The Battle with Grendel

Transcription

1 The Battle with Grendel 5 1 Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty 2 Hills and bogs, bearing God s hatred, 3 Grendel came, hoping to kill 4 Anyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot. 5 He moved quickly through the cloudy night, 6 Up from his swampland, sliding silently 7 Toward that gold-shining hall. He had visited Hrothgar s 8 Home before, knew the way 9 But never, before nor after that night, 10 Found Herot defended so firmly, his reception 11 So harsh. He journeyed, forever joyless, 12 Straight to the door, then snapped it open, 13 Tore its iron fasteners with a touch 14 And rushed angrily over the threshold, 15 He strode quickly across the inlaid 16 Floor, snarling and fierce: his eyes 17 Gleamed in the darkness, burned with a gruesome 18 Light. Then he stopped, seeing the hall 19 Crowded with sleeping warriors, stuffed 20 With rows of young soldiers resting together, 21 And his heart laughed; he relished the sight, 22 Intended to tear the life from those bodies 23 By morning; the monster s mind was hot 24 With the thought of food and the feasting his belly 25 Would soon know. But fate, that night, intended 26 Grendel to gnaw the broken bones 27 Of his last human supper. Human 28 Eyes were watching his evil steps, 29 Waiting to see his swift hard claws. 30 Grendel snatched at the first Geat 31 He came to, ripped him apart, cut 32 His body to bits with powerful jaws. 33 Drank the blood from his veins and bolted 34 Him down, hands and feet; death 35 And Grendel s great teeth came together, 36 Snapping life shut. Then he stepped to another 37 Still body, clutched at Beowulf with his claws,

2 38 Grasped at a strong-hearted wakeful sleeper 39 And was instantly seized himself, claws 40 Bend back as Beowulf leaned up on one arm. 41 That shepherd of evil, guardian of crime, 42 Knew at once that nowhere on earth 43 Had he met a man whose hands were harder; 44 His mind was flooded with fear but nothing 45 Could take his talons and himself from that tight 46 Hard grip. Grendel s one thought was to run 47 From Beowulf, flee back to his marsh and hide there: 48 This was a different Herot than the hall he had emptied 49 But Higlac s follower remembered his final 50 Boast and, standing erect, stopped 51 The monster s flight, fastened those claws 52 In his fists till they cracked, clutched Grendel 53 Closer. The infamous killer fought 54 For his freedom, wanting no flesh but retreat, 55 Desiring nothing but escape; his claws 56 Had been caught, he was trapped. That trip to Herot 57 Was a miserable journey for the writhing monster! 58 The high hall rang, its roof boards swayed, 59 And Danes shook with terror. Down 60 The aisles the battle swept, angry 61 And wild. Herot trembled, wonderfully 62 Built to withstand the blows, the struggling 63 Great bodies beating at its beautiful walls; 64 Shaped and fastened with iron, inside 65 And out, artfully worked, the building 66 Stood firm. Its benches rattled, fell 67 To the floor, gold-covered boards grating 68 As Grendel and Beowulf battled across them. 69 Hrothgar s wise men had fashioned Herot 70 To stand forever; only fire, 71 They had planned, could shatter what such skill had put 72 Together, swallow in hot flames such splendor 73 Of ivory and iron and wood. Suddenly 74 The sounds changed, the Danes started 75 In new terror, cowering in their beds as the terrible 76 Screams of the Almighty s enemy sang 77 In the darkness, the horrible shrieks of pain

3 78 And defeat, the tears torn out of Grendel s 79 Taut throat, hell s captive caught in the arms of him who of all the men on earth 80 Was the strongest. 81 That mighty protector of men 82 Meant to hold the monster till its life 83 Leaped out, knowing the fiend was no use 84 To anyone in Denmark. All of Beowulf s 85 Band had jumped from their beds, ancestral 86 Swords raised and ready, determined 87 To protect their prince if they could. Their courage 88 Was great but all wasted: they could hack at Grendel 89 From every side, trying to open 90 A path for his evil soul, but their points 91 Could not scratch at his skin, for that sin-stained demon 92 Had bewitched all men s weapons, laid spells 93 That blunted every mortal man s blade. 94 And yet his time had come, his days 95 Were over, his death near; down 96 To hell he would go, swept groaning and helpless 97 To the waiting hands of still worse fiends. 98 Now he discovered once the afflictor 99 Of men, tormentor of their days what it meant 100 To feud with Almighty God: Grendel 101 Saw that his strength was deserting him, his claws 102 Bound fast, Higlac s brave follower tearing at 103 His hands. The monster s hatred rose higher, 104 But his power had gone. He twisted in pain, 105 And the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder 106 Snapped, muscle and bone split 107 And broke. The battle was over, Beowulf 108 Had been granted new glory: Grendel escaped, 109 But wounded as he was could flee to his den, 110 His miserable hole at the bottom of the marsh, 111 Only to die, to wait for the end 112 Of all his days. And after that bloody 113 Combat the Danes laughed with delight. 114 He who had come to them from across the sea, 115 Bold and strong-minded, had driven affliction 116 Off, purged Herot clean. He was happy,

