Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary, together with Sellic Spell

by J. R. R. Tolkien

  Now Beewolf had become a great man indeed, and he thought that his lot had taken a turn for the better; for his treatment here was very different from his treatment at home. He lived merrily in that land for a while, and all men were his friends. Unfriend laboured long and put forth his skill, and he fashioned a great blade, and it was good. Upon it were many signs and figures, and at the edges snakes were drawn so that their bite should be deadly. With the King’s leave Unfriend fitted the blade to the ancient hilts, and he gave the sword to Beewolf as a peace-offering. Beewolf took it gladly and forgave him; and he called the sword Gildenhilt and wore it ever after, and despised weapons no longer.

  There was great friendship between the King and his guest, and he would have been glad to have kept Beewolf at his side; for he was old, and his sons were not yet grown to manhood, and it seemed to him that Beewolf was worth a host of men. But as time wore on a great desire came upon Beewolf to look again on his own land over the sea, and to show the folk there what honour he had earned in his travels. So at last he took his leave of the King of the Golden Hall, and bade him farewell; and the king gave him a new ship more splendid than the old boat that still lay upon the beach; and Beewolf and his men laded it with all the gold and good things that he had won; and they drew up their sails, and put out to sea.

  It was not long before folk upon the shore saw white sails upon the water, like the wings of a bird that glides down the wind. As the vessel drew nearer they wondered whence it came and what might be its errand, such a fine ship as it was, with bright shields hung upon its sides, and a banner of gold. When the boat came to land, out stepped a great lord, exceedingly tall, clad in shining mail, with a high-crested helm upon his head; and twelve knights were with him. They asked him his name.

  ‘Beewolf I used to be called, when I was at home,’ said he; ‘and I see no reason to change.’

  Then indeed the people were amazed, and the news of Beewolf’s return spread like fire. But Beewolf did not wait, and went at once to see the King, his fosterer. He strode up the hall, where once he had sat in a corner; and very different now was his bearing. He greeted the King proudly.

  The King looked at him in wonder. ‘Well, well! So you have returned after all!’ said he. ‘Who would have believed that Beewolf would overcome the ogre and set free the great Golden Hall? I never expected it!’

  ‘Maybe not, Lord,’ said Beewolf. ‘But many a man has a treasure in his hoard that he knows not the worth of. You thought little of the foundling that was brought from the bear’s den; yet you have earned some thanks for your fostering, such as it was.’ And Beewolf gave to the King all the gold that he got in the cave, and the King received that gift very gladly.

  Beewolf was now a mighty man in the land, and he fought for his King in many great wars, and gained him many victories. It is said that at times in the heat of battle he would put up his sword and cast away his shield and seize the captain of his enemies and crush the life out of him with his arms. The fear of his strength and his valour went far and wide. A great lord he became, with broad lands and many rings; and he wedded the King’s only daughter. And after the King’s day was done, Beewolf became king in his stead, and lived long in glory. As long as he lived he loved honey dearly, and the mead in his hall was ever of the best.

  *

  Notes to the text

  1 ice-bear: A pencilled note against ‘ice-bear’ by my father on the carbon copy of the second typescript (E), reads:

  seems to fit – but does not. The Icelandic ís-björn is modern. The Old Icelandic term was hvíta-björn ‘white-bear; but this was unknown in Europe till about 900 (after the discovery of Iceland), and so could have no part in ancient folk-legend going back beyond A.D.500, the approximate date of Hrothgar &c.

  See further the commentary on Beowulf p. 237.

  2 nixes: My father was uncertain how best to render the Old English word nicor, plural niceras, commonly translated ‘water-demon’ (the word he himself used in his translation of Beowulf). Old English nicor, spelt nicker, was long known as an archaic word in English, and the related German words nix, nixy are found in English writings of the nineteenth century.

