Hwæt ic þone wulf ge·seah, and ðā weosolan ēac,
and mid him ðone frēcnan fox, fēðum swiftne,
wīs-cræftig dēor, þe mid Wealhum bið
Regnheard nemned, rēafiend henna,
lācan lustum, līð-fatu drincan.

Chambers also took Sievers' metrical findings on board, but marked them differently. Where Holthausen restored trisyllabic "līffrē[g]a" with a missing letter, Chambers prints "Līf-frêa", the carrot-top meant to hint at the older pronunciation. This has become a standard practice.

Another early 20c edition of Beowulf. R.W. Chambers was a leading Beowulf scholar of his generation. In 1914 he revised A.J. Wyatt's edition, and the result is one of my favourite English-language editions out there. Wonderful notes, and a lot of comments on words in the glossary.

Holthausen's text is one of the first to build on Sievers' metrical findings, which explains small details like his printing of līffrē[g]a 'life-lord': the bracketed letter makes the historical, two-syllable pronunciation clearer. In his economical apparatus he duly credits Sievers for this.

This is in many ways a model edition of Beowulf. Intended to provide a sound edition incorporating Sievers' discoveries about the poem's metre, it is sensibly edited, with an economical glossary, and compact but rich notes -- plus four other short Old English poems and the German Hildebrandslied.

“The wolf will rule the inheritance of the Niflungs,
Old grey companies (wolves), if Gunnar is gone.
Dun-pelted bears will bite with hostile teeth,
Leaving sport for dogs, if Gunnar doesn’t return.”

(This stanza has a large number of small textual difficulties.)

Hǫgni replied:¹
8. “What do you think the bride² signified when she sent us a ring
Wrapped with the clothing of the heath-dweller?³ I think she’s showing us a warning.
I found hair of the heath-dweller tied round the red ring.
The path for us two is wolfish, riding on this errand.”

7. “We’ve got seven buildings full of swords:
On each one the hilt is made of gold.
I know my horse to be the best, and my sword the sharpest,
My bow proud above the bench, and my armour made of gold,
My helm* the whitest, come from Caesar’s hall. [cont.]

*Note to stanza 5: Gnita Heath is where Sigurth killed the dragon Fáfnir and won his gold. This is the only hint in this poem in of a link between Sigurth and the Niflungs. In later legend, Guthrún is Sigurth's widow, but this is't yet part of the story or else is downplayed in the current poem.

4. “You’ll get to pick out shields and smoothed ash-spears,
Helmets decorated with gold and a large troop of Huns,
Silver-gilded saddle-cloths, shirts dyed Roman red,
Shafts, banners, steeds champing their bits.

3. “Atli sent me here on an errand, riding
This bit-champing horse through the mysterious Mirkwood
In order to invite you two, Gunnar [and Hǫgni], to come to the seats
Under helmets which encircle the hearth, to seek out Atli at home.

1. Atli sent a messenger to Gunnar, A bold warrior riding – he was called Knefrøth. He came to the courts of Gjúki,* and the hall of Gunnar, To the benches around the hearth, and to the sweet beer. *The previous Niflung king, Gunnar's dad.

In case there are people on here who really like bloody and gruesome Norse poetry, I thought maybe I could start my time here with a translation of the Atlakviða (The Lay of Atli) I made for students. I'll post the stanzas in small batches, and give some context in a following thread. #Atli