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The Battle of Maldon: Together with the Homecoming of Beorhtnoth
Collector’s slipcased edition of the first ever standalone presentation of one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s most important poetic dramas, that explores timely themes such as the nature of heroism and chivalry during war, and which features unpublished and never-before-seen texts and drafts.
In 991 AD, vikings attacked an Anglo-Saxon defence-force led by their duke, Beorhtnoth, resulting in brutal fighting along the river Blackwater, near Maldon in Essex. The attack is widely considered one of the defining conflicts of tenth-century England, and is immortalised in the poem, The Battle of Maldon.
Written shortly after the battle, the poem survives only as a 325-line fragment, but its value to today is incalculable. J.R.R. Tolkien considered The Battle of Maldon ‘the last surviving fragment of ancient English heroic minstrelsy’. It would inspire him to compose, during the 1930s, his own dramatic verse-dialogue, The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son, which imagines the aftermath of the great battle when two of Beorhtnoth’s retainers come to retrieve their duke’s body.
Leading Tolkien scholar, Peter Grybauskas, presents for the first time Tolkien’s own prose translation of The Battle of Maldon together with the definitive treatment of The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth and its accompanying essays; also included and never before published is the lecture, ‘The Tradition of Versification in Old English’. Illuminated with insightful notes and commentary, he offers a definitive critical edition of these works, and argues compellingly that, Beowulf excepted, The Battle of Maldon may well have been ‘the Old English poem that most influenced Tolkien’s fiction’, most dramatically within the pages of The Lord of the Rings.
This slipcased edition includes a colour frontispiece reproducing a page of Tolkien’s original manuscript of The Homecoming, and is printed on acid-free paper with a ribbon marker. It is quarterbound with a unique illustration by Bill Sanderson gold-foiled on grey boards and is housed in a custom-built slipcase. It also includes a digitally remastered recording of The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth read by J.R.R. Tolkien Christopher Tolkien, which is available on CD for the first time.
In 991 AD, vikings attacked an Anglo-Saxon defence-force led by their duke, Beorhtnoth, resulting in brutal fighting along the river Blackwater, near Maldon in Essex. The attack is widely considered one of the defining conflicts of tenth-century England, and is immortalised in the poem, The Battle of Maldon.
Written shortly after the battle, the poem survives only as a 325-line fragment, but its value to today is incalculable. J.R.R. Tolkien considered The Battle of Maldon ‘the last surviving fragment of ancient English heroic minstrelsy’. It would inspire him to compose, during the 1930s, his own dramatic verse-dialogue, The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son, which imagines the aftermath of the great battle when two of Beorhtnoth’s retainers come to retrieve their duke’s body.
Leading Tolkien scholar, Peter Grybauskas, presents for the first time Tolkien’s own prose translation of The Battle of Maldon together with the definitive treatment of The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth and its accompanying essays; also included and never before published is the lecture, ‘The Tradition of Versification in Old English’. Illuminated with insightful notes and commentary, he offers a definitive critical edition of these works, and argues compellingly that, Beowulf excepted, The Battle of Maldon may well have been ‘the Old English poem that most influenced Tolkien’s fiction’, most dramatically within the pages of The Lord of the Rings.
This slipcased edition includes a colour frontispiece reproducing a page of Tolkien’s original manuscript of The Homecoming, and is printed on acid-free paper with a ribbon marker. It is quarterbound with a unique illustration by Bill Sanderson gold-foiled on grey boards and is housed in a custom-built slipcase. It also includes a digitally remastered recording of The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth read by J.R.R. Tolkien Christopher Tolkien, which is available on CD for the first time.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published March 30, 2023
70 people are currently reading
780 people want to read
About the author
J.R.R. Tolkien
797 books77.8k followersJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets.
Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.
Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly.
Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.
Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium’ that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children’s stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life.
Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.
Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly.
Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.
Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium’ that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children’s stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
May 8, 2024
BookTube channel with my awesome brother, Ed - The Brothers Gwynne
My personal BookTube channel - William Gwynne
My first read of 2024, and you cannot get much better than starting with Tolkien! The Battle of Maldon is one of my favourite pieces of Anglo-Saxon verse, and this translation by Tolkien is gripping. Telling the tale of a brave chieftain in Beorhtnoth as the Saxons stood against the Danes in a historical battle that took place during the late 10th century.
It examines duty, heroism, what makes someones a worthy leader, sacrifice and more, all in an epic yet often melancholic tone, infusing heroism and tragedy.
This is very short and engaging, and easily accessible, even though Anglo-Saxon verse has an exaggerated reputation for being hard to understand. Please pick this up, especially if you love anything by Tolkien!
My personal BookTube channel - William Gwynne
My first read of 2024, and you cannot get much better than starting with Tolkien! The Battle of Maldon is one of my favourite pieces of Anglo-Saxon verse, and this translation by Tolkien is gripping. Telling the tale of a brave chieftain in Beorhtnoth as the Saxons stood against the Danes in a historical battle that took place during the late 10th century.
It examines duty, heroism, what makes someones a worthy leader, sacrifice and more, all in an epic yet often melancholic tone, infusing heroism and tragedy.
This is very short and engaging, and easily accessible, even though Anglo-Saxon verse has an exaggerated reputation for being hard to understand. Please pick this up, especially if you love anything by Tolkien!
June 24, 2023
This compilation includes J.R.R. Tolkien's prose translation of the 10th century, 325-line fragment of the Old English poem "The Battle of Maldon", Tolkien's dramatic verse-dialogue "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son", along with accompanying commentary, notes and essays, such as "The Tradition of Versification in Old English".
"The Battle of Maldon" describes the 991 A.D Viking assault on the coastal settlement of Maldon in Essex, and the subsequent heroic (but ultimately futile) defense by the Anglo-Saxons led by Beorhtnoth. The Vikings convince Beorhtoth to to let them cross the causeway from Northey Island over the Blackwater river to the mainland, so that the fight between them would be fair. Beorhtnoth's chivalry is misplaced and this action proves to be a fatal and tragic mistake. "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son" is an imaginative, but contemplative dialogue between two of Beorhthnoth's retainers that have been sent by the local Bishop to retrieve their lord's corpse (or what's left of it) the night after the battle.
Both these tales make for compelling reading, and provide a window into the 10th century Anglo-Saxon warrior culture. Tolkien was no slouch when it came to translation and writing poetry. "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son" also has a contemplative vibe and would make a pretty good stage performance. The sundry commentary and essays would be interesting for those that like that sort of thing - some of it went over my head, but I still found it interesting.
http://www.battleofmaldon.org.uk/inde...
"The Battle of Maldon" describes the 991 A.D Viking assault on the coastal settlement of Maldon in Essex, and the subsequent heroic (but ultimately futile) defense by the Anglo-Saxons led by Beorhtnoth. The Vikings convince Beorhtoth to to let them cross the causeway from Northey Island over the Blackwater river to the mainland, so that the fight between them would be fair. Beorhtnoth's chivalry is misplaced and this action proves to be a fatal and tragic mistake. "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son" is an imaginative, but contemplative dialogue between two of Beorhthnoth's retainers that have been sent by the local Bishop to retrieve their lord's corpse (or what's left of it) the night after the battle.
Both these tales make for compelling reading, and provide a window into the 10th century Anglo-Saxon warrior culture. Tolkien was no slouch when it came to translation and writing poetry. "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son" also has a contemplative vibe and would make a pretty good stage performance. The sundry commentary and essays would be interesting for those that like that sort of thing - some of it went over my head, but I still found it interesting.
http://www.battleofmaldon.org.uk/inde...
April 6, 2023
کتاب «نبرد مالدون به همراه مراجعت بئورهتنوت به وطن» همه چی توش داره، از ترجمه منثور تالکین از شعر «نبرد مالدون» از انگلیسی باستان بگیر که روایت شکست آنگلوساکسونها در برابر وایکینگها در نبرد مالدون در سال ۹۹۱ میلادی هست، تا مقالات گاها بسیار تخصصی مرتبط خود تالکین به قضیه، نمایشنامه منظوم «مراجعت بئورهتنوت پسر بئورهتهلم به وطن» که خود تالکین اون رو با الهام از قضایای نبرد مالدون سروده و در نهایت مقدمه و یه سری یادداشت و پاورقی و یه مقاله مفصل از ویراستار اثر، پیتر گرایباسکاس، وجود داره که یکی از محققان دنیای تالکین و از اساتید دانشگاه مریلند هست. به همه اینها یه کتاب صوتی از مراجعت بئورهتنوت به وطن و یه پیشگفتار و یه مقاله در موردش پیوست شده که با صدای جی.آر.آر. تالکین و کریستوفر تالکین هست و خیلی خوبه و حتماً پیشنهاد میکنم گوش بدید این کتاب صوتی رو.
