Form and Function: The Beasts of Battle Revisited

Form and Function: The Beasts of Battle Revisited Thomas Honegger (Published in English Studies 79 (1999):289-298.)

‘Swa hwær swa hold byπ, ƒæder beoπ earnas gegaderode’1

Introduction Generally speaking, animals do not play a prominent role in Old English heroic literature2 – with the possible exception of the so-called ‘Beasts of Battle’, i.e. the wolf, the eagle, and the raven. These three animals were repeatedly used by various Old English (and also Old Norse) poets, so that, in time, they became a ‘theme’.3 It will be the aim of this paper to have a closer look at the way in which poets made use of these animals, focussing especially on the question of ‘originality’. Critics and scholars more or less unanimously agree that the theme has its origin in the well-attested fact that these carrion beasts feed on the corpses left on the battlefield.4 Although the archaeological evidence is not always very 1

“For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” Matthew 24,28.

2

Allan A. Metcalf (‘Ten Natural Animals in Beowulf’, Neuphilologische Mitteilungen, 64 (1963), 378-389) states that “[n]one of the ten natural animals [raven, eagle, wolf, boar, horse, stag, dog, hawk, swan, and whale] play a central role in the poem [i.e. Beowulf]” (p. 379) – which is also true, in a more general sense, of the great majority of Old English heroic poetry.

3

The expression ‘The Theme of the Beasts of Battle’ was, for the first time, explicitly used and discussed at length by Francis P. Magoun Jr., ‘The Theme of the Beasts of Battle in Anglo-Saxon Poetry’, Neuphilologische Mitteilungen, 56 (1955), 81-90. Yet, it was C.M. Bowra (Heroic Poetry [London, 1952]) who first called the repeated mentioning of the eagle, raven, and wolf in Old English heroic poetry a ‘theme’ (p. 467). Magoun (‘The Theme of the Beasts of Battle in Anglo-Saxon Poetry’, p. 83) comments on the ‘Beasts of Battle’: “It is an ornamental rather than an essential theme.” For a discussion and definition of ‘theme’, see also Magoun (‘The Theme of the Beasts of Battle in Anglo-Saxon Poetry’, p. 82), who bases his understanding of the term on Albert Bates Lord’s definition of the theme as “a subject unit, a group of ideas, regularly employed by a singer, not merely in any given poem, but in the poetry as a whole.” See also Albert Bates Lord, The Singer of Tales, Harvard Studies in Comparative Literature 24 (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1960), esp. pp. 68-98.

4

For examples of the carrion beasts feeding on corpses, see the entries ‘earn’, ‘hræfn’, and ‘wulf’ in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, eds. Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (Oxford, 1882). On this point, see also Heinrich Beck, ‘Die Tiere der Walstatt in

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explicit and the literary sources scarce, we may assume a common Germanic origin and the mythological interpretation of the typical carrion beasts at a very early date.5 Yet, at the time when the heroic poems were written down, the ravens and the wolves would no longer be seen in connection with Woden’s/Odin’s companions Huginn and Muninn, or Geri and Freki respectively – at least in Anglo-Saxon England. The Norse tradition, which displays many parallels with the Anglo-Saxon notions of animals in literature, preserved this connection between animals and the Germanic gods until a much later date.6 There, according to Beck, we find “[s]owohl Huginn und Muninn als auch Geri und Freki [...] in Beziehung zur Walstatt.”7 Concerning the Norse tradition, Beck reaches the conclusion: Die Walstatt-Tiere rücken damit in einen Bereich mythischer, mit dem Kriegs- und Totengott Ódinn verbundener Vorstellungen. Die Walstatt-Toten erscheinen mit anderen Worten als Beute der in Ódins Diensten stehenden Walstatt-Tiere.8 The connection thus established between the sphere of the divine and that of the ‘Beasts of Battle’ is not present in such an explicit form in the Angloden eddischen Liedern’, in Das Tier in der Dichtung, ed. Ute Schwab (Heidelberg, 1970), pp. 55-73 and 259-267, esp. p. 55, Adrien Bonjour, ‘Beowulf and the Beasts of Battle’, Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, 72 (1957), 563573, esp. p. 565, Alain Renoir, ‘Crist Ihesu’s Beasts of Battle: A Note on OralFormulaic Theme Survival’, Neophilologus, 60 (1976), 455-459, esp. p. 455, and Joyce E. Salisbury, The Beast Within: Animals in the Middle Ages (New York and London, 1994), esp. p. 69. 5

