Brit-Lit-I

Prévia do material em texto

L I T E R A T U R E
B R I T I S H
M i d d l e A g e s t o t h e E i g h t e e n t h C e n t u r y a n d N e o c l a s s i c i s m
Ed i ted by 
Bonn ie J . Rob inson , Ph .D.
Laura J . Get ty, Ph .D.
L I T E R A T U R E
B R I T I S H
M i d d l e A g e s t o t h e E i g h t e e n t h C e n t u r y a n d N e o c l a s s i c i s m
Ed i ted by 
Bonn ie J . Rob inson , Ph .D.
Laura J . Get ty, Ph .D.
Blue Ridge | Cumming | Dahlonega | Gainesville | Oconee
University System of Georgia
“Creating A More Educated Georgia”
British Literature: Middle Ages to the Eighteenth Century and Neoclassicism is 
licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This license allows you to remix, tweak, and build upon this work, even commercially, as 
long as you credit this original source for the creation and license the new creation under 
identical terms.
If you reuse this content elsewhere, in order to comply with the attribution requirements of 
the license please attribute the original source to the University System of Georgia.
NOTE: The above copyright license which University System of Georgia uses for 
their original content does not extend to or include content which was accessed and 
incorporated, and which is licensed under various other CC Licenses, such as ND licenses. 
Nor does it extend to or include any Special Permissions which were granted to us by the 
rightsholders for our use of their content. 
Image Disclaimer: All images and figures in this book are believed to be (after a reasonable 
investigation) either public domain or carry a compatible Creative Commons license. If 
you are the copyright owner of images in this book and you have not authorized the use 
of your work under these terms, please contact the University of North Georgia Press at 
ungpress@ung.edu to have the content removed.
ISBN: 978-1-940771-28-1
Produced by:
University System of Georgia
Published by:
University of North Georgia Press
Dahlonega, Georgia
Cover Design and Layout Design:
Corey Parson
For more information, please visit http://ung.edu/university-press
Or email ungpress@ung.edu
Part 1: the Middle ages 1
1.1 Learning Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
1.2 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
1.2.1 Roman Britain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
1.2.2 Anglo-Saxon Britain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
1.2.3 Danelaw Britain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
1.2.4 Norman Britain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
1.3 Recommended Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.4 The Dream of the Rood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.4.1 The Dream of the Rood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
1.4.2 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
1.5 Beowulf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.5.1 Beowulf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
1.5.2 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
1.6 Judith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
1.6.1 Selections from Judith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
1.6.2 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
1.7 The Wanderer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
1.7.1 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
1.7.2 The Wanderer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
1.7.3 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102
1.8 The Wife’s Lament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
1.8.1 The Wife’s Lament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
1.8.2 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
1.9 The Venerable Bede . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
1.9.1 The Story of Cædmon and Cædmon’s Hymn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
1.9.2 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
1.10 Anglo-Saxon Riddles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
1.10.1 Selections from Old English Poems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
1.10.2 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .310
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.11 Marie de France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .311
1.11.1 The Lay of Sir Launfal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312
1.11.2 The Lay of the Honeysuckle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
1.11.3 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .321
1.12 Middle English Lyrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
1.12.1 Cuckoo Song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
1.12.2 Spring Song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
1.12.3 Winter Song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
1.12.4 Alysoun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
1.12.5 Blow, Northern Wind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
1.12.6 When the Nightingale Sings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
1.12.7 Ubi Sunt Qui Ante Nos Fuerunt?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .327
1.12.8 Earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 328
1.12.9 Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
1.12.10 Ave Maria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
1.12.11 Lullaby (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
1.12.12 Lullaby (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
1.12.13 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
1.13 Geoffrey Chaucer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
1.13.1 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
1.13.2 The Parliament of Birds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
1.13.3 Selections from The Canterbury Tales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .351
1.13.4 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .457
1.14 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
1.14.1 Suggested Reading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
1.14.2 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
1.14.3 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
1.15 Julian of Norwich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
1.15.1 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526
1.15.2 Selections from Revelations of Divine Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526
1.15.2 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
1.16 The Second Shepherds’ Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
1.16.1 The Second Shepherds’ Play. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .531
1.16.2 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559
1.17 Sir Thomas Malory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559
1.17.1 Selections from Le Morte d’Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .561
1.17.2 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565
1.18 Everyman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565
1.18.1 Everyman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566
1.18.2 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .597
1.19 Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597
Part two: the tudor age (1485-1603) 599
2.1 Learning Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 599
2.2 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 599
2.3 Recommended Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602
2.4 Thomas More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602
2.4.1 Utopia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604
2.4.2 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 670
2.5 Thomas Wyatt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 670
2.5.1 “The Long Love That in My Thought Doth Harbor” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .671
2.5.2 “My Galley” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 672
2.5.3 “Whoso List to Hunt” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 672
2.5.4 “My Lute, Awake!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673
2.5.5 “They Flee From Me” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674
2.5.6 “And Wilt Thou Leave Me Thus?”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674
2.5.7 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .675
2.6 Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676
2.6.1 “The soote season” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .677
2.6.2 “Love, that doth reign and live within my thought” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678
2.6.3 “Alas! so all things now do hold their peace” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678
2.6.4 “So cruel prison how could betide”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678
2.6.5 “O happy dames, that may embrace” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 680
2.6.6 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .681
2.7 Queen Elizabeth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 682
2.7.1 “The Doubt of Future Foes” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683
2.7.2 “On Monsieur’s Departure” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 684
2.7.3 “The Golden Speech” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 684
2.7.4 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686
2.8 Edmund Spenser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687
2.8.1 from The Faerie Queene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689
2.8.2 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1051
2.9 Sir Walter Raleigh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1052
2.9.1 “Farewell, False Love” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1053
2.9.2 “If Cynthia Be a Queen, a Princess, and Supreme” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1054
2.9.3 “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1054
2.9.4 “The Lie” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1055
2.9.5 “Nature, That Washed Her Hands in Milk” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1057
2.9.6 From The Discovery of the Large, Rich, and BeautifulEmpire of Guiana . . . . . 1058
2.9.7 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1063
2.10 Sir Philip Sidney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1064
2.10.1 The Defence of Poesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1065
2.10.2 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1098
2.11 Mary (Sidney) Herbert, Countess of Pembroke . . . . . . . . . 1099
2.11.1 “The Doleful Lay of Clorinda”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1100
2.11.2 “To the Angel Spirit of the Most Excellent Sir Philip Sidney” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1103
2.11.3 “Psalm 51” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1105
2.11.4 “Psalm 55” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1106
2.11.5 “Psalm 57” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1108
2.11.6 “Psalm 84” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1110
2.11.7 “Psalm 102” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1111
2.11.8 “Psalm 150” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1114
2.11.9 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1114
2.12 Christopher Marlowe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1115
2.12.1 The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1116
2.12.2 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1174
2.13 William Shakespeare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1174
2.13.1 Selected Sonnets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1177
2.13.2 Much Ado About Nothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1184
2.13.3 King Lear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1280
2.13.4 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1413
2.14 Key Terms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1413
Part 3: the seventeenth Century: the age of 
revolution (1603-1688) 1415
3.1 Learning Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1415
3.2 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1415
3.3 Recommended Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1419
3.4 John Donne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1420
3.4.1 “The Good-Morrow” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1422
3.4.2 “The Sun Rising” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1422
3.4.3 “The Indifferent” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1423
3.4.4 “Break of Day” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1424
3.4.5 “Love’s Alchemy” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1424
3.4.6 “The Flea” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1425
3.4.7 “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1426
3.4.8 “Holy Sonnet 3” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1427
3.4.9 “Holy Sonnet 4” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1428
3.4.10 “Holy Sonnet 5” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1428
3.4.11 “Holy Sonnet 10” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1428
3.4.12 from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions: Meditation 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1429
3.4.13 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1430
3.5 Aemilia Lanyer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1431
3.5.1 Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1432
3.5.2 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1496
3.6 Ben Jonson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1497
3.6.1 The Alchemist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1498
3.6.2 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1651
3.7 Robert Herrick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1651
3.7.1 “The Argument of his Book” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1652
3.7.2 “His Prayer for Absolution” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1652
3.7.3 “The Bad Season Makes the Poet Sad” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1653
3.7.4 “Corinna’s going a Maying” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1653
3.7.5 “The Night Piece, to Julia” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1655
3.7.6 “Upon Julia’s Breasts” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1656
3.7.7 “Upon Julia’s Clothes” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1656
3.7.8 “Delight in Disorder” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1656
3.7.9 “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1656
3.7.10 “Discontents in Devon” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1657
3.7.11 “His Return to London” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1657
3.7.12 “His Prayer to Ben Jonson” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1658
3.7.13 “An Ode to Ben Jonson” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1658
3.7.14 “Upon Ben Jonson” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1659
3.7.15 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1659
3.8 Andrew Marvell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1660
3.8.1 “A Dialogue, Between The Resolved Soul,and Created Pleasure” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1661
3.8.2 “On a Drop of Dew” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1664
3.8.3 “The Coronet” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1665
3.8.4 “To his Coy Mistress” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1665
3.8.5 “The Garden” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1667
3.8.6 “On Mr. Milton’s Paradise Lost” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1669
3.8.7 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1670
3.9 Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle . . . . . . . . . .1671
3.9.1 “The Hunting of the Hare” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1672
3.9.2 “A True Relation of the Birth, Breeding and Life of Margaret Cavendish, 
Written by Herself” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1674
3.9.3 from The Description of a New World, Called The Blazing World . . . . . . . . . . . . 1683
3.9.4 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1712
3.10 John Milton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1712
3.10.1 “L’Allegro” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1714
3.10.2 “Il Penseroso” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1718
3.10.3 “Lycidas” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1722
3.10.4 from Paradise Lost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1727
3.10.5 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1900
3.11 John Dryden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1900
3.11.1 Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, 1666 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1902
3.11.2 All for Love: Or, The World Well Lost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1945
3.11.3 “A Discourse Concerning the Original and Progress of Satire” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2053
3.11.4 Reading and Review Questions: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2076
3.12 Samuel Pepys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2076
3.12.1 Diary of Samuel Pepys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2078
3.12.2 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2118
3.13 Key Terms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2118
Part 4: neoClassiCisM and the eighteenth 
Century (1603-1688) 2120
4.1 Learning Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2120
4.2 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2120
4.3 Recommended Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2124
4.4 Aphra Behn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2125
4.4.1 Oroonoko . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2126
4.4.2 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2173
4.5 William Congreve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2174
4.5.1 The Way of the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2175
4.5.2 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2273
4.6 Daniel Defoe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2274
4.6.1 from Moll Flanders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2275
4.6.2 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2480
4.7 Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2480
4.7.1 “The Introduction” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2481
4.7.2 “A Nocturnal Reverie” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2483
4.7.3 “To the Nightingale” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2484
4.7.4 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2485
4.8 Jonathan Swift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2486
4.8.1 Gulliver’s Travels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2487
4.8.2 “A Modest Proposal” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2651
4.8.3 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2657
4.9 Alexander Pope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2658
4.9.1 “An Essay on Criticism” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2659
4.9.2 The Rape of the Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2678
4.9.3 “Windsor-Forest” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2696
4.9.4 From “An Essay on Man”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2707
4.9.5 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2715
4.10 Henry Fielding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2716
4.10.1 From Joseph Andrews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2717
4.10.2 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2815
4.11 Lady Mary Wortley Montagu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2816
4.11.1 From Turkish Embassy Letters LET . XXVI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2817
4.11.2 “Constantinople” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2819
4.11.3 “Town Eclogues: Saturday. The Small Pox” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2822
4.11.3 “The Reasons that Induced Dr S to write a Poem call’d the 
Lady’s Dressing room”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2824
4.11.4 “Epistle from Mrs. Yonge toHer Husband”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2827
4.11.5 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2829
4.12 Samuel Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2830
4.12.1 “London” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2832
4.12.2 The Vanity of Human Wishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2838
4.12.3 From Dictionary of the English Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2847
4.12.4 From The History of Rasselas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2850
4.12.5 Reading and Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2878
4.13 James Boswell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2878
4.13.1 from The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL . D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2880
4.13.2 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2905
4.14 Olaudah Equiano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2906
4.14.1 from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano: 
Or, Gustavus Vassa, the African . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2907
4.14.2 Reading and Review Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2970
4.15 Key Terms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2970
Page | 1 
1The Middle Ages
 
1.1 LEARNING OUTCOMES
After completing this chapter, you should be able to do the following:
• Describe the migration and/or invasion of successive groups into Britain;
• Analyze the ways that Anglo-Saxon literature assimilated Christian 
themes;
• Compare how various groups and individuals used the story of King 
Arthur for political, religious, and revisionist reasons;
• Describe the languages used in Britain over time, leading to Chaucer’s 
use of English when composing his works;
• Analyze the similarities and differences between the Anglo-Saxon 
warrior code and the knightly (or chivalric) code in Middle English 
literature, especially in Malory;
• Analyze the similarities and differences among the portrayals of women 
in Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, and Middle English works;
• Analyze the ways that writers use the concept of courtly love, from 
Marie de France to Malory.
1.2 INTRODUCTION
Medieval British literature exists because of the waves of successive groups 
that made the British Isles a melting pot of cultures, with each contributing a piece 
of the puzzle. The Middle Ages spans over 1000 years of history, which would be 
impossible to reproduce in much detail in a concise summary; the avid student of 
history would do well to pick up a textbook (or two) on British medieval history 
for a more complete picture of events. The purpose of this introduction is to give 
an outline of major events that affected literature, including who was in Britain 
at what time, and how literature responded to the changing times. To understand 
the context of medieval British literature, it is necessary to begin much earlier, in 
Roman times.
Page | 2 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
1.2.1 Roman Britain
Although Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 and 54 BCE, it was not until 
43 ACE that the Romans began a systematic invasion of the British Isles. The 
inhabitants, called Britons by the Romans, were not a unified group, but rather 
many different tribes; popularly, they now are referred to as Celts, although 
archaeologists and historians suggest that calling them Celtic language speakers 
would be more accurate. The Celts were not the original or only inhabitants of the 
island (archaeologists have found evidence of settlements dating back to the Stone 
Age), and even some sites now associated with the Celts, such as Stonehenge, 
predate them. Although these Celtic tribes had an oral culture, rather than a written 
one, Roman authors wrote about them (not the most unbiased of sources); it 
would be difficult to imagine later medieval British literature without references to 
their cultures (such as the druids, 
who served as priests and advisors, 
among other functions) and 
their languages. The tribes in the 
south—the ones first encountered 
by the Romans—spoke Common 
Brittonic, a Celtic language that 
would develop into modern Welsh, 
Cornish, and Breton (and the now-
extinct Cumbric). The Goidelic, or 
Gaelic, language developed into 
Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic, and 
Manx (spoken on the Isle of Man). 
The influence of Celtic languages 
can be found most prominently 
in place names, such as London, 
Dover, Avon, and Cornwall. 
The Roman conquest of Britain 
was met with considerable resis-
tance; the most famous example 
was the revolt led by Queen 
Boudica of the Iceni, a Celtic tribe, 
in either 60 or 61 ACE. Boudica 
and her coalition of several Celtic 
tribes came close to driving out the 
Romans, but Roman forces under 
Suetonius managed to defeat the 
coalition and reassert control. To 
the north, the Roman Emperor 
Hadrian ordered the construction 
of a wall in 122 ACE to keep out 
Image 1.1 | Map of Roman conquest of Britain
Artist | User “Notuncurious”
Source | Wikimedia Commons
License | CC BY-SA 3.0
Page | 3 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
the Picts, who inhabited what is 
present-day Scotland. The Picts 
may have been a combination of 
indigenous tribes (who predat-
ed the Celtic migration to the 
island hundreds of years earlier) 
and immigrants from Ireland 
(the word Scoti, from which 
the name Scotland derives, was 
used by the Romans to describe 
the Irish). The Picts were never 
conquered by the Romans, just 
as Ireland resisted Roman rule. 
Much later, in the Declaration of 
Arbroath (1320), the Scots would 
use this fact to argue to the Pope 
that they historically were an in-
dependent kingdom, and there-
fore Edward I of England had no 
right to their lands.
Although the Middle Ages 
in Europe are often seen as 
beginning after the fall of Rome 
in 476 ACE, the Middle Ages in Britain start with the withdrawal of Roman troops. 
By 383 ACE, Roman forces had withdrawn from the north and west, with the 
final departure of troops from the island in 410 ACE. The medieval legend of King 
Arthur and his knights comes from the events that followed this departure.
1.2.2 Anglo-Saxon Britain
When Roman forces abandoned their British outposts, the Britons were left 
vulnerable after several hundred years of Roman military protection. The Irish 
and the Picts began raiding the lands formerly controlled by the Romans, while 
Saxon pirates stepped up their raids along the British coastline. Although historical 
records from this time are scarce (most literature at this point was transmitted 
orally), some later authors claim that a leader named Vortigern (possibly itself a 
title) made the colossal mistake of inviting Saxon mercenaries into the country 
to protect Britons from the Picts and Irish. Instead, according to later literary 
sources, the Saxons began their own invasion of the island. Although modern 
historians debate whether the invasion was actually more of a migration, literary 
sources follow the version of events found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (first 
composed in the ninth century). However it started, the Saxons, Angles, and Jutes 
would eventually overrun what is now England, or “Angleland,” pushing many of 
Image 1.2 | Map of Roman withdrawal from Britain
Artist | User “Notuncurious”
Source | Wikimedia Commons
License | CC BY-SA 3.0
Page | 4 
BRITISHLITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
the Celtic tribes into Wales, Cornwall, Scotland, and Ireland, as well as across the 
British Channel to Armorica (modern-day Brittany in France).
The Romanized Britons attempted to repel the invaders, and it was during this 
time—approximately 450 to 550—that the legend of Arthur originates. There is no 
written evidence from that period that Arthur existed, although some historians 
have suggested that there may have been a leader (or several leaders) among the 
Romano-Britons who temporarily held back the Saxon invasion. Whether he was 
based on one war chief, or was a conglomeration of several historical figures, later 
authors named Arthur as the leader who defeated the Saxons in several key battles. 
Ironically, it would not just be later Celtic writers (such as the Welshman Geoffrey 
of Monmouth) who would write about Arthur, but also the very English/Anglo-
Saxons against whose ancestors Arthur was supposed to have fought. 
The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England (Wessex, Sussex, Essex, Kent, Mercia, 
East Anglia, and Northumbria, along with other smaller domains) were slowly 
Christianized in the seventh and eighth centuries. Missionaries often tried to convert 
the ruler first, who would then allow (or order) the conversion of his people. Bede 
describes part of this process in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, 
completed in about 731 ACE. Bede begins with the Roman invasion and continues 
to this present day. For the previously-pagan Germanic tribes, the process of 
conversion involved reconciling the warrior code with Christian teachings. 
Anglo-Saxon literature, therefore, often couches traditional warrior behavior in a 
Christian context. Stories such as Beowulf take a clearly pagan story and retool it 
into a Christian framework (scholars still debate the extent to which this effort is 
successful in that story). One of the most successful examples of this reworking is 
The Dream of the Rood, which tells the story of Christ’s crucifixion as the actions of 
a warrior who defeats his enemies through his bravery. More frequently, as in the 
poem The Wanderer, the Christian meaning of the story appears added after the 
fact. The opposite transformation happens with the story of Judith, taken from The 
Book of Judith (still found in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles, 
but removed from both Jewish and Protestant versions). The Hebrew Judith who 
fights the Assyrian Holofernes is described as a type of Anglo-Saxon shield maiden, 
worthy of her share of the enemy’s treasure. Our understanding of this process is 
limited as well by the scarcity of manuscripts that have survived; both Beowulf 
and Judith survive in only one manuscript, while only four manuscript books, or 
codices, of Anglo-Saxon poetry are extant.
1.2.3 Danelaw Britain
In 793, the Vikings raided the monastery at Lindisfarne, and Danish attacks 
on England began to increase. Over the next hundred years, Danish forces would 
occupy more and more Anglo-Saxon territory, at one point leaving only the kingdom 
of Wessex independent. Sections in the northern and eastern parts of England 
became known as the Danelaw, or areas where Danish laws were used, rather 
than Anglo-Saxon ones. Ironically, as Britain went through a temporary phase 
Page | 5 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
where fewer people knew Latin, more books were translated from Latin to Old 
English (or Anglo-Saxon, which is basically a dialect of Old German). In particular, 
King Alfred of Wessex (who ruled from 871 to 899) oversaw the translations of 
numerous Latin texts into Old English, so that past learning would not be lost. 
At the same time, areas under the Danelaw picked up quite a few loanwords from 
Norse/Scandinavian languages, including words like “anger,” “cake,” “window,” 
“glitter,” “mistake,” “eggs,” and “awkward.” Those words would spread to other 
areas of the island over time.
In 1016, King Canute of Norway and Denmark became king of all England, 
ruling until 1035. After a struggle with the succession among Canute’s heirs, the 
Wessex line was briefly restored when Edward the Confessor took the throne in 
1042. Edward ruled until 1066, and his death led to a fight for the succession that 
resulted in the Norman conquest of England by William, Duke of Normandy (more 
commonly referred to now as William the Conqueror). William defeated his main 
rival, Harold Godwin, at the Battle of Hastings, on October 14, 1066.
1.2.4 Norman Britain
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the Norman Conquest as a punishment 
from God, although it is not complimentary about the instrument of that 
punishment, William, or his Norman troops. While suppressing revolts, William 
began the process of removing Anglo-Saxons from power and replacing them with 
his Norman followers. The Domesday Book (a survey of all the lands and wealth 
of England) records the removal of lands from Anglo-Saxon nobles, whose lands 
were then awarded to Normans. Many free peasants suddenly found themselves 
bound to the lord of the manor and required to work for him, signaling the start 
of the feudal system. At one point, fewer than 250 people owned most of the land 
in England. 
William did not speak English, so Norman French became the most commonly-
used language of the British royal court—as well as government offices and the 
legal system. Just as the Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons had introduced 
Latin words into the language, Old English incorporated more and more French 
vocabulary over time. As a result, English speakers can say that they are going 
to have a “drink” (Anglo-Saxon origin) or a “beverage” (Old French origin), or 
that they are going to “weep” (Anglo-Saxon) or “cry” (Old French). Additionally, 
the very word “government” is of French origin, as are the words “office,” “city,” 
“police,” “tax,” “jury,” “attorney,” and “prison.” 
The Norman invasion also led to a resurgence of interest in King Arthur, and 
it would be during the next few centuries that the most common modern image of 
Arthur was created. The three main topics of literature in medieval Britain were “the 
Matter of Rome” (stories of the Trojan War, using Virgil’s Aeneid as a reference), 
“the Matter of France” (mostly stories of Charlemagne and his men), and “the 
Matter of Britain,” which were mostly stories related to King Arthur. Geoffrey of 
Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain, written around 1135-1139, introduced 
Page | 6 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
many Normans to the story of Arthur, including a new character from a different 
tradition: Merlin. (Well over two hundred years later, Chaucer would mention in 
The House of Fame that some people considered Geoffrey of Monmouth a liar.) 
Many of the most well-known elements of the Arthurian legend were added over 
the next forty years or so; the Anglo-Norman writer Wace, in his Roman de Brut 
(1155), added the Round Table, while the French writer Chrétien de Troyes added 
a French knight, Lancelot, as the lover of Queen Guinevere and the greatest knight 
of King Arthur’s court in his The Knight of the Cart; or Lancelot (written roughly 
between 1175 and 1181). 
The quest for the Holy Grail evolved during this time as well. In the Welsh 
Peredur, the grail is a platter with a severed head on it; in Chrétien’s Perceval, 
it is a serving dish with contents that light up the room; and in Wolfram von 
Eschenbach’s Parzival, the grail is a stone (possibly a meteorite) guarded by 
the Knights Templar. It is in Robert de Boron’s Joseph d’Arimathe that the grail 
becomes the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and used by Joseph of Arimathea 
to catch blood from Jesus during the Crucifixion. By the time that Sir Thomas 
Malory wrote his huge compilation of Arthurian stories in Le Morte d’Arthur, the 
Grail knight was no longer Percival, but Galahad, the son of Lancelot and Elaine, 
the daughter of King Pelles (a version of the Fisher King of the Grail stories),although Percival accompanies Galahad on his quest.
Several British monarchs attempted to use the Arthurian stories for their 
own political advantage. Henry II (who reigned from 1154-1189) claimed to have 
found the grave of Arthur and Guinevere in Glastonbury, possibly to discourage 
the popular idea that Arthur might return one day. During the reign of Edward 
I (1272-1307), a Round Table was constructed (5.5 meters in diameter), which 
now hangs on the wall in the Great Hall of Winchester Castle. Edward III (1327-
1377) created the Order of the Garter (rather than a Round Table, which he 
considered at one point) to create a new type of community of knights. It was 
during Edward III’s reign that the English language, rather than French, slowly 
became prominent again. In 1362, English was re-established as the language of 
the legal system (before the Pleading in English Act of 1362, all legal proceedings 
were conducted in French, even though most of the English did not know French), 
although it would not be until the reign of Henry V (1413-1422) that English would 
be re-established as the official language of government for the first time since the 
Norman conquest.
By the time that Geoffrey Chaucer began writing, English was slowly 
becoming the language of literature in Britain once more. Although some of his 
contemporaries, such as John Gower, wrote in French and Latin as well as English 
to reach a wider audience, Chaucer wrote his works in Middle English, as did the 
anonymous author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, William Langland with 
his Piers Plowman, and other authors. By the time that William Caxton printed 
a copy of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales in 1476 (long after Chaucer’s death in 
1400), Chaucer was considered the master that many English and Scottish authors 
Page | 7 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
sought to emulate. In the Renaissance, Shakespeare took Chaucer’s poem Troilus 
and Criseyde and turned it into a play, writing in Early Modern English. 
The Middle Ages in Britain end (more or less) in 1485, when Henry VII ends 
the Wars of the Roses (and the Early Modern Period begins). Malory’s Le Morte 
d’Arthur was published in the same year, and it is the literary reaction to the wars 
between the houses of Lancaster and York that had just ended. As the Middle Ages 
drew to a close, Malory records a picture of knighthood that is both nostalgic and, 
at times, cynical: celebrating the concept while criticizing the practice of it. Just 
as the start of the Middle Ages gave rise to the legend of King Arthur, Le Morte 
d’Arthur serves as a bookend to the period.
1.3 RECOMMENDED READING
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, The . Everyman Press Edition, 1912. Translated by Rev. James 
Ingram and Dr. J. A. Giles. The Internet Archives . https://archive.org/details/
Anglo-saxonChronicles.
Ashe, Geoffrey. The Discovery of King Arthur . The History Press, 2005.
Ashe, Geoffrey. Kings and Queens of Early Britain . Academy Chicago Publishers, 1990.
Blair, Peter Hunter. Roman Britain and Early England: 55 B .C .-A .D . 871 . Norton Library, 
1963.
Chaucer, Geoffrey. Love Visions . Translated by Brian Stone. Penguin Classics, 1983.
“Declaration of Arbroath.” http://www.rampantscotland.com/know/blknow_arbroath.htm. 
Ellis, Peter Berresford. The Druids. Constable and Company Ltd., 1994.
Lacy, Norris J., and Geoffrey Ashe. The Arthurian Handbook. Garland, 1988.
Lacy, Norris J., and James J. Wilhelm, Editors. The Romance of Arthur: An Anthology of 
Medieval Texts in Translation. 3rd edition. Routledge, 2013.
Millward, C. M. A Biography of the English Language . Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., 
1989.
Roberts, Clayton, F. David Roberts, and Douglas Bisson. A History of England, Volume I: 
Prehistory to 1714 . 6th edition. Routledge, 2013.
“The Round Table.” Hampshire History . http://www.hampshire-history.com/the-round-
table-winchester/. 
https://archive.org/details/Anglo-saxonChronicles
https://archive.org/details/Anglo-saxonChronicles
http://www.rampantscotland.com/know/blknow_arbroath.htm
http://www.hampshire-history.com/the-round-table-winchester/
http://www.hampshire-history.com/the-round-table-winchester/
Page | 8 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE
1.4 THE DREAM OF THE ROOD
Author unknown
Approximately seventh to eighth century
The Dream of the Rood dates from 
at least the early eighth century, when 
eighteen verses of it were carved on the 
Ruthwell Cross in runic letters. The 
Ruthwell Cross, in southern Scotland, 
stands over eighteen feet tall and includes 
Gospel scenes, Latin inscriptions, and 
elaborately-carved vines in addition to the 
fragment of The Dream of the Rood. Like 
other Anglo-Saxon poems, The Dream 
of the Rood uses alliteration rather than 
rhyme; it is divided into half-lines (with 
a pause, or caesura, in the middle) that 
vary between short rhythmic sections and 
longer hypermetrical sections (with more 
syllables). The 156 lines of the complete 
poem are found in the tenth century 
Vercelli Book, a manuscript rediscovered 
in 1822, in the cathedral in Vercelli, in 
northern Italy. Just as the Ruthwell Cross 
is meant to appeal to a variety of audiences, the poem presents a Christian subject 
(the Crucifixion) in a way that would appeal to the traditions of a warrior class 
only recently converted to Christianity in some cases. Warriors followed a lord 
(who could be a king or a chieftain), who distributed gold and other rewards to 
loyal retainers. When the Rood (Cross) speaks of its history, from tree to loyal 
retainer of Christ (his liege lord/Lord), it describes Christ as a warrior who climbs 
up onto the cross freely and bravely to defeat sin. An Anglo-Saxon audience could 
not help but see a comparison to Odin/Woden sacrificing himself on the Tree of 
Life (Yggdrasil) to gain the secret of the runes, the very language in which the 
fragment is written. The poem is also a dream vision, a popular genre in medieval 
English literature (see, for example, Chaucer’s Parlement of Fowles, found in this 
anthology). When the dreamer awakes, he longs to rejoin his companions, who 
have gone on to feast at the Lord’s table in heaven: a situation similar to that found 
in the Anglo-Saxon poem The Wanderer (also in the anthology). Near the end, 
the dreamer refers to Christ saving those who “suffered the burning,” an indirect 
reference to the popular Harrowing of Hell, found in the (now) apocryphal Gospel 
of Nicodemus and in numerous medieval works, from mystery plays to Dante’s 
Image 1.3 | The Ruthwell Cross
Artist | Lairich Rig
Source | Wikimedia Commons
License | CC BY-SA 2.0
Page | 9 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Divine Comedy. In it, Christ descends to 
Hell after the Crucifixion, breaks open 
the gate, scatters the demons, and frees 
all the righteous souls, leading them 
to heaven. The reference survives to 
the present day in the Apostle’s Creed, 
which states that Christ “descended 
into hell” (or in some recent versions 
“descended to the dead”). The poem 
therefore celebrates Christ’s victories 
in battle, eschewing the later medieval 
focus on Christ’s suffering and image as 
the lamb of God. 
1.4.1 The Dream of the Rood
Lo! choicest of dreams I will relate,
What dream I dreamt in middle of night
When mortal men reposed in rest.
Methought I saw a wondrous wood
Tower aloft with light bewound,
Brightest of trees; that beacon was all
Begirt with gold; jewels were standing
Four at surface of earth, likewise were there five
Above on the shoulder-brace. All angels of God beheld it,
Fair through future ages; ’twas no criminal’s cross indeed,
But holy spirits beheld it there,
Men upon earth, all this glorious creation.
Strange was that victor-tree, and stained with sins was I,
With foulness defiled. I saw the glorious tree
With vesture adorned winsomely shine,
Begirt with gold; bright gems had there
Worthily decked the tree of the Lord.
Yet through that gold I might perceive
Old strifeof the wretched, that first it gave
Blood on the stronger [right] side. With sorrows was I oppressed,
Afraid for that fair sight; I saw the ready beacon
Change in vesture and hue; at times with moisture covered,
Soiled with course of blood; at times with treasure adorned.
Yet lying there a longer while,
Beheld I sad the Saviour’s tree
Image 1.4 | The Gospel of Nicodemos
Artist | Nicodemos
Source | Wikimedia Commons
License | Public Domain
Page | 10 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Until I heard that words it uttered;
The best of woods gan speak these words:
“’Twas long ago (I remember it still)
That I was hewn at end of a grove,
Stripped from off my stem; strong foes laid hold of me there,
Wrought for themselves a show, bade felons raise me up;
Men bore me on their shoulders, till on a mount they set me;
Fiends many fixed me there. Then saw I mankind’s Lord
Hasten with mickle might, for He would sty upon me.
There durst I not ’gainst word of the Lord
Bow down or break, when saw I tremble
The surface of earth; I might then all
My foes have felled, yet fast I stood.
The Hero young begirt Himself, Almighty God was He,
Strong and stern of mind; He stied on the gallows high,
Bold in sight of many, for man He would redeem.
I shook when the Hero clasped me, yet durst not bow to earth,
Fall to surface of earth, but firm I must there stand.
A rood was I upreared; I raised the mighty King,
The Lord of Heaven; I durst not bend me.
They drove their dark nails through me; the wounds are seen upon me,
The open gashes of guile; I durst harm none of them.
They mocked us both together; all moistened with blood was I,
Shed from side of the man, when forth He sent His spirit.
Many have I on that mount endured
Of cruel fates; I saw the Lord of Hosts
Strongly outstretched; darkness had then
Covered with clouds the corse of the Lord,
The brilliant brightness; the shadow continued,
Wan ’neath the welkin. There wept all creation,
Bewailed the King’s death; Christ was on the cross.
Yet hastening thither they came from afar
To the Son of the King: that all I beheld.
Sorely with sorrows was I oppressed; yet I bowed ’neath the hands of men,
Lowly with mickle might. Took they there Almighty God,
Him raised from the heavy torture; the battle-warriors left me
To stand bedrenched with blood; all wounded with darts was I.
There laid they the weary of limb, at head of His corse they stood,
Beheld the Lord of Heaven, and He rested Him there awhile,
Worn from the mickle war. Began they an earth-house to work,
Men in the murderers’ sight, carved it of brightest stone,
Placed therein victories’ Lord. Began sad songs to sing
The wretched at eventide; then would they back return
Page | 11 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Mourning from the mighty prince; all lonely rested He there.
Yet weeping we then a longer while
Stood at our station: the [voice] arose
Of battle-warriors; the corse grew cold,
Fair house of life. Then one gan fell
Us all to earth; ’twas a fearful fate!
One buried us in deep pit, yet of me the thanes of the Lord,
His friends, heard tell; [from earth they raised me],
And me begirt with gold and silver.
Now thou mayst hear, my dearest man,
That bale of woes have I endured,
Of sorrows sore. Now the time is come,
That me shall honor both far and wide
Men upon earth, and all this mighty creation
Will pray to this beacon. On me God’s Son
Suffered awhile; so glorious now
I tower to Heaven, and I may heal
Each one of those who reverence me;
Of old I became the hardest of pains,
Most loathsome to ledes [nations], the way of life,
Right way, I prepared for mortal men. 
Lo! the Lord of Glory honored me then
Above the grove, the guardian of Heaven,
As He His mother, even Mary herself,
Almighty God before all men
Worthily honored above all women.
Now thee I bid, my dearest man,
That thou this sight shalt say to men,
Reveal in words, ’tis the tree of glory,
On which once suffered Almighty God
For the many sins of all mankind,
And also for Adam’s misdeeds of old.
Death tasted He there; yet the Lord arose
With His mickle might for help to men.
Then stied He to Heaven; again shall come
Upon this mid-earth to seek mankind
At the day of doom the Lord Himself,
Almighty God, and His angels with Him;
Then He will judge, who hath right of doom,
Each one of men as here before
In this vain life he hath deserved.
No one may there be free from fear
In view of the word that the Judge will speak.
Page | 12 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
He will ask ’fore the crowd, where is the man
Who for name of the Lord would bitter death
Be willing to taste, as He did on the tree.
But then they will fear, and few will bethink them
What they to Christ may venture to say.
Then need there no one be filled with fear
Who bears in his breast the best of beacons;
But through the rood a kingdom shall seek
From earthly way each single soul
That with the Lord thinketh to dwell.”
Then I prayed to the tree with joyous heart,
With mickle might, when I was alone
With small attendance; the thought of my mind
For the journey was ready; I’ve lived through many
Hours of longing. Now ‘tis hope of my life
That the victory-tree I am able to seek,
Oftener than all men I alone may
Honor it well; my will to that
Is mickle in mind, and my plea for protection
To the rood is directed. I’ve not many mighty
Of friends on earth; but hence went they forth
From joys of the world, sought glory’s King;
Now live they in Heaven with the Father on high,
In glory dwell, and I hope for myself
On every day when the rood of the Lord,
Which here on earth before I viewed,
In this vain life may fetch me away
And bring me then, where bliss is mickle,
Joy in the Heavens, where the folk of the Lord
Is set at the feast, where bliss is eternal;
And may He then set me where I may hereafter
In glory dwell, and well with the saints
Of joy partake. May the Lord be my friend,
Who here on earth suffered before
On the gallows-tree for the sins of man!
He us redeemed, and gave to us life,
A heavenly home. Hope was renewed,
With blessing and bliss, for the sufferers of burning.
The Son was victorious on that fateful journey,
Mighty and happy, when He came with a many,
With a band of spirits to the kingdom of God,
The Ruler Almighty, for joy to the angels
And to all the saints, who in Heaven before
Page | 13 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
In glory dwelt, when their Ruler came,
Almighty God, where was His home.
1.4.2 Reading and Review Questions
1. In what ways is the Rood a loyal retainer of Christ? How does he not 
betray his lord/Lord, despite the circumstances?
2. How much does the Dreamer seem to identify with the Rood, and how 
much does he seem to identify with the “hero?”
3. Which passages of the poem could be used in any Anglo-Saxon heroic 
poem, and which are specifically religious? Why?
4. How does the image in this poem of Christ on the cross compare to 
depictions of Odin hanging on Yggdrasil in Norse mythology? Compare 
how each one is described and what each one accomplishes.
5. Do the last three lines of the poem go off-topic in a small way? Why or 
why not?
1.5 BEOWULF
Author unknown
Manuscript from around 1000 ACE (from an earlier oral story)
Beowulf survives in a single manuscript that was burned around the edges 
in a fire in 1741; without it, the story of the hero of the Geats would have been 
lost to history. It is impossible 
to know how long the oral story 
was in circulation before it 
was written down. The British 
manuscript is written mostly in 
a West Saxon dialect of Anglo-
Saxon/Old English, although the 
main actions of the story take 
place in what would be modern-
day Denmark and Sweden (see 
map). Saxon lands were just 
south of that area, in modern-
day northern Germany, so 
when the Saxons, Angles, and 
Jutes invaded Britain, leading 
to the creation of Angleland, 
or England, they brought with 
them stories of their previous 
homelands. There are some real 
Image 1.5 | Beowulf Geography Map
Artist | User “Wiglaf”
Source | WikimediaCommons
License | Free Art License
Page | 14 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
people and historical events mentioned in Beowulf alongside the more legendary 
and literary elements of the story, although scholars have not found any historical 
reference to Beowulf himself. 
The story can be divided into three major sections: the conflict with Grendel 
(a monster), which draws Beowulf to Hrothgar’s kingdom at the beginning of the 
story; the fight with Grendel’s (unnamed) mother; and Beowulf’s battle with the 
dragon years later. As those divisions suggest, heroic behavior drives the action, 
but the story also asks the audience to stop and consider what heroic behavior 
really is, sometimes by highlighting the opposite. When Hrothgar lectures Beowulf 
after Grendel dies (a passage referred to as Hrothgar’s sermon), he warns about 
the dangers of pride and seeking after fame, foreshadowing Beowulf’s death. This 
warning is appropriate for a warrior culture, but it also works as a reference to 
Christian values. The tensions in the story between the Germanic heroic code and 
Christian values are worth noting, since the clearly-pagan story was written down 
after the Saxons had begun to convert. The story records the past glories of the 
warrior culture within a (barely) Christian framework to justify preserving the story. 
The poem contains over three thousand lines, each consisting of alliterative 
half-lines separated by a caesura (a pause or gap), which is the standard format of 
Anglo-Saxon poetry (with the exception of the lyric poetry, all of the other works 
in this section follow the same pattern). Another standard feature of Anglo-Saxon 
(and Norse) writing is its use of kennings: a type of metaphor that takes a simple 
word, such as “ship,” and describes it figuratively in a compound phrase, such 
as “wave-rider.” The kennings “gold-friend” almost always refers to the leader 
of a band of warriors (perhaps a king, perhaps a war lord) who was expected to 
maintain his status and the loyalty of his men by distributing his accumulated 
wealth to them. The band of warriors, or comitatus, were expected to fight and die 
alongside their leader; the shame of not falling in battle by the side of your gold-
friend is demonstrated near the end of Beowulf in the speech that Wiglaf gives to 
the other men. Many of the customs in the story require some explanation for a 
modern audience. Grendel is considered uncivilized for many reasons in the story, 
but one of them is that he does not pay wergild, or blood money, for the men that 
he kills. In order to avoid blood feuds between families, wergild would be paid to 
the family by the killer, at which point the feud would be (supposedly) ended. In 
Beowulf, there are nonetheless many moments when revenge is praised as a mark 
of loyalty and honor, even when the families were related by marriage. High-born 
women often were sent to marry into a rival or enemy family, in an attempt to 
bring the families together; these “peace-weavers,” however, more often than not 
found themselves caught in the middle when their families resumed their feuds. 