کتاب سه بخش داره و اول با «مراجعت بئورهتنوت پسر بئورهتهلم به وطن» و چیزهای مربوط بهش شروع میشه. اما چرا؟ چون شعر نمایشنامهای ماجرا که اثر تالکین هست در حقیقت داره تاریخی خیالی برای شعر/شاعر شعر «نبرد مالدون» مینویسه (که این شعر مثلاً چطور به دستمون رسیده و... چون از تاریخ اون بیخبریم) و محتوای اون بیشتر شامل دیالوگ بین دو نفر هست که بعد از مصیبت نبرد مالدون و شکست قوای انگلیسی رفتن دنبال جسد فرمانرواشون بئورهتنوت و در این بین تقابل افکار دو نسل مختلف و تعریف اینکه شجاعت و سلحشوری و موارد اینچنینی باشه از دو نگاه بررسی میشه که این قسمت با تلاش تالکین برای اجرا کردنش خیلی خوب در اومده و حتماً این تیکه رو همزمان با پخش کتاب صوتی بخونید. در مورد اینکه محتوای شعر «مراجعت بئورهتنوت پسر بئورهتهلم به وطن» چیه حالا اشتباهات زیادی در اینترنت وجود داره (و حتی ویراستار کتاب هم از قضیه گله میکنه) و اگه چیزی خوندید در موردش اما متن اصلی رو نه (که قبلاً حالا به صورت مقالات علمی منتشر شده بود، اما نه به صورت کتاب با دسترسی راحت)، احتمال زیاد دارای اطلاعات اشتباه هست و خود قضیه رو بخونید :دی
بخش دوم شامل ترجمه منثور تالکین از شعر «نبرد مالدون» از انگلیسی باستان هست و هرچیز مرتبط با اون به همراه کلی یادداشت (اونم نه همه یادداشتها، یه سری موارد بسیار تخصصی زبانشناسی که ارتباط مستقیمی به قضیه نداشتن رو ویراستار دیگه نیاورده توی این کتاب از دستنویسهای تالکین، اما بازم پر از نکات زبانشناسی مرتبط هست در کنار چیزهای دیگه). تالکین درباره این اثر گفته که «آخرین تکۀ بازمانده از خنیاگری حماسی کهن انگلیسی» هست.
بخش سوم اما یه مقاله بسیار بسیار تخصصی با عنوان «مرسومات تصنیف شعر در انگلیسی باستان» از خود تالکین هست که نه تنها شعر نبرد مالدون رو رسماً جراحی کرده برای این قضیه، به این قضیه که چطور شاعران انگلیسی باستان قوانین و دستورالعملهایی داشتن و برای سرودن شعر ازشون استفاده میکردن و با شناخت دقیق و پیدا کردنشون میشه بسیار راحتتر به اون سبک شعر گفت که به گوش شنونده یا چشم خواننده خوش به نظر برسه و حتی میشه تشخیص داد که کدوم کلمه از شعر در طول تاریخ تغییر آوا داره و به چه شکل و یا کلمه در کتابتهای مختلف به اشتباه نوشته شده یا...
در عنوان و توضیح حالا جذاب به نظر میاد اما توی خوندن نه 😅 به حدی تخصصی و ریز و پیچیده است قضیه که برای اولین بار توی عمرم وقت خوندن یه چیزی گوشی به دست خوابم برد دیشب 🤣 صبح بیدار شدم و دیدم ا، چرا اینطوری شده :)) و خب تمومش کردم بالاخره اما واقعاً برای کسی که صرفاً از روی علاقه این چیزها رو دنبال میکنه (و نه آکادمیک جدی) نه تنها کاربردی نداره، به شدت هم بورینگ هست 😬
در ادامه یه سری ضمیمه داره که یه مقدارش از سمت تالکین هستن و چیزهای اضافه و باقیمونده هست که توی بخشهای دیگه جا نشده اما مرتبط با نبرد مالدون یا مراجعت بئورهتنوت هستن. آخرش هم یه مقاله از ویراستار کتاب هست که طلاست واقعاً و به شدت وصفناپذیری جذاب! از تاثیر این داستان و نظرات خود تالکین که توی مراجعت یا جاهای دیگه (که توی کتاب هم اومده) در داستانهای تالکین صحبت شده، از هابیت گرفته تا ارباب حلقهها، از سیلماریلیون تا فرزندان هورین که وقتی از این دید به قضیه نگاه کنید جذابیت این کتاب و هم آثار دیگه تالکین رو براتون بیشتر میکنه. پروسه مشابهی که برای شعر آنگلوساکسونی «سرگردان» داشتیم و این ویدیو فارسی رو میتونید در موردش ببینید:
https://www.aparat.com/v/eUfkb
بخشهای شعری و داستانی اون واقعاً خب جذاب هست و اونقدر هم حجم زیادی نداره که خسته بشید یا هرچیزی، به خصوص اینکه قسمت اولش با صدای تالکین و پسرش کریستوفر هست، بخش دوم هم بازم داستانی و اوکیه، بخش سوم رو حالا دیدید نمیتونید یا هرچی و موکولش کردید به بعد هم چیز زیادی رو از دست ندادید، مثل من خودتون رو فرسوده نکنید سرش حالا، بقیه کتاب (ضمایم) رو بخونید، اونها باحالن باز :) به خودم باشه ۴ ستاره میدم اما چون قراره سر کتاب خوابتون ببره، نمیتونم خودم رو راضی کنم به ۴، با وجود اینکه تالکین هست 😅
کتاب سه بخش داره و اول با «مراجعت بئورهتنوت پسر بئورهتهلم به وطن» و چیزهای مربوط بهش شروع میشه. اما چرا؟ چون شعر نمایشنامهای ماجرا که اثر تالکین هست در حقیقت داره تاریخی خیالی برای شعر/شاعر شعر «نبرد مالدون» مینویسه (که این شعر مثلاً چطور به دستمون رسیده و... چون از تاریخ اون بیخبریم) و محتوای اون بیشتر شامل دیالوگ بین دو نفر هست که بعد از مصیبت نبرد مالدون و شکست قوای انگلیسی رفتن دنبال جسد فرمانرواشون بئورهتنوت و در این بین تقابل افکار دو نسل مختلف و تعریف اینکه شجاعت و سلحشوری و موارد اینچنینی باشه از دو نگاه بررسی میشه که این قسمت با تلاش تالکین برای اجرا کردنش خیلی خوب در اومده و حتماً این تیکه رو همزمان با پخش کتاب صوتی بخونید. در مورد اینکه محتوای شعر «مراجعت بئورهتنوت پسر بئورهتهلم به وطن» چیه حالا اشتباهات زیادی در اینترنت وجود داره (و حتی ویراستار کتاب هم از قضیه گله میکنه) و اگه چیزی خوندید در موردش اما متن اصلی رو نه (که قبلاً حالا به صورت مقالات علمی منتشر شده بود، اما نه به صورت کتاب با دسترسی راحت)، احتمال زیاد دارای اطلاعات اشتباه هست و خود قضیه رو بخونید :دی
بخش دوم شامل ترجمه منثور تالکین از شعر «نبرد مالدون» از انگلیسی باستان هست و هرچیز مرتبط با اون به همراه کلی یادداشت (اونم نه همه یادداشتها، یه سری موارد بسیار تخصصی زبانشناسی که ارتباط مستقیمی به قضیه نداشتن رو ویراستار دیگه نیاورده توی این کتاب از دستنویسهای تالکین، اما بازم پر از نکات زبانشناسی مرتبط هست در کنار چیزهای دیگه). تالکین درباره این اثر گفته که «آخرین تکۀ بازمانده از خنیاگری حماسی کهن انگلیسی» هست.
بخش سوم اما یه مقاله بسیار بسیار تخصصی با عنوان «مرسومات تصنیف شعر در انگلیسی باستان» از خود تالکین هست که نه تنها شعر نبرد مالدون رو رسماً جراحی کرده برای این قضیه، به این قضیه که چطور شاعران انگلیسی باستان قوانین و دستورالعملهایی داشتن و برای سرودن شعر ازشون استفاده میکردن و با شناخت دقیق و پیدا کردنشون میشه بسیار راحتتر به اون سبک شعر گفت که به گوش شنونده یا چشم خواننده خوش به نظر برسه و حتی میشه تشخیص داد که کدوم کلمه از شعر در طول تاریخ تغییر آوا داره و به چه شکل و یا کلمه در کتابتهای مختلف به اشتباه نوشته شده یا...
در عنوان و توضیح حالا جذاب به نظر میاد اما توی خوندن نه 😅 به حدی تخصصی و ریز و پیچیده است قضیه که برای اولین بار توی عمرم وقت خوندن یه چیزی گوشی به دست خوابم برد دیشب 🤣 صبح بیدار شدم و دیدم ا، چرا اینطوری شده :)) و خب تمومش کردم بالاخره اما واقعاً برای کسی که صرفاً از روی علاقه این چیزها رو دنبال میکنه (و نه آکادمیک جدی) نه تنها کاربردی نداره، به شدت هم بورینگ هست 😬
در ادامه یه سری ضمیمه داره که یه مقدارش از سمت تالکین هستن و چیزهای اضافه و باقیمونده هست که توی بخشهای دیگه جا نشده اما مرتبط با نبرد مالدون یا مراجعت بئورهتنوت هستن. آخرش هم یه مقاله از ویراستار کتاب هست که طلاست واقعاً و به شدت وصفناپذیری جذاب! از تاثیر این داستان و نظرات خود تالکین که توی مراجعت یا جاهای دیگه (که توی کتاب هم اومده) در داستانهای تالکین صحبت شده، از هابیت گرفته تا ارباب حلقهها، از سیلماریلیون تا فرزندان هورین که وقتی از این دید به قضیه نگاه کنید جذابیت این کتاب و هم آثار دیگه تالکین رو براتون بیشتر میکنه. پروسه مشابهی که برای شعر آنگلوساکسونی «سرگردان» داشتیم و این ویدیو فارسی رو میتونید در موردش ببینید:
https://www.aparat.com/v/eUfkb
بخشهای شعری و داستانی اون واقعاً خب جذاب هست و اونقدر هم حجم زیادی نداره که خسته بشید یا هرچیزی، به خصوص اینکه قسمت اولش با صدای تالکین و پسرش کریستوفر هست، بخش دوم هم بازم داستانی و اوکیه، بخش سوم رو حالا دیدید نمیتونید یا هرچی و موکولش کردید به بعد هم چیز زیادی رو از دست ندادید، مثل من خودتون رو فرسوده نکنید سرش حالا، بقیه کتاب (ضمایم) رو بخونید، اونها باحالن باز :) به خودم باشه ۴ ستاره میدم اما چون قراره سر کتاب خوابتون ببره، نمیتونم خودم رو راضی کنم به ۴، با وجود اینکه تالکین هست 😅
May 20, 2023
This is only something that devoted Professor Tolkien fans will appreciate. It's regarding a massive battle in a vikings era. I would describe it as a rather dry read as it exits of vast amounts of texts.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ:☆. *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
↠ Genre: Historical Fiction
↠Published: March 30th 2023
↠ Type: -
↠ Rating: 7.7-
🌱☕️ ○ Milou the grumpy hobbit
─── ･ ｡ﾟ:☆. *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
↠ Genre: Historical Fiction
↠Published: March 30th 2023
↠ Type: -
↠ Rating: 7.7-
🌱☕️ ○ Milou the grumpy hobbit
April 27, 2023
"Heart shall be bolder, harder be purpose
more proud the spirit as our power lessens!
