Beowulf 31Soon she had grappled one of the athelings
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Literature · Poetry
Beowulf 31
Soon she had grappled one of the athelings
HallEnglish
Fast and firmly, when fenward she hied her;
That one to Hrothgar was liefest of heroes
In rank of retainer where waters encircle,
A mighty shield-warrior, whom she murdered at slumber,
50 A broadly-famed battle-knight. Beowulf was absent,
{Beowulf was asleep in another part of the palace.}
But another apartment was erstwhile devoted
To the glory-decked Geatman when gold was distributed.
There was hubbub in Heorot. The hand that was famous
She grasped in its gore; grief was renewed then
55 In homes and houses: 'twas no happy arrangement
In both of the quarters to barter and purchase
With lives of their friends. Then the well-agèd ruler,
The gray-headed war-thane, was woful in spirit,
When his long-trusted liegeman lifeless he knew of,
{Beowulf is sent for.}
60 His dearest one gone. Quick from a room was
Beowulf brought, brave and triumphant.
As day was dawning in the dusk of the morning,
{He comes at Hrothgar's summons.}
Went then that earlman, champion noble,
Came with comrades, where the clever one bided
65 Whether God all gracious would grant him a respite
After the woe he had suffered. The war-worthy hero
With a troop of retainers trod then the pavement
(The hall-building groaned), till he greeted the wise one,
{Beowulf inquires how Hrothgar had enjoyed his night's rest.}
The earl of the Ingwins; asked if the night had
70 Fully refreshed him, as fain he would have it.
Several eminent authorities either read or emend the MS. so as to
make this verse read, _While Grendel was wasting the gold-bedecked
palace. So 2015 below: ravaged the desert.
For 'sóna' (1281), t.B. suggests 'sára,' limiting 'edhwyrft.' Read
then: Return of sorrows to the nobles, etc. This emendation supplies
the syntactical gap after 'edhwyrft.'
Some authorities follow Grein's lexicon in treating 'heard ecg' as
an adj. limiting 'sweord': H.-So. renders it as a subst. (So v. 1491.)
The sense of the translation would be the same.
B. suggests 'under hróf genam' (v. 1303). This emendation, as well
as an emendation with (?) to v. 739, he offers, because 'under'
baffles him in both passages. All we need is to take 'under' in its
secondary meaning of 'in,' which, though not given by Grein, occurs in
the literature. Cf. Chron. 876 (March's A.-S. Gram. § 355) and Oro.
Amaz. I. 10, where 'under' = in the midst of. Cf. modern Eng. 'in
such circumstances,' which interchanges in good usage with 'under such
circumstances.'
For 'néod-laðu' (1321) C. suggests 'néad-láðum,' and translates:
_asked whether the night had been pleasant to him after
crushing-hostility_.
XXI.
HROTHGAR'S ACCOUNT OF THE MONSTERS.
{Hrothgar laments the death of Æschere, his shoulder-companion.}
Hrothgar rejoined, helm of the Scyldings:
"Ask not of joyance! Grief is renewed to
The folk of the Danemen. Dead is Æschere,
Yrmenlaf's brother, older than he,
5 My true-hearted counsellor, trusty adviser,
Shoulder-companion, when fighting in battle
Our heads we protected, when troopers were clashing,
{He was my ideal hero.}
And heroes were dashing; such an earl should be ever,
An erst-worthy atheling, as Æschere proved him.
10 The flickering death-spirit became in Heorot
His hand-to-hand murderer; I can not tell whither
The cruel one turned in the carcass exulting,
{This horrible creature came to avenge Grendel's death.}
By cramming discovered. The quarrel she wreaked then,
That last night igone Grendel thou killedst
15 In grewsomest manner, with grim-holding clutches,
Since too long he had lessened my liege-troop and wasted
My folk-men so foully. He fell in the battle
With forfeit of life, and another has followed,
A mighty crime-worker, her kinsman avenging,
20 And henceforth hath 'stablished her hatred unyielding,
As it well may appear to many a liegeman,
Who mourneth in spirit the treasure-bestower,
Her heavy heart-sorrow; the hand is now lifeless
Which availed you in every wish that you cherished.
{I have heard my vassals speak of these two uncanny monsters who lived in
the moors.}