For the importance of animals in the religious system of the Germanic tribes, see Heinrich Beck, Das Ebersignum im Germanischen: Ein Beitrag zur germanischen Tiersymbolik, Quellen und Forschungen zur Sprach- und Kulturgeschichte der germanischen Völker NF 16 (Berlin, 1965), Beck, ‘Die Tiere der Walstatt in den eddischen Liedern’, Ernst and Luise Gattiker, Die Vögel im Volksglauben: eine volkskundliche Sammlung aus verschiedenen europäischen Ländern von der Antike bis heute (Wiesbaden, 1989), esp. pp. 16-17, A.T. Hatto, ‘Snake-swords and Boar-helms in Beowulf’, English Studies, 38 (1957), 145-160 and 257-259, Gunter Müller, ‘Germanische Tiersymbolik und Namengebung’, Frühmittelalterliche Studien, 2 (1968), 202-217, and Hans-Peter Naumann, ‘Altgermanische Tiersymbolik und Probleme ihrer Deutung’, in Tiersymbolik, Schriften zur Symbolforschung 7, ed. Paul Michel (Bern, 1991), pp. 49-76.

6

See Beck, Das Ebersignum im Germanischen: Ein Beitrag zur germanischen Tiersymbo-lik, p. 31, and Beck, ‘Die Tiere der Walstatt in den eddischen Liedern’, pp. 58-64.

7

Beck, ‘Die Tiere der Walstatt in den eddischen Liedern’, p. 64.

8

Beck, ‘Die Tiere der Walstatt in den eddischen Liedern’, p. 64.

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Saxon tradition, even though we do have the ‘Beasts of Battle’ theme to strengthen the atmosphere of impending doom and to focus on the ominous ‘wyrd’ in many of the Anglo-Saxon heroic poems.9 Only once, in Ælfric’s eleventh-century Passio Sancti Edmundi Regis10, do we rather unexpectedly encounter a Christian variation on the Norse tradition. This time, the wolf does not feed on the corpse, but “se græga wulf πe bewiste πæt heafod” (l. 154), i.e. it guards the head of the slain martyr Edmund, in spite of being hungry, “for gode ne dorste / πæs heafdes abyrian [ac] he heold hit wiD deor” (ll. 156-157). A similar passage can be found four centuries later, in John Lydgate’s The Life of Saint Alban and Saint Amphibal.11 There, the wolf and also the eagle, upon the explicit command of Christ, protect the bodies of the martyrs from all the other carrion beasts.12 Thus, we have the rare and most probably accidental re-establishment of the connection between the divine sphere and the Anglo-Saxon ‘Beasts of Battle’, a connection which, with the exception of Ælfric’s Passio Sancti Edmundi Regis, was more or less absent in all of the known vernacular texts of the Old English period. The Use of the ‘Beasts of Battle’ Theme in Old English Literature In order to gain an idea of the widely differing use that was made of the theme once it was established, I propose to examine the passages which mention the ‘Beasts of Battle’ and group them according to the way in which the poet employs this poetic device. Because of the many uncertainties involved in any attempt to establish the chronological order of the poems, it would be very difficult to outline the chronological development of the theme. Therefore, I have opted for a categorization according to its use. The Naturalistic Approach I use the term ‘naturalistic’ to describe the use of the theme in its original and realistic sense: the carrion beasts which feed on the corpses left on the battlefield. There are, to my knowledge, only two passages which fall into this

9

See Bonjour, ‘Beowulf and the Beasts of Battle’, p. 566.

10

Ælfric’s Lives of Saints, volume II, Early English Text Society Original Series 94 and 114, ed. Walter W. Skeat (London, 1890), pp. 314-334.

11

John Lydgate: The Life of Saint Alban and Saint Amphibal, ed. J.E. van der Westhuizen (Leiden, 1974).

12

Renoir (‘Crist Ihesu’s Beasts of Battle: A Note on Oral-Formulaic Theme Survival’) discusses the survival of the ‘Beasts of Battle’ theme in its altered form in Lydgate’s poem, but he does not consider the parallels with the Norse tradition and the parallel passage in Ælfric.