The song that the bard sings in honor of Beowulf’s triumph is about Hildeburh, the 
daughter of a Danish king and the wife of a Frisian king. As with all of the songs (or 
stories-within-the-story), it uses past events to foreshadow future events: in this 
instance, the fate of Wealhtheow’s sons. Far from being unrelated digressions, the 
songs enrich the story by placing the action in a larger context.
Page | 15 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Image 1.6 | First Page of Beowulf
Artist | Unknown
Source | Wikimedia Commons
License | Public Domain
Page | 16 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
1.5.1 Beowulf
Part I
Lo! the Spear-Danes’ glory through splendid achievements
The folk-kings’ former fame we have heard of,
How princes displayed then their prowess-in-battle.
Oft Scyld the Scefing from scathers in numbers
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 to
Bow to his bidding and bring him their tribute:
An excellent atheling! After was borne him
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,
That reaved of their rulers they wretched had erstwhile
Long been afflicted. The Lord, in requital,
Wielder of Glory, with world-honor blessed him.
Famed was Beowulf, far spread the glory
Of Scyld’s great son in the lands of the Danemen.
So the carle that is young, by kindnesses rendered
The friends of his father, with fees in abundance
Must be able to earn that when age approacheth
Eager companions aid him requitingly,
When war assaults him serve him as liegemen:
By praise-worthy actions must honor be got
’Mong all of the races. At the hour that was fated
Scyld then departed to the All-Father’s keeping
Warlike to wend him; away then they bare him
To the flood of the current, his fond-loving comrades,
As himself he had bidden, while the friend of the Scyldings
Word-sway wielded, and the well-lovèd land-prince
Long did rule them. The ring-stemmèd vessel,
Bark of the atheling, lay there at anchor,
Icy in glimmer and eager for sailing;
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 ever
That a folk ever furnished a float more superbly
Page | 17 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
With weapons of warfare, weeds for the battle,
Bills and burnies; on his bosom sparkled
Many a jewel that with him must travel
On the flush of the flood afar on the current.
And favors no fewer they furnished him soothly,
Excellent folk-gems, than others had given him
Who when first he was born outward did send him
Lone on the main, the merest of infants:
And a gold-fashioned standard they stretched under heaven
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 able
Soothly to tell us, they in halls who reside,
Heroes under heaven, to what haven he hied.
Part II
In the boroughs then Beowulf, bairn of the Scyldings,
Belovèd land-prince, for long-lasting season
Was famed mid the folk (his father departed,
The prince from his dwelling), till afterward sprang
Great-minded Healfdene; the Danes in his lifetime
He graciously governed, grim-mooded, agèd.
Four bairns of his body born in succession
Woke in the world, war-troopers’ leader
Heorogar, Hrothgar, and Halga the good;
Heard I that Elan was Ongentheow’s consort,
The well-beloved bedmate of the War-Scylfing leader.
Then glory in battle to Hrothgar was given,
Waxing of war-fame, that willingly kinsmen
Obeyed his bidding, till the boys grew to manhood,
A numerous band. It burned in his spirit
To urge his folk to found a great building,
A mead-hall grander than men of the era
Ever had heard of, and in it to share
With young and old all of the blessings
The Lord had allowed him, save life and retainers.
Then the work I find afar was assigned
To many races in middle-earth’s regions,
To adorn the great folk-hall. In due time it happened
Early ’mong men, that ’twas finished entirely,
The greatest of hall-buildings; Heorot he named it
Who wide-reaching word-sway wielded ’mong earlmen.
His promise he brake not, rings he lavished,
Page | 18 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Treasure at banquet. Towered the hall up
High and horn-crested, huge between antlers:
It battle-waves bided, the blasting fire-demon;
Ere long then from hottest hatred must sword-wrath
Arise for a woman’s husband and father.
Then the mighty war-spirit endured for a season,
Bore it bitterly, he who bided in darkness,
That light-hearted laughter loud in the buildingGreeted him daily; there was dulcet harp-music,
Clear song of the singer. He said that was able
To tell from of old earthmen’s beginnings,
That Father Almighty earth had created,
The winsome wold that the water encircleth,
Set exultingly the sun’s and the moon’s beams
To lavish their lustre on land-folk and races,
And earth He embellished in all her regions
With limbs and leaves; life He bestowed too
On all the kindreds that live under heaven.
So blessed with abundance, brimming with joyance,
The warriors abided, till a certain one gan to
Dog them with deeds of direfullest malice,
A foe in the hall-building: this horrible stranger
Was Grendel entitled, the march-stepper famous
Who dwelt in the moor-fens, the marsh and the fastness;
The wan-mooded being abode for a season
In the land of the giants, when the Lord and Creator
Had banned him and branded. For that bitter murder,
The killing of Abel, all-ruling Father
The kindred of Cain crushed with His vengeance;
In the feud He rejoiced not, but far away drove him
From kindred and kind, that crime to atone for,
Meter of Justice. Thence ill-favored creatures,
Elves and giants, monsters of ocean,
Came into being, and the giants that longtime
Grappled with God; He gave them requital.
Part III
When the sun was sunken, he set out to visit
The lofty hall-building, how the Ring-Danes had used it
For beds and benches when the banquet was over.
Then he found there reposing many a noble
Asleep after supper; sorrow the heroes,
Misery knew not. The monster of evil
Page | 19 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Greedy and cruel tarried but little,
Fell and frantic, and forced from their slumbers
Thirty of thanemen; thence he departed
Leaping and laughing, his lair to return to,
With surfeit of slaughter sallying homeward.
In the dusk of the dawning, as the day was just breaking,
Was Grendel’s prowess revealed to the warriors:
Then, his meal-taking finished, a moan was uplifted,
Morning-cry mighty. The man-ruler famous,
The long-worthy atheling, sat very woful,
Suffered great sorrow, sighed for his liegemen,
When they had seen the track of the hateful pursuer,
The spirit accursèd: too crushing that sorrow,
Too loathsome and lasting. Not longer he tarried,
But one night after continued his slaughter
Shameless and shocking, shrinking but little
From malice and murder; they mastered him fully.
He was easy to find then who otherwhere looked for
A pleasanter place of repose in the lodges,
A bed in the bowers. Then was brought to his notice
Told him truly by token apparent
The hall-thane’s hatred: he held himself after
Further and faster who the foeman did baffle.
So ruled he and strongly strove against justice
Lone against all men, till empty uptowered
The choicest of houses. Long was the season:
Twelve-winters’ time torture suffered
The friend of the Scyldings, every affliction,
Endless agony; hence it after became
Certainly known to the children of men
Sadly in measures, that long against Hrothgar
Grendel struggled:—his grudges he cherished,
Murderous malice, many a winter,
Strife unremitting, and peacefully wished he
Life-woe to lift from no liegeman at all of
The men of the Dane-folk, for money to settle,
No counsellor needed count for a moment
On handsome amends at the hands of the murderer;
The monster of evil fiercely did harass,
The ill-planning death-shade, both elder and younger,
Trapping and tricking them. He trod every night then
The mist-covered moor-fens; men do not know where
Witches and wizards wander and ramble.
Page | 20 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
So the foe of mankind many of evils
Grievous injuries, often accomplished,
Horrible hermit; Heort he frequented,
Gem-bedecked palace, when night-shades had fallen
 (Since God did oppose him, not the throne could he touch,
The light-flashing jewel, love of Him knew not).
’Twas a fearful affliction to the friend of the Scyldings
Soul-crushing sorrow. Not seldom in private
Sat the king in his council; conference held they
What the braves should determine ’gainst terrors unlooked for.
At the shrines of their idols often they promised
Gifts and offerings, earnestly prayed they
The devil from hell would help them to lighten
Their people’s oppression. Such practice they used then,
Hope of the heathen; hell they remembered
In innermost spirit, God they knew not,
The true God they do not know.
Judge of their actions, All-wielding Ruler,
No praise could they give the Guardian of Heaven,
The Wielder of Glory. Woe will be his who
Through furious hatred his spirit shall drive to
The clutch of the fire, no comfort shall look for,
Wax no wiser; well for the man who,
Living his life-days, his Lord may face
And find defence in his Father’s embrace!
Part IV
So Healfdene’s kinsman constantly mused on
His long-lasting sorrow; the battle-thane clever
Was not anywise able evils to ’scape from:
Too crushing the sorrow that came to the people,
Loathsome and lasting the life-grinding torture,
Greatest of night-woes. So Higelac’s liegeman,
Good amid Geatmen, of Grendel’s achievements
Heard in his home: of heroes then living
He was stoutest and strongest, sturdy and noble.
He bade them prepare him a bark that was trusty;
He said he the war-king would seek o’er the ocean,
The folk-leader noble, since he needed retainers.
For the perilous project prudent companions
Chided him little, though loving him dearly;
They egged the brave atheling, augured him glory.
The excellent knight from the folk of the Geatmen
Page | 21 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Had liegemen selected, likest to prove them
Trustworthy warriors; with fourteen companions
The vessel he looked for; a liegeman then showed them,
A sea-crafty man, the bounds of the country.
Fast the days fleeted; the float was a-water,
The craft by the cliff. Clomb to the prow then
Well-equipped warriors: the wave-currents twisted
The sea on the sand; soldiers then carried
On the breast of the vessel bright-shining jewels,
Handsome war-armor; heroes outshoved then,
Warmen the wood-ship, on its wished-for adventure.
The foamy-necked floater fanned by the breeze,
Likest a bird, glided the waters,
Till twenty and four hours thereafter
The twist-stemmed vessel had traveled such distance
That the sailing-men saw the sloping embankments,
The sea cliffs gleaming, precipitous mountains,
Nesses enormous: they were nearing the limits
At the end of the ocean. Up thence quickly
The men of the Weders clomb to the mainland,
Fastened their vessel (battle weeds rattled,
War burnies clattered), the Wielder they thanked
That the ways o’er the waters had waxen so gentle.
Then well from the cliff edge the guard of the Scyldings
Who the sea-cliffs should see to, saw o’er the gangway
Brave ones bearing beauteous targets,
Armor all ready, anxiously thought he,
Musing and wondering what men were approaching.
High on his horse then Hrothgar’s retainer
Turned him to coastward, mightily brandished
His lance in his hands, questioned with boldness.
“Who are ye men here, mail-covered warriors
Clad in your corslets, come thus a-driving
A high riding ship o’er the shoals of the waters,
And hither ’neath helmets have hied o’er the ocean?
I have been strand-guard, standing as warden,
Lest enemies ever anywise ravage
Danish dominions with army of war-ships.
More boldly never have warriors ventured
Hither to come; of kinsmen’s approval,
Word-leave of warriors, I ween that ye surely
Nothing have known. Never a greater one
Of earls o’er the earth have I had a sight of
Page | 22 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Than is one of your number, a hero in armor;
No low-ranking fellow adorned with his weapons,
But launching them little, unless looks are deceiving,
And striking appearance. Ere ye pass on your journey
As treacherous spies to the land of the Scyldings
And farther fare, I fully must know now
What race ye belong to. Ye far-away dwellers,
Sea-faring sailors, my simple opinion
Hear ye and hearken: haste is most fitting
Plainly to tell me what place ye are come from.”
Part V
Thechief of the strangers rendered him answer,
War-troopers’ leader, and word-treasure opened:
“We are sprung from the lineage of the people of Geatland,
And Higelac’s hearth-friends. To heroes unnumbered
My father was known, a noble head-warrior
Ecgtheow titled; many a winter
He lived with the people, ere he passed on his journey,
Old from his dwelling; each of the counsellors
Widely mid world-folk well remembers him.
We, kindly of spirit, the lord of thy people,
The son of King Healfdene, have come here to visit,
Folk-troop’s defender: be free in thy counsels!
To the noble one bear we a weighty commission,
The helm of the Danemen; we shall hide, I ween,
Naught of our message. Thou know’st if it happen,
As we soothly heard say, that some savage despoiler,
Some hidden pursuer, on nights that are murky
By deeds very direful ’mid the Danemen exhibits
Hatred unheard of, horrid destruction
And the falling of dead. From feelings least selfish
I am able to render counsel to Hrothgar,
How he, wise and worthy, may worst the destroyer,
If the anguish of sorrow should ever be lessened,
Comfort come to him, and care-waves grow cooler,
Or ever hereafter he agony suffer
And troublous distress, while towereth upward
The handsomest of houses high on the summit.”
Bestriding his stallion, the strand-watchman answered,
The doughty retainer: “The difference surely
’Twixt words and works, the warlike shield-bearer
Page | 23 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Who judgeth wisely well shall determine.
This band, I hear, beareth no malice
To the prince of the Scyldings. Pass ye then onward
With weapons and armor. I shall lead you in person;
To my war-trusty vassals command I shall issue
To keep from all injury your excellent vessel,
Your fresh-tarred craft, ’gainst every opposer
Close by the sea-shore, till the curved-neckèd bark shall
Waft back again the well-beloved hero
O’er the way of the water to Weder dominions.
To warrior so great ’twill be granted sure
In the storm of strife to stand secure.”
Onward they fared then (the vessel lay quiet,
The broad-bosomed bark was bound by its cable,
Firmly at anchor); the boar-signs glistened
Bright on the visors vivid with gilding,
Blaze-hardened, brilliant; the boar acted warden.
The heroes hastened, hurried the liegemen,
Descended together, till they saw the great palace,
The well-fashioned wassail-hall wondrous and gleaming:
’Mid world-folk and kindreds that was widest reputed
Of halls under heaven which the hero abode in;
Its lustre enlightened lands without number.
Then the battle-brave hero showed them the glittering
Court of the bold ones, that they easily thither
Might fare on their journey; the aforementioned warrior
Turning his courser, quoth as he left them:
“’Tis time I were faring; Father Almighty
Grant you His grace, and give you to journey
Safe on your mission! To the sea I will get me
’Gainst hostile warriors as warden to stand.”
Part VI
The highway glistened with many-hued pebble,
A by-path led the liegemen together.
Firm and hand-locked the war-burnie glistened,
The ring-sword radiant rang ’mid the armor
As the party was approaching the palace together
In warlike equipments. ’Gainst the wall of the building
Their wide-fashioned war-shields they weary did set then,
Battle-shields sturdy; benchward they turned then;
Their battle-sarks rattled, the gear of the heroes;
Page | 24 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
The lances stood up then, all in a cluster,
The arms of the seamen, ashen-shafts mounted
With edges of iron: the armor-clad troopers
Were decked with weapons. Then a proud-mooded hero
Asked of the champions questions of lineage:
“From what borders bear ye your battle-shields plated,
Gilded and gleaming, your gray-colored burnies,
Helmets with visors and heap of war-lances?—
To Hrothgar the king I am servant and liegeman.
’Mong folk from far-lands found I have never
Men so many of mien more courageous.
I ween that from valor, nowise as outlaws,
But from greatness of soul ye sought for King Hrothgar.”
Then the strength-famous earlman answer rendered,
The proud-mooded Wederchief replied to his question,
Hardy ’neath helmet: “Higelac’s mates are we;
Beowulf hight I. To the bairn of Healfdene,
The famous folk-leader, I freely will tell
To thy prince my commission, if pleasantly hearing
He’ll grant we may greet him so gracious to all men.”
Wulfgar replied then (he was prince of the Wendels,
His boldness of spirit was known unto many,
His prowess and prudence): “The prince of the Scyldings,
The friend-lord of Danemen, I will ask of thy journey,
The giver of rings, as thou urgest me do it,
The folk-chief famous, and inform thee early
What answer the good one mindeth to render me.”
He turned then hurriedly where Hrothgar was sitting,
Old and hoary, his earlmen attending him;
The strength-famous went till he stood at the shoulder
Of the lord of the Danemen, of courteous thanemen
The custom he minded. Wulfgar addressed then
His friendly liegelord: “Folk of the Geatmen
O’er the way of the waters are wafted hither,
Faring from far-lands: the foremost in rank
The battle-champions Beowulf title.
They make this petition: with thee, O my chieftain,
To be granted a conference; O gracious King Hrothgar,
Friendly answer refuse not to give them!
In war-trappings weeded worthy they seem
Of earls to be honored; sure the atheling is doughty
Who headed the heroes hitherward coming.”
Page | 25 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Part VII
Hrothgar answered, helm of the Scyldings:
“I remember this man as the merest of striplings.
His father long dead now was Ecgtheow titled,
Him Hrethel the Geatman granted at home his
One only daughter; his battle-brave son
Is come but now, sought a trustworthy friend.
Seafaring sailors asserted it then,
Who valuable gift-gems of the Geatmen carried
As peace-offering thither, that he thirty men’s grapple
Has in his hand, the hero-in-battle.
The holy Creator usward sent him,
To West-Dane warriors, I ween, for to render
’Gainst Grendel’s grimness gracious assistance:
I shall give to the good one gift-gems for courage.
Hasten to bid them hither to speed them,
To see assembled this circle of kinsmen;
Tell them expressly they’re welcome in sooth to
The men of the Danes.” To the door of the building
Wulfgar went then, this word-message shouted:
“My victorious liegelord bade me to tell you,
The East-Danes’ atheling, that your origin knows he,
And o’er wave-billows wafted ye welcome are hither,
Valiant of spirit. Ye straightway may enter
Clad in corslets, cased in your helmets,
To see King Hrothgar. Here let your battle-boards,
Wood-spears and war-shafts, await your conferring.”
The mighty one rose then, with many a liegeman,
An excellent thane-group; some there did await them,
And as bid of the brave one the battle-gear guarded.
Together they hied them, while the hero did guide them,
’Neath Heorot’s roof; the high-minded went then
Sturdy ’neath helmet till he stood in the building.
Beowulf spake (his burnie did glisten,
His armor seamed over by the art of the craftsman):
“Hail thou, Hrothgar! I am Higelac’s kinsman
And vassal forsooth; many a wonder
I dared as a stripling. The doings of Grendel,
In far-off fatherland I fully did know of:
Sea-farers tell us, this hall-building standeth,
Excellent edifice, empty and useless
To all the earlmen after evenlight’s glimmer
’Neath heaven’s bright hues hath hidden its glory.
Page | 26 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
This my earls then urged me, the most excellent of them,
Carles very clever, to come and assist thee,
Folk-leader Hrothgar; fully they knew of
The strength of my body. Themselves they beheld me
When I came from the contest, when covered with gore
Foes I escaped from, where five I had bound,
The giant-race wasted, in the waters destroying
The nickers by night, bore numberless sorrows,
The Weders avenged (woes had they suffered)
Enemies ravaged; alone now with Grendel
I shall manage the matter, with the monster of evil,
The giant, decide it. Thee I would therefore
Begof thy bounty, Bright-Danish chieftain,
Lord of the Scyldings, this single petition:
Not to refuse me, defender of warriors,
Friend-lord of folks, so far have I sought thee,
That I may unaided, my earlmen assisting me,
This brave-mooded war-band, purify Heorot.
I have heard on inquiry, the horrible creature
From veriest rashness recks not for weapons;
I this do scorn then, so be Higelac gracious,
My liegelord belovèd, lenient of spirit,
To bear a blade or a broad-fashioned target,
A shield to the onset; only with hand-grip
The foe I must grapple, fight for my life then,
Foeman with foeman; he fain must rely on
The doom of the Lord whom death layeth hold of.
I ween he will wish, if he win in the struggle,
To eat in the war-hall earls of the Geat-folk,
Boldly to swallow them, as of yore he did often
The best of the Hrethmen! Thou needest not trouble
A head-watch to give me; he will have me dripping
And dreary with gore, if death overtake me,
Will bear me off bleeding, biting and mouthing me,
The hermit will eat me, heedless of pity,
Marking the moor-fens; no more wilt thou need then
Should I fall, send my armor to my lord, King Higelac.
Find me my food. If I fall in the battle,
Send to Higelac the armor that serveth
To shield my bosom, the best of equipments,
Richest of ring-mails; ’tis the relic of Hrethla,
The work of Wayland. Goes Weird as she must go!”
Page | 27 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Part VIII
Hrothgar discoursed, helm of the Scyldings:
“To defend our folk and to furnish assistance,
Thou soughtest us hither, good friend Beowulf.
The fiercest of feuds thy father engaged in,
Heatholaf killed he in hand-to-hand conflict
’Mid Wilfingish warriors; then the Wederish people
For fear of a feud were forced to disown him.
Thence flying he fled to the folk of the South-Danes,
The race of the Scyldings, o’er the roll of the waters;
I had lately begun then to govern the Danemen,
The hoard-seat of heroes held in my youth,
Rich in its jewels: dead was Heregar,
My kinsman and elder had earth-joys forsaken,
Healfdene his bairn. He was better than I am!
That feud thereafter for a fee I compounded;
O’er the weltering waters to the Wilfings I sent
Ornaments old; oaths did he swear me.
It pains me in spirit to any to tell it,
What grief in Heorot Grendel hath caused me,
What horror unlooked-for, by hatred unceasing.
Waned is my war-band, wasted my hall-troop;
Weird hath offcast them to the clutches of Grendel.
God can easily hinder the scather
From deeds so direful. Oft drunken with beer
O’er the ale-vessel promised warriors in armor
They would willingly wait on the wassailing-benches
A grapple with Grendel, with grimmest of edges.
Then this mead-hall at morning with murder was reeking,
The building was bloody at breaking of daylight,
The bench-deals all flooded, dripping and bloodied,
The folk-hall was gory: I had fewer retainers,
Dear-beloved warriors, whom death had laid hold of.
Sit at the feast now, thy intents unto heroes,
Thy victor-fame show, as thy spirit doth urge thee!”
For the men of the Geats then together assembled,
In the beer-hall blithesome a bench was made ready;
There warlike in spirit they went to be seated,
Proud and exultant. A liegeman did service,
Who a beaker embellished bore with decorum,
And gleaming-drink poured. The gleeman sang whilom
Hearty in Heorot; there was heroes’ rejoicing,
A numerous war-band of Weders and Danemen.
Page | 28 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Part IX
Unferth spoke up, Ecglaf his son,
Who sat at the feet of the lord of the Scyldings,
Opened the jousting (the journey of Beowulf,
Sea-farer doughty, gave sorrow to Unferth
And greatest chagrin, too, for granted he never
That any man else on earth should attain to,
Gain under heaven, more glory than he):
“Art thou that Beowulf with Breca did struggle,
On the wide sea-currents at swimming contended,
Where to humor your pride the ocean ye tried,
From vainest vaunting adventured your bodies
In care of the waters? And no one was able
Nor lief nor loth one, in the least to dissuade you
Your difficult voyage; then ye ventured a-swimming,
Where your arms outstretching the streams ye did cover,
The mere-ways measured, mixing and stirring them,
Glided the ocean; angry the waves were,
With the weltering of winter. In the water’s possession,
Ye toiled for a seven-night; he at swimming outdid thee,
In strength excelled thee. Then early at morning
On the Heathoremes’ shore the holm-currents tossed him,
Sought he thenceward the home of his fathers,
Beloved of his liegemen, the land of the Brondings,
The peace-castle pleasant, where a people he wielded,
Had borough and jewels. The pledge that he made thee
The son of Beanstan hath soothly accomplished.
Then I ween thou wilt find thee less fortunate issue,
Though ever triumphant in onset of battle,
A grim grappling, if Grendel thou darest
For the space of a night near-by to wait for!”
Beowulf answered, offspring of Ecgtheow:
“My good friend Unferth, sure freely and wildly,
Thou fuddled with beer of Breca hast spoken,
Hast told of his journey! A fact I allege it,
That greater strength in the waters I had then,
Ills in the ocean, than any man else had.
We made agreement as the merest of striplings
Promised each other (both of us then were
Younkers in years) that we yet would adventure
Out on the ocean; it all we accomplished.
While swimming the sea-floods, sword-blade unscabbarded
Boldly we brandished, our bodies expected
Page | 29 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
To shield from the sharks. He sure was unable
To swim on the waters further than I could,
More swift on the waves, nor would I from him go.
Then we two companions stayed in the ocean
Five nights together, till the currents did part us,
The weltering waters, weathers the bleakest,
And nethermost night, and the north-wind whistled
Fierce in our faces; fell were the billows.
The mere fishes’ mood was mightily ruffled:
And there against foemen my firm-knotted corslet,
Hand-jointed, hardy, help did afford me;
My battle-sark braided, brilliantly gilded,
Lay on my bosom. To the bottom then dragged me,
A hateful fiend-scather, seized me and held me,
Grim in his grapple: ’twas granted me, nathless,
To pierce the monster with the point of my weapon,
My obedient blade; battle offcarried
The mighty mere-creature by means of my hand-blow.
Part X
“So ill-meaning enemies often did cause me
Sorrow the sorest. I served them, in quittance,
With my dear-lovèd sword, as in sooth it was fitting;
They missed the pleasure of feasting abundantly,
Ill-doers evil, of eating my body,
Of surrounding the banquet deep in the ocean;
But wounded with edges early at morning
They were stretched a-high on the strand of the ocean,
Put to sleep with the sword, that sea-going travelers
No longer thereafter were hindered from sailing
The foam-dashing currents. Came a light from the east,
God’s beautiful beacon; the billows subsided,
That well I could see the nesses projecting,
The blustering crags. Weird often saveth
The undoomed hero if doughty his valor!
But me did it fortune to fell with my weapon
Nine of the nickers. Of night-struggle harder
’Neath dome of the heaven heard I but rarely,
Nor of wight more woful in the waves of the ocean;
Yet I ’scaped with my life the grip of the monsters,
Weary from travel. Then the waters bare me
To the land of the Finns, the flood with the current,
The weltering waves. Not a word hath been told me
Page | 30 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Of deeds so daring done by thee, Unferth,
And of sword-terror none; never hath Breca
At the play of the battle, nor either of you two,
Feat so fearless performèd with weapons
Glinting and gleaming . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . I utter no boasting;
Though with cold-blooded cruelty thou killedst thy brothers,
Thy nearest of kin; thou needs must in hell get
Direful damnation, though doughty thy wisdom.
I tell thee in earnest, offspring of Ecglaf,
Never had Grendel such numberless horrors,
The direful demon, done to thy liegelord,Harrying in Heorot, if thy heart were as sturdy,
Thy mood as ferocious as thou dost describe them.
He hath found out fully that the fierce-burning hatred,
The edge-battle eager, of all of your kindred,
Of the Victory-Scyldings, need little dismay him:
Oaths he exacteth, not any he spares
Of the folk of the Danemen, but fighteth with pleasure,
Killeth and feasteth, no contest expecteth
From Spear-Danish people. But the prowess and valor
Of the earls of the Geatmen early shall venture
To give him a grapple. He shall go who is able
Bravely to banquet, when the bright-light of morning
Which the second day bringeth, the sun in its ether-robes,
O’er children of men shines from the southward!”
Then the gray-haired, war-famed giver of treasure
Was blithesome and joyous, the Bright-Danish ruler
Expected assistance; the people’s protector
Heard from Beowulf his bold resolution.
There was laughter of heroes; loud was the clatter,
The words were winsome. Wealhtheow advanced then,
Consort of Hrothgar, of courtesy mindful,
Gold-decked saluted the men in the building,
And the freeborn woman the beaker presented
To the lord of the kingdom, first of the East-Danes,
Bade him be blithesome when beer was a-flowing,
Lief to his liegemen; he lustily tasted
Of banquet and beaker, battle-famed ruler.
The Helmingish lady then graciously circled
’Mid all the liegemen lesser and greater:
Treasure-cups tendered, till time was afforded
That the decorous-mooded, diademed folk-queen
Page | 31 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Might bear to Beowulf the bumper o’errunning;
She greeted the Geat-prince, God she did thank,
Most wise in her words, that her wish was accomplished
That in any of earlmen she ever should look for
Solace in sorrow. He accepted the beaker,
Battle-bold warrior, at Wealhtheow’s giving,
Then equipped for combat quoth he in measures,
Beowulf spake, offspring of Ecgtheow:
“I purposed in spirit when I mounted the ocean,
When I boarded my boat with a band of my liegemen,
I would work to the fullest the will of your people
Or in foe’s-clutches fastened fall in the battle.
Deeds I shall do of daring and prowess,
Or the last of my life-days live in this mead-hall.”
These words to the lady were welcome and pleasing,
The boast of the Geatman; with gold trappings broidered
Went the freeborn folk-queen her fond-lord to sit by.
Then again as of yore was heard in the building
Courtly discussion, conquerors’ shouting,
Heroes were happy, till Healfdene’s son would
Go to his slumber to seek for refreshing;
For the horrid hell-monster in the hall-building knew he
A fight was determined, since the light of the sun they
No longer could see, and lowering darkness
O’er all had descended, and dark under heaven
Shadowy shapes came shying around them.
The liegemen all rose then. One saluted the other,
Hrothgar Beowulf, in rhythmical measures,
Wishing him well, and, the wassail-hall giving
To his care and keeping, quoth he departing:
 “Not to any one else have I ever entrusted,
But thee and thee only, the hall of the Danemen,
Since high I could heave my hand and my buckler.
Take thou in charge now the noblest of houses;
Be mindful of honor, exhibiting prowess,
Watch ’gainst the foeman! Thou shalt want no enjoyments,
Survive thou safely adventure so glorious!”
Part XI
Then Hrothgar departed, his earl-throng attending him,
Folk-lord of Scyldings, forth from the building;
The war-chieftain wished then Wealhtheow to look for,
The queen for a bedmate. To keep away Grendel
Page | 32 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
The Glory of Kings had given a hall-watch,
As men heard recounted: for the king of the Danemen
He did special service, gave the giant a watcher:
And the prince of the Geatmen implicitly trusted
His warlike strength and the Wielder’s protection.
His armor of iron off him he did then,
His helmet from his head, to his henchman committed
His chased-handled chain-sword, choicest of weapons,
And bade him bide with his battle-equipments.
The good one then uttered words of defiance,
Beowulf Geatman, ere his bed he upmounted:
“I hold me no meaner in matters of prowess,
In warlike achievements, than Grendel does himself;
Hence I seek not with sword-edge to sooth him to slumber,
Of life to bereave him, though well I am able.
No battle-skill has he, that blows he should strike me,
To shatter my shield, though sure he is mighty
In strife and destruction; but struggling by night we
Shall do without edges, dare he to look for
Weaponless warfare, and wise-mooded Father
The glory apportion, God ever-holy,
On which hand soever to him seemeth proper.”
Then the brave-mooded hero bent to his slumber,
The pillow received the cheek of the noble;
And many a martial mere-thane attending
Sank to his slumber. Seemed it unlikely
That ever thereafter any should hope to
Be happy at home, hero-friends visit
Or the lordly troop-castle where he lived from his childhood;
They had heard how slaughter had snatched from the wine-hall
Had recently ravished, of the race of the Scyldings
Too many by far. But the Lord to them granted
The weaving of war-speed, to Wederish heroes
Aid and comfort, that every opponent
By one man’s war-might they worsted and vanquished,
By the might of himself; the truth is established
That God Almighty hath governed for ages
Kindreds and nations. A night very lurid
The trav’ler-at-twilight came tramping and striding.
The warriors were sleeping who should watch the horned-building,
One only excepted. ’Mid earthmen ’twas ’stablished,
Th’ implacable foeman was powerless to hurl them
To the land of shadows, if the Lord were unwilling;
Page | 33 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
But serving as warder, in terror to foemen,
He angrily bided the issue of battle.
Part XII
’Neath the cloudy cliffs came from the moor then
Grendel going, God’s anger bare he.
The monster intended some one of earthmen
In the hall-building grand to entrap and make way with:
He went under welkin where well he knew of
The wine-joyous building, brilliant with plating,
Gold-hall of earthmen. Not the earliest occasion
He the home and manor of Hrothgar had sought:
Ne’er found he in life-days later nor earlier
Hardier hero, hall-thanes more sturdy!
Then came to the building the warrior marching,
Bereft of his joyance. The door quickly opened
On fire-hinges fastened, when his fingers had touched it;
The fell one had flung then—his fury so bitter—
Open the entrance. Early thereafter
The foeman trod the shining hall-pavement,
Strode he angrily; from the eyes of him glimmered
A lustre unlovely likest to fire.
He beheld in the hall the heroes in numbers,
A circle of kinsmen sleeping together,
A throng of thanemen: then his thoughts were exultant,
He minded to sunder from each of the thanemen
The life from his body, horrible demon,
Ere morning came, since fate had allowed him
The prospect of plenty. Providence willed not
To permit him any more of men under heaven
To eat in the night-time. Higelac’s kinsman
Great sorrow endured how the dire-mooded creature
In unlooked-for assaults were likely to bear him.
No thought had the monster of deferring the matter,
But on earliest occasion he quickly laid hold of
A soldier asleep, suddenly tore him,
Bit his bone-prison, the blood drank in currents,
Swallowed in mouthfuls: he soon had the dead man’s
Feet and hands, too, eaten entirely.
Nearer he strode then, the stout-hearted warrior
Snatched as he slumbered, seizing with hand-grip,
Forward the foeman foined with his hand;
Caught he quickly the cunning deviser,
Page | 34 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
On his elbow he rested. This early discovered
The master of malice, that in middle-earth’s regions,
’Neath the whole of the heavens, no hand-grapple greater
In any man else had he ever encountered:
Fearful in spirit, faint-mooded waxed he,
Not off could betake him; death he was pondering,
Would fly to his covert, seek the devils’ assembly:
His calling no more was the same he had followed
Long in his lifetime. The liege-kinsman worthy
Of Higelac mindedhis speech of the evening,
Stood he up straight and stoutly did seize him.
His fingers crackled; the giant was outward,
The earl stepped farther. The famous one minded
To flee away farther, if he found an occasion,
And off and away, avoiding delay,
To fly to the fen-moors; he fully was ware of
The strength of his grapple in the grip of the foeman.
’Twas an ill-taken journey that the injury-bringing,
Harrying harmer to Heorot wandered:
The palace re-echoed; to all of the Danemen,
Dwellers in castles, to each of the bold ones,
Earlmen, was terror. Angry they both were,
Archwarders raging. Rattled the building;
’Twas a marvellous wonder that the wine-hall withstood then
The bold-in-battle, bent not to earthward,
Excellent earth-hall; but within and without it
Was fastened so firmly in fetters of iron,
By the art of the armorer. Off from the sill there
Bent mead-benches many, as men have informed me,
Adorned with gold-work, where the grim ones did struggle.
The Scylding wise men weened ne’er before
That by might and main-strength a man under heaven
Might break it in pieces, bone-decked, resplendent,
Crush it by cunning, unless clutch of the fire
In smoke should consume it. The sound mounted upward
Novel enough; on the North Danes fastened
A terror of anguish, on all of the men there
Who heard from the wall the weeping and plaining,
The song of defeat from the foeman of heaven,
Heard him hymns of horror howl, and his sorrow
Hell-bound bewailing. He held him too firmly
Who was strongest of main-strength of men of that era.
Page | 35 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Part XIII
For no cause whatever would the earlmen’s defender
Leave in life-joys the loathsome newcomer,
He deemed his existence utterly useless
To men under heaven. Many a noble
Of Beowulf brandished his battle-sword old,
Would guard the life of his lord and protector,
The far-famous chieftain, if able to do so;
While waging the warfare, this wist they but little,
Brave battle-thanes, while his body intending
To slit into slivers, and seeking his spirit:
That the relentless foeman nor finest of weapons
Of all on the earth, nor any of war-bills
Was willing to injure; but weapons of victory
Swords and suchlike he had sworn to dispense with.
His death at that time must prove to be wretched,
And the far-away spirit widely should journey
Into enemies’ power. This plainly he saw then
Who with mirth of mood malice no little
Had wrought in the past on the race of the earthmen
 (To God he was hostile), that his body would fail him,
But Higelac’s hardy henchman and kinsman
Held him by the hand; hateful to other
Was each one if living. A body-wound suffered
The direful demon, damage incurable
Was seen on his shoulder, his sinews were shivered,
His body did burst. To Beowulf was given
Glory in battle; Grendel from thenceward
Must flee and hide him in the fen-cliffs and marshes,
Sick unto death, his dwelling must look for
Unwinsome and woful; he wist the more fully
The monster flees away to hide in the moors.
The end of his earthly existence was nearing,
His life-days’ limits. At last for the Danemen,
When the slaughter was over, their wish was accomplished.
The comer-from-far-land had cleansed then of evil,
Wise and valiant, the war-hall of Hrothgar,
Saved it from violence. He joyed in the night-work,
In repute for prowess; the prince of the Geatmen
For the East-Danish people his boast had accomplished,
Bettered their burdensome bale-sorrows fully,
The craft-begot evil they erstwhile had suffered
And were forced to endure from crushing oppression,
Page | 36 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Their manifold misery. ’Twas a manifest token,
When the hero-in-battle the hand suspended,
The arm and the shoulder (there was all of the claw
Of Grendel together) ’neath great-stretching hall-roof.
Part XIV
In the mist of the morning many a warrior
Stood round the gift-hall, as the story is told me:
Folk-princes fared then from far and from near
Through long-stretching journeys to look at the wonder,
The footprints of the foeman. Few of the warriors
Who gazed on the foot-tracks of the inglorious creature
His parting from life pained very deeply,
How, weary in spirit, off from those regions
In combats conquered he carried his traces,
Fated and flying, to the flood of the nickers.
There in bloody billows bubbled the currents,
The angry eddy was everywhere mingled
And seething with gore, welling with sword-blood;
He death-doomed had hid him, when reaved of his joyance
He laid down his life in the lair he had fled to,
His heathenish spirit, where hell did receive him.
Thence the friends from of old backward turned them,
And many a younker from merry adventure,
Striding their stallions, stout from the seaward,
Heroes on horses. There were heard very often
Beowulf’s praises; many often asserted
That neither south nor north, in the circuit of waters,
O’er outstretching earth-plain, none other was better
’Mid bearers of war-shields, more worthy to govern,
’Neath the arch of the ether. Not any, however,
’Gainst the friend-lord muttered, mocking-words uttered
Of Hrothgar the gracious (a good king he).
Oft the famed ones permitted their fallow-skinned horses
To run in rivalry, racing and chasing,
Where the fieldways appeared to them fair and inviting,
Known for their excellence; oft a thane of the folk-lord,
A man of celebrity, mindful of rhythms,
Who ancient traditions treasured in memory,
New word-groups found properly bound:
The bard after ’gan then Beowulf’s venture
Wisely to tell of, and words that were clever
To utter skilfully, earnestly speaking,
Page | 37 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Everything told he that he heard as to Sigmund’s
Mighty achievements, many things hidden,
The strife of the Wælsing, the wide-going ventures
The children of men knew of but little,
The feud and the fury, but Fitela with him,
When suchlike matters he minded to speak of,
Uncle to nephew, as in every contention
Each to other was ever devoted:
A numerous host of the race of the scathers
They had slain with the sword-edge. To Sigmund accrued then
No little of glory, when his life-days were over,
Since he sturdy in struggle had destroyed the great dragon,
The hoard-treasure’s keeper; ’neath the hoar-grayish stone he,
The son of the atheling, unaided adventured
The perilous project; not present was Fitela,
Yet the fortune befell him of forcing his weapon
Through the marvellous dragon, that it stood in the wall,
Well-honored weapon; the worm was slaughtered.
The great one had gained then by his glorious achievement
To reap from the ring-hoard richest enjoyment,
As best it did please him: his vessel he loaded,
Shining ornaments on the ship’s bosom carried,
Kinsman of Wæls: the drake in heat melted.
He was farthest famed of fugitive pilgrims,
Mid wide-scattered world-folk, for works of great prowess,
War-troopers’ shelter: hence waxed he in honor.4
Afterward Heremod’s hero-strength failed him,
His vigor and valor. ’Mid venomous haters
To the hands of foemen he was foully delivered,
Offdriven early. Agony-billows
Oppressed him too long, to his people he became then,
To all the athelings, an ever-great burden;
And the daring one’s journey in days of yore
Many wise men were wont to deplore,
Such as hoped he would bring them help in their sorrow,
That the son of their ruler should rise into power,
Holding the headship held by his fathers,
Should govern the people, the gold-hoard and borough,
The kingdom of heroes, the realm of the Scyldings.
He to all men became then far more beloved,
Higelac’s kinsman, to kindreds and races,
To his friends much dearer; him malice assaulted.—
Oft running and racing on roadsters they measured
Page | 38 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
The dun-colored highways. Then the light of the morning
Was hurried and hastened. Went henchmen in numbers
To the beautiful building, bold ones in spirit,
To look at the wonder; the liegelord himself then
From his wife-bower wending, warden of treasures,
Glorious trod with troopers unnumbered,Famed for his virtues, and with him the queen-wife
Measured the mead-ways, with maidens attending.
