 
 
 No aliens ever at ease thus bore them, 
 
 * One of the auxiliary names of the Geats, who by the reckoning of 
 Bugge, Gering, and others, were Jutes. Jutland, says Gering, is truly 
 called the Wettermark, "the land of storms." Others, a majority, put 
 Geatland in Sweden. 
 
 " Possibly some unconscious reminiscence is here of the Koman coast- 
 guard who once patrolled the Saxon Shore. Saxon pirates would well 
 remember him. The stone-paved street (below, v. 320) points to similar 
 traditions. 
 
 'Literally, "main-wood," " strength- wood." — The warden is not 
 alone, but has with him an armed guard. See v. 293. 
 
34 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 245 linden-wielders : ^ yet word-of -leave 
 clearly ye lack from clansmen here, 
 my folk's agreement. — A greater ne'er saw I 
 of warriors in world than is one of you, — 
 yon hero in harness ! No henchman he 
 
 250 worthied by weapons, if witness his features, 
 his peerless presence ! I pray you, though, tell 
 your folk and home, lest hence ye fare 
 suspect to wander your way as spies 
 in Danish land. Now, dwellers afar, 
 
 265 ocean-travellers, take from me 
 
 simple advice: the sooner the better 
 I hear of the country whence ye came." 
 
 IV 
 
 To him the stateliest ^ spake in answer ; 
 
 the warriors' leader his word-hoard unlocked : — 
 260 " We are by kin of the clan of Geats, 
 
 and Hygelac's own hearth-fellows we. 
 
 To folk afar was my father known, 
 
 noble atheling, Ecgtheow named. 
 
 Full of winters, he fared away 
 265 aged from eartj^ ; he is honored still 
 
 through width of the world by wise men all. 
 
 To thy lord and liege in loyal mood 
 
 we hasten hither, to Healfdene's son, 
 
 people-protector : be pleased to advise us ! 
 270 To that mighty-one come we on mickle errand, 
 
 1 Or : Not thus openly ever came warriors hither ; yet . . . 
 
 2 Literally, " Him the oldest answered." Compare modern iises of 
 elder and alderman. 
 
BEOWULF 35 
 
 to the lord of the Danes ; nor deem I right 
 
 that aught be hidden. We hear — thou knowest 
 
 if sooth it is — the saying of men, 
 
 that amid the Scyldings a scathing monster, 
 
 275 dark ill-doer, in dusky nights 
 
 shows terrific his rage unmatched, 
 
 hatred and murder. To Hrothgar I 
 
 in greatness of soul would succor bring, 
 
 so the Wise-and-Brave ^ may worst his foes. — 
 
 280 if ever the end of ills is fated, 
 
 of cruel contest, if cure shall follow, 
 
 and the boiling care-waves ^ cooler grow ; 
 
 else ever afterward anguish-days 
 
 he shall suffer in sorrow while stands in place 
 
 285 high on its hill that house unpeered ! " 
 
 Astride his steed, the strand-ward answered, 
 clansman un quailing: " The keen-souled thane 
 must be skilled to sever and sunder duly 
 words and works, if he well intends. 
 
 290 I gather, this band is graciously bent 
 
 to the Scyldings' master. March, then, bearing 
 weapons and weeds the way I show you. 
 I wiU bid my men your boat meanwhile 
 to guard for fear lest foemen come, — 
 
 295 your new-tarred ship by shore of ocean 
 
 faithfully watching till once again 
 
 it waft o'er the waters those well-loved thanes, 
 
 — winding-neck'd wood, — to Weders' bounds, 
 
 heroes such as the hest of fate 
 
 1 Hrothgar. 
 
 ^ This powerful metaphor is known also in Old-Norse ("sflsbreka," 
 Skirnismal, 29) and in Old-Irish ("tuind mbroin," 'a billow of cares'). 
 
 — BuGOE. 
 
86 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 300 shall succor and save from the shock of war."^ 
 
 They bent them to march, — the boat lay still, 
 
 fettered by cable and fast at anchor, 
 
 broad-bosomed ship. — Then shone the boars ^ 
 
 over the cheek-guard ; chased with gold, 
 305 keen and gleaming, guard it kept 
 
 o'er the man of war, as marched along 
 
 heroes in haste, till the hall they saw, 
 
 broad of gable and bright with gold: 
 
 that was the fairest, 'mid folk of earth, 
 310 of houses 'neath heayen, where Hrothgar lived, 
 
 and the gleam of it lightened o'er lands afar. 
 
 The sturdy shieldsman showed that bright 
 
 burg-of-the-boldest ; bade them go 
 
 straightway thither ; his steed then turned, 
 315 hardy hero, and hailed them thus : — 
 
 " 'Tis time that I fare from you. Father Almighty 
 
 in grace and mercy guard you well, 
 
 safe in your seekings. Seaward I go, 
 
 'gainst hostile warriors hold my watch." 
 
 1 See Klaeber, Modern Philology, III, 250. In other words, the ship 
 will carry hack the survivors. Other translators take " the well-loved 
 man " to be Beowulf, and read : 
 
 for hero like him, by best of fate 
 
 shall surely fare from the fight unscathed. 
 
 * Holthausen points out that by verse 1453 BeowuU's helmet has sev- 
 eral boar-images on it ; he is the "man of war" (to be sure, a conjec- 
 tural reading) ; and the boar-helmet guards him as typical representative 
 of the marching party as a whole. The boar was sacred to Ereyr, who 
 was the favorite god of the Germanic tribes about the North Sea and the 
 Baltic. Rude representations of warriors show the boar on the helmet 
 quite as large as the helmet itself. 
 
BEOWULF 37 
 
 V 
 
 320 Stone-bright the street : ^ it showed the way 
 to the crowd of clansmen. Corselets glistened 
 hand-forged, hard ; on their harness bright 
 the steel ring sang,^ as they strode along 
 in mail of battle, and marched to the hall. 
 
 325 There, weary of ocean, the wall along 
 
 they set their bucklers, their broad shields, down, 
 and bowed them to bench: the breastplates clanged, 
 war-gear of men ; their weapons stacked, 
 spears of the seafarers stood together, 
 
 330 gray-tipped ash : that iron band 
 
 was worthily weaponed ! — A warrior proud 
 asked of the heroes their home and kin. 
 " Whence, now, bear ye burnished shields, 
 harness gray and helmets grim, 
 
 335 spears in multitude ? Messenger, I, 
 Hrothgar's herald ! Heroes so many 
 ne'er met I as strangers of mood so strong, 
 'Tis plain that for prowess, not plunged into exile, 
 for high-hearted valor, Hrothgar ye seek! " 
 
 340 Him the sturdy-in-war bespake with words, 
 proud earl of the Weders answer made, 
 hardy 'neath helmet : — " Hygelac's, we, 
 
 1 Either merely paved, the strata via of the Eomans, or else thought of 
 as a sort of mosaic, an extravagant touch like the reckless waste of gold 
 on the walls and roofs of a hall. — Stone buildings, it will be noted, are 
 for old English poetry a mystery, a legacy of the past and its demi-gods — 
 " work of giants " ; for prose they pass as fit only for kings. Asser in 
 his Life of Alfred (ed. Stevenson, 91, 23, and p. 154) calls them villae 
 regiae. The common Germanic hatred of cities and of stone houses is 
 familiar from the rhetoric of Tacitus. 
 
 2 See Finnsburg, w. 7 f . for a more striking personification. 
 
38 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 fellows at board ; I am Beowulf named. 
 I am seeking to say to the son of Healfdene 
 
 345 this mission of mine, to thy master-lord, 
 the doughty prince, if he deign at all 
 grace that we greet him, the good one, now." 
 Wulfgar spake, the Wendles' chieftain, 
 whose might of mind to many was known, 
 
 350 his courage and counsel : " The king of Danes, 
 the Scyldings' friend, I fain will tell, 
 the Breaker-of-Rings, as the boon thou askest, 
 the famed prince, of thy faring hither, 
 and, swiftly after, such answer bring 
 
 355 as the doughty monarch may deign to give." 
 Hied then in haste to where Hrothgar sat 
 white-haired and old, his earls about him, 
 tiU the stout thane stood at the shoulder ^ there 
 of the Danish king : good courtier he ! 
 
 360 Wulfgar spake to his winsome lord: — 
 " Hither have fared to thee far-come men 
 o'er the paths of ocean, people of Geatland; 
 and the stateliest ^ there by his sturdy band 
 is Beowulf named. This boon they seek, 
 
 365 that they, my master, may with thee 
 
 have speech at will: nor spurn their prayer 
 
 to give them hearing, gracious Hrothgar ! 
 
 In weeds of the warrior worthy they, 
 
 methinks, of our liking ; their leader most surely, 
 
 370 a hero that hither his henchmen has led." 
 
 1 "Before the shoulders," whatever position this was. Gering: "at the 
 left shoulder of the lord of the land." 
 
 " Literally, " oldest." See above, v. 268. 
 
BEOWULF 39 
 
 VI 
 
 Hrothgar answered, helmet of Scyldings: — 
 " I knew him of yore in his youthful days ; 
 his aged father was Ecgtheow named, 
 to whom, at home, gave Hrethel the Geat 
 
 375 his only daughter. ^ Their offspring bold 
 fares hither to seek the steadfast friend. 
 And seamen, too, have said me this, — 
 who carried my gifts to the Geatish court, 
 thither for thanks, — he has thirty men's 
 
 380 heft of grasp in the gripe of his hand, 
 the bold-in-battle. Blessed God 
 out of his mercy this man hath sent 
 to Danes of the West, as I ween indeed, 
 against horror of Grendel. I hope to give 
 
 385 the good youth gold for his gallant thought. 
 Be thou in haste, and bid them hither, 
 clan of kinsmen, to come before me; 
 and add this word, — they are welcome guests 
 to folk of the Danes." 
 
 [To the door of the hall 
 
 390 Wulfgar went ^J and the word declared : — 
 " To you this message my master sends, 
 East-Danes' king, that your kin he knows, 
 
 1 It is point of honor in the sovran — and the late Queen Victoria 
 was proud of her accomplishment in this respect — to know all the nobles 
 and royal persons in their relationship and descent. So Hildebrand, try- 
 ing to make his son believe that the paternal claim is true, asks to be put 
 to the test of genealogies and kinship : "If thou namest one only, the 
 others I know." The loquacity of Hrothgar is both the royal leisurely 
 way, and also an attempt of the poet to characterize the king, and set 
 him apart. 
 
 2 Grein's insertion to mend an evident omission of the scribe. 
 
40 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 hardy heroes, and hails you all 
 
 welcome hither o'er waves of the sea ! 
 395 Ye may wend your way in war-attire, 
 
 and under helmets Hrothgar greet; 
 
 but let here the battle-shields bide your parley, 
 
 and wooden war-shafts wait its end." 
 
 Uprose the mighty one, ringed with his men, 
 400 brave band of thanes : some bode without, 
 
 battle-gear guarding, as bade the chief. 
 
 Then hied that troop where the herald led them, 
 
 under Heorot's roof: [the hero strode,] ^ 
 
 hardy 'neath helm, till the hearth he neared.^ 
 405 Beowulf spake, — his breastplate gleamed, 
 
 war-net woven by wit of the smith : — 
 
 " Thou Hrothgar, hail ! Hygelac's I, 
 
 kinsman and follower. Fame a plenty 
 
 have I gained in youth ! ^ These Grendel-deeds 
 410 I heard in my home-land heralded clear. 
 
 Seafarers say * how stands this hall, 
 
 of buildings best, for your band of thanes 
 
 1 Grein's insertion. 
 
 2 " Hardy beneath his helmet" is a common phrase in epic description. 
 See ahove, v. 296, and Nihelungen, under helmegUn, in many places. — 
 The hearth, always in the middle of the hall, would be close to the throne, 
 as Heyne points out in his essay on the situation and structure of Heorot, 
 referring to an Anglo-Saxon document of the eleventh century. " Hearth " 
 is more specific and better yisualized than the mere "interior" of some 
 readings. 
 
 2 So all the old epic heroes ; they have no passion for modesty. 
 Sum pius Aeneas fama super aethera notus, 
 is more vigorous trumpeting than even this blast from Beowulf. Dryden 
 notes in his Essay on Dramatic Poetry that only the later heroes made 
 anything of reticence as a manly virtue. 
 
 *See ahove, V. 377, and Hildebrand, v. 44. These "seafarers" are 
 not necessarily sailors by profession, but any persons who fare over sea 
 and bring the news ; cf. v. 1818, " we seafarers " = Beowulf and his men. 
 
BEOWULF 41 
 
 empty and idle, when evening sun 
 
 in the harbor of heaven is hidden away. 
 415 So my vassals advised me well, — 
 
 brave and wise, the best of men, — 
 
 O sovran Hrothgar, to seek thee here, 
 
 for my nerve and my might they knew full well. 
 
 ,Themselves had seen me from slaughter come 
 420 blood-flecked from foes, where five I bound, 
 
 and that wild brood worsted. I' the waves I slew 
 
 nicors ^ by night, in need and peril 
 
 avenging the Weders,^ whose woe they sought, — 
 
 crushing the grim. ones. Grendel now, 
 425 monster cruel, be mine to quell 
 
 in single battle ! So, from thee, 
 "thou sovran of the Shining-Danes, 
 
 Scyldings'-bulwark, a boon I seek, — 
 
 and, Friend-of-the-folk, refuse it not, 
 430 O Warriors'-shield, now I've wandered far, — 
 
 that I alone with my liegemen here, 
 
 this hardy band, may Heorot purge ! 
 
 More I hear, that the monster dire, 
 
 1 The nicor, says Bugge, is a hippopotamus ; a walrus, says ten Brink. 
 But that water-goblin who covers the space from Old Nick of jest to the 
 Neckan and Nix of poetry and tale, is all one needs, and Moor is a good 
 name for him. Dan Michel in the fourteenth century renders sirens or 
 sear-fairies by this word nicor. A glance, too, at Vigfusson's Icelandic 
 Dictionary, s.v. " Nykr," is instructive. To square this story with 
 TV. 550 ff., below, many emendations are proposed ; but figures may be 
 changed even in hunting-stories. Moreover, see vv. 574^7. There was 
 genuine fear of sear-beasts among these men of the coast, and Horace's 
 monstra natantia (I, iii, 18) would have appealed to them as no matter 
 for jests. They enhance the horror of Nicor's Mere, below, v. 1425. 
 Whales are specified in v. 541 as objects of fear ; see note to v. 
 549. 
 
 ^ His own people, the Geats. 
 
42 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 in his wanton mood, of weapons recks not ; 
 435 hence shall I scorn — so Hygelac stay, 
 
 king of my kindred, kind to me ! — 
 
 brand or buckler to bear in the fight, 
 
 gold-colored targe : but with gripe alone 
 
 must I front the fiend and fight for life, 
 440 foe against foe. Then faith be his ^ 
 
 in the doom of the Lord whom death shall take. 
 
 Fain, I ween, if the fight he win, 
 
 in this hall of gold my Geatish band 
 ■ will he fearless eat, — as oft before, — 
 445 my noblest thanes.^ Nor need'st thou then 
 
 to hide my head ; ^ for his shall I be, 
 
 dyed in gore, if death must take me ; 
 
 and my blood-covered body he'll bear as prey, 
 
 ruthless devour it, the roamer-lonely, 
 450 with my life-blood redden his lair in the fen : 
 
 no further for me need'st food prepare ! * 
 
 To Hygelac send, if Hild ^ should take me, 
 
 best of war- weeds, warding my breast, 
 
 1 Klaeber, -with Earie : "he shall resign himself to the judgment." It 
 is a kind of trial by battle ; and perhaps the sense is that the one who 
 falls in the fight may well have cause to believe in God's justice. But 
 the common and ancient belief that " Wyrd goes as she must " is in the 
 background. 
 
 2 Literally, "the flower of my men" (Schiicking) ; it is parallel to 
 "Geatish band." This interpretation removes grave difficulties from 
 the passage. " As oft before " is a general and pregnant phrase referring 
 to Grendel's previous attacks on the Danish clansmen. 
 
 3 That is, cover it as with a face-cloth. " There will be no need of 
 funeral rites." 
 
 * The fondness for emphasis by understatement — litotes — here takes 
 the form of anticlimax. 
 
 " Personification of Battle. That personal and mjrthological force 
 lingers in the word seems clear from its uses in poetry. 
 
BEOWULF 43 
 
 armor excellent, heirloom of Hrethel 
 456 and work of Wayland.i Fares Wyrd^ as she must." 
 
 VII 
 
 Hrothgar spake, the Scyldings'-helmet : — 
 " For fight defensive. Friend my Beowulf, 
 to succor and save, thou hast sought us here. 
 Thy father's combat ^ a feud enkindled 
 
 460 when Heatholaf with hand he slew 
 among the Wylfings; his Weder kin 
 for horror of fighting feared to hold him. 
 Fleeing, he sought our South-Dane folk, 
 over surge of ocean the Honor-Scyldings, 
 
 465 when first I was ruling the folk * of Danes, 
 wielded, youthful, this widespread realm, 
 this hoard-hold of heroes. Heorogar was dead, 
 my elder brother, had breathed his last, 
 Healf dene's bairn: he was better than I ! 
 
 470 Straightway the feud with fee ^ I settled, 
 to the Wylfings sent, o'er watery ridges, 
 treasures olden: oaths he® swore me. 
 
 1 The Germanic Vulcan. See telow, Deor''s Song, and notes. 
 
 2 Compare the personifying force in a phrase of the Heliand, "Thy 
 Wyrd stands near thee," — thy fated hour is nigh. This mighty power, 
 ■whom the Christian poet can still revere, has here the general force of 
 "Destiny." Chaucer glosses the plural {Wirdes) as Destiny, but Mac- 
 beth has no doubt of the "personification" when he meets the Weird- 
 Sisters, that iSj sister fates. 
 
 3 There is no irrelevance here. Hrothgar sees in Beowulf's mission a 
 heritage of duty, a return of the good offices which the Danish king ren- 
 dered to Beowulf's father in time of dire need. — F. Seebohm, TribalCus- 
 toms in Anglo-Saxon Law, London, 1902, comments on this ethical side 
 of the feud, and makes great use of the material in Beowulf. 
 
 * Repeated from v. 463, also in the original. 
 
 * Money, for wergild, or man-price. ^ Bcgtheow, Beowulf's sire. 
 
44 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 Sore is my soul to say to any 
 
 of the race of man what ruth for me 
 475 in Heorot Grendel with hate hath wrought, 
 
 what sudden harry ings. Hall-folk fail me, 
 
 my warriors wane ; for Wyrd hath swept them 
 
 into Grendel's grasp. But God is able 
 
 this deadly foe from his deeds to turn ! 
 480 Boasted full oft, as my beer they drank, 
 
 earls o'er the ale-cup, armed men, 
 
 that they would bide in the beer-hall here, 
 
 Grendel's attack with terror of blades.^ 
 
 Then was this mead-house at morning tide 
 485 dyed with gore, when the daylight broke, 
 
 all the boards of the benches blood-besprinkled, 
 
 gory the hall : I had heroes the less, 
 
 doughty dear-ones that death had reft. 
 
 — But sit to the banquet, unbind thy words, 
 490 hardy hero, as heart shall prompt thee." 
 
 Gathered together, the Geatish men 
 in the banquet-hall on bench assigned, 
 sturdy-spirited, sat them down, 
 hardy-hearted. A henchman attended, 
 495 carried the carven cup in hand, 
 
 served the clear mead. Oft minstrels sang 
 
 blithe in Heorot. Heroes revelled, 
 
 no dearth of warriors,^ Weder and Dane. 
 
 1 " With terrible blades," — drawn swords. — " Boast " is not used in 
 the modem sense, nor was it " Dutch courage" that inspired the utter- 
 ance. As in the Indian war-dance, so at the Germanic feast in hall or 
 camp before battle, the warrior was expected to make his bedt or promise 
 of prowess, — and to keep it. These vaunts easily lent themselves to 
 jocose treatment in the declining days of epic or romance ; witness the 
 famous "gabs" in Charlemagne's Journey to Jerusalem. 
 
 ^ In spite of v. 476, Hrothgar still has a large band of retainers. 
 
BEOWULF 45 
 
 ^ VIII 
 
 Unferth ^ spake, the son of Ecglaf, 
 500 who sat at the feet of the Scyldings' lord, 
 
 unbound the battle-runes.^ — Beowulf's quest, 
 
 sturdy seafarer's, sorely galled him ; 
 
 ever he env ied that other_ men 
 
 should more achieveJn_middleHeaiith 
 505 "flf fa me under heave n than he himself. — 
 
 " Art thou that Beowulf, Breca's rival, 
 
 who emulous swam on the open sea, 
 
 when for pride the pair of you proved the floods, 
 
 and wantonly dared in waters deep 
 510 to risk your lives ? No living man, 
 
 or lief or loath, from your labor dire 
 
 could you dissuade, from swimming the main. 
 
 Ocean-tides with your arms ye covered, 
 
 with strenuous hands the sea-streets measured, 
 515 swam o'er the waters. Winter's storm 
 
 rolled the rough waves. In realm of sea 
 
 a sennight strove ye. In swimming he topped thee, 
 
 had more of main ! Him at morning-tide 
 
 billows bore to the Battling Reamas,* 
 
 1 Spelled Hunferth in the text, but always riming with vowels. 
 
 2 "Began the fight." — But here is scarcely the flyting, or song-con- 
 test, found everywhere among peoples in a primitive stage of culture. It 
 is rather a report of the spirited way in which Beowulf carried off the 
 laurels in the " hazing" of the guest by a competent official of the host. 
 Probably this test was part of the formal reception ; but it seems a 
 strange survival in epic by the side of the courtly and extravagant com- 
 plimenta exchanged between Beowulf and Hrothgar. In Scandinavian 
 sources one gets the rough flyting in its coarseness and strength. See the 
 Lokasenna, above all, and the cases reported by Saxo. In one the prizes 
 are peculiar: a queen's necklace, the man's life. 
 
 ' Bugge places the home of these Heathoreamas in Southern Norway. 
 He also notes a parallel swimming-match in the EgUssaga. 
 
46 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 520 whence he hied to his home so dear, 
 
 beloved of his liegemen, to land of Brondings, 
 fastness fair, where his folk he ruled, 
 town and treasure. In triumph o'er thee 
 Beanstan^^aim^ his boast achieved. 
 
 525 So ween I for thee a worse adventure 
 
 — though in buffet of battle thou brave hast been, 
 in struggle grim, — if Grendel's approach 
 thou darst await through the watch of night ! " 
 
 Beowulf spake, bairn of Ecgtheow : — 
 530 " What a deal hast uttered, dear my Unferth, 
 
 drunken with beer, of Breca now, 
 
 told of his triumph ! Truth I claim it, 
 
 that I had more of might in the sea 
 
 than any man else, more ocean-endurance. 
 535 We twain had talked, in time of youth, 
 
 and made our boast, — we were merely boys, 
 
 striplings still, — to stake our lives 
 
 far at sea : and so we performed it. 
 
 Naked swords, as we swam along, 
 540 we held in hand, with hope to guard us 
 
 against the whales. Not a whit from me 
 
 could he float afar o'er the flood of waves, 
 
 haste o'er the billows ; nor him I abandoned. 
 
 Together we twain on the tides abode 
 545 five nights full till the flood divided us, 
 
 churning waves and chillest weather, 
 
 darkling night, and the northern wind 
 
 ruthless rushed on us : rough was the surge. 
 
 Now the wrath of the sea-fish ^ rose apace; 
 
 1 Breca. 
 
 ' Partly founded on actual experience of angry whales, as York Powell 
 pointed out, and partly on doings of mythical heasts of the sea. 
 
BEOWULF 47 
 
 550 yet me 'gainst the monsters my mailed coat, 
 hard and hand-linked, help afforded, — 
 battle-sark braided my breast to ward, 
 garnished with gold. There grasped me firm 
 and haled me to bottom the hated foe, 
 
 555 with grimmest gripe. 'Twas granted me, though, 
 to pierce the monster with point of sword, 
 with blade of battle : huge beast of the sea 
 was whelmed by the hurly through hand of mine. 
 
 IX 
 
 Me thus often the evil monsters 
 560 thronging threatened. With thrust of my sword, 
 
 the darling, I dealt them due return ! 
 
 Nowise had they bliss from their booty then 
 
 to devour their victim, vengeful creatures, 
 
 seated to banquet at bottom of sea ; 
 565 but at break of day, by my brand sore hurt, 
 
 on the edge of ocean up they lay, . 
 
 put to sleep by the sword. And since, by them 
 
 on.the fathomless sea-ways sailor-folk 
 
 are never molested. — Light from east, 
 570 came bright God's beacon; the billows sank, 
 
 so that I saw the sea-cliffs high, 
 
 windy walls. For Wyrd oft saveth 
 
 earl undoomed if he doughty be ! ^ 
 
 1 A Germanic commonplace. It occurs in the Andreas of Cynewulf, 
 in part in the Sildehrand Lay, v. 55, and in sundry Norse poems. 
 "Undoomed" is "one who is not ley." — Da sterbent wan die veigen, 
 Nihelungen, 149, "only the fey die," may be compared with the ballad 
 phrase in Archie o' Cawfield, Child, III, 489 : 
 
48 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 And so it came that I killed with my sword 
 575 nine of the nicors.*^ Of night-fought battles 
 
 ne'er heard I a harder 'neath heaven's dome, 
 
 nor adrift on the deep a more desolate man ! 
 
 Yet I came unharmed from that hostile clutch, 
 
 though spent with swimming. The sea upbore me, 
 580 flood of the tide, on Finnish ^ land, 
 
 the welling waters. No wise of thee ^ 
 
 have I heard men teU such terror of falchions, 
 
 bitter battle. Breca ne'er yet, 
 
 not one of you pair, in the play of war 
 585 such daring deed has done at all 
 
 with bloody brand, — I boast not of it ! — 
 
 " There'll no man die but Mm that's fee. ..." 
 
 Sohucking, in Englisclie Studien, 39, p. 104, insists on a different transla- 
 tion of this passage. "Undoomed," he suggests, is proleptic ; and the 
 poet really says "fate often saves a hero — who then, of course, is not 
 a doomed man, — if he be brave." It is true that the proleptic construc- 
 tion is found in Anglo-Saxon ; and the interpretation is possible. Prac- 
 tically the same case occurs when Horace tells Lydia (III, ix) that he 
 would die for Chloe if the fates would but spare this love of his and let 
 her live ; — 
 
 Siparcent animaefata superstiti. 
 
 But the present passage hardly needs this subtle interpretation, and 
 evidently means that fate often spares a man who is not doomed, really 
 devoted to death, if he is a brave man, in a word, favors the brave if 
 favor be possible. Weird sisters and fey folk survived long in Scottish 
 tradition. 
 
 1 The Finnish folk, as Gering points out, we now call Laplanders. 
 
 2 This speech of Beowulf's is admirable. He has defended his own 
 reputation, shrugs his shoulders at the necessity of referring to his prowess, 
 and makes a home-thrust at Unferth. The climax of his invective is 
 imputation to Unferth of the two supreme sins in the Germanic list: 
 murder of kin, and cowardice. — Below, v. 1167, Unferth is said to be 
 courageous, but faithless to his kin. — Then the hero-orator proceeds to 
 promise or "boast" what he himself will do; and with his cheerful 
 " gab " the speech closes amid general applause. 
 
BEOWULF 49 
 
 though thou wast the bane ^ of thy brethren dear, 
 thy closest kin, whence curse of hell 
 awaits thee, well as thy wit may serve ! 
 
 590 For I say in sooth, thou son of Ecglaf, 
 
 never had Grendel these grim deeds wrought, 
 monster dire, on thy master dear, 
 in Heorot such havoc, if heart of th ine 
 were as battle-bold as thy boast is loud ! 
 
 695 But he has found no feud will happen; 
 
 from sword-clash dread of your Danish clan 
 he vaunts him safe, from the Victor-Scyldings. 
 He forces pledges, favors none 
 of the land of Danes, but lustily murders, 
 
 600 fights and feasts, nor feud he dreads 
 
 from Spear-Dane men. But speedily now 
 
 shall I prove hini the prowess and pride of the Geats, 
 
 shall bid him battle. Blithe to mead 
 
 go he that listeth, when light of dawn 
 
 605 this morrow morning o'er men of earth, 
 
 ether-robed sun from the south shall beam ! " 
 
 Joyous then was the Jewel-giver, 
 hoar-haired, war-brave ; help awaited 
 the Bright-Danes' prince, from Beowulf hearing, 
 
 610 folk's good shepherd, such firm resolve. 
 
 Then was laughter of liegemen loud resounding 
 
 with winsome words. Came Wealhtheow forth, 
 
 ^ Murderer. — 
 
 " Though thou hast murdered thy mother's sons," — 
 
 would translate the passage less directly but ■without an archaism. — 
 Beowulf is glad to think as he dies that he is free from murder of 
 kin ; see below, v. 2742. The kin-bond, of course, was or should he very 
 strong. See Beda's story of Imma, Eccl. Hist., iv, 22; and Schofleld's 
 summary of Signy's Lament for the Volsung case. 
 
60 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 queen of Hrothgar, heedful of courtesy, 
 gold-decked, greeting the guests in hall ; 
 
 615 and the high-born lady handed the cup 
 first to the East-Danes' heir and warden, 
 bade him be blithe at the beer-carouse, 
 the land's beloved one. Lustily took he 
 banquet and beaker, battle-famed king. 
 
 620 Through the hall then went the Helmings'Lady, 
 to younger and older everywhere 
 carried the cup,i till came the moment 
 when the ring-graced queen, the royal-hearted, 
 to Beowulf bore the beaker of mead. 
 
 625 She greeted the Geats' lord, God she thanked, 
 in wisdom's words, that her will was granted, 
 that at last on a hero her hope could lean 
 for comfort in terrors. The cup he took, 
 hardy-in-war, from Wealhtheow's hand, 
 
 630 and answer uttered the eager-for-combat. 
 Beowulf spake, bairn of Ecgtheow : — 
 
 1 Literally, "jewelled- vessel" ; but as Banning points out, this refers 
 simply to the office of passing the cup, not, as in Widsith, 102, to the giv- 
 ing of "lordly gifts," as some translate the phrase. The Gnomic Verses, 
 preserved in the Exeter Book, are explicit ahout the duties of a noble 
 dame in such cases. She must be (see Grein-Wulker, I, 346) — 
 
 fond of her folk, and full of cheer, 
 
 fast in a secret, and free of hand 
 
 with steeds and treasure : serving the mead 
 
 in the crowd of clansmen, constant alway 
 
 Defence-of-Athelings first to greet, 
 
 to carry the cup to the king's hand first, 
 
 quickly still, and counsel render 
 
 ever to him and his heroes all. 
 
 The Defence-of-Athelings is, of course, the king. "Steeds and treas- 
 ure" is the usual phrase for "gifts." Wealhtheow answers well to all 
 these requirements. 
 
BEOWULF 51 
 
 " This was my thought, when my thanes and I 
 
 bent to the ocean and entered our boat, 
 
 that I would work the will of your people 
 635 fully, or fighting fall in death, 
 
 in fiend's gripe fast. I am firm to do 
 
 an earl's brave deed, or end the days 
 
 of this life of mine in the mead-hall here." 
 
 Well these words to the woman seemed, 
 640 Beowulf's battle-boast. — Bright with gold 
 
 the stately dame by her spouse sat down. 
 
 Again, as erst, began in hall 
 
 warriors' wassail and words of power, 
 
 the proud-band's revel,i till presently 
 645 the son of Healfdene hastened to seek 
 
 rest for the night ; he knew there waited 
 
 fight for the fiend in that festal hall, 
 
 when the sheen of the sun they saw no more, 
 
 and dusk of night sank darkling nigh, 
 650 and shadowy shapes came striding on, 
 
 wan under welkin. The warriors rose. 
 
 Man to man, he made harangue, 
 
 Hrothgar to Beowulf, bade him hail, 
 
 let him wield the wine hall : a word he added : — 
 655 " Never to any man erst I trusted, 
 
 since I could heave up hand and shield, 
 
 this noble Dane-HaU, till now to thee. 
 
 1 Literally, " clamor of the victorious people." Tiie phrase is formal, 
 as in so many cases ; for just now<^nd in v. 597, any adjective would 
 suit the Danes better than " victorious," nor can this count as proleptic. 
 So in the English Ballads there is a false " true love," — i.e. " affianced," 
 — or other contradiction, vrith similar formal use. Compare the phrase 
 " excellent iron," v. 2586, below, for a sword that has just failed to 
 "bite." 
 
52 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 Have now and hold this house unpeered ; 
 remember thy glory ; thy might declare ; 
 660 watch for the foe I No wish shall fail thee 
 if thou bidest the battle with bold- won life.' 
 
 X 
 
 Then Hrothgar went with his hero-train, 
 
 defence-of-Scyldings, forth from hall ; 
 
 fain would the war-lord Wealhtheow seek, 
 665 couch of his queen. The King-of-Glory 
 
 against this Grendel a guard had set, 
 
 so heroes heard, a hall-defender, 
 
 who warded the monarch and watched for the mon- 
 ster. 
 
 In truth, the Geats' prince gladly trusted 
 670 his mettle, his might, the mercy of God! ^ 
 
 Cast off then his corselet of iron, 
 
 helmet from head ; to his henchman gave, — 
 
 choicest of weapons, — the well-chased sword, 
 
 bidding him guard the gear of battle. 
 675 Spake then his Vaunt ^ the valiant man, 
 
 Beowulf Geat, ere the bed he sought : — ■ 
 
 " Of force in fight no feebler I count me, 
 
 in grim war-deeds, than Grendel deems him. 
 
 Not with the sword, then, to sleep of death 
 680 his life will I give, though it lie in my power. 
 
 No skill is his to strike against me, 
 
 1 See abOTe, w. 572 f. 
 
 " This Vaunt, or Boast, spoken to the hero's few comrades on the eve 
 of the vigil and fight, is different from the Vaunt at the banquet, and in 
 its sentimental turn has some distant resemblance to the later " Good- 
 Nights," particularly the type of Lord Maxwell's Last Good-Night. 
 
BEOWULF 53 
 
 my shield to hew though he hardy be, 
 bold in battle ; we both, this night, 
 shall spurn the sword, if he seek me here, 
 
 685 unweaponed, for war. Let wisest God, 
 
 sacred Lord, on which side soever 
 ^— doom decree as he deemeth right." 
 
 Reclined then the chieftain, and cheek-pillows held 
 the head of the earl, while all about him 
 
 690 seamen hardy on hall-beds sank. 
 
 None of them thought that thence their steps 
 to the folk and fastness that fostered them, 
 to the land they loved, would lead them back! 
 Full well they wist that on warriors many 
 
 695 battle-death seized, in the banquet-hall, 
 of Danish clan. But comfort and help, 
 war-weal weaving, to Weder folk 
 the Master gave,^ that, by might of one, 
 over their enemy all prevailed, 
 
 700 by single strength. In sooth 'tis told 
 that highest God o'er human kind 
 hath wielded ever ! — Thro' wan night striding, 
 came the walker-in-shadow. Warriors slept 
 whose best was to guard the gabled hall, — 
 
 705 all save one. 'Twas widely known 
 
 that against God's will the ghostly ravager 
 him 2 could not hurl to haunts of darkness ; 
 wakeful, ready, with warrior's wrath, 
 bold he bided the battle's issue. 
 
 1 The usual mingling of pagan tradition and Christian doctrine. The 
 weaving, as in classical myths, is work of the Norns, or fates, but God 
 disposes it as he will. Often, however, the Germanic fates stand alone at 
 their loom. " Wyrd wove me this. " 
 
 2 Beowulf, — the " one." Ms. has " them. " 
 
54 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 XI 
 
 710 Then from the moorland, by misty crags, 
 with God's wrath laden, Grendel came. 
 The monster was minded of mankind now 
 sundry to seize in the stately house. 
 Under welkin he walked, till the wine-palace there, 
 
 715 gold-hall of men, he gladly discerned, 
 
 flashing with fretwork.^ Not first time, this, 
 that he the home of Hrothgar sought, — 
 yet ne'er in his life-day, late or early, 
 such hardy heroes, such hall-thanes, found I 
 
 720 To the house the warrior walked apace, ^ 
 parted from peace ; ' the portal opened, 
 though with forged bolts fast, when his fists had 
 struck it, 
 
 1 Whether the hall " flashed "or " glittered " to the monster's vision 
 as he came near, in this nocturnal raid, does not concern the poet, who 
 uses a conventional description. 
 
 2 This is the third announcement of the arrival, and it is such seemingly 
 vain repetitions that caused MUUenhoff, ten Brink, Moller, and others to 
 assume interpolations hy several hands and to regard the poem as a series 
 of " editions," on the basis of a general accretion from short lays to the 
 present conglomerate of adaptations, interpolations, and inconsistencies. 
 The accretion theory is not ridiculous by any means ; but it does not ex- 
 plain the Beowulf half so well as the assumption of a single author who 
 wrote the present poem on the basis of old lays, and applied in its general 
 construction the same methods of variation and repetition which obtain 
 for every rhythmic period and almost for every sentence in Anglo-Saxon 
 poetry at large. The first announcement of Grendel's coming empha- 
 sizes the fact that it is by night ; the second lays stress on the start from 
 the moor ; the third brings him to the hall, and to the action. See the 
 same sort of repetition for an arrival, vv. 1640, 1644, below. If we will 
 only apply to the whole web of narrative what we know of the web of 
 sentence and period, much of the supposed awkwardness, "poor mend- 
 ings," "patchwork," and so on, wiU prove simply the habit of all that 
 national epic. — See also Hart, Ballad and Epic, pp. 194 ff. 
 
 * That is, he was a " lost soul," doomed to hell. 
 
