~ By Courtesy of Others ~
Hoo is the Queen?
Raedwald“s
wife knew reason,
Regal shield, Frig“s eagle.
Staunch strategic counsel,
Kind words for hostages.
Altars honored always,
Astride two worlds rides she,
Bede bore her but meanly,
Maid robbed of name, not fame.
©
Robin Herne
Note: This poem
approaches the Old Norse verse meter drottkvaett.
Rędwald was King of East Anglia from about 599 until his death in c. 625.
After his conversion to Christianity, his wife is said to have persuaded him
to worship the old gods again as well, a fact which Saint Bede deplored.
"Hoo" is an allusion to the two Sutton Hoo ship burials. It is not known whom
they were for,
but Raedwald is considered the most likely candidate for one of them.
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