Beowulf (Wyatt)/Beowulf 13

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1317767Beowulf (Wyatt) — Beowulf: XIII

XIII.

Ðā wæs on morgen,mīne gefrǣge,
ymb þā gif-heallegūð-rinc monig;
fērdon folc-toganfeorran ond nēan
840geond wīd-wegaswundor scēawian,
lāþes lāstas.Nō his līf-gedāl
sārlīc þūhtesecga ǣnegum,
þāra þe tīr-lēasestrode scēawode,
hū hē wērig-mōdon weg þanon,
845nīða ofercumenon nicera mere,
fǣge ond geflȳmed,feorh-lāstas bær.
Ðǣr wæs on blōdebrim weallende,
atol ȳða geswingeal gemenged
hāton heolfre,^[1]*heoro-drēore, wēol;Fol 148b.
850dēað-fǣge dēog,siððan drēama lēas
in fen-freoðofeorh ālegde,
hǣþene sāwle;þǣr him hel onfēng.
Þanon eft gewitoneald-gesīðas,
swylce geong manigof gomen-wāþe,
855fram mere mōdgemēarum rīdan,
beornas on blancum.Ðǣr wæs Bēowulfes
mǣrðo mǣned;monig oft gecwæð,
þætte sūð ne norðbe sǣm twēonum
ofer eormen-grundōþer nǣnig
860under swegles begongsēlra nǣre
rond-hæbbendra,rīces wyrðra.
Ne hīe hūru wine-drihtenwiht ne lōgon,
glædne Hrōðgār,ac þǣt wæs gōd cyning.
Hwīlum heaþo-rōfehlēapan lēton,
865on geflit faran,fealwe mēaras,
ðǣr him fold-wegasfægere þūhton,
cystum cūðe.Hwīlum cyninges þegn,
guma gilp-hlæden,gidda gemyndig,
sē ðe eal-felaeald-gesegena
870worn gemunde,word ōþer fand
sōðe gebunden.^[2]Secg eft ongan
sīð Bēowulfessnyttrum *styrian,Fol. 149a.
ond on spēd wrecanspel gerāde,
wordum wrixlan;wel-hwylc gecwæð,
875þæt hē fram Sigemunde[s]^[3]secgan hȳrde
ellen-dǣdum,imcūþes fela,
Wælsinges gewin,wīde sīðas,
þāra þe gumena bearngearwe ne wiston,
fǣhðe ond fyrena,būton Fitela mid hine,
880þonne hē swulces^[4] hwætsecgan wolde
ēam his nefan,swā hie ā wǣron
æt nīða gehwāmnȳd-gesteallan;
hæfdon eal-felaeotena cynnes
sweordum gesǣged.Sigemunde gesprong
885æfter dēað-dægedōm unlȳtel,
syþðan wīges heardwyrm ācwealde,
hordes hyrde;hē under hārne stān,
æþelinges bearn,āna genēðde
frēcne dǣde;ne wæs him Fitela mid;
890hwæþre him gesǣlde,ðæt þæt swurd þurhwōd
wrætlīcne wyrm,þæt hit on wealle ætstōd,
dryhtlīc īren;draca morðre swealt.
Hæfde āglǣcaelne gegongen,
þæt hē bēah-hordesbrūcan mōste
895selfes dōme;*sǣ-bāt gehlēod,^[5]Fol. 149b.
bær on bearm scipesbeorhte frætwa
Wælses eafera;wyrm hāt^[6] gemealt.
Sē wæs wreccenawīde mǣrost
ofer wer-þēode,wīgendra hlēo,
900ellen-dǣdum;hē þæs ǣr onðāh.^[7]
Siððan Heremōdeshild sweðrode,
eafoð^[8] ond ellen;hē mid eotenum wearð
on fēonda gewealdforð forlācen,
snūde forsended.Hine sorh-wylmas
905lemede tō lange;hē his lēodum wearð,
eallum æþelingnm,^[9]to aldor-ceare.
Swylce oft bemearnǣrran mǣlum
swið-ferhþes sīðsnotor ceorl monig,
sē þe him bealwatō bōte gelȳfde,
910þæt þæt ðēodnes bearngeþēon scolde,
fæder æþelum^[10] onfōn,folc gehealdan,
hord ond hlēo-burh,hæleþa rīce,
ēðel Scyldinga.Hē þǣr eallum wearð,
mǣg Higelācesmanna cynne,
915frēondum gefægra;hine fyren onwōd.^[11]
Hwīlum flītendefealwe strǣte
mēarum mǣton.Ðā wæs morgen-lēoht
scofen ond scynded.*Eode scealc monig Fol. 150a.
switð-hicgendetō sele þām hēan
920searo-wundor sēon;swylce self cyning
of brȳd-būre,bēah-horda weard,
tryddode tīr-fæstgetrume micle,
cystum gecȳþed,ond his cwēn mid him
medo-stīg gemætmægþa hōse.