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category, namely lines 60a-65b of The Battle of Brunanburgh13 and, to a lesser extent, lines 292b-296a of Judith14. Let us first examine how the poet of The Battle of Brunanburgh refers to the carrion beasts. The Battle of Brunanburgh (p. 8, ll. 60a-65b) (Both the victorious West Saxons under Aethelstan and the defeated Northmen and Scots are leaving the scene of battle to return home.) Le\ton him behindan hræw bryttian sealwig-padan, πone sweartan hræfn hyrned-nebban, and πone hasu-padan, earn æftan hwi\t, æses bru\can, – grædigne guπ-hafoc, and πæt græge de\or, wulf on wealda. Here, the raven, the eagle and the wolf do not portend the imminent slaughter of warriors; though described in the language of heroic poetry, they are part of the poet’s gruesome yet realistic description of the deserted battlefield, which stands in contrast to the swift and hurried retreat of the surviving invaders. The feeling conveyed by these lines can best be characterized as morbid melancholy in the aftermath of doom, drained of the expectation which elsewhere accompanies the appearance of the ‘Beasts of Battle’ before the fight. Thus, their influence is limited to the ‘battlefield-tableau’ and extends neither into the future nor into the past. The poet alters little of what he finds in battlefield reality, and does not remove the ‘Beasts of Battle’ from their natural surroundings to reinforce and to make better use of their poetic potential, as most other poets did. The poet of Judith also uses the theme in its ‘realistic’ application.15 Judith (p. 107, ll. 292b-296a) (The inhabitants of the besieged Bethulia put the Assyrian army to flight and leave the field covered with the bodies of the slain.)

13

I use the text from Seven English Poems, second edition, ed. John C. Pope (New York and London, 1981), pp. 5-8.

14

I use the text from Beowulf and Judith, volume 4 of The Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records: A Collective Edition, ed. Elliott van Kirk Dobbie (London, 1954), pp. 99-109.

15

However, he has already introduced the ‘Beasts of Battle’ to function as portents in lines 204b-212a.

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oƒ se mæsta dæl πæs heriges læg hilde gesæged on ƒam sigewonge, sweordum geheawen, wulfum to willan ond eac wælgifrum fuglum to frofre. This time, however, the poet does not paint a static ‘tableau’ like the one in The Battle of Brunanburgh; he only refers in a kind of aside to the fate of the slain Assyrians, whilst the main focus is on the action of flight and pursuit. The corpse-strewn battlefield, including the carrion beasts, merely provides the background for the glorious deeds of the inhabitants of Bethulia. The poet of The Fight at Finnsburg16 (p. 245, ll. 5b-7a), like the Judith poet, first introduces the ‘Beasts of Battle’ as portents, and then refers back to the raven some thirty lines further on. The Fight at Finnsburg (p. 246, ll. 34b-35b) (Warriors are killed and their corpses litter the scene of the battle.) Hræfen wandrode sweart and sealobrun. The poems quoted illustrate the probable development of the theme. On the one hand, it is used as a device to announce imminent slaughter and death; on the other, it is still linked with its place of origin in the real world, the corpselittered ‘wælstede’. The Poetic Approach Although there is no denying that the ‘naturalistic’ approach also has its poetic qualities, there are marked differences between the use of the theme mentioned above and the one discussed here. The term ‘poetic’ is intended to indicate the conscious use of the theme as a poetic device outside its natural, realistic surroundings, in order to produce a heightened and additional effect not inherent in the ‘naturalistic’ application of the theme. This possibility, once known to the poets and the audience, was frequently exploited in the heroic conventional poetry not only of the Anglo-Saxons, but also of the Scandinavian people.17 As carrion beasts, the raven, eagle and wolf must have 16

I use the edition Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, third edition, ed. Friedrich Klaeber (Boston, 1950), pp. 245-249.

17

See Beck, ‘Die Tiere der Walstatt in den eddischen Liedern’, and Naumann, ‘Altgermanische Tiersymbolik und Probleme ihrer Deutung’.

