# Beowulf (Wyatt)/Beowulf 41

XLI.
Wæs sīo swāt-swaðu Sw[ē]ona ond Gēata, wæl-rǣs weora, wīde gesȳne, hū ðā folc mid him fǣhðe tōwehton. Gewāt him ðā se gōda mid his gædelingum, 2950frōd, fela-gēomor, fæsten sēcean, eorl Ongenþīo ufor oncirde; hæfde Higelāces hilde gefrūnen, wlonces wīg-cræft; wiðres ne trūwode, þæt hē sǣ-mamium onsacan mihte, 2955hēaðo-līðendum, hord forstandan, bearn ond brȳde; bēah eft þonan
eald under eorð-weall. Þā wæs ǣht boden Swēona lēodum, segn Higelāce[s]; freoðo-wong þone forð oferēodon, 2960syððan Hrēðlingas tō hagan þrungon. Þǣr wearð Ongenðīow ecgum sweorda, blonden-fexa, on bīd wrecen, þæt se þēod-cyning ðafian sceolde ​Eafores *ānne dōm. Hyne yrringaFol. 194a. 2965Wulf Wonrēding wǣpne gerǣhte, þæt him for swenge swāt ǣdrum sprong forð under fexe. Næs hē forht swā ðēh, gomela Scilfing, ac forgeald hraðe wyrsan wrixle wæl-hlem þone, 2970syððan ðēod-cyning þyder oncirde. Ne meahte se snella sunu Wonrēdes ealdum ceorle ondslyht giofan, ac hē him on hēafde helm ǣr gescer, þæt hē blōde fāh būgan sceolde, 2975fēoll on foldan; næs hē fǣge þā git, ac hē hyne gewyrpte, þēah ðe him wund hrine. Lēt se hearda Higelāces þegn brād[n]e mēce, þā his brōðor læg, eald sweord eotonisc, entiscne helm 2980brecan ofer bord-weal; ðā gebēah cyning, folces hyrde, wæs in feorh dropen. Ðā wǣron monige, þe his mǣg wriðon, ricone ārǣrdon, ðā him gerȳmed wearð,
þæt hīe wæl-stōwe wealdan mōston, 2985þenden rēafode rinc ōðerne, nam on Ongenðīo īren-byrnan, heard swyrd hilted ond his helm somod; hāres hyrste Higelāce bær. Hā ð[ām] frætwum fēng, ond him fægre gehēt 2990lēana [for] *lēodum, ond gelǣste swā;Fol. 194b. ​geald þone gūð-rǣs Gēata dryhten, Hrēðles eafora, þā hē tō hām becōm, Iofore ond Wulfe mid ofer-māðmum, sealde hiora gehwæðrum hund þūsenda 2995landes ond locenra beaga; ne ðorfte him ðā lēan oðwītan mon on middan-gearde, syðða[n] hīe ðā mǣrða geslōgon; ond ðā Iofore forgeaf āngan dohtor, hām-weorðunge, hyldo tō wedde. Þæt ys sīo fǣhðo ond se fēond-scipe, 3000wæl-nīð wera, ðæs ðe ic [wēn] hafo, þē ūs sēceað tō Swēona lēoda, syððan hīe gefricgeað frēan ūserne ealdor-lēasne, þone ðe ǣr gehēold wis hettendum hord ond rīce 3005æfter hæleSa hryre, hwate Scilfingas, folc-rēd fremede, oððe furður gēn ​eorl-scipe efnde. Nū is ofost betost, þæt wē þēod-cyning þǣr scēawian, ond þone gebringan, þe ūs bēagas geaf, 3010on ād-fære. Ne scel ānes hwæt meltan mid þām mōdigan, ac þǣr is māðma hord, gold unrīme, grimme gecēa[po]d, ond nū æt sīðestan sylfes fēore bēagas [geboh]te; þā sceall brond fretan, 3015ǣled þeccean, *nalles eorl weganFol. 195a. māððum tō gemyndum, ne mægð scȳne habban on healse hring-weorðunge, ac sceal gēomor-mōd, golde berēafod, oft, nalles ǣne, el-land tredan, 3020nū se here-wīsa hleahtor ālegde, gamen ond glēo-drēam. Forðon sceall gār wesan, monig morgen-ceald, mundum bewunden, hæfen on handa, nalles hearpan swēg wīgend weccean, ac se wonna hrefn 3025fūs ofer fǣgum fela reordian, earne secgan hū him æt ǣte spēow, þenden hē wið wulf wæl rēafode.” Swā se secg hwata secgende wæs lāðra spella; hē ne lēag fela 3030wyrda ne worda. Weorod eall ārās; ēodon unblīðe under Earna næs, wollen-tēare, wundur scēawian. Fundon ðā on sande sāwul-lēasne hlim-bed healdan, þone þe him hringas geaf ​3035ǣrran mǣlum; þā wæs ende-dæg gōdum gegongen, þæt se gūð-cyning, Wedra þēoden, wundor-dēaðe swealt. Ǣr hī þǣr gesēgan syllīcran wiht, wyrm on wonge wiðer-ræhtes þǣr 3040lāðne licgean; wæs se lēg-draca, grimlīc gryr[e], *glēdum beswǣled.Fol. 195b. Sē wæs fīftiges fōt-gemearces lang on legere; lyft-wynne hēold nihtes hwīlum, nyðer eft gewāt 3045dennes nīosian; wæs ðā dēaðe fæst, hæfde eorð-scrafa ende genyttod. Him big stōdan būnan ond orcas, discas lāgon ond dȳre swyrd, ōmige, þurh-etone, swā hīe wið eorðan fæðm 3050þūsend wintra þǣr eardodon; þonne wæs þæt yrfe ēacen-cræftig, īu-monna gold, galdre bewunden, þæt ðām hring-sele hrīnan ne mōste gumena ǣnig, nefne God sylfa, 3055sigora Sōð-cyning, sealde þām ðe hē wolde (hē is manna gehyld) hord openian, efne swā hwylcum manna, swā him gemet ðūhte.
