Screeching a death-chant, following the foes. 30
Over the boundaries swept the greatest of armies
That the king of the Huns could muster for battle
Among his neighbors—battle-hungry, blood-thirsty,
Eager for combat. The relentless ones rolled on.
The keenest of warriors advanced in waves 35
Of ordered legions till they approached the edge
Of the city-fortress, fierce foot soldiers
Eager to fight an enemy in a foreign land.
The cruel spear-men set up a camp
At the Danube’s edge with a great clamor. 40
They meant to ransack the Roman empire,
Massacre the people, and carry home plunder.
The Roman citizens discovered terror
In the onslaught of Huns. Savage arrows
Began to fly, flesh-bite and death-sting, 45
Lethal battle-snakes darting through the air.
The emperor ordered his troops to attack.
The resolute Roman army entered the assault,
Battle-hard, ready for the conflict.
Their numbers were smaller than those 50
Of the Huns, but their spirits were stronger.
Swords clashed with shields, steel with wood,
Blade on bone, singing a shrill war-song.
The black raven shrieked, eager for blood.
The army moved out, marching for its life. 55
The trumpets blared a bright battle-call,
Heralds of doom. Horses pawed the ground.
Steadfast warriors headed for the strife.
The Roman king was touched by terror
When he saw the horde of Huns and Hrethgoths 60
Gathered there by the river, a fierce force,
A company of cutthroats, ready for war.
His heart was heavy, his spirit sad—
His valiant army was too small for victory.
His troops made camp, close companions 65
Preparing for the next day’s desperate battle.
The army of warriors surrounded their prince,
Preparing for the night’s uneasy sleep.
Later, as the emperor slipped into dream,
An extraordinary vision entered his mind. 70
A strange man of supernatural beauty
Appeared in the dream, revealing himself
With heavenly radiance—a creature brighter,
More beautiful than anyone under the sun.
Suddenly the emperor sat up startled, 75
His head protected by his hard boar-helmet.
The mighty messenger, a heavenly herald,
Called out as the veil of night vanished,
And the mind’s darkness drifted away:
“Constantine! The King of the company of angels, 80
The Ruler of fate, Decider of destiny,
The Lord of hosts, brings you a promise
Of power and protection, triumph over terror.
Fear not, though alien armies may attack you,
Savages come at you with swords and spears, 85
For God is your shield, your strength in battle.
Raise up your eyes to your Ruler in heaven
Where you will find a radiant sign,
A token of glory, a symbol of victory.”
The emperor was suddenly alert at the angel’s 90
Bold bidding and laid open his heart,
Lifting his eyes as the peace-weaver proposed.
He saw there the glory-tree, the radiant rood,
The cross of Christ, beautifully adorned
With gems and jewels, gleaming with gold. 95
The wonder-tree was inscribed with these words:
“With this sign you will slay the perilous hordes,
Beat back the blood-thirsty barbarians,
Overcome the evil enemy on the battlefield.”
Then the radiance faded, folded into night 100
As the bright angel ascended into heaven,
Returning home to the host of the pure.
The king was enthralled by the holy vision—
That cross was his hope against the hordes.
Then Constantine, the ruler and ring-giver, 105
Protector of peoples, pride of princes,
Commanded a symbol made in the likeness
Of Christ’s cross, the radiant rood,
Just as he had seen revealed in the heavens.
In the light of dawn, he roused his warriors 110
And raised the standard of the tree of God,
The cross of victory, to bear in the battle-storm
Against the heathen hordes, the bold barbarians.
Trumpets blared, tempers flared,
The dark raven dreamed of devouring 115
Combat-corpses on the battlefield.
The dewy-feathered eagle prepared to plunder
Flesh and sinew, arm and eye—a bloody feast.
The savage wolf came to stalk his prey,
Howling his hideous, unmerciful song. 120
Battle-terror touched each warrior’s heart.
Swords slashed, shields clashed, arrows shrieked
From bowstring to breastbone, fierce battle-adders
With a dangerous bite. Death rained from above.
The barbarian hordes could not be stopped, 125
Driven by fury and a fierce love of battle.
The brutal army savagely attacked,
Breaking the shield-wall, slashing with swords.
Then the bold banner was raised, the sign of the rood.
The war-chant shifted to a song of victory— 130
The cross of Christ was on the battlefield.
Gold helmets gleamed, bright spears shimmered,
Bones were shivered, barbarian blood flowed.
The unholy heathens dropped like flies.
Huns and Hrethgoths fled from the field. 135
The enemy attackers were desperate to escape
As the war-horns trumpeted a Roman triumph,
And Constantine raised up the sign of the cross.
