Beowulf (Wyatt)/Beowulf 12
XII.
Nolde eorla hlēoǣnige þinga
þone cwealm-cumancwicne forlǣtan,
ne his līf-dagaslēoda ǣnigum
nytte tealde.Þær genehost brægd
795eorl Bēowulfesealde lāfe,
wolde frēa-drihtnesfeorh ealgian,
mǣres þēodnes,ðǣr hīe meahton swā.
Hīe þæt ne wiston,þā hīe gewin drugon,
heard-hicgendehilde-mecgas,
800ond on healfa gehwonehēawan þōhton,
sāwle sēcan:þone syn-scaðan
ǣnig ofer eorþanīrenna cyst,
gūð-billa nān,grētan nolde;
ac hē sige-wǣpnum*forsworen hæfde,Fol. 147b.
805ecga gehwylcre.Scolde his aldor-gedāl
on ðǣm dægeþysses līfes
earmlīc wurðan,ond se ellor-gāst
on fēonda gewealdfeor sīðian.
Ðā þæt onfunde,sē þe fela ǣror
810mōdes myrðemanna cynne
fyrene gefremede,hē fāg wið God,[1]
þæt him se līc-homalǣstan nolde,
ac hine se mōdegamǣg Hygelāces
hæfde be honda;wæs gehwæþer ōðrum
815lifigende lāð.Līc-sār gebād
atol ǣglǣca;him on eaxle wearð
syn-dolh sweotol;seonowe onsprungon,
burston bān-locan.Bēowulfe wearð
gūð-hrēð gyfeþe;scolde Grendel þonan
820feorh-sēoc flēonunder fen-hleoðu,
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sēcean wyn-lēas wīc;wiste þē geornor,
þæt his aldres wæsende gegongen,
dōgera dæg-rīm.Denum eallum wearð
æfter þām wæl-rǣsewilla gelumpen.
825Hæfde þā gefǣlsod,sē þe iǣr feorran cōm,
snotor ond swȳð-ferhðsele Hrōðgāres,
genered wið *nīðe;niht-weorce gefeh,Fol. 148a.
ellen-mǣrþum.Hæfde East-Denum
Gēat-mecga lēodgilp gelǣsted,
830swylce oncȳþðeealle gebētte,
inwid-sorge,þe hīe ǣr drugon
ond for þrēa-nȳdumþolian scoldon,
torn unlȳtel.Þæt wæs tācen sweotol,
syþðan hilde-dēorhond ālegde,
835earm ond eaxle(þǣr wæs eal geador
Grendles grāpe)under gēapne hr[ōf].[2]
- ↑ 811. Kemble first inserted ‘wæs’ after ‘he.’ Heyne has: ‘(he wǣs fāg wið god),’ which appears to me a distinct enfeeblement of the MS. reading. Fāg comes at the beginning of a line in the MS., and Heyne says it cannot be settled whether or not wæs stood before it. This is very misleading. “There was no room for wæs before fag’ (Zupitza), as a glance at the facsimile suffices to show.
- ↑ 836. MS. defective at edge. Cf. l. 926.