{"id":415,"date":"2015-07-15T23:20:31","date_gmt":"2015-07-15T23:20:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/britlit1xmaster\/?post_type=chapter&p=415"},"modified":"2015-07-15T23:20:31","modified_gmt":"2015-07-15T23:20:31","slug":"beowulf-sections-26-30","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/rangercollege-britlit1-curry\/chapter\/beowulf-sections-26-30\/","title":{"raw":"Beowulf Sections 26-30","rendered":"Beowulf Sections 26-30"},"content":{"raw":"XXVI\r\n\r\nBEOWULF spake, bairn of Ecgtheow: --\r\n\u201cLo, we seafarers say our will,\r\nfar-come men, that we fain would seek\r\nHygelac now. We here have found\r\nhosts to our heart: thou hast harbored us well.\r\nIf ever on earth I am able to win me\r\nmore of thy love, O lord of men,\r\naught anew, than I now have done,\r\nfor work of war I am willing still!\r\nIf it come to me ever across the seas\r\nthat neighbor foemen annoy and fright thee, --\r\nas they that hate thee erewhile have used, --\r\nthousands then of thanes I shall bring,\r\nheroes to help thee. Of Hygelac I know,\r\nward of his folk, that, though few his years,\r\nthe lord of the Geats will give me aid\r\nby word and by work, that well I may serve thee,\r\nwielding the war-wood to win thy triumph\r\nand lending thee might when thou lackest men.\r\nIf thy Hrethric should come to court of Geats,\r\na sovran\u2019s son, he will surely there\r\nfind his friends. A far-off land\r\neach man should visit who vaunts him brave.\u201d\r\nHim then answering, Hrothgar spake: --\r\n\u201cThese words of thine the wisest God\r\nsent to thy soul! No sager counsel\r\nfrom so young in years e\u2019er yet have I heard.\r\nThou art strong of main and in mind art wary,\r\nart wise in words! I ween indeed\r\nif ever it hap that Hrethel\u2019s heir\r\nby spear be seized, by sword-grim battle,\r\nby illness or iron, thine elder and lord,\r\npeople\u2019s leader, -- and life be thine, --\r\nno seemlier man will the Sea-Geats find\r\nat all to choose for their chief and king,\r\nfor hoard-guard of heroes, if hold thou wilt\r\nthy kinsman\u2019s kingdom! Thy keen mind pleases me\r\nthe longer the better, Beowulf loved!\r\n\r\nThou hast brought it about that both our peoples,\r\nsons of the Geat and Spear-Dane folk,\r\nshall have mutual peace, and from murderous strife,\r\nsuch as once they waged, from war refrain.\r\nLong as I rule this realm so wide,\r\nlet our hoards be common, let heroes with gold\r\neach other greet o\u2019er the gannet\u2019s-bath,\r\nand the ringed-prow bear o\u2019er rolling waves\r\ntokens of love. I trow my landfolk\r\ntowards friend and foe are firmly joined,\r\nand honor they keep in the olden way.\u201d\r\nTo him in the hall, then, Healfdene\u2019s son\r\ngave treasures twelve, and the trust-of-earls\r\nbade him fare with the gifts to his folk beloved,\r\nhale to his home, and in haste return.\r\nThen kissed the king of kin renowned,\r\nScyldings\u2019 chieftain, that choicest thane,\r\nand fell on his neck. Fast flowed the tears\r\nof the hoary-headed. Heavy with winters,\r\nhe had chances twain, but he clung to this,[footnote] That is, he might or might not see Beowulf again. Old as he was, the latter chance was likely; but he clung to the former, hoping to see his young friend again \u201cand exchange brave words in the hall.\u201d[\/footnote]\u00a0--\r\nthat each should look on the other again,\r\nand hear him in hall. Was this hero so dear to him.\r\nhis breast\u2019s wild billows he banned in vain;\r\nsafe in his soul a secret longing,\r\nlocked in his mind, for that loved man\r\nburned in his blood. Then Beowulf strode,\r\nglad of his gold-gifts, the grass-plot o\u2019er,\r\nwarrior blithe. The wave-roamer bode\r\nriding at anchor, its owner awaiting.\r\nAs they hastened onward, Hrothgar\u2019s gift\r\nthey lauded at length. -- \u2019Twas a lord unpeered,\r\nevery way blameless, till age had broken\r\n-- it spareth no mortal -- his splendid might.\r\n
\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nXXVII\r\n\r\nCAME now to ocean the ever-courageous\r\nhardy henchmen, their harness bearing,\r\nwoven war-sarks. The warden marked,\r\ntrusty as ever, the earl\u2019s return.\r\nFrom the height of the hill no hostile words\r\nreached the guests as he rode to greet them;\r\nbut \u201cWelcome!\u201d he called to that Weder clan\r\nas the sheen-mailed spoilers to ship marched on.\r\nThen on the strand, with steeds and treasure\r\nand armor their roomy and ring-dight ship\r\nwas heavily laden: high its mast\r\nrose over Hrothgar\u2019s hoarded gems.\r\nA sword to the boat-guard Beowulf gave,\r\nmounted with gold; on the mead-bench since\r\nhe was better esteemed, that blade possessing,\r\nheirloom old. -- Their ocean-keel boarding,\r\nthey drove through the deep, and Daneland left.\r\nA sea-cloth was set, a sail with ropes,\r\nfirm to the mast; the flood-timbers moaned;[footnote]With the speed of the boat.[\/footnote]\r\nnor did wind over billows that wave-swimmer blow\r\nacross from her course. The craft sped on,\r\nfoam-necked it floated forth o\u2019er the waves,\r\nkeel firm-bound over briny currents,\r\ntill they got them sight of the Geatish cliffs,\r\nhome-known headlands. High the boat,\r\nstirred by winds, on the strand updrove.\r\nHelpful at haven the harbor-guard stood,\r\nwho long already for loved companions\r\nby the water had waited and watched afar.\r\nHe bound to the beach the broad-bosomed ship\r\nwith anchor-bands, lest ocean-billows\r\nthat trusty timber should tear away.