  In the manuscripts of Sellic Spell A and C my father merely retained the Old English form nicor, with a plural nicors. This was naturally followed in the typescript D; but at this, the first occurrence of the word, my father emended it to nickers and nixes, but then struck out nickers and. At all subsequent occurrences of nicors he changed it to nixes, save on p. 362 line 6, where ‘Beewolf wrestled with the nicor’, he changed it to ‘beast’, and on p. 379 line 22, where he changed it to nixy.

  The second typescript E has nixes throughout, except in the two cases just mentioned; but in most cases he lightly pencilled nickers above, perhaps as an alternative rather than an alteration.

  3 Unfriend: In all the texts except E the name was Unpeace, but in D my father changed it to Unfriend throughout. In E the typist retyped Unpeace to Unfriend at the first two occurrences, thereafter Unpeace.

  4 louting low: bowing low.

  5 truncheon: used in an early sense of the word, the fragment of a spear, or the haft of a spear.

  *

  § 2 A COMPARISON OF THE EARLIEST AND FINAL FORMS OF THE STORY

  [I give here, in the relevant parts, the text (manuscript A) of Sellic Spell in its earliest form, before any significant alterations were made, so far as that can be ascertained. As this manuscript was in the first, or at any rate a very early, stage of composition there are many corrections in the detail of expression which were obviously, or very probably, made at the time of writing. In such cases I have either silently printed the corrected text, or indicated the nature of the correction if that is of interest. See further, on the nature of manuscript A, The formation of the text, [introduction pp. 356–7].

  Once upon a time there was a King in the North of the world and in his house there was a young lad who was not like other young lads. When he was a child he was found in a bear’s den up in the mountains, and the hunters took him to the king; for no one knew whence the child came or who he belonged to, and through living with the bears he could not speak. The King put him out to foster, but the foster-father had little good of him. He was a surly and lumpish boy, and slow to learn men’s language. He would not work, or learn the use of tools or weapons. He was held in small account, and in the hall he was pushed into a corner and given no place among the better folk. As he grew, however, and he grew marvellously fast, he became stronger and stronger, until men became afraid of him. Soon he had the strength of many men in his hands, and the grip of his arms was like the hug of a bear. He wore no sword, but if he was angered he could crush a man in his embrace.

  To this point it may be observed that there was no mention of the King’s only daughter; that the foundling was not fostered by the King; and most notably, that he was not named Beewolf, nor the reason for it. An addition to the manuscript that was very probably made at or near the time of writing, however, reads thus, following the words ‘tools or weapons’:

  He was fond of honey, and as he had no name, people called him Beewolf.

  The text continues from the point reached:

  Beewolf was a great swimmer. He was as warm as an ice-bear, and his body had the bear-glow, as men called it, so that he feared no cold.

  There was a great swimmer in those days, and his name was Breaker, and he came from Surfland. Breaker met Beewolf on the beach one day, when Beewolf had just returned from swimming in the sea.

  From this point the original text was preserved almost word for word into the final form as far as ‘as if he had wrestled with wild beasts’ (p. 362, line 6). The only difference to be mentioned is the use of the word nicors for later nixes: on this see the note on nixes, p. 385.

  After a time, when Beewolf had grown to man’s size and more, news came to the land that the king of a country across the water was troubled by an ogre. Of what sort the monster was, and where he came from, no one coul
d tell; but the tales told that he used to stalk men in the shadows and eat them on the spot, or bear them away to his den, many at a time. Rich or poor, young or old, he spared none that he could catch. Beewolf listened to these tales, but he said nothing. And more news came: it seemed that the ogre had now broken into the king’s hall and devoured thirty knights. The king’s hall was roofed with gold, and all the benches were gilded and carven, and the mead and ale there were of the best, but neither the king nor any of his men dared stay in the hall after the sun had set. The king had offered rich rewards to any man who would rid him of his enemy, but no one had come forward, and all the night the monster was master of the king’s house.

