Beowulf (Wyatt)/Beowulf 15

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Beowulf: XV

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1318773Beowulf (Wyatt) — Beowulf: XV

XV.

Ðā wæs hāten hreþe⁠Heort innan-weard
folmum gefrætwod;⁠fela þǣra wæs
wera ond wīfa,⁠þe þæt wīn-reced,
gest-sele, gyredon.⁠Gold-fāg scinon
995web æfter wāgum,⁠wundor-sīona fela
secga gehwylcum,⁠þāra þe on swylc starað.
Wæs þæt beorhte bold⁠tōbrocen swīðe,
eal inne-weard⁠īren-bendum fæst,
heorras tōhlidene;⁠hrōf āna genæs
1000ealles ansund,⁠þā^[1] se āglǣca
fyren-dǣdum fāg⁠on flēam gewand,
aldres orwēna.⁠Nō þæt ȳðe byð
tō beflēonne,⁠fremme sē þe wille;
ac gesacan sceal⁠sāwl-berendra,
1005nȳde genȳdde,⁠niþða bearna,^[2]
grund-būendra,⁠gearwe stōwe,
þǣr his līc-homa⁠leger-bedde fæst
swefeþ æfter symle.⁠Þā wæs sǣl ond mǣl,
þæt tō healle *gang⁠Healfdenes sunu;Fol. 152a.
1010wolde self cyning⁠symbel þicgan.
Ne gefrægen ic þā mǣgþe⁠māran weorode
ymb hyra sinc-gyfan⁠sēl gebǣran.
Bugon þā tō bence⁠blǣd-āgende,^[3]
fylle gefǣgon;⁠fægere geþǣgon
1015medo-ful manig⁠māgas þāra,^[4]
swīð-hicgende,⁠on sele þām hēan,
Hrōðgār ond Hrōþulf.⁠Heorot innan wæs
frēondum āfylled;⁠nalles fācen-stafas
Þēod-Scyldingas⁠þenden fremedon.
1020Forgeaf þā Bēowulfe⁠bearn^[5] Healfdenes
segen gyldenne⁠sigores tō lēane,
hroden hilte-cumbor,⁠helm ond byrnan;
mǣre māðþum-sweord⁠manige gesāwon
beforan beorn beran.⁠Bēowulf geþah
1025ful on flette.⁠Nō hē þǣre feoh-gyfte
for scotenum^[6]⁠scamigan ðorfte;
ne gefrægn ic frēondlīcor⁠fēower mādmas
golde gegyrede⁠gum-manna fela
in ealo-bence⁠ōðrum gesellan.
1030Ymb þæs helmes hrōf⁠hēafod-beorge
wīrum bewunden⁠wala utan heold,^[7]
þæt him fēla *lāfe^[8]⁠frēcne ne meahtonFol. 152b.
scūr-heard sceþðan,⁠þonne scyld-freca
ongēan gramum⁠gangan scolde.
1035Heht ðā eorla hlēo⁠eahta mēaras
fǣted-hlēore⁠on flet tēon,
in under eoderas;⁠þāra ānum stōd
sadol searwum fāh,⁠since gewurþad;
þæt wæs hilde-setl⁠hēah-cyninges,
1040ðonne sweorda gelāc⁠sunu Healfdenes
efnan wolde;⁠nǣfre on ōre læg
wīd-cūþes wīg,⁠ðonne walu fēollon.
Ond ðā Bēowulfe⁠bēga gehwæþ7res
eodor Ingwina⁠onweald getēah,
1045wicga ond wǣpna;⁠hēt hine wel brūcan.
Swā manlīce⁠mǣere þēoden,
hord-weard hæleþa,⁠heaþo-rǣsas geald
mēarum ond mādmum,⁠swā hȳ nǣfre man lyhð,
sē þe secgan wile⁠sōð ætter rihte.

