Beowulf on Everything:
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Beowulf XL
THAT battle-toil bade he at
burg to announce,
at the fort on the cliff, where, full of sorrow,
all the
morning earls had sat,
daring
shieldsmen, in doubt of twain:
would they wail as dead, or welcome home,
their lord beloved? Little (1) kept back
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of the tidings new, but told them all,
the herald that up the
headland rode. --
"Now the willing-giver to Weder folk
in death-bed lies; the
Lord of
Geats
on the
slaughter-bed
sleeps by the
serpent's deed!
And beside him is stretched that slayer-of-men
with
knife-
wounds sick: (2) no
sword availed
on the
awesome thing in any wise
to work a wound. There
Wiglaf sitteth,
Weohstan's
bairn, by
Beowulf's side,
the living earl by the other dead,
and heavy of heart a head-watch (3) keeps
o'er friend and foe. -- Now our folk may look
for waging of war when once
unhidden
to
Frisian and
Frank the fall of the king
is spread afar. -- The strife began
when hot on the
Hugas (4)
Hygelac fell
and fared with his fleet to the
Frisian land.
Him there the
Hetwaras humbled in war,
plied with such prowess their power o'erwhelming
that the
bold-in-
battle bowed beneath it
and fell in fight. To his friends no wise
could that earl give treasure! And ever since
the
Merowings' favor has failed us wholly.
Nor aught expect I of peace and faith
from
Swedish folk. 'Twas spread afar
how
Ongentheow reft at
Ravenswood
Haethcyn Hrethling of hope and life,
when the folk of Geats for the first time sought
in wanton pride the
Warlike-
Scylfings.
Soon the sage old sire (5) of
Ohtere,
ancient and awful, gave answering blow;
the sea-king (6) he slew, and his spouse redeemed,
his good wife rescued, though robbed of her gold,
mother of
Ohtere and
Onela.
Then he followed his foes, who fled before him
sore beset and stole their way,
bereft of a ruler, to
Ravenswood.
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With his host he besieged there what swords had left,
the
weary and wounded; woes he
threatened
the whole night through to that
hard-
pressed throng:
some with the morrow his sword should kill,
some should go to the gallows-tree
for
rapture of
ravens. But rescue came
with dawn of day for those desperate men
when they heard the horn of Hygelac sound,
tones of his
trumpet; the trusty king
had followed their trail with faithful band.
(1) Nothing.
(2)
Dead.
(3) Death-watch, guard of honor, "
lyke-
wake."
(4) A name for the
Franks.
(5)
Ongentheow.
(6)
Haethcyn.