  When he heard this Beewolf stood up. ‘They need a man in that land,’ he said. ‘I had better go ........... [illegible]. The old folk thought little good would come of such a venture, but none ...... [illegible] tried to dissuade Beewolf, thinking the ogre might eat others who would be missed more. Beewolf found one man who was ready to go with him. That was a fellow named Handshoe, and he had that name because he wore gloves of bearskin on his large hands. Beewolf and Handshoe got a boat and set sail, and next day or the day after they sighted the land of the king of the Golden Hall. As soon as they stepped ashore, a man came up to them and asked their business, and there was no welcome for strangers in his looks. But Beewolf who was now grown very tall and grim stood up and spoke back proudly. ‘I have come to find out the truth about the tales that men tell of this land,’ he said. ‘I have heard that an enemy visits your king’s house by night and not a man of this land dare stay to meet him. Maybe it is idle talk, but if it is true I think I could be useful.’

  ‘Maybe you could!’ said the man, stepping back and looking up at Beewolf. ‘You had better go and let the king know your errand.’ He led Beewolf and Handshoe forward, until they could see the golden roof of the king’s house shining before them in a green dale. ‘You cannot miss the road now,’ said the man, and wished them good day.

  It will be seen that in the story as originally told the magical quality of Handshoe’s gloves was not mentioned at this point; and the unfriendly man that met Beewolf and Handshoe on the shore had no name and no part to play beyond showing them the way to the Golden Hall. In the text that replaced this the man was still unnamed but ‘He was a grim-looking fellow with a great spear that he brandished fiercely’; and when they parted, within sight of the Golden Hall, he said ‘I wish you good day and good luck, though I do not expect ever to see either of you returning.’

  In a short while Beewolf and Handshoe came to the door of the hall; and Beewolf brushed past the guards and strode into the hall, till he stood before the king’s seat, and greeted the king.

  ‘Hail, king of the Golden Hall!’ said he. ‘I have come over the sea. I have heard that you are troubled by [a creature called Grendel >] a monster that eats your men, and that you would give much gold to be rid of him.’

  ‘Alas! it is the truth that you have heard!’ answered the king. ‘An ogre called [Grendel >] Grinder has harried my folk for years, and I would richly reward any man that could destroy him. But who are you and what is your errand?’

  ‘Beewolf is my name,’ said he. ‘In my hands I have the strength of thirty men. [The creature that you call Grendel, that is my errand. >] My errand is to have a look at this ogre. I have dealt with folk of his kind before. And nicors also I have slain. Since there is no man in this land who dare stay to meet him, I will wait here tonight and have a word with this [Grendel >] Grinder. I ask for no more help than my two arms. If those fail me, you will at least be rid of me, and you will have no need to feed me, nor to bury me for that matter, if the tales are true.’

  The king was overjoyed to hear such a speech, and hope came to him that maybe the end of his trouble was at hand. Beewolf was invited to the feast and [set beside the king’s own sons >] given a seat among the king’s men; and at the pouring of the drink the Queen herself came to him and gave him a cup of mead, and wished him good fortune. ‘Glad is my heart,’ said she, ‘to see a man in this hall again.’

  [The Queen’s words were little to the liking of >] Some of the king’s men took this saying ill, and none more so than / Unpeace. He thought himself of great account, for he was high in the king’s favour. He had a keen wit, and the king set great store by his counsels, though there were some that distrusted him and said that he had an evil eye, and could work spells of magic, and that his counsels roused strife more often than they made peace. Unpeace now turned to Beewolf.

  The scornful words of Unpeace to Beewolf concerning the swimming-match with Breaker, and Beewolf’s bear-hug of Unpeace in response, scarcely differ from the final form; but as will be seen the story that then follows is radically different, though much of the text was retained in the final form.

  Soon afterwards the sun began to sink in the west and the shadows grew long; and the king arose, and men hurried from the hall. Then the king bade Beewolf take charge of his house, and wished him good luck, promising him great rewards in the morning if he was there to claim them.

