by Beowulf
1345 “sē þe ēow wēl-hwylcra wilna dohte.
so that many a thane shall think, who e’er
sorrows in soul for that sharer of rings,
this is hardest of heart-bales. The hand lies low
that once was willing each wish to please.
1345 Land-dwellers here and liegemen mine,
“Ic þæt lond-būend lēode mīne
“sele-rǣdende secgan hy¯rde,
“þæt hīe gesāwon swylce twēgen
“micle mearc-stapan mōras healdan,
1350 “ellor-gǣstas: þǣra ōðer wæs,
who house by those parts, I have heard relate
that such a pair they have sometimes seen,
march-stalkers mighty the moorland haunting,
wandering spirits: one of them seemed,
1350 so far as my folk could fairly judge,
“þæs þe hīe gewislīcost gewitan meahton,
“idese onlīcnes, ōðer earm-sceapen
“on weres wæstmum wræc-lāstas træd,
“næfne hē wæs māra þonne ǣnig man ōðer,
1355 “þone on geār-dagum Grendel nemdon
of womankind; and one, accursed,
in man’s guise trod the misery-track
of exile, though huger than human bulk.
Grendel in days long gone they named him,
1355 folk of the land; his father they knew not,
“fold-būende: nō hīe fæder cunnon,
“hwæðer him ǣnig wæs ǣr ācenned
“dyrnra gāsta. Hīe dy¯gel lond
“warigeað, wulf-hleoðu, windige næssas,
1360 “frēcne fen-gelād, þǣr fyrgen-strēam
nor any brood that was born to him
of treacherous spirits. Untrod is their home;
by wolf-cliffs haunt they and windy headlands,
fenways fearful, where flows the stream
1360 from mountains gliding to gloom of the rocks,
“under næssa genipu niðer gewīteð,
“flōd under foldan; nis þæt feor heonon
“mīl-gemearces, þæt se mere standeð,
“ofer þǣm hongiað hrīmge bearwas,
1365 “wudu wyrtum fæst, wæter oferhelmað.
underground flood. Not far is it hence
in measure of miles that the mere expands,
and o’er it the frost-bound forest hanging,
sturdily rooted, shadows the wave.
1365 By night is a wonder weird to see,
“Þǣr mæg nihta gehwǣm nīð-wundor sēon,
“fy¯r on flōde; nō þæs frōd leofað
“gumena bearna, þæt þone grund wite;
“þēah þe hǣð-stapa hundum geswenced,
1370 “heorot hornum trum holt-wudu sēce,
fire on the waters. So wise lived none
of the sons of men, to search those depths!
Nay, though the heath-rover, harried by dogs,
the horn-proud hart, this holt should seek,
1370 long distance driven, his dear life first
“feorran gefly¯med, ǣr hē feorh seleð,
“aldor on ōfre, ǣr hē in wille,
“hafelan hy¯dan. Nis þæt hēoru stōw:
“þonon y¯ð-geblond up āstīgeð
1375 “won tō wolcnum, þonne wind styreð
on the brink he yields ere he brave the plunge
to hide his head: ’tis no happy place!
Thence the welter of waters washes up
wan to welkin when winds bestir
1375 evil storms, and air grows dusk,
“lāð gewidru, oð þæt lyft drysmað,
“roderas rēotað. Nū is rǣd gelang
“eft æt þē ānum! Eard gīt ne const,
“frēcne stōwe, þǣr þū findan miht
1380 “sinnigne secg: sēc gif þū dyrre!
and the heavens weep. Now is help once more
with thee alone! The land thou knowst not,
place of fear, where thou findest out
that sin-flecked being. Seek if thou dare!
1380 I will reward thee, for waging this fight,
“Ic þē þā fǣhðe fēo lēanige,
“eald-gestrēonum, swā ic ǣr dyde,
“wundnum golde, gyf þū on weg cymest.”
with ancient treasure, as erst I did,
with winding gold, if thou winnest back.”
XXII. BĒOWULF SEEKS THE MONSTER IN THE HAUNTS OF THE NIXIES.
Bēowulf maðelode, bearn Ecgþēowes:
1385 “Ne sorga, snotor guma! sēlre bið ǣghwǣm,
Beowulf spake, bairn of Ecgtheow:
“Sorrow not, sage! It beseems us better
1385 friends to avenge than fruitlessly mourn them.
