Finnesburg Fragment facts for kids

The Finnesburg Fragment (also called the Finnsburh Fragment) is a short part of an Old English poem. It tells about a big fight. In the poem, a leader named Hnæf and his 60 warriors are attacked at "Finn's fort." They try to defend themselves against the attackers.

This old text is very short and hints at a larger story. When we compare it to other old English poems, especially Beowulf (written around 1000 AD), it seems to be about a conflict. This fight was likely between the Danes and the Frisians. It probably happened in ancient times (between 400 and 800 AD) in a place called Frisia.

How We Know About the Finnesburg Fragment

The text we have today is a copy of a loose paper. This paper used to be kept at Lambeth Palace in London. Lambeth Palace is where the Archbishops of Canterbury live.

A British scholar named George Hickes made this copy. He copied the text sometime in the late 1600s. Then, he published it in a collection of old Anglo-Saxon writings in 1705. This collection also mentioned the only known copy of the Beowulf poem for the first time. Sadly, the original paper that Hickes copied from has been lost or stolen since then.

What the Fragment Tells Us

The Finnesburg Fragment is only about 50 lines long. It doesn't clearly say which tribes are fighting. It describes a battle where Hnæf is attacked at a place called Finnsburuh, which means "Finn's stronghold."

From the Beowulf poem, we learn that Hnæf was a Danish prince. He was probably visiting his brother-in-law, Finn, who was the ruler of the Frisians. Hnæf had come to spend the winter at Finn's hall.

The poem starts with Hnæf noticing something strange outside. He says it's "not the dawn in the East," "not a dragon flying," and "not the gables burning." What he sees are the torches of approaching attackers. Hnæf and his sixty warriors bravely hold the doors for five days. During this time, none of them fall. Then, a wounded warrior turns away to speak to his chief. The poem ends right there.

The fragment doesn't explain why the fight started or how it ended. Scholars have different ideas about who was fighting. Klaeber believed it was the Danes against the Frisians. However, Tolkien thought that people called Jutes were involved on both sides. He suggested that the conflict happened because Jutes in both Finn's and Hnæf's groups were enemies.

The Battle in Beowulf

The story of the Finnsburg fight also appears in the long epic poem Beowulf. Some characters, like Hnæf, are mentioned in other old texts too. In Beowulf, the story is told by a singer at a feast. It's about 90 lines long.

The Beowulf version calls the battle Fres-wæl, meaning "Frisian slaughter." This part of Beowulf is written for people who already knew the story. It describes the sadness of Hildeburh after the Frisians launch a surprise attack on the Danes. Hildeburh was Hnæf's sister. She was married to Finn, the Frisian leader. This marriage was an attempt to bring peace between the two tribes, but it didn't work. Many scholars see this failed peace attempt as the reason for the tragedy in the story.

Hildeburh mourned for her brother, Hnæf. Her own son, who was also Finn's son, was burned on the same funeral fire as Hnæf. After the battle, Finn and a warrior named Hengest make a promise of loyalty. Hengest was a leader among Hnæf's surviving warriors.

The details are a bit unclear, but Hnæf's men were supposed to stay in Finnesburgh, at least for the winter. The Frisians were not allowed to make fun of them for following a lord who had been killed. In the end, Hengest was overcome by a desire for revenge. He killed Finn and his men in their own hall. Then, he took valuable items from the hall and brought Hildeburh back "to her people."

Comparing the Two Stories

There are many differences between the story in Beowulf and the Finnesburg Fragment. One big difference is that Hildeburh is not in the Finnesburg Fragment. In Beowulf, she is a very important character. She is affected by everything that happens. Some even see her as a tragic figure because of this.

From the start of the Beowulf story, Hildeburh is sad. She has lost her brother, Hnæf, and her son. She also lost many Danes, to whom she felt loyalty by blood, and Frisians, to whom she was loyal through marriage. Some think Hildeburh's marriage was just an obligation, not based on love. She wasn't strongly tied to Finn or the Frisians.

Scholars often discuss Hildeburh. Some argue she is romanticized, while others see her as a very sympathetic character. However, many scholars find the idea of her being tragic or romanticized "unconvincing." They say there isn't enough text to support it. They also point out that modern audiences are very different from Anglo-Saxon audiences.

Hildeburh's importance in Beowulf makes her absence from the Finnesburg Fragment very noticeable. The same is true for Hengest. In Beowulf, Hengest plays a very important role in how the story unfolds. He is a leader and starts much of the action. Hengest is the one who promised a "firm compact of peace" with the Frisians. He also killed Finn "in his own home."

Like Hildeburh, Hengest's importance in Beowulf makes his lack of mention in the Finnesburg Fragment very clear. He is only mentioned once in the fragment. This mention doesn't show him as an important leader. Instead, he is simply mentioned in line 17, which says that Hengest himself "stepped in afterwards." While this shows Hengest was at the battle, it doesn't give him the powerful role he has in Beowulf.

Religious Ideas in the Poems

The Finnesburg Fragment itself doesn't talk much about religion. However, the Beowulf poem does have some religious elements. Recently, some scholars have tried to explain the Christian parts of Beowulf.

Christopher M. Cain suggests that the author of Beowulf was Christian. He thinks the author wrote the poem with ideas similar to the Old Testament. This was to show the world before Christianity, where the epic story takes place. This idea highlights that characters like Beowulf and Hrothgar act in a moral way, even though they are not explicitly Christian.

On the other hand, C. Tidmarsh Major looked at what religion was like when the poem was probably written. He says that in the Middle Ages, Christianity was not as uniform as it is now. The same was true for Germanic paganism. He argues that Beowulf is an example of how pagan and Christian beliefs mixed together as they met each other.

See also

• Old English metre