Ān mann wæs eardiende on Israhēla þēode, Manuē
ġe·hāten, of þǣre mǣġþe Dan; his wīf wæs un-tīemend, and
hīe wunodon būtan ċilde. Him cōm þā gangende tō Godes
ęnġel, and cwæþ þæt hīe scolden habban sunu him
ġe·mǣnne; 'ne hē ealu ne drince nǣfre oþþe wīn, ne nāht
fūles ne þiċġe; sē biþ Gode hāliġ fram his ċildhāde; and
man ne mōt hine ęfsian oþþe be·sċieran, for þǣm þe hē
on·ġinþ tō ā·līesenne his folc, Israhēla þēode, of Philistēa
þēowte.'
Hēo ā·cęnde þā sunu, swā swā hiere sæġde se ęnġel, and
hēt hine Samson; and hē swīþe wēox; and God hine blētsode,
and Godes gāst wæs on him. Hē wearþ þā mihtiġ on
miċelre stręnġþo, swā þæt hē ġe·lǣhte āne lēon be weġe, þe
hine ā·bītan wolde, and tō·bræġd hīe tō styċċum, swelce he
tō·tǣre sum ēaþelic tiċċen.
Hē be·gann þā tō winnenne wiþ þā Philistēos, and hiera
fela of·slōg and tō scame tūcode, þēah þe hīe onweald hæfden
ofer hīs lēode. Þā fērdon þā Philistēi forþ æfter Samsone,
and hēton his lēode þæt hīe hine ā·ġēafen tō hiera onwealde,
þæt hīe wrecan mihten hiera tēon-rǣdenne mid tintregum
on him. Hīe þā hine ġe·bundon mid twǣm bæstenum rāpum
and hine ġe·lǣddon tō þǣm folce. And þā Philistēiscan þæs
fæġnodon swīþe; urnon him tō·ġēanes ealle hlȳdende; woldon
hine tintreġian for hiera tēonrǣdenne. Þā tō·bræġd
Samson bēġen his earmas, þæt þā rāpas tō-burston þe hē mid
ġe·bunden wæs. And hē ġe·lǣhte þ a sōna sumes assan
ċinn-bān þe hē þǣr funde, and ġe·feaht wiþ hīe, and of·slōġ
ān þūsend mid þæs assan ċinnbāne. Hē wearþ þā swīþe
of·þyrst for þǣm wundorlican slęġe, and bæd þone heofonlican
God þæt hē him ā·sęnde drincan, for þǣm þe on þǣre
nēawiste næs nān wætersċipe. Þā arn of þǣn ċinnbāne
of ānum tēþ wæter; and Samson þā dranc, and his Dryhtne
þancode.
Æfter þissum hē fērde tō Philistēa lande, intō ānre byriġ
on hiera onwealde, Gaza ġe·hāten. And hīe þæs fæġnodon;
be·sętton þā þǣt hūs þe hē inne wunode; woldon hine
ġe·niman mid þǣm þe hē ūt ēode on ǣrne-merġen, and hine
of·slēan. Hwæt þā Samson hiera sierwunga under·ġeat; and
ā·rās on middre nihte tō·middes his fēondum, and ġe·nam
þā burg-ġeatu, and ġe·bær on his hryċġe mid þǣm postum,
swā swā hīe be·locenu wǣron, ūp tō ānre dūne tō ufeweardum
þǣm cnolle; and ēode swā or-sorg of hiera ġe·sihþum.
Hine be·swāc swā·þēah siþþan ān wīf, Dalila ġe·hāten, of
þǣm hǣþnan folce, swā þæt hē hiere sæġde, þurh hiere swīcdōm
be·pǣht, on hwǣm his stręnġþo wæs and his wundorlicu
miht. Þā hǣþnan Philistēi be·hēton hiere sċeattas wiþ þǣm
þe hēo be·swice Samson þone strangan. Þā āscode hēo
hine ġeorne mid hiere ōlǣċunge on hwǣm his miht wǣre;
and hē hiere andwyrde: 'Ġif ic bēo ġe·bunden mid seofon
rāpum, of sinum ġeworhte, sōna ic bēo ġe·wield.' Þæt
swicole wīf þā be·ġeat þā seofon rāpas, and hē þurh sierwunge
swā wearþ ġe·bunden. And him man cȳþde þæt
þǣr cōmon his fīend; þā tō·bræc hē sōna þā rāpas, swā
swā hęfel-þrǣdas; and þæt wīf nyste on hwǣm his miht
wæs. Hē wearþ eft ġe·bunden mid eall-nīwum rāpum; and
hē þā tō·bræc, swā swā þā ōþre.
Hēo be·swāc hine swā·þēah, þæt hē hiere sæġde æt
nīehstan: 'Ic eom Gode ġe·hālgod fram mīnum ċildhāde; and
ic næs nǣfre ġe·ęfsod, ne nǣfre be·scoren; and ġif ic bēo
be·scoren, þonne bēo ic un-mihtiġ, ōþrum mannum ġe·līc;'
and hēo lēt þā swā.
Hēo þā on sumum dæġe, þā þā hē on slǣpe læġ, for·ċearf
his seofon loccas, and ā·weahte hine siþþan; þā wæs
hē swā unmihtiġ swā swā ōþre męnn. And þā Philistēi
ġe·fēngon hine sōna, swā swā hēo hine be·lǣwde, and ġe·lǣddon
hine on·weġ; and hēo hæfde þone sċeatt, swā swā
him ġe·wearþ.
Hīe þā hine ā·blęndon, and ġe·bundenne lǣddon on
heardum racentēagum hām tō hiera byriġ, and on cwearterne
be·lucon tō langre fierste: hēton hine grindan æt
hiera hand-cweorne. Þā wēoxon his loccas and his miht
eft on him. And þā Philistēi full·blīþe wǣron: þancodon
hiera Gode, Dagon ġe·hāten, swelce hīe þurh his fultum
hiera fēond ġe·wielden.
