فصل دهم

CHAPTER TEN

Beowulf’s companions who had run away from the dragon now came back.

They were ashamed, and they stood watching as Wiglaf tried to revive their king. Wiglaf looked up at them and spoke these words angrily:

‘Beowulf gave you weapons and other gifts, but it was useless. When he needed you, you deserted him. Yet God allowed him to kill the dragon. I could not do much for him during the battle, but I tried to help him. I managed to wound the beast myself, but there were not enough of us.’

Wiglaf now spoke of his fears for the future:

‘When our enemies hear about your cowardice today, they will come to destroy our nation. The Franks and the Frisians will soon know that our king is dead. They will soon come here with their warriors. The Swedes will come as well. When Beowulf was king he protected us and kept us safe. He looked after the people, but he was also a hero.’

Then Wiglaf told the warriors what they had to do. He said that Beowulf’s funeral pyre should be a rich one. They should put the treasure he had won from the dragon onto it.

The warriors wept now as they looked down at the body of their king. Next to Beowulf they saw the body of the dragon. Nearby they saw the rich treasure from the barrow. After a few moments Wiglaf spoke again: ‘It is often dangerous for a man to do as he wants. This is what happened here. Beowulf disturbed the dragon who was guarding this treasure. Our warrior hero found the treasure, but the cost was high. He died as a result of his search. He told me what to do before he died. He said that we should build a barrow for him on the cliffs.’

Wiglaf took the warriors into the dragon’s hiding-place. They took out the treasure that was still there. Then they threw the dragon’s body over the cliff into the sea.

Wiglaf now told them to prepare wood for Beowulf’s funeral pyre. The Geat people built a great fire. They put shields and helmets on the fire, as Wiglaf had instructed them to do. Then they placed Beowulf’s body on top.

They lit the funeral pyre, and flames and smoke rose into the sky. The noise of the fire was greater than the sound the people made as they wept for their king.

A Geat woman began to sing about her pain and loss. She sang about her fears and her grief for the nation. She sang about the danger of invasion, the threat of enemies. She sang about the death of the Geats, their slavery and humiliation.

Then the Geats built a large barrow on the cliff. It was big enough for sailors to see from a long way away. It took ten days to finish the work. They took the dust that had been Beowulf, and they placed it inside the barrow. They buried the dragon’s treasure next to their dead king.

Finally, twelve men rode around the tomb. They were all kings’ sons and brave warriors. They sang a dirge for Beowulf, lamenting him as both a man and a king. They sang about his famous deeds, and they thanked God for his greatness. This was how the Geat people mourned their lord. They said that he had been the best king in the whole world, and that he had been very good to his people.