“þæt hē his frēond wrece, þonne hē fela murne;
“ūre ǣghwylc sceal ende gebīdan
“worolde līfes; wyrce sē þe mōte
“dōmes ǣr dēaðe! þæt bið driht-guman
1390 “unlifgendum æfter sēlest.
Each of us all must his end abide
in the ways of the world; so win who may
glory ere death! When his days are told,
that is the warrior’s worthiest doom.
1390 Rise, O realm-warder! Ride we anon,
“Ārīs, rīces weard; uton hraðe fēran,
“Grendles māgan gang scēawigan!
“Ic hit þē gehāte: nō hē on helm losað,
“nē on foldan fæðm, nē on fyrgen-holt,
1395 “nē on gyfenes grund, gā þǣr hē wille.
and mark the trail of the mother of Grendel.
No harbor shall hide her — heed my promise! —
enfolding of field or forested mountain
or floor of the flood, let her flee where she will!
1395 But thou this day endure in patience,
“Þy¯s dōgor þū geþyld hafa
“wēana gehwylces, swā ic þē wēne tō!”
Āhlēop þā se gomela, gode þancode,
mihtigan drihtne, þæs se man gespræc.
1400 Þā wæs Hrōðgāre hors gebǣted,
as I ween thou wilt, thy woes each one.”
Leaped up the graybeard: God he thanked,
mighty Lord, for the man’s brave words.
For Hrothgar soon a horse was saddled
1400 wave-maned steed. The sovran wise
wicg wunden-feax. Wīsa fengel
geatolīc gengde; gum-fēða stōp
lind-hæbbendra. Lāstas wǣron
æfter wald-swaðum wīde gesy¯ne,
1405 gang ofer grundas; gegnum fōr þā
stately rode on; his shield-armed men
followed in force. The footprints led
along the woodland, widely seen,
a path o’er the plain, where she passed, and trod
1405 the murky moor; of men-at-arms
ofer myrcan mōr, mago-þegna bær
þone sēlestan sāwol-lēasne,
þāra þe mid Hrōðgāre hām eahtode.
Ofer-ēode þā æðelinga bearn
1410 stēap stān-hliðo, stīge nearwe,
she bore the bravest and best one, dead,
him who with Hrothgar the homestead ruled.
On then went the atheling-born
o’er stone-cliffs steep and strait defiles,
1410 narrow passes and unknown ways,
enge ān-paðas, un-cūð gelād,
neowle næssas, nicor-hūsa fela;
hē fēara sum beforan gengde
wīsra monna, wong scēawian,
1415 oð þæt hē fǣringa fyrgen-bēamas
headlands sheer, and the haunts of the Nicors.
Foremost he fared, a few at his side
of the wiser men, the ways to scan,
till he found in a flash the forested hill
1415 hanging over the hoary rock,
ofer hārne stān hleonian funde,
wyn-lēasne wudu; wæter un
der stōd
drēorig and gedrēfed. Denum eallum wæs,
winum Scyldinga, weorce on mōde,
1420 tō geþolianne þegne monegum,
a woful wood: the waves below
were dyed in blood. The Danish men
had sorrow of soul, and for Scyldings all,
for many a hero, ’twas hard to bear,
1420 ill for earls, when Æschere’s head
oncy¯ð eorla gehwǣm, syððan Æsc-heres
on þām holm-clife hafelan mētton.
Flōd blōde wēol (folc tō sǣgon)
hātan heolfre. Horn stundum song
1425 fūslīc fyrd-lēoð. Fēða eal gesæt;
they found by the flood on the foreland there.
Waves were welling, the warriors saw,
hot with blood; but the horn sang oft
battle-song bold. The band sat down,
1425 and watched on the water worm-like things,
gesāwon þā æfter wætere wyrm-cynnes fela,
sellīce sǣ-dracan sund cunnian,
swylce on næs-hleoðum nicras licgean,
þā on undern-mǣl oft bewitigað
1430 sorh-fulne sīð on segl-rāde,
sea-dragons strange that sounded the deep,
and nicors that lay on the ledge of the ness —
such as oft essay at hour of morn
on the road-of-sails their ruthless quest, —
1430 and sea-snakes and monsters. These started away,
wyrmas and wil-dēor; hīe on weg hruron
bitere and gebolgne, bearhtm ongeāton,
gūð-horn galan. Sumne Gēata lēod
of flān-bogan fēores getwǣfde,
1435 y¯ð-gewinnes, þæt him on aldre stōd
swollen and savage that song to hear,
that war-horn’s blast. The warden of Geats,
with bolt from bow, then balked of life,
of wave-work, one monster; amid its heart
1435 went the keen war-shaft; in water it seemed
here-strǣl hearda; hē on holme wæs
sundes þē sǣnra, þē hyne swylt fornam.
