"The Battle of Maldon" is the name given to an

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meaning ...

of uncertain date celebrating the real Battle of Maldon of 991, at which an Anglo-Saxon army failed to repulse a

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

raid. Only 325 lines of the poem are extant; both the beginning and the ending are lost. Byrhtnoth's Plaque - geograph

The poem

The poem is told entirely from the perspective of the Anglo-Saxons, and names many individuals that

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territ ...

and Robinson''A Guide to Old English'', 5th ed. by Bruce Mitchell and Fred C. Robinson, Blackwell, 1999 reprint believe were real Englishmen. Mitchell and Robinson conjecture that the lost opening of the poem must have related how

Byrhtnoth Byrhtnoth ( ang, Byrhtnoð), Ealdorman of Essex ( 931 - 11 August 991), died at the Battle of Maldon. His name is composed of the Old English ''beorht'' (bright) and ''noþ'' (courage). He is the subject of '' The Battle of Maldon'', an Old ...

, an Anglo-Saxon

ealdorman Ealdorman (, ) was a term in Anglo-Saxon England which originally applied to a man of high status, including some of royal birth, whose authority was independent of the king. It evolved in meaning and in the eighth century was sometimes applied ...

, hearing of the Viking raid, raised his troops and led them to the shore. The poem as we have it begins with the Anglo-Saxon warriors dismounting to prepare for battle. A Viking force is encamped on an island that can be reached by a causeway. A Viking messenger offers Byrhtnoth peace if he will consent to pay

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conq ...

. Byrhtnoth angrily refuses, telling the messenger that he will fight the Vikings in defence of his land, and the land of his king,

Æthelred Æthelred (; ang, Æþelræd ) or Ethelred () is an Old English personal name (a compound of '' æþele'' and '' ræd'', meaning "noble counsel" or "well-advised") and may refer to: Anglo-Saxon England * Æthelred and Æthelberht, legendary pri ...

. In his "ofermōde"*, Byrhtnoth allows the Vikings to cross to the mainland, giving them room in which to do battle, rather than keeping them penned in on the island. Individual episodes from the ensuing carnage are described, and the fates of several Anglo-Saxon warriors depicted – notably that of Byrhtnoth himself, who dies urging his soldiers forward and commending his soul to

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

. Not all the English are portrayed as heroic however: one, Godric the son of Odda (there are two Godrics in the poem), flees the battle with his brothers and, most improperly, does so on Byrhtnoth's horse. Several lines later, the English lord Offa claims that the sight of Byrhtnoth's horse (easily recognisable from its trappings) fleeing, and so Byrhtnoth, as it would appear from a distance, has bred panic in the ranks and left the English army in danger of defeat. There follow several passages in which English warriors voice their defiance and their determination to die with their lord, and descriptions of how they are then killed by the un-personified "sea-wanderers". The poem as it has come down to us ends with another Godric disappearing from view. This time, it is Godric, the son of Æthelgar, advancing into a body of Vikings and being killed. *"ofermōde," occurring in line 89, has caused much discussion. Literally "high spirits" or "overconfidence", "ofermōde" is usually translated as "pride", and occurs in Anglo-Saxon ''

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

'' poems when referring to

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passa ...

. Both Glenn and Alexander translate it as "arrogance"''The Earliest English Poems'' translated by

Michael J. Alexander Michael Joseph Alexander (born 1941) is a British translator, poet, academic and broadcaster. He held the Berry Chair of English Literature at the University of St Andrews until his retirement in 2003. He is best known for his translations of ''Be ...

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.

History of the text

In 1731, the only known manuscript of the poem (which, as with the modern version, was missing its beginning and ending''Anglo-Saxon Poetry'' translated and edited by S. A. J. Bradley,

Everyman's Library Everyman's Library is a series of reprints of classic literature, primarily from the Western canon. It is currently published in hardback by Random House. It was originally an imprint of J. M. Dent (itself later a division of Weidenfeld & N ...