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acquired such strong associations with death and slaughter that the poet was able to transfer them from their original place on the battlefield after a fight to a position in the poem before the battle, without destroying their associative value. Or, in the words of Stanley Greenfield18 (p. 205): [T]he associations with other contexts using a similar formula [in our case: theme] will inevitably color a particular instance of a formula [or theme] so that a whole host of overtones springs into action to support the aesthetic response. Greenfield (p. 205) goes on to discuss the possibilities and dangers of conventional poetry: The chief disadvantage of a conventional poetry is that its very virtue, the extra-emotional meanings, may supplant the denotation that should inhere in a specific situation, and the words and phrases become ‘conventional’ in the pejorative sense of the word. [....] In the largest sense, therefore, originality in the handling of conventional formulas [or themes] may be defined as the degree of tension achieved between the inherited body of meanings in which a particular formula [or theme] participates and the specific meaning of that formula [or theme] in its individual context. Let us now consider the ‘poetic’ application of the ‘Beasts of Battle’ theme, on the basis of Greenfield’s distinction between the ‘conventional’ (in the pejorative sense of the word) or, as I will call it, ‘mechanistic’, and the ‘creative’ use of themes. The Mechanistic Application of the Theme At least seven out of the eleven passages which fall into the ‘poetic approach’ category exhibit a ‘mechanistic’ quality. In order to facilitate the discussion of the relevant passages, I include them here, together with a short summary of what has happened immediately before, to provide the context. Genesis A19 (p. 175, ll. 1983b-1985a) (The army of the invading Elamites clashes with the army of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.)

18

Stanley B. Greenfield, ‘The Formulaic Expression of the Theme of ‘Exile’ in AngloSaxon Poetry’, Speculum, 30 (1955), 200-206.

19

I use the edition Genesis A, ed. A.N. Doane (Madison, 1978).

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sang se wanna fugel under deoreƒsceaftum, deawigfeƒera, hræs on wenan. Exodus20 (p. 95, ll. 162a-167b) (The fugitive Israelites pitch their camp by the Red Sea, from where they observe the approach of the Pharaoh’s army. Shields are shining, trumpets are sounding, and banners are flying in the air.) Hreopon herefugolas, hilde grædige, deawigfedere ofer drihtneum, wonn wælceasega. Wulfas sungon atol æfenleoƒ ætes on wenan, carleasan deor, cwyldrof beodan on laƒra last leodmægnes fyl. Judith (p. 105, ll. 204b-212a) (Judith, after killing the enemy general Holofernes, returns to the besieged city, informs her fellow-citizens that the invaders are without a leader, and exhorts them to attack the enemy. They prepare for battle. Banners are raised; shields ring.) Dynedan scildas, hlude hlummon. πæs se hlanca gefeah wulf in walde, ond se wanna hrefn, wælgifre fugel. Wistan begen πæt him ƒa πeodguman tohton tilian fylle on fægum; ac him fleah on last earn ætes georn, urigfedera, salowigpada sang hildeleoƒ, hyrnednebba.

20

I use the edition published in The Junius Manuscript, volume 1 of The Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records: A Collective Edition, ed. George Philip Krapp (London, 1931), pp. 91107.

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Elene21 (p. 66, ll. 27b-30a) (The armies of the Huns, Goths, Franks and Hugas advance. Spears and mail-coats are shining; shields, swords and the battle standards are raised.) Fyrdleoƒ agol wulf on wealde, wælrune ne mad. Urigfeƒera earn sang ahof, laƒum on laste. Elene (p. 67, ll. 52b-53a)22 (The emperor Constantine assembles his host to meet the advancing army of the Huns. Shields are clashing.) Hrefen uppe gol, wan ond wælfel. Elene (p. 69, ll. 110b-113a) (Constantine prepares his army for battle. The war-standard is raised; the cross is carried in front of the host. Trumpets are sounding.) Hrefn weorces gefeah, urigfeƒra, earn sid beheold, wælhreowra wig. Wulf sang ahof, holtes gehleƒa. The Fight at Finnsburg (p. 245, ll. 5b-7a) (Hnæf describes the approach of armed men.)

21

I use the edition published in The Vercelli Book, volume 2 of The Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records: A Collective Edition, ed. George Philip Krapp (London, 1932), pp. 66-102.

22

Magoun, ‘The Theme of the Beasts of Battle in Anglo-Saxon Poetry’, who otherwise lists all the occurrences of ‘Beasts of Battle’, must have overlooked this instance of a ‘Beast of Battle’. Yet, Bonjour, ‘Beowulf and the Beasts of Battle’, p. 571, refers to it.

