# Beowulf (Wyatt)/Beowulf 13

XIII.
Ðā wæs on morgen,mīne gefrǣge, ymb þā gif-heallegūð-rinc monig; fērdon folc-toganfeorran ond nēan 840geond wīd-wegaswundor scēawian, lāþes lāstas.Nō his līf-gedāl sārlīc þūhtesecga ǣnegum, þāra þe tīr-lēasestrode scēawode, hū hē wērig-mōdon weg þanon, 845nīða ofercumenon nicera mere, fǣge ond geflȳmed,feorh-lāstas bær. ​Ðǣr wæs on blōdebrim weallende, atol ȳða geswingeal gemenged hāton heolfre,*heoro-drēore, wēol;Fol 148b. 850dēað-fǣge dēog,siððan drēama lēas in fen-freoðofeorh ālegde, hǣþene sāwle;þǣr him hel onfēng. Þanon eft gewitoneald-gesīðas, swylce geong manigof gomen-wāþe, 855fram mere mōdgemēarum rīdan, beornas on blancum.Ðǣr wæs Bēowulfes mǣrðo mǣned;monig oft gecwæð, þætte sūð ne norðbe sǣm twēonum ofer eormen-grundōþer nǣnig 860under swegles begongsēlra nǣre rond-hæbbendra,rīces wyrðra. Ne hīe hūru wine-drihtenwiht ne lōgon, glædne Hrōðgār,ac þǣt wæs gōd cyning. Hwīlum heaþo-rōfehlēapan lēton, 865on geflit faran,fealwe mēaras, ðǣr him fold-wegasfægere þūhton, cystum cūðe.Hwīlum cyninges þegn, guma gilp-hlæden,gidda gemyndig, sē ðe eal-felaeald-gesegena 870worn gemunde,word ōþer fand sōðe gebunden.Secg eft ongan sīð Bēowulfessnyttrum *styrian,Fol. 149a. ond on spēd wrecanspel gerāde, wordum wrixlan;wel-hwylc gecwæð, ​875þæt hē fram Sigemunde[s]secgan hȳrde ellen-dǣdum,imcūþes fela, Wælsinges gewin,wīde sīðas, þāra þe gumena bearngearwe ne wiston, fǣhðe ond fyrena,būton Fitela mid hine, 880þonne hē swulces hwætsecgan wolde ēam his nefan,swā hie ā wǣron æt nīða gehwāmnȳd-gesteallan; hæfdon eal-felaeotena cynnes sweordum gesǣged.Sigemunde gesprong 885æfter dēað-dægedōm unlȳtel, syþðan wīges heardwyrm ācwealde, hordes hyrde;hē under hārne stān, æþelinges bearn,āna genēðde frēcne dǣde;ne wæs him Fitela mid; 890hwæþre him gesǣlde,ðæt þæt swurd þurhwōd wrætlīcne wyrm,þæt hit on wealle ætstōd, dryhtlīc īren;draca morðre swealt. Hæfde āglǣcaelne gegongen, þæt hē bēah-hordesbrūcan mōste 895selfes dōme;*sǣ-bāt gehlēod,Fol. 149b. bær on bearm scipesbeorhte frætwa Wælses eafera;wyrm hāt gemealt. Sē wæs wreccenawīde mǣrost ofer wer-þēode,wīgendra hlēo, 900ellen-dǣdum;hē þæs ǣr onðāh. ​Siððan Heremōdeshild sweðrode, eafoð ond ellen;hē mid eotenum wearð on fēonda gewealdforð forlācen, snūde forsended.Hine sorh-wylmas 905lemede tō lange;hē his lēodum wearð, eallum æþelingnm,to aldor-ceare. Swylce oft bemearnǣrran mǣlum swið-ferhþes sīðsnotor ceorl monig, sē þe him bealwatō bōte gelȳfde, 910þæt þæt ðēodnes bearngeþēon scolde, fæder æþelum onfōn,folc gehealdan, hord ond hlēo-burh,hæleþa rīce, ēðel Scyldinga.Hē þǣr eallum wearð, mǣg Higelācesmanna cynne, 915frēondum gefægra;hine fyren onwōd. Hwīlum flītendefealwe strǣte mēarum mǣton.Ðā wæs morgen-lēoht scofen ond scynded.*Eode scealc monig Fol. 150a. switð-hicgendetō sele þām hēan 920searo-wundor sēon;swylce self cyning of brȳd-būre,bēah-horda weard, tryddode tīr-fæstgetrume micle, cystum gecȳþed,ond his cwēn mid him medo-stīg gemætmægþa hōse.
* ↑ 849. MS. ‘hat on heolfre,’ and so Wülcker. Grein ‘hatan’ = hāton in the text. The reading in the text is much easier than that of the MS., and l. 1423 turns the probability in its favour.
* ↑ 870—1. Rieger and Bugge put ‘word…gebunden’ in a parenthesis.
* ↑ 875. MS. ‘Sigemunde.’ Grein’s emendation ‘Sigemundes’ is good in itself, and is the more probable in that the next word begins with s.
* ↑ 880. Heyne normalises to ‘swylces.’
* ↑ 895. Many editors normalise to ‘gehlōd.’ Sievers § 392, N. 3.
* ↑ 875. Earle adopts Scherer’s emendation ‘hāt[e],’ with heat.
* ↑ 900. Cosijn’s emendation ‘āron ðah,’ with honours throve, is adopted by Heyne and by Earle. For āron = ārum cf. scypon l. 1154, and hēaf- don l. 1242, and for the phrase cf. weorð-myndum þāh l. 8. Nevertheless I cannot bring myself to abandon the clear reading of the MS., which makes at least as good sense as many another passage.
* ↑ 902. MS. ‘earfoð,’ retained by Wülcker; cf. l. 534. On the other hand, see ll. 602, 2349.
* ↑ 906. MS. ‘æþellingum.’
* ↑ 911. There appears to be no sufficient reason for making a compound, fæder-æþelum, here, as the editors do. Cf. ll. 21, 1479.
* ↑ 915. Some editors mark the close of this episode by a space between this line and the next. There is nothing more than a dot in the MS., not a fresh line, nor even a capital to hwīlum.