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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.

XII.

GRENDEL COMETH INTO HART: OF THE STRIFE BETWIXT HIM AND BEOWULF.

• CAME then from the moor-land, all under the mist-bents,
• Grendel a-going there, bearing God’s anger.
• The scather the ill one was minded of mankind
• To have one in his toils from the high hall aloft.
• ’Neath the welkin he waded, to the place whence the wine-house,
• The gold-hall of men, most yarely he wist
• With gold-plates fair colour’d; nor was it the first time
• That he unto Hrothgar’s high home had betook him.
• Never he in his life-days, either erst or thereafter,
• Of warriors more hardy or hall-thanes had found.
• Came then to the house the wight on his ways,
• Of all joys bereft; and soon sprang the door open,
• With fire-bands made fast, when with hand he had touch’d it;
• Brake the bale-heedy, he with wrath bollen,
• The mouth of the house there, and early thereafter
• On the shiny-fleck’d floor thereof trod forth the fiend;
• On went he then mood-wroth, and out from his eyes stood
• Likest to fire-flame light full unfair.
• In the high house beheld he a many of warriors,
• A host of men sib all sleeping together,
• Of man-warriors a heap; then laugh’d out his mood;
• In mind deem’d he to sunder, or ever came day,
• The monster, the fell one, from each of the men there
• The life from the body; for befell him a boding
• Of fulfilment of feeding: but weird now it was not
• That he any more of mankind thenceforward
• Should eat, that night over. Huge evil beheld then
• The Hygelac’s kinsman, and how the foul scather
• All with his fear-grips would fare there before him;
• How never the monster was minded to tarry,
• For speedily gat he, and at the first stour,
• A warrior a-sleeping, and unaware slit him,
• Bit his bone-coffer, drank blood a-streaming,
• Great gobbets swallow’d in; thenceforth soon had he
• Of the unliving one every whit eaten
• To hands and feet even: then forth strode he nigher,
• And took hold with his hand upon him the high-hearted,
• The warrior a-resting; reach’d out to himwards
• The fiend with his hand, gat fast on him rathely
• With thought of all evil, and besat him his arm.
• Then swiftly was finding the herdsman of foul deeds
• That forsooth he had met not in Middle-garth ever,
• In the parts of the earth, in any man else
• A hand-grip more mighty; then wax’d he of mood
• Heart-fearful, but none the more outward might he;
• Hence-eager his heart was to the darkness to hie him,
• And the devil-dray seek: not there was his service
• E’en such as he found in his life-days before.
• Then to heart laid the good one, the Hygelac’s kinsman,
• His speech of the even-tide; uplong he stood
• And fast with him grappled, till bursted his fingers.
• The eoten was out-fain, but on strode the earl.
• The mighty fiend minded was, whereso he might,
• To wind him about more widely away thence,
• And flee fenwards; he found then the might of his fingers
• In the grip of the fierce one; sorry faring was that
• Which he, the harm-scather, had taken to Hart.
• The warrior-hall dinn’d now; unto all Danes there waxed,
• To the castle-abiders, to each of the keen ones,
• To all earls, as an ale-dearth. Now angry were both
• Of the fierce mighty warriors, far rang out the hall-house;
• Then mickle the wonder it was that the wine-hall
• Withstood the two war-deer, nor welter’d to earth
• The fair earthly dwelling; but all fast was it builded
• Within and without with the banding of iron
• By crafty thought smithy’d. But there from the sill bow’d
• Fell many a mead-bench, by hearsay of mine,
• With gold well adorned, where strove they the wrothful.
• Hereof never ween’d they, the wise of the Scyldings,
• That ever with might should any of men
• The excellent, bone-dight, break into pieces,
• Or unlock with cunning, save the light fire’s embracing
• In smoke should it swallow. So uprose the roar
• New and enough; now fell on the North-Danes
• Ill fear and the terror, on each and on all men,
• Of them who from wall-top hearken’d the weeping,
• Even God’s foeman singing the fear-lay,
• The triumphless song, and the wound-bewailing
• Of the thrall of the Hell; for there now fast held him
• He who of men of main was the mightiest
• In that day which is told of, the day of this life.