BEOWULr 55 
 
 and baleful he burst in his blatant rage, 
 
 the house's mouth. All hastily, then, 
 725 o'er fair-paved floor the fiend trod on, 
 
 ireful he strode ; there streamed from his eyes 
 
 fearful flashes, like flame to see. 
 
 He spied in hall the hero-band, 
 
 kin and clansmen clustered asleep, 
 730 hardy liegemen. Then laughed his heart ; 
 
 for the monster- was minded, ere morn shouild dawn, 
 
 savage, to sever the soul of each, 
 
 life from body, since lusty banquet 
 
 waited his will ! But Wyrd forbade him 
 735 to seize any more of men on earth 
 
 after that evening. ^ Eagerly watched 
 
 Hygelac's kinsman his cursed foe, 
 
 how he would fare in fell attack. 
 
 Not that the monster was minded to pause I 
 740 Straightway he seized a sleeping warrior ^ 
 
 for the first, and tore him fiercely asunder, 
 
 the bone-frame bit, drank blood in streams, 
 
 swallowed him piecemeal : swiftly thus 
 
 the lifeless corse was clear devoured, 
 745 e'en feet and hands. Then farther he hied ; 
 
 for the hardy hero with hand he grasped, 
 
 felt for the foe with fiendish claw, 
 
 for the hero reclining, — who clutched it boldly, 
 
 prompt to answer, propped on his arm.^ 
 
 1 It Is a trait of the national epic, partly explained liy the familiar 
 nature of the stories which it told, to anticipate in this way the issue of 
 an adventure and then go hacli to the details. 
 
 2 His name was Hondsclo. See below, v. 2076. 
 
 * Some read: "prompt to answer, opposed the arm." The text is 
 not too clear ; hut the situation is what one would expect, and the awk- 
 wardness of the translation does not cloud the facts. 
 
56 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 750 Soon then saw that shepherd-of -evils 
 that never he met in this middle-world, 
 in the ways of earth, another wight 
 with heavier hand-gripe ; at heart he feared, 
 sorrowed in soul, — none the sooner escaped ! 
 
 755 Fain would he flee, his fastness seek, 
 the den of devils : no doings now 
 such as oft he had done in days of old ! 
 Then bethought him the hardy Hygelac-thane 
 of his boast at evening : up he bounded, 
 
 760 grasped firm his foe, whose fingers cracked. 
 The fiend made off, but the earl close followed. 
 The monster meant — if he might at all — 
 to fling himself free, and far away 
 fly to the fens, — knew his fingers' power 
 
 765 in the gripe of the grim one. Gruesome march 
 to Heorot this monster of harm had made ! 
 Din filled the room ; the Danes were bereft, 
 castle-dwellers and clansmen all, 
 earls, of their ale.^ Angry were both^ 
 
 1 This rendering, 'backed by Bugge, Holthausen, and Heyne, is quite 
 as good as the mere " terrified " of translators who balk at the undigni- 
 fied notion of spilt beer. But "the ale-bench" is too familiar in the 
 epic for such scruples ; and the hall was primarily intended for the Ger- 
 manic dream, which meant the revel of drinking men. " The ale was 
 all upset " is as much as to say " men feared there would be no more joy 
 in Heorot," so rooked and tottered the great building. It is a phrase 
 parallel to the "bulging breast" for anger, and such survivals of the 
 primitive methods of speech ; and, as has been suggested, may well have 
 seemed archaic to the poet who copied traditional lines. 
 
 ^ Yet Grendel has shown the white feather from the start. This 
 " angry " is also conventional ; " desperate with fear " is the word for 
 the fiend. — Beowulf's easy victory here should be compared to his far 
 more hazardous fight with Grendel's mother, when his strength seems 
 not to help, and he has to use a weapon. 
 
BEOWULF 57 
 
 770 those savage hall-guards : the house resounded. 
 
 Wonder it was the wine-hall firm 
 
 in the strain of their struggle stood, to earth 
 
 the fair house fell not ; too fast it was • 
 
 within and without by its iron bands 
 775 craftily clamped ; though there crashed from sill 
 
 many a mead-bench — men have told me — 
 
 gay with gold, where the grim foes wrestled. 
 
 So well had weened the wisest Scyldings 
 
 that not ever at all might any man 
 780 that bone-decked, brave house break asunder, 
 
 crush by craft, — unless clasp of fire 
 
 in smoke engulfed it. — Again uprose 
 
 din redoubled. Danes of the North 
 
 with fear and frenzy were filled, each one, 
 785 who from the wall that wailing heard, 
 
 God's foe sounding his grisly song, 
 
 cry of the conquered, clamorous pain 
 
 from captive of hell. Too closely held him 
 
 he who of men in might was strongest 
 790 in that same day of this our life. 
 
 XII 
 
 Not in any wise would the earls'-defence ^ 
 
 suffer that slaughterous stranger to live, 
 
 useless ^ deeming his days and years 
 
 to men on earth. Now many an earl 
 
 795 of Beowulf brandished blade ancestral, 
 
 fain the life of their lord to shield, 
 
 their praised prince, if power were theirs ; 
 
 1 Kenning for Beowulf. 
 
 " Litotes for " dangerous," " destruotive." 
 
58 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 never they knew, — as they neared the foe, 
 hardy -hearted heroes of war, v- 
 
 800 aiming their swords on every side 
 
 the accursed to kill, — no keenest blade, 
 
 no fairest of falchions fashioned on' earth, 
 
 could harm or hurt that hideous fiend ! 
 
 He was safe,^ by his spells, from sword of battle, 
 
 805 from edge of iron. Yet his end and parting 
 on that same day of this our life 
 woful should be, and his wandering soul 
 far off flit to the fiends' domain. 
 Soon he found, who in former days, 
 
 810 harmful in heart and hated of God, 
 on many a man such murder wrought, 
 that the frame of his body failed him now. 
 For him the keen-souled kinsman of Hygelac 
 held in hand ; hateful alive 
 
 815 was each to other. The outlaw dire 
 took mortal hurt ; a mighty wound 
 showed on his shoulder, and sinews cracked, 
 and the bone-frame burst. To Beowulf now 
 the glory was given, and Grendel thence 
 
 820 death-sick his den in the dark moor sought, 
 noisome abode : ^ he knew too well 
 that here was the last of life, an end 
 of his days on earth. — To all the Danes 
 by that bloody battle the boon had come. 
 
 825 From ravage had rescued the roving stranger 
 
 1 Also his mother, against whom Beowulf's sword is wielded in vain; 
 below, V. 1522. 
 
 2 Schiicking, Beowulf s Buckkehr, p. 10, notes the resemblance of this 
 flght to the struggles between a saint and the deyU or devils, as, for ex- 
 ample, in Juliana, vv. 288, 554 ff., and St. Dunstan's affair with Satan. 
 
BEOWULF 59 
 
 Hrothgar's hall ; the hardy and wise one 
 had purged it anew. His night-work pleased him, 
 his deed and its honor. To Eastern Danes ' 
 had the valiant Geat his vaunt made good, 
 
 830 all their sorrow and ills assuaged, 
 their bale of battle borne so long, 
 and all the dole they erst endured, 
 pain a-plenty. — 'Twas proof of this, 
 when the hardy -in-iight a hand ^ laid down, 
 
 835 arm and shoulder, — all, indeed, 
 
 of Grendel's gripe,^ — 'neath the gabled roof. 
 
 XIII 
 
 Many at morning, as men have told me, 
 
 warriors gathered the. gift-hall round, 
 
 folk-leaders faring from far and near, 
 840 o'er wide-stretched ways, the wonder to view, 
 
 trace of the traitor. Not troublous ^ seemed 
 
 the enemy's end to any man 
 
 who saw by the gait of the graceless foe 
 
 how the weary -hearted, away from thence, 
 845 baffled in battle and banned, his steps 
 
 death-marked dragged to the devils' mere.* 
 
 1 Hadding, in the forest by night sheltered by a rude tent of twigs, sees 
 " a hand of extraordinafy size " wandering about. His nurse, a giantess, 
 holds the hand while Hadding hews it oft, and " corrupt matter " flows 
 from it. Tearing and rending with their claws is the giants' way. See 
 Saxo, Bk. I (Holder, p. 23), and Elton's translation. 
 
 2 That is, all Grendel's machinery of grasp, both clutch and reach. 
 The translation "fist" will not do. The concluding nine lines of this 
 section are compared by ten Brink with the last stanza of Tasso's Jerusa- 
 lem Delivered. 
 
 ' Note the favorite litotes. 
 
 * Sea or Lake of the Nioors. Indefinite talk of the moorland or fen as 
 home of the monsters here yields to the idea of home in the waters. The 
 
60 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 Bloody the billows were boiling there, 
 
 turbid the tide of tumbling waves 
 
 horribly seething, with sword-blood hot, 
 850 by that doomed one dyed, who in den of the moor 
 
 laid forlorn his life adown, 
 
 his heathen soul, — and hell received it. 
 Home then rode the hoary clansmen 
 
 from that merry journey, and many a youth, 
 855 .on horses white, the hardy warriors, 
 
 back from the mere. Then Beowulf's glory 
 
 eager they echoed, and all averred 
 
 that from sea to sea, or south or north, 
 
 there was no other in earth's domain, 
 860 under vault of heaven, more valiant found, 
 
 of warriors none more worthy to rule ! 
 
 (On their lord beloved they laid no slight, 
 
 gracious Hrothgar : a good king he !) 
 From time to time, the tried-in-battle 
 865 their gray ^ steeds set to gallop amain, 
 
 and ran a race when the road seemed fair. 
 
 From time to time, a thane of the king,^ 
 
 water-hell was familiar to Germanic traditions ; in Scandinavia it takes 
 very definite form; and even in the Seliand, translation of the gospels, 
 we read of the punishments of the waters, wateres witi. 
 
 1 "Fallow." Just now the horses were "white" ; and in v. 916 it 
 will he the roads that are "fallow." Color schemes are not very exact 
 in our old poetry, and color was not used to any extent In visualizing a 
 scene. The popular ballads show the same lack of clearness. 
 
 2 Warriors often improvised lays of their own battles, and so laid the 
 foundation of epic ; thus Gaston Paris, in his Histoire Poetique de Charle- 
 magne, for French sources. This thane of Hrothgar may have been a profes- 
 sional minstrel in the eyes of the epic poet who made the Beowulf; but there 
 is a possibility of his amateur standing. In any case, he improvises a lay 
 on Beowulf's adventure, as he rides along, and uses his store of tradi- 
 tional phrase and comment in the process. If the epithet applied to him 
 
BEOWULF 61 
 
 who liad made many vaunts, and was mindful of verses, 
 stored witli sagas and songs of old, 
 
 870 bound word to word in well-knit rime, 
 welded his lay; this warrior soon 
 of Beowulf's quest right cleverly sang, 
 and artfully added an excellent tale, 
 in well-ranged words, of the warlike deeds 
 
 875 he had heard in saga of Sigemund.^ 
 Strange the story : he said it all, — ^ 
 the Wselsing's wanderings wide, his struggles, 
 which never were told to tribes of men, 
 the feuds and the frauds,^ save to Fitela only, 
 
 880 when of these doings he deigned to speak, 
 uncle to nephew; as ever the twain 
 stood side by side in stress of war, 
 
 ty the epic, guma gilphlmden, means "a man laden with vaunts" and 
 not simply " a warrior who had made many vaunts and performed them, 
 that is, covered with glory," — and the former rendering is preferable, — 
 then yet another accomplishment of the Germanic warrior is indicated. 
 He could probably sing his beot, or vaunt, in good verse. Specimens of 
 such a vaunt, sung, however, by a North American Indian at the war- 
 dance, and improvised to the rhythm of the bystanders' choral singing, 
 can be studied with some application to the Germanic problem, — for the 
 cruder forms of improvisation, to be sure, and not for a finished chant of 
 adventure like this in question, which is followed by traditional verse 
 dealing with ,the Germanic heroic legend. — It is told of WiUiam of Orange, 
 a hero of medieval song, bom about 754, that when he was riding as a 
 monk through the forest, he caused a song in praise of his ovm deeds to 
 be sung by a retainer who rode in his train. — The Canterbury pilgrims 
 were keeping old custom when they told tales as they rode ; but improvi- 
 sation in verse was no longer expected. 
 
 1 In the Nibelungen Lay this adventure is told of Siegfried, son of Slg- 
 mund, who is son of Waels. In the Volsunga Saga (Wselsings) Sin- 
 fiotli (=!Fitela) is son to Sigmuad by his sister Signy. See the introduction 
 to Dear's Song, below. Beowulf is thus ranged at once with heroes of 
 Germanic legend. 
 
 * Literally, "he told the whole story, . . . much of it unknown. . ." 
 
 ' That is, betrayals, treacheries. 
 
62 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 and multitude of tlie monster kind 
 
 they had felled with their swords. Of Sigemund grew, 
 
 886 when he passed from life, no little praise ; 
 for the doughty-in-combat a dragon killed 
 that herded the hoard : ^ under hoary rock 
 the atheling dared the deed alone, 
 fearful quest, nor was Fitela there. 
 
 890 Yet so it befell, his falchion pierced 
 
 that wondrous worm ; — on the wall it struck, 
 best blade ; the dragon died in its blood. 
 Thus had the dread-one by daring achieved 
 over the ring-hoard to rule at will, 
 
 895 himself to pleasure ; a sea-boat he loaded, 
 and bore on its bosom the beaming gold, 
 son of Wsels ; the worm was consumed. 
 He had of all heroes the highest renown 
 among races of men, this refuge-of -warriors, 
 
 900 for deeds of daring that decked his name 
 since ^ the hand and heart of Heremod 
 grew slack in battle. He, swiftly banished 
 to mingle with monsters ^ at mercy of foes, 
 
 1 " Guarded the treasure." — The " brief abstract " style of this report 
 of the singer's lay befits a tale which was known to hearers of lay and 
 epic alike. Sigmund is the type with which Beowulf is compared, the 
 good and great hero ; while Heremod, admirably introduced, serves as 
 antitype. The latter is probably the Lotherus of Saxo's history, son of 
 Dan, of the royal Danish house, the brave king who turns tyrant and is 
 at last slain by a desperate and outraged folk. Eor further reference to 
 him, see below, vv. 1709 ff. and 2177 ff. 
 
 " MtiUenhoff's rendering, and the best. Heremod, one is told, might 
 have rivalled and surpassed Sigmund, but the former fell from grace, 
 turned tyrant, and in fact was precisely what the aspiring hero should not 
 be, — quite the opposite, say, of this glorious Beowulf. 
 
 ' Probably " devils in hell," who would also be the foes. Others take 
 the banishment literally, — as if to actual giants, who soon compassed the 
 king's death. 
 
BEOWULF 63. 
 
 to death was betrayed; for torrents of sorrow 
 
 905 . had lamed him too long ; ^ a load of care 
 to earls and athelings all he proved. 
 Oft indeed, in earlier days, 
 
 for the warrior's wayfaring ^ wise men mourned, 
 who had hoped of him help from harm and bale, 
 
 910 and had thought their sovran's son^ would thrive, 
 foUow his father, his folk protect, 
 the hoard and the stronghold, heroes' land, 
 home of Scyldings. — But here, thanes said, 
 the kinsman of Hygelac kinder seemed 
 
 915 to all: the other* was urged to crime ! 
 Q And afresh to the race,^ the fallow roads 
 by swift steeds measured ! The morning sun 
 was climbing higher. Clansmen hastened 
 to the high-built hall, those hardy-minded, 
 
 920 the wonder to witness. "Warden of treasure, 
 crowned with glory, the king himself, 
 with stately band from the bride-bower strode; 
 
 1 Bugge emends : 
 
 With torrents of sorrow 
 he had long lamed his landf oik ; a load of care . . . 
 
 and understands the "earlier days" in v. 907 as the days before Here- 
 mod's real tyranny began, though his subjects were already chafing at his 
 folly and neglect. 
 
 ^ "Way of life" (Wyatt). Sievers refers it to the assumed literal 
 banishment. Or does it mean some wild adventure undertaken when the 
 king should have been caring for his folk at home ? 
 
 2 See w. 20 ff., above : "So becomes it a youth ..." 
 
 * Sc. Heremod. 
 
 * The singer has-sung his lays, and the epic resumes its story. The 
 time-relations are not altogether good in this long passage which describes 
 the rejoicings of "the day after" ; but the present shift from the riders 
 on the road to the folk at the hall is not very violent, and is of a piece 
 with the general narrative style. 
 
64 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 and with him the queen and her crowd of maidens 
 measured the path to the mead-house fair. 
 
 XIV 
 
 925 Hrothgar- spake, — to the hall he went, 
 stood by the steps, the steep roof saw, 
 garnished with gold, and Grendel's hand : — 
 " For the sight I see to the Sovran Ruler 
 be speedy thanks ! A throng of sorrows 
 
 930 I have borne from Grendel ; but God still works 
 wonder on wonder, the Warden-of- Glory. 
 It was but now that I never more 
 for woes that weighed on me waited help 
 long as I lived, when, laved in blood, 
 
 936 stood sword-gore-stained this stateliest house, — 
 widespread woe for wise men all, 
 who had no hope to hinder ever 
 foes infernal and fiendish sprites 
 from havoc in hall. This hero now, 
 
 940 by the Wielder's might, a work has done 
 that not all of us erst could ever do 
 by wile and wisdom. Lo, well can she say 
 whoso of women this warrior bore 
 among sons of men, if still she liveth, 
 
 945 that the God of the ages was good to her 
 
 in the birth of her bairn. Now, Beowulf, thee, 
 of heroes best, I shall heartily love 
 as mine own, my son; preserve thou ever 
 this kinship new: thou shalt never lack 
 
 950 wealth of the world that I wield as mine ! 
 Full oft for less have I largess showered, 
 my precious hoard, on a punier man, 
 
BEOWULF 66 
 
 less stout in struggle. Thyself hast now 
 
 fulfilled such deeds, that thy fame shall endure 
 955 through all the ages. As ever he did, 
 
 well may the Wielder reward thee still ! " 
 
 Beowulf spake, bairn of Ecgtheow: — 
 
 " This work of war most willingly 
 
 we have fought, this fight, and fearlessly dared 
 960 force of the foe. Fain, too, were I 
 
 hadst thou but seen himself, what time 
 
 the fiend in his trappings tottered to fall I 
 
 Swiftly, I thought, in strongest gripe 
 
 on his bed of death to bind him down, 
 965 that he in the hent of this hand of mine 
 
 should breathe his last: but he broke away.^ 
 
 Him I might not — the Maker willed not — 
 
 hinder from flight, and firm enough hold 
 
 the life-destroyer : too sturdy was he, 
 970 the ruthless, in running ! For rescue, however, 
 
 he left behind him his hand in pledge, 
 
 arm and shoulder ; nor aught of help 
 
 could the cursed one thus procure at all. 
 
 None the longer liveth he, loathsome fiend, 
 975 sunk in his sins, but sorrow holds him 
 
 tightly grasped in gripe of anguish, 
 
 in baleful bonds, where bide he must, 
 
 evil outlaw, such awful doom 
 
 as the Mighty Maker shall mete him out." 
 
 980 More silent seemed the son of Ecglaf ^ 
 in boastful speech of his battle-deeds, 
 
 1 Literally, " I intended ... if his body had not slipped away." 
 ^ Unferth, Beowulf's sometime opponent in the flyting. 
 p 
 
66 THE OLDEST BKGLISH EPIC 
 
 since athelings all, through the earl's great prowess, 
 beheld that hand, on the high roof gazing,^ 
 foeman's fingers, — the forepart of each 
 
 985 of the sturdy nails to steel was likest, — 
 heathen's " hand-spear," hostile warrior's 
 claw uncanny. 'Twas clear, they said, 
 that him no blade of the brave could touch, 
 how keen soever, or cut away 
 
 990 that battle-hand bloody from baneful foe. 
 
 XV 
 
 There was hurry and hest in Heorot now 
 for hands to bedeck it, and dense was the throng 
 of men and women the wine-hall to cleanse, 
 the guest-room to garnish. Gold-gay shone the 
 hangings 
 
 995 that were wove on the wall, and wonders many 
 to delight each mortal that looks upon them. 
 Though braced within by iron bands, 
 that building bright was broken sorely ; ^ 
 rent were its hinges ; the roof alone 
 
 1000 held safe and sound, when, seared with crime, 
 the fiendish foe his flight essayed, 
 
 1 That is, as Klaeber points out, Modern Philology, III, 256, the nohles 
 look from outside "in the direction of the high roof, and behold the 
 hand." Beowulf, he says, "had placed Grendel's hand . . . (on some 
 projection perhaps) above the door (outside) as high as he could reach." 
 But ten Brink {Beowulf, p. 63) takes for granted that the hand was 
 placed inside the hall. See vv. 836, 926, above. 
 
 2 There is no horrible inconsistency here such as the critics strive and 
 cry about. In spite of the ruin that Grendel and Beowulf had made 
 within the hall, the framework and roof held firm, and swift repairs 
 made the interior habitable. Tapestries were hung on the walls, and 
 willing hands prepared the banquet. 
 
BEOWULF 67 
 
 of life despairing. —No light thing that,i 
 
 the flight for safety, — essay it who will ! 
 
 Forced of fate, he shall find his way 
 1005 to the refuge ready for race of man, 
 
 for soul-possessors, and sons of earth ; 
 
 and there his body on bed of death 
 
 shall rest after revel. 
 
 Arrived was the hour 
 
 when- to hall proceeded Healfdene's son : 
 1010 the king himself would sit to banquet. 
 
 Ne'er heard I of host in haughtier throng 
 
 more graciously gathered round giver-of -rings I 
 
 Bowed then to bench those bearers-of -glory, 
 
 fain of the feasting. Featly received 
 1015 many a mead-cup the mighty -in-spirit, 
 
 kinsmen who sat in the sumptuous hall, 
 
 Hrothgar and Hrothulf.^ Heorot now 
 
 was filled with friends ; the folk of Scyldings 
 
 ne'er yet had tried the traitor's deed. 
 1020 To Beowulf gave the bairn of Healfdene 
 
 a gold- wove banner, guerdon of triumph, 
 
 broidered battle-flag, breastplate and helmet ; 
 
 and a splendid sword was seen of many 
 
 borne to the brave one. Beowulf took 
 1025 cup in hall : ^ for such costly gifts 
 
 iThe usual litotes for "impossible." So, v. 1027, below, "few" 
 means "none at all." — As for the matter, a moral commonplace is not 
 very happily forced into the narrative. 
 
 2 Uncle and nephew. It would seem that after a long period of amity 
 (cf. Widsith, 45) they quarrelled and fought. See also below, v. 1164. 
 
 ' From its formal use in other places, this phrase, to take cup in hall, 
 or "on the floor," would seem to mean that Beowulf stood up to receive 
 his gifts, drink to the donor, and say thanks. 
 
68 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 he suffered no shame in that soldier throng.^ 
 For I heard of few heroes, in heartier mood, 
 with four such gifts, so fashioned with gold, 
 on the ale-hench honoring others thus ! 
 
 1030 O'er the roof of the helmet high, a ridge, 
 wound with wires, kept ward o'er the head, 
 lest the relict-of-files ^ should fierce invade, 
 sharp in the strife, when that shielded hero 
 should go to grapple against his foes. 
 
 1035 Then the earls'-def ence ^ on the floor * bade lead 
 coursers eight, with carven head-gear, 
 adown the hall : one horse was decked 
 with a saddle all shining and set in jewels ; 
 'twas the battle-seat of the best of kings, 
 
 1040 when to play of swords the son of Healfdene 
 was fain to fare. Ne'er failed his valor 
 in the crush of combat when corpses fell. 
 To Beowulf over them both then gave 
 the refuge-of-Ingwines right and power, 
 
 1045 o'er war-steeds and weapons : wished him joy of them. 
 Manfully thus the mighty prince, 
 hoard-guard for heroes, that hard fight repaid 
 with steeds and treasures contemned by none 
 who is willing to say the sooth aright. ,/ 
 
 1 The comitatus ; the soldurii. 
 
 2 Kenning for sword. Charles Lamb (" On the Inconvenience Result- 
 ing from being Hanged") calls a resuscitated man " the leavings of the 
 rope." 
 
 ' Hrothgar. He is also the " refuge of the friends of Ing," of v. 1044. 
 Ing belongs to myth. 
 
 * Horses are frequently led or ridden into the hall where folk sit at 
 banquet : so in Chaucer's Squire's Tale, in the ballad of King Estmere, 
 and in the romances. . 
 
BEOWULF 69 
 
 XVI 
 1050 And the lord of earls, to each that came 
 with Beowulf over the briny ways, 
 an heirloom there at the ale-bench gave, 
 precious gift ; and the price ^ bade pay 
 in gold for him whom Grendel erst 
 1055 murdered, — and fain of them more had killed, 
 had not wisest God their Wyrd averted, 
 and the man's ^ brave mood. The Maker then 
 ruled human kind, as here and now. 
 Therefore is insight always best, 
 1060 and forethought of mind. How much awaits him 
 of lief and of loath, who long time here, 
 through days of warfare this world endures ! 
 
 Then song and music mingled sounds 
 
 in the presence of Healfdene's head-of-armies ^ 
 
 1065 and harping was heard with the hero-lay * 
 as Hrothgar's singer the hall-joy woke 
 along the mead-seats, making his song 
 of that sudden raid on the sons of Finn.^ 
 Healfdene's hero, Hnsef the Scylding, 
 
 1070 was fated to fall in the Frisian slaughter.^ 
 
 1 Man-price, wergild. 
 
 2 Beowvdf's. The same combination of fate and courage as above, 
 T. 573. 8 Hrothgar. 
 
 * Literally, "glee-wood was greeted (stirred, touciied) and lay was 
 sung." 
 
 * There is no need to assume a gap in the Ms. As before about 
 Sigemund and Heremod, so now, though at greater length, about Finn 
 and his feud, a lay is chanted or recited ; and the epic poet, counting on his 
 readers' familiarity with the story, — a fragment of it stUl exists, and is 
 printed in this volume, — simply gives the headings. 
 
 * The exact story to which this episode refers in summary is not to be 
 determined, but the following account of it is reasonable and has good 
 
70 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 Hildeburh needed not hold in value 
 
 her enemies' honor ! ^ Innocent both 
 
 were the loved ones she lost at the linden-play, 
 
 bairn and brother; they bowed to fate, 
 
 1075 stricken by spears; 'twas a sorrowful womanl 
 None doubted why the daughter of Hoe 
 bewailed her doom when dawning came, 
 and under the sky she saw them lying, 
 kinsmen murdered, where most she had kenned 
 
 1080 of the sweets of the world! By war were swept, too, 
 
 support among scholars. Finn, a Frisian chieftain, who nevertheless has 
 a "castle " outside the Frisian border, marries Hildeburh, a Danish prin- 
 cess ; and her brother, Hnsef, with many other Danes, pays Finn a visit. 
 Eelations between the two peoples have been strained before. Something 
 starts the old feud anew ; and the visitors are attacked in their quarters. 
 Hnsef is killed ; so is a son of Hildeburh. Many fall on both sides. Peace 
 IS patched up ; a stately funeral is held ; and the surviving visitors become 
 in a way vassals or liegemen of Finn, going back with him to Frisia. So 
 matters rest a while. Hengest is now leader of the Danes ; but he is set 
 upon revenge for his former lord, Hnsef. Probably he is killed in feud ; 
 but his clansmen, Guthlaf and Oslaf, gather at their home a force of 
 sturdy Danes, come back to Frisia, storm Finn's stronghold, kill him, 
 and carry back their kinswoman Hildeburh. The Finnsburg fragment, 
 translated below, describes (so Buggeputs it, conforming, as he says, "to 
 the common view") the fight in which Hn^f fell, "that is to say, an 
 event which precedes the story told in the Beowulf,'''' and is noted in these 
 introductory lines (w. 1069 f.). — In the Widsith, Hnsef is called ruler of 
 the Hocings. — In v. 1142 it is assumed that Hengest is killed by the 
 sword "Lafing" of a Frisian named Hun. In Widsith, v. 33, Hun 
 ruled the Hsetweras, a tribe of Franks now apparently subject to Finn the 
 Frisian. Another reading makes Finn slay Hengest with a sword " Hun- 
 laflng." Two other interpretations make either Finn lay this sword 
 " Hunlaflng," or Hun lay " Laflng," on Hengest's lap, as a gift and a 
 sign of allegiance on the part of the receiver. Of course, in this case, 
 Hengest dissembles his real feelings to gain time and opportunity for the 
 subsequent invasion. 
 
 1 Usual litotes; she had good cause to complain. The "enemies" 
 must be the Frisians ; the original word is " eotens," " ettins," monsters ; 
 but it is elsewhere used in speaking of Frisian men. 
 
BEOWULF 71 
 
 Finn's own liegemen, and fewwere left; 
 
 in the paiieying-place ^ he could ply no longer 
 
 weapon, nor war could he wage on Hengest, 
 
 and rescue his remnant by right of arms 
 1085 from the prince's thane. A pact he offered: 
 
 another dwelling the Danes should have, 
 
 haU and high-seat, and half the power 
 
 should fall to them in Frisian land; 
 
 and at the fee-gifts, Folcwald's son 
 1090 day by day the Danes should honor, 
 
 the folk of Hengest favor with rings, 
 
 even as truly, with treasure and jewels, 
 
 with fretted gold, as his Frisian kin 
 
 he meant to honor in ale-hall there. 
 1095 Pact of peace they plighted further 
 
 on both sides firmly. Finn to Hengest 
 
 with oath, upon honor, openly promised 
 
 that woful remnant, with wise-men's aid, 
 
 nobly to govern, so none of the guests 
 1100 by word or work should warp the treaty ,2 
 
 or with malice of mind bemoan themselves 
 
 as forced to follow their fee-giver's slayer, 
 
 lordless men, as their lot ordained. 
 
 Should Frisian, moreover, with foeman's taunt, 
 1105 that murderous hatred to mind recall. 
 
 1 Battlefield. — Hengest is the " prince's thane," companion of Hnaef. 
 " Folcwald's son " is Finn. 
 
 ^ That is, Finn would govern in all honor the few Danish warriors who 
 were left, provided, of course, that none of them tried to renew the quarrel 
 or avenge Hnaef their fallen lord. If, again, one of Finn's Frisians began 
 a quarrel, he should die by the sword. " With wise-men's aid " is like 
 the form familiar in Alfred's Laws. " With the advice of my Witan, I 
 order. . . ." 
 
72 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 then edge of the sword must seal his doom. 
 Oaths were given, and ancient gold 
 heaped from hoard. — The hardy Scylding, 
 battle-thane best,^ on his balefire lay. 
 
 1110 All on the pyre were plain to see 
 
 the gory sark, the gilded swine-crest, 
 boar of hard iron, and athelings many 
 slain by the sword: at the slaughter they fell. 
 It was Hildeburh's hest, at Hnsef's own pyre 
 
 1115 the bairn of her body on brands to lay, 
 his bones to burn, on the balefire placed, 
 at his uncle's side.^ In sorrowful dirges 
 be wept them the woman: great wailing ascended.^ 
 Then wound up to welkin the wildest of death-fires, 
 
 1120 roared o'er the hillock: * heads all were melted, 
 
 1 Hn»f . 
 
 2 This reading, which involves a very slight change, was proposed by 
 Holthausen, and is followed hy Gering in his German translation. The 
 clash of kin-duties is the deep note in Germanic tragedy : to emphasize 
 the fact that here lay the hero, and by him his sister's son, — the dearest 
 of relationships, — opposed in flght and united in death, was clear privi- 
 lege for the poet; and the dirge of the mother and sister doubtless dwelt 
 chiefly on the tragic intensity of the double loss. 
 
 ^ Reading guthrinc = guthhring, " noise of battle," with Grein. It 
 could easily be used for the lamentation of a great multitude. — For the 
 previous passage, if the old reading is retained, a period should follow 
 " placed " (v. 1116), and the next line would be : 
 
 Sad by his shoulder sorrowed the woman, 
 
 wept him with dirges : great wailing ascended. . . . 
 
 This vocero or lament of the widow, as in the case of Beowulf, v. 3150, 
 below, was accompanied by choral wailing of the throng. In the Hiad, 
 at the funeral of Hector: "Thus spake she walling and therewith the 
 great multitude of the people groaned." — " Thus spake she wailing and 
 stirred unending moan. . . ." 
 
 * The high place chosen for the funeral : see description of Beowulf's 
 funeral-pile at the end of the poem. 
 
BEOWULF 73 
 
 gashes burst, and blood gushed out 
 from bites ^ of the body. Balefire devoured, 
 greediest spirit, those spared not by war 
 out of either folk: their flower was gone. 
 
 XVII 
 
 1125 Then hastened those heroes their home to see, 
 friendless, to find the Frisian land, 
 houses and high burg. Hengest still 
 through the death-dyed winter dwelt with Finn, 
 holding pact, yet of home he minded, 
 
 1130 though powerless his ring-decked prow to drive 
 over the waters, now waves rolled fierce 
 lashed by the winds, or winter locked them 
 in icy fetters. Then fared ^ another 
 year to men's dwellings, as yet they do, 
 
 1135 the sunbright skies, that their season ever 
 duly await. Far o£E winter was driven ; 
 fair lay earth's breast ; and fain was the rover, 
 the guest, to depart, though more gladly he pondered 
 on wreaking his vengeance than roaming the deep, 
 
 1140 and how to hasten the hot encounter 
 
 where sons of the Frisians were sure to be. 
 So he escaped not the common doom,^ 
 when Hun with " Lafing," the light-of-battle, 
 best of blades, his bosom pierced : 
 
 1145 its edge was famed with the Frisian earls. 
 
 1 Wounds. 
 
 2 A touch of myth lingers in this personification of the seasons. Compare 
 the pretty lyric "Lenten is comen with love to toune," where "toune," 
 like "men's dwellings" in the text, means no definite place, but the 
 whole district in question "where folk live." Of course, spring then 
 brought the new year. ' See conclusion of note to v. 1070. 
 
74 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 On fierce-heart Finn there fell likewise, 
 
 on himself at home, the horrid sword-death ; 
 . for Guthlaf and Oslaf of grim attack 
 
 had sorrowing told, from sea-ways landed, 
 1150 mourning their woes.^ Finn's wavering spirit 
 
 bode not in breast. The burg was reddened 
 
 with blood of foemen, and Finn was slain, 
 
 king amid clansmen; the queen was taken. 
 
 To their ship the Scylding warriors bore 
 1155 all the chattels the chieftain owned, 
 
 whatever they found in Finn's domain 
 
 of gems and jewels. The gentle wife 
 
 o'er paths of the deep to the Danes they bore, 
 
 led to her land. 
 
 The lay was finished, 
 1160 the gleeman's song. Then glad rose the revel; 
 
 bench-joy brightened. Bearers draw 
 
 from their "wonder-vats" wine^ Comes Wealhtheow 
 forth, 
 
 under gold-crown ^ goes where the good pair sit, 
 
 uncle and nephew, true each to the other one, 
 1165 kindred in amity. Unferth the spokesman 
 
 at the Scylding lord's feet sat : men had faith in his 
 spirit, 
 
 his keenness of courage, though kinsmen had found 
 him 
 
 1 That is, these two Danes, escaping home, had told the story of the 
 attack on Hnsef, the slaying of Hengest, and all the Danish woes. 
 Collecting a force, they return to Prisia and kiU Finn in his home. To 
 this attack some writers refer the fragment of Finnshurg. 
 
 '' So men go "hardy under helmet." — The following lines are of un- 
 usual length, and are so rendered. The uncle and nephew are Hrothgai 
 and Hrothulf. See ahove, v. 1017, and below, vv. 1180 f. 
 
BEOWULF 75 
 
 unsure at the sword-play. The Scylding queen spoke : 
 
 " Quaff of this cup, my king and lord, 
 1170 breaker of rings, and blithe be thou, 
 
 gold-friend of men ; to the Geats here speak 
 
 such words of mildness as man should use. 
 
 Be glad with thy Geats ; ^ of those gifts be mindful, 
 
 or near or far, which now thou hast. 
 1175 Men say to me, as son thou wishest 
 
 yon hero to hold. Thy Heorot purged, 
 
 jewel-hall brightest, enjoy while thou canst, 
 
 with many a largess; and leave to thy kin 
 
 folk and realm when forth thou goest 
 1180 to greet thy doom. For gracious I deem 
 
 my Hrothulf,^ willing to hold and rule 
 
 nobly our youths, if thou yield up first, 
 
 prince of Scyldings, thy part in the world. 
 
 I ween with good he will well requite 
 1185 offspring of ours, when all he minds 
 
 that for him we did in his helpless days 
 
 of gift and grace to gain him honor ! " 
 
 Then she turned to the seat where her sons were 
 placed, 
 
 Hrethric and Hrothmund, with heroes' bairns, 
 
 1 Emended by some editors to "guests." Neither reading combines 
 satisfactorily with the context. 
 
 2 Nephew to Hrothgar, with whom he subsequently quarrels, and elder 
 cousin to the two young sons of Hrothgar and Wealhtheow, — their 
 natural guardian in the event of the king's death. There is something 
 finely feminine in this speech of Wealhtheow's, apart from its somewhat 
 irregular and irrelevant sequence of topics. Both she and her lord prob- 
 ably distrust Hrothulf ; but she bids the king to be of good cheer, and, 
 taming to the suspect, heaps affectionate assurances on his probity. 
 "My own Hrothulf" will surely not forget those favors and benefits of 
 the past, but will repay them to the orphaned boy. 
 
76 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 1190 young men together : the Geat, too, sat there, 
 Beowulf brave, the brothers between. 
 