Þā Philistēi þā miċle feorme ġe·worhton, and ġe·samnodon
hīe on sumre ūp-flōra, ealle þā hēafod-męnn, and
ēac swelce wīf-męnn, þrēo þūsend manna on miċelre blisse.
And þā þā hīe blīþost wǣron, þā bǣdon hīe sume þæt Samson
mōste him macian sum gamen; and hine man sōna
ġe·fętte mid swīþlicre wāfunge, and hēton hine standan
be·twix twǣm stǣnenum swēorum. On þǣm twǣm swēorum
stōd þæt hūs eall ġe·worht. And Samson þā plegode
swīþe him æt·foran; and ġe·lǣhte þā swēoras mid swīþlicre
mihte, and slōg hīe tō·gædre þæt hīe sōna tō·burston; and
þæt hūs þā ā·fēoll eall, þǣm folce tō dēaþe, and Samson
forþ mid, swā þæt hē miċle mā on his dēaþe ā·cwealde
þonne hē ǣr cwic dyde.
V.
FROM THE CHRONICLE.
Breten īeġ-land is eahta hund mīla lang, and twā hund
mīla brād; and hēr sind on þǣm īeġlande fīf ġe·þēodu:
Ęnġlisc, Brettisc, Scyttisc, Pihtisc, and Bōc-læden.
Ǣrest wǣron būend þisses landes Brettas. Þā cōmon
of Armenia, and ġe·sǣton sūþan-wearde Bretene ǣrest. Þā
ġe·lamp hit þæt Peohtas cōmon sūþan of Scithian mid
langum sċipum, nā manigum; and þā cōmon ǣrest on
Norþ-ibernian ūp; and þǣr bǣdon Scottas þæt hīe þǣr
mōsten wunian. Ac hīe noldon him līefan, for þǣm þe hīe
cwǣdon þæt hīe ne mihten ealle æt·gædre ġe·wunian þǣr.
And þā cwǣdon þā Scottas: 'Wē magon ēow hwæþre rǣd
ġe·lǣran: wē witon ōþer īeġland hēr-be·ēastan; þǣr ġē
magon eardian, ġif ġē willaþ; and ġif hwā ēow wiþ·stęnt,
wē ēow fultumiaþ þæt ġē hit mæġen ġe·gān.'
Þā fērdon þā Peohtas, and ġefērdon þis land norþan-weard;
sūþan-weard hit hæfdon Brettas, swā swā wē ǣr cwǣdon.
And þā Peohtas him ā·bǣdon wīf æt Scottum on þā ġe·rād
þæt hīe ġe·curen hiera cyne-cynn ā on þā wīf-healfe. Þæt
hīe hēoldon swā lange siþþan.
And þā ġe·lamp ymbe ġēara ryne þæt Scotta sum dǣl
ġe·wāt of Ibernian on Bretene, and þæs landes sumne dǣl
ġe·ēodon; and wæs hiera hęre-toga Rēoda ġe·hāten: fram
þæm hīe sind ġe·nęmnede Dālrēodi.
Anno 449. Hēr Martiānus and Valentīnus on·fēngon rīċe,
and rīċsodon seofon winter.
And on hiera dagum, Hęnġest and Horsa, fram Wyrtġeorne
ġe·laþode, Bretta cyninge, ġe·sōhton Bretene on þǣm
stęde þe is ġe·nęmned Ypwines-flēot, ǣrest Brettum tō fultume,
ac hīe eft on hīe fuhton.
Se cyning hēt hīe feohtan on·ġēan Peohtas; and hīe swā
dydon, and siġe hæfdon swā hwǣr swā hīe cōmon.
Hīe þā sęndon tō Angle, and hēton him sęndan māran
fultum; and hēton him sęċġan Bret-wēala nāhtnesse and þæs
landes cysta. Hīe þā sęndon him māran fultum. Þā cōmon
þā męnn of þrim mǣġþum Ġermānie: of Eald-seaxum, of
Ęnġlum, of Īotum.
Of Īotum cōmon Cant-ware and Wiht-ware—þæt is sēo
mǣġþ þe nū eardaþ on Wiht—and þæt cynn on West-seaxum
þe man nū·ġiet hǣtt 'Īotena cynn.' Of Eald-seaxum
cōmon Ēast-seaxe, and Sūþ-seaxe, and West-seaxe.
Of Angle cōmon—sē ā siþþan stōd wēste be·twix Īotum and
Seaxum—Ēast-ęnġle, Middel-ęnġle, Mierċe, and ealle Norþhymbre.
455. Hēr Hęnġest and Horsa fuhton wiþ Wyrtġeorne
þǣm cyninge in þǣre stōwe þe is ġe·cweden Æġles-þrep;
and his brōþor Horsan man of·slōg. And æfter þǣm Hęnġest
fēng tō rīċe, and Æsc his sunu.
457. Hēr Hęnġest and Æsc fuhton wiþ Brettas in þǣre
stōwe þe is ġe·cweden Cręċġan-ford, and þǣr of·slōgon
fēower þūsend wera. And þā Brettas þā for·lēton Cęnt-land,
and mid miċle ęġe flugon tō Lunden-byriġ.
473. Hēr Henġest and Æsc ġe·fuhton wiþ Wēalas, and
ġe·nāmon un-ārīmedlicu hęre-rēaf, and þā Wēalas flugon
þā Ęnġle swā swā fȳr.
787. Hēr nam Beorht-rīċ cyning Offan dohtor Ēad-burge.
And on his dagum cōmon ǣrest þrēo sċipu; and þā se
ġe·rēfa þǣr tō rād, and hīe wolde drīfan tō þæs cyninges
tūne, þȳ hē nyste hwæt hīe wǣron; and hine man of·slōg.
