The Battle of Maldon in the Twenty-First Century

 

 

What is worth fighting for?  Your land?  Lord?  Liberty?  Death?  For Byrtnoth and his army in The Battle of Maldon, all of the above are reason enough to wage war against the invading Vikings.  Why is it so hard to not hear their compelling battle cry?  Is this merely a recounting of a medieval battle, or is it a timeless lesson that reaches out to individuals across centuries?  The answers lie in the Anglo-Saxon ability to produce gripping, forceful writing that jumps off the page and stirs up feelings of pride, camaraderie, justice, and sacrifice in modern readers.  

 

We get a sense of the Battle of Maldon's importance as it is portrayed in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:  "In this year Olaf...came to Folkestone with ninety-three ships, and plundered the outskirts, and then went on to Sandwich, and proceeded from there to Ipswich, and completely overran it, and then went on to Maldon, and there Ealdorman Byrtnoth with his army came out to meet him, and fought against him (43)."  Olaf and his troops had been all over the coast, pillaging and plundering.  It wasn't until he arrived at Maldon that someone made an attempt to stop him.  Before we even get to the heart of the story, we are set up to see that this is special--Maldon is set apart as an example, and in my opinion, a positive example.  Byrtnoth is not mentioned in any derogatory fashion; rather, he is the only named Anglo-Saxon in this part of the Chronicles description, perhaps because he is the only person worth naming.

 

As we are led further along, we witness a blatant jeer from the invader, who offers to "leave you our absence/your best protection (41)."  In the hundreds of years that have passed since The Battle, we can still feel that dig, that jibe from the competition, urging us on, as it did Byrtnoth and company, to spar back.  We wouldn't stand here and take it, and neither did Byrtnoth.  His retort of "Tell your leadersthat this earl and his army dont shake at their boasts (50-51)" sends the same boastful message that he had received:  we are tougher; bring it on.  And so the stage is set for battle with both sides eagerly awaiting the chance to prove that they are braver, stronger, more determined.

 

While we see several examples of men dying for their lord and their land, it's not the death (just yet) that is important--its the description that we are given of those individual men:  "Wulfstan, Ceolas son and born to bravery (76-77)"; "Alfhere and Maccusunafraid, a pair of warriors (79-80)."   No one goes without a positive word regarding fearlessness or their dedication to Byrtnoth.  As readers, we subconsciously understand that these are the good guys, the ones we should be behind, cheering them on.  No one wants to support the "pagans" (54) that would dare begin a "sly deceit" (86)!

 

After Byrtnoth is mortally wounded, we are drawn in even further.  The raw, unaffected nature of youth rushes in to defend Byrtnoth:  "A boy was standing beside him, beardless and new to war:  he ripped the bloody lance out of Ethelreds earl and flung it back as hard as he could (151-155)."  This was not a war-wise elder who knew the ins and outs of battle, not a seasoned soldier who had been on the front lines in his past, but a boy.  A boy!  Dedication and loyalty perhaps are not better displayed throughout the poem than in these few simple lines.  How can we not be supportive of a mere boy, avenging the death of his lord?  Our involvement deepens as Byrtnoth is slain, and the deserters begin to run.   Again, loyalty is paid at the utmost price during a time of war, and those who are loyal are heroesregardless of the day and age were discussing.  Words are worth little when not backed up by action:  "many spouted courage and flaming words who would run and hide when the danger was real (199-201)."  This is as true in the twenty-first century as it was in the tenth.

 

So here we sit, with a cocky invading army, men dying for their lord and country, a slain leader, a boy avenger, and deserters.   How can we not be drawn into this?!  If we are not yet, surely the last half of the poem will get the job done, for now, the time has truly come to put words into actions.  As Alfwin says, "Remember how we boasted, sitting on benches and swilling mead, drunk with ambition, dreaming of war:  Its come.  Now we'll discover how brave we are (212-216)."  This is the rally call; this is the battle cry.  Put up or shut up.  Do or die. Alfwin continues:  "None of my country's people shall taunt me with turning away from this army, running back to my home, now that my chief has fallen in battle.  I know no bitterer grief:  he was both my kin and my lord (220-224)."  Alfwin makes it not only about themselves, their pride, their bravery, but he also makes it personal.  It's not just about him and his pride.  It's about the Anglo-Saxon impetus of vengeance, and that is a burden that they all must bear.  Their lord has been killed--the responsibility to avenge his death now lies with them.   

