Deorwine

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Deorwine
by Beda of Easþrena
Preserved fragment of the Blawport Manuscript, which is believed to be Beda's original manuscript
Original title	ᛞᛇᚱᚹᛁᚾᛖ
Written	1041-1053
First published in	1053
Country	Easþrena
Language	Tretridian
Subject(s)	The voyage of the hero Deorwine and the foundations of Tretrid
Genre(s)	Epic poem
Form	Alliterative verse
Lines	9,600

Deorwine is a Tretridian epic poem that tells the story of the hero Deorwine, who fled turmoil in Concord following the collapse of the Ulvrikian Empire with a great fleet and sailed west to Tretrid, where his people laid the roots to what would become Easþrena. It is considered one of the most important works of Tretridian literature and is generally considered the Tretridian national epic. It was written by Beda of Easþrena in the 11th century as a gift to Ceolmund II, the Easþrenan king, along with the heroic poem Cenhelm.

The historicity of Deorwine has been a subject of scholarly debate. While Cenhelm drew mainly from historical events, there is a general absence of written historical evidence in Tretrid in the 6th and 7th centuries, when the poem is set. However, it is generally agreed to be a codification of oral tradition within which the cultural memory of the Ulvrikian migration into Tretrid was preserved. The poem is considered to be derived from the Ulvrikian storytelling tradition, though there are many Celanor-influenced element in the poem, likely from frequent contact between the people of Tretrid and the Celanor Empire.

Summary

Flight from Ulvrikia

Deorwine begins with the funeral of the Ulvrikian eorl Beorhtmund, a kinsman of the last Fylkir of the recently collapsed Ulvrikian Empire. Beorhtmund's young son Deorwine makes an oration over Beorhtmund's funeral pyre recounting how he secured the lands under his rule amidst the chaos of the Ulvrikian collapse, after which Beorhtmund's soldiers proclaim Deorwine the new eorl. Shortly after the funeral, the Gothir present, Ecgstan, reminds Deorwine of a prophecy: shortly after his birth, a seeress told Beorhtmund that Deorwine would bring his people to a peaceful, bountiful land beyond the Concordian Ocean, and that he should seek favor from Nærð. Deorwine tells Ecgstan that he does not believe that the time is ripe but that he will seek to do his divinely mandated duty and will begin to prepare for the task set out for him. He orders the planting of many trees in preparation for the great fleet that he will need to build.

About a decade later, Deorwine receives Nori, on his return journey from many years of traveling throughout Ulvrikia. The two discuss the state of affairs in Ulvrikia since the volcanic winter and famine of 512, which Deorwine compares to the Fifelwinter. The topic of their discussion slowly drifts over to Nori's travels, at which point Nori brings up his intent to write down everything he had picked up on his travels into a great saga in an effort to restore order to Ulvrikia. Deorwine responds enthusiastically and urges Nori to do so. He arranges a meeting between Nori and Ecgstan, where the two discuss the gods and Nori's own teachings, before Nori sets out again.

A few months afterward, Deorwine orders the trees he ordered planted cut down and begins the construction of his fleet. Deorwine's neighboring eorls mistrust his intentions and form an army to halt construction, but Deorwine repels their forces in battle. His enemies regroup and attack again in far greater numbers when construction is nearly finished, and this time Deorwine is only able to delay his enemies in a series of battles until the fleet is finished, at which point he evacuates his people to the fleet and makes the final sacrifices to Nærð for good sailing and to Þunor for fair weather as the opposing army closes in. As the fleet sets sail, the last sight Deorwine sees of his homeland is the enemy setting it ablaze.

The ships are described as they sail forth, chief among them being Deorwine's flagship, Sæ-wægn (lit. "Sea-wagon"), which he had named in honor of Nærð.