Þæt wǣron þā ǣrestan sċipu Dęniscra manna þe Angel-cynnes
land ġe·sōhton.
851. Hēr Ċeorl ealdor-mann ġe·feaht wiþ hǣþne męnn
mid Defena-sċīre æt Wiċġan-beorge, and þǣr miċel wæl
ġe·slōgon, and siġe nāmon.
And þȳ ilcan ġēare Æþelstān cyning and Ealhhęre dux
miċelne hęre of·slōgon æt Sand-wīc on Cęnt; and nigon
sċipu ġe·fēngon, and þā ōþru ġe·flīemdon; and hǣþne męnn
ǣrest ofer winter sǣton.
And þȳ ilcan ġēare cōm fēorþe healf hund sċipa on
Tęmese-mūþan, and brǣcon Cantwara-burg, and Lunden-burg,
and ġe·flīemdon Beorhtwulf Mierċna cyning mid his
fierde; and fērdon þā sūþ ofer Tęmese on Sūþriġe; and
him ġe·feaht wiþ Æþelwulf cyning and Æþelbeald his
sunu æt Āc-lēa mid West-seaxna fierde, and þǣr þæt mǣste
wæl ġe·slōgon on hǣþnum hęre þe wē sęċġan hīerdon oþ
þisne andweardan dæġ, and þǣr siġe nāmon.
867. Hēr fōr se hęre of Ēast-ęnġlum ofer Humbre-mūþan
tō Eoforwīc-ċeastre on Norþ-hymbre. And þǣr wæs miċel
un-ġeþwǣrnes þǣre þēode be·twix him selfum, and hīe
hæfdon hiera cyning ā·worpenne Ōsbryht, and un-ġecyndne
cyning under·fēngon Ællan. And hīe late on ġēare tō þǣm
ġe·ċierdon þæt hīe wiþ þone hęre winnende wǣron; and hīe
þēah miċle fierd ġe·gadrodon, and þone hęre sōhton æt
Eoforwīc-ċeastre; and on þā ċeastre brǣcon, and hīe sume
inne wurdon; and þǣr wæs un-ġemetlic wæl ge·slæġen Norþanhymbra,
sume binnan, sume būtan, and þā cyningas
bēġen ofslæġene; and sēo lāf wiþ þone hęre friþ nam.
VI.
KING EDMUND.
Sum swīþe ġe·lǣred munuc cōm sūþan ofer sǣ fram sancte
Benedictes stōwe, on Æþelredes cyninges dæġe, to Dūnstāne
ærċe-biscope, þrim ġēarum ǣr þǣm þe hē forþ·fērde,
and se munuc hātte Abbo. Þā wurdon hīe æt sprǣċe, oþ
þæt Dūnstān reahte be sancte Ēadmunde, swā swā Ēadmundes
sweord-bora hit reahte Æþelstāne cyninge, þā þā
Dūnstān ġēong mann wæs, and se sweord-bora wæs for·ealdod
mann. Þā ġe·sętte se munuc ealle þā, ġe·ręċednesse on
ānre bēc, and eft, þā þā sēo bōc cōm tō ūs, binnan fēam
ġēarum, þā ā·węndon wē hit on Ęnġlisc, swā swā hit hēr·æfter
stęnt. Se munuc þā Abbo binnan twǣm ġēarum ġe·węnde
hām tō his mynstre, and wearþ sōna tō abbode
ġe·sętt on þǣm ilcan mynstre.
Ēadmund se ēadiga, Ēast-ęnġla cyning, wæs snotor and
weorþfull, and weorþode simle mid æþelum þēawum þone
ælmihtigan God. Hē wæs ēaþ-mōd and ġe·þungen, and
swā ān-rǣd þurh·wunode þæt hē nolde ā·būgan tō bismerfullum
leahtrum, ne on nāwþre healfe hē ne ā·hielde his
þēawas, ac wæs simle ġe·myndiġ þǣre sōþan lāre: 'Ġif þū
eart tō hēafod-męnn ġe·sętt, ne ā·hęfe þū þē, ac bēo be·twix
mannum swā swā ān mann of him.' Hē wæs
cystiġ wǣdlum and widewum swā swā fæder, and mid
wel-willendnesse ġe·wissode his folc simle tō riht-wīsnesse,
and þǣm rēþum stīerde, and ġe·sǣliġlīce leofode on sōþum
ġe·lēafan.
Hit ġe·lamp þā æt nīehstan þæt þā Dęniscan lēode fērdon
mid sċip-hęre, hęrgiende and slēande wīde ġeond land, swā
swā hiera ġe·wuna is. On þǣm flotan wǣron þā fyrmestan
hēafod-męnn, Hinguar and Hubba, ġe·ānlǣhte þurh dēofol,
and hīe on Norþhymbra-lande ġe·lęndon mid æscum, and
ā·wēston þæt land, and þā lēode of·slōgon. Þā ġe·węnde
Hinguar ēast mid his sċipum, and Hubba be·lāf on Norþhymbra-lande,
ġe·wunnenum siġe mid wæl-hrēownesse.
Hinguar þā be·cōm tō Ēast-ęnġlum rōwende on þǣm ġēare
þe Ælfred æþeling ān and twęntiġ ġēara wæs, sē þe West-seaxna
cyning siþþan wearþ mǣre. And se fore-sæġda
Hinguar fǣrlīce, swā swā wulf, on lande be·stealcode, and
þā lēode slōg, weras and wīf, and þā unġewittigan ċīld,
and to bismere tūcode þā bilewītan Crīstenan. Hē sęnde
þā siþþan sōna tō þǣm cyninge bēotlic ǣrende, þæt hē
ā·būgan scolde tō his mann-rǣdenne, ġif hē his fēores rōhte.
