Beowulf And launched him alone out over the waves.

lone out over the waves. In His splendour He set the sun and moon
Translation by Seamus Heaney And they set a gold standard up To be earth’s lamplight, lanterns for men,
High above his head and let him drift And filled the broad lap of the world
So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by To wind and tide, bewailing him With branches and leaves; and quickened life
And the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness. And mourning their loss. No man can tell, 50 In every other thing that moved.
We have heard of those princes’ heroic campaigns. No wise man in hall or weathered veteran So times were pleasant for the people there
There was Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes, Knows for certain who salvaged that load. Until finally one, a fiend out of Hell, 100
A wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among foes. Then it fell to Beow to keep the forts. Began to work his evil in the world.
This terror of the hall-troops had come far. He was well regarded and ruled the Danes Grendel was the name of this grim demon
A foundling to start with, he would flourish later on For a long time after his father took leave Haunting the marches, marauding round the heath
As his powers waxed and his worth was proved. Of his life on earth. And then his heir, And the desolate fens; he had dwelt for a time
In the end each clan on the outlying coasts The great Halfdane, held sway In misery among the banished monsters,
Beyond the whale-road had to yield to him 10 For as long as he lived, their elder and warlord. Cain’s clan, whom the creator had outlawed
And begin to pay tribute. That was one good king. He was four times a father, this fighter prince: And condemned as outcasts. For the killing of Abel
Afterwards a boy-child was born to Shield, One by one they entered the world, 60 The Eternal Lord had exacted a price:
A cub in the yard, a comfort sent Heorogar, Hrothgar, the good Halga Cain got no good from committing that murder
By God to that nation. He knew what they had tholed, And a daughter, I have heard, who was Onela’s queen, Because the Almighty made him anathema 110
The long times and troubles they’d come through A balm in bed to the battle-scarred Swede. And out of the curse of his exile there sprang
Without a leader; so the Lord of Life, The fortunes of war favored Hrothgar. Ogres and elves and evil phantoms
The glorious Almighty, made this man renowned. Friends and kinsmen flocked to his ranks, And the giants too who strove with God
Shield had fathered a famous son: Young followers, a force that grew Time and again until He gave them their final reward.
Beow’s name was known through the north. To be a mighty army. So his mind turned So, after nightfall, Grendel set out
And a young prince must be prudent like that, 20 To hall-building: he handed down orders For the lofty house, to see how the Ring-Danes
Giving freely while his father lives For men to work on a great mead-hall Were settling into it after their drink,
So that afterwards in age when fighting starts Meant to be a wonder of the world forever; 70 And there he came upon them, a company of the best
Steadfast companions will stand beside him It would be his throne-room and there he would dispense Asleep from their feasting, insensible to pain
And hold the line. Behavior that’s admired His God-given goods to young and old--- And human sorrow. Suddenly then 120
Is the path to power among people everywhere. But not the common land or people’s lives. The God-cursed brute was creating havoc:
Shield was still thriving when his time came Far and wide through the world, I have heard, Greedy and grim, he grabbed thirty men
And he crossed over into the Lord’s keeping. Orders for work to adorn that wall stead From their resting places and rushed to his lair,
His warrior band did what he bade them Were sent to many peoples. And soon it stood there, Flushed up and inflamed from the raid,
When he laid down the law among the Danes: Finished and ready, in full view, Blundering back with the butchered corpses.
They shouldered him out to the sea’s flood, 30 The hall of halls. Heorot was the name Then as dawn brightened and the day broke
The chief they revered who had long ruled them. He had settled on it, whose utterance was law. Grendel’s powers of destruction were plain:
A ring-whorled prow rode in the harbour, Nor did he renege, but doled out rings 80 Their wassail was over, they wept to heaven
Ice-clad, outbound, a craft for a prince. And torques at the table. The hall towered, And mourned under morning. Their mighty prince,
They stretched their beloved lord in his boat, Its gables wide and high and awaiting The storied leader, sat stricken and helpless, 130
Laid out by the mast, amidships, A barbarous burning. That doom abided, Humiliated by the loss of his guard,
The great ring-giver. Far-fetched treasures But in time it would come: the killer instinct Bewildered and stunned, staring aghast
Were piled upon him, and precious gear. Unleashed among in-laws, the blood-lust rampant. And the demon’s trail, in deep distress.
I never heard before of a ship so well furbished Then a powerful demon, a prowler through the dark, He was numb with grief, but got no respite
With battle tackle, bladed weapons Nursed a hard grievance. It harrowed him For one night later the merciless Grendel
And coats of mail. The massed treasure 40 To hear the din of the loud banquet Struck again with more gruesome murders.
Was loaded on top of him: it would travel far Every day in the hall, the harp being struck Malignant by nature, he never showed remorse.
On out into the ocean’s sway. And the clear song of a skilled poet 90 It was easy then to meet with a man
They decked his body no less bountifully Telling with mastery of man’s beginnings, Shifting himself to a safer distance
With offerings than those first ones did How the Almighty had made the earth To bed in the bothies, for who could be blind 140
Who cast him away when he was a child A gleaming plain girdled with waters; To the evidence of his eyes, the obviousness
Of that hall-watcher’s hate? Whoever escaped That never stopped, steady affliction 190 Sailing here over the sea lanes
Kept a weather-eye open and moved away. For Halfdane’s son, too hard an ordeal. In your steep-hulled boat? I have been stationed 240
So Grendel ruled in defiance of right, There was panic after dark, people endured As lookout on this coast for a long time.
One against all, until the greatest house Raids in the night, riven by terror. My job is to watch the waves for raiders,
In the world stood empty, a deserted wall stead. When he heard about Grendel, Hygelac’s thane And danger to the Danish shore.
For twelve winters, seasons of woe, Was on home ground, over in Geatland. Never before has a force under arms
The lord of the Shieldings suffered under There was no one else like him alive. Disembarked so openly---not bothering to ask
His load of sorrow; and so, before long, In his day, he was the mightiest man on earth, If the sentries allowed them safe passage
The news was known over the whole world. 150 High-born and powerful. He ordered a boat Or the clan had consented. Nor have I seen
Sad lays were sung about the beset king, That would ply the waves. He announced his plan: A mightier man-at-arms on this earth
The vicious raids of Grendel, To sail the swan’s roads and search out that king, 200 Than the one standing here: unless I am mistaken,
His long and unrelenting feud, The famous prince who needed defenders. He is truly noble. This is no mere 250
Nothing but war; how he would never Nobody tried to keep him from going, Hanger-on in a hero’s armour.
Parley or make peace with any Dane No elder denied him, dear as he was to them. So now, before you fare inland
Nor stop his death-dealing nor pay the death-price. Instead, they inspected omens and spurred As interlopers, I have to be informed
No counsellor could ever expect His ambition to go, whilst he moved about About who you are and where you hail from.
Fair reparation from those rabid hands. Like the leader he was, enlisting men, Outsiders from across the water,
All were endangered; young and old The best he could find; with fourteen others I say it again: the sooner you tell
Were hunted down by that dark death-shadow 160 The warrior boarded the boat as captain, Where you came from and why, the better.”
Who lurked and swooped in the long nights A canny pilot along coast and currents. The leader of the troop unlocked his word-hoard;
On the misty moors; nobody knows Time went by, the boat was on water, 210 The distinguished one delivered this answer:
Where these reavers from Hell roam on their errands. In close under the cliffs. “We belong by birth to the Geat people 260
So Grendel waged his lonely war, Men climbed eagerly up the gangplank, And owe allegiance to Lord Hygelac.
Inflicting constant cruelties on the people, Sand churned in surf, shining war-gear In my day, my father was a famous man,
Atrocious hurt. He took over Heorot, In the vessel’s hold, then heaved out, A noble warrior name Ecgtheow.
Haunted the glittering hall after dark, Away with a will in their wood-wreathed ship. He outlasted many a long winter
But the throne itself, the treasure-seat, Over the waves, with the wind behind her And went on his way. All over the world
He was kept from approaching; he was the Lord’s outcast. And foam at her neck, she flew like a bird Wise men in council continue to remember him.
These were hard times, heart-breaking 170 Until her curved prow had covered the distance We come in good faith to find your lord
For the prince of the Shieldings; powerful counselors, And on the following day, at the due hour, 220 And nation’s shield, the son of Halfdane.
The highest in the land, would lend advice, Those seafarers sighted land, Give us the right to advise and direction.
Plotting how best the bold defenders Sunlit cliffs, sheer crags We have arrived here on a great errand 270
Might resist and beat off sudden attacks. And looming headlands, the landfall they sought. To the lord of the Danes, and I believe therefore
Sometimes at pagan shrines they vowed It was the end of their voyage and the Geats vaulted There should be nothing hidden or withheld between us.
Offering to idols, swore oaths Over the side, out on to the sand, So tell us if what we have heard is true
That the killer of souls might come to their aid And moored their ship. There was a clash of mail About this threat, whatever it is,
And save the people. That was their way, And a thresh of gear. They thanked God This danger abroad in the dark nights,
Their heathenish hope; deep in their hearts For that easy crossing on a calm sea. This corpse-maker mongering death
They remembered Hell. The Almighty Judge 180 When the watchman on the wall, the Shieldings’ lookout In the Shieldings’ country. I come to proffer
Of good deeds and bad, the Lord God, Whose job it was to guard the sea-cliffs, 230 My wholehearted help and counsel.
Head of the Heavens and High King of the World, Saw shields glittering on the gangplank I can show the wise Hrothgar a way
Was unknown to them. Oh, cursed is he And battle-equipment being unloaded To defeat his enemy and find respite--- 280
Who in time of trouble had to thrust his soul He had to find out who and what If any respite is to reach him, ever.
In the fire’s embrace, forfeiting help; The arrivals were. So he rode to the shore, I can calm the turmoil and terror in his mind.
He has nowhere to turn. But blessed is he This horseman of Hrothgar’s, and challenged them Otherwise, he must endure woes
Who after death can approach the Lord In formal terms, flourishing his spear: And live with grief for as long as his hall
And find friendship in the Father’s embrace. “What kind of men are you who arrive Stands at the horizon, on its high ground.”
So that troubled time continued, woe Rigged out for combat in coats of mail, Undaunted, sitting astride his horse,
The coast-guard answered, “Anyone with gumption Decorated shields and shirts of mail, Has, in His Goodness, guided him here
And a sharp mind will take the measure These cheek-hinged helmets and javelins? To the West-Danes, to defend us from Grendel.
Of two things: what’s said and what’s done. I am Hrothgar’s herald and officer. This is my hope; and for his heroism
I believe what you have told me: that you are a troop 290 I have never seen so impressive or large I will recompense him with a rich treasure.
Loyal to our king. So come ahead An assembly of strangers. Stoutness of heart, Go immediately, bid him and the Geats
With your arms and your gear, and I will guide you. Bravery not banishment, must have brought you to Hrothgar.” He has is attendance to assemble and enter.
What’s more, I’ll order my own comrades The man whose name was known for courage, 340 Say, moreover, when you speak to them,
On their word of honor to watch your boat The Geat leader, resolute in his helmet, That they are welcome in Denmark.”
Down there on the strand---keep her safe Answered in return: “We are retainers At the door of the hall,
In her fresh tar, until the time comes From Hygelac’s band. Beowulf is my name. Wulfgar duly delivered the message: 390
For her curved prow to preen on the waves If your lord and master, the most renowned “My lord, the conquering king of the Danes,
And bear this hero back to Geatland. Son of Halfdane, will hear me out Bids me announce that he knows your ancestry;
May one so valiant and venturesome And graciously allow me to greet him in person, Also that he welcomes you here to Heorot
Come unharmed through the clash of battle.” 300 I am ready and willing to report my errand.” And salutes your arrival from across the sea.
So they went on their way. The ship rode the water, Wulfgar replied, a Wendel chief You are free now to move forward
Broad-beamed, bound by its hawser Renowned as a warrior, well known for his wisdom To meet Hrothgar, in helmets and armor,
And anchored fast. Boar-shapes flashed And the temper of his mind: “I will take this message, 350 But shields must stay here and spears be stacked
Above their cheek-guards, the brightly forged In accordance with your wish, to our noble king, Until the outcome of the audience is clear.”
Work of goldsmiths, watching over Our dear lord, friend of the Danes, The hero arose, surrounded closely
Those stern-faced men. They marched in step, The giver of rings. I will go and ask him By his powerful thanes. A party remained 400
Hurrying on till the timbered hall About your coming here, then hurry back Under orders to keep watch on the arms;
Rose before them, radiant with gold. With whatever reply it pleases him to give.” The rest proceeded, lead by their prince
Nobody on earth knew of another With that he turned to where Hrothgar sat, Under Heorot’s roof. And standing on the hearth
Building like it. Majesty lodged there, 310 An old man among retainers; In webbed links that the smith had woven,
And its light shone over many lands. The valiant follower stood four-square The fine-forged mesh of his gleaming mail shirt,
So their gallant escort guided them In front of his king: he knew the courtesies. Resolute in his helmet, Beowulf spoke:
To that dazzling stronghold and indicated Wulfgar addressed his dear lord: 360 “Greetings to Hrothgar. I am Hygelac’s kinsman,
The shortest way to it; then the noble warrior “People from Geatland have put ashore. One of his hall-troop. When I was younger,
Wheeled on his horse and spoke these words: They have sailed far over the wide sea. I had great triumphs. Then news of Grendel,
“It is time for me to go. May the Almighty They call the chief in charge of their band Hard to ignore, reached me at home: 410
Father keep you and in His kindness By the name of Beowulf. They beg, my lord, Sailors brought stories of the plight you suffer
Watch over your exploits. I’m away to the sea, An audience with you, exchange of words In this legendary hall, how it lies deserted,
Back on alert against enemy raiders.” And formal greeting. Most gracious Hrothgar, Empty and useless once the evening light
It was a paved track, a path that kept them 320 Do not refuse them, but grant them a reply. Hides itself under Heaven’s dome.
In marching order. Their mail-shirts glinted, From their arms and appointment, they appear well-born So every elder and experience councilman
Hard and hand-linked; the high-gloss iron And worthy of respect, especially the one Among my people supported my resolve
Of their armour rang. So they duly arrived Who has led them this far: he is formidable indeed.” 370 To come here to you, King Hrothgar,
In their grim war-graith and gear at the hall, Hrothgar, protector of Shieldings, replied: Because all knew of my awesome strength.
And, weary from the sea, stacked wide shields “I used to know him when I was a young boy. They had seen me boltered in the blood of enemies
Of the toughest hardwood against the wall, His father before him was called Ecgtheow. When I battled and bound five beasts, 420
Then collapsed on the benches; battle-dress Hrethel the Greath gave Ecgtheow Raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea
And weapons clashed. They collected their spears His daughter in marriage. This man is their son, Slaughtered sea-brutes. I have suffered extremes
In a seafarer’s stook, a stand of grayish Here to follow up an old friendship. And avenged the Geats (their enemies brought it
Tapering ash. And the troops themselves 330 A crew of seamen who sailed for me once Upon themselves, I devastated them).