\r\nThen Beowulf bade them bear the treasure,\r\ngold and jewels; no journey far\r\nwas it thence to go to the giver of rings,\r\nHygelac Hrethling: at home he dwelt\r\nby the sea-wall close, himself and clan.\r\nHaughty that house, a hero the king,\r\nhigh the hall, and Hygd[footnote]Queen to Hygelac. She is praised by contrast with the antitype, Thryth, just as Beowulf was praised by contrast with Heremod.[\/footnote]\u00a0right young,\r\nwise and wary, though winters few\r\nin those fortress walls she had found a home,\r\nHaereth\u2019s daughter. Nor humble her ways,\r\nnor grudged she gifts to the Geatish men,\r\nof precious treasure. Not Thryth\u2019s pride showed she,\r\nfolk-queen famed, or that fell deceit.\r\nWas none so daring that durst make bold\r\n(save her lord alone) of the liegemen dear\r\nthat lady full in the face to look,\r\nbut forged fetters he found his lot,\r\nbonds of death! And brief the respite;\r\nsoon as they seized him, his sword-doom was spoken,\r\nand the burnished blade a baleful murder\r\nproclaimed and closed. No queenly way\r\nfor woman to practise, though peerless she,\r\nthat the weaver-of-peace[footnote]Kenning for \u201cwife.\u201d[\/footnote]\u00a0from warrior dear\r\nby wrath and lying his life should reave!\r\nBut Hemming\u2019s kinsman hindered this. --\r\nFor over their ale men also told\r\nthat of these folk-horrors fewer she wrought,\r\nonslaughts of evil, after she went,\r\ngold-decked bride, to the brave young prince,\r\natheling haughty, and Offa\u2019s hall\r\no\u2019er the fallow flood at her father\u2019s bidding\r\nsafely sought, where since she prospered,\r\nroyal, throned, rich in goods,\r\nfain of the fair life fate had sent her,\r\nand leal in love to the lord of warriors.\r\nHe, of all heroes I heard of ever\r\nfrom sea to sea, of the sons of earth,\r\nmost excellent seemed. Hence Offa was praised\r\nfor his fighting and feeing by far-off men,\r\nthe spear-bold warrior; wisely he ruled\r\nover his empire. Eomer woke to him,\r\nhelp of heroes, Hemming\u2019s kinsman,\r\nGrandson of Garmund, grim in war.\r\n
\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nXXVIII\r\n\r\nHASTENED the hardy one, henchmen with him,\r\nsandy strand of the sea to tread\r\nand widespread ways. The world\u2019s great candle,\r\nsun shone from south. They strode along\r\nwith sturdy steps to the spot they knew\r\nwhere the battle-king young, his burg within,\r\nslayer of Ongentheow, shared the rings,\r\nshelter-of-heroes. To Hygelac\r\nBeowulf\u2019s coming was quickly told, --\r\nthat there in the court the clansmen\u2019s refuge,\r\nthe shield-companion sound and alive,\r\nhale from the hero-play homeward strode.\r\nWith haste in the hall, by highest order,\r\nroom for the rovers was readily made.\r\nBy his sovran he sat, come safe from battle,\r\nkinsman by kinsman. His kindly lord\r\nhe first had greeted in gracious form,\r\nwith manly words. The mead dispensing,\r\ncame through the high hall Haereth\u2019s daughter,\r\nwinsome to warriors, wine-cup bore\r\nto the hands of the heroes. Hygelac then\r\nhis comrade fairly with question plied\r\nin the lofty hall, sore longing to know\r\nwhat manner of sojourn the Sea-Geats made.\r\n\u201cWhat came of thy quest, my kinsman Beowulf,\r\nwhen thy yearnings suddenly swept thee yonder\r\nbattle to seek o\u2019er the briny sea,\r\ncombat in Heorot? Hrothgar couldst thou\r\naid at all, the honored chief,\r\nin his wide-known woes? With waves of care\r\nmy sad heart seethed; I sore mistrusted\r\nmy loved one\u2019s venture: long I begged thee\r\nby no means to seek that slaughtering monster,\r\nbut suffer the South-Danes to settle their feud\r\nthemselves with Grendel. Now God be thanked\r\nthat safe and sound I can see thee now!\u201d\r\nBeowulf spake, the bairn of Ecgtheow: --\r\n\u201c\u2019Tis known and unhidden, Hygelac Lord,\r\nto many men, that meeting of ours,\r\nstruggle grim between Grendel and me,\r\nwhich we fought on the field where full too many\r\nsorrows he wrought for the Scylding-Victors,\r\nevils unending. These all I avenged.\r\nNo boast can be from breed of Grendel,\r\nany on earth, for that uproar at dawn,\r\nfrom the longest-lived of the loathsome race\r\nin fleshly fold! -- But first I went\r\nHrothgar to greet in the hall of gifts,\r\nwhere Healfdene\u2019s kinsman high-renowned,\r\nsoon as my purpose was plain to him,\r\nassigned me a seat by his son and heir.\r\nThe liegemen were lusty; my life-days never\r\nsuch merry men over mead in hall\r\nhave I heard under heaven! The high-born queen,\r\npeople\u2019s peace-bringer, passed through the hall,\r\ncheered the young clansmen, clasps of gold,\r\nere she sought her seat, to sundry gave.\r\nOft to the heroes Hrothgar\u2019s daughter,\r\nto earls in turn, the ale-cup tendered, --\r\nshe whom I heard these hall-companions\r\nFreawaru name, when fretted gold\r\nshe proffered the warriors. Promised is she,\r\ngold-decked maid, to the glad son of Froda.