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| Translator | Bill Griffiths |
| First Written | 991 |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Origin | UK |
| Publisher | Anglo-Saxon Books |
| ISBN-10 | 0951620908 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0951620908 |
| My Copy | library copy |
| First Read | May 13, 2025 |
The Battle of Maldon
This is a short epic poem - in fact only the middle of it, the beginning and end are lost - about a failed attempt by the Anglo-Saxons to repulse a Viking invasion at Maldon. It's really about them rallying around their leader Byrhtnoth, and then all the Anglo Saxons die gloriously.
I picked this up more or less at random because I wanted to read something older. It's old, I can give it that much.
Noted on May 13, 2025
So was lost the army's leader,
Ethelred's earl. They all saw,
his hearth-men, that their high-lord was dead.
Yet still advanced these valiant men;
fearless warriors, they came forward readily;
they all wanted one of two things,
to avenge their lord or lay down their lives.
Quoted on May 13, 2025