Mind shall not falter nor mood waver,
though doom shall come and dark conquer."
more proud the spirit as our power lessens!
Mind shall not falter nor mood waver,
though doom shall come and dark conquer."
July 11, 2024
The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, it's ancillary material, the prose version ofThe Battle of Maldon and Grybauskas's too-short essay (I would have enjoyed twice or three-times as many pages) on the relevance of these works to Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium: 5 stars.
Tolkien's paper, The Tradition of Versification in Old English held my interest at, say 3.5-4 stars, only because I'm not a student of Old English versification, so it was rather rarified air for me. Some of the Appendices were just too abstruse for my reading, the deficit, again, being mine. Overall, 4.5 stars, which I've rounded down rather than up.
The Homecoming is wonderfully atmospheric and poignant, as two common men search amongst the aristocratic dead for the body of their slain lord, Earl Beorhtnoth, who foolishly wasted the lives of his loyal warriors in an act of heroic bravado, forgetting his higher duty to protect his people. To write further would only be to repeat less skillfully what is in the book. I'll certainly read the core material again, and probably the critical apparatus, though probably not much of the Appendices.
Tolkien's paper, The Tradition of Versification in Old English held my interest at, say 3.5-4 stars, only because I'm not a student of Old English versification, so it was rather rarified air for me. Some of the Appendices were just too abstruse for my reading, the deficit, again, being mine. Overall, 4.5 stars, which I've rounded down rather than up.
The Homecoming is wonderfully atmospheric and poignant, as two common men search amongst the aristocratic dead for the body of their slain lord, Earl Beorhtnoth, who foolishly wasted the lives of his loyal warriors in an act of heroic bravado, forgetting his higher duty to protect his people. To write further would only be to repeat less skillfully what is in the book. I'll certainly read the core material again, and probably the critical apparatus, though probably not much of the Appendices.
Read
February 23, 2025I am continually struck by the sheer depth and subtlety (and originality) of Tolkien's scholarship—this volume, for instance, exhibits someone whose head and heart were deep inside Anglo-Saxon history, poetry, and language alike. (Put another way: Tolkien was the quintessential philologist.)
March 26, 2024
L'ho trovato assai specialistico; e "The tradition of the versification in English" a tratti l'ho trovato pesantuccio
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February 17, 2025To się nazywa GRATKA dla każdego miłośnika twórczości J.R.R. TOLKIENa - niebywała korzyść, okazja - inaczej mówiąc... Nie może tej książki przegapić nikt, kogo interesuje tolkienowskie światotwórstwo, kogo interesuje sam TOLKIEN i to, co mu w duszy grało, co go do wszystkich tych pięknych opowieść - które wzruszają, poruszają, porywają - zainspirowało.
BITWA POD MALDON - POWRÓT BEORHTNOTHA, jest - jak możemy przeczytać na skrzydłach obwoluty - jednym z najważniejszych dzieł historycznych mistrza. mamy tu do czynienia z przekładem tej opowieści na prozę, lecz mamy też pisane staroangielskim, rozłożone na osoby dramatu, to co przetrwało z tego dzieła i to, co Tolkien postanowił z niego wyłuskać dla pokoleń.
Najważniejsze, co nam pokazuje mistrz pióra - w tym konkretnym przypadku - to rycerskość i bohaterstwo, to wszystko, o czym świat usilnie stara się zapomnieć, a co mimo wszystko trwa i zawsze trwać będzie, bo nasz ludzki gatunek potrzebuje bohaterów i potrzebuje heroicznych postaw - ba! jest do takich postaw skłonny, bo piękno nie jest subiektywne a obiektywne - bo dobro również takie właśnie jest.
Jednak historia bitwy i bohatera, to nie jedyne co dostajemy. Oczywiście dostajemy bogate komentarze, które pozwalają lepiej zrozumieć i samą opowieść i fascynację Tolkiena tym dziełem. Lecz i to nie jest wszystko! Dla mnie najważniejszy jest dotąd niepublikowany wykłada pisarza pt. "Tradycja wersyfikacji w języku staroangielskim". Wiem, że może nie brzmi to fascynująco, ale naprawdę takie jest. Jeśli jesteście głodni słowotwórstwa tolkienowskiego, jego wielkiej miłości do języka - to nie muszę wam tłumaczyć, jak cenny jest to tekst.
W książce znajdziemy parę malutkich ilustracji, bardzo eleganckich. Sama wygląd tej pozycji chyba nie potrzebuje komentarza - broni się sam. Mamy piękną tasiemkę/zakładkę i całość wspaniale pasuje do innych książek TOLKIENa wydanych przez Zysk i S-ka. Na pytanie: czy polecam? Chyba nie muszę odpowiadać...
bohaterstwo? rycerstwo? ale, że tak! właśnie, że tak!
Wydawnictwo Zysk i S-ka
egzemplarz recenzencki
BITWA POD MALDON - POWRÓT BEORHTNOTHA, jest - jak możemy przeczytać na skrzydłach obwoluty - jednym z najważniejszych dzieł historycznych mistrza. mamy tu do czynienia z przekładem tej opowieści na prozę, lecz mamy też pisane staroangielskim, rozłożone na osoby dramatu, to co przetrwało z tego dzieła i to, co Tolkien postanowił z niego wyłuskać dla pokoleń.
Najważniejsze, co nam pokazuje mistrz pióra - w tym konkretnym przypadku - to rycerskość i bohaterstwo, to wszystko, o czym świat usilnie stara się zapomnieć, a co mimo wszystko trwa i zawsze trwać będzie, bo nasz ludzki gatunek potrzebuje bohaterów i potrzebuje heroicznych postaw - ba! jest do takich postaw skłonny, bo piękno nie jest subiektywne a obiektywne - bo dobro również takie właśnie jest.
Jednak historia bitwy i bohatera, to nie jedyne co dostajemy. Oczywiście dostajemy bogate komentarze, które pozwalają lepiej zrozumieć i samą opowieść i fascynację Tolkiena tym dziełem. Lecz i to nie jest wszystko! Dla mnie najważniejszy jest dotąd niepublikowany wykłada pisarza pt. "Tradycja wersyfikacji w języku staroangielskim". Wiem, że może nie brzmi to fascynująco, ale naprawdę takie jest. Jeśli jesteście głodni słowotwórstwa tolkienowskiego, jego wielkiej miłości do języka - to nie muszę wam tłumaczyć, jak cenny jest to tekst.
W książce znajdziemy parę malutkich ilustracji, bardzo eleganckich. Sama wygląd tej pozycji chyba nie potrzebuje komentarza - broni się sam. Mamy piękną tasiemkę/zakładkę i całość wspaniale pasuje do innych książek TOLKIENa wydanych przez Zysk i S-ka. Na pytanie: czy polecam? Chyba nie muszę odpowiadać...
bohaterstwo? rycerstwo? ale, że tak! właśnie, że tak!
Wydawnictwo Zysk i S-ka
egzemplarz recenzencki
August 8, 2025
In this book we get to know the poem that occupied J.R.R. Tolkien for many years in his academic career as a professor of Anglo-Saxon and English.
The poem is about the Viking attack beside the River Blackwater in Essex in 991 AD. The defence force was led by duke Beorhtnoth and the tragic events that followed are described in detail.
I had read again a translation of the "Battle of Maldon", but as always these editions manage to take my breath away with their extensive analysis.
The new addition here is a piece of alliterative verse drama written by Tolkien, "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth", which takes place after the battle.
Beautiful edition, suitable both for Tolkien books collectors and lovers of medieval literature.
The poem is about the Viking attack beside the River Blackwater in Essex in 991 AD. The defence force was led by duke Beorhtnoth and the tragic events that followed are described in detail.
I had read again a translation of the "Battle of Maldon", but as always these editions manage to take my breath away with their extensive analysis.
The new addition here is a piece of alliterative verse drama written by Tolkien, "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth", which takes place after the battle.
Beautiful edition, suitable both for Tolkien books collectors and lovers of medieval literature.
April 17, 2023
Two good old English tales with a tons of annotations, notes, introduction and appendix to really deep dive into them if this is the kind of think you like. Probably not for everybody but well done!
July 12, 2023
Interesting scholars work on stories that highly influenced Tolkien and his work on LOTR and the rest of his Legendarium. The influences are clear to see, as are his love of that time period.
The poems themselves are quick reads, and the notes/papers afterwards embellishing them are insightful into what is being written/translated by the author. They also give interpolation as to how these passages would have contributed to Tolkien’s own writings.
A fun read for fans of Tolkien and his mythos, but very skippable for average fans, or book readers in general.
The poems themselves are quick reads, and the notes/papers afterwards embellishing them are insightful into what is being written/translated by the author. They also give interpolation as to how these passages would have contributed to Tolkien’s own writings.
A fun read for fans of Tolkien and his mythos, but very skippable for average fans, or book readers in general.
September 8, 2025
This is Day 879 of me begging for a paperback version of this book. Now more than ever, I need a physical copy that I can write in. Chris Smith, get on that.