Were as good as their weapons. With a gift-cargo across to Geatland Now I mean to be a match for Grendel,
Then a proud warrior Returned with marvelous tales about him: Settle the outcome in a single combat.
Questioned the men concerning their origins: A thane, they declared, with the strength of thirty 380 And so, my request, O king of Bright-Danes,
“Where do you come from, carrying these In the grip of each hand. Now Holy God Dear prince of the Shieldings, friend of the people
And their ring of defense, my one request Are on the wane, fate sweeps them away No matter, therefore, how you may have fared
Is that you won’t refuse me, who have come this far, 430 Into Grendel’s clutches---but God can easily In every bout and battle until now,
The privilege of purifying Heorot, Halt these raids and harrowing attacks! This time you’ll be worsted;; no one has ever
With my own men to help me, and nobody else. “Time and again, when the goblets passed 480 Outlasted an entire night against Grendel.”
I have heard moreover that the monster scorns And seasoned fighters got flushed with beer Beowulf, Ecgtheow’s son, replied:
In his reckless way to use weapons; They would pledge themselves to protect Heorot “Well, friend Unferth, you have had your say 530
Therefore, to heighten Hygelac’s fame And wait for Grendel with whetted swords. About Breca and me. But it was mostly beer
And gladden his heart, I hereby renounce But when dawn broke and day crept in That was doing the talking. The truth is this:
Sword and the shelter of the broad shield, Over each empty, blood-spattered bench, When the going was heavy in those high waves,
The heavy war-board: hand-to-hand The floor of the mead-hall where they had feasted I was the strongest swimmer of all.
Is how it will be, a life-and-death Would be slick with slaughter. And so they died, We’d been children together and we grew up
Fight with the fiend. Whichever one death fells 440 Faithful retainers, and my following dwindled. Daring ourselves to outdo each other,
Must deem it a just judgment by God. Now take your place at the table, relish Boasting and urging each other to risk
If Grendel wins, it will be a gruesome day; The triumph of heroes to your heart’s content.” 490 Our lives on the sea. And so it turned out.
He will glut himself on the Geats in the war-hall, Then a bench was cleared in that banquet hall Each of us swam holding a sword,
Swoop without fear on that flower of manhood So the Geats could have room to be together A naked, hard-proofed blade for protection 540
As on others before. Then my face won’t be there And the party sat, proud in their bearing, Against the whale-beasts. But Breca could never
To be covered in death; he will carry me away Strong and stalwart. An attendant stood by Move out farther or faster from me
As he goes to ground, gorged and bloodied; With a decorated pitcher, pouring bright Than I could manage to move from him.
He will run gloating with my raw corpse Helpings of mead. And the minstrel sang, Shoulder to shoulder, we struggled on
And feed on it alone, in a cruel frenzy, Filling Heorot with his head-clearing voice, For five nights, until the long flow
Fouling his moor-nest. No need then 450 Gladdening that great rally of Danes and Geats. And pitch of the waves, the perishing cold,
To lament for long or lay out my body: From where he crouched at the king’s feet, Night falling and winds from the North
If the battle takes me, send back Unferth, a son of Ecglaf’s, spoke 500 Drove us apart. The deep boiled up
This breast-webbing that Weland fashioned Contrary words. Beowulf’s coming, And its wallowing sent the sea-brutes wild.
And Hrethel gave me, to Hygelac. His sea-braving, made him sick with envy: My armor held me to hold out; 550
Fate goes ever as fate must.” He could not brook or abide the fact My hard-ringed chain-mail, hand-forged and linked,
Hrothgar, the helmet of the Shieldings, spoke: That anyone else alive under heaven A fine, close-fitting filigree of gold,
“Beowulf, my friend, you have traveled here Might enjoy greater regard than he did: Kept me safe when some ocean creature
To favour us with help and fight for us. “Are you the Beowulf who took on Breca Pulled me to the bottom. Pinioned fast
There was a feud one time, begun by your father. In a swimming match on the open sea, And swathed in its grip, I was granted one
With his own hands he had killed Heatholaf, 460 Risking the water just to prove you could win? Final chance: my sword plunged
Who was a Wulfing; so war was looming It was sheer vanity made you venture out And the ordeal was over. Through my own hands
And his people, in fear of it, forced him to leave. On the main deep. And no matter who tried, 510 The fury of battle had finished off the sea-beast.
He came away then over rolling waves Friend or foe, to deflect the pair of you, “Time and again, foul things attacked me,
To the South Danes here, the sons of honor. Neither would back down: the sea-test obsessed you. Lurking and stalking, but I lashed out, 560
I was then in the full flush of kingship, You waded in, embracing water, Gave as good as I got with my sword.
Establishing my sway over all the rich strongholds Taking its measure, mastering currents, My flesh was not for feasting on,
Of this heroic land. Heorogar, Riding on the swell. The ocean swayed, There would be no monsters gnawing and gloating
My older brother and the better man, Winter went wild in the waves, but you vied Over their banquet at the bottom of the sea.
Also a son of Halfdane’s, had died. For seven nights; and then he outswam you, Instead, in the morning, mangled and sleeping
Finally I healed the feud by paying: 470 Came ashore the stronger contender. The sleep of the sword, they slopped and floated
I shipped a treasure-trove to the Wulfings He was cast up safe and sound one morning Like the ocean’s leavings. From now on
And Ecgtheow acknowledged me with oaths of allegiance. Among the Heathoreams, then made his way 520 Sailors would the safe, the deep-sea raids
“It bothers me to have to burden anyone To where he belonged in Bronding country, Were over for good. Light came from the East,
With all the grief Grendel has caused Home again, sure of his ground Bright guarantee of God, and the waves 570
And the havoc he has wreaked upon us in Heorot, In strong room and bawn. So Breca made good Went quiet; I could see the headlands
Our humiliations. My household-guard His boast upon you and was proved right. And buffeted cliffs. Often, for undaunted courage,
Fate spares the man it has not already marked. So the Helming woman went on her rounds, 620 Special protection to the Danish prince.
However it had occurred, my sword had killed Queenly and dignified, decked out in rings, And the Geat placed complete trust
Nine sea monsters. Such night-dangers Offering the goblet to all ranks, In his strength of limb and the Lord’s favor. 670
And hard ordeals I have never heard of Treating the household and the assembled troop He began to remove his iron breast-mail,
Nor of a man so desolate in surging waves. Until it was Beowulf’s turn to take it from her hand. Took off the helmet and handed his attendant
But worn out as I was, I survived, With measured words she welcomed the Geat The patterned sword, a smith’s masterpiece,
Came through with my life. The ocean lifted And thanked God for granting her wish Ordering him to keep the equipment guarded.
And laid me ashore, I landed safe 580 That a deliverer she could believe in would arrive And before he bedded down, Beowulf,
On the coast of Finland. To ease their afflictions. He accepted the cup, That prince of goodness, proudly asserted:
Now, I cannot recall A daunting man, dangerous in action “When it comes to fighting, I count myself
any fight you entered, Unferth, And eager for it always. He addressed Wealhtheow; 630 As dangerous any day as Grendel.
That bears comparison. I don’t boast when I say Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, said: So it won’t be a cutting edge I’ll wield
That neither you nor Breca ever were much “I had a fixed purpose when I put out to sea. To mow him down, easily as I might. 680
Celebrated for swordsmanship As I sat in the boat with my band of men, He has no ideas of the arts of war,
Or for facing danger in the battlefield. I meant to perform to the uttermost Of shield or sword-play, though he does possess
You killed your own kith and kin, What your people wanted or perish in the attempt, A wild strength. No weapons, therefore,
So for all your cleverness and quick tongue, In the fiend’s clutches. And I shall fulfill that purpose, For either this night: unarmed he shall face me
You will suffer damnation in the pits of hell. Prove myself with a proud deed If face me he dares. And may the Divine Lord
The fact is, Unferth, if you were truly 590 Or meet my death here in the mead-hall.” In His wisdom grant victory
As keen or courageous as you claim to be This formal boast by Beowulf the Geat To whichever side He sees fit.”
Grendel would never have got away with Pleased the lady well and she went to sit 640 Then down the brave man lay with his bolster
Such unchecked atrocity, attacks on your king, By Hrothgar, regal and arrayed with gold. Under his head and his whole company
Havoc in Heorot and horrors everywhere. Then it was like old times in the echoing hall, Of sea-rovers at rest beside him. 690
But he knows he need never be in dread Proud talk and the people happy, None of them expected he would ever see
Of your blade making a mizzle of his blood Loud and excited; until soon enough His homeland again or get back
Or of vengeance arriving ever from this quarter--- Halfdane’s heir had to be away To his native place and the people who reared him.
From the Victory-Shieldings, the shoulderers of the spear. To his night’s rest. He realized They knew too well the way it was before,
He knows he can trample down you Danes That the demon was going to descend on the hall How often the Danes had fallen prey
To his heart’s content, humiliate and murder 600 That he had plotted all day, from dawn-light To death in the mead-hall. But the Lord was weaving
Without fear of reprisal. But he will find me different. Until darkness gathered again over the world A victory on his war-loom for the Weather-Geats.
I will show him how Geats shape to kill And stealthy night-shades came stealing forth 650 Through the strength of one they all prevailed;
In the heat of battle. Then whoever wants to Under the cloud-murk. The company stood They would crush their enemy and come through
May go bravely to morning mead, when morning light, As the two leaders took leave of each other: In triumph and gladness. The truth is clear: 700
Scarfed in sun-dazzle, shines forth from the south Hrothgar wished Beowulf health and good luck, Almighty God rules over mankind
And brings another daybreak to the world.” Named him hall-warden and announced as follows: And always has. Then out of the night
Then the gray-haired treasure-giver was glad; “Never, since my hand could hold a shield Came the shadow-stalker, stealthy and swift;
Far-famed in battle, the prince of Bright-Danes Have I entrusted or given control The hall-guards were slack, asleep at their posts,
And keeper of his people counted on Beowulf, Of the Dane’s hall to anyone but you. All except one; it was widely understood
On the warrior’s steadfastness and his word. 610 Ward and guard it, for it is the greatest of houses. That as long as God disallowed it,
So the laughter started, the din got louder Be on your mettle now, keep in mind your fame, The fiend could not bear them to his shadow-bourne.
And the crowd was happy. Wealhtheow came in, Beware of the enemy. There’s nothing you wish for 660 One man, however, was in a fighting mood,
Hrothgar’s queen, observing the courtesies. That won’t be yours if you win through alive.” Awake and on edge, spoiling for action.
Adorned in her gold, she graciously saluted Hrothgar departed then with his house-guard. In off the moors, down through the mist-bands 710
The men in the hall, then handed the cup The lord of the Shieldings, their shelter in war, God-cursed Grendel came greedily loping.
First to Hrothgar, their homeland’s guardian, Left the mead-hall to lie with Wealhtheow, The bane of the race of men roamed forth,
Urging him to drink deep and enjoy it, His queen and bedmate. The King of Glory Hunting for a prey in the high hall.
Because he was dear to them. And he drank it down (as people learned) had posted a lookout Under the cloud-murk he moved towards it
Like the warlord he was, with festive cheer. Who was a match for Grendel, a guard against monsters, Until it shone above him, a sheer keep
Of fortified gold. Nor was that the first time In his fingers weakened; it was the worst trip Hygelac’s kinsman kept him helplessly
He had scouted the grounds of Hrothgar’s dwelling--- The terror-monger had taken to Heorot. Locked in a handgrip. As long as either lived
Although never in his life, before or since, And now the timbers trembled and sang, He was hateful to the other. The monster’s whole
Did he find harder fortune or hall-defenders. A hall-session that harrowed every Dane Body was in pain, a tremendous wound
Spurned and joyless, he journeyed on ahead 720 Inside the stockade: stumbling in fury, Appeared on his shoulder. Sinews split
And arrived at the bawn. The iron-braced door The two contenders crashed through the building. And the bone-lappings burst. Beowulf was granted
Turned in its hinge when his hand touched it. The hall clattered and hammered, but somehow 770 The glory of winning; Grendel was driven
Then his rage boiled over, he ripped open Survived the onslaught and kept standing: Under the fen banks, fatally hurt,
The mouth of the building, maddening for blood, It was handsomely structured, a sturdy frame To his desolate lair. His days were numbered, 820
Pacing the length of the patterned floor Braced with the best of blacksmith’s work The end of his life was coming over him,
With his loathsome tread, while a baleful light, Inside and out. The story goes He knew it for certain; and one bloody clash
Flame more than light, flared from his eyes. That as the pair struggled, mead benches were smashed Had fulfilled the dearest wishes of the Danes.
He saw many men in the mansion, sleeping, And sprung off the floor, gold fittings and all. The man who had lately landed among them,
A ranked company of kinsmen and warriors Before then, no Shielding elder would believe Proud and sure, had purged the hall,
Quartered together. And his glee was demonic, 730 There was any power or person on earth Kept it from harm; he was happy with his night-work
Picturing the mayhem: before morning Capable of wrecking their horn-rigged hall And the courage he had shown. The Geat captain
He would rip life from limp and devour them, Unless the burning embrace of fire 780 Had boldly fulfilled his boast to the Danes:
Feed on their flesh: but his fate that night Engulf it in flame. Then an extraordinary He had healed and relieved a huge distress,
Was due to change, his days of ravening Wail arose, and bewildering fear Unremitting humiliations, 830
Had come to an end. Mighty and canny, Came over the Danes. Everyone felt it The hard fate they’d been forced to undergo,
Hygelac’s kinsman was keenly watching Who heard that cry as it echoed off the wall, No small affliction. Clear proof of this
For the first move the monster would make. A God-cursed scream and strain of catastrophe, Could be seen in the hand the hero displayed
Nor did the creature keep him waiting The howl of the loser, the lament of the hell-serf High up near the roof: the whole of Grendel’s
But struck suddenly and started in; Keening his wound. He was overwhelmed, Shoulder and arm, his awesome grasp.
He grabbed and mauled a man on his bench, 740 Manacled tight by the man who of all men Then morning came and many a warrior
Bit into his bone-lappings, bolted down his blood Was foremost and strongest in the days of this life. Gathered, as I have heard, around the gift-hall,
And gorged on him in lumps, leaving the body But the earl troop’s leader was not inclined 790 Clan-chiefs flocking from far and near
Utterly lifeless, eaten up To allow his caller to depart alive: Down wide-ranging roads, wondering greatly
Hand and foot. Venturing closer, He did not consider that life of much account At the monster’s footprint. His fatal departure 840
his talon was raised to attack Beowulf To anyone anywhere. Time and again, Was regretted by no one who witnessed his trail,
Where he lay on the bed; he was bearing in Beowulf’s warriors worked to defend The ignominious marks of his flight
With open claw when the alert hero’s Their lord’s life, laying about them Where he’d sulked away, exhausted in spirit
Comeback and armlock forestalled him utterly. As best they could with their ancestral blades. And beaten in battle, bloodying the path,
The captain of evil discovered himself Stalwart in action, they kept striking out Hauling his doom to the demons’ mere.
