01.01.02a - Text: Beowulf Lines 1-52 (Gummere Translation)
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Beowulf, Lines 1-52
Translation by Francis Barton Gummere (1910). Public Domain. Source: Project Gutenberg.
Read slowly. Read aloud if possible. Use the annotations on the right to help with unfamiliar terms. Mark lines that interest, puzzle, or move you.
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The Opening: Scyld's Rise (Lines 1-11)
1Lo, praise of the prowess of people-kings
2of spear-armed Danes, in days long sped,
3we have heard, and what honor the athelings won!
4Oft Scyld the Scefing from squadroned foes,
5from many a tribe, the mead-bench tore,
6awing the earls. Since erst he lay
7friendless, a foundling, fate repaid him:
8for he waxed under welkin, in wealth he throve,
9till before him the folk, both far and near,
10who house by the whale-path, heard his mandate,
11gave him gifts: a good king he!
2of spear-armed Danes, in days long sped,
3we have heard, and what honor the athelings won!
4Oft Scyld the Scefing from squadroned foes,
5from many a tribe, the mead-bench tore,
6awing the earls. Since erst he lay
7friendless, a foundling, fate repaid him:
8for he waxed under welkin, in wealth he throve,
9till before him the folk, both far and near,
10who house by the whale-path, heard his mandate,
11gave him gifts: a good king he!
Annotations for Lines 1-11
- Line 1, "Lo": Translates Old English "Hwæt!" - an attention call meaning "Listen!" or "Hear me!" This signals the start of a performance.
- Line 1, "people-kings": A kenning for rulers who govern their people.
- Line 3, "athelings": Anglo-Saxon word for nobles or princes.
- Line 4, "Scyld the Scefing": Scyld Scefing (Shield Sheafson) - the legendary founder of the Danish royal dynasty.
- Line 5, "mead-bench tore": Disrupted the mead-halls of his enemies; a sign of military dominance.
- Line 6, "earls": Warriors, nobles.
- Line 6, "erst": Once, formerly.
- Line 7, "foundling": A child found abandoned, without known parents.
- Line 8, "waxed under welkin": Grew (waxed) under the sky (welkin). "Welkin" is an old word for the sky or heavens.
- Line 10, "whale-path": A kenning for the sea. The ocean reimagined as a road that whales travel.
- Line 11, "a good king he!": The poet's direct evaluation. Despite his humble origins, Scyld became an exemplary ruler.
Legacy Through Generosity (Lines 12-19)
12To him an heir was afterward born,
13a son in his halls, whom heaven sent
14to favor the folk, feeling their woe
15that erst they had lacked an earl for leader
16so long a while; the Lord endowed him,
17the Wielder of Wonder, with world's renown.
18Famed was this Beowulf: far flew the boast of him,
19son of Scyld, in the Scandian lands.
13a son in his halls, whom heaven sent
14to favor the folk, feeling their woe
15that erst they had lacked an earl for leader
16so long a while; the Lord endowed him,
17the Wielder of Wonder, with world's renown.
18Famed was this Beowulf: far flew the boast of him,
19son of Scyld, in the Scandian lands.
Annotations for Lines 12-19
- Line 16-17, "the Lord... the Wielder of Wonder": Variation - God is described with two different titles. "Wielder of Wonder" is a kenning for God.
- Line 18, "this Beowulf": Not the hero of the poem! This is an ancestor with the same name, Scyld's son. The hero Beowulf appears later in the poem.
- Note: This section establishes that a good leader's legacy continues through his children. Heaven rewards the people for their suffering by sending a worthy heir.
The Principle of Generosity (Lines 20-25)
20So becomes it a youth to quit him well
21with his father's friends, by fee and gift,
22that to aid him, aged, in after days,
23come warriors willing, should war draw nigh,
24liegemen loyal: by lauded deeds
25shall an earl keep honor in every clan.
21with his father's friends, by fee and gift,
22that to aid him, aged, in after days,
23come warriors willing, should war draw nigh,
24liegemen loyal: by lauded deeds
25shall an earl keep honor in every clan.