Se ǣrend-raca cōm þā tō Ēadmunde cyninge, and Hinguares
ǣrende him arodlīce ā·bēad: 'Hinguar ūre cyning, cēne
and siġefæst on sǣ and on lande, hæfþ fela þēoda ġe·weald,
and cōm nū mid fierde fǣrlīce hēr tō lande, þæt
hē hēr winter-setl mid his werode hæbbe. Nū hǣtt hē þē
dǣlan þīne dīeglan gold-hordas and þīnra ieldrena ġe·strēon
arodlīce wiþ hine, and þū bēo his under-cyning, ġif þū
cwic bēon wilt, for þǣm þe þū næfst þā miht þæt þū mæġe
him wiþ·standan.'
Hwæt þā Ēadmund cyning clipode ānne biscop þe him
þā ġe·hęndost wæs, and wiþ hine smēade hū hē þǣm
rēþan Hinguare andwyrdan scolde. Þā forhtode se biscop
for þǣm fǣrlican ġe·limpe, and for þæs cyninges līfe,
and cwæþ þæt him rǣd þūhte þæt hē tō þǣm ġe·buge þe
him bēad Hinguar. Þā swīgode se cyning, and be·seah
tō þǣre eorþan, and cwæþ þā æt nīehstan cynelīce him
tō: 'Ēalā þū biscop, tō bismere sind ġe·tāwode þās earman
land-lēode, and mē nū lēofre wǣre þæt ic on ġe·feohte
fēolle wiþ þǣm þe mīn folc mōste hiera eardes brūcan.'
And se biscop cwæþ: 'Ēalā þū lēofa cyning, þīn folc
līþ of·slæġen, and þū næfst þone fultum þæt þū feohtan
mæġe, and þās flot-męnn cumaþ, and þē cwicne ġe·bindaþ,
būtan þū mid flēame þīnum fēore ġe·beorge, oþþe þū þē swā
ġe·beorge þæt þū būge tō him.' Þā cwæþ Ēadmund cyning,
swā swā hē full·cēne wæs: 'þæs ic ġe·wilniġe and ġe·wȳsċe
mid mōde þæt ic āna ne be·līfe æfter mīnum lēofum þeġnum,
þe on hiera będdum wurdon mid bearnum and wīfum fǣrlīce
of·slæġene fram þissum flot-mannum. Næs mē nǣfre ġe·wunelic
þæt ic worhte flēames, ac ic wolde swīþor sweltan,
ġif ic þorfte, for mīnum āgnum earde, and se ælmihtiga God
wāt þæt ic nyle ā·būgan fram his bī-gęnġum ǣfre, ne fram
his sōþre lufe, swelte ic, libbe ic.'
Æfter þissum wordum hē ġe·węnde tō þǣm ǣrend-racan þe
Hinguar him tō sęnde, and sæġde him un·forht: 'Witodlīce
þū wǣre nū wierþe slęġes, ac ic nyle ā·fȳlan on þīnum fūlum
blōde mīne clǣnan handa, for þǣm þe ic Crīste folgiġe, þe
ūs swā ġe·bȳsnode; ac ic blīþelīce wile bēon of·slæġen
þurh ēow, ġif hit swā God fore-sċēawaþ. Far nū swīþe hraþe,
and sęġe þīnum rēþan hlāforde, "ne ā·bȳhþ nǣfre Ēadmund
Hinguare on līfe, hǣþnum hęre-togan, būtan hē to Hǣlende
Crīste ǣrest mid ġe·lēafan on þissum lande ġe·būge."'
Þā ġe·węnde se ǣrend-raca arodlīce on·weġ, and ġe·mētte
be weġe þone wæl-hrēowan Hinguar mid ealre his fierde
fūse to Ēadmunde, and sæġde þǣm ārleasan hū him ġe·andwyrd
wæs. Hinguar bebēad þā mid bieldo þǣm sċip-hęre
þæt hīe þæs cyninges ānes ealle cēpan scolden, þe his hǣse
for·seah, and hine sōna bindan.
Hwæt þā Ēadmund cyning, mid þǣm þe Hinguar cōm,
stōd innan his healle, þæs Hǣlendes ġe·myndiġ, and ā·wearp
his wǣpnu: wolde ġe·efenlǣċan Crīstes ġe·bȳsnungum, þe
for·bēad Petre mid wǣpnum tō winnenne wiþ þā wælhrēowan
Iūdēiscan. Hwæt þā ārlēasan þā Ēadmund ġe·bundon, and
ġe·bismrodon huxlīce, and bēoton mid sāglum, and swā
siþþan lǣddon þone ġe·lēaffullan cyning tō ānum eorþ-faestan
trēowe, and tīeġdon hine þǣr-tō mid heardum bęndum,
and hine eft swungon langlīce mid swipum; and hē
simle clipode be·twix þǣm swinglum mid sōþum ġe·lēafan tō
Hǣlende Crīste; and þā hǣþnan þā for his ġe·lēafan wurdon
wōdlīce ierre, for þǣm þe hē clipode Crīst him tō fultume:
hīe scuton þā mid gafelocum him tō, swelce him to gamene,
oþ þæt hē eall wæs be·sętt mid hiera scotungum, swelce īles
byrsta, swā swā Sebastiānus wæs. Þā ġe·seah Hinguar, se
ārlēasa flotmann, þæt se æþela cyning nolde Crīste wiþ·sacan,
ac mid ānrǣdum ġe·lēafan hine ǣfre clipode: hēt hine þā
be·hēafdian, and þā hǣþnan swā dydon. Be·twix þǣm þe hē
clipode tō Crīste þā·ġiet, þā tugon þā hǣþnan þone hālgan
tō slęġe, and mid ānum swęnġe slōgon him of þæt hēafod,
and his sāwol sīþode ġe·sǣliġ tō Crīste. Þǣr wæs sum
mann ġe·hęnde ġe·healden, þurh God be·hȳdd þǣm hǣþnum,
þe þis ġe·hīerde eall, and hit eft sæġde, swā swā wē hit
sęċġaþ hēr.