In a handgrip harder than anything 750 On every side, seeking to cut The bloodshot water wallowed and surged,
He had ever encountered in any man Straight to the soul. When they joined the struggle There were loathsome up throws and over turnings
On the face of the earth. Every bone in his body There was something they could have not known at the time, 800 Of waves and gore and would-slurry.
Quailed and coiled, but he could not escape. That not blade on earth, no blacksmith’s art With his death upon him, he had dived deep
He was desperate to flee to his den and hide Could ever damage their demon opponent. Into his marsh den, drowned out his life 850
With the devil’s litter, for in all his days He had conjured the harm from the cutting edge And his heathen soul: hell claimed him there.
He had never been clamped or cornered like this. Of every weapon. But his going away Then away they rode, the old retainers
Then Hygelac’s trusty retainer recalled Out of the world and the days of his life With many a young man following after,
His bedtime speech, sprang to his feet Would be agony to him, and his alien spirit A troop on horseback, in high spirits
And got a firm hold. Fingers were bursting, would travel far into fiends’ keeping. On their bay steeds. Beowulf’s doings
The monster back-tracking, the man overpowering. 760 Then he who had harrowed the hearts of men Were praised over and over again.
The dread of the land was desperate to escape, With pain and affliction in former times Nowhere, they said, north or south
To take a roundabout road and flee And had given offense also to God 810 Between the two seas or under the tall sky
To his lair in the fens. The latching power Found that his bodily powers had failed him. On the broad earth was there anyone better
To raise a shield or to rule a kingdom. 860 That expedition was often condemned By your glorious action. May the Lord of Ages
Yet there was no laying of blame on their lord, To those earlier times by experienced men, Continue to keep and requite you well.”
The noble Hrothgar; he was a good king. Men who relied on his lordship for redress, Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, spoke:
At times the war-band broke into a gallop, Who presumed that the part of a prince was to thrive “We have gone through a glorious endeavor
Letting their chestnut horses race On his father’s throne and protect the nation, 910 And been much favored in this fight we dared
Wherever they found the going good The Shielding land where they lived and belonged, Against the unknown. Nevertheless,
On those well-known tracks. Meanwhile, a thane Its holdings and strongholds. Such was Beowulf If you could have seen the monster himself 960
Of the king’s household, a carrier of tales, In the affection of his friends and of everyone alive. Where he lay beaten, I would have been better pleased.
A traditional singer deeply schooled But evil entered into Heremod. My plan was to pounce, pin him down
In the lore of the past, linked a new theme Meanwhile, the Dane kept racing their mounts In a tight grip and grapple him to death---
To a strict metre. The man started 870 Down sandy lanes. The light of day Have him panting for life, powerless and clasped
To recite with skill, rehearsing Beowulf’s Broke and kept brightening. Bands of retainers In my bare hands, his body in thrall.
Triumphs and feats in well-fashioned lines, Galloped in excitement to the gabled hall But I couldn’t stop him from slipping my hold.
Entwining his words. He told what he’d heard To see the marvel; and the king himself, The Lord allowed it, my lock on him
Repeated in songs of Sigemund’s exploits, Guardian of the ring-hoard, goodness in person, 920 Wasn’t strong enough, he struggled fiercely
All of those many feats and marvels, Walked in majesty from the women’s quarters And broke and ran. Yet he bought his freedom
The struggles and wanderings of Wael’s son, With a numerous train, attended by his queen At a high price, for he left his hand 970
Things unknown to anyone, And her crowd of maidens, across the mead-hall. And arm and shoulder to show he had been here,
Except Fitela, feuds and foul doings When Hrothgar arrived at the hall, he spoke, A cold comfort for having come among us.
Confided from uncle to nephew when he felt Standing on the steps, under the steep eaves, And now he won’t be long for this world.
The urge to speak of them: always had they been 880 Gazing at the roofwork and Grendel’s talon: He has done his worst but the wound will end him.
Partners in the fight, friends in need. “First and foremost, let the Almighty Father He is hasped and hooped and hirpling with pain,
They killed giants, their conquering swords Be thanked for this sight. I suffered a long Limped and looped in it. Like a man outlawed
Had brought them down. Harrowing by Grendel. But the Heavenly Shepherd For wickedness, he mush await
After his death Can work his wonders always and everywhere. 930 The mighty judgment of God in majesty.”
Sigemund’s glory grew and grew Not long since, it seemed I would never There was less tampering and big talk then
Because of his courage when he killed the dragon, Be granted the slightest solace or relief From Unferth the boaster, less of his blather 980
The guardian of the hoard. Under gray stone From any of my burdens: the best of houses As the hall-thanes eyed the awful proof
He had dared to enter all by himself Glittered and reeked and ran with blood. Of the hero’s prowess, the splayed hand
To face the worst without Fitela. This one worry outweighed all others--- Up under the eaves. Every nail,
But it came to pass that his sword plunged A constant distress to counselors entrusted Claw-scale and spur, every spike
Right through those radiant scales 890 With defending the people’s forts from assault And welt on the hand of that heathen brute
And drove into the wall. The dragon died of it. By monsters and demons. But now a man, Was like barbed steel. Everybody said
His daring had given him total possession With the Lord’s assistance, has accomplished something There was no honed iron hard enough
Of the treasure hoard, his to dispose of None of us could manage before now 940 To pierce him through, no time-proofed blade
However he liked. He loaded a boat: For all our efforts. Whoever she was That could cut his brutal, blood-caked claw.
Wael’s son weighted her hold Who brought forth this flower of manhood, Then the order was given for all hands 990
With dazzling spoils. The hot dragon melted. If she is still alive, that woman can say To help refurbish Heorot immediately:
Sigemund’s name was known everywhere. That in her labor the Lord of Ages Men and women thronging the wine-hall,
He was utterly valiant and venturesome, Bestowed a grace on her. So now, Beowulf, Getting it ready. Gold thread shone
A fence round his fighters and flourished therefore adopt you in my heart as a dear son. In the wall-hangings, woven scenes
After King Heremond’s prowess declined 900 Nourish and maintain this new connection, That attracted and held the eye’s attention.
And his campaigns slowed down. The king was You noblest of men; there’ll be nothing you want for, But iron-braced as the inside of it had been,
betrayed, No worldly good that won’t be yours. The bright room lay in ruins now.
Ambushed in Jutland, overpowered I have often honored smaller achievements, 950 The very doors had been dragged from their hinges.
And done away with. The waves of his grief Recognized warriors not nearly as worthy, Only the roof remained unscathed
Had beaten him down, made him a burden, Lavished rewards on the less deserving. By the time the guilt-fouled fiend turned tail 1000
A source of anxiety to his own nobles: But you have made yourself immortal In despair of his life. But death is not easily
Escaped from by anyone: The chieftain went on to reward the others: How save
All of us with souls, earth-dwellers Each man on the bench who had sailed with Beowulf 1050 The rump of his force
And children of men, must make our way And risked the voyage received a bounty, From that enemy chief?
To a destination already ordained Some treasured possession. And compensation, So a truce was offered
Where the body, after the banqueting, A price in gold, was settled for the Geat As follows: first
Sleeps on its deathbed. Grendel had killed cruelly earlier-- Separate quarters
Then the due time arrived As he would have killed more, had not mindful God To be cleared for the Danes,
For Halfdane’s son to proceed to the hall. And one man’s daring prevented that doom. Hall and throne
The king himself would sit down to feast. Past and present, God’s will prevails. To be shared with the Frisians.
No group ever gathered in greater numbers 1010 Hence, understanding is always best Then, second;
Or better order around their ring-giver. And a prudent mind. Whoever remains Every day
The benches filled with famous men For long here in this earthly life 1060 At the dole-out of gifts
Who fell to with relish; round upon round Will enjoy and endure more than enough. Finn, son of Focwald,
Of mead was passed; those powerful kinsmen, They sang then and played to please the hero, Should honor the Danes, 1090
Hrothgar and Hrothulf, were in high spirits Words and music for their warrior prince, Bestow with an even
In the raftered hall. Inside Heorot Harp tunes and tales of adventure: Hand to Hengest
There was nothing but friendship. The Shielding nation There were high times on the hall benches And Hengest’s men
Was not yet familiar with feud and betrayal. And the king’s poet performed his part The wrought-gold rings,
Then Halfdane’s son presented Beowulf With the saga of Finn and his sons, unfolding Bounty to match
With gold standards as a victory gift, 1020 The tale of the fierce attack in Friesland The measure he gave
An embroidered banner; also breast-mail Where Hnaef, king of the Danes, met death His own Frisians--
And a helmet; and a sword carried high, Hildeburh 1070 To keep morale
That was both precious object and a token of honor. Had little cause In the beer-hall high.
So Beowulf drank his drink, at ease; To credit the Jutes: Both sides then
It was hardly a shame to be showered with such gifts Son and brother, Sealed their agreement.
In front of the hall-troops. There haven’t been many She lost them both With oaths to Hengest
Moments, I am sure, when men have exchanged On the battlefield. Finn swore
Four such treasures at so friendly a sitting. She, bereft Openly, solemnly,
An embossed ring, a band lapped with wire And blameless, they That the battle survivors
Arched over the helmet: head-protection 1030 Foredoomed, cut down Would be guaranteed
To keep the keen-ground cutting edge And spear-gored. She, Honor and status.
From damaging it when danger threatened The woman in shock, No infringement
And the man was battling behind his shield. Waylaid by grief, By word or deed,
Next the king ordered eight horses Hoc’s daughter-- No provocation 1100
With gold bridles to be brought through the yard How could she not Would be permitted.
Into the hall. The harness of one Lament her fate Their own ring-giver
Included a saddle of sumptuous design, When morning came After all
The battle-seat where the son of Halfdane And the light broke Was dead and gone,
Rode when he wished to join the sword-play: On her murdered dears? They were leaderless
Wherever the killing and carnage were the worst, 1040 And so farewell In forced allegiance
He would be to the fore, fighting hard. Delight on earth, To his murderer.
The Danish prince, descendent of Ing, War carried away 1080 So if any Frisian
Handed over both the arms and the horses, Finn’s troop of thanes, Stirred up bad blood
Urging Beowulf to use them well. All but a few. With insinuations
And so their leader, the lord and guard How then could Finn Or taunts about this,
Of coffer and strong room, with customary grace Hold the line The blade of the sword
Bestowed upon Beowulf both sets of gifts. Or fight on Will arbitrate it.
A fair witness can see how well each one behaved. To the end with Hengest, A funeral pyre
Was then prepared, Could up then Gold collars and gemstones--
Effulgent gold And away on the sea. Swept off to the ship.
Brought out from the hoard. Wind and water Over sea-lanes then
The pride and prince Raged with storms, Back to Daneland
Of the Shieldings lay Wave and shingle The warrior troop
Awaiting the flame. 1110 Were shackled on ice Bore that lady home
Everywhere Until another year The poem was over,
There were blood-plastered Appeared in the yard The poet had performed, a pleasant murmur
Coats of mail. As it does to this day, Started on the benches, stewards did the rounds 1160
The pyre was heaped The seasons constant, With wine in splendid jugs, and Wilhtheow came to sit
With boar-shaped helmets The wonder of light In her gold crown between two good men,
Forged in gold, Coming over us. Uncle and nephew, each of whom
With the gashed corpses Then winter was gone, Still trusted the other; and the forthright Unferth,
Of well-born Danes-- Earth’s lap grew lovely, Admired by all for his mind and courage
Many had fallen. Longing woke Although under a cloud for killing his brothers,
Then Hildeburh In the cooped-up exile Reclined near the king. The queen spoke:
Ordered her own For a voyage home-- “Enjoy this drink, my most generous lord;
Son’s body But more for vengeance, 1140 Raise up your goblet, entertain the Geats
Be burnt with Hnaef’s, Some way of bringing Duly and gently, discourse with them, 1170
The flesh on his bones Things to a head: Be open-handed, happy and fond.
To sputter and blaze His sword arm hankered Relish their company, but recollect as well
Beside his uncle’s. To greet the Jutes. All of the boons that have been bestowed upon you.
The woman wailed So he did not balk The bright court of Heorot has been cleansed
And sang keens, Once Hunlafing And now the word is that you want to adopt
The warrior went up. Placed on his lap This warrior as a son. So, while you may,
Carcass flame 1120 Dazle-the -Duel, Bask in your fortune, then bequeath
Swirled and fumed, The best sword of all, Kingdom and nation to your kith and kin,
They stood round the burial Whose edges Jutes Before your decease. I am certain of Hrothulf.
Mound and howled Knew only too well. He is noble and will use the young ones well. 1180
As heads melted, Thus blood was spilled, He will not let you down. Should you die before him,
Crusted gashes The gallant Finn He will treat our children truly and fairly.
Spattered and ran Slain in his home He will honor, I am sure, our two sons,
Bloody matter. After Guthlaf and Oslaf Repay them in kind when he recollects
The glutton element Back from their voyage All the good things we gave him once,
Flamed and consumed Made old accusation: The favor and respect he found in childhood.”
The dead of both sides. The brutal ambush, She turned then to the bench where her boys sat,
Their great days were gone. The fate they had suffered, Hrethric and Hrothmond, with other nobles’ sons,
Warriors scattered All blamed on Finn. 1150 All the youth together; and that good man,
To homes and forts The wildness in them Beowulf the Geat, sat between the brothers. 1190
All over Friesland, Had to brim over. The cup was carried to him, kind words
Fewer now, feeling The hall ran red Spoken in welcome and wealth of wrought gold
Loss of friends. With blood of enemies. Graciously bestowed; two arm bangles,
Hengest stayed, Finn was cut down, A mail shirt and rings, and the most resplendent
Lived out that whole The queen brought away Torque of gold I have ever heard tell of
Resentful, blood-sullen And everything Anywhere on earth or under heaven.
Winter with Finn, 1130 The Shieldings could find There was no hoard like it since Hama snatched
Homesick and helpless. Inside Finn’s walls-- The Brosings’ neck-chain and bore it away
No ring-whorled prow The Frisian king’s With its gems and settings to his shinning fort,
Away from Eormenric’s wiles and hatred, 1200 At home or in the camp, in whatever case To Hrothgar, this man was the most beloved
And thereby ensured his eternal reward. And at whatever time the need arose Of the friends he trusted between the two seas.
Hygelac the Geat, grandson of Swerting, To rally round their lord. They were a right people. 1250 She had done away with a great warrior,
Wore this neck-ring on his last raid; They went to sleep. And one paid dearly Ambushed him at rest. Beowulf was elsewhere.
