For twelve winters, seasons of woe, the lord of the Shieldings suffered under his load of sorrow. Sad lays were sung about the beset king, the vicious raids and ravages of Grendel, his long and unrelenting feud, nothing but war.

For twelve winters, seasons of woe,
the lord of the Shieldings suffered under
his load of sorrow; and so, before long,
the news was known over the whole world.
Sad lays were sung about the beset king,
the vicious raids and ravages of Grendel,
his long and unrelenting feud,
nothing but war.

– Beowulf, Seamus Heaney (trans.)

Lines 147-154: Narrator describes Grendel attacks on the people of Heorot.

Beowulf Quotes