The Tale of Beowulf Part 7

Now shall taking of treasures and giving of swords And all joy of your country-home fail from your kindred, All hope wane away; of the land-right moreover May each of the men of that kinsman's burg ever Roam lacking; sithence that the athelings eft-soons From afar shall have heard of your faring in flight, Your gloryless deed. Yea, death shall be better For each of the earls than a life ever ill-fam'd. 2890

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 earl-host 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, 2900 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 2910 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. 2920 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 Haethcyn 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, 2930 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 2940 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.

XLI. MORE WORDS OF THE MESSENGER.

HOW HE FEARS THE SWEDES WHEN THEY WOT OF BEOWULF DEAD.

Was the track of the war-sweat of Swedes and of Geats, The men's slaughter-race, right wide to be seen, How those folks amongst them were waking the feud.

Departed that good one, and went with his fellows, Old and exceeding sad, fastness to seek; The earl Ongentheow upward returned; 2950 Of Hygelac's battle-might oft had he heard, The war-craft of the proud one; in withstanding he trow'd not, That he to the sea-folk in fight might debate, Or against the sea-farers defend him his h.o.a.rd, His bairns and his bride. He bow'd him aback thence, The old under the earth-wall. Then was the chase bidden To the Swede-folk, and Hygelac's sign was upreared, And the plain of the peace forth on o'er-pa.s.s'd they, After the Hrethlings onto the hedge throng'd.

There then was Ongentheow by the swords' edges, 2960 The blent-hair'd, the h.o.a.ry one, driven to biding, So that the folk-king fain must he take Sole doom of Eofor. Him in his wrath then Wulf the Wonreding reach'd with his weapon, So that from the stroke sprang the war-sweat in streams Forth from under his hair; yet naught fearsome was he, The aged, the Scylfing, but paid aback rathely With chaffer that worse was that war-crash of slaughter, Sithence the folk-king turned him thither; And nowise might the brisk one that son was of Wonred 2970 Unto the old carle give back the hand-slaying, For that he on Wulf's head the helm erst had sheared, So that all with the blood stained needs must he bow, And fell on the field; but not yet was he fey, But he warp'd himself up, though the wound had touch'd nigh.

But thereon the hard Hygelac's thane there, Whenas down lay his brother, let the broad blade, The old sword of eotens, that helm giant-fashion'd Break over the board-wall, and down the king bowed, The herd of the folk unto fair life was smitten. 2980 There were many about there who bound up his kinsman, Upraised him swiftly when room there was made them, That the slaughter-stead there at the stour they might wield, That while when was reaving one warrior the other: From Ongentheow took he the iron-wrought byrny, The hard-hilted sword, with his helm all together: The h.o.a.ry one's harness to Hygelac bare he; The fret war-gear then took he, and fairly behight him Before the folk due gifts, and even so did it; Gild he gave for that war-race, the lord of the Geats, 2990 The own son of Hrethel, when home was he come, To Eofor and Wulf gave he over-much treasure, To them either he gave an hundred of thousands, Land and lock'd rings. Of the gift none needed to wyte him Of mid earth, since the glory they gained by battle.

Then to Eofor he gave his one only daughter, An home-worship soothly, for pledge of his good will.

That is the feud and the foeship full soothly, The dead-hate of men, e'en as I have a weening, Wherefor the Swede people against us shall seek, 3000 Sithence they have learned that lieth our lord All lifeless; e'en he that erewhile hath held Against all the haters the h.o.a.rd and the realm; Who after the heroes' fall held the fierce Scylfings, Framed the folk-rede, and further thereto Did earlship-deeds. Now is haste best of all That we now the folk-king should fare to be seeing, And then that we bring him who gave us the rings On his way to the bale: nor shall somewhat alone With the moody be molten; but manifold h.o.a.rd is, 3010 Gold untold of by tale that grimly is cheapened, And now at the last by this one's own life Are rings bought, and all these the brand now shall fret, The flame thatch them over: no earl shall bear off One gem in remembrance; nor any fair maiden Shall have on her halse a ring-honour thereof, But in grief of mood henceforth, bereaved of gold, Shall oft, and not once alone, alien earth tread, Now that the host-learn'd hath laid aside laughter, The game and the glee-joy. Therefore shall the spear, 3020 Full many a morn-cold, of hands be bewounden, Uphoven in hand; and no swough of the harp Shall waken the warriors; but the wan raven rather Fain over the fey many tales shall tell forth, And say to the erne how it sped him at eating, While he with the wolf was a-spoiling the slain.

