Forgotten Ground Regained

At Ethandun

At Ethandun ‧ Ælfred and Guthrumwith spear and shield -- sharp war-hedge --faced each other ‧ to fight for Wessex.Messengers spoke ‧ insults exchangedfor spear and swordplay ‧ steadied the Danes.Aimed at the English, arrows and darts thrown like thorns, thickened the air, but bounced off mail ‧ and bit only shields.Then Ælfred ordered ‧ objects more cunningThan his system of burhs ‧ for splitting the fyrd,and like his ships’ forms, not Frisian, not Danish,but designed by himself. ‧ Splendid weapons,those blackened buns ‧ burnt at Athelney!Thrown like shot-putts, they thickened the air,Bursting byrnies, burning linden,Mashing mailshirts, and mangling bone.Warriors felled ‧ by fire-hardened cakes --Thus Ælfred triumphed ‧ at Ethandun.
Editor's note: a burh (modern English burgh) was a walled town created as a refuge against Viking raids. The fyrd was the local militia, which would rally to the burh during an emergency. The poem alludes humorously to the legend of King Alfred and the burnt buns. While hiding from Vikings on the island of Athelney, Alfred was asked by a local woman to watch some buns burning in the fire. When, out of distraction, he let them burn, the woman berated him. He accepted her abuse calmly, thus, according to legend, winning the loyalty of the locals.
This poem was originally publilshed in Withowinde 120, p. 30, Winter, 1999
Copyright © Martin Vine, 1999
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