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Beowulf Language Exercise 5
Old English Text[1]
Ad wæsgeæfned ondicge gold
ahæfen of horde. Herescyldinga
betstbeadorinca wæs on bælgearu.
ætþæmadewæs eþgesyne
swatfahsyrce, swynealgylden,
eoferirenheard, æþelingmanig
wundumawyrded; sume on wælecrungon.
Het ðaHildeburh ætHnæfesade
hireselfresunu sweoloðebefæstan,
banfatubærnan ond on bæl don
eame on eaxle. Ides gnornode,
geomrodegiddum. Guðrincastah.
Wand to wolcnum wælfyramæst,
hlynode for hlawe; hafelanmulton,
bengeatoburston, ðonneblodætspranc,
laðbitelices. Ligealleforswealg,
gæstagifrost, þaraðeþærguðfornam
begafolces; wæshirablædscacen.
(Beowulf,ll. 1107-1124)
Modern English Transliteration[2]
Pyre was prepared, and marvelous gold
heapedup from hoard. Of Battle-Scyldings,
of fighting-men best, was on baleful-fire ready.
On that pyre was easily-seen
blood-soaked mail-shirt, swine-crestbegilded,
boar iron-hard, prince-ling a-many
by wounds destroyed; some on slaughter-field fell.
Commanded then Hildeburh, upon Hnæf’spyre
her own son to the blaze to commit,
that bone-vessel to burn, and on baleful-fire placed,
[his] arm on [his uncle’s] shoulder. That woman mourned,
lamented with dirges; warrior was raised up;
wound up to welkin of woe-fires the greatest,
roaredfrom the burial-mound. Heads melted,
wound-gashes burst, then blood spurted
fromhateful-bites of the body. Fire everything swallowed,
of spirits greediest, of those who [were] there warcarried off
ofboth [halves] of that folk; was their glory passed away.
- Note how the transliteration highlights the structural and grammatical differences between Old English and Modern English. Take special notice of how word order in Modern English is often used to show grammatical relationships among words which might be otherwise indicated in Old English.
- Using the following examples as your guide, parse out each clause of the Old English passage, ensuring that you know the part of speech and function of each word, and how the words work together in the sentence. Don’t worry if you can’t find every bit of information for every word; just do your best! The point is to start thinking about how these structures function in Old English. Eventually one begins to recognize common forms. Use the transliteration to help you in this task; if necessary, diagram the Modern English sentences as you did last week in order to determine the function of each Old English word. Start to rely more heavily, however, on the glossary in the back of Jack’s edition of the poem, as well as on Jack’s footnotes and marginal glosses. If you take your time and work carefully, you will begin to understand how the forms of the words can guide you in your understanding of Old English syntax and grammar.
Ad: Pyre
(MNS—Masculine Nominative Singular Noun; sometimes rendered “oath;” see Jack’s note.)
wæs: was
(Preterite 3rd person singular of wesan: to be)
geæfned:prepared
(Past Participle of Class I Weak Verb æfnan: to perform, do, make ready)
ond:and
(Conjunction)
icge:marvelous
(Adjective of indeterminate origin and meaning; see Jack’s note. In any case, it clearly modifies “gold.”)
gold:gold
(NNS Noun)
ahæfen:heaped up
(Past Participle of Class 6 Strong Verb ahebben: to raise, lift, draw up)
of:from
(Preposition)
horde:hoard
(NDS Noun)
[1] All Old English text forBeowulf language exercises is drawn from the Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records (ASPR) series: Dobbie, Elliott Van Kirk. Beowulf and Judith. New York: Columbia University Press, 1953.
[2] All Modern English translations and transliterations are by Christopher R. Fee