John The Old Saxon

Chapter 2

(Verses by Angilbert, who fought the battle -25 June 841 - on the side of Lothar)

(Verses by Angilbert, who fought the battle -25 June 841 - on the side of Lothar)Fontenoy they call its fountain, manor to the peasant known,

There the s*******r, there the ruin, of the blood of Frankish race;

Plains and forest shiver, shudder; horror wakes the silent marsh.

Neither dew nor shower nor rainfall yields its freshness to that field,

Where they fell, the strong men fighting, shrewdest in the battle"s skill,

Father, mother, sister, brother, friends, the dead with tears have wept.

And this deed of crime accomplished, which I here in verse have told,

Angibert myself I witnessed, fighting with the other men,

I alone of all remaining, in the battle"s foremost line.

On the side alike of Louis, on the side of Charles alike,

Lies the field in white enshrouded, in the vestments of the dead,

As it lies when birds in autumn settle white off the shore.

Woe unto that day of mourning! Never in the round of years

Be it numbered in men"s annals! Be it banished from all mind,

Never gleam of sun shine on it, never dawn its dusk awake.

Night it was, a night most bitter, harder than we could endure,

When they fell, the brave men fighting, shrewdest in the battle"s skill,

Father, mother, sister, brother, friends, the dead with tears have wept.

Now the wailing, the lamenting, now no longer will I tell;

Each, so far as in him lieth, let him stay his weeping now;

On their souls may He have mercy, let us pray the Lord of all.

Translation of acrostic poem by John the Old Saxon. Translator: Gallagher, Robert 2017, Kent Academic Repository.

Translation of acrostic poem by John the Old Saxon. Translator: Gallagher, Robert 2017, Kent Academic Repository.Behold, may all the graces descend from heaven for you!

You will always be joyful, Alfred, through the happy crossroads [of life].

May you now turn your mind and be satisfied with sacred adornments.

Rightly you teach, hastening away from the deceptive charm of worldly affairs. See, you apply yourself always to gain bright talents,

To run wisely through the fields of foreign learning.