Fitt XXII — Beowulf Seeks Grendel's Mother

Beowulf's vow to Hrothgar is immediate and unconditional. For every man it is better to avenge his friend than to mourn him too long — each of us must await the end-day of his earthly life, and let the man who can gain glory before death. Rise up, king, let us hurry at once to look at the trail. He promises this now: she shall not escape to her place, not into the earth's embrace, not into any mountain forest, not into the depths of the sea — wherever she tries to go. For today endure each of your sorrows with patience, as he truly expects. The old king springs up, gives thanks to the All-Ruler, and has a war-horse bridled at once.

The trail leads over the stony, steeply dropping cliffs, the close-covered paths, the narrow passes, the unfrequented tracks, abrupt headlands, many haunts of water-monsters. One of only a few wise-minded heroes goes ahead to scout. Then all at once: mountain-woods hanging over gray stones, a joyless forest; the water below, welling up and gory. It is painful in spirit to all the Danes and many a retainer, hard to bear, a sorrow not small to each of the warriors — when they come upon Aeschere's head on the cliff. The current seethes with blood and gore. The soldiers gaze at it. The horn sounds the battle-song.

The troop sits along the water and sees many a serpent: wondrous sea-dragons trying the waters, water-monsters lying on the headland cliffs. At midday they set out on the sea-deeps on their sorrowful journeys — wild beasts and serpent-kind. They hurry off hot-tempered and hateful when they hear the great clamor of the war-trumpet. One of them Beowulf cuts off from earth's joys with an arrow, pierces him to the vitals; the trusty war-shaft kills him. Then Beowulf dresses in his battle-gear: inlaid ample mail-coat, bright-shining helmet ringed with jewels, and Hrunting — old and most excellent among all treasures, its blade of iron stained with poison and hardened with battle-gore, never having failed any hero who dared to take the terrible journeys. He has not yet failed with it. He will.