The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son
The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son is a text written by JRR Tolkien from 1953. The story is probably based on a real incident that occurred at the time of King Æthelred II of England . It is a battle of Maldon in the county of Essex . The poem The Battle of Maldon served as the basis for this arrangement .
Beorhtnoth's Death
Beorhtnoth's Death ("Beorhtnoths Tod") first tells of the events that led to the death of Beorhtnoth. In August of the year 991 a battle was fought near Maldon . On one side stood the Counts of Essex, led by Beorhtnoth, the son of Beorhthelm, and on the other a troop of Vikings who had previously raided, plundered, and devastated Ipswich . Beorhtnoth is described as very tall, combative and fearless, but also as proud and haughty. According to an Anglo-Saxon chronicle, the Vikings were led by a certain Anlaf, also known as Olaf Tryggvason, who later became a king of the Norwegians.
The Northmen had set up camp on Northey Island and were separated from the English by an arm of the River Pante (now Blackwater). The river could be crossed over a bridge during the flood. So the Earl of Essex was actually well protected against the attackers. But relying on the vanity of Beorhtnoth, Anlaf asked to be allowed to cross the river so that a fair fight could be fought. Beoerhtnoth agreed and paid for it with his life.
A heroic poem entitled The Battle of Maldon , which has survived in fragments and comprises 325 lines , also reports on this event .
The following text by Tolkien, which tells of the last fight of Beorhtnoth, is based on this. As the patron of the church, Count Beorhtnoth defended the monks of Ely Monastery. Therefore, after the battle, his body was brought to Ely by the abbot of the monastery and buried there in the abbey. Two servants of the count had been sent to retrieve the body of their master. Since his head had been chopped off and could not be found, it was replaced in the grave with a waxy ball.
The real story
The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son
Here the text is structured like a theater play and contains many dialogues between the men, who are called Torhthelm and Tidwald. In the dark after the fight is over, these two head out onto the battlefield, which is littered with dead. Eerie noises and the scant light from their lantern do not make this task any easier. There you will discover many familiar faces among the fallen.
There, where most of the dead lie, they find the Count's closest and most loyal companions, including many boys who had just reached manhood, such as Wulfmaer, Aelfnoth or Ælfwine. When they have cleared a number of bodies aside, they find their Mr. Beortnoth, without a head and with a dismembered trunk, but they recognize him by his size, because he towered above all others during his lifetime. They also find his sword and that removes all doubts. So they pick up the heavy corpse and laboriously carry it to their cart that they had left behind on the riverbank. On the way there, they surprise a corpse bat who is looking for valuables. Torhthelm kills him with the count's sword, whereupon Tidwald reproaches him, because the man was just a poor eater and not one of the hostile Northmen.
When they arrive at the river bridge, they are surprised that there are no corpses there and how the attackers were able to reach the bank on this side without a fight. They conclude that Beorhtnoth let them come over out of overconfidence. They load the dead count's body onto the wagon and set off for Maldon. Torhthelm falls asleep exhausted next to the corpse and talks in a dream.
At last they hear voices in the darkness, the singing of the monks of Ely sounds sad to them. They sing the conductor for Beorhtnoth, Beorhthelms returned son.
“ Conductor, Domine, in conspectu tuo viam meam. Introibo in domum tuam: adorabo ad templum sanctum tuum in timore tuo. ”
“ Guide me, Lord, on my way before your face. But I am allowed to enter your house; I prostrate myself in awe of your holy temple ” [Ps. 5.8].
“ Domine, deduc me in iustitia tua: propter inimicos meos dirige in conspectu tuo viam meam. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto: sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum.
Conductor, Domine, in conspectu tuo viam meam. ”
“ Lord, guide me in your righteousness; in spite of my enemies, guide me on my way before your face [cf. Ps. 5.9]. Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, so now and all time and forever.
Guide me, Lord, before your face on my way. "
Ofermod
Ofermod (Old English for 'arrogance' or 'arrogance') is the last section of the text. This is about the statements from the fragment of the Battle of Maldon . The poem as a whole became known as "the only pure heroic poem in ancient English".
"Ða se eorl ongan for his ofermode alyfan landes to fela laþere ðeode,"
"then the earl in his overmastering pride actually yielded ground to the enemy, as he should not have done." (English)
"Then the count opened his country to the enemy through his own arrogance, as he should rather not have done." (German)
It is also about the Nordic heroism, the honor and loyalty of the subordinates to their master or the chivalry and pride in the expectation of gaining fame beyond death. Here comparisons are made with Beowulf or Sir Gawain and their heroism and an attempt is made to explain why Beorhtnoth acted as he did.
In addition, the last words of King Arthur's court are quoted, which are said to have been spoken when Sir Gawain rode towards his fate.
Conclusion
The Ofermod of one individual brings misfortune to many. It is more than the pure translation of Ofer = over and -mod = courage. It stands for not crossing a certain limit, i.e. not going further than you can. Mod is not just courage or boldness, but more courage, an inner attitude or firm conviction. According to JRR Tolkien, the word Ofermod appears in poetry only twice, namely in Beorhtnoth and in connection with Lucifer.
"Often sceall eorl monig anes willan wraec adreogan."
"By one man's will many must woe endure." (English)
"Many have to endure severe suffering through the will of a man." (German)
literature
- Geoffrey Bullough: Essays and Studies by Members of the English Association. Volume 6. John Murray (Publishers), London 1953, OCLC 40096457 , ISSN 0071-1357 , pp. 1-18. (Including The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son ).
- JRR Tolkien: The Tolkien Reader. Ballantine Books, New York 1966, ISBN 0-345-34506-1 . (Including The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son ).
- JRR Tolkien: Tree and leaf . Including the poem Mythopoeia ; The homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's son . HarperCollins Publishers, London 2001, ISBN 0-00-710504-5 .
Web links
- Books by JRR Tolkien: Tree and Leaf, Smith of Wootton Major [and] The Homecoming of Beornoth Beorthhelm's Son. In: The Tolkien Reader. ( tolkienlibrary.com )
- John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorthelm's Son. Org.ua (transcript: I. Beorhtnoth's Death , II. The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son , III. Ofermod , English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ “ It was indeed plainly intended as a recitation for two persons, two shapes in 'dim shadow', with the help of a few gleams of light and appropriate noises and a chant at the end. It has, of course, never been performed. ”(JRR Tolkien, Note 1. to the essay in: The Tolkien Reader. New York 1966., German:“ It was certainly designed entirely like a recitation of two people, two schemes in 'dark shadow', with the help of sparse lighting and surrounded by the associated noises and at the end with singing. But it was certainly never performed as a play. ")
- ↑ Note 3. in the Ofermod section in the text of The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhtelm's son. Essay in The Tolkien Reader New York 1966.