I'd read the Homecoming of Beorhtnoth before, in a couple of collection, and I liked reading the different drafts of it, as well as the translation of the Battle of Maldon, but for me the best part of this book was Ofermod, which is one of the best essays I've ever read and probably my favorite (also, it's giving Fëanor). I really enjoyed the last appendice also, Peter Grybauskas is a great essayist in my opinion. I will say, the reason why this is a 4-star is that a lot of part 3 and some of the appendices were too technical for me, which is not the book's fault but at times my eyes were looking at the words and not taking anything in.
I'd read the Homecoming of Beorhtnoth before, in a couple of collection, and I liked reading the different drafts of it, as well as the translation of the Battle of Maldon, but for me the best part of this book was Ofermod, which is one of the best essays I've ever read and probably my favorite (also, it's giving Fëanor). I really enjoyed the last appendice also, Peter Grybauskas is a great essayist in my opinion. I will say, the reason why this is a 4-star is that a lot of part 3 and some of the appendices were too technical for me, which is not the book's fault but at times my eyes were looking at the words and not taking anything in.
July 28, 2023
There’s nothing wrong with this publication. No one who likes LotR can fail to enjoy The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth. It makes a good deal of previously unavailable writing available, and the essays/lectures are, in their main points and themes, excellent reading, despite my lack of the prerequisites. Even Grybauskas’ own bit is solid, well-supported, and efficient.
But a glance at the bibliography is enough to make anyone sick. I can’t decide if this publication is, on the balance, a move away from that grotesque culture of spending more time reading and writing about Tolkien’s work than reading it, or a participation in it. (That’s exactly what Tolkien was doing with Maldon, one may say. No. The people of the 30th century can write as many essays on The Lord of the Rings as they like.)
But a glance at the bibliography is enough to make anyone sick. I can’t decide if this publication is, on the balance, a move away from that grotesque culture of spending more time reading and writing about Tolkien’s work than reading it, or a participation in it. (That’s exactly what Tolkien was doing with Maldon, one may say. No. The people of the 30th century can write as many essays on The Lord of the Rings as they like.)
October 25, 2025
I found the book too high brow for me. It was mainly about the interpretation of Old English grammar but I was able to understand the way the Battle of Maldon went, having been interested since seeing the statue of Beorhtnoth on the waterfront in Maldon.
May 29, 2023
Enjoyable, with some interesting essays. (Though the early rhymed version, provided in one appendix, is ... well, let's just say I'm relieved he abandoned it.)
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January 18, 2026Rating: ?? stars
Next in my hallowed tradition of pissing off scholars by retelling famous pieces of literature in a blasphemous manner, is the Anglo-Saxon epic The Battle of Maldon. Avert your eyes, dear purists, for the following content may offend.
First we actually start with The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son, an original poem Tolkien wrote about the characters in The Battle of Maldon. Tolkien even taped himself reading this poem so it was extra special reading along with his voice in my ears. (Gee, spell checker is already pretty mad and we have barely started. I can't even pronounce these words, despite listening to the audio, let alone spell them.) The Homecoming of Borhnhoenth Behtheolhlm's Son is about these two guys Totta and Tida (those are their real (nick)names I am not kidding) walking through the aftermath of the Battle of Maldon looking for the titular Beorhtnoth's body. They find him all right, and I highly recommend reading this part while eating. While they are loading the remains onto a cart, they come across some guy stealing from the dead people so Totta kills him and Tida is mad. Then they do lots of philosophising and it is actually really interesting. Totta thinks killing is cool and noble and stuff, while Tida has been in a lot of wars and is a little more wisened, if jaded. Then they decide they have had enough so they go to church and take minced Beorhtnoth with them.
Now we're on to the main event. The Battle of Maldon itself. The poem starts with a whole bunch of Anglo-Saxon soldiers getting ready to defend Essex from some Vikings. The Vikings send a peace envoy but Byrhtnoth/Beorhtnoth (whose ultimate fate was so kindly spoiled earlier by J.R.R.) turns them away because they haven't asked Jesus into their hearts. Then there is a battle in a place called Maldon (who woulda thunk it). Beorhtnoth charges into the Vikings yelling "FOR JESUS" and dies in a blaze of glory and holy stupidity. A few of his soldiers realise that maybe they aren't going to win this one, so a guy called Godric hops on Beorhtnoth's horse and runs away. The rest of the English army see who they presume is Beorhtnoth fleeing and believe they're all screwed which the Vikings confirm by killing everyone, even another person named Godric.
The last section of this book is a lecture written by Tolkien called The Tradition of Versification in Old English, where he outlines the necessity of preserving the metre of Old English poems when translating them into modern English. This is obviously very useful to many people, including myself because I would just like to point out that when they said the English king was called Æthelred I knew immediately he was known as "Æthelred the Unready". And I didn't even have to check Wikipedia (I did afterwards to confirm I was right. And I was). So I think I am basically ready to become an Anglo-Saxon professor now. In all seriousness, as much as I would like to say that I understood all that was discussed here, the truth is a lot of it went over my head. I am not as knowledgeable on this topic as Tolkien was (few are) and this lecture was difficult to get through simply because I don't know enough about the subject.
Ah, but you thought we were done? This is Tolkien. We have to have appendixes! Even a barely 200 page book can't hold him back. There are drafts of The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son, as well as extra from the translation lecture. There is even an entire section solely devoted to the alliteration of the letter "G" in The Battle of Maldon. (I am not exaggerating.) Then we finish off with another essay but this time by the editor, Peter Grybauskas, who connects the themes and concepts discussed in The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son and The Battle of Maldon to a whole bunch of events in the Middle-earth legendarium. Now here is a scholarly composition I can properly understand. More of this please.
Next in my hallowed tradition of pissing off scholars by retelling famous pieces of literature in a blasphemous manner, is the Anglo-Saxon epic The Battle of Maldon. Avert your eyes, dear purists, for the following content may offend.
First we actually start with The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son, an original poem Tolkien wrote about the characters in The Battle of Maldon. Tolkien even taped himself reading this poem so it was extra special reading along with his voice in my ears. (Gee, spell checker is already pretty mad and we have barely started. I can't even pronounce these words, despite listening to the audio, let alone spell them.) The Homecoming of Borhnhoenth Behtheolhlm's Son is about these two guys Totta and Tida (those are their real (nick)names I am not kidding) walking through the aftermath of the Battle of Maldon looking for the titular Beorhtnoth's body. They find him all right, and I highly recommend reading this part while eating. While they are loading the remains onto a cart, they come across some guy stealing from the dead people so Totta kills him and Tida is mad. Then they do lots of philosophising and it is actually really interesting. Totta thinks killing is cool and noble and stuff, while Tida has been in a lot of wars and is a little more wisened, if jaded. Then they decide they have had enough so they go to church and take minced Beorhtnoth with them.
Now we're on to the main event. The Battle of Maldon itself. The poem starts with a whole bunch of Anglo-Saxon soldiers getting ready to defend Essex from some Vikings. The Vikings send a peace envoy but Byrhtnoth/Beorhtnoth (whose ultimate fate was so kindly spoiled earlier by J.R.R.) turns them away because they haven't asked Jesus into their hearts. Then there is a battle in a place called Maldon (who woulda thunk it). Beorhtnoth charges into the Vikings yelling "FOR JESUS" and dies in a blaze of glory and holy stupidity. A few of his soldiers realise that maybe they aren't going to win this one, so a guy called Godric hops on Beorhtnoth's horse and runs away. The rest of the English army see who they presume is Beorhtnoth fleeing and believe they're all screwed which the Vikings confirm by killing everyone, even another person named Godric.
The last section of this book is a lecture written by Tolkien called The Tradition of Versification in Old English, where he outlines the necessity of preserving the metre of Old English poems when translating them into modern English. This is obviously very useful to many people, including myself because I would just like to point out that when they said the English king was called Æthelred I knew immediately he was known as "Æthelred the Unready". And I didn't even have to check Wikipedia (I did afterwards to confirm I was right. And I was). So I think I am basically ready to become an Anglo-Saxon professor now. In all seriousness, as much as I would like to say that I understood all that was discussed here, the truth is a lot of it went over my head. I am not as knowledgeable on this topic as Tolkien was (few are) and this lecture was difficult to get through simply because I don't know enough about the subject.
Ah, but you thought we were done? This is Tolkien. We have to have appendixes! Even a barely 200 page book can't hold him back. There are drafts of The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son, as well as extra from the translation lecture. There is even an entire section solely devoted to the alliteration of the letter "G" in The Battle of Maldon. (I am not exaggerating.) Then we finish off with another essay but this time by the editor, Peter Grybauskas, who connects the themes and concepts discussed in The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son and The Battle of Maldon to a whole bunch of events in the Middle-earth legendarium. Now here is a scholarly composition I can properly understand. More of this please.
July 16, 2025
"Each mind shall be the sterner, heart the bolder, each our spirit greater as our strength lessens!"
I'm missing a chunk of "The Tradition of Versification" but I'm counting is a read anyway, I've been through this book enough times to justify it.
It's a good book. It's genuinely interesting, and it shows a deeper engagement from Tolkien with the Anglo-saxon lit he loved so much. The Battle of Maldon is confusing to follow (thanks to many, many soldiers being named including some who aren't even there 😅) but it's such a worthy read, especially if Theoden is a favourite character of yours in Lord of the Rings (as he is mine 🥹).
The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth is also pretty cool, it's a very different piece from what we're used to from Tolkien. It's a weird piece at first, but trust me it grows on you! It's an alliterative verse dialogue (read: drama) telling the story of fictional soldiers who come across the Maldon battlefield looking for their fallen lord at night. The essays around it are just as interesting. It's definitely not your typical children author Tolkien, but he still made it work.
I'm ducking points here for the edition. Nothing wrong with the editor, but with the order of the texts. It's very confusing to have The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth placed before The Battle of Maldon. It took me way too long to understand why the editor was reading this as a "prequel" and therefore placing it before. It works from an in-world perspective, but not from a I'm-reading-this-story-for-the-first-time perspective.
