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.

XVII.

THEY FEAST IN HART. THE GLEEMAN SINGS OF FINN AND HENGEST.

• THEN the lord of the earl-folk to every and each one
• Of them who with Beowulf the sea-ways had worn
• Then and there on the mead-bench did handsel them treasure,
• An heir-loom to wit; for him also he bade it
• That a were-gild be paid, whom Grendel aforetime
• By wickedness quell’d, as far more of them would he,
• Save from them God all-witting the weird away wended,
• And that man’s mood withal. But the Maker all wielded
• Of the kindred of mankind, as yet now he doeth.
• Therefore through-witting will be the best everywhere
• And the forethought of mind. Many things must abide
• Of lief and of loth, he who here a long while
• In these days of the strife with the world shall be dealing.
• There song was and sound all gather’d together
• Of that Healfdene’s warrior and wielder of battle,
• The wood of glee greeted, the lay wreaked often,
• Whenas the hall-game the minstrel of Hrothgar
• All down by the mead-bench tale must be making:
• By Finn’s sons aforetime, when the fear gat them,
• The hero of Half-Danes, Hnæf of the Scyldings,
• On the slaughter-field Frisian needs must he fall.
• Forsooth never Hildeburh needed to hery
• The troth of the Eotens; she all unsinning
• Was lorne of her lief ones in that play of the linden,
• Her bairns and her brethren, by fate there they fell
• Spear-wounded. That was the all-woeful of women.
• Not unduly without cause the daughter of Hoc
• Mourn’d the Maker’s own shaping, sithence came the morn
• When she under the heavens that tide came to see,
• Murder-bale of her kinsmen, where most had she erewhile
• Of world’s bliss. The war-tide took all men away
• Of Finn’s thanes that were, save only a few;
• E’en so that he might not on the field of the meeting
• Hold Hengest a war-tide, or fight any whit,
• Nor yet snatch away thence by war the woeleavings
• From the thane of the King; but terms now they bade him
• That for them other stead all for all should make room,
• A hall and high settle, whereof the half-wielding
• They with the Eotens’ bairns henceforth might hold,
• And with fee-gifts moreover the son of Folkwalda
• Each day of the days the Danes should beworthy;
• The war-heap of Hengest with rings should he honour
• Even so greatly with treasure of treasures,
• Of gold all beplated, as he the kin Frisian
• Down in the beer-hall duly should dight.
• Troth then they struck there each of the two halves,
• A peace-troth full fast. There Finn unto Hengest
• Strongly, unstrifeful, with oath-swearing swore,
• That he the woe-leaving by the doom of the wise ones
• Should hold in all honour, that never man henceforth
• With word or with work the troth should be breaking,
• Nor through craft of the guileful should undo it ever,
• Though their ring-giver’s bane they must follow in rank
• All lordless, e’en so need is it to be:
• But if any of Frisians by over-bold speaking
• The murderful hatred should call unto mind,
• Then naught but the edge of the sword should avenge it.
• Then done was the oath there, and gold of the golden
• Heav’d up from the hoard. Of the bold Here-Scyldings
• All yare on the bale was the best battle-warrior;
• On the death-howe beholden was easily there
• The sark stain’d with war-sweat, the all-golden swine,
• The iron-hard boar; there was many an atheling
• With wounds all outworn; some on slaughterfield welter’d.
• But Hildeburh therewith on Hnæf’s bale she bade them
• The own son of herself to set fast in the flame,
• His bone-vats to burn up and lay on the bale there:
• On his shoulder all woeful the woman lamented,
• Sang songs of bewailing, as the warrior strode upward,
• Wound up to the welkin that most of death-fires,
• Before the howe howled; there molten the heads were,
• The wound-gates burst open, there blood was out-springing
• From foe-bites of the body; the flame swallow’d all,
• The greediest of ghosts, of them that war gat him
• Of either of folks; shaken off was their life-breath.