4 117 Now, with that night s fierce work; the Danes 118 Had been served as he d boasted he d serve them; Beowulf, 119 A prince of the Geats, had killed Grendel, 120 Ended the grief, the sorrow, the suffering 121 Forced on Hrothgar s helpless people 122 By a bloodthirsty fiend. No Dane doubted 123 The victory, for the proof, hanging high 124 From the rafters where Beowulf had hung it, was the monster s 125 Arm, claw and shoulder and all. 126 And then, in the morning, crowds surrounded 127 Herot, warriors coming to that hall 128 From faraway lands, princes and leaders 129 Of men hurrying to behold the monster s 130 Great staggering tracks. They gaped with no sense 131 Of sorrow, felt no regret for his suffering, 132 Went tracing his bloody footprints, his beaten 133 And lonely flight, to the edge of the lake 134 Where he d dragged his corpselike way, doomed 135 And already weary of his vanishing life. 136 The water was bloody, steaming and boiling 137 In horrible pounding waves, heat 138 Sucked from his magic veins; but the swirling 139 Surf had covered his death, hidden 140 Deep in murky darkness his miserable 141 End, as hell opened to receive him. 142 Then old and young rejoiced, turned back 143 From that happy pilgrimage, mounted their hard-hooved 144 Horses, high-spirited stallions, and rode them 145 Slowly toward Herot again, retelling 146 Beowulf s bravery as they jogged along. 147 And over and over they swore that nowhere 148 On earth or under the spreading sky 149 Or between the seas, neither south nor north, 150 Was there a warrior worthier to rule over men. The Battle with Grendel s Mother 6 1 They sank into sleep. The price of that evening s 2 Rest was too high for the Dane who bought it

5 3 With his life, paying as others had paid 4 When Grendel inhabited Herot, the hall, 5 His till his crimes pulled him into hell. 6 And now it was known that a monster had died 7 But a monster still lived, and meant revenge. 8 She d brooded on her loss, misery had brewed 9 In her heart, that female horror, Grendel s 10 Mother, living in the murky cold lake 11 Assigned her since Cain had killed his only 12 Brother, slain his father s son 13 With an angry sword. God drove him off, 14 Outlawed him to the dry and barren desert, 15 And branded him with a murderer s mark. And he 16 bore a race of fiends accursed like their father; 17 So Grendel was drawn to Herot, an outcast 18 Come to meet the man who awaited him. 19 He d snatched at Beowulf s arm, but that prince 20 Remembered God s grace and the strength He d given him 21 And relied on the Lord for all the help, 22 The comfort and support he would need. He killed 23 The monster, as God had meant him to do, 24 Tore the fiend apart and forced him 25 To run as rapidly as he could toward death s 26 Cold waiting hands. His mother s sad heart, 27 And her greed, drove her from her den on the 28 Dangerous pathway of revenge. 29 So she reached Herot, 30 Where the Danes slept as though already dead; 31 Her visit ended their good fortune, reversed 32 The bright vane of their luck. No female, no matter 33 How fierce, could have come with a man s strength, 34 Fought with the power and courage men fight with To save her life she moved still faster, 36 Took a single victim and fled from the hall, 37 Running to the moors, discovered, but her supper 38 Assured, sheltered in her dripping claws. 39 She d taken Hrothgar s closest friend, 40 The man he most loved of all men on earth; 41 She d killed a glorious soldier, cut 42 A noble life short. No Geat could have stopped her:

