Beowulf (Wyatt)/Beowulf 24

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Beowulf: XXIV

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1360566Beowulf (Wyatt) — Beowulf: XXIV

XXIV.

Bēowulf maþelode, bearn Ecgþēowes:
“Hwæt! wē þē þās sǣ-lāc, sunu Healfdenes
lēod Scyldinga, lustum brōhton
tīres tō tācne, þe þū hēr tō lōcast.
1655Ic þæt unsōfte ealdre gedīgde,
wigge under wætere weorc genēþde
earfoðlice; ætrihte wæs
gūð getwǣfed, nymðe mec God scylde.
Ne meahte ic æt hilde mid Hruntinge
1660wiht gewyrcan, þēah þæt wǣpen duge;
ac mē geūðe ylda Waldend,
þæt ic on wāge geseah wlitig *hangianFol. 166b.
eald sweord ēacen (oftost wīsode
winigea lēasum), þæt ic ðȳ wǣpne gebrǣd.
1665Ofslōh ðā æt þǣre sæcce, þā mē sǣl āgeald,
hūses hyrdas. Þā þæt hilde-bil
forbarn, brogden mǣl, swā þæt blōd gesprang,
hātost heaþo-swāta. Ic þæt hilt þanan
fēondum ætferede, fyren-dǣda wræc,
1670dēað-cwealm Denigea, swā hit gedēfe wæs.
Ic hit þē þonne gehāte, þæt þū on Heorote mōst
sorh-lēas swefan mid þīnra secga gedryht,
ond þegna gehwylc þinra lēoda,
duguðe ond iogoþe; þæt þū him ondrǣdan ne þearft,
1675þēoden Scyldinga, on þā healfe
aldor-bealu eorliim, swā þū ǣr dydest.”
Ðā wæs gylden hilt gamelum rince,
hārum hild-fruman, on hand gyfen,
enta ǣr-geweorc; hit on ǣht gehwearf,
1680æfter dēofla hryre, Denigea frēan,
wundor-smiþa geweorc; ond^[1] þā þās worold ofgeaf
grom-heort guma, Godes ondsaca,
morðres scyldig, ond his mōdor ēac,
on geweald gehwearf worold-cyninga
1685ðǣm sēlestan be *sǣm twēonum,Fol. 167a.
ðāra þe on Sceden-igge^[2] sceattas dǣlde.
Hrōðgār maðelode, hylt scēawode,
ealde lāfe, on ðǣm wæs ōr writen
fyrn-gewinnes, syðþan flōd ofslōh,
1690gifen gēotende, gīganta cyn;
frēcne gefērdon; þæt wæs fremde þēod
ēcean Dryhtne; him þæs ende-lēan
þurh wæteres wylm Waldend sealde.
Swā wæs on ðǣm scennum scīran goldes
1695þurh rūn-stafas rihte gemearcod,
geseted ond gesǣd, hwām þæt sweord geworht,
īrena cyst, ǣrest wǣre,
wreoþen-hilt ond wyrm-fāh. Ða se wīsa spræc
sunu Healfdenes; swīgedon ealle:
1700“Þæt, lā! mæg secgan, sē þe sōð ond riht
fremeð on folce, feor eal gemon,
eald ēðel-weard, þæt ðes eorl wǣre^[3]
geboren betera. Blǣd is ārǣred
geond wīd-wegas, wine mīn Bēowulf,
1705ðīn ofer þēoda gehwylce. Eal þū hit geþyldum healdest,
mægen mid mōdes snyttrum. Ic þē sceal mīne gelǣstan
freoðe,^[4] swā wit furðum sprǣcon; ðū scealt tō frōfre weorþan
eal lang-twidig lēodum þīnum,
*hæleðum tō helpe. Ne wearð Heremōd swāFol. 167b.
1710eaforum Ecgwelan, Ār-Scyldingum;
ne gewēox hē him tō willan, ac tō wæl-fealle
ond tō dēað-cwalum Deniga lēodum;
brēat bolgen-mōd bēod-genēatas,
eaxl-gesteallan, oþ þæt hē āna hwearf,
1715mǣre þēoden, mon-drēamum from.
Ðeah þe hine mihtig God mægenes wynnum,
eafeþum, stēpte ofer ealle men,
forð gefremede, hwæþere him on ferhþe grēow
brēost-hord blōd-rēow; nallas bēagas geaf
1720Denum æfter dōme; drēam-lēas gebād,
þæt hē þæs gewinnes weorc þrōwade,
lēod-bealo longsum. Ðū þē lǣr be þon,
gum-cyste ongit; ic þis gid be þē
āwræc wintrum frōd. Wundor is tō secganne,
1725hū mihtig God manna cynne
þurh sīdne sefan snyttru bryttað,
eard ond eorl-scipe; hē āh ealra geweald.
Hwīlum hē on lufan lǣteð hworfan
monnes mōd-geþonc mǣran cynnes,
1730seleð him on ēþle eorþan wynne,
tō healdanne hlēo-burh wera,
*gedēð him swā gewealdene worolde dǣlas,Fol. 168a.
sīde rīce, þæt hē his selfa ne mæg
^[5]his unsnyttrum ende geþencean.
1735Wunað hē on wiste; nō hine wiht dweleð
ādl ne yldo, ne him inwit-sorh
on sefa[n]^[6] sweorceð, ne gesacu ōhwǣr,
ecg-hete, ēoweð, ac him eal worold^[7]
wendeð on willan. Hē þæt wyrse ne con,^[8]