↑ 849. MS. ‘hat on heolfre,’ and so Wülcker. Grein ‘hatan’ = hāton in the text. The reading in the text is much easier than that of the MS., and l. 1423 turns the probability in its favour.
↑ 870—1. Rieger and Bugge put ‘word…gebunden’ in a parenthesis.
↑ 875. MS. ‘Sigemunde.’ Grein’s emendation ‘Sigemundes’ is good in itself, and is the more probable in that the next word begins with s.
↑ 880. Heyne normalises to ‘swylces.’
↑ 895. Many editors normalise to ‘gehlōd.’ Sievers § 392, N. 3.
↑ 875. Earle adopts Scherer’s emendation ‘hāt[e],’ with heat.
↑ 900. Cosijn’s emendation ‘āron ðah,’ with honours throve, is adopted by Heyne and by Earle. For āron = ārum cf. scypon l. 1154, and hēaf- don l. 1242, and for the phrase cf. weorð-myndum þāh l. 8. Nevertheless I cannot bring myself to abandon the clear reading of the MS., which makes at least as good sense as many another passage.
↑ 902. MS. ‘earfoð,’ retained by Wülcker; cf. l. 534. On the other hand, see ll. 602, 2349.
↑ 906. MS. ‘æþellingum.’
↑ 911. There appears to be no sufficient reason for making a compound, fæder-æþelum, here, as the editors do. Cf. ll. 21, 1479.
↑ 915. Some editors mark the close of this episode by a space between this line and the next. There is nothing more than a dot in the MS., not a fresh line, nor even a capital to hwīlum.

[1] 849. MS. ‘hat on heolfre,’ and so Wülcker. Grein ‘hatan’ = hāton in the text. The reading in the text is much easier than that of the MS., and l. 1423 turns the probability in its favour.

[2] 870—1. Rieger and Bugge put ‘word…gebunden’ in a parenthesis.

[3] 875. MS. ‘Sigemunde.’ Grein’s emendation ‘Sigemundes’ is good in itself, and is the more probable in that the next word begins with s.

[4] 880. Heyne normalises to ‘swylces.’

[5] 895. Many editors normalise to ‘gehlōd.’ Sievers § 392, N. 3.

[6] 875. Earle adopts Scherer’s emendation ‘hāt[e],’ with heat.

[p37-7] 900. Cosijn’s emendation ‘āron ðah,’ with honours throve, is adopted by Heyne and by Earle. For āron = ārum cf. scypon l. 1154, and hēaf- don l. 1242, and for the phrase cf. weorð-myndum þāh l. 8. Nevertheless I cannot bring myself to abandon the clear reading of the MS., which makes at least as good sense as many another passage.

[8] 902. MS. ‘earfoð,’ retained by Wülcker; cf. l. 534. On the other hand, see ll. 602, 2349.

[9] 906. MS. ‘æþellingum.’

[10] 911. There appears to be no sufficient reason for making a compound, fæder-æþelum, here, as the editors do. Cf. ll. 21, 1479.

[11] 915. Some editors mark the close of this episode by a space between this line and the next. There is nothing more than a dot in the MS., not a fresh line, nor even a capital to hwīlum.

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