, 2000 reprint ) was destroyed in the fire at Ashburnham House that also damaged and destroyed several other works in the

Cotton library The Cotton or Cottonian library is a collection of manuscripts once owned by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton MP (1571–1631), an antiquarian and bibliophile. It later became the basis of what is now the British Library, which still holds the collection ...

. The poem has come down to us thanks to the transcription of it made c. 1724, which was published by Thomas Hearne in 1726. After being lost, the original transcription was found in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

in the 1930s.The poem translated into modern English by Jonathan A. Glenn
Retrieved on 27 October 2009
Retrieved on 27 October 2009 Who made this original transcription is still unclear; some favour John Elphinstone, and others David Casley.

Date of composition

According to some scholars, the poem must have been written close to the events that it depicts, given the historical concreteness and specificity of the events depicted in the poem.The Heroic Style in "The Battle of Maldon". Author(s): Edward B. Irving, Jr. Source: Studies in Philology, Vol. 58, No. 3 (July , 1961), pp. 457–67. Published by: University of North Carolina Press. According to Irving, the specific events told with such clarity could only have been composed shortly after the events had taken place, and before legend had been introduced into the poem. While this may seem strange to a modern audience, who are used to “realistic fiction,” this is in fact a fairly strong argument for an early composition date. The lack of legendary elements seems to indicate that this poem was written at a time when witnesses or close descendants of witnesses would have been able to attest to the validity and accuracy of the facts. John D. Niles, in his essay “Maldon and Mythopoesis”, also argues for an early composition date. He states that the three direct references to

Æthelred the Unready Æthelred II ( ang, Æþelræd, ;Different spellings of this king’s name most commonly found in modern texts are "Ethelred" and "Æthelred" (or "Aethelred"), the latter being closer to the original Old English form . Compare the modern diale ...

necessitate an early composition date, before Æthelred had achieved his reputation for ineffectiveness."Maldon and Mythopoesis" by John D. Niles, in ''Old English Poetry'' (2002), ed. by

Roy Liuzza Roy Liuzza is an American scholar of Old English literature. A professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Liuzza is the former editor of the ''Old English Newsletter''. He has published a translation of ''Beowulf'' which was well-receive ...

, pp. 445–74. This argument hinges upon Byrhtnoth's, and the poet's, degree of knowledge of Aethelred's ill reputation. If Byrhtnoth had known of Aethelred's nature, would he have been willing to sacrifice himself for an undeserving king, effectively throwing away his own life and those of his men? Niles indicates that this does not appear to be supportable through the actions and statements of Byrhtnoth throughout the poem. Apparently Byrhtnoth did not know of the king's nature, and most likely the poet himself did not know of the king's nature either. If the poet had known, he would likely have mentioned it in an aside, similar to the way he treats the coward Godric when he is first introduced within the poem. Some of these arguments have been rebutted; George Clark, for instance, argues against an early composition date, rebutting Irving, and states that the detail and specificity found in the poem do not necessarily necessitate an early composition date.The Battle of Maldon: A Heroic Poem. Author(s): George Clark. Source: Speculum, Vol. 43, No. 1 (January , 1968), pp. 52–71. Published by: Medieval Academy of America. Clark argues that if one accepts the detail and specificity as indicators that the events were related to the poet by a witness or close descendant, then the presenter or narrator must have either been “one of the cowards or a retainer who missed the battle by legitimate accident and later chatted with one or more of the men who abandoned his lord”. Other arguments against an early date focus on vocabulary and spelling, which, it is argued, suggest that the poem had its origins in the 11th century in western England, rather than from the 10th century in eastern England (where Maldon is located).The Cambridge Old English Reader (2004). Richard Marsden. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK. These arguments are not based upon one or two spellings which may have been transcribed poorly, but rather upon the uniform spelling of specific indicative words in Old English which are often associated with dialectical writing, such as “sunu” and “swurd”. Clark further argues against an early composition date by exposing the contradictory descriptions of Byrhtnoth, both within the poem and against historical record. According to Clark, the poet of Maldon describes Byrhtnoth as an old warrior, but able-bodied (paraphrased); however, later in the poem Byrhtnoth is disarmed easily by a Viking. Clark argues that these two events are conflicting and therefore demonstrate the lack of historical accuracy within the poem. Clark also argues that the poet never mentions the great height of Byrhtnoth, nor does he mention Byrhtnoth “enfeebled by age”, which indicates that the poet was removed from the event, for the historical records show that Byrhtnoth was tall, which the poet would not have left out due to its indicative nature.

