` ::In literary analysis, I would agree that translation is king, however, for a study on the differences between Old and Modern English, using cognates precisly delineates the extent of change. The article is not on Beowulf but Old English.  As for ``frame``, it still more or less means the same today, ``trim``, ``apried`` and ``mights`` are probably the most questionable. I might have rendered ``ellen`` as ``ells`` but I didn't think that the conection beween ``elbow`` or ``ell``(the unit of measurement) and the sense of strength was apparent. ``Gar`` exists today in reference to a type of fish also known as a ``pike`` funnily enough this means that one may look of ``gar`` in the dictionary and see ``pike`` listed as a synonym. Both words refer to the fishes pointed nose. `