''The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son'' is a work by J. R. R. Tolkien originally published in 1953 in volume 6 of the scholarly journal ''Essays and Studies by Members of the English Association'', and later republished in 1966 in ''

The Tolkien Reader ''The Tolkien Reader'' is an anthology of works by J. R. R. Tolkien. It includes a variety of short stories, poems, a play and some non-fiction. It compiles material previously published as three separate shorter books ('' Tree and Leaf, Farme ...

''; it is also included in the most recent edition of ''

Tree and Leaf ''Tree and Leaf'' is a small book published in 1964, containing two works by J. R. R. Tolkien: * a revised version of an essay called " On Fairy-Stories" (originally published in 1947 in ''Essays Presented to Charles Williams'') * an allegoric ...

''. It is a work of

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

, inspired by the

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 ''

The Battle of Maldon "The Battle of Maldon" is the name given to an Old English poem of uncertain date celebrating the real Battle of Maldon of 991, at which an Anglo-Saxon army failed to repulse a Viking raid. Only 325 lines of the poem are extant; both the beginni ...

''. It is written in the form of an

alliterative Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as a literary device. A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers". Alliteration is used poetically in various ...

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 ...

, but is also a play, being mainly a

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 in the aftermath of the

Battle of Maldon The Battle of Maldon took place on 11 August 991 AD near Maldon beside the River Blackwater in Essex, England, during the reign of Æthelred the Unready. Earl Byrhtnoth and his thegns led the English against a Viking invasion. The battl ...

. The work was accompanied by two essays, also by Tolkien, one before and one after the main work. The work, as published, was thus presented as: *"The Death of Beorhtnoth" – an introductory essay concerning the battle and the Old English fragment that inspired Tolkien. *''The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son'' – the actual work itself. *"Ofermod" – an essay following on from the main work, discussing the meaning of the Old English word ''

ofermod Ofermod is a Swedish black/death metal band, formed in Sweden in 1996 by Michayah Belfagor. History Ofermod were formed in 1996''Ofermod''. In: ''Funeral Maelstrom Of Hate'', no. 6, 2004. by Nefandus drummer, backing vocalist and lyricist Mika ...

'' "overconfidence, foolhardiness".

Plot

The play itself is the story of two characters, Tidwald (Tida) and Torhthelm (Totta), retrieving the body of Beorhtnoth,

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 ...

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

, from the battlefield at

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is produced ...

. After a brief search they eventually find their lord's battle-mangled body and his golden sword. In the middle of the action, Totta slays an English battlefield-looter, for which Tída chastises him. The murder provides an opportunity for the characters to discuss the ethics of Beorhtnoth's actions. Totta is a romantic who thinks Beorhtnoth's actions were tragically noble, while Tída is the battle-experienced farmer who takes the realist position, pointing out the folly of Beorhtnoth's decision to let the Vikings cross the causeway. Eventually the two characters load the lord's body onto a cart, and the drama closes with them leaving the battlefield for a nearby abbey in Ely.

Critical discussion

Literary critics generally agree that "Homecoming" is Tolkien's biting critique of the northern heroic ethos. For example, using Tolkien's original drafts of "Homecoming", Thomas Honegger reveals that Tolkien was especially concerned with casting Beorhtnoth's pride in a wholly negative light. George Clark also points out that Tolkien's reworking of ''

'' specifically "chastises" Beorhtnoth for his pride and generally criticizes the Anglo-Saxon heroic ideals of pursuing fame and material wealth (41). Taking a similar position,

Tom Shippey Thomas Alan Shippey (born 9 September 1943) is a British medievalist, a retired scholar of Middle and Old English literature as well as of modern fantasy and science fiction. He is considered one of the world's leading academic experts on the ...

argues that Tolkien's condemnation of Beorhtnoth in "Homecoming" is "an act of parricide" against his Old English literary forebears, in which " had...to take 'the northern heroic spirit' and sacrifice it" (337). Taking a more nuanced approach, Mary R. Bowman claims that Tolkien "rehabilitated" the northern heroic spirit, instead of simply "rejecting" it (92). She recalls Tolkien's own metaphor of the northern heroic spirit as an impure "alloy", composed of a combination of a self-sacrificing bravery for the good of others (the gold) and a selfish, reckless pursuit for wealth and fame (the base metal). Bowman's point, then, is that Tolkien was concerned with "refining" the heroic code—with separating and burning away the selfish, destructive slag of "overmastering" and excessive pride, while retaining the gold of courage. Scholars have also discussed the influence of "Homecoming" on Tolkien's fictional world of

Middle-earth Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the '' Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth is ...

. George Clark argues that Tolkien's ideas about the northern heroic spirit are manifested in ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's bo ...

'' through the character Sam; in his steadfast, self-less devotion to Frodo, Sam serves as the "true hero", a kind of anti-Beorhtnoth. Likewise, Bowman claims that both Sam and Bilbo possess the "refined" brand of heroism that she thinks Tolkien is forging in "Homecoming". Other scholars have made similar cases; for example, Alexander Bruce argues that

Gandalf Gandalf is a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels '' The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is a wizard, one of the ''Istari'' order, and the leader of the Fellowship of the Ring. Tolkien took the name "Gandalf" from the Old Nor ...

's stand against the

Balrog A Balrog () is a powerful demonic monster in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. One first appeared in print in his high-fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings'', where the Fellowship of the Ring encounter a Balrog known as Durin's Bane in the Min ...

Moria Moria may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Moria (Middle-earth), fictional location in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien * '' Moria: The Dwarven City'', a 1984 fantasy role-playing game supplement * ''Moria'' (1978 video game), a dungeon-crawler g ...

serves as Tolkien's correction of Beorhtnoth's tactical error, and Lynn Forest-Hill sees Beorhtnoth coming through in

Boromir Boromir is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in the first two volumes of ''The Lord of the Rings'' (''The Fellowship of the Ring'' and ''The Two Towers''), and is mentioned in the last volume, ''The Return of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Homecoming Of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son, The 1953 poems British plays Historical novels Fiction set in Anglo-Saxon England Poetry by J. R. R. Tolkien Fantasy short stories 1953 short stories 1953 books Works originally published in British magazines Plays set in the 10th century