 XVIII 
 
 A cup she gave him, with kindly greeting 
 and winsome words. Of wounden gold, 
 she o£Eered, to honor him, arm-jewels twain, 
 
 1195 corselet and rings, and of collars the noblest 
 that ever I knew the earth around. 
 Ne'er heard I so mighty, 'neath heaven's dome, 
 a hoard-gem of heroes, since Hama bore 
 to his bright-built burg the Brisings' necklace,^ 
 
 1200 jewel and gem casket. — Jealousy fled he, 
 Eormenric's hate : chose help eternal.^ 
 Hygelac Geat,^ grandson of Swerting, 
 on the last of his raids this ring bore with him, 
 under his banner the booty defending, 
 
 1205 the war-spoil warding; but Wyrd o'er whelmed him 
 what time, in his daring, dangers he sought, 
 feud with Frisians. Fairest of gems 
 
 1 Legend and myth are interwoven in this allusion, but the Brisings' 
 (Brosings' in our ilfs.) necklace by this time had probably sunk to a sort of 
 celestial standard of value in jewelry, a traditional phrase, and the myth 
 — preserved in part by Scandinavian stories ^ — ^of the wonderful ornament 
 of the goddess Ereyja had quite lost its vitality in epic verse. For 
 Eormanric, see the allusion in Deor^s Song, below. Hama is Heime in 
 the Germanic legend. 
 
 2 Usually this means that ' ' he died " ; but Bugge, translating " he went 
 into God's refuge," and relying on a late form of the legend, thinks we 
 are to understand that Hama retired from the world into a monastery. 
 
 ' The poet now tells the fate of this gift of Wealhtheow. Beowulf 
 gives it to his lord Hygelac, who wears it on his fated raid into Frisian 
 lands, — the historical event which took place between 512 and 520 a.d. 
 Theudebert, grandson of Clovis the Prankish king, surprised and slew 
 Hygelac, captured his fleet and the booty, and took many prisoners. — 
 See also w. 2355, 2914. 
 
BEOWULF 77 
 
 he bore with him over the beaker-of- waves, 
 
 sovran strong : under shield he died. 
 1210 Fell the corpse of the king into keeping of Franks, 
 
 gear of the breast, and that gorgeous ring ; 
 
 weaker warriors won the spoil, 
 
 after gripe of battle, from Geatland's lord,i 
 
 and held the death-field. 
 
 Din rose in hall. 
 1215 Wealhtheow spake amid warriors, and said: — 
 
 " This jewel enjoy in thy jocund youth, 
 
 Beowulf lov'd, these battle-weeds wear, 
 
 a royal treasure, and richly thrive ! 
 
 Preserve thy strength, and these striplings here 
 1220 counsel in kindness : requital be mine. 
 
 Hast done such deeds, that for days to come 
 
 thou art famed among folk both far and near, 
 
 so wide as washeth the wave of Ocean 
 
 his windy walls. Through the ways of life 
 1225 prosper, O prince ! I pray for thee 
 
 rich possessions.^ To son of mine 
 
 1 Tradition told of Hygelac's enormous size and strength. A certain 
 Liber Monstrorum, perhaps of the seventh century, cites rex Sugilaicus, 
 ■who ruled the Qetae and was killed by the Franks, as one whom no horse 
 could carry since he was twelve years old, and whose enormous skeleton 
 was still on an island near the mouth of the Rhine. Moreover, this friendly 
 account would attribute the defeat to surprise by an overwhelmingly 
 superior force. — Quite in accord with the usual construction of epic nar- 
 rative in old English verse, and with the same structure in little as shown 
 by the parallels and variations of the sentence or period, the poet returns 
 to the scene in the hall. "Din rose in the hall" has been emended to 
 "din ceased," or "warriors listened," but vainly; the usual applause 
 goes up as the gifts are handed to the hero, and then silence falls as the 
 queen speaks. 
 
 2 Or, perhaps, "thou art heartily welcome to these treasures I have 
 given thee," as Gering translates. 
 
78 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 be helpfiil in deed and uphold his joys I 
 
 Here every earl to the other is true, 
 
 mild of mood, to the master loyal ! 
 1230 Thanes are friendly, the throng obedient, 
 
 liegemen are revelling : list and obey! " ^ 
 
 Went then to her place. — That was proudest of 
 feasts ; 
 
 flowed wine for the warriors. Wyrd they knew not, 
 
 destiny dire, and the doom to be seen 
 1235 by many an earl ^ when eve should come, 
 
 and Hrothgar homeward hasten away, 
 
 royal, to rest. The room was guarded 
 
 by an army of earls, as erst was done. 
 
 They bared the bench-boards ; abroad they spread 
 1240 beds and bolsters. — One beer-carouser 
 
 in danger of doom^ lay down in the hall. — 
 
 At their heads they set their shields of war, 
 
 bucklers bright ; on the bench were there 
 
 over each atheling, easy to see, 
 1245 the high battle-helmet, the haughty spear, 
 
 the corselet of rings. 'Twas their custom so 
 
 ever to be for battle prepared, 
 
 at home, or harrying, which it were, 
 
 even as oft as evil threatened 
 1250 their sovran king. — They were clansmen good.* 
 
 1 Literally, " Do as I bid." 
 
 2 Litotes for "all." The fatal stroke hovered over them all, though 
 only one was actually stricken. 
 
 'Literally, "ready to go [so. to death], and fey," on the verge of 
 death, and a marked man. 
 
 * The Gnomic poetry of the Exeter Ms., 178 f£., describes. In what may 
 be stanzaic verse, how clansmen or comites ought to live in fellowship, 
 and especially that they should sleep under one roof, remaining a united 
 band by night as well as by day: 
 
BEOWULF 79 
 
 XIX 
 
 Then sank they to sleep. With sorrow one bought 
 his rest of the evening, — as of ttime had happened 
 when Grendel guarded that golden hall, 
 evil wrought, till his end drew nigh, 
 
 1255 slaughter for sins. 'Twas seen and told 
 how an avenger survived the fiend, 
 as was learned afar. The livelong time ^ 
 after that grim fight, Grendel's mother, 
 monster of women, mourned her woe. 
 
 1260 She was doomed to dwell in the dreary waters, 
 cold sea-courses, since Cain cut down 
 with edge of the sword his only brother, 
 his father's offspring : outlawed he fled, 
 marked with murder, from men's delights, 
 
 1265 warded the wilds. — There woke from him ^ 
 such fate-sent ghosts as Grendel, who, 
 war- wolf horrid, at Heorot found 
 a warrior watching and waiting the fray, 
 with whom the grisly one grappled amain. 
 
 1270 But the man remembered his mighty power, 
 the glorious gift that God had sent him. 
 
 Ever must heroes in harmony live, 
 
 in the same place sleeping ; 
 So that never shall man of man speak ill 
 
 till death undo them! 
 
 Compare w. 1228 ff., above. For the matter of the stanzaio form see 
 Signy's Lament, translated below in the introduction to Deor^s Song. 
 
 1 MCllenhofi so punctuates, and explains that though only twenty-four 
 hours had passed from the time of Grendel's discomfiture to her quest of 
 revenge, the interval seemed interminable to the waiting monster. More- 
 over, by this reading no gap in the Ms. is assumed. 
 
 ' See V. 107, above. — " From him are descended," etc. This repetition 
 certainly seems vain, and this way of narrative is not our way. 
 
80 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 in his Maker's mercy put his trust 
 
 for comfort and help: so he conquered the foe, 
 
 felled the fiend, who fled abject, 
 1275 reft of joy, to the realms of death, 
 
 mankind's foe. And his mother now, 
 
 gloomy and grim, would go that quest 
 
 of sorrow, the death of her son to avenge. 
 
 To Heorot came she, where helmeted Danes 
 1280 slept in the hall. Too soon came back 
 
 old ills of the earls, when in she burst, 
 
 the mother of Grendel. Less grim, though, that 
 terror, 
 
 e'en as terror of woman in war is less, 
 
 might of maid, than of men in arms 
 1285 when, hammer-forged, the falchion hard, 
 
 sword gore-stained, through swine of the helm, 
 
 crested, with keen blade carves amain. 
 
 Then was in hall the hard-edge drawn, 
 
 the swords on the settles,^ and shields a-many 
 1290 firm held in hand: nor helmet minded 
 
 nor harness of mail, whom that horror seized. 
 Haste was hers ; she would hie afar 
 
 and save her life when the liegemen saw her. 
 
 Yet a single atheling up she seized 
 1295 fast and firm, as she fled to the moor. 
 
 He was for Hrothgar of heroes the dearest, 
 
 of trusty vassals betwixt the seas, 
 
 whom she killed on his couch, a clansman famous, 
 
 in battle brave. — Nor was Beowulf there ; 
 1300 another house had been held apart, 
 
 after giving of gold, for the Geat renowned. — 
 1 They had laid their arms on the benches near where they slept ; v. 1242. 
 
BEOWTJLF 81 
 
 Uproar filled Heorot ; the hand all had viewed, 
 blood-flecked, she bore with her ; bale was returned, 
 dole in the dwellings : 'twas dire exchange 
 
 1305 where Dane and Geat were doomed to give 
 the lives of loved ones. Long-tried king, 
 the hoary hero, at heart was sad 
 when he knew his noble no more lived, 
 and dead indeed was his dearest thane. 
 
 1310 To his bower was Beowulf brought in haste, 
 dauntless victor. As daylight broke, 
 along with his earls the atheling lord, 
 with his clansmen, came, where the king abode 
 waiting to see if the Wielder-of-All 
 
 1315 would turn this tale of trouble and woe. 
 Strode o'er floor the famed-in-strife, 
 with his hand-companions, — the hall resounded, — 
 wishing to greet the wise old king, 
 Ingwines' lord ; he asked if the night 
 
 1320 had passed in peace to the prince's mind. 
 
 XX 
 
 Hrothgar spake, helmet-of-Scyldings : — 
 " Ask not of pleasure ! Pain is renewed 
 to Danish folk. Dead is ^schere, 
 of Yrmenlaf the elder brother, 
 1325 my sage adviser and stay in council, 
 shoulder-comrade ^ in stress of fight 
 when warriors clashed and we warded our heads, 
 
 ^ Eaxl-gestealla, "shoulder-comrade," here refers to the line of battle; 
 but it might include the other qualities of advice and counsel. Dan 
 Michel in his fourteenth century translation or paraphrase, Ayenhite of 
 Inwyt, calls a councillor hezide-zittere, "beside-sitter." 
 
 G 
 
82 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 hewed the helm-boars : hero famed 
 
 should be every earl as iEschere was ! 
 1330 But here in Heorot a hand hath slain him 
 
 of wandering death-sprite. I wot not whither,^ 
 
 proud of the prey, her path she took, 
 
 fain of her fill. The feud she avenged 
 
 that yesternight, unyieldingly, 
 1335 Grendel in grimmest grasp thou killedst, — 
 
 seeing how long these liegemen mine 
 
 he ruined and ravaged. Reft of life, 
 
 in arms he fell. Now another comes, 
 
 keen and cruel, her kin to avenge, 
 1340 faring far in feud of blood : 
 
 so that many a thane shall think, who e'er 
 
 sorrows in soul for that sharer of rings, 
 
 this is hardest of heart-bales. The hand lies low 
 
 that once was willing each wish to please. 
 1345 Land-dwellers here ^ and liegemen mine, 
 
 who house by those parts,^ I have heard relate 
 
 that such a pair they have sometimes seen, 
 
 march-stalkers mighty the moorland haunting, 
 
 wandering spirits : one of them seemed, 
 1360 so far as my folk could fairly judge, 
 
 of womankind ; and one, accursed, 
 
 in man's guise trod the misery-track 
 
 1 He surmises presently where she is. • 
 
 2 The connection is not difficult. The words of mourning, of acute 
 grief, are said ; and according to Germanic sequence of thought, inex- 
 orahle here, the next and only topic is revenge. But is it possible? 
 Hrothgar leads up to his appeal and promise with a skilful and often 
 effective description of the horrors which surround the monster's home 
 and await the attempt of an avenging foe. This account is not the thing 
 of shreds and patches which MilUenhoff and ten Brink would make it out. 
 
 ' Following Gerlng's suggestion. 
 
BEOWULF 83 
 
 of exile, though huger than human bulk. 
 Grendel in days long gone they named him, 
 
 1355 folk of the land ; his father they knew not, 
 nor any brood that was born to him 
 of treacherous spirits. Untrod is their home ; i 
 by wolf-cliffs haunt they and windy headlands, 
 fenways fearful, where flows the stream 
 
 1360 from mountains gliding to gloom of the rocks, 
 underground flood.^ Not far is it hence 
 
 ^ B. Morris pointed out -what seems an imitation of this passage in the 
 Blickling Homilies. 
 
 2 Compare KuUa Khan : — 
 
 " Where Alph, the sacred river, ran 
 Through caverns measureless to man, 
 Dovra to a sunless sea." 
 
 It is worth ■while to compare with this passage another deliberate na- 
 ture-description in Anglo-Saxon verse, and its Latin model as well. One 
 sees how it is modified, enlarged, and really improved. It is the opening 
 of a little poem on Doomsday paraphrased from Latin verses attributed to 
 Beda, — and also to Alcuin. 
 
 Alone I sat in the shade of a grove, 
 in the deeps of the holt, bedecked with shadows, 
 there where the waterbrooks wavered and ran 
 in the midst of the place, — so I make my song, — 
 and winsome blooms there waxed and blossomed, 
 all massed amid a meadow peerless. 
 And the trees of the forest trembled and murmured 
 for a horror of winds, and the welkin was stirred, 
 and my heavy heart was harassed amain. 
 Then I suddenly, sad and fearful, 
 set me to sing this sorrowful verse. . . . 
 This represents five lines of Latin : — 
 
 Inter florigeras fecundi cespitis herbas, 
 flamine ventorum resonantibus undique ramis, 
 arboris umbriferae maestus sub tegmine solus 
 dum sedi, subito planotu turbatus amaro, 
 carmina prae tristi ceoini haec lugubria mente. . . . 
 It is no long stride hence to the conventional dream-poets, and such 
 openings as are offered by the beginning of the Piers Plowman vision. 
 
84 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 in measure of miles that the mere expands, 
 and o'er it the frost-bound forest hanging, 
 sturdily rooted, shadows the wave. 
 
 1365 By night is a wonder weird to see, 
 
 fire on the waters. So wise lived none 
 of the sons of men, to search those depths ! 
 Nay, though the heath-rover,i harried by dogs, 
 the horn-proud hart, this holt should seek, 
 
 1370 long distance driven, his dear life first 
 
 on the brink he yields ere he brave the plunge 
 to hide his head : 'tis no happy place ! 
 Thence the welter of waters washes up 
 wan to welkin when winds bestir 
 
 1375 evil storms, and air grows dusk, 
 
 and the heavens weep. Now is help once more 
 with thee alone ! The land thou knowst not,^ 
 place of fear, where thou findest out 
 that sin-flecked being. Seek if thou dare I 
 
 1380 I will reward thee, for waging this fight, 
 with ancient treasure, as erst I did, 
 with winding gold, if thou winnest back." 
 
 1 Bugge has shown how popular the stag or hart was among the north- 
 ern folk for names of persons and places — so Hrothgar's own hall Seorot, 
 or " The Hart " — and for comparisons and the like. — There Is a ciurious 
 note by Andr6 Ch^nier, made in preparation for one of his poems 
 {(Euvres Poetiqnes, II, 107), about a white animal that prefers to be 
 torn to pieces rather than soil itself by rescue in a miry swamp. But the 
 strength of the present suggestion lies in its uncompromising contrast of 
 terrors, one with the other. 
 
 ^ Has been emended to read: "the land now thou knowst," that is, 
 " I have described the place : go thither if you dare." By the text one 
 understands: "Here is land unknown to you and horrible. If you 
 dare, etc." 
 
BEOWULF 85 
 
 XXI 
 
 Beowulf spake, bairn of Ecgtheow : 
 
 "Sorrow not, sage ! It beseems us better 
 1385 friends to avenge than fruitlessly mourn them. 
 
 Each of us -all must his end abide 
 
 in the ways of the world ; so win who may 
 
 glory ere death ! When his days are told, 
 
 that is the warrior's worthiest doom. 
 1390 Rise, O realm- warder ! Ride we anon, 
 
 and mark the trail of the mother of Grendel. 
 
 No harbor shall hide her — heed my promise ! — 
 
 enfolding of field or forested mountain 
 
 or floor of the flood, let her flee where she will ! 
 1395 But thou this day endure in patience, 
 
 as I ween thou wilt, thy woes each one." 
 
 Leaped up the graybeard : God he thanked, 
 
 mighty Lord, for the man's brave words. 
 
 For Hrothgar soon a horse was saddled 
 1400 wave-maned steed. The sovran wise 
 
 stately rode on ; his shield-armed men 
 
 followed in force. The footprints led 
 
 along the woodland, widely seen, 
 
 a path o'er the plain, where she passed, and trod 
 1405 the murky moor ; of men-at-arms 
 
 she bore the bravest and best one, dead, 
 
 him who with Hrothgar the homestead ruled. 
 On then went the atheling-born 
 
 o'er stone-cliffs steep and strait defiles, 
 1410 narrow passes and unknown ways, 
 
 headlands sheer, and the haunts of the Nicors. 
 
 Foremost he ^ fared, a few at his side 
 1 Hrothgar is prolDaWy meant. 
 
86 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 of the wiser men, the ways to scan, 
 till he found in a flash the forested hill 
 
 1415 hanging over the hoary rock, 
 a woful wood : the waves below 
 were dye,d in blood. The Danish men 
 had sorrow of soul, and for Scyldings all, 
 for many a hero, 'twas hard to bear, 
 
 1420 ill for earls, when jEschere's head 
 
 they found by the flood on the foreland there. 
 Waves were welling, the warriors saw, 
 hot with blood ; but the horn sang oft 
 battle-song bold. The band sat down, 
 
 1425 and watched on the water worm-like things, 
 sea-dragons strange that sounded the deep, 
 and nicors that lay on the ledge of the ness — 
 such as oft essay at hour of morn ^ 
 on the road-of-sails their ruthless quest, — 
 
 1430 and sea-snakes and monsters. These started away, 
 swollen and savage tha,t song to hear, 
 that war-horn's blast. The warden of Geats, 
 with bolt from bow, then balked of life, 
 of wave-work, one monster ; amid its heart 
 
 1435 went the keen war-shaft ; in water it seemed 
 
 less doughty in swimming whom death had seized. 
 Swift on the billows, with boar-spears well 
 hooked and barbed, it was hard beset, 
 done to death and dragged on the headland, 
 
 1440 wave-roamer wondrous. Warfiors viewed 
 the grisly guest. 
 
 Then girt him Beowulf 
 in martial mail, nor mourned for his life. 
 iNoon? " Mittagsstunde, Geisterstunde." 
 
BEOWULF 87 
 
 His breastplate broad and bright of hues, 
 woven by hand, should the waters try ; 
 
 1445 well could it ward the wa,rrior's body 
 
 that battle should break on his breast in vain 
 nor harm his heart by the hand of a foe. 
 And the helmet white that his head protected 
 was destined to dare, the deeps of the flood, 
 
 1450 through wave-whirl win : 'twas wound with chains, 
 decked with gold, as in days of yore 
 the weapon-smith worked it wondrously, 
 with swine-forms set it, that swords nowise, 
 brandished in battle, could bite that helm. 
 
 1455 Nor was that the meanest of mighty helps 
 which Hrothgar's orator ^ offered at need : 
 " Hrunting " they named the hilted sword, 
 of old-time heirlooms easily first ; ^ ^ 
 
 iron was its edge, all etched with poison, 
 
 1460 with battle-blood hardened, nor blenched it at fight 
 in hero's hand who held it ever, 
 on paths of peril prepared to go 
 to folkstead ^ of foes. Not first time this 
 
 ^Unferth is the thyle (spokesman?) of the king. Naming a sword 
 furnished the least of its personal attributes in Germanic days. It had 
 its moods and tenses; "refused" often "to bite" (1523, 2578), or else, 
 on appeal, did miraculous service. It spoke, sang, chided its inactive 
 owner, spurred even to his duty, as in a fine Danish ballad. It had its 
 ovm name, — Hrunting, Nsegling. It had kennings in plenty, — such as 
 the " warrior's friend " or "friend of war," vv. 1810, 2735. It gave out 
 a light, which is not always to be euhemerized into the sparks that flew 
 from it in battle. The reference in 1459 is to the hardening process of 
 dipping it in poison, snake's blood, or the like. " Blood of battle " was 
 especially efScacious for this purpose. On the other side of the account, 
 it could be made harmless by certain magic forms. So Beowulf finds, 
 even with this Hrunting or "thruster" ; see v. 1522. 
 
 2 Meeting-place. " Destined " is, in view of the issue, to be under- 
 stood as " expected," — it had been sent on other capital errands before. 
 
88 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 it was destined to do a daring task. 
 
 1465 For he bore not in mind, the bairn of Ecglaf 
 sturdy and strong, that speech he had made, 
 drunk with wine, now this weapon he lent 
 to a stouter swordsman. Himself, though, durst not 
 under welter of waters wager his life 
 
 1470 as loyal liegeman. So lost he his glory, 
 honor of earls. "With the other not so, 
 who girded him now for the grim encounter. 
 
 XXII 
 
 Beowulf spake, bairn of Ecgtheow : — 
 
 " Have mind, thou honored offspring of Healfdene, 
 1475 gold-friend of men, now I go on this quest, 
 
 sovran wise, what once was said : 
 
 if in thy cause it came that I 
 
 should lose my life, thou wouldst loyal bide 
 
 to me, though fallen, in father's place! 
 1480 Be guardian, thou, to this group of my thanes, 
 
 my warrior-friends, if War should seize me ; 
 
 and the goodly gifts thou gavest me, 
 
 Hrothgar beloved, to Hygelac send! ^ 
 
 Geatland's king may ken by the gold, 
 1485 Hrethel's son see, when he stares at the treasure, 
 
 that I got me a friend for goodness famed, 
 
 and joyed while I could in my jewel-bestower. 
 
 And let Unferth wield this wondrous sword,^ 
 
 earl far-honored, this heirloom precious, 
 
 1 "Discharge for me," that is, "my two great obligations : care for 
 my thanes, and the rendering to my lord of what I have won by my 
 prowess," — good Germanic ethics. 
 
 2 The sword which Hrothgar gave to Beowulf ? Or Beowulf's own 
 sword which he brought with him ? 
 
BEOWULF 89 
 
 1490 hard of edge : with Hrunting I 
 
 seek doom of glory, or Death shall take me." 
 
 After these words the Weder-Geat lord 
 boldly hastened, biding never 
 answer at all : and ocean floods 
 
 1495 closed o'er the hero. Long while ^ of the day 
 fled ere he felt the floor of the sea. 
 Soon found the fiend who the flood-domain 
 sword-hungry held these hundred winters, 
 greedy and grim, that some guest from above, 
 
 1500 some man, was raiding her monster-realm. 
 She grasped out for him with grisly claws,^ 
 and the warrior seized; yet scathed she not 
 his body hale; the breastplate hindered, 
 as she strove to shatter the sark of war, 
 
 1505 the linked harness, with loathsome hand. 
 
 Then bore this brine-wolf, when bottom she^ touched, 
 the lord of rings to the lair she haunted, 
 whiles vainly he strove, though his valor held, 
 weapon to wield against wondrous monsters 
 
 1510 that sore beset him ; sea-beasts many 
 tried with fierce tusks to tear his mail, 
 and swarmed on the stranger. But soon he marked 
 he was now in some hall, he knew not which, 
 where water never could work him harm, 
 
 1515 nor through the roof could reach him ever 
 fangs of the flood. Firelight he saw, 
 beams of a blaze that brightly shone. 
 
 1 " An hour of the day," — Miillenhofl. Others translate : "the space 
 of a whole day." 
 
 2 In the saga of Orm and Grettir, it is a cat-monster with which the hero 
 fights. 8 Or " he " ? 
 
90 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 Then ^ the warrior was ware of that wolf-of-the-deep, 
 mere-wife monstrous. For mighty stroke 
 
 1520 he swung his blade, and the blow withheld not. 
 Then sang on her head that seemly blade 
 its war-song wild. But the warrior found 
 the light-of -battle ^ was loath to bite, 
 to harm the heart : its hard edge failed 
 
 1525 the noble at need, yet had known of old 
 
 strife hand to hand, and had helmets cloven, 
 doomed men's fighting-gear. First time, this, 
 for the gleaming blade that its glory fell. 
 Firm still stood, nor failed in valor, 
 
 1530 heedful of high deeds, Hygelac's kinsman ; 
 flung away fretted sword, featly jewelled, 
 the angry earl ; on earth it lay 
 steel-edged and stiff. His strength he trusted, 
 hand-gripe of might. So man shall do 
 
 1535 whenever in war he weens to earn him 
 lasting fame, nor fears for his life ! 
 Seized then by shoulder,* shrank not from combat, 
 the Geatish war-prince Grendel's mother. 
 Flung then the fierce one, filled with wrath, 
 
 1 Discrepancies here vex the higher critic ; hut they are simply some- 
 what exaggerated traits of structure and style. The course of the action is 
 not " hopelessly confused." Beowulf, overwhelmed by the first onset 
 of Grendel's mother, is dragged to her lair, and on the way is beset by 
 monsters of every kind. Managing to extricate himself from the coil, 
 he finds he is in a great arched hall, free of the water, and has only the 
 mother of Grendel before him. He takes good heed of her and prepares 
 his attack. 
 
 2 Kenning for " sword." Hrunting is bewitched, laid under a spell of 
 uselessness, along with all other swords. See note above to v. 1455. 
 
 2 Changed by many editions to "hair." The two sentences here 
 with " then " in each show well the dissected style of our old epic verse. 
 
BEOWULF 91 
 
 1540 his deadly foe, that she fell to ground. 
 
 Swift on her part she paid him back 
 
 with grisly grasp, and grappled with him. 
 
 Spent with struggle, stumbled the warrior, 
 
 fiercest of fighting-men, fell adown. 
 1545 On the hall-guest she hurled herself, hent her short 
 sword, 
 
 broad and brown-edged,^ the bairn to avenge, 
 
 the sole-born son. — On his shoulder lay 
 
 braided breast-mail, barring death, 
 
 withstanding entrance of edge or blade. 
 1550 Life would have ended for Ecgtheow's son, 
 
 under wide earth for that earl of Geats, 
 
 had his armor of war not aided him, 
 
 battle-net hard, and holy God 
 
 wielded the victory, wisest Maker. 
 1555 The Lord of Heaven allowed his cause ; 
 
 and easily rose the earl erect. 
 
 XXIII 
 
 'Mid the battle-gear saw he a blade triumphant, 
 old-sword of Eotens, with edge of proof, 
 warriors' heirloom, weapon unmatched, 
 
 1560 — save only 'twas more than other men 
 to bandy-of -battle could bear at all — 
 as the giants had wrought it, ready and keen. 
 Seized then its chain-hilt the Scyldings' chieftain, 
 bold and battle-grim, brandished the sword, 
 
 1565 reckless of life, and so wrathfuUy smote 
 
 ' This brown of swords, evidently meaning burnished, bright, con- 
 tinues to be a favorite adjective in the popular ballads. 
 
92 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 that it gripped her neck and grasped her hard, 
 
 her bone-rings breaking : the blade pierced through 
 ■ that fated-one's flesh : to floor she sank. 
 
 Bloody the blade : he was blithe of his deed. 
 1570 Then blazed forth light. 'Twas bright within 
 
 as when from the sky there shines unclouded 
 
 heaven's candle. The hall he scanned. 
 
 By the wall then went he ; his weapon raised 
 
 high by its hilts the Hygelac-thane, 
 1575 angry and eager. That edge was not useless 
 
 to the warrior now. He wished with speed 
 
 Grendel to guerdon for grim raids many, 
 
 for the war he waged on Western-Danes 
 
 oftener far than an only time,^ 
 1580 when of Hrothgar's hearth-companions 
 
 he slew in slumber, in sleep devoured, 
 
 fifteen men of the folk of Danes, 
 
 and as many others outward bore, 
 
 his horrible prey. Well paid for that 
 1585 the wrathful prince ! For now prone he saw 
 
 Grendel stretched there, spent with war, 
 
 spoiled of life, so scathed had left him 
 
 Heorot's battle. The body sprang far 
 
 when after death it endured the blow, 
 1590 sword-stroke savage, that severed its head. 
 
 1 This belittling variation of the " many raids " just mentioned, the 
 solemnity of the favorite litotes, give an enfeebled air to modem Eng- 
 lish. The ancient English had other views of poetical style than ours. — 
 The long parenthesis, too, while BeowuU's sword is uplifted over the dead' 
 Grendel, is not to present taste. — The cutting off of the head, as Gering 
 suggests, is to prevent Grendel from visiting his old haunts as a ghost and 
 stirring up new troubles. He could not be harmed by ordinary swords, 
 as all were conjured ; but this old giant blade of the monsters has no 
 spell laid on it. 
 
BEOWULF 93 
 
 Soon,'' then, saw the sage companions 
 
 who waited with Hrothgar, watching the flood, 
 
 that the tossing waters turbid grew, 
 
 blood-stained the mere. Old men together, 
 1595 hoary-haired, of the hero spake ; 
 
 the warrior would not, they weened, again, 
 
 proud of conquest, come to seek 
 
 their mighty master. To many it seemed 
 
 the wolf-of-the-waves had won his life. 
 1600 The ninth hour ^ came. The noble Scyldings 
 
 left the headland ; homeward went 
 
 the gold-friend of men.^ But the guests sat on, 
 
 stared at the surges, sick in heart, 
 
 and wished, yet weened not, their winsome lord 
 1605 again to see. 
 
 Now that sword began, 
 
 from blood of the fight, in battle-droppings,* 
 
 war-blade, to wane : 'twas a wondrous thing 
 
 that all of it melted as ice is wont 
 
 when frosty fetters the Father loosens, 
 1610 unwinds the wave-bonds, wielding all 
 
 seasons and times : the true God he ! 
 
 Nor took from that dwelling the duke of the Geats 
 
 precious things, though a plenty he saw, 
 
 save only the head and that hilt withal 
 1615 blazoned with jewels : the blade had melted, 
 
 burned was the bright sword, her blood was so hot, 
 
 1 After the killing of the monster and Grendel's decapitation. 
 
 * Strictly this would be three o'clock in the afternoon ; but the close 
 of the day, perhaps the shorter northern day in winter, seems indicated. 
 Gering translates " evening." 
 
 ' Hrothgar. 
 
 * The blade slowly dissolves in blood-stained drops like icicles. 
 
94 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 SO poisoned the hell-sprite who perished within there. 
 Soon he was swimming who safe saw in combat 
 downfall of demons ; up-dove through the flood. 
 
 1620 The clashing waters were cleansed now, 
 waste of waves, where the wandering fiend 
 her life-days left and this lapsing world. 
 Swam then to strand the sailors'-refuge, 
 sturdy-in-spirit, of sea-booty glad, 
 
 1625 of burden brave he bore with him. 
 
 Went then to greet him, and God they thanked, 
 the thane-band choice of their chieftain blithe, 
 that safe and sound they could see him again. 
 Soon from the hardy one helmet and armor 
 
 1630 deftly they doffed : now drowsed the mere, 
 water 'neath welkin, with war-blood stained. 
 Forth they fared by the footpaths thence, 
 merry at heart the highways measured, 
 well-known roads. Courageous men 
 
 1635 carried the head from the cliff by the sea, 
 an arduous task for all the band, 
 the firm in fight, since four were needed 
 on the shaf t-of-slaughter ^ strenuously 
 to bear to the gold-hall Grendel's head. 
 
 1640 So presently to the palace there 
 foemen fearless, fourteen Geats, 
 marching came. Their master-of-clan 
 mighty amid them the meadow-ways trod. 
 Strode ^ then within the sovran thane 
 
 1645 fearless in fight, of fame renowned, 
 hardy hero, Hrothgar to greet. 
 And next by the hair into hall was borne 
 1 Spear. 2 See note to v. 720. 
 
BEOWULF 95 
 
 ♦ 
 Grendel's head, where the henchmen were drinking, 
 an awe to clan and queen alike, 
 1650 a monster of marvel : the men looked on. 
 
 XXIV 
 
 Beowulf'spake, bairn of Ecgtheow : — 
 
 " Lo, now, this sea-booty, son of Healfdene, 
 
 Lord of Scyldings, we've lustily brought thee, 
 
 sign of glory ; thou seest it here. 
 1655 Not lightly did I with my life escape ! 
 
 In war under water this work I essayed 
 
 with endless effort; and even so 
 
 my strength had been lost had the Lord not shielded 
 me. 
 
 Not a whit could I with Hrunting do 
 1660 in work of war, though the weapon is good; 
 
 yet a sword the Sovran of Men vouchsafed me 
 
 to spy on the wall there, in splendor hanging, 
 
 old, gigantic, — how oft He guides 
 
 the friendless wight ! — and I fought with that brand, 
 1665 felling in fight, since fate was with me, 
 
 the house's wardens. That war-sword then 
 
 all burned, bright blade, when the blood gushed o'er 
 it, 
 
 battle-sweat hot ; but the hilt I brought back 
 
 from my foes. So avenged I their fiendish deeds, 
 1670 death-fall of Danes, as was due and right. 
 
 And this is my hest, that in Heorot now 
 
 safe thou canst sleep with thy soldier band, 
 
 and every thane of all thy folk 
 
 both old and young ; no evil fear, 
 1675 Scyldings' lord, from that side again, 
 
m THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 aught ill for thiy earls, as erst thou must ! " 
 Then the golden hilt, for that gray-haired leader, 
 hoary hero, in hand was laid, 
 giant-wrought, old. So owned and enjoyed it 
 
 1680 after downfall of devils, the Danish lord, 
 
 wonder-smiths' work, since the world was rid 
 of that grim-souled fiend, the foe of God, 
 murder-marked, and his mother as well. 
 Now it passed into power of the people's king, 
 
 1685 best of all that the oceans bound 
 
 who have scattered their gold o'er Scandia's isle. 
 Hrothgar spake — the hilt he viewed, 
 heirloom old, where was etched the rise 
 of that far-off fight when the floods o'erwhelmed, 
 
 1690 raging waves, the race of giants 
 
 (fearful their fate !), a folk estranged 
 from God Eternal : whence guerdon due 
 in that waste of waters the Wielder paid them. 
 So on the guard of shining gold 
 
 1695 in runic staves it was rightly said 
 
 for whom^ the serpent-traced sword was wrought, 
 best of blades, in bygone days, 
 and the hilt well wound. — The wise-one spake, 
 son of Healfdene ; silent were all : — 
 
 1700 " Lo, so may he say who sooth and right 
 follows 'mid folk, of far times mindful, 
 a land-warden old,^ that this earl belongs 
 
 1 Often the maker put his own name on what he made, and in verse : 
 Ek Hlewagastiz SoUingaz horna tawido, runs the inscription on the 
 famous golden horn; that is, " I, Hlewagast Holting, this horn have 
 made," — probably the oldest Germanic verse that is preserved. 
 
 2 That is, "whoever has as wide authority as I have and can remem- 
 ber so far back so many instances of heroism, may well say, as I say, that 
 no better hero ever lived than Beowulf." 
 
BEOWULF 97 
 
 to the better breed ! So, borne aloft, 
 
 tby fame must fly, O friend my Beowulf, 
 1705 far and wide o'er f olksteads many. Firmly tbou shalt 
 all maintain,^ 
 
 mighty strength with mood of wisdom. Love of 
 mine will I assure thee, 
 
 as, awhile ago, I promised ; thou shalt prove a stay 
 in future, 
 
 in far-off years, to folk of thine, 
 
 to the heroes a help. Was not Heremod ^ thus 
 1710 to offspring of Ecgwela, Honor-Scyldings, 
 
 nor grew for their grace, but for grisly slaughter, 
 
 for doom of death to the Danishmen. 
 
 He slew, wrath-swollen, his shoulder-comrades, 
 
 companions at board ! So he passed alone, 
 1715 chieftain haughty, from human cheer. 
 
 Though him the Maker with might endowed, 
 
 delights of power, and uplifted high 
 
 above all men, yet blood-fierce his mind, 
 
 his breast-hoard, grew ; no bracelets gave he 
 1720 to Danes as was due ; he endured all joyless 
 
 strain of struggle and stress of woe, 
 
 long feud with his folk. Here find thy lesson ! 
 
 Of virtue advise thee ! This verse ^ I have said for 
 thee, 
 
 wise from lapsed winters. Wondrous seems 
 1725 how to sons of men Almighty God 
 
 1 The three verses are hypermetric in the original. 
 
 ^ The antitype again : see above, v. 901. Heremod is of Hrothgar's own 
 kingdom ; of Ecgwela, a Danish ancestor also, nothing is known. 
 
 ' Poetry was a wide word of old, and gid — i.e. " verse " or " poem " — 
 was also used to indicate the oral communication of wisdom (once always 
 in rimed saws, proverbs, and the like) and philosophy. 
 
98 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 in tne strength of His spirit sendeth wisdom, 
 estate, high station : He swayeth all things. 
 Whiles He letteth right lustily fare 
 the heart of the hero of high-born race, — 
 
 1730 in seat ancestral assigns him bliss, 
 his folk's sure fortress in fee to hold, 
 • puts in his power great parts of the earth, 
 empire so ample, that end of it 
 this wanter-of-wisdom weeneth none. 
 
 1735 So he waxes in wealth ; nowise can harm him 
 illness or age ; no evil cares 
 shadow his spirit ; no sword-hate threatens 
 from ever an enemy : all the world 
 wends at his will ; no worse he knoweth, 
 
 1740 till all within him obstinate pride 
 
 waxes and wakes while the warden slumbers, 
 the spirit's sentry ; sleep is too fast 
 which masters his might, and the murderer nears, 
 stealthUy shooting the shafts from his bow! 
 
