C.U. English Honours Notes: The Battle of Brunanburh
The Battle of Brunanburh – Old English [Short Note]
The Anglo Saxon period also has
long unheard poems written in old heroic note with contemporary history. “The
Battle of Brunanburh” is a 73 line poem found in four extant manuscripts of the
Anglo Saxon Chronicle under the date 937. This poem is a panegyric. It
is composed in regular Old English verse and uses the full repertoire of
traditional alliterative and heroic techniques. It celebrates the victory of
Aethelstan of Wessex and Eadmund, his brother, against the combined forces of
Olaf the Norseman, Constantine, King of Scots and the Britons of Strathclyde.
The context of the game itself goes
some way towards explaining the prominence of the poem in the Chronicle. At the
end of King Alfred’s reign in 1899, left Scandinavians in control of most of
the north and east of the England. The succeeding West Saxon Kings, Edward the
Elder and Aethelstan spent significant portions of their reigns in trying to
establish their control, in the name at least, over these areas and their
rulers. By 924, Edward had taken submission from rulers on every one of his land
borders, Welsh, Scots, Danes and Northumbrians and had built a series of
fortresses in Mercia. He died in 925, and Aethelstan tried to take over where
Edward had left off. But Olaf, Constantine and Britons joined their forces and
began raiding Mercia. Aethelstan army marched north, collecting Mercian forces
on the way and defeated the Viking-Celtic coalition in a day’s battle of
Brunanburh.
There is an important difference
between the heroic tone of this poem and that of other Anglo-Saxon poetry. In
older heroic poetry, emphasis was laid on the individual hero and his national
origins were of little importance—he was one of the heroes of Germania and as
such claimed the admiration of all the Germanic peoples without any national
prejudice. “The Battle of Brunanburh” shows strong patriotic sentiment. The
victory is regarded as a victory of the English forces against Norse, Scots and
Welsh enemies and through the heroism of Aethelstan and Eadmund is celebrated;
the two princes appear not as heroes in their own right as much as champions of
their nations.
