Beowulf (Wyatt)/Beowulf 22

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Beowulf: XXII

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1325164Beowulf (Wyatt) — Beowulf: XXII

XXII.

Bēowulf maþelode, ⁠bearn Ecgþēowes:
“Geþenc nū, se mǣra⁠maga Healfdenes,
1475snottra fengel,⁠nū ic eom sīðes fūs,
gold-wine gumena,⁠hwæt wit gēo sprǣcon:
gif ic æt þearfe⁠þīnre scolde
aldre linnan,⁠þæt ðū mē ā wǣre
forð-gewitenum⁠on fæder stǣle.
1480Wes þū mund-bora⁠mīnum mago-þegnum,^[1]
hond-gesellum,⁠gif mec hild nime;
swylce þū ðā mādmas,⁠þe þū mē sealdest,
Hrōðgār lēofa,⁠Higelāce onsend.
Mæg þonne on þǣm golde ongitan⁠Gēata dryhten,
1485gesēon sunu Hrēðles,^[2]⁠þonne hē on þæt sinc starað,
þæt ic gum-cystum⁠gōdne funde
bēaga bryttan,⁠brēac þonne mōste.
Ond þū Unferð^[3] lǣt⁠ealde lāfe,
wrætlīc wǣg-sweord,⁠wīd-cūðne man
1490heard-ecg habban;⁠ic mē mid Hruntinge
dōm gewyrce,⁠*oþðe mec dēað nimeð.”Fol. 163a.
Æfter þǣm wordum⁠Weder-Gēata lēod
efste mid elne,⁠nalas ondsware
bīdan wolde;⁠brim-wylm onfēng
1495hilde-rince.⁠Ðā wæs hwīl dæges,
ǣr hē þone grund-wong⁠ongytan mehte.
Sōna þæt onfunde,⁠sē ðe flōda begong
heoro-gīfre behēold⁠hund missera,
grim ond grǣdig,⁠þæt þǣr gumena sum
1500æl-wihta eard⁠ufan cunnode.
Grāp þā, tōgēanes,⁠gūð-rinc gefēng
atolan clommum;⁠nō þȳ ǣr in gescōd
hālan līce;⁠hring ūtan ymbbearh,
þæt hēo þone fyrd-hom⁠ðurhfōn ne mihte,
1505locene leoðo-syrcan,⁠lāþan fingrum.
Bær þā sēo brim-wyl[f],^[4]⁠þā hēo tō botme cōm,
hringa þengel⁠tō hofe sīnum,
swā hē ne mihte nō⁠(hē þēah^[5] mōdig wæs)
wǣpna gewealdan;⁠ac hine wundra þæs fela
1510swe[n]cte^[6] on sunde,⁠sǣ-dēor monig
hilde-tuxum⁠here-syrcan bræc,
ēhton āglǣcan.⁠Ðā se eorl ongeat,
þæt hē [in]^[7] nīð-sele⁠nāt-hwylcum wæs,
þǣr him nǣnig wæter⁠wihte ne sceþede,
1515ne him for hrōf-sele⁠hrīnan ne mehte
fǣr-gripe flōdes;⁠*fȳr-lēoht geseah,Fol. 163b.
blācne lēoman⁠beorhte scīnan.
Ongeat þā se gōda⁠grund-wyrgenne,
mere-wīf mihtig;⁠mægen-rǣs forgeaf
1520hilde-bille,⁠hond^[8] swenge ne oftēah,
þæt hire on hafelan⁠hring-mǣl āgōl
grǣdig gūð-lēoð.⁠Ðā se gist onfand,
þæt se beado-lēoma⁠bītan nolde,
aldre sceþðan,⁠ac sēo ecg geswāc
1525ðēodne æt þearfe;⁠ðolode ǣr fela
hond-gemōta,⁠helm oft gescær,
fǣges fyrd-hrægl;⁠ðā wæs forma sīð
dēorum mādme,⁠þæt his dōm ālæg.
Eft wæs ān-rǣd,⁠nalas elnes læt,
1530mǣrða gemyndig,⁠mǣg Hy[ge]lāces.^[9]
Wearp ðā wunden-mǣl^[10]⁠wrættum gebunden
yrre ōretta,⁠þæt hit on eorðan læg,
stīð ond stȳl-ecg;⁠strenge getrūwode,
mund-gripe mægenes.⁠Swā sceal man dōn,
1535þonne hē æt gūðe⁠gegān þenceð
longsumne lof,⁠nā ymb his līf cearað.
Gefēng þā be eaxle^[11]⁠(nalas for fǣhðe mearn)
Gūð-Gēata lēod⁠Grendles mōdor,
brægd þā beadwe heard,⁠þā hē gebolgen wæs,
1540feorh-genīðlan,⁠þæt hēo on flet gebēah.
Hēo him eft hraðe⁠hand-lēan^[12] forgeald
grim*man grāpum,⁠ond him tōgēanes fēng;Fol. 164a.
oferwearp þā wērig-mōd⁠wigena strengest,
fēþe-cempa,⁠þæt hē on fylle wearð.
1545Ofsæt þā þone sele-gyst,⁠ond hyre seax^[13] getēah
brād, brūn-ecg,^[14]⁠wolde hire bearn wrecan,
āngan eaferan.⁠Him on eaxle læg
brēost-net brōden;⁠þæt gebearh fēore,
wið ord ond wið ecge⁠ingang forstōd.
1550Hæfde ðā forsīðod⁠sunu Ecgþēowes
under gynne grund,⁠Gēata cempa,
nemne him heaðo-byrne⁠helpe gefremede,
here-net hearde,⁠ond hālig God
gewēold wīg-sigor,⁠wītig Drihten,
1555rodera Rǣdend⁠hit on ryht gescēd^[15]
ȳðelīce;⁠syþðan hē eft āstōd.

