My Analysis

       “Battle of Maldon” has been heralded by some as an epic rivaling the eloquence and historical importance of Homer’s Iliad. In this poem, the Anglo-Saxon Britons– glorious in battle, exhorting one another with words sharp as steel-edges–defend their home against the marauding Viking hordes. The author of this poem, though unknown, nonetheless speaks to and moves the reader with his glorification of heroism, concrete imagery, and powerful, passionate monologues. “Battle of Maldon” is not a dusty relic of a time past, but a centerpiece in the history of Western civilization, literature, and manhood. The surviving copy of “Battle of Maldon” is 325 lines long, but I have chosen lines 202-243 as representative of the fervent exhortation and concrete turn of phrase of the poem as a whole and the affecting power of both.

       Line 202 begins with an image of the leader of the Anglo-Saxon army lying dead on the battlefield: “Æthelred’s earl; all saw him… that their lord lay down.” This statement is significant for several reasons. The modern reader, unacquainted with Old-English, is startled by the spelling of Æthelred’s name. “Æ” is an æsc or “ash,” and its prevalence immediately sets “Battle of Maldon” apart from modern poems. Although this was not the author’s original intent (given that the names were contemporary at the time of the writing of the poem), names such as Æthelred and later Ælfwine son of Ælfric communicate the ancient nature of the text and open the modern reader up to the otherwise alien poetic styles. The reference to “earl” also sets the poem apart, especially to American readers who have little knowledge of English political hierarchy. Unintentionally, the poet has primed the modern reader for the following clause, “that their lord lay down.” The reader can read concrete statements that may appear humorous, such as describing the dead Anglo-Saxon leader as “their lord [lying] down,” as powerful in its literal, visual truth. It’s this combination of noticeably archaic diction and concrete exposition that affects the modern reader, over a thousand years after the poem’s conception.

       “Battle of Maldon” does not dwell long on the fallen leader, but instead immediately shifts to the heroism of his followers: “Then… uncowardly men hastened eagerly… to give up their lives or revenge their dear lord.” This is the heart of the poem’s focus: courage and boldness. The poem lauds those thanes who stand and fight. In line 209, the poem reads “So the son of Ælfric encouraged them forwards, / a warrior young in winters, speaking in words, / Ælfwine then spoke.” Ælfwine goes on to lament his dead lord, but then rushes straight into the conflict “mindful of the feud, / so that with his spear he wounded one float-man among his people.” He shows first respect to the dead and then boldness to fight, both of which rally the men around this young character. The fact that the men rally around Ælfwine reveals a cultural significance placed on courage in warfare. If he were to only bemoan his lord’s death, then the men would not listen, but as he first moves into the fray, so then the other men move with him.

       Moreover, the style of Ælfwine’s introduction itself is intriguing and follows a pattern of the poem at large: “So the son of Ælfric encouraged them forwards, / a warrior young in winters, speaking in words, / Ælfwine then spoke.” Before Ælfric is introduced by his name, his lineage is pronounced: “the son of Ælfric.” The poet may have chosen to introduce Ælfwine first as son of Ælfric because of Ælfwine’s youth–“a warrior young in winters”–and his father’s exploits before him could also give his monologue credence. The presence of this lineage may also reveal the poet’s desire to prove the historical accuracy of his account of the battle, or perhaps to directly relate the story to readers who could have known Ælfwine or his father, Ælfric, before him. This focus on lineage continues into Ælfwine’s monologue wherein he claims familial ties to the land of Mercia and argues the importance of his forefathers:

I am willing to reveal my lineage to all,
that I was from a great family in Mercia;
my old father was called Ealhelm,
a wise alderman, blessed with worldly things.
The thanes among that people must not reproach me.

       Ælfwine pronounces his place in society quite clearly and makes an argument for the surrounding army, who have just lost their leader, to follow him. The emphasis placed on his lineage reveals an Anglo-Saxon significance placed in an individual’s line of descent, as well as, perhaps, a need for anyone entering into a public forum to add authority to their claims.

       The language of Ælfwine’s monologue is also incredibly direct, clear, and authoritative, using words such as “boasts,” “heroes,” “dire struggle,” “one who is brave,” “I am willing,” and “cut down in battle.” The poem as a whole follows this pattern almost as a rule: when someone talks, they say what they mean and they say it forcefully. The monologues, like the exposition, do not dwell on metaphor or abstraction. Instead, they’re crafted (be they right recollections of the words that were said in the historical battle of Maldon or not) for an audience grounded in concrete fact and susceptible to emotional excitement–in some ways, just like modern readers. This prosaic concreteness lends an air of oral storytelling to the mood of the poem. It may very well be that this story of the historical battle at Maldon was passed orally through several generations before being written down, in which case the written poem that we have now would be less an original construct of the poet and more a transduction of the spoken story to a written format. Therefore, it is not altogether surprising that the poem seems written as if to tell a story; that, perhaps, is its primary goal. The author’s focus on concreteness, both in dialogue and in exposition, succinctly and directly conveys the events of the story and stirs feelings of honor, boldness, and vengeance in an attentive reader.

       Historically, the Battle of Maldon marks a turning point in Viking raids in Britain and abuts the Norman conquest, soon to change the cultural and political landscape of Britannia. Literarily, the poem “Battle of Maldon” marks the peak of Anglo-Saxon epic literature, sharing the fame and weight of other works, like “Beowulf.” The statements within the poem may not accurately represent the historical events of the battle, but the semantic differences between the Old-English translation and modern English attune readers to feel what the poem may convey about the historical time period as a whole: the mood of battle and of honor, and a reverence for the directly observable. In reading “Battle of Maldon,” a person today can still feel the exhortation of heroes, the distinct concreteness, and the passion of the monologues. Perhaps a little Anglo-Saxon spirit is kindled in our blood when we listen to the words of Ælfwine and follow, in our hearts, that young prince into the fray.