At bay under his banner, he defended the booty, For his night’s ease, as had happened to them often, Earlier, after the reward of the treasure, 1300
Treasure he had won. Fate swept him away Ever since Grendel occupied the gold-hall, The Geat had been given another lodging.
Because of his proud need to provoke Committing evil until the end came, There was an uproar in Heorot. She had snatched their trophy,
A feud with the Frisians. He fell beneath his shield, Death after his crimes. Then it became clear, Grendel’s bloodied hand. It was a fresh blow
In the same gem-crusted, kingly gear Obvious to everyone once the fight was over, To the afflicted bawn. The bargain was hard,
He had worn when he crossed the frothing wave-vat. That an avenger lurked and was still alive, Both parties having to pay
So the dead king fell into Frankish hands. 1210 Grimly biding time. Grendel’s mother, With the lives of friends. And the old lord,
Hey took his breast-mail, also his neck-torque, Monstrous hell-bride, brooded on her wrongs. The gray-haired warrior, was heartsore and weary
And punier warriors plundered the slain She had been forced down into fearful waters, 1260 When he heard the news: his highest-placed advisor,
When the carnage ended; Geat corpses The cold depths, after Cain had killed His dearest companion, was dead and gone.
Covered the field. Applause filled the hall. His father’s son, felled his own Beowulf was quickly brought to the chamber: 1310
Then Wealhtheow pronounce in the presence of the company: Brother with the sword. Banished an outlaw, The winner of fights, the arch-warrior,
“Take delight in this torque, dear Beowulf, Marked by having murdered, he moved into the wilds, Came first-footing in with his fellow troops
Wear it for luck and also wear this mail Shunning company and joy. And from Cain there sprang To where the king in his wisdom waited,
From our people’s armory: may you prosper in them! Misbegotten spirits, among them Grendel, Still wondering whether Almighty God
Be acclaimed or strength, for kindly guidance The banished and accursed, due to come to grips Would even turn the tide of his misfortunes.
To these two boys, and your bounty will be sure. 1220 With that watcher in Heorot waiting to do battle. So Beowulf entered with his band in attendance
You have won renown: you are known to all men The monster wrenched and wrestled with him, And the wooden floor-boards banged and rang
Far and near, now and forever. but Beowulf was mindful of his mighty strength, 1270 As he advance, hurrying to address
Your sway is wide and the wind’s home, The wondrous gifts God had showered on him: The prince of the Ingwins, asking if he’d rested
As the sea around cliffs. So, my prince, He relied for help on the Lord of All, Since the urgent summons had come as a surprise. 1320
I wish you a lifetime’s luck and blessings On His care and favor. So he overcame the foe, Then Hrothgar, the Shieldings’ helmet, spoke:
To enjoy this treasure. Treat my sons Brought down the hell-brute. Broken and bowed, “Rest? What is rest? Sorrow has returned.
With tender care, be strong and kind. Outcast from all sweetness, the enemy of mankind Alas for the Danes! Aeschere is dead.
Here each comrade is true to the other, Made for his death-den. But now his mother He was Yrmenlaf’s elder brother
Loyal to lord, loving in spirit. Had sallied forth on a savage journey, And a soul mate to me, a true mentor,
The thanes have one purpose, the people are ready: 1230 Grief-racked and ravenous, desperate for revenge. My right-hand man when the ranks clashed
Having drunk and pledged, the ranks do as I bid.” She came to Heorot. There, inside the hall, And our boar-crests had to take a battering
She moved then to her place. Men were drinking wine Danes lay asleep, earls who would soon endure 1280 In the line of action. Aechere was everything
At that rare feast; how could they know fate, A great reversal once Grendel’s mother The world admires in a wise man and a friend.
The grim shape of things to come, Attacked and entered. Her onslaught was less Then this roaming killer came in a fury 1330
The threat looming over many thanes Only by as much as an Amazon warrior’s And slaughtered him in Heorot. Where she is hiding,
As night approached and king Hrothgar prepared In less than an armored man’s Glutting on the corpse and glorying in her escape,
To retire to his quarters? Retainers in great numbers When the hefted sword, its hammered edge I cannot tell; she has taken up the feud
Were posted on guard as so often in the past. And gleaming blade slathered in blood, Because of last night, when you killed Grendel,
Benches were pushed back, bedding gear and bolsters Razes the sturdy boar-ridge off a helmet. Wrestled and racked him in ruinous combat
Spread across the floor, and one man 1240 Then in the hall, hard-honed swords Since for too long he had terrorized us
Lay down to his rest, already marked for death. Were grabbed from the bench, many a broad shield With his depredations. He died in battle,
At their heads they placed their polished timber Lifted and braced; there was little thought of helmets 1290 Paid with his life; and now this powerful
Battle-shields; and on the bench above them, Or woven mail when they woke in terror. Other one arrives, this force for evil
Each man’s kit was kept to hand: The hell-dam was in panic, desperate to get out, Driven to avenge her kinsman’s death. 1340
A towering war-helmet, webbed mail-shirt In mortal terror the moment she was found. Or so it seems to thanes in their grief,
And great-shafted spear. It was their habit She had pounced and taken one of the retainers In the anguish every thane endures
Always and everywhere to be ready for action, In a tight hold, then headed for the fen. At the loss of a ring-giver, now that the hand
That bestowed so richly has been stilled in death. I guarantee you: she will not get away, A strange lake-birth, a loathsome catch 1440
“I have heard it said by my people in hall, Not to dens underground nor upland groves Men gazed at in awe. Beowulf got ready,
Counselors who live in the upland country, Nor the ocean floor. She’ll have nowhere to flee to. Donned his war-gear, indifferent to death;
That they have seen two such creatures Endure your troubles today. Bear up His mighty, hand-forged, fine-webbed mail
Prowling the moors, huge marauders And be the man I expect you to be.” Would soon meet with the menace under water.
From some other world. One of these things, With that the old lord sprung to his feet It would keep the bone-cage of his body safe:
As far as anyone ever can discern, 1350 And praised God for Beowulf’s pledge. No enemy’s clasp could crush him in it,
Looks like a woman; the other, warped Then a bit and halter were brought for his horse No vicious arm lock choke his life out.
In the shape of a man, moves beyond the pale With the plaited mane. The wise king mounted 1400 To guard his head he had a glittering helmet
Bigger than any man, an unnatural birth The royal saddle and rode out in style That was due to be muddied on the mere bottom
Called Grendel by country people With a force of shield-bearers. The forest paths And blurred in the up swirl. It was of beaten gold, 1450
In former days. They are fatherless creatures, Were marked all over with the monster’s tracks, Princely headgear hooped and hasped
And their whole ancestry is hidden in a past Her trail on the ground wherever she had gone By a weapon-smith who had worked wonders
Of demons and ghosts. They dwell apart Across the dark moors, dragging away In days gone by and adorned it with boar-shapes;
Among wolves on hills, on windswept crags The body of that thane, Hrothgar’s best Since then it had resisted every sword.
And treacherous keshes, where cold streams Counselor and overseer of the country. And another item lent by Unferth
Pour down the mountain and disappear 1360 So the noble prince proceeded undismayed At that moment was of no small importance:
Under mist and moorland. A few miles from here Up fells and screes, along narrow footpaths The brehon handed him a hilted weapon,
A frost-stiffened wood waits and keeps watch And ways where they were forced into single file, 1410 A rare and ancient sword named Hrunting.
Above a mere; the overhanging bank Ledges on cliffs above lairs of water-monsters. The iron blade with its ill-boding patterns
Is a maze of tree roots mirrored in its surface. He went in front with a few men, Had been tempered in blood. It had never failed 1460
At night there, something uncanny happens: Good judges of the lie of the land, The hand of anyone who had hefted it in battle,
The water burns. And the mere bottom And suddenly discovered the dismal wood, Anyone who had fought and faced the worst
Has never been sounded by the sons of men. Mountain trees growing out at an angle In the gap of danger. This was not the first time
On its bank, the heather-stepper halts: Above gray stones: the bloodshot water It had been called to perform heroic feats.
The hart in flight from pursuing hounds Surged underneath. It was a sore blow When he lent that blade to the better swordsman,
Will turn to face them with firm-set horns 1370 To all of the Danes, friends of the Shieldings, Unferth, the strong-built son of Ecglaf,
And die in the wood rather than dive A hurt to each and every one Could hardly have remember the ranting speech
Beneath its surface. That is no good place. Of that noble company when they came upon 1420 He had made in his cups. He was not man enough
When the wind blows up and stormy weather Aechere’s head at the foot of the cliff. To face the turmoil of a fight under water
Makes clouds scud and the skies weep, Everybody gazed as the hot gore And the risk to his life. So there he lost 1470
Out of its depths a dirty surge Kept wallowing up and an urgent war-horn fame and repute. It was different for the other
Is pitched towards the heavens. Now help depends Repeated its notes: the whole party Rigged out in his gear, ready to do battle.
Again on you and you alone. Sat down to watch. The water was infested Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, spoke:
The gap of danger where the demon waits With all kinds of reptiles. There were writhing sea-dragons “Wisest of kings, now that I have come
Is still unknown to you. Seek it if you dare. And monsters slouching on slopes by the cliff, To the point of action, I ask you to recall
I will compensate you for settling the feud 1380 Serpents and wild things such as those that often What we said earlier: that you, son of Halfdane
As I did last time with lavish wealth, Surface at dawn to roam the sail-road And gold-friend to retainers, that you, if I should fall
Coffers of coiled gold, if you come back.” And doom the voyage. Down they plunged, 1430 And suffer death while serving your cause,
Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, spoke: Lashing in anger at the loud call Would act like a father to me afterwards.
“Wise sir, do not grieve. It is always better Of the battle bugle. An arrow from the bow If this combat kills me, take care 1480
To avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning. Of the Geat chief got one of them Of my young company, my comrades in arms.
For every one of us, living in this world As he surged to the surface: the seasoned shaft And be sure also, my beloved Hrothgar,
Means waiting for our end. Let whoever can Stuck deep in his flank and his freedom in the water To send Hygelac the treasures I received.
Win glory before death. When a warrior is gone, Got less and less. It was his last swim. Let the lord of the Geats gaze on that gold,
That will be his best and only bulwark. He was swiftly overwhelmed in the shallows, Let Hrethel’s son take note of it and see
So arise, my lord, and let us immediately 1390 Prodded by barbed boar-spears, That I found a ring-giver of rare magnificence
Set forth on the trail of this troll-dam. Cornered, beaten, pulled up on the bank, And enjoyed the good of his generosity.
And Unferth is to have what I inherited: In a combat. Life doesn’t cost him thought. A brutal plunderer. Beowulf in his fury
To that far-famed man I bequeath my own Then the prince of War-Geats, warming to his fight Now settled that score: he saw the monster
Sharp-horned, wave-sheened wonder blade. 1490 With Grendel’s mother, gripped her shoulder In his resting place, war-weary and wrecked,
With Hrunting I shall gain glory or die. And laid about him in a battle frenzy: A lifeless corpse, a casualty
After these words, the prince of the Weather-Geats He pitched his killer opponent to the floor 1540 Of the battle in Heorot. The body gaped
Was impatient to be away and plunged suddenly: But she rose quickly and retaliated, At the stroke dealt to it after death:
Without more ado, he dived in to the heaving Grappled him tightly in her grim embrace. Beowulf cut the corpse’s head off. 1590
Depths of the lake. It was the best part of a day The sure-footed fight fell daunted, Immediately the counselors keeping a lookout
Before he could see the solid bottom. The strongest of warriors stumbled and fell. With Hrothgar, watching the lake water,
Quickly the one who haunted those waters, So she pounced upon him and pulled out Saw a heave-up and surge of waves
Who had scavenged and gone her gluttonous rounds A broad, whetted knife: now she could avenge And blood in the backwash. They bowed gray heads,
For a hundred seasons, sensed a human Her only child. But the mesh of chain-mail Spoke in their sage, experienced way
Observing her outlandish lair from above. 1500 On Beowulf’s shoulder shielded his life, About the good warrior, how they never again
So she lunged and clutched and managed to catch him Turned the edge and tip of the blade. Expected to see that prince returning
In her brutal grip; but his body, for all that, The son of Ecgtheow would surely have perished 1550 In triumph to their king. It was clear to many
Remained unscathed: the mesh of the chain-mail And the Geats lost their warrior under the wide earth That the wolf of the deep had destroyed him forever.
Saved him on the outside. Her savage talons Had the strong links and locks of his war-gear The ninth hour of the day arrived. 1600
Failed to rip the web of his war shirt. Not helped to save him: Holy God The brave Shieldings abandoned their cliff-top
Then once she touched bottom, the wolfish swimmer Decided the victory. It was easy for the Lord, And the king went home; but sick at heart,
Carried the ring-mailed prince to her court The Ruler of Heaven, to redress the balance Staring at the mere, the strangers held on.
So that for all his courage he could never use Once Beowulf got back up on his feet. They wished, without hope, to behold their lord,
The weapons he carried; and a bewildering horde Then he saw a blade that boded well, Beowulf himself. Meanwhile, the sword
Came at him from the depths, droves of sea-beasts 1510 A sword in her armory, an ancient heirloom Began to wilt into gory icicles,
Who attacked with tusks and tore at his chain-mail From the days of the giants, an ideal weapon, To slather and thaw. It was a wonderful thing,
In a ghastly onslaught. The gallant man One that any warrior would envy, 1560 The way it all melted as ice melts
Could see he had entered some hellish turn-hole But so huge and heavy in itself When the father eases the fetters off the frost
And yet the water did not work against him Only Beowulf could wield it in battle. And unravels the water-ropes. He who wields power 1610
Because the hall-roofing held off So the Shieldings’ hero, hard-pressed and enraged, Over time and tide: He is the true Lord.
The force of the current; then he saw firelight, Took a firm hold of the hilt and swung The Geat captain saw treasure in abundance
A gleam and flare-up, a glimmer of brightness. The blade in an arc, a resolute blow But carried no spoils from those quarters
The hero observed that swamp-thing from hell, That bit into her neck bone Except for the head and the inlaid hilt
The tarn-hag in all her terrible strength, And severed it entirely, toppling the doomed Embossed with jewels; its blade had melted
Then heaved his war-sword and swung his arm: 1520 House of her flesh; she fell to the floor. And the scrollwork on it burnt, so scalding was the blood
The decorated blade came down ringing The sword dripped blood, the swordsman was elated. Of the poisonous fiend who had perished there.
And singing on her head. But he soon found A light appeared and the place brightened 1570 Then away he swan, the one who had survived
His battle-torch extinguished: the shinning blade The way the sky does when heaven’s candle The fall of his enemies, flailing to the surface.
