hord-burh hæleþa.Ðā wæs Heregār dēad,
mīn yldra mǣgunlifigende,
bearn Healfdenes;sē wæs betera ðonne ic.
470Siððan þā fǣhðefēo þingode;
sende ic Wylfingumofer wæteres hrycg
ealde mādmas;hē mē āþas swōr.
Sorh is mē tō secganneon sefan mīnum
gumena ǣngum,hwæt mē Grendel hafað
475hȳnðo on Heorotemid his hete-þancum,
fǣr-nīða gefremed;is mīn flet-werod,
wīg-hēap, gewanod;hīe wyrd forswēop
on Grendles gryre.God ēaþe mæg
þone dol-sceaðan[1]dǣda getwǣfan.
480Ful oft gebēotedonbēore druncne
ofer ealo-wǣgeōret-mecgas,
þæt hīe in bēor-selebīdan woldon
Grendles gūþemid gryrum ecga.
Ðonne wæs þēos medo-healon morgen tīd,
485driht-sele drēor-fāh,þonne dæg līxte,
eal *benc-þelublōde bestȳmed,Fol. 141a.
heall heoru-drēore;āhte ic holdra þȳ lǣs,
dēorre duguðe,þē þā dēað fornam.
Site nū tō symleond onsǣl meoto,
490sige-hrēð secgum,[2]swā þīn sefa hwette.”
Þā wæs Gēat-mæcgumgeador ætsomne
on bēor-selebene gerȳmed;
- ↑ 479. MS. ‘sceaðan,’ the e in a different hand.
- ↑ 489—90. MS. ‘on sæl meoto sige hreð secgū.’ This passage has given rise to much discussion; the conjectures are too numerous to be given here. Meoto is the chief difficulty. I have followed Heyne in adopting Müllenhoff’s interpretation, taking meoto = meotu (with u-umlaut produced by inflectional u; Sievers § 106.3) = metu, pl. of met, ‘thought’; cf. metian, ‘meditate upon,’ Psalm 118. 174.
