who

Hello

Yesterday I read an e-text "Stories of Beowulf Told to the Children by H. E. Marshall". Here I come across queer uses of 'who'. Two examples are given below. Could someone explain to me these uses of 'who'?

[1] Then wheeling his horse he galloped swiftly away, while the Goths marched onward until they reached the Hart Hall. There, weary of the long way that they had come, they laid down their shields, and leaning their spears against the walls, sat upon the bench before the great door. And as they sat there resting, there came to them a proud warrior. "Whence come ye with these great shields," he asked, "whence with these grey shirts of mail, these jeweled helmets and mighty spears? I am Hrothgar's messenger and servant, I who ask. Never saw I prouder strangers, never more seemly men. I ween it is not from some foe ye flee in fear and trouble. Rather in pride and daring it would seem ye come to visit Hrothgar."

[2] "I have never heard it said that thou, Hunferth, didst make such play of sword, no nor Breca, nor any of you. Ye have not done such deeds. But in sooth I would not boast myself. Yet I say unto thee, Hunferth, that Grendel, the evil monster, had never done so many horrors against thy king, that he had never brought such shame upon this fair Hall, hadst thou been so battle-fierce as thou vauntest that thou art. Yea, he hath seen that he hath no need to fear the boasted courage of the Dane folk. So he warreth, and slayeth, and feasteth as he pleaseth. He looketh not for battle at the hands of the Danes. But I, a Goth, shall offer him war, war fierce and long. And after that, he who will may go proudly to Hart Hall."

Hello, Paco!

Here's my (very humble too) opinion on that matter: I also understand "he, who will, ..." as "the one who will...", hence " whoever wants to ...". 

Yes, of course, now that I re-read the text and your comments, that's possible! 

Hello CJ

Thank you a lot for the kind answer. But I'm sorry to say I still can't understand the author's uses of the relatives. I can understand the round senses of those sentences. What I am asking is whether you English speakers really use 'I who ask' as an additional isolated phrase even in poems. I googled the phrase and got some 800 hits for 'I who ask' but almost all of them are used in 'It is I who ask' and no hit for the isolated use of 'I who ask'. Furthermore what puzzles me is that this phrase does not exist either in the original text of Beowulf or in any translations. So I'm wondering for what purpose the author put the phrase in her version for children.

The phrase "he who will may proudly go to the Hart Hall" is also a bit away from the original text. Probably this phrase corresponds to the second sentence of "Ac ic him Geata sceal eafoð ond ellen ungeara nu guðe gebeodan [But I shall offer to him a Goth's power and courage not-long-from now in fight]. Gaeð eft, se ðe mot to medo modig siððan morgenleoht [Goes after, he who may(=is allowed) to mead (=honey wine, i.e., the Hart Hall) bravely after the morn light]". However, there is no word corresponding to "will" in the original. The author of the child version uses pseudoclassic styles but maybe her translation is not accurate. And, I think, it would be the cause I cannot attain to full understanding of her uses of the relatives. Anyway, I'll close this thread with this post. I'd like to say to you 'thank you' again.