Refused to bite. It spared her and failed Is shinning clearly. He inspected the vault: The wide water, the waves and pools 1620
The man in his need. It had gone through many With sword held high, its hilt raised Were no longer infested once the wandering fiend
Hand-to-hand fights, had hewed the armor To guard and threaten, Hygelac’s thane Let go of her life and this unreliable world.
And helmets of the doomed, but here at last Scouted by the wall in Grendel’s wake. The seafarers’ leader made for land,
The fabulous powers of that heirloom failed. Now the weapon was to prove its worth. Resolutely swimming, delighted with his prize,
Hygelac’s kinsman kept thinking about The warrior determined to take revenge The mighty load he was lugging to the surface.
His name and fame: he never lost heart. 1530 For every gross act Grendel had committed-- His thanes advanced in a troop to meet him,
Then, in fury, he flung his sword away. And not only for that one occasion Thanking God and taking great delight
The keen, inlaid, worm-looped-patterned steel When he’d come to slaughter the sleeping troops, 1580 In seeing their prince back safe and sound.
Was hurled to the ground: he would have to rely Fifteen of Hrothgar’s house-guards Quickly the hero’s helmet and mail-shirt
On the might of his arm. So must a man do Surprised on their benches and ruthlessly devoured, Were loosed and unlaced. The lake settled, 1630
Who intends to gain enduring glory And as many again carried away, Clouds darkened above the bloodshot depths.
With high hearts they headed away Was passed on to the prince of the Danes 1680 Sometimes He allows the mind of a man
Along footpath and trails through the fields, When those devils perished; once death removed Of distinguished birth to follow its bent,
Roads that they knew, each of them wrestling That murdering, guilt-steeped, God-cursed fiend, Grants him fulfilment and felicity on earth 1730
With the head they were carrying from the lakeside cliff, Eliminating his unholy life And forts to command in his own country.
Men kingly in their courage and capable And his mother’s as well, it was willed that the king He permits him to lord it in many lands
Of difficult work. It was a task for four Who of all the lavish gift-lords of the north Until the man in his unthinkingness
To hoist Grendel’s head on a spear Was the best regarded between the two seas. Forgets that it will ever end for him.
And bear it under strain to the bright hall. Hrothgar spoke; he examined the hilt, He indulges his desires; illness and old age
But soon enough they neared the place, 1640 That relic of old times. It was engraved all over Mean nothing to him; his mind is untroubled
Fourteen Geats in fine fettle, And showed how war first came into the world By envy or malice or thought of enemies
Striding across the outlying ground And the flood destroyed the tribe of giants. 1690 With their hate-honed swords. The whole world
In a delighted throng around their leader. They suffered a terrible severance from the Lord; Conforms to his will, he is kept from the worst
In he came then, the thane’s commander, The Almighty made the waters rise, Until an element of overweening 1740
The arch-warrior, to address Hrothgar: Drowned them in the deluge for retribution. Enters him and takes hold
His courage was proven, his glory was secure. In pure gold inlay on the sword-guards While the soul’s guard, its sentry, drowses,
Grendel’s head was hauled by the hair, There were rune markings correctly incised, Grown too distracted. A killer stalks him,
Dragged across the floor where people were drinking, Stating and recording for whom the sword An archer who draws a deadly bow.
A horror for both queen and company to behold. Had been first made and ornamented And then the man is hit in the heart,
They stared in awe. It was an astonishing sight. 1650 With its scrollwork hilt. Then everyone hushed The arrow flies beneath his defenses,
Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, spoke: As the son of Halfdane spoke his wisdom. The devious promptings of the demon start.
“So, son of Halfdane, prince of the Shieldings, “A protector of his people, pledged to uphold 1700 His old possessions seem paltry to him now.
We are glad to bring this booty from the lake. Truth and justice and to respect tradition, He covets and resents; dishonors custom
It is a token of triumph and we tender it to you. Is entitled to affirm that this man And bestows no gold; and because of good things 1750
I barely survived the battle underwater. Was born to distinction. Beowulf, my friend, That the Heavenly powers gave him in the past
It was hard-fought, a desperate affair Your fame has gone far and wide, He ignores the shape of things to come.
That could have gone badly; if God had not helped me, You are known everywhere. In all things you are even-tempered, Then finally the end arrives
The outcome would have been quick and fatal. Prudent and resolute. So I stand firm by the promise of friendship When the body he was lent collapses and falls
Although Hrunting is hard-edged, We exchanged before. Forever you will be Prey to its death; ancestral possessions
I could never bring it to bear in battle. 1660 Your people’s mainstay and your own warriors’ And the goods he hoarded and inherited by another
But the Lord of Men allowed me to behold-- Helping hand. Heremod was different, Who lets them go with a liberal hand.
For he often helps the unbefriended-- The way he behaved to Ecgwala’s sons. 1710 “O flower of warriors, beware of that trap.
An ancient sword shinning on the wall, His rise in the world brought little joy Choose, dear Beowulf, the better part,
A weapon made for giants, there for the wielding. To the Danish people, only death and destruction. Eternal rewards. Do not give way to pride. 1760
Then my moment came in the combat and I struck He vented his rage on people he caroused with, For a brief while your strength is in bloom
The dwellers in that den. Next thing the damascened Killed his own comrades, a pariah king But it fades quickly; and soon there will follow
Sword blade melted; it bloated and it burned Who cut himself off from his own kind, Illness or the sword to lay you low,
In their rushing blood. I have wrested the hilt Even though God Almighty had made him Or a sudden fire or surge of water
From the enemies’ hand, avenged the evil Eminent and powerful and marked him from the start Or jabbing blade or javelin from the air
Done to the Danes; it is what was due. 1670 For a happy life. But a change happened, Or repellent age. Your piercing eye
And this I pledge, O prince of the Shieldings: He grew bloodthirsty, gave no more rings Will dim and darken; and death will arrive,
You can sleep secure with your company of troops To honor the Danes. He suffered in the end 1720 Dear warrior, to sweep you away.
In Heorot Hall. Never need you fear For having plagued his people for so long: “Just so I ruled the Ring-Danes’ country
For a single thane of your sept or nation, His life lost happiness. So learn from this For fifty years, defended them in wartime 1770
Young warriors or old, that laying waste of life And understand true values. I who tell you With spear and sword against constant assaults
That you and your people endured of yore.” Have wintered into wisdom. It is a great wonder By many tribes: I came to believe
Then the gold hilt was handed over How Almighty God in his magnificence My enemies had faded from the face of the earth.
To the old lord, a relic from long ago Favors our race with rank and scope Still, what happened was a hard reversal
For the venerable ruler. That rare smith work And the gift of wisdom; His sway is wide. From bliss to grief. Grendel struck
After lying in wait. He laid waste the land Beyond deeds of arms I have done already, That high-born king, kissed Beowulf
And from that moment my mind was in dread Anything that would merit your affections more, And embraced his neck, then broke down
Of his depredations. So I praise God I shall act, my lord, with alacrity. In sudden tears. Two forebodings
In His heavenly glory that I lived to behold If ever I hear from across the ocean Disturbed him in his wisdom, but one was stronger:
This head dripping blood and after such harrowing 1780 That people on your borders are threatening battle Nevermore would they meet each other
I can look upon it in triumph at last. As attackers have done from time to time, Face to face. And such was his affection
Take your place, then, with pride and pleasure I shall land with a thousand thanes at my back That he could not help being overcome:
And move to the feast. Tomorrow morning To help your cause. Hygelac may be young 1830 His fondness for the man was so deep-founded,
Our treasure will be shared and showered upon you.” To rule a nation, but this much I know It warmed his heart and wound the heartstrings
The Geat was elated and gladly obeyed About the king of the Geats: he will come to my aid Tight in his breast. The embrace ended 1880
The old man’s biding; he sat on the bench. And want to support me by word and action And Beowulf, glorious in his gold regalia,
And soon all was restored, the same as before. In your hour of need, when honor dictates Stepped on the green earth. Straining at anchor
Happiness came back, the hall was thronged, That I raise a hedge of spears around you. And ready for boarding, his boat awaited him.
And a banquet set forth; black night fell Then if Hrethric should think about traveling So they went on their journey, and Hrothgar’s generosity
And covered them in darkness. 1790 As a king’s son to the court of the Geats, Was praised repeatedly. He was a peerless king
Then the company rose He will find many friend. Foreign places Until old age sapped his strength and did him
For the old campaigner: the gray-haired prince Yield more to one who is himself worth meeting.” Mortal harm, as it has done so many.
Was ready for bed. And a need for rest Hrothgar spoke and answered him: 1840 Down to the waves then, dressed in the web
Came over the brave shield-bearing Geat. “The Lord in his wisdom sent you those words Of their chain-mail and war-shirts the young men marched
He was a weary sea-farer, far from home, And they came from the heart. I have never heard In high spirits. The coast-guard spied them, 1890
So immediately a house-guard guided him out, So young a man make truer observations. Thanes setting forth, the same as before.
One whose office entailed looking after You are strong in body and mature in mind, His salute this time from the top of the cliff
Whatever a thane on the road in those days Impressive in speech. If it should come to pass Was far from unmannerly; he galloped to meet them
Might need or require. It was noble courtesy. That Hrethel’s descendant dies beneath a spear, And as they took ship in their shinning gear,
That great heart rested. The hall towered, If deadly battle or the sword blade or disease He said how welcome they would be in Geatland.
Gold-shingled and gabled, and the guest slept in it 1800 Fells the prince who guards your people Then the broad hull was beached on the sand
Until the black raven with raucous glee And you are still alive, I firmly believe To be cargoed with treasure, horses and war-gear.
Announced heaven’s joy, and a hurry of brightness The seafaring Geats won’t find a man 1850 The curved prow motioned; the mast stood high
Overran the shadows. Warriors rose quickly, Worthier of acclaim as their king and defender Above Hrothgar’s riches in the loaded hold.
Impatient to be off: their own country Than you, if only you would undertake The guard who had watched the boat was given 1900
Was beckoning the nobles; and the bold voyager The lordship of your homeland. My liking for you A sword with gold fittings and in future days
Longed to be aboard his distant boat. Deepens with time, dear Beowulf. That present would make him a respected man
Then that stalwart fighter ordered Hrunting What you have done is to draw two peoples, At his place on the mead-bench. Then the keel plunged
To be brought to Unferth, and bade Unferth The Geat nation and us neighboring Danes, And shook in the sea; and they sailed from Denmark.
Take the sword and thanked him for lending it. Into shared peace and a pact of friendship Right away the mast was rigged with its sea-shawl;
He said he had found it a friend in battle 1810 In spite of hatreds we have harbored in the past. Sail ropes were tightened, timbers drummed
And a powerful help; he put no blame For as long as I rule this far-flung land And stiff winds kept the wave-crosser
On the blade’s cutting edge. He was a considerate man. Treasures will change hands and each side will treat 1860 Skimming ahead; as she heaved forward,
And there the warriors stood in their war-gear, The other with gifts; across the gannet’s bath, Her foamy neck was fleet and buoyant,
Eager to go, while their honored lord Over the broad sea, whorled prows will bring A lapped prow loping over currents, 1910
Approached the platform where the other sat. Presents and tokens. I know your people Until finally the Geats caught sight of coastline
The undaunted hero addressed Hrothgar. Are beyond reproach in every respect, And familiar cliffs. The keel reared up,
Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, spoke: Steadfast in the old way with friend or foe.” Wind lifted it home, it hit on the land.
“Now we who crossed the wide sea Then the earl’s defender furnished the hero The harbor guard came hurrying out
Have to inform you that we feel a desire With twelve treasures and told him to set out, To the rolling water: he had watched the offing
To return to Hygelac. Here we have been welcomed 1820 Sail with those gifts safely home Long and hard, on the lookout for those friends.
And thoroughly entertained. You have treated us well. To the people he loved, but to return promptly. With the anchor cables, he moored their craft
If there is any favor on earth I can perform And so the good and gray-haired Dane, 1870 Right where it had beached, in case a backwash
Might catch the hull and carry it away. The young king, Ongentheow’s killer In any hall on earth. Sometimes the queen
Then he ordered the prince’s treasure-trove 1920 And his people’s protector, was dispensing rings Herself appeared, peace-pledge between nations,
To be carried ashore. It was a short step Inside his bawn. Beowulf’s return 1970 To hearten the young ones and hand out
From there to where Hrethel’s son and heir, was reported to Hygelac as soon as possible, A torque to a warrior, then take her place.
Hygelac the gold-giver, makes his home News that the captain was now in the enclosure, Sometimes Hrothgar’s daughter distributed 2020
On a secure cliff, in the company of retainers. His battle-brother back from the fray Ale to older ranks, in order on the benches:
The building was magnificent, the king majestic, Alive and well, walking back to the hall. I heard the company call her Freawaru
Ensconced in his hall; and although Hygd, his queen, Room was quickly made, on the king’s orders, As she made her rounds, presenting men
Was young, a few short years at court, And the troops filed across the cleared floor. With the gem-studded bowl, young bride-to-be
Her mind was thoughtful and her manners sure. After Hygelac had offered greetings To the gracious Ingeld, in her gold-rimmed attire.
Haereth’s daughter behaved generously To his loyal thane in lofty speech, The friend of the Shieldings favors her betrothal:
And stinted nothing when she distributed 1930 He and his kinsman, that hale survivor, The guardian of the kingdom sees good in it
Bounty to the Geats. Great Queen Modthryth Sat face to face. Haereth’s daughter 1980 And hoped this woman will heal old wounds
Perpetrated terrible wrongs. If any retainer ever made bold Moved about with the mead-jug in her hand, And grievous feuds. But generally the spear
To look her in the face, if an eye not her lord’s Taking care of the company, filling the cups Is prompt to retaliate when a prince is killed, 2030
Stared at her directly during daylight, That warriors held out. Then Hygelac began No matter how admirable the bride may be.
