The Finnesburg Fragment is a fragment of an Old English poem of the type called a leoð, or "lay." The existing text is a transcript of a loose manuscript folio that was once kept at Lambeth Palace, the London residence of the Archbishops of Canterbury; the manuscript was almost certainly Lambeth Library MS 487. The British scholar George Hickes made the transcript some time in the late 17th century, and published it in a book of antiquities in 1705. Since then the original manuscript folio has been lost or stolen. One of the difficulties with the text is that other transcriptions Hickes made, which can be compared with their original manuscripts, are often inaccurate; so the text may well require substantial emendation. Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... Lambeth Palaces gatehouse. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual leader and senior clergyman of the Church of England, recognized by convention as the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. ... For the politician in Manitoba, Canada, see George Hickes (politician) George Hickes (June 20, 1642 O.S. - December 15, 1715 O.S.), English divine and scholar, was born at Newsham near Thirsk, Yorkshire. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... // Events Construction begins on Blenheim Palace, in Oxfordshire, England. ...

The poem describes a probably historical battle in which the Danish prince Hnæf is attacked at a place called Finnsburuh, "Finn's stronghold"; this was the hall of his brother-in-law Finn, lord of the Frisians. Apparently, Hnaef has come to spend the winter there. The fragment begins with Hnaef's observation that what he sees outside "is not the dawn in the East, nor is it the flight of a dragon, nor are the gables burning"; what he sees is the torches of approaching attackers. Hnæf and his sixty thanes hold the doors for five days, without any falling. Then a wounded warrior turns away to talk to his chief (it is not clear on which side) and the fragment ends. Hnæf (d. ... Satellite view of the German Bight (the Frisian Coast). ... For the Anglo-Saxon royal retainer, see Thegn. ...

The fragment is only about fifty lines long; it does not mention Finn's name, or the name of either contending tribe. Fortunately, there is a passage in the epic poem Beowulf, in which Hrothgar's bard sings a lay on the aftermath of a battle called the Freswæl, the "Frisian Slaughter", which is clearly the same story. The Beowulf episode is some ninety lines long. The episode is allusive, even for Beowulf, and is clearly intended for an audience that already knows the story. In mathematics, see epic morphism. ... The first page of Beowulf This article is about the epic poem. ... Hroðgar (Hrothgar, Hróar, Ro), legendary Danish king. ...

This Finnesburg Episode (lines 1068-1159 in Beowulf) describes the mourning of Hildeburh, Hnaef's sister; Hnaef's funeral pyre, on which the body of Finn's son is also burnt; and the pact between Finn and one Hengest, who is a leader among Hnaef's surviving warriors and is mentioned also in the Fragment. The conditions of this are obscure; but Hnaef's men are to stay in Finnesburgh, at least for the winter, and the Frisians are not to taunt them for following the slayer of their lord. In the end, however, Hengest is persuaded that vengeance is more important; Finn is killed, and Hildeburh is "carried off to her people".

More than this can be guessed, but is disputable. The most puzzling question is the reference to ēotenas, that can be read both as "giants" or as a third tribe, the Jutes. Some scholars read this as a kenning for "enemies"; if not, what are they doing, and which side were they on? (Some argue they were on both, thus being each others enemies as well.) Was Finn involved in the attack? Parallels can be drawn showing that revenge could be taken on him even if he was not responsible for an attack by his men. Did Finn's son fight for his father or for his uncle? Jutland peninsula The Jutes were a Germanic people who are believed to have originated from Jutland in modern Denmark and part of the Frisian coast. ... In literature, a kenning is a compound poetic phrase, a figure of speech, substituted for the usual name of a person or thing. ...

The fragment contains no Christian references, and the burning of Hnaef is clearly pagan; it is short and about a battle, but the two fragments of the battle-poem Waldere manage to be explicitly Christian in hardly more space. This is unique in the surviving Anglo-Saxon corpus. Waldere is the conventional title of two Old English fragments from a lost epic poem, discovered in 1860 by E. C. Werlauff, Librarian of the Danish Royal Library at Copenhagen, and still preserved in that library. ...

The scholar J.R.R. Tolkien argues^[1] that Finnsburuh is most likely an error by either Hickes or his printer, since that construction appears nowhere else, and the word should be Finnesburh. It is not clear whether this was the actual name of the hall or only the poet's description of it. Where exactly the hall was, or if it was even in Frisia, is not known. J. R. R. Tolkien in 1916. ...

See also

• Beowulf (Most standard editions of Beowulf include the Finnesburg Fragment, with commentary. Beowulf itself includes a related passage, commonly referred to as the Finnesburg Episode.)
• Finn and Hengest

The first page of Beowulf This article is about the epic poem. ... Finn and Hengest is a study by J.R.R Tolkien, published posthumously in book form in 1982. ...

References

External links

Hengest & Voritigern