The House of the Wolfings · Chapter
XVII: The Wood-Sun Speaketh with Thiodolf explained
After the battle, Thiodolf seeks solitude in a dale to rest and plan.
What happens
After the battle, Thiodolf seeks solitude in a dale to rest and plan. He falls asleep and awakens to find the Wood-Sun, who confronts him with sorrow and love. She warns him of his mortality and the danger he courts, and they share a tender moment. Thiodolf swears oaths to fight for the Wolfings and to love her, then dons the dwarf-wrought hauberk and returns to the folk at dawn.
Themes in this chapter
Fate and Prophecy
The Wood-Sun's warnings and Thiodolf's oaths highlight the tension between fate and free will, as he chooses to fight despite foreknowledge of danger.
Sacrifice and Loss
Thiodolf's willingness to die for the Wolfings and the Wood-Sun's sorrow underscore the theme of sacrifice for the greater good.
Honor and Heroism
Thiodolf's oaths to fight and die for the kindred, and the burial of Heriulf, emphasize the heroic code of honor and duty.
Characters to notice
- Thiodolf
Thiodolf seeks solitude after the battle, falls asleep, and is confronted by the Wood-Sun. He swears oaths to fight for the Wolfings and to love her, then dons the hauberk and returns to the folk.
- Wood-Sun
The Wood-Sun appears to Thiodolf in the dale, expressing sorrow and love. She warns him of his mortality and urges him to live for the Wolfings, then shares a tender moment with him before departing.
- Heriulf
Heriulf is laid in a howe on the ridge-crest after the battle, honored by the Markmen.
- Solvi
Solvi is a man of the kindred whom Thiodolf trusts; he is left in charge while Thiodolf goes apart.
Key passages
“Now the Markmen laid Heriulf in howe on the ridge-crest where he had fallen, and heaped a mighty howe over him that could be seen from far, and round about him they laid the other warriors of the kindreds.”
The Markmen buried Heriulf in a large burial mound on the ridge where he died, and placed other fallen warriors around him.
Describes the burial of Heriulf and the fallen warriors, emphasizing honor and ritual.
“I have dwelt a while with sorrow since we met, we twain, in the wood: I have mourned, while thou hast been merry, who deemest the war-play good.”
I have been sorrowful since our last meeting in the wood, while you have been joyful, thinking war is good.
The Wood-Sun expresses her grief and contrasts her sorrow with Thiodolf's joy in battle.
“Two things by these blue edges in the face of the dawning I swear; And first this warrior's ransom in the coming fight to bear, And evermore to love thee who hast given me second birth. And by the sword I swear it, and by the Holy Earth, To live for the House of the Wolfings, and at last to die for their need.”
I swear by this sword at dawn to bear the warrior's ransom in the coming fight, to love you always, and to live and die for the Wolfings.
Thiodolf swears oaths to fight, love the Wood-Sun, and sacrifice himself for his people.