 XXV 
 
 1745 " Under harness his heart then is hit indeed 
 by sharpest shafts ; and no shelter avails 
 from foul behest of the hellish fiend. ^ 
 Him seems too little what long he possessed. 
 Greedy and grim, no golden rings 
 
 1 That is, he is now undefended by conscience from the temptations 
 (shafts) of the devil. This " sermon " of Hrothgar may be " of forty- 
 parson power," as some one says ; but one likes to know what sort of ser- 
 mon those English of the seventh century preferred. This one would have 
 pleased Dr. Johnson. The same allegory is found in the Middle-English 
 Sawles Warde, — that is, conscience, — and in many other places, times, 
 and authors. 
 
BEOWULF 99 
 
 1750 he gives for his pride ; the promised future 
 
 forgets he and spurns, with all God has sent him, 
 
 Wonder- Wielder, of wealth and fame. 
 
 Yet in the end it ever comes 
 
 that the frame of the body fragile yields, 
 
 1755 fat^d falls ; and there follows another 
 who joyously the jewels divides,^ 
 the royal riches, nor recks of his forebear. 
 Ban, then, such baleful thoughts, Beowulf dearest, 
 best of men, and the better part choose, 
 
 1760 profit eternal ; and temper thy pride, 
 
 warrior famous ! The flower of thy might 
 lasts now a while : but erelong it shall be 
 that sickness or sword thy strength shall minish, 
 or fang of fire, or flooding billow, 
 
 1765 or bite of blade, or brandished spear, 
 or odious age ; or the eyes' clear beam 
 wax dull and darken : Death even thee 
 in haste shall o'erwhelm, thou hero of war ! 
 So the Ring-Danes these half-years a hundred I 
 ruled, 
 
 1770 wielded 'neath welkin, and warded them bravely 
 from mighty-ones many o'er middle-earth, 
 from spear and sword, till it seemed for me 
 no foe could be found under fold of the sky. 
 Lo, sudden the shift ! To me seated secure 
 
 1775 came grief for joy when Grendel began 
 to harry my home, the hellish foe; 
 for those ruthless raids, unresting I suffered 
 
 1 Note the dbsumet heres Ooecuba dignior as partly a division of treas- 
 ure, the right Germanic thing to do, and the hint of revel and profusion 
 in Horace's vein. 
 
100 THE OLBEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 heart-sorrow heavy. Heaven be thanked, 
 
 Lord Eternal, for life extended 
 1780 that I on this head all hewn and bloody, 
 
 after long evil, with eyes may gaze ! 
 
 — Go to the bench now ! Be glad at banquet, 
 
 warrior worthy ! A wealth of treasure 
 
 at dawn of day, be dealt between us ! " 
 1785 Glad was the Geats' lord, going betimes 
 
 to seek his seat, as the Sage commanded. 
 
 Afresh, as before, for the famed-in-battle, 
 
 for the band of the hall, was a banquet dight 
 
 nobly anew. The Night-Helm darkened 
 1790 dusk o'er the drinkers. 
 
 The doughty ones rose : 
 
 for the hoary-headed would hasten to rest, 
 
 agdd Scylding ; and eager the Geat, 
 
 shield-fighter sturdy, for sleeping yearned. 
 
 Him wander-weary, warrior-guest 
 1795 from far, a hall-thane heralded forth, 
 
 who by custom courtly cared for all 
 
 needs of a thane as in those old days 
 
 warrior-wanderers wont to have. 
 
 So slumbered the stout-heart. Stately the hall 
 1800 rose gabled and gilt where the guest slept on 
 
 till a raven black the rapture-of -heaven ^ 
 
 blithe-heart boded. Bright came flying 
 
 shine after shadow. The swordsmen hastened, 
 
 athelings all were eager homeward 
 1805 forth to fare; and far from thence 
 
 1 Kenning for the sun. — This is a strange r51e for the raven. He is 
 the warrior's bird of battle, exults in slaughter and carnage ; his joy here 
 is a compliment to the sunrise. 
 
BEOWULF 101 
 
 the great-hearted guest -would guide his keel. 
 
 Bade then the hardy-one Hrunting be brought 
 to the son of Ecglaf, the sword bade him take, 
 excellent iron, and uttered his thanks for it, 
 
 1810 quoth that he counted it keen in battle, 
 
 " war-friend " winsome : with words he slandered not 
 edge of the blade : 'twas a big-hearted man ! ^ 
 Now eager for parting and armed at point 
 warriors waited, while went to his host 
 
 1815 that Darling of Danes. The doughty atheling 
 to high-seat hastened and Hrothgar greeted. 
 
 XXVI 
 
 Beowulf spake, bairn of Ecgtheow : — 
 "Lo, we seafarers say our will, 
 far-come men, that we fain would seek 
 1820 Hygelac now. We here have found 
 
 hosts to our heart : thou hast harbored us well. 
 If ever on earth I am able to win me 
 
 1 This is the simplest way to render a disputed passage ; but it may 
 not be the right way. The " hardy-one " here is Beowulf ; he returns 
 "Hrunting" in a formal speech, and praises its merits, laying no stress 
 (properly, for enchantment was at work) on its failure to "bite " in the 
 battle with Grendel's mother. So the Geat's courtesy is put in strong 
 relief, and the parting from TJnferth is contrasted with the meeting. 
 Pi-obably there were favorite songs once about Beowulf's flyting with 
 Unferth, and our amiable Christian poet, who has doubtless softened 
 many of its asperities, now lays stress on the reconciliation. Klaeber, how- 
 ever, has shown that the philological ways of this interpretation are not 
 smooth. Moreover, the present to a parting guest was inexorable custom 
 in Germania ; and Unferth is only doing his duty when (the passage can 
 so be read) he, " the hardy-one," the son of Ecglaf, orders " Hrunting" 
 to be brought to Beowulf, who accepts it in his customary polite fashion. 
 Of course, one must suppose that "Hrunting" has been already handed 
 back to its owner, and is now finally presented. 
 
102 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 more of thy love, O lord of men, 
 aught anew, than I now have done, 
 
 1825 for work of war I am willing still ! 
 If it come to me ever across the seas 
 that neighbor foemen annoy and fright thee, — 
 as they that hate thee erewhile have used, — 
 thousands then of thanes I shall bring, 
 
 1830 heroes to help thee. Of Hygelac I know, 
 ward of his folk, that, though few his years, 
 the lord of the Geats will give me aid 
 by word and by work, that well I may serve thee, 
 wielding the war-wood to win thy triumph 
 
 1835 and lending thee might when thou lackest men. 
 If thy Hrethric should, come to court of Geats,^ 
 a sovran's son, he will surely there 
 find his friends. A far-off land 
 each man should visit who vaunts him brave." 
 
 1840 Him then answering, Hrothgar spake : — 
 " These words of thine the wisest God 
 sent to thy soul ! No sager counsel 
 from so young in years e'er yet have I heard. 
 Thou art strong of main and in mind art wary, 
 
 1845 art wise in words I I ween indeed 
 if ever it hap that Hrethel's heir 2 
 by spear be seized, by sword-grim battle, 
 
 1 Courteous, dignified, smoothly phrased, this leave-taking speech is 
 admirable. — The custom of sending one's son to serve and live in other 
 noble families was maintained in England down to relatively modem 
 times. The concluding sententia admirably balances advantage of travel 
 with the dangers of those who go far from the protection of their own 
 kin, 
 
 2 Hygelao. — The involutions and variations of this period — high 
 compliment — are characteristic of all formal speeches in the epic. 
 
BEOWULF 103 
 
 by illness or iron,^ thine elder and lord, 
 people's leader, — and life be thine, — 
 
 1850 no seemlier man will the Sea-Geats find' 
 at all to choose for their chief and king, 
 for hoard-guard of heroes, if hol(i thou wilt 
 thy kinsman's kingdom ! Thy keen mind pleases me 
 the longer the better, Beowulf loved ! 
 
 1856 Thou hast brought it about that both our peoples, 
 sons of the Geat and Spear-Dane folk, 
 shall have mutual peace, and from murderous strife, 
 such as once they waged, from war refrain. 
 Long as I rule this realm so wide, 
 
 I860 let our hoards be common, let heroes with gold 
 each other greet o'er the gannet's-bath, 
 and the ringed-prow bear o'er rolling waves 
 tokens of love. I trow my landfolk 
 towards friend and foe are firmly joined, 
 
 1865 and honor they keep in the olden way." 
 
 To him in the hall, then, Healfdene's son 
 gave treasures twelve, and the trust-of-earls 
 bade him fare with the gifts to his folk beloved, 
 hale to his home, and in haste return. 
 
 1870 Then kissed the king of kin renowned, 
 Scyldings' chieftain, that choicest thane, 
 and fell on his neck. Fast flowed the tears 
 of the hoary-headed. Heavy with winters, 
 he had chances twain, but he clung to this,^ — 
 1 Compare for this combmation of abstract and concrete, Genesis, v. 
 
 2296: — 
 
 When from thy heart hunger or wolf 
 
 soul and body at the same time tears. 
 So, also, "battling and bulwarks," v. 2323, below. 
 
 ^ That is, he might or might not see Beowulf again. Old as he was, 
 the latter chance was likely; but he clung to the former, hoping to see 
 his young friend again " and exchange brave words in the hall," 
 
104 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 1875 that eacli should look on the other again, 
 
 and hear him in hall. Was this hero so dear to him, 
 his breast's wild billows he banned in vain; 
 safe in his soul a secret longing, 
 locked ^ in his mind, for that loved man 
 
 1880 burned in his blood. Then Beowulf strode, 
 glad of his gold-gifts, the grass-plot o'er, 
 warrior blithe. The wave-roamer bode 
 riding at anchor, its owner awaiting. 
 As they hastened onward, Hrothgar's gift 
 
 1885 they lauded at length. — 'Twas a lord unpeered, 
 every way blameless, till age had broken 
 — it spareth no mortal — his splendid might. 
 
 XXVII 
 
 Came now to ocean the ever-courageous 
 hardy henchmen, their harness bearing, 
 
 1890 woven war-sarks. The warden marked, 
 trusty as ever, the earl's return. 
 From the height of the hill no hostile words 
 reached the guests as he rode to greet them; 
 but "Welcome ! " he called to that Weder clan 
 
 1895 as the sheen-mailed spoilers to ship marched on. 
 Then on the strand, with steeds and treasure 
 and armor their roomy and ring-dight ship 
 was heavily laden: high its mast 
 
 1 The Anglo-Saxon gnomic poems insist on tliis secrecy of thought. 
 When a man speaks or sings, "he unlocks his word-hoard." The 
 advice of secrecy is emphasized for exiles and kinless men, as witness The 
 
 Wanderer, v. 11 : 
 
 Sooth I know, 
 in every earl 'tis an excellent trait 
 that he bar and bind his breast amain, 
 keep fast his thought-treasure, — think as he will. 
 
BEOWULF 105 
 
 rose over Hrothgar's hoarded gems. 
 
 1900 A sword to the boat-guard Beowulf gave, 
 
 mounted with gold ; on the mead-bench since 
 he was better esteemed, that blade possessing, 
 heirloom old. — Their ocean-keel boarding, 
 they drove through the deep, and Daueland left. 
 
 1905 A sea-cloth was set, a sail with ropes, 
 
 firm to the mast; the flood-timbers moaned; ^ 
 nor did wind over billows that wave-swimmer blow 
 across from her course. The craft sped on, 
 foam-necked it floated forth o'er the waves, 
 
 1910 keel firm^bound over briny currents, 
 
 till they got them sight of the Geatish cliffs, 
 home-known headlands. High the boat, 
 stirred by winds, on the strand updrove. 
 Helpful at haven the harbor-guard stood, 
 
 1915 who long already for loved companions 
 by the water had waited and watched afar. 
 He bound to the beach the broad-bosomed ship 
 with anchor-bands, lest ocean-billows 
 that trusty timber should tear away. 
 
 1920 Then Beowulf bade them bear the treasure, 
 gold and jewels ; no journey far 
 was it thence to go to the giver of rings, 
 Hygelac Hrethling : at home he dwelt 
 by the sea-wall close, himself and clan. 
 
 1925 Haughty that house, a hero the king, 
 high the hall, and Hygd ^ right young, 
 
 1 With the speed of the boat. 
 
 2 Queen to Hygelac. She Is praised by contrast with the antitype, 
 Thryth, just as Beowulf was praised by contrast with Heremod. The 
 slight insertion of a negative in the text of v. 1932, made by Sohiioktag, 
 
106 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 wise and wary, though winters few 
 
 in those fortress walls she had found a home, 
 
 Hsereth's daughter. Nor humble her ways, 
 
 1930 nor grudged she gifts to the Geatish men, 
 
 of precious treasure. Not Thryth's pride showed she, 
 folk-queen famed, or that fell deceit. 
 Was none so daring that durst make bold 
 (save her lord alone) of the liegemen dear 
 
 1936 that lady full in the face to look, 
 but forged fetters he found his lot, 
 bonds of death I And brief the respite; 
 soon as they seized him, his sword-doom was spoken, 
 and the burnished blade a baleful murder 
 
 1940 proclaimed and closed. No queenly way 
 for woman to practise, though peerless she, 
 that the weaver-of -peace ^ from warrior dear 
 
 Englische Studien, xxxix, 108 f ., seems a most happy solution of the prob- 
 lem presented hy this passage. The old emendation, — 
 
 But Thrytho proved, 
 folk-queen fearsome, fell and cruel . . . 
 was rejected by recent editors because Thrytho is not a likely form of the 
 name. Reading as the translation reads, one has a most likely bit of 
 praise by negative, in the usual manner of this poet, for Hygd, who did 
 not show the cruelty and haughtiness of Thryth, the legendary wife of 
 Off a, king of the Continental Angles. With her legend is perhaps mingled 
 a reference to the Anglo-Saxon queen of the Mercian OfEa, Cynethryth. 
 She died in 795, and is too late for the original version of the Beowulf, if 
 those considerations have weight which are urged against a date for the 
 original version later than the seventh century. See, however, Steven- 
 son's note to Asser's Alfred, Capp. 14, 15, and p. 206, where the tale of 
 Eadburh, daughter to Offa of Mercia, is told to explain why Wessex folk 
 disliked the name of "queen." — Thryth belongs to that well-known 
 family of obstreperous maids who riot and rage until tamed by the right 
 man. In no case can the description apply to Hygd, who Is called "very 
 young." — There is some reason for thinking that The Banished Wife's 
 Complaint, an Anglo-Saxon lyric, is based on the story of Offa. 
 1 Kenning for " wife." 
 
BEOWULF 107 
 
 by wrath and lying his life should reave ! 
 
 But Hemming's kinsman i hindered this. — 
 1945 For over their ale men also told 
 
 that of these folk-horrors fewer she wrought,^ 
 
 onslaughts of evil, after she went, 
 
 gold-decked bride, to the brave young prince, 
 
 atheling haughty, and Offa's hall 
 1950 o'er the fallow flood at her father's bidding 
 
 safely sought, where since she prospered, 
 
 royal, throned, rich in goods, 
 
 fain of the fair life fate had sent her, 
 
 and leal in love to the lord of warriors. 
 1955 He, of all heroes I heard of ever 
 
 from sea to sea, of the sons of earth, 
 
 most excellent seemed. Hence ^ Offa was praised 
 
 for his fighting and feeing by far-off men, 
 
 the spear-bold warrior ; wisely he ruled 
 1960 over his empire. Eomer woke to him, 
 
 help of heroes, Hemming's kinsman, 
 
 grandson of Garmund,* grim in war. 
 
 XXVIII 
 
 Hastened the hardy one, henchmen with him, 
 sandy strand of the sea to tread 
 1965 and widespread ways. The world's great candle, 
 sun shone from south. They strode along 
 
 1 Eomer, as below (oonjecturally), v. 1960 ; or, as Gering suggests, Ofla 
 himself. 
 
 2 Litotes for " ceased altogether." — Offa is praised in the Widsith lay, 
 V. 38. 
 
 8 See the ideal of a good king at the opening of the poem. 
 * The genealogy of the Mercian Offa makes his ancestral Anglian name- 
 Bake, Offa, the son of WcBrmund. 
 
108 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 with sturdy steps to the spot they knew 
 where the battle-king young, his burg within, 
 slayer of Ongentheow,^ shared the rings, 
 
 1970 shelter-of-heroes. To Hygelac 
 
 Beowulf's coming was quickly told, — 
 that there in the court the clansmen's refuge, 
 the shield-companion sound and alive, 
 hale from the hero-play homeward strode. 
 
 1975 With haste in the haU, by highest order, 
 room for the rovers was readily made. 
 By his sovran he sat, come safe from battle, 
 kinsman by kinsman. His kindly lord 
 he first had greeted in gracious form, 
 
 1980 with manly words. The mead dispensing, 
 
 came through the high hall Hsereth's daughter, 
 winsome to warriors, wine-cup bore 
 to the hands of the heroes. Hygelac then 
 his comrade fairly with question plied 
 
 1985 in the lofty hall, sore longing to know 
 
 what manner of sojourn the Sea-Geats made. 
 " What came of thy quest, my kinsman Beowulf, 
 when thy yearnings suddenly swept thee yonder 
 battle to seek o'er the briny sea, 
 
 1990 combat in Heorot ? Hrothgar couldst thou 
 aid at all, the honored chief, 
 in his wide-known woes ? With waves of care 
 my sad heart seethed ; I sore mistrusted 
 my loved one's venture : long I begged thee 
 
 1995 by no means to seek that slaughtering monster, 
 
 1 By the hands of one of his retainers, who, as Tacitus pointed out, 
 and Earle reminds us, were bound to attribute their own brave deeds 
 to their chief, and give him the glory. 
 
BEOWULF 109 
 
 but suffer the South-Danes to settle their feud 
 themselves with Grendel. Now God be thanked 
 that safe and sound I can see thee now ! " 
 Beowulf spake, the bairn of Ecgtheow: — 
 
 2000 " 'Tis known and unhidden, Hygelac Lord, 
 to many men, that meeting of ours, 
 struggle grim between Grendel and me, 
 which we fought on the field where full too many 
 sorrows he wrought for the Scylding- Victors, 
 
 2005 evils unending. These all I avenged. 
 No boast can be from breed of Grendel, 
 any on earth, for that uproar at dawn,^ 
 from the longest-lived of the loathsome race 
 in fleshly fold ! — But first I went 
 
 2010 Hrothgar to greet in the hall of gifts, 
 
 where Healf dene's kinsman high-renowned, 
 soon as my purpose was plain to him, 
 assigned me a seat by his son and heir. 
 The liegemen were lusty; my life-days never 
 
 2015 such merry men over mead in hall 
 
 have I heard under heaven ! The high-born queen, 
 people's peace-bringer, passed through the hall, 
 cheered the young clansmen, clasps of gold, 
 ere she sought her seat, to sundry gave. 
 
 2020 Oft to the heroes Hrothgar's daughter, 
 to earls in turn, the ale-cup tendered, — 
 she whom I heard these hall-companions 
 Freawaru name, when fretted gold 
 she proffered the warriors. Promised is she, 
 
 1" Struggle by night," translates Gering; that is, the fight between 
 Grendel and Beowulf. It might refer, however, — see v. 126, — to the out- 
 cries and wailings of the Danes. No more boasting over that ! 
 
110 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 2025 gold-decked maid, to the glad son of Froda. 
 
 Sage this seems to the Scyldings' -friend, 
 
 kingdom's-keeper : he counts it wise 
 
 the woman to wed so and ward off feud, 
 
 store of slaughter. But seldom ever 
 2030 when men are slain, does the murder-spear sink 
 
 but briefest while, though the bride be fair ! ^ 
 "Nor haply will like it the Heathobard lord, 
 
 and as little each of his liegemen all, 
 
 when a thane of the Danes, in that doughty throng, 
 2035 goes with the lady along their hall, 
 
 and on him the old-time heirlooms glisten 
 
 hard and ring-decked, Heathobard's treasure, 
 
 weapons that once they wielded fair 
 
 until they lost at the linden-play ^ 
 
 1 Beowulf gives his uncle the king not mere gossip of his joiurney, hut 
 a statesmanlike forecast of the outcome of certain policies at the Danish 
 court. Talk of interpolation here is absurd. As both Beowulf and 
 Hygelac know, — and the folk for whom the Beowulf was put together 
 also knew, — Froda was king of the Heathobards (probably the Lango- 
 bards, once near neighbors of Angle and Saxon tribes on the continent), 
 and had fallen in fight with the Danes. Hrothgar will set aside this feud 
 by giving his daughter as "peace-weaver" and wife to the young king 
 Ingeld, son of the slain Eroda. But Beowulf, on general principles and 
 from his observation of the particular case, foretells trouble. He even 
 goes into particulars ; and here the poet not unskilfully uses the actual 
 Ingeld story, — which he knew doubtless in song and saga, as Saxo 
 Grammaticus knew it, though in another version — for the forecast of 
 the hero. It is worth noting that in Saxo the old warrior stirs his 
 master by a lay of battle and vengeance which he chants at a banquet. — 
 Erom the Widsith we know that Ingeld attacked Hrothgar later in 
 Heorot, and was defeated by uncle and nephew in a bloody battle. 
 
 ^ Play of shields, battle. A Danish warrior cuts down Froda in the 
 fight, and takes his sword and armor, leaving them to a son. This son 
 is selected to accompany his mistress, the young princess Freawaru, to her 
 new home when she is Ingeld's queen. Heedlessly he wears the sword 
 of Froda in hall. An old warrior points it out to Ingeld, and eggs him 
 
BEOWULF 111 
 
 2040 liegeman leal and their lives as well. 
 
 Then, over the ale, on this heirloom gazing, 
 
 some ash-wielder old ^ who has all in mind 
 
 that spear-death of men,^ — he is stern of mood, 
 
 heavy at heart, — in the hero young 
 2045 tests the temper and tries the soul 
 
 and war-hate wakens, with words like these: — 
 
 Canst thou not, comrade, ken that sword 
 
 which to the fray thy father carried 
 
 in his final feud, 'neath the fighting -mash, 
 2050 dearest of blades, when the Banish slew him 
 
 and wielded the war -place on Withergild^s fall,^ 
 
 after havoc of heroes, those hardy Scyldings ? 
 
 Now, the son of a certain slaughtering Dane, 
 
 proud of his treasure, paces this hall, 
 2055 joys in the killing, and carries the jewel * 
 
 that rightfully ought to he owned hy thee ! 
 
 Thus he urges and eggs him all the time 
 
 with keenest words, till occasion offers 
 
 that Freawaru's thane, for his father's deed, 
 2060 after bite of brand in his blood must slumber, 
 
 on to vengeance. At his instigation the Dane is killed ; hut the murderer, 
 afraid of results, and knowing the land, escapes. So the old feud must 
 Jbreak out again. 
 
 1 In Saxo (Bk. VI) Starcatherus sees that the slayers of Protho, father 
 of Ingellus, are high in favor with the latter king, and sings a song of 
 reproach at the banquet. At first he complains of the neglect of himself 
 in his old age and of the king's gluttony ; then he passes to taunts of 
 cowardice and an appeal for vengeance on the murderers. 
 
 2 That is, their disastrous battle and the slaying of their king. 
 
 8 WithergUd is. mentioned in Widsith, v. 124, and must be a proper 
 name. If it were taken otherwise, it might be translated " when recom- 
 penoe, chance to recover losses, was out of the question." 
 
 * The sword, here called "treasure " or " jewel " in no strained figure. 
 It is unnecessary to turn it into a collar or other adornment. 
 
112 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 losing his life ; but that liegeman flies 
 living away, for the land he kens. 
 And thus be broken on both their sides 
 oaths of the earls, when Ingeld's breast 
 
 2065 wells with war-hate, and wife-love now 
 after the care-billows cooler grows. 
 
 " So ^ I hold not high the Heathobards' faith 
 due to the Danes, or their during love 
 and pact of peace. — But I pass from that, 
 
 2070 turning to Grendel, O giver-of -treasure, 
 and saying in full how the fight resulted, 
 hand-fray of heroes. When heaven's jewel 
 had fled o'er far fields, that fierce sprite came, 
 night-foe saiyage, to seek us out 
 
 2075 where safe and sound we sentried the hall. 
 To Hondscio then was that harassing deadly, 
 his fall there was fated. He first was slain, 
 girded warrior. Grendel on him 
 turned murderous mouth, on our mighty kinsman, 
 
 2080 and all of the brave man's body devoured. 
 Yet none the earlier, empty-handed, 
 would the bloody-toothed murderer, mindful of bale, 
 outward go from the gold-decked hall : 
 but me he attacked in his terror of might, 
 
 2085 with greedy hand grasped me. A glove hung by him ^ 
 
 1 Beowulf returns to his forecast. Things might well go somewhat as 
 follows, he says ; sketches a little tragic story ; and with this prophecy 
 by illustration returns to the tale of his adventure. One will hardly 
 agree with Mtillenhoff that such a use by the poet of an old legend shows 
 mere helpless imbecility of interpolation. In many other cases, say 
 Gray's Sard, the close of Dickens's Tale of two Cities, Thomas of 
 Ercaldoune, — to mention some very incongruous instances, — one praises 
 the good art or artifice of narrative. 
 
 2 Not an actual glove, but a sort of bag. The line could run — 
 
 . . . with savage hand seized me. A sack hung by him . . , 
 
BEOWULF 113 
 
 wide and wondrous, wound with ba;Qds ; 
 
 and in artful wise it all was wrought, 
 
 by devilish craft, of dragon-skins. 
 
 Me therein, an innocent man, 
 2090 the fiendish foe was fain to thrust 
 
 with many another. He might not so, 
 
 when I all angrily upright stood. 
 
 'Twere long to relate how that land-destroyer 
 
 I paid in kind for his cruel deeds ; 
 2095 yet there, my prince, this people of thine 
 
 got fame by my fighting. He fled away, 
 
 and a little space his life preserved ; 
 
 but there staid behind him his stronger hand 
 
 left in Heorot ; heartsick thence 
 2100 on the floor of the ocean that outcast fell. 
 
 Me for this struggle the Scyldings' -friend 
 
 paid in plenty with plates of gold, 
 
 with many a treasure, when morn had come 
 
 and we all at the banquet-board sat down. 
 2105 Then was song and glee. The gray-haired Scylding, 
 
 much tested, told of the times of yoiie. 
 
 Whiles the hero his harp bestirred, 
 
 wood-of -delight ; now lays he chanted 
 
 of sooth and sadness, or said aright 
 2110 legends of wonder, the wide-hearted king ; 
 
 or for years of his youth he would yearn at times, 
 
 for strength of old struggles, now stricken with age, 
 
 hoary hero : his heart surged full 
 
 when, wise with winters, he wailed their flight. 
 2115 Thus in the hall the whole of that day 
 
 at ease we feasted, till fell o'er earth 
 
 another night. Anon full ready 
 
114 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 in greed of vengeance, Grendel's mother 
 
 set forth all doleful. Dead was her son 
 2120 through war-hate of Weders ; now, woman monstrous, 
 
 with fury fell a foeman she slew, 
 
 avenged her offspring. From ^schere old, 
 
 loyal councillor, life was gone ; 
 
 nor might they e'en, when morning broke, 
 2125 those Danish people, their death-done comrade 
 
 burn with brands, on balefire lay 
 
 the man they mourned. Under mountain stream 
 
 she had carried the corpse with cruel hands. 
 
 For Hrothgar that was the heaviest sorrow 
 2130 of all that had laden the lord of his folk. 
 
 The leader then, by thy life, besought me 
 
 (sad was his soul) in the sea-waves' coil 
 
 to play the hero and hazard my being 
 
 for glory of prowess : my guerdon he pledged. 
 2135 I then in the waters — 'tis widely known — 
 
 that sea-floor-guardian savage found. 
 
 Hand-to-hand there a while we struggled ; 
 
 billows welled blood ; in the briny hall 
 
 her head I hewed with a hardy blade 
 2140 from Grendel's mother, — and gained my life, 
 
 though not without danger. My doom was not yet. 
 
 Then the haven-of-heroes, Healfdene's son, 
 
 gave me in guerdon great gifts of price. 
 
 XXXI 1 
 
 " So held this king to the customs old, 
 
 2145 that I wanted for nought in the wage I gained, 
 
 the meed of my might ; he made me gifts, 
 
 1 Sections XXIX and XXX are not indicated. 
 
BEOWULF 116 
 
 Healfdene's heir, for my own disposal. 
 Now to thee, my prince, I proffer them all, 
 gladly give them. Thy grace alone 
 
 2150 can find me favor. Few ^ indeed 
 
 have I of kinsmen, save, Hygelac, thee ! " 
 
 Then he bade them bear him the boar-head standard,^ 
 
 the battle-helm high, and breastplate gray, 
 
 the splendid sword ; then spake in form : — 
 
 2155 " Me this war-gear the wise old prince, 
 Hrothgar, gave, and his best he added, 
 that its story be straightway said to thee.^ — 
 A while it was held by Heorogar king, 
 for long time lord of the land of Scyldings ; 
 
 2160 yet not to his son the sovran left it, 
 
 to daring Heoroweard, — dear as he was to him, 
 his harness of battle. — Well hold thou it all ! " 
 And I heard that soon passed o'er the path * of this 
 treasure, 
 all apple-fallow, four good steeds, 
 
 2165 each like the others ; arms and horses 
 
 he gave to the king. So should kinsmen be, 
 not weave one another the net of wiles, 
 or with deep-hid treachery death contrive 
 
 i"None." He forgets, or lets his compliment forget, Weohstan ; 
 see w. 2813, 2602, below. But over fifty years pass between this date 
 and the date of his speech to "Wiglaf . Weohstan, moreover, was in ser- 
 vice at the Swedish court (Gering suggests that he was a younger son and 
 sought his fortune in foreign parts); and was actually fighting on the side 
 of Geatland's foes. See note to v. 2602, below. 
 
 ^See V. 1021. Klaeber, Modern Philology, III, 462, compares the old 
 " Raven " banners of the Northmen mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chroni- 
 cle ; and Professor Hart refers to Asser's Life of Alfred, trans. Giles, 
 Bohn ed., p. 62. 
 
 » Or : That first to thee should his thanks be said. 
 
 * Followed it. The original figure is " guarded its tracks." 
 
116 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 for neighbor and comrade. His nephew was ever 
 2170 by hardy Hygelac held full dear, 
 
 and each kept watch o'er the other's weal. 
 
 I heard, too, the necklace to Hygd he presented, 
 
 wonder-wrought treasure, which Wealhtheow gave 
 him, 
 
 sovran's daughter : three steeds he added, 
 2175 slender and saddle-gay. Since such gift 
 
 the gem gleamed bright on the breast of the queen. 
 Thus showed his strain the son of Ecgtheow 
 
 as a man remarked for mighty deeds 
 
 and acts of honor. At ale he slew not 
 2180 comrade or kin ; nor cruel his mood, 
 
 though of sons of earth his strength was greatest, 
 
 a glorious gift that God had sent 
 
 the splendid leader. Long was he spurned, 
 
 and worthless by Geatish warriors held ; 
 2185 him at mead the master-of-clans 
 
 failed full oft to favor at all. 
 
 Slack and shiftless ^ the strong men deemed him, 
 
 profitless prince ; but payment came, 
 
 to the warrior honored, for all his woes. — 
 2190 Then the bulwark-of-earls ^ bade bring within, 
 
 hardy chieftain, Hrethel's heirloom 
 
 garnished with gold : no Geat e'er knew 
 
 in shape of a sword a statelier prize. 
 
 The brand he laid in Beowulf's lap ; 
 2195 and of hides assigned him seven thousand, ^ 
 
 1 Even in the name and story of the Roman Brutus one finds traces of 
 this common motive in certain tales of the sluggish and stupid boy vrho 
 blossoms out as a warrior, a hero of renown. It is very common in 
 Norse legend. ^ Hygelac. 
 
 ^This is generally assumed to mean hides, though the text simply 
 
BEOWULF 117 
 
 with house and high-seat.^ They held in common 
 land alike by their line of birth, 
 inheritance, home : but higher the king 
 because of his rule o'er the realm itself. 
 
 2200 Now further it fell with the flight of years, 
 with harryings horrid, that Hygelac perished,^ 
 and Heardred, too, by hewing of swords 
 under the shield-wall slaughtered lay, 
 when him at the van of his victor-folk 
 
 says "seven thousand." In v. 2994 Wulf and Eofor each get "a hun- 
 dred thousand in land and winding rings. " A hide in England meant 
 about 120 acres, though "the size of the acre varied." Wulf and Eofor 
 together would thus get a tract as large as England itself ; see Mr. W. H. 
 Stevenson's note in his edition of Asser's Alfred, p. 154. He points out 
 that the numeral refers to both land and treasure. In this passage the 
 seven thousand may also include the value of "house and high-seat," 
 with vague idea of treasure in the bargain. Both numerals, then, the 
 seven thousand and the hundred thousand, are indefinite expressions of 
 quantity, somewhat as when one now says of a man that he is "worth a 
 million." 
 
 1 The seat in hall like a throne occupied by the owner and the head of 
 the clan. 
 
 2 On the historical raid into Frankish territory between 512 and 520 
 A.D. The subsequent course of events, as gathered from hints of this 
 epic, is partly told in Scandinavian legend. Heardred succeeds to the 
 throne ; for Beowulf most honorably refuses Hygd's proposal and serves 
 the young king as guardian and chief vassal. But the reign is short. If 
 vrith Gering we put 518 as the date of Hygelac's fall, it would not be 
 long before Heardred took up the cause of Eanmund and Eadgils, sons of 
 Ohtere, both of them rebels against their uncle Onela, the Swedish king. 
 Onela makes a raid into the territory of Heardred and kills him. Then 
 Beowulf succeeds. His further relations with this feud will be noted be- 
 low. — Heardred is called Hererio's nephew. As the sister's son was a 
 conspicuous relationship, and men had names from it analogous to the 
 patronymic method, one may suppose that Hygd had a brother Hereric. 
 
118 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 2205 sought hardy heroes, Heatho-Scilfings, 
 
 in arms o'erwhelming Hereric's nephew. 
 
 Then Beowulf came as king this broad 
 
 realm to wield ; and he ruled it well 
 
 fifty winters,^ a wise old prince, 
 2210 warding his land, until One began 
 
 in the dark of night, a Dragon, to rage. 
 
 In the grave on the hill a hoard it guarded, 
 
 in the stone-barrow steep. A strait path reached it, 
 
 unknown to mortals. Some man, however, 
 2216 came by chance that cave within 
 
 to the heathen hoard. ^ In hand he took 
 
 a golden goblet, nor gave he it back, 
 
 1 The chronology of the epic, as scholars haye worked it out, would 
 make Beowulf well over ninety years of age when he fights the dragon. 
 But the fifty years of his reign need not be taken as historical fact. 
 
 ^ The text is here hopelessly illegible, and only the general drift of the 
 meaning can be rescued. For one thing, we have the old myth of a 
 dragon who guards hidden treasure. But with this runs the story of 
 some noble, last of his race, who hides all his wealth within this barrow 
 and there chants his farewell to life's glories. After his death the dragon 
 takes possession of the hoard and watches over it. A condemned or ban- 
 ished man, desperate, hides in the barrow, discovers the treasure, and 
 while the dragon sleeps, makes off with a golden beaker or the like, and 
 carries it for propitiation to his master. The dragon discovers the loss 
 and exacts fearful penalty from the people round about. — The huge 
 barrows were prominent objects and frequent ; in the oldest English 
 charters we have directions for bounding estates "from the heathen bar- 
 row." They are still familiar in many an English landscape, like Mr. 
 Hardy's " Egdon Heath." Barrows have been opened which had a secret 
 entrance somewhat as described here. Moreover, the robbing of graves 
 which contained treasure or property proportional to the standing of 
 the buried man, must have been a strong temptation. That superstition 
 surrounded this crime vfith every sort of danger is evident enough. See 
 below, w. 3051-3073. Lifting buried gold is still an uncanny business, 
 and folk-lore recounts its perils. Such gold brings the worst of luck ; 
 and it is noteworthy that the epic takes this view, v. 3163, and has all 
 the dragon's treasure heaped in Beowulf's own tomb. 
 
BEOWULF 119 
 
 stole with it away, while the watcher slept, 
 by thievish wiles : for the warden's wrath 
 2220 prince and people must pay betimes ! 
 
 XXXII 
 
 That way he went with no will of his own, 
 
 in danger of life, to the dragon's hoard, 
 
 but for pressure of peril, some prince's thane. 
 
 He fled in fear the fatal scourge, 
 2225 seeking shelter, a sinful man, 
 
 and entered in. At the awful sight 
 
 tottered that guest, and terror seized him ; 
 
 yet the wretched fugitive rallied anon 
 
 from fright and fear ere he fled away, 
 2230 and took the cup from that treasure-hoard. 
 
 Of such besides there was store enough, 
 
 heirlooms old, the earth below, 
 
 which some earl forgotten, in ancient years, 
 
 left the last of his lofty race, 
 2235 heedfuUy there had hidden away, 
 
 dearest treasure. For death of yore 
 
 had hurried all hence ; and he alone 
 
 left to live, the last of the clan, 
 
 weeping his friends, yet wished to bide 
 2240 warding the treasure, his one delight, 
 
 though brief his respite. The barrow, new-ready, 
 
 to strand and sea-waves stood anear,^ 
 
 hard by the headland, hidden and closed ; 
 
 there laid within it his lordly heirlooms 
 
 1 t 
 \ 
 
 1 Jacob Grimm, alive to the poetry of these old traditions, tells of the 
 grave-chamher of one Swedish king which was close to the sea. 
 