Hræðe wearð on y¯ðum mid eofer-sprēotum
heoro-hōcyhtum hearde genearwod,
1440 nīða genǣged and on næs togen
less doughty in swimming whom death had seized.
Swift on the billows, with boar-spears well
hooked and barbed, it was hard beset,
done to death and dragged on the headland,
1440 wave-roamer wondrous. Warriors viewed
wundorlīc wǣg-bora; weras scēawedon
gryrelīcne gist. Gyrede hine Bēowulf
eorl-gewǣdum, nalles for ealdre mearn:
scolde here-byrne hondum gebrōden,
1445 sīd and searo-fāh, sund cunnian,
the grisly guest.
Then girt him Beowulf
in martial mail, nor mourned for his life.
His breastplate broad and bright of hues,
woven by hand, should the waters try;
1445 well could it ward the warrior’s body
sēo þe bān-cofan beorgan cūðe,
þæt him hilde-grāp hreðre ne mihte,
eorres inwit-feng, aldre gesceððan;
ac se hwīta helm hafelan werede,
1450 sē þe mere-grundas mengan scolde,
that battle should break on his breast in vain
nor harm his heart by the hand of a foe.
And the helmet white that his head protected
was destined to dare, the deeps of the flood,
1450 through wave-whirl win: ’twas wound with chains,
sēcan sund-gebland since geweorðad,
befongen frēa-wrāsnum, swā hine fyrn-dagum
worhte wǣpna smið, wundrum tēode,
besette swīn-līcum, þæt hine syððan nō
1455 brond nē beado-mēcas bītan ne meahton.
decked with gold, as in days of yore
the weapon-smith worked it wondrously,
with swine-forms set it, that swords nowise,
brandished in battle, could bite that helm.
1455 Nor was that the meanest of mighty helps
Næs þæt þonne mǣtost mægen-fultuma,
þæt him on þearfe lāh þyle Hrōðgāres;
wæs þǣm hæft-mēce Hrunting nama,
þæt wæs ān foran eald-gestrēona;
1460 ecg wæs īren āter-tēarum fāh,
which Hrothgar’s orator offered at need:
“Hrunting” they named the hilted sword,
of old-time heirlooms easily first;
iron was its edge, all etched with poison,
1460 with battle-blood hardened, nor blenched it at fight
āhyrded heaðo-swāte; nǣfre hit æt hilde ne swāc
manna ǣngum þāra þe hit mid mundum bewand,
sē þe gryre-sīðas gegān dorste,
folc-stede fāra; næs þæt forma sīð,
1465 þæt hit ellen-weorc æfnan scolde.
in hero’s hand who held it ever,
on paths of peril prepared to go
to folkstead of foes. Not first time this
it was destined to do a daring task.
1465 For he bore not in mind, the bairn of Ecglaf
Hūru ne gemunde mago Ecglāfes
eafoðes cræftig, þæt hē ǣr gespræc
wīne druncen, þā hē þæs wǣpnes onlāh
sēlran sweord-frecan: selfa ne dorste
1470 under y¯ða gewin aldre genēðan,
sturdy and strong, that speech he had made,
drunk with wine, now this weapon he lent
to a stouter swordsman. Himself, though, durst not
under welter of waters wager his life
1470 as loyal liegeman. So lost he his glory,
driht-scype drēogan; þǣr hē dōme forlēas,
ellen-mǣrðum. Ne wæs þǣm ōðrum swā,
syððan hē hine tō gūðe gegyred hæfde.
honor of earls. With the other not so,
who girded him now for the grim encounter.
