The Wanderer
Old English Reading 1
Chapter 9 · The Wanderer
🌊 The Wanderer
Where Beowulf tells of a king's rise, The Wanderer is a lament: a man alone at sea, whose lord is dead and whose friends are gone. This chapter reads its first fifteen lines. They contain several subjunctives and a famous gloomy remark about fate, and they are a good place to practise telling endings apart.
The text
Oft him ānhaga · āre gebīdeð,
often to-him (the) solitary-one · of-mercy awaits
"Often the solitary man lives to see mercy,"
Metudes miltse, · þēah þe he mōdcearig
of-Lord's kindness · though that he heart-sorrowful
"the Lord's kindness, though sorrowful of heart"
geond lagulāde · longe sceolde
across water-ways · long had-to
"he had for a long time across the water-ways"
hrēran mid hǫndum · hrīmcealde sǣ,
to-stir with hands · frost-cold sea
"to stir the frost-cold sea with his hands,"
wadan wræclāstas: · wyrd bið ful ārǣd!
to-tread exile-tracks · fate is fully (ārǣd)
"to tread the paths of exile: fate is wholly (...)!"
Swā cwæð eardstapa, · earfeþa gemyndig,
so said earth-stepper · of-hardships mindful
"So spoke the wanderer, mindful of hardships,"
wrāþra wælsleahta, · winemǣga hryre:
of-cruel slaughters · of-friend-kinsmen fall
"of cruel slaughters, of the fall of dear kinsmen:"
'Oft ic sceolde āna · ūhtna gehwylce
often I had-to alone · of-dawns each
"'Often I had to, alone, at each dawn,"
mīne ceare cwīþan; · nis nū cwicra nān,
my sorrow lament · is-not now of-living none
"lament my sorrow; there is now none of the living"
þe ic him mōdsefan · mīnne durre
that I to-him mind my dare
"to whom I dare to"
sweotule āsecgan. · Ic tō sōþe wāt
clearly declare · I for truth know
"say my mind plainly. I know in truth"
þæt biþ in eorle · indryhten þēaw,
that is in man · noble custom
"that it is a noble custom in a man"
þæt hē his ferðlocan · fæste binde,
that he his spirit-chest · fast may-bind
"that he bind fast his heart,"
healde his hordcofan, · hycge swā hē wille;
may-hold his hoard-chest · may-think as he will
"keep his thoughts to himself, think what he will;"
ne mæg wērig mōd · wyrde wiðstǫndan
not can weary mind · to-fate withstand
"a weary mind cannot withstand fate"
Source: Wikisource, Bright's Anglo-Saxon Reader (J. W. Bright, 1913), "XXIII. The Wanderer", lines 1 to 15 as printed there (public domain in the US). The source's line numbers, its textual footnotes, and its marks on some vowels (such as ǫ in hǫndum) are Bright's; I kept the letters as printed. Line 14 has a footnote variant, healdne, which I did not use. The glosses and translations are mine and unverified; I left ārǣd in line 5 unglossed.
Reading it: the routine in action
Lines 1 to 5: the sea and fate
- gebīdeð is a third person singular present in -eð (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 8 and 9). Its object āre is in the genitive, "of mercy", an object case Chapter 7 of this course also showed with mines gemotes. The subject, ānhaga "solitary one", comes after the dative him.
- þēah þe "though" opens a clause; sceolde is the past of a preterite-present verb (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 9) and takes the infinitives hrēran and wadan. The clause ends in verbs, as Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 10 describes.
- mid hǫndum: a preposition with the dative plural in -um. hrīmcealde sǣ is the sea, with the adjective hrīmcealde "frost-cold" agreeing with it.
- wyrd bið ful ārǣd: wyrd is "fate" and bið is the future-looking form of bēon (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 9), as in Chapter 7 of this course. I do not read ārǣd with certainty, so my translation leaves it open.
Lines 6 to 7: the speaker is named
- Swā cwæð eardstapa: the verb comes before the subject. cwæð is a strong past singular with no ending (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 9), "said".
