l I saw a creature in the towns of men which feeds the cattle. It has many teeth, its beak is useful, it points downward.
l Sometimes I plunge through the press of waves,
surprising men, delving to the earth,
the ocean bed. The waters ferment,
sea-horses foaming...
The whale-mere roars, fiercely rages,
waves beat upon the shore; stones
and sand, seaweed and salt spray, are flung
against the dunes when, wrestling
far beneath the waves, I disturb the earth,
the vast depths of the sea. Nor can I escape
my ocean bed before he permits me who is my pilot
on every journey. Tell me, wise man:
who separates me from the sea's embrace,
when the waters become quiet once more,
the waves calm which before had covered me?
l Christ, the true giver of victories,
created me for combat. When my lord
urges me to fight, I often scorch mortals;
I approach the earth and, without a touch,
afflict a huge host of people.
At times I gladden the minds of men,
keeping my distance I console those
whom I fought before; they feel my kindness
as they once felt my fire when,
after such suffering, I soothe their lives.
l I saw a strange creature,
a bright ship of the air subtly adorned,
bearing away plunder between her horns,
fetching it home from a foray.
She wanted to build a bower in the stronghold,
construct it with cunning if she could do so.
Then a mighty creature appeared over the mountain
- his face is known to all dwellers on earth;
he seized the treasure and sent home the wanderer
against her will; she went westward,
vowing revenge, hastening forth.
Dust lifted to heaven; dew fell on the earth,
Night fled hence; and no one knew
Thereafter, where that creature went.
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| GRAMMAR OF OLD ENGLISH | | | The Norman Conquest, the subjection of English, 1066-1200 |