The commentary was also both quite complex and a bit surface-level at times, depending on what was commented upon, but generally speaking is was very welcome. This book is such an underground Tolkien text, especially given how recently it was published for the first time, but if you're interested in early medieval/Anglo-saxon lit, definitely consider this one!
I'm missing a chunk of "The Tradition of Versification" but I'm counting is a read anyway, I've been through this book enough times to justify it.
It's a good book. It's genuinely interesting, and it shows a deeper engagement from Tolkien with the Anglo-saxon lit he loved so much. The Battle of Maldon is confusing to follow (thanks to many, many soldiers being named including some who aren't even there 😅) but it's such a worthy read, especially if Theoden is a favourite character of yours in Lord of the Rings (as he is mine 🥹).
The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth is also pretty cool, it's a very different piece from what we're used to from Tolkien. It's a weird piece at first, but trust me it grows on you! It's an alliterative verse dialogue (read: drama) telling the story of fictional soldiers who come across the Maldon battlefield looking for their fallen lord at night. The essays around it are just as interesting. It's definitely not your typical children author Tolkien, but he still made it work.
I'm ducking points here for the edition. Nothing wrong with the editor, but with the order of the texts. It's very confusing to have The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth placed before The Battle of Maldon. It took me way too long to understand why the editor was reading this as a "prequel" and therefore placing it before. It works from an in-world perspective, but not from a I'm-reading-this-story-for-the-first-time perspective.
The commentary was also both quite complex and a bit surface-level at times, depending on what was commented upon, but generally speaking is was very welcome. This book is such an underground Tolkien text, especially given how recently it was published for the first time, but if you're interested in early medieval/Anglo-saxon lit, definitely consider this one!
February 11, 2025
Bitwa pod Maldon. Powrót Beorhtnotha to kolejna perełka dla fanów Tolkiena, która właśnie wpadła w moje łapki. Każda nowa książka jego autorstwa to dla mnie nie tylko literacka uczta, ale i świetna wymówka, żeby znów zanurzyć się w świecie przemyśleń i inspiracji autora. No bo kto by nie chciał zobaczyć, jak Tolkien bierze na warsztat staroangielską poezję i rozkłada ją na czynniki pierwsze? ;)
Bohaterstwo i rycerskość podczas wojny.
O bitwie pod Maldon.
W roku 991 wikingowie zaatakowali oddziały Anglosasów, dowodzone przez księcia Beorhtnotha. Doszło do krwawej i zaciętej bitwy nad rzeką Blackwater, niedaleko miasta Maldon w Essex. Atak ten powszechnie uważa się za jedną z najważniejszych bitew w Anglii w X wieku, unieśmiertelniono go też w poemacie Bitwa pod Maldon. Ze stworzonego niedługo po bitwie utworu ocalało do dziś jedynie 325 wersów, są to jednak wersy bezcenne, nie tylko jako opowieść heroiczna, ale też jako żywy przykład języka staroangielskiego, opiewający idee wierności i przyjaźni.
W Wydanej przez Zysk i Sk-a książce znajdziecie:
Powrót Beorhtnotha, syna Beorhthelma.
Bitwa pod Maldon.
Tradycja wersyfikacji w języku staroangielskim
Dodatki
♠ Prozodia staroangielska
♠ Tradycja wersyfikacji w języku staroangielskim
♠ Aliteracja na g w Bitwie pod Maldon
♠ Wczesna, rymowana wersja
♠ Interesujący obraz rozwoju Powrotu Beorhtnotha w kolejnych wersjach tekstu
♠ Próba puddingu: Powrót Beorhtnotha a legendarium
Lekcja historii.
Sięgając po Bitwę pod Maldon, spodziewałam się ciekawej lekcji historii w tolkienowskim wydaniu – i dokładnie to dostałam.
Ta książka to podróż do świata honoru, odwagi i nie zawsze mądrych decyzji, z których jedna kosztowała Beorhtnotha życie.
Tolkien, jako wybitny znawca literatury staroangielskiej, nie tylko przetłumaczył fragmenty oryginalnej epopei, ale też dodał własne rozwinięcie w postaci Powrotu Beorhtnotha, gdzie dwaj jego ludzie, pośród mroku i trupów, dyskutują nad sensem ofiary ich pana.
Do tego mamy erudycyjne eseje o poezji staroangielskiej – może nie jest to najlżejsza lektura, ale jeśli ktoś chce zrozumieć, jak te teksty wpłynęły na twórczość Tolkiena, to jest to pozycja obowiązkowa.
To książka dla tych, którzy chcą poznać Tolkiena nie tylko jako twórcę Śródziemia, ale i jako badacza oraz pasjonata dawnych opowieści.
Gorąco polecam!
https://unserious.pl/2025/02/bitwa-po...
Bohaterstwo i rycerskość podczas wojny.
O bitwie pod Maldon.
W roku 991 wikingowie zaatakowali oddziały Anglosasów, dowodzone przez księcia Beorhtnotha. Doszło do krwawej i zaciętej bitwy nad rzeką Blackwater, niedaleko miasta Maldon w Essex. Atak ten powszechnie uważa się za jedną z najważniejszych bitew w Anglii w X wieku, unieśmiertelniono go też w poemacie Bitwa pod Maldon. Ze stworzonego niedługo po bitwie utworu ocalało do dziś jedynie 325 wersów, są to jednak wersy bezcenne, nie tylko jako opowieść heroiczna, ale też jako żywy przykład języka staroangielskiego, opiewający idee wierności i przyjaźni.
W Wydanej przez Zysk i Sk-a książce znajdziecie:
Powrót Beorhtnotha, syna Beorhthelma.
Bitwa pod Maldon.
Tradycja wersyfikacji w języku staroangielskim
Dodatki
♠ Prozodia staroangielska
♠ Tradycja wersyfikacji w języku staroangielskim
♠ Aliteracja na g w Bitwie pod Maldon
♠ Wczesna, rymowana wersja
♠ Interesujący obraz rozwoju Powrotu Beorhtnotha w kolejnych wersjach tekstu
♠ Próba puddingu: Powrót Beorhtnotha a legendarium
Lekcja historii.
Sięgając po Bitwę pod Maldon, spodziewałam się ciekawej lekcji historii w tolkienowskim wydaniu – i dokładnie to dostałam.
Ta książka to podróż do świata honoru, odwagi i nie zawsze mądrych decyzji, z których jedna kosztowała Beorhtnotha życie.
Tolkien, jako wybitny znawca literatury staroangielskiej, nie tylko przetłumaczył fragmenty oryginalnej epopei, ale też dodał własne rozwinięcie w postaci Powrotu Beorhtnotha, gdzie dwaj jego ludzie, pośród mroku i trupów, dyskutują nad sensem ofiary ich pana.
Do tego mamy erudycyjne eseje o poezji staroangielskiej – może nie jest to najlżejsza lektura, ale jeśli ktoś chce zrozumieć, jak te teksty wpłynęły na twórczość Tolkiena, to jest to pozycja obowiązkowa.
To książka dla tych, którzy chcą poznać Tolkiena nie tylko jako twórcę Śródziemia, ale i jako badacza oraz pasjonata dawnych opowieści.
Gorąco polecam!
https://unserious.pl/2025/02/bitwa-po...
June 23, 2025
I rate books that I like and will pick up again as 5 and I rate books that I like but don't plan to read again as a 4.
This I believe is after Christopher Tolkien's death. The compiler here is a university professor (in Tolkien studies lol) and he has read the Beowulf compilation which I last reviewed and admired it's composition and arranged the notation for this book to align (lucky I read these in the right order accidentally) and he references glosses and explanations from the Tolkien Beowulf book.
The story happened in the blink of an eye. It's also translated in prose so you can get lost. The lectures that follow by Tolkien are impossible to follow. I was able to hold on for the Beowulf endnotes but I completely lost my bearings. He talks about letter sounds that I have no reference for in a language I've never trained in so it's less definitions and cool etymologies and more a theory of linguistic and orthographic evolution etc
The book contains a lot for being small. It has lectures on prosody and alliteration by Tolkien given at Oxford, it has manuscript sources from the Tolkien collection now at the Bod. Library at Oxford. The compiler has gone through looking at stages of Tolkien's editing exactly like Christopher did in Beowulf providing interesting evolutions and omissions. Tolkien made a play that he hated to see performed about The Homecoming of Beortnoth. He wrote a poem also in verse which I enjoyed based on two people finding the body of their lord and taking him home and wondering wtf went wrong that the Anglo Saxons at Maldon got boned while the vikings took nearly no losses crossing the causeway across the Blackwater (you read that right Game of Thrones fans this river is English).
There's a prose version of the poem Tolkien wrote about collecting the body (play). There is the translation in prose from Old English to... English. There is two lectures. There is the poetic form of the Tolkien story which is SUPER clear for if you've been lost. Maybe it's the compiler / Tolkien helping with glosses along the way.
The best in my opinion is the compiler who hopes the reader enjoyed this all but knows we might have come for another purpose. We are treated to the best connection between The Battle of Maldon / Homecoming and Tolkien's ...other work. It has got to be the best succinct analysis of LotR / Hobbit / more I've ever read. He found things and connected them in a way I'd never realized existed. Easily worth the bore of the technical and abstract aspects of the lectures. I just love that they acknowledge most people aren't Old English scholars and they want LotR goodies if possible 🥺
Edit sorry I didn't even tell you what the story is about generally. It's the last Old English story that was ever written during the Anglo Saxon period that survives. It is about a man who failed to hold a bridge because of his own pride and overconfidence and treatment of war as sport and his own stupid sense of honor in that he allowed the vikings to come over the bridge at their ask so that they could fight fairly. His retainers got killed with him and so it's a romantic story of courage in the face of impossible odds among other things. It's a Northern tale about fighting even when victory is no longer possible and Tolkien found kernels from an older tradition that he then incorporated in his famous inventions. It is a crime to know and love LotR and not read this book!
