The Battle of Maldon...was broken.Then he ordered every young soldier to send off his horse,drive them far off and go forward,pay heed to hands and heroic thoughts.When the kinsman of Offa first discovered5that the earl would not suffer slackness,he let fly from his hands his favorite hawkoff to the woods, and advanced to the battle;by that you knew that the young warriorwould not weaken at battle, when he took up weapons.10Likewise Eadric would support his leader,the lord in the fight; forward he wentwith his spear to battle. He had good intentionsas long as he might hold in his handsboard and broad sword; he fulfilled his boast15when he had to fight before his lord. Then Byrhtnoth began to array the troops,ordered, instructed, and showed the soldiershow they should stand and hold the field,told them to hold their shields securely,20firm in their fists, and never be afraid.When he had properly organized all those men,he dismounted among the men where he most wantedto be, where he knew his retinue most loyal and brave. Then on the riverbank, stoutly shouting,25stood a viking messenger who made a speech,broadcast the boast of the seafarersto the earl where he stood on the shore:1‘Bold seamen have sent me to thee,commanded me to say that thou must quickly30send us rings for protection; and it is better for youto buy off this spear-storm with tributethan for us to share such a hard battle.We needn’t ruin one another, if you’re rich enough;we’ll call a truce in exchange for gold.35If thou, the richest here, agree to this, 1 The translation preserves the use of singular (thou, thee) and plural (you) pronouns in the original,probably a deliberate device – the messenger is trying to drive a wedge between Byrhtnoth and his army.2that thou wilt ransom thy people,give to the seamen all the money they wantin exchange for peace, and take a truce with us,we’ll go back to our ships with your gold coins,40sail off on the sea, and hold you in peace.’ Byrhtnoth spoke out, raised his shield,shook his slender spear and made a speech,angry and resolute, he gave this answer:‘Listen, seafarer, to what this people says:45they will give you spears for your tribute,poisoned points and ancient swords,the heriot that will not help you in battle.Messenger of the sailors, take back a message,tell your people much more hostile news:50here stands an undisgraced earl with his army,who will defend this homeland,the land of Aethelred, my own lord,the folk and the fields. Fated are heathensto fall in battle – it seems shameful to me55to let you go with our gold to your shipswithout a fight, now that you have comethis far into our country.You should not get your treasure so easily;points and blades will settle this business,60grim war-play, before we pay tribute.’ He commanded his men to carry their shieldsuntil they all stood on the river’s edge.The water kept each troop from the otherwhen the flood came flowing after the ebb,65locking the water-streams.1 It seemed too longuntil they could bring their spears together.They stood arrayed on the shores of the Panta,the East-Saxon vanguard and the Viking army;neither side could strike at the other,70unless one might fall from an arrow’s flight.The tide receded; the sailors stood ready,a great many Vikings eager for battle.The protector of heroes1 ordered a hardened warrior 1 The Panta is a tidal river; when the tide comes in the island on which the Vikings have landed was cutoff from the shore. Later, at low tide, a stone causeway allows the access.3to hold the bridge; he was called Wulfstan,75the son of Ceol, brave among his kinsmen;he stabbed with his Frankish spear the first manwho stepped most boldly across the bridge.Beside Wulfstan stood fearless warriors,Aelfere and Maccus, two valiant men80who would not take flight at the ford,but stoutly defended themselves against the foeas long as they might wield weapons.When they perceived this, and clearly sawthat they would meet bitter bridge-wardens there,85the hostile visitors hatched a plot –they asked if they could have accessto lead their forces across the ford. Then the earl in his overconfidence2 beganto allow too much land to that hateful people.90Over the cold water he called out then,the son of Byrhthelm, while the soldiers listened:‘Here’s room enough – now come quickly to us,bring on the battle; God alone knowswho will hold this place of slaughter.’95On came the slaughter-wolves, not minding the water,the Viking troop went west over the Panta,carried their shields over the shining water,the seamen bore their linden shields to land. Against the attackers Byrhtnoth and his men100stood ready; he ordered them to raisethe battle-wall with their shields, and standfast against the foe. The fight was near,glory in combat; the time had comewhen fated men should fall.105The cry was raised, ravens circled,the eagle longed for prey, and panic was on earth. 1 Byrhtnoth.2 The Old English word ofermod is notoriously ambiguous in this passage – literally it means ‘too muchmod’ (spirit, courage), implying a degree of reckless excess in what might still be an admirable quality, butin later OE prose it often translates Latin superbia ‘pride’, a deadly sin. It is difficult to argue that the heroof the poem – if that is what Byrhtnoth is – is guilty of a deadly sin in deciding to engage the Vikings inbattle where they stood; but part of the poems’ enduring interest is its sotto voce qualification of the moralabsolutes in which battles are usually recounted. Whatever the precise meaning of the word ofermod, andwhatever the military necessities under which Byrhtnoth reaches his decision, his act proves to be a fatalerror, as even he seems to recognize.4They let fly the file-hard spears,grimly ground spearheads from their grip;the bows were busy, the boards took the point.110The attack was bitter, on either handwarriors fell, young men lay dead.Wulfmar was wounded, chose his bed of slaughter;the kinsman of Byrhtnoth, savagely cutto pieces with a sword, his sister’s son.115Payback was brought to the vikings for that:I heard that Edward struck one fiercelywith his sword – not stingy with strokes –until at his feet fell the doomed soldier;his leader gave thanks for that120to his chamberlain when he had the chance. And so they stood their ground, stoutheartedyoung men at war, eagerly workedto see who might be the first to winthe life of a doomed man with his