Professor Borges - A Course on English Literature

something else. He suggests that they let them cross the ford without attacking, because on the Saxon side there is a meadow, and beyond the meadow is a forest, and that meadow is a good field for combat, because combats were considered to be like tournaments.
    Here the chief agrees, and the poet uses the word
ofermod
, which is related to the word
Übermut
in German, and means “temerity.” This word is used twice in the poem, and the poet makes us feel that the Saxon, by agreeing, has committed an act of temerity that will have to be punished. In
Chanson de Roland
we see the exact same thing, as I alluded to previously. Roland could have sounded his horn, his
oliphant
. (This word has the same origin as “elephant,” because the horn was made from the ivory of an elephant’s tusk.) But he fails to do so, he doesn’t want to call Charlemagne to his aid, and this is why he is defeated in the end by the Saracens.
    And now the earl—we know from other texts that the earl was a tall man, an erudite man, meaning he knew Latin and was well versed in the Scriptures; there remain several letters from him to a learned man of the time—he shows weakness by allowing the Vikings to cross the river; and then comes a moment of serenity in the poem, because the poet says, “the Norwegians did not care about the water,” “
for wætere ne murnon
.” The Norwegians cross the river, their shields held high so as to keep them dry. And the poet says, “
lidmen to lande, linde bæron
,” “the seafarers to the land came, their shields held high.” And the Saxons allow them to come onto dry land and then the battle begins.
    All of this starts out well for the Saxons. The poem names the combatants, and there is a detail now that settles any doubt as to whether or not the description is authentic. And this is the fact that there are cowards among the Saxons who flee. Now the Saxon chief, the earl, has dismounted from his horse to fight alongside his men. And one of those cowards—named Godric, a name we already encountered in the Finnsburh Fragment—climbs on the chief’s horse and flees. 4 So, some of the Saxons who are farther away think the chief has fled. If the chief has fled, they have no obligation to continue fighting, because their loyalty is to their chief, not to their nation. So they also flee. And here begins the foreseeable defeat of the Saxon militias by the Vikings.
    Individual acts of bravery are described. A soldier is mentioned, who with his spear “pierced the neck of the haughty Viking.” Then come details of feats of arms by the Saxon chief. The chief is wounded, mortally wounded. They try to steal his weapons. There is also an episode like this in
Chanson de Roland
, an epic element that might even have been true. And before dying—he is a Christian fighting against pagans, he is fighting against worshippers of Odin and Thor—he gives thanks to God for all the happiness he has had on Earth, including this last happiness of fighting the pagans. Then he asks God to allow his soul to come to Him and not let devils stand in his way.
    The chief dies bravely, and then there is a conversation among those who remain. And an old solider appears, and this old soldier says words that seem to be infused with the entire Germanic attitude toward life. He says, “The weaker we are, the less our strength, the boldest we shall be. I want to stay here, by the side of my lord.” In other words, he deliberately chooses death.
    There is also a hostage, from the hardy stock of the Northumbrians, because this combat is waged in the south of England. And this hostage, taken during one of the smaller civil wars, the Norwegian alongside those who were his enemies, but who are Saxons or Angles like he.
    There is also a young man who says, “I will stay here to die; they no longer expect victory.” And he speaks about the earl and says, “
he wæs ægðer min mæg and min hlaford
,” “he was my kinsman and my lord.” And others also die. Among those is the young man who voluntarily freed his falcon and joined the battle. Before that comes a description of the combat, and there is also talk about eagles, crows, wolves—animals that can never be absent from any Germanic epic work. Then there is a Godric who dies bravely and the poet is cut off after these words: “This was not the same Godric who fled . . . ”
    Now, this whole poem is written in very direct English, with only one or another kenning, one or