- earfeþa, wrāþra wælsleahta and winemǣga are genitive plurals in -a, all depending on gemyndig "mindful of" (my reading of the adjective's use). A list of genitives like this is a common way to build up the sorrow before the speech starts.
Lines 8 to 11: no one to tell
- ūhtna gehwylce: ūhtna is a genitive plural, "of dawns"; I read the whole phrase as "at each dawn" (a time expression, my reading).
- nis is ne + is, "is not", a negative that sticks to the verb (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 10 on negation). nān is "none" and cwicra is a genitive plural "of the living".
- þe ic him mōdsefan mīnne durre sweotule āsecgan: þe is the relative word (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 10); him is "to whom" (dative); durre ends in -e and looks like a subjunctive of the preterite-present verb "dare" (my reading). The result: "there is none living to whom I dare tell my heart plainly".
- wāt is "I know", a preterite-present form (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 9). tō sōþe is a fixed phrase, "in truth".
Lines 12 to 15: the rule
- þæt hē his ferðlocan fæste binde, healde ..., hycge ...: binde, healde, hycge and wille all end in -e, and follow þæt or swā. They are present subjunctives (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 8 and 9): "that he should bind ... hold ... think as he wills".
- ne mæg wērig mōd wyrde wiðstǫndan: ne negates the verb mæg "can" (preterite-present). wyrde is a dative object of wiðstǫndan "to withstand", which takes the dative (my own knowledge, not from the source). The word order is subject after verb: "not can weary mind fate withstand".
Where the alliteration falls
| Line | Alliterating syllables |
|---|---|
| 2 | Metudes miltse · þēah þe he mōdcearig |
| 3 | geond lagulāde · longe |
| 5 | wadan wræclāstas · wyrd |
| 6 | eardstapa · earfeþa |
| 15 | ne mæg wērig mōd · wyrde wiðstǫndan |
This is the pattern from Chapter 3 and Chapter 8. The marking is my reading of the verse form, not something I read in a source; in line 6 the vowels alliterate with each other, as in Chapter 8.
New words
| Old English | Meaning | Modern English relative |
|---|---|---|
| ānhaga | solitary one | — |
| wyrd | fate | weird |
| mōd | mind, spirit | mood |
| sǣ | sea | sea |
| hond | hand | hand |
| wadan | to go, to wade | wade |
| wērig | weary | weary |
| eorl | man, warrior | earl |
| ceare | sorrow | care |
| wāt | I know | wit |
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 object | āre gebīdeð |
| Genitive plural -a | earfeþa, winemǣga, ūhtna, cwicra |
| Dative plural -um | hǫndum |
| Strong past, no ending | cwæð |
| Negative contraction | nis = ne is |
| Present subjunctive after þæt | binde, healde, hycge, wille |
| Preterite-present verbs | sceolde, wāt, mæg, durre |
✏️ Try It Yourself
Say the answer first, then click to check.
1. Translate Swā cwæð eardstapa.
Show answer
"So spoke the wanderer."
2. What is nis made of?
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ne + is: "is not" (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 10).
3. What ending is on hǫndum, and what does it mean?
Show answer
-um, the dative plural, after mid: "with hands".
4. What case is earfeþa, and how can you tell?
Show answer
Genitive plural: the ending -a (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 3): "of hardships".
5. Which sound alliterates in line 5?
Show answer
w: wadan, wræclāstas, wyrd.
6. What mood are binde and healde in, and why?
Show answer
Present subjunctive, after þæt: "that he should bind ... hold".
7. Translate ne mæg wērig mōd wyrde wiðstǫndan.
Show answer
"A weary mind cannot withstand fate."
8. What kind of verb is wāt in Ic tō sōþe wāt?
Show answer
A preterite-present verb (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 9): "I know".
9. What does eardstapa mean, according to Wikipedia?
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"Wanderer", from eard "earth, land" and steppan "to step".
10. Why does gebīdeð take āre with the ending -e?
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It is a genitive singular: the verb here takes its object in the genitive, "awaits mercy" (my reading).