The harried aggressors were scattered everywhere.
Battle-swords slew some, arrows others— 140
Barbarians barely escaped with their lives.
They kept no courage. The company was decimated.
Some fled to the cliffs, hiding in caves,
Some nursed deadly wounds by the Danube.
Some went swimming in the deepest water, 145
Carried downstream by death’s cold current.
The Roman armies exulted in the chase,
Relentlessly hunting the heathens down
From dawn to dusk. Ash-spears and arrows
Bit like battle-snakes. The enemies’ shields 150
Were suddenly shattered, their bones broken,
Their lives lost. Not many Huns went home.
The sign of Christ’s victory was clear to all—
The almighty King had granted Constantine
Triumph over terror, victory over the vicious 155
Barbarian hordes through the holy rood,
The tree of glory, the cross of Christ.
With the battle won, the king of the Romans,
Returned home, made worthy by war.
His army exulted over their hard victory, 160
Enjoying the spoils they had seized in battle.
So the people’s protector sailed home with thanes,
Joyful soldiers shaking their war-shields
And singing victory-songs back to the cities.
Then the shield-commander, their lord and king, 165
Summoned his wisest counselors together,
Those who had studied the sacred texts
And stored their meanings in memory’s hold,
To ask if any of them, young or old,
Could answer the question he put them: 170
“What god was this whose symbol saved u
s
From certain slaughter, whose cross kept us
All alive, whose tree held back terror,
Whose radiant rood has given us glory?”
No one knew anything about that victory-sign 175
Or could venture a guess about its meaning.
Then the wisest of men said that the cross
Was a sacred symbol of the King of heaven.
When the few battle-warriors who had been baptized
Heard this truth, their hearts rejoiced. 180
Their spirits soared that they might offer the emperor
The gift of the Gospel, its grace and glory,
Explaining how the Son of God, the Shielder of souls,
The King of kings, the Trinity triumphant,
Was born to a pure maiden in Bethlehem— 185
How he was tried and tormented on a gallows tree,
Crucified on a cross like a common criminal
Before crowds that mocked him in his misery—
How he died and delivered the children of men
And their suffering souls from Satan’s snare 190
By his harrowing hell—how he granted them grace
Through the sign of the cross, the same radiant symbol
Revealed to Constantine in his divine dream,
A victory-sign against the heathen hordes—
How Christ rose from the dead on the third day 195
And ascended into heaven, his heart’s home,
To live forever with his Father in eternal light.
So the faithful instructed the victorious emperor
In the spiritual mysteries they had all been taught
By the holy Sylvester. Then King Constantine 200
Was converted and baptized a faithful follower
Of Christ and kept his belief for all his days,
Ruling according to the will of God.
Then the battle-hard King Constantine,
Bestower of treasures, experienced joy— 205
A bright blessing had entered his heart.
His hope was in heaven, his comfort in Christ.
He lived in God’s love, making known his law
Through the gift of the Spirit day and night.
The war-famous king and gold-giving lord 210
Of all the people and princes who served him
Honored and praised his God and Guardian.
Then King Constantine, shield of the Romans,
Bold in battle, sure-handed with a spear,
Learned from the scriptures with the help of scholars 215
How the Lord of heaven had been cruelly hung
On the gallows-tree, wracked on the rood,
Through human deceit and inhuman hate—
How Satan himself, that ancient enemy,
Had seduced the Jews to condemn Christ, 220
Torment and torture him, nail him to the cross,
Wantonly kill the Lord of creation.
For this heinous crime, they would all suffer
Endless banishment, eternal damnation.
From that day on, the story of Christ 225
And the sign of the Cross, the sacred rood,
Resided in Constantine’s heart, sustaining
His spirit, so that he ordered his mother Helena
To journey abroad with a band of soldiers
To the land of the Jews to seek out the cross, 230
The tree of glory, the gallows of God,
And see if the holy cross might be hidden
In an unmarked grave in unhallowed ground.
Helena was not reluctant to make the journey
To look for Christ’s cross or follow the command 235
Of her gracious ruler, her glorious son.
In a company of mailed warriors, the brave woman
Set out eagerly on her longed-for journey.
The Roman hosts hastened to the shore
Where the sea-steeds, the wave-walkers, 240
Were tethered and ready, straining at their ropes.
Helena’s holy mission was known to many—
Multitudes lined the Mediterranean shore.
The troops advanced along the strand.
They loaded the ships with spears and shields, 245
Swords and mail-coats, men and women,
And the necessary provisions for the long road.
Then the tall ships sailed through wild waves,
Braving the grim ocean’s battle-blows.
The waves rose up, the sea resounded. 250
I’ve never heard, before or after, of a braver woman
Leading a fairer force over the ocean road.