↑ 1000. MS. ‘þe’
↑ 1002—5. These lines, as given in Holder’s edition, show the principal emendations that have been suggested:

⁠Nō þæt ȳðe byð
tō beflēonne⁠(fremme sē þe wille!),
ac gesēcan sceal⁠sāwl-berendra [gehwā],
nȳde genȳded⁠niþða bearna.
↑ 1013. Thorkelin A ‘blæd agande,’ B ‘blædagande.’ The MS. now has only blæd left, and de on the next line.
↑ 1014—5. Bugge proposed to put these two lines in parentheses, because of “the difficulty of finding an antecedent for þāra.” Heyne (5th edition) and Earle adopt the suggestion. This can only be on the principle—of two difficulties choose the greater. What a master of the parenthesis-style the “scop” must have been, to keep his hearers waiting for the subject of bugon, past two other finite verbs with a different subject, until four lines lower down! And what is to hinder the antecedent of þāra being implied in blǣd-āgende, in speaking of a court where everyone was doubtless related to everyone else, as in a Scotch clan?
↑ 1020. MS. ‘brand.’
↑ 1026. MS. ‘scotenum’; Grein 2 ‘scoterum’; Wülcker ‘scēotendum,’ for which cf. ll. 703, 1154. Heyne quotes oxenum, nefenum, as examples of similar weak dat. pls.
↑ 1030—1. The MS. has ‘heafod beorge wirum be wunden walan utan heold.’ Ettmüller ‘wala,’ adopted by Grein. If we leave the MS. reading unaltered, there is a choice of difficulties. Either we must take walan as subject and hēafod-beorge as object, with a striking violation of grammatical concord in the verb hēold; or we must (with Heyne and Socin) take hēafod-beorge as a weak fem. noun in the nom. and walan as object, with considerable loss to the sense. The nom. pl. scūr-beorge (“Ruin” 5) also tells against the latter view, which has no support from analogy.
↑ 1032. Thorkelin ‘laf’ (now gone in the MS.). On account of this reading, Bugge (“Beiträge” xii. 92) supports Thorpe’s emendation meahte, confirming it by the form scūr-heard in the next line, and by a reference to Sievers: “der erste halbvers ist nach den untersuchungen Sievers’ (“Beiträge” x. 455) metrisch unrichtig.” It is a curious commentary on this last reason, that Sievers himself quotes the line, with the form lāfe, among the examples of his type A (“Beit.” x. 273).

[1] 1000. MS. ‘þe’

[2] 1002—5. These lines, as given in Holder’s edition, show the principal emendations that have been suggested:

⁠Nō þæt ȳðe byð
tō beflēonne⁠(fremme sē þe wille!),
ac gesēcan sceal⁠sāwl-berendra [gehwā],
nȳde genȳded⁠niþða bearna.

[3] 1013. Thorkelin A ‘blæd agande,’ B ‘blædagande.’ The MS. now has only blæd left, and de on the next line.

[l1014-4] 1014—5. Bugge proposed to put these two lines in parentheses, because of “the difficulty of finding an antecedent for þāra.” Heyne (5th edition) and Earle adopt the suggestion. This can only be on the principle—of two difficulties choose the greater. What a master of the parenthesis-style the “scop” must have been, to keep his hearers waiting for the subject of bugon, past two other finite verbs with a different subject, until four lines lower down! And what is to hinder the antecedent of þāra being implied in blǣd-āgende, in speaking of a court where everyone was doubtless related to everyone else, as in a Scotch clan?

[5] 1020. MS. ‘brand.’

[6] 1026. MS. ‘scotenum’; Grein 2 ‘scoterum’; Wülcker ‘scēotendum,’ for which cf. ll. 703, 1154. Heyne quotes oxenum, nefenum, as examples of similar weak dat. pls.

[7] 1030—1. The MS. has ‘heafod beorge wirum be wunden walan utan heold.’ Ettmüller ‘wala,’ adopted by Grein. If we leave the MS. reading unaltered, there is a choice of difficulties. Either we must take walan as subject and hēafod-beorge as object, with a striking violation of grammatical concord in the verb hēold; or we must (with Heyne and Socin) take hēafod-beorge as a weak fem. noun in the nom. and walan as object, with considerable loss to the sense. The nom. pl. scūr-beorge (“Ruin” 5) also tells against the latter view, which has no support from analogy.

[l1032-8] 1032. Thorkelin ‘laf’ (now gone in the MS.). On account of this reading, Bugge (“Beiträge” xii. 92) supports Thorpe’s emendation meahte, confirming it by the form scūr-heard in the next line, and by a reference to Sievers: “der erste halbvers ist nach den untersuchungen Sievers’ (“Beiträge” x. 455) metrisch unrichtig.” It is a curious commentary on this last reason, that Sievers himself quotes the line, with the form lāfe, among the examples of his type A (“Beit.” x. 273).

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Beowulf (Wyatt)/Beowulf 15

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