\r\nSage this seems to the Scylding\u2019s-friend,\r\nkingdom\u2019s-keeper: he counts it wise\r\nthe woman to wed so and ward off feud,\r\nstore of slaughter. But seldom ever\r\nwhen men are slain, does the murder-spear sink\r\nbut briefest while, though the bride be fair![footnote]Beowulf gives his uncle the king not mere gossip of his journey, but a statesmanlike forecast of the outcome of certain policies at the Danish court. Talk of interpolation here is absurd. As both Beowulf and Hygelac know, -- and the folk for whom the Beowulf was put together also knew, -- Froda was king of the Heathobards (probably the Langobards, once near neighbors of Angle and Saxon tribes on the continent), and had fallen in fight with the Danes. Hrothgar will set aside this feud by giving his daughter as \u201cpeace-weaver\u201d and wife to the young king Ingeld, son of the slain Froda. But Beowulf, on general principles and from his observation of the particular case, foretells trouble. Note:[\/footnote]\r\n\u201cNor haply will like it the Heathobard lord,\r\nand as little each of his liegemen all,\r\nwhen a thane of the Danes, in that doughty throng,\r\ngoes with the lady along their hall,\r\nand on him the old-time heirlooms glisten\r\nhard and ring-decked, Heathobard\u2019s treasure,\r\nweapons that once they wielded fair\r\nuntil they lost at the linden-play[footnote]Play of shields, battle. A Danish warrior cuts down Froda in the fight, and takes his sword and armor, leaving them to a son. This son is selected to accompany his mistress, the young princess Freawaru, to her new home when she is Ingeld\u2019s queen. Heedlessly he wears the sword of Froda in hall. An old warrior points it out to Ingeld, and eggs him on to vengeance. At his instigation the Dane is killed; but the murderer, afraid of results, and knowing the land, escapes. So the old feud must break out again.[\/footnote]\r\nliegeman leal and their lives as well.\r\nThen, over the ale, on this heirloom gazing,\r\nsome ash-wielder old who has all in mind\r\nthat spear-death of men,[footnote]That is, their disastrous battle and the slaying of their king.[\/footnote]\u00a0-- he is stern of mood,\r\nheavy at heart, -- in the hero young\r\ntests the temper and tries the soul\r\nand war-hate wakens, with words like these: --\r\nCanst thou not, comrade, ken that sword\r\nwhich to the fray thy father carried\r\nin his final feud, \u2019neath the fighting-mask,\r\ndearest of blades, when the Danish slew him\r\nand wielded the war-place on Withergild\u2019s fall,\r\nafter havoc of heroes, those hardy Scyldings?\r\nNow, the son of a certain slaughtering Dane,\r\nproud of his treasure, paces this hall,\r\njoys in the killing, and carries the jewel[footnote]The sword.[\/footnote]\r\nthat rightfully ought to be owned by thee!_\r\nThus he urges and eggs him all the time\r\nwith keenest words, till occasion offers\r\nthat Freawaru\u2019s thane, for his father\u2019s deed,\r\nafter bite of brand in his blood must slumber,\r\nlosing his life; but that liegeman flies\r\nliving away, for the land he kens.\r\nAnd thus be broken on both their sides\r\noaths of the earls, when Ingeld\u2019s breast\r\nwells with war-hate, and wife-love now\r\nafter the care-billows cooler grows.\r\n\u201cSo[footnote] Beowulf returns to his forecast. Things might well go somewhat as follows, he says; sketches a little tragic story; and with this prophecy by illustration returns to the tale of his adventure.[\/footnote]\u00a0I hold not high the Heathobards\u2019 faith\r\ndue to the Danes, or their during love\r\nand pact of peace. -- But I pass from that,\r\nturning to Grendel, O giver-of-treasure,\r\nand saying in full how the fight resulted,\r\nhand-fray of heroes. When heaven\u2019s jewel\r\nhad fled o\u2019er far fields, that fierce sprite came,\r\nnight-foe savage, to seek us out\r\nwhere safe and sound we sentried the hall.\r\nTo Hondscio then was that harassing deadly,\r\nhis fall there was fated. He first was slain,\r\ngirded warrior. Grendel on him\r\nturned murderous mouth, on our mighty kinsman,\r\nand all of the brave man\u2019s body devoured.\r\nYet none the earlier, empty-handed,\r\nwould the bloody-toothed murderer, mindful of bale,\r\noutward go from the gold-decked hall:\r\nbut me he attacked in his terror of might,\r\nwith greedy hand grasped me. A glove hung by him[footnote]Not an actual glove, but a sort of bag.[\/footnote]\r\nwide and wondrous, wound with bands;\r\nand in artful wise it all was wrought,\r\nby devilish craft, of dragon-skins.\r\nMe therein, an innocent man,\r\nthe fiendish foe was fain to thrust\r\nwith many another. He might not so,\r\nwhen I all angrily upright stood.\r\n\u2019Twere long to relate how that land-destroyer\r\nI paid in kind for his cruel deeds;\r\nyet there, my prince, this people of thine\r\ngot fame by my fighting. He fled away,\r\nand a little space his life preserved;\r\nbut there staid behind him his stronger hand\r\nleft in Heorot; heartsick thence\r\non the floor of the ocean that outcast fell.\r\nMe for this struggle the Scyldings\u2019-friend\r\npaid in plenty with plates of gold,\r\nwith many a treasure, when morn had come\r\nand we all at the banquet-board sat down.\r\nThen was song and glee. The gray-haired Scylding,\r\nmuch tested, told of the times of yore.\r\nWhiles the hero his harp bestirred,\r\nwood-of-delight; now lays he chanted\r\nof sooth and sadness, or said aright\r\nlegends of wonder, the wide-hearted king;\r\nor for years of his youth he would yearn at times,\r\nfor strength of old struggles, now stricken with age,\r\nhoary hero: his heart surged full\r\nwhen, wise with winters, he wailed their flight.\r\nThus in the hall the whole of that day\r\nat ease we feasted, till fell o\u2019er earth\r\nanother night. Anon full ready\r\nin greed of vengeance, Grendel\u2019s mother\r\nset forth all doleful. Dead was her son\r\nthrough war-hate of Weders; now, woman monstrous\r\nwith fury fell a foeman she slew,\r\navenged her offspring. From Aeschere old,\r\nloyal councillor, life was gone;\r\nnor might they e\u2019en, when morning broke,\r\nthose Danish people, their death-done comrade\r\nburn with brands, on balefire lay\r\nthe man they mourned. Under mountain stream\r\nshe had carried the corpse with cruel hands.