Poems, Legendary and Historical |
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afar Alatar Alhambra's amid Argive Athena's Athens ballad banner battle battle-axe battle-plain beneath blood Boabdil brave bright brow Cephisus Christian conquered deathless deem Delphi dwell echoed England English hearts fair fast fathers fear fell fight fray gate gazed gleaming glory Gods golden goodly Granada's grave guard Gyrth halls hand hast hath hear heard heart helmet Hengest Hermeias heroes hill Holy Rood host hour King Harold King Poseidon lances land Leofwine lord maiden merry England mighty Moorish morn mortal Moslem mountain mournful ne'er Neath never nigh night Norman o'er passed pealed plain poems prayer pride rose Saxon Senlac's shield shout slain song sons sorrow soul Spain spake spear steed Stilicho stream strife sword tale tell thanes thee thegns thine thou thoughts throne tower triumph voice Waltheof warrior watched wave weary ween wondrous Zeus
Popular passages
Page 218 - Then came two priests across the plain to William's royal tent, And as they passed the threshold, their knee they humbly bent ; The knights and nobles of his train looked stern with wrathful eyes, But feared to harm that hallowed garb, and William bade them rise.
Page 47 - Gods who dwell on high Have granted there to wend. Who dies for truth and freedom, Who keeps his hands from wrong, Who gives his people holy laws, Who twines the wreath of song; These, in the happy island By Ocean's western shore, Reck not of earth's wild passions, And fight and toil no more. There dwells Aristogeiton, And fair Harmodius too, Who on Athena's festival The hated tyrant slew. And there they dwell for ever, Who vanquished on this blessed ground The quiver-bearing Medes.
Page 218 - ye men of GOD, I do not war with you ; Ne'er 'gainst the ministers of peace true knight his falchion drew: But tell us wherefore are ye come among our warrior train, For whatsoe'er may be your prayer, ye shall not ask in vain." Then rose the brothers from their knees, and deep each bosom sighed, To see amid their own dear land the foeman's conquering pride : Then out spake Ailric to the Duke : "We come from Waltham tower, To crave the body of the chief who fell in yonder stour.
Page 41 - Around the heroes' grave, Soft sweeps the breeze of morning-land Where rest the fallen brave ; The mountains bend in homage, The trees wave soft in awe, Over their graves who perished For freedom and for law. But in the gloom of midnight, When all beside is still, Then doth the cry of battle Float back from every hill ; Then rise the shadowy warriors, And meet again in fight ; But none may see their faces, Nor harness gleaming bright. Yet ever on the breezes The shouts of war are borne ; The clashing...
Page 39 - AWAKE, ye sons of Marathon, Day yokes her golden car ; Her milk-white steeds are chasing The gloom of night afar ; The rosy-fingered Morning Hath lit the dark-blue wave, And pours her gentle brightness Upon the heroes...
Page 221 - The monarch's corpse among the chiefs who round about him fell. Then sought they for fair Editha, King Harold's corpse to find, Fair Edith of the Swan's Neck, that dame of loving mind; They found the lady in her bower, all mournful and alone, To think of captive England's tears and Harold's dying groan. She came, all veiled her lovely form in mourner's sable guise, All streaming were her golden locks, and dimmed her bright blue eyes ; Yet came she forth...
Page 220 - And watch fires showed the hallowed flag in triumph waving high. As soon as night had passed away, they traversed all the plain, To seek for Harold's bloody corpse amid the heaps of slain ; They saw brave knights and men-at-arms lie cold upon the ground, Where'er the Northern battle-axe had dealt its ghastly wound. They saw stout thanes whose dying hands still grasped its mighty haft, Each with his manly bosom pierced with many a deadly shaft ; None lay as slain in coward flight, for all were valiant...
Page 221 - They saw stout thanes whose dying hands still grasped its mighty haft, Each with his manly bosom pierced with many a deadly shaft ; None lay as slain in coward flight, for all were valiant there, And fixed eyes on their foemen seemed to cast a haughty stare. But where was Britain's mightiest lord those princely thanes among ? Where was the stoutest arm that e'er the axe of Wessex swung? So gashed was every face with wounds, the brothers could not tell The monarch's corpse among the chiefs who round...
Page 220 - Senlac's field to go, And seek for noble Harold, and bear him to the grave, With all the rites that fit a king and knight in battle brave. All night upon that bloody plain those brethren knelt in prayer ; And oft they heard the dying groan of men...
Page 223 - And bade them bear his corpse away to Waltham's Minster fair, And grace the Monarch's funeral with mass and dirge and prayer. They laid him in a royal tomb, and oft the mass did say, And oft the lady Editha came there to weep and pray ; And stretched upon her dying bed, it was her latest prayer, With Harold, her own...