The Beowulf Discussion: Section XXIV

[Michael]

This discussion was originally posted to the Endor mailing list. It used the Project Gutenberg eText based on Leslie Hall's translation of the poem. The source can be found here:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16328/16328-8.txt

XXIV.

BEOWULF IS DOUBLE-CONQUEROR.


{Beowulf grasps a giant-sword,}

Then he saw mid the war-gems a weapon of victory,
An ancient giant-sword, of edges a-doughty,
Glory of warriors: of weapons 'twas choicest,
Only 'twas larger than any man else was
[54] 5 Able to bear to the battle-encounter,
The good and splendid work of the giants.
He grasped then the sword-hilt, knight of the Scyldings,
Bold and battle-grim, brandished his ring-sword,
Hopeless of living, hotly he smote her,
10 That the fiend-woman's neck firmly it grappled,

{and fells the female monster.}

Broke through her bone-joints, the bill fully pierced her
Fate-curs=E8d body, she fell to the ground then:
The hand-sword was bloody, the hero exulted.
The brand was brilliant, brightly it glimmered,
15 Just as from heaven gemlike shineth
The torch of the firmament. He glanced 'long the building,
And turned by the wall then, Higelac's vassal
Raging and wrathful raised his battle-sword
Strong by the handle. The edge was not useless
20 To the hero-in-battle, but he speedily wished to
Give Grendel requital for the many assaults he
Had worked on the West-Danes not once, but often,
When he slew in slumber the subjects of Hrothgar,
Swallowed down fifteen sleeping retainers
25 Of the folk of the Danemen, and fully as many
Carried away, a horrible prey.
He gave him requital, grim-raging champion,

{Beowulf sees the body of Grendel, and cuts off his head.}

When he saw on his rest-place weary of conflict
Grendel lying, of life-joys bereav=E8d,
30 As the battle at Heorot erstwhile had scathed him;
His body far bounded, a blow when he suffered,
Death having seized him, sword-smiting heavy,
And he cut off his head then. Early this noticed
The clever carles who as comrades of Hrothgar

{The waters are gory.}

35 Gazed on the sea-deeps, that the surging wave-currents
Were mightily mingled, the mere-flood was gory:
Of the good one the gray-haired together held converse,

{Beowulf is given up for dead.}

The hoary of head, that they hoped not to see again
The atheling ever, that exulting in victory
40 He'd return there to visit the distinguished folk-ruler:
[55] Then many concluded the mere-wolf had killed him.[1]
The ninth hour came then. From the ness-edge departed
The bold-mooded Scyldings; the gold-friend of heroes
Homeward betook him. The strangers sat down then
45 Soul-sick, sorrowful, the sea-waves regarding:
They wished and yet weened not their well-loved friend-lord

{The giant-sword melts.}

To see any more. The sword-blade began then,
The blood having touched it, contracting and shriveling
With battle-icicles; 'twas a wonderful marvel
50 That it melted entirely, likest to ice when
The Father unbindeth the bond of the frost and
Unwindeth the wave-bands, He who wieldeth dominion
Of times and of tides: a truth-firm Creator.
Nor took he of jewels more in the dwelling,
55 Lord of the Weders, though they lay all around him,
Than the head and the handle handsome with jewels;
[56] The brand early melted, burnt was the weapon:[2]
So hot was the blood, the strange-spirit poisonous

{The hero swims back to the realms of day.}

That in it did perish. He early swam off then
60 Who had bided in combat the carnage of haters,
Went up through the ocean; the eddies were cleans=E8d,
The spacious expanses, when the spirit from farland
His life put aside and this short-lived existence.
The seamen's defender came swimming to land then
65 Doughty of spirit, rejoiced in his sea-gift,
The bulky burden which he bore in his keeping.
The excellent vassals advanced then to meet him,
To God they were grateful, were glad in their chieftain,
That to see him safe and sound was granted them.
70 From the high-minded hero, then, helmet and burnie
Were speedily loosened: the ocean was putrid,
The water 'neath welkin weltered with gore.
Forth did they fare, then, their footsteps retracing,
Merry and mirthful, measured the earth-way,
75 The highway familiar: men very daring[3]
Bare then the head from the sea-cliff, burdening
Each of the earlmen, excellent-valiant.

{It takes four men to carry Grendel's head on a spear.}

Four of them had to carry with labor
The head of Grendel to the high towering gold-hall
80 Upstuck on the spear, till fourteen most-valiant
And battle-brave Geatmen came there going
Straight to the palace: the prince of the people
Measured the mead-ways, their mood-brave companion.
The atheling of earlmen entered the building,
85 Deed-valiant man, adorned with distinction,
Doughty shield-warrior, to address King Hrothgar:
[57] Then hung by the hair, the head of Grendel
Was borne to the building, where beer-thanes were drinking,
Loth before earlmen and eke 'fore the lady:
90 The warriors beheld then a wonderful sight.

