Beowulf (Wyatt)/Beowulf 25

XXV.

1740oð þæt him on innan  ofer-hygda dǣl
weaxeð ond wrīdað,  þonne se weard swefeð
sāwele hyrde;  bið se slǣp tō fæst,
bisgum gebunden,  bona swīðe nēah,
sē þe of flān-bogan  fyreniim scēoteð.
1745Þonne bið on hreþre  under hehn drepen
biteran strǣle;  him bebeorgan ne con
wōm^[1] wundor-bebodum  wergan gāstes;
þinceð him tō lȳtel,  þæt hē lange^[2] hēold;
gȳtsað grom-hȳdig,  nallas on gylp seleð
1750fǣtte^[3] bēagas,  ond hē þā forð-gesceaft
forgyteð ond forgȳmeð,  þæs þe him ǣr God sealde,
wuldres *Waldend,  weorð-mynda dǣl.Fol. 168b.
Hit on ende-stæf  eft gelimpeð,
þæt se līc-homa  lǣne gedrēoseð,
1755 fǣge gefealleð;  fēhð ōþer tō,
sē þe unmurnlīce  mādmas dǣleþ,
eorles ǣr-gestrēon,  egesan^[4] ne gȳmeð.
Bebeorh þē ðone bealo-nīð,  Bēowulf lēofa,
secg betsta,  ond þē þæt sēlre gecēos,
1760ēce rǣdas; oferhȳda ne gȳm,
mǣre cempa.  Nū is þīnes mægnes blǣd
āne hwīle;  eft sōna bið,
þæt þec ādl oððe ecg  eafoþes getwǣfeð,
oððe fȳres feng,  oððe flōdes wylm,
1765oððe gripe mēces,  oððe gāres fliht,
oððe atol yldo;  oððe ēagena bearhtm
forsiteð ond forsvvorceð;  semninga bið,
þæt ðec, dryht-guma,  dēað oferswȳðeð.
Swā ic Hring-Dena  hund missera
1770wēold under wolcnum,  ond hig wigge belēac
manigum mǣgþa,  geond þysne middan-geard
æscum ond ecgum,  þæt ic mē ǣnigne
under swegles begong  gesacan ne tealde.
Hwæt! mē þæs on ēþle  edwenden^[5] cwōm,
1775gyrn æfber gomene,  seoþðan Grendel wearð,
eald gewinna,^[6]  ingenga mīn;
*ic þære sōcne  singales wægFol. 169a.
mōd-ceare micle.  Þæs sig Metode þanc,
ēcean Dryhtne,  þæs ðe ic on aldre gebād,
1780þæt ic on þone hafelan  heoro-drēorigne
ofer eald gewin  ēagum starige.
Gā nū tō setle,  symbel-wynne drēoh,
wigge weorþad;^[7]  unc sceal worn fela
māþma gemǣnra,  siþðan morgen bið.”
1785Gēat wæs glæd-mōd,  gēong sōna tō,
setles nēosan,  swā se snottra heht.
Þā wæs eft swā ǣt  ellen-rōfum
flet-sittendum  fægere gereorded
nīowan stefne.  Niht-helm geswearc
1790deorc ofer dryht-gumum.  Duguð eal ārās;
wolde blonden-feax  beddes nēosan,
gamela Scylding.  Gēat ungemetes^[8] wel,
rōfne rand-wigan,  restan lyste;
sōna him sele-þegn  sīðes wērgum,
1795feorran-cundum,  forð wīsade,
sē for andrysnum  ealle beweotecde^[9]
þegnes þearfe,  swylce þȳ dōgore
hēaþo-līðende  habban scoldon.
Reste hine þā rūm-heort;  reced hlīuade^[10]
1800gēap ond gold-fāh;  gæst inne swæf,
oþ þæt hrefn blaca  heofones wynne
blīð-heort bodode;  *ðā cōm beorht scacanFol. 169b.
[sunne ofer grundas].^[11]  Scaþan onetton,
wǣron æþelingas  eft tō lōodum
1805fūse tō farenne;^[12]  wolde feor þanon
cuma collen-ferhð  cēoles nēosan.
Heht þā se hearda  Hrunting beran
sunu Ecglāfes,  heht his sweord niman,
lēoflīc īren;  sægde him þæs lǣnes^[13] þanc,
1810cwæð, hē þone gūð-wine  gōdne tealde,
wīg-cræftigne;  nales wordiim lōg
mēces ecge.  Þæt wæs mōdig secg.
Ond þā sīð-frome,  searwum gearwe,
wīgend wǣron,  ēode weorð Denum
1815æþeling tō yppan,  þǣr se ōþer wæs,
hæle^[14] hilde-dēor  Hrōðgār grētte.

1. 1747. Heyne ‘wom’; cf. ll. 1758 and 3073. But wōm (Sievers § 295, N. 1) scans better and makes better sense. Bebeorgan takes acc. rei in 1758; but that passage alone is insufficient to settle its usual construction, and no other instance of its occurrence is known.
2. 1748. Zupitza: “to imperfectly erased between he and lange.” It is inserted in the text of all the editions.
3. 1750. MS. ‘fædde.’
4. 1757. Grein ‘ēgesan’ (owner).
5. 1774. MS. ‘ed wendan.’ Cf. ll. 280, 2188.
6. 1776. Most editors ‘eald-gewinna.’ I have avoided such compounds, except where clearly indicated by the absence of inflection in the adj. Cf. ll. 373, 945, 1781 (where no editor makes a compound of eald gewin), with 853, 1381, 2778.
7. 1783. Wülcker ‘wīg-geweorþad’; Heyne (following Cosijn, who compares “Elene” 150) ‘wigge-[ge]weorþad.’ I have followed the MS., for which cf. “Elene” 1196.
8. 1792. MS. unig/metes.
9. 1796. MS. ‘beweotene.’
10. 1799. Heyne ‘hlīvade’; other editors ‘hlīfade.’ Sievers § 194.
11. 1803. No gap in MS. Wülcker has:

    ⁠ðā cōm beorht [lēoma]
    scacan [ofer scadu].

     Heyne:

    ⁠ðā cōm beorht [sunne]
    scacan [ofer grundas].

    There is the same objection to both these emendations, that they suppose two lacunae instead of one. To avoid this, I have interchanged sunne and scacan in Heyne’s reading; of the consequent separation of adj. and noun there are frequent examples in the poem (cf. l. 255).

12. 1805. MS, ‘farene ne.’ [In reality, far is now gone; but there is no doubt, from Thorkelin’s transcript, what the MS. reading was. In all such cases, in order to avoid needless detail, I give the indubitable reading as that of the extant MS.]
13. 1809. MS. ‘leanes’; Mūllenhoff ‘lǣnes.’ It is possible that the passage means that Unferth gave his sword to Beowulf. Grein takes this view, for he glosses sunu (1808) as nom.; and so apparently do Heyne and Socin (though they gloss sunu as accus.!). But se hearda applies to Beowulf much better than to Unferth; cf. ll. 401, 1963.
14. 1816. MS. ‘helle.’