6 43 Beowulf and his band had been given better 44 Beds; sleep had come to them in a different 45 Hall. Then all Herot burst into shouts: 46 She had carried off Grendel s claw. Sorrow 47 Had returned to Denmark. They d traded deaths, 48 Danes and monsters, and no one had won, both had lost! 49 Beowulf was sent for at once. 50 He d ask the Danes great lord if all 51 Were at peace, if the night had passed quietly. 52 Hrothgar answered him, protector of his people: 53 There s no happiness to ask about! Anguish 54 has descended 55 On the Danes. Esher is dead, Ermlaf s 56 Older brother and my own most trusted 57 Counselor and friend, my comrade, when we went 58 Into battle, who d beaten back enemy swords, 59 Standing at my side. All my soldiers 60 Should be as he was, their hearts as brave 61 And as wise! Another wandering fiend 62 Has found him in Herot, murdered him, fled 63 With his corpse: he ll be eaten, his flesh become 64 A horrible feast and who knows where 65 The beast may be hiding, its belly stuffed full? 66 She s taking revenge for your victory over Grendel, 67 For your strength, your mighty grip, and that monster s 68 Death. For years he d been preying on my people; 69 You came, he was dead in a single day, 70 And now there s another one, a second hungry 71 Fiend, determined to avenge the first, 72 A monster willing and more than able 73 To bring us more sorrow or so it must seem 74 To the many men mourning that noble 75 Treasure-giver, for all men were treated 76 Nobly by those hands now forever closed. 77 Our only help, 78 Again lies with you. Grendel s mother 79 Is hidden in her terrible home, in a place 80 You ve not seen. Seek it, if you dare! Save us, 81 Once more, and again twisted gold, 82 Heaped-up ancient treasure, will reward you

7 83 For the battle you win! 84 Only Beowulf would risk 85 His life in that lake; Unferth was afraid, 86 Gave up that chance to work wonders, win glory 87 And a hero s fame. But Beowulf and fear 88 Were strangers; he stood ready to dive into battle. He pursues Grendel s mother, carrying the sword, Hrunting, Unferth s sword. Unferth offers it to Beowulf as a gesture of forgiveness for his insulting Beowulf. The king, his men, and the Geats follow the hero to the dreadful lair of Grendel s mother. Beowulf dives in the lake wearing full armor. 89 He leaped into the lake, would not wait for anyone s 90 Answer; the heaving water covered him 91 Over. For hours he sank through the waves; 92 At last he saw the mud of the bottom. 93 And all at once the greedy she-wolf 94 Who d ruled those waters for half a hundred 95 Years discovered him, saw that a creature 96 From above had come to explore the bottom 97 Of her wet world. She welcomed him in her claws, 98 Clutched at him savagely but could not harm him, 99 Tried to work her fingers through the tight 100 Ring-woven mail on his breast, but tore 101 And scratched in vain. Then she carried him, armor 102 And sword in all, to her home; he struggled 103 To free his weapon, and failed. The fight 104 Brought other monsters swimming to see 105 Her catch, a host of sea beasts who beat at 106 His mail shirt, stabbing with tusks and teeth 107 As they followed along. Then he realized, suddenly, 108 That she d brought him into someone s battle-hall, 109 And there the water s heat could not hurt him, 110 Nor anything in the lake attack him through 111 The building s high-arching roof. A brilliant 112 Light burned all around him, the lake 113 Itself like a fiery flame. 114 Then he saw 115 The mighty water witch, and swung his sword, 116 His ring-marked blade, straight at her head;

8 117 The iron sang its fierce song, 118 Sang Beowulf s strength. But her guest 119 Discovered that no sword could slice her evil 120 Skin, that Hrunting could not hurt her, was useless 121 Now when he needed it. They wrestled, she ripped 122 And tore and clawed at him, bit holes in his helmet, 123 And that too failed him; for the first time in years 124 Of being worn to war it would earn no glory; 125 It was the last time anyone would wear it. But Beowulf 126 Longed only for fame, leaped back 127 Into battle. He tossed his sword aside, 128 Angry; the steel-edged blade lay where 129 He d dropped it. If weapons were useless he d use 130 His hands, the strength in his fingers. So fame 131 Comes to the men whom mean to win it 132 And care about nothing else! He raised 133 His arms and seized her by the shoulder; anger 134 Doubled his strength, he threw her to the floor. 135 She fell, Grendel s fierce mother, and the Geats 136 Proud prince was ready to leap on her. But she rose 137 At once and repaid him with her clutching claws, 138 Wildly tearing at him. He was weary, that best 139 And strongest of soldiers; his feet stumbled 140 And in an instant she had him down, held helpless. 141 Squatting with her weight on his stomach, she drew 142 A dagger, brown with dried blood, and prepared 143 To avenge her only son. But he was stretched 144 On his back, and her stabbing blade was blunted 145 By the woven mail shirt he wore on his chest. 146 The hammered links held; the point 147 Could not touch him. He d have traveled to the bottom of 148 The earth, 149 Edgetho s son, and died there, if that shining 150 Woven metal had not helped and Holy 151 God, who sent him victory, gave judgment 152 For truth and right, Ruler of the Heavens, 153 Once Beowulf was back on his feet and fighting. 154 Then he saw, hanging on the wall, a heavy 155 Sword, hammered by giants, strong 156 And blessed with their magic, the best of all weapons

