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" The wolf of Norway beat his anlace on his silver shield ; the sons of war assembled around him : Swain of the cleft-hill shook the spear on his left ; and Harald the Black , the lion of Iceland , on his right , dyed in gore . Fergus of the spreading hills was cased in black armour ; his eyes shone with rage , his sword sported with the beams of the sun .
" Warriors , said the chief of the host , let us as
saultthe foe ; swift as the hawk let us fly to the war ; strong as the bull , fierce as the wolf , will we rage in the fight : the followers of Harold , the son of Godwin , shall melt away as the summer clouds ; they shall fall like the flowers of the field ; their souls will fade with the blasting of our va
lour.
" Swain prepares for war ; he sounds the bra
zenhelmet , his followers lift high the deadly spear .
" The son of Godwin appears on the bridge , his banner waves in the wind ; like a storm he scattered the troops of Swain .
" Edmund shot the arrows of death .
" Madded by defeat , Swain plunged into his band : the sword of Edmund sounded on his hel
met; their silver shields were heard upon the stream : the sword of Edmund sunk to the heart of the son of Egwin ; he bit the bloody sand at his feet .
" Harald the Black stood on the bridge , he swelled the river with gore : he divides the head of Edmund , as the lightning tears the top of the strong rock : armies melted before him , none can withstand his rage . The son of Godwin views him from the hill of death ; he seized the flaming ban
ner, and sounds the silver shield .
" Girth , Leofric , and Morcar , pillars of the war , fly to his shadow : with a troop of knights , fierce as evening wolves , they beset Harald the Black ; like a tempest they rage , like a rock he re
pelstheir assault : hills of the slain arise before him , the course of the stream is turned aside .
" Warriors , said the son of Godwin , though we rage like a tempest , like a rock he repels our assault . Morcar , let one of thy knights descend beneath the bridge , and pierce him through the back with a spear .
" Selwyn , swift as a salling meteor , shot beneath the wave ; the sharp spear pierces through the back of Harald the Black ; he falls like a mountain in an earthquake ; his eyes shot fire , and his teeth gnash
edwith rage : he dies .
" The hopes of Norway are no more ; Harold the Swift led his troops to the bridge ; they started at the sight of the mighty body , they wept , they sled .
" Thee , Godred , only thee ! of all the thou
sandsof the war , prepared thy sword for battle ; they dragged thee from the field .
" Great was the sorrow of the sons of Norway . "
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" When the flowers arose in the verdant mea
dows, when the birds of spring were heard in the grove of Thor , the son of Victa prepared his knights for war ; strong as the mossy tomb of Ursic were the warriors he had chose for his band ; they issued out to the war . Wecca shook the crooked anlace at their head .
" Halt , said the son of Victa , let the troops stand still : still as the silent wood , when the winds are laid asleep , the Saxons stood on the spreading plain .
" Sons of blood ! Said the immortal Wecca , the foe against whom we must fight are stronger than the whole power of our king ; let the son of Henna , with three hundred warriors , be hid in the dark
brownwood ; when the enemy faint in the battle , let them spread themselves like the bursting cloud , and rain a shower of blood ; the foe will be wea
kened, astonished , and fly .
" The warriors held their broad shields over the head of the son of Victa ; they gave him the chap
letof victory , and sang the song of joy .
" Hennack , with the flower of the war , retired to the dark-brown wood : the sun arose arrayed in garments of blood ; Wecca led his men to the bat
tle: like bears they raged in the fight ; yet the enemy fled not , neither were they moved : the fight continued till noon ; the troops of the son of Victa fought like the dragons of the mountain , the foe sainted , they were weakened , yet they fled not .
" The son of Henna drew forth his band to the plain ; like a tempest they fell upon the foe ; they were astonished ; they fled .
" Godred Crovan , son of Harald the Black , the lion of Iceland , and all the warriors who fight in his cause , let us pursue the same method ; let the mountain of Secafull conceal Dugnal and three hundred chosen warriors from the eyes of Raig
nald; when he is spent in the fight , let them issue to the war . "
" When the black clouds stooped below the tops of the high hills , when the wolf came forth from the wood , when the branches of the pine perished , when the yews only smiled upon the russet-heath , the sons of Woden led the furious warriors to the bank of the swift stream ; there sat the horse of the hill , whose crooked sword shone like the star of the evening .
" Peada was the banner of the hills : when he waved his golden torce upon the bodies of the slain , the hearts of his companions beamed with victory : he joined the numerous bands of the sons of Wo
den; like a swelling stream they enter the borders of the land of Cuccurcha .
" Locca of the brown valley sounds the shield ; the king of Urrin hears the sound , he starts from his seat : assemble the lions of war , for the enemy are upon the borders .
" Sons of Morven , upon whose shields are seen the hawk and the serpent , swift as the wind fly to the warriors of Abon's stream : sons of war , pre
parethe spreading shield , the sword of fire , the spear , the azure banner made sacred by the God .
" Cuccurcha issues to the war , as an enemy's wolf to the field .
" Selward , whose face is a summer cloud , gleaming with the recent lightning of the storms , shakes the broad anlace .
" Eadgar and Emmieldred , sons of the mighty Rovan , who discomfitted Osniron with his steeds of fire , when the god of war , the blood stained Woden , pitched his tent on the bank of the wide lake , are seen in the troop .
" Creadda , whose feet are like those of the horse , lifts high the silver shield .
" On the plain , near the palace of Frica , he en
counteredwith Egward ; their swords rained blood , shields echoed to the valley of slaughter .
" These were the warriors of Cuccurcha , the lions of the war .
" Hengist and Horsa met them on the sandy plain ; the shafts of death clouded the sun , swift as the ships of Horsa , strong as the arm of Suchullin : Peada ravaged the band of Cuccurcha like a mountain . Eadgar sustained the blow of Hengist ; great was the fury of Emmieldred , his spear divided the broad shield , his anlace sunk into the heart : the sword of Anyoni pierced the breast of Cuccurcha , he fell like an oak to the plain .
" Creadda rages in the battle , he is a wild boar of the wood : the anlace of Horsa sounds on his round helm , he gnashes his teeth , he churns the smoaking gore , he dies . Locca reclines on his long spear , he is wearied with dealing death among his foes : the anlace of Hengist alights on his back , he falls to the ground .
" The men of Urrin sled to the forest : the lions of war , Hengist and Horsa , throw the spears of flight ; they burn up the souls of the flying foe ; the great image is red with blood ; the flame lights the stars ; the moon comes forth to grace the feast ; the chaplet of victory hangs on the brow of the warriors . "
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