The battle of Maldon: Close reading
2
Cam
Dr. Grinnell
2/27/2017
HP: Cam
H0w t0 Ruin a Perfectly Good Battle
The poem, “Battle of Maldon”, is a fantastic example of how disastrously ineffective King Ethelred “the Unready” ran the English empire around the turn of the eleventh century. His trusted commander in the English army was Byrhtnoth the ealdorman of Essex, who was in charge of the troops for the Battle of Maldon.
The poem effectively demonstrates how Byrhtnoth failed his troops as he led them into a Viking slaughterhouse, yet leaves the reasoning why he does so up to interpretation. I believe that hubris led to the demise of the English, and Byrhtnoth easily could have maneuvered the Anglos into a better situation.
Easily the biggest issue with Byrhtnoth is that he shows an excessive amount of confidence in the abilities of his troops as they attempt to rally against a stronger enemy in the invading Vikings. The battle comes to halt as the Viking troops cannot get through a waterway due to high tide unless they form a line that would be susceptible to death from the English warriors.
The poem states that the Vikings become aware of their severe disadvantage at this moment and devise a devilish plan to request safe passage from the English in order to continue the fighting. At this moment, Byrhtnoth needs to understand that he momentarily has the upper hand strategically on a decidedly stronger force.
But, not everybody is fit to lead, and the invitation to the Vikings to cross the river unscathed leads the English into peril.
The first line of the stanza states that the earl makes his declaration to the Vikings “in his overconfidence” (“Battle of Maldon” 89). There is a footnote for the word “overconfidence” which states that the original text for this word was “ofermod”. Some words simply do not have a precise translation into modern English and this ambiguity causes the meaning of the poem to hinge on the word “ofermod”.
The literal translation is given in the form of a footnote on page 248, with modern text written as “too much spirit or courage”, which can offer up two different interpretations of how the battle unfolded. The first viewing of this translation was supported by the idea that Byrhtnoth had faith in the nobility of his warriors and truly believed they could defeat the Danes.
The other possible meaning that could be ascertained would be that he had an excessive amount of pride for his own troops, which would be categorized as hubris and considered one of the seven deadly sins. This idea supports the notion that pride led to the English army’s demise.
In this scenario it is hard to tell where the line between honor and wisdom begin to blur. Although the honorable thing to do would be let the Vikings pass and have a fair fight with them, an excellent tactician in charge of the army should understand how much of disadvantage the elements are for the Vikings and use this for the English’s benefit.
The perspective of the narrator is still focused on the Anglo point of view, but has an awareness for the grim prospects of surviving up ahead. Byrhtnoth’s abhorrence for the Danes is clear as day as his confidence leads to their army “to allow too much land to that hateful people” (90).
The interesting part about this particular stanza is how the perspective begins to shift after the speech from the eyes of the English to the Vikings point of view. The change in the tone of poet is very hard to detect, but taking a look at the adjectives used to describe the river provide enough evidence.
The poet initially states that the earl hollered to the Vikings “over the cold water” (91). This makes it sound like the river is unbearable to cross in the eyes of Byrhtnoth. He concedes control of the situation to the Viking leaders by playing right into their hands.
They understand that they cannot survive the battle if they attempt to storm the land in this manor. So, the earl does the only he sees fit to do. Afterwards, the poet describes the Vikings as sailing across the, “shining water” (98), and takes all of the bite out of the description of the ghastly waters.
Another example of the turn in perspective comes from how the use of the word “slaughter” is used in different lines to mean different things. It is first used by Byrhtnoth to predict how the battle will obviously turn out, he is just unaware as to who’s side will be on the losing end.
The second usage of the word comes from the Vikings being described as “slaughter-wolves, not minding the water” (96). The Danes take on this animalistic or beastlike quality by being attributed with this adjective. They pay no attention attention to the water like Byrhtnoth did, and are content to rush forward into battle full of rage.
The tone of the poem at this juncture foreshadows the impending victory that the Vikings are on the cusp of grasping.
Another issue that I found with Byrhtnoth’s tactics was how he called on God in lines ninety-four and ninety-five to decide the winner of the battle should be. By saying, “God alone knows who will hold this place of slaughter” (94-95), Byrhtnoth has left the fate of the English army up to God.
Byrhtnoth appears incredible naïve as someone in that position of authority should not think having the tactical advantage does not matter in a fight. This affirms the notion that he has excessive pride and I believe this is what leads to his eventual downfall. This is a classic case of putting your eggs in the wrong basket.
This passage helps clarify exactly who is to blame for the English Army’s demise in the Battle of Maldon. Byrhtnoth is easily portrayed as the one to blame for the grave strategic errors that led to the downfall of the Anglos. It cannot be any clearer that the earl did not make the right decision when putting his blind courage in his troops abilities.
I guess the best way to look at is that there cannot be winners and losers in war unless one side gives their opposition an opportunistic moment to attack. In this case, as many before it, the pride of man led to Anglos downfall.
“Battle of Maldon.” Old English Poetry: An Anthology, edited and translated by R.M. Liuzza, Broadview Press, 2014, pp. 243-255.
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