Beowulf

Epilogue The Passing of Beowulf

At the center of the world stands the ash Yggdrasil, the greatest and best of all trees, and below the roots of Yggdrasil dwell the three maidens—the Norns—who work always, busy at their looms, spinning and shaping the lives of every man and every woman, weaving what must be from chaos and infinite possibility. Even the gods in Ásgard are only threads in the handiwork of the Norns, and even they, like mortal men and the giants, may not glimpse the threads of their lives or know the judgment of those nimble, tireless fingers. The length of each thread is known only to these three maidens, there below the foundations of the World Ash. And so it was with Beowulf, who sought always the glory and the brave death that must be sought out by those who wish to enter Odin’s hall and fight alongside the gods in the final battle when Ragnarök comes and the children of Loki Skywalker and Shape-Changer are again loosed upon the cosmos. At the moment of his birth, the Norns had already woven the fate of Beowulf, and in all his struggles and on down to the day of his death, he has only ever followed the course of that thread.

Such are the thoughts of the new Lord of the Danes on this winter day, the day of Beowulf’s burial. King Wiglaf, son of Weohstan, the son of a Geatish fishwife, stands alone and apart from all the others who have come to bid the old king fare well. Today he wears the golden crown so recently worn by Beowulf and by King Hrothgar before him, by the line of Hrothgar’s house all the way back to Scyld Sheafson. From his place upon the rocks above the edge of the sea, Wiglaf looks out at the whitecapped waves and setting sun and the funeral ship. It is the same dragon-prowed ship that he and Beowulf and the other Geats sailed across the stormy waters of Jótlandshaf to reach the shores of a demon-haunted land thirty long years ago, and now it will bear Beowulf away on this, his final journey from the walls of Midgard across the span of the Bilröst Bridge.

So many have come—the survivors of the worm’s attack on Heorot and also outlanders from all the four corners of the kingdom of the Ring-Danes. They have gathered upon the rugged shore, silent or whispering among themselves. A young scop stands on the sea cliff not far away from Wiglaf, and his voice is high and clear and drifts out over the dusk-stained beach.

Ten strong thanes take their places, five on either side of the funeral ship. The masts have been rigged full sail, and the evening wind whips and billows in the shrouds. Fourteen of the finest iron battle-shields ever made line both the starboard and larboard wales, and the burial vessel has been heaped with treasure, gold and silver and bronze, and with swords and axes and bows, with helmets and bright mail shirts. All these precious things Beowulf had asked be buried with him, that he might be properly prepared to ride out upon the wide fields of Idavoll. His oaken bier rises from the center of the hoard, and Beowulf lies there, dressed in his best furs and armor.

The thanes strain and heave and finally push the ship down the sand and into the icy surf. At once it is caught in a current that will carry it away from shore by way of a magnificent sea arch, an ancient granite vault carved by wind and rain and the sea herself. There is a company of thanes posted high upon the crest of the towering arch, tending the immense cedar bonfire built there.

Wiglaf takes a deep breath of the cold, salty air, silently saying his good-byes, and watches as the wind and the current ferry the ship beneath the arch of stone. The scop’s voice rises, nearing the end of his song.

Wiglaf catches sight of the thin Christian priest in his red robes, lurking near the queen and bearing the standard of Christ Jesus, but the Irishman has no formal role in these proceedings. These are the old ways, already fading from the land as a strange new religion takes hold, but they were the ways of Beowulf, and the ways of King Wiglaf, as well, and so will be honored and observed on this day.

Queen Wealthow stands hand in hand with Ursula, and Wiglaf hopes that together they may find some solace from their grief and horror. Wealthow will remain the Lady of Heorot, the Scylding Queen, though Wiglaf will respect her wishes and not ask her to be his wife.

The funeral ship sails beneath the arch, and as it exits the far side and makes for the open sea, the thanes tending the pyre use long poles to force it over the cliff. A brilliant firefall of glowing embers and flaming brands spills down from the rocks and rains across the masts and the deck of the dragon-prowed ship. In only a moment more, the entire ship is burning.