The outcome was sealed: he was bound To put courteous questions to his old comrade “Think how the Heathobards will be bound to feel,
In hand-tightened shackles, racked, tortured In the high hall. He hankered to know Their lord, Ingeld, and his loyal thanes,
Until doom was announced--death by the sword, Every tale the Sea-Geats had to tell. When he walks in with that woman to the feast:
Slash of blade, blood gush and death qualms “How did you fare on your foreign voyage, Danes are at the table, being entertained,
In an evil display. Even a queen 1940 Dear Beowulf, when you abruptly decided Honored guest in glittering regalia,
Outstanding in beauty must not overstep like that. To sail away across the salt water Burnished ring-mail that was their hosts’ birthright,
A queen should weave peace, not punish the innocent And fight at Heorot? Did you help Hrothgar 1990 Looted when the Heathobards could no longer wield
With loss of life for imagined insults. Much in the end? Could you ease the prince Their weapons in the shield-clash, when they went down
But Hemming’s kinsman put a halt to her ways Of his well-known troubles? Your undertaking With their beloved comrades and forfeited their lives. 2040
And drinkers round the table had another tale: Cast my spirits down, I dreaded the outcome Then an old spearman will speak while they are drinking,
She was less of a bane to people’s lives, Of your expedition and pleaded with you Having glimpsed some heirloom that brings alive
Less cruel-minded, after she was married Long and hard to leave the killer be, Memories of the massacre; his mood will darken
To the brave Offa, a bride arrayed Let the South-Danes settle their own And heart-stricken, in the stress of his emotion,
In her gold finery, given away Blood-feud with Grendel. So God be thanked He will begin to test a young-man’s temper
By a caring father, ferried to her young prince 1950 I am granted this sight of you, safe and sound.” And stir up trouble, starting like this:
Over dim seas. In days to come Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, spoke: “Now, my friend, don’t you recognize
She would grace the throne and grow famous “What happened, lord Hygelac, is hardly a secret 2000 Your father’s sword, his favorite weapon,
For her good deeds and conduct of life, Any more among men in this world-- Then one he wore when he went out in his war-mask
Her high devotion to the hero king Myself and Grendel coming to grips To face the Danes on that final day? 2050
Who was the best king, it has been said, On the very spot where he visited destruction After Wethergeld died and his men were doomed
Between the two seas or anywhere else On the Victory-Shieldings and violated The Shieldings quickly took the field,
On the face of the earth. Offa was honored Life and limb, loses I avenged And now here’s the son of one or other
Far and wide for his generous ways, So no earthly offspring of Grendel’s Of those same killers coming through our hall
His fighting spirit and his far-seeing Need ever boast of that bout before dawn, Overbearing us, mouthing boasts,
Defense of his homeland; from him there sprang Eomer, 1960 No matter know long the last of his evil And rigged in armor that by right is yours.’
Garmund’s grandson, kinsman of Hemming, Family survives. When I first landed And so he keeps on, recalling and accusing,
His warrior’s mainstay and master of the field. I hastened to the ring-hall and saluted Hrothgar. 2010 Working things up with bitter words
Heroic Beowulf and his band of men Once he had discovered why I had come Until one of the lady’s retainers lies
Crossed the wide strand, striding along The son of Halfdane sent me immediately Spattered in blood, split open 2060
The sandy foreshore; the sun shone, To sit with his own sons on the bench. On his father’s account. The killer knows
The world’s candle warmed them from the south It was a happy gathering. In my whole life The lie of the land and escaped with his life.
As they hastened to where, as they had heard, I have never seen mead enjoyed more Then on both sides the oath-bound lords
Will break the peace, a passionate hate As the past welled up in his wintry heart. I heard four horses were handed over next.
Will build up in Ingeld and love for his bride “We were happy there the whole day long Beowulf bestowed four bay steeds
Will falter in him as the feud rankles. And enjoyed our time until another night To go with the armor, swift gallopers,
I therefore suspect the good faith of the Heathobards, Descended upon us. Then suddenly All alike. So ought a kinsman act,
The truth of their friendship and the trustworthiness The vehement mother avenged her son Instead of plotting and planning in secret
Of their alliance with the Danes. But now, my lord, And wreaked destruction. Death had robbed her; To bring people to grief, or conspiring to arrange
I shall carry on with my account of Grendel, 2070 Geats had slain Grendel, so his ghastly dam 2120 The death of comrades. The warrior king
The whole story of everything that happened Struck back and with bare-faced defiance Was uncle to Beowulf and honored by his nephew: 2170
In the hand-to-hand fight. After heaven’s gem Laid a man low. Thus life departed Each was concerned for the other’s good.
Had gone mildly to earth, that maddened spirit, From the sage Auschere, an elder wise in council. I heard he presented Hygd with a gorget,
The terror of those twilights, came to attack us But afterwards, on the morning following, The priceless torque that the prince’s daughter,
Where we stood guard, still safe inside the hall. The Danes could not burn the dead body Wealhtheow, had given him; and three horses,
There deadly violence came down on Handscio Nor lay the remains of the man they loved Supple creatures, brilliantly saddled.
And he fell as fate ordained, the first to perish, On his funeral pyre. She had fled with the corpse The bright necklace would be luminous on Hygd’s breast.
Rigged out for the combat. A comrade from our ranks And taken refuge beneath torrents on the mountain. Thus Beowuld bore himself with valor;
Had come to grief in Grendel’s maw: He ate up the entire body. 2080 It was a hard blow for Hrothgar to bear, He was formidable in battle yet behaved with honor
There was blood on his teeth, he was bloated and furious, Harder than any he had undergone before. 2130 And took no advantage: never cut down
All roused up, yet still unready To leave the hall empty-handed; And so the heartsore king beseeched me A comrade who was drunk, kept his temper 2180
Renowned for his might, he matched himself against me, In your royal name to take my chances Underwater, to win glory And, warrior that he was, watched and controlled
Wildly reaching. He had this roomy pouch, And prove my worth. He promised me rewards. His God-sent strength and his outstanding
A strange accoutrement, intricately strung Hence, as is well known, I went to my encounter Natural powers. He had been poorly regarded
And hung at the ready, a rare patchwork With the terror-monger at the bottom of the tarn. For a long time, was taken by the Geats
Of devilishly fitting dragon-skins. For a while it was hand-to-hand between us, For less than he was worth: and their lord too
I had done him no wrong, yet the raging demon Then blood went curdling along the currents Had never much esteemed him in the mead-hall.
Wanted to cram me and many another 2090 And I beheaded Grendel’s mother in the hall They firmly believed that he lacked force,
Into this bag--but it was not to be With a mighty sword. I barely managed 2140 That the prince was a weakling; but presently
Once I got to my feet in a blind fury. To escape with my life; my time had not yet come. Every affront to his deserving was reversed.
It would take too long to tell how I repaid But Halfdane’s heir, the shelter of those earls, The battle-famed king, bulwark of his earls, 2190
The terror of the land for every life he took Again endowed me with gifts in abundance. Ordered a gold-chased heirloom of Hrethel’s
And so won credit for you, my king, “Thus the king acted with due custom. To be brought in; it was the best example
And for all your people. And although he got away I was paid and recompensed completely, Of a gem-studded sword in the Geat treasury.
To enjoy life’s sweetness for a while longer, Given full measure and the freedom to choose This he laid on Beowulf’s lap
His right hand stayed behind him in Heorot, From Hrothgar’s treasures by Hrothgar himself. And then rewarded him with land as well,
Evidence of his miserable overthrow These, King Hygelac, I am happy to present Seven thousand hides, and a hall and a throne.
As he dived into murk on the mere bottom. 2100 To you as gifts. It is still upon your grace Both owned land by birth in that country,
“I got lavish rewards from the lord of the Danes That all favor depends. I have few kinsman 2150 Ancestral ground; but the greater right
For my part in the battle, beaten gold Who are close, my king, except for your kind self.” And sway were inherited by the higher born.
And much else, once morning came Then he ordered the boar-framed standard to be brought, A lot was to happen in later days 2200
And we took our places at the banquet table. The battle-topping helmet, the mail-shirt gray as hoar-frost In the fury of battle. Hygelac fell
There was singing and excitement: an old reciter, And the precious war-sword; and proceeded with his speech. And the shelter of Heardred’s shield proved useless
A carrier of stories, recalled the early days. “When Hrothgar presented this war-gear to me Against the fierce aggression of the Shylfings:
At times some hero made the timbered harp He instructed, my lord, to give you some account Ruthless swordsmen, seasoned campaigners,
Tremble with sweetness, or related true Of why it signifies his special favor. They came against him and his conquering nation,
And tragic happenings; at times the king He said it had belonged to his older brother, And with cruel force cut him down
Gave the proper turn to some fantastic tale, 2110 King Heorogar, who had long kept it, So that afterwards, the wide kingdom
Or a battle-scarred veteran, bowed with age, But that Heorogar had never bequeathed it 2160 Reverted to Beowulf. He ruled it well
Would begin to remember the martial deeds To his son Heoroweard, that worthy scion, For fifty winters, grew old and wise
Of his youth and prime and be overcome Loyal as he was. Enjoy it well.” As warden of the land until one began 2210
To dominate the dark, a dragon on the prowl Through shield-collapse and cut of sword, The day waned and he could wait no longer
From the steep vaults of a stone-roofed barrow Decays with the warrior. Now may webbed mail 2260 Behind the wall, but hurtled forth
Where he guarded a hoard; there was a hidden passage, Range far and wide on a warlord’s back In a fiery blaze. The first to suffer
Unknown to men, but someone managed Beside his mustered troops. No trembling harp, Were the people on the land, but before long 2310
To enter by it and interfere No tuned timber, no tumbling hawk It was their treasure-giver who would come to grief.
With the heathen trove. He had handled and removed Swerving through the hall, no swift horse The dragon began to belch out flames
A gem-studded goblet; it gained him nothing, Pawing the courtyard. pillage and slaughter And burn bright homesteads; there was a hot glow
Though with a thief’s wiles he had outwitted Have emptied the earth of entire peoples.” That scared everyone, for the vile sky-winger
The sleeping dragon; that drove him into rage, And so he mourned as he moved about the world, Would leave nothing alive in his wake.
As the people of that country would soon discover. 2220 Deserted and alone, lamenting his unhappiness Everywhere the havoc he wrought was in evidence.
The intruder who broached the dragon’s treasure Day and night, until death’s flood Far and near, the Geat nation
And moved him to wrath had never meant to. Brimmed up in his heart. 2270 Bore the brunt of his brutal assaults
It was desperation on the part of a slave Then an old harrower of the dark And virulent hate. Then back to the hoard
Fleeing the heavy hand of some master, Happened to find the hoard open, He would dart before daybreak, to hide in his den. 2320
Guilt-ridden and on the run, The burning one who hunts out barrows, He had swinged the land, swathed it in flame,
Going to ground. But he soon began The slick-skinned dragon, threatening the night sky In fire and burning, and now he felt secure
To shake with terror…………..in shock With streamers of fire. People on the farms In the vaults of his burrow; but his trust was unavailing.
The wretch……………………………. Are in dread of him. He is driven to hunt out Then Beowulf was given bad news, A hard truth: his own home,
………………………..panicked and ran Hoards underground, to guard heathen gold The best of buildings, had been burnt to a cinder,
Away with the precious…………………. 2230 Through age-long vigils, though to little avail. The throne-room of the Geats. It threw the hero
Metalwork. There were many other For three centuries, this scourge of the people Into deep anguish and darkened his mood:
Heirlooms heaped inside the earth-house, Had stood guard on that stoutly protected The wise man thought he must have thwarted
Because long ago, with deliberate care, Underground treasury, until the intruder 2280 Ancient ordinance of the eternal Lord, 2330
Somebody now forgotten Unleashed its fury; he hurried to his lord Broken His commandment. His mind was in turmoil,
Had buried the riches of a high-born race With the gold-plated cup and made his plea Unaccustomed anxiety and gloom
In this ancient cache. Death had come To be reinstated. Then the vault was rifled, Confused his brain; the fire-dragon
And taken them all in times gone by The ring-hoard robbed, and the wretched man Had razed the coastal region and reduced
And the only one left to tell their tale, Had his request granted. His master gazed Forts and earthworks to dust and ashes,
The last of their line, could look forward to nothing On that find from the past for the first time. So the war-king planned and plotted his revenge.
But the same fate for himself: he foresaw that his joy 2240 When the dragon awoke, trouble flared again. The warriors’ protector, prince of the hall-troop,
In the treasure would be brief. A newly constructed He rippled down the rock, writhing with anger Ordered a marvelous all-iron shield
Barrow stood waiting, on a wide headland When he saw the footprints of the prowler who had stolen From his smithy works. He well knew
Close to the waves, its entryway secured. Too close to his dreaming head. 2290 That linden boards would let him down 2340
Into it the keeper of the hoard had carried So may a man not marked by fate Easily escape exile and woe And timber burn. After many trials,
All the goods and golden ware By the grace of God. The hoard-guardian He was destined to face the end of his days
Worth preserving. His words were few: Scorched the ground as he scoured and hunted In this mortal world; as was the dragon,
“Now, earth, hold what earls once held For the trespasser who had troubled his sleep. For all his leasehold on the treasure.
And heroes can no more; it was mined from you first Hot and savage, he kept circling and circling Yet the prince of the rings was too proud
By honorable men. My own people The outside of the mound. No man appeared To line up with a large army
Have been ruined in war; one by one 2250 In that desert waste, but he worked himself up Against the sky-plague. He had scant regard
They went down to death, looked their last By imagining battle; then back in he’d go For the dragon as a threat, no dread at all
On sweet life in the hall. I am left with nobody In search of the cup, only to discover 2300 Of its courage or strength, for he had kept going
To bear a sword or burnish plated goblets, Signs that someone had stumbled upon Often in the past, through perils and ordeals 2350
Put a sheen on the cup. The companies have departed. The golden treasures. The guardian of the mound, Of every sort, after he had purged
The hard helmet, hasped with gold, The hoard-watcher, waited for the gloaming Hrothgar’s hall, triumphed in Heorot
Will be stripped of its hoops; and the helmet-shiner With fierce impatience; his pent-up fury And beaten Grendel. He outgrappled the monster
Who should polish the metal of the war-mask sleeps; At the loss of the vessel made him long to hit back And his evil kin. One of his cruelest
The coat of mail that came through all fights, And lash out in flames. Then, to his delight, Hand-to-hand encounters had happened
When Hygelac, king of the Geats, was killed Being visited on the people. The precious cup In living on until another heir
In Friesland: the people’s friend and lord, Had come to him from the hand of the finder, Is born in the hall, now that his first-born
Hrethel’s son, slaked a sword blade’s The one who had started all this strife Has entered death’s dominion forever.
Thirst for blood. But Beowulf’s prodigious And was now added as a thirteenth to their number. He gazes sorrowfully at his son’s dwelling,
Gifts as a swimmer guaranteed his safety: 2360 They press-ganged and compelled this poor creature The banquet hall bereft of all delight,
He arrived at the shore, shouldering thirty To be their guide. Against his will The windswept hearthstone; the horsemen are sleeping,
Battle-dresses, the booty he had won. He led them to the earth-vault he alone knew, 2410 The warriors underground; what was is no more.
There was little for the Hetware to be happy about An underground barrow near the sea-billows No tunes from the harp, no cheer raised in the yard.
As they shielded their faces and fighting on the ground And heaving waves, heaped inside Alone with his longing, he lies down on his bed 2460
Began in earnest. With Beowulf against them, With exquisite metalwork. The one who stood guard And sings a lament; everything seems too large,
Few could hope to return home. Was dangerous and watchful, warden of that trove The steadings and the fields. Such was the feeling
Across the wide sea, desolate and alone, Buried under earth: no easy bargain Of loss endured by the lord of the Geats
The son of Ecgtheow swam back to his people. Would be made in that place by any man. After Herebeald’s death. He was hopelessly placed
There Hygd offered him throne and authority The veteran king sat down on the cliff-top. To set to rights the wrong committed,
As lord of the ring-hoard: with Hygelac dead, 2370 He wished good luck to the Geats who had shared Could not punish the killer in accordance of the law
She had no belief in her son’s ability His hearth and his gold. He was sad at heart, Of the blood-feud, although he felt no love for him.
