The Battle of Maldon took place in 991 near Maldon beside the River Blackwater in Essex, England, during the reign of Ethelred the Unready. The Anglo-Saxons, led by Byrhtnoth and his thegns, fought against a Viking invasion, a battle which ended in utter defeat for the Anglo-Saxons. An account of the battle, embellished with many speeches attributed to the warriors and with other details, is related in an Anglo-Saxon poem of the same name. Events Battle of Maldon Sweyn I of Denmark recovers his throne Births Deaths Theophanu, empress, mother of Otto III Emperor Enyu of Japan Categories: 991 ... See also Malden. ... This article is about the county of Essex in England. ... Ethelred II (Old English: Æþelred) (c. ... The Anglo-Saxons refers collectively to the groups of Germanic tribes who achieved dominance in southern Britain from the mid-5th century, forming the basis for the modern English nation. ... Byrhtnoth (Byrhtnoþ, also spelled Byrhtnoð, Byrihtnoð, Brihtnoþ, Beorhtnoþ, Beorhtnoð, Baeorhtnoð), Anglo-Saxon name, composed of beorht bright and noth courage. Name of the leader of the Anglo-Saxon defence force in the Battle of Maldon in 991. ... The name Viking is a loan from the native Scandinavian term for the Norse seafaring warriors who raided the coasts of Scandinavia, the British Isles, and other parts of Europe from the late 8th century to the 11th century, the period of European history referred to as the Viking Age. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ...

The Viking fleet is said in one manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to have been led by a Norwegian, Olaf Trygvasson, though this name may have been interpolated after some of the facts were forgotten. The Viking force is estimated to have been between 2,000 and 4,000 fighting men. A source from the 12th century, Liber Eliensis, written by the monks at Ely, suggests that Byrhtnoth had only a few men to command: "he was neither shaken by the small number of his men, nor fearful of the multitude of the enemy". Not all sources indicate such a disparity in numbers. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of (mainly) secondary source documents narrating the history of the Anglo-Saxons and their settlement in Britain. ... Olav Tryggvason (969 - September 9, 1000) was a great-grandson of Harald Hairfair He began his meteoric career in exile as his ancestors fled from the executions of the royal family by Eric Bloodaxe. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ...

The poem The Battle of Maldon

The poem was written soon after the battle itself, probably by a monastic scribe. Unfortunately, the manuscript was burned in the Cotton fire at Ashburnham House in 1731. Although a transcription had been made of 325 lines of the poem, the front and back pages were missing from the manuscript (possibly around 50 lines each). This means that vital clues about the purpose of the poem and perhaps its date have been lost.

At the time of battle, English royal policy of responding to Norse incursions was split. Some favored paying off the Viking invaders with land and wealth, while others favored fighting to the last man. Recent scholarship suggests that Byrhtnoth held this latter attitude, hence his moving speeches of patriotism in the poem

The Vikings sailed up the Blackwater (then called the Pante), and Byrhtnoth called out his levy. The poem begins with his teaching his men (who, except for his household guard, were peasants and householders from the area) how to stand and how to hold weapons. The Vikings sailed up to a small island in the river. At ebb, the river leaves a land bridge from this island to the shore, the description of which seems to have matched the Northey Island causeway at that time. This would place the site of the battle about two miles southeast of Maldon. Olaf addressed the Saxons, promising to sail away if he was paid with gold and armor from the lord. Byrhtnoth refused.

Olaf's forces could not make headway against the troops guarding the small land bridge, and he asked Byrhtnoth to allow his warriors onto the shore. Byrhtnoth, in a moment of "ofermode," allowed the full complement of Norse onto shore for the battle. The Vikings made short work of the Saxons, killing Byrhtnoth early in the battle, after which many Saxons fled.

There is some discussion about the meaning of "ofermode." Most basically, it means "over heart," and it could mean either "pride" or "excess of courage" (cf. Swedish övermod which means both "hubris" and "recklessness"). One argument is that the poem was written to celebrate Byrhtnoth's actions and goad others into heroic action, and Byrhtnoth's action stands proudly in a long tradition of heroic literature. Another argument is that the poem is an elegy on a terrible loss and that the monastic author pinpoints the cause of the defeat in the commander's sin of pride.

Norse invaders and Norse raiders differed in purpose. The forces engaged by the Anglo-Saxons were raiding, or "vikking." Their goal was to gather loot, rather than to acquire land for settlement. Therefore, had Byrhtnoth's forces kept the Vikings off by guarding the bridge, it is likely that Olaf would have sailed farther up the river or along the coast, and taken another target. As a man with troops and with weapons, it might be that Byrhtnoth had to allow the Vikings ashore to protect others. Also, had the Anglo-Saxons paid off the Vikings, the latter would likely have gone on to other targets. The poem may, therefore, represent the work of what has been termed the "monastic party" in Ethelred's court, which advocated a military response, rather than tribute, to all Norse attacks.

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