120 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 2245 and heaped hoard of heavy gold 
 
 that warden of rings. Few words he spake : ^ — 
 " Now hold thou, earth, since heroes may not, 
 
 what earls have owned ! Lo, erst from thee' 
 
 brave men brought it ! But battle-death seized 
 2250 and cruel killing my clansmen all, 
 
 robbed them of life and a liegeman's joys. 
 
 None have I left to lift the sword, 
 
 or to cleanse the carven cup of price, 
 
 beaker bright. My brave are gone. 
 2255 And the helmet hard, all haughty with gold, 
 
 shall part from its plating. Polishers sleep 
 
 who could brighten and burnish the battle-mask ; 
 
 and those weeds of war that were wont to brave 
 
 over bicker of shields the bite of steel 
 2260 rust with their bearer. The ringed mail 
 
 fares not far with famous chieftain, 
 
 at side of hero ! No harp's delight, 
 
 no glee-wood's gladness ! No good hawk^ now 
 
 flies through the hall ! Nor horses fleet 
 2265 stamp in the burgstead ! Battle and death 
 
 the flower of my race have reft away.^' 
 
 Mournful of mood, thus he moaned his woe, 
 
 alone, for them all, and unblithe wept 
 
 by day and by night, till death's fell wave 
 2270 o'erwhelmed his heart. His hoard-of-bliss 
 
 ^ MtiUenhofi remarked on the resemblance of this elegiac passage to 
 the poems of the Exeter Ms., — The Ruin, The Wanderer, The Seafarer. 
 But in point of fact it is the favorite "deep note" of English poetry 
 at large, which always takes strength of word and emotion from the 
 thought of death. 
 
 2 When the father sees his " Pearl," in the poem of that name, he is 
 afraid and bides as still " as hawk in hall." 
 
BEOWULF 121 
 
 that old ill-doer open found, 
 
 who, blazing at twilight the barrows haunteth, 
 
 naked foe-dragon flying by night 
 
 folded in fire : the folk of earth 
 2275 dread him sore. 'Tis his doom to seek 
 
 hoard in the graves, and heathen gold 
 
 to watch, many- wintered : nor wins he thereby ! 
 Powerful this plague-of-the-people thus 
 
 held the house of the hoard in earth 
 2280 three hundred winters ; till One aroused 
 
 wrath in his breast, to the ruler bearing 
 
 that costly cup, and the king implored 
 
 for bond of peace. So the barrow was plundered, 
 
 borne off was booty. His boon was granted 
 2285 that wretched man ; and his ruler saw 
 
 first time what was _fashioned in far-off days. ■ 
 When the dragon awoke, new woe was kindled. 
 
 O'er the stone he snuffed. The stark-heart found 
 
 footprint of foe who so far had gone 
 2290 in his hidden craft by the creature's head. — 
 
 So may the undoomed easily flee 
 
 evils and exile, if only he gain 
 
 the grace of The Wielder ! — That warden of gold 
 
 o'er the ground went seeking, greedy to find 
 2295 the man who wrought him such wrong in sleep. 
 
 Savage and burning, the barrow he circled 
 
 all without ; nor was any there, 
 
 none in the waste. . . . Yet war he desired, 
 
 was eager for battle. The barrow he entered, 
 2300 sought the cup, and discovered soon 
 
 that some one of mortals had searched his treasure, 
 
 his lordly gold. The guardian waited 
 
122 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 ill-enduring till evening came ; 
 
 boiling with wrath was the barrow's keeper, 
 
 2305 and fain with flame the foe to pay 
 
 for the dear cup's loss. — Now day was fled 
 as the worm had wished. By its wall no more 
 was it glad to bide, but burning flew 
 folded in flame : a fearful beginning 
 
 2310 for sons of the soil ; and soon it came, 
 
 in the doom of their lord, to a dreadful end. 
 
 XXXIII 
 
 Then the baleful fiend its fire belched out, 
 and bright homes burned. The blaze stood high 
 all landsfolk frighting. No living thing 
 
 2315 would that loathly one leave as aloft it flew. 
 Wide was the dragon's warring seen, 
 its fiendish fury far and near, 
 as the grim destroyer those Geatish people 
 hated and hounded. To hidden lair, 
 
 2320 to its hoard it hastened at hint of dawn. 
 Folk of the land it had lapped in flame, 
 with bale and brand. In its barrow it trusted, 
 its battling and bulwarks : that boast was vain ! 
 
 To Beowulf then the bale was told 
 2325 quickly and truly : the king's own home, 
 
 of buildings the best, in brand-waves melted, 
 
 that gift-throne of Geats. To the good old man 
 
 sad in heart, 'twas heaviest sorrow. 
 
 The sage assumed that his sovran God 
 2330 he had angered, breaking ancient law, 
 
 and embittered the Lord. His breast within 
 
BEOWULF 123 
 
 with black thoughts welled, as his wont was never. 
 
 The folk's own fastness that fiery dragon 
 
 with flame had destroyed, and the stronghold all 
 
 2335 washed by waves ; but the warlike king, 
 prince of the Weders, plotted vengeance. 
 Warriors'-bulwark, he bade them work 
 all of iron — the earl's commander — 
 a war-shield wondrous: well he knew 
 
 2340 that forest-wood against fire were worthless, 
 linden could aid not. — Atheling brave, 
 he was fated to finish this fleeting life,^ 
 his days on earth, and the dragon with him, 
 though long it had watched o'er the wealth of the 
 hoard ! — 
 
 2345 Shame he reckoned it, sharer-of -rings, 
 to follow the flyer-afar with a host, 
 a broad-flung band; nor the battle feared he, 
 nor deemed he dreadful the dragon's warring, 
 its vigor and valor: ventures desperate 
 
 2350 he had passed a-plenty, and perils of war, 
 contest-crash, since, conqueror proud, 
 Hrothgar's hall he had wholly purged, 
 and in grapple had killed the kin of Grendel, 
 loathsome breed ! Not least was that 
 
 2355 of hand-to-hand fights where Hygelao fell, 
 when the ruler of Geats in rush of battle, 
 lord of his folk, in the Frisian land, 
 son of Hrethel, by sword-draughts ^ died, 
 
 1 Literally "loan-days," days loaned to man. Professor Hart refers to 
 the striking passage in Everyman, w. 164 ff. 
 
 2 This fine figure of the sword drinking the blood from the wounds it 
 has made should not be weakened. It is like that tremendous metaphor 
 
124 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 by brands down-beaten. Thence Beowulf fled 
 
 2360 through strength of himself and his swimming power, 
 though alone, and his arms were laden with thirty 
 coats of mail, when he came to the sea! ^ 
 Nor yet might Hetwaras ^ haughtily boast 
 their craft of contest, who carried against him 
 
 2365 shields to the fight: but few escaped 
 
 from strife with the hero to seek their homes I 
 Then swam over ocean Ecgtheow's son 
 lonely and sorrowful, seeking his land, 
 where Hygd made him offer of hoard and realm, 
 
 2370 rings and royal-seat, reckoning naught 
 
 the strength of her son to save their kingdom 
 from hostile hordes, after Hygelac's death. 
 No sooner for this could the stricken ones 
 in any wise moye that atheling's mind 
 
 2375 over young Heardred's head as lord 
 and ruler of all the realm to be : 
 yet the hero Upheld him with helpful words, 
 aided in honor, till, older grown, 
 he wielded the Weder-Geats. — Wandering exiles 
 
 2380 sought him o'er seas, the sons of Ohtere, 
 
 who had spurned the sway of the Scylfings'-helmet, 
 
 in the Exodus, ■when the engulfing waves -which clash over the drowned 
 Egyptians and toss their crests to heaven are thus compressed : — 
 
 mightest ofseordeaths 
 lashed the sky, — 
 
 that is, the sea which brought about death. 
 
 1 It is like the additional touch which legend always gives to history, 
 when Beowulf has this douceur of the thirty suits of armor, corresponding 
 to his hand-gripe of thirty-man power. 
 
 ^ Chattuarii, a tribe that dwelt along the Rhine, and took part in re- 
 pelling the raid of (Hygelao) Chooilaicus. 
 
BEOWULF 125 
 
 the bravest and best that broke the rings, 
 
 in Swedish land, of the sea-kings' line, 
 
 haughty hero.^ Hence Heardred's end. 
 2385 For shelter he gave them, sword-death came, 
 
 the blade's fell blow, to bairn of Hygelac ; 
 
 but the son of Ongentheow sought again 
 
 house and home when Heardred fell, 
 
 leaving Beowulf lord of Geats 
 2390 and gift-seat's master. — A good king he I 
 
 XXXIV 
 
 The fall of his lord he was fain to requite 
 in after days ; and to Eadgils he proved 
 friend to the friendless, and forces sent 
 over the sea to the son of Ohtere, 
 
 2395 weapons and warriors : well repaid he 
 
 those care-paths cold when the king he slew.^ 
 Thus safe through struggles the son of Ecgtheow 
 had passed a plenty, through perils dire, 
 wit^ daring deeds, till this day was come 
 
 2400 that doomed him now with the dragon to strive. 
 With comrades eleven the lord of Geats 
 swollen in rage went seeking the dragon. 
 
 1 Onela, son of Ongentheow, who pursues his two nephews Banmund 
 and Eadgils to Heardred's court, where they have taken refuge after their 
 unsuccessful rehellion. In the fighting Heardred is killed. 
 
 2 That is, Beowulf supports Eadgils against Onela, who is slain by 
 Eadgils in revenge for the "care-paths" of exile into which Onela 
 forced him. Bugge, relying on the Norse story, translates " by care- 
 paths cold " ; that is, Eadgils revenged himself by marches fraught with 
 care or sorrow for Onela. As the battle in the Tnglingasaga takes place 
 on the ice, Bugge reads "cold " literally. But it is the technical adjec- 
 tive for exile ; "winter-cold exile," e.g. in Deor^s , 
 
126 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 He had heard whence all the harm arose 
 
 and the killing of clansmen ; that cup of price 
 2405 on the lap of the lord had been laid by the finder. 
 
 In the throng was this one thirteenth man, 
 
 starter of all the strife and ill, 
 
 care-laden captive ; cringing thence 
 
 forced and reluctant, he led them on 
 2410 till he came in ken of that cavern-hall, 
 
 the barrow delved near billowy surges, 
 
 flood of ocean. Within 'twas full 
 
 of wire-gold and jewels ; a jealous warden, 
 
 warrior trusty, the treasures held, 
 2415 lurked in his lair. Not light the task 
 
 of entrance for any of earth-born men ! 
 Sat on the headland the hero king, 
 
 spake words of hail ^ to his hearth-companions, 
 
 gold-friend of Geats. AU gloomy his soul, 
 2420 wavering,^ death-bound. Wyrd full nigh 
 
 stood ready to greet the gray-haired man, 
 
 to seize his soul-hoard, sunder apart 
 
 life and body. Not long would be 
 
 the warrior's spirit enwound with flesh. 
 2425 Beowulf spake, the bairn of Ecgtheow : — 
 
 " Through store of struggles I strove in youth, 
 
 mighty feuds ; I mind them all. 
 
 I was seven years old when the sovran of rings, 
 
 friend-of-his-folk, from my father took me, 
 
 1 BfeZo. — Surely not "farewell," in spite of the lugubrious context, 
 which is quite in line with the usual epic anticipation of ill success and 
 death. It is his beat really, his vow, largely reminiscent of other strug- 
 gles, but closing with an explicit promise of valorous deed. 
 
 2 Animula vagula. — The personification of Wyrd should be noticed ; 
 it occurs so in the Heliand itself. 
 
BEOWULF 121 
 
 2430 had me, and held me, Hrethel the king, 
 with food and fee, faithful in kinship. 
 Ne'er, while I lived there, he loathlier found me,^ 
 bairn in the burg, than his birthright sons, 
 Herebeald and Hsethcyn and Hygelac mine. 
 
 2435 For the eldest of these, by unmeet chance, 
 by kinsman's deed, was the death-bed strewn, 
 when Hsethcyn killed him with horny bow, 
 his own dear liege laid low with an arrow, 
 missed the mark and his mate shot down, 
 
 2440 one brother the other, with bloody shaft. 
 A f eeless fight ^ and a fearful sin, 
 horror to Hrethel ; yet, hard as it was, 
 unavenged must the atheling die ! 
 Too awful it is for an aged man 
 
 2445 to bide and bear, that his bairn so young 
 
 1 Usual litotes : " he held me no less dear." 
 
 2 That is, the king could claim no wergild, or man-price, from one son 
 for the kiUing of the other. The casus is peculiarly Germanic in detail ; in 
 general scope it is lite the great kin-tragedies of the world's literature. A 
 similar story is told in the Thithrekssaga of Herbert, Herdegen, and Sin- 
 tram, but, as Miillenhoff points out, with a different ending. In the 
 Scottish ballad of The Twa Brothers, one kills the other while wrestling 
 (though with a knife) ; but the ballad touches the parent only by mes- 
 sages to account for the disappearance of John. It is important to under- 
 stand that the picture of the old king's grief is hypothetical. There 
 is no wergild, says the poet, and revenge is out of the question. For let 
 one but fancy the feelings of a father who has caused his son to be hanged ! 
 The picture of such a state of things then follows. Then (v. 2462) one 
 returns to Hrethel with the remark that his case was really as sad as the 
 hypothetical one. Gering thinks that the poet took his picture of the 
 broken-hearted parent from the story of Ermanric, of whom the Volsunga- 
 saga relates that he caused his only son to be hanged on an accusation 
 of misconduct with Swanhild, the young man's stepmother. Ermanric's 
 story was known to English poetry. See above, v. 1201, and the stanza in 
 Dear's Song. 
 
128 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 rides ^ on the gallows. A rime he makes, 
 
 sorrow-song for his son there hanging 
 
 as rapture of ravens ; no rescue now 
 
 can come from the old, disabled man ! 
 2450 Still is he minded, as morning breaks, 
 
 of the heir gone elsewhere ; ^ another he hopes not 
 
 he will bide to see his burg within 
 
 as ward for his wealth, now the one has found 
 
 doom of death that the deed incurred. 
 2455 Forlorn he looks on the lodge of his son, 
 
 wine-hall waste and wind-swept chambers 
 
 reft of revel. ' The rider sleepeth, 
 
 the hero, far-hidden ; ^ no harp resounds, 
 
 in the courts no wassail, as once was heard. 
 
 XXXV 
 
 2460 " Then he goes to his chamber, a grief -song chants 
 alone for his lost. Too large all seems, 
 homestead and house. So the helmet-of-Weders 
 hid in his heart for Herebeald 
 waves of woe. No way could he take 
 
 2465 to avenge on the slayer slaughter so foul ; 
 
 1 The regular metaphor m this case. The traditional phrase held for 
 a long while. Wright and Halliwell, Beliquiae Antiquae, II, 119, print 
 from a Harlelan Ms. these verses where Christ calls on man to consider 
 the sacrifice on the cross : — 
 
 Restles I ride, — 
 
 Lok upon me, put fro [thee] pride I 
 
 Mi palefrey is of tre. ..." 
 
 that is, "my horse is made of wood." Vigfusson, in one of the Grimm 
 centenary papers, says that gallows were horse-shaped. [" Traces of Old 
 Law in the Eddie Lays."] 
 
 2 Usual euphemism for death. s Sc. in the grave. 
 
BEOWULF 129 
 
 nor e'en could he harass that hero at all 
 
 with loathing deed, though he loved him not. 
 
 And so for the sorrow his soul endured, 
 
 men's gladness he gave up and God's light chose. 
 2470 Lands and cities he left his sons 
 
 (as the wealthy do) when he went from earth. 
 
 There was strife and struggle 'twixt Swede and Geat 
 
 o'er the width of waters ; war arose, 
 
 hard battle-horror, when Hrethel died, 
 2475 and Ongentheow's offspring grew 
 
 strife-keen, bold, nor brooked o'er the seas 
 
 pact of peace, but pushed their hosts 
 
 to harass in hatred by Hreosnabeorh.^ 
 
 Men of my folk for that feud had vengeance, 
 2480 for woful war ('tis widely known), 
 
 though one of them bought it with blood of his heart, 
 
 a. bargain hard : for Hsethcyn proved 
 
 1 This war must not be confused with the later hostilities between Geat 
 and Swede in Heardred's reign, already noted (vv. 2200 ff.) ; it deals 
 with an older feud, the main course of which can be surmised from this 
 passage and the long speech of the messenger (see v. 2922, below) who 
 announces Beowulf's death, and says that now not only wUl Frisians and 
 Franks be bent on war, but the Swedes will surely renew the ancient strife. 
 Onela and Ohthere are sons of Ongentheow, and often raid Geatland (the 
 mention of "wide water" makes for the Jutland theory of Beowulf's 
 home) ; Hsethcyn replies with a raid on Swedish soil. He seizes Ongen- 
 theow's" queen. But the old king follows the foe, defeats him, and kills 
 Hsethcyn, whose men are in desperate case, surrounded by enemies, in 
 Ravenswood. But now comes Hygelao with another Geatish army (not 
 so favorable a fact for Jutland !), defeats the Swedes, whose queen again 
 is captured, and besieges Ongentheow in his citadel. Ongentheow is finally 
 killed by Bof or, whose brother Wulf has been disabled in fierce fight with 
 the desperate old hero. Eofor is then married to Hygelac's daughter. The 
 lively but episodic account of this last struggle makes one yearn for the 
 original songs, perhaps the epic, in which it was sung. Bugge has shovra ' 
 traces of it in Norse tradition. The style of reference to the death of 
 Hsethcyn shows how familiar the whole story must have been. 
 
 K 
 
130 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 fatal that fray, for the first-of-Geats. 
 At morn,,! heard, was the murderer killed 
 2485 by kinsman for kinsman,^ with clash of sword, 
 when Ongentheow met Eofor there. 
 Wide split the war-helm : wan he fell, 
 hoary Scylfing ; the hand that smote him 
 of feud'was mindful,nor flinched from the death-blow. 
 
 2490 — " For all that he ^ gave me, my gleaming sword 
 repaid him at war, — such power I wielded, — 
 for lordly treasure : with land he entrusted me, 
 homestead and house. He had no need 
 from Swedish realm, or from Spear-Dane folk, 
 
 2495 or from men of the Gifths,^ to get him help, — 
 some warrior worse for wage to buy ! 
 Ever I fought in the front of all, 
 sole to the fore ; and so shall I fight 
 while I bide in life and this blade shall last 
 
 2500 that early and late hath loyal proved 
 
 since for my doughtiness Dseghrefn * fell, 
 
 1 Eofor for Wulf . — The immediate provocation for Eofor in killing 
 "the hoary Scylfing," Ongentheow, is that the latter has just struck Wulf 
 down ; but the king, Hsethcyn, is also avenged by the blow. See the 
 detailed description below, vv. 2961-2982. 
 
 2 Hygelac. — Beowulf comes to his own services and their reward ; the 
 transition is so abrupt that some verses may be supposed to have been 
 lost at this point. It wUl be noted that he speaks throughout this mono- 
 logue as a warrior, stout with sword, and not as a wrestler, phenomenal 
 " strong man," or the like, except in the almost contradictory parenthesis, 
 vv. 2506 f. In vv. 2518 f., the poet is matching Beowulf's speech before the 
 Grendel fight (677 ff.); while in 2680 ff., the "strong man" is again the 
 main theme, backed by an old Anglian legend of another prince. 
 
 ' Gepidae, who at this time were still near the Baltic. See Miillenhoff, 
 Deutsche AUerthumskunde, II, 99 ; and Widsith, v. 60. 
 
 * The Franks were called Hugones ; and this " Day-Eaven " may have 
 fought Beowulf on the historic raid into Erankish territory. 
 
BEOWULF 131 
 
 slain by my hand, the Hugas' champion. 
 Nor fared he thence to the Frisian king 
 with the booty back, and breast-adornments ; 
 
 2505 but, slain in struggle, that standard-bearer 
 
 fell, atheling brave. Not with blade was he slain, 
 but his bones were broken by brawny gripe, 
 his heart- waves stilled. — The sword -edge now, 
 hard blade and my hand, for the hoard shall strive." 
 
 2510 Beowulf spake, and a battle-vow made, 
 his last of all : "I have lived through many 
 wars in my youth ; now once again, 
 old folk-defender, feud will I seek, 
 do doughty deeds, if the dark destroyer 
 
 2515 forth from his cavern come to fight me ! " 
 Then hailed he the helmeted heroes all, 
 for the last time greeting his liegemen dear, 
 comrades of war : " I should carry no weapon, 
 no sword to the serpent, if sure I knew 
 
 2520 how, with such enemy, else my vows 
 I could gain as I did in Grendel's day. 
 But fire in this fight I must fear me now, 
 and poisonous breath ; so I bring with me 
 breastplate and board. ^ From the barrow's keeper 
 
 2525 no footbreadth flee I.^ One fight shall end 
 our war by the wall, as Wyrd allots, 
 all mankind's master. My mood is bold 
 but forbears to boast o'er this battling-flyer. 
 — Now abide by the barrow, ye breastplate-mailed, 
 
 2530 ye heroes in harness, which of us twain 
 better from battle-rush bear his wounds. 
 "Wait ye the finish. The fight is not yours, 
 1 Shield. 2 The same phrase is used by Leofsunu at Malion. 
 
132 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 nor meet for any but me alone 
 
 to measure might with this monster here 
 
 2535 and play the hero. Hardily I 
 
 shall win that wealth, or war shall seize, 
 cruel killing, your king and lord ! " 
 
 Up stood then with shield the sturdy champion, 
 stayed by the strength of his single manhood, 
 
 2540 and hardy 'neath helmet his harness bore 
 under cleft of the cliffs : no coward's path ! 
 Soon spied by the wall that warrior chief, 
 survivor of many a victory -field 
 where foemen fought with furious clashings, 
 
 2545 an arch of stone ; and within, a stream 
 
 that broke from the barrow. The brooklet's wave 
 
 was hot with fire. The hoard that way 
 
 he never could hope unharmed to near, 
 
 or endure those deeps,^ for the dragon's flame. 
 
 2550 Then let from his breast, for he burst with rage, 
 the Weder-Geat prince a word outgo ; 
 stormed the stark-heart ; stern went ringing 
 and clear his cry 'neath the cliff-rocks gray. 
 The hoard-guard heard a human voice ; 
 
 2665 his rage was enkindled. No respite now 
 for pact of peace ! The poison-breath 
 of that foul worm first came forth from the cave, 
 hot reek-of -fight : the rocks resounded. 
 Stout by the stone-way his shield he raised, 
 
 2560 lord of the Geats, against the loathed^one ; 
 while with courage keen that coiled foe 
 came seeking strife. The sturdy king 
 had drawn his sword, not dull of edge, 
 1 The hollow passage. 
 
BEOWULF 133 
 
 heirloom old ; and eacli of the two 
 
 2565 felt fear of his foe, though fierce their mood. 
 Stoutly stood with his shield high-raised 
 the warrior king, as the worm now coiled 
 together amain : the mailed-one waited. 
 Now, spire by spire, fast sped and glided 
 
 2570 that blazing serpent. The shield protected 
 soul and body a shorter while 
 for the hero-king than his heart desired,^ 
 could his will have wielded the welcome respite 
 but once in his life ! But Wyrd denied it, 
 
 2575 and victory's honors. — His arm he lifted, 
 lord of the Geats, the grim foe smote 
 with atheling's heirloom. Its edge was turned, 
 brown ^-blade, on the bone, and bit more feebly 
 than its noble master had need of then 
 
 2580 in his baleful stress. — Then the barrow's keeper 
 waxed full wild for that weighty blow, 
 cast deadly flames ; wide drove and far 
 those vicious fires. No victor's glory 
 the Geats' lord boasted; his brand had failed, 
 
 2585 naked in battle, as never it should, 
 excellent iron ! — 'Twas no easy path 
 that Ecgtheow's honored heir must tread 
 over the plain to the place of the foe ; 
 for against his will he must win a home 
 
 1 By another interpretation, the following lines would read — 
 
 what time it was fated first in his life 
 
 that Wyrd would not will him to wield at all 
 
 victory's honors. 
 
 2 See note to t. 1546 ; and for the "biting," t. 1455. For the seem- 
 ingly sarcastic note of " excellent " in v. 2586, see note to v. 644. 
 
134 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 2590 elsewhere far, as must all men, leaving 
 
 this lapsing life ! — Not long it was 
 
 ere those champions grimly closed again. 
 
 The hoard-guard was heartened; high heaved his 
 breast 
 
 once more ; and by peril was pressed again, 
 2595 enfolded in flames, the folk-commander ! 
 
 Nor yet about him his band of comrades, 
 
 sons of athelings, armed stood 
 
 with warlike front : to the woods they bent them, 
 
 their lives to save.^ But the soul of one 
 2600 with care was cumbered. Kinship true 
 
 can never be marred in a noble mind ! 
 
 XXXVI 
 
 Wiglaf his name was, Weohstan's son, 
 linden-thane loved, the lord of Scylfings,^ 
 ^Ifhere's kinsman. His king he now saw 
 2605 with heat under helmet hard oppressed. 
 
 He minded the prizes his prince had given him, 
 
 1 In 2532 the thanes were told to await the finish. Either this is con- 
 ventional blame of coward retainers ; or else the thanes are supposed to 
 fly from their place where Beowulf stationed them, when they ought to 
 have disregarded his instructions and helped. BeowuU's other band 
 waited for him by the uncanny and blood-stained mere. In Saxo (Bk. 
 IX, Holder, p. 302) Eagnar fights two huge serpents, who try to crush 
 him and kill him with their poison. He has no comrades ; but the men 
 of the court in that land fly to hiding-places and watch the fight "like 
 scared girls." 
 
 ^ As noted above to v. 2151, Weohstan was a kinsman of Hygelac and 
 Beowulf, but had taken service under the Swedish king Onela, killing the 
 rebel Eanmund and winning his weapons and armor. When Eadgils, 
 Eanmund's brother, succeeds to the Swedish throne, Weohstan returns to 
 his own kindred. Evidently he makes his peace, gets the family estates, 
 and leaves them to his son Wiglaf. (Gering, p. 119.) 
 
BEOWULF 135 
 
 wealthy seat of the Wsegmunding line, 
 and folk-rights that his father owned. 
 Not long he lingered. The linden yellow, 
 
 2610 his shield, he seized; the old sword he drew : — 
 as heirloom of Eanmund earth-dwellers knew it, 
 who was slain by the sword-edge, son of Ohtere, 
 friendless exile, erst in fray 
 killed by Weohstan, who won for his kin 
 
 2615 brown-bright helmet, breastplate ringed, 
 old sword of Eotens, Onela's gift, 
 weeds of war of the warrior-thane, 
 battle-gear brave : though a brother's child 
 had been felled, the feud was unfelt by Onela.* 
 
 2620 For winters this war-gear Weohstan kept, 
 
 breastplate and board, till his bairn had grown 
 earlship to earn as the old sire did : 
 then he gave him, mid Geats, the gear of battle, 
 portion huge, when he passed from life, 
 
 2625 fared ag^d forth. For the first time now 
 with his leader-lord the liegeman young 
 was bidden to share the shock of battle. 
 Neither softened his soul, nor the sire's bequest 
 weakened in war.^ So the worm found out 
 
 1 That is, although Eanmund was brother's son to Onela, the slaying 
 of the former by Weohstan is not felt as cause of feud, and Is rewarded 
 by gift of the slain man's weapons. 
 
 2 Both Wiglaf and the sword did their duty. — The following is one of 
 the classic passages for illustrating the comitatus as the most conspicuous 
 Germanic institution, and its underlying sense of duty, based partly on 
 the idea of loyalty and partly on the practical basis of benefits received 
 and repaid. It should be read along with the wholly admirable com- 
 panion portions of The Fight at Maldon, as well as the story of Cyne- 
 wuU and Cyneheard in the Chronicle. Historical song and epic strike 
 the same note ; and the testimony of Tacitus (^Qermania, c. ziv) is warm 
 
136 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 2630 when once in fight the foes had met! 
 
 Wiglaf spake, — and his words were sage; 
 sad in spirit, he said to his comrades : — 
 " I remember the time,^ when mead we took, 
 
 witli praise and admiration of Germanic loyalty among the warriors of 
 the first and second centuries. Caesar, as one would expect, looks at 
 the institution from a practical military man's point of view. 
 
 1 See the famous talk of Biarco and Hialto which Saxo (Bk. II, Hol- 
 der, pp.59 f.) sayshegot from "an old Danish song." In Elton's trans- 
 lation Hialto says : " Sweet it is to repay the gifts received from our lord 
 ... let us do with brave hearts all the things that in our cups we boasted 
 . . . let us keep the vows which we swore. ..." And Biarco (Bjarki) : "I 
 will die overpowered near the head of my slain Captain, and at his feet 
 thou also Shalt slip on thy face in death, so that whoso scans the piled 
 corpses may see in what wise we rate the gold our lord gave us 1 " — As 
 to "remembering the mead," see Finnsburg, yy. 39S. The very words 
 of Wiglaf, however, are echoed in ilfoMon by^Uwine, as the faithful thane 
 exhorts his comrades to fight on nor forsake their slain lord. 
 
 " Remember what time at the mead we talked, 
 when on the benches our boasts we made, 
 heroes In hall, of the hard encounter : 
 now may be kenned whose courage avails ! 
 I will my kinship make clear to all, 
 that I was in Meroia of mighty race. 
 My ag^d father was Ealhelm named. . . . 
 None of the lords of my land shall taunt me 
 I was fain from this field to flee away, 
 my life to save now my lord lies dead, 
 all hewn in combat, — my cruelest grief : 
 for he was my kinsman and captain both." 
 
 Offa exhorted in the same vein ; and then — 
 
 Leofsunu spake and lifted his shield: — 
 " This is my hest that hence I flee not 
 a footbreadth's space, but will further go 
 to revenge in fight my friend-and-lord. 
 Nor need at Sturmere steadfast thanes 
 jeer and taunt that I journeyed home, 
 when my liege had fallen, a lordless man." 
 
BEOWULF 137 
 
 what promise we made to this prince of ours 
 
 2635 in the banquet-hall, to our breaker-of-rings, 
 for gear of combat to give him requital, 
 for hard-sword and helmet, if hap should bring 
 stress of this sort ! Himself who chose us 
 from all his army to aid him now, 
 
 2640 urged us to glory, and gave these treasures, 
 because he counted us keen with the spear 
 and hardy 'neath helm, though this hero-work 
 our leader hoped unhelped and alone 
 to finish for us, — folk-defender 
 
 2645 who hath got him glory greater than all men 
 for daring deeds ! Now the day is come 
 that our noble master has need of the might 
 of warriors stout. Let us stride along 
 the hero to help while the heat is about him 
 
 2650 glowing and grim ! For God is my witness 
 I am far more fain the fire should seize 
 along with my lord these limbs of mine! ^ 
 Unsuiting ^ it seems our shields to bear 
 
 A valuable survival of this taunting of men who broke the oath of 
 loyalty is the cry of the sworn-brother in Bewick and Graham : — 
 
 In every town that I ride through, 
 
 They'll say — ' ' There rides a brotherless man 1 " 
 
 That is, there is one who has done to death his sworn-brother. 
 
 With these speeches of the Maldon warriors and of Wiglaf one may 
 compare the awliward but effective prose which reports the answer of 
 Cynewulf's thanes to the conquering band of Cyneheard. They resist all 
 bribes and entreaties to quit their dead master and king, and fall beside 
 him. The account is perhaps based on an old lay. — See Anglo-Saxon 
 Chronicle for the year 755. 
 
 1 Sc. "than to bide safely here," — a common figure of incomplete 
 comparison. 
 
 2 Unusually deliberate understatement, indicating the excess of shame 
 and disgrace. 
 
138 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 homeward hence, save here we essay 
 
 2655 to fell the foe and defend the life 
 
 of the Weders' lord. I wot 'twere shame 
 
 on the law of our land ^ if alone the king 
 
 out of Geatish warriors woe endured 
 
 and sank in the struggle ! My sword and helmet, 
 
 2660 breastplate and board, for us both shall serve ! " 
 
 Through slaughter-reek strode he to succor his 
 
 chieftain, 
 his battle-helm bore, and brief words spake : — 
 " Beowulf dearest, do all bravely, 
 as in youthful days of yore thou vowedst 
 
 2665 that while life should last thou wouldst let no wise 
 thy glory droop ! Now, great in deeds, 
 atheling steadfast, with all thy strength 
 shield thy life ! I will stand to help thee." 
 At the words the worm came once again, 
 
 2670 murderous monster mad with rage, 
 
 with fire-billows flaming, its foes to seek, 
 
 the hated men. In heat-waves burned 
 
 that board 2 to the boss, and the breastplate failed 
 
 to shelter at all the spear-thane young. 
 
 2675 Yet quickly under his kinsman's shield 
 
 went eager the earl, since his own was now 
 all burned by the blaze. The bold king again 
 had mind of his glory: with might his glaive 
 was driven into the dragon's head, — 
 
 2680 blow nerved by hate. But Ngegling ^ was shivered, 
 
 * Custom, tradition, — one of the boni mores which, Tacitus says, 
 counts for so much more than law. ^ Wiglaf s wooden shield. 
 
 8 Gering would translate " kinsman of the nail," as both are made of 
 iron. — What is said here of Beowulf's excessive strength, like the 
 former mention of his early slackness, is a legendary trait of Ofia 
 
BEOWULF 139 
 
 broken in battle v/as Beowulf's sword, 
 
 old and gray. 'Twas granted him not 
 
 that ever the edge of iron at all 
 
 could help him at strife : too strong was his hand, 
 2685 so the tale is told, and he tried too far 
 
 with strength of stroke all swords he wielded, 
 
 though sturdy their steel : they steaded him nought. 
 
 Then for the third time thought on its feud 
 
 that folk-destroyer, fire-dread dragon, 
 2690 and rushed on the hero, where room allowed, 
 
 battle-grim, burning ; its bitter teeth 
 
 closed on his neck, and covered him 
 
 with waves of blood from his breast that welled. 
 
 XXXVII 
 
 'Twas now, men say, in his sovran's need 
 2695 that the earl made known his noble strain, 
 craft and keenness and courage enduring. 
 Heedless of harm,^ though his hand was burned, 
 hardy-hearted, he helped his kinsman. 
 A little lower 2 the loathsome beast 
 
 the elder, the TJfEo of Saxo Grammaticus. This excess of strength is a 
 favorite trait in certain lines of romance, runs into exaggeration, and lends 
 itself to burlesque. In Hugh Spencer's Feats in France, a poor popular 
 ballad, the hero cannot tilt with any one French lance, his strength 
 smashing it in his hand ; and he is accommodated only when a dozen 
 lances are bound into one. 
 
 1 Literally, "heeded not head," — either his own ("heedless of head 
 and limbs " translates Gering), or else the dragon's: "nor feared the 
 flame from the beast's jaws," — which is less likely. 
 
 2 As in other fights with a dragon, the monster is killed by a blow 
 underneath its body where no scales protect it. Saxo's Frotho, succeed- 
 ing to a depleted treasury, is told by a " native " about a dragon {serpens') 
 who guards a mount (montis possessor) full of treasure. Its poison is 
 deadly. Frotho must not seek to pierce its scales, but "there is a place 
 
140 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 2700 he smote with sword ; his steeL drove in 
 bright and burnished ; that blaze began 
 to lose and lessen. At last the king 
 wielded his wits again, war-knife drew, 
 a biting blade by his breastplate hanging,^ 
 
 2705 and the Weders'-helm smote that worm asunder, 
 felled the foe, flung forth its life.^ 
 
 So had they killed it, kinsmen both, 
 athelings twain: thus an earl should be 
 in danger's day ! — Of deeds of valor 
 
 2710 this conqueror's-hour of the king was last, 
 of his work in the world. The wound began, 
 which that dragon-of-earth had erst inflicted, 
 to swell and smart ; and soon he found 
 in his breast was boiling, baleful and deep, 
 
 2715 pain of poison. The prince walked on, 
 wise in his thought, to the wall of rock ; 
 then sat, and stared at the structure of giants, 
 where arch of stone and steadfast column 
 upheld forever that hall in earth. 
 
 2720 Yet here must the hand of the henchman peerless 
 lave with water his winsome lord, 
 the king and conqueror covered with blood, 
 with struggle spent, and unspan his helmet. 
 Beovmlf spake in spite of his hurt, 
 
 under its belly" where his sword can thrust and kill. — Saxo, Bk. II 
 (Holder, p. 38). Much the same is told of another king who slays the 
 serpent that guards an " underground room." Bk. VI (Holder, p. 181). 
 
 1 In the ballads this useful dagger or short sword is often a " wee pen- 
 knife that hangs low down by the gare " ; but the wee penknife now and 
 then is described as " three-quarters [of a yard] long." 
 
 '^ As in all the adventures described by our poet, the actual climax and 
 decisive part of the fight is told in briefest fashion. 
 
BEOWULF 141 
 
 2725 his mortal wound ; full well he knew 
 his portion now was past and gone 
 of earthly bliss, and all had fled 
 of his file of days, and death was near : 
 " I would fain bestow on son of mine 
 
 2730 this gear of war, were given me now 
 that any heir should after me come 
 of my proper blood. This people I ruled 
 fifty winters. No folk-king was there, 
 none at aU, of the neighboring clans 
 
 2735 who war would wage me with ' warriors'-friends ' ^ 
 and threat me with horrors. At home I bided 
 what fate might come, and I cared for mine own ; 
 feuds I sought not, nor falsely swore 
 ever on oath. For all these things, 
 
 2740 though fatally wounded, fain am I ! ^ 
 
 From the Ruler-of-Man no wrath shall seize me, 
 when life from my frame must flee away, 
 for killing of kinsmen ! Now quickly go 
 
 1 That is, swords. See v. 1810, at)ove. " Friend-of-war " would be a 
 more exact translation of the kenning. 
 
 2 "With a joyful spirit,- 1 Sir Richard Granville, die." "I am no 
 sinner," says Beowulf, " and die a glad man." This mood of the happy 
 warrior in death has had less clerical correction than occurred in a 
 similar situation in The Fight at Maldon. Byrhtnoth, dying on the 
 field, looks up to heaven and says : — 
 
 " I praise and thank thee, Prince of Nations, 
 for all the bliss this earth has brought me 1 
 Now, Merciful Maker, is most my need 
 that thou good speed to my spirit give, 
 and let my soul to thee safely come, 
 pass in peace to thy power and keeping, 
 Prince of Angels ! I pray thee well 
 l' that it get no harm from hell's destroyers." 
 
