hellog〜英語史ブログ / 2017-04-20

■ #2915. Beowulf の冒頭52行 [beowulf][link][oe][literature][popular_passage][oe_text]

　「#2893. Beowulf の冒頭11行」 ([2017-03-29-1]) で挙げた11行では物足りなく思われたので，有名な舟棺葬 (ship burial) の記述も含めた Beowulf 冒頭の52行を引用したい．舟棺葬とは，6--11世紀にスカンディナヴィアとアングロサクソンの文化で見られた高位者の葬法である．
　原文は Jack 版で．現代英語訳は Norton Anthology に収録されているアイルランドのノーベル文学賞受賞詩人 Seamus Heaney の版でお届けする．

	OE		PDE translation
	a-verse	b-verse
	Hwæt, wē Gār-Dena	in geārdagum,	So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by
	þēodcyninga	þrym gefrūnon,	and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.
	hū ðā æþelingas	ellen fremedon.	We have heard of those princes' heroic campaigns.
	Oft Scyld Scēfing	sceaþena þrēatum,	There was Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes,
5	monegum mǣgþum	meodosetla oftēah,	a wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among foes.
	egsode eorl[as],	syððan ǣrest wearð	This terror of the hall-troops had come far.
	fēasceaft funden;	hē þæs frōfre gebād,	A foundling to start with, he would flourish later on
	wēox under wolcnum,	weorðmyndum þāh,	as his powers waxed and his worth was proved.
	oðþæt him ǣghwylc þ[ǣr]	ymbsittendra	In the end each clan on the outlying coasts
10	ofer hronrāde	hȳran scolde,	beyond the whale-road had to yield to him
	gomban gyldan.	Þæt wæs gōd cyning!	and begin to pay tribute. That was one good king.
	Ðǣm eafera wæs	æfter cenned	Afterward a boy-child was born to Shield,
	geong in geardum,	þone God sende	a cub in the yard, a comfort sent
	folce tō frōfre;	fyrenðearfe ongeat	by God to that nation. Hew knew what they had tholed,
15	þ[e] hīe ǣr drugon	aldor[lē]ase	the long times and troubles they'd come through
	lange hwīle.	Him þæs Līffrēa,	without a leader; so the Lord of Life,
	wuldres Wealdend	woroldāre forgeaf;	the glorious Almighty, made this man renowned.
	Bēowulf wæs brēme	---blǣd wīde sprang---	Shield had fathered a famous son:
	Scyldes eafera	Scedelandum in.	Beow's name was known through the north.
20	Swā sceal [geong g]uma	gōde gewyrcean,	And a young prince must be prudent like that,
	fromum feohgiftum	on fæder [bea]rme,	giving freely while his father lives
	þæt hine on ylde	eft gewunigen	so that afterward in age when fighting starts
	wilgesīþas	þonne wīg cume,	steadfast companions will stand by him
	lēode gelǣsten;	lofdǣdum sceal	and hold the line. Behavior that's admired
25	in mǣgþa gehwǣre	man geþēon.	is the path to power among people everywhere.
	Him ðā Scyld gewāt	tō gescæphwīle,	Shield was still thriving when his time came
	felahrōr fēran	on Frēan wǣre.	and he crossed over into the Lord's keeping.
	Hī hyne þā ætbǣron	tō brimes faroðe,	His warrior band did what he bade them
	swǣse gesīþas,	swā hē selfa bæd,	when he laid down the law among the Danes:
30	þenden wordum wēold	wine Scyldinga;	they shouldered him out to the sea's flood,
	lēof landfruma	lange āhte.	the chief they revered who had long ruled them.
	Þǣr æt hȳðe stōd	hringedstefna	A ring-whorled prow rode in the harbor,
	īsig ond ūtfūs,	æþelinges fær;	ice-clad, outbound, a craft for a prince.
	ālēdon þā	lēofne þēoden,	They stretched their beloved lord in his boat,
35	bēaga bryttan	on bearm scipes,	laid out by the mast, amidships,
	mǣrne be mæste.	Þǣr wæs mādma fela	the great ring-giver. Far-fetched treasures
	of feorwegum,	frætwa gelǣded;	were piled upon him, and precious gear.
	ne hȳrde ic cȳmlīcor	cēol gegyrwan	I never heard before of a ship so well furbished
	hildewǣpnum	ond heaðowǣdum,	with battle-tackle, bladed weapons
40	billum ond byrnum;	him on bearme læg	and coats of mail. The massed treasure
	mādma mænigo,	þā him mid scoldon	was loaded on top of him: it would travel far
	on flōdes ǣht	feor gewītan.	on out into the ocean's sway.
	Nalæs hī hine lǣssan	lācum tēodan,	They decked his body no less bountifully
	þēodgestrēonum,	þon þā dydon	with offerings than those first ones did
45	þe hine æt frumsceafte	forð onsendon	who cast him away when he was a child
	ǣnne ofer ȳðe	umborwesende.	and launched him alone out over the waves.
	Þā gȳt hie him āsetton	segen g[yl]denne	And they set a gold standard up
	hēah ofer hēafod,	lēton holm beran,	high above his head and let him drift
	gēafon on gārsecg.	Him wæs geōmor sefa,	to wind and tide, bewailing him
50	murnende mōd.	Men ne cunnon	and mourning their loss. No man can tell,
	secgan tō sōðe,	selerǣden[d]e,	no wise man in hall or weathered veteran
	hæleð under heofenum,	hwā þǣm hlæste onfēng.	knows for certain who salvaged that load.

　・ Jack, George, ed. Beowulf: A Student Edition. Oxford: Clarendon, 1994.
　・ Greenblatt, Stephen, ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8th ed. New York:: Norton, 2006.

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