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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.

XXIV.

BEOWULF SLAYETH GRENDEL’S DAM, SMITETH OFF GRENDEL’S HEAD, AND COMETH BACK WITH HIS THANES TO HART.

• MIDST the war-gear he saw then a bill victory-wealthy,
• An old sword of eotens full doughty of edges,
• The worship of warriors. That was choice of all weapons,
• Save that more was it made than any man other
• In the battle-play ever might bear it afield,
• So goodly, all glorious, the work of the giants.
• Then the girdled hilt seiz’d he, the Wolf of the Scyldings,
• The rough and the sword-grim, and drew forth the ring-sword,
• Naught weening of life, and wrathful he smote then
• So that there on her halse the hard edge begripped,
• And brake through the bone-rings: the bill all through-waded
• Her flesh-sheathing fey; cring’d she down on the floor;
• The sword was war-sweaty, the man in his work joy’d.
• The bright beam shone forth, the light stood withinward,
• E’en as down from the heavens’ clear high aloft shineth
• The sky’s candle. He all along the house scanned;
• Then turn’d by the wall along, heav’d up his weapon
• Hard by the hilts the Hygelac’s thane there,
• Ireful one-reded; naught worthless the edge was
• Unto the warrior; but rathely now would he
• To Grendel make payment of many war-onsets,
• Of them that he wrought on the folk of the West Danes
• Oftener by mickle than one time alone,
• Whenas he the hearthfellows of Hrothgar the King
• Slew in their slumber and fretted them sleeping,
• Men fifteen to wit of the folk of the Danes,
• And e’en such another deal ferry’d off outward,
• Loathly prey. Now he paid him his guerdon therefor,
• The fierce champion; so well, that abed there he saw
• Where Grendel war-weary was lying adown
• Forlorn of his life, as him ere had scathed
• The battle at Hart; sprang wide the body,
• Sithence after death he suffer’d the stroke,
• The hard swing of sword. Then he smote the head off him.
• Now soon were they seeing, those sage of the carles,
• E’en they who with Hrothgar gaz’d down on the holm,
• That the surge of the billows was blended about,
• The sea stain’d with blood. Therewith the hoar-blended,
• The old men, of the good one gat talking together
• That they of the Atheling ween’d never eft-soon
• That he, glad in his war-gain, should wend him a-seeking
• The mighty king, since unto many it seemed
• That him the mere-she-wolf had sunder’d and broken.
• Came then nones of the day, and the ness there they gave up,
• The Scyldings the brisk; and then busk’d him home thence-ward
• The gold-friend of men. But the guests, there they sat
• All sick of their mood, and star’d on the mere;
• They wist not, they ween’d not if him their own friend-lord
• Himself they should see.
• Now that sword began
• Because of the war-sweat into icicles war-made,
• The war-bill, to wane: that was one of the wonders
• That it melted away most like unto ice
• When the bond of the frost the Father lets loosen,
• Unwindeth the wave-ropes, e’en he that hath wielding
• Of times and of seasons, who is the sooth Shaper.
• In those wicks there he took not, the Weder-Geats’ champion,
• Of treasure-wealth more, though he saw there a many,
• Than the off-smitten head and the sword-hilts together
• With treasure made shifting; for the sword-blade was molten,
• The sword broider’d was burn’d up, so hot was that blood,
• So poisonous the alien ghost there that had died.
• Now soon was a-swimming he who erst in the strife bode
• The war-onset of wrath ones; he div’d up through the water;
• And now were the wave-welters cleansed full well,
• Yea the dwellings full wide, where the ghost of elsewhither
• Let go of his life-days and the waning of living.
• Came then unto land the helm of the ship-lads
• Swimming stout-hearted, glad of his sea-spoil,
• The burden so mighty of that which he bore there.
• Yode then against him and gave thanks to God
• That fair heap of thanes, and were fain of their lord,
• For that hale and sound now they might see him with eyen;
• Then was from the bold one the helm and the byrny
• All speedily loosen’d. The lake now was laid,
• The water ’neath welkin with war-gore bestained.
• Forth then they far’d them alongst of the foot-tracks,
• Men fain of heart all, as they meted the earth-way,
• The street the well known; then those king-bold of men
• Away from the holm-cliff the head there they bore
• Uneasily ever to each one that bore it,
• The full stout-heart of men: it was four of them needs must
• On the stake of the slaughter with strong toil there ferry
• Unto the gold-hall the head of that Grendel;
• Until forthright in haste came into that hall,
• Fierce, keen in the hosting, a fourteen of men
• Of the Geat-folk a-ganging; and with them their lord,
• The moody amidst of the throng, trod the mead-plains;
• Came then in a-wending the foreman of thanes,
• The man keen of his deeds all beworshipp’d of doom,
• The hero, the battle-deer, Hrothgar to greet.
• Then was by the fell borne in onto the floor
• Grendel’s head, whereas men were a-drinking in hall,
• Aweful before the earls, yea and the woman.
• The sight wondrous to see the warriors there look’d on.