I
Now Beowulf bode in the burg of the Scyldings,
leader belovéd, and long he ruled
55 in fame with all folk, since his father had gone
away from the world, till awoke an heir,
haughty Healfdene, who held through life,
sage and sturdy, the Scyldings glad.[1]
Then, one after one, there woke to him,
60 to the chieftain of clansmen, children four:
Heorogar, then Hrothgar, then Halga brave;
and I heard that —— was ——’s queen,[2]
the Heathoscylfing’s helpmate dear.
To Hrothgar[3] was given such glory of war,
65 such honor of combat, that all his kin
obeyed him gladly till great grew his band
of youthful comrades. It came in his mind
to bid his henchmen a hall uprear,
a master mead-house, mightier far
70 than ever was seen by the sons of earth,
and within it, then, to old and young
he would all allot that the Lord had sent him,
- ↑ If glæde is adverb, read:
Haughty Healfdene: hardy and wise,
though old, he graciously governed the Scyldings.The name “Halfdane” means that his mother was foreign born.
- ↑ “I heard,” the epic formula, often has a merely conjunctive force, as here, when it may be rendered, as Klaeber notes, “and further.”—The name of the daughter is lost; no suggestion so far has enough weight to gain preference. The “Battle-Scylfings” are the race known in Scandinavian annals as Ynglings, a Swedish people. Kluge, using the Saga of Hrolf Kraki, reads: “Sigeneow was Sæwela’s queen.”
- ↑ Heorogar’s reign, noted below, vv. 465, 2158, is here passed over by the poet, who wishes to come at once to the story.
- ↑ Literally, “folk’s share.” Gering translates “all that God had given him along with his land and his people.”
