Professor Borges - A Course on English Literature

use now. The young man realizes that the situation is serious, so he lets his beloved falcon (the epitaph “beloved” is very rare in this iron poetry of the Saxons) fly off into the forest, and he joins the battle. The text says: “He let his beloved falcon fly from his fist to the forest, and he entered the battle”:
he let him þa of handon leofne fleogan
hafoc wið þæs holtes and to þære hilde stop
    And the poet adds that whosoever saw him act in this way would have immediately understood that he would not hesitate at that moment to take up arms. In fact, the young man is later killed. And here we can see several symbols, but unintentional ones, of course. We might think that the falcon is a symbol of the young man’s life. And we might also think that releasing the hunting falcon and entering the battle symbolizes a transition from one form of life to another. The young man ceases to be a young courtesan and turns into a warrior who is willing to die, not for his nation—for the concept of nation would have been an anachronism at that time—but for his lord, the earl, who also fought, not for England, but for his own lord, the king.
    Then there appears another warrior, a member of the earl’s guard, who says that he had told his lord many times how much he liked to fight, and this was the moment he could make good on his boasting. Remember that “boasting,” as I have said, was not frowned upon at that time. It was understood that a brave man could and even should boast about his bravery.
    We now have the two hosts. On one riverbank are the Norwegian Vikings, and on the other, the Saxon militia. And the earl instructs the Saxons, who are obviously peasants, on how they should conduct themselves. He tells them they must think about their hands and their courage, and then he shows them how to hold their shields and spears. They have released their horses. They will fight on foot, but the lord gallops from one end of the line to the other, exhorting his men, telling them they have nothing to fear. In the meantime, they are watching the Vikings descend from their boats. We can imagine the Vikings with their helmets adorned with horns, imagine all these people arriving. And the earl is riding back and forth, exhorting the men.
    Then another character appears, and this character is the
wicinga ar
, the Vikings’ messenger. The messenger shouts from the other bank, because the River Blackwater, which is called
Pant
in the poem, stands between them. And the messenger says, “The bold seamen send me to you to say they are ready to make a truce with you, who seems to be the most powerful one here, if you give us as much gold rings or gold bracelets”—we should assume that money was not used at that time—“as they want, and then disband your troops, and they will be willing to return to their boat. We offer you peace in exchange for this tribute, and it’s better for you to give us this gold and for us not to destroy each other.” 3
    Then the earl lifts his shield and his spear. This has been interpreted in two ways. According to some commentators, it meant that he was going to speak and everybody had to remain quiet to hear his words, but it is also possible that he wanted to show everyone that he was not afraid of the Norwegian. That’s why he lifts his shield and brandishes his spear and answers with anger, saying, “Listen, seafarer, to what these people say”—or to these troops, because the word
folc
has both meanings. The people would say: “How could we surrender just like that? Why else have they brought us here?!” Etcetera. And he adds: “We will pay you a tribute, but not with gold, rather with old spears and swords. Deliver this hateful message to your chief. Tell him that here stands a vassal of Æthelred, who is willing to defend the land of Æthelred, and he should prepare for combat.” Then, the
wicinga ar
, the Viking messenger, goes to deliver the news to the Norwegian king, and the battle commences.
    But the battle begins in an unsatisfactory way, because they are separated by the river and they have to fight with arrows. And one or another Saxon falls, as does one or another Norwegian. Now, there’s a place with a bridge or a ford, the text is unclear here, and three or four Saxons are sent to defend the ford, and their names are given. One of them is called “The Long One”—he must have been very tall. And then the Norwegian, shouting from the other bank, suggests