The House of the Wolfings · Chapter
II: The Flitting of the War-Arrow explained
On a summer evening, the Wolfing folk hear the war-horn of the Elkings, signaling tidings of war.
What happens
On a summer evening, the Wolfing folk hear the war-horn of the Elkings, signaling tidings of war. A young runner from the Hartings arrives bearing the war-arrow—a token burnt, bloodied, and split—and delivers the call to arms against a great host from the South. Thiodolf, the war-duke, blows the Wolfing war-horn three times, and the kindred prepare to depart for battle, leaving the Hall-Sun behind under the Roof.
Themes in this chapter
Ritual and Custom
The arrival of the war-arrow and the blowing of the war-horn are ritualized acts that bind the Wolfings to the call of war, following ancient custom.
The Cycle of War and Return
Thiodolf's speech emphasizes the hope of returning to the homestead, framing war as a departure and anticipated homecoming.
Tribal Identity and Kinship
The Wolfings gather as a kindred under the Roof, and the war-arrow unites them with neighboring tribes like the Elkings and Hartings.
Characters to notice
- Thiodolf
The dark-haired chief of the Wolfings, deemed wisest and most dauntless; he receives the war-token, blows the war-horn, and commands the hosting.
- Hall-Sun
Thiodolf's foster-daughter, a fair young woman who sits under the lamp in the hall; she remains behind as the warriors prepare to depart.
- Elfric
The young runner from the Hartings who bears the war-arrow and delivers the summons to the Wolfings.
Key passages
“Behold, O Wolves, the token and say if it be true! I bear the shaft of battle that is four-wise cloven through, And its each end dipped in the bloodstream, both the iron and the horn, And its midmost scathed with the fire;”
The runner presents the war-arrow, split four ways, its ends stained with blood and its middle scorched by fire, as the undeniable token of war.
The war-arrow is a physical symbol of the summons, its damage representing the urgency and violence of the coming conflict.
“Forth will we Wolfing children, and cast a sound abroad: The mouth of the sea-beast’s weapon shall speak the battle-word;”
Thiodolf declares that the Wolfings will sound the war-horn, made from a whale's tusk, to spread the call to arms.
The war-horn is personified as a 'sea-beast's weapon,' linking the tribe's martial identity to the natural world.