\r\nFor Hrothgar that was the heaviest sorrow\r\nof all that had laden the lord of his folk.\r\nThe leader then, by thy life, besought me\r\n(sad was his soul) in the sea-waves\u2019 coil\r\nto play the hero and hazard my being\r\nfor glory of prowess: my guerdon he pledged.\r\nI then in the waters -- \u2019tis widely known --\r\nthat sea-floor-guardian savage found.\r\nHand-to-hand there a while we struggled;\r\nbillows welled blood; in the briny hall\r\nher head I hewed with a hardy blade\r\nfrom Grendel\u2019s mother, -- and gained my life,\r\nthough not without danger. My doom was not yet.\r\nThen the haven-of-heroes, Healfdene\u2019s son,\r\ngave me in guerdon great gifts of price.\r\n
\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nXXIX\r\n\r\n\u201cSo held this king to the customs old,\r\nthat I wanted for nought in the wage I gained,\r\nthe meed of my might; he made me gifts,\r\nHealfdene\u2019s heir, for my own disposal.\r\nNow to thee, my prince, I proffer them all,\r\ngladly give them. Thy grace alone\r\ncan find me favor. Few indeed\r\nhave I of kinsmen, save, Hygelac, thee!\u201d\r\nThen he bade them bear him the boar-head standard,\r\nthe battle-helm high, and breastplate gray,\r\nthe splendid sword; then spake in form: --\r\n\u201cMe this war-gear the wise old prince,\r\nHrothgar, gave, and his hest he added,\r\nthat its story be straightway said to thee. --\r\nA while it was held by Heorogar king,\r\nfor long time lord of the land of Scyldings;\r\nyet not to his son the sovran left it,\r\nto daring Heoroweard, -- dear as he was to him,\r\nhis harness of battle. -- Well hold thou it all!\u201d\r\nAnd I heard that soon passed o\u2019er the path of this treasure,\r\nall apple-fallow, four good steeds,\r\neach like the others, arms and horses\r\nhe gave to the king. So should kinsmen be,\r\nnot weave one another the net of wiles,\r\nor with deep-hid treachery death contrive\r\nfor neighbor and comrade. His nephew was ever\r\nby hardy Hygelac held full dear,\r\nand each kept watch o\u2019er the other\u2019s weal.\r\nI heard, too, the necklace to Hygd he presented,\r\nwonder-wrought treasure, which Wealhtheow gave him\r\nsovran\u2019s daughter: three steeds he added,\r\nslender and saddle-gay. Since such gift\r\nthe gem gleamed bright on the breast of the queen.\r\nThus showed his strain the son of Ecgtheow\r\nas a man remarked for mighty deeds\r\nand acts of honor. At ale he slew not\r\ncomrade or kin; nor cruel his mood,\r\nthough of sons of earth his strength was greatest,\r\na glorious gift that God had sent\r\nthe splendid leader. Long was he spurned,\r\nand worthless by Geatish warriors held;\r\nhim at mead the master-of-clans\r\nfailed full oft to favor at all.\r\nSlack and shiftless the strong men deemed him,\r\nprofitless prince; but payment came,\r\nto the warrior honored, for all his woes. --\r\nThen the bulwark-of-earls[footnote]Hygelac.[\/footnote]\u00a0bade bring within,\r\nhardy chieftain, Hrethel\u2019s heirloom\r\ngarnished with gold: no Geat e\u2019er knew\r\nin shape of a sword a statelier prize.\r\nThe brand he laid in Beowulf\u2019s lap;\r\nand of hides assigned him seven thousand,[footnote]This is generally assumed to mean hides, though the text simply says \u201cseven thousand.\u201d A hide in England meant about 120 acres, though \u201cthe size of the acre varied.\u201d[\/footnote]\r\nwith house and high-seat. They held in common\r\nland alike by their line of birth,\r\ninheritance, home: but higher the king\r\nbecause of his rule o\u2019er the realm itself.\r\n\r\nNow further it fell with the flight of years,\r\nwith harryings horrid, that Hygelac perished,[footnote]On the historical raid into Frankish territory between 512 and 520 A.D. The subsequent course of events, as gathered from hints of this epic, is partly told in Scandinavian legend.[\/footnote]\r\nand Heardred, too, by hewing of swords\r\nunder the shield-wall slaughtered lay,\r\nwhen him at the van of his victor-folk\r\nsought hardy heroes, Heatho-Scilfings,\r\nin arms o\u2019erwhelming Hereric\u2019s nephew.\r\nThen Beowulf came as king this broad\r\nrealm to wield; and he ruled it well\r\nfifty winters,[footnote]The chronology of this epic, as scholars have worked it out, would make Beowulf well over ninety years of age when he fights the dragon. But the fifty years of his reign need not be taken as historical fact.[\/footnote]\u00a0a wise old prince,\r\nwarding his land, until One began\r\nin the dark of night, a Dragon, to rage.\r\nIn the grave on the hill a hoard it guarded,\r\nin the stone-barrow steep. A strait path reached it,\r\nunknown to mortals. Some man, however,\r\ncame by chance that cave within\r\nto the heathen hoard.[footnote]The text is here hopelessly illegible, and only the general drift of the meaning can be rescued. For one thing, we have the old myth of a dragon who guards hidden treasure. But with this runs the story of some noble, last of his race, who hides all his wealth within this barrow and there chants his farewell to life\u2019s glories. After his death the dragon takes possession of the hoard and watches over it. A condemned or banished man, desperate, hides in the barrow, discovers the treasure, and while the dragon sleeps, makes off with a golden beaker or the like, and carries it for propitiation to his master. The dragon discovers the loss and exacts fearful penalty from the people round about.[\/footnote]\u00a0In hand he took\r\na golden goblet, nor gave he it back,\r\nstole with it away, while the watcher slept,\r\nby thievish wiles: for the warden\u2019s wrath\r\nprince and people must pay betimes!\r\n
