Beowulf (Wyatt)/Beowulf 36
XXXVI.
Wīglaf wæs hāten, Weoxstānes sunu,
lēoflic lind-wiga, lēod Scylfinga,
mǣg Ælfheres; geseah his mon-diyhten
2605under here-grīman hāt þrōwian;
gemunde ðā ðā āre, þe hē him ǣr forgeaf,
wīc-stede weligne Wǣgmundinga,
folc-rihta gehwylc, swā his fæder āhte;
ne mihte ðā forhabban, hond rond gefēng,
2610geolwe linde, gomel swyrd getēah.
Þæt wæs mid eldum Ēanmundes lāf,
*suna Ōhtere[s],[1] þām æt sæcce wearð,Fol. 188a.
wræcca[n][2] wine-lēasum, Weohstān[3] bana
mēces ecgum, ond his māgum ætbær
2615brūn-fāgne helm, hringde byrnan,
eald sweord etonisc, þæt him Onela forgeaf,
his gædelinges gūð-gewǣdu,
fyrd-searo fūslīc; nō ymbe ðā fǣhðe spræc,
þēah ðe hē his brōðr bearn ābredwade.
2620Hē frǣtwe gehēold fela missera,
bill ond byrnan, oð ðæt his byre mihte
eorl-scipe efnan swā his ǣr-fǣder;
geaf him ðā mid Gēatum gūð-gewǣda
ǣghwæs unrīm, þā hē of ealdre gewāt
2625frōd on forð-weg. Þā wæs forma sīð
geongan cempan, þæt hē gūðe rǣs
mid his frēo-dryhtne fremman sceolde;
ne gemealt him se mōd-sefa, ne his mǣges[4] lāf
gewāc æt wīge; þæt[5] se wyrm onfand,
2630syððan hīe tōgædre gegān hæfdon.
Wīglāf maðelode word-rihta fela,
sægde gesīðum (him wæs sefa gēomor):
“Ic ðæt *mǣl geman, þǣr wē medu þēgun,Fol. 188b.
þonne wē gehēton ussum hlāforde
2635in bīor-sele, ðe ūs ðās bēagas geaf,
þæt wē him ðā gūð-getāwa gyldan woldon,
gif him þyslicu þearf gelumpe,
helmas ond heard sweord. Ðē hē ūsic on herge gecēas
tō ðyssum sīð-fate sylfes willum,
2640onmunde ūsic mǣrða, ond mē þās māðmas geaf,
þē hē ūsic gār-wīgend gōde tealde,
hwate helm-berend, þēah ðe hlāford ūs
þis ellen-weorc āna āðōhte
tō gefremmanne, folces hyrde,
2645forðam[6] hē manna mǣst mǣrða gefremede,
dǣda dollīcra. Nū is se dæg cumen,
þæt ūre man-dryhten mægenes behōfað
gōdra gūð-rinca; wutun gongan tō,
helpan hild-fruman, þenden hyt sȳ,
2650glēd-egesa grim. God wāt on mec,
þæt mē is micle lēofre, þæt mīnne līc-haman
mid mīnne gold-gyfan glēd fæðmie.[7]
Ne þynceð mē gerysne, þæt wē rondas beren
eft tō earde, nemne wē ǣror mægen
2655fāne gefyllan, *feorh ealgianFol. 197a.[8]
Wedra ðēodnes. Ic wāt geare,
þæt nǣron eald gewyrht, þæt hē āna scyle
Gēata duguðe gnorn þrōwian,
gesīgan æt sæcce; ūrum sceal[9] sweord ond helm,
2660byrne ond byrdu-scrūd, bām gemǣne.”
Wōd þā þurh þone wæl-rēc, wīg-heafolan bær
frēan on fultum, fēa worda cwæð:
“Lēofa Bīowulf, lǣst eall tela,
swā ðū on geoguð-fēore geara gecwǣde,
2665þæt ðū ne ālǣte be ðē lifigendum
dōm gedrēosan; scealt nū dǣdum rōf,
æðeling ān-hȳdig, ealle mægene
feorh ealgian; ic ðē ful-lǣstu.”
Æfter ðām wordum wyrm yrre cwōm,
2670atol inwit-gæst, ōðre sīðe
fȳr-wylmum fāh fīonda nīos[i]an,[10]
lāðra manna. Līg-ȳðum forborn
bord wið rond; byrne ne meahte
geongum gār-wigan gēoce gefremman;
2675ac se maga geonga under his mǣges scyld
elne geēode, þā his āgen w[æs]
glēdum forgrunden. Þā gēn gūð-cyning
m[ǣrða][11] gemunde, mægen-strengo slōh
hilde-bille, þæt hyt on heafolan stōd
2680nīþe genȳded; Nægling forbærst,
geswāc æt sæcce sweord Bīowulfes,
*gomol ond grǣg-mǣl. Him þæt gifeðe ne wæs,Fol. 197.b
þæt him īrenna ecge mihton
helpan æt hilde; wæs sīo hond tō strong,
2685sē ðe mēca gehwane, mīne gefrǣge,
swenge ofersōhte, þonne hē tō sæcce bær
wǣpen wund[r]um[12] heard; næs him wihte ðē sēl.
Þā wæs þēod-sceaða þriddan sīðe,
frēcne fȳr-draca, fǣhða gemymdig,
2690rǣsde on ðone rōfan, þā him rūm āgeald,
hāt ond heaðo-grim, heals ealne ymbefēng
biteran bānum; hē geblōdegod wearð
sāwul-drīore; swāt ȳðum wēoll.
- ↑ 2612. MS. ‘ohtere.’
- ↑ 2613. MS. defective at corner.
- ↑ MS. ‘weohstanes.’
- ↑ 2628. MS. ‘mægenes’; Ettmüller ‘mǣges.’
- ↑ 2629. MS. ‘þa’; Thorpe ‘þæt.’
- ↑ 2645. MS. “forðā’; Zupitza ‘forðan.’ So also l. 2741.
- ↑ 2652. MS. and Zupitza ‘fæðmię’; hence Wülcker ‘fæðmiæ’ (cf. l. 2126, and Sievers § 361). In “ręced” (l. 1981) Zupitza is not sure that the mark under the e is not a mere flourish. It is used to convert e into æ in “bęl” (l. 2126), but it also occurs under the æ of “sæcce” (l. 1989).
- ↑ 2655. The numbers of the folios are given as they stand in the MS. Fol. 131 follows fol. 146. “The old number of this leaf is 197; but now it stands between 188 and 189, and the old number has been changed to 189 in pencil.”—Z.
- ↑ 2659. MS. ‘ð·sceal· urū:ð̦’; Zupitza ‘urum sceal,’ and in a foot-note:“sceal within dots and with a ð before it added in the left margin, whereas a ð over a colon with a comma under it marks the place in the line where it is to be inserted.” From a misunderstanding of this device have arisen the frequent misreadings of this line.
- ↑ 2671. MS. defective at edge, here and in ll. 2676, 2678.
- ↑ 2678. Kemble’s emendation.
- ↑ 2687. MS. ‘wundū’; Wülcker ‘wundum.’ Thorpe ‘wundrum’—a convincing emendation; cf. wundrum wrætlīce “Phoenix” 63, wundrum hēah “Wanderer” 98.