“She carried a cup to him, with kindness greeted him,
With gold-wire winding and words that were winsome”
Heroism in Smoke
“With the smoke of the slain and the songs of death mingling,
The fire was fierce, the fallen consumed,
Brains boiling over, blood gushing from wounds,
The bodies were bursting, the burning greedily ate
And gone were their great ones, their glory vanished”
Unfeeling Sky
“Hildeburh wailed for Hnaef, and her son as well,
Bidding his body be brought alongside,
That his bones might burn, and his body ascend,
Alongside his uncle, to the unfeeling sky”
Simple Courage
“His courage in combat never cowered or quailed;
He was daring and doughty when dead bodies fell”
Spears for Infighting
“Gigantic fingers grim, those gray-clawed spikes,
Like burnished steel, bent spikes, short spears for infighting”
That Wretch
“That wicked wretch ran wailing off
And won’t live long, that loathsome criminal,
Sunken in sin, with sorrow astride him”
The Severed Claw
“He ran and in running vain rescue he sought,
He left his curdled cruelty, his claw and shouldered arm,
Left behind, bleeding; my boast is nailed there”
Best of Men
“Now Beowulf, best of men, in battle triumphant,
As a son I laud and love you, lift your name high,
Keep this new kinship, carry it with you,
Acknowledge and nurture it, know that it’s yours”
A Bevy
“The king himself came from the queen’s quarters,
Regal and royal, the ring-treasure guardian,
Well-known and noble, knights and earls with him,
A column of comfort, the queen right beside him,
And beautiful, bountiful, a bevy of women”
Famed as a Fighter
“He was famed as a fighter, ferocity unmatched,
A baron of battle, the best in the business,
His great and good deeds, all gained by his courage”