\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nXXX\r\n\r\nTHAT way he went with no will of his own,\r\nin danger of life, to the dragon\u2019s hoard,\r\nbut for pressure of peril, some prince\u2019s thane.\r\nHe fled in fear the fatal scourge,\r\nseeking shelter, a sinful man,\r\nand entered in. At the awful sight\r\ntottered that guest, and terror seized him;\r\nyet the wretched fugitive rallied anon\r\nfrom fright and fear ere he fled away,\r\nand took the cup from that treasure-hoard.\r\nOf such besides there was store enough,\r\nheirlooms old, the earth below,\r\nwhich some earl forgotten, in ancient years,\r\nleft the last of his lofty race,\r\nheedfully there had hidden away,\r\ndearest treasure. For death of yore\r\nhad hurried all hence; and he alone\r\nleft to live, the last of the clan,\r\nweeping his friends, yet wished to bide\r\nwarding the treasure, his one delight,\r\nthough brief his respite. The barrow, new-ready,\r\nto strand and sea-waves stood anear,\r\nhard by the headland, hidden and closed;\r\nthere laid within it his lordly heirlooms\r\nand heaped hoard of heavy gold\r\nthat warden of rings. Few words he spake:\r\n\u201cNow hold thou, earth, since heroes may not,\r\nwhat earls have owned! Lo, erst from thee\r\nbrave men brought it! But battle-death seized\r\nand cruel killing my clansmen all,\r\nrobbed them of life and a liegeman\u2019s joys.\r\nNone have I left to lift the sword,\r\nor to cleanse the carven cup of price,\r\nbeaker bright. My brave are gone.\r\nAnd the helmet hard, all haughty with gold,\r\nshall part from its plating. Polishers sleep\r\nwho could brighten and burnish the battle-mask;\r\nand those weeds of war that were wont to brave\r\nover bicker of shields the bite of steel\r\nrust with their bearer. The ringed mail\r\nfares not far with famous chieftain,\r\nat side of hero! No harp\u2019s delight,\r\nno glee-wood\u2019s gladness! No good hawk now\r\nflies through the hall! Nor horses fleet\r\nstamp in the burgstead! Battle and death\r\nthe flower of my race have reft away.\u201d\r\nMournful of mood, thus he moaned his woe,\r\nalone, for them all, and unblithe wept\r\nby day and by night, till death\u2019s fell wave\r\no\u2019erwhelmed his heart. His hoard-of-bliss\r\nthat old ill-doer open found,\r\nwho, blazing at twilight the barrows haunteth,\r\nnaked foe-dragon flying by night\r\nfolded in fire: the folk of earth\r\ndread him sore. \u2019Tis his doom to seek\r\nhoard in the graves, and heathen gold\r\nto watch, many-wintered: nor wins he thereby!\r\nPowerful this plague-of-the-people thus\r\nheld the house of the hoard in earth\r\nthree hundred winters; till One aroused\r\nwrath in his breast, to the ruler bearing\r\nthat costly cup, and the king implored\r\nfor bond of peace. So the barrow was plundered,\r\nborne off was booty. His boon was granted\r\nthat wretched man; and his ruler saw\r\nfirst time what was fashioned in far-off days.\r\nWhen the dragon awoke, new woe was kindled.\r\nO\u2019er the stone he snuffed. The stark-heart found\r\nfootprint of foe who so far had gone\r\nin his hidden craft by the creature\u2019s head. --\r\nSo may the undoomed easily flee\r\nevils and exile, if only he gain\r\nthe grace of The Wielder! -- That warden of gold\r\no\u2019er the ground went seeking, greedy to find\r\nthe man who wrought him such wrong in sleep.\r\nSavage and burning, the barrow he circled\r\nall without; nor was any there,\r\nnone in the waste.... Yet war he desired,\r\nwas eager for battle. The barrow he entered,\r\nsought the cup, and discovered soon\r\nthat some one of mortals had searched his treasure,\r\nhis lordly gold. The guardian waited\r\nill-enduring till evening came;\r\nboiling with wrath was the barrow\u2019s keeper,\r\nand fain with flame the foe to pay\r\nfor the dear cup\u2019s loss. -- Now day was fled\r\nas the worm had wished. By its wall no more\r\nwas it glad to bide, but burning flew\r\nfolded in flame: a fearful beginning\r\nfor sons of the soil; and soon it came,\r\nin the doom of their lord, to a dreadful end.","rendered":"

XXVI<\/p>\n

BEOWULF spake, bairn of Ecgtheow: —
\n\u201cLo, we seafarers say our will,
\nfar-come men, that we fain would seek
\nHygelac now. We here have found
\nhosts to our heart: thou hast harbored us well.
\nIf ever on earth I am able to win me
\nmore of thy love, O lord of men,
\naught anew, than I now have done,
\nfor work of war I am willing still!
\nIf it come to me ever across the seas
\nthat neighbor foemen annoy and fright thee, —
\nas they that hate thee erewhile have used, —
\nthousands then of thanes I shall bring,
\nheroes to help thee. Of Hygelac I know,
\nward of his folk, that, though few his years,
\nthe lord of the Geats will give me aid
\nby word and by work, that well I may serve thee,
\nwielding the war-wood to win thy triumph
\nand lending thee might when thou lackest men.
\nIf thy Hrethric should come to court of Geats,
\na sovran\u2019s son, he will surely there
\nfind his friends. A far-off land
\neach man should visit who vaunts him brave.\u201d
\nHim then answering, Hrothgar spake: —
\n\u201cThese words of thine the wisest God
\nsent to thy soul! No sager counsel
\nfrom so young in years e\u2019er yet have I heard.
