The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• 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.

V.

HERE BEOWULF MAKES ANSWER TO THE LAND-WARDEN, WHO SHOWETH HIM THE WAY TO THE KING’S ABODE.

• HE then that was chiefest in thus wise he answer’d,
• The war-fellows’ leader unlock’d he the word-hoard:
• We be a people of the Weder-Geats’ man-kin
• And of Hygelac be we the hearth-fellows soothly.
• My father before me of folks was well-famed
• Van-leader and atheling, Ecgtheow he hight.
• Many winters abode he, and on the way wended
• An old man from the garths, and him well remembers
• Every wise man well nigh wide yond o’er the earth.
• Through our lief mood and friendly the lord that is thine,
• Even Healfdene’s son, are we now come a-seeking,
• Thy warder of folk. Learn us well with thy leading,
• For we have to the mighty an errand full mickle,
• To the lord of the Dane-folk: naught dark shall it be,
• That ween I full surely. If it be so thou wottest,
• As soothly for our parts we now have heard say,
• That one midst of the Scyldings, who of scathers I wot not,
• A deed-hater secret, in the dark of the night-tide
• Setteth forth through the terror the malice untold of,
• The shame-wrong and slaughter. I therefore to Hrothgar
• Through my mind fashion’d roomsome the rede may now learn him,
• How he, old-wise and good, may get the fiend under,
• If once more from him awayward may turn
• The business of bales, and the boot come again,
• And the weltering of care wax cooler once more;
• Or for ever sithence time of stress he shall thole,
• The need and the wronging, the while yet there abideth
• On the high stead aloft the best of all houses.
• Then spake out the warden on steed there a-sitting,
• The servant all un-fear’d: It shall be of either
• That the shield-warrior sharp the sundering wotteth,
• Of words and of works, if he think thereof well.
• I hear it thus said that this host here is friendly
• To the lord of the Scyldings; forth fare ye then, bearing
• Your weed and your weapons, of the way will I wise you;
• Likewise mine own kinsmen I will now be bidding
• Against every foeman your floater before us,
• Your craft but new-tarred, the keel on the sand,
• With honour to hold, until back shall be bearing
• Over the lake-streams this one, the lief man,
• The wood of the wounden-neck back unto Wedermark.
• Unto such shall be granted amongst the good-doers
• To win the way out all whole from the war-race.
• Then boun they to faring, the bark biding quiet;
• Hung upon hawser the wide-fathom’d ship
• Fast at her anchor. Forth shone the boar-shapes
• Over the check-guards golden adorned,
• Fair-shifting, fire-hard; ward held the farrow.
• Snorted the war-moody, hasten’d the warriors
• And trod down together until the hall timber’d,
• Stately and gold-bestain’d, gat they to look on,
• That was the all-mightiest unto earth’s dwellers
• Of halls ’neath the heavens, wherein bode the mighty;
• Glisten’d the gleam thereof o’er lands a many.
• Unto them then the war-deer the court of the proud one
• Full clearly betaught it, that they therewithal
• Might wend their ways thither. Then he of the warriors
• Round wended his steed, and spake a word backward:
• Time now for my faring; but the Father All-wielder
• May He with all helping henceforward so hold you
• All whole in your wayfaring. Will I to sea-side
• Against the wroth folk to hold warding ever.