Ond eac swelce monige oðre æfter him in Ongelþeode ongunnon æfæste leoð wyrcan; ac nænig hwæðre him þæt gelice don meahte, for þon he nales from monnum ne þurh mon gelæred wæs, þæt he þone leoðcræft leornade, ac he wæs godcundlice gefultumed ond þurh Godes gife þone songcræft onfeng.

And also, similarly, after him, many others among the English began to compose pious poems; but, however, none of them was able to do it like him, because he was not taught the poetic skill that he learned from men or by anyone at all, but he was divinely aided and received his skill at recitation through a gift of God.

hwilum cyniges þegn,

guma gilp-hlæden, gidda gemyndig,

sē ðe eal-fela eald-gesegena

worn gemunde, word ōþer fand

sōþe gebunden. Secg eft ongan

sīð Bēowulfes snyttrum styrian

ond on spēd wrecan spel gerāde,

wordum wrixlan.

Meanwhile, a thane of the king's household, a carrier of tales, a traditional singer deeply schooled in the lore of the past, linked a new theme to a strict metre. The man started to recite with skill, rehearsing Beowulf's triumphs and feats in wellfashioned lines, entwining his words.