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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.

XV.

KING HROTHGAR AND HIS THANES LOOK ON THE ARM OF GRENDEL. CONVERSE BETWIXT HROTHGAR AND BEOWULF CONCERNING THE BATTLE.

• OUT then spake Hrothgar; for he to the hall went,
• By the staple a-standing the steep roof he saw
• Shining fair with the gold, and the hand there of Grendel:
• For this sight that I see to the All-wielder thanks
• Befall now forthwith, for foul evil I bided,
• All griefs from this Grendel; but God, glory’s Herder,
• Wonder on wonder ever can work.
• Unyore was it then when I for myself
• Might ween never more, wide all through my life-days,
• Of the booting of woes; when all blood-besprinkled
• The best of all houses stood sword-gory here;
• Wide then had the woe thrust off each of the wise
• Of them that were looking that never life-long
• That land-work of the folk they might ward from the loathly,
• From ill wights and devils. But now hath a warrior
• Through the might of the Lord a deed made thereunto
• Which we, and all we together, in nowise
• By wisdom might work. What! well might be saying
• That maid whosoever this son brought to birth
• According to man’s kind, if yet she be living,
• That the Maker of old time to her was all-gracious
• In the bearing of bairns. O Beowulf, I now
• Thee best of all men as a son unto me
• Will love in my heart, and hold thou henceforward
• Our kinship new-made now; nor to thee shall be lacking
• As to longings of world-goods whereof I have wielding;
• Full oft I for lesser things guerdon have given,
• The worship of hoards, to a warrior was weaker,
• A worser in strife. Now thyself for thyself
• By deeds hast thou fram’d it that liveth thy fair fame
• For ever and ever. So may the All-wielder
• With good pay thee ever, as erst he hath done it.
• Then Beowulf spake out, the Ecgtheow’s bairn:
• That work of much might with mickle of love
• We framed with fighting, and frowardly ventur’d
• The might of the uncouth; now I would that rather
• Thou mightest have look’d on the very man there,
• The foe in his fret-gear all worn unto falling.
• There him in all haste with hard griping did I
• On the slaughter-bed deem it to bind him indeed,
• That he for my hand-grip should have to be lying
• All busy for life: but his body fled off.
• Him then I might not (since would not the Maker)
• From his wayfaring sunder, nor naught so well sought I
• The life-foe; o’er-mickle of might was he yet,
• The foeman afoot: but his hand has he left us,
• A life-ward, a-warding the ways of his wending,
• His arm and his shoulder therewith. Yet in nowise
• That wretch of the grooms any solace hath got him,
• Nor longer will live the loathly deed-doer,
• Beswinked with sins; for the sore hath him now
• In the grip of need grievous, in strait hold togather’d
• With bonds that be baleful: there shall he abide,
• That wight dyed with all evil-deeds, the doom mickle,
• For what wise to him the bright Maker will write it.
• Then a silenter man was the son there of Ecglaf
• In the speech of the boasting of works of the battle,
• After when every atheling by craft of the earl
• Over the high roof had look’d on the hand there,
• Yea, the fiend’s fingers before his own eyen,
• Each one of the nail-steads most like unto steel,
• Hand-spur of the heathen one; yea, the own claw
• Uncouth of the war-wight. But each one there quoth it,
• That no iron of the best, of the hardy of folk,
• Would touch him at all, which e’er of the monster
• The battle-hand bloody might bear away thence.