Anyone who watched would certainly have seen
A wonder on the wave—a wooden horse
With one foot, a tall back, and bright wings, 255
Racing over a fathomless sea-road.
Bold warriors sailed with high spirits,
And the queen took pleasure in their company.
They joyfully sailed the ring-prowed ships
To a safe harbor in the land of the Greeks, 260
Anchoring the ancient vessels there,
Lashed to the strand. The sea-steeds awaited
The outcome of the quest when the battle-queen
And her mailed warriors might come boldly back
Along eastern roads for the return voyage. 265
In the morning sun everyone could clearly see
Chain-mail gleaming, sharp blades glistening,
Boar-helmets shining, the best of battle-gear.
The spear-warriors set out from the ships,
Surrounding their treasured, triumphant queen. 270
The soldiers of the emperor, companies of the king,
Marched in glory through the land of Greece,
Resolute in their purpose to redeem the rood.
The proud warriors carried a precious gem,
A jewel of a queen in a strange battle-setting, 275
The gift of their lord. The blessed Helena,
Bold of heart, steadfast in spirit, firm in faith,
Never forgot her son’s wish, her lord’s command,
That she should seek the land of the Jews
Across peaceful plains and dangerous battlefields 280
With her stalwart soldiers. So in a short time
These best of battle-thanes reached Jerusalem,
A company of warriors with a noble queen.
Then Helena commanded the wisest of Jewish
Leaders in the city to come to a council 285
To explain the Lord’s mysteries in the ancient laws.
So a great gathering of scholars arrived
From near and far, three thousand strong,
Men who would expound on the law of Moses.
Then the noble queen welcomed the sages 290
And said to the host of Hebrew men:
“I have learned through the words of the prophets,
Their secret writings in the sacred books,
That long ago you were honored and esteemed
By the King of glory, dear to the Lord, 295
Praising his words and performing his works—
But sadly then you spurned his wisdom,
Reviling the Redeemer, who in his grace and glory
Might have saved you from hell’s curse,
The torture and torment of unending flame, 300
If you had recognized his power and purpose,
Instead of accusing him of hateful crimes,
Abusing and nailing him cruelly to the cross.
You spit in the face of the Savior and Son,
Who could wash your eyes clean of blindness 305
With the sacred spittle and heal your hearts,
Saving you from the darkness of devils
And their fiery filth. You condemned to die
The Lord himself who created life
And conquered death—who raised up the patriarchs
310
From their moldering graves, their grim fates.
In your blindness you traded light for darkness,
Truth for lies, mercy for malice.
You played deadly games with perjury,
So now you are sentenced to Satan’s realm, 315
Where no one will hear your unholy words
Or care to comfort your everlasting pain.
You condemned the life-giving power
Of the eternal Light. Now dwell in darkness
For all of your days. You live in delusion 320
And will die in desperation. Go quickly now
And consult among those who comprehend
The old laws and learning for some wisdom
So that your sages can answer my questions.”
Then the wise ones went away sad-hearted, 325
Haunted by anxiety, frustration, and fear.
They searched the wisest sayings in their scriptures
On good and evil, so they could easily answer
The queen’s questions and satisfy her demands.
They gathered a throng of a thousand sages 330
Who knew the ancient laws and lore.
This council crowded around the queen’s throne,
Where the emperor’s kinswoman, the magnificent
Battle-queen, was clad in gold. Helena spoke
To the assembled hosts, a company of men: 335
“Listen, you scholars, to the divine mystery,
The sacred wisdom of the ancient texts.
You have heard the holy words of the prophets
Promising that the Lord of life would be born
Unto you in the form of a child, a mighty Ruler, 340
Of whom great Moses, guardian of the Israelites,
Sang in his praise-song, saying these words:
‘To you shall be born one day in secret,
A child of wonder, a boy of blessing,
A prince of power, whose pregnant mother 345
Will be a pure maid untouched by a man’s embrace.’
So also King David, the wise prophet,
Father of Solomon, lord of warriors,
Singer of songs, said these words:
‘I have seen in splendor the God of creation, 350
The Lord of victories, the Ruler of hosts.
He has been my guardian, my glorious shepherd—
He stands in radiance at my right hand.
My earthly gaze shall remain on God
Till the end of days.’ Likewise Isaiah 355
Gave you his words, inspired by God—
The prophet who profoundly understood the spirit
And could see beyond his own eyes said:
‘I have raised a son and many children,
Granting them each sustenance and solace, 360
Peace and prosperity, but all of my rebellious
Offspring have reviled me, denied and despised me.
The Complete Old English Poems Page 36