HR\u00c6DWALDESHRIM [The Reckoning of R\u00e6dwald]<\/p>\n
\u00a9 Sam Newton 1989<\/p>\n
Famous was R\u00e6dwald, Tyttla\u2019s renowned son,<\/p>\n
excellent among English kings;<\/p>\n
through wisdom and through war-speed<\/p>\n
\u00a0he held to his high-born destiny.<\/p>\n
\u00a0On the first day of May was his marriage-feast;<\/p>\n
\u00a0wedded was he to winsome Seaxwyn,<\/p>\n
\u00a0East Saxon people\u2019s peerless princess.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Three royal bairns she bore R\u00e6dwald:<\/p>\n
\u00a0R\u00e6genhere, Eorpwald, and R\u00e6dwyn the fair –<\/p>\n
wolf-cubs to further the line of the Wuffings.<\/p>\n
As his children waxed beneath the wide skies<\/p>\n
\u00a0he grew wealthy in harvests and wise in winters.<\/p>\n
Heroes\u2019 sons stepped in his steep-roofed hall,<\/p>\n
\u00a0and saluted him on his high-seat.<\/p>\n
\u00a0With golden rings he gathered them<\/p>\n
\u00a0and in fealty they followed him,<\/p>\n
\u00a0noble shepherd of North and South folk.<\/p>\n
One mid-summertime was his worth tested \u2013<\/p>\n
sea-borne tidings came from southward<\/p>\n
brought by gold-browed monks.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Famous is R\u00e6dwald\u2019s reckoning<\/p>\n
of their rune-bound book lore,<\/p>\n
enduring the wisdom of the warrior-king:<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cYou bearers of book-lore<\/p>\n
who have fared so far thus<\/p>\n
to our ancestral Anglian turf<\/p>\n
speak fairly, but we cannot forsake<\/p>\n
\u00a0that elder way that we and all<\/p>\n
our folk have ever held fast.<\/p>\n
But our fathers\u2019 house is high and broad<\/p>\n
and room there is for all your runes.\u201d<\/p>\n
So roomy-hearted King R\u00e6dwald<\/p>\n
\u00a0bid welcome the book-bearers<\/p>\n
and bid his wood-wrights work them an altar<\/p>\n
within his high- gabled gold-timbered hall<\/p>\n
and its light shone thence through many lands.<\/p>\n
Famed far and near for wisdom and foresight,<\/p>\n
fate brought it about that he became<\/p>\n
\u00a0Overlord of all in the island of Britain<\/p>\n
when fierce \u00c6\u00feelfri\u00f0, \u00c6\u00feelric\u2019s son,<\/p>\n
\u00a0battle-crow of Bernicia<\/p>\n
spoilt King R\u00e6dwald\u2019s sovereign peace<\/p>\n
with woeful sound, his war-song.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Time was to unbind the battle-runes,<\/p>\n
so unfurled was the wolf-flag,<\/p>\n
war-vane of the Wuffings.<\/p>\n
The runes were right the house-troop ready;<\/p>\n
\u00a0so farewell he bade to his bower-queen,<\/p>\n
to his hallowed hearth and high-seat.<\/p>\n
Forth went R\u00e6dwald, to face fate\u2019s decree.<\/p>\n
\u00c6\u00feeling R\u00e6genhere also, eager under helm.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Behind followed the flower of the folk-host,<\/p>\n
\u00a0linden-wood shields roundly shining,<\/p>\n
mail-shirts ringing as they marched out,<\/p>\n
warriors singing the Wuffing war-song.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Until, faring ahead to the far Idle-ford,<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00e6\u00feeling R\u00e6genhere and his eager war-band<\/p>\n
\u00a0waded the waterway, waiting not for his father.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Of his error he learnt all too late,<\/p>\n
as the raven\u2019s cry on the river bank<\/p>\n
signalled \u00c6\u00feelfri\u00f0\u2019s sudden attack.<\/p>\n
\u00a0The old war-crow swooped on the wolf-cub,<\/p>\n
\u00a0swinging so hard his slaughter sword<\/p>\n
that its bitter edge clove the boy\u2019s brow;<\/p>\n
R\u00e6genhere fell, and the river ran red<\/p>\n
as the \u00e6\u00feeling\u2019s life ebbed away with the tide.<\/p>\n
\u00a0The lord of the North laughed aloud,<\/p>\n
brandishing aloft his blood-drinking blade,<\/p>\n
\u00a0the battle-crow delighting in his foe\u2019s defeat;<\/p>\n
his dark-coated fighters flocked and dinned,<\/p>\n
as the ravens claimed a royal feast.<\/p>\n
Then the main force of the Wuffing folk-host<\/p>\n
\u00a0reached the Idle river-ford,<\/p>\n
all too late to lessen the loss.<\/p>\n
Fate\u2019s seal was now set fast;<\/p>\n
appalled but resolute, R\u00e6dwald advanced,<\/p>\n
\u00a0let slip his war-wolves in woe-whetted mood.<\/p>\n
Warriors let free grim-ground weapons,<\/p>\n
\u00a0and shuddering shields answered shafts.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Front-lines crashed and fated ones fell<\/p>\n
\u00a0in weapon\u2019s storm, while others stood steady.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Bitter was that battle-clash,<\/p>\n
\u00a0as bright English blood blackened Idle waters.<\/p>\n
Then \u00c6\u00feelfri\u00f0, over-eager,<\/p>\n
thought he saw the Wuffing throng waver<\/p>\n
\u00a0and forward rushed ferocity renewed;<\/p>\n
\u00a0but bettered he was by a wise war-smith,<\/p>\n