Part XV
Hrothgar discoursed (to the hall-building went he,
He stood by the pillar, saw the steep-rising hall-roof
Gleaming with gold-gems, and Grendel his hand there):
“For the sight we behold now, thanks to the Wielder
Early be offered! Much evil I bided,
Snaring from Grendel: God can e’er ’complish
Wonder on wonder, Wielder of Glory!
But lately I reckoned ne’er under heaven
Comfort to gain me for any of sorrows,
While the handsomest of houses horrid with bloodstain
Gory uptowered; grief had offfrightened
Each of the wise ones who weened not that ever
The folk-troop’s defences ’gainst foes they should strengthen,
’Gainst sprites and monsters. Through the might of the Wielder
A doughty retainer hath a deed now accomplished
Which erstwhile we all with our excellent wisdom
Failed to perform. May affirm very truly
What woman soever in all of the nations
Gave birth to the child, if yet she surviveth,
That the long-ruling Lord was lavish to herward
In the birth of the bairn. Now, Beowulf dear,
Most excellent hero, I’ll love thee in spirit
As bairn of my body; bear well henceforward
The relationship new. No lack shall befall thee
Of earth-joys any I ever can give thee.
Full often for lesser service I’ve given
Hero less hardy hoard-treasure precious,
To a weaker in war-strife. By works of distinction
Thou hast gained for thyself now that thy glory shall flourish
Forever and ever. The All-Ruler quite thee
With good from His hand as He hitherto did thee!”
Beowulf answered, Ecgtheow’s offspring:
“That labor of glory most gladly achieved we,
Page | 39 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
The combat accomplished, unquailing we ventured
The enemy’s grapple; I would grant it much rather
Thou wert able to look at the creature in person,
Faint unto falling, the foe in his trappings!
On murder-bed quickly I minded to bind him,
With firm-holding fetters, that forced by my grapple
Low he should lie in life-and-death struggle
’Less his body escape; I was wholly unable,
Since God did not will it, to keep him from going,
Not held him that firmly, hated opposer;
Too swift was the foeman. Yet safety regarding
He suffered his hand behind him to linger,
His arm and shoulder, to act as watcher;
No shadow of solace the woe-begone creature
Found him there nathless: the hated destroyer
Liveth no longer, lashed for his evils,
But sorrow hath seized him, in snare-meshes hath him
Close in its clutches, keepeth him writhing
In baleful bonds: there banished for evil
The man shall wait for the mighty tribunal,
How the God of glory shall give him his earnings.”
Then the soldier kept silent, son of old Ecglaf,
From boasting and bragging of battle-achievements,
Since the princes beheld there the hand that depended
’Neath the lofty hall-timbers by the might of the nobleman,
Each one before him, the enemy’s fingers;
Each finger-nail strong steel most resembled,
The heathen one’s hand-spur, the hero-in-battle’s
Claw most uncanny; quoth they agreeing,
That not any excellent edges of brave ones
Was willing to touch him, the terrible creature’s
Battle-hand bloody to bear away from him.
Part XVI
Then straight was ordered that Heorot inside
With hands be embellished: a host of them gathered,
Of men and women, who the wassailing-building
The guest-hall begeared. Gold-flashing sparkled
Webs on the walls then, of wonders a many
To each of the heroes that look on such objects.
The beautiful building was broken to pieces
Which all within with irons was fastened,
Its hinges torn off: only the roof was
Page | 40 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Whole and uninjured when the horrible creature
Outlawed for evil off had betaken him,
Hopeless of living. ’Tis hard to avoid it
 (Whoever will do it!); but he doubtless must come to
The place awaiting, as Wyrd hath appointed,
Soul-bearers, earth-dwellers, earls under heaven,
Where bound on its bed his body shall slumber
When feasting is finished. Full was the time then
That the son of Healfdene went to the building;
The excellent atheling would eat of the banquet.
Ne’er heard I that people with hero-band larger
Bare them better tow’rds their bracelet-bestower.
The laden-with-glory stooped to the bench then
(Their kinsmen-companions in plenty were joyful,
Many a cupful quaffing complaisantly),
Doughty of spirit in the high-tow’ring palace,
Hrothgar and Hrothulf. Heorot then inside
Was filled with friendly ones; falsehood and treachery
The Folk-Scyldings now nowise did practise.
Then the offspring of Healfdene offered to Beowulf
A golden standard, as reward for the victory,
A banner embossed, burnie and helmet;
Many men saw then a song-famous weapon
Borne ’fore the hero. Beowulf drank of
The cup in the building; that treasure-bestowing
He needed not blush for in battle-men’s presence.
Ne’er heard I that many men on the ale-bench
In friendlier fashion to their fellows presented
Four bright jewels with gold-work embellished.
’Round the roof of the helmet a head-guarder outside
Braided with wires, with bosses was furnished,
That swords-for-the-battle fight-hardened might fail
Boldly to harm him, when the hero proceeded
Forth against foemen. The defender of earls then
Commanded that eight steeds with bridles
Gold-plated, gleaming, be guided to hallward,
Inside the building; on one of them stood then
An art-broidered saddle embellished with jewels;
’Twas the sovereign’s seat, when the son of King Healfdene
Was pleased to take part in the play of the edges;
The famous one’s valor ne’er failed at the front when
Slain ones were bowing. And to Beowulf granted
The prince of the Ingwins, power over both,
Page | 41 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
O’er war-steeds and weapons; bade him well to enjoy them.
In so manly a manner the mighty-famed chieftain,
Hoard-ward of heroes, with horses and jewels
War-storms requited, that none e’er condemneth
Who willeth to tell truth with full justice.
Part XVII
And the atheling of earlmen to each of the heroes
Who the ways of the waters went with Beowulf,
A costly gift-token gave on the mead-bench,
Offered an heirloom, and ordered that that man
The warrior killed by Grendel is to be paid for in gold.
With gold should be paid for, whom Grendel had erstwhile
Wickedly slaughtered, as he more of them had done
Had far-seeing God and the mood of the hero
The fate not averted: the Father then governed
All of the earth-dwellers, as He ever is doing;
Hence insight for all men is everywhere fittest,
Forethought of spirit! much he shall suffer
Of lief and of loathsome who long in this present
Useth the world in this woful existence.
There was music and merriment mingling together
Touching Healfdene’s leader; the joy-wood was fingered,
Measures recited, when the singer of Hrothgar
On mead-bench should mention the merry hall-joyance
Of the kinsmen of Finn, when onset surprised them:
“The Half-Danish hero, Hnæf of the Scyldings,
On the field of the Frisians was fated to perish.
Sure Hildeburg needed not mention approving
The faith of the Jutemen: though blameless entirely,
When shields were shivered she was shorn of her darlings,
Of bairns and brothers: they bent to their fate
With war-spear wounded; woe was that woman.
Not causeless lamented the daughter of Hoce
The decree of the Wielder when morning-light came and
She was able ’neath heaven to behold the destruction
Of brothers and bairns, where the brightest of earth-joys
She had hitherto had: all the henchmen of Finn
War had offtaken, save a handful remaining,
That he nowise was able to offer resistance
To the onset of Hengest in the parley of battle,
Nor the wretched remnant to rescue in war from
The earl of the atheling; but they offered conditions,
Page | 42 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Compact between the Frisians and the Danes.
Another great building to fully make ready,
A hall and a high-seat, that half they might rule with
The sons of the Jutemen, and that Folcwalda’s son would
Day after day theDanemen honor
When gifts were giving, and grant of his ring-store
To Hengest’s earl-troop ever so freely,
Of his gold-plated jewels, as he encouraged the Frisians
On the bench of the beer-hall. On both sides they swore then
A fast-binding compact; Finn unto Hengest
With no thought of revoking vowed then most solemnly
The woe-begone remnant well to take charge of,
His Witan advising; the agreement should no one
By words or works weaken and shatter,
By artifice ever injure its value,
Though reaved of their ruler their ring-giver’s slayer
They followed as vassals, Fate so requiring:
Then if one of the Frisians the quarrel should speak of
In tones that were taunting, terrible edges
Should cut in requital. Accomplished the oath was,
And treasure of gold from the hoard was uplifted.
The best of the Scylding braves was then fully
Prepared for the pile; at the pyre was seen clearly
The blood-gory burnie, the boar with his gilding,
The iron-hard swine, athelings many
Fatally wounded; no few had been slaughtered.
Hildeburg bade then, at the burning of Hnæf,
The bairn of her bosom to bear to the fire,
That his body be burned and borne to the pyre.
The woe-stricken woman wept on his shoulder,
In measures lamented; upmounted the hero.
The greatest of dead-fires curled to the welkin,
On the hill’s-front crackled; heads were a-melting,
Wound-doors bursting, while the blood was a-coursing
From body-bite fierce. The fire devoured them,
Greediest of spirits, whom war had offcarried
From both of the peoples; their bravest were fallen.
Part XVIII
“Then the warriors departed to go to their dwellings,
Reaved of their friends, Friesland to visit,
Their homes and high-city. Hengest continued
Biding with Finn the blood-tainted winter,
Page | 43 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Wholly unsundered; of fatherland thought he
Though unable to drive the ring-stemmèd vessel
O’er the ways of the waters; the wave-deeps were tossing,
Fought with the wind; winter in ice-bonds
Closed up the currents, till there came to the dwelling
A year in its course, as yet it revolveth,
If season propitious one alway regardeth,
World-cheering weathers. Then winter was gone,
Earth’s bosom was lovely; the exile would get him,
The guest from the palace; on grewsomest vengeance
He brooded more eager than on oversea journeys,
Whe’r onset-of-anger he were able to ’complish,
The bairns of the Jutemen therein to remember.
Nowise refused he the duties of liegeman
When Hun of the Frisians the battle-sword Láfing,
Fairest of falchions, friendly did give him:
Its edges were famous in folk-talk of Jutland.
And savage sword-fury seized in its clutches
Bold-mooded Finn where he bode in his palace,
When the grewsome grapple Guthlaf and Oslaf
Had mournfully mentioned, the mere-journey over,
For sorrows half-blamed him; the flickering spirit
Could not bide in his bosom. Then the building was covered
With corpses of foemen, and Finn too was slaughtered,
The king with his comrades, and the queen made a prisoner.
The troops of the Scyldings bore to their vessels
All that the land-king had in his palace,
Such trinkets and treasures they took as, on searching,
At Finn’s they could find. They ferried to Daneland
The excellent woman on oversea journey,
Led her to their land-folk.” The lay was concluded,
The gleeman’s recital. Shouts again rose then,
Bench-glee resounded, bearers then offered
Wine from wonder-vats. Wealhtheo advanced then
Going ’neath gold-crown, where the good ones were seated
Uncle and nephew; their peace was yet mutual,
True each to the other. And Unferth the spokesman
Sat at the feet of the lord of the Scyldings:
Each trusted his spirit that his mood was courageous,
Though at fight he had failed in faith to his kinsmen.
Said the queen of the Scyldings: “My lord and protector,
Treasure-bestower, take thou this beaker;
Joyance attend thee, gold-friend of heroes,
Page | 44 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
And greet thou the Geatmen with gracious responses!
So ought one to do. Be kind to the Geatmen,
In gifts not niggardly; anear and afar now
Peace thou enjoyest. Report hath informed me
Thou’lt have for a bairn the battle-brave hero.
Now is Heorot cleansèd, ring-palace gleaming;
Give while thou mayest many rewards,
And bequeath to thy kinsmen kingdom and people,
On wending thy way to the Wielder’s splendor.
I know good Hrothulf, that the noble young troopers
He’ll care for and honor, lord of the Scyldings,
If earth-joys thou endest earlier than he doth;
I reckon that recompense he’ll render with kindness
Our offspring and issue, if that all he remember,
What favors of yore, when he yet was an infant,
We awarded to him for his worship and pleasure.”
Then she turned by the bench where her sons were carousing,
Hrethric and Hrothmund, and the heroes’ offspring,
The war-youth together; there the good one was sitting
’Twixt the brothers twain, Beowulf Geatman.
Part XIX
A beaker was borne him, and bidding to quaff it
Graciously given, and gold that was twisted
Pleasantly proffered, a pair of arm-jewels,
Rings and corslet, of collars the greatest
I’ve heard of ’neath heaven. Of heroes not any
More splendid from jewels have I heard ’neath the welkin,
Since Hama off bore the Brosingmen’s necklace,
The bracteates and jewels, from the bright-shining city,
Eormenric’s cunning craftiness fled from,
Chose gain everlasting. Geatish Higelac,
Grandson of Swerting, last had this jewel
When tramping ’neath banner the treasure he guarded,
The field-spoil defended; Fate offcarried him
When for deeds of daring he endured tribulation,
Hate from the Frisians; the ornaments bare he
O’er the cup of the currents, costly gem-treasures,
Mighty folk-leader, he fell ’neath his target;
The corpse of the king then came into charge of
The race of the Frankmen, the mail-shirt and collar:
Warmen less noble plundered the fallen,
When the fight was finished; the folk of the Geatmen
Page | 45 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
The field of the dead held in possession.
The choicest of mead-halls with cheering resounded.
Wealhtheo discoursed, the war-troop addressed she:
“This collar enjoy thou, Beowulf worthy,
Young man, in safety, and use thou this armor,
Gems of the people, and prosper thou fully,
Show thyself sturdy and be to these liegemen
Mild with instruction! I’ll mind thy requital.
Thou hast brought it to pass that far and near
Forever and ever earthmen shall honor thee,
Even so widely as ocean surroundeth
The blustering bluffs. Be, while thou livest,
A wealth-blessèd atheling. I wish thee most truly
Jewels and treasure. Be kind to my son, thou
Living in joyance! Here each of the nobles
Is true unto other, gentle in spirit,
Loyal to leader. The liegemen are peaceful,
The war-troops ready: well-drunken heroes,
Do as I bid ye.” Then she went to the settle.
There was choicest of banquets, wine drank the heroes:
Weird they knew not, destiny cruel,
As to many an earlman early it happened,
When evening had come and Hrothgar had parted
Off to his manor, the mighty to slumber.
Warriors unnumbered warded the building
As erst they did often: the ale-settle bared they,
’Twas covered all over with beds and pillows.
Doomed unto death, down to his slumber
Bowed then a beer-thane. Their battle-shields placed they,
Bright-shining targets, up by their heads then;
O’er the atheling on ale-bench ’twas easy to see there
Battle-high helmet, burnie of ring-mail,
And mighty war-spear. ’Twas the wont of that people
To constantly keep them equipped for the battle,
At home or marching—in either condition—
At seasons just such as necessity ordered
As best for their ruler; that people was worthy.
Part XX
They sank then to slumber. With sorrow one paid for
His evening repose, as often betid them
While Grendel was holding the gold-bedecked palace,
Ill-deeds performing, till his end overtook him,
Page | 46 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Death for his sins. ’Twas seen very clearly,
Known unto earth-folk, that still an avenger
Outlived the loathed one, long since the sorrowCaused by the struggle; the mother of Grendel,
Devil-shaped woman, her woe ever minded,
Who was held to inhabit the horrible waters,
The cold-flowing currents, after Cain had become a
Slayer-with-edges to his one only brother,
The son of his sire; he set out then banished,
Marked as a murderer, man-joys avoiding,
Lived in the desert. Thence demons unnumbered
Fate-sent awoke; one of them Grendel,
Sword-cursèd, hateful, who at Heorot met with
A man that was watching, waiting the struggle,
Where a horrid one held him with hand-grapple sturdy;
Nathless he minded the might of his body,
The glorious gift God had allowed him,
And folk-ruling Father’s favor relied on,
His help and His comfort: so he conquered the foeman,
The hell-spirit humbled: he unhappy departed then,
Reaved of his joyance, journeying to death-haunts,
Foeman of man. His mother moreover
Eager and gloomy was anxious to go on
Her mournful mission, mindful of vengeance
For the death of her son. She came then to Heorot
Where the Armor-Dane earlmen all through the building
Were lying in slumber. Soon there became then
Return to the nobles, when the mother of Grendel
Entered the folk-hall; the fear was less grievous
By even so much as the vigor of maidens,
War-strength of women, by warrior is reckoned,
When well-carved weapon, worked with the hammer,
Blade very bloody, brave with its edges,
Strikes down the boar-sign that stands on the helmet.
Then the hard-edgèd weapon was heaved in the building,
The brand o’er the benches, broad-lindens many
Hand-fast were lifted; for helmet he recked not,
For armor-net broad, whom terror laid hold of.
She went then hastily, outward would get her
Her life for to save, when some one did spy her;
Soon she had grappled one of the athelings
Fast and firmly, when fenward she hied her;
That one to Hrothgar was liefest of heroes
Page | 47 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
In rank of retainer where waters encircle,
A mighty shield-warrior, whom she murdered at slumber,
A broadly-famed battle-knight. Beowulf was absent,
But another apartment was erstwhile devoted
To the glory-decked Geatman when gold was distributed.
There was hubbub in Heorot. The hand that was famous
She grasped in its gore; grief was renewed then
In homes and houses: ’twas no happy arrangement
In both of the quarters to barter and purchase
With lives of their friends. Then the well-agèd ruler,
The gray-headed war-thane, was woful in spirit,
When his long-trusted liegeman lifeless he knew of,
His dearest one gone. Quick from a room was
Beowulf brought, brave and triumphant.
As day was dawning in the dusk of the morning,
Went then that earlman, champion noble,
Came with comrades, where the clever one bided
Whether God all gracious would grant him a respite
After the woe he had suffered. The war-worthy hero
With a troop of retainers trod then the pavement
(The hall-building groaned), till he greeted the wise one,
The earl of the Ingwins; asked if the night had
Fully refreshed him, as fain he would have it.
Part XXI
Hrothgar rejoined, helm of the Scyldings:
“Ask not of joyance! Grief is renewed to
The folk of the Danemen. Dead is Æschere,
Yrmenlaf’s brother, older than he,
My true-hearted counsellor, trusty adviser,
Shoulder-companion, when fighting in battle
Our heads we protected, when troopers were clashing,
And heroes were dashing; such an earl should be ever,
An erst-worthy atheling, as Æschere proved him.
The flickering death-spirit became in Heorot
His hand-to-hand murderer; I can not tell whither
The cruel one turned in the carcass exulting,
By cramming discovered. The quarrel she wreaked then,
That last night igone Grendel thou killedst
In grewsomest manner, with grim-holding clutches,
Since too long he had lessened my liege-troop and wasted
My folk-men so foully. He fell in the battle
With forfeit of life, and another has followed,
Page | 48 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
A mighty crime-worker, her kinsman avenging,
And henceforth hath ‘stablished her hatred unyielding,
As it well may appear to many a liegeman,
Who mourneth in spirit the treasure-bestower,
Her heavy heart-sorrow; the hand is now lifeless
Which availed you in every wish that you cherished.
Land-people heard I, liegemen, this saying,
Dwellers in halls, they had seen very often
A pair of such mighty march-striding creatures,
Far-dwelling spirits, holding the moorlands:
One of them wore, as well they might notice,
The image of woman, the other one wretched
In guise of a man wandered in exile,
Except he was huger than any of earthmen;
Earth-dwelling people entitled him Grendel
In days of yore: they know not their father,
Whe’r ill-going spirits any were borne him
Ever before. They guard the wolf-coverts,
Lands inaccessible, wind-beaten nesses,
Fearfullest fen-deeps, where a flood from the mountains
’Neath mists of the nesses netherward rattles,
The stream under earth: not far is it henceward
Measured by mile-lengths that the mere-water standeth,
Which forests hang over, with frost-whiting covered,
A firm-rooted forest, the floods overshadow.
There ever at night one an ill-meaning portent
A fire-flood may see; ’mong children of men
None liveth so wise that wot of the bottom;
Though harassed by hounds the heath-stepper seek for,
Fly to the forest, firm-antlered he-deer,
Spurred from afar, his spirit he yieldeth,
His life on the shore, ere in he will venture
To cover his head. Uncanny the place is:
Thence upward ascendeth the surging of waters,
Wan to the welkin, when the wind is stirring
The weathers unpleasing, till the air groweth gloomy,
And the heavens lower. Now is help to be gotten
From thee and thee only! The abode thou know’st not,
The dangerous place where thou’rt able to meet with
The sin-laden hero: seek if thou darest!
For the feud I will fully fee thee with money,
With old-time treasure, as erstwhile I did thee,
With well-twisted jewels, if away thou shalt get thee.”
Page | 49 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Part XXII
Beowulf answered, Ecgtheow’s son:
“Grieve not, O wise one! for each it is better,
His friend to avenge than with vehemence wail him;
Each of us must the end-day abide of
His earthly existence; who is able accomplish
Glory ere death! To battle-thane noble
Lifeless lying, ’tis at last most fitting.
Arise, O king, quick let us hasten
To look at the footprint of the kinsman of Grendel!
I promise thee this now: to his place he’ll escape not,
To embrace of the earth, nor to mountainous forest,
Nor to depths of the ocean, wherever he wanders.
Practice thou now patient endurance
Of each of thy sorrows, as I hope for thee soothly!”
Then up sprang the old one, the All-Wielder thanked he,
Ruler Almighty, that the man had outspoken.
Then for Hrothgar a war-horse was decked with a bridle,
Curly-maned courser. The clever folk-leader
Stately proceeded: stepped then an earl-troop
Of linden-wood bearers. Her footprints were seen then
Widely in wood-paths, her way o’er the bottoms,
Where she faraway fared o’er fen-country murky,
Bore away breathless the best of retainers
Who pondered with Hrothgar the welfare of country.
The son of the athelings then went o’er the stony,
Declivitous cliffs, the close-covered passes,
Narrow passages, paths unfrequented,
Nesses abrupt, nicker-haunts many;
One of a few of wise-mooded heroes,
He onward advanced to view the surroundings,
Till he found unawares woods of the mountain
O’er hoar-stones hanging, holt-wood unjoyful;
The water stood under, welling and gory.
’Twas irksome in spirit to all of the Danemen,
Friends of the Scyldings, to many a liegeman
Sad to be suffered, a sorrow unlittle
To each of the earlmen, when to Æschere’s head they
Came on the cliff. The current was seething
With blood and with gore (the troopers gazed on it).
The horn anon sang the battle-song ready.
The troop were all seated; they saw ’long the water then
Many a serpent, mere-dragons wondrous
Page | 50 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Trying the waters, nickers a-lying
On the cliffs of the nesses, which at noondayfull often
Go on the sea-deeps their sorrowful journey,
Wild-beasts and wormkind; away then they hastened
ot-mooded, hateful, they heard the great clamor,
The war-trumpet winding. One did the Geat-prince
Sunder from earth-joys, with arrow from bowstring,
From his sea-struggle tore him, that the trusty war-missile
Pierced to his vitals; he proved in the currents
Less doughty at swimming whom death had offcarried.
Soon in the waters the wonderful swimmer
Was straitened most sorely with sword-pointed boar-spears,
Pressed in the battle and pulled to the cliff-edge;
The liegemen then looked on the loath-fashioned stranger.
Beowulf donned then his battle-equipments,
Cared little for life; inlaid and most ample,
The hand-woven corslet which could cover his body,
Must the wave-deeps explore, that war might be powerless
To harm the great hero, and the hating one’s grasp might
Not peril his safety; his head was protected
By the light-flashing helmet that should mix with the bottoms,
Trying the eddies, treasure-emblazoned,
Encircled with jewels, as in seasons long past
The weapon-smith worked it, wondrously made it,
With swine-bodies fashioned it, that thenceforward no longer
Brand might bite it, and battle-sword hurt it.
And that was not least of helpers in prowess
That Hrothgar’s spokesman had lent him when straitened;
And the hilted hand-sword was Hrunting entitled,
Old and most excellent ’mong all of the treasures;
Its blade was of iron, blotted with poison,
Hardened with gore; it failed not in battle
Any hero under heaven in hand who it brandished,
Who ventured to take the terrible journeys,
The battle-field sought; not the earliest occasion
That deeds of daring ’twas destined to ’complish.
Ecglaf’s kinsman minded not soothly,
Exulting in strength, what erst he had spoken
Drunken with wine, when the weapon he lent to
A sword-hero bolder; himself did not venture
’Neath the strife of the currents his life to endanger,
To fame-deeds perform; there he forfeited glory,
Page | 51 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Repute for his strength. Not so with the other
When he clad in his corslet had equipped him for battle.
Part XXIII
Beowulf spake, Ecgtheow’s son:
“Recall now, oh, famous kinsman of Healfdene,
Prince very prudent, now to part I am ready,
Gold-friend of earlmen, what erst we agreed on,
Should I lay down my life in lending thee assistance,
When my earth-joys were over, thou wouldst evermore serve me
In stead of a father; my faithful thanemen,
My trusty retainers, protect thou and care for,
Fall I in battle: and, Hrothgar belovèd,
Send unto Higelac the high-valued jewels
Thou to me hast allotted. The lord of the Geatmen
May perceive from the gold, the Hrethling may see it
When he looks on the jewels, that a gem-giver found I
Good over-measure, enjoyed him while able.
And the ancient heirloom Unferth permit thou,
The famed one to have, the heavy-sword splendid
The hard-edgèd weapon; with Hrunting to aid me,
I shall gain me glory, or grim-death shall take me.”
The atheling of Geatmen uttered these words and
Heroic did hasten, not any rejoinder
Was willing to wait for; the wave-current swallowed
The doughty-in-battle. Then a day’s-length elapsed ere
He was able to see the sea at its bottom.
Early she found then who fifty of winters
The course of the currents kept in her fury,
Grisly and greedy, that the grim one’s dominion
Some one of men from above was exploring.
Forth did she grab them, grappled the warrior
With horrible clutches; yet no sooner she injured
His body unscathèd: the burnie out-guarded,
That she proved but powerless to pierce through the armor,
The limb-mail locked, with loath-grabbing fingers.
The sea-wolf bare then, when bottomward came she,
The ring-prince homeward, that he after was powerless
(He had daring to do it) to deal with his weapons,
But many a mere-beast tormented him swimming,
Flood-beasts no few with fierce-biting tusks did
Break through his burnie, the brave one pursued they.
The earl then discovered he was down in some cavern
Page | 52 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Where no water whatever anywise harmed him,
And the clutch of the current could come not anear him,
Since the roofed-hall prevented; brightness a-gleaming
Fire-light he saw, flashing resplendent.
The good one saw then the sea-bottom’s monster,
The mighty mere-woman; he made a great onset
With weapon-of-battle, his hand not desisted
From striking, that war-blade struck on her head then
A battle-song greedy. The stranger perceived then
The sword would not bite, her life would not injure,
But the falchion failed the folk-prince when straitened:
Erst had it often onsets encountered,
Oft cloven the helmet, the fated one’s armor:
’Twas the first time that ever the excellent jewel
Had failed of its fame. Firm-mooded after,
Not heedless of valor, but mindful of glory,
Was Higelac’s kinsman; the hero-chief angry
Cast then his carved-sword covered with jewels
That it lay on the earth, hard and steel-pointed;
He hoped in his strength, his hand-grapple sturdy.
So any must act whenever he thinketh
To gain him in battle glory unending,
And is reckless of living. The lord of the War-Geats
(He shrank not from battle) seized by the shoulder
The mother of Grendel; then mighty in struggle
Swung he his enemy, since his anger was kindled,
That she fell to the floor. With furious grapple
She gave him requital early thereafter,
And stretched out to grab him; the strongest of warriors
Faint-mooded stumbled, till he fell in his traces,
Foot-going champion. Then she sat on the hall-guest
And wielded her war-knife wide-bladed, flashing,
For her son would take vengeance, her one only bairn.
His breast-armor woven bode on his shoulder;
It guarded his life, the entrance defended
’Gainst sword-point and edges. Ecgtheow’s son there
Had fatally journeyed, champion of Geatmen,
In the arms of the ocean, had the armor not given,
Close-woven corslet, comfort and succor,
And had God most holy not awarded the victory,
All-knowing Lord; easily did heaven’s
Ruler most righteous arrange it with justice;
Uprose he erect ready for battle.
Page | 53 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Part XXIV
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
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,
That the fiend-woman’s neck firmly it grappled,
Broke through her bone-joints, the bill fully pierced her
Fate-cursèd body, she fell to the ground then:
The hand-sword was bloody, the hero exulted.
The brand was brilliant, brightly it glimmered,
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
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
Of the folk of the Danemen, and fully as many
Carried away, a horrible prey.
He gave him requital, grim-raging champion,
When he saw on his rest-place weary of conflict
Grendel lying, of life-joys bereavèd,
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
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,
The hoary of head, that they hoped not to see again
The atheling ever, that exulting in victory
He’d return there to visit the distinguishedfolk-ruler:
Then many concluded the mere-wolf had killed him.
The ninth hour came then. From the ness-edge departed
Page | 54 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
The bold-mooded Scyldings; the gold-friend of heroes
Homeward betook him. The strangers sat down then
Soul-sick, sorrowful, the sea-waves regarding:
They wished and yet weened not their well-loved friend-lord
To see any more. The sword-blade began then,
The blood having touched it, contracting and shriveling
With battle-icicles; ’twas a wonderful marvel
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,
Lord of the Weders, though they lay all around him,
Than the head and the handle handsome with jewels;
The brand early melted, burnt was the weapon:
So hot was the blood, the strange-spirit poisonous
That in it did perish. He early swam off then
Who had bided in combat the carnage of haters,
Went up through the ocean; the eddies were cleansèd,
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
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.
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,
The highway familiar: men very daring
Bare then the head from the sea-cliff, burdening
Each of the earlmen, excellent-valiant.
Four of them had to carry with labor
The head of Grendel to the high towering gold-hall
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,
Deed-valiant man, adorned with distinction,
Page | 55 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Doughty shield-warrior, to address King Hrothgar:
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:
The warriors beheld then a wonderful sight.
Part XXV
Beowulf spake, offspring of Ecgtheow:
“Lo! we blithely have brought thee, bairn of Healfdene,
Prince of the Scyldings, these presents from ocean
Which thine eye looketh on, for an emblem of glory.
I came off alive from this, narrowly ’scaping:
In war ’neath the water the work with great pains I
Performed, and the fight had been finished quite nearly,
Had God not defended me. I failed in the battle
Aught to accomplish, aided by Hrunting,
Though that weapon was worthy, but the Wielder of earth-folk
Gave me willingly to see on the wall a
Heavy old hand-sword hanging in splendor
(He guided most often the lorn and the friendless),
That I swung as a weapon. The wards of the house then
I killed in the conflict (when occasion was given me).
Then the battle-sword burned, the brand that was lifted,
As the blood-current sprang, hottest of war-sweats;
Seizing the hilt, from my foes I offbore it;
I avenged as I ought to their acts of malignity,
The murder of Danemen. I then make thee this promise,
Thou’lt be able in Heorot careless to slumber
With thy throng of heroes and the thanes of thy people
Every and each, of greater and lesser,
And thou needest not fear for them from the selfsame direction
As thou formerly fearedst, oh, folk-lord of Scyldings,
End-day for earlmen.” To the age-hoary man then,
The gray-haired chieftain, the gold-fashioned sword-hilt,
Old-work of giants, was thereupon given;
Since the fall of the fiends, it fell to the keeping
Of the wielder of Danemen, the wonder-smith’s labor,
And the bad-mooded being abandoned this world then,
Opponent of God, victim of murder,
And also his mother; it went to the keeping
Of the best of the world-kings, where waters encircle,
Who the scot divided in Scylding dominion.
Hrothgar discoursed, the hilt he regarded,
Page | 56 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
The ancient heirloom where an old-time contention’s
Beginning was graven: the gurgling currents,
The flood slew thereafter the race of the giants,
They had proved themselves daring: that people was loth to
The Lord everlasting, through lash of the billows
The Father gave them final requital.
So in letters of rune on the clasp of the handle
Gleaming and golden, ’twas graven exactly,
Set forth and said, whom that sword had been made for,
Finest of irons, who first it was wrought for,
Wreathed at its handle and gleaming with serpents.
The wise one then said (silent they all were)
Son of old Healfdene: “He may say unrefuted
Who performs ’mid the folk-men fairness and truth
(The hoary old ruler remembers the past),
That better by birth is this bairn of the nobles!
Thy fame is extended through far-away countries,
Good friend Beowulf, o’er all of the races,
Thou holdest all firmly, hero-like strength with
Prudence of spirit. I’ll prove myself grateful
As before we agreed on; thou granted for long shalt
Become a great comfort to kinsmen and comrades,
A help unto heroes. Heremod became not
Such to the Scyldings, successors of Ecgwela;
He grew not to please them, but grievous destruction,
And diresome death-woes to Danemen attracted;
He slew in anger his table-companions,
Trustworthy counsellors, till he turned off lonely
From world-joys away, wide-famous ruler:
Though high-ruling heaven in hero-strength raised him,
In might exalted him, o’er men of all nations
Made him supreme, yet a murderous spirit
Grew in his bosom: he gave then no ring-gems
To the Danes after custom; endured he unjoyful
Standing the straits from strife that was raging,
Longsome folk-sorrow. Learn then from this,
Lay hold of virtue! Though laden with winters,
I have sung thee these measures. ’Tis a marvel to tell it,
How all-ruling God from greatness of spirit
Giveth wisdom to children of men,
Manor and earlship: all things He ruleth.
He often permitteth the mood-thought of man of
The illustrious lineage to lean to possessions,
Page | 57 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Allows him earthly delights at his manor,
A high-burg of heroes to hold in his keeping,
Maketh portions of earth-folk hear him,
And a wide-reaching kingdom so that, wisdom failing him,
He himself is unable to reckon its boundaries;
He liveth in luxury, little debars him,
Nor sickness nor age, no treachery-sorrow
Becloudeth his spirit, conflict nowhere,
No sword-hate, appeareth, but all of the world doth
Wend as he wisheth; the worse he knoweth not,
Till arrant arrogance inward pervading,
Waxeth and springeth, when the warder is sleeping,
The guard of the soul: with sorrows encompassed,
Too sound is his slumber, the slayer is near him,
Who with bow and arrow aimeth in malice.
Part XXVI
“Then bruised in his bosom he with bitter-toothed missile
Is hurt ’neath his helmet: from harmful pollution
He is powerless to shield him by the wonderful mandates
Of the loath-cursèd spirit; what too long he hath holden
Him seemeth too small, savage he hoardeth,
Nor boastfully giveth gold-plated rings,
The fate of the future flouts and forgetteth
Since God had erst given him greatness no little,
Wielder of Glory. His end-day anear,
It afterward happens that the bodily-dwelling
Fleetingly fadeth, falls into ruins;
Another lays hold who doleth the ornaments,
The nobleman’s jewels, nothing lamenting,
Heedeth no terror. Oh, Beowulf dear,
Best of the heroes, from bale-strife defend thee,
And choose thee the better, counsels eternal;
Beware of arrogance, world-famous champion!
But a little-while lasts thy life-vigor’s fulness;
’Twill after hap early, that illness or sword-edge
Shall partthee from strength, or the grasp of the fire,
Or the wave of the current, or clutch of the edges,
Or flight of the war-spear, or age with its horrors,
Or thine eyes’ bright flashing shall fade into darkness:
’Twill happen full early, excellent hero,
That death shall subdue thee. So the Danes a half-century
I held under heaven, helped them in struggles
Page | 58 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
’Gainst many a race in middle-earth’s regions,
With ash-wood and edges, that enemies none
On earth molested me. Lo! offsetting change, now,
Came to my manor, grief after joyance,
When Grendel became my constant visitor,
Inveterate hater: I from that malice
Continually travailed with trouble no little.
Thanks be to God that I gained in my lifetime,
To the Lord everlasting, to look on the gory
Head with mine eyes, after long-lasting sorrow!
Go to the bench now, battle-adornèd
Joy in the feasting: of jewels in common
We’ll meet with many when morning appeareth.”
The Geatman was gladsome, ganged he immediately
To go to the bench, as the clever one bade him.
Then again as before were the famous-for-prowess,
Hall-inhabiters, handsomely banqueted,
Feasted anew. The night-veil fell then
Dark o’er the warriors. The courtiers rose then;
The gray-haired was anxious to go to his slumbers,
The hoary old Scylding. Hankered the Geatman,
The champion doughty, greatly, to rest him:
An earlman early outward did lead him,
Fagged from his faring, from far-country springing,
Who for etiquette’s sake all of a liegeman’s
Needs regarded, such as seamen at that time
Were bounden to feel. The big-hearted rested;
The building uptowered, spacious and gilded,
The guest within slumbered, till the sable-clad raven
Blithely foreboded the beacon of heaven.
Then the bright-shining sun o’er the bottoms came going;
The warriors hastened, the heads of the peoples
Were ready to go again to their peoples,
The high-mooded farer would faraway thenceward
Look for his vessel. The valiant one bade then,
Offspring of Ecglaf, off to bear Hrunting,
To take his weapon, his well-beloved iron;
He him thanked for the gift, saying good he accounted
The war-friend and mighty, nor chid he with words then
The blade of the brand: ’twas a brave-mooded hero.
When the warriors were ready, arrayed in their trappings,
The atheling dear to the Danemen advanced then
Page | 59 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
On to the dais, where the other was sitting,
Grim-mooded hero, greeted King Hrothgar.
Part XXVII
Beowulf spake, Ecgtheow’s offspring:
“We men of the water wish to declare now
Fared from far-lands, we’re firmly determined
To seek King Higelac. Here have we fitly
Been welcomed and feasted, as heart would desire it;
Good was the greeting. If greater affection
I am anywise able ever on earth to
Gain at thy hands, ruler of heroes,
Than yet I have done, I shall quickly be ready
For combat and conflict. O’er the course of the waters
Learn I that neighbors alarm thee with terror,
As haters did whilom, I hither will bring thee
For help unto heroes henchmen by thousands.
I know as to Higelac, the lord of the Geatmen,
Though young in years, he yet will permit me,
By words and by works, ward of the people,
Fully to furnish thee forces and bear thee
My lance to relieve thee, if liegemen shall fail thee,
And help of my hand-strength; if Hrethric be treating,
Bairn of the king, at the court of the Geatmen,
He thereat may find him friends in abundance:
Faraway countries he were better to seek for
Who trusts in himself.” Hrothgar discoursed then,
Making rejoinder: “These words thou hast uttered
All-knowing God hath given thy spirit!
Ne’er heard I an earlman thus early in life
More clever in speaking: thou’rt cautious of spirit,
Mighty of muscle, in mouth-answers prudent.
I count on the hope that, happen it ever
That missile shall rob thee of Hrethel’s descendant,
Edge-horrid battle, and illness or weapon
Deprive thee of prince, of people’s protector,
And life thou yet holdest, the Sea-Geats will never
Find a more fitting folk-lord to choose them,
Gem-ward of heroes, than thou mightest prove thee,
If the kingdom of kinsmen thou carest to govern.
Thy mood-spirit likes me the longer the better,
Beowulf dear: thou hast brought it to pass that
To both these peoples peace shall be common,
Page | 60 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
To Geat-folk and Danemen, the strife be suspended,
The secret assailings they suffered in yore-days;
And also that jewels be shared while I govern
The wide-stretching kingdom, and that many shall visit
Others o’er the ocean with excellent gift-gems:
The ring-adorned bark shall bring o’er the currents
Presents and love-gifts. This people I know
Tow’rd foeman and friend firmly established,
After ancient etiquette everywise blameless.”
Then the warden of earlmen gave him still farther,
Kinsman of Healfdene, a dozen of jewels,
Bade him safely seek with the presents
His well-beloved people, early returning.
Then the noble-born king kissed the distinguished,
Dear-lovèd liegeman, the Dane-prince saluted him,
And claspèd his neck; tears from him fell,
From the gray-headed man: he two things expected,
Agèd and reverend, but rather the second,
That bold in council they’d meet thereafter.
The man was so dear that he failed to suppress the
Emotions that moved him, but in mood-fetters fastened
The long-famous hero longeth in secret
Deep in his spirit for the dear-beloved man
Though not a blood-kinsman. Beowulf thenceward,
Gold-splendid warrior, walked o’er the meadows
Exulting in treasure: the sea-going vessel
Riding at anchor awaited its owner.
As they pressed on their way then, the present of Hrothgar
Was frequently referred to: a folk-king indeed that
Everyway blameless, till age did debar him
The joys of his might, which hath many oft injured.
Part XXVIII
Then the band of very valiant retainers
Came to the current; they were clad all in armor,
In link-woven burnies. The land-warder noticed
The return of the earlmen, as he erstwhile had seen them;
Nowise with insult he greeted the strangers
From the naze of the cliff, but rode on to meet them;
Said the bright-armored visitors vesselward traveled
Welcome to Weders. The wide-bosomed craft then
Lay on the sand, laden with armor,
With horses and jewels, the ring-stemmèd sailer:
Page | 61 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
The mast uptowered o’er the treasure of Hrothgar.
To the boat-ward a gold-bound brand he presented,
That he was afterwards honored on the ale-bench more highly
As the heirloom’s owner. Set he out on his vessel,
To drive on the deep, Dane-country left he.
