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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.

XXXVIII.

BEOWULF BEHOLDETH THE TREASURE AND PASSETH AWAY.

• THEN heard I that swiftly the son of that Weohstan
• After this word-say his lord the sore wounded,
• Battle-sick, there obeyed, and bare forth his ring-net,
• His battle-sark woven, in under the burg-roof;
• Saw then victory-glad as by the seat went he,
• The kindred-thane moody, sun-jewels a many,
• Much glistering gold lying down on the ground,
• Many wonders on wall, and the den of the Worm,
• The old twilight-flier; there were flagons a-standing,
• The vats of men bygone, of brighteners bereft,
• And maim’d of adornment; was many an helm
• Rusty and old, and of arm-rings a many
• Full cunningly twined. All lightly may treasure,
• The gold in the ground, every one of mankind
• Befool with o’erweening, hide it who will.
• Likewise he saw standing a sign there all-golden
• High over the hoard, the most of hand-wonders,
• With limb-craft belocked, whence light a ray gleamed,
• Whereby the den’s ground-plain gat he to look on,
• The fair works scan throughly. Not of the Worm there
• Was aught to be seen now, but the edge had undone him.
• Heard I then that in howe of the hoard was bereaving,
• The old work of the giants, but one man alone,
• Into his barm laded beakers and dishes
• At his very own doom; and the sign eke he took,
• The brightest of beacons. But the bill of the old lord
• (The edge was of iron) erewhile it scathed
• Him who of that treasure hand-bearer was
• A long while, and fared a-bearing the flame-dread
• Before the hoard hot, and welling of fierceness
• In the midnights, until that by murder he died.
• In haste was the messenger, eager of back-fare,
• Further’d with fretted gems. Him longing fordid
• To wot whether the bold man he quick there shall meet
• In that mead-stead, e’en he the king of the Weders,
• All sick of his might, whereas he erst left him.
• He fetching the treasure then found the king mighty,
• His own lord, yet there, and him ever all gory
• At end of his life; and he yet once again
• Fell the water to warp o’er him, till the word’s point
• Brake through the breast-hoard, and Beowulf spake out,
• The aged, in grief as he gaz’d on the gold:
• Now I for these fretworks to the Lord of all thanking,
• To the King of all glory, in words am yet saying,
• To the Lord ever living, for that which I look on;
• Whereas such I might for the people of mine,
• Ere ever my death-day, get me to own.
• Now that for the treasure-hoard here have I sold
• My life and laid down the same, frame still then ever
• The folk-need, for here never longer I may be.
• So bid ye the war-mighty work me a howe
• Bright after the bale-fire at the sea’s nose,
• Which for a remembrance to the people of me
• Aloft shall uplift him at Whale-ness for ever,
• That it the sea-goers sithence may hote
• Beowulf’s Howe, e’en they that the high-ships
• Over the flood-mists drive from afar.
• Did off from his halse then a ring was all golden,
• The king the great-hearted, and gave to his thane,
• To the spear-warrior young his war-helm gold-brindled,
• The ring and the byrny, and bade him well brook them:
• Thou art the end-leaving of all of our kindred,
• The Wægmundings; Weird now hath swept all away
• Of my kinsmen, and unto the doom of the Maker
• The earls in their might; now after them shall I.
• That was to the aged lord youngest of words
• Of his breast-thoughts, ere ever he chose him the bale,
• The hot battle-wellings; from his heart now departed
• His soul, to seek out the doom of the soothfast.