_Feoh_ byth frofur fira gehwylcum
sceal dheah manna gehwylc miclun hyt daelan gif he wile for drihtne domes hleotan
_Ur_ byth anmod ond oferhyrned
felafrecne deor feohteþ mid hornum
maere morstapa thaet is modig wuht
_Dhorn_ byth dhearle scearp dhegna gehwylcum
anfeng ys yfyl ungemetum rethe
manna gehwelcum dhe him mid restedhdh
_Os_ byth ordfruma aelere spraece
wisdomes wrathu ond witena frofur
and eorla gehwam eadnys ond tohiht
_Rad_ byth on recyde rinca gehwylcum
sefte ond swithhwaet dhamdhdhe sitteth on ufan
meare maegenheardum ofer milpathas
_Cen_ byth cwicera gehwam, cuth on fyre
blac ond beorhtlic, byrneth oftust
dhaer hi aedhelingas inne restath
_Gyfu_ gumena byth gleng and herenys
wrathu and wyrthscype and wraecna gehwam
ar and aetwist dhe byth othra leas
_Wenne_ bruceth dhe can weana lyt
sares and sorge and him sylfa haefth
blaed and blysse and eac byrga geniht
_Haegl_ byth hwitust corna hwyrft hit of heofones lyfte
wealcath hit windes scura weortheth hit to waetere sydhdhan
_Nyd_ byth nearu on breostan weortheth hi theah oft nitha bearnum
to helpe and to haele gehwaethre gif hi his hlystath aeror
_Is_ byth ofereald ungemetum slidor
glisnath glaeshluttur gimmum gelicust
flor forste geworuht faeger ansyne
_Ger_ byth gumena hiht dhonne God laeteth
halig heofones cyning, hrusan syllan
beorhte bleda beornum ond dhearfum
_Eoh_ byth utan unsmethe treow
heard hrusan faest hyrde fyres
wyrtrumun underwrethyd wyn on ethle
_Peordh_ byth symble plega and hlehter
wlancum on middum dhar wigan sittath
on beorsele blithe aetsomne
_Eolh_-secg eard haefth oftust on fenne
wexedh on wature wundath grimme
blode brenedh beorna gehwylcne
dhe him aenigne onfeng gedeth
_Sigel_ semannum symble bith on hihte
dhonne hi hine feriath ofer fisces beth
oth hi brimhengest bringeth to lande
_Tir_ bith tacna sum healdedh trywa wel
with aethelingas a bith on faerylde
ofer nihta genipu, naefre swiceth
_Beorc_ byth bleda leas bereth efne swa dheah
tanas butan tudder bith on telgum wlitig
heah on helme hrysted faegere
geloden leafum lyfte getenge
_Eh_ byth for eorlum aethelinga wyn
hors hofum wlanc dhær him hæleth ymbe
welege on wicgum wrixlath spraece
and bith unstyllum aefre frofur
_Man_ byth on myrgthe his magan leof:
sceal theah anra gehwylc odhrum swican
fordhum drihten wyle dome sine
thaet earme flaesc eorþan betaecan
_Lagu_ byth leodum langsum gethuht
gif hi sculun nethan on nacan tealtum
and hi saeyþa swythe bregath
and se brimhengest bridles ne gymedh
_Ing_ waes aerest mid East-Denum
gesewen secgun o he sidhdhan est
ofer waeg gewat waen aefter ran
dhus Heardingas dhone haele nemdun
_Ethel_ byth oferleof aeghwylcum men
gif he mot dhaer rihtes and gerysena on
brucan on bolde bleadum oftast
_Daeg_ byth drihtnes sond, deore mannum,
maere metodes leoht, myrgth and tohiht
eadgum and earmum eallum brice
_Ac_ byth on eorthan elda bearnum
flaesces fodor fereth gelome
ofer ganotes baeth garsecg fandath
hwaether ac haebbe aeþele treowe
_Aesc_ bith oferheah eldum dyre
stith on stathule stede rihte hylt,
dheah him feohtan on firas monige
_Yr_ byth aethelinga and eorla gehwaes
wyn and wyrthmynd, byth on wicge faeger
faestlic on faerelde fyrdgeatewa sum
_Iar_ byth eafix and dheah a bruceth
fodres on foldan, hafath faegerne eard
wætre beworpen dhaer he wynnum leofath
_Ear_ byth egle eorla gehwylcun
dhonne faestlice flaesc onginneth
hraw colian hrusan ceosan
blac to gebeddan bleda gedreosath
wynna gewitath wera geswicath
Modern English Translation
_Wealth_ is a comfort to all men;
yet must every man bestow it freely,
if he wish to gain honour in the sight of the Lord.