\u00a0and right in his path stood ready R\u00e6dwald,<\/p>\n
\u00a0awaiting his chance to avenge his loss.<\/p>\n
The Wuffing king swung his war-sword,<\/p>\n
\u00a0best of weapons, bejewelled by wonder-smiths,<\/p>\n
\u00a0over the shaft-heavy shield of his foe<\/p>\n
\u00a0so that its hard edge sang on \u00c6\u00feelfri\u00f0\u2019s helm.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Blood sprang out bright under battle-mask,<\/p>\n
\u00a0yet in war-frenzy he fought on<\/p>\n
bludgeoning with slaughter-blade<\/p>\n
recently washed in Wuffing blood.<\/p>\n
\u00a0R\u00e6dwald\u2019s cunningly wrought ringmail,<\/p>\n
\u00a0elf-lord Weland\u2019s wondrous work,<\/p>\n
\u00a0warded him from the worst of wounds,<\/p>\n
for it withstood penetration from point and edge.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Wuffa\u2019s heir swung again his war-sword –<\/p>\n
\u00a0supercharged blade bit battle-steep boar-helm,<\/p>\n
\u00a0and the fatal stroke felled the lord of the North.<\/p>\n
\u00a0The war-vane signalled the victory-runes<\/p>\n
\u00a0and beacon lights broadcast<\/p>\n
\u00a0the tidings of triumph.<\/p>\n
Songs were sung in celebration<\/p>\n
\u00a0and laments too for those lost ones.<\/p>\n
Bitter was the battle that brought the victory,<\/p>\n
the prince\u2019s fall was too heavy a price,<\/p>\n
\u00a0the flower of the Wuffings wasted ere he\u2019d wed.<\/p>\n
With his sword\u2019s edge R\u00e6dwald had settled<\/p>\n
\u00a0the deadly score with his son\u2019s scather.<\/p>\n
So the king returned to his ancestral turf,<\/p>\n
\u00a0to his blithe burgh and bower garden;<\/p>\n
\u00a0R\u00e6dwald\u2019s wide peace was renewed again.<\/p>\n
Sound and sage in wielding sovereignty,<\/p>\n
well he ruled peoples that roomy-hearted king.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Until, full of days, at the fated season,<\/p>\n
\u00a0white haired and winter-wise,<\/p>\n
he bade bravely<\/p>\n
his final farewells<\/p>\n
to his bairns and his bower-queen.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Loyally he let go his loaned life.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Grief sounded beneath golden rafters<\/p>\n
\u00a0and household flags hung low.<\/p>\n
Sad-hearted sea-wolves<\/p>\n
carried their king out with care<\/p>\n
\u00a0down to his boathouse as he himself had bidden.<\/p>\n
At the royal berth, with bows beringed,<\/p>\n
lay his flagship, the hero\u2019s ferry.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Aboard they laid their beloved lord<\/p>\n
in great majesty by the mast,<\/p>\n
with tremendous folk-treasures,<\/p>\n
a fortune fetched from far and near.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Wondrous was the cargo that keel carried:<\/p>\n
\u00a0by his shimmering shoulder-mounts<\/p>\n
\u00a0lay his gem-hilted hard edged<\/p>\n
battle-blade, \u00c6\u00feelfri\u00f0\u2019s bane,<\/p>\n
\u00a0bejewelled work of wonder-smiths.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Among crown jewels amidships<\/p>\n
\u00a0Lord R\u00e6dwald lay in state.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Mighty was the mourning<\/p>\n
of the faithful Wuffing folk,<\/p>\n
\u00a0yet they were grateful in their grieving<\/p>\n
for the richness and rightness<\/p>\n
\u00a0of King R\u00e6dwald\u2019s golden reign.<\/p>\n
Embarked now on the ebbing autumn-tide<\/p>\n
\u00a0aboard his leaf-wood loyal longship<\/p>\n
sailing its last and longest voyage<\/p>\n
\u00a0across dark waters no mortal wit can fathom<\/p>\n
bound for amber shores of eternal peace.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a9 Sam Newton 1989<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HR\u00c6DWALDESHRIM [The Reckoning of R\u00e6dwald] \u00a9 Sam Newton 1989 Famous was R\u00e6dwald, Tyttla\u2019s renowned son, excellent among English kings; through wisdom and through war-speed \u00a0he held to his high-born destiny. \u00a0On the first day of May was his marriage-feast; \u00a0wedded …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":161,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-153","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wuffings.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wuffings.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wuffings.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wuffings.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wuffings.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wuffings.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":165,"href":"https:\/\/wuffings.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/153\/revisions\/165"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wuffings.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wuffings.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}