Tha waes sael ond mael
thaet to healle gang Healfdenes sunu
 
- which Heaney gives as:
 
                        Then the due time arrived
for Halfdane's son to proceed to the hall.
 
There is no drama in the Heany. I like to experiment with what I take to
be cliche moments in Beowulf, 'sael ond mael" so:
 
That was a propitious moment
for Halfdane's son to enter the hall.
 
plus notice my "h's" work with not against speech rhythm.
 
oh well