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• Argument
• The Story of Beowulf
• I.: And First of the Kindred of Hrothgar.
• II.: Concerning Hrothgar, and How He Built the House Called Hart. Also Grendel Is Told Of.
• III.: How Grendel Fell Upon Hart and Wasted It.
• IV.: Now Comes Beowulf Ecgtheow’s Son to the Land of the Danes, and the Wall-warden Speaketh With Him.
• V.: Here Beowulf Makes Answer to the Land-warden, Who Showeth Him the Way to the King’s Abode.
• VI.: Beowulf and the Geats Come Into Hart.
• VII.: Beowulf Speaketh With Hrothgar, and Telleth How He Will Meet Grendel.
• VIII.: Hrothgar Answereth Beowulf and Biddeth Him Sit to the Feast.
• IX.: Unferth Contendeth In Words With Beowulf.
• X.: Beowulf Makes an End of His Tale of the Swimming. Wealhtheow, Hrothgar’s Queen, Greets Him; and Hrothgar Delivers to Him the Warding of the Hall.
• XI.: Now Is Beowulf Left In the Hall Alone With His Men.
• XII.: Grendel Cometh Into Hart: of the Strife Betwixt Him and Beowulf.
• XIII.: Beowulf Hath the Victory: Grendel Is Hurt Deadly and Leaveth Hand and Arm In the Hall.
• XIV.: The Danes Rejoice; They Go to Look On the Slot of Grendel, and Come Back to Hart, and On the Way Make Merry With Racing and the Telling of Tales.
• XV.: King Hrothgar and His Thanes Look On the Arm of Grendel. Converse Betwixt Hrothgar and Beowulf Concerning the Battle.
• XVI.: Hrothgar Giveth Gifts to Beowulf.
• XVII.: They Feast In Hart. the Gleeman Sings of Finn and Hengest.
• XVIII.: The Ending of the Tale of Finn.
• XIX.: More Gifts Are Given to Beowulf. the Brising Collar Told Of.
• XX.: Grendel’s Dam Breaks Into Hart and Bears Off Aeschere.
• XXI.: Hrothgar Laments the Slaying of Aeschere, and Tells of Grendel’s Mother and Her Den.
• XXII.: They Follow Grendel’s Dam to Her Lair.
• XXIII.: Beowulf Reacheth the Mere-bottom In a Day’s While, and Contends With Grendel’s Dam.
• XXIV.: Beowulf Slayeth Grendel’s Dam, Smiteth Off Grendel’s Head, and Cometh Back With His Thanes to Hart.
• XXV.: Converse of Hrothgar With Beowulf.
• XXVI.: More Converse of Hrothgar and Beowulf: the Geats Make Them Ready For Departure.
• XXVII.: Beowulf Bids Hrothgar Farewell: the Geats Fare to Ship.
• XXVIII.: Beowulf Comes Back to His Land. of the Tale of Thrytho.
• XXIX.: Beowulf Tells Hygelac of Hrothgar: Also of Freawaru His Daughter.
• XXX.: Beowulf Forebodes Ill From the Wedding of Freawaru: He Tells of Grendel and His Dam.
• XXXI.: Beowulf Gives Hrothgar’s Gifts to Hygelac, and By Him Is Rewarded. of the Death of Hygelac and of Heardred His Son, and How Beowulf Is King of the Geats: the Worm Is First Told Of.
• XXXII.: How the Worm Came to the Howe, and How He Was Robbed of a Cup; and How He Fell On the Folk.
• XXXIII.: The Worm Burns Beowulf’s House, and Beowulf Gets Ready to Go Against Him. Beowulf’s Early Deeds In Battle With the Hetware Told Of.
• XXXIV.: Beowulf Goes Against the Worm. He Tells of Herebeald and HÆthcyn.
• XXXV.: Beowulf Tells of Past Feuds, and Bids Farewell to His Fellows. He Falls On the Worm, and the Battle of Them Begins.
• XXXVI.: Wiglaf Son of Weohstan Goes to the Help of Beowulf: NÆgling, Beowulf’s Sword, Is Broken On the Worm.
• XXXVII.: They Two Slay the Worm. Beowulf Is Wounded Deadly: He Biddeth Wiglaf Bear Out the Treasure.
• XXXVIII.: Beowulf Beholdeth the Treasure and Passeth Away.
• XXXIX.: Wiglaf Casteth Shame On Those Fleers.
• Xl.: Wiglaf Sendeth Tiding to the Host: the Words of the Messenger.
• Xli.: More Words of the Messenger. How He Fears the Swedes When They Wot of Beowulf Dead.
• Xlii.: They Go to Look On the Field of Deed.
• Xliii.: of the Burial of Beowulf.

