The Battle of Maldon

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The Battle of Maldon is the name of a poem that describes the course of a battle between Anglo-Saxons and Vikings that took place in eastern England in 991 . It is written in Old English and was written not long after the Battle of Maldon , probably in the 10th or early 11th century.

manuscript

The original manuscript burned in the fire of collector Robert Bruce Cotton's library in Ashburnham House in 1731. John Elphinstone had transcribed 325 lines of the poem in 1724, but by that time the first and last pages of the manuscript were missing (possibly 50 verses each). An older catalog described the manuscript as capite et calce mutilata ("mutilated on the head and heel"). Because of this loss, there are no important indications of the date and purpose of the poem.

content

The leader of the Anglo-Saxons, Byrhtnoth, orders his men to drive their horses away and, with encouraging words, arranges the warriors in battle. His troops also include the people of his house power , whose loyalty he is sure of (cf. vs. 18-25). A Viking negotiator comes to the bank (of the Blackwater River in Essex, in the middle of which the Vikings have landed on an island) and offers Byrhtnoth to withdraw in exchange for a tribute . Byrhtnoth replies that he and his men would not surrender riches to the attackers without a fight. Then he sets up his people on the bank of the river. The two armed forces are separated from each other by the flood and can only be reached by shooting with arrows (cf. vs. 71f). Then the tide comes and makes a land bridge visible, which Byrhtnoth secures with veterans . The Vikings, unable to exploit their numerical superiority in this situation, ask to be let ashore to fight. Byrhtnoth grants them this request. He sets up his men shield by shield to form the wíghaga (literally war hedge). The fight begins with losses on both sides, but Byrhtnoth is severely wounded several times. In a short prayer he asks God to be taken into heaven, then he and the men around him are cut down (cf. vs 173-184). Now the tide is turning, because many of his followers, who had stood out the day before by boasting, are turning to flee. But his thanes , the veterans of his household power, want only one of two things: "lif forlætan oððe leofne gewrecan", to lose their life or to avenge their beloved (lord) (vs. 208). In various speeches they admonish one another to stand firm and launch an angry counterattack; one by one they fall in battle with the advancing Vikings.

language

The poet of The Battle of Maldon skilfully uses the stylistic devices of Old English poetry . These include kennings as wælwulfas (sea wolves Vs. 96) for the Vikings, beahgifan (Ring Schenker, Vs. 290) for Byrhtnoth and feorhhus (soul house Vs. 297) for the body. There are synecdoches such as Aesc (ash, Vs. 310) for spear or board (board, Vs. 16) and lind (Linde, Vs. 99) for the label used. The poem is written in the old English alliance , which z. B. becomes clear in the following lines:

Hi leton þa of folman feolhearde speru,
based garas fleogan;
bogan wæron bysige, bord ord onfeng.
From their hands they hurled hardened spears,
sharpened spears flew;
Bows were busy, shields caught spearheads. (Vs. 108-110)

Motifs

Typical motifs of the poem are Byrhtnoth's role as a ring-giver, i. H. Allocator of gold and jewelry with which the high nobleman ensures the loyalty of his vassals . Conversely, it is also the unconditional loyalty of the close followers, which is emphasized again and again, especially in the second half of the poem, in the encouraging and admonishing speeches. From this part comes the most famous passage of the poem, spoken by an old follower of Byrhtnoth:

Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre,
mod sceal þe mare, þe ure mægen lytlað.
Our will must be all the more determined, our hearts braver,
our courage will be greater the more our numbers decrease. (Vs. 312-313)

The last fight of the followers is heroically exaggerated in the poem, for example in verses 297-300:

Forð þa eode Wistan,
þurstanes sunu, wið þas secgas feaht;
he wæs on geþrange hyra þreora bana,
ær him Wigelines bearn on þam wæle læge.
Then Wistan stepped ahead,
Thurstan's son, fought with the warriors;
he was the curse of three of them,
before Wighelm's son lay slain with him.

The Christian influence on Old English poetry is evident in Byrhtnoth's prayer . The recklessness with which he allowed the Vikings to come ashore is an example of hubris .

See also

Web links