This I believe is after Christopher Tolkien's death. The compiler here is a university professor (in Tolkien studies lol) and he has read the Beowulf compilation which I last reviewed and admired it's composition and arranged the notation for this book to align (lucky I read these in the right order accidentally) and he references glosses and explanations from the Tolkien Beowulf book.
The story happened in the blink of an eye. It's also translated in prose so you can get lost. The lectures that follow by Tolkien are impossible to follow. I was able to hold on for the Beowulf endnotes but I completely lost my bearings. He talks about letter sounds that I have no reference for in a language I've never trained in so it's less definitions and cool etymologies and more a theory of linguistic and orthographic evolution etc
The book contains a lot for being small. It has lectures on prosody and alliteration by Tolkien given at Oxford, it has manuscript sources from the Tolkien collection now at the Bod. Library at Oxford. The compiler has gone through looking at stages of Tolkien's editing exactly like Christopher did in Beowulf providing interesting evolutions and omissions. Tolkien made a play that he hated to see performed about The Homecoming of Beortnoth. He wrote a poem also in verse which I enjoyed based on two people finding the body of their lord and taking him home and wondering wtf went wrong that the Anglo Saxons at Maldon got boned while the vikings took nearly no losses crossing the causeway across the Blackwater (you read that right Game of Thrones fans this river is English).
There's a prose version of the poem Tolkien wrote about collecting the body (play). There is the translation in prose from Old English to... English. There is two lectures. There is the poetic form of the Tolkien story which is SUPER clear for if you've been lost. Maybe it's the compiler / Tolkien helping with glosses along the way.
The best in my opinion is the compiler who hopes the reader enjoyed this all but knows we might have come for another purpose. We are treated to the best connection between The Battle of Maldon / Homecoming and Tolkien's ...other work. It has got to be the best succinct analysis of LotR / Hobbit / more I've ever read. He found things and connected them in a way I'd never realized existed. Easily worth the bore of the technical and abstract aspects of the lectures. I just love that they acknowledge most people aren't Old English scholars and they want LotR goodies if possible 🥺
Edit sorry I didn't even tell you what the story is about generally. It's the last Old English story that was ever written during the Anglo Saxon period that survives. It is about a man who failed to hold a bridge because of his own pride and overconfidence and treatment of war as sport and his own stupid sense of honor in that he allowed the vikings to come over the bridge at their ask so that they could fight fairly. His retainers got killed with him and so it's a romantic story of courage in the face of impossible odds among other things. It's a Northern tale about fighting even when victory is no longer possible and Tolkien found kernels from an older tradition that he then incorporated in his famous inventions. It is a crime to know and love LotR and not read this book!
December 3, 2024
This was a charming, if tragic, read. Even greater, was the joy of listening to Tolkien recite it himself as I read along (he even included his own sound effects- how adorable!). Though I am not a Medieval scholar, I did see crossovers from other bits and bobs from what little Medieval epic and literatures I am already familiar with, which was a pleasant surprise. I also enjoyed the ease in which the story was presented, as this was my first bit of translated work from Professor Tolkien. It makes me excited to read his Beowulf.
I know we white people get a lot of flack for reaching back to the Dark Ages so often, especially when it comes to epic fantasy. I of all people should loathe this time period more than any other. But there is something otherworldly about this time period in Europe. It doesn’t feel real and I think that’s why we seek to fantasize, and yes, even romanticize it. It’s a time of so much loss and yet there is so much opportunity.
Do I think we can still do better to bring Western epic fantasy into the 21st century? Yes. But you’re going to have to pry my Chosen One farm boys out of my cold dead hands. And this story reaffirms why I love those types of classic heroic stories so, so much.
I know we white people get a lot of flack for reaching back to the Dark Ages so often, especially when it comes to epic fantasy. I of all people should loathe this time period more than any other. But there is something otherworldly about this time period in Europe. It doesn’t feel real and I think that’s why we seek to fantasize, and yes, even romanticize it. It’s a time of so much loss and yet there is so much opportunity.
Do I think we can still do better to bring Western epic fantasy into the 21st century? Yes. But you’re going to have to pry my Chosen One farm boys out of my cold dead hands. And this story reaffirms why I love those types of classic heroic stories so, so much.
July 14, 2024
I'm glad to have stumbled across this. I learned about The Battle of Maldon when I otherwise wouldn't have come anywhere close to it.
Besides his prose translation of the poem fragment describing the battle and Beorhtnoth's death, you get Tolkien's own two-man play in verse set after the battle. I like the thought of Tolkien being so struck by the original that he wrote his own sequel. You could see it as fanfic of another time.
Besides his prose translation of the poem fragment describing the battle and Beorhtnoth's death, you get Tolkien's own two-man play in verse set after the battle. I like the thought of Tolkien being so struck by the original that he wrote his own sequel. You could see it as fanfic of another time.
December 4, 2024
I seem to struggle with Tolkien's works even though I loved the Hobbit and LOTR, which I believe would also be a hard read for non fans but the story carries you through amazingly. This one seems a bit more like a textbook study read with all the comments throughout
September 22, 2023
5 stars for "Beorhtnoth" and 4 stars for "Battle of Maldon" and accompanying material.
May 29, 2025
tolkien’s lecture “tradition of versification” is difficult to read without any background in ME or OE and without knowledge of linguistics and the development of english, though the references to scansion are easier to understand with a background in latin. very interesting comparative conclusion between tolkien’s legendarium and his own translations, and its clear to see how his medieval background impacted his fantasy writing and vice versa.
September 21, 2024
Für alle Sprach- und Tolkien-Liebhaber absolut empfehlenswert.
July 16, 2024
These translations and analysis always make me think about how many great stories and legends are just lost to time.
April 27, 2023
I’ve been a Lord of the Rings fan for just over twenty years now, and if you’re realizing that coincides with the Peter Jackson movie trilogy, you’d be absolutely right. A love of the books soon followed and I’ve read, listened, and watched multiple versions of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic. This year, I decided to branch out into Tolkien’s lesser-known and more obscure works. Works, I should note, are becoming less obscure thanks to the work of the Tolkien estate and Tolkien scholars. 2023 has granted us a new look at Tolkien’s The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son, an alliterative poem/stage play that serves to flesh out the fragmentary Old English poem The Battle of Maldon, which is based on the historical Battle of Maldon on 11th August, 991 A.D. Titled The Battle of Maldon: together with The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, this volume seeks to show the intersection of Tolkien the Old English scholar with Tolkien the storyteller. It’s a comprehensive but not overwhelming, academic but still accessible work that shows a side of Tolkien that was prominent in life but vastly overshadowed by the Legendarium.
The History of the Poem
The Battle of Maldon took place on 11th August, 991 AD near the town of Maldon in Essex, ending in the defeat of the Anglo-Saxon army and the death of their leader, Earl Beorhtnoth. This battle is the subject of a poem of the same name, of which only 325 lines have survived. Scholars believe that the poem originated in the tenth century and it was almost lost to time in 1731 when the only known manuscript was destroyed in a fire. Fortunately, a copy had been made and that copy was lost until being found in the Bodleian Library at Oxford in the 1930s where the Anglo-Saxon scholar J.R.R. Tolkien taught.
In the 1930s, Tolkien was primarily known as a scholar. He had published some volumes of academic literary criticism and a history in translating Old English mythologies and poetry. In 1925, with E.V. Gordon, he had translated and edited Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and also labored on a translation of Beowulf that led to a published academic lecture on the work in 1937. It was during this time that a long-lost piece of Old English lore was resurrected—and right within the library where Tolkien spent his days. 325 lines be damned, Tolkien was going to tell the full story. Tolkien worked on the poem for two decades, finally publishing it bookended by some academic essays in a professional journal.
After Tolkien’s success with The Lord of the Rings, publishers were willing to publish anything of Tolkien. The Tolkien Reader was the first time the poem was released to a general audience in 1966, compiling it with On Fairy-Stories, Leaf by Niggle, Farmer Giles of Ham, and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. It appeared again in 1980’s Poems and Stories, a compilation that dropped On Fairy-Stories and added Smith of Wootton Major. The latest editions of Tree and Leaf, a compilation featuring On Fairy-Stories and Leaf by Niggle also include it—though, as this volume mentions, incorrectly calls it Tolkien’s version of The Battle of Maldon. Owing to the poem’s small size, it never had its own standalone volume until now.
Structure of The Book
The Battle of Maldon together with The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth is divided into three sections. First is the full text of The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son as it first appeared in print. This includes Tolkien’s introductory essay about Beorhtnoth’s death, the poem, and a concluding academic essay. This covers the first 50 pages of the book.
The Homecoming of Beohthnoth Beorhthelm’s Son is an alliterative poem, written as a stage play. It’s the story of two characters—Tida and Totta—who are sent to retrieve the body of the slain Beorhtnoth from the battlefield at Maldon. Tolkien uses the dialogue to offer a critique of Beorhtnoth’s actions in battle. In the ancient poem, it is alleged that the Viking invaders had to cross a narrow causeway. Beorhtnoth could have used the causeway as a bottleneck to pick off invaders and hold the line, but instead allowed them to cross to make it a “fair” fight. Totta is the young idealist romantic who believes the actions to have been tragically noble; Tida is the old realist, hardened by battle, who believes the actions to have been folly. The play ends with them loading the ealdorman’s body onto a cart and heading toward the nearby abbey at Ely. (Sidenote: As an American living in the UK, I will never get used to places near me being referenced in ancient literature. Ely is a short drive away from me. I’ve stood in the cathedral in front of where Beorhtnoth was interred.)