The scop’s song ends, and for a moment Wiglaf listens to the hungry roar of the flames, the waves and wind, the sad and gentle murmur from the crowd. The sun’s chariot has reached the horizon, and it seems to Wiglaf like an enormous crimson eye gazing out across the sea toward the burning ship and the mourners lining the shore. The burning sails of the funeral ship are framed in stark silhouette against that blazing eye. And finally King Wiglaf speaks, calling out loud to be heard.

“He was the bravest of us. The prince of all warriors. His name will live forever. He—” But then the lump in Wiglaf’s throat is too painful to say any more, and he turns away so no one will see the tears on his cheeks.

Now it is Wealthow’s turn to speak, and she does so despite her own tears.

“His song,” says the queen, “shall be sung forever. As long as the world endures, the tales of his brave deeds shall be told.”

And then there is only the wind and the surf once again, and Beowulf’s funeral ship has been carried out into the open water. Slowly, the mourners begin to turn away, filing along the road winding up through the cliffs to the keep. Wiglaf watches Wealthow and Ursula go, but he remains behind, determined to stand vigil as long as the ship floats, as long as it burns. His mind drifts back to a day thirty years before, he and Beowulf standing together on the listing deck in a howling, storm-wracked sea.

The sea is my mother! declared a grinning Beowulf. She spat me up years ago and will never take me back into her murky womb!

Then Wiglaf hears something on the wind, a wordless keening, and he peers out across the sea, seeking the source of the sound. As he stares at the sea, bloodied now by the setting sun and the flames of the funeral ship, the keening begins to take another shape, becoming a beautiful song, a song more exquisite than any that has ever reached his ears or that he has ever before thought possible.

The song, Wiglaf. Grendel’s mother, the merewife…

And then he sees her, the form of a woman astride the prow of the burning dragon ship. The sunset gleams off her naked skin, and then she slips silently into the sea. Relieved of its queer passenger, the boat lists to starboard and immediately begins to sink. Wiglaf leaves his place in the boulders and walks quickly down to the wet sand, where something metallic sparkles as it rolls to and fro in the foamy surf. At first he thinks it only some trinket that must have fallen from the dead king’s ship, perhaps thrown free by the impact of the firefall. But when he stoops to pick it up, he finds the golden drinking horn, twice lost and now returned once more. He picks it up, though some more cautious part of his mind suggests he would be better off leaving it be, turning about, and following the others back up the cliff to the keep. Wiglaf stands there with the sea lapping at his feet and holds the horn, realizing that he has not until this second fully appreciated the elegance of its craftsmanship. He glances back toward the sea, which is quickly growing dark as the sun slips away.

She is rising from the water, the gilt-skinned mother of the demon Grendel, the mother of the dragon who was Beowulf’s only son. She stops singing and smiles, beckoning Wiglaf with one long finger. Wiglaf takes a hesitant step toward her, the sea rushing about his ankles and seeming to draw him forward. He is only dimly aware of the burning funeral ship now, as its carved bow rises high into the air and lingers there a moment before sliding backward to be swallowed up by the ocean. The water hisses and steams as the deep accepts the mortal remains of Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, into Ægir’s gardens.

“A man like you,” she says, “could own the greatest tale ever sung,” and Wiglaf, son of Weohstan, gazes deeply into the honeyed eyes of this woman from the sea. His mind is filled with the siren lure of her promises, but also does he clearly see the price he would pay, the price that so many other men have paid before him.

“A man like you,” she says again and extends a hand to the Geat.

“Might walk any road that pleases him,” replies Wiglaf, and the icy sea slops at his feet. “I know you, she-demon, and I know you speak of glory and of wealth and renown, and but for what I’ve seen, it might appear the fairest gift ever offered a poor fishmonger’s son.”

“As you say,” the merewife smiles, for she is ancient and skilled at waiting games, having yet more time before her than any mortal man might ever comprehend.

And the Norns—Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld—the three fates busily weaving beneath the roots of Yggdrasil, watch the progress of another cord held tight within their looms. For every single thread is a wonder to them, and so they spin and wait with the patience of all immortal things.