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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.

XXXVII.

THEY TWO SLAY THE WORM. BEOWULF IS WOUNDED DEADLY: HE BIDDETH WIGLAF BEAR OUT THE TREASURE.

• THEN heard I that at need of the high king of folk
• The upright earl made well manifest might,
• His craft and his keenness as kind was to him;
• The head there he heeded not (but the hand burned
• Of that man of high mood when he helped his kinsman),
• Whereas he now the hate-guest smote yet a deal nether,
• That warrior in war-gear, whereby the sword dived,
• The plated, of fair hue, and thereby fell the flame
• To minish thereafter, and once more the king’s self
• Wielded his wit, and his slaying-sax drew out,
• The bitter and battle-sharp, borne on his byrny;
• Asunder the Weder’s helm smote the Worm midmost;
• They felled the fiend, and force drave the life out,
• And they twain together had gotten him ending,
• Those athelings sib. E’en such should a man be,
• A thane good at need. Now that to the king was
• The last victory-while, by the deeds of himself,
• Of his work of the world. Sithence fell the wound,
• That the earth-drake to him had wrought but erewhile,
• To swell and to sweal; and this soon he found out,
• That down in the breast of him bale-evil welled,
• The venom withinward; then the Atheling wended,
• So that he by the wall, bethinking him wisdom,
• Sat on seat there and saw on the works of the giants,
• How that the stone-bows fast stood on pillars,
• The earth-house everlasting upheld withinward.
• Then with his hand him the sword-gory,
• That great king his thane, the good beyond measure,
• His friend-lord with water washed full well,
• The sated of battle, and unspann’d his war-helm.
• Forth then spake Beowulf, and over his wound said,
• His wound piteous deadly; wist he full well,
• That now of his day-whiles all had he dreed,
• Of the joy of the earth; all was shaken asunder
• The tale of his days; death without measure nigh:
• Unto my son now should I be giving
• My gear of the battle, if to me it were granted
• Any ward of the heritage after my days
• To my body belonging. This folk have I holden
• Fifty winters; forsooth was never a folk-king
• Of the sitters around, no one of them soothly,
• Who me with the war-friends durst wend him to greet.
• And bear down with the terror. In home have I abided
• The shapings of whiles, and held mine own well.
• No wily hates sought I; for myself swore not many
• Of oaths in unright. For all this may I,
• Sick with the life-wounds, soothly have joy.
• Therefore naught need wyte me the Wielder of men
• With kin murder-bale, when breaketh asunder
• My life from my lyke. And now lightly go thou
• To look on the hoard under the hoar stone,
• Wiglaf mine lief, now that lieth the Worm
• And sleepeth sore wounded, beshorn of his treasure;
• And be hasty that I now the wealth of old time,
• The gold-having may look on, and yarely behold
• The bright cunning gems, that the softlier may I
• After the treasure-weal let go away
• My life, and the folk-ship that long I have held.