↑ 1480. Heyne divides this line wrongly, after mīnum.
↑ 1485. MS. ‘hrædles.’
↑ 1488. MS. ‘hunferð.’
↑ 1506. MS. ‘brim wyl.’
↑ 1508. MS. ‘þæm’; Grundtvig (adopted by Heyne) ‘þæs’; Grein ‘þēah.’ Grein’s emendation makes admirable sense. I would retain the MS. reading in preference to þæs, which Heyne supports by parallel passages. It is undeniable that þæs is common enough with the meaning “so” (see l. 1509); but what can be feebler than to be told, half way through the poem, that Beowulf is brave enough to wield his weapons?
↑ 1510. MS. ‘swecte.’
↑ 1513. Thorpe ‘[in].’ Grein (followed by Heyne) ‘nið-sele,’ aula in profundis; Sweet ‘nīð-sele,’ hostile hall. The line is of the same type as 482, and a long syllable is required for the scansion (see “Beiträge” x. 297).
↑ 1520. MS. ‘hord swenge’; Sweet ‘swenge hond,’ without explanation.
↑ 1530. MS. ‘hylaces.’
↑ 1531. MS. ‘wundel mæl.’
↑ 1537. Sweet adopts Rieger’s emendation ‘feaxe,’ apparently for the sake of the alliteration—a wanton change, for gefēng alliterates normally with fæhðe.
↑ 1541. Heyne and Sweet (who however glosses hand-lēan alone) adopt Rieger’s emendation and-lēan, alliterating with eft. So, in l. 2094, Heyne reads ond-lēan for hond-lēan, “mit Rücksicht auf die Allitteration.” On the other hand, it is unfortunate that the alliteration is not decisive in the case of either line. Moreover, the phrase and-lēan forgieldan, “to repay reward,” is distinctly over-redundant, containing as it does the re- notion in both and- and for-, as well as in the word lēan itself (here, also, in eft in the first half-line). Cf. ll. 114, 1584. Thus no case is made out for setting aside the clear readings of the MS.
↑ 1545. MS. ‘seaxe’; Ettmüller (followed by Sweet) ‘seax.’ Getēon always takes an accus.; cf. l. 2610 and brād, brūn-ecg, 1546.
↑ 1546. Heyne ‘brad [ond] brun-ecg,’ on metrical and syntactical grounds.
↑ 1555. Wülcker has a colon after gescēd and no stop after ȳðelīce.

[1] 1480. Heyne divides this line wrongly, after mīnum.

[2] 1485. MS. ‘hrædles.’

[3] 1488. MS. ‘hunferð.’

[4] 1506. MS. ‘brim wyl.’

[5] 1508. MS. ‘þæm’; Grundtvig (adopted by Heyne) ‘þæs’; Grein ‘þēah.’ Grein’s emendation makes admirable sense. I would retain the MS. reading in preference to þæs, which Heyne supports by parallel passages. It is undeniable that þæs is common enough with the meaning “so” (see l. 1509); but what can be feebler than to be told, half way through the poem, that Beowulf is brave enough to wield his weapons?

[6] 1510. MS. ‘swecte.’

[7] 1513. Thorpe ‘[in].’ Grein (followed by Heyne) ‘nið-sele,’ aula in profundis; Sweet ‘nīð-sele,’ hostile hall. The line is of the same type as 482, and a long syllable is required for the scansion (see “Beiträge” x. 297).

[8] 1520. MS. ‘hord swenge’; Sweet ‘swenge hond,’ without explanation.

[9] 1530. MS. ‘hylaces.’

[10] 1531. MS. ‘wundel mæl.’

[11] 1537. Sweet adopts Rieger’s emendation ‘feaxe,’ apparently for the sake of the alliteration—a wanton change, for gefēng alliterates normally with fæhðe.

[12] 1541. Heyne and Sweet (who however glosses hand-lēan alone) adopt Rieger’s emendation and-lēan, alliterating with eft. So, in l. 2094, Heyne reads ond-lēan for hond-lēan, “mit Rücksicht auf die Allitteration.” On the other hand, it is unfortunate that the alliteration is not decisive in the case of either line. Moreover, the phrase and-lēan forgieldan, “to repay reward,” is distinctly over-redundant, containing as it does the re- notion in both and- and for-, as well as in the word lēan itself (here, also, in eft in the first half-line). Cf. ll. 114, 1584. Thus no case is made out for setting aside the clear readings of the MS.

[13] 1545. MS. ‘seaxe’; Ettmüller (followed by Sweet) ‘seax.’ Getēon always takes an accus.; cf. l. 2610 and brād, brūn-ecg, 1546.

[14] 1546. Heyne ‘brad [ond] brun-ecg,’ on metrical and syntactical grounds.

[15] 1555. Wülcker has a colon after gescēd and no stop after ȳðelīce.

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Beowulf (Wyatt)/Beowulf 22

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