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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.

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.

• THUS oft and oft over the doers of evil
• They threaten’d me hard; thane-service I did them
• With the dear sword of mine, as forsooth it was meet,
• That nowise of their fill did they win them the joy
• The evil fordoers in swallowing me down,
• Sitting round at the feast nigh the ground of the sea.
• Yea rather, a morning-tide, mangled by sword-edge
• Along the waves’ leaving up there did they lie
• Lull’d asleep with the sword, so that never sithence
• About the deep floods for the farers o’er ocean
• The way have they letted. Came the light from the eastward,
• The bright becaon of God, and grew the seas calm,
• So that the sea-nesses now might I look on,
• The windy walls. Thuswise Weird oft will be saving
• The earl that is unfey, when his valour availeth.
• Whatever, it happ’d me that I with the sword slew
• Nicors nine. Never heard I of fighting a night-tide
• ’Neath the vault of the heavens was harder than that,
• Nor yet on the sea-streams of woefuller wight.
• Whatever, forth won I with life from the foes’ clutch
• All of wayfaring weary. But me the sea upbore,
• The flood downlong the tide with the weltering of waters,
• All onto the Finnland. No whit of thee ever
• Mid such strife of the battle-gear have I heard say
• Such terrors of bills. Nor never yet Breca
• In the play of the battle, nor both you, nor either,
• So dearly the deeds have framed forsooth
• With the bright flashing swords; though of this naught I boast me.
• But thou of thy brethren the banesman becamest,
• Yea thine head-kin forsooth, for which in hell shalt thou
• Dree weird of damnation, though doughty thy wit be;
• For unto thee say I forsooth, son of Ecglaf,
• That so many deeds never Grendel had done,
• That monster the loathly, against thine own lord,
• The shaming in Hart-hall, if suchwise thy mind were,
• And thy soul e’en as battle-fierce, such as thou sayest.
• But he, he hath fram’d it that the feud he may heed not,
• The fearful edge-onset that is of thy folk,
• Nor sore need be fearful of the Victory-Scyldings.
• The need-pledges taketh he, no man he spareth
• Of the folk of the Danes, driveth war as he lusteth,
• Slayeth and feasteth unweening of strife
• With them of the Spear-Danes. But I, I shall show it,
• The Geats’ wightness and might ere the time weareth old,
• Shall bide him in war-tide. Then let him go who may go
• High-hearted to mead, sithence when the mornlight
• O’er the children of men of the second day hence,
• The sun clad in heaven’s air, shines from the southward.
• Then merry of heart was the meter of treasures,
• The hoary-man’d war-renown’d, help now he trow’d in;
• The lord of the Bright-Danes on Beowulf hearken’d,
• The folk-shepherd knew him, his fast-ready mind.
• There was laughter of heroes, and high the din rang
• And winsome the words were. Went Wealhtheow forth,
• The Queen she of Hrothgar, of courtesies mindful,
• The gold-array’d greeted the grooms in the hall,
• The free and frank woman the beaker there wended,
• And first to the East-Dane-folk’s fatherland’s warder,
• And bade him be blithe at the drinking of beer,
• To his people beloved, and lustily took he
• The feast and the hall-cup, that victory-fam’d King.
• Then round about went she, the Dame of the Helmings,
• And to doughty and youngsome, each deal of the folk there,
• Gave cups of the treasure, till now it betid
• That to Beowulf duly the Queen the ring-dighted,
• Of mind high uplifted, the mead-beaker bare.
• Then she greeted the Geat-lord, and gave God the thank,
• She, the wisefast in words, that the will had wax’d in her
• In one man of the earls to have trusting and troth
• For comfort from crimes. But the cup then he took,
• The slaughter-fierce warrior, from Wealhtheow the Queen.
• And then rim’d he the word, making ready for war,
• And Beowulf spake forth, the Ecgtheow’s bairn:
• E’en that in mind had I when up on holm strode I,
• And in sea-boat sat down with a band of my men,
• That for once and for all the will of your people
• Would I set me to work, or on slaughter-field cringe
• Fast in grip of the fiend; yea and now shall I frame
• The valour of earl-folk, or else be abiding
• The day of mine end, here down in the mead-hall.
• To the wife those his words well liking they were,
• The big word of the Geat; and the gold-adorn’d wended,
• The frank and free Queen to sit by her lord.
• And thereafter within the high hall was as erst
• The proud word outspoken and bliss on the people,
• Was the sound of the victory-folk, till on a sudden
• The Healfdene’s son would now be a-seeking
• His rest of the even: wotted he for the Evil
• Within the high hall was the Hild-play bedight,
• Sithence that the sun-light no more should they see,
• When night should be darkening, and down over all
• The shapes of the shadow-helms should be a-striding
• Wan under the welkin. Uprose then all war-folk;
• Then greeted the glad-minded one man the other,
• Hrothgar to Beowulf, bidding him hail,
• And the wine-hall to wield, and withal quoth the word:
• Never to any man erst have I given,
• Since the hand and the shield’s round aloft might I heave,
• This high hall of the Dane-folk, save now unto thee.
• Have now and hold the best of all houses,
• Mind thee of fame, show the might of thy valour!
• Wake the wroth one: no lack shall there be to thy willing
• If that wight work thou win and life there-withal.