 For^the unmixed note of exultation we turn to the pagan Norsemen. 
 
142 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 and gaze on that hoard 'neath the hoary rock, 
 2745 Wiglaf loved, now the worm lies low, 
 
 sleeps, heart-sore, of his spoil bereaved. 
 
 And fare in haste. I would fain behold 
 
 the gorgeous heirlooms, golden store, 
 
 have joy in the jewels and gems, lay down 
 2750 softlier for sight of this splendid hoard 
 
 my life and the lordship I long have held." 
 
 xxx'viii 
 
 I have heard that swiftly the son of Weohstan 
 at wish and word of his wounded king, — 
 war-sick warrior, — woven mail-coat, 
 
 2755 battle-sark, bore 'neath the barrow's roof.^ 
 Then the clansman keen, of conquest proud, 
 passing the seat,^ saw store of jewels 
 and glistening gold the ground along; , 
 by the wall were marvels, and many a vessel 
 
 2760 in the den of the dragon, the dawn-flier old : 
 unburnished bowls of bygone men 
 reft of richness ; rusty helms 
 of the olden age ; and arm-rings many 
 wondrously woven. — Such wealth of gold, 
 
 2765 booty from barrow, can burden with pride 
 
 each human wight : let him hide it who will ! — 
 His glance too fell on a gold-wove banner 
 
 1 It is a common feature of Anglo-Saxon poetical style that the move- 
 ments of prominent persons are described in this way. So v. 405, 
 "Beowulf spake, — on him the breastplate glittered," etc. Hence, in- 
 stead of the word " to go," the poet takes phrases like " bore his armor," 
 " bore sword and shield." In translations such as " went protected by 
 his armor " (Gering), the stylistic feature is lost. 
 
 2 Where Beowulf lay. 
 
BEOWULF 143 
 
 high o'er the hoard, of handiwork noblest, 
 brilliantly broidered ; so bright its gleam, 
 
 2770 all the earth-floor he easily saw 
 
 and viewed all these vessels. No vestige now 
 was seen of the serpent : the sword had ta'en him. 
 
 Then, I heard, the hill of its hoard was reft, 
 old work of giants, by one alone ; 
 
 2775 he burdened his bosom with beakers and plate 
 at his own good will, and the ensign took, 
 brightest of beacons. — The blade of his lord 
 — its edge was iron ^ — had injured deep 
 one that guarded the golden hoard 
 
 2780 many a year and its murder-fire 
 
 spread hot round the barrow in horror-billows 
 at midnight hour, till it met its doom. 
 Hasted the herald, the hoard so spurred him 
 his track to retrace ; he was troubled by doubt, 
 
 2785 high-souled hero, if haply he'd find 
 
 alive, where he left him, the lord of Weders, 
 weakening fast by the wall of the cave. 
 So he carried the load. His lord and king 
 he found all bleeding, famous chief, 
 
 2790 at the lapse of life. The liegeman again 
 plashed him with water, till point of word 
 broke through the breast-hoard. Beowulf spake, 
 sage and sad, as he stared at the gold : — 
 " For the gold and treasure, to God my thanks, 
 
 2795 to the Wielder-of- Wonders, with words I say, 
 
 for what I behold, to Heaven's Lord, 
 
 ^ The formula doubtless had come down from days when, as Tacitus 
 says, metals were rare among the Germans and iron had to be imported. 
 The whole passage is a variant of w. 2771 (6) f. Wiglaf took all this 
 treasure without fear of interruption, for the warden of it was killed. 
 
144 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 for the grace that I give such gifts to my folk 
 
 or ever the day of my death be run I 
 
 Now I've bartered here for booty of treasure 
 2800 the last of my life, so look ye well 
 
 to the needs of my land ! No longer I tarry. 
 
 A barrow bid ye the battle-famed raise 
 
 for my ashes. 'Twill shine by the shore of the flood, 
 
 to folk of mine memorial fair 
 2805 on Hrones Headland high uplifted, 
 
 that ocean-wanderers oft may hail 
 
 Beowulf's Barrow, as back from far ^ 
 
 they drive their keels o'er the darkling wave." 
 From his neck he unclasped the collar of gold, 
 2810 valorous king, to his vassal gave it 
 
 with bright-gold helmet, breastplate, and ring, 
 
 to the youthful thane : bade him use them in joy. 
 " Thon art end and remnant of all our race, 
 
 the Waegmunding name. For Wyrd hath swept them, 
 2815 aU my line, to the land of doom, 
 
 earls in their glory: I after them go." 
 
 This word was the last which the wise old man 
 
 harbored in heart ere hot death-waves 
 
 of balefire he chose. From his bosom fled 
 2820 his soul to seek the saints' reward.^ 
 
 1 Besides the Germanic Yngwar, who was buried by the sea, there are 
 famous classical cases. Achilles had his tomb " high on a jutting head- 
 land over wide Hellespont, that it might be seen from far ofi the sea by 
 men that now are and by those that shall be hereafter." So the Odyssey, 
 in Butcher and Lang's translation of the last book. In Book XI, Elpenor 
 asks for such a tomb. According to Vergil, ^n. VI, 232, Misenus was 
 buried by ^neas on a huge mound on a cliff by the sea. 
 
 2 A Christian term, — "the splendid state of the redeemed, of the 
 martyrs," — heaven. 
 
BEOWULF 145 
 
 XXXIX 
 
 It was heavy hap for that hero young 
 on his lord heloved to look and find him 
 lying on earth with life at end, 
 sorrowful sight. But the slayer too, 
 
 2825 awful earth-dragon, empty of hreath, 
 
 lay felled in fight, nor, fain of its treasure, 
 could the writhing monster rule it more. 
 For edges of iron had ended its days, 
 hard and battle-sharp, hammers' leaving ; ^ 
 
 2830 and that flier-afar had fallen to ground 
 hushed by its hurt, its hoard all near, 
 no longer lusty aloft to whirl 
 at midnight, making its merriment seen, 
 proud of its prizes : prone it sank 
 
 2835 by the handiwork of the hero-king. 
 
 Forsooth among folk but few^ achieve, 
 
 — though sturdy and strong, as stories tell me, 
 
 and never so daring in deed of valor, - — 
 
 the perilous breath of a poison-foe 
 
 2840 to brav?, and to rush on the ring-hoard hg,ll, 
 whenever his watch the warden keeps 
 bold in the barrow. Beowulf paid 
 the price of death for that precious hoard ; 
 and each of the foes had found the end 
 
 2845 of this fleeting life. 
 
 Befell erelong 
 that the laggards in war the wood had left, 
 
 1 What had been left or made by the hammer ; well-forged. 
 
 2 As usual, litotes for " none at all." 
 
146 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 trothbreakers, cowards,^ ten together, 
 
 fearing before to flourish a spear 
 
 in the sore distress of their sovran lord. 
 
 2850 Now in their shame their shields they carried, 
 armor of fight, where the old man lay; 
 and they gazed on "Wiglaf. Wearied he sat 
 at his sovran's shoulder, shieldsman good, 
 to wake him with water.^ Nowise it availed. 
 
 2855 Though well he wished it, in world no more 
 could he barrier life for that leader-of-battles 
 ■ nor baffle the will of all-wielding God. 
 Doom of the Lord was law o'er the deeds 
 of every man, as it is to-day. 
 
 2860 Grim was the answer, easy to get, 
 
 from the youth for those that had yielded to fear 1 
 Wiglaf spake, the son of Weohstan, — 
 mournful he looked on those men unloved : — 
 " Who sooth will speak, can say indeed 
 
 2865 that the ruler who gave you golden rings 
 and the harness of war in which ye stand 
 — for he at ale-bench of ten-times 
 bestowed on hall-folk helm and breastplate, 
 lord to liegemen, the likeliest gear 
 
 2870 which near or far he could find to give, — 
 threw away and wasted these weeds of battle, 
 on men who failed when the foemen came ! 
 
 1 In Maldon the antitype of cowardice and false thaneship is furnished 
 by the three sons of Odda, — Godric, who mounts his lord's own horse 
 when the chieftain falls, and flies to the woods and the fastness, Godwint;, 
 and Godwig. They will not stay to fall about their lord's body, faithful 
 in death, as do the rest. 
 
 2 Trying to revive him. In the Anglo-Saxon Genesis, water " wakes " 
 land into fertility. 
 
BEOWULF 147 
 
 Not at all could tlie king of his comrades-in-arms 
 venture to vaunt, though the Victory- Wielder, 
 
 2875 God, gave him grace that he got revenge 
 sole with his sword in stress and need. 
 To rescue his life, 'twas little that I 
 could serve him in struggle ; yet shift I made 
 (hopeless it seemed) to help my kinsman. 
 
 2880 Its strength ever waned, when with weapon I struck 
 that fatal foe, and the fire less strongly 
 flowed from its head. — Too few the heroes 
 in throe of contest that thronged to our king I 
 Now gift of treasure and girding of sword, 
 
 2885 joy of the house and home-delight 
 shall fail your folk; his freehold-land 
 every clansman within your kin 
 shall lose and leave, when lords highborn 
 hear afar of that flight of yours, 
 
 2890 a fameless deed. Yea, death is better 
 for liegemen all than a life of shame I " 
 
 XL 
 
 That battle-toil bade he at burg to announce, 
 at the fort on the cliff, where, full of sorrow, 
 all the morning earls had sat, 
 
 2895 daring shieldsmen, in doubt of twain: 
 
 would they wail as dead, or welcome home, 
 their lord beloved ? Little i kept back 
 of the tidings new, but told them all, 
 the herald that up the headland rode. — 
 
 2900 "Now the willing-giver to Weder folk 
 
 1 Nothing. 
 
148 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 in death-bed lies, the Lord of Geats 
 on the slaughter-bed sleeps by the serpent's deed I 
 And beside him is stretched that slayer-of-men 
 with knife-wojinds sick: i no sword availed 
 
 2905 on the awesome thing in any wise 
 
 to work a wound. There Wiglaf sitteth, 
 Weohstan's bairn, by Beowulf's side, 
 the living earl by the other dead, 
 and heavy of heart a head-watch ^ keeps 
 
 2910 o'er friend and foe. — Now our folk may look 
 for waging of war when once unhidden 
 to Frisian and Frank the fall of the king 
 is spread afar. — The strife began 
 when hot on the Hugas ^ Hygelac fell 
 
 2915 and fared with his fleet to the Frisian land. 
 Him there the Hetwaras humbled in war, 
 plied with such prowess their power o'erwhelming 
 that the bold-in-battle bowed beneath it 
 and fell in fight. To his friends no wise 
 
 2920 could that earl give treasure ! And ever since 
 the Merowings' favor has failed us wholly.* 
 Nor aught expect I of peace and faith 
 from Swedish folk. 'Twas spread afar 
 how Ongentheow reft at Ravenswood 
 
 2925 Hsethcyn Hrethling of hope and life. 
 
 1 Dead. 2 Death-watoh, guard of honor, " lyke-wake." 
 
 »A name for the Franks. — "The fleet" (literally "fleet-army") 
 marks a viking's raid ; but does not mj^ke necessarily for the argument 
 that Geats were Swedes. An expedition by boat from Jutland, using the 
 large rivers for quick piratical assaults and plunderings, is likely enough. 
 
 * The Hetvraras (see v. 2363, above) were subordinate to the Prankish 
 or Merovingian line founded by Chlodowech (Clovis), whose grandson 
 Theudebert was in command of the forces which routed Hygelac's army. 
 
BEOWULF 149 
 
 when the folk of Geats for the first time sought 
 in wanton pride the Warlike-Scylfings. 
 Soon the sage old sire i of Ohtere, 
 ancient and awful, gave answering blow; 
 
 2930 the sea-king 2 he slew, and his spouse redeemed, 
 his good wife rescued, though robbed of her gold, 
 mother of Ohtere and Onela. 
 Then he followed his foes, who fled before him 
 sore beset and stole their way, 
 
 2935 bereft of a ruler, to Ravenswood. 
 
 "With his host he besieged there what swords had left, 
 the weary and wounded ; woes he threatened 
 the whole night through to that hard-pressed throng: 
 some with the morrow his sword should kill, 
 
 2940 some should go to the gallows-tree 
 
 for rapture of ravens. But rescue came 
 with dawn of day for those desperate men 
 when they heard the horn of Hygelac sound, 
 tones of his trumpet ; the trusty king 
 
 2945 had followed their trail with faithful band. 
 
 XLI 
 
 "The bloody swath of Swedes and Geats 
 and the storm of their strife, were seen afar, 
 how folk against folk the fight had wakened. 
 The ancient king with his atheling band 
 2950 sought his citadel, sorrowing much : 
 Ongentheow earl went up to his burg. 
 He had tested Hygelac's hardihood, 
 the proud one's prowess, would prove it no longer, 
 
 1 Ongentheow. — This episode has heen explained above, note to v. 
 2477. 2 H^thcyn. 
 
150 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 defied no more those fighting-wanderers 
 
 2955 nor hoped from the seamen to save his hoard, 
 his bairn and his bride : so he bent him again, 
 old, to his earth-walls. Yet after him came 
 with slaughter for Swedes the standards of Hygelac 
 o'er peaceful plains in pride advancing, 
 
 2960 till Hrethelings fought in the fenced town.^ 
 Then Ongentheow with edge of sword, 
 the hoary-bearded, was held at bay, 
 and the folk-king there was forced to suffer 
 Eofor's anger. In ire, at the king 
 
 2965 Wulf Wonreding with weapon struck ; 
 
 and the chieftain's blood, for that blow, in streams 
 flowed 'neath his hair. No fear felt he, 
 stout old Scylfing, but straightway repaid 
 in better bargain that bitter stroke 
 
 2970 and faced his foe with fell intent. 
 
 Nor swift enough was the son of Wonred 
 answer to render the aged chief ; 
 too soon on his head the helm was cloven ; 
 blood-bedecked he bowed to earth, 
 
 2975 and fell adown : not doomed was he yet, 
 
 and well he waxed, though the wound was sore. 
 Then the hardy Hygelac-thane,* 
 when his brother fell, with broad brand smote, 
 giants'-sword crashing through giants'-helm 
 
 1 The line may mean : till Hrethelings stormed on the hedged shields, — 
 i.e. the shield-wall or hedge of defensive war. — Hrethelings, of course, 
 are Geats. 
 
 '^ Eofor, brother to Wulf Wonreding. As was noted above, this Ho- 
 meric account of the flght is not difficult to follow. Wulf wounds Ongen- 
 theow, who replies with a teiTific stroke, felling Wulf to earth, but not 
 killing him. Eofor, the brother, avenges Wulf speedily, and gets his 
 reward for killing the old hero-king. 
 
BEOWULF 161 
 
 2980 across the shield-wall : sank the king, 
 his folk's old herdsman, fatally hurt. 
 There were many to bind the brother's wounds 
 and lift him, fast as fate allowed 
 his people to wield the place-of-war. 
 
 2985 But Eofor took from Ongentheow, 
 earl from other, the iron-breastplate, 
 hard sword hilted, and helmet too, 
 and the hoar-chief's harness to Hygelac carried, 
 who took the trappings, and truly promised 
 
 2990 rich fee 'mid f olk,i — and fulfilled it so. 
 For that grim strife gave the Geatish lord, 
 Hrethel's offspring, when home he came, 
 to Eofor and Wulf a wealth of treasure. 
 Each of them had a hundred thousand ^ 
 
 2995 in land and linked rings ; nor at less price reckoned 
 mid-earth men such mighty deeds ! 
 And to Eofor he gave his only daughter 
 in pledge of grace, the pride of his home. 
 
 " Such is the feud, the foeman's rage, 
 
 3000 death-hate of men : so I deem it sure 
 that the Swedish folk will seek us home 
 for this fall of their friends, the fighting-Scylfings,^ 
 when once they learn that our warrior leader 
 lifeless lies, who land and hoard 
 
 3005 ever defended from all his foes, 
 
 1 Conjectural but obvious reading, with the general sense of " open " — 
 public, prominent. 
 
 '^ Sc. " value in ' ' hides and the weight of the gold. See note on v. 2195, 
 above. 
 
 'Transposed from its place as v. 3005, and reading "Soylflngs" for 
 the " Scyldings " of the Ms. Then no gap need be assumed. 
 
152 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 furthered his folk's weal, finished his course 
 a hardy hero. — Now haste is best, 
 that we go to gaze on our Geatish lord, 
 and bear the bountiful breaker-of-rings 
 
 3010 to the funeral pyre. No fragments merely 
 
 shall burn with the warrior. ^ Wealth of jewels, 
 gold untold and gained in terror, 
 treasure at last with his life obtained, 
 all of that booty the brands shall take, 
 
 3015 fire shall eat it. No earl must carry 
 memorial jewel. No maiden fair 
 shall wreathe her neck with noble ring : 
 nay, sad in spirit and shorn of her gold, 
 oft shall she pass o'er paths of exile 
 
 3020 now our lord all laughter has laid aside, 
 all mirth and revel. Many a spear 
 morning-cold shall be clasped amain, 
 lifted aloft ; nor shall lilt of harp 
 those warriors wake ; but the wan-hued raven,^ 
 
 3025 fain o'er the fallen, his feast shall praise 
 and boast to the eagle how bravely he ate 
 when he and the wolf were wasting the slain." 
 
 So he told his sorrowful tidings, 
 and little ^ he lied, the loyal man 
 3030 of word or of work. The warriors rose ; 
 
 ^ Beowulf was glad he had won such treasure for his folk, v. 2794, 
 ahove. Earls and maids should be glad for it. But the herald, who fore- 
 sees for earl and maid another fate — exile for one, and death in battle 
 after surprise at dawn (or is it that the spear shall be found clasped by 
 a cold, dead hand?) for the other— will heap all the treasure in the 
 tomb'. Compare the treasures for Soyld's ship-burial. 
 
 2 See Finnshurg, vv. 6, 36. « Not at all. 
 
BEOWULF 153 
 
 sad, they climbed to the Cliff-of-Eagles, 
 
 went, welling with tears, the wonder to Yiew. 
 
 Found on the sand there, stretched at rest, 
 
 their lifeless lord, who had lavished rings 
 3035 of old upon them. Ending-day 
 
 had dawned on the doughty-one ; death had seized 
 
 in woful slaughter the Weders' king. 
 
 There saw they, besides, the strangest being, 
 
 loathsome, lying their leader near, 
 3040 prone on the field. The fiery dragon, 
 
 fearful fiend, with flame was scorched. 
 
 Reckoned by feet, it was fifty measures 
 
 in length as it lay. Aloft erewhile 
 
 it had revelled by night, and anon come back, 
 3045 seeking its den; now in death's sure clutch 
 
 it had come to the end of its earth-hall joys. 
 
 By it there stood the stoups and jars ; 
 
 dishes lay there, and dear-decked swords 
 
 eaten with rust, as, on earth's lap resting, 
 3050 a thousand winters they waited there. 
 
 For all that heritage huge, that gold 
 
 of bygone men, was bound by a spell,^ 
 
 so the treasure-hall could be touched by none 
 
 of human kind, — save ^ that Heaven's King, 
 3055 God himself, might give whom he would. 
 
 Helper of Heroes, the hoard to open, — 
 
 even such a man as seemed to him meet. 
 
 1 Laid on it when it was put in the harrow. This spell, or in our days 
 the " curse," either prevented discovery or brought dire ills on the finder 
 and taker. The Nihelungs' gold is cited hy Holthausen as a case in point. 
 — See below, v. 3069. 
 
 2 One of our poet's mild " riders " to correct obvious remains of gentil- 
 ism. 
 
184 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 XLII 
 
 A perilous path, it proved, he ^ trod 
 who heinously hid, that hall within, 
 
 3060 wealth under wall ! Its watcher had killed 
 one of a few,^ and the feud was avenged 
 in woful fashion. Wondrous seems it, 
 what manner a man of might and valor 
 oft ends his life, when the earl no longer 
 
 3065 in mead-hall may live with loving friends. 
 So Beowulf, when that barrow's warden 
 he sought, and the struggle ; himself knew not 
 in what wise he should wend from the world at last. 
 For 2 princes potent, who placed the gold, 
 
 3070 with a curse to doomsday covered it deep, 
 so that marked with sin the man should be, 
 hedged with horrors, in hell-bonds fast, 
 racked with plagues, who should rob their hoard. 
 Yet no greed for gold, but the grace of heaven, 
 
 3075 ever the king had kept in view.* 
 
 Wiglaf spake, the son of Weohstan : — 
 "At the mandate of one, oft warriors many 
 sorrow must suffer ; and so must we. 
 The people's-shepherd showed not aught 
 
 1 Proliably the fugitive is meant who discovered the hoard. Ten Brink 
 and Gering assume that the dragon is meant. " Hid " (the Ms. reading) 
 may well mean here " took while in hiding." 
 
 2 That is, " one and a few others." But Beowulf seems to he indicated. 
 
 * Ten Brink points out the strongly heathen character of this part of the 
 epic. Beowulf's end came, so the old tradition ran, from his unwitting 
 interference with spell-bound treasure. 
 
 * A hard saying, variously interpreted. In any case, it is the some- 
 what clumsy eSort of the Christian poet to tone down the heathenism of 
 his material hy an edifying ohserration. 
 
BEOWULF 155 
 
 3080 of care for our counsel, king beloved I 
 
 That guardian of gold he should grapple not, urged we, 
 but let him lie where he long had been 
 in his earth-hall waiting the end of the world, 
 the best of heaven. — This hoard is ours, 
 
 3085 but grievously gotten ; too grim the fate 
 which thither carried our king and lord. 
 I was within there, and all I viewed, 
 the chambered treasure, when chance allowed me 
 (and my path was made in no pleasant wise) 
 
 3090 under the earth-wall. Eager, I seized 
 
 such heap from the hoard as hands could bear 
 and hurriedly carried it hither back 
 to my liege and lord. Alive was he still, 
 still wielding his wits. The wise old man 
 
 3095 spake much in his sorrow, and sent you greetings 
 and bade that ye build, when he breathed no more, 
 on the place of his balefire a barrow high, 
 memorial mighty. Of men was he 
 worthiest warrior wide earth o'er 
 
 3100 the while he had joy of his jewels and burg. 
 Let us set out in haste now, the second time 
 to see and search this store of treasure, 
 these wall-hid wonders, — the way I show you, — 
 where, gathered near, ye may gaze your fill 
 
 3105 at broad-gold and rings. Let the bier, soon made, 
 be all in order when out we come, 
 our king and captain to carry thither 
 — man beloved — where long he shall bide 
 safe in the shelter of sovran God." 
 
 3110 Then the bairn of Weohstan bade command, 
 hardy chief, to heroes many 
 
156 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 that owned their homesteads, hither to bring 
 firewood from far — o'er the folk they ruled — 
 for the famed-one's funeral. " Fire shall devour 
 
 3115 and wan flames feed on the fearless warrior 
 who oft stood stout in the iron-shower, 
 when, sped from the string, a storm of arrows 
 shot o'er the shield- wall : the shaft held firm, 
 featly feathered, followed the barb." ^ 
 
 3120 And now the sage young son of Weohstan 
 seven chose of the chieftain's thanes, 
 the best he found that band within, 
 and went with these warriors, one of eight, 
 under hostile roof. In hand one bore 
 
 3125 a lighted torch and led the way. 
 
 No lots they cast for keeping the hoard 
 when once the warriors saw it in hall, 
 altogether without a guardian, 
 lying there lost. And little they mourned 
 
 3130 when they had hastily haled it out, 
 
 dear-bought treasure ! The dragon they east, 
 the worm, o'er the wall for the wave to take, 
 and surges swallowed that shepherd of gems. 
 Then the woven gold on a wain was laden — 
 
 3135 countless quite ! — and the king was borne, 
 hoary hero, to Hrones-Ness. 
 
 XLIII 
 
 Then ^ fashioned for him the folk of Geats 
 firm on the earth a funeral-pile, 
 
 1 Professor Gamett's translation. 
 
 2 The construction of the poem is certainly strengthened by this dignified 
 close, which corresponds in theme to the opening lines. 
 
BEOWULF 157 
 
 and hung it with helmets and harness of war 
 3140 and breastplates bright, as the boon he asked ; 
 
 and they laid amid it the mighty chieftain, 
 
 heroes mourning their master dear. 
 
 Then on the hill that hugest of balefires 
 
 the warriors wakened. Wood-smoke rose 
 3145 black over blaze, and blent was the roar 
 
 of flame with weeping (the wind was still), 
 
 till the fire had broken the frame of bones, 
 
 hot at the heart. In heavy mood 
 
 their misery moaned they, their master's death. 
 3150 Wailing her woe, the widow ^ old, 
 
 her hair upbound, for Beowulf's death 
 
 sung in her sorrow, and said full oft 
 
 she dreaded the doleful days to come, 
 
 deaths enow, and doom of battle, 
 3155 and shame. — The smoke by the sky was devoured. 
 The folk of the Weders fashioned there 
 
 on the headland a barrow broad and high, 
 
 by ocean-farers far descried : 
 
 in ten days' time their toil had raised it, 
 3160 the battle-brave's beacon. Round brands of the pyre 
 
 a wall they built, the worthiest ever 
 
 that wit could prompt in their wisest men. 
 
 They placed in the barrow that precious booty, 
 
 the rounds and the rings they had reft erewhile, 
 
 1 Compare the account of Hildeburh at her brother's funeral, above, vv. 
 1114 ff. Nothing is said of Beowulf's wife in the poem, but Bugge — whose 
 restoration of the text is followed here — surmises that Beowulf finally 
 accepted Hygd's ofier of kingdom and hoard, and, as was usual, took her 
 into the bargain. In any case a praefica (with differences) belonged to the 
 Germanic funeral, and chanted her vocero. Specimens of these laments, 
 which often, as here, expressed forebodings for the future, may be found 
 in the present writer's Beginnings of Poetry. 
 
158 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 3165 hardy heroes, from hoard in cave, — 
 
 trusting the ground with treasure of earls, 
 
 gold in the earth, where ever it lies 
 
 useless to men as of yore it was. 
 
 Then about that barrow the battle-keen rode,^ 
 3170 atheling-born, a band of twelve, 
 
 lament to make, to mourn their king, 
 
 chant their dirge, and their chieftain honor. 
 
 They praised his earlship, his acts of prowess 
 
 worthily witnessed : and well it is 
 3175 that men their master-friend mightily laud, 
 
 heartily love, when hence he goes 
 
 from life in the body forlorn away. 
 
 . Thus made their mourning the men of Geatland, 
 for their hero's passing his hearth-companions: 
 3180 quoth that of all the kings of earth, 
 
 of men he was mildest and most beloved, 
 to his kin the kindest, keenest for praise. 
 
 1 The close resemblance of these funeral rites to the ceremonies at At- 
 tila's burial has often been noted. Jordanis, reporting them briefly — 
 pauca de muUis dicere — tells how the corpse was placed under a " silken 
 tent," and how horsemen rode round it, in masterly fashion, and chanted 
 Attila's great deeds. At the burial of Achilles "heroes of the Achaeans 
 moved mail-clad round the pyre . . . both footmen and horse, and great 
 was the noise that arose." 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE ATTACK OK FINNSBTTRG 
 
 TN contrast to the remoteness, the detached and moralizing 
 method, of the poet of the Beowulf, the singer of Finns- 
 lurg comes to close quarters with his theme, and treats it 
 in nervous, direct, dramatic fashion. Fragment as this 
 is, it serves to stamp its maker as no bookman, but a min- 
 strel, who knew how to rouse his hearers in the hall with 
 living words. In directness of treatment, in delight of 
 battle, it sounds the same note that one hears in the 
 historical poems of Maldon and BrunnayiiurJi. But it is 
 not an historical poem like those. It is a piece of the old 
 traditional and mainly oral epic, closely related to the 
 legendary cycle from which the Beowulf derived, and 
 resembling that poem in all essentials of style and metre. 
 Those qualities which difference it from the Beowulf 
 are mainly negative ; it lacks sentiment, moralizing, 
 the leisure of the writer; it did not attempt, probably, 
 to cover more than a single event; and one will not err in 
 finding it a fair type of the epic songs which roving sing- 
 ers were wont to chant before lord and liegemen in hall 
 and which were used with more or less fidelity by makers 
 of complete epic poems. 
 
 The manuscript which contained the Finnsburg frag- 
 ment once belonged to the library at Lambeth Palace, 
 but was lost some time ago. Hickes made a copy of it for 
 his Thesaurus, at the beginning of the eighteenth century; 
 and all editions are based on the copy. Hickes may have 
 
 159 
 
160 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 made mistakes ; the scribe is always guilty in these cases 
 until lie is proved innocent; and so arises store of con- 
 troversy over textual matters in infinite detail. But the 
 meaning and the vigor of the whole are beyond controversy. 
 
 "No gables are burning." — ^ 
 
 Then cried ^ to his band the battle-ydung king : 
 " 'Tis no dawn from eastward ; no dragon flies ; 
 nor burn on this hall the horned gables : 
 5 but hither comes bearing a hostile band 
 
 its hattle-gear IrigJit : ^ the birds * are calling, 
 
 " gray-coat " howls,^ and harsh dins the war- wood, ^ 
 
 1 Despite MSller's argument that the fight here described belongs 
 " between w. 1145 and 1146 " of Beowulf, that is, where Hengest and the 
 remnant of the Danes are attacked after the battle in which HnEef falls, 
 the majority of scholars are surely right in regarding this part of Finns- 
 hurg as the story of the first attack, in which Hnsef falls. See the note 
 to Beowulf, V. 1068. — Some one has called the attention of the " battle- 
 young king " to a peculiar light, and both suggests and rejects explanations, 
 the final one of which is preserved. The king is probably Hnsef, to 
 whom, perhaps, Hengest speaks. They are looking out from their hall. 
 
 2 In appeal, — a call and summons to the throng, as the chieftain notes 
 that the strange light is that of weapons, and that his hall is singled out 
 for a night attack. The desperate courage of chief and clansmen surprised 
 in a hall or within the usual house-defences was a favorite theme in Ger- 
 manic verse, corresponding to the frequency of the situation in actual 
 life. One thinks of the splendid close of the Nibelungen-Lay as the 
 masterpiece in its kind. Bugge points out the resemblance of the situation 
 to that described in the Saga of HroU Kraki. 
 
 ' Conjectural half -verses supplied by Grein to mend the broken rhyth- 
 mical scheme. 
 
 4 Birds of the battle-field, who follow the army in anticipation of fight, 
 and feast on the slain. See Beowulf, above, w. 3024 ff. ; the famous 
 passage in Brunnanhurh, vv. 60 f£. ; and Elene, vv. Ill f. (with J. 
 Grimm's note) . 
 
 5 The wolf ; see preceding references. Some editors make ' ' gray-coat ' ' 
 the "gray coat-of-mail," aitet Beowulf , v. 334. 
 
 * The spear. — The personification of this and kindred passages should 
 
THE ATTACK ON PINNSBURG 161 
 
 shield answers shaft. Yon shines the moon 
 
 full from the clouds ; and foul deeds rise 
 10 to whelm this people with peril and death. 
 
 But waken ye now, warriors mine ; 
 
 seize your shields, be steadfast in valor, 
 
 fight at the front, and fearless bide ! " 
 Then rose from rest, with ready courage^ 
 15 many gold-decked thanes, and girt them with swords. 
 
 Then went to the door those warriors doughty, 
 
 Sigeferth^ and Eawa, swords they drew; 
 
 to the other entrance, Ordlaf and Guthlaf,^ 
 
 whom Hengest himself all hastily followed. 
 20 Yet with Garulf * pleaded Guthere then 
 
 to draw no sword ^ at the door of the hall 
 
 nor risk at first rush his royal life 
 
 where the rugged-in-war ^ would wrest it from him. 
 
 not be prosed into " rattled on," or " clashed," instead of " spoke." Com- 
 pare the passage {Andveas, 442) describing an ocean storm, where "The 
 bUlow oft answered, one wave the other." 
 
 1 Conjectural, to mend a deficient line. 
 
 2 See below, v. 26, and Widsith, v. 31, where he appears as 
 Sseferth. 
 
 * See Beowulf^ 1148, where the two are mentioned, Ordlaf appearing 
 as Oslaf. Later they return to Frisian land and help to take vengeance on 
 Finn. Gering points out that the names are " good Norse." 
 
 * Garulf and Guthere are Frisians of the attacking party ; one of them 
 asks the other not to risk life in the first desperate onrush (Gering : in 
 this his first battle). — Which is the petitioner ? Eecently Klaeber has 
 proposed a reading which makes Guthere the spokesman and assumes 
 that he is uncle to Garulf. As Hagen with Patafrid in the WaWiarius, 
 as HUdebrand with Wolfhart in the Mbelungen, so here Guthere pleads 
 with his sister's son not to risk life in the first onrush. 
 
 6 Literally, not to carry his war-gear to the door, not to go there. 
 
 « Perhaps Sigeferth, whom Guthere sees at the door ; but it may simply 
 mean that a veteran and heroic champion is sure to be at the post, and 
 that Garulf should wait for the general engagement rather than rush on 
 sure death. 
 
162 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 But he ^ cried across all in no craven's voice, 
 
 25 hardy hero : " Who holds the door? " 
 
 " Sigeferth my name is, Seegas' prince, 
 wide-heralded hero : heavy my trials, 
 hard wars that I waged ; there awaits thee now 
 such ^ as thyself would serve to me ! " 
 
 30 Then din by the door ^ from death-blows sounded ; 
 in hands of heroes were hewn the shields, 
 the bone-helms * burst ;" and the burg-floor groaned, 
 until in the grim fight Garulf fell 
 first of the earls of earth-dwellers there,^ 
 
 35 Guthlaf 's ^ son, and good men beside him. 
 Sank still the slain : wide cirbled the raven 
 sallow-brown, swarthy : the sword-light gleamed 
 as if Finn's whole burg were blazing with fireJ 
 Never heard I that worthier warring men, 
 
 40 conquerors sixty, more splendidly fought, 
 
 and for mead-draughts sweet such service rendered, 
 
 1 By Klaeber's reading, Garulf. 
 
 2 Literally, " which of the two," — life or death. 
 
 8 Ms. "In the hall," with false rime, and therefore changed by editors 
 to " by the wall." 
 
 * Variant of " shields " in the preceding verse. 
 
 ' That is, as ten Brink explains, of those who dwelt in that part of the 
 earth, — the Frisians. 
 
 ' To avoid a clash with v. 18, above, M511er changed to Guthulf (war- 
 wolf). Ten Brink suspects a tragic motive and retains Guthlaf. ^Father 
 and son would thus be opposed and repeat the tragedy of the Hildebrand 
 Lay. 
 
 ' Valhalla was lighted by swords. See Uhland, Mythus v. Thor, p. 
 166. — Swords were named for their light-giving power ; they shine after 
 death of the owner, — as in the case of that sailor who has slain five and 
 twenty dragons (^Salomon and Saturn, 156 1) : — 
 
 His sword well-burnished shineth yet, 
 and over the barrow beam the hilts. . . . 
 
THE ATTACK ON FINNSBUEG 163 
 
 as hero-liegemen paid Hnsef their lord ! 
 
 Five days fought they in full succession, 
 
 five nights as well; ^ but none was slain 
 
 45 of those doughty warriors warding the door. 
 
 Then wended away a wounded clansman, 
 said that his breastplate was broken sore, 
 his harness hewn, his helmet pierced. 
 Swiftly then asked the shepherd-of-folk ^ 
 how the warriors all their wounds were bearing, 
 or which one, now, of the heroes twain ^ . . . 
 
 50 
 
 1 Half -verses supplied by MoUer. 
 
 2 Hnsef is the likely chieftain to ask this question. One of his warriors 
 has to leave the door because his armor no longer is trustworthy ; and 
 Hnsef asks the rest how they fare. Some editors, however, think it is 
 Finn ; and others prefer Hengest. 
 
 " Few fragments inspire more sorrow over the loss of good things than 
 this nervous and swift-moving scene of battle. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 WALDBEE 
 
 "UROM the famous Waltharius, one of the best poems of 
 medieval times, although written in Latin hexameters 
 by a scholar at the monastery of St. Gall as a kind of ex- 
 ercise in composition, we learn the story of Walter and 
 Hiltigund as it was current early in the tenth century 
 among the Alemannians. Probably Ekkehard, who wrote 
 it, had his material in Latin prose ; it is not now believed 
 that the young poet translated directly from a German 
 original. Surely, however, there were poems about Walter 
 in the vernacular; and the present fragments in Anglo- 
 Saxon show that the story itself was popular throughout 
 the Germanic world. Jacob Grimm believed that Walter 
 was originally a Gothic hero; and the connection with Attila 
 makes for this supposition. As for the flight of the pair, 
 the pursuit, the combats, there is reason to believe that 
 these romantic elements are based on the old story of Heden 
 and Hilde, runaway lovers, where Hagen is the father of 
 the bride. 
 
