Beowulf - Delphi Poets Series

by Beowulf

  II

  115 Went he forth to find at fall of night

  that haughty house, and heed wherever

  the Ring-Danes, outrevelled, to rest had gone.

  Found within it the atheling band

  asleep after feasting and fearless of sorrow,

  120 of human hardship. Unhallowed wight,

  grim and greedy, he grasped betimes,

  wrathful, reckless, from resting-places,

  thirty1 of the thanes, and thence he rushed

  fain of his fell spoil, faring homeward,

  125 laden with slaughter, his lair to seek.

  Then at the dawning, as day was breaking,

  the might of Grendel to men was known;

  then after wassail was wail uplifted,

  loud moan in the morn. The mighty chief,

  130 atheling excellent, unblithe sat,

  labored in woe for the loss of his thanes,

  when once had been traced the trail of the fiend,

  spirit accurst: too cruel that sorrow,

  too long, too loathsome.2 Not late the respite;

  135 with night returning, anew began

  ruthless murder; he recked no whit,

  firm in his guilt, of the feud and crime.

  They were easy to find who elsewhere sought

  in room remote their rest at night,

  140 bed in the bowers,3 when that bale was shown,

  was seen in sooth, with surest token, —

  the hall-thane’s4 hate. Such held themselves

  far and fast who the fiend outran!

  Thus ruled unrighteous and raged his fill

  145 one against all; until empty stood

  that lordly building, and long it bode so.

  Twelve years’ tide the trouble he bore,

  sovran of Scyldings, sorrows in plenty,

  boundless cares. There came unhidden

  150 tidings true to the tribes of men,

  in sorrowful songs,5 how ceaselessly Grendel

  harassed Hrothgar, what hate he bore him,

  what murder and massacre, many a year,

  feud unfading, — refused consent

  155 to deal with any of Daneland’s earls,

  make pact of peace, or compound for gold:

  still less did the wise men ween to get

  great fee for the feud from his fiendish hands.6

  But the evil one ambushed old and young,

  160 death-shadow dark, and dogged them still,

  lured, and lurked in the livelong night

  of misty moorlands: men may say not

  where the haunts of these Hell-Runes7 be.

  Such heaping of horrors the hater of men,

  165 lonely roamer, wrought unceasing,

  harassings heavy. O’er Heorot he lorded,

  gold-bright hall, in gloomy nights;

  and ne’er could the prince8 approach his throne,

  — ’twas judgment of God, — or have joy in his hall.

  170 Sore was the sorrow to Scyldings’-friend,

  heart-rending misery. Many nobles

  sat assembled, and searched out counsel

  how it were best for bold-hearted men

  against harassing terror to try their hand.

  175 Whiles they vowed in their heathen fanes

  altar-offerings, asked with words9

  that the slayer-of-souls10 would succor give them

  for the pain of their people. Their practice this,

  their heathen hope; ’twas Hell they thought of

  180 in mood of their mind. Almighty they knew not,

  Doomsman of Deeds11 and dreadful Lord,

  nor Heaven’s-Helmet heeded they ever,

  Wielder-of-Wonder. — Woe for that man

  who in harm and hatred hales his soul

  185 to fiery embraces; — nor favor nor change

  awaits he ever. But well for him

  that after death-day may draw to his Lord,

  and friendship find in the Father’s arms!

  Footnotes

  1 Beowulf, the coming champion, has the strength (v. 379) of “thirty” men in his hand’s grasp, and (v. 2361) swims to safety after Hygelac’s defeat laden with “thirty” suits of mail on his arm. The reader will note the meagreness and haste of this account of the actual attack. No details are given. This brevity is of course due to the poet; and one can only guess at his motive.

  2 See v. 191.

  3 The smaller buildings within the main enclosure but separate from hall.

  4 So the text. Grendel, by his ravaging, is master of the hall; and there is no need to change to “hell-thane.”

  5 The journalists of the day, Widsiths, Deors, Bernlefs, carried such tidings in their “sorrowful songs.” So, too, perhaps, began the story of the actual downfall of the Burgundian kings, afterward the epic of the Nibelungs.