The _aurochs_ is proud and has great horns;
it is a very savage beast and fights with its horns;
a great ranger of the moors, it is a creature of mettle.
The _thorn_ is exceedingly sharp,
an evil thing for any knight to touch,
uncommonly severe on all who sit among them.
The _mouth_ is the source of all language,
a pillar of wisdom and a comfort to wise men,
a blessing and a joy to every knight.
_Riding_ seems easy to every warrior while he is indoors
and very courageous to him who traverses the high-roads
on the back of a stout horse.
The _torch_ is known to every living man by its pale, bright flame;
it always burns where princes sit within.
_Generosity_ brings credit and honour, which support one's dignity;
it furnishes help and subsistence
to all broken men who are devoid of aught else.
_Bliss_ he enjoys who knows not suffering, sorrow nor anxiety,
and has prosperity and happiness and a good enough house.
_Hail_ is the whitest of grain;
it is whirled from the vault of heaven
and is tossed about by gusts of wind
and then it melts into water.
_Trouble_ is oppressive to the heart;
yet often it proves a source of help and salvation
to the children of men, to everyone who heeds it betimes.
_Ice_ is very cold and immeasurably slippery;
it glistens as clear as glass and most like to gems;
it is a floor wrought by the frost, fair to look upon.
_Summer_ is a joy to men, when God, the holy King of Heaven,
suffers the earth to bring forth shining fruits
for rich and poor alike.
The _yew_ is a tree with rough bark,
hard and fast in the earth, supported by its roots,
a guardian of flame and a joy upon an estate.
Peorth is a source of recreation and amusement to the great,
where warriors sit blithely together in the banqueting-hall.
The _Eolh-sedge_ is mostly to be found in a marsh;
it grows in the water and makes a ghastly wound,
covering with blood every warrior who touches it.
The _sun_ is ever a joy in the hopes of seafarers
when they journey away over the fishes' bath,
until the courser of the deep bears them to land.
_Tiw_ is a guiding star; well does it keep faith with princes;
it is ever on its course over the mists of night and never fails.
The _poplar_ bears no fruit; yet without seed it brings forth suckers,
for it is generated from its leaves.
Splendid are its branches and gloriously adorned
its lofty crown which reaches to the skies.
The _horse_ is a joy to princes in the presence of warriors.
A steed in the pride of its hoofs,
when rich men on horseback bandy words about it;
and it is ever a source of comfort to the restless.
The _joyous_ man is dear to his kinsmen;
yet every man is doomed to fail his fellow,
since the Lord by his decree will commit the vile carrion to the earth.
The _ocean_ seems interminable to men,
if they venture on the rolling bark
and the waves of the sea terrify them
and the courser of the deep heed not its bridle.
_Ing_ was first seen by men among the East-Danes,
till, followed by his chariot,
he departed eastwards over the waves.
So the Heardingas named the hero.
An _estate_ is very dear to every man,
if he can enjoy there in his house
whatever is right and proper in constant prosperity.
_Day_, the glorious light of the Creator, is sent by the Lord;
it is beloved of men, a source of hope and happiness to rich and poor,
and of service to all.
The _oak_ fattens the flesh of pigs for the children of men.
Often it traverses the gannet's bath,
and the ocean proves whether the oak keeps faith
in honourable fashion.
The _ash_ is exceedingly high and precious to men.
With its sturdy trunk it offers a stubborn resistance,
though attacked by many a man.
_Yr_ is a source of joy and honour to every prince and knight;
it looks well on a horse and is a reliable equipment for a journey.
_Iar_ is a river fish and yet it always feeds on land;
it has a fair abode encompassed by water, where it lives in happiness.
The _grave_ is horrible to every knight,
when the corpse quickly begins to cool
and is laid in the bosom of the dark earth.