 The fragments of our Anglo-Saxon epic poem — for 
 such it probably was, and not merely a short lay — show 
 an older form of the story than is found in Ekke- 
 hard's version. Guthhere is " friend," — that is, king, — 
 "of the Burgundians," while for Ekkehard Guntharius 
 has become Frank. But the story cannot have varied much 
 in its essential facts. Attila, pictured as an amiable and 
 
 164 \ 
 
"WALDEEE 165 
 
 accomplished monarch, carries off hostages from sundry- 
 kingdoms of Western Europe to insure promised tribute, 
 but gives his young captives the best of training and nur- 
 ture. "Hagano," Hagen, is hostage for the Frankish 
 king; Herericus of Burgundy must give his daughter 
 Hiltigund — in Anglo-Saxon, Hildeguth ; while Alphere, 
 king of Aquitania, surrenders his son Waltharius. The 
 three grow into strength and beauty at Attila's court, 
 treated as sons and daughter. Hagen and Walter are 
 sworn friends — "blood-brothers." Gunther (Guntha- 
 rius ; Guthhere in Anglo-Saxon) meanwhile succeeds to 
 the Frankish throne, and Hagen escapes in order to join 
 his master. Walter and Hiltigund, too, soon fly as a 
 betrothed pair from Attila, taking with them treasure of 
 great value. Gunther learns that the fugitives are in his 
 domain, and summons his vassals to help him capture 
 the booty and the maiden. Hagen tries to dissuade him, 
 but goes along with the other eleven chosen companions 
 of the king. This of course is the size of a comitatus for 
 kings or heroes on particularly dangerous quests. The 
 fugitives are overtaken. Walter chooses a good defensive 
 ground, with rocks behind him and on both sides. Hagen 
 again tries to prevent bloodshed, but in vain. Walter in 
 single combat kills eight heroes who come upon him succes- 
 sively; among them is Hagen's sister's son, who will not de- 
 sist for all his uncle's warning. Then four together come 
 upon the heroic Walter with a curious weapon, a kind of 
 combined trident and lasso; but three of them are killed in 
 the attempt. Of all his foes Walter has only Gunther and 
 his old friend Hagen left. But the old friend feels now a 
 motive for fighting ; he must revenge the killing of his 
 sister's son. Moreover, Gunther makes the last appeal 
 
166 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 to Hagen's loyalty ; and the hero consents, pointing out, 
 however, that Walter must be enticed out of his impreg- 
 nable fighting-place. So the king and his vassal apparently 
 give up the battle and withdraw. 
 
 All night Walter and Hiltigund rest, and next day re- 
 sume their journey. In the open Walter is attacked by 
 both Gunther and Hagen; they fight as in ballads, for long 
 hours ; but after all three of the combatants have suffered 
 mutilations of the severest kind, peace is made; the woman 
 acts as surgeon ; and amid jocosities between the reconciled 
 brothers-in-arms, and with much drinking of wine, the 
 poem ends, not omitting, however, the picture of future 
 felicity for Walter and his bride. 
 
 The first of these Anglo-Saxon fragments belongs before 
 the fight in the open. Exhausted by the long struggle 
 with his foes, Walter now for the first time hesitates; he 
 is not quite sure either of himself or of his sword. His 
 own favorite weapon is the spear; and, as he says in the 
 second fragment to Guthhere, he is battle-spent and weary. 
 Probably the Anglo-Saxon poem did not put a night be- 
 tween the two sets of encounters.^ However that may 
 have been, Hildeguth, who is here no shrinking and quiet 
 maiden, exhorts Walter to play the man. As for his sword, 
 that never failed yet ; as for himself, she knows well what 
 he has done, and willed to do, in the most desperate straits 
 of war. Let him drive Guthhere in disgrace from the 
 field. . . . Not very much of the text between the frag- 
 ments has been lost. In the second Guthhere is advanc- 
 ing to fight and uttering his boast. He praises his sword 
 
 1 Zupitza is reported as saying in his lectures that " he thought It not 
 impossible that the sequence of the fragments had been turned around." 
 See Josef Fischer, Zu den Waldere-Fragmenten, Breslau, 1886. 
 
WALDBRE 167 
 
 and gives its proud history. Walter, or Waldere, replies 
 that tired as he is, he is a match for the king; nor has 
 Hagen, as the king hoped, broken down "Walter's strength 
 so as to make him an easy victim. His defiant invitation 
 to Guthhere to come and fetch the spoils of war from 
 his person is good Germanic; so perhaps is the pious 
 bow to fate, to God, but it has been set to a feebler 
 tune. The style of these fragments is not so energetic 
 and convincing as the style of Finnshurg; but taken all 
 together they show that our literature has lost a fine story 
 not ineffectively told. 
 
 The manuscript of the Waldere belongs to the library 
 of Copenhagen, where it was found as cover for some 
 unvalued sermons. 
 
 Sildeguth spake. She heartened ^ him eagerly: 
 " Sure, work of Wayland ^ wHl weaken never 
 with any man who can Mimming wield, 
 hoary-hued sword. Many heroes by turn 
 5 blood-stained and blade-pierced in battle it feUed.^ 
 Attila's van-leader,* valor of thine let not 
 fail thee to-day or thy doughty-mood fall ! 
 
 1 If we translate "heard Mm gladly," then the conjectural words in 
 italics are wrong. Heinzel thinks this speech is made by some com- 
 rade, some man, to Waldere, who " hears him gladly." But the other 
 supposition, that Hildeguth addresses her lover and hero, is vastly 
 preferable. 
 
 2 The sword. In the Beowulf, Wayland is credited with the making of 
 the hero's breastplate ; and there as here the sword must have a name of 
 the patronymic form. 
 
 3 Literally, " have fallen " ; sc. by its work. 
 
 * In the Latin poem, Waltharius just before he fled from Attila had led 
 his master's army against the foe in a successful campaign. 
 
168 THE OLDEST EKGLISH EPIC 
 
 . . . The day is come 
 ■when to one or other thy way must lead, — 
 
 10 loss of life, or lasting glory 
 
 ever with earth-dwellers, ^Ifhere's son! 
 Nowise can my words bewail, O friend, 
 that ever I saw thee,^ when swords were at play, 
 shamefully shrink from shock of battle 
 
 15 with warrior foe, and flee to the wall 
 
 to shield thy body, — though blades enow 
 hewed on thy harness from hostile throng! 
 Nay, further ever the fight thou hast urged, 
 and I feared thy fate, so far thy venture, 
 
 20 lest thou too wildly sliouldst war, and seek, 
 in clash of contest, combat mortal 
 with another man.^ Have mind now on honor, 
 on glory of war, while God is with thee ! 
 Fear not for the brand : the bravest of weapons, 
 
 25 'twas given to help us ^ ! On Guthhere, therefore, 
 beat down his boast ; this battle he sought, 
 and stirred up strife in spite of justice; 
 the sword he claimed, and the caskets of treasure,* 
 wealth of rings: now, wanting them all 
 
 30 he shall flee from this fight to find his lord, 
 hasten homeward, or here shall he die 
 if he . . . 
 
 ^ That is, " ever heard it said of thee that thou . . ." 
 
 2 She has often been frightened about his fate, she says, fearing he would 
 go beyond even the bounds of his wonderful resources and so fall victim 
 to some hostile warrior. Now is the time to show that same desperate 
 spirit. . . . 
 
 ' Literally, " as an aid to both of us." 
 
 * In the Latin poem Guntharius pretends he has a right to Walter's 
 plunder in pay for the tribute the Franks have sent to Attila. 
 
WALDEEE 169 
 
 B 
 
 "... a better sword ^ 
 save only this, which I as well ^ 
 have kept concealed in the stone-bright case.* 
 I know that Theodric * thought to send it 
 
 5 to Widia ^ himself, with wealth of treasure, 
 of gold with that glaive, and gifts enow 
 precious: — so Widia was paid his reward 
 that the kinsman of Nithhad ^ from cruel straits, 
 son of Wayland, saved his lord, 
 
 10 who journeyed fast from the giants' land." 
 
 Waldere spake, warrior famous, 
 held in his hand the help-in-battle,'' 
 
 1 Guthhere is making bis boast before opening fight. Hagen still holds 
 off. In preceding lines Guthhere probably said that his own sword was 
 better than Waldere's. 
 
 2 As thou ? 
 
 3 " Jewelled scabbard " seems a good meaning. " Here is a sword as 
 good as any, though, like thyself, I have not yet unsheathed it," may be 
 the purport of this speech. Then we come into smooth water. The sword 
 was once property of the great hero, etc. 
 
 * Theodoric the Goth played a main part in Germanic legend as Dietrich 
 of Bern, chief vassal of Attila. His figure is familiar in the last scene of 
 the Nibelungen. 
 
 5 Widia is probably the Wudgaof Widsith, w. 124 ff., where he is one of 
 the great warriors of Ermanric ; here he is transferred to the Theodric 
 legend. 
 
 8 Widia is thought to be the historical Vidigoja ; but by this account he 
 was son of Wayland (Weland, Valundr) by Baduhild, daughter of Nith- 
 had. In the well-known myth, Nithhad captures Wayland and takes away 
 his magic ring so that he cannot fly (by another more prosaic account, 
 hamstrings him), gives the ring, with others, to his daughter Baduhild, 
 and sets the divine smith to useful work in captivity. The daughter comes 
 to Wayland to have her ring repaired ; but Wayland detains her, and be- 
 gets this son by her. One of Widia's feats in his service with Theodric is 
 to free his lord from the giants. 
 
 " Kenning for " sword." 
 
20 
 
 170 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 weapon of war; his words lie uttered: 
 
 " Lo, great was thy faith, Burgundians'-friend,^ 
 
 15 that Hagen's hand would hold me to warfare, 
 
 unfit me for fighting ! Now fetch, if thou darest, 
 
 from so battle-worn 2 man this breastplate gray! 
 
 Here it stands on my shoulders, splendid with gold, 
 
 ^Ifhere's heirloom, amply studded,^ 
 
 no evil armor for atheling's wear 
 
 if only with hands he can heart and life 
 
 guard from his foes. It fails me never 
 
 when cruel unkindred * crowd upon me, 
 
 beset me with swords, as ye sought me here ! 
 
 Yet One Only ^ availeth the victory to give, 
 
 ready to aid whatever is right ! 
 
 Whoso hopes for help from the Holy One, 
 
 Grace of God, will get it surely, 
 
 if his ways have earlier earned him that. 
 
 30 Then haughty heroes may have their reward, 
 and wield their wealth. . . . 
 
 1 Kenning for " king," as in Beowulf. 
 
 2 See introductory remarks above. Waldere has slain all the vassals 
 of Guthhere save Hagen, if we follow the account of Ekkehard. 
 
 s " Wide-nebbed." 
 
 * Unmoegas. — The adjective " cruel " is conjectured. 
 
 * This is not so incongruous as it looks from the point of view of the 
 preceding boast. The concession to Wyrd, or Fate, probably formed a 
 part of these old speeches of defiance. " Wyrd goes aye as she must," 
 says Beowulf. New theology accented the concession and added the 
 graces of Christian humility. 
 
 25 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE HILDEBRAND LAY 
 
 ^LTHOUGH not written in English, the Hildebrand 
 Lay, sole fragment of the old epic poetry in Ger- 
 man, is so nearly related in matter and manner to parts 
 of the English epic, and derives its theme from sources 
 related so closely to the source of Waldere, that a trans- 
 lation of it may well be added to the foregoing pieces. 
 One has thus a body of West-Germanic poetry of the 
 early period, to offset the far greater mass of East-Ger- 
 manic poetry preserved by happy chance in Scandinavia. 
 
 The facts about this lay of Hildehrand and Rathubrand 
 are hard to fix in detail; but the general drift is clear. 
 Not far from the year 800, two monks, who may have 
 belonged to the monastery at Fulda, copied the poem, 
 which lacks both beginning and end, on the covers of a 
 theological manuscript. Probably they had the poem 
 before them in writing. If so, this in its turn was 
 written, as Lachmann urges for the copy, from memory; 
 and memory retained only those parts that have come to 
 us. Some roving singer had sung to the High-German 
 writer a song which was mainly in Low-German dialect ; 
 and what this writer could remember of it he had set 
 down in a curious mixture of linguistic forms, but not 
 in such utter confusion as to forbid the recognition of 
 the original piece as substantially of Saxon origin. 
 
 The main theme is very old and has always been popu- 
 
 171 
 
172 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 lar ; for proof, one needs but to mention such a distant 
 and modern treatment of it as the Sohrah and Bustvm 
 of Matthew Arnold. Scholars have found it in widely- 
 spread and varying forms ; and a German ballad, many cen- 
 turies later, has actually given to the grim scene a happy 
 ending. In its present shape the story has become part 
 of the Theodorio legend, and as such must be credited 
 to the romantic and highly poetical Goths; would that 
 some kindly fate had preserved the rich and sonorous 
 words of their version! The Nibelungen, as every one 
 knows, places old Hildebrand as Dietrich's right-hand 
 man, who, with his lord, has been long among the Huns, 
 in that banishment of which Deor speaks in the Anglo- 
 Saxon lyric, — only in the Hildebrand Lay one is told that 
 Odoacer is cause of the flight. Kogel points out the 
 curious perversity of legend when it deals with historical 
 facts : it was Odoacer whom Theodoric really shut up in 
 Ravenna and put to death. That Attila and Theodoric 
 became contemporary in this cycle of legends, and are 
 treated as overlord and chief vassal, is another license of 
 the legendary muse. But the poem is the thing. Un- 
 doubtedly it is much closer than such epic verse as the 
 Beowulf, and even the Waldere fragments, to the old songs 
 which minstrels had come to sing and which warriors 
 still made about their own deeds or the deeds of their 
 friends. The nervous directness is here which one was 
 tempted to find characteristic of Finnshurg. Full of 
 blunders as the manuscript is, with patches of something 
 very like prose when the scribe failed to remember his 
 original, — one should think of a schoolboy writing out 
 from memory The Charge of the Light Brigade, — the whole 
 effect is that of contact with strong and resonant verse. 
 
THE HILDEBEAND LAY 173 
 
 The original, as •vras hinted above, must have had 
 a tragic ending ; the theme demands it, and not only a 
 scrap of this same tale in Old Norse, but analogy of 
 other cases, where similar matter is handled, sustains the 
 demand. The father unwillingly kills his son. Such 
 things must have actually happened now and again in 
 the days of the oomitatus, and ten Brink surmises such a 
 case in the Finnshurg with Garulf and Guthlaf ; but the 
 killing of near kin remained the capital crime for a 
 German. The frecLuency of it means, for the Sibyl of 
 the Voluspa poem, the approaching end of the world. 
 Here, then, was tragedy of the kind which thrilled 
 a Greek audience at the fearful dilemma of Orestes. 
 Loyalty to one's lord was a Germanic virtue which grew 
 stronger with the necessities of constant warfare, until it 
 came to be supreme, and thus overshadowed the obliga- 
 tions of actual kindred. Hildebrand is a victim of the 
 clash of these two duties, — and not for once only. 
 Thirty years before this crowning tragedy, he was forced 
 to choose between his lord, a banished man, and his wife 
 and child. Now the child faces him in arms. 
 
 HILDEBRAND AND HATHUBBAND 
 
 ... I heard it said^ . . 
 that as foemen in fight sole faced each other 
 Hildebrand and Hathubrand, two hosts between. ^ 
 There son and father their fighting-gear tested, 
 
 1 Related, told m song and lay. " So the books tell us," says the 
 medieval -writer. Even in Scottish ballads of the border a statement is 
 backed by the assertion that " the chronicle will not lie." The poet of 
 the Seliand uses the " heard " formula, though the gospels are author- 
 ity for his narrative. 
 
 2 ' ' Between two armies.' ' They meet, like two Homeric heroes, between 
 the opposing Unes, exchange speeches, and come to flght. 
 
174 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 5 made ready their battle-weeds, belted the sword 
 
 o'er their ring-mail, the heroes, who rode to the fray. 
 
 Hildebrand spake, Herebrand's son, — 
 
 ... he was riper in years, 
 
 the older man : to ask he commenced, 
 10 though few his words, who his ^ father was 
 
 of human folk ^ . . . 
 
 . . . " or of what race thou mayst be, 
 
 if thou namest one only, the others I know. 
 
 All kindred I ken in this kingdom, O youth ! " 
 15 Hathubrand spake, Hildebrand's son : — 
 
 " Trusty ^ people have told to me, 
 
 who, old and wise, knew ancient ways, 
 
 my father was Hildebrand : Hathubrand I ! ' 
 
 Long ago went he eastward ; from Otacher's * hate 
 20 with Theotrich ^ fled he, and thanes in plenty. 
 
 In his land he left forlorn behind him 
 
 bride in bower and boy ungrown, 
 
 reft of inheritance : rode he yet eastward ! 
 
 Theotrich later, in thronging perils, 
 25 of my father had need : 'twas so friendless a man ! * 
 
 1 Hathubrand's. Hildebrand's wide knowledge of the tribes of men is 
 characteristic of his age, his standing, and his experience. So Hrothgar 
 shows he is familiar with " the best people" and their kin, the instant 
 he hears Beowulf's name. JB., 372. 
 
 ^ Editors and critics assume that something has been lost at this point. 
 But it has been remarked that such abrupt transitions are common in 
 Germanic verse. Still, even so there is loss of rime. Probably the copy- 
 ists forgot just how the verse ran and set it down as King Alfred says he 
 now and then translated Latin, — " sense for sense." Only the poetry is 
 lost here. ' 
 
 ' MoUer's emendation to save the rime. * Odoacer. 
 
 * Dietrich usually in German ; Theodric in Anglo-Saxon. 
 
 One who is banished, without kin and clan to support him. Some 
 translate this as meaning Theotrich : "banished as he was, he had good 
 
THE HILDEBRAND LAY 176 
 
 Boundlessly angry at Otacher was he, 
 the trustiest thane in Theotrich's service, 
 ever front in the folk-rank, too fain for battle, 
 famous was he among fighting-men bold I 
 30 I believe not he lives." . . . 
 
 Hildebrand spahe, Herebrand' s son:^ — 
 " But High-God knows, in heaven above, 
 that thou never yet with such near-kin man, 
 hero brave, hast held thy parley ! " 
 
 35 He unwound from his arm the winding rings, 
 
 of kaiser-gold wrought, that the king had given him, 
 Lord of the Huns : " In love now I give it thee." 
 Hathubrand spake, Hildebrand's son : — 
 " With the spear should a man receive his gifts, 
 
 40 point against point . . . 
 
 Thou art over-crafty, thou ag6d Hun, — 
 enthrallst me with speech to o'erthrow me with spear. 
 Old as thou'st grown, bear'st only guile ! 
 Seafaring folk ^ have said to me, 
 
 is come west over Wendelsea, — War hath seized him. 
 Dead is Hildebrand, Herebrand's son ! " 
 
 need," etc. The " he " of the next line, of course, is Hildebrand, who is 
 enraged because Otacher forces him to leave wife and child. 
 
 1 The italicized words are MoUer's conjectural emendation ; they make 
 only slight changes, and restore the verse. The original runs : " ' The 
 mighty God is my witness,' quoth Hildebrand, 'from heaven above, 
 that in spite of this [i.e. ' that thou hast said.' Probably the preceding 
 gap is a large one and much talk has passed between the warriors] thou 
 hast never yet parleyed [Scherer translates "fought "] with a man so near 
 of kin.' " The quoth Hildebrand is a singer's aside, such as is often 
 thrust into the text of ballads, and lies outside of the metrical scheme. 
 
 2 Compare Beowulf, vv. 377, 411. Wentilseo is the Anglo-Saxon 
 Wendelsx, the Mediterranean. "War [probably personified] hath 
 seized hinJ" is a familiar phrase in Beowulf. 
 
176 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 Hildebrand spake, Herebrand's son ^ . . . 
 " Well can I see by thy war-gear now,^ 
 
 the ruler thou hast at home is rich, 
 50 nor under this king wast thou cast into exile. 
 
 . . . Wellaway, God all-wielding, fate's woe is upon 
 us ! 
 
 I was summers and winters full sixty a-wandering, 
 
 and still was I chosen with chief of the troops ; 
 
 yet at no burg ^ was death ever dealt me by man. 
 55 Now my own sweet son with sword must hew me, 
 
 fell me with falchion, or fall at my hands ! 
 
 — Yet* 'tis easily done, if thou doughty be,^ 
 
 from so old a man his arms to take, 
 
 to seize the spoil, if such strength be thine.® 
 
 1 Editors incline to think that HUdebrand's subsequent speech is lost 
 and that the following words of the text belong to Hathubrand, whose 
 suspicion is increased as he looks on his father's sumptuous armor. A 
 man must have a powerful lord to give him such gear, — run his thoughts, 
 — not a homeless exile. But it is also natural for the old man to look on 
 the young warrior's rich armor and draw similar conclusions. 
 
 2 The original verse is rimeless and corrupt. 
 
 8 At the taking of no fortified place during my time of exile, in no 
 battle, however desperate, has death found me. 
 
 * A parallel to this sudden transition from the tender and pathetic to 
 sarcasm and defiance may be found in the tragic popular ballad of Bewick 
 and Cfraham. Here the dilemma is that a son must either disobey and 
 actually fight his own father or fight his dearest friend, his "sworn- 
 brother." He chooses the latter. The friend, of course, cannot believe 
 the announcement of this impending fight, and reminds the unwilling 
 challenger of long and firm brotherhood between the two. The challenger 
 half explains the situation, and is dropping into pathos ; but knowing its 
 perils, suddenly changes the note : — 
 
 " If thou be a man, as I think thou art, 
 
 Come over that ditch and fight with me." . . . 
 
 5 See Beowulf ior the identical phrase, a commonplace, v. 573. 
 ^ That is, " if thou hast the right [of the victor] to it." 
 
THE HILDBBRAND LAY 177 
 
 60 Most infamous were he ^ of East-Goth folk 
 
 who should keep thee from combat so keenly desired, 
 from fight with foe ! Let the fated one ^ try 
 whether now his trappings be taken from him, 
 or both of these breast-plates he boast as his own." 
 
 65 Charging with ash-spears,^ clashed they first, 
 with sharpest shafts the shields that clove. 
 Then strode to the struggle those sturdy-warriors,* 
 hewed in hate on the white-faced shields, 
 until both of the lindens ^ little grew, 
 
 70 all worn with weapons. . . . 
 
 1 Here the text has " quoth Hildehrand." 
 
 2 The warrior whose fate it is now to fight. Said of both of them. 
 
 ' They ride furiously at each other with levelled lances, each trying to 
 pass or pierce the shield of his opponent. Then they dismount and stride 
 to the fight with swords. 
 
 * The compound word so translated is not found elsewhere, but it is 
 a kenning for the warriors. 
 
 ^ Shields, as often in the English epic. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 TkE SINGBK AND HIS LAY 
 
 TF the Beowulf and the Waldere were epic poems com- 
 posed by that more deliberate process in vogue in the 
 scriptorium, there are lays like the Sildebrand and Mnns- 
 lurg, material of the epics, which seem to demand the 
 living voice, the banquet in hall, the excited band of 
 warriors who listen and shout applause to the singer. A 
 minstrel of this type had in memory a store of favorite 
 lays, old and new. He had, too, the technique of his 
 art, and could on occasion improvise upon new material, 
 using of course the traditional and conventional phrases 
 which made a good half of all his songs. He was a strik- 
 ing figure. In two happy rescues from the wreckage of 
 our old poetry, he not only tells the story of his life, but 
 indicates the range of the material at his command. 
 
 DBOR THE SINGER 
 
 On the face of it, this distinctly charming lyric is a 
 kind of " Ode to Himself " in Ben Jonson's vein. The 
 aging minstrel has ceased to please the public, particularly 
 the king; his place as court poet, even his home and 
 lands, are given to a successful rival. Well, he has sung 
 in his day of many a man and woman of the heroic time 
 who knew fortune's frown at its blackest, and yet came 
 
 178 
 
THE SINGBE AND HIS LAY 179 
 
 into sunshine at last. The exempla shall give him hope ; 
 and hope is the overword of his breezy refrain. It is a 
 manly piece of verse. The poet does not rail on lady 
 fortune herself, does not whine or snivel over the king's 
 inconstancy, and does not call the public hard names, — 
 " dull ass " is Jonson's way, — with insistence on his own 
 superiority. Granting, what is true, that " Widsith " is 
 a wholly ideal figure, composite, a type, and granting, 
 what is probable, that Deor must pass as a definite man,' 
 it is highly gratifying that the first poet whom we can 
 name as an individual in the long English list gives such 
 an amiable account of himself. 
 
 Careful reading of the lyric, however, takes away some- 
 thing of the immediate impression made by its plan and 
 its seeming purpose. Deor, to be sure, stands before us a 
 definite and quite real man, but he is not an Englishman; 
 he belongs on the continent, and his people, the " sons of 
 Heoden," are shadowy folk. He is even accused of getting 
 into English by translation out of the Norse. Any actual 
 personal poem that such a singer could have made about 
 his own fortunes had a long and thorny way to travel 
 before it came to its present estate as the oldest lyric 
 in our tongue. From our point of view, it is the story 
 of the typical court-singer, just as Widsith is a story of the 
 typical wandering singer. Widsith, too, talks in the first 
 person, tells what gifts he got, where he wandered, and 
 how excellent was his art. "I and Scilling were as 
 good poets as you could find, — and the best judges of 
 poetry applauded us to the echo," is his complacent ac- 
 count of the matter. The difference really lies in the 
 fact that Widsith, for all his first personal confidences, 
 makes no impression as an individual on any count ; 
 
180 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 he comes in sections ; while Deor is artistically an indi- 
 vidual, if not a definite man who tells us as matter of 
 the witness-box his own emotion and thought. It is true 
 that all the material of Deor's song is continental ; but 
 Anglo-Saxon poets were quite capable of making such a 
 compact and convincing " dramatic lyric " out of the old 
 stuff. They were accustomed to " ego " verses : one thinks 
 of the Riddles, and, still better, of The Bream of the Rood. 
 The Wanderer is another case, not unlike this of Bear, 
 though of much later origin ; both poems are artistically 
 sincere and sympathetic. Beor, old as it is, has the modern 
 lyric note of annexing wide human interests and a sweep 
 of history in order to illustrate the singer's proper fate ; 
 and this conception on the part of an English poet would 
 blend admirably with the tradition of some minstrel in 
 the ancestral home, who took courage from his own stock 
 of lays and fronted his evil hour with a smile. That, 
 however, is an impression. There are facts which must 
 be considered ; and these facts seem at first to allow 
 another inference. 
 
 The form of Beor's Song is peculiar. It has a refrain- 
 line which marks off the verses into sections or paragraphs, 
 so that one is tempted to call it a poem in stanzas. Traces of 
 the same structure are noted in the Rune-Lay, and naturally 
 also in the Psalms; but the mere recurrence of a refrain 
 does not suffice to form the regular stanza. In part of 
 the Q-nomic Verses, or Maxims, of the Exeter manuscript,^ 
 however, and in what used to be called the first of the 
 Riddles, there is an attempt to make those regular stanzas 
 which are so familiar in Old Norse ; and the result must 
 be noted here, in order to reach a right judgment about 
 1 See note to Beowulf, v. 1250. 
 
THE SINGER AND HIS LAY 181 
 
 the structure of the old singer's lay. The first of the 
 Riddles was once interpreted as giving the name of 
 the poet Cynewulf. Recently it has been taken out of 
 the category of riddles and referred to an incident in the 
 famous Saga of the Volsungs, a Norse tale, whose legend 
 was familiar in far older form to the poet of the Beowulf. 
 As Signy's Lament, Professor Schofield translates it and 
 explains its meaning. Signy is twin sister to Sigmund ; 
 she is married against her will to Siggeir,' who slays her 
 father and has all her brothers exposed and killed save 
 Sigmund, who is helped by Signy to escape to the forest, 
 where he lives as an outlaw. An outlaw was often called 
 "wolf." The Wolf of the poem, therefore, is Sigmund. 
 Signy is fain to revenge her slaughtered kinsfolk; her own 
 sons by King Siggeir are nought; andshe resolves to have 
 by her own brother a son who shall show the Volsung met- 
 tle. Revolting as the deed seems to her, she must do it for 
 the sake of revenge. Disguised, she goes to Sigmund in the 
 forest, is entertained as a wanderer; returns to her palace ; 
 and in due time bears a son, Sinfiotli, the Fitela of the 
 verses in the Beowulf,'^ whom she rears for a while and 
 then takes to her brother. Ignorant of his true relation, 
 Sigmund trains up the boy as his nephew, and together 
 they destroy Siggeir, with whom Signy also perishes, as a 
 true Germanic wife, though she is glad thus to avenge her 
 father. Professor Schofield places this Lament at the time 
 when Signy commits the boy to her brother's care. 
 
 Such is the probable matter. It is the manner, the 
 verse-form, which gives this poem such significance for 
 the study of Deor. Its rimes are here and there inaccu- 
 rate ; the rhythm is close in some parts to the kind common 
 1 See B., 859 ff. 
 
182 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 in Scandinavian but practically unknown in Anglo-Saxon ; 
 and therefore Professor Lawrence, who was first to study 
 this phase of it, assumed it to be a translation out of the 
 Norse. As it follows JDeor in the Exeter manuscript, and 
 Deor also has refrain and what have been taken for stanzas, 
 the two poems are bracketed for similar origins. 
 
 Is Deor^ then, a translation, and is his song to be ranged 
 as an early specimen of those innumerable effusions, 
 studied or improvised, of the Scandinavian bard, which 
 are paraphrased in Saxo's Latin and recorded now in the 
 prose of the Sagas and now in the actual verse ? Or is 
 it an original English poem based on traditions of the old 
 minstrel life in Germania, — a document for the Germanic 
 singer in days of the common legendary store in which all 
 Ingsevonic peoples about North Sea and Baltic had their 
 part ? Here is Signy's Lament for comparison, — if a 
 Lament it be, and the supposed making of that tragic 
 person. 
 
 I 
 
 My people suppose they are pleasured with gifts ^ . . . 
 
 Tliey will surely oppress Mm if peril comes o'er him. 
 Unlike are our lots. 
 
 II 
 
 Wolf's on an isle ^ and I on another ; 
 firm is the island, by fen surrounded. 
 Unmerciful are they, the men on the isle ; 
 They will surely oppress him if peril comes o'er him. 
 Unlike are our lots. 
 
 1 The stanza is ohsoure and much discussed. Lines are thought to be 
 lost which would make up the quatrain. 
 
 2 In the forest, as an outlaw. 
 
THE SINGER AND HIS LAY 183 
 
 III 
 
 On my Wolf I waited with wide-faring hopes. 
 When rainy the weather and rueful I sat there, 
 then the battle-brave man embraced me beside him. 
 Delight had I of it ; no less had I sorrow.* 
 
 IV 
 
 Wolf, O my Wolf, my waiting and hope of thee, 
 'twas they made me sick, and thy seldom-coming, 
 my heavy-weighed heart, and not hunger for food 1 
 
 V 
 
 Hear'st thou, O watchful 1 ^ Swift whelp of us both ' 
 borne by Wolf to the wood I 
 Full lightly is parted what never was paired, — 
 the song we two sang ! ■* 
 
 Now as compared with Beor, translated below, this 
 Lament shows signs of the Norse stanzaic structure which 
 are not found in the companion piece. Deor's so-called 
 stanzas are due simply to a recurring and consistently- 
 applicable refrain line, such as, for modern instance, one 
 finds in Tennyson's Tears, Idle Tears. Parallelism, 
 obvious in Dear at the start and so characteristic of all 
 Anglo-Saxon verse, is not found in the Lament. Deor is 
 
 1 Concentration of the tragic moment. Signy loathed her unnatural 
 mission ; she joyed in the anticipated vengeance thus made possible. 
 
 2 By Schofield's interpretation. She now addresses her husband, "the 
 vigilant " ; perhaps here in mocking use of the epithet ? 
 
 ' Herself and Sigmund. She has given the hoy to her brother. — 
 Or is " of us both " a reference, Uke " vigilant," to Siggelr's belief that 
 he is father to Sinflotli ? 
 
 * Emended to " the way we two walked." The short even verses and 
 long odd verses, as in Norse, make a plain stanza here, just as in certain 
 gnomic verses one gets a stanza by arrangement. In the first and second 
 stanzas, as assumed, of this poem, a refrain, and also repetition of a line, 
 mark off the bounds. 
 
184 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 surely not a translation of the same sort as the Lament; 
 it can hardly pass as a translation at all. Its refrain line 
 is originative, is the core and suggestion of the poem. 
 Indeed, this refrain looks as if it might serve, and had 
 served, in other cases. Any number of exempla could be 
 fitted to it and it could be shifted to another singer's 
 account. Many another poem, by such a refrain line, 
 could draw lessons from a legendary past, of which the 
 Englishman was once as fond as he was of maxim and 
 moral. Moreover, the autobiographical part of Beor is too 
 old in its allusions for a translation out of the Norse ; and 
 it is particularly this singer's voice from the Germanic 
 past which interests the student of songcraft in days 
 before the epic. For this purpose, and in this sense, Beor 
 surely seems to be an original English poem and a docu- 
 ment, precious beyond words, of Germanic minstrelsy. 
 Its value is not destroyed by the juxtaposition of Signy's 
 VLament. 
 
 Deor consoles himself by recounting the sufferings and 
 trials of sundry characters in Germanic tradition. He 
 begins with Wayland, smith divine, a favorite in epic 
 and other old verse. Beowulf's breastplate is " Wayland's 
 work " ; in the Waldere, Mimming is best of swords and 
 also "work of Wayland." Gest and romance continue 
 to speak of him into the fifteenth century; and King 
 Alfred had called him greatest of goldsmiths. Localities 
 were named after him. The famous Franks Casket,^ which 
 Professor Napier assigns to Northumbria for place and the 
 beginning of the eighth century for time, represents Way- 
 
 1 See Napier in An English Miscellany (Furnivall Volume), pp. 362 £E., 
 with reproduction of the figures. 
 
THE SINGER AND HIS LAY 185 
 
 land " holding in a pair of tongs the head of one of Nith- 
 had's sons over an anvil," — making a drinking-cup of the 
 skull. In front of Wayland is Beaduhild, King Nithhad's 
 daughter, who went to the captive smith to have her ring 
 mended. Wayland's brother Egil is shooting birds ; with 
 wings made of their feathers, Wayland is to escape. Now 
 this scene, which answers to the story of Wayland in a 
 Norse saga, is also indicated by Deor's allusions. Way- 
 land is taken into bondage by the crafty King Nithhad, 
 fettered (by some accounts, hamstrung), and robbed of 
 the ring which gave him power to fly. But Beaduhild, 
 daughter of his captor, and the sons as well, come to him ; 
 he mends the rings for the daughter and so recovers his 
 own ring, and his old power — or, by more prosaic accounts, 
 constructs wonderful pinions that enable him to escape. 
 First, however, he kills the king's sons, and puts the 
 daughter to shame. Here are two " cases " for the bard, 
 — first Wayland, and then Beaduhild herself. The next 
 case is extremely difficult; but Hild, if the name shall 
 stand, was unhappy, and so were the exiles, whether 
 Goths or whatever else ingenuity can suggest.^ Theodric 
 is Theodoric the Goth, "Dietrich of Bern" ; for traditions 
 of Germanic verse knew that he was banished to the court 
 of Attila for the thirty winters named by Deor's song. 
 But the allusion here is too vague for precise inference, 
 and the text is evidently marred. Eormanric, again, is the 
 typical tyrant, cruel and remorseless king, of the same 
 traditions; led astray by evil counsel, he puts his only 
 
 1 Grein's explanation still seems the best. Hild is really the Odila of 
 the story told in a Norse saga, and Eormanric was the author of her dis- 
 grace; "heroes of Geat" would be Gothic subjects who suffered in the 
 consequent turmoil. Others read " Msethhilde " as the woman's name, 
 and in the next verse " the love of Geats." 
 
186 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 son to death, lias his wife torn to pieces, and ruins the 
 happiness of many individuals and, at last, of his realm. 
 From these luckless folk Deor turns to the picture of the 
 Sorrowful Person, and for the first time theology peers 
 over the shoulder of our cheerful bard. Then he tells of 
 himself, his loss, his bad outlook ; with a last and personal 
 change rung on his brave refrain, and waking a fervent 
 desire in the reader that the second clause of it " came 
 true," this sane and sound old singer ends his song. 
 
 Wayland learned bitterly banishment's ways, 
 earl right resolute ; ills endured ; 
 had for comrades Care and Longing,^ 
 winter-cold wanderings ; woe oft suffered 
 5 when Nithhad forged the fetters on him,^ 
 bending bonds on a better man. 
 
 That he surmounted : so this may I! 
 
 II 
 
 Beaduhild mourned her brother's death 
 less sore in soul than herself dismayed 
 10 when her plight was plainly placed before her, — 
 birth of a bairn. No brave resolve 
 might she ever make, what the end should be. 
 That she surmounted : so this may I! 
 
 1 Perhaps an allusion to one of the two Wayland stories, where his 
 wife, once swan-maid, resuming her swan-raiment, leaves him, and he 
 pines vainly for sight of her. 
 
 " A slight change in the text would square the account with that version 
 of the story which has Wayland hamstrung : — 
 
 When Nithhad put such need upon him, 
 laming wound on a lordlier man. 
 
THE SINGER AND HIS LAY 187 
 
 III 
 
 We have heard from many of Hild's disgrace, 
 15 how heroes of Geat were homeless made 
 till sorrow stole their sleep away. 
 
 That they surmounted: so this may I!^ 
 
 IV 
 
 Theodric waited ^ for thirty winters 
 in Merings' burg : to many 'twas known. 
 20 That he surmounted : so this may I! 
 
 V 
 
 We have often heard of Eormanric, 
 his wolfish mind ; wide was his rule 
 o'er realm of Goths : a grim king he ! 
 Sat many a subject sorrow-bound, 
 25 waiting but woe, and wished full sore 
 
 that the time of the king might come to end. 
 That they surmounted : so this may I! 
 