Hwæt þā se flot-hęre fērde eft tō sċipe, and be·hȳddon þæt
hēafod þæs hālgan Ēadmundes on þǣm þiċċum brēmlum,
þæt hit be·byrġed ne wurde. Þā æfter fierste siþþan hīe
ā·farene wǣron, cōm þæt land-folc tō, þe þǣr tō lāfe wæs,
þǣr hiera hlāfordes līc læġ būtan hēafde, and wurdon swiþe
sāriġe for his slęġe on mōde, and hūru þæt hīe næfden þæt
hēafod tō þǣm bodiġe. Þā sæġde se sċēawere þe hit ǣr
ġe·seah, þæt þā flotmęnn hæfden þæt hēafod mid him; and
wæs him ġe·þūht, swā swā hit wæs full·sōþ, þæt hīe behȳdden
þæt hēafod on þǣm holte for·hwega.
Hīe ēodon þā ęndemes ealle tō þǣm wuda, sēċende ġe·hwǣr,
ġeond þȳflas and brēmlas, ġif hīe ā-hwǣr mihten
ġe·mētan þæt hēafod. Wæs ēac miċel wundor þæt ān wulf
wearþ ā·sęnd, þurh Godes wissunge, tō be·węrienne þæt
hēafod wiþ þā ōþru dēor ofer dæġ and niht. Hīe ēodon þā
sēċende and simle clipiende, swā swā hit ġe·wunelic is þǣm
þe on wuda gāþ oft, 'hwǣr eart þū nū, ġe·fēra?' And him
andwyrde þæt hēafod, 'hēr, hēr, hēr;' and swā ġe·lōme
clipode andswariende him eallum, swā oft swā hiera ǣniġ
clipode, oþ þæt hīe ealle be·cōmon þurh þā clipunge him tō.
Þā læġ se grǣga wulf þe be·wiste þæt hēafod, and mid his
twǣm fōtum hæfde þæt hēafod be·clypped, grǣdiġ and hungriġ,
and for Gode ne dorste þæs hēafdes on·byrġan, ac
hēold hit wiþ dēor. Þā wurdon hīe of·wundrode þæs
wulfes hierd-rǣdenne, and þæt hāliġe hēafod hām fęredon
mid him, þanciende þǣm Ælmihtigan ealra his wundra.
Ac se wulf folgode forþ mid þǣm hēafde, oþ þæt hīe tō
tūne cōmon, swelce hē tam wære, and ġe·węnde eft siþþan
tō wuda on·ġēan.
Þā land-lēode þā siþþan lęġdon þæt hēafod tō þǣm hālgan
bodiġe, and be·byriġdon swā hīe sēlest mihton on swelcre
hrædunge, and ċiriċan ā·rǣrdon sōna him on·uppan. Eft
þā on fierste, æfter fela ġēarum, þā sēo hęrgung ġe·swāc,
and sibb wearþ for·ġiefen þǣm ġe·swęnċtan folce, þā fēngon
hīe tō·gædre, and worhton āne ċiriċan weorþlīce þǣm hālgan,
for þǣm þe ge·lōme wundru wurdon æt his byrġenne, æt
þǣm ġe·bed-hūse þǣr hē be·byrġed wæs. Hīe woldon þā
fęrian mid folclicre weorþmynde þone hālgan līchaman, and
lęċġan innan þǣre ċiriċan. Þā wæs miċel wundor þæt hē
wæs eall swā ġe·hāl swelce hē cwic wǣre, mid clǣnum līchaman,
and his swēora wæs ġe·hǣled, þe ǣr wæs for·slæġen, and
wæs swelce ān seolcen þrǣd ymbe his swēoran, mannum tō
sweotolunge hū hē ofs·læġen wæs. Ēac swelce þā wunda,
þe þā wælhrēowan hǣþnan mid ġe·lōmum scotungum on his
līce macodon, wǣron ġe·hǣlde þurh þone heofonlican God;
and hē; līþ swā onsund oþ þisne and-weardan dæġ, and-bīdiende
ǣristes and þæs ēċan wuldres. His līchama ūs
cȳþþ, þe līþ un-formolsnod, þæt hē būtan for·liġre hēr on
worulde leofode, and mid clǣnum līfe tō; Crīste sīþode.
Sum widewe wunode, Ōswyn ġe·hāten, æt þæs hālgan
byrġenne, on ġe·bedum and fæstennum manigu ġēar siþþan.
Sēo wolde ęfsian ǣlce ġēare þone sanct, and his næġlas
ċeorfan sīeferlīce mid lufe, and on scrīne healdan tō hāliġ-dōme
on weofode. Þa weorþode þæt land-folc mid ġe·lēafan þone
sanct, and Þēodred biscop þearle mid ġiefum on golde and
on seolfre, þǣm sancte tō weorþmynde.
