I. THE LIFE AND DEATH OF SCYLD.

{The famous race of Spear-Danes.}rnrn          Lo! the Spear-Danes' glory through splendid achievementsrn          The folk-kings' former fame we have heard of,          How princes displayed then their prowess-in-battle.rnrn{Scyld, their mighty king, in honor of whom they are often calledrnScyldings. He is the great-grandfather of Hrothgar, so prominent in thernpoem.}rnrn          Oft Scyld the Scefing from scathers in numbersrn        5 From many a people their mead-benches tore.          Since first he found him friendless and wretched,          The earl had had terror: comfort he got for it,          Waxed 'neath the welkin, world-honor gained,          Till all his neighbors o'er sea were compelled torn       10 Bow to his bidding and bring him their tribute:          An excellent atheling! After was borne himrnrn{A son is born to him, who receives the name of Beowulf--a name afterwardsrnmade so famous by the hero of the poem.}rnrn          A son and heir, young in his dwelling,          Whom God-Father sent to solace the people.          He had marked the misery malice had caused them,       15 [1]That reaved of their rulers they wretched had erstwhile[2]          Long been afflicted. The Lord, in requital,          Wielder of Glory, with world-honor blessed him.          Famed was Beowulf, far spread the gloryrn          Of Scyld's great son in the lands of the Danemen.rnrn[2]rnrn{The ideal Teutonic king lavishes gifts on his vassals.}rnrn       20 So the carle that is young, by kindnesses renderedrn          The friends of his father, with fees in abundancern          Must be able to earn that when age approachethrn          Eager companions aid him requitingly,          When war assaults him serve him as liegemen:       25 By praise-worthy actions must honor be gotrn          'Mong all of the races. At the hour that was fatedrnrn{Scyld dies at the hour appointed by Fate.}rnrn          Scyld then departed to the All-Father's keepingrn          Warlike to wend him; away then they bare himrn          To the flood of the current, his fond-loving comrades,       30 As himself he had bidden, while the friend of the Scyldingsrn          Word-sway wielded, and the well-lovèd land-princern          Long did rule them.[3] The ring-stemmèd vessel,          Bark of the atheling, lay there at anchor,          Icy in glimmer and eager for sailing;rnrn{By his own request, his body is laid on a vessel and wafted seaward.}rnrn       35 The belovèd leader laid they down there,          Giver of rings, on the breast of the vessel,          The famed by the mainmast. A many of jewels,          Of fretted embossings, from far-lands brought over,          Was placed near at hand then; and heard I not everrn       40 That a folk ever furnished a float more superblyrn          With weapons of warfare, weeds for the battle,          Bills and burnies; on his bosom sparkledrn          Many a jewel that with him must travelrn          On the flush of the flood afar on the current.       45 And favors no fewer they furnished him soothly,          Excellent folk-gems, than others had given himrnrn{He leaves Daneland on the breast of a bark.}rnrn          Who when first he was born outward did send himrn          Lone on the main, the merest of infants:          And a gold-fashioned standard they stretched under heavenrn[3]    50 High o'er his head, let the holm-currents bear him,          Seaward consigned him: sad was their spirit,          Their mood very mournful. Men are not ablernrn{No one knows whither the boat drifted.}rnrn          Soothly to tell us, they in halls who reside,[4]          Heroes under heaven, to what haven he hied.rnrn    [1] For the 'Þæt' of verse 15, Sievers suggests 'Þá' (= which). Ifrn    this be accepted, the sentence 'He had ... afflicted' will read: _He_rn    (_i.e._ God) _had perceived the malice-caused sorrow which they,    lordless, had formerly long endured_.rnrn    [2] For 'aldor-léase' (15) Gr. suggested 'aldor-ceare': _He perceivedrn    their distress, that they formerly had suffered life-sorrow a longrn    while_.rnrn    [3] A very difficult passage. 'Áhte' (31) has no object. H. suppliesrn    'geweald' from the context; and our translation is based upon thisrn    assumption, though it is far from satisfactory. Kl. suggestsrn    'lændagas' for 'lange': _And the beloved land-prince enjoyed (had) hisrn    transitory days (i.e. lived)_. B. suggests a dislocation; but this isrn    a dangerous doctrine, pushed rather far by that eminent scholar.rnrn    [4] The reading of the H.-So. text has been quite closely followed;    but some eminent scholars read 'séle-rædenne' for 'sele-rædende.' Ifrn    that be adopted, the passage will read: _Men cannot tell us, indeed,    the order of Fate, etc._ 'Sele-rædende' has two things to support it:    (1) v. 1347; (2) it affords a parallel to 'men' in v. 50.