The Battle of Maldon: Together with the Homecoming of Beorhtnoth

Isn’t it simply amazing how we continue to get new publications from J.R. R.Tolkien, bringing to life ancients texts many have never come across before.? This is clearly the case with The Battle of Maldon, along with the “Homecoming of Beorhtnoth.”

The premise of this book is based on an infamous battle that took place in 991AD between the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons, led by their Duke Beorhtnoth, along the banks of the Blackwater River near Maldon, Essex. It was a mighty battle that might not have been so well remembered were it not for the epic poem that was written shortly after the battle. The poem survives as a 325-word fragment today, but nevertheless is invaluable in its detailed second-hand account of this battle.

Peter Grybauskas, leading Tolkien scholar, now brings Tolkien’s beautiful and skillful translation of this renowned epic poem, along with his definitive treatment of the “Homecoming of Beorhtnoth.” Readers also get to enjoy Tolkien’s accompanying essays to these works, as well as his known lecture, “The Tradition of Versification in Old English,” along with insightful notes and commentary. Tolkien fans will certainly want to add this to their collection.