 VI 
 
 •— Sitteth one ^ sorrowful, severed from joys ; 
 all's dark in his soul ; he deems for him 
 30 endless ever the anguish-time ! 
 
 Yet let him think that through this world 
 
 1 Some editors and translators omit this refrain, and make one " case " 
 of the two treated in III and IV ; also, as noted above, reading ' ' Maethhilde ' ' 
 and "the love-longing of Geat had no bounds." 
 
 * Lived there, that is, at some castle of the Huns, as Attlla's vassal. 
 See notes to the Hildehrand lay. 
 
 ' That is, any person who has lost his situation and has fallen on evil 
 times. If the strict dramatic-lyric scheme be assumed, this could pass as 
 interpolation. The writer of these lines could hardly have taken Deor's 
 own tonic. 
 
188 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 tlie wise God all awards with difference, 
 
 on many an earl great honor lays, 
 
 wealth at will, but woe on others. 
 35 — To say of myself the story now, 
 
 I was singer ^ erewhile to sons-of-Heoden, 
 
 dear to my master, Deor my name. 
 
 Long were the winters my lord was kind ; 
 
 I was happy with clansmen ; till Heorrenda ^ now 
 40 by grace of his lays ^ has gained the land 
 
 which the haven-of-heroes * erewhile gave me. 
 That he ^ surmounted : so this may I! 
 
 II 
 
 WIDSITH 
 
 rpHIS word, beyond reasonable doubt, means " far- 
 wanderer " ; the poem surely describes the life and 
 defines the vocation of a typical roving singer of the older 
 times. How its parts were put together, what credit goes 
 to its historical and biographical statements, how one is 
 to reconstruct the wanderer's itinerary, are questions still 
 under lively debate ; ^ they are not to be discussed now 
 
 1 In the original, Scop. He was court-singer to the king of the Heoden- 
 ings. See Widsith, y. 21. 
 
 » Horant is the sweet singer in Gudrun (a late ofEshoot of the Hild 
 story) whose song makes all the birds cease their own lays and listen to him. 
 
 ' Literally but awkwardly — 
 
 lay-craft's man, the land has received. . . . 
 
 * The king. Frequent kenning in the Beowulf. 
 
 » Who ? Is the refrain here a kind of echo ? Is this Deor who sur- 
 mounted his troubles, as also may the hearer or reader who repeats the 
 poem ? Was the whole a general poem of consolation ? 
 
 ' Well discussed by Dr. W. W. Lawrence in Modern Philology for 
 October, 1906, who has shed light on several dark places in the poem. The 
 short introduction, and the equally short epilogue, were almost surely 
 written in England. 
 
THE SINGER AND HIS LAY 189 
 
 beyond their quite incidental bearing upon the personality 
 of the scop himself. 
 
 Widsith is introduced by the usual formula as about to 
 speak and as a man worth hearing. He comes of good 
 stock ; is champion rover in his profession ; and once went 
 on an important mission with persons of the very highest 
 rank. But the first outcome of his " word-hoard " is dis- 
 appointing. For some forty lines he is very dull ; the 
 speech does not belong to him, one is fain to think, but is 
 rather a poetical list of kings and peoples, like those made 
 for children in modern times, easy to remember by means 
 of the rime-scheme into which the names must fit. Saxo 
 uses such a list of alliterating names in telling of those 
 who fought at Bra valla ; but he fills out the original Norse. ^ 
 With these English versus memoriales also is mingled other 
 stuff. There is a moral reflection, at which the modern 
 hearer of sermons and lectures would do well not to scoff ; 
 and there are two passages which go into legendary de- 
 tails, — one about Offa and one about Hrothgar and 
 Hrothwulf. With the fiftieth line, a good sounding 
 verse, by the way, the Far- Wanderer drops his impersonal 
 and hearsay information, and for the rest of the poem 
 speaks of things he has seen for himself. It is a miscel- 
 laneous account, not only in matter, but in style, spirit, 
 and effect. Apart from the impossible Israelites and 
 Assyrians of his itinerary, the singer betrays either the 
 plurality of his origins or his incapacity to tell a good, 
 cheerful, likely lie such as one expects from a forerunner 
 of Mandeville ; a travelled man, moreover, he now stam- 
 mers along as the most helpless of artists, and now breaks 
 
 1 See Holder's Ed., p. 257, beginning of Bk. VIII ; and Vigfusson and 
 Powell, Corpus Foeticum Boreale, I, 353 fl. 
 
190 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 out into vivid and moving verse. His account of his visit 
 to Eormanric is in parts admirably done. At last he is 
 silent ; the word-hoard is locked again ; and in a little 
 epilogue the pen of some sympathetic scribe epitomizes 
 a minstrel's life, and chants that most English of all Eng- 
 lish, refrains, the memento mori. 
 
 So much for Widsith as this oldest of the rescued early 
 poems in English sets him forth. His supposed words are 
 obviously put together in different places and times. 
 Very likely the tale of his actual wanderings, continuous 
 and dealing with definite occasions, may be the original 
 part of the poem, as Dr. Lawrence suggests ; but even 
 this modest statement cannot be positively affirmed. No 
 one singer ever saw or did what Widsith professes to have 
 seen and done ; and some of the statements can have no 
 basis of fact in the experience of anybody. "Widsith's 
 story is fiction, so one must fairly admit ; but "Widsith 
 himself is true. He is rescued from the past, with a queer 
 patchwork story which purports to be of Jiis making, and 
 which deals exclusively — as his brother Deor's tale also 
 dealt — with continental places, persons, and times. Like 
 another singer of far later date, the German Traugemund,^ 
 he comes with a " true tale " of many strange things which 
 he has seen in his wanderings. The man who copied him 
 into the Exeter Book must have been a lover of the past ; 
 the rescue of this old singer with his queer itinerary, his 
 scraps of epic and wastes of history and biography outworn, 
 might well have been precious in the eyes of an anti- 
 quarian. One suspects, moreover, that this convenient 
 traveller had fathered many a group of verses, more or less 
 connected in general subject, which imparted " things 
 1 TJhland, Vollcslieder, I, 1. 
 
THE SINGER AND HIS LAY 191 
 
 everybody ought to know." Widsith says so was good 
 verification for statements of this sort, just as Alfred or 
 Hending or whoever else was sound authority for a 
 proverb. There must have been many lays in which a 
 singer spoke of his far journeys, but did not mention his 
 own name. Folk, as MoUer points out, would call him 
 just what he said he was, — a far-wanderer. The name 
 was generic. In a different sense, the name of Robinson 
 became generic for the actual stories told in the first-person 
 by men who followed Defoe's enticing trail ; there were 
 hundreds of " Robinsons " in the eighteenth century. 
 
 This pedantic Widsith may be to some extent a crea- 
 ture of the English pen ; but a real roving singer has 
 been rescued from continental tradition in his name. 
 The pomp of heroic lays still echoes in his faltering 
 speech. He has the court accent, the high manner; he 
 wears none but a king's livery, and takes only royal gifts. 
 One wishes profoundly he had told more about himself, 
 and had held longer the note of battle he strikes so well ; 
 but one is grateful to have him on any terms. 
 
 WIDSITH 
 
 "THE PAR-WANDBKBE " 
 Widsith spake, his word-hoard unlocked, 
 who farthest had fared among folk of earth 
 through tribes of men, oft taking in hall 
 rich meed of gold.^ Of the Myrging line 
 5 his ancestors woke.^ With Ealhhild fair, 
 weaver-of -concord, went he first,^ 
 
 1 For his minstrelsy. 
 
 2 Were born, — kenning, or metaphor, considerably faded. 
 
 ' For the first time. If any consistency is to be found in this poem, 
 we must think of Ealhhild (see also v. 97) as a princess of the Myrgings 
 
192 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 seeking the home of the Hrethan king, — 
 from the east, from Anglia, — Eormanric fierce, 
 marrer-of-covenants.^ — Much he sang. 
 10 " Many men have I heard of who held dominion. 
 Let every leader live aright, 
 earl after earl in honor rule, 
 who thinks to thrive and his throne maintain I 
 Of these 2 was Hwala a while the best, 
 
 (a tribe living near the Elbe) who goes to the Gothic court to be wUe 
 (" weaver-of -concord " is the usual kenning) to Eormanric. Widsith 
 goes with her. If she is called daughter to Audoin (therefore sister to 
 Alboin) , and thus is made out a hundred and fifty years or so younger than 
 her husband, and if the conqueror of Italy is put back in the old home 
 of the Langobards, these inconsistencies are only a part of the legendary 
 process. To the English writer of this short prologue, the figures of his 
 continental legends, even when historical, had no chronology. All be- 
 longed together; and the various nations are pictured in their original 
 territories. Even the favorites of the English themselves never leave the 
 old home. 
 
 1 Foil to " weaver-of -concord." Eormanric, king of " Hreth-Goths," 
 or Goths, is the typical tyrant in Germanic legend, — witness Dear's Song, 
 — and the epithets are bestowed on him as part of his proper name. 
 That he had not won them at the time of this supposed marriage, but was 
 a generous prince, we gather fromw. 88 ff., where the singer warms at 
 the remembrance of a fine gratuity. Epithets, moreover, must not be 
 taken too literally. The Beowulf poet speaks of the " Victor "-Scyldlngs 
 when telling of their defeat. — "From the east" (long misunderstood) 
 means that the home of Ealhhild and Widsith was in the " east " for 
 the writer of this prologue in England ; Anglia being the " old home " on 
 the Cimbrian peninsula and by the lower Elbe. Not far from this old 
 home, for the writer and for the legends that he knew, were still grouped 
 Goths and Vandals to the eastward, by the Baltic, and nearer yet, the 
 Langobards. 
 
 ^ This list, which in w. 18 fl. shows (in the alternating use, for ex- 
 ample, of the word "ruled") plain traces of a strophic or stanzaio 
 arrangement, is of immense ethnological interest. It ends with names 
 that give a glimpse of legend itself, and it' shows an effort at system- 
 atic grouping. — The moral, too, with which it opens, is in the vein so 
 often found in old epic ; gnomic verse is very ancient, and there is no 
 need to put these edifying lines upon an " interpolator." 
 
THE SINGER AND HIS LAY 193 
 
 15 and Alexander, of all, the greatest 
 
 in the race of men, and most he throve 
 
 of any on earth that ever I heard. 
 
 Attila ruled Huns, and Eormanric Goths, 
 
 Becca the Banings,^ Burgundy Gifeca. 
 20 Csesar ruled Greeks and Gaelic Finns,^ 
 
 Hagena Holmrygas, Heoden the Glommas.^ 
 
 Witta ruled Sueves, and Wada * the Hselsings, 
 
 Meaca the Myrgings, Mearchealf the Hundings. 
 
 Theodric ^ ruled Franks, and Thyle the Bondings, 
 25 Breoca the Brondings, Billing the Wernas. 
 
 Oswine ruled Eowas, Ytas ® Gefwulf, 
 
 Fin ' the Folcwalding Frisian clans. 
 
 Sigehere longest the Sea-Danes ruled, 
 
 1 The word means "murderers." MtQlenlioilE counts with these epithet- 
 names others in the two lists like (v. 59) Wicings, that is, "vikings" or 
 "men who camp" ; (t. 24) Eondings, or "shieldsmen" ; (v. 63) Sword- 
 weras, "swordsmen "or " men of an oatli." 
 
 2 These would be the extremes, south and north, for the Germanic 
 singer. 
 
 8 Baltic folk. Hagena (see Waldere, B, 15) and Heoden belong to the 
 old HUd Myth. 
 
 * Wada, "Wade, along with Wayland, survived the conquest and was 
 still a favorite in Chaucer's time. "Tales of Wade" were proverbial. 
 In Troilus and Oriseide, III, 614 : 
 
 He songe, she playde, he tolde a tale of Wade. 
 
 As a seafaring person he had his "boat," to which Chaucer refers in the 
 Merchant's Tale, C. T., E. 1424. Binz adds a reference in Sir Bevis 
 which makes Wade flght a "flre-drake," like Beowulf, and one from 
 Malory's Morte D' Arthur, — "as wight as ever was Wade . . ." — com- 
 parison of power and prowess. 
 
 ' Not the Goth, of course, but a king of the Franks. 
 
 6 H. MoUer, Altenglisches Vblksepos, p. 88, declares these Ytas to be the 
 people who invaded and settled Kent, — not the Danish Jutes, but a Frisian 
 tribe. 
 
 ' For this verse, with 29 and 31, see the fragment of Finnsburg, trans- 
 lated above, and the episode, in Beowulf, vv. 1068 ff. 
 o 
 
194 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 Hnsef the Hooings, Helm ^ the Wulfings, 
 30 Wald the Woings, Wod Thuringians, 
 
 Saeferth the Sycgan, the Swedes Ongentheow,^ 
 
 Sceafthere Ymbras, Sceafa Longbards, 
 
 Hun the Hsetweras, Holen the Wrosnas. 
 
 Hringwald was hight the Herefars' king. 
 35 Off a 3 ruled Angles; Alewih Danes, — 
 
 of all mankind in mood the bravest, 
 
 yet never with Offa his earlship availed: 
 
 for Offa won, of all men first, 
 
 when still a boy the broadest empire : 
 40 none of his age showed earlship more 
 
 in stress of battle with single brand: 
 
 against the Myrgings marked he bounds 
 
 by Fifeldor: * thenceforth 'twas held 
 
 by Sueve and Angle as Offa won it. 
 45 Hrothwulf and Hrothgar^ held the longest 
 
 1 Beowulf, V. 620, Hrothgar's queen is said to belong to the family of 
 Helmings. • 
 
 2 Ibid., vv. 2472 fl., 2910 fl., the story is told of struggles between Swede 
 and Geat in which this king plays a part. 
 
 ' Legendary king of the continental Angles. Offa, liing of Mercia, 
 traced his blood through this elder namesake to Woden. — See, too, Beo- 
 wulf, w. 1949, 1957. 
 
 * The river Eider. 
 
 * See £eo«)M?/, w. 1017, 1181 f. Hrothwulf is nephew to King Hrothgar, 
 and evidently if the old king should die would be natural guardian to his 
 children. The queen (1181) expresses her confidence that Hrothwulf in 
 that event would take no advantage of his position. It would seem that 
 she feared otherwise and her fears were well founded ; but this present 
 passage shows that when the uncle lived he and his nephew worked in con- 
 cord ; and the victory mentioned is when Ingeld, Hrothgar's son-in-law, 
 broke his oaths (JB. , 84) and in revenge for old wrongs {B., 2024 ff., tells 
 the story and foretells the trouble) invaded the Danish kingdom. At 
 Herorot (Hrothgar's great hall) he is badly defeated. — See also the saga 
 of Hrolf-Kraki. 
 
THE SINGER AND HIS LAY 195 
 
 concord of kin as cousins ^ together, 
 after tliey routed the race of Wicings, 
 laid prone the pride of the power of Ingeld, 
 hewed down at Heorot the Heathobard line. 
 
 50 So I fared through many a foreign realm ^ 
 this wide earth o'er, as weal or ill 
 came to my ken; of my kin bereft, 
 far from my folk, I followed onward. 
 Wherefore I can sing and say my tales, 
 
 55 to men in the mead-hall make my lay, 
 how high-born heroes heaped me gifts. 
 I was with Huns and with Hrethan Goths,' 
 with Swedes and with Geats* and with Southern Danes, 
 with Wenlas ^ and with Waernas and with the Wicings, 
 
 60 with Gefthas and with Winedas and with Geflegas, 
 with Angles and with Sueves and with ^nenas, 
 with Saxons and with Scygan and with the Swordmen, 
 with Hronas and with Deanas and with Heatho- 
 ~ Reamas.^ 
 
 1 In the old sense of "uncle-and-nepliew," which is the literal meaning 
 of the text. In the ballad of Arthur and Gawain, uncle and nephew, the 
 former says to the latter : "thou art my coz," — sister's son. 
 
 2 Rhys, Celtic Heathendom, p. 248, notes that the Celtic bards also pre- 
 tended to have been present at the scenes they describe. 
 
 * Huns and Goths, as before with AttUa and Eormanric, belong to- 
 gether. See Waldere and Hildeirand. 
 
 * See the introduction to the Beowulf. 
 
 ° Wulfgar in Beowulf, t. 348, is "prince of the Wendlas," perhaps a 
 tribe of Danes well to the north. MiillenhofE identifies them with the 
 Vandals, who once lived by the Baltic, as did the Wenedas (Wends). 
 The old grouping, before that great movement of the tribes which made 
 the heroic age, is here regarded as unbroken. 
 
 8 Tribe in southern Norway. See Beowulf, vv. 519 f. In translating 
 W. 59-63 a superfluous " I was " is omitted. The verses are longer than 
 others, except 68 f., 76, and 79-84. 
 
196 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 With Thyrings ^ was I, and Throwends too ; 
 65 and with the Burgundians got I a ring, 
 
 when Guthhere ^ gave me the glittering treasure 
 
 in pay for my song : no puny king ! 
 
 With Franks and Frisians and Frumtings was I, 
 
 with Rugas and Glommas and Rumwalas.^ 
 70 Likewise with ^If wine * in Italy was I : 
 
 of all mankind I ken he had 
 
 the fairest hand his fame to heighten, 
 
 heart most ungrudging in gift of rings, 
 
 of shining circlets, son of Eadwine. 
 75 With Saracens was I, and Serings too, 
 
 with Greeks and with Finns, and with Caesar ^ was I. 
 
 he that ruled o'er the revellers' cities,^ 
 
 wielded the wealth of the Walas' ' realm. 
 
 With Scots and Picts, and Scrid-Finns ^ was I, 
 80 with Lith-Wicings, Leonas, and Longobards, 
 
 with Heathmen and Hsereths and Hunding folk. 
 
 ^ Thuringians. 
 
 * See the Waldere. He is the Nihelungen Gunther, -with a difference. 
 ' That Is, " Rome- Welsh," foreigners of Borne. A curious bit of popu- 
 lar etymology turned Romulus into Anglo-Saxon Romwalus. 
 
 * This is the famous Alboin, son of Audoin (=Eadwine in Anglo- 
 Saxon), the Langobard or Lombard king who invaded Italy in 568 a.d. 
 His people had already shifted their territory from the neighborhood of 
 the Elbe to the Danube. Paul the Deacon records that Alboin's gener- 
 osity and fame were known by all of Germanic tongue " and sung in 
 their songs." 
 
 5 The rimes are disordered ; but Oreacum answers to Casere with the 
 k sound. 
 
 ' Literally, " wine-burg," place of banquets. 
 
 'As above, "foreigners"; the Italians are still called "Welsh "by 
 German folk. 
 
 8 Probably the " Snow-Shoe Einns," such as King Alfred heard about 
 from the sea-captain. The Finns in vv. 20, 77, Mtillenhofl places in the 
 northeast of Europe. 
 
THE SINGER AND HIS LAY 197 
 
 With Israelites was I and with the Ex-Syrings,^ 
 with Ebrews and Indians, in Egypt too. 
 "With Medes and Persians and Myrging folk, 
 
 85 and with Mofdingas too, and the Myrgings beyond, 
 and with Amothings, and with East-Thyrings, 
 with Eolas, Istas, and Idumeans.^ 
 And^ I was with Eormanric all that while 
 the king of the Goths was gracious to me. 
 
 90 A ring he gave me, ruler of strongholds, 
 on which six-hundred of solid gold 
 was scored for the treasure by shilling-count; * 
 I made then Eadgils owner of this, 
 my helmet-lord,^ when home I fared, 
 
 95 the loved one, in pay for the land he gave me. 
 First ^ of the Myrgings, my father's home. 
 Then Ealhhild gave me another ring, 
 queen of the doughty-band, daughter of Eadwine.'f 
 
 1 Assyrians. 
 
 2 The " list " has been badly damaged here, so far as symmetry goes, 
 and falls into a curious kind of pedantry. 
 
 ' Here begins what may fairly pass as the oldest and best part of the 
 poem. The reader should note the resemblances of style and phrase here 
 to style and phrase of the Beowulf. Kennings are heaped, in variant 
 repetition, for the two liings. The fact that Widsith gave what he had 
 received to his own king should be compared with Beowulf's similar 
 action ; the latter gets land in return, the former is paying for land 
 already given. 
 
 * The heavy gold ring is marked with its value. Spirals of gold, too, 
 were often twisted about the arm ; one round broken from the spiral 
 counted so much. So a king's kenning is " ring-breaker." 
 
 ' A favorite kenning for the king is " helmet," or " refuge," or 
 " shelter," or " haven," of his people. 
 
 * Lord or king. 
 
 ^ If persons and places here must be put into some sort of consistent 
 relations both with one another and vrith the statements of the prologue, 
 Heinzel's scheme is least open to cavil. Widsith leaves his home among 
 the Myrgings, somewhere in the neighborhood of Holstein, and his king, 
 
198 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 My laud of her moved through many lands 
 100 whenever in song I was urged to say 
 
 where under heaven I'd heard of the best 
 
 gold-decked queen her gifts dividing. ^ 
 
 Then I and Scilling * with sounding voice 
 
 before our lord uplifted song : 
 105 loud to the harp the lay rang out, 
 
 and many men of mood sublime 
 
 spake with words, — who well bould judge, — 
 
 that they never had known a nobler song. 
 
 Thence I ranged o'er the realm of Goths, 
 110 ever seeking the sturdiest clansmen. — 
 
 Such was Eormanric's suite of earls: ^ 
 
 Eadgils, and sings his way to Italy, where the great Alboin (JElfwine) 
 gives him welcome, and sends him along with the conqueror's sister, Ealh- 
 hild, on the marriage journey to Bormanrio. He stays at the Gothic court 
 some time, and gets a splendid gratuity. This, in a kind of anticipatory 
 clause familiar to readers of our old epic, and demanded no doubt by the 
 curiosity of its original hearers, is further described as going to pay 
 Widsith's lord, when the singer got home again, for paternal estates now 
 or previously restored. But another ring is given to Widsith by the new 
 queen, whose praise he has sung and will sing again. Inspired by her, 
 he and Scilling sang wonderfully to the Gothic court, so that the Goths 
 themselves — first and greatest masters of the old minstrel's art, be it 
 remembered — can think of nothing better. — Fiction as it is, this is con- 
 sistent, so far as it goes. Then follows a description of Eormanric's 
 retinue, a confusion of names, with a touch or so of legend ; and Widsith 
 has done. Dr. Lawrence points out that in view of the cross-pattern in 
 Anglo-Saxon poetical style it is not at all certain that Widsith and Scilling 
 are supposed to sing at Eormanric's court. " Our lord " may well be 
 Eadgils, as in v. 94. 
 
 1 See the summary of a queen's duties in a note to the Beowulf, v. 622. 
 "Gold-decked," adorned with gold, is the usual adjective for high-bom 
 dames. 
 
 2 MiiUenhoff, Runenlehre, p. 54, makes this name mean " sonorous," 
 — another appellation, like " Widsith" itself, for the Stop. 
 
 s MuUenhofE's arrangement is followed here, so that the names are given 
 as chosen from the list of Eormanric's company, though they are actually 
 
THE SINGER AND HIS LAY 199 
 
 Hethca and Beadeca; ^ Harlings both, 
 Emerca, Fridia ; that East-Goth, too, 
 sage and brave, the Sire of Unwen; ^ 
 
 115 Secca and Becca, Seafolan and Theodric, 
 
 Heathoric and Sifeca, Hlithe and Inggentheow, 
 Eadwine and Elsa,^ -ffigelmund and Hangar, 
 and the Neighbor-Myrgings' noble band, 
 Wulfhere and Wyrmhere, — (war was not languid, 
 
 120 when the Hrethan host with hardy blade 
 were fain to defend by the forests of Vistula 
 olden homes from Attila's horde) ! — 
 Rsedhere and Rondhere, Rumstan and Gislhere, 
 Withergield * and Freotheric, Wudga and Hama : ^ 
 
 125 not worst ^ of warrior-comrades these, 
 though now I come to name them last ! 
 From their host full often whining flew 
 howling ^ spears at the hostile throng. 
 Exiles won there woven ^ gold, 
 
 130 men and women, Wudga and Hama. 
 
 drawn from various sources and from imagination. The Eormanrio saga 
 itself does not come clearly out ; in the Norse account, Swanhild, his wife 
 (=Ealhhild, perhaps), is put to death for alleged unfaithfulness. Nothing 
 is hinted here of allthat, though amongthe followers of the famous " troth- 
 hreaker " is named Becca, the betrayer Bikki in Norse legend. 
 
 1 These names occur in the mythical genealogy of Essex, and mean 
 " slaughter " and " battle." 
 
 2 The East-Goth is Ostrogotha, who, according to Jordanes, was father 
 of Hunuil, the Unwen of this verse. 
 
 ' Names of Langobard kings. 
 * See Beowulf, v. 2051. 
 
 ^ Hama, Heime in later German legend, is said in Beowulf, v. 1198, to 
 have carried off the famous Brising necklace. 
 ^ Litotes, as in the Beowulf. 
 
 7 " Yelling." See King Heidrek's Riddle on the Arrow : " It flies aloft, 
 yelling aloud." . . . 
 
 8 Twisted, as in rings and the like. 
 
200 THE OLDEST ENGLISH EPIC 
 
 So found I ever, in faring thus, 
 that he is dearest to dwellers on earth 
 whom God has raised to rule o'er men 
 as long as here he lives in the world." ^ 
 
 135 So, faring aye, are fated to wander 
 
 men of song through many lands, 
 
 to say their need and to speak their thanks. 
 
 Or south or north, some one is found, 
 
 ■wise of word and willing of hoard, 
 140 to lift his praise in his liegemen's presence, 
 
 to honor his earlship, — till all is fled, 
 
 light and life together : he gets him laud, 
 
 holds under heaven a haughty name. 
 
 1 The words of Widslth are ended, — with a fine bow to the king on 
 whose favor he relies for bread. Even in the epilogue a professional note 
 is evident. Minstrels are the real voice of fame ; treat them accordingly, 
 — as Hamlet advised about the actors. For the results of bad treatment 
 of minstrels, see Uhland's effective little piece, Des Bangers Much. 
 
INDEX OF NAMES 
 
 So far as the characters of the Beowulf are concerned, a brief statement of 
 their functions and mutual relations has been made in the Introduction to 
 that poem. For further study of this matter, and of kindred subjects, the 
 reader may be referred to the following books and essays. Miillenhoff, 
 Beomilf, Berlin, 1889 (previously published papers collected in one volume) ; 
 ten Brink, Beowvlf, Strassburg, 1888; and H. MoUer, Das Becnmtlfepos, 
 Kiel, 1883, are full of valuable suggestions, although their main purpose is 
 to prove theories now for the most part set aside. Equally important are 
 the various essays of Sophus Bugge, particularly his Studien uber das Beo- 
 wvlfepos in Vol. XII of Paul and Braune's BeitrUge, and of E. Sievers, par- 
 ticularly Beowvlf und Saxo in the Reports of the Saxon Academy of Sciences, 
 Vol. XLVII. Two articles by F. Klaeber in Vol. Ill of Modern Philology 
 may be named as important for more than one phase of Beowulf criticism. 
 Other essays and books, many of them highly significant in their day, but 
 now absorbed into the main body of information about the epic, — such as 
 Grein's paper on its historic relations, in Vol. IV of Ebert's Jahrinich, — will 
 be found in the excellent bibliography prefixed to Vol. II of Holthausen's 
 edition of Beowvlf, Heidelberg and New York, 1905, 1906. The text, notes, 
 and glossary of this edition are admirable. A good English edition is that 
 of Wyatt, Cambridge, 1898. The notes to J. R. Clark Hall's prose transla^ 
 tion, London, 1901, and to Gering's metrical translation in German, Heidel- 
 berg, 1906, have been noted above as valuable for their general information. 
 References to material for study of the other poems, such as W. W. Law- 
 rence's article on Widsith, will be found in the several Introductions above. 
 On the general question of epic structure in the Beowulf, readers are referred 
 to W. M. Hart's Ballad and Bpic in the Harvard Studies and Notes in Philol- 
 ogy and Literature, Boston, 1907. 
 
 It will be remarked that some of the names in Widsith are omitted from 
 this index. Only those are given which are mentioned in the other poems, 
 or belong to the common Germanic legend. 
 
 Abel, B. 108. 
 .^Ifhere, B. 2604. 
 ^Ifhere, ITa. A, 11; B, 19. 
 
 {fbrn^^-™- 
 
 ^schere, B. 1323, 1329, 1420, 2122. 
 Attila, Wa. A, 6; Wi. 18. 
 
 ( Baduhild J ^ 7 
 
 (BeaduhildJ' 
 Beanstan, B. 524. 
 Becca, Wi. 115. 
 
 Beowulf (Dane), B. 18, S3. 
 
 Beowulf 1 (Geat), 343, 364, 405, 457, 
 501, 506, 529, 609, 623, 631, 653, 
 676, 795, 818, 856, 872, 946, 957, 
 1020, 1024, 1043, 1051, 1191, 1216, 
 1299, 1310, 1383, 1441, 1473, 1651, 
 1704, 1758, 1817, 1854, 1880, 1971, 
 1987, 1999, 2194, 2207, 2324, 2359, 
 2389, 2425, 2510, 2663, 2681, 2724, 
 2807, 2842, 2907, 3066. 
 
 j Breca, B. 506, 531, 583. 
 
 1 Breoca, Wi. 25. 
 
 ' The second scribe in nearly all cases has Biowulf. 
 201 
 
202 
 
 INDEX OF NAMES 
 
 Cain, B. 107, 1261. 
 
 Daeghrefn, B. 2501. 
 Deor, D. 37. 
 
 Eadgils, B. 2392. 
 
 Eadgils, Wi. 93. 
 
 Eadwine (Audoin), Wi. 74, 98; 117. 
 
 Ealhhild, Wi. 5, 97. 
 
 Banmund, B. 2611. 
 
 Eawa (Ms. Eaha), F. 17. 
 
 Ecglaf, B. 499, 590, 980, 1465, 1808. 
 
 Ecgtheow, Beowulf, son of, B. 629, 
 
 631, 957, 1383, 1473, 1651, 1817, 
 
 1999, 2425. 
 Ecgtheow, the son of, B. 1550, 2177, 
 
 2367, 2398, 2587. 
 Ecgtheow, B. 263, 373. 
 Eofor, B. 2486, 2993, 2997. 
 Eomer, B. 1960. 
 Eormenric, B. 1201; D. 21; Wi. 8, 
 
 18, 88, 111. 
 
 Finn, Fin Polcwalding, B. 1068, 1081, 
 1096, 1128, 1146, 1152, 1156; F. 
 38; Wi. 27. 
 
 Fitela, B. 879, 889; see also p. 181. 
 
 Folcwalda, B. 1089. 
 
 Freawaru, B. 2022. 
 
 Froda, B. 2025. 
 
 Ganuund, B. 1962. 
 
 Garulf, F. 20, 33. 
 
 Grendel, B. 102, 127, 151, 195, 384, 
 409, 424, 474, 478, 483, 527, 591, 
 666, 678, 711, 819, 836, 927, 930, 
 1054, 1253, 1258, 1266, 1282, 1334, 
 1354, 1391, 1538, 1577, 1586, 1639, 
 1648, 1775, 1997, 2002, 2006, 2070, 
 2078, 2118, 2139, 2353, 2521. 
 
 Guthere, F. 20. 
 
 Guthhere (Gunther, 
 
 Guntharius), W. A, 25; Wi. 66. 
 
 Guthlaf (Dane), B. 1148. 
 
 Guthlaf ( " ?), F. 18, 35. 
 
 Haereth, 1929, 1981. 
 
 f Haethcyn, B. 2434, 2437, 2482. 
 
 1 Hsethcen Hrethling, 2925. 
 
 Hagen (Hagena), W. B, 15; Wi. 21. 
 
 Halga, B. 61. 
 
 Hama, B. 1198; Wi. 124, 130. 
 
 Hathubraud, H. 3, 15, 18, 38. 
 
 Healfdene, B. 57. 
 
 Healfdene (in patronjrmic designa- 
 tion of Hrothgar), B. 190, 268, 
 344, 645, 1009, 1020, 1040, 1064, 
 1474, 1652, 1699, 1867, 2011, 2143, ' 
 2147. 
 
 Heardred, 2202, 2375, 2388. 
 
 Heatholaf, B. 460. 
 
 Helm, Wi. 29; of. B. 620. 
 
 Hemming, B. 1944, 1961. 
 
 Hengest, B. 1083, 1091, 1096, 1127; 
 F. 19. 
 
 Heoden, D. 36; Wi. 21. 
 
 Heorogar, B. 61, 467, 2158. 
 
 Heoroweard, B. 2161. 
 
 Heorrenda (Horant), D. 39. 
 
 Herebeald, B. 2434, 2463. 
 
 Herebrand, H. 7, 46, 47. 
 
 Heremod, B. 901, 1709. 
 
 Hereric, B. 2206. 
 
 Hild (?), D. 14. 
 
 Hildebrand, H. 3, 7, 15, 18, 31, 38, 
 46, 47. 
 
 Hildeburh, B. 1071, 1114. 
 
 Hildeguth (?), W.Ik, 1. 
 
 Hnsef, B. 1069, 1114; F. 42; Wi. 29. 
 
 Hoc, B. 1076. 
 
 Hondscio, B. 2076. 
 
 Hrethel, B. 374, 454 (7), 2191, 2430, 
 2442 (?), 2474. * 
 
 Hrethel, in patronymic for Hygelac, 
 B. 1485, 1847, 2358, 2992. 
 
 Hrethling, name for Geatish war- 
 riors, B. 2960. 
 
 Hrethling, name for sons of Hrethel, 
 B. 1923, 2925. 
 
 Hrethric, 1189, 1836. 
 
 Hrothgar, B. 61, 64, 152, 235, 277, 
 335, 339, 356, 367, 371, 396, 407, 
 417, 456, 613, 653, 662, 717, 826, 
 863, 925, 1017, 1066, 1236, 1296, 
 1321, 1399, 1407, 1456, 1483, 1580, 
 1592, 1646, 1687, 1816, 1840, 1884, 
 1899, 1990, 2010, 2020, 2129, 2155, 
 2351; Wi. 45. 
 
 Hrothmmid, B. 1189. 
 
 Hrothwulf, Hrothulf, B. 1017, 1181; 
 Wi. 45. 
 
 Hmi (?), B. 1143. 
 
 Hwala, Wi. 14. 
 
 Hygd, B. 1926, 2172, 2369. 
 
 Hygelac, B. 452, 1202, 1483, 1820, 
 1830, 1970, 1983, 2000, 2151, 2169, 
 2201, 2355, 2372, 2434, 2914, 2943, 
 2952, 2958, 2988. 
 
INDEX OF NAMES 
 
 203 
 
 Hygelac, in name for Beowulf, B. 
 194, 407, 737, 758, 914, 1530, 1574. 
 
 Hygelac, in patronymic for Heardred, 
 B. 2386. 
 
 Hygelac, in name for Eofor, B. 2977. 
 
 Hygelac, in name for Geatish war- 
 riors, B. 261, 342. 
 
 Hygelac Hrethling, B. 1923. 
 
 Ingeld, B. 2064; Wi. 48. 
 Nithhad, W.B,S; D. 5. 
 
 Offa, B. 1949, 1957; Wi. 35, 37, 38, 
 
 44. 
 Ohthere, Ohtere, in patronymic, B. 
 
 2380, 2394, 2612. 
 Ohthere, in names of parents, B. 
 
 2928, 2932. 
 Onela, B. 2616, 2932. 
 Ongentheow, B. 2486, 2924, 2951, 
 
 2961, 2985; Wi. 31. 
 Ongentheow, in patronymic, B. 2387, 
 
 2475. 
 Ongentheow, in name for Eofor, B. 
 
 1968. 
 ( Ordlaf, F. 18. 
 I Oslaf,> B. 1148. 
 Otacher (Odoacer), H. 19, 26. 
 
 Soilling, Wi. 103. 
 
 Scyld, B. 4, 27. 
 
 Scyld, in patronymic for Beowulf the 
 
 Dane, B. 19. 
 Sigeferth, F. 17, 26. 
 Sigemund, B. 875, 884. 
 Signy, see Introduction to Dear; 
 
 also B. 62, note "Sigeneow." 
 Swerting, B. 1202. 
 
 Theodric, Theotrioh (Goth), TT. B, 4; 
 
 D. 18; H. 20, 24, 27. 
 Theodric (Frank), Wi. 24. 
 Thryth (?), B. 1931. 
 
 Unferth, B. 499, 530, 1165, 1488. 
 Unwen (Hunuil), in name of Ostro- 
 gotha, Wi. 114. 
 
 Wada, Wi. 22. 
 
 Waels, in patronymic, B. 897. 
 
 Waldere, W.B,n. 
 
 Wayland, Weland, B. 455; W. K, 2; 
 
 D.l. 
 Wayland, in patronymic, W. B, 9. 
 Wealhtheow, B. 612, 664, 1162, 1215, 
 
 2173. 
 Weohstan, B. 2614, 2620. 
 Weohstan, in patronymic, B. 2602, 
 
 2752, 2862, 2907, 3076, 3110, 3120. 
 Widia, Wudga, W. B, 5, 7; Wi. 124, 
 
 130. 
 Wiglaf, B. 2602, 2631, 2745, 2852, 
 
 2862, 2906, 3076. 
 Withergield (7), B. 2051; Wi. 124. 
 Wonred, in patronymic, B. 2971. 
 Wulf, B. 2965, 2993. 
 Wulfgar, B. 348, 360, 390. 
 
 Yrmenlaf, B. 1324. 
 
 Names of Swohds 
 
 Hrunting, B. 1457, 1490, 1659, 1807. 
 Lafing, B. 1143. 
 Mimming, W. A, 3. 
 Nffigling, B. 2680. 
 
 < Ordlaf and Oslaf are probably the same person.