The second section concerns the ancient Old English poem, The Battle of Maldon, with an introductory note edited from Tolkien’s extant academic writings and lectures on the poem, Tolkien’s own prose translations of the poem, and concluding explanatory notes. This is a relatively short passage, at just under 30 pages.
The third section of the book is a reprint of Tolkien’s lecture ‘The Tradition of Versification in Old English.’ This is easily the most academic section of the book and is included not only because it pads the book’s length but because Tolkien references The Battle of Maldon throughout the lecture and gives us insight into the importance of the poem to Tolkien both personally and professionally.
The book’s fourth and final section are a selection of appendices, some of which include miscellaneous writings from Tolkien that reference Maldon and early drafts of The Homecoming. The latter, in particular, shows Tolkien’s meandering creative process and the journey the poem book to its final published form. A final appendix offers readers a connection to Middle Earth, discussing how the poem may have influenced Tolkien’s legendarium and drawing some thematic comparisons between The Homecoming and various events in The Lord of the Rings and other Middle Earth stories. It is interesting to see how Tolkien’s worldview so permeates his work, yet never feels like a retread of the same story or the same message. Neither does it seem like Grybauskas is grasping at straws to attempt to connect this rather obscure work to Tolkien’s most famous.
A Critique
I’ve heard the accusation that some of the recent releases from HarperCollins and The Tolkien Estate are nothing more than cash grabs. I don’t find that to be true. It is accurate that The Homecoming alone is not a book-length tale, but the academic extras aren’t just there to fill pages, the tell the story of Tolkien—his creative process, his understanding of writing fiction as an act of sub-creation, his work as an academic, the themes that inspired and drove him, and much more. This is a more academic work. If you want just the story, then one of the earlier compilations will probably do you better. But The Battle of Maldon together with The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth isn’t just about reprinting a story, it’s about understanding Tolkien’s legacy. This book, coming around the 70th anniversary of the first time the poem was released, showcases Tolkien in all his academic and storytelling complexity.
This is one of Tolkien’s most obscure works—misunderstood and overlooked by many, its publishers included—and now it is finally getting the spotlight it deserves. Editor Peter Grybauskas has accomplished a masterwork in sifting through Tolkien’s archives at the Bodleian and ensuring that, even in the introductions, it is Tolkien’s voice that shines through.
I’m glad for this volume and I’m glad to see interest in Tolkien’s work extending beyond Middle Earth, though Valinor knows there’s words and worlds enough to explore there for a lifetime. The Battle of Maldon together with The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth is a book that’s for the Tolkien fan. It’s as much—probably more—about honoring Tolkien’s legacy as an academic as it is about sharing a good story. If you want just the story, one of the earlier compilations will do you well. If you want to step into the mind of Tolkien the academic, The Battle of Maldon is exactly how you do that.
The History of the Poem
The Battle of Maldon took place on 11th August, 991 AD near the town of Maldon in Essex, ending in the defeat of the Anglo-Saxon army and the death of their leader, Earl Beorhtnoth. This battle is the subject of a poem of the same name, of which only 325 lines have survived. Scholars believe that the poem originated in the tenth century and it was almost lost to time in 1731 when the only known manuscript was destroyed in a fire. Fortunately, a copy had been made and that copy was lost until being found in the Bodleian Library at Oxford in the 1930s where the Anglo-Saxon scholar J.R.R. Tolkien taught.
In the 1930s, Tolkien was primarily known as a scholar. He had published some volumes of academic literary criticism and a history in translating Old English mythologies and poetry. In 1925, with E.V. Gordon, he had translated and edited Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and also labored on a translation of Beowulf that led to a published academic lecture on the work in 1937. It was during this time that a long-lost piece of Old English lore was resurrected—and right within the library where Tolkien spent his days. 325 lines be damned, Tolkien was going to tell the full story. Tolkien worked on the poem for two decades, finally publishing it bookended by some academic essays in a professional journal.
After Tolkien’s success with The Lord of the Rings, publishers were willing to publish anything of Tolkien. The Tolkien Reader was the first time the poem was released to a general audience in 1966, compiling it with On Fairy-Stories, Leaf by Niggle, Farmer Giles of Ham, and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. It appeared again in 1980’s Poems and Stories, a compilation that dropped On Fairy-Stories and added Smith of Wootton Major. The latest editions of Tree and Leaf, a compilation featuring On Fairy-Stories and Leaf by Niggle also include it—though, as this volume mentions, incorrectly calls it Tolkien’s version of The Battle of Maldon. Owing to the poem’s small size, it never had its own standalone volume until now.
Structure of The Book
The Battle of Maldon together with The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth is divided into three sections. First is the full text of The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son as it first appeared in print. This includes Tolkien’s introductory essay about Beorhtnoth’s death, the poem, and a concluding academic essay. This covers the first 50 pages of the book.
The Homecoming of Beohthnoth Beorhthelm’s Son is an alliterative poem, written as a stage play. It’s the story of two characters—Tida and Totta—who are sent to retrieve the body of the slain Beorhtnoth from the battlefield at Maldon. Tolkien uses the dialogue to offer a critique of Beorhtnoth’s actions in battle. In the ancient poem, it is alleged that the Viking invaders had to cross a narrow causeway. Beorhtnoth could have used the causeway as a bottleneck to pick off invaders and hold the line, but instead allowed them to cross to make it a “fair” fight. Totta is the young idealist romantic who believes the actions to have been tragically noble; Tida is the old realist, hardened by battle, who believes the actions to have been folly. The play ends with them loading the ealdorman’s body onto a cart and heading toward the nearby abbey at Ely. (Sidenote: As an American living in the UK, I will never get used to places near me being referenced in ancient literature. Ely is a short drive away from me. I’ve stood in the cathedral in front of where Beorhtnoth was interred.)
The second section concerns the ancient Old English poem, The Battle of Maldon, with an introductory note edited from Tolkien’s extant academic writings and lectures on the poem, Tolkien’s own prose translations of the poem, and concluding explanatory notes. This is a relatively short passage, at just under 30 pages.
The third section of the book is a reprint of Tolkien’s lecture ‘The Tradition of Versification in Old English.’ This is easily the most academic section of the book and is included not only because it pads the book’s length but because Tolkien references The Battle of Maldon throughout the lecture and gives us insight into the importance of the poem to Tolkien both personally and professionally.
The book’s fourth and final section are a selection of appendices, some of which include miscellaneous writings from Tolkien that reference Maldon and early drafts of The Homecoming. The latter, in particular, shows Tolkien’s meandering creative process and the journey the poem book to its final published form. A final appendix offers readers a connection to Middle Earth, discussing how the poem may have influenced Tolkien’s legendarium and drawing some thematic comparisons between The Homecoming and various events in The Lord of the Rings and other Middle Earth stories. It is interesting to see how Tolkien’s worldview so permeates his work, yet never feels like a retread of the same story or the same message. Neither does it seem like Grybauskas is grasping at straws to attempt to connect this rather obscure work to Tolkien’s most famous.
A Critique
I’ve heard the accusation that some of the recent releases from HarperCollins and The Tolkien Estate are nothing more than cash grabs. I don’t find that to be true. It is accurate that The Homecoming alone is not a book-length tale, but the academic extras aren’t just there to fill pages, the tell the story of Tolkien—his creative process, his understanding of writing fiction as an act of sub-creation, his work as an academic, the themes that inspired and drove him, and much more. This is a more academic work. If you want just the story, then one of the earlier compilations will probably do you better. But The Battle of Maldon together with The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth isn’t just about reprinting a story, it’s about understanding Tolkien’s legacy. This book, coming around the 70th anniversary of the first time the poem was released, showcases Tolkien in all his academic and storytelling complexity.
This is one of Tolkien’s most obscure works—misunderstood and overlooked by many, its publishers included—and now it is finally getting the spotlight it deserves. Editor Peter Grybauskas has accomplished a masterwork in sifting through Tolkien’s archives at the Bodleian and ensuring that, even in the introductions, it is Tolkien’s voice that shines through.
I’m glad for this volume and I’m glad to see interest in Tolkien’s work extending beyond Middle Earth, though Valinor knows there’s words and worlds enough to explore there for a lifetime. The Battle of Maldon together with The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth is a book that’s for the Tolkien fan. It’s as much—probably more—about honoring Tolkien’s legacy as an academic as it is about sharing a good story. If you want just the story, one of the earlier compilations will do you well. If you want to step into the mind of Tolkien the academic, The Battle of Maldon is exactly how you do that.
May 23, 2023
Among all the standalone editions of Tolkien’s translations or “emendations” of the existing Old English, Celtic, Finnish and Old Icelandic epics (Beowulf and Sellic Spell, The Legend of Sigurd & Gudrún, The Story of Kullervo, The Fall of Arthur, Sir Gawain And The Green Knight, The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun), this one is, I daresay, the best edited.
Brief foreword leads to the alliterative play “The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son”, published for the first time as a standalone edition, 70 years since its premiere in “Essays and Studies” journal.
The significance of this book is, however, even greater, for the editor enclosed some previously unpublished manuscripts in it: first and foremost – Tolkien’s prose translation of the existing “The Battle of Maldon” fragment in Old English, which inspired him to “finish” the missing part and thus return earl Byrthnoth (Beorthnoth) to repose in Ely Abbey. Of great importance are, as well, Tolkien’s previously unpublished essays “Tradition of Versification” and “Old English Prosody” where Tolkien in verbose and exegesis manner explained the pitfalls of unversed authors regarding the usage of archaic words and forms, lest their manuscripts should be inconsistent.
“The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son” is a trisegmental article, composed of: “Beorhtnoth’s Death”, “The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son” and “Ofermod”. In “Beorhtnoth’s Death” professor contemplated the Old-English poem The Battle of Maldon, and explained why and how 20 of its alliterative stanzas inspired him to write a sequel of the same manner. In “The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son” he introduced its dramatis personae – merely two protagonists: a hoary farmer Tídwald (colloquial Tidda) and the youngster Torhthelm (colloquial Totta), minstrel’s son. Amidst the carcases on the battlefield, they are seeking for their lord, Earl Beorhtnoth who fell in the battle with Danish Vikings which crossed the causeway of the Blackwater River on his confirmation and made a carnage among the Anglo-Saxon host.