* ↑ 2946. MS. ‘swona.’
* ↑ 2958. Grein and Heyne retain the MS. reading; the latter explains: “Das auf der Flucht entrissene Banner der Schweden kam in Hygelācs Hände.” But it is a far cry from giving chase to the capture of the banner, not to mention the violent zeugma in boden. Bugge supports Kemble’s emendation, adopted in the text: “Das erhobene banner ist das merkmal der verfolgung.”
* ↑ 2959. MS. ‘ford.’ Heyne thinks freoðo-wong may be a proper name. Would it, in that case, be followed by ðone?
* ↑ 2961. MS. ‘sweordū.’
* ↑ 2964. Heyne ‘Eofores.’ But see l. 2757 and note.
* ↑ 2972. See note on l. 2929.
* ↑ 2978. MS. ‘brade.’
* ↑ 2989. MS. defective at corner, here and in the next line.
* ↑ 2990. A word is missing in the MS. in the first half of this line. B has two dots, Zupitza three. Kemble ‘on.’ For for lēodum cf. “Daniel” 720: “hē for lēodum lygeword gecwæð.”
* ↑   MS. ‘gelæsta.’
* ↑ 2996. MS. ‘syðða.’
* ↑ 3000. No gap in MS. Kemble’s emendation. Cf. l. 383.
* ↑ 3001. Heyne ‘leode.’ For the pl. lēoda see Wulfstan (ed. Napier) 106. 23, and Ps. 71. 10.
* ↑ 3005. MS. ‘Scildingas.’ Müllenhoff considered this line a careless repetition of l. 2052. It is the easiest way out of the difficulty. Thorpe ‘Scyldingas,’ and in a foot-note: "Hence it would appear that Beowulf, in consequence of the fall of Hrothgar’s race, was called to rule also over the Danes (Scyldings).” The punctuation in the text allows Scylfingas to be taken in apposition with hīe in l. 3002, which is intolerably forced, or parallel with hord ond rīce in l. 3004. I favour the latter interpretation, if the line is to be kept, and can only suppose that the term “Scylfingas” could be applied equally, on the ground of common ancestry, to both Swedes and Geats. See l. 2603, where Wiglaf is called “lēod Scylfinga.”
* ↑ 3007. MS. ‘meis.’ Kemble’s emendation. Mē is is is a possible reading.
* ↑ 3012. MS. defective at corner, here and in l. 3014.
* ↑ 3028. Grein and Zupitza ‘secg-hwata.’
* ↑ MS. ‘secg gende,’ probably due to “repetition.” But see Sievers § 216, N. 1.
* ↑ 3034. Grein (after Grimm) ‘hlīn-bed.’ See note on l. 1271.
* ↑ 3035. MS. ‘ærrun’ (“u altered from a by erasure.”—Z.) Sievers § 304, N. 2.
* ↑ 3041. MS. defective at corner. Heyne ‘gryre-gæst’ (cf. l. 2560), based on Kölbing’s statement that there is room for from four to six letters on the missing corner. This seems more than doubtful. B ‘gry…”; Zupitza ‘gryr[e]’ simply. It would appear from the facsimile that the corner of the folio was defective from the very first and that certainly not more than one letter is missing. This is confirmed by the fact, that if the corner had been perfect there had been ample space for two or three letters after laðne at the end of the bottom line but one.