Chapter 39

“THE bloody¹ swath of Swedes and Geats

and the storm of their strife², were seen afar,

how folk against folk the fight had wakened.

The ancient king with his atheling band

sought his citadel³, sorrowing much:

Ongentheow earl went up to his burg.

He had tested Hygelac’s hardihood,

the proud one’s prowess, would prove it no longer,

defied no more those fighting-wanderers

nor hoped from the seamen⁴ to save his hoard⁵,

his bairn and his bride: so he bent⁶ him again,

old, to his earth-walls. Yet after him came

with slaughter⁷ for Swedes the standards of Hygelac

o’er peaceful plains in pride advancing,

till Hrethelings fought in the fenced town. 114

Then Ongentheow with edge of sword,

the hoary-bearded, was held at bay,

and the folk-king there was forced to suffer

Eofor’s anger. In ire, at the king

Wulf Wonreding with weapon struck;

and the chieftain’s blood, for that blow, in streams

flowed ’neath his hair. No fear felt he,

stout⁸ old Scylfing, but straightway repaid

in better bargain that bitter stroke

and faced his foe⁹ with fell intent.

Nor swift enough was the son of Wonred

answer to render the aged¹⁰ chief;

too soon on his head the helm was cloven;

blood-bedecked he bowed to earth,

and fell adown; not doomed¹¹ was he yet,

and well he waxed, though the wound was sore.

Then the hardy¹² Hygelac-thane, 115

when his brother fell, with broad brand smote¹³,

giants’ sword crashing through giants’-helm

across the shield-wall: sank the king,

his folk’s old herdsman, fatally hurt.

There were many to bind¹⁴ the brother’s wounds

and lift him, fast as fate allowed

his people to wield¹⁵ the place-of-war.

But Eofor took from Ongentheow,

earl from other, the iron-breastplate,

hard sword hilted, and helmet too,

and the hoar-chief’s harness to Hygelac carried,

who took the trappings, and truly promised

rich fee ’mid folk, — and fulfilled it so.

For that grim strife gave the Geatish lord,

Hrethel’s offspring, when home he came,

to Eofor and Wulf a wealth of treasure,

Each of them had a hundred thousand 116

in land and linked rings; nor at less price reckoned

mid-earth men such mighty¹⁶ deeds!

And to Eofor he gave his only daughter

in pledge of grace, the pride of his home.

“Such is the feud¹⁷, the foeman’s rage,

death-hate of men: so I deem it sure

that the Swedish folk will seek us home

for this fall of their friends, the fighting-Scylfings,

when once they learn that our warrior¹⁸ leader

lifeless lies, who land and hoard

ever defended from all his foes¹⁹,

furthered his folk’s weal, finished his course

a hardy hero. — Now haste is best,

that we go to gaze on our Geatish lord,

and bear the bountiful breaker-of-rings

to the funeral pyre. No fragments merely

shall burn with the warrior. Wealth of jewels,

gold untold²⁰ and gained in terror,

treasure at last with his life obtained,

all of that booty the brands shall take,

fire shall eat it. No earl must carry

memorial jewel. No maiden²¹ fair

shall wreathe her neck with noble ring:

nay²³, sad in spirit and shorn of her gold,

oft shall she pass o’er paths of exile

now our lord all laughter has laid aside,

all mirth and revel²⁴. Many a spear

morning-cold shall be clasped amain,

lifted aloft; nor shall lilt of harp²⁵

those warriors²⁶ wake; but the wan-hued raven²⁷,

fain o’er the fallen, his feast shall praise

and boast to the eagle how bravely he ate

when he and the wolf were wasting the slain²⁸.”

So he told his sorrowful tidings,

and little 117 he lied, the loyal man

of word or of work. The warriors rose;

sad, they climbed to the Cliff-of-Eagles,

went, welling with tears, the wonder to view.

Found on the sand there, stretched at rest,

their lifeless lord, who had lavished²⁹ rings

of old upon them. Ending-day

had dawned on the doughty-one; death had seized

in woful slaughter the Weders’ king.

