# Beowulf (Wyatt)/Beowulf 24

XXIV.
Bēowulf maþelode, bearn Ecgþēowes: “Hwæt! wē þē þās sǣ-lāc, sunu Healfdenes lēod Scyldinga, lustum brōhton tīres tō tācne, þe þū hēr tō lōcast. 1655Ic þæt unsōfte ealdre gedīgde, wigge under wætere weorc genēþde earfoðlice; ætrihte wæs ​gūð getwǣfed, nymðe mec God scylde. Ne meahte ic æt hilde mid Hruntinge 1660wiht gewyrcan, þēah þæt wǣpen duge; ac mē geūðe ylda Waldend, þæt ic on wāge geseah wlitig *hangianFol. 166b. eald sweord ēacen (oftost wīsode winigea lēasum), þæt ic ðȳ wǣpne gebrǣd. 1665Ofslōh ðā æt þǣre sæcce, þā mē sǣl āgeald, hūses hyrdas. Þā þæt hilde-bil forbarn, brogden mǣl, swā þæt blōd gesprang, hātost heaþo-swāta. Ic þæt hilt þanan fēondum ætferede, fyren-dǣda wræc, 1670dēað-cwealm Denigea, swā hit gedēfe wæs. Ic hit þē þonne gehāte, þæt þū on Heorote mōst sorh-lēas swefan mid þīnra secga gedryht, ond þegna gehwylc þinra lēoda, duguðe ond iogoþe; þæt þū him ondrǣdan ne þearft, 1675þēoden Scyldinga, on þā healfe aldor-bealu eorliim, swā þū ǣr dydest.” Ðā wæs gylden hilt gamelum rince, hārum hild-fruman, on hand gyfen, enta ǣr-geweorc; hit on ǣht gehwearf, 1680æfter dēofla hryre, Denigea frēan, wundor-smiþa geweorc; ond þā þās worold ofgeaf grom-heort guma, Godes ondsaca, morðres scyldig, ond his mōdor ēac, on geweald gehwearf worold-cyninga 1685ðǣm sēlestan be *sǣm twēonum,Fol. 167a. ​ðāra þe on Sceden-igge sceattas dǣlde. Hrōðgār maðelode, hylt scēawode, ealde lāfe, on ðǣm wæs ōr writen fyrn-gewinnes, syðþan flōd ofslōh, 1690gifen gēotende, gīganta cyn; frēcne gefērdon; þæt wæs fremde þēod ēcean Dryhtne; him þæs ende-lēan þurh wæteres wylm Waldend sealde. Swā wæs on ðǣm scennum scīran goldes 1695þurh rūn-stafas rihte gemearcod, geseted ond gesǣd, hwām þæt sweord geworht, īrena cyst, ǣrest wǣre, wreoþen-hilt ond wyrm-fāh. Ða se wīsa spræc sunu Healfdenes; swīgedon ealle: 1700“Þæt, lā! mæg secgan, sē þe sōð ond riht fremeð on folce, feor eal gemon, eald ēðel-weard, þæt ðes eorl wǣre geboren betera. Blǣd is ārǣred geond wīd-wegas, wine mīn Bēowulf, 1705ðīn ofer þēoda gehwylce. Eal þū hit geþyldum healdest, mægen mid mōdes snyttrum. Ic þē sceal mīne gelǣstan freoðe, swā wit furðum sprǣcon; ðū scealt tō frōfre weorþan eal lang-twidig lēodum þīnum, *hæleðum tō helpe. Ne wearð Heremōd swāFol. 167b. ​1710eaforum Ecgwelan, Ār-Scyldingum; ne gewēox hē him tō willan, ac tō wæl-fealle ond tō dēað-cwalum Deniga lēodum; brēat bolgen-mōd bēod-genēatas, eaxl-gesteallan, oþ þæt hē āna hwearf, 1715mǣre þēoden, mon-drēamum from. Ðeah þe hine mihtig God mægenes wynnum, eafeþum, stēpte ofer ealle men, forð gefremede, hwæþere him on ferhþe grēow brēost-hord blōd-rēow; nallas bēagas geaf 1720Denum æfter dōme; drēam-lēas gebād, þæt hē þæs gewinnes weorc þrōwade, lēod-bealo longsum. Ðū þē lǣr be þon, gum-cyste ongit; ic þis gid be þē āwræc wintrum frōd. Wundor is tō secganne, 1725hū mihtig God manna cynne þurh sīdne sefan snyttru bryttað, eard ond eorl-scipe; hē āh ealra geweald. Hwīlum hē on lufan lǣteð hworfan monnes mōd-geþonc mǣran cynnes, 1730seleð him on ēþle eorþan wynne, tō healdanne hlēo-burh wera, *gedēð him swā gewealdene worolde dǣlas,Fol. 168a. sīde rīce, þæt hē his selfa ne mæg his unsnyttrum ende geþencean. 1735Wunað hē on wiste; nō hine wiht dweleð ādl ne yldo, ne him inwit-sorh on sefa[n] sweorceð, ne gesacu ōhwǣr, ​ecg-hete, ēoweð, ac him eal worold wendeð on willan. Hē þæt wyrse ne con,
* ↑ 1681. Müllenhoff and Bugge reject ond as superfluous. It is certainly very unusual at the beginning of a sentence which is only a parallel expansion of what precedes.
* ↑ 1686. MS. ‘scedenigge,’ in one word.
* ↑ 1702. Bugge suggests ‘þæt ðē eorl nǣre.’
* ↑ 1707. Wülcker and Heyne ‘frēode,’ taking that to be the reading of the MS. Zupitza: “I think the MS. has freoðe, not freode; although the left half of the cross stroke in ð has entirely faded, yet the place where it was is discernible, and the right half of it is left.”
* ↑ 1734. With admirable and shameless audacity Heyne and Wülcker foist in for at the beginning of this line without a word of comment. Cf. l. 942.
* ↑ 1737. MS. defective at edge; Zupitza ‘sefa[n].’
* ↑ Grein ‘ne gesaca (adversary) ōhwǣr ecg-hete ēoweð (shows).’ On the whole I prefer to abide by the MS. reading, although examples are wanting of ēowan used intransitively, as its compound oðēowan frequently is.
* ↑ 1739. The MS. has a stop after con, the usual space with the number XXV, and then a large capital O. But it seems impossible to begin a fresh sentence with oð þæt “until,” as Earle does. Grein makes the break in the middle of l. 1739, Heyne after l. 1744.