\nThou art strong of main and in mind art wary,
\nart wise in words! I ween indeed
\nif ever it hap that Hrethel\u2019s heir
\nby spear be seized, by sword-grim battle,
\nby illness or iron, thine elder and lord,
\npeople\u2019s leader, — and life be thine, —
\nno seemlier man will the Sea-Geats find
\nat all to choose for their chief and king,
\nfor hoard-guard of heroes, if hold thou wilt
\nthy kinsman\u2019s kingdom! Thy keen mind pleases me
\nthe longer the better, Beowulf loved!<\/p>\n

Thou hast brought it about that both our peoples,
\nsons of the Geat and Spear-Dane folk,
\nshall have mutual peace, and from murderous strife,
\nsuch as once they waged, from war refrain.
\nLong as I rule this realm so wide,
\nlet our hoards be common, let heroes with gold
\neach other greet o\u2019er the gannet\u2019s-bath,
\nand the ringed-prow bear o\u2019er rolling waves
\ntokens of love. I trow my landfolk
\ntowards friend and foe are firmly joined,
\nand honor they keep in the olden way.\u201d
\nTo him in the hall, then, Healfdene\u2019s son
\ngave treasures twelve, and the trust-of-earls
\nbade him fare with the gifts to his folk beloved,
\nhale to his home, and in haste return.
\nThen kissed the king of kin renowned,
\nScyldings\u2019 chieftain, that choicest thane,
\nand fell on his neck. Fast flowed the tears
\nof the hoary-headed. Heavy with winters,
\nhe had chances twain, but he clung to this,[1]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0—
\nthat each should look on the other again,
\nand hear him in hall. Was this hero so dear to him.
\nhis breast\u2019s wild billows he banned in vain;
\nsafe in his soul a secret longing,
\nlocked in his mind, for that loved man
\nburned in his blood. Then Beowulf strode,
\nglad of his gold-gifts, the grass-plot o\u2019er,
\nwarrior blithe. The wave-roamer bode
\nriding at anchor, its owner awaiting.
\nAs they hastened onward, Hrothgar\u2019s gift
\nthey lauded at length. — \u2019Twas a lord unpeered,
\nevery way blameless, till age had broken
\n— it spareth no mortal — his splendid might.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

XXVII<\/p>\n

CAME now to ocean the ever-courageous
\nhardy henchmen, their harness bearing,
\nwoven war-sarks. The warden marked,
\ntrusty as ever, the earl\u2019s return.
\nFrom the height of the hill no hostile words
\nreached the guests as he rode to greet them;
\nbut \u201cWelcome!\u201d he called to that Weder clan
\nas the sheen-mailed spoilers to ship marched on.
\nThen on the strand, with steeds and treasure
\nand armor their roomy and ring-dight ship
\nwas heavily laden: high its mast
\nrose over Hrothgar\u2019s hoarded gems.
\nA sword to the boat-guard Beowulf gave,
\nmounted with gold; on the mead-bench since
\nhe was better esteemed, that blade possessing,
\nheirloom old. — Their ocean-keel boarding,
\nthey drove through the deep, and Daneland left.
\nA sea-cloth was set, a sail with ropes,
\nfirm to the mast; the flood-timbers moaned;[2]<\/sup><\/a>
\nnor did wind over billows that wave-swimmer blow
\nacross from her course. The craft sped on,
\nfoam-necked it floated forth o\u2019er the waves,
\nkeel firm-bound over briny currents,
\ntill they got them sight of the Geatish cliffs,
\nhome-known headlands. High the boat,
\nstirred by winds, on the strand updrove.
\nHelpful at haven the harbor-guard stood,
\nwho long already for loved companions
\nby the water had waited and watched afar.
\nHe bound to the beach the broad-bosomed ship
\nwith anchor-bands, lest ocean-billows
\nthat trusty timber should tear away.
\nThen Beowulf bade them bear the treasure,
\ngold and jewels; no journey far
\nwas it thence to go to the giver of rings,
\nHygelac Hrethling: at home he dwelt
\nby the sea-wall close, himself and clan.
\nHaughty that house, a hero the king,
\nhigh the hall, and Hygd[3]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0right young,
\nwise and wary, though winters few
\nin those fortress walls she had found a home,
\nHaereth\u2019s daughter. Nor humble her ways,
\nnor grudged she gifts to the Geatish men,
\nof precious treasure. Not Thryth\u2019s pride showed she,
\nfolk-queen famed, or that fell deceit.
\nWas none so daring that durst make bold
\n(save her lord alone) of the liegemen dear
\nthat lady full in the face to look,
\nbut forged fetters he found his lot,
\nbonds of death! And brief the respite;
\nsoon as they seized him, his sword-doom was spoken,
\nand the burnished blade a baleful murder
\nproclaimed and closed. No queenly way
\nfor woman to practise, though peerless she,
\nthat the weaver-of-peace[4]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0from warrior dear
\nby wrath and lying his life should reave!
\nBut Hemming\u2019s kinsman hindered this. —
\nFor over their ale men also told
\nthat of these folk-horrors fewer she wrought,
\nonslaughts of evil, after she went,
\ngold-decked bride, to the brave young prince,
\natheling haughty, and Offa\u2019s hall
\no\u2019er the fallow flood at her father\u2019s bidding
\nsafely sought, where since she prospered,
\nroyal, throned, rich in goods,
\nfain of the fair life fate had sent her,
\nand leal in love to the lord of warriors.
\nHe, of all heroes I heard of ever
\nfrom sea to sea, of the sons of earth,
\nmost excellent seemed. Hence Offa was praised
\nfor his fighting and feeing by far-off men,
\nthe spear-bold warrior; wisely he ruled
\nover his empire. Eomer woke to him,
\nhelp of heroes, Hemming\u2019s kinsman,
\nGrandson of Garmund, grim in war.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

XXVIII<\/p>\n

HASTENED the hardy one, henchmen with him,
\nsandy strand of the sea to tread
\nand widespread ways. The world\u2019s great candle,
\nsun shone from south. They strode along
\nwith sturdy steps to the spot they knew
\nwhere the battle-king young, his burg within,
\nslayer of Ongentheow, shared the rings,
\nshelter-of-heroes. To Hygelac
\nBeowulf\u2019s coming was quickly told, —
\nthat there in the court the clansmen\u2019s refuge,
\nthe shield-companion sound and alive,
\nhale from the hero-play homeward strode.