There saw they, besides, the strangest being,

loathsome³⁰, lying their leader near,

prone³¹ on the field. The fiery³² dragon,

fearful fiend, with flame was scorched³³.

Reckoned by feet, it was fifty measures

in length as it lay. Aloft erewhile

it had revelled³⁴ by night, and anon come back,

seeking its den²²; now in death’s sure clutch

it had come to the end of its earth-hall joys.

By it there stood the stoups and jars;

dishes lay there, and dear-decked swords

eaten with rust³⁵, as, on earth’s lap resting,

a thousand winters they waited there.

For all that heritage huge, that gold

of bygone men, was bound by a spell, 118

so the treasure-hall could be touched by none

of human kind, — save that Heaven’s King,

God himself, might give whom he would,

Helper of Heroes, the hoard to open, —

even such a man as seemed to him meet.

1 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

2 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

3 citadel   

n.城堡；堡垒；避难所

参考例句：

• The citadel was solid.城堡是坚固的。
• This citadel is built on high ground for protecting the city.这座城堡建于高处是为保护城市。

4 seamen   

n.海员

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather. 有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• In the storm, many seamen wished they were on shore. 在暴风雨中，许多海员想，要是他们在陆地上就好了。

5 hoard   

n./v.窖藏，贮存，囤积

参考例句：

• They have a hoard of food in the basement.地下室里有他们贮藏的食物。
• How many curios do you hoard in your study?你在你书房里聚藏了多少古玩？

6 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

7 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

9 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

10 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

11 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

12 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

13 smote   

v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Figuratively, he could not kiss the hand that smote him. 打个比方说，他是不能认敌为友。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• \"Whom Pearl smote down and uprooted, most unmercifully.\" 珠儿会毫不留情地将这些\"儿童\"踩倒，再连根拔起。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

14 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

15 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

16 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

17 feud   

n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇

参考例句：

• How did he start his feud with his neighbor?他是怎样和邻居开始争吵起来的？
• The two tribes were long at feud with each other.这两个部族长期不和。

18 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

19 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。

20 untold   

adj.数不清的，无数的

参考例句：

• She has done untold damage to our chances.她给我们的机遇造成了不可估量的损害。
• They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort.他们遭受着黑暗中的难以言传的种种恐怖，因而只好挤在一堆互相壮胆。

21 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

22 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

23 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

24 revel   

vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢

参考例句：

• She seems to revel in annoying her parents.她似乎以惹父母生气为乐。
• The children revel in country life.孩子们特别喜欢乡村生活。

25 harp   

n.竖琴；天琴座

参考例句：

• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
• He played an Irish melody on the harp.他用竖琴演奏了一首爱尔兰曲调。

26 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

27 raven   

n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的

参考例句：

• We know the raven will never leave the man's room.我们知道了乌鸦再也不会离开那个男人的房间。
• Her charming face was framed with raven hair.她迷人的脸上垂落着乌亮的黑发。

28 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

29 lavished   

v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I lavished all the warmth of my pent-up passion. 我把憋在心里那一股热烈的情感尽量地倾吐出来。 来自辞典例句
• An enormous amount of attention has been lavished on these problems. 在这些问题上，我们已经花费了大量的注意力。 来自辞典例句

30 loathsome   

adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的

参考例句：

• The witch hid her loathsome face with her hands.巫婆用手掩住她那张令人恶心的脸。
• Some people think that snakes are loathsome creatures.有些人觉得蛇是令人憎恶的动物。

31 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

32 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

33 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。

34 revelled   

v.作乐( revel的过去式和过去分词 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉

参考例句：

• The foreign guests revelled in the scenery of the lake. 外宾们十分喜爱湖上的景色。 来自辞典例句
• He revelled in those moments of idleness stolen from his work. 他喜爱学习之余的闲暇时刻。 来自辞典例句

35 rust   

n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退

参考例句：

• She scraped the rust off the kitchen knife.她擦掉了菜刀上的锈。
• The rain will rust the iron roof.雨水会使铁皮屋顶生锈。