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fugelas singaƒ, gylleƒ græghama, guƒwudu hlynned, scyld scefte oncwyƒ. As is evident from the examples above, the ‘Beast(s) of Battle’ appear, rather unsurprisingly, as soon as the preparations for a battle are described – often with formulaic expressions, too – or immediately before or at the time of the actual clash of the armies. They are introduced either alone (for example, in Genesis A, p. 175, ll. 1983b-1985a and Elene, p. 67, ll. 52b-53a), or together in groups of two (for example, in Elene, p. 66, ll. 27b-30a) or three (for example, in Judith, p. 105, ll. 204b-212a and Elene, p. 69, ll. 110b-113a). In many of the above poems, they are the faithful companions of either army, and their appearance has no specific foreboding quality. Thus, the function of the theme is limited to adding ornamental touches to the already rather conventional account of the preparations for war; and, to overstate things a little, the ‘Beasts of Battle’ are of no greater poetic value than the swords, shields, banners and all the other paraphernalia of battle. The Creative Application of the Theme In contrast to the mechanistic use of the ‘Beasts of Battle’, the creative application of the very same theme gives us an idea of how important a poetic device the ‘Beasts of Battle’ can be in the hands of a skilled artist. The following passages are instances of more or less innovative variations on the conventional theme. Since every passage is ‘original’ in our sense of the word, I will comment on each of them individually. The Wanderer23 (p. 31, ll. 80b-83a) (The poet/narrator stresses the transitory nature of this world and of human life. Banqueting halls stand desolate, the rulers are dead, and the warriors have perished.) Sume wig fornam, fereƒe on fort-weg; sumne fugol oπbær ofer heanne holm, sumne se hara wulf Deaƒe gedælde

23

I use the text from Seven English Poems, second edition, ed. John C. Pope (New York and London, 1981), pp. 28-32.

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This passage is extraordinary, in so far as it is probably the one furthest removed from the convention. Although ‘wig’ is mentioned in line 80b, there is no battle-description proper which could have triggered the use of the two ‘Beasts of Battle’. Indeed, when we consider the content of the preceding lines, it becomes evident that the ‘fugol’ and the ‘wulf’ do not stand in any close connection with the ‘wig’. The syntactic structure makes it clear that they have to be seen as parallels to ‘wig’, which means that they independently bring death upon man. A conclusive interpretation of these rather mysterious lines has yet to be given, and one may deny them their place among the ‘Beasts of Battle’, though the joint appearance of the ‘fugol’ and the ‘wulf’ cannot but evoke associations which link them with the conventional ‘Beasts of Battle’ theme. I see the poet’s innovative achievement in his ability to set free the associative value of terms like ‘wig’, ‘fugol’ and ‘wulf’, which are more or less neutral ‘per se’, by arranging them in a way which brings about their interpretation in terms of the conventional ‘Beasts of Battle’ theme. The ambiguity of the lines and the unconventional use of the animals heighten the poetic effect and exploit the whole range of meaning – which stands in marked contrast to the mechanistic use of the very same animals. Beowulf24 (pp. 113-114, ll. 3024b-3027b) (A gloomy vision of the future is evoked by the messenger who brings the news of Beowulf’s death to the Geatish people. Fists will tighten their grip on the spears in the early morning, and the warriors will not be woken by the harp any more.) ac se wonna hrefn fus ofer fægum fela reordian, earne secgan, hu him æt æte speow, πenden he wiƒ wulf wæl reafode. Here, the three ‘Beasts of Battle’ make their appearance neither at the beginning nor in the aftermath of a battle. As Bonjour (p. 569) already points out, “the beasts of battle are briefly turned into a symbol of the ultimate triumph of death, the common destiny of dynasties, and the final fate of man.” This symbol of doom has an even greater impact than usual, since, on the one hand, it is not to be found earlier in Beowulf, even when the fighting action provided an ideal opportunity, and, on the other hand, the motif of the harp, 24

I use the edition Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, third edition, ed. Friedrich Klaeber (Boston, 1950), pp. 1-120.