Along by the mast then a sea-garment fluttered,
A rope-fastened sail. The sea-boat resounded,
The wind o’er the waters the wave-floater nowise
Kept from its journey; the sea-goer traveled,
The foamy-necked floated forth o’er the currents,
The well-fashioned vessel o’er the ways of the ocean,
Till they came within sight of the cliffs of the Geatmen,
The well-known headlands. The wave-goer hastened
Driven by breezes, stood on the shore.
Prompt at the ocean, the port-ward was ready,
Who long in the past outlooked in the distance,
At water’s-edge waiting well-lovèd heroes;
He bound to the bank then the broad-bosomed vessel
Fast in its fetters, lest the force of the waters
Should be able to injure the ocean-wood winsome.
Bade he up then take the treasure of princes,
Plate-gold and fretwork; not far was it thence
To go off in search of the giver of jewels:
Hrethel’s son Higelac at home there remaineth,
Himself with his comrades close to the sea-coast.
The building was splendid, the king heroic,
Great in his hall, Hygd very young was,
Fine-mooded, clever, though few were the winters
That the daughter of Hæreth had dwelt in the borough;
But she nowise was cringing nor niggard of presents,
Of ornaments rare, to the race of the Geatmen.
Thrytho nursed anger, excellent folk-queen,
Hot-burning hatred: no hero whatever
’Mong household companions, her husband excepted
Dared to adventure to look at the woman
With eyes in the daytime;but he knew that death-chains
Hand-wreathed were wrought him: early thereafter,
When the hand-strife was over, edges were ready,
That fierce-raging sword-point had to force a decision,
Murder-bale show. Such no womanly custom
For a lady to practise, though lovely her person,
That a weaver-of-peace, on pretence of anger
A belovèd liegeman of life should deprive.
Page | 62 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Soothly this hindered Heming’s kinsman;
Other ale-drinking earlmen asserted
That fearful folk-sorrows fewer she wrought them,
Treacherous doings, since first she was given
Adorned with gold to the war-hero youthful,
For her origin honored, when Offa’s great palace
O’er the fallow flood by her father’s instructions
She sought on her journey, where she afterwards fully,
Famed for her virtue, her fate on the king’s-seat
Enjoyed in her lifetime, love did she hold with
The ruler of heroes, the best, it is told me,
Of all of the earthmen that oceans encompass,
Of earl-kindreds endless; hence Offa was famous
Far and widely, by gifts and by battles,
Spear-valiant hero; the home of his fathers
He governed with wisdom, whence Eomær did issue
For help unto heroes, Heming’s kinsman,
Grandson of Garmund, great in encounters.
Part XXIX
Then the brave one departed, his band along with him,
Seeking the sea-shore, the sea-marches treading,
The wide-stretching shores. The world-candle glimmered,
The sun from the southward; they proceeded then onward,
Early arriving where they heard that the troop-lord,
Ongentheow’s slayer, excellent, youthful
Folk-prince and warrior was distributing jewels,
Close in his castle. The coming of Beowulf
Was announced in a message quickly to Higelac,
That the folk-troop’s defender forth to the palace
The linden-companion alive was advancing,
Secure from the combat courtward a-going.
The building was early inward made ready
For the foot-going guests as the good one had ordered.
He sat by the man then who had lived through the struggle,
Kinsman by kinsman, when the king of the people
Had in lordly language saluted the dear one,
In words that were formal. The daughter of Hæreth
Coursed through the building, carrying mead-cups:
She loved the retainers, tendered the beakers
To the high-minded Geatmen. Higelac ’gan then
Pleasantly plying his companion with questions
In the high-towering palace. A curious interest
Page | 63 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Tormented his spirit, what meaning to see in
The Sea-Geats’ adventures: “Beowulf worthy,
How throve your journeying, when thou thoughtest suddenly
Far o’er the salt-streams to seek an encounter,
A battle at Heorot? Hast bettered for Hrothgar,
The famous folk-leader, his far-published sorrows
Any at all? In agony-billows
I mused upon torture, distrusted the journey
Of the belovèd liegeman; I long time did pray thee
By no means to seek out the murderous spirit,
To suffer the South-Danes themselves to decide on
Grappling with Grendel. To God I am thankful
To be suffered to see thee safe from thy journey.”
Beowulf answered, bairn of old Ecgtheow:
“’Tis hidden by no means, Higelac chieftain,
From many of men, the meeting so famous,
What mournful moments of me and of Grendel
Were passed in the place where he pressing affliction
On the Victory-Scyldings scathefully brought,
Anguish forever; that all I avengèd,
So that any under heaven of the kinsmen of Grendel
Needeth not boast of that cry-in-the-morning,
Who longest liveth of the loth-going kindred,
Encompassed by moorland. I came in my journey
To the royal ring-hall, Hrothgar to greet there:
Soon did the famous scion of Healfdene,
When he understood fully the spirit that led me,
Assign me a seat with the son of his bosom.
The troop was in joyance; mead-glee greater
’Neath arch of the ether not ever beheld I
’Mid hall-building holders. The highly-famed queen,
Peace-tie of peoples, oft passed through the building,
Cheered the young troopers; she oft tendered a hero
A beautiful ring-band, ere she went to her sitting.
Oft the daughter of Hrothgar in view of the courtiers
To the earls at the end the ale-vessel carried,
Whom Freaware I heard then hall-sitters title,
When nail-adorned jewels she gave to the heroes:
Gold-bedecked, youthful, to the glad son of Froda
Her faith has been plighted; the friend of the Scyldings,
The guard of the kingdom, hath given his sanction,
And counts it a vantage, for a part of the quarrels,
A portion of hatred, to pay with the woman.
Page | 64 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Somewhere not rarely, when the ruler has fallen,
The life-taking lance relaxeth its fury
For a brief breathing-spell, though the bride be charming!
Part XXX
“It well may discomfit the prince of the Heathobards
And each of the thanemen of earls that attend him,
When he goes to the building escorting the woman,
That a noble-born Daneman the knights should be feasting:
There gleam on his person the leavings of elders
Hard and ring-bright, Heathobards’ treasure,
While they wielded their arms, till they misled to the battle
Their own dear lives and belovèd companions.
He saith at the banquet who the collar beholdeth,
An ancient ash-warrior who earlmen’s destruction
Clearly recalleth (cruel his spirit),
Sadly beginneth sounding the youthful
Thane-champion’s spirit through the thoughts of his bosom,
War-grief to waken, and this word-answer speaketh:
‘Art thou able, my friend, to know when thou seest it
The brand which thy father bare to the conflict
In his latest adventure, ’neath visor of helmet,
The dearly-loved iron, where Danemen did slay him,
And brave-mooded Scyldings, on the fall of the heroes,
(When vengeance was sleeping) the slaughter-place wielded?
E’en now some man of the murderer’s progeny
Exulting in ornaments enters the building,
Boasts of his blood-shedding, offbeareth the jewel
Which thou shouldst wholly hold in possession!’
So he urgeth and mindeth on every occasion
With woe-bringing words, till waxeth the season
When the woman’s thane for the works of his father,
The bill having bitten, blood-gory sleepeth,
Fated to perish; the other one thenceward
’Scapeth alive, the land knoweth thoroughly.
Then the oaths of the earlmen on each side are broken,
When rancors unresting are raging in Ingeld
And his wife-love waxeth less warm after sorrow.
So the Heathobards’ favor not faithful I reckon,
Their part in the treaty not true to the Danemen,
Their friendship not fast. I further shall tell thee
More about Grendel, that thou fully mayst hear,
Ornament-giver, what afterward came from
Page | 65 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
The hand-rush of heroes. When heaven’s bright jewel
O’er earthfields had glided, the stranger came raging,
The horrible night-fiend, us for to visit,
Where wholly unharmed the hall we were guarding.
To Hondscio happened a hopeless contention,
Death to the doomed one, dead he fell foremost,
Girded war-champion; to him Grendel became then,
To the vassal distinguished, a tooth-weaponed murderer,
The well-beloved henchman’s body all swallowed.
Not the earlier off empty of hand did
The bloody-toothed murderer, mindful of evils,
Wish to escape from the gold-giver’s palace,
But sturdy of strength he strove to outdo me,
Hand-ready grappled. A glove was suspended
Spacious and wondrous, in art-fetters fastened,
Which was fashioned entirely by touch of the craftman
From the dragon’s skin by the devil’s devices:
He down in its depths would do me unsadly
One among many, deed-doer raging,
Though sinless he saw me; not so could it happen
When I in my anger upright did stand.
’Tis too long to recount how requital I furnished
For every evil to the earlmen’s destroyer;
’Twas there, my prince, that I proudly distinguished
Thy land with my labors. He left and retreated,
He lived his life a little while longer:
Yet his right-hand guarded his footstep in Heorot,
And sad-mooded thence to the sea-bottom fell he,
Mournful in mind. For the might-rush of battle
The friend of the Scyldings, with gold that was plated,
With ornaments many, much requited me,
Whendaylight had dawned, and down to the banquet
We had sat us together. There was chanting and joyance:
The age-stricken Scylding asked many questions
And of old-times related; oft light-ringing harp-strings,
Joy-telling wood, were touched by the brave one;
Now he uttered measures, mourning and truthful,
Then the large-hearted land-king a legend of wonder
Truthfully told us. Now troubled with years
The age-hoary warrior afterward began to
Mourn for the might that marked him in youth-days;
His breast within boiled, when burdened with winters
Much he remembered. From morning till night then
Page | 66 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
We joyed us therein as etiquette suffered,
Till the second night season came unto earth-folk.
Then early thereafter, the mother of Grendel
Was ready for vengeance, wretched she journeyed;
Her son had death ravished, the wrath of the Geatmen.
The horrible woman avengèd her offspring,
And with mighty mainstrength murdered a hero.
There the spirit of Æschere, agèd adviser,
Was ready to vanish; nor when morn had lightened
Were they anywise suffered to consume him with fire,
Folk of the Danemen, the death-weakened hero,
Nor the belovèd liegeman to lay on the pyre;
She the corpse had offcarried in the clutch of the foeman
’Neath mountain-brook’s flood. To Hrothgar ’twas saddest
Of pains that ever had preyed on the chieftain;
By the life of thee the land-prince then me
Besought very sadly, in sea-currents’ eddies
To display my prowess, to peril my safety,
Might-deeds accomplish; much did he promise.
I found then the famous flood-current’s cruel,
Horrible depth-warder. A while unto us two
Hand was in common; the currents were seething
With gore that was clotted, and Grendel’s fierce mother’s
Head I offhacked in the hall at the bottom
With huge-reaching sword-edge, hardly I wrested
My life from her clutches; not doomed was I then,
But the warden of earlmen afterward gave me
Jewels in quantity, kinsman of Healfdene.
Part XXXI
“So the belovèd land-prince lived in decorum;
I had missed no rewards, no meeds of my prowess,
But he gave me jewels, regarding my wishes,
Healfdene his bairn; I’ll bring them to thee, then,
Atheling of earlmen, offer them gladly.
And still unto thee is all my affection:
But few of my folk-kin find I surviving
But thee, dear Higelac!” Bade he in then to carry
The boar-image, banner, battle-high helmet,
Iron-gray armor, the excellent weapon,
In song-measures said: “This suit-for-the-battle
Hrothgar presented me, bade me expressly,
Wise-mooded atheling, thereafter to tell thee
Page | 67 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
The whole of its history, said King Heregar owned it,
Dane-prince for long: yet he wished not to give then
The mail to his son, though dearly he loved him,
Hereward the hardy. Hold all in joyance!”
I heard that there followed hard on the jewels
Two braces of stallions of striking resemblance,
Dappled and yellow; he granted him usance
Of horses and treasures. So a kinsman should bear him,
No web of treachery weave for another,
Nor by cunning craftiness cause the destruction
Of trusty companion. Most precious to Higelac,
The bold one in battle, was the bairn of his sister,
And each unto other mindful of favors.
I am told that to Hygd he proffered the necklace,
Wonder-gem rare that Wealhtheow gave him,
The troop-leader’s daughter, a trio of horses
Slender and saddle-bright; soon did the jewel
Embellish her bosom, when the beer-feast was over.
So Ecgtheow’s bairn brave did prove him,
War-famous man, by deeds that were valiant,
He lived in honor, belovèd companions
Slew not carousing; his mood was not cruel,
But by hand-strength hugest of heroes then living
The brave one retained the bountiful gift that
The Lord had allowed him. Long was he wretched,
So that sons of the Geatmen accounted him worthless,
And the lord of the liegemen loth was to do him
Mickle of honor, when mead-cups were passing;
They fully believed him idle and sluggish,
An indolent atheling: to the honor-blest man there
Came requital for the cuts he had suffered.
The folk-troop’s defender bade fetch to the building
The heirloom of Hrethel, embellished with gold,
So the brave one enjoined it; there was jewel no richer
In the form of a weapon ’mong Geats of that era;
In Beowulf’s keeping he placed it and gave him
Seven of thousands, manor and lordship.
Common to both was land ’mong the people,
Estate and inherited rights and possessions,
To the second one specially spacious dominions,
To the one who was better. It afterward happened
In days that followed, befell the battle-thanes,
After Higelac’s death, and when Heardred was murdered
Page | 68 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
With weapons of warfare ’neath well-covered targets,
When valiant battlemen in victor-band sought him,
War-Scylfing heroes harassed the nephew
Of Hereric in battle. To Beowulf’s keeping
Turned there in time extensive dominions:
He fittingly ruled them a fifty of winters
(He a man-ruler wise was, manor-ward old) till
A certain one ’gan, on gloom-darkening nights, a
Dragon, to govern, who guarded a treasure,
A high-rising stone-cliff, on heath that was grayish:
A path ’neath it lay, unknown unto mortals.
Some one of earthmen entered the mountain,
The heathenish hoard laid hold of with ardor;
* * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
Part XXXII
* * * * * * *
He sought of himself who sorely did harm him,
But, for need very pressing, the servant of one of
The sons of the heroes hate-blows evaded,
Seeking for shelter and the sin-driven warrior
Took refuge within there. He early looked in it,
* * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
* * * * * when the onset surprised him,
He a gem-vessel saw there: many of suchlike
Ancient ornaments in the earth-cave were lying,
As in days of yore some one of men of
Illustrious lineage, as a legacy monstrous,
There had secreted them, careful and thoughtful,
Dear-valued jewels. Death had offsnatched them,
In the days of the past, and the one man moreover
Of the flower of the folk who fared there the longest,
Was fain to defer it, friend-mourning warder,
A little longer to be left in enjoyment
Of long-lasting treasure. A barrow all-ready
Stood on the plain the stream-currents nigh to,
New by the ness-edge, unnethe of approaching:
The keeper of rings carried within a
Page | 69 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Ponderous deal of the treasure of nobles,
Of gold that was beaten, briefly he spake then:
“Hold thou, O Earth, now heroes no more may,
The earnings of earlmen. Lo! erst in thy bosom
Worthy men won them; war-death hath ravished,
Perilous life-bale, all my warriors,
Liegemen belovèd, who this life have forsaken,
Who hall-pleasures saw. No sword-bearer have I,
And no one to burnish the gold-plated vessel,
The high-valued beaker: my heroes are vanished.
The hardy helmet behung with gilding
Shall be reaved of its riches: the ring-cleansers slumber
Who were charged to have ready visors-for-battle,
And the burnie that bided in battle-encounter
O’er breaking of war-shields the bite of the edges
Moulds with the hero. The ring-twisted armor,
Its lord being lifeless, no longer may journey
Hanging by heroes; harp-joy is vanished,
The rapture of glee-wood, no excellent falcon
Swoops through the building, no swift-footed charger
Grindeth the gravel. A grievous destruction
No few of the world-folk widely hath scattered!”
So, woful of spirit one after all
Lamented mournfully, moaning in sadness
By day and by night, till death with its billows
Dashed on his spirit. Then the ancient dusk-scather
Found the great treasurestanding all open,
He who flaming and fiery flies to the barrows,
Naked war-dragon, nightly escapeth
Encompassed with fire; men under heaven
Widely beheld him. ’Tis said that he looks for
The hoard in the earth, where old he is guarding
The heathenish treasure; he’ll be nowise the better.
So three-hundred winters the waster of peoples
Held upon earth that excellent hoard-hall,
Till the forementioned earlman angered him bitterly:
The beat-plated beaker he bare to his chieftain
And fullest remission for all his remissness
Begged of his liegelord. Then the hoard5 was discovered,
The treasure was taken, his petition was granted
The lorn-mooded liegeman. His lord regarded
The old-work of earth-folk—’twas the earliest occasion.
When the dragon awoke, the strife was renewed there;
Page | 70 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
He snuffed ’long the stone then, stout-hearted found he
The footprint of foeman; too far had he gone
With cunning craftiness close to the head of
The fire-spewing dragon. So undoomed he may ’scape from
Anguish and exile with ease who possesseth
The favor of Heaven. The hoard-warden eagerly
Searched o’er the ground then, would meet with the person
That caused him sorrow while in slumber reclining:
Gleaming and wild he oft went round the cavern,
All of it outward; not any of earthmen
Was seen in that desert. Yet he joyed in the battle,
Rejoiced in the conflict: oft he turned to the barrow,
Sought for the gem-cup; this he soon perceived then
That some man or other had discovered the gold,
The famous folk-treasure. Not fain did the hoard-ward
Wait until evening; then the ward of the barrow
Was angry in spirit, the loathèd one wished to
Pay for the dear-valued drink-cup with fire.
Then the day was done as the dragon would have it,
He no longer would wait on the wall, but departed
Fire-impelled, flaming. Fearful the start was
To earls in the land, as it early thereafter
To their giver-of-gold was grievously ended.
Part XXXIII
The stranger began then to vomit forth fire,
To burn the great manor; the blaze then glimmered
For anguish to earlmen, not anything living
Was the hateful air-goer willing to leave there.
The war of the worm widely was noticed,
The feud of the foeman afar and anear,
How the enemy injured the earls of the Geatmen,
Harried with hatred: back he hied to the treasure,
To the well-hidden cavern ere the coming of daylight.
He had circled with fire the folk of those regions,
With brand and burning; in the barrow he trusted,
In the wall and his war-might: the weening deceived him.
Then straight was the horror to Beowulf published,
Early forsooth, that his own native homestead,
The best of buildings, was burning and melting,
Gift-seat of Geatmen. ’Twas a grief to the spirit
Of the good-mooded hero, the greatest of sorrows:
The wise one weened then that wielding his kingdom
Page | 71 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
’Gainst the ancient commandments, he had bitterly angered
The Lord everlasting: with lorn meditations
His bosom welled inward, as was nowise his custom.
The fire-spewing dragon fully had wasted
The fastness of warriors, the water-land outward,
The manor with fire. The folk-ruling hero,
Prince of the Weders, was planning to wreak him.
The warmen’s defender bade them to make him,
Earlmen’s atheling, an excellent war-shield
Wholly of iron: fully he knew then
That wood from the forest was helpless to aid him,
Shield against fire. The long-worthy ruler
Must live the last of his limited earth-days,
Of life in the world and the worm along with him,
Though he long had been holding hoard-wealth in plenty.
Then the ring-prince disdained to seek with a war-band,
With army extensive, the air-going ranger;
He felt no fear of the foeman’s assaults and
He counted for little the might of the dragon,
His power and prowess: for previously dared he
A heap of hostility, hazarded dangers,
War-thane, when Hrothgar’s palace he cleansèd,
Conquering combatant, clutched in the battle
The kinsmen of Grendel, of kindred detested.
’Twas of hand-fights not least where Higelac was slaughtered,
When the king of the Geatmen with clashings of battle,
Friend-lord of folks in Frisian dominions,
Offspring of Hrethrel perished through sword-drink,
With battle-swords beaten; thence Beowulf came then
On self-help relying, swam through the waters;
He bare on his arm, lone-going, thirty
Outfits of armor, when the ocean he mounted.
The Hetwars by no means had need to be boastful
Of their fighting afoot, who forward to meet him
Carried their war-shields: not many returned from
The brave-mooded battle-knight back to their homesteads.
Ecgtheow’s bairn o’er the bight-courses swam then,
Lone-goer lorn to his land-folk returning,
Where Hygd to him tendered treasure and kingdom,
Rings and dominion: her son she not trusted,
To be able to keep the kingdom devised him
’Gainst alien races, on the death of King Higelac.
Page | 72 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Yet the sad ones succeeded not in persuading the atheling
In any way ever, to act as a suzerain
To Heardred, or promise to govern the kingdom;
Yet with friendly counsel in the folk he sustained him,
Gracious, with honor, till he grew to be older,
Wielded the Weders. Wide-fleeing outlaws,
Ohthere’s sons, sought him o’er the waters:
They had stirred a revolt ’gainst the helm of the Scylfings,
The best of the sea-kings, who in Swedish dominions
Distributed treasure, distinguished folk-leader.
’Twas the end of his earth-days; injury fatal
By swing of the sword he received as a greeting,
Offspring of Higelac; Ongentheow’s bairn
Later departed to visit his homestead,
When Heardred was dead; let Beowulf rule them,
Govern the Geatmen: good was that folk-king.
Part XXXIV
He planned requital for the folk-leader’s ruin
In days thereafter, to Eadgils the wretched
Becoming an enemy. Ohthere’s son then
Went with a war-troop o’er the wide-stretching currents
With warriors and weapons: with woe-journeys cold he
After avenged him, the king’s life he took.
So he came off uninjured from all of his battles,
Perilous fights, offspring of Ecgtheow,
From his deeds of daring, till that day most momentous
When he fate-driven fared to fight with the dragon.
With eleven companions the prince of the Geatmen
Went lowering with fury to look at the fire-drake:
Inquiring he’d found how the feud had arisen,
Hate to his heroes; the highly-famed gem-vessel
Was brought to his keeping through the hand of th’ informer.
That in the throng was thirteenth of heroes,
That caused the beginning of conflict so bitter,
Captive and wretched, must sad-mooded thenceward
Point out the place: he passed then unwillingly
To the spot where he knew of the notable cavern,
The cave under earth, not far from the ocean,
The anger of eddies, which inward was full of
Jewels and wires: a warden uncanny,
Warrior weaponed, wardered the treasure,
Page | 73 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Old under earth; no easy possession
For any of earth-folk access to get to.
Then the battle-brave atheling sat on the naze-edge,
While the gold-friend of Geatmen gracious saluted
His fireside-companions: woe was his spirit,
Death-boding, wav’ring; Weird very near him,
Who must seize the old hero, his soul-treasure look for,
Dragging aloof his life from his body:
Not flesh-hidden long was the folk-leader’s spirit.
Beowulf spake, Ecgtheow’s son:
“I survived in my youth-days many a conflict,
Hours of onset: that all I remember.
I was seven-winters old when the jewel-prince took me,
High-lord of heroes, at the hands of my father,
Hrethel the hero-king had me in keeping,
Gave me treasure and feasting, our kinship remembered;
Not ever was I any less dear to him
Knight in the boroughs, than the bairns of his household,
Herebald and Hæthcyn and Higelac mine.
To the eldest unjustly by acts of a kinsman
Was murder-bed strewn, since him Hæthcyn from horn-bow
His sheltering chieftain shot with an arrow,
Erred in his aim and injured his kinsman,
One brother the other, with blood-sprinkled spear:
’Twas a feelessfight, finished in malice,
Sad to his spirit; the folk-prince however
Had to part from existence with vengeance untaken.
So to hoar-headed hero ’tis heavily crushing
To live to see his son as he rideth
Young on the gallows: then measures he chanteth,
A song of sorrow, when his son is hanging
For the raven’s delight, and aged and hoary
He is unable to offer any assistance.
Every morning his offspring’s departure
Is constant recalled: he cares not to wait for
The birth of an heir in his borough-enclosures,
Since that one through death-pain the deeds hath experienced.
He heart-grieved beholds in the house of his son the
Wine-building wasted, the wind-lodging places
Reaved of their roaring; the riders are sleeping,
The knights in the grave; there’s no sound of the harp-wood,
Joy in the yards, as of yore were familiar.
Page | 74 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Part XXXV
“He seeks then his chamber, singeth a woe-song
One for the other; all too extensive
Seemed homesteads and plains. So the helm of the Weders
Mindful of Herebald heart-sorrow carried,
Stirred with emotion, nowise was able
To wreak his ruin on the ruthless destroyer:
He was unable to follow the warrior with hatred,
With deeds that were direful, though dear he not held him.
Then pressed by the pang this pain occasioned him,
He gave up glee, God-light elected;
He left to his sons, as the man that is rich does,
His land and fortress, when from life he departed.
Then was crime and hostility ’twixt Swedes and Geatmen,
O’er wide-stretching water warring was mutual,
Burdensome hatred, when Hrethel had perished,
And Ongentheow’s offspring were active and valiant,
Wished not to hold to peace oversea, but
Round Hreosna-beorh often accomplished
Cruelest massacre. This my kinsman avengèd,
The feud and fury, as ’tis found on inquiry,
Though one of them paid it with forfeit of life-joys,
With price that was hard: the struggle became then
Fatal to Hæthcyn, lord of the Geatmen.
Then I heard that at morning one brother the other
With edges of irons egged on to murder,
Where Ongentheow maketh onset on Eofor:
The helmet crashed, the hoary-haired Scylfing
Sword-smitten fell, his hand then remembered
Feud-hate sufficient, refused not the death-blow.
The gems that he gave me, with jewel-bright sword I
’Quited in contest, as occasion was offered:
Land he allowed me, life-joy at homestead,
Manor to live on. Little he needed
From Gepids or Danes or in Sweden to look for
Trooper less true, with treasure to buy him;
’Mong foot-soldiers ever in front I would hie me,
Alone in the vanguard, and evermore gladly
Warfare shall wage, while this weapon endureth
That late and early often did serve me
When I proved before heroes the slayer of Dæghrefn,
Knight of the Hugmen: he by no means was suffered
To the king of the Frisians to carry the jewels,
Page | 75 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
The breast-decoration; but the banner-possessor
Bowed in the battle, brave-mooded atheling.
No weapon was slayer, but war-grapple broke then
The surge of his spirit, his body destroying.
Now shall weapon’s edge make war for the treasure,
And hand and firm-sword.” Beowulf spake then,
Boast-words uttered—the latest occasion:
“I braved in my youth-days battles unnumbered;
Still am I willing the struggle to look for,
Fame-deeds perform, folk-warden prudent,
If the hateful despoiler forth from his cavern
Seeketh me out!” Each of the heroes,
Helm-bearers sturdy, he thereupon greeted
Belovèd co-liegemen—his last salutation:
“No brand would I bear, no blade for the dragon,
Wist I a way my word-boast to ’complish
Else with the monster, as with Grendel I did it;
But fire in the battle hot I expect there,
Furious flame-burning: so I fixed on my body
Target and war-mail. The ward of the barrow
I’ll not flee from a foot-length, the foeman uncanny.
At the wall ’twill befall us as Fate decreeth,
Each one’s Creator. I am eager in spirit,
With the wingèd war-hero to away with all boasting.
Bide on the barrow with burnies protected,
Earls in armor, which of us two may better
Bear his disaster, when the battle is over.
’Tis no matter of yours, and man cannot do it,
But me and me only, to measure his strength with
The monster of malice, might-deeds to ’complish.
I with prowess shall gain the gold, or the battle,
Direful death-woe will drag off your ruler!”
The mighty champion rose by his shield then,
Brave under helmet, in battle-mail went he
’Neath steep-rising stone-cliffs, the strength he relied on
Of one man alone: no work for a coward.
Then he saw by the wall who a great many battles
Had lived through, most worthy, when foot-troops collided,
Stone-arches standing, stout-hearted champion,
Saw a brook from the barrow bubbling out thenceward:
The flood of the fountain was fuming with war-flame:
Not nigh to the hoard, for season the briefest
Could he brave, without burning, the abyss that was yawning,
Page | 76 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
The drake was so fiery. The prince of the Weders
Caused then that words came from his bosom,
So fierce was his fury; the firm-hearted shouted:
His battle-clear voice came in resounding
’Neath the gray-colored stone. Stirred was his hatred,
The hoard-ward distinguished the speech of a man;
Time was no longer to look out for friendship.
The breath of the monster issued forth first,
Vapory war-sweat, out of the stone-cave:
The earth re-echoed. The earl ’neath the barrow
Lifted his shield, lord of the Geatmen,
Tow’rd the terrible stranger: the ring-twisted creature’s
Heart was then ready to seek for a struggle.
The excellent battle-king first brandished his weapon,
The ancient heirloom, of edges unblunted,
To the death-planners twain was terror from other.
The lord of the troopers intrepidly stood then
’Gainst his high-rising shield, when the dragon coiled him
Quickly together: in corslet he bided.
He went then in blazes, bended and striding,
Hasting him forward. His life and body
The targe well protected, for time-period shorter
Than wish demanded for the well-renowned leader,
Where he then for the first day was forced to be victor,
Famous in battle, as Fate had not willed it.
The lord of the Geatmen uplifted his hand then,
Smiting the fire-drake with sword that was precious,
That bright on the bone the blade-edge did weaken,
Bit more feebly than his folk-leader needed,
Burdened with bale-griefs. Then the barrow-protector,
When the sword-blow had fallen, was fierce in his spirit,
Flinging his fires, flamings of battle
Gleamed then afar: the gold-friend of Weders
Boasted no conquests, his battle-sword failed him
Naked in conflict, as by no means it ought to,
Long-trusty weapon. ’Twas no slight undertaking
That Ecgtheow’s famous offspring would leave
The drake-cavern’s bottom; he must live in some region
Other than this, by the will of the dragon,
As each one of earthmen existence must forfeit.
’Twas early thereafter the excellent warriors
Met with each other. Anew and afresh
The hoard-ward took heart (gasps heaved then his bosom):
Page | 77 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Sorrow he suffered encircled with fire
Who the people erst governed. His companions by no means
Were banded about him, bairns of the princes,
With valorous spirit, but they sped to the forest,
Seeking for safety. The soul-deeps of one were
Ruffled by care: kin-love can never
Aught in him waver who well doth consider.
Part XXXVI
The son of Weohstan was Wiglaf entitled,
Shield-warrior precious, prince of the Scylfings,
Ælfhere’s kinsman: he saw his dear liegelord
Enduring the heat ’neath helmet and visor.
Then he minded the holding that erst he had given him,
The Wægmunding warriors’ wealth-blessèd homestead,
Each of the folk-rights his father had wielded;
He was hot for the battle, his hand seized the target,
The yellow-bark shield, he unsheathed his old weapon,
Which was known among earthmen as the relic of Eanmund,
Ohthere’s offspring, whom, exiled and friendless,
Weohstan did slay with sword-edge in battle,
And carried his kinsman the clear-shining helmet,The ring-made burnie, the old giant-weapon
That Onela gave him, his boon-fellow’s armor,
Ready war-trappings: he the feud did not mention,
Though he’d fatally smitten the son of his brother.
Many a half-year held he the treasures,
The bill and the burnie, till his bairn became able,
Like his father before him, fame-deeds to ’complish;
Then he gave him ’mong Geatmen a goodly array of
Weeds for his warfare; he went from life then
Old on his journey. ’Twas the earliest time then
That the youthful champion might charge in the battle
Aiding his liegelord; his spirit was dauntless.
Nor did kinsman’s bequest quail at the battle:
This the dragon discovered on their coming together.
Wiglaf uttered many a right-saying,
Said to his fellows, sad was his spirit:
 “I remember the time when, tasting the mead-cup,
We promised in the hall the lord of us all
Who gave us these ring-treasures, that this battle-equipment,
Swords and helmets, we’d certainly quite him,
Should need of such aid ever befall him:
Page | 78 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
In the war-band he chose us for this journey spontaneously,
Stirred us to glory and gave me these jewels,
Since he held and esteemed us trust-worthy spearmen,
Hardy helm-bearers, though this hero-achievement
Our lord intended alone to accomplish,
Ward of his people, for most of achievements,
Doings audacious, he did among earth-folk.
The day is now come when the ruler of earthmen
Needeth the vigor of valiant heroes:
Let us wend us towards him, the war-prince to succor,
While the heat yet rageth, horrible fire-fight.
God wot in me, ’tis mickle the liefer
The blaze should embrace my body and eat it
With my treasure-bestower. Meseemeth not proper
To bear our battle-shields back to our country,
’Less first we are able to fell and destroy the
Long-hating foeman, to defend the life of
The prince of the Weders. Well do I know ’tisn’t
Earned by his exploits, he only of Geatmen
Sorrow should suffer, sink in the battle:
Brand and helmet to us both shall be common,
Shield-cover, burnie.” Through the bale-smoke he stalked then,
Went under helmet to the help of his chieftain,
Briefly discoursing: “Beowulf dear,
Perform thou all fully, as thou formerly saidst,
In thy youthful years, that while yet thou livedst
Thou wouldst let thine honor not ever be lessened.
Thy life thou shalt save, mighty in actions,
Atheling undaunted, with all of thy vigor;
I’ll give thee assistance.” The dragon came raging,
Wild-mooded stranger, when these words had been uttered
(’Twas the second occasion), seeking his enemies,
Men that were hated, with hot-gleaming fire-waves;
With blaze-billows burned the board to its edges:
The fight-armor failed then to furnish assistance
To the youthful spear-hero: but the young-agèd stripling
Quickly advanced ’neath his kinsman’s war-target,
Since his own had been ground in the grip of the fire.
Then the warrior-king was careful of glory,
He soundly smote with sword-for-the-battle,
That it stood in the head by hatred driven;
Nægling was shivered, the old and iron-made
Brand of Beowulf in battle deceived him.
Page | 79 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
’Twas denied him that edges of irons were able
To help in the battle; the hand was too mighty
Which every weapon, as I heard on inquiry,
Outstruck in its stroke, when to struggle he carried
The wonderful war-sword: it waxed him no better.
Then the people-despoiler—third of his onsets—
Fierce-raging fire-drake, of feud-hate was mindful,
Charged on the strong one, when chance was afforded,
Heated and war-grim, seized on his neck
With teeth that were bitter; he bloody did wax with
Soul-gore seething; sword-blood in waves boiled.
Part XXXVII
Then I heard that at need of the king of the people
The upstanding earlman exhibited prowess,
Vigor and courage, as suited his nature;
He his head did not guard, but the high-minded liegeman’s
Hand was consumed, when he succored his kinsman,
So he struck the strife-bringing strange-comer lower,
Earl-thane in armor, that in went the weapon
Gleaming and plated, that ’gan then the fire
Later to lessen. The liegelord himself then
Retained his consciousness, brandished his war-knife,
Battle-sharp, bitter, that he bare on his armor:
The Weder-lord cut the worm in the middle.
They had felled the enemy (life drove out then
Puissant prowess), the pair had destroyed him,
Land-chiefs related: so a liegeman should prove him,
A thaneman when needed. To the prince ’twas the last of
His era of conquest by his own great achievements,
The latest of world-deeds. The wound then began
Which the earth-dwelling dragon erstwhile had wrought him
To burn and to swell. He soon then discovered
That bitterest bale-woe in his bosom was raging,
Poison within. The atheling advanced then,
That along by the wall, he prudent of spirit
Might sit on a settle; he saw the giant-work,
How arches of stone strengthened with pillars
The earth-hall eternal inward supported.
Then the long-worthy liegeman laved with his hand the
Far-famous chieftain, gory from sword-edge,
Refreshing the face of his friend-lord and ruler,
Sated with battle, unbinding his helmet.
Page | 80 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Beowulf answered, of his injury spake he,
His wound that was fatal (he was fully aware
He had lived his allotted life-days enjoying
The pleasures of earth; then past was entirely
His measure of days, death very near):
“My son I would give now my battle-equipments,
Had any of heirs been after me granted,
Along of my body. This people I governed
Fifty of winters: no king ’mong my neighbors
Dared to encounter me with comrades-in-battle,
Try me with terror. The time to me ordered
I bided at home, mine own kept fitly,
Sought me no snares, swore me not many
Oaths in injustice. Joy over all this
I’m able to have, though ill with my death-wounds;
Hence the Ruler of Earthmen need not charge me
With the killing of kinsmen, when cometh my life out
Forth from my body. Fare thou with haste now
To behold the hoard ’neath the hoar-grayish stone,
Well-lovèd Wiglaf, now the worm is a-lying,
Sore-wounded sleepeth, disseized of his treasure.
Go thou in haste that treasures of old I,
Gold-wealth may gaze on, together see lying
The ether-bright jewels, be easier able,
Having the heap of hoard-gems, to yield my
Life and the land-folk whom long I have governed.”
Part XXXVIII
Then heard I that Wihstan’s son very quickly,
These words being uttered, heeded his liegelord
Wounded and war-sick, went in his armor,
His well-woven ring-mail, ’neath the roof of the barrow.
Then the trusty retainer treasure-gems many
Victorious saw, when the seat he came near to,
Gold-treasure sparkling spread on the bottom,
Wonder on the wall, and the worm-creature’s cavern,
The ancient dawn-flier’s, vessels a-standing,
Cups of the ancients of cleansers bereavèd,
Robbed of their ornaments: there were helmets in numbers,
Old and rust-eaten, arm-bracelets many,
Artfully woven. Wealth can easily,
Gold on the sea-bottom, turn into vanity
Each one of earthmen, arm him who pleaseth!
Page | 81 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
And he saw there lying an all-golden banner
High o’er the hoard, of hand-wonders greatest,
Linkèd with lacets: a light from it sparkled,
That the floor of the cavern he was able to look on,
To examine the jewels. Sight of the dragon
Not any was offered, but edge offcarried him.
Then I heard that the hero the hoard-treasure plundered,
The giant-work ancient reaved in the cavern,
Bare on his bosom the beakers and platters,
As himself would fain have it, and took off the standard,
The brightest of beacons; the bill had erst injured
(Its edge was of iron), the old-ruler’s weapon,
Him who long had watched as ward of the jewels,
Who fire-terror carried hot for the treasure,
Rolling in battle, in middlemost darkness,
Till murdered he perished. The messenger hastened,
Not loth to return, hurried by jewels:
Curiosity urged him if, excellent-mooded,
Alive he should find the lord of the Weders
Mortally wounded, at the place where he lefthim.
’Mid the jewels he found then the famous old chieftain,
His liegelord belovèd, at his life’s-end gory:
He thereupon ’gan to lave him with water,
Till the point of his word piercèd his breast-hoard.
Beowulf spake (the gold-gems he noticed),
The old one in sorrow: “For the jewels I look on
Thanks do I utter for all to the Ruler,
Wielder of Worship, with words of devotion,
The Lord everlasting, that He let me such treasures
Gain for my people ere death overtook me.
Since I’ve bartered the agèd life to me granted
For treasure of jewels, attend ye henceforward
The wants of the war-thanes; I can wait here no longer.
The battle-famed bid ye to build them a grave-hill,
Bright when I’m burned, at the brim-current’s limit;
As a memory-mark to the men I have governed,
Aloft it shall tower on Whale’s-Ness uprising,
That earls of the ocean hereafter may call it
Beowulf’s barrow, those who barks ever-dashing
From a distance shall drive o’er the darkness of waters.”
The bold-mooded troop-lord took from his neck then
The ring that was golden, gave to his liegeman,
The youthful war-hero, his gold-flashing helmet,
Page | 82 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
His collar and war-mail, bade him well to enjoy them:
 “Thou art latest left of the line of our kindred,
Of Wægmunding people: Weird hath offcarried
All of my kinsmen to the Creator’s glory,
Earls in their vigor: I shall after them fare.”
’Twas the aged liegelord’s last-spoken word in
His musings of spirit, ere he mounted the fire,
The battle-waves burning: from his bosom departed
His soul to seek the sainted ones’ glory.
Part XXXIX
It had wofully chanced then the youthful retainer
To behold on earth the most ardent-belovèd
At his life-days’ limit, lying there helpless.
The slayer too lay there, of life all bereavèd,
Horrible earth-drake, harassed with sorrow:
The round-twisted monster was permitted no longer
To govern the ring-hoards, but edges of war-swords
Mightily seized him, battle-sharp, sturdy
Leavings of hammers, that still from his wounds
The flier-from-farland fell to the earth
Hard by his hoard-house, hopped he at midnight
Not e’er through the air, nor exulting in jewels
Suffered them to see him: but he sank then to earthward
Through the hero-chief’s handwork. I heard sure it throve then
But few in the land of liegemen of valor,
Though of every achievement bold he had proved him,
To run ’gainst the breath of the venomous scather,
Or the hall of the treasure to trouble with hand-blows,
If he watching had found the ward of the hoard-hall
On the barrow abiding. Beowulf’s part of
The treasure of jewels was paid for with death;
Each of the twain had attained to the end of
Life so unlasting. Not long was the time till
The tardy-at-battle returned from the thicket,
The timid truce-breakers ten all together,
Who durst not before play with the lances
In the prince of the people’s pressing emergency;
But blushing with shame, with shields they betook them,
With arms and armor where the old one was lying:
They gazed upon Wiglaf. He was sitting exhausted,
Foot-going fighter, not far from the shoulders
Of the lord of the people, would rouse him with water;
Page | 83 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
No whit did it help him; though he hoped for it keenly,
He was able on earth not at all in the leader
Life to retain, and nowise to alter
The will of the Wielder; the World-Ruler’s power
Would govern the actions of each one of heroes,
As yet He is doing. From the young one forthwith then
Could grim-worded greeting be got for him quickly
Whose courage had failed him. Wiglaf discoursed then,
Weohstan his son, sad-mooded hero,
Looked on the hated: “He who soothness will utter
Can say that the liegelord who gave you the jewels,
The ornament-armor wherein ye are standing,
When on ale-bench often he offered to hall-men
Helmet and burnie, the prince to his liegemen,
As best upon earth he was able to find him,—
That he wildly wasted his war-gear undoubtedly
When battle o’ertook him. The troop-king no need had
To glory in comrades; yet God permitted him,
Victory-Wielder, with weapon unaided
Himself to avenge, when vigor was needed.
