1317767Beowulf (Wyatt) — Beowulf: XIII

XIII.

Ðā wæs on morgen,mīne gefrǣge,
ymb þā gif-heallegūð-rinc monig;
fērdon folc-toganfeorran ond nēan
840geond wīd-wegaswundor scēawian,
lāþes lāstas.Nō his līf-gedāl
sārlīc þūhtesecga ǣnegum,
þāra þe tīr-lēasestrode scēawode,
hū hē wērig-mōdon weg þanon,
845nīða ofercumenon nicera mere,
fǣge ond geflȳmed,feorh-lāstas bær.
Ðǣr wæs on blōdebrim weallende,
atol ȳða geswingeal gemenged
hāton heolfre,[1]*heoro-drēore, wēol;Fol 148b.
850dēað-fǣge dēog,siððan drēama lēas
in fen-freoðofeorh ālegde,
hǣþene sāwle;þǣr him hel onfēng.
Þanon eft gewitoneald-gesīðas,
swylce geong manigof gomen-wāþe,
855fram mere mōdgemēarum rīdan,
beornas on blancum.Ðǣr wæs Bēowulfes
mǣrðo mǣned;monig oft gecwæð,
þætte sūð ne norðbe sǣm twēonum
ofer eormen-grundōþer nǣnig
860under swegles begongsēlra nǣre
rond-hæbbendra,rīces wyrðra.
Ne hīe hūru wine-drihtenwiht ne lōgon,
glædne Hrōðgār,ac þǣt wæs gōd cyning.
Hwīlum heaþo-rōfehlēapan lēton,
865on geflit faran,fealwe mēaras,
ðǣr him fold-wegasfægere þūhton,
cystum cūðe.Hwīlum cyninges þegn,
guma gilp-hlæden,gidda gemyndig,
sē ðe eal-felaeald-gesegena
870worn gemunde,word ōþer fand
sōðe gebunden.[2]Secg eft ongan
sīð Bēowulfessnyttrum *styrian,Fol. 149a.
ond on spēd wrecanspel gerāde,
wordum wrixlan;wel-hwylc gecwæð,
875þæt hē fram Sigemunde[s][3]secgan hȳrde
ellen-dǣdum,imcūþes fela,
Wælsinges gewin,wīde sīðas,
þāra þe gumena bearngearwe ne wiston,
fǣhðe ond fyrena,būton Fitela mid hine,
880þonne hē swulces[4] hwætsecgan wolde
ēam his nefan,swā hie ā wǣron
æt nīða gehwāmnȳd-gesteallan;
hæfdon eal-felaeotena cynnes
sweordum gesǣged.Sigemunde gesprong
885æfter dēað-dægedōm unlȳtel,
syþðan wīges heardwyrm ācwealde,
hordes hyrde;hē under hārne stān,
æþelinges bearn,āna genēðde
frēcne dǣde;ne wæs him Fitela mid;
890hwæþre him gesǣlde,ðæt þæt swurd þurhwōd
wrætlīcne wyrm,þæt hit on wealle ætstōd,
dryhtlīc īren;draca morðre swealt.
Hæfde āglǣcaelne gegongen,
þæt hē bēah-hordesbrūcan mōste
895selfes dōme;*sǣ-bāt gehlēod,[5]Fol. 149b.
bær on bearm scipesbeorhte frætwa
Wælses eafera;wyrm hāt[6] gemealt.
Sē wæs wreccenawīde mǣrost
ofer wer-þēode,wīgendra hlēo,
900ellen-dǣdum;hē þæs ǣr onðāh.[7]
Siððan Heremōdeshild sweðrode,
eafoð[8] ond ellen;hē mid eotenum wearð
on fēonda gewealdforð forlācen,
snūde forsended.Hine sorh-wylmas
905lemede tō lange;hē his lēodum wearð,
eallum æþelingnm,[9]to aldor-ceare.
Swylce oft bemearnǣrran mǣlum
swið-ferhþes sīðsnotor ceorl monig,
sē þe him bealwatō bōte gelȳfde,
910þæt þæt ðēodnes bearngeþēon scolde,
fæder æþelum[10] onfōn,folc gehealdan,
hord ond hlēo-burh,hæleþa rīce,
ēðel Scyldinga.Hē þǣr eallum wearð,
mǣg Higelācesmanna cynne,
915frēondum gefægra;hine fyren onwōd.[11]
Hwīlum flītendefealwe strǣte
mēarum mǣton.Ðā wæs morgen-lēoht
scofen ond scynded.*Eode scealc monig Fol. 150a.
switð-hicgendetō sele þām hēan
920searo-wundor sēon;swylce self cyning
of brȳd-būre,bēah-horda weard,
tryddode tīr-fæstgetrume micle,
cystum gecȳþed,ond his cwēn mid him
medo-stīg gemætmægþa hōse.

  1. 849. MS. ‘hat on heolfre,’ and so Wülcker. Grein ‘hatan’ = hāton in the text. The reading in the text is much easier than that of the MS., and l. 1423 turns the probability in its favour.
  2. 870—1. Rieger and Bugge put ‘word…gebunden’ in a parenthesis.
  3. 875. MS. ‘Sigemunde.’ Grein’s emendation ‘Sigemundes’ is good in itself, and is the more probable in that the next word begins with s.
  4. 880. Heyne normalises to ‘swylces.’
  5. 895. Many editors normalise to ‘gehlōd.’ Sievers § 392, N. 3.
  6. 875. Earle adopts Scherer’s emendation ‘hāt[e],’ with heat.
  7. 900. Cosijn’s emendation ‘āron ðah,’ with honours throve, is adopted by Heyne and by Earle. For āron = ārum cf. scypon l. 1154, and hēaf- don l. 1242, and for the phrase cf. weorð-myndum þāh l. 8. Nevertheless I cannot bring myself to abandon the clear reading of the MS., which makes at least as good sense as many another passage.
  8. 902. MS. ‘earfoð,’ retained by Wülcker; cf. l. 534. On the other hand, see ll. 602, 2349.
  9. 906. MS. ‘æþellingum.’
  10. 911. There appears to be no sufficient reason for making a compound, fæder-æþelum, here, as the editors do. Cf. ll. 21, 1479.
  11. 915. Some editors mark the close of this episode by a space between this line and the next. There is nothing more than a dot in the MS., not a fresh line, nor even a capital to hwīlum.