Þā cōmon on sumne sǣl un-ġesǣlige þēofas eahta on
ānre nihte tō þǣm ār-weorþan hālgan: woldon stelan þā
māþmas þe męnn þider brōhton, and cunnodon mid cræfte
hū hīe inn cuman mihten. Sum slōg mid slęċġe swīþe þā
hæspan, sum hiera mid fēolan fēolode ymb·ūtan, sum ēac
under·dealf þā duru mid spadan, sum hiera mid hlǣddre wolde
on·lūcan þǣt ēag-þȳrel; ac hīe swuncon on īdel, and earmlīce
fērdon, swā þæt se hālga wer hīe wundorlīce ġe·band,
ǣlcne swā hē stōd strūtiendne mid tōle, þæt hiera nān ne
mihte þæt morþ ġe·fręmman ne hīe þanon ā·styrian; ac
stōdon swā oþ merġen. Męnn þā þæs wundrodon, hū þā
weargas hangodon, sum on hlǣddre, sum lēat tō ġe·delfe,
and ǣlc on his weorce wæs fæste ġe·bunden. Hīe wurdon
þā ġe·brōhte tō þǣm biscope ealle, and hē hēt hīe ā·hōn on
hēam ġealgum ealle; ac hē næs nā ġe·myndiġ hū se mildheorta
God clipode þurh his wītegan þās word þe hēr standaþ:
Eos qui ducuntur ad mortem eruere ne cesses, 'þā þe man lǣtt
tō dēaþe ā·līes hīe ūt simle.' And ēac þā hālgan canōnes
bēc ġe·hādodum for·bēodaþ ġe biscopum ġe prēostum tō
bēonne ymbe þēofas, for þǣm þe hit ne ġe·byreþ þǣm þe
bēop ġe·corene Gode to þeġnienne þæt hīe ġe·þwǣrlǣċan
scylen on ǣniġes mannes dēaþe, ġif hīe bēoþ Dryhtnes
þeġnas. Eft þā Þēodred biscop sċēawode his bēc, hē siþþan
be·hrēowsode mid ġēomrunge þæt hē swā rēþne dōm sętte
þǣm unġesǣligum þēofum, and hit be·sārgode ǣfre oþ his
līfes ęnde, and þā lēode bæd ġeorne þæt hīe him mid fæsten
fullīce þrīe dagas, biddende þone Ælmihtigan þæt hē him
ārian scolde.
On þǣm lande wæs sum mann, Lēofstān ġe·hāten, rīċe
for worulde, un-ġewittiġ for Gode; sē rād tō þǣm hālgan
mid rīċetere swīþe, and hēt him æt·īewan orgellīce swīþe
þone hālgan sanct, hwæþer hē ġe·sund wǣre; ac swā hraþe
swā hē ġe·seah þæs sanctes līchaman, þā ā·wēdde hē sōna,
and wæl-hrēowlīce grymetode, and earmlīce ġe·ęndode yflum
dēaþe. Þis is þǣm ġe·līc þe se ġe·lēaffulla pāpa Gregōrius
sæġde on his ġesętnesse be þǣm hālgan Laurentie, þe līþ on
Rōme-byriġ, þæt męnn wolden sċēawian hū hē lǣġe ġe
gōde ġe yfle; ac God hīe ġe·stilde swā þæt þǣr swulton
on þǣre sċēawunge seofon męnn æt·gædre; þā ġeswicon
þā ōþre tō sċēawienne þone martyr mid męnniscum ġe·dwylde.
Fela wundra wē ġe·hīerdon on folclicre sprǣċe be þǣm
hālgan Ēadmunde, þe wē hēr nyllaþ on ġe·write sęttan, ac hīe
wāt ġe·hwā. On þissum hālgan is sweotol, and on swelcum
ōþrum, þæt God ælmihtiġ mæġ þone mann ā·rǣran eft on
dōmes dæġe onsundne of eorþan, sē þe hielt Ēadmund hālne
his līchaman oþ þone mīċlan dæġ, þēah þe hē on moldan cōme.
Wierþe wǣre sēo stōw for þǣm weorþfullan hālgan þæt hīe
man weorþode and wel ġe·lōgode mid clǣnum Godes þēowum
tō Crīstes þēowdōme; for þǣm þe se hālga is mǣrra þonne
męnn mæġen ā·smēan. Nis Angel-cynn be·dǣled Dryhtnes
hālgena, þonne on Ęnġla-lande liċġaþ swelce hālgan swelce
þes hālga cyning, and Cūþberht se ēadiga and sancte
Æþelþrȳþ on Ēliġ, and ēac hiere sweostor, onsund on līchaman,
ġe·lēafan tō trymmunge. Sind ēac fela ōþre on
Angel-cynne hālgan, þe fela wundra wyrċaþ, swā swā hit
wīde is cūþ, þǣm Ælmihtigan tō lofe, þe hīe on ġe·līefdon.
Crīst ġe·sweotolaþ mannum þurh his mǣre hālgan þæt hē is
ælmihtiġ God þe wyrċþ swelc wundru, þēah þe þā earman
Iūdēiscan hine eallunga wiþ·sōcen, for þǣm þe hīe sind
ā·wierġde, swā swā hīe wȳsċton him selfum. Ne bēoþ nān
wundru ġe·worht æt hiera byrġennum, for þǣm þe hīe ne
ġe·līefaþ on þone lifiendan Crīst; ac Crīst ġe·sweotolaþ
mannum hwǣr se gōda ġe·lēafa is, þonne hē swelc wundru
wyrċþ þurh his hālgan wīde ġeond þās eorþan, þæs him sīe
wuldor and lof ā mid his heofonlicum Fæder and þǣm Hālgan
Gāste, ā būtan ęnde.
NOTES.
The references marked 'Gr.' are to the pages and paragraphs of the grammar; paragraph-references in ( ) are to the numbered paragraphs in the grammar.
I. SENTENCES.
Line 2. sē. Gr. 21. 1.
