III


The son of Half-Dane brooded on sorrow.
Wise and strong, woe beat him down,
the hate too strong, the strife too constant,
too cruel the hurts that battered his people,
this enemy filling the night with terror.

Then Hygelac's thane, beloved of the Geats,
heard of Grendel. He was the strongest of men,
and noble. At once he ordered a good ship,
and said he would sail the swan's road
and bring his warriors to this war-king.
Dear as he was to them, no one hindered him:
far-sighted men studied the omens
and urged him on. From the Geat people
he chose champions, and fifteen together
he led them down to the wave-fretted shore.
Under the cliffs their sleek ship waited
where currents curled the sea against sand,
and the sea-skilled fighters, bold and impatient,
stepped up to its prow.

Into its breast they bore bright weapons,
worthy war-gear, and then thrust out
in a well-braced ship eager for venture,
the wind urging their foam-necked bird
over the waves.
                         On the second day
the seafarers saw their journey's ending,
shining sea-cliffs and wide headlands.
Thanking God for a smooth crossing
swiftly the warriors moored their ship
and stepped onto land, their mail-shirts rattling.
From his sea-cliff walls the Scyldings warden
saw them bear their bright-bossed shields
and battle-gear over the gangplank,
and wondered aloud, who were these men?
He rode to the shore and shook his spear
and fiercely asked them, in formal words:
"What manner of men are you, mail-wearers,
who set your tall keel thus to the waves
and this way come? What is your business?"

He was the sea-guard. Under his watch
no enemies landed unseen in Denmark
to ravage the coast.

"Never before in all my time
have I seen shieldbearers land with less guile,
although you have neither word nor leave
of our war-makers, nor our kinsmen.
Nor have I seen a mightier lord
than this helmed man who stands before me.
He's no churl dressed up in fine armour
unless his looks belie his nature.
Now I demand to hear your names
and your lineage, or you will be labelled
spies in Denmark. Strangers, hear me:
plain thought and haste are best."



-- 
Editor, Masthead:  http://www.masthead.net.au
Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
Home page: http://www.alisoncroggon.com