‘You are the last of us, the only one left
Of the Waegmundings. Fate swept us away,
Sent my whole brave high-born clan
To their final doom. Now I must follow them.’
That was the warrior’s last word.
He had no more to confide. The furious heat
Of the pyre would assail him. His soul fled from his breast
To its destined place among the steadfast ones.
– Beowulf, Seamus Heaney (trans.)
Lines 2813-2820: In his final words, Beowulf recalls the now-dead members of his clan, passing on torch of leadership to Wiglaf.