It is interesting that Tolkien (I daresay deliberately) didn’t pick some of the thanes or from the higher class as protagonists, but two of a common folk, as well as he did in The Lord of the Rings, ordaining to Frodo, common Hobbit, but not to some Dunedain, Vala or Maia to convey the Ring to Amon Amarth. Seeking the Beorhtnoth body, Tidda and Totta discuss of some important things and Tidda is teaching Totta some wise words and deeds, for Totta is overwhelmed with poetry and infatuated with heroic and romantic presentations of the world, but still quite lack of life experience. When they finally find cruelly marred and mutilated Beorhtnoth's body, they loaded it into a cart to be buried in Ely Cathedral. At the finale, Tidda recites a verse of uttermost beauty regarding the transiency of life:
I hear mass chanted for master’s soul
in Ely isle. Thus ages pass,
and men after men. Mourning voices
of women weeping. So the world passes;
day follows day, and the dust gathers,
his tomb crumbles, as time gnaws it,
and his kith and kindred out of ken
dwindle.
So men flicker and in the mirk go out.
The world withers and the wind rises;
the candles are quenched. Cold falls the
night.
In the third part – “Ofermod” (an Old-English word-phase for overwhelmed, uncontrolled pride) Tolkien compared “The Battle of Maldon” and its sequel with Beowulf, “The Wanderer” and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and accentuated the significance of the preserved fragment of “The Battle of Maldon” as an important Old-English legacy.
Brief foreword leads to the alliterative play “The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son”, published for the first time as a standalone edition, 70 years since its premiere in “Essays and Studies” journal.
The significance of this book is, however, even greater, for the editor enclosed some previously unpublished manuscripts in it: first and foremost – Tolkien’s prose translation of the existing “The Battle of Maldon” fragment in Old English, which inspired him to “finish” the missing part and thus return earl Byrthnoth (Beorthnoth) to repose in Ely Abbey. Of great importance are, as well, Tolkien’s previously unpublished essays “Tradition of Versification” and “Old English Prosody” where Tolkien in verbose and exegesis manner explained the pitfalls of unversed authors regarding the usage of archaic words and forms, lest their manuscripts should be inconsistent.
“The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son” is a trisegmental article, composed of: “Beorhtnoth’s Death”, “The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son” and “Ofermod”. In “Beorhtnoth’s Death” professor contemplated the Old-English poem The Battle of Maldon, and explained why and how 20 of its alliterative stanzas inspired him to write a sequel of the same manner. In “The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son” he introduced its dramatis personae – merely two protagonists: a hoary farmer Tídwald (colloquial Tidda) and the youngster Torhthelm (colloquial Totta), minstrel’s son. Amidst the carcases on the battlefield, they are seeking for their lord, Earl Beorhtnoth who fell in the battle with Danish Vikings which crossed the causeway of the Blackwater River on his confirmation and made a carnage among the Anglo-Saxon host.
It is interesting that Tolkien (I daresay deliberately) didn’t pick some of the thanes or from the higher class as protagonists, but two of a common folk, as well as he did in The Lord of the Rings, ordaining to Frodo, common Hobbit, but not to some Dunedain, Vala or Maia to convey the Ring to Amon Amarth. Seeking the Beorhtnoth body, Tidda and Totta discuss of some important things and Tidda is teaching Totta some wise words and deeds, for Totta is overwhelmed with poetry and infatuated with heroic and romantic presentations of the world, but still quite lack of life experience. When they finally find cruelly marred and mutilated Beorhtnoth's body, they loaded it into a cart to be buried in Ely Cathedral. At the finale, Tidda recites a verse of uttermost beauty regarding the transiency of life:
I hear mass chanted for master’s soul
in Ely isle. Thus ages pass,
and men after men. Mourning voices
of women weeping. So the world passes;
day follows day, and the dust gathers,
his tomb crumbles, as time gnaws it,
and his kith and kindred out of ken
dwindle.
So men flicker and in the mirk go out.
The world withers and the wind rises;
the candles are quenched. Cold falls the
night.
In the third part – “Ofermod” (an Old-English word-phase for overwhelmed, uncontrolled pride) Tolkien compared “The Battle of Maldon” and its sequel with Beowulf, “The Wanderer” and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and accentuated the significance of the preserved fragment of “The Battle of Maldon” as an important Old-English legacy.
January 16, 2026
The book The Battle of Maldon by Tolkien, edited by Peter Grybauskas, is a collection of Tolkien’s work related to the tenth-century Old English poem. The work is broken into three parts: The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son, Tolkien’s translation of The Battle of Maldon, and an essay on the versification of the Old English poem. Across these sections, Tolkien closely examines the Old English poem and speaks about how pride, leadership, and loyalty function within the heroic tradition. Compared to the traditional glorification of sacrifice, Tolkien raises a contradiction and speaks about whether heroic ideals that prioritize honor over responsibility can be morally justified.
Part Two of The Battle of Maldon is Tolkien’s translation of the Old English poem along with his extensive notes and commentary. This section describes the defeat of the English forces by Viking invaders in 991 CE. The poem illustrates the English leader Beorhtnoth, who allowed his enemies to cross a causeway for a “fair” battle. Traditional readings view Beorhnoth’s decision as an act of noble courage. Tolkien opposes this interpretation by closely examining the poem’s language and translates the words differently like the word ofermod. He argues that ofermod means overmastering pride instead of an excess of courage. While the poem honors the courage of the warriors who fought to the death with their lord, Tolkien only praises the loyal and truly brave subordinates and that the subordinate’s courage should not be confused with Beorhnoth’s leadership.
This distinction is seen in The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son. The poem follows two ordinary men, Tída and Totta, tasked with recovering Beorhtnoth’s body and reflecting on the aftermath of the battle. Rather than celebrating heroic death, they question Beorhtnoth’s decision. Tída criticizes Beorhtnoth’s decision, while Totta mourns the soldiers who died bravely. Tolkien emphasizes consequence over glory. Using Tida and Totta Tolkien highlights that true heroism and leadership is shown in moral responsibility.
Part Two supports this claim through close examination of the original text. Tolkien’s commentary shows that the Old English poem is open to moral ambiguity. While the heroic speeches praise loyalty and courage, the poem does not specifically celebrate Beorhnoth’s choice. Tolkien’s notes respect the artistic values the poem includes but challenges romanticized interpretations that do not discuss the cost of human lives due to unreasonable pride.
Part Three examines Old English versification and puts Tolkien’s argument within a broader literary context. Tolkien explains that Old English poetry is built around balance and control instead of excess. Since heroic speech is shaped by strict poetic structure, pride would be seen as out of place rather than admirable. This section shows that Tolkien’s criticism of pride goes further than opinion and is reinforced by his understanding of poetic literature.
Overall, The Battle of Maldon offers Tolkien’s perspective on heroism. He builds a framework of criticism towards over-bold leadership and respect for loyal subordinates. Evidently, this can be seen in the moral structure of The Lord of the Rings. Although The Battle of Maldon was not published recently it is still relevant in a world where leaders are often criticized for their actions through pride with no sense of moral responsibility. The Battle of Maldon remains a valuable read for those interested in medieval literature, Tolkien’s moral philosophy, and the question of what true heroism is.
Part Two of The Battle of Maldon is Tolkien’s translation of the Old English poem along with his extensive notes and commentary. This section describes the defeat of the English forces by Viking invaders in 991 CE. The poem illustrates the English leader Beorhtnoth, who allowed his enemies to cross a causeway for a “fair” battle. Traditional readings view Beorhnoth’s decision as an act of noble courage. Tolkien opposes this interpretation by closely examining the poem’s language and translates the words differently like the word ofermod. He argues that ofermod means overmastering pride instead of an excess of courage. While the poem honors the courage of the warriors who fought to the death with their lord, Tolkien only praises the loyal and truly brave subordinates and that the subordinate’s courage should not be confused with Beorhnoth’s leadership.
This distinction is seen in The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son. The poem follows two ordinary men, Tída and Totta, tasked with recovering Beorhtnoth’s body and reflecting on the aftermath of the battle. Rather than celebrating heroic death, they question Beorhtnoth’s decision. Tída criticizes Beorhtnoth’s decision, while Totta mourns the soldiers who died bravely. Tolkien emphasizes consequence over glory. Using Tida and Totta Tolkien highlights that true heroism and leadership is shown in moral responsibility.
Part Two supports this claim through close examination of the original text. Tolkien’s commentary shows that the Old English poem is open to moral ambiguity. While the heroic speeches praise loyalty and courage, the poem does not specifically celebrate Beorhnoth’s choice. Tolkien’s notes respect the artistic values the poem includes but challenges romanticized interpretations that do not discuss the cost of human lives due to unreasonable pride.
Part Three examines Old English versification and puts Tolkien’s argument within a broader literary context. Tolkien explains that Old English poetry is built around balance and control instead of excess. Since heroic speech is shaped by strict poetic structure, pride would be seen as out of place rather than admirable. This section shows that Tolkien’s criticism of pride goes further than opinion and is reinforced by his understanding of poetic literature.
Overall, The Battle of Maldon offers Tolkien’s perspective on heroism. He builds a framework of criticism towards over-bold leadership and respect for loyal subordinates. Evidently, this can be seen in the moral structure of The Lord of the Rings. Although The Battle of Maldon was not published recently it is still relevant in a world where leaders are often criticized for their actions through pride with no sense of moral responsibility. The Battle of Maldon remains a valuable read for those interested in medieval literature, Tolkien’s moral philosophy, and the question of what true heroism is.
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