Ic eom weorð werum, "I am valuable (worthy) to men"
wide funden, "found widely"
brungen of bearwum "brought from woods (groves)"
ond of burghleoþum, "and from mountain slopes (possibly fortress-heights)." This probably refers to a hillside location where wildflowers grew and where bees collected necter.
of denum ond of dunum. "from valleys and hills"
Dæges mec wægun "By day [wings] bore me." OE "dæges" here is genitive singular, used adverbially here. Compare: "Hie foron dæges ond nihtes," "They travelled by day and night."
feþre on lifte, "feathers (wings) [bore me] in the air"
feredon mid liste "bore (carried) [me] with skill"
under hrofes hleo. "under the protection (shelter) of a roof." This is probably the hive.
Hæleð mec siþþan "Afterwards men . . .me"
baþedan in bydene. "bathed in a tub (barrel, vat)"
Nu ic eom bindere "Now I am binder"
ond swingere; "and beater (scourger)"
sona weorpe
"soon I throw..." The manuscript here reads, "sona weorpere efne to eorþan," which could possibly mean, "soon thrower even to the ground" or "soon, thrower, I level (efnan) to the ground." But there are problems with these readings, and most editors emend as I have done here. The contrast between the "esne" and the "ealdne ceorl" seems important. The mead often throws down a servant or young man (esne) but only sometimes an old and experienced man (or peasant).
esne to eorþan, "a young man (or servant) to the ground." See note to previous half-line.
hwilum ealdne ceorl. "sometimes an old churl." OE ceorl can mean any of the following: churl, layman, peasant, freeman of the lowest class, man. Sometimes in the poetry it refers to a warrior or hero.
Sona þæt onfindeð, "Soon that one finds ..."
se þe mec fehð ongean "he who struggles against me." The preposition "ongean" here takes the accusative object "mec." Notice that the preposition is postpositional; it follows its object.
ond wið mægenþisan "and against [my] mighty rush (forceful violence)"
minre genæsteð, "contends against my [violence]" (see previous half-line)
þæt he hrycge sceal "that with his back he shall." Notice the case of "hrycge," instrumental of means or manner.
hrusan secan "seek the ground"
gif he unrædes "if he from his folly (mischief, crime, treachery)." OE "ræd" has a wide range of meanings: advice, counsel, wisdom, reason, intelligence, power." The prefix un- turns each of these into its opposite or lack. Similarly Grendel in Beowulf is often named by un- words.
ær ne geswiceð. "if he has not desisted from [that folly]." The OE verb "geswican" here takes a genitive object.
strengo bistolen, "Robbed (deprived) of his strength"
strong on spræce, "strong (powerful, violent) in speech"
mægene binumen-- "deprived of power"
nah his modes geweald, "he does not have power (control) of his mind." OE "mod" is notoriously difficult to translate. It can mean: mind, heart, spirit, mood, temper, courage, pride, arrogance, hubris. Sufficient "mod" is necessary for a great warrior; too much "mod" may make a man foolish or even dangerous (even to himself).
fota ne folma. "[his] feet nor his hands"
Frige hwæt ic hatte "Ask (learn) what I am called (named)"
ðe on eorþan swa "who on earth so"
esnas binde "bind [foolish] men"
dole æfter dyntum "foolish [men] after (through, during, in consequence of) blows (bruises)." My experience of translating several languages has led me to believe that the hardest words to translate are the prepositions like "æfter" because they are so idiomatic.
be dæges leohte. "by the light of day," i.e. on the "morning after."
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I am man's treasure, taken from the woods,
Cliff-sides, hill-slopes, valleys, downs;
By day wings bear me in the buzzing air,
Slip me under a sheltering roof--sweet craft.
Soon a man bears me to a tub. Bathed,
I am binder and scourge of men, bring down
The young, ravage the old, sap strength.
Soon he discovers who wrestles with me
My fierce body-rush--I roll fools
Flush on the ground. Robbed of strength,
Reckless of speech, a man knows no power
Over hands, feet, mind. Who am I who bind
Men on middle-earth, blinding with rage
And such savage blows that dazed
Fools know m;y dark power by daylight?
This powerful creature is mead made from honey, a favorite Anglo-Saxon drink. There is evidence of Germanic tribes keeping bees for honey as far back as the fourth century B.C. The number of "mead-" compounds in Old English attests to its central place in the culture. Comrades come to the mead-hall on the mead-path, sit at mead-benches, drinking from mead-cups and getting head-high until they drop, mead-weary. All this in a city called a mead-burg. When Beowulf returns home from monster-killing in Denmark, he and his troop are made welcome in proper meadish fashion (lines 1975 ff.):
The mead-hall was cleared as the king ordered,
Mead-benches readied for the marching men.
The survivor sat down, kinsman with kinsman,
Beowulf with his king, after he greeted
With ceremonial speech his liege-lord.
Haereth's daughter, Hygelac's queen,
Who loved and served her proud people,
Passed through the high hall bearing mead-cups,
Powerful drink to the hands of war-men.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
There was joy in the troop, more than man's
Measure under heaven's arch: hall-thanes
Held mead-mirth.
But the drinking could sour and the vengeful spirit erupt as the riddle implies, so weapons were often forbidden at the mead-hall table. The dangerous effect of drink on a war-man's mind is aptly described in "The Fortunes of Men":
Sometimes the sword's edge steals the life
Of an ale-drinker or a wine-weary man
At the mead-bench. His words are too quick.
Another drinks beer from the cup-bearer's hand,
Grows drunk as a mead-fool, forgets to check
His mouth with his mind, seeks suffering,
A long life's end, a joyless hall.
Men name him the mead-wild self-slayer.
The riddlic mead also seizes power, binding and laying low young and old alike. The central paradox of mead is this: Helpless to withstand man's plundering and processing, it is transformed into a mighty agent that enters man's home (and head!) to render its conqueror helpless.