Old English literature There are five shorter poems: capture of the Five Boroughs (942); coronation of King Edgar (973); death of King Edgar (975); death of Alfred the son of King Æthelred (1036); and death of King Edward the Confessor (1065). The 325 line poem "The Battle of Maldon" celebrates Earl Byrhtnoth and his men who fell in battle against the Vikings in 991. It is considered one of the finest, but both the beginning and end are missing and the only manuscript was destroyed in a fire in 1731. A well-known speech is near the end of the poem: Old English heroic
Iste confessor pius, prudens, humilis, pudicus, 3 Cuius ob præstans meritum frequenter, 4 Noster hinc illi chorus obsequentem 5 Sit salus illi, decus, atque virtus, Iste confessor Domini sacratus <poem> 1 Iste Confessor Domini sacratus, 2 Qui pius, prudens, humilis, pudicus, 3 Ad sacrum cuius tumulum frequenter, 4 Unde nunc noster chorus in honorem 5 Sit salus illi, decus, atque virtus, </poem> Due to differences between the Latin versions of the hymn, and due to the demands of rendering the original Latin into metrical English which was suitable for singing, the translations below are thematically accurate, rather than literal translations. This is