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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.

XI.

NOW IS BEOWULF LEFT IN THE HALL ALONE WITH HIS MEN.

• THEN wended him Hrothgar with the band of his warriors,
• The high-ward of the Scyldings from out of the hall,
• For then would the war-lord go seek unto Wealhtheow
• The Queen for a bed-mate. The glory of kingfolk
• Against Grendel had set, as men have heard say,
• A hall-ward who held him a service apart
• In the house of the Dane-lord, for eoten-ward held he.
• Forsooth he, the Geat-lord, full gladly he trowed
• In the might of his mood and the grace of the Maker.
• Therewith he did off him his byrny of iron
• And the helm from his head, and his dighted sword gave,
• The best of all irons, to the thane that abode him,
• And bade him to hold that harness of battle.
• Bespake then the good one, a big word he gave out,
• Beowulf the Geat, ere on the bed strode he:
• Nowise in war I deem me more lowly
• In the works of the battle than Grendel, I ween;
• So not with the sword shall I lull him to slumber,
• Or take his life thuswise, though to me were it easy;
• Of that good wise he wots not, to get the stroke on me,
• To hew on my shield, for as stark as he shall be
• In the works of the foeman. So we twain a night-tide
• Shall forgo the sword, if he dare yet to seek
• The war without weapons. Sithence the wise God,
• The Lord that is holy, on which hand soever
• The glory may doom as due to him seemeth.
• Bowed down then the war-deer, the cheek-bolster took
• The face of the earl; and about him a many
• Of sea-warriors bold to their hall-slumber bow’d them;
• No one of them thought that thence away should he
• Seek ever again to his home the beloved,
• His folk or his free burg, where erst he was fed;
• For of men had they learn’d that o’er mickle a many
• In that wine-hall aforetime the fell death had gotten
• Of the folk of the Danes; but the Lord to them gave it,
• To the folk of the Weders, the web of war-speeding,
• Help fair and good comfort, e’en so that their foeman
• Through the craft of one man all they overcame,
• By the self-might of one. So is manifest truth
• That God the Almighty the kindred of men
• Hath wielded wide ever. Now by wan night there came,
• There strode in the shade-goer; slept there the shooters,
• They who that horn-house should be a-holding,
• All men but one man: to men was that known,
• That them indeed might not, since will’d not the Maker,
• The scather unceasing drag off ’neath the shadow;
• But he ever watching in wrath ’gainst the wroth one
• Mood-swollen abided the battle-mote ever.