Beowulf
Old English Reading 1
Chapter 8 · Beowulf: The Opening
⚔️ Beowulf: The Opening
The best-known Old English poem opens with a king, not a hero: Scyld Scēfing, who arrives as a destitute child and grows into a ruler to whom his neighbours pay tribute. This chapter reads the first eleven lines. They are full of compound words, which is the main thing to practise here.
The text
Hwæt! wē Gār-Dena · in gēar-dagum
Lo! we of-Spear-Danes · in year-days
"Listen! We have heard of the Spear-Danes' glory in days gone by,"
þēod-cyninga · þrym gefrūnon,
of-people-kings · glory learned-of
"of the kings of that people,"
hū ðā æþelingas · ellen fremedon.
how the princes · courage performed
"how those princes did deeds of courage."
Oft Scyld Scēfing · sceaþena þrēatum,
often Scyld Scēfing · of-foes from-troops
"Often Scyld Scēfing took from troops of enemies,"
monegum mǣgþum · meodo-setla oftēah.
from-many peoples · of-mead-seats took-away
"from many peoples, their mead-benches."
Egsode eorl, · syððan ǣrest wearð
terrified (the) earl · since first was
"He terrified the warriors, after he was first"
fēa-sceaft funden; · hē þæs frōfre gebād,
few-possessions found · he of-that comfort lived-to-see
"found destitute; he lived to see comfort for that,"
wēox under wolcnum, · weorð-myndum þāh,
grew under skies · with-honours throve
"grew under the skies, throve in honours,"
oð þæt him ǣghwylc · þāra ymb-sittendra
until that to-him each · of-those around-sitters
"until each of those who lived around him"
ofer hron-rāde · hȳran scolde,
over whale-road · to-obey had-to
"across the whale-road had to obey him,"
gomban gyldan; · þæt wæs gōd cyning.
tribute to-pay · that was good king
"and pay tribute. That was a good king."
Source: Wikisource, Beowulf (Wyatt), A. J. Wyatt, 1894, based on Zupitza's facsimile of the manuscript; lines 1 to 11 as printed there (public domain by age). The folio marks and line numbers of the page are left out. The glosses and translations are mine and unverified; Wikisource gave me no translation of these lines.
Reading it: the routine in action
Lines 1 to 3: we have heard
- Hwæt! is the traditional opening call for attention. Looked at as the pronoun of Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 7, it is "what"; here it works as an exclamation (my reading of its use).
- wē is "we", the first person plural pronoun. gefrūnon has the ending -on of a plural past form: "we learned of, have heard". The verb stands last in its clause, as Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 10 describes for subordinate clauses; here it is next to its object þrym "glory".
- Gār-Dena and þēod-cyninga both end in a genitive plural, -a (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 3 gives -a for the genitive plural; Chapter 4 covers the other noun classes). So: "of the Spear-Danes", "of the kings of the people". gēar-dagum is dative plural in -um: "in days of old".
- hū ðā æþelingas ellen fremedon: hū "how" opens a subordinate clause, so the verb fremedon (plural past, weak, Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 8) is last again. ðā is "those" (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 5) and ellen is "courage" as the object.
Lines 4 to 5: Scyld takes the mead-benches
- Oft Scyld Scēfing: the subject is Scyld, called Scēfing, the "son of Scēf" (my reading of the -ing ending as "son of"). The verb does not come until the end of line 5: oftēah. The reader keeps four phrases in mind while waiting for it.
- sceaþena þrēatum and monegum mǣgþum are both datives plural in -um after an unstated "from": "from troops", "from many peoples". sceaþena is a genitive plural, "of foes". My reading of oftēah is "took away", from a verb whose forms I did not look up.
- meodo-setla: genitive plural again, "of mead-seats", the thing he took.
Lines 6 to 8: from nothing to honour
- Egsode is a past singular in -ode, the weak class 2 ending of Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 8: "he terrified". eorl is the object, "the earl, the warrior".
- wearð and funden go together: "was found". funden is the past participle of a strong verb (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 9), and wearð is the past of weorðan "become" (my reading). fēa-sceaft is "destitute".
- hē þæs frōfre gebād: gebād is a strong past singular, "lived to see, experienced"; frōfre "comfort" is the object, þæs "of that, for that" a genitive (my reading of this construction).
- wēox and þāh are strong past singulars with no ending: "grew" and "throve". wolcnum and weorð-myndum are dative plurals in -um again.