[1] '=DE=E6s monige gewear=F0' (1599) and 'hafa=F0 =FE=E6s geworden'=
(2027).--In a
paper published some years ago in one of the Johns Hopkins University
circulars, I tried to throw upon these two long-doubtful passages some
light derived from a study of like passages in Alfred's prose.--The
impersonal verb 'geweor=F0an,' with an accus. of the person, and a
=FE=E6t-clause is used several times with the meaning 'agree.' See=
Orosius
(Sweet's ed.) 178_7; 204_34; 208_28; 210_15; 280_20. In the two
Beowulf passages, the =FE=E6t-clause is anticipated by '=FE=E6s,' which=
is
clearly a gen. of the thing agreed on.

The first passage (v. 1599 (b)-1600) I translate literally: _Then many
agreed upon this (namely), that the sea-wolf had killed him_.

The second passage (v. 2025 (b)-2027): _She is promised ...; to this
the friend of the Scyldings has agreed, etc_. By emending 'is' instead
of 'w=E6s' (2025), the tenses will be brought into perfect harmony.

In v. 1997 ff. this same idiom occurs, and was noticed in B.'s great
article on Beowulf, which appeared about the time I published my
reading of 1599 and 2027. Translate 1997 then: _Wouldst let the
South-Danes themselves decide about their struggle with Grendel_. Here
'S=FA=F0-Dene' is accus. of person, and 'g=FA=F0e' is gen. of thing=
agreed on.

With such collateral support as that afforded by B. (P. and B. XII.
97), I have no hesitation in departing from H.-So., my usual guide.

The idiom above treated runs through A.-S., Old Saxon, and other
Teutonic languages, and should be noticed in the lexicons.

[2] 'Br=F3den-m=E6l' is regarded by most scholars as meaning a=
damaskeened
sword. Translate: _The damaskeened sword burned up_. Cf. 25_16 and
note.

[3] 'Cyning-balde' (1635) is the much-disputed reading of K. and Th.
To render this, "_nobly bold_," "_excellently bold_," have been
suggested. B. would read 'cyning-holde' (cf. 290), and render: _Men
well-disposed towards the king carried the head, etc._ 'Cynebealde,'
says t.B., endorsing Gr.

INITIAL COMMENTARY:
The melting of the sword-blade reminds me of the Morgul-blade withering in the sunlight. Not quite the same thing, but I wonder if Tolkien simply liked the effect?

The translator doesn't say anything, but notice that the sea-monsters are gone when Beowulf ascends to the surface. The waters are "cleansed". Apparently, the poisonous blood killed them all, but it was not harmful to Beowulf, was apparently under some sort of divine protection. He must have been bleeding from many wounds, since the monsters had bitten him on the way down.

The struggle between Beowulf and the witch as she drags him down (in chapter XXIII) also reminds me of the struggle of Gandalf with the Balrog as they fall deeper into the chasm of Moria. Gandalf was able to hew at his enemy as they descended but apparently with about as much effect Beowulf experienced with Hrunting in his hand.

The theme of the hero in the cave is quite popular in modern fantasy literature. He discovers old treasures there, defeats great evil, passes some ancient test, and in one way or another usually proves himself worthy to pass on to a greater destiny.

However, it may be that early pulp writers like Edgar Rice Burroughs popularized the theme of the struggle in the cave without being directly influenced by "Beowulf" or any similar ancient myth. John Carter of Mars seems to have found caves and underground passages filled with monsters and evil tyrants in almost every story written by ERB, except the last (Skeleton Men of Jupiter). Of course, that story was only 1/4 finished, so Carter might actually have been heading for another cave encounter when ERB ended his writing career.

The cave symbolizes everything that we fear. It harbors monsters and all things unknown, but it is also a source of great inspiration and revelation. Beren and Luthien descend into the depths of Angband to retrieve a Silmaril. Hurin passes into the ruins of Nargothrond to find the treasure of Finrod and the Nauglamir (and there he kills Mim, who betrayed Turin and his outlaws to Morgoth's forces).

Beowulf's refusal to gather up the treasure hoard reminds me of "The Thief of Baghdad", who when he passes into the cave must follow a path through a huge treasure hoard. If he turns aside to seek the treasure, he'll fail in his task and be forever doomed.

The Centropolis Pictures movie, "The Mummy", starring Brendan Fraser, and its sequel "The Mummy Returns", both utilized the theme of the cave to great effect (although the second cave was in fact an enchanted pyramid). Indiana Jones goes underground in all three of his movies as well.

In Star Wars, the Death Star serves as the cave in the first movie (Episode IV: A New Hope). Luke literally goes into a cave where evil festers in the second movie (Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back). And Luke returns to the Death Star (or its successor) in the third movie.

Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi descend into Naboo's core to reach the far side of the planet in time in Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Obi-Wan, Padme, and Anakin end up passing through the caves/factory of the Geonosians (the giant bug creatures) in Episode II: The Attack of the Clones. And Obi-Wan passes through another cave in Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith.

The struggle between good and evil often takes place beneath the surface of the world, where the common folk are only dimly aware of it. Dante's "Inferno" depicts another type of struggle between good and evil beneath the surface of the world, although his work is considered to be allegorical.

Tolkien was, I think, very familiar with the theme of the struggle in the cave (despite his never having seen a Star Wars or Indiana Jones movie).