Here are some lines from the end of Beowulf written in seventh-century Old English (http://www.anglik.net/oldenglish.htm):
“alegdon tha tomiddes maerne theoden laeleth hiofende hlaford leofne ongunnon tha on beorge bael-fyra maest wigend weccan wudu-rec astah sweart ofer swiothole swogende leg wope bewunden”
Scroll down to see it in modern English
Can you understand it? Here is a modern English translation:
“The sorrowing soldiers then laid the glorious prince, their dear lord, in the middle. Then on the hill the war-men began to light the greatest of funeral fires. The wood-smoke rose black above the flames, the noisy fire, mixed with sorrowful cries”