Scholarship

George K. Anderson dated "The Battle of Maldon" to the 10th century and felt that it was unlikely that much was missing.

R. K. Gordon Robert Kay Gordon (1887–1973) was an English scholar of medieval and early modern English literature and administrator at the University of Alberta in Canada. In 1913, having graduated from the Universities of University of Toronto and Oxfo ...

is not so specific, writing that this "last great poem before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

... was apparently written very soon after the battle",''Anglo-Saxon Poetry'' selected and translated by

, J.M. Dent & Sons, London, pp. vii, 361 while

speculates that the poet may even have fought at Maldon. S. A. J. Bradley reads the poem as a celebration of pure heroism – nothing was gained by the battle, rather the reverse: not only did Byrhtnoth, "so distinguished a servant of the Crown and protector and benefactor of the

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

," die alongside many of his men in the defeat, but the

Danegeld Danegeld (; "Danish tax", literally "Dane yield" or tribute) was a tax raised to pay tribute or protection money to the Viking raiders to save a land from being ravaged. It was called the ''geld'' or ''gafol'' in eleventh-century sources. It ...

was paid shortly after – and sees in it an assertion of national spirit and unity, and in the contrasting acts of the two Godrics the heart of the Anglo-Saxon heroic ethos. Mitchell and Robinson are more succinct: "The poem is about how men bear up when things go wrong". Several critics have commented on the poem's preservation of a centuries-old Germanic ideal of heroism:

Modern sequel

The Anglo-Saxon scholar and writer J. R. R. Tolkien was inspired by the poem to write '' The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son'', an alliterative

dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American and British English spelling differences, American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literature, literary and theatrical form that depicts suc ...

between two characters at the end of the battle. In publishing the work, Tolkien included alongside it an essay on the original poem and another on the word "ofermōde". In 1959, author

Pauline Clarke Pauline Clarke (19 May 1921 – 23 July 2013) was an English author who wrote for younger children under the name Helen Clare, for older children as Pauline Clarke, and more recently for adults under her married name Pauline Hunter Blair. He ...

wrote ''Torolv the Fatherless'', a children's novel set in the Anglo-Saxon era. The novel focuses on a lost Viking child, Torolv, who is adopted by the Anglo-Saxon court, and eventually witnesses the Battle of Maldon, in which the child's father may be one of the attacking Vikings. Clarke ends the novel with her own Modern English translation of the Anglo-Saxon poem ''The Battle of Maldon''. In the early 1940s, Clarke had been an undergraduate at Oxford University, and attended lectures by Tolkien.

Notes

External links

* "The Battle of Maldon" is edited, annotated and linked to digital images of its manuscript transcription and original printing, with modern translation, in the ''Old English Poetry in Facsimile Project'': https://oepoetryfacsimile.org/ *
The Battle of Maldon
' Online modern English translation

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20091010040635/http://faculty.virginia.edu/OldEnglish/anthology/maldon.html The poem in original Anglo-Saxon
The poem in original Anglo-Saxon

Read aloud in Anglo-Saxon

*

Essay from ''

The Cambridge History of English and American Literature ''The Cambridge History of English and American Literature'' is an encyclopedia of literary criticism that was published by Cambridge University Press between 1907 and 1921. Edited and written by an international panel of 171 leading scholars and ...

''
Review of an edition and translation of the text
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Maldon 990s works 10th-century poems Old English poems Cotton Library Works of unknown authorship Maldon, Essex