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the embodiment of joy and life, is skilfully used to set off the sinister ‘Beasts of Battle’. The poet thus converts the conventional theme, which is otherwise invariably linked with a fighting action that really takes place, into a symbol of great poetic beauty and emotional impact. Since the ‘creative’ quality of the poet’s use of the theme in The Battle of Maldon can only be seen when the following two passages are considered in relation to each other, I will discuss them together. The Battle of Maldon25 (p. 19, ll. 96a-97b)26 (Byrhtnod allows the Northmen to cross the river Blackwater, and thus gives up his strategic advantage.) Wodon πa wæl-wulfas – for wætere ne murnon – wicinga weorod, west ofer Pantan The Battle of Maldon (p. 20, ll. 106a-107b) (The invading Northmen cross the river and prepare themselves for battle; so do the Anglo-Saxons. The battle, the time when the doomed men are to fall, is imminent.) πær wearπ hream ahafen, hræfnas [or: hremmas] wundon, earn æses georn. Wæs on eorƒan cierm. At first sight, these two passages do not seem to have much in common. Whilst the first one uses the metaphoric term ‘wælwulfas’ to denote the Northmen, we encounter the ravens and one eagle heralding the death of warriors in the second passage, and might thus be tempted to relegate it to the list of ‘mechanistic applications’.27 Yet, the combination of the two passages,

25

I use the text from Seven English Poems, second edition, ed. John C. Pope (New York and London, 1981), pp. 16-27.

26

Magoun, ‘The Theme of the Beasts of Battle in Anglo-Saxon Poetry’, does not include this admittedly metaphoric instance among his ‘Beasts of Battle’.

27

The only other known use of the expression ‘wælwulfas’ can be found in Andreas (in The Vercelli Book, volume 2 of The Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records: A Collective Edition, ed. George Philip Krapp (London, 1932), p. 7, l. 149), where it is used as an epithet of cannibals. Yet, in Genesis (in The Junius Manuscript, volume 1 of The Anglo-Saxon

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which are only separated by eight lines, will, I hope, justify my decision to include them in this section. To my knowledge, The Battle of Maldon is the first and only poem which provides an instance of a composite structuring of the theme, containing a metaphorical and a realistic-conventional component. If we accept the metaphoric ‘wælwulfas’ as belonging to the ‘Beasts of Battle’, we have the familiar threesome of wolves, ravens and eagle. This thematic variation is unique in its kind and testifies to the poet’s creative powers. However, the extension of the theme to include the metaphoric ‘wælwulfas’ has yet another consequence. Let us, for a moment, try to conjure up the image which has been created by the poet’s art. First, there are the Northmen, the ‘wolves of battle’. Opposite them are the ranks of the Anglo-Saxons. Ravens and a solitary eagle circle above, and their cries mingle with the noise of the armed warriors. This is the typical scene which can be found in nearly all the passages of the ‘mechanistic’ kind. However, this time, the ‘Beasts of Battle’ are not mere paraphernalia. The time is approaching when the doomed men are to meet their destiny – and considering the twofold characterization of the Northmen as enemies and ‘wælwulfas’, there can be little doubt as to who is going to provide the carrion on which the ‘Beasts of Battle’ will feed. By breaking the mechanistic pattern, the poet not only varies the conventional theme on a stylistic level, but at the same time skilfully imbues it with an underlying foreboding of death and destruction, and thus exploits the sinister and ominous associations of the ‘Beasts of Battle’ to the full. Conclusion The analysis of the use of the ‘Beasts of Battle’ theme in the various poems yields the following results: 1) The linking of the raven, the eagle and the wolf with the battlefield originated in the factual appearance of these animals on the ‘wælstede’ to feed on the corpses in the aftermath of a battle. The ‘naturalistic’ approach still refers to them in this context, thus adding poetic depth to the description of a carrion-covered battlefield. 2) The ‘Beasts of Battle’ had the actual habit of frequenting places of carnage; this, and/or their association with the Germanic gods of battle, of which we still have records in the Scandinavian (but not in the Anglo-Saxon) tradition, must have created strong associative ties with death and destruction. This fact allows the poet to place them at the beginning of an Poetic Records: A Collective Edition, ed. George Philip Krapp (London, 1931), pp. 387), we find a similar poetic term for warriors: ‘herewulfas’ (see p. 61, l. 2015).

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armed conflict and to exploit their associative value of impending doom. There is a danger, however, that frequent and unimaginative use of this device may turn it into a cliché which loses most of its poetic value. 3) In spite of the fact that the ‘conventional use’ (in the pejorative sense of the word) of the theme of the ‘Beasts of Battle’ predominates, we do, nevertheless, find examples of its imaginative application. Alienation, the metaphoric use of the key terms, and its removal from the conventional setting, redeem a theme which has always run the risk of being reduced to a stock phrase which the poet mechanistically applies as soon as the gathering of a host is mentioned.

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