Poetry
Old English period poetry included epic heroic poems, that took inspiration from the Bible, and also their pagan ancestry. It is safe to say that the history of the invasion, and the battles they went on to experience, were a major source to write some beautiful pieces. For example, The Battle of Maldon and The Battle of Brunanburh share a common theme of war, bravery, rage, and conquest.
•The Battle of Maldon especially, celebrates how Scandinavian raiders or Vikings encountered with the Anglo-Saxon forces in the Blackwater River, in what today is known as Maldon, Essex. Here is an excerpt of the poem:
Ða þær Byrhtnoð ongan beornas trymian,
rad and rædde, rincum tæhte
hu hi sceoldon standan and þone stede healdan,
and bæd þæt hyra randas rihte heoldon
fæste mid folman, and ne forhtedon na.
Þa he hæfde þæt folc fægere getrymmed,
he lihte þa mid leodon þær him leofost wæs,
þær he his heorðwerod holdost wiste.
Then Birhtnoth began to place his men at their stations; he rode about and advised them, taught the troops how they should stand and hold the place and bade them grasp their shields aright, firm in their hands, and have no fear. When he had arranged his folk properly, he alighted among them where it seemed best to him, where he knew his retainers to be most loyal.