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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.

XL.

WIGLAF SENDETH TIDING TO THE HOST: THE WORDS OF THE MESSENGER.

• THEN he bade them that war-work give out at the barriers
• Up over the sea-cliff, whereas then the earlhost
• The morning-long day sat sad of their mood,
• The bearers of war-boards, in weening of both things,
• Either the end-day, or else the back-coming
• Of the lief man. Forsooth he little was silent
• Of the new-fallen tidings who over the ness rode,
• But soothly he said over all there a-sitting:
• Now is the will-giver of the folk of the Weders,
• The lord of the Geats, fast laid in the death-bed,
• In the slaughter-rest wonneth he by the Worm’s doings.
• And beside him yet lieth his very life-winner
• All sick with the sax-wounds; with sword might he never
• On the monster, the fell one, in any of manners
• Work wounding at all. There yet sitteth Wiglaf,
• Weohstan’s own boy, over Beowulf king,
• One earl over the other, over him the unliving;
• With heart-honours holdeth he head-ward withal
• Over lief, over loath. But to folk is a weening
• Of war-tide as now, so soon as unhidden
• To Franks and to Frisians the fall of the king
• Is become over widely. Once was the strife shapen
• Hard ’gainst the Hugs, sithence Hygelac came
• Faring with float-host to Frisian land,
• Whereas him the Hetware vanquish’d in war,
• With might gat the gain, with o’er-mickle main;
• The warrior bebyrny’d he needs must bow down:
• He fell in the host, and no fretted war-gear
• Gave that lord to the doughty, but to us was aye sithence
• The mercy ungranted that was of the Merwing.
• Nor do I from the Swede folk of peace or good faith
• Ween ever a whit. For widely ’twas wotted
• That Ongentheow erst had undone the life
• Of Hætheyn the Hrethel’s son hard by the Raven-wood,
• Then when in their pride the Scylfings of war
• Erst gat them to seek to the folk of the Geats.
• Unto him soon the old one, the father of Ohthere,
• The ancient and fearful gave back the hand-stroke,
• Brake up the sea-wise one, rescued his bride,
• The aged his spouse erst, bereft of the gold,
• Mother of Onela, yea and of Ohthere;
• And follow’d up thereon his foemen the deadly,
• Until they betook them and sorrowfully therewith
• Unto the Raven-holt, reft of their lord.
• With huge host then beset he the leaving of swords
• All weary with wounds, and woe he behight them,
• That lot of the wretched, the livelong night through;
• Quoth he that the morrow’s morn with the swords’ edges
• He would do them to death, hang some on the gallows
• For a game unto fowl. But again befell comfort
• To the sorry of mood with the morrow-day early;
• Whereas they of Hygelac’s war-horn and trumpet
• The voice wotted, whenas the good king his ways came
• Faring on in the track of his folk’s doughty men.