Wiglaf sends the news of Beowulf’s death to liegemen near by.
Then he charged that the battle be announced at the hedge
Up o’er the cliff-edge, where the earl-troopers bided
The whole of the morning, mood-wretched sat them,
Bearers of battle-shields, both things expecting,
5
The end of his lifetime and the coming again of
The liegelord belovèd. Little reserved he
Of news that was known, who the ness-cliff did travel,
But he truly discoursed to all that could hear him:
[98]
The messenger speaks.
“Now the free-giving friend-lord of the folk of the Weders,
10
The folk-prince of Geatmen, is fast in his death-bed,
By the deeds of the dragon in death-bed abideth;
Along with him lieth his life-taking foeman
Slain with knife-wounds: he was wholly unable
To injure at all the ill-planning monster
Wiglaf sits by our dead lord.
15
With bite of his sword-edge. Wiglaf is sitting,
Offspring of Wihstan, up over Beowulf,
Earl o’er another whose end-day hath reached him,
Head-watch holdeth o’er heroes unliving, 1
Our lord’s death will lead to attacks from our old foes.
For friend and for foeman. The folk now expecteth
20
A season of strife when the death of the folk-king
To Frankmen and Frisians in far-lands is published.
The war-hatred waxed warm ’gainst the Hugmen,
Higelac’s death recalled.
When Higelac came with an army of vessels
Faring to Friesland, where the Frankmen in battle
25
Humbled him and bravely with overmight ’complished
That the mail-clad warrior must sink in the battle,
Fell ’mid his folk-troop: no fret-gems presented
The atheling to earlmen; aye was denied us
Merewing’s mercy. The men of the Swedelands
30
For truce or for truth trust I but little;
But widely ’twas known that near Ravenswood Ongentheow
Hæthcyn’s fall referred to.
Sundered Hæthcyn the Hrethling from life-joys,
When for pride overweening the War-Scylfings first did
Seek the Geatmen with savage intentions.
35
Early did Ohthere’s age-laden father,
Old and terrible, give blow in requital,
Killing the sea-king, the queen-mother rescued,
The old one his consort deprived of her gold,
Onela’s mother and Ohthere’s also,
[99]
40
And then followed the feud-nursing foemen till hardly,
Reaved of their ruler, they Ravenswood entered.
Then with vast-numbered forces he assaulted the remnant,
Weary with wounds, woe often promised
The livelong night to the sad-hearted war-troop:
45
Said he at morning would kill them with edges of weapons,
Some on the gallows for glee to the fowls.
Aid came after to the anxious-in-spirit
At dawn of the day, after Higelac’s bugle
And trumpet-sound heard they, when the good one proceeded
50
And faring followed the flower of the troopers.
[1] ‘Hige-méðum’ (2910) is glossed by H. as dat. plu. (= for the dead). S.
proposes ‘hige-méðe,’ nom. sing. limiting Wigláf; i.e. W., mood-weary,
holds head-watch o’er friend and foe.—B. suggests taking the word as dat.
inst. plu. of an abstract noun in -‘u.’ The translation would be substantially
the same as S.’s.
THE MESSENGER’S RETROSPECT.
The messenger continues, and refers to the feuds of Swedes and Geats.
“The blood-stainèd trace of Swedes and Geatmen,
The death-rush of warmen, widely was noticed,
How the folks with each other feud did awaken.
The worthy one went then1 with well-beloved comrades, 5
Old and dejected to go to the fastness,
Ongentheo earl upward then turned him;
Of Higelac’s battle he’d heard on inquiry,
The exultant one’s prowess, despaired of resistance,
With earls of the ocean to be able to struggle,
10
’Gainst sea-going sailors to save the hoard-treasure,
His wife and his children; he fled after thenceward
Old ’neath the earth-wall. Then was offered pursuance
To the braves of the Swedemen, the banner2 to Higelac.
[100]
They fared then forth o’er the field-of-protection,
15
When the Hrethling heroes hedgeward had thronged them.
Then with edges of irons was Ongentheow driven,
The gray-haired to tarry, that the troop-ruler had to
Suffer the power solely of Eofor:
Wulf wounds Ongentheow.
Wulf then wildly with weapon assaulted him,
20
Wonred his son, that for swinge of the edges
The blood from his body burst out in currents,
Forth ’neath his hair. He feared not however,
Gray-headed Scylfing, but speedily quited
Ongentheow gives a stout blow in return.
The wasting wound-stroke with worse exchange,
25
When the king of the thane-troop thither did turn him:
The wise-mooded son of Wonred was powerless
To give a return-blow to the age-hoary man,
But his head-shielding helmet first hewed he to pieces,
That flecked with gore perforce he did totter,
30
Fell to the earth; not fey was he yet then,
But up did he spring though an edge-wound had reached him.
Eofor smites Ongentheow fiercely.
Then Higelac’s vassal, valiant and dauntless,
When his brother lay dead, made his broad-bladed weapon,
Giant-sword ancient, defence of the giants,
35
Bound o’er the shield-wall; the folk-prince succumbed then,
Ongentheow is slain.
Shepherd of people, was pierced to the vitals.
There were many attendants who bound up his kinsman,
Carried him quickly when occasion was granted
That the place of the slain they were suffered to manage.
40
This pending, one hero plundered the other,
His armor of iron from Ongentheow ravished,
His hard-sword hilted and helmet together;
Eofor takes the old king’s war-gear to Higelac.
The old one’s equipments he carried to Higelac.