I life-protection but little was able
To give him in battle, and I ’gan, notwithstanding,
Helping my kinsman (my strength overtaxing):
He waxed the weaker when with weapon I smote on
My mortal opponent, the fire less strongly
Flamed from his bosom. Too few of protectors
Came round the king at the critical moment.
Now must ornament-taking and weapon-bestowing,
Home-joyance all, cease for your kindred,
Food for the people; each of your warriors
Must needs be bereavèd of rights that he holdeth
In landed possessions, when faraway nobles
Shall learn of your leaving your lord so basely,
The dastardly deed. Death is more pleasant
To every earlman than infamous life is!”
Part XL
Then he charged that the battle be announced at the hedge
Up o’er the cliff-edge, where the earl-troopers bided
The whole of the morning, mood-wretched sat them,
Bearers of battle-shields, both things expecting,
The end of his lifetime and the coming again of
The liegelord belovèd. Little reserved he
Page | 84 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Of news that was known, who the ness-cliff did travel,
But he truly discoursed to all that could hear him:
“Now the free-giving friend-lord of the folk of the Weders,
The folk-prince of Geatmen, is fast in his death-bed,
By the deeds of the dragon in death-bed abideth;
Along with him lieth his life-taking foeman
Slain with knife-wounds: he was wholly unable
To injure at all the ill-planning monster
With bite of his sword-edge. Wiglaf is sitting,
Offspring of Wihstan, up over Beowulf,
Earl o’er another whose end-day hath reached him,
Head-watch holdeth o’er heroes unliving,
For friend and for foeman. The folk now expecteth
A season of strife when the death of the folk-king
To Frankmen and Frisians in far-lands is published.
The war-hatred waxed warm ’gainst the Hugmen,
When Higelac came with an army of vessels
Faring to Friesland, where the Frankmen in battle
Humbled him and bravely with overmight ’complished
That the mail-clad warrior must sink in the battle,
Fell ’mid his folk-troop: no fret-gems presented
The atheling to earlmen; aye was denied us
Merewing’s mercy. The men of the Swedelands
For truce or for truth trust I but little;
But widely ’twas known that near Ravenswood Ongentheow
Sundered Hæthcyn the Hrethling from life-joys,
When for pride overweening the War-Scylfings first did
Seek the Geatmen with savage intentions.
Early did Ohthere’s age-laden father,
Old and terrible, give blow in requital,
Killing the sea-king, the queen-mother rescued,
The old one his consort deprived of her gold,
Onela’s mother and Ohthere’s also,
And then followed the feud-nursing foemen till hardly,
Reaved of their ruler, they Ravenswood entered.
Then with vast-numbered forces he assaulted the remnant,
Weary with wounds, woe often promised
The livelong night to the sad-hearted war-troop:
Said he at morning would kill them with edges of weapons,
Some on the gallows for glee to the fowls.
Aid came after to the anxious-in-spirit
At dawn of the day, after Higelac’s bugle
Page | 85 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
And trumpet-sound heard they, when the good one proceeded
And faring followed the flower of the troopers.
Part XLI
“The blood-stainèd trace of Swedes and Geatmen,
The death-rush of warmen, widely was noticed,
How the folks with each other feud did awaken.
The worthy one went then with well-beloved comrades,
Old and dejected to go to the fastness,
Ongentheo earl upward then turned him;
Of Higelac’s battle he’d heard on inquiry,
The exultant one’s prowess, despaired of resistance,
With earls of the ocean to be able to struggle,
’Gainst sea-going sailors to save the hoard-treasure,
His wife and his children; he fled after thenceward
Old ’neath the earth-wall. Then was offered pursuance
To the braves of the Swedemen, the banner to Higelac.
They fared then forth o’er the field-of-protection,
When the Hrethlingheroes hedgeward had thronged them.
Then with edges of irons was Ongentheow driven,
The gray-haired to tarry, that the troop-ruler had to
Suffer the power solely of Eofor:
Wulf then wildly with weapon assaulted him,
Wonred his son, that for swinge of the edges
The blood from his body burst out in currents,
Forth ’neath his hair. He feared not however,
Gray-headed Scylfing, but speedily quited
The wasting wound-stroke with worse exchange,
When the king of the thane-troop thither did turn him:
The wise-mooded son of Wonred was powerless
To give a return-blow to the age-hoary man,
But his head-shielding helmet first hewed he to pieces,
That flecked with gore perforce he did totter,
Fell to the earth; not fey was he yet then,
But up did he spring though an edge-wound had reached him.
Then Higelac’s vassal, valiant and dauntless,
When his brother lay dead, made his broad-bladed weapon,
Giant-sword ancient, defence of the giants,
Bound o’er the shield-wall; the folk-prince succumbed then,
Shepherd of people, was pierced to the vitals.
There were many attendants who bound up his kinsman,
Carried him quickly when occasion was granted
That the place of the slain they were suffered to manage.
Page | 86 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
This pending, one hero plundered the other,
His armor of iron from Ongentheow ravished,
His hard-sword hilted and helmet together;
The old one’s equipments he carried to Higelac.
He the jewels received, and rewards ’mid the troopers
Graciously promised, and so did accomplish:
The king of the Weders requited the war-rush,
Hrethel’s descendant, when home he repaired him,
To Eofor and Wulf with wide-lavished treasures,
To each of them granted a hundred of thousands
In land and rings wrought out of wire:
None upon mid-earth needed to twit him
With the gifts he gave them, when glory they conquered;
And to Eofor then gave he his one only daughter,
The honor of home, as an earnest of favor.
That’s the feud and hatred—as ween I ’twill happen—
The anger of earthmen, that earls of the Swedemen
Will visit on us, when they hear that our leader
Lifeless is lying, he who longtime protected
His hoard and kingdom ’gainst hating assailers,
Who on the fall of the heroes defended of yore
The deed-mighty Scyldings, did for the troopers
What best did avail them, and further moreover
Hero-deeds ’complished. Now is haste most fitting,
That the lord of liegemen we look upon yonder,
And that one carry on journey to death-pyre
Who ring-presents gave us. Not aught of it all
Shall melt with the brave one—there’s a mass of bright jewels,
Gold beyond measure, grewsomely purchased
And ending it all ornament-rings too
Bought with his life; these fire shall devour,
Flame shall cover, no earlman shall wear
A jewel-memento, nor beautiful virgin
Have on her neck rings to adorn her,
But wretched in spirit bereavèd of gold-gems
She shall oft with others be exiled and banished,
Since the leader of liegemen hath laughter forsaken,
Mirth and merriment. Hence many a war-spear
Cold from the morning shall be clutched in the fingers,
Heaved in the hand, no harp-music’s sound shall
Waken the warriors, but the wan-coated raven
Fain over fey ones freely shall gabble,
Shall say to the eagle how he sped in the eating,
Page | 87 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
When, the wolf his companion, he plundered the slain.”
So the high-minded hero was rehearsing these stories
Loathsome to hear; he lied as to few of
Weirds and of words. All the war-troop arose then,
’Neath the Eagle’s Cape sadly betook them,
Weeping and woful, the wonder to look at.
They saw on the sand then soulless a-lying,
His slaughter-bed holding, him who rings had given them
In days that were done; then the death-bringing moment
Was come to the good one, that the king very warlike,
Wielder of Weders, with wonder-death perished.
First they beheld there a creature more wondrous,
The worm on the field, in front of them lying,
The foeman before them: the fire-spewing dragon,
Ghostly and grisly guest in his terrors,
Was scorched in the fire; as he lay there he measured
Fifty of feet; came forth in the night-time
To rejoice in the air, thereafter departing
To visit his den; he in death was then fastened,
He would joy in no other earth-hollowed caverns.
There stood round about him beakers and vessels,
Dishes were lying and dear-valued weapons,
With iron-rust eaten, as in earth’s mighty bosom
A thousand of winters there they had rested:
That mighty bequest then with magic was guarded,
Gold of the ancients, that earlman not any
The ring-hall could touch, save Ruling-God only,
Sooth-king of Vict’ries gave whom He wished to
(He is earth-folk’s protector) to open the treasure,
E’en to such among mortals as seemed to Him proper.
Part XLII
Then ’twas seen that the journey prospered him little
Who wrongly within had the ornaments hidden
Down ’neath the wall. The warden erst slaughtered
Some few of the folk-troop: the feud then thereafter
Was hotly avengèd. ’Tis a wonder where,
When the strength-famous trooper has attained to the end of
Life-days allotted, then no longer the man may
Remain with his kinsmen where mead-cups are flowing.
So to Beowulf happened when the ward of the barrow,
Assaults, he sought for: himself had no knowledge
How his leaving this life was likely to happen.
Page | 88 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
So to doomsday, famous folk-leaders down did
Call it with curses—who ’complished it there—
That that man should be ever of ill-deeds convicted,
Confined in foul-places, fastened in hell-bonds,
Punished with plagues, who this place should e’er ravage.
He cared not for gold: rather the Wielder’s
Favor preferred he first to get sight of.
Wiglaf discoursed then, Wihstan his son:
 “Oft many an earlman on one man’s account must
Sorrow endure, as to us it hath happened.
The liegelord belovèd we could little prevail on,
Kingdom’s keeper, counsel to follow,
Not to go to the guardian of the gold-hoard, but let him
Lie where he long was, live in his dwelling
Till the end of the world. Met we a destiny
Hard to endure: the hoard has been looked at,
Been gained very grimly; too grievous the fate that
The prince of the people pricked to come thither.
I was therein and all of it looked at,
The building’s equipments, since access was given me,
Not kindly at all entrance permitted
Within under earth-wall. Hastily seized I
And held in my hands a huge-weighing burden
Of hoard-treasures costly, hither out bare them
To my liegelord belovèd: life was yet in him,
And consciousness also; the old one discoursed then
Much and mournfully, commanded to greet you,
Bade that remembering the deeds of your friend-lord
Ye build on the fire-hill of corpses a lofty
Burial-barrow, broad and far-famous,
As ’mid world-dwelling warriors he was widely most honored
While he reveled in riches. Let us rouse us and hasten
Again to see and seek for the treasure,
The wonder ’neath wall. The way I will show you,
That close ye may look at ring-gems sufficient
And gold in abundance. Let the bier with promptness
Fully be fashioned, when forth we shall come,
And lift we our lord, then, where long he shall tarry,
Well-beloved warrior, ’neath the Wielder’s protection.”
Then the son of Wihstan bade orders be given,
Mood-valiant man, to many of heroes,
Holders of homesteads, that they hither from far,
Leaders of liegemen, should look for the good one
Page | 89 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
With wood for his pyre: “The flame shall now swallow
(The wan fire shall wax) the warriors’ leader
Who the rain of the iron often abided,
When, sturdily hurled, the storm of the arrows
Leapt o’er linden-wall, the lance rendered service,
Furnished with feathers followed the arrow.”
Now the wise-mooded son of Wihstan did summon
The best of the braves from the band of the ruler
Seven together; ’neath the enemy’s roof he
Went with the seven; one of the heroes
Who fared at the front, a fire-blazing torch-light
Bare in his hand. No lot then decided
Who that hoard should havoc, when hero-earlssaw it
Lying in the cavern uncared-for entirely,
Rusting to ruin: they rued then but little
That they hastily hence hauled out the treasure,
The dear-valued jewels; the dragon eke pushed they,
The worm o’er the wall, let the wave-currents take him,
The waters enwind the ward of the treasures.
There wounden gold on a wain was uploaded,
A mass unmeasured, the men-leader off then,
The hero hoary, to Whale’s-Ness was carried.
Part XLIII
The folk of the Geatmen got him then ready
A pile on the earth strong for the burning,
Behung with helmets, hero-knights’ targets,
And bright-shining burnies, as he begged they should have them;
Then wailing war-heroes their world-famous chieftain,
Their liegelord beloved, laid in the middle.
Soldiers began then to make on the barrow
The largest of dead-fires: dark o’er the vapor
The smoke-cloud ascended, the sad-roaring fire,
Mingled with weeping (the wind-roar subsided)
Till the building of bone it had broken to pieces,
Hot in the heart. Heavy in spirit
They mood-sad lamented the men-leader’s ruin;
And mournful measures the much-grieving widow
* * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
Page | 90 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
* * * * * * *
The men of the Weders made accordingly
A hill on the height, high and extensive,
Of sea-going sailors to be seen from a distance,
And the brave one’s beacon built where the fire was,
In ten-days’ space, with a wall surrounded it,
As wisest of world-folk could most worthily plan it.
They placed in the barrow rings and jewels,
All such ornaments as erst in the treasure
War-mooded men had won in possession:
The earnings of earlmen to earth they entrusted,
The gold to the dust, where yet it remaineth
As useless to mortals as in foregoing eras.
’Round the dead-mound rode then the doughty-in-battle,
Bairns of all twelve of the chiefs of the people,
More would they mourn, lament for their ruler,
Speak in measure, mention him with pleasure,
Weighed his worth, and his warlike achievements
Mightily commended, as ’tis meet one praise his
Liegelord in words and love him in spirit,
When forth from his body he fares to destruction.
So lamented mourning the men of the Geats,
Fond-loving vassals, the fall of their lord,
Said he was kindest of kings under heaven,
Gentlest of men, most winning of manner,
Friendliest to folk-troops and fondest of honor.
1.5.2 Reading and Review Questions
1. Are Grendel and his mother symbolic? Do they represent something to 
the characters? Does the dragon at the end symbolize something else?
2. What do each of the stories-within-the-story add to the overall theme of 
Beowulf? How do they foreshadow later events?
3. What is explicitly Christian in Beowulf, and what isn’t? How much does 
Christianity influence the story?
4. How does Beowulf represent ideas about family/kinship? What should 
the audience emulate, and are there warnings about kin?
5. Is Beowulf a good hero and/or a good king? To what extent in each case? 
Give evidence.
Page | 91 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
1.6 JUDITH
Author unknown
At least late tenth century, possibly earlier
Old English / Anglo-Saxon
Like Beowulf, the only copy of the poem Judith is found in one manuscript—
the same manuscript as Beowulf. Unlike Beowulf, this poem is not the only extant 
version of the story. The Book of Judith was removed from the Protestant Bible 
during the Reformation, but remains in the Roman Catholic Bible and Eastern 
Orthodox Bible. It is no coincidence that Judith and Beowulf are next to each other 
in the manuscript; as described in the poem, Judith is a female version of Beowulf, 
albeit a decidedly more Christian one. There may be “shield-bearing warriors” 
(11) all around her, but it is Judith who wields the sword against Holofernes as 
a warrior for God. Holofernes may be an Assyrian general, but both he and the 
Hebrew maiden Judith are described in ways that the Danish Beowulf or the 
Anglo-Saxon audience for the poem would recognize: Holofernes is a “gold-friend 
of men” (22), and Judith is awarded her fair share of the spoils of battle just like 
any other warrior. The poem is written in alliterative verse, with two half-lines 
separated by a caesura (pause). Like Beowulf, the poem has kennings (such as 
the “gold-friend” mentioned above—the lord who gives his retainers gold); like 
The Dream of the Rood, some of the half-lines are short (following the standard 
rhythm), and some of the half-lines are hypermetrical (adding extra syllables). At 
348 lines, the Anglo-Saxon poem is only a fragment of the complete story found in 
the Biblical version, which takes a far less heroic tone than the poem (the Biblical 
story makes Holofernes far less dangerous and Judith far less brave). In the poem, 
Judith’s war-like attributes are balanced with repeated descriptions of her as a 
holy woman. Judith’s beauty may be described in a vaguely pagan way as “elf-
brilliant” (14), but the poem’s Christian emphasis on her holiness as a handmaiden 
of the Lord takes this Old Testament figure and paints her as the warrior-version 
of a New Testament saint.
1.6.1 Selections from Judith
Part I
[The glorious Creator’s] gifts doubted she [not]
Upón this wide earth; then found she there ready
Help from the mighty Prince, when she most need did have
Of grace from the highest Judge, that her ’gainst the greatest terror
The Lord of Creation should shield. That Father in heaven to her
The Glorious-in-mind did grant, for thát firm faith she had
Ín the Almighty ever. Then heard I that Holofernes
Wine-summons eagerly wrought, and with all wonders a glorious
Banquet had hé prepared; to thát bade the prince of men
Page | 92 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
All his noblest thanes. Thát with mickle haste
Did the warriors-with-shields perform; came to the mighty chief
The people’s leaders going. Ón the fourth day was that
After that Judith, cunning in mind,
The elf-sheen virgin, him first had sought.
Part II
They then at the feast proceeded to sit,
The proud to the wine-drinking, all his comrades-in-ill,
Bold mailèd-warriors. There were lofty beakers
Oft borne along the benches, alsó were cups and flagons
Full to the hall-sitters borne. The fated partook of them,
Brave warriors-with-shields, though the mighty weened not of it,
Awful lord of earls. Thén was Holofernes,
Gold-friend of men, full of wine-joy:
He laughed and clamored, shouted and dinned,
That children of men from afar might hear
How the strong-minded both stormed and yelled,
Moody and mead-drunken, often admonished
The sitters-on-benches to bear themselves well.
Thus did the hateful one during all day
His liege-men [loyal] keep plying with wine,
Stout-hearted giver of treasure, untíl they lay in a swoon,
He drenched all his nobles [with drink], as if they were slain in death,
Deprived of each one of goods. Thus bade the prince of men
The sitters-in-hall to serve, untíl to children of men
The darkening night drew nigh. He bade then, filled with hate,
The blessed maiden with haste to fetch
To his bed of rest, laden with jewels,
Adorned with rings. They quickly performed,
The attendant thanes, what their lord them bade,
Mailed-warriors’ prince; like a flash they stepped
Into the guest-room, where they Judith
Wise-minded found, and quickly then
The warriors-with-shields began to lead
The glorious maid to the lofty tent
Where the mighty himself always rested
By night within, to the Saviour hateful,
Holofernes. There wás an all-golden
Beautiful fly-net around the folk-warrior’s
Bed suspended, só that the hateful
Was able to look through, the chief of warriors,
Upon each one that therein came
Page | 93 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLEAGES
Of the sons of heroes, and on him no one
Of the race of men, unless the proud some one
Of the strong-in-war bade to him nearer
Of warriors for counsel to come. They then to him at rest brought
Quickly the cunning woman; went then the stout-in-heart
The men their lord to tell that the holy woman was
Brought to his chamber-tent. The famous then in mind
Was glad, the ruler of cities; he thought the beautiful maiden
With spot and stain to defile: that Judge of glory would not
Allow, the Keeper of honor, but him from that deed restrained
The Lord, the Ruler of hosts. Went then the devilish one,
The wanton [warrior-prince], with [mickle] band of men,
The baleful his bed to seek, where hé his life should lose
Quickly within one night; he had then his end attained
On earth ungentle [end], such as before he wrought for,
The mighty prince of men, while ín this world he was,
While he dwelt under roof of the clouds. Then fell so drunk with wine
The mighty [chief] on his bed, as if he knew no rede
Within his place of wit; the warriors stepped
Oút from the chamber with mickle haste,
The wine-filled men, whó the oath-breaker,
Hateful folk-hater, had led to his bed
For the very last time. Then was the Saviour’s
Glorious maiden earnestly mindful
How she the terrible most easily might
Of life deprive before the lustful,
The wanton, awoke. The wreathed-locked took then,
The Creator’s handmaid, a sharp-edged sword
Hardened by war-strokes, and drew from its sheath
With hér right hand; then Keeper of heaven
By name she gan name, Saviour of all
Dwellers-in-th‘ world, and this word she spake:
“Thee, God of Creation, and Spirit of Comfort,
Son of the Almighty, will I [now] pray
For thine own mercy to me in my need,
Trinity’s Glory. To me greatly now then
My heart is inflamed, and my mind is sad,
Sorely with sorrows oppressed; grant, Lord of Heaven, to me
Victory and faith without fear, that I with this sword may be able
To hew down this dealer of murder; grant [too] my safety to me,
Strong-hearted Leader of men; ne’er in this world had I
Of thy mercy more urgent need: avenge now, mighty Lord,
Glorious Giver of honor, that I am so angry in mind,
Page | 94 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
So heated within my breast.” Hér then the highest Judge
Quickly with courage inspired, as doth he [ever] each one
Of dwellers here [upon earth], who him for help to them seek
With rede and righteous belief. Then roomy in mind she became,
The holy one’s hope was renewed; then took she the heathen man
Fast by his own [long] hair, with hands him towards her she drew
With marks of contempt, and the baleful one
With cunning laid down, the loathsome man,
As she the accursèd most easily might
Wield at her will. Struck then the curly-locked
The hostile foe with shining sword,
The hateful-minded, that half-way she cut
The [evil one’s] neck, that he lay in a swoon,
Drunken and wounded. Not yet was he dead,
Thoroughly lifeless; struck she then earnestly,
The maiden brave-minded, a second time
The heathen hound, that his head rolled off
Forth on the floor: the foul corpse lay
Lifeless behind, went the spirit elsewhere
Beneath the deep earth, and there was disgraced,
In torment bound ever thereafter,
Surrounded with serpents, with tortures encompassed,
Strongly enchained in the fire of hell
After his death. He need never hope,
Enveloped with darkness, that thence he may go
Out of that worm-hall, but there shall he dwell
Ever for ever without end henceforth
In that dark home, of hope-joys deprived.
Part III
Then had she gained glorious honor,
Judith in war, as God to her granted,
The Ruler of Heaven, who gave to her victory.
The cunning maid then quickly brought
The army-leader’s head so bloody
In that [very] vessel in which her attendant,
The fair-faced woman, food for them both,
In virtues renowned, thither had brought,
And it then so gory to her gave in hand,
To the thoughtful-in-mind to bear to their home,
Judith to her maid. Went they forth thence,
The women both in courage bold,
Until they had come, proud in their minds,
Page | 95 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
The women triumphant, out from the army,
So that they plainly were able to see
Of that beautiful city the walls [fair] shine,
Béthulía. Then jewel-decked théy
Upon the foot-path hastened to go,
Until glad-minded they had arrived
At the gate of the wall. The warriors sat,
The watching men were keeping ward
Within that fortress, as before to the folk,
Sad in their minds, Judith had bidden,
The cunning maiden, when she went on her journey,
The stout-hearted woman. Then again was she come,
Dear to her people, and then quickly ordered
The wise-minded woman some one of the men
To come to meet her from out the wide city,
And hér in haste to admit within
Through the gate of the wall, and this word she spake
To the victor-folk: “To you can I say
A thought-worthy thing, that no longer ye need
Mourn in your minds: your Creator is kind,
Glory of kings: that ís become known
Wide through the world, that to you is success
Glorious at hand, and honor is granted
For [all] those sorrows which long ye suffered.”
Glad then were they, the dwellers-in-borough,
After they heard how the holy one spake
O’er the high wall. The host was in joy.
To the fortress-gate the people hastened,
Men, women together, in troops and heaps,
In crowds and throngs, hurried and ran
To meet the Lord’s maid by thousands and thousands,
Both old and young: to each one became
Of men in the mead-city his mind rejoiced,
After they knew that Judith was come
Again to her home, and then in haste
With reverence théy allowed her to enter.
Then bade the clever, with gold adorned,
Her servant-maid, thoughtful-in-mind,
The army-leader’s head to uncover,
And it as a proof bloody to show
To the city-folk how she speeded in war.
Then spake the noble one to all the folk:
“Here ye may clearly, victory-blessed warriors,
Page | 96 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Chiefs of the people, upón the most hateful
Heathen hero’s head fix your gaze,
On Holofernes deprived of life,
Who chiefest of men wrought murders for us,
Sorest sorrows, and that yet more
Would he increase: but God him granted not
A longer life, that hé with woes
Might still afflict us. Of life I deprived him
By help of God. Now I every man
Of these city-dwellers will [earnestly] pray,
Of shield-bearing warriors, that ye yourselves quickly
Hasten to fight; when the God of creation,
The glorious King, shall send from the east
Bright beams of light, bear forth your shields,
Boards before breasts and coats-of-mail,
Bright helmets [too] among the foes,
To fell the folk-leaders with shining swords,
The fated chiefs. Your foes are now
Condemned to death, and ye glory shall gain,
Honor in battle, as to you hath betokened
The mighty Lord through mine own hand.”
Then the band of the brave was quickly prepared,
Of the bold for battle; stepped out the valiant
Men and comrades, bore their banners,
Went forth to fight straight on their way
The heroes ’neath helmets from the holy city
At the dawn itself; shields made a din,
Loudly resounded. Thereat laughed the lank
Wolf in the wood, and the raven wan,
Fowl greedy for slaughter: both of them knew
That for them the warriors thought to provide
Their fill on the fated; and flew on their track
The dewy-winged eagle eager for prey,
The dusky-coated sang his war-song,
The crooked-beaked. Stepped forth the warriors,
The heroes for battle with boards protected,
With hollow shields, who awhile before
The foreign-folk’s reproach endured,
The heathens’ scorn; fiercely was thát
At the ash-spear’s play to them all repaid,
[All] the Assyrians, after the Hebrews
Under their banners had [boldly] advanced
To the army-camps. They bravely then
Page | 97 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Forthright let fly showers of arrows,
Of battle-adders, óut from the horn-bows,
Of strongly-made shafts; stormed they aloud,
The cruel warriors, sent forth their spears
Among the brave; the heroes were angry,
The dwellers-in-land, with the loathédrace;
The stern-minded stepped, the stout-in-heart,
Rudely awakened their ancient foes
Weary from mead; with hands drew forth
The men from the sheaths the brightly-marked swords
Most choice in their edges, eagerly struck
Of the [host of] Assyrians the battle-warriors,
The hostile-minded; not one they spared
Of the army-folk, nor low nor high
Of living men, whom théy might subdue.
Part XII
Thus then the thanes in the morning-hours
Pressed on the strangers unceasinglý,
Until they perceived, those who were hostile,
The army-folk’s chiefest leaders,
That upón them sword-strokes mighty bestowed
The Hebrew men. They thát in words
To their most noted chiefs of the people
Went to announce, waked helmeted warriors
And to thém with fear the dread news told,
To the weary-from-mead the morning-terror,
The hateful sword-play. Then learnt I that quickly
The slaughter-fated men aroused from sleep
Ánd to the baleful›s sleeping-bower
The saddened men pressed ón in crowds,
To Holofernes: they only were thinking
To their own lord to make known the fight,
Ere terror on him should take its seat,
The might of the Hebrews. They all imagined
That the prince of men and the handsome maid
In the beautiful tent were [still] together,
Judith the noble and the lustful one,
Dreadful and fierce; though no earl there was
Whó the warrior durst [then] awake,
Or durst discover how the helmeted warrior
With the holy maid had passed his time,
The Creator’s handmaid. The force approached,
The folk of the Hebrews, courageously fought
Page | 98 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
With hard battle-arms, fiercely repaid
Their former fights with shining swords,
The old-time grudge; was óf the Assyrians
By thát day’s work the glory diminished,
The pride brought low. The warriors stood
’Round their prince’s tent strongly excited,
Gloomy in mind. They then all together
Began to groan, to cry aloud
And gnash with their teeth,—afar from God,—
Showing their anger; ’twas the end of their glory,
Of joy and valor. The earls were thinking
To awaken their lord; they did not succeed.
Then at last and too late was one so bold
Of the battle-warriors that to the bower-tent
He daringly ventured, since need him compelled:
Found he then on the bed lying deadly-pale
His [own] gold-giver of breath bereft,
Of life deprived. Then quickly he fell
Astounded to earth, gan tear his hair,
Excited in mind, and his garments too,
And this word he spake to the warriors [brave],
Who saddened there were standing without:
“Here is displayed our own destruction,
The future betokened, that it is to the time
Now amongst men almost arrived,
When wé our lives shall lose together,
In battle perish: here lies with sword hewn
Our lord beheaded.” They then sad-in-mind
Threw down their weapons and sorrowful went
To hasten in flight. They fought on their tracks,
The mighty folk, till the greatest part
Of the army lay, in battle struck down,
On the victor-plain, hewn down with swords,
To wolves for pleasure, and to slaughter-greedy
Fowls for a joy. Those who lived fled
The shields of their foes. Went on their tracks
The Hebrews’ host, honored with victory,
With glory ennobled; them took the Lord God
Fairly to help, the Lord Almighty.
They bravely then with shining swords,
Stout-hearted heroes, a war-path wrought
Through heaps of their foes, hewed down their shields,
Cut through their phalanx: the warriors were
Enraged in battle, the Hebrew men;
The thanes at that time were much delighted
Page | 99 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
At the combat with spears. Here fell in the dust
The highest part of the chiefest number
Óf the Assyrians’ princely nobility,
Of the hateful race; very few came
Alive to their homes. The nobly-bold turned,
Warriors retiring, among the slaughtered,
The smoking corpses; it was time to take
For the dwellers-in-land from the loathsome ones,
Their ancient foes deprived of life,
The gory booty, the shining trappings,
Shields and broad swords, brown-colored helmets,
Precious treasures. Gloriously had they
On thát folk-place their foes overcome,
The defenders of home their ancient foes
With swords put-to-sleep: behind them rested
Those who in life were most hateful to them
Of living races. Then all the people,
Of tribes most renowned, for one month’s space,
The proud twisted-locked, bore and carried
To that bright city, Bethulia [named],
Helmets and hip-swords, hoary byrnies,
War-trappings of men adorned with gold,
More precious treasures than any man
Of the cunning-in-mind may be able to tell,
All that the warriors with might had won,
The bold under banners on the battle-place
By means of Judith’s [most] clever lore,
The moody maid’s. As meed for her
From that expedition, they brought for herself,
The spear-strong earls, of Holofernes
The sword and gory helm, likewíse the byrnie broad,
Adorned with reddish gold, all that the warrior-chief,
The brave, of treasure had, or individual wealth,
Of rings and jewels bright; thát to the lady fair,
The wise-in-mind, gave théy. For all that Judith said
Glory to the Lord of hosts, who honor to her gave,
Fame in realm of earth, and meed in heaven too,
Reward in the glory of heaven, because true faith she had
Ín the Almighty ever; now at last she doubted not
Of the meed which long she yearned for. For that to the dear Lord be
Glory for ever and ever, who made both wind and air,
The heavens and roomy lands, likewíse the rushing streams,
And joys of firmament too by means of his mercy mild.
Page | 100 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
1.6.2 Reading and Review Questions
1. Why is Judith able to defeat Holofernes so easily? In what ways does she 
fit the definition of an epic hero, and in what ways doesn’t she?
2. What do you think that the golden net around Holofernes’ bed might 
symbolize, and why?
3. Research how Anglo-Saxons viewed elves. Why might they have used the 
description “elf-brilliant” for her?
4. What are some examples of understatement in the story, and why are 
they there?
5. How does the depiction of religion in Judith compare to the depictions 
of religion in Beowulf and The Dream of the Rood? What might be the 
reasons for any differences?
1.7 THE WANDERER
Author unknown
At least late tenth century, possibly much earlier
The Wanderer is found only 
in the manuscript known as the 
Exeter Book, which was copied 
in the late tenth century. The 115-
line poem follows the usual Anglo-
Saxon pattern of short alliterative 
half-lines separated by a caesura 
(pause). The wanderer (or “earth-
stepper”) has buried his lord (his 
“gold-friend”) and finds himself 
alone in the world. Members of a 
lord’s comitatus, or war band, were 
expected to die alongside their 
leader in battle; the wanderer is 
looking for a new lord as he suffers 
through the uncertainty, loneliness, 
and physical hardships of exile. 
The poem begins and ends with 
references to Christianity, with a 
kenning near the end of the poem 
with God as “Shaper of Men;” the 
only certainty that the speaker has 
is that there is a “safe home” waiting 
for him in heaven. The rest of the 
Image 1.7 | First Page of The Wanderer
Artist | Unknown
Source | Wikimedia Commons
License | Public Domain
Page | 101 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
poem focuses on what he has lost. Like The Ruin and The Seafarer, also found in 
the Exeter Book, The Wanderer is what is known as an “ubi sunt” poem (Latin for 
“where has”). In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Two Towers, Aragorn recites a poem about 
Eorl the Young that begins “Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn 
that was blowing?” (142; the movie transfers the speech to King Theoden), which 
was drawn directly from The Wanderer’s “Where has the horse gone? Where is the 
man?” Because of its theme, The Wanderer is usually classified as a type of elegy, 
or lament for what has been lost.
1.7.1 Bibliography
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Two Towers. New York: Ballantine Books, 1971.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Directed by Peter Jackson. New Line Cinema and 
Wingnut Films. 2002.1.7.2 The Wanderer
Often the solitary man prays for favour, for the mercy of the Lord, though, sad 
at heart, he must needs stir with his bands for a weary while the icy sea across the 
watery ways, must journey the paths of exile; settled in truth is fate! So spoke the 
wanderer, mindful of hardships, of cruel slaughters, of the fall of kinsmen:
’Often I must bewail my sorrows in my loneliness at the dawn of each day; 
there is none of living men now to whom I dare speak my heart openly. I know for 
a truth that it is a noble custom for a man to bind fast the thoughts of his heart, to 
treasure his broodings, let him think as he will. Nor can the weary in mood resist 
fate, nor does the fierce thought avail anything. Wherefore those eager for glory 
often bind fast in their secret hearts a sad thought. So I, sundered from my native 
land, far from noble kinsmen, often sad at heart, had to fetter my mind, when in 
years gone by the darkness of the earth covered my gold-friend, and I went thence 
in wretchedness with wintry care upon me over the frozen waves, gloomily sought 
the hall of a treasure-giver wherever I could find him far or near, who might know 
me in the mead hall or comfort me, left without friends, treat me with kindness. He 
knows who puts it to the test how cruel a comrade is sorrow for him who has few 
dear protectors; his is the path of exile, in no wise the twisted gold; a chill body, in 
no wise the riches of the earth; he thinks of retainers in hall and the receiving of 
treasure, of how in his youth his gold-friend was kind to him at the feast. The joy 
has all perished. Wherefore he knows this who must long forgo the counsels of his 
dear lord and friend, when sorrow and sleep together often bind the poor solitary 
man; it seems to him in his mind that he clasps and kisses his lord and lays hands 
and head on his knee, as when erstwhile in past days he was near the gift-throne; 
then the friendless man wakes again, sees before him the dark waves, the sea-birds 
bathing, spreading their feathers; frost and snow falling mingled with hail. Then 
heavier are the wounds in his heart, sore for his beloved; sorrow is renewed. Then 
the memory of kinsmen crosses his mind; he greets them with songs; he gazes on 
Page | 102 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
them eagerly. The companions of warriors swim away again; the souls of sailors 
bring there not many known songs. Care is renewed in him who must needs send 
very often his weary mind over the frozen waves. And thus I cannot think why in 
this world my mind becomes not overcast when I consider all the life of earls, how 
of a sudden they have given up hall, courageous retainers. So this world each day 
passes and falls; for a man cannot become wise till he has his share of years in the 
world. A wise man must be patient, not over-passionate, nor over-hasty of speech, 
nor over-weak or rash in war, nor over-fearful, nor over-glad, nor over-covetous, 
never over-eager to boast ere he has full knowledge.) A man must bide his time, 
when he boasts in his speech, until he knows well in his pride whither the thoughts 
of the mind will turn. A wise man must see how dreary it will be when all the 
riches of this world stand waste, as in different places throughout this world walls 
stand, blown upon by winds, hung with frost, the dwellings in ruins. The wine halls 
crumble; the rulers lie low, bereft of joy; the mighty warriors have all fallen in their 
pride by the wall; war carried off some, bore them on far paths; one the raven bore 
away over the high sea; one the grey wolf gave over to death; one an earl with sad 
face hid in the earth-cave. Thus did the Creator of men lay waste this earth till the 
old work of giants stood empty, free from the revel of castle-dwellers. Then he who 
has thought wisely of the foundation of things and who deeply ponders this dark 
life, wise in his heart, often turns his thoughts to the many slaughters of the past, 
and speaks these words:
‘“Whither has gone the horse? Whither has gone the man? Whither has gone 
the giver of treasure? Whither has gone the place of feasting? Where are the joys 
of hall? Alas, the bright cup! Alas, the warrior in his corslet! Alas, the glory of 
the prince! How that time has passed away, has grown dark under the shadow of 
night, as if it had never been! Now in the place of the dear warriors stands a wall, 
wondrous high, covered with serpent shapes; the might of the ash-wood spears 
has carried off the earls, the weapon greedy for slaughter—a glorious fate; and 
storms beat upon these rocky slopes; the falling storm binds the earth, the terror 
of winter. Then comes darkness, the night shadow casts gloom, sends from the 
north fierce hailstorms to the terror of men. Everything is full of hardship in the 
kingdom of earth; the decree of fate changes the world under the heavens. Here 
possessions are transient, here friends are transient, here man is transient, here 
woman is transient; all this firm-set earth becomes empty.”’
So spoke the wise man in his heart, and sat apart in thought. Good is he who 
holds his faith; nor shall a man ever show forth too quickly the sorrow of his breast, 
except he, the earl, first know how to work its cure bravely. Well is it for him who 
seeks mercy, comfort from the Father in heaven, where for us all security stands.
1.7.3 Reading and Review Questions
1. What are all of the kennings in the poem, and what do they mean?
2. Where is the wanderer? Is there any symbolic meaning in the setting of 
the poem?
Page | 103 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
3. Do the last lines, with their focus on Christianity, fit with the rest of the 
poem? Why or why not?
4. What makes a man wise, according to the poem? How is it an Anglo-
Saxon perspective on wisdom, or is it?
5. How much does shame play a role in the wanderer’s perspectives? Should 
he feel shame, in either an Anglo-Saxon or a Christian context?
1.8 THE WIFE’S LAMENT
Author unknown
At least late tenth century, possibly earlier
The Wife’s Lament survives only in the Exeter Book, just as The Wanderer 
does. It is one of two Old English elegies that are told from the perspective of a 
woman; instead of a retainer lamenting the loss of his lord, the women lament 
their separation from a husband or lover (her “lord” regardless of his status). Like 
The Wanderer, the 53-line poem is alliterative, with short half-lines divided by 
a caesura, or pause. The woman in The Wife’s Lament, however, does not talk 
about reuniting with her lord in heaven, as the narrator does in The Wanderer. 
The wife is focused on the anguish of the moment, since she does not know if her 
lord is dead. Both the wife and the wanderer are in exile, but the wanderer’s exile is 
from the death of his lord, while the wife’s exile is from her family when she joins 
her husband’s family. As the wife sits in her “earth-hall” (a kenning for “cave”), 
lamenting her lot in life, the reader is forced to piece together the few (mostly 
ambiguous) details she recounts into a coherent story. Scholars argue about how 
to interpret her circumstances. Has she been separated from her husband by the 
cruelty of his family, or by his own cruelty (since he apparently has murderous 
thoughts)? Some scholars suggest that more than one man is involved; some 
suggest that she is cursing her husband; still others suggest that the “earth-hall” is 
actually a grave, and she is a ghost.
1.8.1 The Wife’s Lament
I make this song of my deep sadness, of my own lot. I can say that since I 
grew up I have not endured miseries new or old more than now. Ever I suffer the 
torment of my exile. First my lord went hence from his people over the tossing 
waves. I had sorrow at dawn as to where in the land my lord might be. Then I 
set out, a friendless exile, to seek helpers in my woeful hard straits. The man’s 
kinsmen began to plot in secret thought to part us, so that we should live most 
wretchedly, most widely sundered in theworld, and a yearning came upon me. My 
lord bade me take up my dwelling here; few dear loyal friends had I in this place; 
and so my mind is sad, since I found the man most mated to me unhappy, sad in 
heart, cloaking his mind, plotting mischief with blithe manner. Full often we two 
Page | 104 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
pledged one another that naught but death should divide us; that is changed now. 
Our friendship now is as if it had not been. I must needs endure the hate of my dear 
one far and near. They bade me dwell in the forest grove under the oak-tree in the 
earth-cave. Old is this earth-hall; I am filled with yearning. Dim are the valleys, 
high the hills, harsh strongholds o’ergrown with briers, dwellings empty of joy. 