Lines 9 to 11: tribute
- oð þæt "until" opens a clause; its verb scolde comes at the end of line 10 and its two infinitives (hȳran "obey", gyldan "pay") stand beside it. scolde is the past of a preterite-present verb (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 9): "had to".
- him is "to him" (dative), the one who is obeyed. ǣghwylc þāra ymb-sittendra is "each of those sitting around" with þāra a genitive plural.
- þæt wæs gōd cyning: no article, because Old English has none (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 5). wæs is the past of bēon.
Compound words and kennings
Almost every line contains a compound, a word made by joining two. The hyphens are the editor's. I give the parts as I read them:
| Compound | Parts (my reading) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| gēar-dagum | year + days | days gone by |
| þēod-cyninga | people + kings | of the kings of a people |
| meodo-setla | mead + seats | mead-benches (the hall) |
| fēa-sceaft | few + (shape/state) | destitute |
| weorð-myndum | worth + (mind/honour) | with honours |
| ymb-sittendra | around + sitters | of those living around |
| hron-rāde | whale + road | the sea |
hron-rāde is a kenning, a compound that names one thing by a picture of another: the sea is the "whale-road". meodo-setla is closer to a metonym, naming the hall by its benches. The parts of fēa-sceaft and weorð-myndum are my best guess and the least certain items here.
Where the alliteration falls
| Line | Alliterating syllables |
|---|---|
| 1 | Gār-Dena · in gēar-dagum |
| 2 | þēod-cyninga · þrym |
| 3 | æþelingas · ellen (vowels match any vowel) |
| 5 | monegum mǣgþum · meodo-setla |
| 8 | wēox under wolcnum · weorð-myndum |
| 10 | ofer hron-rāde · hȳran |
The pattern is the one from Chapter 3. That vowels all alliterate with each other, as in line 3, is my own knowledge of the verse form, not something I read in a source.
New words
| Old English | Meaning | Modern English relative |
|---|---|---|
| hwæt | lo! (also "what") | what |
| cyning | king | king |
| ellen | courage | — |
| oft | often | oft |
| eorl | earl, warrior | earl |
| under | under | under |
| wolcen | cloud, sky | welkin |
| gōd | good | good |
| hȳran | to obey, to hear | hear |
| gyldan | to pay | yield |
The meanings are my readings from the lines, not from the source. The "Modern English relative" column is my own knowledge and unverified.
📋 Quick Reference
| Feature | Where |
|---|---|
| Genitive plural -a | Gār-Dena, þēod-cyninga, meodo-setla |
| Dative plural -um | gēar-dagum, mǣgþum, wolcnum |
| Weak past -ode / -edon | Egsode, fremedon |
| Strong past, no ending | wēox, þāh, gebād |
| Verb last in subordinate clauses | hū ... fremedon, oð þæt ... scolde |
| Kenning | hron-rād "whale-road" |
✏️ Try It Yourself
Say the answer first, then click to check.
1. Translate þæt wæs gōd cyning.
Show answer
"That was a good king." There is no article in the Old English.
2. What ending is on gēar-dagum, and what does it mean?
Show answer
-um, the dative plural: "in days of old".
3. What ending is on Gār-Dena, and what does it mean?
Show answer
-a, the genitive plural: "of the Spear-Danes".
4. Which sound alliterates in line 2?
Show answer
þ: þēod-cyninga, þrym.
5. What is a kenning? Give the example from this passage.
Show answer
A compound that names one thing with a picture of another: hron-rād "whale-road" for the sea.
6. In hū ðā æþelingas ellen fremedon, where is the verb, and why?
Show answer
At the end: hū opens a subordinate clause, which in Old English tends to put the verb last (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 10).
7. What do wēox and þāh have in common, grammatically?
Show answer
Both are strong past singulars with no ending: "grew" and "throve" (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 9).
8. What does Egsode tell you about the verb?
Show answer
The ending -ode marks a weak class 2 past singular (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 8): "he terrified".
9. Split meodo-setla into its parts and translate it.
Show answer
meodo "mead" + setla "of seats": "of mead-seats", the benches of the hall.
10. Why is the verb oftēah hard to wait for in lines 4 and 5?
Show answer
Four phrases come first (Oft Scyld Scēfing, sceaþena þrēatum, monegum mǣgþum, meodo-setla) and the verb arrives only at the end of line 5. Read the whole sentence before you assign roles.