XXIII. THE BATTLE WITH THE WATER-DRAKE.
Bēowulf maðelode, bearn Ecgþēowes:
1475 “geþenc nū, se mǣra maga Healfdenes,
Beowulf spake, bairn of Ecgtheow: —
“Have mind, thou honored offspring of Healfdene,
1475 gold-friend of men, now I go on this quest,
“snottra fengel, nū ic eom sīðes fūs,
“gold-wine gumena, hwæt wit geō sprǣcon,
“gif ic æt þearfe þīnre scolde
“aldre linnan, þæt þū mē ā wǣre
1480 “forð-gewitenum on fæder stǣle;
sovran wise, what once was said:
if in thy cause it came that I
should lose my life, thou wouldst loyal bide
to me, though fallen, in father’s place!
1480 Be guardian, thou, to this group of my thanes,
“wes þū mund-bora mīnum mago-þegnum,
“hond-gesellum, gif mec hild nime:
“swylce þū þā mādmas, þē þū mē sealdest,
“Hrōðgār lēofa, Higelāce onsend.
1485 “Mæg þonne on þǣm golde ongitan Gēata dryhten,
my warrior-friends, if War should seize me;
and the goodly gifts thou gavest me,
Hrothgar beloved, to Hygelac send!
Geatland’s king may ken by the gold,
1485 Hrethel’s son see, when he stares at the treasure,
“gesēon sunu Hrēðles, þonne hē on þæt sinc starað,
“þæt ic gum-cystum gōdne funde
“bēaga bryttan, brēac þonne mōste.
“And þū Unferð lǣt ealde lāfe,
1490 “wrǣtlīc wǣg-sweord wīd-cūðne man
that I got me a friend for goodness famed,
and joyed while I could in my jewel-bestower.
And let Unferth wield this wondrous sword,
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earl far-honored, this heirloom precious,
1490 hard of edge: with Hrunting I
“heard-ecg habban; ic mē mid Hruntinge
“dōm gewyrce, oððe mec dēað nimeð.”
Æfter þǣm wordum Weder-Gēata lēod
efste mid elne, nalas andsware
1495 bīdan wolde; brim-wylm onfēng
seek doom of glory, or Death shall take me.”
After these words the Weder-Geat lord
boldly hastened, biding never
answer at all: and ocean floods
1495 closed o’er the hero. Long while of the day
hilde-rince. Þā wæs hwīl dæges,
ǣr hē þone grund-wong ongytan mehte.
Sōna þæt onfunde, sē þe flōda begong
heoro-gīfre behēold hund missēra,
1500 grim and grǣdig, þæt þǣr gumena sum
fled ere he felt the floor of the sea.
Soon found the fiend who the flood-domain
sword-hungry held these hundred winters,
greedy and grim, that some guest from above,
1500 some man, was raiding her monster-realm.
æl-wihta eard ufan cunnode.
Grāp þā tōgēanes, gūð-rinc gefēng
atolan clommum; nō þy¯ ǣr in gescōd
hālan līce: hring ūtan ymb-bearh,
1505 þæt hēo þone fyrd-hom þurh-fōn ne mihte,
She grasped out for him with grisly claws,
and the warrior seized; yet scathed she not
his body hale; the breastplate hindered,
as she strove to shatter the sark of war,
1505 the linkéd harness, with loathsome hand.
locene leoðo-syrcan lāðan fingrum.
Bær þā sēo brim-wylf, þā hēo tō botme cōm,
hringa þengel tō hofe sīnum,
swā hē ne mihte nō (hē þæs mōdig wæs)
1510 wǣpna gewealdan, ac hine wundra þæs fela
Then bore this brine-wolf, when bottom she touched,
the lord of rings to the lair she haunted,
whiles vainly he strove, though his valor held,
weapon to wield against wondrous monsters
1510 that sore beset him; sea-beasts many
swencte on sunde, sǣ-dēor monig
hilde-tūxum here-syrcan bræc,
ēhton āglǣcan. Þā se eorl ongeat,
þæt hē in nið-sele nāt-hwylcum wæs,
1515 þǣr him nǣnig wæter wihte ne sceðede,
tried with fierce tusks to tear his mail,
and swarmed on the stranger. But soon he marked
he was now in some hall, he knew not which,
where water never could work him harm,
1515 nor through the roof could reach him ever
nē him for hrōf-sele hrīnan ne mehte
fǣr-gripe flōdes: fy¯r-lēoht geseah,
blācne lēoman beorhte scīnan.