Prosperity declines, happiness passes away
and covenants are broken.
sceal dheah manna gehwylc miclun hyt daelan gif he wile for drihtne domes hleotan
_Ur_ byth anmod ond oferhyrned
felafrecne deor feohteþ mid hornum
maere morstapa thaet is modig wuht
_Dhorn_ byth dhearle scearp dhegna gehwylcum
anfeng ys yfyl ungemetum rethe
manna gehwelcum dhe him mid restedhdh
_Os_ byth ordfruma aelere spraece
wisdomes wrathu ond witena frofur
and eorla gehwam eadnys ond tohiht
_Rad_ byth on recyde rinca gehwylcum
sefte ond swithhwaet dhamdhdhe sitteth on ufan
meare maegenheardum ofer milpathas
_Cen_ byth cwicera gehwam, cuth on fyre
blac ond beorhtlic, byrneth oftust
dhaer hi aedhelingas inne restath
_Gyfu_ gumena byth gleng and herenys
wrathu and wyrthscype and wraecna gehwam
ar and aetwist dhe byth othra leas
_Wenne_ bruceth dhe can weana lyt
sares and sorge and him sylfa haefth
blaed and blysse and eac byrga geniht
_Haegl_ byth hwitust corna hwyrft hit of heofones lyfte
wealcath hit windes scura weortheth hit to waetere sydhdhan
_Nyd_ byth nearu on breostan weortheth hi theah oft nitha bearnum
to helpe and to haele gehwaethre gif hi his hlystath aeror
_Is_ byth ofereald ungemetum slidor
glisnath glaeshluttur gimmum gelicust
flor forste geworuht faeger ansyne
_Ger_ byth gumena hiht dhonne God laeteth
halig heofones cyning, hrusan syllan
beorhte bleda beornum ond dhearfum
_Eoh_ byth utan unsmethe treow
heard hrusan faest hyrde fyres
wyrtrumun underwrethyd wyn on ethle
_Peordh_ byth symble plega and hlehter
wlancum on middum dhar wigan sittath
on beorsele blithe aetsomne
_Eolh_-secg eard haefth oftust on fenne
wexedh on wature wundath grimme
blode brenedh beorna gehwylcne
dhe him aenigne onfeng gedeth
_Sigel_ semannum symble bith on hihte
dhonne hi hine feriath ofer fisces beth
oth hi brimhengest bringeth to lande
_Tir_ bith tacna sum healdedh trywa wel
with aethelingas a bith on faerylde
ofer nihta genipu, naefre swiceth
_Beorc_ byth bleda leas bereth efne swa dheah
tanas butan tudder bith on telgum wlitig
heah on helme hrysted faegere
geloden leafum lyfte getenge
_Eh_ byth for eorlum aethelinga wyn
hors hofum wlanc dhær him hæleth ymbe
welege on wicgum wrixlath spraece
and bith unstyllum aefre frofur
_Man_ byth on myrgthe his magan leof:
sceal theah anra gehwylc odhrum swican
fordhum drihten wyle dome sine
thaet earme flaesc eorþan betaecan
_Lagu_ byth leodum langsum gethuht
gif hi sculun nethan on nacan tealtum
and hi saeyþa swythe bregath
and se brimhengest bridles ne gymedh
_Ing_ waes aerest mid East-Denum
gesewen secgun o he sidhdhan est
ofer waeg gewat waen aefter ran
dhus Heardingas dhone haele nemdun
_Ethel_ byth oferleof aeghwylcum men
gif he mot dhaer rihtes and gerysena on
brucan on bolde bleadum oftast
_Daeg_ byth drihtnes sond, deore mannum,
maere metodes leoht, myrgth and tohiht
eadgum and earmum eallum brice
_Ac_ byth on eorthan elda bearnum
flaesces fodor fereth gelome
ofer ganotes baeth garsecg fandath
hwaether ac haebbe aeþele treowe
_Aesc_ bith oferheah eldum dyre
stith on stathule stede rihte hylt,
dheah him feohtan on firas monige
_Yr_ byth aethelinga and eorla gehwaes
wyn and wyrthmynd, byth on wicge faeger
faestlic on faerelde fyrdgeatewa sum
_Iar_ byth eafix and dheah a bruceth
fodres on foldan, hafath faegerne eard
wætre beworpen dhaer he wynnum leofath
_Ear_ byth egle eorla gehwylcun
dhonne faestlice flaesc onginneth
hraw colian hrusan ceosan
blac to gebeddan bleda gedreosath
wynna gewitath wera geswicath
Modern English Translation
_Wealth_ is a comfort to all men;
yet must every man bestow it freely,
if he wish to gain honour in the sight of the Lord.