þis sind. Gr. 45. 2.
l. 6. sęlþ. Gr. 45. 5.
l. 7. sēo ælmesse. Gr. 44. 3.
l. 12. ġeworhte. Gr. 46. (3).
l. 16. hiera. Gr. 41. 3.
nǣfre ... ne ... nānes. Gr. 52. 2. ne wæs is usually contracted into næs; the full form is used here because the wæs is emphatic.
l. 17. hēt ofslēan. Gr. 50. 4.
l. 23. Æþelred cyning. Gr. 42. 6.
l. 24. Æsces-dūn, sf. Ashdown, literally 'hill (or down) of the ashtree.'
l. 27. wile here denotes repetition, = 'is in the habit of.' Cp. l. 52.
l. 28. þonne is correlative with gif (l. 26), Gr. 52. 3.
l. 37. ælmihtiga. Gr. 43. (4).
l. 43. ēower se heofonlica Fæder. This insertion of the definite article between a possessive pronoun and an adjective is frequent.
l. 50. bēo. Gr. 48. (6).
l. 52. tō, for.
l. 56. twęntiġ wintra. Gr. 18.
l. 58. Dēofol. Gr. 44. 1.
l. 60. scortan. Gr. 43. (2).
l. 61. fisca. Gr. 41. 3.
l. 63. pǣm, those.
hider on land, lit. hither on to land, = to this land.
l. 74. blētsian. The older form of this word is bledsian. It is a derivative of blōd, like rīċsian from rīċe, with mutation of the root vowel. Its original meaning was to 'sprinkle with blood,' and hence, in heathen times, to 'consecrate,' especially to consecrate an altar by sprinkling it with the blood of the victim.
l. 80. godspell. The original form of this word was probably gōdspell = 'good tidings,' a literal translation of the Greek euaggélion. Afterwards the first vowel was shortened before the following consonant-group, or else god was directly substituted for gōd, as giving a more evident meaning, the result being that the word was taken in the sense of 'God's tidings.' In this form it was adopted into Icelandic (guðspiall) and Old High German (gotespel), having been introduced by the Old English missionaries.
biþ. Gr. 45. 5.
l. 82. hīe. Gr. 19.
l. 89. him on ǣlce healfe, lit. 'to (for) themselves on each side,' = on every side (of themselves).
l. 92. rihtne. Gr. 42. 5.
l. 93. Æþelwulf-ing. Gr. 38.
l. 101. fare ġē. Gr. 22. 7.
l. 106. forsāwon. A plural verb after a singular noun of multitude is common in O. E., as in other languages.
l. 107. ġif se blinda blindne lǣtt. ġif here takes the indic., instead of the subj. (Gr. 48. 6), because the case is not assumed to be unreal. So also in V. 13, where the opposition (wiþstęnt) is assumed as certain, and VI. 19.
l. 114. cwǣde. Gr. 48. (5).
l. 118. mæġe. Compare Gr. 47. (B. 1).
l. 119. sīe. Gr. 47. (A).
l. 120. Scotland is here used in its older sense of 'Ireland.' Compare the first extract from the Chronicle, p. 79 below.
l. 121. his. Gr. 41. 3.
l. 123. healden. Gr. 48. (2).
l. 124. wǣre. Gr. 47. (B. 1).
l. 132. sē þe. Gr. 21.
l. 137. on ēare. Gr. 51. 2.
l. 138. ġewęndon him, lit. 'they went for-themselves'; a reflexive pronoun in the dative, Gr. 40. (1), is often added to verbs of motion.
l. 139. dō ġē. Gr. 22.
l. 142. grēte. Compare Gr. 49. (8).
l. 145. swelce, adverb, 'as it were.'
l. 151. nime. Gr. 49. (7).
l. 161. cōme. Compare mæġe, l. 118 above.
l. 166. ofslæġenne. Gr. 46. 5.
l. 176. ġeweorþan. Gr. 47. (B. 1.)
l. 180. wolde. Gr. 45. 5.
l. 191. bēon. Gr. 48. (2).
II. FROM THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW.
l. 1. þās mīn word. Gr. 43. 8.
l. 16. āweorpe. Gr. 49. (8).
l. 20. hit refers back to sǣd, l. 18.
l. 22. ūp sprungenre sunnan. Gr. 41. 2.
l. 28. is ġeworden. An over-literal rendering of the Latin factum est.
l. 32. hine, reflexive, Gr. 19.
l. 40. tō forbærnenne. We see here how out of the active 'in order to burn it' may be developed the passive 'in order that it may be burnt,' as in the modern E. 'a house to let.' Compare Gr. 50. 4, (1).
l. 52. on hiera fatu. Compare l. 137.
l. 60. ġewordenre ġecwidrǣenne þǣm wyrhtum. A very stiff adaptation of the ablative absolute of the original, 'conventione autem facta cum operariis.' þǣm wyrhtum is to be taken as a dative of the person affected (Gr. 41).
l. 67. dyde þǣm swā ġelīce. The Latin has simply 'fecit similiter.' The sense is 'did like to it' (like his former proceeding), the swā being pleonastic.
l. 86. þæt. Gr. 21.
l. 90. suna, dative, 'for his son.'
l. 106. ġiefthūs. hūs must here be taken in the sense of 'hall,' 'chamber.' In Icelandic the plural hūs is regularly used to denote the group of buildings (often detached) constituting a house or homestead, the kitchen, for instance, which was originally detached, being still called eldhūs (fire-house).
l. 107. þæt hē wolde gesēon. This clause is due to a confusion of two constructions, (1) hē wolde ġesēon, (2) þæt (in order that) hē ġe·sāwe.
III. OLD TESTAMENT PIECES.
The first two pieces are taken from Ælfric's translation of the Heptateuch, first published by Thwaites in his Heptateuchus, and afterwards by Grein as vol. i. of his Bibliothek der angelsächsischen Prosa—Genesis xi. and xxii. The other three are from Ælfric's Homilies (edited by Thorpe)—ii. 584 foll., i. 570, ii. 432.
l. 4. him betwēonan. Gr. 51. 5.
l. 13. læden. This word is the Latin latina (= lingua latina) used first in the sense of 'Latin language,' then of language generally.
l. 17. for þǣm ... for þǣm þe, correlative, the first demonstrative, the second relative.
l. 28. tō scoldon. This use of sċeal with a verb of motion understood is very common.
l. 36. him self. him is the reflexive dative of interest referring to God—literally, 'God him-self will appoint for him-self.' In such constructions we see the origin of the modern himself, themselves.
ll. 46, 47. nū ... nū, correlative, = now ... now that, the second nū being almost causal (since).
l. 51. hæfde ... tō, took ... for.
l. 52. Gode tō lāce. Gr. 40. (1).
l. 57. mīn ęġe, objective genitive, 'the fear of me.'
māre, neut. 'a greater thing,' 'something more important.'
l. 81. māre. Cp. l. 57.
l. 82. wǣre. Gr. 49. (7).
l. 89. hwæs is governed by ġiernde, by 'attraction.'
l. 135. miċle, adverb.
l. 137. wǣre. Gr, 49. (7).
l. 153. belīefan is a later form for ġelīefan.
l. 156. tō handum. Cp. l. 122 above.
l. 174. ǣr ġenam. Gr. 46. 6.
l. 200. fram mannum. fram here, as usual, denotes the agent 'by' in passive constructions.
l. 202. wite. Compare Gr. 48. (3) and 49. (8).
