# Beowulf (Wyatt)/Beowulf 22

XXII.
Bēowulf maþelode, bearn Ecgþēowes: “Geþenc nū, se mǣramaga Healfdenes, 1475snottra fengel,nū ic eom sīðes fūs, gold-wine gumena,hwæt wit gēo sprǣcon: gif ic æt þearfeþīnre scolde aldre linnan,þæt ðū mē ā wǣre forð-gewitenumon fæder stǣle. 1480Wes þū mund-boramīnum mago-þegnum, hond-gesellum,gif mec hild nime; swylce þū ðā mādmas,þe þū mē sealdest, Hrōðgār lēofa,Higelāce onsend. Mæg þonne on þǣm golde ongitanGēata dryhten, 1485gesēon sunu Hrēðles,þonne hē on þæt sinc starað, þæt ic gum-cystumgōdne funde bēaga bryttan,brēac þonne mōste. ​Ond þū Unferð lǣtealde lāfe, wrætlīc wǣg-sweord,wīd-cūðne man 1490heard-ecg habban;ic mē mid Hruntinge dōm gewyrce,*oþðe mec dēað nimeð.”Fol. 163a. Æfter þǣm wordumWeder-Gēata lēod efste mid elne,nalas ondsware bīdan wolde;brim-wylm onfēng 1495hilde-rince.Ðā wæs hwīl dæges, ǣr hē þone grund-wongongytan mehte. Sōna þæt onfunde,sē ðe flōda begong heoro-gīfre behēoldhund missera, grim ond grǣdig,þæt þǣr gumena sum 1500æl-wihta eardufan cunnode. Grāp þā, tōgēanes,gūð-rinc gefēng atolan clommum;nō þȳ ǣr in gescōd hālan līce;hring ūtan ymbbearh, þæt hēo þone fyrd-homðurhfōn ne mihte, 1505locene leoðo-syrcan,lāþan fingrum. Bær þā sēo brim-wyl[f],þā hēo tō botme cōm, hringa þengeltō hofe sīnum, swā hē ne mihte nō(hē þēah mōdig wæs) wǣpna gewealdan;ac hine wundra þæs fela 1510swe[n]cte on sunde,sǣ-dēor monig hilde-tuxumhere-syrcan bræc, ēhton āglǣcan.Ðā se eorl ongeat, ​þæt hē [in] nīð-selenāt-hwylcum wæs, þǣr him nǣnig wæterwihte ne sceþede, 1515ne him for hrōf-selehrīnan ne mehte fǣr-gripe flōdes;*fȳr-lēoht geseah,Fol. 163b. blācne lēomanbeorhte scīnan. Ongeat þā se gōdagrund-wyrgenne, mere-wīf mihtig;mægen-rǣs forgeaf 1520hilde-bille,hond swenge ne oftēah, þæt hire on hafelanhring-mǣl āgōl grǣdig gūð-lēoð.Ðā se gist onfand, þæt se beado-lēomabītan nolde, aldre sceþðan,ac sēo ecg geswāc 1525ðēodne æt þearfe;ðolode ǣr fela hond-gemōta,helm oft gescær, fǣges fyrd-hrægl;ðā wæs forma sīð dēorum mādme,þæt his dōm ālæg. Eft wæs ān-rǣd,nalas elnes læt, 1530mǣrða gemyndig,mǣg Hy[ge]lāces. Wearp ðā wunden-mǣlwrættum gebunden yrre ōretta,þæt hit on eorðan læg, stīð ond stȳl-ecg;strenge getrūwode, mund-gripe mægenes.Swā sceal man dōn, 1535þonne hē æt gūðegegān þenceð longsumne lof,nā ymb his līf cearað. Gefēng þā be eaxle(nalas for fǣhðe mearn) ​Gūð-Gēata lēodGrendles mōdor, brægd þā beadwe heard,þā hē gebolgen wæs, 1540feorh-genīðlan,þæt hēo on flet gebēah. Hēo him eft hraðehand-lēan forgeald grim*man grāpum,ond him tōgēanes fēng;Fol. 164a. oferwearp þā wērig-mōdwigena strengest, fēþe-cempa,þæt hē on fylle wearð. 1545Ofsæt þā þone sele-gyst,ond hyre seax getēah brād, brūn-ecg,wolde hire bearn wrecan, āngan eaferan.Him on eaxle læg brēost-net brōden;þæt gebearh fēore, wið ord ond wið ecgeingang forstōd. 1550Hæfde ðā forsīðodsunu Ecgþēowes under gynne grund,Gēata cempa, nemne him heaðo-byrnehelpe gefremede, here-net hearde,ond hālig God gewēold wīg-sigor,wītig Drihten, 1555rodera Rǣdendhit on ryht gescēd ȳðelīce;syþðan hē eft āstōd.
* ↑ 1480. Heyne divides this line wrongly, after mīnum.
* ↑ 1485. MS. ‘hrædles.’
* ↑ 1488. MS. ‘hunferð.’
* ↑ 1506. MS. ‘brim wyl.’
* ↑ 1508. MS. ‘þæm’; Grundtvig (adopted by Heyne) ‘þæs’; Grein ‘þēah.’ Grein’s emendation makes admirable sense. I would retain the MS. reading in preference to þæs, which Heyne supports by parallel passages. It is undeniable that þæs is common enough with the meaning “so” (see l. 1509); but what can be feebler than to be told, half way through the poem, that Beowulf is brave enough to wield his weapons?
* ↑ 1510. MS. ‘swecte.’
* ↑ 1513. Thorpe ‘[in].’ Grein (followed by Heyne) ‘nið-sele,’ aula in profundis; Sweet ‘nīð-sele,’ hostile hall. The line is of the same type as 482, and a long syllable is required for the scansion (see “Beiträge” x. 297).
* ↑ 1520. MS. ‘hord swenge’; Sweet ‘swenge hond,’ without explanation.
* ↑ 1530. MS. ‘hylaces.’
* ↑ 1531. MS. ‘wundel mæl.’
* ↑ 1537. Sweet adopts Rieger’s emendation ‘feaxe,’ apparently for the sake of the alliteration—a wanton change, for gefēng alliterates normally with fæhðe.
* ↑ 1541. Heyne and Sweet (who however glosses hand-lēan alone) adopt Rieger’s emendation and-lēan, alliterating with eft. So, in l. 2094, Heyne reads ond-lēan for hond-lēan, “mit Rücksicht auf die Allitteration.” On the other hand, it is unfortunate that the alliteration is not decisive in the case of either line. Moreover, the phrase and-lēan forgieldan, “to repay reward,” is distinctly over-redundant, containing as it does the re- notion in both and- and for-, as well as in the word lēan itself (here, also, in eft in the first half-line). Cf. ll. 114, 1584. Thus no case is made out for setting aside the clear readings of the MS.
* ↑ 1545. MS. ‘seaxe’; Ettmüller (followed by Sweet) ‘seax.’ Getēon always takes an accus.; cf. l. 2610 and brād, brūn-ecg, 1546.
* ↑ 1546. Heyne ‘brad [ond] brun-ecg,’ on metrical and syntactical grounds.
* ↑ 1555. Wülcker has a colon after gescēd and no stop after ȳðelīce.