Beowulf (Wyatt)/Beowulf 00

Beowulf.^[1]

Fol. 129a. Hwæt! wē Gār-Denain gēar-dagumþēod-cyningaþrym gefrūnon,hū ðā æþelingasellen fremedon.Oft Scyld Scēfingsceaþena þrēatum,5 monegum mǣgþummeodo-setla oftēah.Egsode eorl,syððan ǣrest wearðfēa-sceaft funden;hē þæs frōfre gebād,wēox under wolcnum,weorð-myndum þāh,oð þæt him ǣghwylc þāra ymb-sittendra10 ofer hron-rādehȳran scolde,gomban gyldan;þæt wæs gōd cyning.Ðǣm eafera wæsæfter cennedgeong in geardum,þone God sendefolce tō frōfre;fyren-ðearfe ongeat,15 þæt^[2] hīe ǣr drugonaldor-[lē]ase lange hwīle.Him þæs Līf-frēa,wuldres Wealdend,worold-āre forgeaf;Bēowulf wæs brēme(blǣd wīde sprang),Scyldes eaferaScede-landum in.^[3]20 Swā sceal [geong g]uma^[4]gōde gewyrcean,Fol. 129b.fromum feoh-giftumon fæder *[wi]ne,^[5]þæt hine on yldeeft gewunigenwil-gesīþas,þonne wīg cume,lēode gelǣsten;lof-dǣdum sceal25 in mǣgþa gehwǣreman geþeon.Him ða Scyld gewāttō gescæp-hwīlefela-hrōr fēranon frēan wǣre;hī hyne þā ætbǣrontō brimes faroðe,swǣse gesīþas,swā hē selfa bæd, 30 þenden wordum wēoldwine Scyldinga,lēof land-frumalange āhte.Þær æt hȳðe stōdhringed-stefnaīsig ond ūt-fūs,æþelinges fær;ālēdon þālēofne þēoden,35 bēaga bryttanon bearm scipes,mǣrne be mæste.Þǣr wæs mādma fela,of feor-wegumfrætwa gelǣded.Ne hȳrde ic cymlīcorcēol gegyrwanhilde-wǣpnumond heaðo-wǣedum,40 billum ond byrnum;him on bearme læg mādma mænigo,þā him mid scoldonon flōdes ǣhtfeor gewītan.Nalæs hī hine lǣssanlācum tēodan,þēod-gestrēonum,þon[ne] þā dydon,45 þe hine æt frum-sceafteforð onsendonFol. 130a.ǣnne ofer ȳðeumbor-we*sende.Þa gyt hīe him āsettonsegen g[yl]denne^[6]
hēah ofer hēafod,lēton hohn beran,gēafon on gār-secg;him wæs gēomor sefa,50 murnende mōd.Men ne cunnonsecgan tō sōðe,sele-rǣdende,^[7]hæleð under heofenum,hwā þǣm hlæste onfēng.

1. Letters supplied in the text, but found neither in the MS. nor in Thorkelin’s transcripts, are printed within square brackets. All other deviations from the MS. are indicated in the text by the use of italics, and the reading of the MS. is given in a footnote.
2. 15. MS. ‘ꝥ’ as usual. Zupitza says: “ꝥ” generally means þæt, but sometimes, it would seem, þā.” If þā be adopted, it must refer to fyren-ðearfe. In latter half of same line the MS. is defective.
3. 18, 19. In Heyne and Socin’s edition, these lines stand:
   Bēowulf wæs brēme,blǣd wīde sprangScyldes eafera[n]Scede-landum in.
   
4. 20. MS. defective. Grein’s reading adopted in text.
5. 21. MS. defective at corner. Zupitza transliterates “. . rme,” following Conybeare and Kemble, but says: “What in the facsimile looks like part of a letter before ne (sic) is owing to a small hole in the MS.” Thorpe suggested bearme = “in his father’s bosom.”
6. 47. MS. defective at corner.
7. 51. MS. ‘sele rædenne.’ The emendation is Kemble’s, following l. 1346.