 

Offa reinforces Alfwins statements:  "Byrtnoth is slain, and Alfwin has said the only words we need to hear (232-234)."  Then Lofson:  "I swear not to flee a step from this field, but go further, avenging my lord in battleOnly the point of a Viking spear shall sweep me away (246-252)."  And Dunner:  "No one can flinch or falter, remembering our beloved lord (258-259)."  The description of Edward the Long puts those words into action:  "and before he joined his chief fashioned a vengeance worthy of Byrtnoths name (278-279)."  Offa also acts on his words:  "There Offa slew a Daneand there Offa himself fell:  war quickly cut him down, but no before hed filled the promise he gave his lord, in the boasts hed always made (285-290)."  All of these men serve a purpose, and that is to raise the din of the battle cry, to remind their compatriots why they are there and why they should continue to fight.  Their boasts, their kin, their country, their brothers are all depending on them to do the right thing, to uphold their Anglo-Saxon law:  to avenge.  Of course, in our society, vengeance is not considered good, nor warranted.  We have police and armies to exact justice--which is perhaps nothing more than a civilized way of sanctioning vengeance.  Are we not reimbursed monetarily for our pain and suffering?  The most heinous cases of murder can result in a trip to the execution chair.  We may not get to personally collect the money, and we may not get to personally flip the switch, but both forms of justice appear to be modern versions of the Anglo-Saxon wergild.  So it is not a stretch of the imagination, it is not difficult for us to find ourselves wanting to see the Vikings be destroyed, wanting to see Byrtnoth's men victorious not only for themselves and their families, but for him, and for their brotherhood.  It appeals to, perhaps, that collective unconscious that resides deep within us:  the need to stand up for ourselves, to stand up for the right thing, to uphold the laws, to win.  Anglo-Saxon law did not provide for a trial by jury to determine guilt or innocence as we do today.  Carrying out justice fell to the people in the case of murder.  Byrtnoth's army was doing its civic duty, not simply acting out of anger.  The battle now is not only about defending their land and their people, but now it is about justice.

 

It becomes apparent that the English are not going to be victorious, yet the need to win the battle is not as important as it was at the onset, for now were dealing not just with pride, bravery, and loyalty, but with doing the right thing, being just, and upholding the laws of the land.  We see Oswold and Edwold, two "brave brothers" (304) who called out encouragement, begged their kinsmen and comrades to "stand firm in the midst of slaughter (305-306)."  Even unto the end, the men are urging each other on, continually reminding one another, in word and deed, of what they are to do.  

 

Perhaps the best example of timelessness lies in the famous lines spoken by Byrtwold, the old fighter (310):  "Our minds must be stronger, our hearts braver, our courage higher, as our numbers shrink (312-314)."  What written perfection!  Strong minds, brave hearts, high courage--can these three ideals not be applied to most any situation--ancient or modern?  Are not these three ideals values of today, as they were in Anglo-Saxon history?  The words resonate deep within the modern day reader because vengeance is not the only virtue at stake.  These lines stir up feelings of individual strength and the ability to have an impact as an individual--for as our numbers shrink (313-314) we should not give up, we should not waver in our beliefs.  In essence, we should see our battle throughto the end--even if it means death, as it did for so many of Byrtnoth's men.

 

The written word of this Anglo-Saxon account of The Battle of Maldon bestows upon the modern reader a wonderfully resounding account of humankind's ability to make the ultimate sacrifice when necessary.  In beautiful, descriptive language that reverberates in the mind, we can hear echoes of our age-old intuition telling us to do the right thing.  We see that on the surface, life and times are very much different, yet underneath, core values and beliefs--those intrinsic feelings that we can't always put a finger on--remain the same.  We still have a need for camaraderie, we still feel that drive to succeed, we still feel the compulsion to win.  We still feel the need to protect our families, our land, our beliefs, our laws.  When we see those same qualities in another, we see ourselves.  We may never be face-to-face with hand-to-hand combat, and we may never be physically involved in a war, but we will have our own battles.  When it comes time for us to "Remember how we boasted, sitting on benches and swilling mead, drunk with ambition, dreaming of (212-214)" whatever version of war we are presented with, wont we want to "discover how brave we are (215-216)?"  It will take much strength, much bravery, and much courage to do the right thing.  We can only hope that we will act with as much strength, as much bravery, and as much courage as Byrtwold suggests, and as Byrtnoths followers display.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

Raffel, Burton.  Poems and Prose from the Old English.  New Haven:  Yale University, 1998.