IV. SAMSON.
From Ælfric's translation of the Book of Judges in Thwaites' Heptateuch.
l. 8. onġinþ tō ālīesenne, will release, onġinnan is often used pleonastically in this way.
l. 35. Gaza ġehāten. When a name together with ġehāten is put in apposition to another noun it is left undeclined, contrary to the general principle (Gr. 42. 6).
l. 41. swā swā hīe belocenu wǣron, locked as they were.
ufeweardum þǣm cnolle. Gr. 43. 2.
l. 46. wæs, consisted.
l. 51. ġeworhte. We should expect ġeworhtum (Gr. 42. 5). Perhaps the nom. is due to confusion with the construction with a relative clause—þe of sinum ġeworhte sind.
l. 74. Dagon ġehāten. Compare l. 35. swelce, 'on the ground that'—'because (as they said).'
l. 81. hēton. Compare l. 106.
l. 87. forþ is often used pleonastically in this way with mid.
V. FROM THE CHRONICLE.
l. 2. hēr sind, there are here. hēr is here used analogously to þǣr, as in II. 3 and the modern E. there are. Cp. also l. 12 below.
ġeþēodu, languages as the test of nationality. It is believed that Latin was still spoken as a living language by the Romanized Britons at the time of the venerable Bede (eighth century), from whose Church History this section was taken by the compilers of the Chronicle.
l. 5. Armenia is an error for Armorica.
l. 6. Scithie, Scythia.
l. 8. Norþibernie, North of Ireland.
l. 24. hēr, at this date—at this place in the series of entries which constitute the Chronicle.
l. 26. Wyrtġeorn is the regular development of an earlier *Wurtigern from the British Vortigern.
l. 28. Ypwinesflēot has not been identified; some say Ebbsfleet.
l. 45. Æġlesþrep, Aylesthorpe, a village near Aylesford.
l. 49. Cręċġanford, Crayford.
l. 52. The diction of this passage, with its alliteration and simile, shows that it is taken from some old poem.
l. 61. hǣþne męnn, Danes.
l. 62. mid Defena-sċīre, literally 'together with Devonshire,' that is 'with a force of Devonshire men.'
l. 64. dux is here written instead of ealdormann. So also we find rex for cyning.
l. 65. Sandwīc, Sandwich.
l. 68. fēorþe healf hund, fourth half = three and a half. This is the regular way of expressing fractional numbers, as in the German viertehalb.
l. 71. Sūþriġe, Surrey.
l. 73. Āclēa, Ockley.
l. 76. se hęre, the Danish army. hęre got a bad sense, through its association with hęrgian (to harry), and hence is applied only to a plundering, marauding body of men. In the Laws hęre is defined as a gang of thieves more than thirty-five in number. The national English army (militia) is called fierd, l. 71, 3 above.
Humbremūþa, mouth of the Humber.
l. 77. Eoforwīc, York; a corruption of Eboracum.
l. 84. inne wurdon, got in.
l. 85. sume. Compare IV. 51.
VI. KING EDMUND.
From Ælfric's Lives of the Saints, now published for the Early English Text Society by Prof. Skeat. The present life has been printed only by Thorpe, in his Analecta Anglosaxonica from a very late MS. It is here given from the older MS., Cott. Jul. E. 7.
It will be observed that the present piece is in alliterative prose, that is, with the letter-rime of poetry, but without its metrical form. The alliteration is easily discernible:—cōm sūþan ofer sǣ fram sancte Benedictes stōwe; dæġe, tō Dūnstāne, &c.
l. 1. sancte is an English modification of the Latin genitive sancti.
l. 5. sancte is here the E. dative inflection, sanct having been made into a substantive.
l. 39. bilewīt = *bile-hwīt (with the regular change of hw into w between vowels) literally 'white (=tender) of bill,' originally, no doubt, applied to young birds, and then used metaphorically in the sense of 'gentle,' 'simple.'
l. 70. worhte flēames. This construction of wyrcan with a genitive is frequent.
l. 76. wǣre, subj. Gr. 48. (6).
l. 85. fūse. The correct reading is probably fūsne, but the plural fūse may be taken to refer to Hinguar and his men collectively.
l. 149. ġebedhūs. The Welsh bettws, as in Bettws-y-coed = 'chapel in the wood,' still preserves the O. E. form nearly unchanged.
l. 176. swā þæt does not denote result here, but is explanatory—'namely by being bound....'
l. 178. hīe, reflexive.
l. 179. þæs ... hū, correlative.
l. 185. The reference is apparently to Proverbs xxiv. 11, which (in the Vulgate) runs thus: 'Erue eos qui ducuntur ad mortem.'
l. 200. hwæþer, (that he might see) whether ...
l. 215. līchaman, instrumental dative (Gr. 41) of defining.
l. 222. Ēliġ = ǣl-īeg 'eel-island.'
GLOSSARY.
The order is strictly alphabetical (þ following t) except that words with the prefix ge are put in the order of the letter that follows the ge (gebed under b, &c.).
The following abbreviations are used :—