FTP, identify this anonymous tragedy in Old English alliterative meter, translated by J.R.R. Tolkien, who also composed a companion piece to it: the meditative drama Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son.
Distinctive features of this work include its hero's epithet, "ofermod," which means something like "vainglorious" and appears nowhere else in literature. Though some of this poem is lost, 325 lines survive, as well as the manuscript's dedication to Æthelred II. Noted for its Christian aspects, its villain, the Viking prince Anlaf, is indicted for heathenism and avarice ; the Abbot of Ely is the only survivor of the poem's titular event; and equivocal judgment is passed on its hero, the Earl, for choosing honor over the safety of his vassals. It is best known for the last words of Bertwold, "Be our spirits ever greater even as our strength lessens," a recitation of the Old English "heroic code." FTP, identify this anonymous tragedy in Old English alliterative meter, translated by J.R.R. Tolkien, who also composed a companion piece to it: the meditative drama Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son.
Distinctive features of this work include its hero's epithet, "ofermod," which means something like "vainglorious" and appears nowhere else in literature.
The {Battle of Maldon} or {Haeleth Hige thei Heardra}