  6 He would of course pay no wergild for the men he had slain. So boasted a Norse bully once.

  7 “Sorcerers-of-hell.” Rune is still used in Low German dialects for “witch.”

  8 Hrothgar, who is the “Scyldings’-friend” of 170. A difficult passage.

  9 That is, in formal or prescribed phrase.

  10 In Psalm xcvi, 5 (Grein-Wülker, number 95): “All the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.” The Anglo-Saxon version reads: “All heathen gods are devils-of-war.” . . .

  11 The complimentary excess of kennings for “God” is like the profusion in naming king or chieftain. See v. 345 f.

  III

  Thus seethed1 unceasing the son of Healfdene

  190 with the woe of these days; not wisest men

  assuaged his sorrow; too sore the anguish,

  loathly and long, that lay on his folk,

  most baneful of burdens and bales of the night.

  This heard in his home Hygelac’s thane,

  195 great among Geats, of Grendel’s doings.

  He was the mightiest man of valor

  in that same day of this our life,

  stalwart and stately. A stout wave-walker

  he bade make ready.2 Yon battle-king, said he,

  200 far o’er the swan-road he fain would seek,

  the noble monarch who needed men!

  The prince’s journey by prudent folk

  was little blamed, though they loved him dear;

  they whetted the hero, and hailed good omens.3

  205 And now the bold one from bands of Geats

  comrades chose, the keenest of warriors

  e’er he could find; with fourteen men4

  the sea-wood5 he sought, and, sailor6 proved,

  led them on to the land’s confines.

  210 Time had now flown;7 afloat was the ship,

  boat under bluff. On board they climbed,

  warriors ready; waves were churning

  sea with sand; the sailors bore

  on the breast of the bark their bright array,

  215 their mail and weapons: the men pushed off,

  on its willing way, the well-braced craft.

  Then moved o’er the waters by might of the wind

  that bark like a bird with breast of foam,

  till in season due, on the second day,

  220 the curved prow such course had run

  that sailors now could see the land,

  sea-cliffs shining, steep high hills,

  headlands broad. Their haven was found,

  their journey ended. Up then quickly

  225 the Weders’8 clansmen climbed ashore,

  anchored their sea-wood, with armor clashing

  and gear of battle: God they thanked

  for passing in peace o’er the paths of the sea.

  Now saw from the cliff a Scylding clansman,

  230 a warden9 that watched the water-side,

  how they bore o’er the gangway glittering shields,

  war-gear in readiness; wonder seized him

  to know what manner of men they wer
e.

  Straight to the strand his steed he rode,

  235 Hrothgar’s henchman; with hand of might

  he shook his spear,10 and spake in parley.

  “Who are ye, then, ye arméd men,

  mailéd folk, that yon mighty vessel

  have urged thus over the ocean ways,

  240 here o’er the waters? A warden I,

  sentinel set o’er the sea-march here,

  lest any foe to the folk of Danes

  with harrying fleet should harm the land.

  No aliens ever at ease thus bore them,

  245 linden-wielders:11 yet word-of-leave

  clearly ye lack from clansmen here,

  my folk’s agreement. — A greater ne’er saw I

  of warriors in world than is one of you, —

  yon hero in harness! No henchman he

  250 worthied by weapons, if witness his features,

  his peerless presence! I pray you, though, tell

  your folk and home, lest hence ye fare

  suspect to wander your way as spies

  in Danish land. Now, dwellers afar,

  255 ocean-travellers, take from me

  simple advice: the sooner the better

  I hear of the country whence ye came.”

  Footnotes

  1 How fast-colored this metaphor remained for poets it is hard to say. Certainly “bore” or “suffered” is too pale a rendering.

  2 This verse, rimed in modern fashion, must represent v. 194 of the original, which runs:

  Thæt fram hâm gefrægn Hygelâces thegn. . . .

