Byrhtnoth
Sign in to savethumb|Statue of Byrhtnoth in Maldon, Essex created by John Doubleday Byrhtnoth (), Ealdorman of Essex ( 931 – 11 August 991), died at the Battle of Maldon. His name is composed of the Old English beorht (bright) and nōþ (courage). He is the subject of The Battle of Maldon, an Old English poem; J.R.R. Tolkien's short play in verse, ''The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, Beorhthelm's Son''; and a modern statue at Maldon.
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Wikidata facts
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- Brythnoth statue Maldon.jpg
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- date of death
- 0991-01-01
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- Byrhtnoth
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7 sectionsContents
- Death in battle
- Patronage and burial
- Reburials
- Family
- Legacy
- References
- External links
thumb|Statue of Byrhtnoth in Maldon, Essex created by John Doubleday Byrhtnoth (), Ealdorman of Essex ( 931 – 11 August 991), died at the Battle of Maldon. His name is composed of the Old English beorht (bright) and nōþ (courage). He is the subject of The Battle of Maldon, an Old English poem; J.R.R. Tolkien's short play in verse, ''The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, Beorhthelm's Son; and a modern statue at Maldon.
==Death in battle== His death, while leading the Anglo-Saxon forces against the Vikings in 991, is the subject of the Old English poem The Battle of Maldon''. As presented there, his decision to allow the Vikings to move to a better position was fatal. He was said to stand well over six feet in height, and was around the age of sixty years at the Battle of Maldon, with "swan-white hair". Although it is believed that he fell early in the battle, some say that it took three men to kill him, one of them almost severing Byrhtnoth's arm in the process. He had previously had several military successes, presumably also against Viking raiders.