The _aurochs_ is proud and has great horns;
it is a very savage beast and fights with its horns;
a great ranger of the moors, it is a creature of mettle.
The _thorn_ is exceedingly sharp,
an evil thing for any knight to touch,
uncommonly severe on all who sit among them.
The _mouth_ is the source of all language,
a pillar of wisdom and a comfort to wise men,
a blessing and a joy to every knight.
_Riding_ seems easy to every warrior while he is indoors
and very courageous to him who traverses the high-roads
on the back of a stout horse.
The _torch_ is known to every living man by its pale, bright flame;
it always burns where princes sit within.
_Generosity_ brings credit and honour, which support one's dignity;
it furnishes help and subsistence
to all broken men who are devoid of aught else.
_Bliss_ he enjoys who knows not suffering, sorrow nor anxiety,
and has prosperity and happiness and a good enough house.
_Hail_ is the whitest of grain;
it is whirled from the vault of heaven
and is tossed about by gusts of wind
and then it melts into water.
_Trouble_ is oppressive to the heart;
yet often it proves a source of help and salvation
to the children of men, to everyone who heeds it betimes.
_Ice_ is very cold and immeasurably slippery;
it glistens as clear as glass and most like to gems;
it is a floor wrought by the frost, fair to look upon.
_Summer_ is a joy to men, when God, the holy King of Heaven,
suffers the earth to bring forth shining fruits
for rich and poor alike.
The _yew_ is a tree with rough bark,
hard and fast in the earth, supported by its roots,
a guardian of flame and a joy upon an estate.
Peorth is a source of recreation and amusement to the great,
where warriors sit blithely together in the banqueting-hall.
The _Eolh-sedge_ is mostly to be found in a marsh;
it grows in the water and makes a ghastly wound,
covering with blood every warrior who touches it.
The _sun_ is ever a joy in the hopes of seafarers
when they journey away over the fishes' bath,
until the courser of the deep bears them to land.
_Tiw_ is a guiding star; well does it keep faith with princes;
it is ever on its course over the mists of night and never fails.
The _poplar_ bears no fruit; yet without seed it brings forth suckers,
for it is generated from its leaves.
Splendid are its branches and gloriously adorned
its lofty crown which reaches to the skies.
The _horse_ is a joy to princes in the presence of warriors.
A steed in the pride of its hoofs,
when rich men on horseback bandy words about it;
and it is ever a source of comfort to the restless.
The _joyous_ man is dear to his kinsmen;
yet every man is doomed to fail his fellow,
since the Lord by his decree will commit the vile carrion to the earth.
The _ocean_ seems interminable to men,
if they venture on the rolling bark
and the waves of the sea terrify them
and the courser of the deep heed not its bridle.
_Ing_ was first seen by men among the East-Danes,
till, followed by his chariot,
he departed eastwards over the waves.
So the Heardingas named the hero.
An _estate_ is very dear to every man,
if he can enjoy there in his house
whatever is right and proper in constant prosperity.
_Day_, the glorious light of the Creator, is sent by the Lord;
it is beloved of men, a source of hope and happiness to rich and poor,
and of service to all.
The _oak_ fattens the flesh of pigs for the children of men.
Often it traverses the gannet's bath,
and the ocean proves whether the oak keeps faith
in honourable fashion.
The _ash_ is exceedingly high and precious to men.
With its sturdy trunk it offers a stubborn resistance,
though attacked by many a man.
_Yr_ is a source of joy and honour to every prince and knight;
it looks well on a horse and is a reliable equipment for a journey.
_Iar_ is a river fish and yet it always feeds on land;
it has a fair abode encompassed by water, where it lives in happiness.
The _grave_ is horrible to every knight,
when the corpse quickly begins to cool
and is laid in the bosom of the dark earth.
Prosperity declines, happiness passes away
and covenants are broken.