Beowulf 7Then well from the cliff edge the guard of the Scyldings
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Literature · Religion
Beowulf 7
Then well from the cliff edge the guard of the Scyldings
HallEnglish
Who the sea-cliffs should see to, saw o'er the gangway
Brave ones bearing beauteous targets,
Armor all ready, anxiously thought he,
Musing and wondering what men were approaching.
45 High on his horse then Hrothgar's retainer
Turned him to coastward, mightily brandished
His lance in his hands, questioned with boldness.
{His challenge}
"Who are ye men here, mail-covered warriors
Clad in your corslets, come thus a-driving
50 A high riding ship o'er the shoals of the waters,
And hither 'neath helmets have hied o'er the ocean?
I have been strand-guard, standing as warden,
Lest enemies ever anywise ravage
Danish dominions with army of war-ships.
55 More boldly never have warriors ventured
Hither to come; of kinsmen's approval,
Word-leave of warriors, I ween that ye surely
{He is struck by Beowulf's appearance.}
Nothing have known. Never a greater one
Of earls o'er the earth have I had a sight of
60 Than is one of your number, a hero in armor;
No low-ranking fellow adorned with his weapons,
But launching them little, unless looks are deceiving,
And striking appearance. Ere ye pass on your journey
As treacherous spies to the land of the Scyldings
65 And farther fare, I fully must know now
What race ye belong to. Ye far-away dwellers,
Sea-faring sailors, my simple opinion
Hear ye and hearken: haste is most fitting
Plainly to tell me what place ye are come from."
'From hám' (194) is much disputed. One rendering is: _Beowulf,
being away from home, heard of Hrothgar's troubles, etc_. Another,
that adopted by S. and endorsed in the H.-So. notes, is: _B. heard
from his neighborhood (neighbors),_ i.e. in his home, etc. A third
is: B., being at home, heard this as occurring away from home. The
H.-So. glossary and notes conflict.
'Eoletes' (224) is marked with a (?) by H.-So.; our rendering
simply follows his conjecture.--Other conjectures as to 'eolet' are:
(1) voyage, (2) toil, labor, (3) hasty journey.
The lacuna of the MS at this point has been supplied by various
conjectures. The reading adopted by H.-So. has been rendered in the
above translation. W., like H.-So., makes 'ic' the beginning of a new
sentence, but, for 'helmas bæron,' he reads 'hringed stefnan.' This
has the advantage of giving a parallel to 'brontne ceol' instead of a
kenning for 'go.'--B puts the (?) after 'holmas', and begins a new
sentence at the middle of the line. Translate: _What warriors are ye,
clad in armor, who have thus come bringing the foaming vessel over the
water way, hither over the seas? For some time on the wall I have been
coast guard, etc_. S. endorses most of what B. says, but leaves out
'on the wall' in the last sentence. If W.'s 'hringed stefnan' be
accepted, change line 51 above to, _A ring-stemmed vessel hither
o'ersea_.
'Seld-guma' (249) is variously rendered: (1) housecarle; (2)
home-stayer; (3) common man. Dr. H. Wood suggests _a man-at-arms
in another's house_.
V.
THE GEATS REACH HEOROT.
{Beowulf courteously replies.}
The chief of the strangers rendered him answer,
War-troopers' leader, and word-treasure opened:
{We are Geats.}
"We are sprung from the lineage of the people of Geatland,
And Higelac's hearth-friends. To heroes unnumbered
