Battle of Brunanburh
Overview
The Battle of Brunanburh is an Old English poem that commemorates the Battle of Brunanburh, a decisive conflict that occurred in the year 937 CE. The poem is considered one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature, and it is often studied for its historical significance, its style and tone, and its literary merit.
Cotton MS Tiberius B I, f141v: a fragment of the Battle of Brunanburh poem dealing with Constantine of Scotland.
Historical Background
The Battle of Brunanburh was fought in October of 937, near the town of Brunanburh. Unfortunately, the exact location is still unknown and debated among scholars. The battle was fought between the armies of King Athelstan of Wessex and his allies, and an alliance of Norse and Scottish forces led by King Olaf III of Dublin and King Constantine II of Scotland. The battle was a decisive victory for Athelstan and his allies, and it is considered one of the most significant battles of the Viking Age.
The battle had far-reaching consequences, as it secured Athelstan’s position as the dominant ruler in England and helped to establish a period of relative stability and prosperity in the country. The victory was also celebrated in contemporary sources, including the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the poem of the Battle of Brunanburh, both of which were written in the years following the battle.
Style & Tone
The poem of the Battle of Brunanburh is a 73-line poem written in Old English alliterative verse. The poem is characterized by its terse, martial style and its use of heroic language and imagery. The poem’s tone is celebratory, as it praises the bravery and military prowess of Athelstan and his allies and emphasizes the importance of their victory.
The poem uses a variety of stylistic devices, including alliteration, kennings, and compound words. The use of alliteration, in which the initial consonant sounds of words are repeated, is a characteristic feature of Old English poetry. Kennings are poetic expressions that use metaphorical language to describe objects or people, and compound words are words made up of two or more smaller words.
The Battle of Brunanburh
Æthelstan King, of earls the lord,
Of heroes ring-giver, and his brother too,
Edmund Ætheling, enduring fame
Earned in the fight with edges of swords
By Brunanburh. The board-wall they cleaved, 5
The war-shields hewed with leavings of hammers
The sons of Edward. ‘Twas natural to them
By right of descent that in battle they oft
‘Gainst every foe their land defended,
Their hoards and homes. The foes were fallen, 10
Folk of the Scots and men of the ships,
Fated they fell. The field ran thick
With heroes’ blood, when the risen sun
At morning-time, the mighty orb,
Shone o’er the earth, bright candle of God, 15
Eternal Lord, till the noble creature
Sank to his rest. There many men lay
Struck down with spears, men from the North,
Shot o’er the shield, and Scotsmen too,
Weary [and] war-filled. The West-Saxons forth 20
The live-long day with legions of warriors
Pressed on the heels of the hostile foes;
They felled the fleers with force from behind
With sharp-ground swords. Shrank not the Mercians
From hard hand-play with any of heroes, 25
Of those who with Anlaf o’er welling of waves
On the deck of the ship had sought the land,
Fated for fight. Five of them lay
On the battle-field, young kings [they were],
Slaughtered with swords, and also seven 30
Earls of Anlaf, and unnumbered host
Of seamen and Scots. There was forced to flee
The Northmen’s chief, by need compelled
To the prow of his ship with few attendants.
Keel crowded the sea, the king went forth 35
On the fallow flood; he saved his life.
There too the agèd escaped by flight
To his home in the North, Constantínus.
The hoar war-hero was unable to boast
Of attendance of men; he was robbed of his kinsmen, 40
Bereaved of his friends on the battle-field,
Conquered in fight, and he left his son
On the place of slaughter wasted with wounds,
The boy in the battle. He durst not boast,
The gray-haired warrior, of the clash of swords, 45
The agèd enemy, nor Anlaf the more.
With their army-remnant they durst not rejoice
That in deeds of war they proved to be better
On the place of battle, the striking of standards,
The mingling of spears, the meeting of men, 50
The clashing of weapons, when on slaughter-field
In contest with Edward’s sons they contended.
Departed the Northmen in nailèd ships,
Drear remnant of darts, on the sea of Dyng,
O’er the water deep Dublin to seek, 55
Back to land of the Erse, depressed in mind.
Likewise the brothers both together,
King and ætheling, were seeking their home,
West-Saxons’ land, exulting in war.
Behind them they let the corpses share 60
The dark-feathered fowl, the raven black,
The crooked-beaked, and the ashy-feathered,
White-tailed eagle enjoy the prey,
The greedy war-hawk, and the gray-clad beast,
The wolf in the wood. More corpses there wére not 65
Upon this island ever as yet
Of folk down-felled before this time
With edges of sword, as books to us tell,
Sages of old, since hither from East
Angles and Saxons came to this land, 70
O’er the broad ocean Britain [once] sought,
Haughty war-smiths the Welsh overcame,
Earls eager for honor this earth acquired.
Related Topics
Further Research & References
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle – https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/657/pg657.html
Alexander, Michael, trans. The Earliest English Poems. New York: Penguin, 1991.
Crossley-Holland, Kevin, trans. The Anglo-Saxon World: An Anthology. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Godden, Malcolm, and Michael Lapidge, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
Greenblatt, Stephen, gen. ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012.
Heaney, Seamus, trans. Beowulf: A New Verse Translation. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000.
Klein, Stacy S. and Edward A. Risden, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Anglo-Saxon Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Magennis, Hugh. “Brunanburh and Beyond: Poetry as a Historical Source.” In Writing and Texts in Anglo-Saxon England, edited by Teresa Webber and Orietta Da Rold, 143-59. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2012.
Mitchell, Bruce, and Fred C. Robinson, eds. Beowulf: An Edition with Relevant Shorter Texts. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 1998.
Scragg, Donald. “Brunanburh: A Casebook.” In The Battle of Maldon: Fiction and Fact, edited by Donald Scragg, 181-206. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1991.
Swanton, Michael, trans. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. New York: Routledge, 1996.