↑ 1681. Müllenhoff and Bugge reject ond as superfluous. It is certainly very unusual at the beginning of a sentence which is only a parallel expansion of what precedes.
↑ 1686. MS. ‘scedenigge,’ in one word.
↑ 1702. Bugge suggests ‘þæt ðē eorl nǣre.’
↑ 1707. Wülcker and Heyne ‘frēode,’ taking that to be the reading of the MS. Zupitza: “I think the MS. has freoðe, not freode; although the left half of the cross stroke in ð has entirely faded, yet the place where it was is discernible, and the right half of it is left.”
↑ 1734. With admirable and shameless audacity Heyne and Wülcker foist in for at the beginning of this line without a word of comment. Cf. l. 942.
↑ 1737. MS. defective at edge; Zupitza ‘sefa[n].’
↑ Grein ‘ne gesaca (adversary) ōhwǣr ecg-hete ēoweð (shows).’ On the whole I prefer to abide by the MS. reading, although examples are wanting of ēowan used intransitively, as its compound oðēowan frequently is.
↑ 1739. The MS. has a stop after con, the usual space with the number XXV, and then a large capital O. But it seems impossible to begin a fresh sentence with oð þæt “until,” as Earle does. Grein makes the break in the middle of l. 1739, Heyne after l. 1744.

[1] 1681. Müllenhoff and Bugge reject ond as superfluous. It is certainly very unusual at the beginning of a sentence which is only a parallel expansion of what precedes.

[2] 1686. MS. ‘scedenigge,’ in one word.

[3] 1702. Bugge suggests ‘þæt ðē eorl nǣre.’

[4] 1707. Wülcker and Heyne ‘frēode,’ taking that to be the reading of the MS. Zupitza: “I think the MS. has freoðe, not freode; although the left half of the cross stroke in ð has entirely faded, yet the place where it was is discernible, and the right half of it is left.”

[5] 1734. With admirable and shameless audacity Heyne and Wülcker foist in for at the beginning of this line without a word of comment. Cf. l. 942.

[6] 1737. MS. defective at edge; Zupitza ‘sefa[n].’

[7] Grein ‘ne gesaca (adversary) ōhwǣr ecg-hete ēoweð (shows).’ On the whole I prefer to abide by the MS. reading, although examples are wanting of ēowan used intransitively, as its compound oðēowan frequently is.

[8] 1739. The MS. has a stop after con, the usual space with the number XXV, and then a large capital O. But it seems impossible to begin a fresh sentence with oð þæt “until,” as Earle does. Grein makes the break in the middle of l. 1739, Heyne after l. 1744.

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