he bore with him over the beaker-of-waves,
sovran strong: under shield he died.
1210Fell the corpse of the king into keeping of Franks,
gear of the breast, and that gorgeous ring;
weaker warriors won the spoil,
after gripe of battle, from Geatland’s lord,[1]
and held the death-field.
Din rose in hall.
1215Wealhtheow spake amid warriors, and said:—
“This jewel enjoy in thy jocund youth,
Beowulf lov’d, these battle-weeds wear,
a royal treasure, and richly thrive!
Preserve thy strength, and these striplings here
1220counsel in kindness: requital be mine.
Hast done such deeds, that for days to come
thou art famed among folk both far and near,
so wide as washeth the wave of Ocean
his windy walls. Through the ways of life
1225prosper, O prince! I pray for thee
- ↑ Tradition told of Hygelac’s enormous size and strength. A certain Liber Monstrorum, perhaps of the seventh century, cites rex Hugilaicus, who ruled the Getae and was killed by the Franks, as one whom no horse could carry since he was twelve years old, and whose enormous skeleton was still on an island near the mouth of the Rhine. Moreover, this friendly account would attribute the defeat to surprise by an overwhelmingly superior force.—Quite in accord with the usual construction of epic narrative in old English verse, and with the same structure in little as shown by the parallels and variations of the sentence or period, the poet returns to the scene in the hall. “Din rose in the hall” has been emended to “din ceased,” or “warriors listened,” but vainly; the usual applause goes up as the gifts are handed to the hero, and then silence falls as the queen speaks.
- ↑ Or, perhaps, “thou art heartily welcome to these treasures I have given thee,” as Gering translates.