So was the keen-whetted a-saying this while Spells of speech loathly; he lied not much Of weirds or of words. Then uprose all the war-band, And unblithe they wended under the Ernes-ness, 3030 All welling of tears, the wonder to look on.

Found they then on the sand, now lacking of soul, Holding his bed, him that gave them the rings In time erewhile gone by. But then was the end-day Gone for the good one; since the king of the battle, The lord of the Weders, in wonder-death died.

But erst there they saw a more seldom-seen sight, The Worm on the lea-land over against him Down lying there loathly; there was the fire-drake, The grim of the terrors, with gleeds all beswealed. 3040 He was of fifty feet of his measure Long of his lying. Lift-joyance held he In the whiles of the night, but down again wended To visit his den. Now fast was he in death, He had of the earth-dens the last end enjoyed.

There by him now stood the beakers and bowls, There lay the dishes and dearly-wrought swords, Rusty, through-eaten they, as in earth's bosom A thousand of winters there they had wonned.

For that heritage there was, all craftily eked, 3050 Gold of the yore men, in wizardry wounden; So that that ring-hall might none reach thereto, Not any of mankind but if G.o.d his own self, Sooth king of victories, gave unto whom he would (He is holder of men) to open that h.o.a.rd, E'en to whichso of mankind should seem to him meet.

XLII. THEY GO TO LOOK ON THE FIELD OF DEED.

Then it was to be seen that throve not the way To him that unrightly had hidden within there The fair gear 'neath the wall. The warder erst slew Some few of folk, and the feud then became 3060 Wrothfully wreaked. A wonder whenas A valour-strong earl may reach on the ending Of the fashion of life, when he longer in nowise One man with his kinsmen may dwell in the mead-hall!

So to Beowulf was it when the burg's ward he sought.

For the hate of the weapons: he himself knew not Wherethrough forsooth his world's sundering should be.

So until Doomsday they cursed it deeply, Those princes the dread, who erst there had done it, That that man should be of sins never sackless, 3070 A-hoppled in shrines, in h.e.l.l-bonds fast set, With plague-spots be punish'd, who that plain should plunder.

But naught gold-greedy was he, more gladly had he The grace of the Owner erst gotten to see.

Now spake out Wiglaf, that son was of Weohstan: Oft shall many an earl for the will but of one Dree the wrack, as to us even now is befallen: Nowise might we learn the lief lord of us, The herd of the realm, any of rede, That he should not go greet that warder of gold, 3080 But let him live yet, whereas long he was lying, And wonne in his wicks until the world's ending; But he held to high weird and the h.o.a.rd hath been seen, Grimly gotten: o'er hard forsooth was that giving, That the king of the folk e'en thither enticed.

Lo! I was therein, and I look'd it all over, The gear of the house, when for me room was gotten, But I lightly in nowise had leave for the pa.s.sage In under the earth-wall; in haste I gat hold Forsooth with my hands of a mickle main burden 3090 Of h.o.a.rd-treasures, and hither then out did I bear them, Out unto my king, and then quick was he yet, Wise, and wit-holding: a many things spake he, That aged in grief-care, and bade me to greet you, And prayed ye would do e'en after your friend's deeds Aloft in the bale-stead a howe builded high, Most mickle and mighty, as he amongst men was The worthfullest warrior wide over the world, While he the burg-weal erewhile might brook.

Then so let us hasten this second of whiles 3100 To see and to seek the throng of things strange, The wonder 'neath wall; I shall wise you the way, So that ye from a-near may look on enough Of rings and broad gold; and be the bier swiftly All yare thereunto, whenas out we shall fare.

Then let us so ferry the lord that was ours, The lief man of men, to where long shall he In the All-Wielder's keeping full patiently wait.

Bade then to bid the bairn of that Weohstan, The deer of the battle, to a many of warriors, 3110 The house-owning wights, that the wood of the bale They should ferry from far, e'en the folk-owning men, Toward the good one. And now shall the gleed fret away, The wan flame a-waxing, the strong one of warriors, Him who oft-times abided the shower of iron When the storm of the shafts driven on by the strings Shook over the shield-wall, and the shaft held its service, And eager with feather-gear follow'd the barb.

Now then the wise one, that son was of Weohstan, Forth from the throng then call'd of the king's thanes 3120 A seven together, the best to be gotten, And himself went the eighth in under the foe-roof; One man of the battlers in hand there he bare A gleam of the fire, of the first went he inward.

