—XLIII—

Then the people of the Geats prepared for him
a funeral pyre in that place, of no small size,
hung round with helmets, shields for battle,
and shining mail-shirts, to fulfill his request.
Then the lamenting warriors laid in the center
the widely renowned prince, their beloved ruler.
The warriors awakened the greatest of funeral fires
on the high barrow, and the wood-smoke swirled up,
black above the flames, the roaring of the blaze
mingled with weeping-wind-surges ebbed—
till the heat from the fire burst the bone-house,
breaking into the breast. Unhappy in spirit,
the men sadly mourned the death of their lord.
So also an old woman, her hair loose and waving,^bb
sang in her sorrow a song of lament
for Beowulf’s passing, repeating her prophecy
that she feared invading armies of bitter foes,
a great many slaughters, the terror of war-troops,
humiliation and captivity. Heaven swallowed the smoke.

Then on the cliff, the Weders set to work,
building a barrow that was both high and broad,
which could be seen from afar by seafaring men.
Ten days later, they finished making the monument
to their battle-bold lord, with a wall built around
the remains from the fire, the finest construction
that the very wisest of men might design.
They brought to the barrow precious rings and jewels,
all such adornments as the brave-spirited men
had earlier taken away from the enemy’s hoard.
They left the treasures of earls in the earth for keeping,
the gold in the ground, where yet it still lies,
as fruitless to men now, as it formerly was.
Then men bold in battle, the sons of chieftains,
all twelve together, rode around the barrow,
expressing their grief, and lamenting their lord,
with words wrought in song, a dirge for the dead.
They sang of his valor, and his deeds of great strength,
with all their power praising the hero—as it is fitting
for a man with his words to praise his friendly lord,
share the love from his heart, when the lord must go,
passing beyond the bounds of his body.
Thus the people of the Geats gave way to grief,
the king’s hearth-companions mourning his fall.
They said that he was, among all the world’s kings,
the mildest of men, and the most kind in giving,
the most gentle of men, and the most eager for fame.