Full often the departure of my lord has seized cruelly upon me. There are loving 
friends alive on the earth; they have their bed; while alone at dawn I pass through 
this earth-cave to beneath the oak-tree, where I sit a long summer’s day. There I 
can mourn my miseries, many hardships, for I can never calm my care of mind, 
nor all that longing which has come upon me in this life. Ever may that youth be 
sad of mood, grievous the thought of his heart; may he likewise be forced to wear a 
blithe air and also care in his breast, the affliction of constant sorrows. May all his 
joy in the world depend on himself only; may he be banished very far in a distant 
land where my friend sits under a rocky slope chilled by the storm, my friend weary 
in mind, girt round with water in a sad dwelling. My friend suffers great grief; too 
often he remembers a happier home. Ill is it for him who must suffer longing for 
his loved one.
1.8.2 Reading and Review Questions
1. Compare the situation of the speakers in The Wanderer and The Wife’s 
Lament. How are they similar and different? 
2. Based on the information in the poem itself, why was the wife forced to 
live in a cave? What are the possible reasons?
3. Why does the poem contain so much deliberate ambiguity? What purpose 
might the multiple possible readings have, if any?
4. Why must the wife appear to be cheerful, even if her heart is breaking?
5. Based on the poem itself, what evidence suggests that the “earth-hall” 
might be a grave? What evidence appears to contradict that theory?
1.9 THE VENERABLE BEDE 
(c. 673-735 ACE)
Cædmon’s Hymn is found in the work of an English monk named Bede (later 
called the Venerable Bede). Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, 
written in Latin, covers British history from the Roman invasion to 731 ACE, the 
year the history was completed. In particular, Bede focuses on the conversion of 
pagan tribes to Christianity: first the Celtic tribes, and then the Anglo-Saxons. 
Bede credits both Irish and Italian missionaries with doing all of the work to bring 
about conversions, condemning native Britons for their lack of effort. The process 
of conversion was still underway when Bede was writing. Early rulers would often 
convert, and then order their subjects to convert as well, so Bede is careful to record 
Page | 105 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
the history of conquests: whoever controls a group potentially controls the religion. 
Bede’s work also features numerous miracle stories, which serve to remind readers 
both of the power of religion and a reason to convert. The most famous example 
is the story of the illiterate Caedmon, who is blessed one night with the ability to 
compose poetry. Cædmon’s Hymn, composed in Anglo-Saxon and translated by 
Bede into Latin, is considered one of the earliest example of Anglo-Saxon poetry.
1.9.1 The Story of Cædmon and Cædmon’s Hymn
Found in the Ecclesiastical History of the English People
Completed 731 ACE
Preface
To the most glorious king Ceolwulf . Bede, the servant of Christ and Priest .
I formerly, at your request, most readily sent to you the Ecclesiastical History 
of the English Nation, which I had lately published, for you to read and judge; and 
I now send it again to be transcribed, and more fully studied at your leisure. And 
I rejoice greatly at the sincerity 
and zeal, with which you not 
only diligently give ear to hear 
the words of Holy Scripture, 
but also industriously take care 
to become acquainted with the 
actions and sayings of former 
men of renown, especially of 
our own nation. For if history 
relates good things of good men, 
the attentive hearer is excited 
to imitate that which is good; 
or if it recounts evil things of 
wicked persons, none the less 
the conscientious and devout 
hearer or reader, shunning that 
which is hurtful and wrong, 
is the more earnestly fired to 
perform those things which he 
knows to be good, and worthy 
of the service of God. And as you 
have carefully marked this, you 
are desirous that the said history 
should be more fully made 
known to yourself, and to those 
over whom the Divine Authority 
Image 1.8 | Manuscript Image from Cædmon’s Hymn
Artist | The Venerable Bede
Source | Wikimedia Commons
License | Public Domain
Page | 106 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
has appointed you governor, from your great regard to the common good. But to 
the end that I may remove all occasion of doubting what I have written, both from 
yourself and other readers or hearers of this history, I will take care briefly to show 
you from what authors I chiefly learned the same.
My principal authority and aid in this work was the most learned and reverend 
Abbot Albinus; who, educated in the Church of Canterbury by those venerable and 
learned men, Archbishop Theodore of blessed memory, and the Abbot Hadrian, 
transmitted to me by Nothelm, the pious priest of the Church of London, either 
in writing, or by word of mouth of the same Nothelm, all that he thought worthy 
of memory that had been done in the province of Kent, or the adjacent parts, 
by the disciples of the blessed Pope Gregory, as he had learned the same either 
from written records, or the traditions of his predecessors. The same Nothelm, 
afterwards went to Rome, and having, with leave of the present Pope Gregory, 
searched into the archives of the Holy Roman Church, found there some epistles of 
the blessed Pope Gregory, and other popes; and, returning home, by the advice of 
the aforesaid most reverend father Albinus, brought them to me, to be inserted in 
my history. Thus, from the beginning of this volume to the time when the English 
nation received the faith of Christ, we have acquired matter from the writings of 
former men, gathered from various sources; but from that time till the present, 
what was transacted in the Church 
of Canterbury by the disciples 
of the blessed Pope Gregory 
or their successors, and under 
what kings the same happened, 
has been conveyed to us, as we 
have said, by Nothelm through 
the industry of the aforesaid 
Abbot Albinus. They also partly 
informed me by what bishops and 
under what kings the provinces 
of the East and West Saxons, as 
also of the East Angles, and of 
the Northumbrians, received the 
grace of the Gospel. In short, I was 
chiefly encouraged to undertake 
this work by the exhortations of 
the same Albinus. In like manner, 
Daniel, the most reverend Bishop 
of the West Saxons, who is still 
living, communicated to me in 
writing some things relating to 
the Ecclesiastical History of that 
province, and the adjoining one 
Image 1.9 | Memorial to Cædmon
Artist | Rich Tea
Source | Wikimedia Commons
License | CC BY-SA 2.0
Page | 107 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
of the South Saxons, as also of the Isle of Wight. But how, by the ministry of those 
holy priests of Christ, Cedd and Ceadda, the province of the Mercians was brought 
to the faith of Christ, which they knew not before, and how that of the East Saxons 
recovered the faith after having rejected it, and how those fathers lived and died, 
we learned from the brethren of the monastery, which was built by them, and is 
called Laestingaeu. Further, what ecclesiasticalmatters took place in the province 
of the East Angles, was partly made known to us from the writings and tradition 
of former men, and partly by the account of the most reverend Abbot Esi. What 
was done with regard to the faith of Christ, and what was the episcopal succession 
in the province of Lindsey, we had either from the letters of the most reverend 
prelate Cynibert, or by word of mouth from other persons of good credit. But what 
was done in the Church in the different parts of the province of Northumbria 
from the time when they received the faith of Christ till this present, I received 
not on the authority of any one man, but by the faithful testimony of innumerable 
witnesses, who might know or remember the same; besides what I had of my own 
knowledge. Wherein it is to be observed, that what I have written concerning our 
most holy father, Bishop Cuthbert, either in this volume, or in my account of his 
life and actions, I partly took from what I found written of him by the brethren of 
the Church of Lindisfarne, accepting without reserve the statements I found there; 
but at the same time took care to add such things as I could myself have knowledge 
of by the faithful testimony of trustworthy informants. And I humbly entreat the 
reader, that if he shall find in these our writings anything not delivered according 
to the truth, he will not lay the blame of it on me, for, as the true rule of history 
requires, withholding nothing, I have laboured to commit to writing such things as 
I could gather from common report, for the instruction of posterity.
Moreover, I beseech all men who shall hear or read this history of our 
nation, that for my infirmities both of mind and body, they will offer up frequent 
intercessions to the throne of Grace. And I further pray, that in recompense for 
the labour wherewith I have recorded in the several provinces and more important 
places those events which I considered worthy of note and of interest to their 
inhabitants, I may for my reward have the benefit of their pious prayers.
Book I
Chapter I. Of the Situation of Britain and Ireland, and of their ancient 
inhabitants
Britain, an island in the Atlantic, formerly called Albion, lies to the north-
west, facing, though at a considerable distance, the coasts of Germany, France, 
and Spain, which form the greatest part of Europe. It extends 800 miles in length 
towards the north, and is 200 miles in breadth, except where several promontories 
extend further in breadth, by which its compass is made to be 4,875 miles. To the 
south lies Belgic Gaul. To its nearest shore there is an easy passage from the city 
of Rutubi Portus, by the English now corrupted into Reptacaestir. The distance 
from here across the sea to Gessoriacum, the nearest shore in the territory of the 
Page | 108 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Morini, is fifty miles, or as some writers say, 450 furlongs. On the other side of the 
island, where it opens upon the boundless ocean, it has the islands called Orcades. 
Britain is rich in grain and trees, and is well adapted for feeding cattle and beasts 
of burden. It also produces vines in some places, and has plenty of land and water 
fowl of divers sorts; it is remarkable also for rivers abounding in fish, and plentiful 
springs. It has the greatest plenty of salmon and eels; seals are also frequently 
taken, and dolphins, as also whales; besides many sorts of shell-fish, such as 
mussels, in which are often found excellent pearls of all colours, red, purple, violet 
and green, but chiefly white. There is also a great abundance of snails, of which the 
scarlet dye is made, a most beautiful red, which never fades with the heat of the sun 
or exposure to rain, but the older it is, the more beautiful it becomes. It has both 
salt and hot springs, and from them flow rivers which furnish hot baths, proper 
for all ages and both sexes, in separate places, according to their requirements. 
For water, as St. Basil says, receives the quality of heat, when it runs along certain 
metals, and becomes not only hot but scalding. Britain is rich also in veins of metals, 
as copper, iron, lead, and silver; it produces a great deal of excellent jet, which is 
black and sparkling, and burns when put to the fire, and when set on fire, drives 
away serpents; being warmed with rubbing, it attracts whatever is applied to it, 
like amber. The island was formerly distinguished by twenty-eight famous cities, 
besides innumerable forts, which were all strongly secured with walls, towers, 
gates, and bars. And, because it lies almost under the North Pole, the nights are 
light in summer, so that at midnight the beholders are often in doubt whether the 
evening twilight still continues, or that of the morning has come; since the sun at 
night returns to the east in the northern regions without passing far beneath the 
earth. For this reason the days are of a great length in summer, and on the other 
hand, the nights in winter are eighteen hours long, for the sun then withdraws into 
southern parts. In like manner the nights are very short in summer, and the days in 
winter, that is, only six equinoctial hours. Whereas, in Armenia, Macedonia, Italy, 
and other countries of the same latitude, the longest day or night extends but to 
fifteen hours, and the shortest to nine.
There are in the island at present, following the number of the books in which 
the Divine Law was written, five languages of different nations employed in the 
study and confession of the one self-same knowledge, which is of highest truth and 
true sublimity, to wit, English, British, Scottish, Pictish, and Latin, the last having 
become common to all by the study of the Scriptures. But at first this island had 
no other inhabitants but the Britons, from whom it derived its name, and who, 
coming over into Britain, as is reported, from Armorica, possessed themselves of 
the southern parts thereof. Starting from the south, they had occupied the greater 
part of the island, when it happened, that the nation of the Picts, putting to sea 
from Scythia, as is reported, in a few ships of war, and being driven by the winds 
beyond the bounds of Britain, came to Ireland and landed on its northern shores. 
There, finding the nation of the Scots, they begged to be allowed to settle among 
them, but could not succeed in obtaining their request. Ireland is the largest island 
Page | 109 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
next to Britain, and lies to the west of it; but as it is shorter than Britain to the 
north, so, on the other hand, it runs out far beyond it to the south, over against the 
northern part of Spain, though a wide sea lies between them. The Picts then, as 
has been said, arriving in this island by sea, desired to have a place granted them 
in which they might settle. The Scots answered that the island could not contain 
them both; but “We can give you good counsel,” said they, “whereby you may know 
what to do; we know there is another island, not far from ours, to the eastward, 
which we often see at a distance, when the days are clear. If you will go thither, you 
can obtain settlements; or, if any should oppose you, we will help you.” The Picts, 
accordingly, sailing over into Britain, began to inhabit the northern parts thereof, 
for the Britons had possessed themselves of the southern. Now the Picts had no 
wives, and asked them of the Scots; who would not consent to grant them upon 
any other terms, than that when any question should arise, they should choose a 
king from the female royal race rather than from the male: which custom, as is well 
known, has been observed among the Picts to this day. In process of time, Britain, 
besides the Britons and the Picts, received a third nation, the Scots, who, migrating 
from Ireland under their leader, Reuda, either by fair means, or by force of arms, 
secured to themselves those settlements among the Picts which they still possess. 
From the name of their commander,they are to this day called Dalreudini; for, in 
their language, Dal signifies a part.
Ireland is broader than Britain and has a much healthier and milder climate; 
for the snow scarcely ever lies there above three days: no man makes hay in the 
summer for winter’s provision, or builds stables for his beasts of burden. No 
reptiles are found there, and no snake can live there; for, though snakes are often 
carried thither out of Britain, as soon as the ship comes near the shore, and the 
scent of the air reaches them, they die. On the contrary, almost all things in the 
island are efficacious against poison. In truth, we have known that when men have 
been bitten by serpents, the scrapings of leaves of books that were brought out of 
Ireland, being put into water, and given them to drink, have immediately absorbed 
the spreading poison, and assuaged the swelling.
The island abounds in milk and honey, nor is there any lack of vines, fish, or 
fowl; and it is noted for the hunting of stags and roe-deer. It is properly the country 
of the Scots, who, migrating from thence, as has been said, formed the third nation 
in Britain in addition to the Britons and the Picts.
There is a very large gulf of the sea, which formerly divided the nation of the 
Britons from the Picts; it runs from the west far into the land, where, to this day, 
stands a strong city of the Britons, called Alcluith. The Scots, arriving on the north 
side of this bay, settled themselves there.
Chapter II. How Cain Julius Caesar was the first Roman that came into 
Britain
Now Britain had never been visited by the Romans, and was entirely unknown 
to them before the time of Caius Julius Caesar, who, in the year 693 after the 
Page | 110 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
foundation of Rome, but the sixtieth year before the Incarnation of our Lord, was 
consul with Lucius Bibulus. While he was making war upon the Germans and the 
Gauls, who were divided only by the river Rhine, he came into the province of 
the Morini, whence is the nearest and shortest passage into Britain. Here, having 
provided about eighty ships of burden and fast-sailing vessels, he sailed over into 
Britain; where, being first roughly handled in a battle, and then caught in a storm, 
he lost a considerable part of his fleet, no small number of foot-soldiers, and almost 
all his cavalry. Returning into Gaul, he put his legions into winter-quarters, and 
gave orders for building six hundred sail of both sorts. With these he again crossed 
over early in spring into Britain, but, whilst he was marching with the army against 
the enemy, the ships, riding at anchor, were caught in a storm and either dashed 
one against another, or driven upon the sands and wrecked. Forty of them were lost, 
the rest, with much difficulty, repaired. Caesar’s cavalry was, at the first encounter, 
defeated by the Britons, and there Labienus, the tribune, was slain. In the second 
engagement, with great hazard to his men, he defeated the Britons and put them 
to flight. Thence he proceeded to the river Thames, where a great multitude of the 
enemy had posted themselves on the farther side of the river, under the command 
of Cassobellaunus, and fenced the bank of the river and almost all the ford under 
water with sharp stakes: the remains of these are to be seen to this day, apparently 
about the thickness of a man’s thigh, cased with lead, and fixed immovably in 
the bottom of the river. This being perceived and avoided by the Romans, the 
barbarians, not able to stand the charge of the legions, hid themselves in the 
woods, whence they grievously harassed the Romans with repeated sallies. In the 
meantime, the strong state of the Trinovantes, with their commander Androgius, 
surrendered to Caesar, giving him forty hostages. Many other cities, following their 
example, made a treaty with the Romans. Guided by them, Caesar at length, after 
severe fighting, took the town of Cassobellaunus, situated between two marshes, 
fortified by sheltering woods, and plentifully furnished with all necessaries. After 
this, Caesar returned from Britain into Gaul, but he had no sooner put his legions 
into winter quarters, than he was suddenly beset and distracted with wars and 
sudden risings on every side.
Chapter III. How Claudius, the second of the Romans who came into 
Britain, brought the islands Orcades into subjection to the Roman 
empire; and Vespasian, sent by him, reduced the Isle of Wight under 
the dominion of the Romans.
In the year of Rome 798, Claudius, fourth emperor from Augustus, being 
desirous to approve himself a prince beneficial to the republic, and eagerly bent 
upon war and conquest on every side, undertook an expedition into Britain, which 
as it appeared, was roused to rebellion by the refusal of the Romans to give up 
certain deserters. No one before or after Julius Caesar had dared to land upon the 
island. Claudius crossed over to it, and within a very few days, without any fighting 
or bloodshed, the greater part of the island was surrendered into his hands. He also 
Page | 111 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
added to the Roman empire the Orcades, which lie in the ocean beyond Britain, 
and, returning to Rome in the sixth month after his departure, he gave his son the 
title of Britannicus. This war he concluded in the fourth year of his reign, which is 
the forty-sixth from the Incarnation of our Lord. In which year there came to pass 
a most grievous famine in Syria, which is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles to 
have been foretold by the prophet Agabus.
Vespasian, who was emperor after Nero, being sent into Britain by the same 
Claudius, brought also under the Roman dominion the Isle of Wight, which is 
close to Britain on the south, and is about thirty miles in length from east to west, 
and twelve from north to south; being six miles distant from the southern coast 
of Britain at the east end, and three at the west. Nero, succeeding Claudius in the 
empire, undertook no wars at all; and, therefore, among countless other disasters 
brought by him upon the Roman state, he almost lost Britain; for in his time two 
most notable towns were there taken and destroyed.
Chap. IV. How Lucius, king of Britain, writing to Pope Eleutherus, 
desired to be made a Christian.
In the year of our Lord 156, Marcus Antoninus Verus, the fourteenth from 
Augustus, was made emperor, together with his brother, Aurelius Commodus. In 
their time, whilst the holy Eleutherus presided over the Roman Church, Lucius, 
king of Britain, sent a letter to him, entreating that by a mandate from him he 
might be made a Christian. He soon obtained his pious request, and the Britons 
preserved the faith, which they had received, uncorrupted and entire, in peace and 
tranquillity until the time of the Emperor Diocletian.
Chap. V. How the Emperor Severus divided from the rest by a rampart 
that part of Britain which had been recovered.
In the year of our Lord 189, Severus, an African, born at Leptis, in the province 
of Tripolis, became emperor. He was the seventeenth from Augustus, and reigned 
seventeen years. Being naturally of a harsh disposition, and engaged in many wars, 
he governed the state vigorously, but with much trouble. Having been victorious in 
all the grievous civil wars which happened in his time, he was drawn into Britain 
by the revolt of almost all the confederated tribes; and, after many great and severe 
battles, he thought fit to divide that part of the island, which he had recovered, 
from the other unconquered nations, not with a wall, as some imagine, but with 
a rampart. For a wall is made of stones, but a rampart, with which camps are 
fortified to repel the assaults of enemies, is made of sods, cut out of the earth, and 
raised high above the ground, like a wall, having in front of it the trench whence 
the sods were taken, with strong stakes of wood fixed above it. Thus Severus drew a 
great trench and strong rampart, fortified with several towers,from sea to sea. And 
there, at York, he fell sick afterwards and died, leaving two sons, Bassianus and 
Geta; of whom Geta died, adjudged an enemy of the State; but Bassianus, having 
taken the surname of Antonius, obtained the empire.
Page | 112 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Chap. VI. Of the reign of Diocletian, and how he persecuted the Christians.
In the year of our Lord 286, Diocletian, the thirty-third from Augustus, and 
chosen emperor by the army, reigned twenty years, and created Maximian, 
surnamed Herculius, his colleague in the empire. In their time, one Carausius, of 
very mean birth, but a man of great ability and energy, being appointed to guard 
the sea-coasts, then infested by the Franks and Saxons, acted more to the prejudice 
than to the advantage of the commonwealth, by not restoring to its owners any of 
the booty taken from the robbers, but keeping all to himself; thus giving rise to the 
suspicion that by intentional neglect he suffered the enemy to infest the frontiers. 
When, therefore, an order was sent by Maximian that he should be put to death, he 
took upon him the imperial purple, and possessed himself of Britain, and having 
most valiantly conquered and held it for the space of seven years, he was at length 
put to death by the treachery of his associate Allectus. The usurper, having thus 
got the island from Carausius, held it three years, and was then vanquished by 
Asclepiodotus, the captain of the Praetorian guards, who thus at the end of ten 
years restored Britain to the Roman empire.
Meanwhile, Diocletian in the east, and Maximian Herculius in the west, 
commanded the churches to be destroyed, and the Christians to be persecuted and 
slain. This persecution was the tenth since the reign of Nero, and was more lasting 
and cruel than almost any before it; for it was carried on incessantly for the space 
of ten years, with burning of churches, proscription of innocent persons, and the 
slaughter of martyrs. Finally, Britain also attained to the great glory of bearing 
faithful witness to God.
Chap. VII. The Passion of St. Alban and his companions, who at that 
time shed their blood for our Lord.
At that time suffered St. Alban, of whom the priest Fortunatus, in the Praise 
of Virgins, where he makes mention of the blessed martyrs that came to the Lord 
from all parts of the world, says:
And fruitful Britain noble Alban rears.
This Alban, being yet a pagan, at the time when at the bidding of unbelieving 
rulers all manner of cruelty was practised against the Christians, gave entertainment 
in his house to a certain clerk, flying from his persecutors. This man he observed to 
be engaged in continual prayer and watching day and night; when on a sudden the 
Divine grace shining on him, he began to imitate the example of faith and piety which 
was set before him, and being gradually instructed by his wholesome admonitions, 
he cast off the darkness of idolatry, and became a Christian in all sincerity of heart. 
The aforesaid clerk having been some days entertained by him, it came to the ears 
of the impious prince, that a confessor of Christ, to whom a martyr’s place had 
not yet been assigned, was concealed at Alban’s house. Whereupon he sent some 
soldiers to make a strict search after him. When they came to the martyr’s hut, St. 
Alban presently came forth to the soldiers, instead of his guest and master, in the 
habit or long coat which he wore, and was bound and led before the judge.
Page | 113 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
It happened that the judge, at the time when Alban was carried before him, was 
standing at the altar, and offering sacrifice to devils. When he saw Alban, being 
much enraged that he should thus, of his own accord, dare to put himself into the 
hands of the soldiers, and incur such danger on behalf of the guest whom he had 
harboured, he commanded him to be dragged to the images of the devils, before 
which he stood, saying, “Because you have chosen to conceal a rebellious and 
sacrilegious man, rather than to deliver him up to the soldiers, that his contempt 
of the gods might meet with the penalty due to such blasphemy, you shall undergo 
all the punishment that was due to him, if you seek to abandon the worship of our 
religion.” But St. Alban, who had voluntarily declared himself a Christian to the 
persecutors of the faith, was not at all daunted by the prince’s threats, but putting 
on the armour of spiritual warfare, publicly declared that he would not obey his 
command. Then said the judge, “Of what family or race are you?”—“What does it 
concern you,” answered Alban, “of what stock I am? If you desire to hear the truth 
of my religion, be it known to you, that I am now a Christian, and free to fulfil 
Christian duties.”—“I ask your name,” said the judge; “tell me it immediately.”—“I 
am called Alban by my parents,” replied he; “and I worship ever and adore the 
true and living God, Who created all things.” Then the judge, filled with anger, 
said, “If you would enjoy the happiness of eternal life, do not delay to offer sacrifice 
to the great gods.” Alban rejoined, “These sacrifices, which by you are offered to 
devils, neither can avail the worshippers, nor fulfil the desires and petitions of the 
suppliants. Rather, whosoever shall offer sacrifice to these images, shall receive the 
everlasting pains of hell for his reward.”
The judge, hearing these words, and being much incensed, ordered this holy 
confessor of God to be scourged by the executioners, believing that he might by 
stripes shake that constancy of heart, on which he could not prevail by words. 
He, being most cruelly tortured, bore the same patiently, or rather joyfully, for 
our Lord’s sake. When the judge perceived that he was not to be overcome by 
tortures, or withdrawn from the exercise of the Christian religion, he ordered 
him to be put to death. Being led to execution, he came to a river, which, with a 
most rapid course, ran between the wall of the town and the arena where he was 
to be executed. He there saw a great multitude of persons of both sexes, and of 
divers ages and conditions, who were doubtless assembled by Divine inspiration, 
to attend the blessed confessor and martyr, and had so filled the bridge over the 
river, that he could scarce pass over that evening. In truth, almost all had gone out, 
so that the judge remained in the city without attendance. St. Alban, therefore, 
urged by an ardent and devout wish to attain the sooner to martyrdom, drew 
near to the stream, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, whereupon the channel was 
immediately dried up, and he perceived that the water had given place and made 
way for him to pass. Among the rest, the executioner, who should have put him 
to death, observed this, and moved doubtless by Divine inspiration hastened to 
meet him at the appointed place of execution, and casting away the sword which 
he had carried ready drawn, fell at his feet, praying earnestly that he might rather 
Page | 114 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
be accounted worthy to suffer with the martyr, whom he was ordered to execute, 
or, if possible, instead of him.
Whilst he was thus changed from a persecutor into a companion in the faith and 
truth, and the other executioners rightly hesitated to take up the sword which was 
lying on the ground, the holy confessor, accompanied by the multitude, ascended a 
hill, about half a mile from the arena, beautiful, as was fitting, and of most pleasing 
appearance, adorned, or rather clothed, everywhere with flowers of many colours, 
nowhere steep or precipitous or of sheer descent, but with a long, smooth natural 
slope, like a plain, on its sides, a place altogether worthy from of old, by reason of 
its native beauty, to be consecrated by the blood of a blessed martyr. On the top of 
this hill, St. Alban prayed that God would give him water, and immediately a living 
spring, confined in its channel, sprang up at his feet, so that all men acknowledgedthat even the stream had yielded its service to the martyr. For it was impossible 
that the martyr, who had left no water remaining in the river, should desire it on 
the top of the hill, unless he thought it fitting. The river then having done service 
and fulfilled the pious duty, returned to its natural course, leaving a testimony of 
its obedience. Here, therefore, the head of the undaunted martyr was struck off, 
and here he received the crown of life, which God has promised to them that love 
him. But he who laid impious hands on the holy man’s neck was not permitted 
to rejoice over his dead body; for his eyes dropped upon the ground at the same 
moment as the blessed martyr’s head fell.
At the same time was also beheaded the soldier, who before, through the Divine 
admonition, refused to strike the holy confessor. Of whom it is apparent, that 
though he was not purified by the waters of baptism, yet he was cleansed by the 
washing of his own blood, and rendered worthy to enter the kingdom of heaven. 
Then the judge, astonished at the unwonted sight of so many heavenly miracles, 
ordered the persecution to cease immediately, and began to honour the death of 
the saints, by which he once thought that they might have been turned from their 
zeal for the Christian faith. The blessed Alban suffered death on the twenty-second 
day of June, near the city of Verulam, which is now by the English nation called 
Verlamacaestir, or Vaeclingacaestir, where afterwards, when peaceable Christian 
times were restored, a church of wonderful workmanship, and altogether worthy to 
commemorate his martyrdom, was erected. In which place the cure of sick persons 
and the frequent working of wonders cease not to this day.
At that time suffered Aaron and Julius, citizens of the City of Legions, and 
many more of both sexes in divers places; who, after that they had endured sundry 
torments, and their limbs had been mangled after an unheard-of manner, when their 
warfare was accomplished, yielded their souls up to the joys of the heavenly city.
Chap. VIII. How, when the persecution ceased, the Church in Britain 
enjoyed peace till the time of the Arian heresy.
When the storm of persecution ceased, the faithful Christians, who, during the 
time of danger, had hidden themselves in woods and deserts and secret caves, came 
Page | 115 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
forth and rebuilt the churches which had been levelled to the ground; founded, 
erected, and finished the cathedrals raised in honour of the holy martyrs, and, 
as if displaying their conquering standards in all places, celebrated festivals and 
performed their sacred rites with pure hearts and lips. This peace continued in the 
Christian churches of Britain until the time of the Arian madness, which, having 
corrupted the whole world, infected this island also, so far removed from the rest 
of the world, with the poison of its error; and when once a way was opened across 
the sea for that plague, straightway all the taint of every heresy fell upon the island, 
ever desirous to hear some new thing, and never holding firm to any sure belief.
At this time Constantius, who, whilst Diocletian was alive, governed Gaul and 
Spain, a man of great clemency and urbanity, died in Britain. This man left his 
son Constantine, born of Helena, his concubine, emperor of the Gauls. Eutropius 
writes that Constantine, being created emperor in Britain, succeeded his father 
in the sovereignty. In his time the Arian heresy broke out, and although it was 
exposed and condemned in the Council of Nicaea, nevertheless, the deadly poison 
of its evil spread, as has been said, to the Churches in the islands, as well as to those 
of the rest of the world.
Chap. IX. How during the reign of Gratian, Maximus, being created 
Emperor in Britain, returned into Gaul with a mighty army.
In the year of our Lord 377, Gratian, the fortieth from Augustus, held the 
empire for six years after the death of Valens; though he had long before reigned 
with his uncle Valens, and his brother Valentinian. Finding the condition of the 
commonwealth much impaired, and almost gone to ruin, and impelled by the 
necessity of restoring it, he invested the Spaniard, Theodosius, with the purple 
at Sirmium, and made him emperor of Thrace and the Eastern provinces. At that 
time, Maximus, a man of energy and probity, and worthy of the title of Augustus, if 
he had not broken his oath of allegiance, was made emperor by the army somewhat 
against his will, passed over into Gaul, and there by treachery slew the Emperor 
Gratian, who in consternation at his sudden invasion, was attempting to escape 
into Italy. His brother, the Emperor Valentinian, expelled from Italy, fled into the 
East, where he was entertained by Theodosius with fatherly affection, and soon 
restored to the empire, for Maximus the tyrant, being shut up in Aquileia, was 
there taken by them and put to death.
Chap. X. How, in the reign of Arcadius, Pelagius, a Briton, insolently 
impugned the Grace of God.
In the year of our Lord 394, Arcadius, the son of Theodosius, the forty-third 
from Augustus, succeeding to the empire, with his brother Honorius, held it 
thirteen years. In his time, Pelagius, a Briton, spread far and near the infection of 
his perfidious doctrine, denying the assistance of the Divine grace, being seconded 
therein by his associate Julianus of Campania, who was impelled by an uncontrolled 
desire to recover his bishopric, of which he had been deprived. St. Augustine, and 
Page | 116 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
the other orthodox fathers, quoted many thousand catholic authorities against 
them, but failed to amend their folly; nay, more, their madness being rebuked was 
rather increased by contradiction than suffered by them to be purified through 
adherence to the truth; which Prosper, the rhetorician, has beautifully expressed 
thus in heroic verse:—
They tell that one, erewhile consumed with gnawing spite, snake-like attacked 
Augustine in his writings. Who urged the wretched viper to raise from the ground 
his head, howsoever hidden in dens of darkness? Either the sea-girt Britons 
reared him with the fruit of their soil, or fed on Campanian pastures his heart 
swells with pride.
Chap. XI. How during the reign of Honorius, Gratian and Constantine 
were created tyrants in Britain; and soon after the former was slain in 
Britain, and the latter in Gaul.
In the year of our Lord 407, Honorius, the younger son of Theodosius, and the forty-
fourth from Augustus, being emperor, two years before the invasion of Rome by 
Alaric, king of the Goths, when the nations of the Alani, Suevi, Vandals, and many 
others with them, having defeated the Franks and passed the Rhine, ravaged all 
Gaul, Gratianus, a citizen of the country, was set up as tyrant in Britain and killed. 
In his place, Constantine, one of the meanest soldiers, only for the hope afforded 
by his name, and without any worth to recommend him, was chosen emperor. As 
soon as he had taken upon him the command, he crossed over into Gaul, where 
being often imposed upon by the barbarians with untrustworthy treaties, he did 
more harm than good to the Commonwealth. Whereupon Count Constantius, by 
the command of Honorius, marching into Gaul with an army, besieged him in the 
city of Arles, took him prisoner, and put him to death. His son Constans, a monk, 
whom he had created Caesar, was also put to death by his own follower Count 
Gerontius, at Vienne.
Rome was taken by the Goths, in the year from its foundation, 1164. Then the 
Romans ceased to rule in Britain, almost 470 years after Caius Julius Caesar came 
to the island. They dwelt within the rampart, which, as we have mentioned, Severus 
made across the island, on the south side of it, as the cities, watch-towers, bridges, 
and paved roads there made testify to this day; but they had a right of dominion over the 
farther parts of Britain, as also over the islands that are beyondBritain.
Chap. XII. How the Britons, being ravaged by the Scots and Picts, 
sought succour from the Romans, who coming a second time, built a 
wall across the island; but when this was broken down at once by the 
aforesaid enemies, they were reduced to greater distress than before.
From that time, the British part of Britain, destitute of armed soldiers, of all 
military stores, and of the whole flower of its active youth, who had been led away 
by the rashness of the tyrants never to return, was wholly exposed to rapine, the 
people being altogether ignorant of the use of weapons. Whereupon they suffered 
Page | 117 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
many years from the sudden invasions of two very savage nations from beyond the 
sea, the Scots from the west, and the Picts from the north. We call these nations 
from beyond the sea, not on account of their being seated out of Britain, but because 
they were separated from that part of it which was possessed by the Britons, two 
broad and long inlets of the sea lying between them, one of which runs into the 
interior of Britain, from the Eastern Sea, and the other from the Western, though 
they do not reach so far as to touch one another. The eastern has in the midst of 
it the city Giudi. On the Western Sea, that is, on its right shore, stands the city of 
Alcluith, which in their language signifies the Rock Cluith, for it is close by the river 
of that name.
On account of the attacks of these nations, the Britons sent messengers to Rome 
with letters piteously praying for succour, and promising perpetual subjection, 
provided that the impending enemy should be driven away. An armed legion was 
immediately sent them, which, arriving in the island, and engaging the enemy, 
slew a great multitude of them, drove the rest out of the territories of their allies, 
and having in the meanwhile delivered them from their worst distress, advised 
them to build a wall between the two seas across the island, that it might secure 
them by keeping off the enemy. So they returned home with great triumph. But 
the islanders building the wall which they had been told to raise, not of stone, 
since they had no workmen capable of such a work, but of sods, made it of no use. 
Nevertheless, they carried it for many miles between the two bays or inlets of the 
sea of which we have spoken; to the end that where the protection of the water was 
wanting, they might use the rampart to defend their borders from the irruptions 
of the enemies. Of the work there erected, that is, of a rampart of great breadth 
and height, there are evident remains to be seen at this day. It begins at about two 
miles’ distance from the monastery of Aebbercurnig, west of it, at a place called in 
the Pictish language Peanfahel, but in the English tongue, Penneltun, and running 
westward, ends near the city of Alcluith.
But the former enemies, when they perceived that the Roman soldiers were 
gone, immediately coming by sea, broke into the borders, trampled and overran 
all places, and like men mowing ripe corn, bore down all before them. Hereupon 
messengers were again sent to Rome miserably imploring aid, lest their wretched 
country should be utterly blotted out, and the name of a Roman province, so 
long renowned among them, overthrown by the cruelties of foreign races, might 
become utterly contemptible. A legion was accordingly sent again, and, arriving 
unexpectedly in autumn, made great slaughter of the enemy, obliging all those that 
could escape, to flee beyond the sea; whereas before, they were wont yearly to carry 
off their booty without any opposition. Then the Romans declared to the Britons, 
that they could not for the future undertake such troublesome expeditions for 
their sake, and advised them rather to take up arms and make an effort to engage 
their enemies, who could not prove too powerful for them, unless they themselves 
were enervated by cowardice. Moreover, thinking that it might be some help to the 
allies, whom they were forced to abandon, they constructed a strong stone wall 
Page | 118 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
from sea to sea, in a straight line between the towns that had been there built for 
fear of the enemy, where Severus also had formerly built a rampart. This famous 
wall, which is still to be seen, was raised at public and private expense, the Britons 
also lending their assistance. It is eight feet in breadth, and twelve in height, in a 
straight line from east to west, as is still evident to beholders. This being presently 
finished, they gave the dispirited people good advice, and showed them how to 
furnish themselves with arms. Besides, they built towers to command a view of the 
sea, at intervals, on the southern coast, where their ships lay, because there also 
the invasions of the barbarians were apprehended, and so took leave of their allies, 
never to return again.
After their departure to their own country, the Scots and Picts, understanding 
that they had refused to return, at once came back, and growing more confident 
than they had been before, occupied all the northern and farthest part of the 
island, driving out the natives, as far as the wall. Hereupon a timorous guard 
was placed upon the fortification, where, dazed with fear, they became ever more 
dispirited day by day. On the other side, the enemy constantly attacked them 
with barbed weapons, by which the cowardly defenders were dragged in piteous 
fashion from the wall, and dashed against the ground. At last, the Britons, 
forsaking their cities and wall, took to flight and were scattered. The enemy 
pursued, and forthwith followed a massacre more grievous than ever before; for 
the wretched natives were torn in pieces by their enemies, as lambs are torn 
by wild beasts. Thus, being expelled from their dwellings and lands, they saved 
themselves from the immediate danger of starvation by robbing and plundering 
one another, adding to the calamities inflicted by the enemy their own domestic 
broils, till the whole country was left destitute of food except such as could be 
procured in the chase.
Chap. XIII. How in the reign of Theodosius the younger, in whose time 
Palladius was sent to the Scots that believed in Christ, the Britons 
begging assistance of Ætius, the consul, could not obtain it. [446 ACE]
In the year of our Lord 423, Theodosius, the younger, the forty-fifth from 
Augustus, succeeded Honorius and governed the Roman empire twenty-six 
years. In the eighth year of his reign, Palladius was sent by Celestinus, the Roman 
pontiff, to the Scots that believed in Christ, to be their first bishop. In the twenty-
third year of his reign, Aetius, a man of note and a patrician, discharged his third 
consulship with Symmachus for his colleague. To him the wretched remnant of 
the Britons sent a letter, which began thus:—“To Aetius, thrice Consul, the groans 
of the Britons.” And in the sequel of the letter they thus unfolded their woes:—
“The barbarians drive us to the sea; the sea drives us back to the barbarians: 
between them we are exposed to two sorts of death; we are either slaughtered or 
drowned.” Yet, for all this, they could not obtain any help from him, as he was then 
engaged in most serious wars with Bledla and Attila, kings of the Huns. And though 
the year before this Bledla had been murdered by the treachery of his own brother 
Page | 119 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Attila, yet Attila himself remained so intolerable an enemy to the Republic, that 
he ravaged almost all Europe, attacking and destroying cities and castles. At the 
same time there was a famine at Constantinople, and soon after a plague followed; 
moreover, a great part of the wall of that city, with fifty-seven towers, fell to the 
ground. Many cities also went to ruin, and the famine and pestilential state of the 
air destroyed thousands of men and cattle.
Chap. XIV. How the Britons, compelled by the great famine, drove the 
barbarians out of their territories;and soon after there ensued, along 
with abundance of corn, decay of morals, pestilence, and the downfall 
of the nation.
In the meantime, the aforesaid famine distressing the Britons more and more, 
and leaving to posterity a lasting memory of its mischievous effects, obliged many 
of them to submit themselves to the depredators; though others still held out, 
putting their trust in God, when human help failed. These continually made raids 
from the mountains, caves, and woods, and, at length, began to inflict severe 
losses on their enemies, who had been for so many years plundering the country. 
The bold Irish robbers thereupon returned home, intending to come again before 
long. The Picts then settled down in the farthest part of the island and afterwards 
remained there, but they did not fail to plunder and harass the Britons from time 
to time.
Now, when the ravages of the enemy at length abated, the island began to 
abound with such plenty of grain as had never been known in any age before; 
along with plenty, evil living increased, and this was immediately attended by 
the taint of all manner of crime; in particular, cruelty, hatred of truth, and love 
of falsehood; insomuch, that if any one among them happened to be milder than 
the rest, and more inclined to truth, all the rest abhorred and persecuted him 
unrestrainedly, as if he had been the enemy of Britain. Nor were the laity only 
guilty of these things, but even our Lord’s own flock, with its shepherds, casting 
off the easy yoke of Christ, gave themselves up to drunkenness, enmity, quarrels, 
strife, envy, and other such sins. In the meantime, on a sudden, a grievous plague 
fell upon that corrupt generation, which soon destroyed such numbers of them, 
that the living scarcely availed to bury the dead: yet, those that survived, could not 
be recalled from the spiritual death, which they had incurred through their sins, 
either by the death of their friends, or the fear of death. Whereupon, not long 
after, a more severe vengeance for their fearful crimes fell upon the sinful nation. 