Annotations for Lines 20-25
- Lines 20-25: This is the poet speaking directly, stating a principle: a young prince must be generous ("by fee and gift") so that loyal warriors will support him later. This is the comitatus system expressed as a moral law.
- Line 21, "fee and gift": Treasure, payment, rings - the currency of loyalty in Anglo-Saxon society.
- Line 24, "liegemen": Loyal followers, sworn warriors.
- Line 25, "lauded deeds": Praised actions. Reputation (earned through deeds) is what keeps honor alive.
The Ship Burial of Scyld (Lines 26-52)
26At the hour ordained, Scyld departed,
27to the shelter of God, went his fair-formed way.
28They bore him over to ocean's billow,
29loving clansmen, as late he charged them,
30while wielded words the winsome Scylding;
31the leader beloved who long had ruled....
32In the roadstead rocked a ring-dight vessel,
33ice-flecked, outbound, atheling's barge:
34there laid they down their darling lord
35on the breast of the boat, the breaker-of-rings,
36by the mast the mighty one. Many a treasure
37fetched from far was freighted with him.
38No ship have I known so nobly dight
39with weapons of war and weeds of battle,
40with breastplate and blade: on his bosom lay
41a heaped hoard that hence should go
42far o'er the flood with him floating away.
43No less these loaded the lordly gifts,
44thanes' huge treasure, than those had done
45who in former time forth had sent him
46sole on the seas, a suckling child.
47High o'er his head they hoist the standard,
48a gold-wove banner; let billows take him,
49gave him to ocean. Grave were their spirits,
50mournful their mood. No man is able
51to say in sooth, no son of the halls,
52no hero 'neath heaven, -- who harbored that freight!
27to the shelter of God, went his fair-formed way.
28They bore him over to ocean's billow,
29loving clansmen, as late he charged them,
30while wielded words the winsome Scylding;
31the leader beloved who long had ruled....
32In the roadstead rocked a ring-dight vessel,
33ice-flecked, outbound, atheling's barge:
34there laid they down their darling lord
35on the breast of the boat, the breaker-of-rings,
36by the mast the mighty one. Many a treasure
37fetched from far was freighted with him.
38No ship have I known so nobly dight
39with weapons of war and weeds of battle,
40with breastplate and blade: on his bosom lay
41a heaped hoard that hence should go
42far o'er the flood with him floating away.
43No less these loaded the lordly gifts,
44thanes' huge treasure, than those had done
45who in former time forth had sent him
46sole on the seas, a suckling child.
47High o'er his head they hoist the standard,
48a gold-wove banner; let billows take him,
49gave him to ocean. Grave were their spirits,
50mournful their mood. No man is able
51to say in sooth, no son of the halls,
52no hero 'neath heaven, -- who harbored that freight!
Annotations for Lines 26-52
- Line 26, "At the hour ordained": The destined time - connects to wyrd (fate).
- Line 32, "ring-dight vessel": A ship adorned (dight) with rings or decorated prow.
- Line 33, "atheling's barge": A noble's ship.
- Line 35, "breaker-of-rings": A kenning for a generous lord. Rings were broken (cut) to distribute as gifts to warriors.
- Line 38-39: The narrator speaks in first person: "No ship have I known..." This reminds us a storyteller is present, speaking from personal experience.
- Line 39, "weeds of battle": Armor and battle-garments ("weeds" here means garments, not plants).
- Lines 43-46: The circular structure: the poet explicitly compares this funeral to Scyld's arrival as a "suckling child" sent alone on the seas. He arrived with nothing; he departs with everything.
- Lines 50-52: The passage's final mystery: no one knows who received the ship and its treasures. This unknowing connects to wyrd and the limits of human knowledge. Some things, even for the wisest, remain beyond understanding.
Attribution
Beowulf: An Anglo-Saxon Epic Poem, translated by Francis Barton Gummere (1910).
Source: Project Gutenberg. Public Domain.
Lines 1-52 excerpted. Line numbers added for classroom reference. No textual changes to the translation.