Beowulf (Wyatt)/Beowulf 00

BEOWULF.^[1]

⁠Hwæt! wē Gār-Dena⁠in gēar-dagum Fol. 129a.
þēod-cyninga⁠þrym gefrūnon,
hū ðā æþelingas⁠ellen fremedon.
Oft Scyld Scēfing⁠sceaþena þrēatum,
5monegum mǣgþum⁠meodo-setla oftēah.
Egsode eorl,⁠syððan ǣrest wearð
fēa-sceaft funden;⁠hē þæs frōfre gebād,
wēox under wolcnum,⁠weorð-myndum þāh,
oð þæt him ǣghwylc⁠ þāra ymb-sittendra
10ofer hron-rāde⁠hȳran scolde,
gomban gyldan;⁠þæt wæs gōd cyning.
Ðǣm eafera wæs⁠æfter cenned
geong in geardum,⁠þone God sende
folce tō frōfre;⁠fyren-ðearfe ongeat,
15þæt^[2] hīe ǣr drugon⁠aldor-[lē]ase
lange hwīle.⁠Him þæs Līf-frēa,
wuldres Wealdend,⁠worold-āre forgeaf;
Bēowulf wæs brēme⁠(blǣd wīde sprang),
Scyldes eafera⁠Scede-landum in.^[3]
20Swā sceal [geong g]uma^[4]⁠gōde gewyrcean,
fromum feoh-giftum⁠on fæder *[wi]ne,^[5]Fol. 129b.
þæt hine on ylde⁠eft gewunigen
wil-gesīþas,⁠þonne wīg cume,
lēode gelǣsten;⁠lof-dǣdum sceal
25in mǣgþa gehwǣre⁠man geþeon.
Him ða Scyld gewāt⁠tō gescæp-hwīle
fela-hrōr fēran⁠on frēan wǣre;
hī hyne þā ætbǣron⁠tō brimes faroðe,
swǣse gesīþas,⁠swā hē selfa bæd,
30þenden wordum wēold⁠wine Scyldinga,
lēof land-fruma⁠lange āhte.
Þær æt hȳðe stōd⁠hringed-stefna
īsig ond ūt-fūs,⁠æþelinges fær;
ālēdon þā⁠lēofne þēoden,
35bēaga bryttan⁠on bearm scipes,
mǣrne be mæste.⁠Þǣr wæs mādma fela,
of feor-wegum⁠frætwa gelǣded.
Ne hȳrde ic cymlīcor⁠cēol gegyrwan
hilde-wǣpnum⁠ond heaðo-wǣedum,
40billum ond byrnum;⁠him on bearme læg
mādma mænigo,⁠þā him mid scoldon
on flōdes ǣht⁠feor gewītan.
Nalæs hī hine lǣssan⁠lācum tēodan,
þēod-gestrēonum,⁠þon[ne] þā dydon,
45þe hine æt frum-sceafte⁠forð onsendon
ǣnne ofer ȳðe⁠umbor-we*sende.Fol. 130a.
Þa gyt hīe him āsetton⁠segen g[yl]denne^[6]
hēah ofer hēafod,⁠lēton hohn beran,
gēafon on gār-secg;⁠him wæs gēomor sefa,
50murnende mōd.⁠Men ne cunnon
secgan tō sōðe,⁠sele-rǣdende,^[7]
hæleð under heofenum,⁠hwā þǣm hlæste onfēng.

1. Letters supplied in the text, but found neither in the MS. nor in Thorkelin’s transcripts, are printed within square brackets. All other deviations from the MS. are indicated in the text by the use of italics, and the reading of the MS. is given in a footnote.
2. 15. MS. ‘ꝥ’ as usual. Zupitza says: “ꝥ” generally means þæt, but sometimes, it would seem, þā.” If þā be adopted, it must refer to fyren-ðearfe. In latter half of same line the MS. is defective.
3. 18, 19. In Heyne and Socin’s edition, these lines stand:

   Bēowulf wæs brēme,⁠blǣd wīde sprang
   Scyldes eafera[n]⁠Scede-landum in.

4. 20. MS. defective. Grein’s reading adopted in text.
5. 21. MS. defective at corner. Zupitza transliterates “. . rme,” following Conybeare and Kemble, but says: “What in the facsimile looks like part of a letter before ne (sic) is owing to a small hole in the MS.” Thorpe suggested bearme = “in his father’s bosom.”
6. 47. MS. defective at corner.
7. 51. MS. ‘sele rædenne.’ The emendation is Kemble’s, following l. 1346.