\nWith haste in the hall, by highest order,
\nroom for the rovers was readily made.
\nBy his sovran he sat, come safe from battle,
\nkinsman by kinsman. His kindly lord
\nhe first had greeted in gracious form,
\nwith manly words. The mead dispensing,
\ncame through the high hall Haereth\u2019s daughter,
\nwinsome to warriors, wine-cup bore
\nto the hands of the heroes. Hygelac then
\nhis comrade fairly with question plied
\nin the lofty hall, sore longing to know
\nwhat manner of sojourn the Sea-Geats made.
\n\u201cWhat came of thy quest, my kinsman Beowulf,
\nwhen thy yearnings suddenly swept thee yonder
\nbattle to seek o\u2019er the briny sea,
\ncombat in Heorot? Hrothgar couldst thou
\naid at all, the honored chief,
\nin his wide-known woes? With waves of care
\nmy sad heart seethed; I sore mistrusted
\nmy loved one\u2019s venture: long I begged thee
\nby no means to seek that slaughtering monster,
\nbut suffer the South-Danes to settle their feud
\nthemselves with Grendel. Now God be thanked
\nthat safe and sound I can see thee now!\u201d
\nBeowulf spake, the bairn of Ecgtheow: —
\n\u201c\u2019Tis known and unhidden, Hygelac Lord,
\nto many men, that meeting of ours,
\nstruggle grim between Grendel and me,
\nwhich we fought on the field where full too many
\nsorrows he wrought for the Scylding-Victors,
\nevils unending. These all I avenged.
\nNo boast can be from breed of Grendel,
\nany on earth, for that uproar at dawn,
\nfrom the longest-lived of the loathsome race
\nin fleshly fold! — But first I went
\nHrothgar to greet in the hall of gifts,
\nwhere Healfdene\u2019s kinsman high-renowned,
\nsoon as my purpose was plain to him,
\nassigned me a seat by his son and heir.
\nThe liegemen were lusty; my life-days never
\nsuch merry men over mead in hall
\nhave I heard under heaven! The high-born queen,
\npeople\u2019s peace-bringer, passed through the hall,
\ncheered the young clansmen, clasps of gold,
\nere she sought her seat, to sundry gave.
\nOft to the heroes Hrothgar\u2019s daughter,
\nto earls in turn, the ale-cup tendered, —
\nshe whom I heard these hall-companions
\nFreawaru name, when fretted gold
\nshe proffered the warriors. Promised is she,
\ngold-decked maid, to the glad son of Froda.
\nSage this seems to the Scylding\u2019s-friend,
\nkingdom\u2019s-keeper: he counts it wise
\nthe woman to wed so and ward off feud,
\nstore of slaughter. But seldom ever
\nwhen men are slain, does the murder-spear sink
\nbut briefest while, though the bride be fair![5]<\/sup><\/a>
\n\u201cNor haply will like it the Heathobard lord,
\nand as little each of his liegemen all,
\nwhen a thane of the Danes, in that doughty throng,
\ngoes with the lady along their hall,
\nand on him the old-time heirlooms glisten
\nhard and ring-decked, Heathobard\u2019s treasure,
\nweapons that once they wielded fair
\nuntil they lost at the linden-play[6]<\/sup><\/a>
\nliegeman leal and their lives as well.
\nThen, over the ale, on this heirloom gazing,
\nsome ash-wielder old who has all in mind
\nthat spear-death of men,[7]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0— he is stern of mood,
\nheavy at heart, — in the hero young
\ntests the temper and tries the soul
\nand war-hate wakens, with words like these: —
\nCanst thou not, comrade, ken that sword
\nwhich to the fray thy father carried
\nin his final feud, \u2019neath the fighting-mask,
\ndearest of blades, when the Danish slew him
\nand wielded the war-place on Withergild\u2019s fall,
\nafter havoc of heroes, those hardy Scyldings?
\nNow, the son of a certain slaughtering Dane,
\nproud of his treasure, paces this hall,
\njoys in the killing, and carries the jewel[8]<\/sup><\/a>
\nthat rightfully ought to be owned by thee!_
\nThus he urges and eggs him all the time
\nwith keenest words, till occasion offers
\nthat Freawaru\u2019s thane, for his father\u2019s deed,
\nafter bite of brand in his blood must slumber,
\nlosing his life; but that liegeman flies
\nliving away, for the land he kens.
\nAnd thus be broken on both their sides
\noaths of the earls, when Ingeld\u2019s breast
\nwells with war-hate, and wife-love now
\nafter the care-billows cooler grows.
\n\u201cSo[9]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0I hold not high the Heathobards\u2019 faith
\ndue to the Danes, or their during love
\nand pact of peace. — But I pass from that,
\nturning to Grendel, O giver-of-treasure,
\nand saying in full how the fight resulted,
\nhand-fray of heroes. When heaven\u2019s jewel
\nhad fled o\u2019er far fields, that fierce sprite came,
\nnight-foe savage, to seek us out
\nwhere safe and sound we sentried the hall.
\nTo Hondscio then was that harassing deadly,
\nhis fall there was fated. He first was slain,
\ngirded warrior. Grendel on him
\nturned murderous mouth, on our mighty kinsman,
\nand all of the brave man\u2019s body devoured.
\nYet none the earlier, empty-handed,
\nwould the bloody-toothed murderer, mindful of bale,
\noutward go from the gold-decked hall:
\nbut me he attacked in his terror of might,
\nwith greedy hand grasped me. A glove hung by him[10]<\/sup><\/a>
\nwide and wondrous, wound with bands;
\nand in artful wise it all was wrought,
\nby devilish craft, of dragon-skins.
\nMe therein, an innocent man,
\nthe fiendish foe was fain to thrust
\nwith many another. He might not so,
\nwhen I all angrily upright stood.
