Legends of the Middle Ages | Page 4

when he
suddenly found his hand caught in so powerful a grasp that all his
efforts could not wrench it free!
Grendel and Beowulf struggled in the darkness, overturning tables and
couches, shaking the great hall to its very foundations, and causing the
walls to creak and groan under the violence of their furious blows. But
in spite of Grendel's gigantic stature, Beowulf clung so fast to the hand
and arm he had grasped that Grendel, making a desperate effort to free
himself by a jerk, tore the whole limb out of its socket! Bleeding and
mortally wounded, he then beat a hasty retreat to his marshy den,
leaving a long, bloody trail behind him.
"Soon the dark wanderer's ample shoulder bore A gaping wound, each
starting sinew crack'd, And from its socket loosed the strong-knit
joint.-- The victory was with Beowulf, and the foe, Howling and sick at
heart, fled as he might, To seek beneath the mountain shroud of mist
His joyless home; for well he knew the day Of death was on him, and
his doom was seal'd." Beowulf (Conybeare's tr.).
As for Beowulf, exhausted but triumphant, he stood in the middle of
the hall, where his companions crowded around him, gazing in

speechless awe at the mighty hand and limb, and the clawlike fingers,
far harder than steel, which no power had hitherto been able to resist.
At dawn Hrothgar and his subjects also appeared. They heard with
wonder a graphic account of the night's adventures, and gazed their fill
upon the monster's limb, which hung like a trophy from the ceiling of
Heorot. After the king had warmly congratulated Beowulf, and
bestowed upon him many rich gifts, he gave orders to cleanse the hall,
to hang it with tapestry, and to prepare a banquet in honor of the
conquering hero.
[Sidenote: Beowulf honored by the queen.] While the men were
feasting, listening to the lays of the scalds, and carrying the usual toasts,
Wealtheow, Hrothgar's beautiful wife, the Queen of Denmark,
appeared. She pledged Beowulf in a cup of wine, which he gallantly
drained after she had touched it to her lips. Then she bestowed upon
him a costly necklace (the famous Brisinga-men, according to some
authorities)[1] and a ring of the finest gold. [Footnote 1: See Guerber's
Myths of Northern Lands, p. 127.]
"'Wear these,' she cried, 'since thou hast in the fight So borne thyself,
that wide as ocean rolls Round our wind-beaten cliffs his brimming
waves, All gallant souls shall speak thy eulogy.'" Beowulf (Conybeare's
tr.).
When the banquet was ended, Hrothgar escorted his guests to more
pleasant sleeping apartments than they had occupied the night before,
leaving his own men to guard the hall, where Grendel would never
again appear. The warriors, fearing no danger, slept in peace; but in the
dead of night the mother of the giant, as grewsome and uncanny a
monster as he, glided into the hall, secured the bloody trophy still
hanging from the ceiling, and carried it away, together with Aeschere
(Askher), the king's bosom friend.
When Hrothgar learned this new loss at early dawn he was overcome
with grief; and when Beowulf, attracted by the sound of weeping,
appeared at his side, he mournfully told him of his irretrievable loss.
"'Ask not after happiness; Sorrow is renewed To the Danes' people.
Aeschere is dead, Yrmenlaf's Elder brother, The partaker of my secrets
And my counselor, Who stood at my elbow When we in battle Our
mail hoods defended, When troops rushed together And boar crests
crashed.'" Beowulf (Metcalfe's tr.).

[Sidenote: Beowulf and Grendel's mother.] The young hero
immediately volunteered to finish his work and avenge Aeschere by
seeking and attacking Grendel's mother in her own retreat; but as he
knew the perils of this expedition, Beowulf first gave explicit directions
for the disposal of his personal property in case he never returned. Then,
escorted by the Danes and Geates, he followed the bloody track until he
came to a cliff overhanging the waters of the mountain pool. There the
bloody traces ceased, but Aeschere's gory head was placed aloft as a
trophy.
"Now paused they sudden where the pine grove clad The hoar rock's
brow, a dark and joyless shade. Troublous and blood-stain'd roll'd the
stream below. Sorrow and dread were on the Scylding's host, In each
man's breast deep working; for they saw On that rude cliff young
Aeschere's mangled head." Beowulf (Conybeare's tr.).
Beowulf gazed down into the deep waters, saw that they also were
darkly dyed with the monster's blood, and, after taking leave of
Hrothgar, bade his men await his return for two whole days and nights
ere they definitely gave him up for lost. He then plunged bravely into
the bloody waters, swam about seeking for the monster's retreat, and
dived