9 157 But so massive that no ordinary man could lift 158 Its carved and decorated length. He drew it 159 From its scabbard, broke the chain on its hilt, 160 And then, savage, now, angry 161 And desperate, lifted it high over his head 162 And struck with all the strength he had left, 163 Caught her in the neck and cut it through, 164 Broke bones and all. Her body fell 165 To the floor, lifeless, the sword was wet 166 With her blood, and Beowulf rejoiced at the sight. 167 The brilliant light shone, suddenly, 168 As though burning in that hall, and as bright as Heaven s 169 Own candle, lit in the sky. He looked 170 At her home, then following along the wall 171 Went walking, his hands tight on the sword, 172 His heart still angry. He was hunting another 173 Dead monster, and took his weapon with him 174 For final revenge against Grendel s vicious 175 Attacks, his nighttime raids, over 176 And over, coming to Herot when Hrothgar s 177 Men slept, killing them in their beds, 178 Eating some on the spot, fifteen 179 Or more, and running to his loathsome moor 180 With another such sickening meal waiting 181 In his pouch. But Beowulf repaid him for those visits, 182 Found him lying dead in his corner, 183 Armless, exactly as that fierce fighter 184 Had sent him out from Herot, then struck off 185 His head with a single swift blow. The body 186 Jerked for the last time, then lay still. 187 The wise old warriors who surrounded Hrothgar, 188 Like him staring into the monster s lake, 189 Saw the waves surging and blood 190 Spurting through. They spoke about Beowulf, 191 All the graybeards, whispered together 192 And said that hope was gone, that the hero 193 Had lost fame and his life at once, and would never 194 Return to the living, come back as triumphant 195 As he had left; almost all agreed that Grendel s 196 Mighty mother, the she-wolf, had killed him.

10 197 The sun slid over past noon, went further 198 Down. The Danes gave up, left 199 The lake and went home, Hrothgar with them. 200 The Geats stayed, sat sadly, watching, 201 Imagining they saw their lord but not believing 202 They would ever see him again. 203 Then the sword 204 Melted, blood-soaked, dripping down 205 Like water, disappearing like ice when the world s 206 Eternal Lord loosens invisible 207 Fetters and unwinds icicles and frost 208 As only He can, He who rules 209 Time and seasons, He who is truly 210 God. The monsters hall was full of 211 Rich treasures, but all that Beowulf took 212 Was Grendel s head and the hilt of the giants 213 Jeweled sword; the rest of that ring-marked 214 Blade had dissolved in Grendel s steaming 215 Blood, boiling even after his death. 216 And then the battle s only survivor 217 Swam up and away from those silent corpses; 218 The water was calm and clean, the whole 219 Huge lake peaceful once the demons who d lived in it 220 Were dead. 221 Then that noble protector of all seamen 222 Swam to land, rejoicing in the heavy 223 Burdens he was bringing with him. He 224 And all his glorious band of Geats 225 Thanked God that their leader had come back unharmed, 226 They left the lake together. The Geats 227 Carried Beowulf s helmet, and his mail shirt. 228 Behind them the water slowly thickened 229 As the monsters blood came seeping up. 230 They walked quickly, happily, across 231 Roads all of them remembered, left 232 The lake and the cliffs alongside it, brave men 233 Staggering under the weight of Grendel s skull, 234 Too heavy for fewer than four of them to handle 235 Two on each side of the spear jammed through it 236 Yet proud of their ugly load and determined

11 237 That the Danes, seated in Herot, should see it. 238 Soon, fourteen Geats arrived 239 At the hall, bold and warlike, and with Beowulf, 240 Their lord and leader, they walked on the mead hall 241 Green. Then the Geats brave prince entered 242 Herot, covered with glory for the daring 243 Battles he had fought; he sought Hrothgar 244 To salute him and show Grendel s head. 245 He carried that terrible trophy by the hair, 246 Brought it straight to where the Danes sat, 247 Drinking, the queen among them. It was a weird 248 And wonderful sight, and the warriors stared.