  When the king and all the folk had gone, Beewolf and Handshoe made their beds. ‘If Grinder comes tonight,’ said Beewolf, ‘he will find more than he is seeking. If claws are his weapons and wrestling is his game, he will find one that is used to such play, and likes it better than toying with iron tools.’ Then he laid his head on the pillow, and was soon in a deep sleep; but Handshoe was not so easy in his mind, and set a drawn sword by his side.

  In the night Grinder arose from his lair, far away over the dim moors, and came stalking down to the Golden Hall. He was hungry and had a mind to catch a man or two for his meat. He strode over the land under the shadow of the clouds, and came at last to the king’s house: not for the first time, but never before had his luck been so ill. He seized the great doors and wrenched them open, and stepped inside, [and as he entered >] stooping lest his head should knock against the cross beams of the roof. He glared down the length of the hall, and a light stood out from his eyes like the beams from a furnace. When he saw that there were men once more sleeping in the hall, he laughed.

  Handshoe was awakened, and as soon as he beheld Grinder he seized his sword and hewed at the ogre, and did him no hurt whatever. For Grinder had set a spell upon iron and no ordinary sword would bite on his hide. He had a great glove without fingers dangling at his belt, and at once he seized Handshoe and tore him limb from limb and stuffed the pieces in his glove. Beewolf was roused from his deep sleep, and was hot with anger when he saw what became of his companion; but he lay still for a while, watching what the ogre might do next. Grinder thought he was asleep and came up to the bed, meaning to deal with him as he had dealt with the other man; and he laid his great claws upon Beewolf and pressed him down upon the bed.

  From this point the original story in manuscript A of Beewolf’s fight with Grinder was scarcely changed at all in the final form; but the entire narrative of his entries into the Golden Hall on three successive nights and his separate killings of Ashwood and Handshoe, before the fight with Beewolf, was lacking. Ashwood, as a presence at the Golden Hall, had not yet entered the story at all; and nor had the magical nature of Handshoe’s gloves. The sentence ‘Handshoe was awakened, and as soon as he beheld Grinder he seized his sword’ was altered to read ‘Handshoe awoke, and saw Grinder’s eyes, and such a fear took him that he leapt from his bed, forgetting his gloves; and seizing his sword’; and at the same time, after the words ‘stuffed the pieces in his glove’ my father added ‘Soon there was nothing left but Handshoe’s gloves lying on the bench by his bed.’ The marvellous nature of the gloves had evidently now entered in a replacement passage earlier in the A manuscript.

  The original story was not changed subsequently through the speeches following Beewolf’s victory; but after his words to the king, that ‘Grinder tricked me by breaking,’ he said. ‘Yet I do not think that he has escaped with his life. He will die of that hurt, and you will be rid of him hereafter.’ Unp
eace said nothing at this point in the original text A (in contrast to his forebodings in the final form, which led to the expedition by Beewolf and Unfriend to Grinder’s lair).

  After this there follows in A a passage that my father subsequently used, without great change, at the ending of Beewolf’s exploits in the lake, pp. 382–5, and this leads into a development wholly different from the final story.

  Soon the wrights and the builders were busy repairing the damage in the hall; the doors were set on their hinges, and the benches were polished and set in order, and the golden cloths were hung on the walls again; and many lights were lit.

  There was a merry feast that day, and Beewolf was given a seat of honour, beside the sons of the king; and as they drank the king’s minstrel made a song in praise of his victory. Then the king remembered his promise, and he ordered rich gifts to be given to Beewolf: a golden corslet, and a sword from the king’s treasury, and a banner of golden cloth, and a helmet made by smiths of old, in whose work was such a craft that no sword could cleave it. And the king paid Beewolf a great sum in gold besides, in recompense for his companion, Handshoe, whom the ogre had slain. And the Queen too added gifts of her own; many golden rings she gave him, and fair raiment, and set about his neck a necklace bright with gems.78 Now Beewolf had become a great man indeed, and he thought that his fortunes had taken a turn for the better; for his treatment here was very different from his treatment at home. All men praised him, and Unpeace was exceedingly friendly.