Beowulf (Wyatt)/Beowulf 10

X.

Ða him Hrōðgār gewātmid his hæleþa gedryht,
eodur Scyldinga,ūt of healle;
wolde wīg-frumaWealhþēo sēcan,
665cwēn tō gebeddan.Hæfde kyning[a]^[1] wuldor
Grendle tō-gēanes,swā guman gefrungon,
sele-weard āseted;sundor-nytte behēold
ymb aldor Dena,eoton-weard ābēad.^[2]
Hūru Gēata lēodgeorne trūwode
670mōdgan mægnes,Metodes hyldo.
Ðā hē him of dydeīsern-byrnan,
helm of hafelan,sealde his hyrsted sweord,
īrena cyst,ombiht-þegne,
ond gehealdan hēthilde-geātwe.
675Gesprsec þā se gōdagylp-worda sum,
Bēowulf *Gēata,ǣr hē on bed stige:Fol. 145b.
“Nō ic mē an here-wǣsmun^[3]hnāgran talige
gūþ-geweorcaþonne Grendel hine;
forþan ic hine sweordeswebban nelle,
680aldre benēotan,þēah ic eal mæge.
Nāt hē þāra gōda,þæt hēe mē ongēan slēa,
rand gehēawe,þēah ðe hē rōf sīe
nīþ-geweorca;ac wit on niht sculon
secge ofersittan,gif hē^[4] gesēcean dear
685wīg ofer wǣpen,ond siþðan wītig God
on swā hwæþere hond,hālig Dryhten,
mǣrðo dēme,swā him gemet þince.”
Hylde hine þā heaþo-dēor,hlēor-bolster onfēng
eorles andwlitan,ond hine ymb monig
690snellīc sǣ-rincsele-reste gebēah.
Nǣnig heora þōhte,þæt hē þanon scolde
eft eard-lufanǣfre gesēcean,
folc oþðe frēo-burh,þǣr hē āfēded wæs:
ac hīe hæfdon gefrūnen,þǣt hīe ǣr tō fela micles
695in þǣm wīn-selewǣl-dēað fornam,
Denigea lēode.Ac him Dryhten forgeaf
wīg-spēda gewiofu,*Wedera lēodumFol. 146a.
frōfor ond fultum,þæt hīe fēond heora
ðurh ānes cræftealle ofercōmon,
700selfes mihtum;sōð is gecȳþed,
þæt mihtig Godmanna cynnes
wēold wīde-ferhð.^[5]Cōm on wanre niht
scrīðan sceadu-genga.Scēotend swǣfon,
þā þæt horn-recedhealdan scoldon,
705ealle būton ānum.Þæt wæs yldum cūþ,
þæt hīe ne mōste,þā metod nolde,
se syn-scaþaunder sceadu bregdan;
ac hē wæccendewrāþum on andan
bād bolgen-mōdbeadwa geþinges.

1. 665. MS. ‘kyning,’ at end of line; there is room for an a, but no trace of one.
2. 668. Thorpe ‘eoton (acc.) weard (nom.) ābēad’; Heyne ‘eoton (dat.) weard (acc.) ābēad.’ The difficulty of the uninflected accus. eoton-weard seems less than those presented by these readings.
3. 677. Thorpe ‘wæstmum,’ Grein ‘wǣsmum.’
4. 684. MS. ‘het.’
5. 702. Thorkelin ‘ride’; “now nothing left but part of the perpendicular stroke of the first letter.”