They held a council to determine what was to be done, and where they should 
seek help to prevent or repel the cruel and frequent incursions of the northern 
nations; and in concert with their King Vortigern, it was unanimously decided 
to call the Saxons to their aid from beyond the sea, which, as the event plainly 
showed, was brought about by the Lord’s will, that evil might fall upon them for 
their wicked deeds.
Page | 120 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Chap. XV. How the Angles, being invited into Britain, at first drove off 
the enemy; but not long after, making a league with them, turned their 
weapons against their allies.
In the year of our Lord 449, Marcian, the forty-sixth from Augustus, being 
made emperor with Valentinian, ruled the empire seven years. Then the nation 
of the Angles, or Saxons, being invited by the aforesaid king, arrived in Britain 
with three ships of war and had a place in which to settle assigned to them by the 
same king, in the eastern part of the island, on the pretext of fighting in defence 
of their country, whilst their real intentions were to conquer it. Accordingly they 
engaged with the enemy, who were come from the north to give battle, and the 
Saxons obtained the victory. When the news of their success and of the fertility 
of the country, and the cowardice of the Britons, reached their own home, a more 
considerable fleet was quickly sent over, bringing a greater number of men, and 
these, being added to the former army, made up an invincible force. The newcomers 
received of the Britons a place to inhabit among them, upon condition that they 
should wage war against their enemies for the peace and security of the country, 
whilst the Britons agreed to furnish them with pay. Those who came over were of 
the three most powerful nations of Germany—Saxons, Angles, and Jutes. From the 
Jutes are descended the people of Kent, and of the Isle of Wight, including those in 
the province of the West-Saxons who are to this day called Jutes, seated opposite 
to the Isle of Wight. From the Saxons, that is, the country which is now called Old 
Saxony, came the East-Saxons, the South-Saxons, and the West-Saxons. From the 
Angles, that is, the country which is called Angulus, and which is said, from that 
time, to have remained desert to this day, between the provinces of the Jutes and 
the Saxons, are descended the East-Angles, the Midland-Angles, the Mercians, all 
the race of the Northumbrians, that is, of those nations that dwell on the north side 
of the river Humber, and the other nations of the Angles. The first commanders 
are said to have been the two brothers Hengist and Horsa. Of these Horsa was 
afterwards slain in battle by the Britons, and a monument, bearing his name, is 
still in existence in the eastern parts of Kent. They were the sons of Victgilsus, 
whose father was Vitta, son of Vecta, son of Woden; from whose stock the royal 
race of many provinces trace their descent. In a short time, swarms of the aforesaid 
nations came over into the island, and the foreigners began to increase so much, 
that they became a source of terror to the natives themselves who had invited them. 
Then, having on a sudden entered into league with the Picts, whom they had by 
this time repelled by force of arms, they began to turn their weapons against their 
allies. At first, they obliged them to furnish a greater quantity of provisions; and, 
seeking an occasion of quarrel, protested, that unless more plentiful supplies were 
brought them, they would break the league, and ravage all the island; nor were 
they backward in putting their threats into execution. In short, the fire kindled by 
the hands of the pagans, proved God’s just vengeance for the crimes of the people; 
not unlike that which, being of old lighted by the Chaldeans, consumed the walls 
and all the buildings of Jerusalem. For here, too, through the agency of the pitiless 
Page | 121 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
conqueror, yet by the disposal of the just Judge, it ravaged all the neighbouring 
cities and country, spread the conflagration from the eastern to the western sea, 
without any opposition, and overran the whole face of the doomed island. Public 
as well as private buildings were overturned; the priests were everywhere slain 
before the altars; no respect was shown for office, the prelates with the people 
were destroyed with fire and sword; nor were there any left to bury those who 
had been thus cruelly slaughtered. Some of the miserable remnant, being taken in 
the mountains, were butchered in heaps. Others, spent with hunger, came forth 
and submitted themselves to the enemy, to undergo for the sake of food perpetual 
servitude, if they were not killed upon the spot. Some, with sorrowful hearts, fled 
beyond the seas. Others, remaining in their own country, led a miserable life of 
terror and anxiety of mind among the mountains, woods and crags.
Chap. XVI. How the Britons obtained their first victory over the Angles, 
under the command of Ambrosius, a Roman.
When the army of the enemy, having destroyed and dispersed the natives, 
had returned home to their own settlements, the Britons began by degrees to 
take heart, and gather strength, sallying out of the lurking places where they had 
concealed themselves, and with one accord imploring the Divine help, that they 
might not utterly be destroyed. They had at that time for their leader, Ambrosius 
Aurelianus, a man of worth, who alone, by chance, of the Roman nation had 
survived the storm, in which his parents, who were of the royal race, had perished. 
Under him the Britons revived, and offering battle to the victors, by the help of 
God, gained the victory. From that day, sometimes the natives, and sometimes 
their enemies, prevailed, till the year of the siege of Badon-hill, when they made 
no small slaughter of those enemies, about forty-four years after theirarrival in 
England. But of this hereafter.
Chap. XVII. How Germanus the Bishop, sailing into Britain with 
Lupus, first quelled the tempest of the sea, and afterwards that of the 
Pelagians, by Divine power. [429 ACE]
Some few years before their arrival, the Pelagian heresy, brought over by 
Agricola, the son of Severianus, a Pelagian bishop, had corrupted with its foul 
taint the faith of the Britons. But whereas they absolutely refused to embrace 
that perverse doctrine, and blaspheme the grace of Christ, yet were not able of 
themselves to confute the subtilty of the unholy belief by force of argument, they 
bethought them of wholesome counsels and determined to crave aid of the 
Gallican prelates in that spiritual warfare. Hereupon, these, having assembled a 
great synod, consulted together to determine what persons should be sent thither 
to sustain the faith, and by unanimous consent, choice was made of the apostolic 
prelates, Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre, and Lupus of Troyes, to go into Britain 
to confirm the people’s faith in the grace of God. With ready zeal they complied 
with the request and commands of the Holy Church, and put to sea. The ship sped 
Page | 122 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
safely with favouring winds till they were halfway between the coast of Gaul and 
Britain. There on a sudden they were obstructed by the malevolence of demons, 
who were jealous that men of such eminence and piety should be sent to bring back 
the people to salvation. They raised storms, and darkened the sky with clouds. 
The sails could not support the fury of the winds, the sailors’ skill was forced to 
give way, the ship was sustained by prayer, not by strength, and as it happened, 
their spiritual leader and bishop, being spent with weariness, had fallen asleep. 
Then, as if because resistance flagged, the tempest gathered strength, and the ship, 
overwhelmed by the waves, was ready to sink. Then the blessed Lupus and all 
the rest, greatly troubled, awakened their elder, that he might oppose the raging 
elements. He, showing himself the more resolute in proportion to the greatness of 
the danger, called upon Christ, and having, in the name of the Holy Trinity, taken 
and sprinkled a little water, quelled the raging waves, admonished his companion, 
encouraged all, and all with one consent uplifted their voices in prayer. Divine 
help was granted, the enemies were put to flight, a cloudless calm ensued, the 
winds veering about set themselves again to forward their voyage, the sea was soon 
traversed, and they reached the quiet of the wished-for shore. A multitude flocking 
thither from all parts, received the bishops, whose coming had been foretold by 
the predictions even of their adversaries. For the evil spirits declared their fear, 
and when the bishops expelled them from the bodies of the possessed, they made 
known the nature of the tempest, and the dangers they had occasioned, and 
confessed that they had been overcome by the merits and authority of these men.
In the meantime the bishops speedily filled the island of Britain with the fame 
of their preaching and miracles; and the Word of God was by them daily preached, 
not only in the churches, but even in the streets and fields, so that the faithful and 
Catholic were everywhere confirmed, and those who had been perverted accepted 
the way of amendment. Like the Apostles, they acquired honour and authority 
through a good conscience, learning through the study of letters, and the power of 
working miracles through their merits. Thus the whole country readily came over 
to their way of thinking; the authors of the erroneous belief kept themselves in 
hiding, and, like evil spirits, grieved for the loss of the people that were rescued from 
them. At length, after long deliberation, they had the boldness to enter the lists. 
They came forward in all the splendour of their wealth, with gorgeous apparel, and 
supported by a numerous following; choosing rather to hazard the contest, than 
to undergo among the people whom they had led astray, the reproach of having 
been silenced, lest they should seem by saying nothing to condemn themselves. An 
immense multitude had been attracted thither with their wives and children. The 
people were present as spectators and judges; the two parties stood there in very 
different case; on the one side was Divine faith, on the other human presumption; 
on the one side piety, on the other pride; on the one side Pelagius, the founder of 
their faith, on the other Christ. The blessed bishops permitted their adversaries 
to speak first, and their empty speech long took up the time and filled the ears 
with meaningless words. Then the venerable prelates poured forth the torrent of 
Page | 123 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
their eloquence and showered upon them the words of Apostles and Evangelists, 
mingling the Scriptures with their own discourse and supporting their strongest 
assertions by the testimony of the written Word. Vainglory was vanquished and 
unbelief refuted; and the heretics, at every argument put before them, not being 
able to reply, confessed their errors. The people, giving judgement, could scarce 
refrain from violence, and signified their verdict by their acclamations.
Chap. XVIII. How the some holy man gave sight to the blind daughter of 
a tribune, and then coming to St. Alban, there received of his relics, and 
left other relics of the blessed Apostles and other martyrs. [429 ACE]
After this, a certain man, who held the office of tribune, came forward with his 
wife, and brought his blind daughter, a child of ten years of age, to be healed of the 
bishops. They ordered her to be brought to their adversaries, who, being rebuked 
by their own conscience, joined their entreaties to those of the child’s parents, and 
besought the bishops that she might be healed. They, therefore, perceiving their 
adversaries to yield, poured forth a short prayer, and then Germanus, full of the 
Holy Ghost, invoking the Trinity, at once drew from his side a casket which hung 
about his neck, containing relics of the saints, and, taking it in his hands, applied 
it in the sight of all to the girl’s eyes, which were immediately delivered from 
darkness and filled with the light of truth. The parents rejoiced, and the people 
were filled with awe at the miracle; and after that day, the heretical beliefs were so 
fully obliterated from the minds of all, that they thirsted for and sought after the 
doctrine of the bishops.
This damnable heresy being thus suppressed, and the authors thereof 
confuted, and all the people settled in the purity of the faith, the bishops went 
to the tomb of the martyr, the blessed Alban, to give thanks to God through him. 
There Germanus, having with him relics of all the Apostles, and of divers martyrs, 
after offering up his prayers, commanded the tomb to be opened, that he might 
lay therein the precious gifts; judging it fitting, that the limbs of saints brought 
together from divers countries, as their equal merits had procured them admission 
into heaven, should find shelter in one tomb. These being honourably bestowed, 
and laid together, he took up a handful of dust from the place where the blessed 
martyr’s blood had been shed, to carry away with him. In this dust the blood had 
been preserved, showing that the slaughter of the martyrs was red, though the 
persecutor was pale in death. In consequence of these things, an innumerable 
multitude of people was that day converted to the Lord.
Chap. XIX. How the same holy man, being detained there by sickness, 
by his prayers quenched a fire that had broken out among the houses, 
and was himself cured of his infirmity by a vision. [429 ACE]
As they were returning thence, the treacherous enemy, having, as it chanced, 
prepared a snare, caused Germanus to bruise his foot by a fall, not knowing that, as 
it was with the blessed Job, his merits would be but increased by bodily affliction. 
Page| 124 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Whilst he was thus detained some time in the same place by his infirmity, a fire 
broke out in a cottage neighbouring to that in which he was; and having burned 
down the other houses which were thatched with reed, fanned by the wind, was 
carried on to the dwelling in which he lay. The people all flocked to the prelate, 
entreating that they might lift him in their arms, and save him from the impending 
danger. But he rebuked them, and in the assurance of his faith, would not suffer 
himself to be removed. The whole multitude, in terror and despair, ran to oppose the 
conflagration; but, for the greater manifestation of the Divine power, whatsoever 
the crowd endeavoured to save, was destroyed; and what the sick and helpless 
man defended, the flame avoided and passed by, though the house that sheltered 
the holy man lay open to it, and while the fire raged on every side, the place in 
which he lay appeared untouched, amid the general conflagration. The multitude 
rejoiced at the miracle, and was gladly vanquished by the power of God. A great 
crowd of people watched day and night before the humble cottage; some to have 
their souls healed, and some their bodies. All that Christ wrought in the person of 
his servant, all the wonders the sick man performed cannot be told. Moreover, he 
would suffer no medicines to be applied to his infirmity; but one night he saw one 
clad in garments as white as snow, standing by him, who reaching out his hand, 
seemed to raise him up, and ordered him to stand firm upon his feet; from which 
time his pain ceased, and he was so perfectly restored, that when the day came, 
with good courage he set forth upon his journey.
Chap. XX. How the same Bishops brought help from Heaven to the 
Britons in a battle, and then returned home. [430 ACE]
In the meantime, the Saxons and Picts, with their united forces, made war 
upon the Britons, who in these straits were compelled to take up arms. In their 
terror thinking themselves unequal to their enemies, they implored the assistance 
of the holy bishops; who, hastening to them as they had promised, inspired so 
much confidence into these fearful people, that one would have thought they had 
been joined by a mighty army. Thus, by these apostolic leaders, Christ Himself 
commanded in their camp. The holy days of Lent were also at hand, and were 
rendered more sacred by the presence of the bishops, insomuch that the people 
being instructed by daily sermons, came together eagerly to receive the grace of 
baptism. For a great multitude of the army desired admission to the saving waters, 
and a wattled church was constructed for the Feast of the Resurrection of our 
Lord, and so fitted up for the army in the field as if it were in a city. Still wet with 
the baptismal water the troops set forth; the faith of the people was fired; and 
where arms had been deemed of no avail, they looked to the help of God. News 
reached the enemy of the manner and method of their purification, who, assured 
of success, as if they had to deal with an unarmed host, hastened forward with 
renewed eagerness. But their approach was made known by scouts. When, after 
the celebration of Easter, the greater part of the army, fresh from the font, began 
to take up arms and prepare for war, Germanus offered to be their leader. He 
Page | 125 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
picked out the most active, explored the country round about, and observed, in the 
way by which the enemy was expected, a valley encompassed by hills of moderate 
height. In that place he drew up his untried troops, himself acting as their general. 
And now a formidable host of foes drew near, visible, as they approached, to 
his men lying in ambush. Then, on a sudden, Germanus, bearing the standard, 
exhorted his men, and bade them all in a loud voice repeat his words. As the enemy 
advanced in all security, thinking to take them by surprise, the bishops three times 
cried, “Hallelujah.”A universal shout of the same word followed, and the echoes 
from the surrounding hills gave back the cry on all sides, the enemy was panic-
stricken, fearing, not only the neighbouring rocks, but even the very frame of 
heaven above them; and such was their terror, that their feet were not swift enough 
to save them. They fled in disorder, casting away their arms, and well satisfied if, 
even with unprotected bodies, they could escape the danger; many of them, flying 
headlong in their fear, were engulfed by the river which they had crossed. The 
Britons, without a blow, inactive spectators of the victory they had gained, beheld 
their vengeance complete. The scattered spoils were gathered up, and the devout 
soldiers rejoiced in the success which Heaven had granted them. The prelates 
thus triumphed over the enemy without bloodshed, and gained a victory by faith, 
without the aid of human force. Thus, having settled the affairs of the island, and 
restored tranquillity by the defeat of the invisible foes, as well as of enemies in 
the flesh, they prepared to return home. Their own merits, and the intercession of 
the blessed martyr Alban, obtained for them a calm passage, and the happy vessel 
restored them in peace to the desires of their people.
Chap. XXI. How, when the Pelagian heresy began to spring up afresh, 
Germanus, returning to Britain with Severus, first restored bodily 
strength to a lame youth, then spiritual health to the people of God, 
having condemned or converted the Heretics. [447 ACE]
Not long after, news was brought from the same island, that certain persons 
were again attempting to teach and spread abroad the Pelagian heresy, and again 
the holy Germanus was entreated by all the priests, that he would defend the cause 
of God, which he had before maintained. He speedily complied with their request; 
and taking with him Severus, a man of singular sanctity, who was disciple to the 
blessed father, Lupus, bishop of Troyes, and at that time, having been ordained 
bishop of the Treveri, was preaching the Word of God to the tribes of Upper 
Germany, put to sea, and with favouring winds and calm waters sailed to Britain.
In the meantime, the evil spirits, speeding through the whole island, were 
constrained against their will to foretell that Germanus was coming, insomuch, 
that one Elafius, a chief of that region, without tidings from any visible messenger, 
hastened to meet the holy men, carrying with him his son, who in the very flower 
of his youth laboured under a grievous infirmity; for the sinews of the knee were 
wasted and shrunk, so that the withered limb was denied the power to walk. All the 
country followed this Elafius. The bishops arrived, and were met by the ignorant 
Page | 126 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
multitude, whom they blessed, and preached the Word of God to them. They found 
the people constant in the faith as they had left them; and learning that but few 
had gone astray, they sought out the authors of the evil and condemned them. 
Then suddenly Elafius cast himself at the feet of the bishops, presenting his son, 
whose distress was visible and needed no words to express it. All were grieved, 
but especially the bishops, who, filled with pity, invoked the mercy of God; and 
straightway the blessed Germanus, causing the youth to sit down, touched the 
bent and feeble knee and passed his healing hand over all the diseased part. At 
once health was restored by the power of his touch, the withered limb regained its 
vigour, the sinews resumed their task, and the youth was, in the presence of all the 
people, delivered whole to his father. The multitude was amazed at the miracle, 
and the Catholic faith was firmly established in the hearts of all; after which, they 
were, in a sermon, exhorted to amend their error. By the judgement of all, the 
exponents of the heresy, who had been banished from the island, were brought 
before the bishops, to be conveyed into the continent, that the countrymight be 
rid of them, and they corrected of their errors. So it came to pass that the faith in 
those parts continued long after pure and untainted. Thus when they had settled 
all things, the blessed prelates returned home as prosperously as they had come.
But Germanus, after this, went to Ravenna to intercede for the tranquillity of 
the Armoricans, where, after being very honourably received by Valentinian and 
his mother, Placidia, he departed hence to Christ; his body was conveyed to his 
own city with a splendid retinue, and mighty works attended his passage to the 
grave. Not long after, Valentinian was murdered by the followers of Aetius, the 
patrician, whom he had put to death, in the sixth year of the reign of Marcian, and 
with him ended the empire of the West.
Chap. XXII. How the Britons, being for a time at rest from foreign 
invasions, wore themselves out by civil wars, and at the same time gave 
themselves up to more heinous crimes.
In the meantime, in Britain, there was some respite from foreign, but not from 
civil war. The cities destroyed by the enemy and abandoned remained in ruins; 
and the natives, who had escaped the enemy, now fought against each other. 
Nevertheless, the kings, priests, private men, and the nobility, still remembering 
the late calamities and slaughters, in some measure kept within bounds; but when 
these died, and another generation succeeded, which knew nothing of those times, 
and was only acquainted with the existing peaceable state of things, all the bonds 
of truth and justice were so entirely broken, that there was not only no trace of 
them remaining, but only very few persons seemed to retain any memory of them 
at all. To other crimes beyond description, which their own historian, Gildas, 
mournfully relates, they added this—that they never preached the faith to the 
Saxons, or English, who dwelt amongst them. Nevertheless, the goodness of God 
did not forsake his people, whom he foreknew, but sent to the aforesaid nation 
much more worthy heralds of the truth, to bring it to the faith.
Page | 127 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Chap. XXIII. How the holy Pope Gregory sent Augustine, with other 
monks, to preach to the English nation, and encouraged them by a 
letter of exhortation, not to desist from their labour. [596 ACE]
In the year of our Lord 582, Maurice, the fifty-fourth from Augustus, ascended 
the throne, and reigned twenty-one years. In the tenth year of his reign, Gregory, a 
man eminent in learning and the conduct of affairs, was promoted to the Apostolic 
see of Rome, and presided over it thirteen years, six months and ten days. He, being 
moved by Divine inspiration, in the fourteenth year of the same emperor, and about 
the one hundred and fiftieth after the coming of the English into Britain, sent the 
servant of God, Augustine, and with him divers other monks, who feared the Lord, 
to preach the Word of God to the English nation. They having, in obedience to the 
pope’s commands, undertaken that work, when they had gone but a little way on 
their journey, were seized with craven terror, and began to think of returning home, 
rather than proceed to a barbarous, fierce, and unbelieving nation, to whose very 
language they were strangers; and by common consent they decided that this was 
the safer course. At once Augustine, who had been appointed to be consecrated 
bishop, if they should be received by the English, was sent back, that he might, by 
humble entreaty, obtain of the blessed Gregory, that they should not be compelled 
to undertake so dangerous, toilsome, and uncertain a journey. The pope, in reply, 
sent them a letter of exhortation, persuading them to set forth to the work of the 
Divine Word, and rely on the help of God. The purport of which letter was as follows:
“Gregory, the servant of the servants of God, to the servants of our 
Lord . Forasmuch as it had been better not to begin a good work, than to think of 
desisting from one which has been begun, it behoves you, my beloved sons, to fulfil 
with all diligence the good work, which, by the help of the Lord, you have undertaken. 
Let not, therefore, the toil of the journey, nor the tongues of evil-speaking men, 
discourage you; but with all earnestness and zeal perform, by God›s guidance, that 
which you have set about; being assured, that great labour is followed by the greater 
glory of an eternal reward. When Augustine, your Superior, returns, whom we also 
constitute your abbot, humbly obey him in all things; knowing, that whatsoever you 
shall do by his direction, will, in all respects, be profitable to your souls. Almighty 
God protect you with His grace, and grant that I may, in the heavenly country, see the 
fruits of your labour, inasmuch as, though I cannot labour with you, I shall partake in 
the joy of the reward, because I am willing to labour. God keep you in safety, my most 
beloved sons. Given the 23rd of July, in the fourteenth year of the reign of our most 
religious lord, Mauritius Tiberius Augustus, the thirteenth year after the consulship 
of our lord aforesaid, and the fourteenth indiction.” 
Chap. XXIV. How he wrote to the bishop of Arles to entertain them. 
[596 ACE]
The same venerable pope also sent at the same time a letter to Aetherius, 
archbishop of Arles, exhorting him to give favourable entertainment to Augustine 
on his way to Britain; which letter was in these words:
Page | 128 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
“To his most reverend and holy brother and fellow bishop Aetherius, Gregory, 
the servant of the servants of God . Although religious men stand in need of no 
recommendation with priests who have the charity which is pleasing to God; yet 
because an opportunity of writing has occurred, we have thought fit to send this 
letter to you, Brother, to inform you, that with the help of God we have directed 
thither, for the good of souls, the bearer of these presents, Augustine, the servant of 
God, of whose zeal we are assured, with other servants of God, whom it is requisite 
that your Holiness readily assist with priestly zeal, affording him all the comfort in 
your power. And to the end that you may be the more ready in your help, we have 
enjoined him to inform you particularly of the occasion of his coming; knowing, 
that when you are acquainted with it, you will, as the matter requires, for the 
sake of God, dutifully dispose yourself to give him comfort. We also in all things 
recommend to your charity, Candidus, the priest, our common son, whom we have 
transferred to the administration of a small patrimony in our Church. God keep you 
in safety, most reverend brother. Given the 23rd day of July, in the fourteenth year 
of the reign of our most religious lord, Mauritius Tiberius Augustus, the thirteenth 
year after the consulship of our lord aforesaid, and the fourteenth indiction.”
Chap. XXV. How Augustine, coming into Britain, first preached in the 
Isle of Thanet to the King of Kent, and having obtained licence from 
him, went into Kent, in order to preach therein. [597 ACE]
Augustine, thus strengthened by the encouragement of the blessed Father 
Gregory, returned to the work of the Word of God, with the servants of Christ 
who were with him, and arrived in Britain. The powerful Ethelbert was at that 
time king of Kent; he had extended his dominions as far as the boundary formed 
by the great river Humber, by which the Southern Saxons are divided from the 
Northern. On the east of Kent is the large Isle of Thanet, containing, according 
to the English way of reckoning, 600 families, divided from the mainland by the 
river Wantsum, which is about three furlongs in breadth, and which can be crossed 
only in two places; for at both ends it runs into the sea. On this island landed the 
servant of the Lord, Augustine, and his companions, being, as is reported, nearly 
forty men. They had obtained, by order of the blessed Pope Gregory, interpreters 
of the nation of the Franks, and sending toEthelbert, signified that they were come 
from Rome, and brought a joyful message, which most undoubtedly assured to 
those that hearkened to it everlasting joys in heaven, and a kingdom that would 
never end, with the living and true God. The king hearing this, gave orders that 
they should stay in the island where they had landed, and be furnished with 
necessaries, till he should consider what to do with them. For he had before heard 
of the Christian religion, having a Christian wife of the royal family of the Franks, 
called Bertha; whom he had received from her parents, upon condition that she 
should be permitted to preserve inviolate the rites of her religion with the Bishop 
Liudhard, who was sent with her to support her in the faith. Some days after, the 
king came into the island, and sitting in the open air, ordered Augustine and his 
Page | 129 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
companions to come and hold a conference with him. For he had taken precaution 
that they should not come to him in any house, lest, by so coming, according to an 
ancient superstition, if they practised any magical arts, they might impose upon 
him, and so get the better of him. But they came endued with Divine, not with 
magic power, bearing a silver cross for their banner, and the image of our Lord and 
Saviour painted on a board; and chanting litanies, they offered up their prayers 
to the Lord for the eternal salvation both of themselves and of those to whom and 
for whom they had come. When they had sat down, in obedience to the king’s 
commands, and preached to him and his attendants there present the Word of life, 
the king answered thus: “Your words and promises are fair, but because they are 
new to us, and of uncertain import, I cannot consent to them so far as to forsake 
that which I have so long observed with the whole English nation. But because you 
are come from far as strangers into my kingdom, and, as I conceive, are desirous 
to impart to us those things which you believe to be true, and most beneficial, we 
desire not to harm you, but will give you favourable entertainment, and take care 
to supply you with all things necessary to your sustenance; nor do we forbid you 
to preach and gain as many as you can to your religion.” Accordingly he gave them 
an abode in the city of Canterbury, which was the metropolis of all his dominions, 
and, as he had promised, besides supplying them with sustenance, did not refuse 
them liberty to preach. It is told that, as they drew near to the city, after their 
manner, with the holy cross, and the image of our sovereign Lord and King, Jesus 
Christ, they sang in concert this litany: “We beseech thee, O Lord, for Thy great 
mercy, that Thy wrath and anger be turned away from this city, and from Thy holy 
house, for we have sinned. Hallelujah.”
Chap. XXVI. How St. Augustine in Kent followed the doctrine and 
manner of life of the primitive Church, and settled his episcopal see in 
the royal city. [597 ACE]
As soon as they entered the dwelling-place assigned to them, they began to 
imitate the Apostolic manner of life in the primitive Church; applying themselves 
to constant prayer, watchings, and fastings; preaching the Word of life to as 
many as they could; despising all worldly things, as in nowise concerning them; 
receiving only their necessary food from those they taught; living themselves in 
all respects conformably to what they taught, and being always ready to suffer 
any adversity, and even to die for that truth which they preached. In brief, some 
believed and were baptized, admiring the simplicity of their blameless life, and 
the sweetness of their heavenly doctrine. There was on the east side of the city, 
a church dedicated of old to the honour of St. Martin, built whilst the Romans 
were still in the island, wherein the queen, who, as has been said before, was 
a Christian, was wont to pray. In this they also first began to come together, to 
chant the Psalms, to pray, to celebrate Mass, to preach, and to baptize, till when 
the king had been converted to the faith, they obtained greater liberty to preach 
everywhere and build or repair churches.
Page | 130 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
When he, among the rest, believed and was baptized, attracted by the pure life 
of these holy men and their gracious promises, the truth of which they established 
by many miracles, greater numbers began daily to flock together to hear the Word, 
and, forsaking their heathen rites, to have fellowship, through faith, in the unity of 
Christ’s Holy Church. It is told that the king, while he rejoiced at their conversion 
and their faith, yet compelled none to embrace Christianity, but only showed more 
affection to the believers, as to his fellow citizens in the kingdom of Heaven. For 
he had learned from those who had instructed him and guided him to salvation, 
that the service of Christ ought to be voluntary, not by compulsion. Nor was it 
long before he gave his teachers a settled residence suited to their degree in his 
metropolis of Canterbury, with such possessions of divers sorts as were necessary 
for them.
Chap. XXVII. How St. Augustine, being made a bishop, sent to acquaint 
Pope Gregory with what had been done in Britain, and asked and 
received replies, of which he stood in need. [597-601 ACE]
In the meantime, Augustine, the man of God, went to Arles, and, according 
to the orders received from the holy Father Gregory, was ordained archbishop 
of the English nation, by Aetherius, archbishop of that city. Then returning into 
Britain, he sent Laurentius the the priest and Peter the monk to Rome, to acquaint 
Pope Gregory, that the English nation had received the faith of Christ, and that 
he was himself made their bishop. At the same time, he desired his solution of 
some doubts which seemed urgent to him. He soon received fitting answers to his 
questions, which we have also thought meet to insert in this our history:
The First Question of the blessed Augustine, Bishop of the Church of 
Canterbury .—Concerning bishops, what should be their manner of conversation 
towards their clergy? or into how many portions the offerings of the faithful at the 
altar are to be divided? and how the bishop is to act in the Church?
Gregory, Pope of the City of Rome, answers .—Holy Scripture, in which we 
doubt not you are well versed, testifies to this, and in particular the Epistles of 
the Blessed Paul to Timothy, wherein he endeavours to show him what should 
be his manner of conversation in the house of God; but it is the custom of the 
Apostolic see to prescribe these rules to bishops when they are ordained: that 
all emoluments which accrue, are to be divided into four portions;—one for the 
bishop and his household, for hospitality and entertainment of guests; another for 
the clergy; a third for the poor; and the fourth for the repair of churches. But in 
that you, my brother, having been instructed in monastic rules, must not live apart 
from your clergy in the Church of the English, which has been lately, by the will of 
God, converted to the faith, you must establish the manner of conversation of our 
fathers in the primitive Church, among whom, none said that aught of the things 
which they possessed was his own, but they had all things common.
But if there are any clerks not received into holy orders, who cannot live continent, 
they are to take wives, and receive their stipends outside of the community; because 
Page | 131 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
we know that it is written concerning the same fathers of whom we have spoken that 
a distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. Care is also to 
be taken of their stipends, and provision to be made, and they are to be kept under 
ecclesiastical rule, that they may live orderly, and attend to singing of psalms, and, 
by the help of God, preserve their hearts and tongues and bodies from all that is 
unlawful. But as for those that live in common,there is no need to say anything 
of assigning portions, or dispensing hospitality and showing mercy; inasmuch as 
all that they have over is to be spent in pious and religious works, according to the 
teaching of Him who is the Lord and Master of all, “Give alms of such things as ye 
have over, and behold all things are clean unto you.”
Augustine’s Second Question .—Whereas the faith is one and the same, are there 
different customs in different Churches? and is one custom of Masses observed in 
the holy Roman Church, and another in the Church of Gaul? 
Pope Gregory answers .—You know, my brother, the custom of the Roman 
Church in which you remember that you were bred up. But my will is, that if you 
have found anything, either in the Roman, or the Gallican, or any other Church, 
which may be more acceptable to Almighty God, you should carefully make choice 
of the same, and sedulously teach the Church of the English, which as yet is new in 
the faith, whatsoever you can gather from the several Churches. For things are not 
to be loved for the sake of places, but places for the sake of good things. Choose, 
therefore, from every Church those things that are pious, religious, and right, and 
when you have, as it were, made them up into one bundle, let the minds of the 
English be accustomed thereto.
Augustine’s Third Question .—I beseech you, what punishment must be inflicted 
on one who steals anything from a church?
Gregory answers .—You may judge, my brother, by the condition of the thief, 
in what manner he is to be corrected. For there are some, who, having substance, 
commit theft; and there are others, who transgress in this matter through want. 
Wherefore it is requisite, that some be punished with fines, others with stripes; 
some with more severity, and some more mildly. And when the severity is greater, 
it is to proceed from charity, not from anger; because this is done for the sake of 
him who is corrected, that he may not be delivered up to the fires of Hell. For it 
behoves us to maintain discipline among the faithful, as good parents do with their 
children according to the flesh, whom they punish with stripes for their faults, and 
yet they design to make those whom they chastise their heirs, and preserve their 
possessions for those whom they seem to visit in wrath. This charity is, therefore, 
to be kept in mind, and it dictates the measure of the punishment, so that the 
mind may do nothing beyond the rule prescribed by reason. You will add to this, 
how men are to restore those things which they have stolen from the church. But 
let not the Church take more than it has lost of its worldly possessions, or seek 
gain from vanities.
Augustine’s Fourth Question .—Whether two full brothers may marry two 
sisters, who are of a family far removed from them?
Page | 132 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Gregory answers .—Most assuredly this may lawfully be done; for nothing is 
found in Holy Writ on this matter that seems to contradict it.
Augustine’s Fifth Question .—To what degree may the faithful marry with their 
kindred? and is it lawful to marry a stepmother or a brother’s wife?
Gregory answers .—A certain secular law in the Roman commonwealth allows, 
that the son and daughter of a brother and sister, or of two full brothers, or two 
sisters, may be joined in matrimony; but we have found, by experience, that the 
offspring of such wedlock cannot grow up; and the Divine law forbids a man 
to “uncover the nakedness of his kindred.” Hence of necessity it must be the third 
or fourth generation of the faithful, that can be lawfully joined in matrimony; for 
the second, which we have mentioned, must altogether abstain from one another. 
To marry with one’s stepmother is a heinous crime, because it is written in the 
Law, “Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father:” now the son, indeed, 
cannot uncover his father’s nakedness; but in regard that it is written, “They twain 
shall be one flesh,” he that presumes to uncover the nakedness of his stepmother, 
who was one flesh with his father, certainly uncovers the nakedness of his father. 
It is also prohibited to marry with a sister-in-law, because by the former union she 
is become the brother’s flesh. For which thing also John the Baptist was beheaded, 
and obtained the crown of holy martyrdom. For, though he was not ordered to 
deny Christ, and it was not for confessing Christ that he was killed, yet inasmuch 
as the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, said, “I am the Truth,” because John was killed 
for the truth, he also shed his blood for Christ.
But forasmuch as there are many of the English, who, whilst they were still 
heathens, are said to have been joined in this unholy union, when they attain to 
the faith they are to be admonished to abstain, and be made to know that this is a 
grievous sin. Let them fear the dread judgement of God, lest, for the gratification 
of their carnal desires, they incur the torments of eternal punishment. Yet they 
are not on this account to be deprived of the Communion of the Body and Blood 
of Christ, lest they should seem to be punished for those things which they did 
through ignorance before they had received Baptism. For in these times the Holy 
Church chastises some things with zeal, and tolerates some in mercy, and is blind 
to some in her wisdom, and so, by forbearance and blindness often suppresses 
the evil that stands in her way. But all that come to the faith are to be admonished 
not to presume to do such things. And if any shall be guilty of them, they are to be 
excluded from the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ. For as the offence 
is, in some measure, to be tolerated in those who did it through ignorance, so it is 
to be rigorously punished in those who do not fear to sin knowingly.
Augustine’s Sixth Question .—Whether a bishop may be consecrated without 
other bishops being present, if there be so great a distance between them, that they 
cannot easily come together?
Gregory answers .—In the Church of England, of which you are as yet the 
only bishop, you cannot otherwise ordain a bishop than in the absence of other 
bishops. For when do bishops come over from Gaul, that they may be present as 
Page | 133 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
witnesses to you in ordaining a bishop? But we would have you, my brother, to 
ordain bishops in such a manner, that the said bishops may not be far asunder, to 
the end that there be no lack, but that at the ordination of a bishop other pastors 
also, whose presence is of great benefit, should easily come together. Thus, when, 
by the help of God, bishops shall have been ordained in places near to one another, 
no ordination of a bishop is to take place without assembling three or four bishops. 
For, even in spiritual affairs, we may take example by the temporal, that they may 
be wisely and discreetly conducted. For surely, when marriages are celebrated in 
the world, some married persons are assembled, that those who went before in 
the way of matrimony, may also partake in the joy of the new union. Why, then, 
at this spiritual ordinance, wherein, by means of the sacred ministry, man is 
joined to God, should not such persons be assembled, as may either rejoice in the 
advancement of the new bishop, or jointly pour forth their prayers to Almighty 
God for his preservation?
Augustine’s Seventh Question .—How are we to deal with the bishops of Gaul 
and Britain?
Gregory answers .—We give you no authority over the bishops of Gaul, because 
the bishop of Arles received the pall in the old times of my predecessors, and we 
must by no means deprive him of the authority he has received. If it shall therefore 
happen, my brother, that you go over into the province of Gaul, you are to concert 
with the said bishop of Arles, how, if there be any faults among the bishops, they 
may be amended. And if he shall be lukewarm in keeping up discipline, he is to 
be fired by your zeal; to whom we have also written,that aided by the presence of 
your Holiness in Gaul, he should exert himself to the utmost, and put away from 
the behaviour of the bishops all that is opposed to the command of our Creator. 
But you shall not have power to go beyond your own authority and judge the 
bishops of Gaul, but by persuading, and winning them, and showing good works 
for them to imitate, you shall recall the perverted to the pursuit of holiness; for it 
is written in the Law, “When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, 
then thou mayest bruise the ears with thine hand and eat; but thou shalt not 
move a sickle unto thy neighbours’ standing corn.” For thou mayest not apply the 
sickle of judgement in that harvest which thou seest to have been committed to 
another; but by the influence of good works thou shalt clear the Lord’s wheat of 
the chaff of its vices, and convert it by exhortation and persuasion in the body of 
the Church, as it were, by eating. But whatsoever is to be done by authority, must 
be transacted with the aforesaid bishop of Arles, lest that should be omitted, which 
the ancient institution of the fathers has appointed. But as for all the bishops of 
Britain, we commit them to your care, that the unlearned may be taught, the weak 
strengthened by persuasion, and the perverse corrected by authority.
Augustine’s Eighth Question .—Whether a woman with child ought to be 
baptized? Or when she has brought forth, after what time she may come into the 
church? As also, after how many days the infant born may be baptized, lest he be 
prevented by death? Or how long after her husband may have carnal knowledge 
Page | 134 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
of her? Or whether it is lawful for her to come into the church when she has her 
courses, or to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion? Or whether a man, 
under certain circumstances, may come into the church before he has washed with 
water? Or approach to receive the Mystery of the Holy Communion? All which 
things are requisite to be known by the ignorant nation of the English.
Gregory answers .—I do not doubt but that these questions have been put to 
you, my brother, and I think I have already answered you therein. But I believe you 
would wish the opinion which you yourself might give and hold to be confirmed by 
my reply also. Why should not a woman with child be baptized, since the fruitfulness 
of the flesh is no offence in the eyes of Almighty God? For when our first parents 
sinned in Paradise, they forfeited the immortality which they had received, by the 
just judgement of God. Because, therefore, Almighty God would not for their fault 
wholly destroy the human race, he both deprived man of immortality for his sin, 
and, at the same time, of his great goodness and loving-kindness, reserved to him 
the power of propagating his race after him. On what ground, then, can that which 
is preserved to human nature by the free gift of Almighty God, be excluded from 
the privilege of Holy Baptism? For it is very foolish to imagine that the gift can be 
opposed to grace in that Mystery in which all sin is blotted out. When a woman 
is delivered, after how many days she may come into the church, you have learnt 
from the teaching of the Old Testament, to wit, that she is to abstain for a male 
child thirty-three days, and sixty-six for a female. Now you must know that this is 
to be received in a mystery; for if she enters the church the very hour that she is 
delivered, to return thanks, she is not guilty of any sin; because the pleasure of the 
flesh is a fault, and not the pain; but the pleasure is in the copulation of the flesh, 
whereas there is pain in bringing forth the child. Wherefore it is said to the first 
mother of all, “In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children.” If, therefore, we forbid 
a woman that has brought forth, to enter the church, we make a crime of her very 
punishment. To baptize either a woman who has brought forth, if there be danger 
of death, even the very hour that she brings forth, or that which she has brought 
forth the very hour it is born, is in no way prohibited, because, as the grace of the 
Holy Mystery is to be with much discretion provided for those who are in full life 
and capable of understanding, so is it to be without any delay administered to the 
dying; lest, while a further time is sought to confer the Mystery of redemption, if a 
small delay intervene, the person that is to be redeemed be dead and gone.
