The Finnsberg Episode

Hnæf, a prince of the Scyldings, is the brother of Hildeburh, the queen of King Finn of the Frisians. From the statement in line1074 that Hildeburh lost a son in the hostilities which immediately preceded the opening of the episode, we may infer that she had been married to Finn for many years.  During a visit made to Finn's court by Hnæf and a body of his retainers (sixty men, according to the Fragment), a fight broke out between the Danes and the Frisians, in which Hnæf was killed.

The immediate cause of the hostilities is not clear, but a hint is given that the Eotan (usually identified as Jutes) bore a heavy responsibility for the trouble. The result of the fighting was a stalemate; Hnæf's men, leaderless in a foreign country and without resources, were in the utmost peril, while Finn's forces had been so depleted that he was unable to bring about a decisive victory.  Finn, therefore, concluded a truce with Hengest, now leader of the surviving Danes, the terms of which are stated in ll.1105b-1106.  This truce was clearly nothing more than a temporary expedient, intended to serve until the winter was over and the Danes could return home.  It is therefore not difficult to explain the fact, often commented on, that all the conditions of the truce as outlined in the poem represent concessions by Finn to the Danes, and that we are told of no counter-concessions by Hengest, the Danish leader after Hnæf's death. Finn could afford to be generous, since his sole desire was to pacify his now unwilling guests until he could be rid of them.

The truce lasted, apparently without incident, through the remainder of the winter; but with the coming of spring Hengest's mind, until then preoccupied with the desire to return to his own land, turned to the possibility of revenge for his lord's death and for the injuries (unspecified in the text) which had been inflicted upon the Danes.  Receiving a clear reminder of his duty in the form of a sword presented by one of his followers, and goaded by the reproaches of Guthlaf and Oslaf, Hengest attacked Finn in his own hall, in spite of the truce to which he had consented, and killed him amid his warriors.  The Danes carried away the Frisian queen to her own people, together with Finn's royal treasure.


The Finnsburh Fragment

This fragment is part of a longer Anglo-Saxon poem, now lost. It recounts the events described above which occurred in the fifth century. "The hero Hengest is almost certainly the same Hengest who became the first Germanic king of Kent, so this poem is likely to have had a particular interest for an Anglo-Saxon audience."
(Angelcynn, http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2471/finnburh.html)

For those who haven't had to learn Old English:
ð -  is an eth, it's a hard "th" sound as in "the".
þ - this is a thorn, it's a soft "th" sound as in "hearth".
    The Battle of Finnsburh 
    Verse Indeterminate Unknown

                                 ...nas byrnað?" 
         Hnæf hleoþrode ða,      heaþogeong cyning: 
         "Ne ðis ne dagað eastan,     ne her draca ne fleogeð,
         ne her ðisse healle     hornas ne byrnað. 
     5 Ac her forþ berað;     fugelas singað, 
         gylleð græghama,     guðwudu hlynneð, 
         scyld scefte oncwyð.     Nu scyneð þes mona
         waðol under wolcnum.     Nu arisað weadæda
         ðe ðisne folces nið     fremman willað. 
    10 Ac onwacnigeað nu,     wigend mine, 
          habbað eowre linda,     hicgeaþ on ellen,
          winnað on orde,     wesað onmode!"
          ða aras mænig goldhladen ðegn,     gyrde hine his swurde. 
          ða to dura eodon     drihtlice cempan, 
    15 Sigeferð and Eaha,     hyra sword getugon,
          and æt oþrum durum     Ordlaf and Guþlaf, 
          and Hengest sylf     hwearf him on laste. 
          ða gyt Garulf     Guðere styrde
          ðæt he swa freolic feorh     forman siþe
    20 to ðære healle durum     hyrsta ne bære, 
          nu hyt niþa heard     anyman wolde, 
          ac he frægn ofer eal     undearninga, 
          deormod hæleþ,     hwa ða duru heolde. 
          "Sigeferþ is min nama," cweþ he,    "ic eom Secgena leod,
    25 wreccea wide cuð;     fæla ic weana gebad, 
          heardra hilda.     ðe is gyt her witod
          swæþer ðu sylf to me     secean wylle."
          ða wæs on healle     wælslihta gehlyn; 
          sceolde cellod bord     cenum on handa,
    30 banhelm berstan     (buruhðelu dynede),
         oð æt ðære guðe     Garulf gecrang,
          ealra ærest     eorðbuendra, 
          Guðlafes sunu,     ymbe hyne godra fæla, 
          hwearflicra hræw.     Hræfen wandrode, 
    35 sweart and sealobrun.     Swurdleoma stod,
         swylce eal Finnsburuh     fyrenu wære. 
          Ne gefrægn ic næfre wurþlicor     æt wera hilde
          sixtig sigebeorna     sel gebæran, 
          ne nefre swetne medo     sel forgyldan
    40 ðonne Hnæfe guldan     his hægstealdas. 
          Hig fuhton fif dagas,     swa hyra nan ne feol 
          drihtgesiða,     ac hig ða duru heoldon. 
          ða gewat him wund hæleð     on wæg gangan, 
          sæde þæt his byrne     abrocen wære, 
    45 heresceorp unhror,    and eac wæs his helm ðyrel. 
          ða hine sona frægn     folces hyrde, 
          hu ða wigend hyra     wunda genæson, 
          oððe hwæþer ðæra hyssa . . . 

END OF FRAGMENT
 Translation by Kevin Crossley-Holland
 

            ..... ‘the gables are not burning.’ 
Then the king, a novice in battle, said:
‘This is not dawn from the east, no dragon
flies here, the gables of the hall are not burning, 
but men are making an attack. Birds of battle screech,
the grey wolf howls, spears rattle, 
shield answers shaft. The wandering moon gleams
under the clouds; evil deeds will now
be done, bringing grief to this people.
But rouse yourself now, my warriors!
Grasp your shields, steel yourselves,
fight at the front and be brave!’ 
Then many a thegn, laden in gold, buckled his sword-belt.
Then the stout warriors, Sigeferth and Eaha,
went to one door and unsheathed their swords;
Ordlaf and Guthlaf went to guard the other,
and Hengest himself followed in their footsteps.
When he saw this, Guthere said to Garulf 
that he would be unwise to go to the hall doors
in the first rush, risking his precious life,
for fearless Sigeferth was set upon his death.
But that daring man drowned the other voices 
and demanded openly who held the door. 
‘I am Sigeferth, a prince of the Secgan 
and a well-known warrior; I’ve braved many trials, 
tough combats. Even now it is decreed 
for you what you can expect of me here.’ 
Then the din of battle broke out in the hall; 
the hollow shield called for men’s hands, 
helmets burst; the hall floor boomed. 
Then Garulf, son of Guthlaf, gave his life 
in the fight, first of all the warriors 
living in that land, and many heroes fell around him, 
the corpses of brave men. The raven wheeled, 
dusky, dark brown. The gleaming swords so shone
it seemed as if all Finnesburh were in flames. 
I have never heard of sixty warriors 
who bore themselves more bravely in the fight 
and never did retainers better repay 
glowing mead than those men repaid Hnæf. 
They fought for five days and not one of the followers 
fell, but they held the doors firmly. 
Then Guthere withdrew, a wounded man; 
he said that his armour was almost useless, 
his corselet broken, his helmet burst open. 
The guardian of those people asked him at once 
how well the warriors had survived their wounds 
or which of the young men ....

END OF FRAGMENT
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