To defend their homeland against foreign invaders. Unsettled yet ready, sensing his own death. 2420 Heartsore, wearied, he turned away
Yet there was no way the weakened nation His fate hovered near, unknowable but certain: From life’s joys, chose God’s light
Could get Beowulf to give in and agree It would soon claim his coffered soul, And departed, leaving buildings and lands 2470
To be elevated over Heardred as his lord Part life from limb. Before long To his sons, as a man of substance will.
Or to undertake the office of kingship. The prince’s spirit would spin free from his body. “Then over the wide seas Swedes and Geats
But he did provide support for the prince, Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, spoke: Battled and feuded and fought without quarter.
Honored and minded him until he matured “Many a skirmish I survived when I was young Hostilities broke out when Hrethel died.
As the ruler of Geatland. Then over sea-roads And many times of war; I remember them well. Ongentheow’s sons were unrelenting,
Exiles arrived, sons of Ohthere. 2380 At seven, I was fostered out by my father, Refusing to make peace, campaigning violently
They had rebelled against the best of all Left in the charge of my people’s lord. From coast to coast, constantly setting up
The sea-kings in Sweden, the one who held sway King Hrethel kept me and took care of me, 2430 Terrible ambushes around Hreasnshill.
In the Shylfing nation, their renowned prince, Was open-handed, behaved like a kinsman. My own kith and kin avenged
Lord of the mead-hall. That marked the end While I was his ward, he treated me no worse These evil events, as everybody knows, 2480
For Hygelac’s son: his hospitality As a wean about the place than one of his own boys, But the price was high: one of them paid
Was mortally rewarded with wounds from a sword. Herebeald and Haethcyn, or my own Hygelac. With his life. Heathcyn, lord of the Geats,
Heardred lay slaughtered and Onela returned For the eldest, Herebeald, an unexpected Met his fate there and fell in battle.
To the land of Sweden, leaving Beowulf Deathbed was laid out, through a brother’s doing, Then, as I have heard, Hygelac’s sword
To ascend the throne, to sit in majesty When Haethcyn bent his horn-tipped bow Was raised in the morning against Ongentheow,
And rule over the Geats. He was a good king. 2390 And loosed the arrow that destroyed his life. His brother’s killer. When Eofor cleft
In days to come, he contrived to avenge He shot wide and buried a shaft The old Swede’s helmet, halved it open,
The fall of his prince; he befriended Eadgils In the flesh and blood of his own brother. 2440 He fell, death-pale: his feud-calloused hand
When Eadgils was friendless, aiding his cause That offence was beyond redress, a wrong footing Could not stave off the fatal stroke.
With weapons and warriors over the wide sea, Of the heart’s affections; for who could avenge “The treasures that Hygelac lavished on me 2490
Sending him men. The feud was settled The prince’s life or pay his death-price? I paid for as I fought, as fortune allowed me,
On a comfortless campaign when he killed Onela. It was like the misery felt by an old man With my glittering sword. He gave me land
And so the son of Ecgtheow had survived Who has lived to see his son’s body And the security land brings, so he had no call
Every extreme, excelling himself Swing on the gallows. He begins to keen To go looking for some lesser champion,
In daring and in danger, until the day arrived And weep for his boy, watching the raven Some mercenary among the Grifthas
When he had to come face to face with the dragon. 2400 Gloat where he hangs: he can be of no help. Or the Spear-Danes or the men of Sweden.
The lord of the Geats took eleven comrades The wisdom of age is worthless to him. I marched ahead of him, always there
And went in a rage to reconnoiter. Morning after morning, he wakes to remember 2450 At the front of the line; and I shall fight like that
By then he had discovered the cause of the affliction That his child is gone; he has no interest For as long as I live, as long as this sword
Shall last, which has stood me in good stead 2500 Unscathed near the hoard, to hold firm No help or backing was to be had then
Late and soon, ever since I killed Against the dragon in those flaming depths. From his high-born comrades; that hand-picked troop
Dayraven the Frank in front of the two armies. Then he gave a shout. The lord of the Geats 2550 Broke ranks and ran for their lives
He brought back no looted breastplate Unburdened his breast and broke out To the safety of the wood. But within one heart
To the Frisian king, but fell in battle, In a storm of anger. Under gray stone Sorrow welled up: in a man of worth 2600
Their standard-bearer, high-born and brave. His voice challenged and resounded clearly. The claims of kinship cannot be denied.
No sword blade sent him to his death, Heat was ignited. The hoard-guard recognized His name was Wiglaf, a son of Weohstan’s,
My bare hands stilled his heartbeats A human voice, the time was over A well-regarded Shylfing warrior
And wrecked the bone-house. Now blade and hand, For peace and parleying. Pouring forth Related to Aelfhere. When he saw his lord
Sword and sword-stroke, will assay the hoard.” In a hot battle-fume, the breath of the monster Tormented by the heat of his scalding helmet,
Beowulf spoke, made a formal boast 2510 Burst from the rock. There was a rumble underground. He remember the bountiful gifts he bestowed on him,
For the last time: “I risked my life Down there in the barrow, Beowulf the warrior How well he lived among the Waegmundings,
Often when I was young. Now I am old, Lifted his shield: the outlandish thing 2560 The freehold he inherited from his father before him.
But as king of this people I shall pursue this fight Writhed and convulsed and viciously He could not hold back: one hand brandished
For the glory of winning, if the evil one will only Turned on the king, whose keen-edged-sword, The yellow-timbered shield, the other drew his sword-- 2610
Abandon his earth-fort and face me in the open.” And heirloom inherited by ancient right, An ancient blade that was said to have belonged
Then he addressed each dear companion Was already in his hand. Roused to a fury, To Eanmund, the son of Ohthere, the one
One final time, those fighters in their helmets, Each antagonist struck terror in the other. Weohstan had slain when he was in exile without friends.
Resolute and high-born: “I would rather not Unyielding, the lord of his people loomed He carried the arms to the victim’s kinfolk,
Use a weapon if I knew another way By his tall shield, sure of his ground, The burnished helmet, the webbed chain-mail
To grapple with the dragon and make good my boast 2520 While the serpent looped and unleashed itself. And that relic of the giants. But Onela retuned
As I did against Grendel in days gone by. Swaddled in flames, it came gliding and flexing The weapons to him, rewarded Weohstan
But I shall be meeting molten venom And racing toward its fate. Yet his shield defended 2570 With Eadmund’s war-gear. He ignored the blood-feud,
In the fire he breaths, so I go forth The renowned leader’s life and limb The fact that Eadmund was his brother’s son.
In mail-shirt and shield. I won’t shift a foot For a shorter time than he meant it to: Weohstan kept that war-gear for a lifetime, 2620
When I meet the cave-guard: what occurs on the wall That final day was the first time The sword and the mail-shirt, until it was the son’s turn
Between the two of us will turn out as fate, When Beowulf fought and fate denied him To follow his father and perform his part.
Overseer of men, decides. I am resolved. Glory in battle. So the king of the Geats Then, in old age, at the end of his days
I scorn further words against this sky-born foe. Raised his hand and struck hard Among the Weather-Geats, he bequeathed to Wiglaf
“Men at arms, remain here on the barrow, At the enameled scales, but hardly cut through: Innumerable weapons. And now the youth
Safe in your armor, to see which one of us 2530 The blade flashed and slashed yet the blow Was to enter the line of battle with his lord,
Is better in the end at bearing wounds Was far less powerful than the hard-pressed king His first time to be tested as a fighter.
In a deadly fray. This fight is not yours, Had need of at the moment. The hoard-keeper 2580 His spirit did not break and the ancestral blade
Nor is it up to any man except me Went into a spasm and spouted deadly flames: Would keep its edge, as the dragon discovered
To measure his strength against the monster When he felt the stroke, battle-fire As soon as they came together in combat. 2630
Or to prove his worth. I shall win the gold Billowed and spewed. Beowulf was foiled Sad at heart, addressing his companions,
By my courage, or else mortal combat, Of a glorious victory. The glittering sword, Wiglaf spoke wise and fluent words:
Doom of battle, will bear your lord away.” Infallible before that day, “I remember that time when the mead was flowing,
Then he drew himself up beside his shield. Failed when he unsheathed it, as it never should have. How we pledged loyalty to our lord in the hall,
The fabled warrior in his war-shirt and helmet For the son of Ecgtheow, it was no easy thing Promised our ring-giver we would be worth our price,
Trusted in his own strength entirely 2540 To have to give ground like that and go Make good the gift of the war-gear,
And went under the crag. No coward path. Unwillingly to inhabit another home Those swords and helmets, as and when
Hard by the rock-face that hale veteran, In a place beyond; so every man must yield 2590 His need required it. He picked us out
A good man who had gone repeatedly The leasehold of his days. Before long From the army deliberately, honored us and judged us
Into combat and danger and come through, The fierce contenders clashed again. Fit for this action, made me these lavish gifts-- 2640
Saw a stone arch and a gushing stream The hoard-guard took heart, inhaled and swelled up And all because he considered us the best
That burst from the barrow, blazing and wafting And got a new wind; he who had once ruled Of his arms-bearing thanes. And now, although
A deadly heat. It would be hard to survive Was furled in fire and had to face the worst. He wanted this challenge to be the one he’d face
By himself alone--the shepherd of our land, Into his neck. Beowulf’s body Doomed as I am and sickening for death; 2740
A man unequalled in the quest for glory Ran wet with his life-blood: it came welling out. Because of my right way, the Ruler of Mankind
And a name for daring--now the day has come Next thing, they say, the noble son of Weohstan Need never blame me when the breath leaves my body
When this lord we serve needs sound men Saw the king in danger at his side For murder of kinsmen. Go now quickly,
To give him their support. Let us go to him, And displayed his inborn bravery and strength. Dearest Wiglaf, under the gray stone
Help our leader through the hot flame He left the head alone, but his fighting hand Where the dragon is laid out, lost to his treasure;
And dread of the fire. As God is my witness, 2650 Was burned when he came to his kinsman’s aid. Hurry to feast your eyes on the hoard.
I would rather my body were robbed in the same He lunged at the enemy lower down Away you go: I want to examine
Burning blaze as my gold-giver’s body So that his decorated sword sank into its belly 2700 That ancient gold, gaze my fill
Than go back home bearing arms. And the flames grew weaker. Once again the king On those garnered jewels; my going will be easier
That is unthinkable, unless we have first Gathered his strength and drew a stabbing knife For having seen the treasure, a less troubled letting-go 2750
Slain the foe and defended the life He carried on his belt, sharpened for battle. Of the life and lordship I have long maintained.”
Of the prince of the Weather-Geats. I well know He stuck it deep into the dragon’s flank. And so, I have heard, the son of Weohstan
That things he has done for us deserve better. Beowulf dealt it a deadly wound. Quickly obeyed the command of his languishing
Should he alone be left exposed They had killed the enemy, courage quelled his life; War-weary lord; he went in his chain-mail
To fall in battle? We must bond together, That pair of kinsmen, partners in nobility, Under the rock-piled roof of the barrow,
Shield and helmet, mail-shirt and sword.” 2660 Had destroyed the foe. So every man should act, Exulting in his triumph, and saw beyond the seat
Then he wadded the dangerous reek and went Be at hand when needed; but now, for the king, A treasure-trove of astonishing richness,
Under arms to his lord, saying only: This would be the last of his many labors 2710 Wall-hangings that were a wonder to behold,
“Go on, dear Beowulf, do everything And triumphs in the world. Then the wound Glittering gold spread across the ground,
You said you would when you were still young Dealt by the ground-burner earlier began The old dawn-scorching serpent’s den 2760
And vowed you would never let your name and fame To scald and swell; Beowulf discovered Packed with goblets and vessels of the past,
Be dimmed while you lived. Your deeds are famous, Deadly poison suppurating inside him, Tarnished and corroding. Rusty helmets
So stay resolute, my lord, defend your life now Surges of nausea, and so, in his wisdom, All eaten away. Armbands everywhere,
With the whole of your strength. I shall stand by you.” The prince realized his state and struggled Artfully wrought. How easily treasure
After those words, a wildness rose Towards a seat on the rampart. He steadied his gazed Buried in the ground, gold hidden
In the dragon again and drove it to attack, 2670 On those gigantic stones, saw how the earthwork However skillfully, can escape from any man!
Heaving up fire, hunting for enemies, Was braced with arches built over columns. And he saw too a standard, entirely of gold,
The humans it loathed. Flames lapped the shield, And now that thane unequalled for goodness 2720 Hanging high over the hoard,
Charred it to the boss, and the body armor With his own hands washed his lord’s wounds, A masterpiece of filigree; it glowed with light
On the young warrior was useless to him. Swabbed the weary prince with water, So he could make out the ground at his feet 2770
But Wiglaf did well under the wide rim Bathed him clean, unbuckled his helmet. And inspect the valuables. Of the dragon there was no
Beowulf shared with him once his own had shattered Beowulf spoke: in spite of his wounds, Remaining sign: the sword had dispatched him.
In sparks and ashes. Inspired again Mortal wounds, he still spoke Then, the story goes, a certain man
By the thought of glory, the war-king threw For he well knew his days in the world Plundered the hoard in the immemorial howe,
His whole strength behind a sword-stroke Had been lived out to the end: his allotted time Filled his arms with flagons and plates,
And connected with the skull. And Naegling snapped. 2680 Was drawing to a close, death was very near. Anything he wanted; and took the standard also,
Beowulf’s ancient iron-gray sword “Now is the time when I would have wanted Most brilliant of banners. Already the blade
Let him down in the fight. It was never his fortune To bestow this armor on my own son, 2730 Of the old king’s sharp killing-sword
To be helped in combat by the cutting-edge Had it been my fortune to have fathered an heir Had done its worst: the one who had for long
Of weapons made of iron. When he yielded a sword, And live on in his flesh. For fifty years Minded the hoard, hovering over gold, 2780
No matter how blooded and hard-edged the blade I ruled this nation. No king Unleashing fire, surging forth
His hand was too strong, the stroke he dealt Of any neighboring clan would dare Midnight after midnight, had been mown down.
(I have heard) would ruin it. He could reap no advantage. Face me with troops, none had the power Wiglaf went quickly, keen to get back,
Then the bane of that people, the fire-breathing dragon, To intimidate me. I took what came, Excited by the treasure. Anxiety weighed
Was mad to attack for a third time. Cared for and stood by things in my keeping, On his brave heart--he was hoping he would find
When a chance came, he caught the hero 2690 Never fomented quarrels, never The leader of the Geats alive where he had left him
In a rush of flame and clamped sharp fangs Swore to a lie. All this consoles me, Helpless, earlier, on the open ground.