Her husband is not to approach her, till the infant born be weaned. An evil 
custom is sprung up in the lives of married people, in that women disdain to 
suckle the children whom they bring forth, and give them to other women to 
suckle; which seems to have been invented on no other account but incontinency; 
because, as they will not be continent, they will not suckle the children whom 
they bear. Those women, therefore, who, from evil custom, give their children to 
others to bring up, must not approach their husbands till the time of purification 
is past. For even when there has been no child-birth, women are forbidden to do 
so, whilst they have their courses, insomuch that the Law condemns to death any 
Page | 135 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
man that shall approach unto a woman during her uncleanness. Yet the woman, 
nevertheless, must not be forbidden to come into the church whilst she has her 
courses; because the superfluity of nature cannot be imputed to her as a crime; 
and it is not just that she should be refused admittance into the church, for that 
which she suffers against her will. For we know, that the woman who had the issue 
of blood, humbly approaching behind our Lord’s back, touched the hem of his 
garment, and her infirmity immediately departed from her. If, therefore, she that 
had an issue of blood might commendably touch the garment of our Lord, why may 
not she, who has her courses, lawfully enter into the church of God? But you may 
say, Her infirmity compelled her, whereas these we speak of are bound by custom. 
Consider, then, most dear brother, that all we suffer in this mortal flesh, through 
the infirmity of our nature, is ordained by the just judgement of God after the fall; 
for to hunger, to thirst, to be hot, to be cold, to be weary, is from the infirmity of 
our nature; and what else is it to seek food against hunger, drink against thirst, air 
against heat, clothes against cold, rest against weariness, than to procure a remedy 
against distempers? Thus to a woman her courses are a distemper. If, therefore, 
it was a commendable boldness in her, who in her disease touched our Lord’s 
garment, why may not that which is allowed to one infirm person, be granted to all 
women, who, through the fault of their nature, are rendered infirm?
She must not, therefore, be forbidden to receive the Mystery of the Holy 
Communion during those days. But if any one out of profound respect does not 
presume to do it, she is to be commended; yet if she receives it, she is not to be 
judged. For it is the part of noble minds in some manner to acknowledge their 
faults, even when there is no fault; because very often that is done without a fault, 
which, nevertheless, proceeded from a fault. Thus, when we are hungry, it is no 
sin to eat; yet our being hungry proceeds from the sin of the first man. The courses 
are no sin in women, because they happen naturally; yet, because our nature itself 
is so depraved, that it appears to be defiled even without the concurrence of the 
will, a defect arises from sin, and thereby human nature may itself know what it 
is become by judgement. And let man, who wilfully committed the offence, bear 
the guilt of that offence against his will. And, therefore, let women consider with 
themselves, and if they do not presume, during their courses, to approach the 
Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Lord, they are to be commended for their 
praiseworthy consideration; but when they are carried away with love of thesame 
Mystery to receive it according to the custom of the religious life, they are not to 
be restrained, as we said before. For as in the Old Testament the outward works 
are observed, so in the New Testament, that which is outwardly done, is not so 
diligently regarded as that which is inwardly thought, that the punishment may 
be with discernment. For whereas the Law forbids the eating of many things as 
unclean, yet our Lord says in the Gospel, “Not that which goeth into the mouth 
defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.” And 
afterwards he added, expounding the same, “Out of the heart proceed evil 
thoughts.” Where it is abundantly shown, that that is declared by Almighty God 
Page | 136 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
to be polluted in deed, which springs from the root of a polluted thought. Whence 
also Paul the Apostle says, “Unto the pure all things are pure, but unto them that 
are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure.” And presently, declaring the cause 
of that defilement, he adds, “For even their mind and conscience is defiled.” If, 
therefore, meat is not unclean to him whose mind is not unclean, why shall that 
which a woman suffers according to nature, with a clean mind, be imputed to her 
as uncleanness?
A man who has approached his own wife is not to enter the church unless washed 
with water, nor is he to enter immediately although washed. The Law prescribed 
to the ancient people, that a man in such cases should be washed with water, 
and not enter into the church before the setting of the sun. Which, nevertheless, 
may be understood spiritually, because a man acts so when the mind is led by 
the imagination to unlawful concupiscence; for unless the fire of concupiscence be 
first driven from his mind, he is not to think himself worthy of the congregation 
of the brethren, while he sees himself burdened by the iniquity of a perverted will. 
For though divers nations have divers opinions concerning this affair, and seem to 
observe different rules, it was always the custom of the Romans, from ancient times, 
for such an one to seek to be cleansed by washing, and for some time reverently 
to forbear entering the church. Nor do we, in so saying, assign matrimony to be 
a fault; but forasmuch as lawful intercourse cannot be had without the pleasure 
of the flesh, it is proper to forbear entering the holy place, because the pleasure 
itself cannot be without a fault. For he was not born of adultery or fornication, but 
of lawful marriage, who said, “Behold I was conceived in iniquity, and in sin my 
mother brought me forth.” For he who knew himself to have been conceived in 
iniquity, lamented that he [pg 060]was born from sin, because he bears the defect, 
as a tree bears in its bough the sap it drew from the root. In which words, however, 
he does not call the union of the married couple iniquity, but the will itself. For 
there are many things which are lawful and permitted, and yet we are somewhat 
defiled in doing them. As very often by being angry we correct faults, and at the 
same time disturb our own peace of mind; and though that which we do is right, yet 
it is not to be approved that our mind should be disturbed. For he who said, “My 
eye was disturbed with anger,” had been angry at the vices of sinners. Now, seeing 
that only a calm mind can rest in the light of contemplation, he grieved that his eye 
was disturbed with anger; because, whilst he was correcting evil actions below, he 
was obliged to be confused and disturbed with regard to the contemplation of the 
highest things. Anger against vice is, therefore, commendable, and yet painful to a 
man, because he thinks that by his mind being agitated, he has incurred some guilt. 
Lawful commerce, therefore, must be for the sake of children, not of pleasure; and 
must be to procure offspring, not to satisfy vices. But if any man is led not by the 
desire of pleasure, but only for the sake of getting children, such a man is certainly 
to be left to his own judgement, either as to entering the church, or as to receiving 
the Mystery of the Body and Blood of our Lord, which he, who being placed in the 
fire cannot burn, is not to be forbidden by us to receive. But when, not the love of 
Page | 137 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
getting children, but of pleasure prevails, the pair have cause to lament their deed. 
For this the holy preaching concedes to them, and yet fills the mind with dread of 
the very concession. For when Paul the Apostle said, “Let him that cannot contain 
have his own wife;” he presently took care to subjoin, “But this I say by way of 
permission, not of commandment.” For that is not granted by way of permission 
which is lawful, because it is just; and, therefore, that which he said he permitted, 
he showed to be an offence.
It is seriously to be considered, that when God was about to speak to the people 
on Mount Sinai, He first commanded them to abstain from women. And if purity 
of body was there so carefully required, where God spoke to the people by the 
means of a creature as His representative, that those who were to hear the words 
of God should abstain; how much more ought women, who receive the Body of 
Almighty God, to preserve themselves in purity of flesh, lest they be burdened with 
the very greatness of that inestimable Mystery? For this reason also, it was said to 
David, concerning his men, by the priest, that if they were clean in this particular, 
they should receive the shewbread, which they would not have received at all, 
had not David first declared them to be clean. Then the man, who, afterwards, 
has been washed with water, is also capable of receiving the Mystery of the Holy 
Communion, when it is lawful for him, according to what has been before declared, 
to enter the church.
Augustine’s Ninth Question .—Whether after an illusion, such as is wont to 
happen in a dream, any man may receive the Body of our Lord, or if he be a priest, 
celebrate the Divine Mysteries?
Gregory answers .—The Testament of the Old Law, as has been said already 
in the article above, calls such a man polluted, and allows him not to enter into 
the church till the evening, after being washed with water. Which, nevertheless, a 
spiritual people, taking in another sense, will understand in the same manner as 
above; because he is imposed upon as it were in a dream, who, being tempted with 
uncleanness, is defiled by real representations in thought, and he is to be washed 
with water, that he may cleanse away the sins of thought with tears; and unless 
the fire of temptation depart before, may know himself to be in a manner guilty 
until the evening. But a distinction is very necessary in that illusion, and one must 
carefully consider what causes it to arise in the mind of the person sleeping; for 
sometimes it proceeds from excess of eating or drinking; sometimes from the 
superfluity or infirmity of nature, and sometimes from the thoughts. And when it 
happens either through superfluity or infirmity of nature, such an illusion is not to 
be feared at all, because it is to be lamented, that the mind of the person, who 
knew nothing of it, suffers the same, rather than that he occasioned it. But when 
the appetite of gluttony commits excess in food, and thereupon the receptacles 
of the humours are oppressed, the mind thence contracts some guilt; yet not so 
much as to hinder the receiving of the Holy Mystery, or celebrating Mass, when a 
holy day requires it, or necessity obliges the Mystery to be shown forth, because 
there is no other priest in the place; for if there be others who can perform the 
Page | 138 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
ministry, the illusion proceeding from over-eating ought not to exclude a man 
from receiving the sacred Mystery; but I am of opinion he ought humbly to 
abstain from offering the sacrifice of the Mystery, but not from receiving it, unless 
the mind of the person sleeping has beendisturbed with some foul imagination. 
For there are some, who for the most part so suffer the illusion, that their mind, 
even during the sleep of the body, is not defiled with filthy thoughts. In which 
case, one thing is evident, that the mind is guilty, not being acquitted even in its 
own judgement; for though it does not remember to have seen anything whilst 
the body was sleeping, yet it calls to mind that, when the body was awake, it fell 
into gluttony. But if the illusion of the sleeper proceeds from evil thoughts when 
he was awake, then its guilt is manifest to the mind; for the man perceives from 
what root that defilement sprang, because what he had consciously thought of, 
that he afterwards unconsciously endured. But it is to be considered, whether that 
thought was no more than a suggestion, or proceeded to delight, or, what is worse, 
consented to sin. For all sin is committed in three ways, viz., by suggestion, by 
delight, and by consent. Suggestion comes from the Devil, delight from the flesh, 
and consent from the spirit. For the serpent suggested the first offence, and Eve, 
as flesh, took delight in it, but Adam, as the spirit, consented. And when the mind 
sits in judgement on itself, it must clearly distinguish between suggestion and 
delight, and between delight and consent. For when the evil spirit suggests a sin 
to the mind, if there ensue no delight in the sin, the sin is in no way committed; 
but when the flesh begins to take delight in it, then sin begins to arise. But if it 
deliberately consents, then the sin is known to be full-grown. The seed, therefore, 
of sin is in the suggestion, the nourishment of it in delight, its maturity in the 
consent. And it often happens that what the evil spirit sows in the thought, in 
that the flesh begins to find delight, and yet the soul does not consent to that 
delight. And whereas the flesh cannot be delighted without the mind, yet the mind 
struggling against the pleasures of the flesh, is after a manner unwillingly bound 
by the carnal delight, so that through reason it opposes it, and does not consent, 
yet being bound by delight, it grievously laments being so bound. Wherefore 
that great soldier of our Lord’s host, groaned and said, “I see another law in my 
members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to 
the law of sin, which is in my members.” Now if he was a captive, he did not fight; 
but he did fight; wherefore he was a captive and at the same time therefore fought 
against the law of the mind, which the law that is in the members opposed; but if 
he fought, he was no captive. Thus, then, man is, as I may say, a captive and yet 
free. Free on account of justice, which he loves, a captive by the delight which he 
unwillingly bears within him.
Chap. XXVIII. How Pope Gregory wrote to the bishop of Arles to help 
Augustine in the work of God. [601 ACE]
Thus far the answers of the holy Pope Gregory, to the questions of the most 
reverend prelate, Augustine. Now the letter, which he says he had written to the 
Page | 139 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
bishop of Arles, was directed to Vergilius, successor to Aetherius, and was in the 
following words:
“To his most reverend and holy brother and fellow bishop, Vergilius; Gregory, 
servant of the servants of God . With how much kindness brethren, coming of their 
own accord, are to be entertained, is shown by this, that they are for the most part 
invited for the sake of brotherly love. Therefore, if our common brother, Bishop 
Augustine, shall happen to come to you, let your love, as is becoming, receive him 
with so great kindness and affection, that it may refresh him by the benefit of its 
consolation and show to others how brotherly charity is to be cultivated. And, since 
it often happens that those who are at a distance first learn from others the things 
that need correction, if he bring before you, my brother, any sins of bishops or 
others, do you, in conjunction with him, carefully inquire into the same, and show 
yourself so strict and earnest with regard to those things which offend God and 
provoke His wrath, that for the amendment of others, the punishment may fall 
upon the guilty, and the innocent may not suffer under false report. God keep you 
in safety, most reverend brother. Given the 22nd day of June, in the nineteenth year 
of the reign of our most religious lord, Mauritius Tiberius Augustus, the eighteenth 
year after the consulship of our said lord, and the fourth indiction.”
Chap. XXIX. How the same Pope sent to Augustine the Pall and a letter, 
along with several ministers of the Word. [601 ACE]
Moreover, the same Pope Gregory, hearing from Bishop Augustine, that the 
harvest which he had was great and the labourers but few, sent to him, together 
with his aforesaid envoys, certain fellow labourers and ministers of the Word, of 
whom the chief and foremost were Mellitus, Justus, Paulinus, and Rufinianus, and 
by them all things in general that were necessary for the worship and service of 
the Church, to wit, sacred vessels and altar-cloths, also church-furniture, and 
vestments for the bishops and clerks, as likewise relics of the holy Apostles and 
martyrs; besides many manuscripts. He also sent a letter, wherein he signified that 
he had despatched the pall to him, and at the same time directed how he should 
constitute bishops in Britain. The letter was in these words:
“To his most reverend and holy brother and fellow bishop, Augustine; Gregory, 
the servant of the servants of God . Though it be certain, that the unspeakable 
rewards of the eternal kingdom are reserved for those who labour for Almighty 
God, yet it is requisite that we bestow on them the benefit of honours, to the end 
that they may by this recompense be encouraged the more vigorously to apply 
themselves to the care of their spiritual work. And, seeing that the new Church of 
the English is, through the bounty of the Lord, and your labours, brought to the 
grace of God, we grant you the use of the pall in the same, only for the celebration of 
the solemn service of the Mass; that so you may ordain twelve bishops in different 
places, who shall be subject to your jurisdiction. But the bishop of London shall, 
for the future, be always consecrated by his own synod, and receive the pall, which 
is the token of his office, from this holy and Apostolic see, which I, by the grace 
Page | 140 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
of God, now serve. But we would have you send to the city of York such a bishop 
as you shall think fit to ordain; yet so, that if that city, with the places adjoining, 
shall receive the Word of God, that bishop shall also ordain twelve bishops, and 
enjoy the honour of a metropolitan; for we design, if we live, by the help of God, 
to bestow on him also the pall; and yet we would have him to be subject to your 
authority, my brother; but after your decease, he shall so preside over the bishops 
he shall have ordained, as to be in no way subject to the jurisdiction of the bishop of 
London. But for the future let there be this distinction as regards honour between 
the bishops of the cities of London and York, that he who has been first ordained 
have the precedence. But let them take counsel and act in concert and with one 
mind dispose whatsoever is to be done for zeal of Christ; let them judge rightly, and 
carry out their judgement without dissension.
“But to you, my brother, shall, by the authority of our God and Lord Jesus 
Christ, be subject not only those bishops whom you shall ordain, and those that 
shall be ordained by the bishop of York, but also all the prelates in Britain; to the 
end that from the words and manner of life of your Holiness they may learn the rule 
of a right belief and a good life, and fulfilling their office in faith and righteousness, 
they may, when it shall please the Lord, attain to the kingdom of Heaven. God 
preserve you in safety, most reverend brother.
“Giventhe 22nd of June, in the nineteenth year of the reign of our most religious 
lord, Mauritius Tiberius Augustus, the eighteenth year after the consulship of our 
said lord, and the fourth indiction.”
Chap. XXX. A copy of the letter which Pope Gregory sent to the Abbot 
Mellitus, then going into Britain. [601 ACE]
The aforesaid envoys having departed, the blessed Father Gregory sent after 
them a letter worthy to be recorded, wherein he plainly shows how carefully he 
watched over the salvation of our country. The letter was as follows:
“To his most beloved son, the Abbot Mellitus; Gregory, the servant of the 
servants of God . We have been much concerned, since the departure of our 
people that are with you, because we have received no account of the success 
of your journey. Howbeit, when Almighty God has led you to the most reverend 
Bishop Augustine, our brother, tell him what I have long been considering in my 
own mind concerning the matter of the English people; to wit, that the temples 
of the idols in that nation ought not to be destroyed; but let the idols that are in 
them be destroyed; let water be consecrated and sprinkled in the said temples, 
let altars be erected, and relics placed there. For if those temples are well built, 
it is requisite that they be converted from the worship of devils to the service of 
the true God; that the nation, seeing that their temples are not destroyed, may 
remove error from their hearts, and knowing and adoring the true God, may the 
more freely resort to the places to which they have been accustomed. And because 
they are used to slaughter many oxen in sacrifice to devils, some solemnity must 
be given them in exchange for this, as that on the day of the dedication, or the 
Page | 141 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
nativities of the holy martyrs, whose relics are there deposited, they should build 
themselves huts of the boughs of trees about those churches which have been 
turned to that use from being temples, and celebrate the solemnity with religious 
feasting, and no more offer animals to the Devil, but kill cattle and glorify God 
in their feast, and return thanks to the Giver of all things for their abundance; to 
the end that, whilst some outward gratifications are retained, they may the more 
easily consent to the inward joys. For there is no doubt that it is impossible to cut 
off every thing at once from their rude natures; because he who endeavours to 
ascend to the highest place rises by degrees or steps, and not by leaps. Thus the 
Lord made Himself known to the people of Israel in Egypt; and yet He allowed 
them the use, in His own worship, of the sacrifices which they were wont to offer 
to the Devil, commanding them in His sacrifice to kill animals, to the end that, 
with changed hearts, they might lay aside one part of the sacrifice, whilst they 
retained another; and although the animals were the same as those which they 
were wont to offer, they should offer them to the true God, and not to idols; 
and thus they would no longer be the same sacrifices. This then, dearly beloved, 
it behoves you to communicate to our aforesaid brother, that he, being placed 
where he is at present, may consider how he is to order all things. God preserve 
you in safety, most beloved son.
“Given the 17th of June, in the nineteenth year of the reign of our most religious 
lord, Mauritius Tiberius Augustus, the eighteenth year after the consulship of our 
said lord, and the fourth indiction.”
Chap. XXXI. How Pope Gregory, by letter, exhorted Augustine not to 
glory in his miracles. [601 ACE]
At which time he also sent Augustine a letter concerning the miracles that he 
had heard had been wrought by him; wherein he admonishes him not to incur the 
danger of being puffed up by the number of them. The letter was in these words:
“I know, dearly beloved brother, that Almighty God, by means of you, shows 
forth great miracles to the nation which it was His will to choose. Wherefore you 
must needs rejoice with fear, and fear with joy concerning that heavenly gift; for 
you will rejoice because the souls of the English are by outward miracles drawn to 
inward grace; but you will fear, lest, amidst the wonders that are wrought, the weak 
mind may be puffed up with self-esteem, and that whereby it is outwardly raised to 
honour cause it inwardly to fall through vain-glory. For we must call to mind, that 
when the disciples returned with joy from preaching, and said to their Heavenly 
Master, ‘Lord, even the devils are subject to us through Thy Name;’ forthwith they 
received the reply, ‘In this rejoice not; but rather rejoice, because your names are 
written in heaven.’ For their minds were set on private and temporal joys, when 
they rejoiced in miracles; but they are recalled from the private to the common joy, 
and from the temporal to the eternal, when it is said to them, ‘Rejoice in this, 
because your names are written in heaven.’ For all the elect do not work miracles, 
and yet the names of all are written in heaven. For those who are disciples of the 
Page | 142 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
truth ought not to rejoice, save for that good thing which all men enjoy as well as 
they, and in which their joy shall be without end.
“It remains, therefore, most dear brother, that amidst those outward actions, 
which you perform through the power of the Lord, you should always carefully 
judge yourself in your heart, and carefully understand both what you are yourself, 
and how much grace is bestowed upon that same nation, for the conversion of 
which you have received even the gift of working miracles. And if you remember 
that you have at any time sinned against our Creator, either by word or deed, always 
call it to mind, to the end that the remembrance of your guilt may crush the vanity 
which rises in your heart. And whatsoever gift of working miracles you either shall 
receive, or have received, consider the same, not as conferred on you, but on those 
for whose salvation it has been given you.”
Chap. XXXII. How Pope Gregory sent letters and gifts to King Ethelbert. 
[601 ACE]
The same blessed Pope Gregory, at the same time, sent a letter to King Ethelbert, 
with many gifts of divers sorts; being desirous to glorify the king with temporal 
honours, at the same time that he rejoiced that through his own labour and zeal 
he had attained to the knowledge of heavenly glory. The copy of the said letter is 
as follows:
“To the most glorious lord, and his most excellent son, Ethelbert, king of the 
English, Bishop Gregory . Almighty God advances good men to the government of 
nations, that He may by their means bestow the gifts of His loving-kindness on those 
over whom they are placed. This we know to have come to pass in the English nation, 
over whom your Highness was placed, to the end, that by means of the blessings 
which are granted to you, heavenly benefits might also be conferred on your subjects. 
Therefore, my illustrious son, do you carefully guard the grace which you have 
received from the Divine goodness, and be eager to spread the Christian faith among 
the people under your rule; in all uprightness increase your zeal for their conversion; 
suppress the worship of idols; overthrow the structures of the temples; establish the 
manners of your subjects by much cleanness of life, exhorting, terrifying, winning, 
correcting, and showing forth an example of good works, that you may obtain your 
reward in Heaven from Him, Whose Name and the knowledge of Whom you have 
spread abroad upon earth. For He, Whose honour you seek and maintain among the 
nations, will also render your Majesty’s name more glorious even to posterity.
“For even so the most pious emperor, Constantine, of old, recovering the 
Roman commonwealth from the false worship of idols, brought it with himself 
into subjection to Almighty God, our Lord Jesus Christ, and turned to Him with his 
whole mind, together with the nations under his rule. Whenceit followed, that his 
praises transcended the fame of former princes; and he excelled his predecessors 
in renown as much as in good works. Now, therefore, let your Highness hasten 
to impart to the kings and peoples that are subject to you, the knowledge of one 
God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; that you may surpass the ancient kings of your 
Page | 143 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
nation in praise and merit, and while you cause the sins of others among your own 
subjects to be blotted out, become the more free from anxiety with regard to your 
own sins before the dread judgement of Almighty God.
“Willingly hear, devoutly perform, and studiously retain in your memory, 
whatsoever counsel shall be given you by our most reverend brother, Bishop 
Augustine, who is trained up in the monastic rule, full of the knowledge of Holy 
Scripture, and, by the help of God, endued with good works; for if you give ear to him 
when he speaks on behalf of Almighty God, the sooner will Almighty God hear his 
prayers for you. But if (which God forbid!) you slight his words, how shall Almighty 
God hear him on your behalf, when you neglect to hear him on behalf of God? Unite 
yourself, therefore, to him with all your mind, in the fervour of faith, and further his 
endeavours, by that virtue which God has given you, that He may make you partaker 
of His kingdom, Whose faith you cause to be received and maintained in your own.
“Besides, we would have your Highness know that, as we find in Holy Scripture 
from the words of the Almighty Lord, the end of this present world, and the kingdom 
of the saints, which will never come to an end, is at hand. But as the end of the 
world draws near, many things are about to come upon us which were not before, 
to wit, changes in the air, and terrors from heaven, and tempests out of the order of 
the seasons, wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes in divers places; which things 
will not, nevertheless, all happen in our days, but will all follow after our days. If, 
therefore, you perceive that any of these things come to pass in your country, let 
not your mind be in any way disturbed; for these signs of the end of the world are 
sent before, for this reason, that we may take heed to our souls, and be watchful for 
the hour of death, and may be found prepared with good works to meet our Judge. 
Thus much, my illustrious son, I have said in few words, with intent that when the 
Christian faith is spread abroad in your kingdom, our discourse to you may also be 
more copious, and we may desire to say the more, as joy for the full conversion of 
your nation is increased in our mind.
“I have sent you some small gifts, which will not appear small to you, when 
received by you with the blessing of the blessed Apostle, Peter. May Almighty God, 
therefore, perfect in you His grace which He has begun, and prolong your life here 
through a course of many years, and in the fulness of time receive you into the 
congregation of the heavenly country. May the grace of God preserve you in safety, 
my most excellent lord and son.
“Given the 22nd day of June, in the nineteenth year of the reign of our most 
religious lord, Mauritius Tiberius Augustus, in the eighteenth year after his 
consulship, and the fourth indiction.”
Chap. XXXIII. How Augustine repaired the church of our Saviour, and 
built the monastery of the blessed Peter the Apostle; and concerning 
Peter the first abbot of the same.
Augustine having had his episcopal see granted him in the royal city, as has 
been said, recovered therein, with the support of the king, a church, which he was 
Page | 144 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
informed had been built of old by the faithful among the Romans, and consecrated 
it in the name of the Holy Saviour, our Divine Lord Jesus Christ, and there 
established a residence for himself and all his successors. He also built a monastery 
not far from the city to the eastward, in which, by his advice, Ethelbert erected from 
the foundation the church of the blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, and enriched it 
with divers gifts; wherein the bodies of the same Augustine, and of all the bishops 
of Canterbury, and of the kings of Kent, might be buried. Nevertheless, it was not 
Augustine himself who consecrated that church, but Laurentius, his successor.
The first abbot of that monastery was the priest Peter, who, being sent on a 
mission into Gaul, was drowned in a bay of the sea, which is called Amfleat, and 
committed to a humble tomb by the inhabitants of the place; but since it was the 
will of Almighty God to reveal his merits, a light from Heaven was seen over his 
grave every night; till the neighbouring people who saw it, perceiving that he had 
been a holy man that was buried there, and inquiring who and whence he was, 
carried away the body, and interred it in the church, in the city of Boulogne, with 
the honour due to so great a person.
Chap. XXXIV. How Ethelfrid, king of the Northumbrians, having 
vanquished the nations of the Scots, expelled them from the territories 
of the English. [603 ACE]
At this time, the brave and ambitious king, Ethelfrid, governed the kingdom of 
the Northumbrians, and ravaged the Britons more than all the chiefs of the English, 
insomuch that he might be compared to Saul of old, king of the Israelites, save only 
in this, that he was ignorant of Divine religion. For he conquered more territories 
from the Britons than any other chieftain or king, either subduing the inhabitants 
and making them tributary, or driving them out and planting the English in their 
places. To him might justly be applied the saying of the patriarch blessing his son 
in the person of Saul, “Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf; in the morning he shall 
devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.” Hereupon, Aedan, king 
of the Scots that dwell in Britain, being alarmed by his success, came against him 
with a great and mighty army, but was defeated and fled with a few followers; for 
almost all his army was cut to pieces at a famous place, called Degsastan, that is, 
Degsa Stone. In which battle also Theodbald, brother to Ethelfrid, was killed, with 
almost all the forces he commanded. This war Ethelfrid brought to an end in the 
year of our Lord 603, the eleventh of his own reign, which lasted twenty-four years, 
and the first year of the reign of Phocas, who then was at the head of the Roman 
empire. From that time, no king of the Scots durst come into Britain to make war 
on the English to this day.
Book II
Chap. I. Of the death of the blessed Pope Gregory. [604 ACE]
At this time, that is, in the year of our Lord 605, the blessed Pope Gregory, 
after having most gloriously governed the Roman Apostolic see thirteen years, six 
Page | 145 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
months, and ten days, died, and was translated to an eternal abode in the kingdom 
of Heaven. Of whom, seeing that by his zeal he converted our nation, the English, 
from the power of Satan to the faith of Christ, it behoves us to discourse more 
at large in our Ecclesiastical History, for we may rightly, nay, we must, call him 
our apostle; because, as soon as he began to wield the pontifical power over all 
the world, and was placed over the Churches long before converted to the true 
faith, he made our nation, till then enslaved to idols, the Church of Christ, so that 
concerning him we may use those words of the Apostle; “if he be not an apostle to 
others, yet doubtless he is to us; for the seal of his apostleship are we in the Lord.” 
He was by nation a Roman, son of Gordianus, tracing his descent from 
ancestors that were not only noble, but religious. Moreover Felix, once bishop of 
the same Apostolic see, a man of great honour in Christ and in the Church, was his 
forefather. Nor did he show his nobility in religion by less strength of devotion than 
his parents and kindred. But that nobility of this world which was seen in him, by the 
help of the Divine Grace,he used only to gain the glory of eternal dignity; for soon 
quitting his secular habit, he entered a monastery, wherein he began to live with 
so much grace of perfection that (as he was wont afterwards with tears to testify) 
his mind was above all transitory things; that he rose superior to all that is subject 
to change; that he used to think of nothing but what was heavenly; that, whilst 
detained by the body, he broke through the bonds of the flesh by contemplation; 
and that he even loved death, which is a penalty to almost all men, as the entrance 
into life, and the reward of his labours. This he used to say of himself, not to boast 
of his progress in virtue, but rather to bewail the falling off which he imagined he 
had sustained through his pastoral charge. Indeed, once in a private conversation 
with his deacon, Peter, after having enumerated the former virtues of his soul, he 
added sorrowfully, “But now, on account of the pastoral charge, it is entangled with 
the affairs of laymen, and, after so fair an appearance of inward peace, is defiled 
with the dust of earthly action. And having wasted itself on outward things, by 
turning aside to the affairs of many men, even when it desires the inward things, 
it returns to them undoubtedly impaired. I therefore consider what I endure, I 
consider what I have lost, and when I behold what I have thrown away, that which 
I bear appears the more grievous.”
So spake the holy man constrained by his great humility. But it behoves us to 
believe that he lost nothing of his monastic perfection by reason of his pastoral 
charge, but rather that he gained greater profit through the labour of converting 
many, than by the former calm of his private life, and chiefly because, whilst holding 
the pontifical office, he set about organizing his house like a monastery. And when 
first drawn from the monastery, ordained to the ministry of the altar, and sent to 
Constantinople as representative of the Apostolic see, though he now took part 
in the secular affairs of the palace, yet he did not abandon the fixed course of his 
heavenly life; for some of the brethren of his monastery, who had followed him 
to the royal city in their brotherly love, he employed for the better observance of 
monastic rule, to the end that at all times, by their example, as he writes himself, 
Page | 146 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
he might be held fast to the calm shore of prayer, as it were, with the cable of an 
anchor, whilst he should be tossed up and down by the ceaseless waves of worldly 
affairs; and daily in the intercourse of studious reading with them, strengthen his 
mind shaken with temporal concerns. By their company he was not only guarded 
against the assaults of the world, but more and more roused to the exercises of a 
heavenly life.
For they persuaded him to interpret by a mystical exposition the book of the 
blessed Job, which is involved in great obscurity; nor could he refuse to undertake 
that work, which brotherly affection imposed on him for the future benefit of many; 
but in a wonderful manner, in five and thirty books of exposition, he taught how 
that same book is to be understood literally; how to be referred to the mysteries 
of Christ and the Church; and in what sense it is to be adapted to every one of the 
faithful. This work he began as papal representative in the royal city, but finished 
it at Rome after being made pope. Whilst he was still in the royal city, by the help 
of the grace of Catholic truth, he crushed in its first rise a new heresy which sprang 
up there, concerning the state of our resurrection. For Eutychius, bishop of that 
city, taught, that our body, in the glory of resurrection, would be impalpable, and 
more subtile than wind and air. The blessed Gregory hearing this, proved by force 
of truth, and by the instance of the Resurrection of our Lord, that this doctrine 
was every way opposed to the orthodox faith. For the Catholic faith holds that our 
body, raised by the glory of immortality, is indeed rendered subtile by the effect of 
spiritual power, but is palpable by the reality of nature; according to the example of 
our Lord’s Body, concerning which, when risen from the dead, He Himself says to 
His disciples, “Handle Me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me 
have.” In maintaining this faith, the venerable Father Gregory so earnestly strove 
against the rising heresy, and with the help of the most pious emperor, Tiberius 
Constantine, so fully suppressed it, that none has been since found to revive it.
He likewise composed another notable book, the “Liber Pastoralis,” wherein he 
clearly showed what sort of persons ought to be preferred to rule the Church; how 
such rulers ought to live; with how much discrimination they ought to instruct the 
different classes of their hearers, and how seriously to reflect every day on their 
own frailty. He also wrote forty homilies on the Gospel, which he divided equally 
into two volumes; and composed four books of Dialogues, in which, at the request 
of his deacon, Peter, he recounted the virtues of the more renowned saints of Italy, 
whom he had either known or heard of, as a pattern of life for posterity; to the end 
that, as he taught in his books of Expositions what virtues men ought to strive after, 
so by describing the miracles of saints, he might make known the glory of those 
virtues. Further, in twenty-two homilies, he showed how much light is latent in the 
first and last parts of the prophet Ezekiel, which seemed the most obscure. Besides 
which, he wrote the “Book of Answers,” to the questions of the holy Augustine, the 
first bishop of the English nation, as we have shown above, inserting the same book 
entire in this history; and the useful little “Synodical Book,” which he composed 
with the bishops of Italy on necessary matters of the Church; as well as private 
Page | 147 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
letters to certain persons. And it is the more wonderful that he could write so many 
lengthy works, seeing that almost all the time of his youth, to use his own words, 
he was frequently tormented with internal pain, constantly enfeebled by the 
weakness of his digestion, and oppressed by a low but persistent fever. But in all 
these troubles, forasmuch as he carefully reflected that, as the Scripture testifies, 
“He scourgeth every son whom He receiveth,” the more severely he suffered under 
those present evils, the more he assured himself of his eternal hope.
Thus much may be said of his immortal genius, which could not be crushed by 
such severe bodily pains. Other popes applied themselves to building churches or 
adorning them with gold and silver, but Gregory was wholly intent upon gaining 
souls. Whatsoever money he had, he took care to distribute diligently and give to 
the poor, that his righteousness might endure for ever, and his horn be exalted with 
honour; so that the words of the blessed Job might be truly said of him, “When the 
ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me: 
because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none 
to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me, and I 
caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; 
my judgement was as a robe and a diadem. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I 
to the lame. I was a father to the poor; and the cause which I knew not, I searched 
out. And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.” And 
a little after: “If I have withheld,” says he, “the poor from their desire; or have 
caused the eyes of the widow to fail; or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the 
fatherless hath not eaten thereof: (for from my youth compassion grew up with me, 
and from my mother’s womb it came forth with me.”)
To his works of piety and righteousness this also may be added, that he saved 
our nation,by the preachers he sent hither, from the teeth of the old enemy, and 
made it partaker of eternal liberty. Rejoicing in the faith and salvation of our race, 
and worthily commending it with praise, he says, in his exposition of the blessed 
Job, “Behold, the tongue of Britain, which only knew how to utter barbarous cries, 
has long since begun to raise the Hebrew Hallelujah to the praise of God! Behold, 
the once swelling ocean now serves prostrate at the feet of the saints; and its wild 
upheavals, which earthly princes could not subdue with the sword, are now, through 
the fear of God, bound by the lips of priests with words alone; and the heathen 
that stood not in awe of troops of warriors, now believes and fears the tongues of 
the humble! For he has received a message from on high and mighty works are 
revealed; the strength of the knowledge of God is given him, and restrained by 
the fear of the Lord, he dreads to do evil, and with all his heart desires to attain to 
everlasting grace.” In which words the blessed Gregory shows us this also, that St. 
Augustine and his companions brought the English to receive the truth, not only by 
the preaching of words, but also by showing forth heavenly signs.
The blessed Pope Gregory, among other things, caused Masses to be celebrated 
in the churches of the holy Apostles, Peter and Paul, over their bodies. And in 
the celebration of Masses, he added three petitions of the utmost perfection: “And 
Page | 148 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
dispose our days in thy peace, and bid us to be preserved from eternal damnation, 
and to be numbered in the flock of thine elect.” 
He governed the Church in the days of the Emperors Mauritius and Phocas, 
and passing out of this life in the second year of the same Phocas, he departed to 
the true life which is in Heaven. His body was buried in the church of the blessed 
Apostle Peter before the sacristy, on the 12th day of March, to rise one day in the 
same body in glory with the rest of the holy pastors of the Church. On his tomb was 
written this epitaph:
Receive, O Earth, his body taken from thine own; thou canst restore it, when 
God calls to life. His spirit rises to the stars; the claims of death shall not avail 
against him, for death itself is but the way to new life. In this tomb are laid the limbs 
of a great pontiff, who yet lives for ever in all places in countless deeds of mercy. 
Hunger and cold he overcame with food and raiment, and shielded souls from the 
enemy by his holy teaching. And whatsoever he taught in word, that he fulfilled in 
deed, that he might be a pattern, even as he spake words of mystic meaning. By his 
guiding love he brought the Angles to Christ, gaining armies for the Faith from a 
new people. This was thy toil, thy task, thy care, thy aim as shepherd, to offer to thy 
Lord abundant increase of the flock. So, Consul of God, rejoice in this thy triumph, 
for now thou hast the reward of thy works for evermore.
Nor must we pass by in silence the story of the blessed Gregory, handed down 
to us by the tradition of our ancestors, which explains his earnest care for the 
salvation of our nation. It is said that one day, when some merchants had lately 
arrived at Rome, many things were exposed for sale in the market place, and 
much people resorted thither to buy: Gregory himself went with the rest, and saw 
among other wares some boys put up for sale, of fair complexion, with pleasing 
countenances, and very beautiful hair. When he beheld them, he asked, it is said, 
from what region or country they were brought? and was told, from the island of 
Britain, and that the inhabitants were like that in appearance. He again inquired 
whether those islanders were Christians, or still involved in the errors of paganism, 
and was informed that they were pagans. Then fetching a deep sigh from the bottom 
of his heart, “Alas! what pity,” said he, “that the author of darkness should own 
men of such fair countenances; and that with such grace of outward form, their 
minds should be void of inward grace.” He therefore again asked, what was the 
name of that nation? and was answered, that they were called Angles. “Right,” said 
he, “for they have an angelic face, and it is meet that such should be co-heirs 
with the Angels in heaven. What is the name of the province from which they are 
brought?” It was replied, that the natives of that province were called Deiri. “Truly 
are they De ira,” said he, “saved from wrath, and called to the mercy of Christ. 
How is the king of that province called?” They told him his name was Aelli; and 
he, playing upon the name, said, “Allelujah, the praise of God the Creator must be 
sung in those parts.”
Then he went to the bishop of the Roman Apostolic see (for he was not himself 
then made pope), and entreated him to send some ministers of the Word into 
Page | 149 
BRITISH LITERATURE I THE MIDDLE AGES
Britain to the nation of the English, that it might be converted to Christ by them; 
declaring himself ready to carry out that work with the help of God, if the Apostolic 
Pope should think fit to have it done. But not being then able to perform this task, 
because, though the Pope was willing to grant his request, yet the citizens of Rome 
could not be brought to consent that he should depart so far from the city, as soon as 
he was himself made Pope, he carried out the long-desired work, sending, indeed, 
other preachers, but himself by his exhortations and prayers helping the preaching 
to bear fruit. This account, which we have received from a past generation, we have 
thought fit to insert in our Ecclesiastical History.
Chap. II. How Augustine admonished the bishops of the Britons on 
behalf of Catholic peace, and to that end wrought a heavenly miracle 
in their presence; and of the vengeance that pursued them for their 
contempt. [Circ. 603 ACE]
In the meantime, Augustine, with the help of King Ethelbert, drew together 
to a conference the bishops and doctors of the nearest province of the Britons, at 
a place which is to this day called, in the English language, Augustine’s Ác, that 
is, Augustine’s Oak, on the borders of the Hwiccas and West Saxons; and began 
by brotherly admonitions to persuade them to preserve Catholic peace with him, 
and undertake the common labour of preaching the Gospel to the heathen for the 
Lord’s sake. For they did not keep Easter Sunday at the proper time, but from 
the fourteenth to the twentieth moon; which computation is contained in a cycle 
of eighty-four years. Besides, they did many other things which were opposed to 
the unity of the church. When, after a long disputation, they did not comply with 
the entreaties, exhortations, or rebukes of Augustine and his companions, but 
preferred their own traditions before all the Churches which are united in Christ 
throughout the world, the holy father, Augustine, put an end to this troublesome 
and tedious contention, saying, “Let us entreat God, who maketh men to be of one 
mind in His Father’s house, to vouchsafe, by signs from Heaven, to declare to us 
which tradition is to be followed; and by what path we are to strive to enter His 
kingdom. Let some sick man be brought, and let the faith and practice of him, by 
whose prayers he shall be healed, be looked upon as hallowed in God’s sight and 
such as should be adopted by all.” His adversaries unwillingly consenting, a blind 
man of the English race was brought, who having been presented to the British 
bishops, found no benefit or healing from their ministry; at length, Augustine, 
compelled by strict necessity, bowed his knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, praying that He would restore his lost sight to the blind man, and by the 
bodily enlightenment of one kindle the grace of spiritual light in the hearts of 
many of the faithful. Immediately the blind man received sight, and Augustine 
was proclaimed by all to be a true herald of the light from Heaven. The Britons 
then confessed that