there dishes lay about, and swords of price, rusty and corroded, as if they in earth's lap a thousand winters there had sojourned; forasmuch as that patrimony, 5 huge and vast, that gold of ancient men, had been closed about with enchantment; and therefore that treasure-chamber might not be touched by any one of mankind, save in so far as God himself, the true king of achievements, should grant to the man of his choice to open the hoard, the sorcerers' hold: - even to such one of mankind whomso he deemed to be meet.

gold-warden, but should leave him to lie
where he had long been, and to dwell in
his haunts till the end of the world, ful-
fil high destiny. The hoard is laid open
to our view, fearfully purchased; too
overpowering was that boon which at-
tracted our prince thither. I was in the
interior of the place, and I explored the
whole of it, the stores of the chamber,
inasmuch as the way had been opened to
for me and that by no gentle means,
passage was permitted in under the earth-
ern dome. Hurriedly I grappled with
my hands a huge mighty burden of
hoarded treasures; out hither I bore them 15
to the feet of my king. He was still
alive then, wise and sensible; freely did
he talk, the aged one in death-pang; and
he commanded me to give you his greet-
ing, he bade that you should construct, in 20
memory of your chieftain's deeds, upon
the scene of the bale-fire, a barrow of
the highest, mighty and magnifical, ac-
cording as he was of all men the warrior
most famous, through the wide earth, so
long as he might enjoy the wealth of his
castle.

Go to, let us now hasten, a second time, to see and to visit the ruck of

jewels, the spectacle beneath the earthwork. I will be your guide, so that ye shall have your fill of seeing close at hand, collars and bullion gold.

Let the bier be ready, promptly equipped, attending us as we go forth of this place, and so let us convey our master, the beloved man, to the place where he shall tarry long in the safe keeping of the Almighty."'

25

30

35

Then did the son of Weohstan order his 40 brave warriors that they should issue commands to many homestead-owners, for them to haul pyre-timber from far to meet the occasion of the ruler of men: Now must fire devour, the 45 scowling flame must wash, the pillar of warriors, him who often stood the shock of the iron shower, what time the storm of missiles, urged by bow-strings, hurtled over the shield-wall, the shaft did its duty, with feather-fittings eager it backed up the arrow's point.'

Thereupon the prudent son of Weohstan called out of the squadron some thanes of the king, seven of them together, the choicest; he made the eighth, and went with them under the dangerous roof; a

50

55

warrior bore in hand a flaming torch, and he walked in front. It was not staked upon lot who should have the looting of that hoard, when the warriors 5 had partly taken a view of it in its keeperless state occupying the chamber, lying helpless. Little did any man scruple that they should with all despatch convey abroad the valuable treasures; the dragon moreover they haled, they shoved the worm over the precipitous cliff, they let the wave take him, the flood engulf him, that warder of precious spoils.

There was coiled gold laden upon wagon, countless in quantity of every kind; the etheling was borne on a bier, the hoary warrior, to Hronesness.

XLIII

THE FUNERAL AND THE EPITAPH. For him then did the leeds of the Goths construct a pyre upon the earth, with helmets, with battle-boards, with one of no mean dimensions, hung about bright byrnies, as he had requested; then did they, heaving deep sighs, lay in the midst of it the illustrious chieftain, the hero, the beloved lord. warriors to kindle upon the hill the hugThen began the est of bale-fires; the wood-smoke mounted up black over the combustive mingled with the howling of the windthe roaring blaze shot aloft, currents; until the sweltering element had demolished the bone-house. With hearts distressed and care-laden minds they mourned their liege lord's death; likewise a dirge of sorrow [was sung in honor of Beowulf by the aged dame, her hair bound up, her soul sorrowing; she said repeatedly, that she sorely dreaded for herself evil days, much bloodshed, the warrior's horror, shame and captivity]. Heaven swallowed the smoke.

mass,

Then did the people of the Wederas construct a mound on the hill; it was high and broad, to sea-voyagers widely conspicuous; and during ten days they labored about the building of the warhero's beacon: they surrounded the ashes of the conflagration with an embankment in such wise as men of eminent skill could contrive it with noblest effect. They deposited in the barrow collars and brilliants, the whole of such trappings as war-breathing men had recently cap

tured in the hoard; they abandoned the accumulated wealth of eorls for the earth to retain it, gold in marl, where it now still continues to be as useless to mankind as it was erst.

