“The Helmings’ high queen in the hall walked regally,
Carrying the cup, that queen was their servant,
Offering up mead to all elders and youths.”
The Wisdom of Wealhtheow
“Then Wealhtheow entered,
Hrothgar’s high queen, heeding all courtesies,
Greeting these guests, gold-arrayed and lovely,
That high-hearted lady handed the first cup,
To the conquering Dane-king, the cup filled to the rim.”
God Only Knows
“Near death, desolate, on the deep I floated,
How I came unharmed from that hostile brood,
How I lived to see light the Lord only knows.”
So Stand
“Then I saw sea-cliffs, the shore of the headlands,
Those windswept walls. Wyrd often delivers
The doughty and daring if dauntless he stands.”
Covered Courage
“A woven war-short, worked with gold,
Covered my courage, encasing my heart.
A sea-dragon dragged me down to the deep bottom,
Pinned and pinioned, my point finally reached him . . .
My battle blade served me, I bested them all.
My sword-feast, their sorrow, the suffered my blows,
Dark things from the deep who would devour me happily.”
Chosen Well
“My chain mail, chosen well, was choice for that battle,
Hand-forged, hard-linked, it held up against them.”
Stirred Them Up
“Dark night, deep waters, stirred the deep creatures,
Agitated and angered them, all of them wild.”
Beowulf, 25
We Dared It
“We dared to defy it, however daunting it was.
With swords to serve us, we shoved off from the beach.
The sea roiled, we rowed, with real steel to protect us
From whale-beasts in winter, from watery monsters.”
It Burdens My Breast
“It burdens my breast to believe that I must
Reveal the wreckage that rivalry with Grendel has wrought.
What havoc, what humiliation, what hell he has brought us.”
Bare-handed
“To heighten Hygelac’s glory, that his heart may be gladdened,
I renounce sword and shield and will serve you bare-handed.”