So he came to the place, carrying the treasure, There were few, indeed, as far as I have heard, “So it is goodbye now to all you know and love
And found his lord bleeding profusely, Big and brave as they may have been, On your home-ground, the open-handedness,
His life at an end: again he began 2790 Few who would have held out if they had had to face The giving of war-swords. Every one of you
To swab his body. The beginnings of an utterance The outpourings of that poison-breather With freeholds of land, our whole nation,
Broke out from the king’s breast-cage. Or gone foraging on the ring-hall floor 2840 Will be dispossessed, once princes from beyond
The old lord gazed sadly at the gold. And found the deep barrow-dweller Get tidings of how you turned and fled
“To the everlasting Lord of All, On guard and awake. The treasure had been won, And disgraced yourselves. A warrior will sooner 2890
To the King of Glory, I give thanks Bought and paid for by Beowulf’s death. Die than live a life of shame.”
That I beheld this treasure here in front of me, Both had reached the end of the road Then he ordered the outcome of the fight to be reported
That I have been allowed to leave my people Through the life they had been lent. To those camped on the ridge, that crowd of retainers
So well endowed on the day I die. Before long, the battle-dodgers abandoned the wood, Who had sat all morning, sad at heart,
Now that I have bartered my last breath The ones who had let down their lord earlier, Shield-bearers wondering about
To own this fortune, it is up to you 2800 The tail-turners, ten of them together. The man they loved: would this day be his last
To look after their needs. I can hold out no longer. When he needed them the most, they had made off. Or would he return. He told the truth
Order my troop to construct a barrow Now they were ashamed and came behind shields, 2850 And did not balk, the rider who bore
On a headland on the coast, after my pyre has cooled. In their battle-outfits, to where the old man lay. News to the cliff-top. He addressed them all:
It will loom in the horizon at Hronesness They watched Wiglaf, sitting worn out, “Now the people’s pride and love, 2900
And be a reminder among my people-- A comrade shoulder to shoulder with his lord, The lord of the Geats, is laid on his deathbed,
So that in coming times crews under sail Trying in vain to bring him round with water. Brought down by the dragon’s attack.
Will call it Beowulf’s barrow, as they steer Much as he wanted to, there was no way Beside him lies the bane of his life,
Ships across the wide and shrouded waters.” He could preserve his lord’s life on earth Dead from knife-wounds. There was no way
Then the king in his great-heartedness unclasped Or alter in the least the Almighty’s will. Beowulf could manage to get the better
The collar of gold from his neck and gave it 2810 What God judged right would rule what happened Of the monster with his sword. Wiglaf sits
To the young thane, telling him to use To every man, as it does to this day. At Beowulf’s side, the son of Weohstan,
It and the war shirt and the gilded helmet well. Then a stern rebuke was bound to come 2860 The living warrior watching by the dead,
“You are the last of us, the only one left From the young warrior to the ones who had been cowards. Keeping weary vigil, holding a wake
Of the Waegmundings. Fate swept us away, Wiglaf, son of Weohstan, spoke For the loved and the loathed. Now war is looming 2910
Sent my whole brave high-born clan Disdainfully and in disappointment: Over our nation, soon it will be known
To their final doom. Now I must follow them.” “Anyone ready to admit the truth To Franks and Frisians, far and wide,
That was the warrior’s last word. Will surely realize the lord of men That the king is gone. Hostility has been great
He had no more to confide. The furious heat Who showered you with gifts and gave you the armor Among the Franks since Hygelac sailed forth
Of the pyre would assail him. His soul fled from his breast You are standing in--when he would distribute At the head of a war-fleet into Friesland:
To its destined place among the steadfast ones. 2820 Helmets and mail-shirts to men on the mead-benches, There the Hetware harried and attacked
It was hard then on the young hero, A prince treating his thanes in hall And overwhelmed him with great odds.
Having to watch the one he held so dear To the best he could find, far or near-- 2870 The leader in his war-gear was laid low,
There on the ground, going through Was throwing weapons uselessly away. Fell amongst followers; that lord did not favor
His death agony. The dragon from underearth, It would be a sad waste when the war broke out. His company with spoils. The Merovingian king 2920
His nightmarish destroyer, lay destroyed as well, Beowulf had little cause to brag Has been an enemy to us ever since.
Utterly without life. No longer would his snake folds About his armed guard; yet God who ordains “Nor do I expect peace of pact-keeping
Ply themselves to safeguard hidden gold. Who wins or loses allowed him to strike Of any sort from the Swedes. Remember:
Hard-edged blades, hammered out With his own blade when bravery was needed. At Ravenswood, Ongentheow
And keenly filed, had finished him There was little I could do to protect his life Slaughtered Haethcyn, Hrethel’s son,
So that the sky-roamer lay there rigid, 2830 In the heat of the fray, yet I found new strength When the Geat people in their arrogance
Brought low beside the treasure-lodge. Welling up when I went to help him. First attacked the fierce Shylfings.
Never again would he glitter and glide Then my sword connected and the deadly assaults 2880 The return blow was quickly struck
And show himself off in midnight air, Of our foe grew weaker, the fire coursed By Ohthere’s father. Old and terrible,
Exulting in his riches: he fell to earth Less strongly from his head. But when the worst happened He felled the sea-king and saved is own 2930
Through the battle-strength in Beowulf’s arm. Too few rallied around the prince. Aged wife, the mother of Onela
And of Ohthere, bereft of her gold rings. Past the lifted shield. And the king collapsed, 2980 Such was the drift of the dire report
Then he kept hard on the heels of the foe The shepherd of people was sheared of life. That gallant man delivered. He got little wrong
And drove them, leaderless, lucky to get away, “Many then hurried to help Wulf, In what he told and predicted. The whole troop 3030
In a desperate route to Ravenswood. Bandaged and lifted him, now that they were left Rose in tears, then took their way
His army surrounded the weary remnant Masters of the blood-soaked battleground. To the uncanny scene under Earnaness.
Where they nursed their wounds; all through the night One warrior stripped the other, There, on the sand, where his soul had left him,
He howled threats at those huddled survivors, Looted Ongentheow’s iron mail-coat, They found him at rest, their ring-giver
Promises to axe their bodies open His hard sword-hilt, his helmet too, From days gone by. The great man
When dawn broke, dangle them from gallows 2940 And carried the graith to King Hygelac; Had breathed his last. Beowulf the King
To feed the birds. But at first light He accepted the prize, promised fairly Had indeed met with a marvelous death.
When their spirits were lowest, relief arrived. That reward would come, and kept his word. 2990 But what they saw first was far stranger:
They heard the sound of Hygelac’s horn, For their bravery in action, when they arrived home The serpent on the ground, gruesome and vile,
His trumpet calling as he came to find them, Eofor and Wulf were overloaded Lying facing him. The fire-dragon 3040
The hero in pursuit, at hand with troops. By Hrethel’s son, Hygelac the Geat, Was scaresomely burnt, scorched all colors.
“The bloody swathe that Swedes and Geats With gifts of land and linked rings From head to tail, his entire length
Cut through each other was everywhere. That were worth a fortune. They had won glory, Was fifty feet. He had shimmered forth
No one could miss their murderous feuding. So there was no gainsaying his generosity. On the night air once, then winged back
Then the old man made his move, And he gave Eofor his only daughter Down to his den; but death owned him now,
Pulled back, barred his people in: 2950 To bide at home with him, an honor and a bond. He would never enter his earth-gallery again.
Ongentheow withdrew to higher ground. “So this bad blood between us and the Swedes, Beside him stood pitchers and piled-up dishes,
Hygelac’s pride and prowess as a fighter This vicious feud, I am convinced, 3000 Silent flagons, precious swords
Were known to the earl; he had no confidence Is bound to revive; they will cross our borders Eaten through with rust, ranged as they had been
That he could hold out against that horde of seamen, And attack in force once they find out While they waited their thousand winters underground. 3050
Defend wife and the ones he loved That Beowulf is dead. In days gone by That huge cache, gold inherited
From the shock of the attack. He retreated for shelter When our warriors fell and we were undefended From an ancient race, was under a spell--
Behind the earth wall. Then Hygelac swooped He kept our coffers and our kingdoms safe. Which meant no one was ever permitted
On the Swedes at bay, his banners swarmed He worked for the people, but as well as that To enter the king-hall unless God himself,
Into their refuge, the Geat forces He behaved like a hero. We must hurry now Mankind’s Keeper, True King of Triumphs,
Drove forward to destroy the camp. 2960 To take a last look at the king Allowed some person pleasing him--
There in his gray hairs, Ongentheow And launch him, lord and lavisher of rings, And in his eyes worthy--to open the hoard.
Was cornered, ringed around with swords. On the funeral road. His royal pyre 3010 What came about brought to nothing
And it came to pass that the king’s fate Will melt no small amount of gold: The hopes of the one who had wrongly hidden
Was in Eofor’s hands, and in his alone. Heaped there in the hoard, it was bought at heavy cost, Riches under the rock face. First the dragon slew 3060
Wulf, son of Wonred, went for him in anger, And that pile of rings he paid for at the end That man among men, who in turn made fierce amends
Split him open so that blood came spurting With his own life will go up in flames, And settled the feud. Famous for his deeds
From under his hair. The old hero Be furled in fire: treasure no follower A warrior may be, but it remains a mystery
Still did not flinch, but parried fast, Will wear in his memory, nor lovely woman Where his life will end, when he may no longer
Hit back with a harder stroke: Link and attach as a torque around her neck-- Dwell in the mead-hall among his own.
The king turned and took him on. 2970 But often, repeatedly, in the path of exile So it was with Beowulf, when he faced the cruelty
Then Wonred’s son, the brave Wulf, They shall walk bereft, bowed under woe, And cunning of the mound-guard. He himself was ignorant
Could land no blow against the aged lord. Now that their leader’s laugh is silenced, 3020 Of how his departure from the world would happen.
Ongentheow divided his helmet High spirits quenched. Many a spear The high-born chiefs who had buried the treasure
So that he buckled and bowed his bloodied head Dawn-cold to the touch will be taken down Declared it until doomsday so accursed 3070
And dropped to the ground. But his doom held off. And waved on high; the swept harp That whoever robbed it would be guilty of wrong
Though he was cut deep, he recovered again. Won’t waken warriors, but the raven winging And grimly punished for their transgression,
“With his brother down, the undaunted Eofor, Darkly over the doomed will have news, Hasped in hell-bonds in heathen shrines.
Hygelac’s thane, hefted his sword Tidings of the eagle of how he hoked and ate, Yet Beowulf’s gaze at the gold treasure
And smashed murderously at the massive helmet How the wolf and he made short work of the dead.” When he first saw it had not been selfish.
Wiglaf, son of Weohstan, spoke: Under the God-cursed roof; one raised Mourning his loss as a man and a king. They extolled his heroic exploits
“Often when one man follows his own will A lighted torch and led the way. And gave thanks for his greatness; which was the proper thing,
Many are hurt. This happened to us. No lots were cast for who should loot the hoard For a man should praise a prince whom he holds dear
Nothing we advised could ever convince For it was obvious to them that every bit of it And cherish his memory when that moment comes
The prince we loved, our land’s guardian, 3080 Lay unprotected within the vault, When he has to be convoyed from his bodily home.
Not to vex the custodian of the gold, There for the taking. It was no trouble So the Geat people, his hearth companions,
Let him lie where he was long accustomed, To hurry to work and haul out 3130 Sorrowed for the lord who had been laid low.
Lurk there under the earth until the end of the world. The priceless store. They pitched the dragon They said that of all the kings upon the earth 3180
He held to his high destiny. The hoard is laid bare, Over the cliff top, let tide’s flow He was the man most gracious and fair-minded,
But at a grave cost; it was too cruel a fate And backwash take the treasure-minder. Kindest to his people and keenest to win fame.
That forced the king to that encounter. Then coiled gold was loaded on a cart
I have been inside and seen everything In great abundance, and the gray-haired leader,
Amassed in the vault. I managed to enter The prince of his bier, born to Hronesness.
Although no great welcome awaited me The Geat people built a pyre for Beowulf,
Under the earth wall. I quickly gathered up 3090 Stacked and decked it until it stood four-square,
A huge pile of the priceless treasures Hung with helmets, heavy war-shields
Handpicked from the hoard and carried them here And shining armor, just as he had ordered. 3140
Where the king could see them. He was still himself, Then his warriors laid him in the middle of it,
Alive, aware, and in spite of his weakness Mourning a lord far-famed and beloved.
He had many requests. He wanted me to greet you On a height they kindled the hugest of all
And order the building of a barrow that would crown Funeral fires; fumes of wood smoke
The site of his pyre, serve as his memorial, Billowed darkly up, the blaze roared
In a commanding position, since of all men And drowned out their weeping, wind died down
To have lived and thrived and lorded it on earth And flames wrought havoc in the hot bone-house,
His worth and due as a warrior were the greatest. 3100 Burning it to the core. They were disconsolate
Now let us again go quickly And wailed aloud for their lord’s decease.
And feast our eyes on that amazing fortune A Geat woman too sang out in grief: 3150
Heaped under the wall. I will show the way With hair bound up, she unburdened herself
And take you close to those coffers packed with rings Of her worst fears, a wild litany
And bars of gold. Let a bier be made Of nightmare and lament: her nation invaded,
And got ready quickly when we come out Enemies on the rampage, bodies in piles,
And then let us bring the body of our lord, Slavery and abasement. Heaven swallowed the smoke.
The man we loved, to where he will lodge Then the Geat people began to construct
For a long time in the care of the Almighty.” A mound on a headland, high and imposing,
Then Weohstan’s son, stalwart to the end, 3110 A marker that sailors could see from far away,
Had orders given to owners of dwellings, And in ten days they had done the work.
Many people of importance in the land, It was their hero’s memorial;; what remained from fire 3160
To fetch wood from far and wide They housed inside it, behind a wall
For the good man’s pyre. “Now shall flame consume As worthy of him as their workmanship could make it.
Our leader in battle, the blaze darken And they buried torques in the barrow, and jewels
Round him who stood his ground in the steel-hail, And a trove of such things as trespassing men
When the arrow-storm shot from bowstrings Had once dared to drag from the hoard.
Pelted from the shield-wall. The shaft hit home. They let the ground keep that ancestral treasure,
Feather-fledged, it finned the barb in flight.” Gold under gravel, gone to earth,
Next the wise son of Weohstan 3120 As useless to men now as it ever was.
Called from among the king’s thanes Then twelve warriors rode around the tomb,
A group of seven: he selected the best Chieftain’s sons, champions in battle, 3170
And entered with them, the eighth of their number, All of them distraught, chanting in dirges,