  3 Literally, “looked about for signs and omens”; but by implication the omens are good. Many of these old customs are preserved in tradition or by record; and the chapter of Tacitus’s Germania is familiar which describes one of them in detail. By Hygelac’s own account (vv. 1994 ff.) the friends of Beowulf did try to hold him back from his perilous undertaking.

  4 In the language of the original, and of modem golf, Beowulf goes on a “fifteen-some,” as one of fifteen.

  5 Ship.

  6 In the Nibelungen Lay one is told that Siegfried — also a slayer of dragons and a winner of gold — is a good sailor (367, 3):

  Die rehten wazzersträze sint mir wol bekant.

  In the next stanza the start of the ship is described; and Siegfried himself helps to push off from shore, using “a pole.”

  7 That Is, since Beowulf selected his ship and led his men to the harbor.

  8 One of the auxiliary names of the Geats, who by the reckoning of Bugge, Gering, and others, were Jutes. Jutland, says Gering, is truly called the Wettermark, “the land of storms.” Others, a majority, put Geatland in Sweden.

  9 Possibly some unconscious reminiscence is here of the Roman coastguard who once patrolled the Saxon Shore. Saxon pirates would well remember him. The stone-paved street (below, v. 320) points to similar traditions.

  10 Literally, “main-wood,” “strength-wood.” — The warden is not alone, but has with him an armed guard. See v. 293.

  11 Or: Not thus openly ever came warriors hither; yet . . .

  IV

  To him the stateliest1 spake in answer;

  the warriors’ leader his word-hoard unlocked: —

  260 “We are by kin of the clan of Geats,

  and Hygelac’s own hearth-fellows we.

  To folk afar was my father known,

  noble atheling, Ecgtheow named.

  Full of winters, he fared away

  265 agéd from earth; he is honored still

  through width of the world by wise men all.

  To thy lord and liege in loyal mood

  we hasten hither, to Healfdene’s son,

  people-protector: be pleased to advise us!

  270 To that mighty-one come we on mickle errand,

  to the lord of the Danes; nor deem I right

  that aught be hidden. We hear — thou knowest

  if sooth it is — the saying of men,

  that amid the Scyldings a scathing monster,

  275 dark ill-doer, in dusky nights

  shows terrific his rage unmatched,

  hatred and murder. To Hrothgar I

  in greatness of soul would succor bring,

  so the Wise-and-Brave2 may worst his foes. —

  280 if ever the end of ills is fated,

  of cruel contest, if cure shall follow,

  and the boiling care-waves3 cooler grow;

  else ever afterward anguish-days

  he shall suffer in sorrow while stands in place

  285 high on its hill that house unpeered!”

  Astride his steed, the strand-ward answered,

  clansman unquailing: “The keen-souled thane

  must be skilled to sever and sunder duly

  words and works, if he well intends.

  290 I gather, this band is graciously bent

  to the Scyldings’ master. March, then, bearing

  weapons and weeds the way I show you.

  I will bid my men your boat meanwhile

  to guard for fear lest foemen come, —

  295 your new-tarred ship by shore of ocean

  faithfully watching till once again

  it waft o’er the waters those well-loved thanes,

  — winding-neck’d wood, — to Weders’ bounds,

  heroes such as the hest of fate

  300 shall succor and save from the shock of war.”4

  They bent them to march, — the boat lay still,

  fettered by cable and fast at anchor,

  broad-bosomed ship. — Then shone the boars5

  over the cheek-guard; chased with gold,

  305 keen and gleaming, guard it kept

  o’er the man of war, as marched along

  heroes in haste, till the hall they saw,

  broad of gable and bright with gold:

  that was the fairest, ‘mid folk of earth,

  310 of houses ‘neath heaven, where Hrothgar lived,

  and the gleam of it lightened o’er lands afar.

  The sturdy shieldsman showed that bright

  burg-of-the-boldest; bade them go

  straightway thither; his steed then turned,

  315 hardy hero, and hailed them thus: —

  “ ’Tis time that I fare from you. Father Almighty

  in grace and mercy guard you well,

  safe in your seekings. Seaward I go,

  ‘gainst hostile warriors hold my watch.”

