Page:Gummere (1909) The Oldest English Epic.djvu/179

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THE ATTACK ON FINNSBURG

163

as hero-liegemen paid Hnæf their lord!

Five days fought they in full succession,
five nights as well;^[1] but none was slain
45of those doughty warriors warding the door.

⁠Then wended away a wounded clansman,
said that his breastplate was broken sore,
his harness hewn, his helmet pierced.
Swiftly then asked the shepherd-of-folk^[2]
50how the warriors all their wounds were bearing,
or which one, now, of the heroes twain^[3] . . .

↑ Half-verses supplied by Möller.
↑ Hnæf is the likely chieftain to ask this question. One of his warriors has to leave the door because his armor no longer is trustworthy; and Hnæf asks the rest how they fare. Some editors, however, think it is Finn; and others prefer Hengest.
↑ Few fragments inspire more sorrow over the loss of good things than this nervous and swift-moving scene of battle.

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[1] Half-verses supplied by Möller.

[2] Hnæf is the likely chieftain to ask this question. One of his warriors has to leave the door because his armor no longer is trustworthy; and Hnæf asks the rest how they fare. Some editors, however, think it is Finn; and others prefer Hengest.

[3] Few fragments inspire more sorrow over the loss of good things than this nervous and swift-moving scene of battle.

[1]

[2]

[3]