And I long to be by my loved chief.”
320 So the son of Æthelgar said to them all.
Godric emboldened them; oft he brandished his lance,
Violently threw at the Vikings his war-spear,
So that first among the folk he fought to the end;
Hewed down and hacked, till the hated ones killed him—
325 Not that Godric who fled in disgrace from the fight.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[5.] Offa’s kinsman is not named. Offa himself is mentioned in line 286.
[8.] Is the fact that the earl is amusing himself with a falcon just before the battle to be taken as a sign of contempt for the enemy?