II.

CONCERNING HROTHGAR, AND HOW HE BUILT THE HOUSE CALLED HART. ALSO GRENDEL IS TOLD OF.

• IN the burgs then was biding Beowulf the Scylding,
• Dear King of the people, for long was he dwelling
• Far-famed of folks (his father turn’d elsewhere,
• From his stead the Chief wended) till awoke to him after
• Healfdene the high, and long while he held it,
• Ancient and war-eager, o’er the glad Scyldings:
• Of his body four bairns are forth to him rimed;
• Into the world woke the leader of war-hosts
• Heorogar; eke Hrothgar, and Halga the good;
• Heard I that Elan queen was she of Ongentheow,
• That Scylding of battle, the bed-mate behalsed.
• Then was unto Hrothgar the war-speed given,
• Such worship of war that his kin and well-willers
• Well hearken’d his will till the younglings were waxen,
• A kin-host a many. Then into his mind ran
• That he would be building for him now a hall-house,
• That men should be making a mead-hall more mighty
• Than the children of ages had ever heard tell of:
• And there within eke should he be out-dealing
• To young and to old all things God had given,
• Save the share of the folk and the life-days of men.
• Then heard I that widely the work was a-banning
• To kindreds a many the Middle-garth over
• To fret o’er that folk-stead. So befell to him timely
• Right soon among men that made was it yarely
• The most of hall-houses, and Hart its name shap’d he,
• Who wielded his word full widely around.
• His behest he belied not; it was he dealt the rings,
• The wealth at the high-tide. Then up rose the hall-house,
• High up and horn-gabled. Hot surges it bided
• Of fire-flame the loathly, nor long was it thenceforth
• Ere sorely the edge-hate ’twixt Son and Wife’s Father
• After the slaughter-strife there should awaken.
• Then the ghost heavy-strong bore with it hardly
• E’en for a while of time, bider in darkness,
• That there on each day of days heard he the mirth-tide
• Loud in the hall-house. There was the harp’s voice,
• And clear song of shaper. Said he who could it
• To tell the first fashion of men from aforetime;
• Quoth how the Almighty One made the Earth’s fashion,
• The fair field and bright midst the bow of the Waters,
• And with victory beglory’d set Sun and Moon,
• Bright beams to enlighten the biders on land:
• And how he adorned all parts of the earth
• With limbs and with leaves; and life withal shaped
• For the kindred of each thing that quick on earth wendeth.
• So liv’d on all happy the host of the kinsmen
• In game and in glee, until one wight began,
• A fiend out of hell-pit, the framing of evil,
• And Grendel forsooth the grim guest was hight,
• The mighty mark-strider, the holder of moorland,
• The fen and the fastness. The stead of the fifel
• That wight all unhappy a while of time warded,
• Sithence that the Shaper him had for-written.
• On the kindred of Cain the Lord living ever
• Awreaked the murder of the slaying of Abel.
• In that feud he rejoic’d not, but afar him He banish’d,
• The Maker, from mankind for the crime he had wrought.
• But offspring uncouth thence were they awoken
• Eotens and elf-wights, and ogres of ocean,
• And therewith the Giants, who won war against God
• A long while; but He gave them their wages therefor.