He the jewels received, and rewards ’mid the troopers
45
Graciously promised, and so did accomplish:
The king of the Weders requited the war-rush,
Hrethel’s descendant, when home he repaired him,
Higelac rewards the brothers.
To Eofor and Wulf with wide-lavished treasures,
To each of them granted a hundred of thousands
[101]
50
In land and rings wrought out of wire:
His gifts were beyond cavil.
None upon mid-earth needed to twit him3
With the gifts he gave them, when glory they conquered;
To Eofor he also gives his only daughter in marriage.
And to Eofor then gave he his one only daughter,
The honor of home, as an earnest of favor.
55
That’s the feud and hatred—as ween I ’twill happen—
The anger of earthmen, that earls of the Swedemen
Will visit on us, when they hear that our leader
Lifeless is lying, he who longtime protected
His hoard and kingdom ’gainst hating assailers,
60
Who on the fall of the heroes defended of yore
The deed-mighty Scyldings, 4 did for the troopers What best did avail them, and further moreover
It is time for us to pay the last marks of respect to our lord.
Hero-deeds ’complished. Now is haste most fitting,
That the lord of liegemen we look upon yonder,
65
And that one carry on journey to death-pyre
Who ring-presents gave us. Not aught of it all
Shall melt with the brave one—there’s a mass of bright jewels,
Gold beyond measure, grewsomely purchased
And ending it all ornament-rings too
70
Bought with his life; these fire shall devour,
Flame shall cover, no earlman shall wear
A jewel-memento, nor beautiful virgin
Have on her neck rings to adorn her,
But wretched in spirit bereavèd of gold-gems
75
She shall oft with others be exiled and banished,
Since the leader of liegemen hath laughter forsaken,
[102]
Mirth and merriment. Hence many a war-spear
Cold from the morning shall be clutched in the fingers,
Heaved in the hand, no harp-music’s sound shall
80
Waken the warriors, but the wan-coated raven
Fain over fey ones freely shall gabble,
Shall say to the eagle how he sped in the eating,
When, the wolf his companion, he plundered the slain.”
So the high-minded hero was rehearsing these stories
85
Loathsome to hear; he lied as to few of
The warriors go sadly to look at Beowulf’s lifeless body.
Weirds and of words. All the war-troop arose then,
’Neath the Eagle’s Cape sadly betook them,
Weeping and woful, the wonder to look at.
They saw on the sand then soulless a-lying,
90
His slaughter-bed holding, him who rings had given them
In days that were done; then the death-bringing moment
Was come to the good one, that the king very warlike,
Wielder of Weders, with wonder-death perished.
First they beheld there a creature more wondrous,
They also see the dragon.
95
The worm on the field, in front of them lying,
The foeman before them: the fire-spewing dragon,
Ghostly and grisly guest in his terrors,
Was scorched in the fire; as he lay there he measured
Fifty of feet; came forth in the night-time5
100
To rejoice in the air, thereafter departing
To visit his den; he in death was then fastened,
He would joy in no other earth-hollowed caverns.
There stood round about him beakers and vessels,
Dishes were lying and dear-valued weapons,
105
With iron-rust eaten, as in earth’s mighty bosom
A thousand of winters there they had rested:
The hoard was under a magic spell.
That mighty bequest then with magic was guarded,
Gold of the ancients, that earlman not any
The ring-hall could touch, save Ruling-God only,
[103]
110
Sooth-king of Vict’ries gave whom He wished to
God alone could give access to it.
6(He is earth-folk’s protector) to open the treasure, E’en to such among mortals as seemed to Him proper.
[1] For ‘góda,’ which seems a surprising epithet for a Geat to apply to the
“terrible” Ongentheow, B. suggests ‘gomela.’ The passage would then
stand: ‘ The old one went then,’ etc.
[2] For ‘segn Higeláce,’ K., Th., and B. propose ‘segn Higeláces,’ meaning: Higelac’s banner followed the Swedes (in pursuit). —S. suggests ‘sæcc
Higeláces,’ and renders: Higelac’s pursuit. —The H.-So. reading, as
translated in our text, means that the banner of the enemy was captured
and brought to Higelac as a trophy.
[3] The rendering given in this translation represents the king as being generous beyond the possibility of reproach; but some authorities construe
‘him’ (2996) as plu., and understand the passage to mean that no one
reproached the two brothers with having received more reward than they
were entitled to.
[4] The name ‘Scyldingas’ here (3006) has caused much discussion, and given rise to several theories, the most important of which are as follows:
(1) After the downfall of Hrothgar’s family, Beowulf was king of the Danes,
or Scyldings. (2) For ‘Scyldingas’ read ‘Scylfingas’—that is, after killing
Eadgils, the Scylfing prince, Beowulf conquered his land, and held it in
subjection. (3) M. considers 3006 a thoughtless repetition of 2053. (Cf. H.-
So.)
[5] B. takes ‘nihtes’ and ‘hwílum’ (3045) as separate adverbial cases, and renders: Joy in the air had he of yore by night, etc. He thinks that the idea
of vanished time ought to be expressed.
[6] The parenthesis is by some emended so as to read: (1) ( He (i.e. God) is the hope of men); (2) ( he is the hope of heroes). Gr.’s reading has no parenthesis, but says: … could touch, unless God himself, true king of
victories, gave to whom he would to open the treasure, the secret place of
enchanters, etc. The last is rejected on many grounds.
WIGLAF’S SAD STORY.—THE HOARD