\n\u2019Twere long to relate how that land-destroyer
\nI paid in kind for his cruel deeds;
\nyet there, my prince, this people of thine
\ngot fame by my fighting. He fled away,
\nand a little space his life preserved;
\nbut there staid behind him his stronger hand
\nleft in Heorot; heartsick thence
\non the floor of the ocean that outcast fell.
\nMe for this struggle the Scyldings\u2019-friend
\npaid in plenty with plates of gold,
\nwith many a treasure, when morn had come
\nand we all at the banquet-board sat down.
\nThen was song and glee. The gray-haired Scylding,
\nmuch tested, told of the times of yore.
\nWhiles the hero his harp bestirred,
\nwood-of-delight; now lays he chanted
\nof sooth and sadness, or said aright
\nlegends of wonder, the wide-hearted king;
\nor for years of his youth he would yearn at times,
\nfor strength of old struggles, now stricken with age,
\nhoary hero: his heart surged full
\nwhen, wise with winters, he wailed their flight.
\nThus in the hall the whole of that day
\nat ease we feasted, till fell o\u2019er earth
\nanother night. Anon full ready
\nin greed of vengeance, Grendel\u2019s mother
\nset forth all doleful. Dead was her son
\nthrough war-hate of Weders; now, woman monstrous
\nwith fury fell a foeman she slew,
\navenged her offspring. From Aeschere old,
\nloyal councillor, life was gone;
\nnor might they e\u2019en, when morning broke,
\nthose Danish people, their death-done comrade
\nburn with brands, on balefire lay
\nthe man they mourned. Under mountain stream
\nshe had carried the corpse with cruel hands.
\nFor Hrothgar that was the heaviest sorrow
\nof all that had laden the lord of his folk.
\nThe leader then, by thy life, besought me
\n(sad was his soul) in the sea-waves\u2019 coil
\nto play the hero and hazard my being
\nfor glory of prowess: my guerdon he pledged.
\nI then in the waters — \u2019tis widely known —
\nthat sea-floor-guardian savage found.
\nHand-to-hand there a while we struggled;
\nbillows welled blood; in the briny hall
\nher head I hewed with a hardy blade
\nfrom Grendel\u2019s mother, — and gained my life,
\nthough not without danger. My doom was not yet.
\nThen the haven-of-heroes, Healfdene\u2019s son,
\ngave me in guerdon great gifts of price.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

XXIX<\/p>\n

\u201cSo held this king to the customs old,
\nthat I wanted for nought in the wage I gained,
\nthe meed of my might; he made me gifts,
\nHealfdene\u2019s heir, for my own disposal.
\nNow to thee, my prince, I proffer them all,
\ngladly give them. Thy grace alone
\ncan find me favor. Few indeed
\nhave I of kinsmen, save, Hygelac, thee!\u201d
\nThen he bade them bear him the boar-head standard,
\nthe battle-helm high, and breastplate gray,
\nthe splendid sword; then spake in form: —
\n\u201cMe this war-gear the wise old prince,
\nHrothgar, gave, and his hest he added,
\nthat its story be straightway said to thee. —
\nA while it was held by Heorogar king,
\nfor long time lord of the land of Scyldings;
\nyet not to his son the sovran left it,
\nto daring Heoroweard, — dear as he was to him,
\nhis harness of battle. — Well hold thou it all!\u201d
\nAnd I heard that soon passed o\u2019er the path of this treasure,
\nall apple-fallow, four good steeds,
\neach like the others, arms and horses
\nhe gave to the king. So should kinsmen be,
\nnot weave one another the net of wiles,
\nor with deep-hid treachery death contrive
\nfor neighbor and comrade. His nephew was ever
\nby hardy Hygelac held full dear,
\nand each kept watch o\u2019er the other\u2019s weal.
\nI heard, too, the necklace to Hygd he presented,
\nwonder-wrought treasure, which Wealhtheow gave him
\nsovran\u2019s daughter: three steeds he added,
\nslender and saddle-gay. Since such gift
\nthe gem gleamed bright on the breast of the queen.
\nThus showed his strain the son of Ecgtheow
\nas a man remarked for mighty deeds
\nand acts of honor. At ale he slew not
\ncomrade or kin; nor cruel his mood,
\nthough of sons of earth his strength was greatest,
\na glorious gift that God had sent
\nthe splendid leader. Long was he spurned,
\nand worthless by Geatish warriors held;
\nhim at mead the master-of-clans
\nfailed full oft to favor at all.
\nSlack and shiftless the strong men deemed him,
\nprofitless prince; but payment came,
\nto the warrior honored, for all his woes. —
\nThen the bulwark-of-earls[11]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0bade bring within,
\nhardy chieftain, Hrethel\u2019s heirloom
\ngarnished with gold: no Geat e\u2019er knew
\nin shape of a sword a statelier prize.
\nThe brand he laid in Beowulf\u2019s lap;
\nand of hides assigned him seven thousand,[12]<\/sup><\/a>
\nwith house and high-seat. They held in common
\nland alike by their line of birth,
\ninheritance, home: but higher the king
\nbecause of his rule o\u2019er the realm itself.<\/p>\n

Now further it fell with the flight of years,
\nwith harryings horrid, that Hygelac perished,[13]<\/sup><\/a>
\nand Heardred, too, by hewing of swords
\nunder the shield-wall slaughtered lay,
\nwhen him at the van of his victor-folk
\nsought hardy heroes, Heatho-Scilfings,
\nin arms o\u2019erwhelming Hereric\u2019s nephew.
\nThen Beowulf came as king this broad
\nrealm to wield; and he ruled it well
\nfifty winters,[14]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0a wise old prince,
\nwarding his land, until One began
\nin the dark of night, a Dragon, to rage.
\nIn the grave on the hill a hoard it guarded,
\nin the stone-barrow steep. A strait path reached it,
\nunknown to mortals. Some man, however,
\ncame by chance that cave within
\nto the heathen hoard.