Then there rode round the mound war-chiefs, sons of ethelings, twelve in all; they would bewail their loss, bemoan the king, recite an elegy, and celebrate his name.

work; as it is fitting that a man should with words extol his liege lord, should cherish him in his affections, when he must take his departure from the ten5 emental body.

Thus did the leeds of the Goths, the companions of his hearth, lament the fall of their lord; - they said that he was of all kings in the world, the mildest

They admired his manhood, 10 and most affable to his men; most genial to his leeds; and most desirous of praise.

and they loftily appraised his daring

SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT (c. 1375)

The romantic stories cherished by the Norman conquerors of England found equal favor, in course of time, among the English. By the time of Chaucer's birth, English romances in verse were in full bloom, and during the course of that poet's life appeared the finest of all English romances, the anonymous Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. This romance as we have it combines two stories that were originally separate: the test of Sir Gawain's bravery through the compact with the Green Knight, and the test of Sir Gawain's honor and chastity through the wife of his host of the castle. Although the English author probably drew materials for his story directly from French sources, many of the structural and rhetorical excellencies of the present poem are certainly his own. A tale of daring, loyalty, courtesy, and religious devotion is presented in a spirit of refinement not to be exceeded. The poet's power of language is best shown in the scenery through which Sir Gawain is set a-wandering,— the winter scenery, not of conventional romance, but of Arthur's own Britain,

SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN
KNIGHT
I

After the siege and the assault of
Troy, when that burg was destroyed and
burnt to ashes, and the traitor tried for
his treason, the noble Eneas and his kin
sailed forth to become princes and pa-
trons of well-nigh all the Western Isles. 10
Thus Romulus built Rome (and gave to
the city his own name, which it bears
even to this day); and Ticius turned him
to Tuscany; and Langobard raised him
up dwellings in Lombardy; and Felix 15
Brutus sailed far over the French flood,
and founded the kingdom of Britain,
wherein have been war and waste and
wonder, and bliss and bale, ofttimes
since.

one while they would ride forth to joust and tourney, and again back to the court to make carols; for there was the feast holden fifteen days with all the mirth that 5 men could devise, song and glee, glorious to hear, in the daytime, and dancing at night. Halls and chambers were crowded with noble guests, the bravest of knights and the loveliest of ladies, and Arthur himself was the comeliest king that ever held a court. For all this fair folk were in their youth, the fairest and most fortunate under heaven, and the king himself of such fame that it were hard now to name so valiant a hero.

Now the New Year had but newly come in, and on that day a double portion was served on the high table to all the noble guests, and thither came the king 20 with all his knights, when the service in the chapel had been sung to an end. And they greeted each other for the New Year, and gave rich gifts, the one to the other (and they that received them were not wroth, that may ye well believe!), and the maidens laughed and made mirth till it was time to get them to meat. Then they washed and sat them down to the feasting in fitting rank and order, 30 and Guinevere the queen, gaily clad, sat on the high dais. Silken was her seat. with a fair canopy over her head, of rich tapestries of Tars, embroidered, and studded with costly gems; fair she was to look upon, with her shining gray eyes, a

And in that kingdom of Britain have been wrought more gallant deeds than in any other; but of all British kings Arthur was the most valiant, as I have heard tell; therefore will I set forth a wondrous ad- 25 venture that fell out in his time. And if ye will listen to me, but for a little while, I will tell it even as it stands in story stiff and strong, fixed in the letter, as it hath long been known in the land.