  Footnotes

  1 Literally, “Him the oldest answered.” Compare modern uses of elder and alderman.

  2 Hrothgar.

  3 This powerful metaphor is known also in Old-Norse (“sûsbreka,” Skirnismal, 29) and in Old-Irish (“tuind mbroin,” ‘a billow of cares’). — Bugge.

  4 See Klaeber, Modern Philology, III, 250. In other words, the ship will carry back the survivors. Other translators take “the well-loved man” to be Beowulf, and read:

  for hero like him, by best of fate

  shall surely fare from the fight unscathed.

  5 Holthausen points out that by verse 1453 Beowulf’s helmet has several boar-images on it; he is the “man of war” (to be sure, a conjectural reading); and the boar-helmet guards him as typical representative of the marching party as a whole. The boar was sacred to Freyr, who was the favorite god of the Germanic tribes about the North Sea and the Baltic. Rude representations of warriors show the boar on the helmet quite as large as the helmet itself.

  V

  320 Stone-bright the street:1 it showed the way

  to the crowd of clansmen. Corselets glistened

  hand-forged, hard; on their harness bright

  the steel ring sang,2 as they strode along

  in mail of battle, and marched to the hall.

  325 There, weary of ocean, the wall along

  they set their bucklers, their broad shields, down,

  and bowed them to bench: the breastplates clanged,

  war-gear of men; their w
eapons stacked,

  spears of the seafarers stood together,

  330 gray-tipped ash: that iron band

  was worthily weaponed! — A warrior proud

  asked of the heroes their home and kin.

  “Whence, now, bear ye burnished shields,

  harness gray and helmets grim,

  335 spears in multitude ? Messenger, I,

  Hrothgar’s herald! Heroes so many

  ne’er met I as strangers of mood so strong,

  ’Tis plain that for prowess, not plunged into exile,

  for high-hearted valor, Hrothgar ye seek!”

  340 Him the sturdy-in-war bespake with words,

  proud earl of the Weders answer made,

  hardy ‘neath helmet:— “Hygelac’s, we,

  fellows at board; I am Beowulf named.

  I am seeking to say to the son of Healfdene

  345 this mission of mine, to thy master-lord,

  the doughty prince, if he deign at all

  grace that we greet him, the good one, now.”

  Wulfgar spake, the Wendles’ chieftain,

  whose might of mind to many was known,

  350 his courage and counsel: “The king of Danes,

  the Scyldings’ friend, I fain will tell,

  the Breaker-of-Rings, as the boon thou askest,

  the famed prince, of thy faring hither,

  and, swiftly after, such answer bring

  355 as the doughty monarch may deign to give.”

  Hied then in haste to where Hrothgar sat

  white-haired and old, his earls about him,

  till the stout thane stood at the shoulder3 there

  of the Danish king: good courtier he!

  360 Wulfgar spake to his winsome lord: —

  “Hither have fared to thee far-come men

  o’er the paths of ocean, people of Geatland;

  and the stateliest4 there by his sturdy band

  is Beowulf named. This boon they seek,

  365 that they, my master, may with thee

  have speech at will: nor spurn their prayer

  to give them hearing, gracious Hrothgar!

  In weeds of the warrior worthy they,

  methinks, of our liking; their leader most surely,

  370 a hero that hither his henchmen has led.”

  Footnotes

  1 Either merely paved, the strata via of the Romans, or else thought of as a sort of mosaic, an extravagant touch like the reckless waste of gold on the walls and roofs of a hall. — Stone buildings, it will be noted, are for old English poetry a mystery, a legacy of the past and its demi-gods— “work of giants”; for prose they pass as fit only for kings. Asser in his Life of Alfred (ed. Stevenson, 91, 23, and ) calls them villae regiae. The common Germanic hatred of cities and of stone houses is familiar from the rhetoric of Tacitus.