It was nowise allotted who that h.o.a.rd should despoil, Sithence without warden some deal that there was The men now beheld in the hall there a-wonning, Lying there fleeting; little mourn'd any, That they in all haste outward should ferry The dear treasures. But forthwith the drake did they shove, 3130 The Worm, o'er the cliff-wall, and let the wave take him, The flood fathom about the fretted works' herd.

There then was wounden gold on the wain laden Untold of each kind, and the Atheling borne, The h.o.a.ry of warriors, out on to Whale-ness.

XLIII. OF THE BURIAL OF BEOWULF.

For him then they geared, the folk of the Geats, A pile on the earth all unweaklike that was, With war-helms behung, and with boards of the battle, And bright byrnies, e'en after the boon that he bade.

Laid down then amidmost their king mighty-famous 3140 The warriors lamenting, the lief lord of them.

Began on the burg of bale-fires the biggest The warriors to waken: the wood-reek went up Swart over the smoky glow, sound of the flame Bewound with the weeping (the wind-blending stilled), Until it at last the bone-house had broken Hot at the heart. All unglad of mind With mood-care they mourned their own liege lord's quelling.

Likewise a sad lay the wife of aforetime For Beowulf the king, with her hair all upbounden, 3150 Sang sorrow-careful; said oft and over That harm-days for herself in hard wise she dreaded, The slaughter-falls many, much fear of the warrior, The shaming and bondage. Heaven swallow'd the reek.

Wrought there and fashion'd the folk of the Weders A howe on the lithe, that high was and broad.

Unto the wave-farers wide to be seen: Then it they betimber'd in time of ten days, The battle-strong's beacon; the brands' very-leavings They bewrought with a wall in the worthiest of ways, 3160 That men of all wisdom might find how to work.

Into burg then they did the rings and bright sun-gems, And all such adornments as in the h.o.a.rd there The war-minded men had taken e'en now; The earls' treasures let they the earth to be holding, Gold in the grit, wherein yet it liveth, As useless to men-folk as ever it erst was.

Then round the howe rode the deer of the battle, The bairns of the athelings, twelve were they in all.

Their care would they mourn, and bemoan them their king, 3170 The word-lay would they utter and over the man speak: They accounted his earlship and mighty deeds done, And doughtily deem'd them; as due as it is That each one his friend-lord with words should belaud, And love in his heart, whenas forth shall he Away from the body be fleeting at last.

In such wise they grieved, the folk of the Geats, For the fall of their lord, e'en they his hearth-fellows; Quoth they that he was a world-king forsooth, The mildest of all men, unto men kindest, 3180 To his folk the most gentlest, most yearning of fame.

PERSONS AND PLACES

(_Numbers refer to Pages_)

[Transcriber's Note: In this and the following section, page numbers in parentheses are accompanied by a line reference in brackets.]

BEANSTAN, father of Breca (31 [524]).

Beowulf the Dane (not Beowulf the Geat, the hero of the poem) was the grandfather of Hrothgar (2, 4 [18, 53]).

Beowulf the Geat. _See_ the Argument.

Breca (30 [506]), who contended with Beowulf in swimming, was a chief of the Brondings (31 [521]).

Brisings' neck-gear (70 [1199]). "This necklace is the Brisinga-men, the costly necklace of Freyja, which she won from the dwarfs and which was stolen from her by Loki, as is told in the Edda" (Kemble). In our poem, it is said that Hama carried off this necklace when he fled from Eormenric, king of the Ostrogoths.

DAYRAVEN (143 [2500]), a brave warrior of the Hugs, and probably the slayer of Hygelac, whom, in that case, Beowulf avenged.

EADGILS, Eanmund (136, 137 [2379, 2391]), "sons of Ohthere," and nephews of the Swedish King Onela, by whom they were banished from their native land for rebellion. They took refuge at the court of the Geat King Heardred, and Onela, "Ongentheow's bairn," enraged at their finding an asylum with his hereditary foes, invaded Geatland, and slew Heardred. At a later time Beowulf, when king of the Geats, balanced the feud by supporting Eadgils in an invasion of Sweden, in which King Onela was slain.

Eanmund (149 [2610]), while in exile at the court of the Geats, was slain by Weohstan, father of Wiglaf, and stripped of the armour given him by his uncle, the Swedish King Onela. Weohstan "spake not about the feud, although he had slain Onela's brother's son," probably because he was not proud of having slain an "exile unfriended" in a private quarrel.

Ecglaf, father of Unferth, Hrothgar's spokesman (29 [499]).