King Arthur lay at Camelot upon a Christmas-tide, with many a gallant lord and lovely lady, and all the noble brotherhood of the Round Table. There they held rich revels with gay talk and jest; 35

fairer woman might no man boast himself of having seen.

But Arthur would not eat till all were served, so full of joy and gladness was he, even as a child; he liked not either 5 to lie long, or to sit long at meat, so worked upon him his young blood and his wild brain. And another custom he had also, that came of his nobility, that he would never eat upon an high day till 10 he had been advised of some knightly deed, or some strange and marvelous tale, of his ancestors, or of arms, or of other ventures. Or till some stranger knight should seek of him leave to joust 15 with one of the Round Table, that they might set their lives in jeopardy, one against another, as fortune might favor them. Such was the king's custom when he sat in hall at each high feast with 20 his noble knights; therefore on that New Year tide, he abode, fair of face, on the throne, and made much mirth withal.

Thus the king sat before the high tables, and spake of many things; and 25 there good Sir Gawain was seated by Guinevere the queen, and on her side sat Agravain, à la dure main; both were the king's sister's sons. and full gallant knights. And at the end of the table 30 was Bishop Bawdewyn, and Ywain, King Urien's son, sat at the other side alone. These were worthily served on the daïs, and at the lower tables sat many valiant knights. Then they bare the first course 35 with the blast of trumpets and waving of banners, with the sound of drums and pipes, of song and lute, that many a heart was uplifted at the melody. Many were the dainties, and rare the meats; so great 40 was the plenty they might scarce find room on the board to set on the dishes. Each helped himself as he liked best, and to each two were twelve dishes, with great plenty of beer and wine.

Now I will say no more of the service, but that ye may know there was no lack, for there drew near a venture that the folk might well have left their labor

man, only the mightiest that might mount a steed; broad of chest and shoulders and slender of waist, and all his features of like fashion; but men marveled much at his color, for he rode even as a knight, yet was green all over.

For he was clad all in green, with a straight coat, and a mantle above; all decked and lined with fur was the cloth and the hood that was thrown back from his locks and lay on his shoulders. Hose had he of the same green, and spurs of bright gold with silken fastenings richly worked; and all his vesture was verily green. Around his waist and his saddle were bands with fair stones set upon silken work, 't were too long to tell of all the trifles that were embroidered thereon

birds and insects in gay gauds of green and gold. All the trappings of his steed were of metal of like enamel, even the stirrups that he stood in stained of the same, and stirrups and saddle-bow alike gleamed and shone with green stones. Even the steed on which he rode was of the same hue, a green horse, great and strong, and hard to hold, with broidered bridle, meet for the rider.

The knight was thus gaily dressed in
green, his hair falling around his shoul-
ders; on his breast hung a beard, as thick
and green as a bush, and the beard and
the hair of his head were clipped all
round above his elbows. The lower part
of his sleeves was fastened with clasps
in the same wise as a king's mantle.
The horse's mane was crisp and plaited
with many a knot folded in with gold
thread about the fair green, here a twist
of the hair, here another of gold.
tail was twined in like manner, and both
were bound about with a band of bright
green set with many a precious stone;
then they were tied aloft in a cunning
45 knot, whereon rang many bells of bur-
nished gold. Such a steed might no other
ride, nor had such ever been looked upon
in that hall ere that time; and all who
saw that knight spake and said that a

to gaze upon. As the sound of the music 50 man might scarce abide his stroke.
ceased, and the first course had been
fitly served, there came in at the hall
door one terrible to behold, of stature
greater than any on earth; from neck to
loin so strong and thickly made, and with 55
limbs so long and so great that he seemed
even as a giant. And yet he was but a

The

The knight bore no helm nor hauberk, neither gorget nor breast-plate, neither shaft nor buckler to smite nor to shield, but in one hand he had a holly-bough, that is greenest when the groves are bare, and in his other an axe, huge and uncomely, a cruel weapon in fashion, if