The Battle of Maldon

Introduction

The first mingling of the Christian prayer with the pure Teutonic passion for war and noise and arms was to met with in the Battle of Maldon. Cazamian observes that this verse has been inserted in prose chronicle ‘glorify the great victory which Athelstan, the King of Wessex and Mercia, and his brother, Edward won at Bunanburgh in 937 over Scots under Constantine and Northmen whom Aulaf led out of Ireland’.

One notes fierce ardour in it describing the felling of enemies in a language that is solid, concrete and interspersed with irony. Such poems must have been immensely popular among Anglo Saxons; and there in it all the basic elements of war-poems of the time. The scenes, details of action and the glorified images of victorious soldiers aim at the popular appeal. In this sense it is a traditional work, containing the rich line of Anglo-Saxon war-songs.

Summary and Analysis

The battle of Maldon sings of the heroic death of the East Saxon chief Byrthnoth while attempting to stem the on rushing wave of the Northmen around the area north of the Thames. The poem exists in fragment, all about 325 lines that paint the picture on an epic scale to an extent that kept the critics wondering whether it was inspired by classical works. This also leads to the theory that Anglo-Saxon poetry was well acquainted with the Latin classics and derived its grandeur in part from them. Yet, The Battle of Maldon shines essentially in its originality, in projecting the local background of a national war and highlighting the heroism of local warriors. It has been truly called the national epic of Anglo-Saxons,

The poem highlighted the qualities of solider, valour of the leader, loyalty of the fighters to the leader; all these are painted in chivalrous lines which is a new aspect of Anglo-Saxon poetry.

The braver shall thought be, the bolder the hear,

The more the mood, as lessons are might,

Here leith our Lord, all hewn to pieces

The good on the ground : ever may grieve

Who now from this war-play thinketh to wend

Comparison to Song of Roland

The story foregrounds glory in defeat and nobility of death which brings it alongside another remarkable work Song of Roland. Nevertheless, many scholars are unhappy about the comparison because differences are more obvious than similarities. One is based on deeds of heroic beings, the real men, while other is a legend elevated to the grandeur of epic dimensions. Of course, the similarities are striking like the quite passage allowed to the enemy. Byrthnoth allows the Northmen to ford the river unimpeded while Roland does not sound horn to ensure that Charlemagne comes forward. Disaster is brought about in almost identical manner, it is the pagans who kill the heroes Roland and Byrthnoth and their dying words are addressed to Go,  the supreme warrior and protector of all.