What happens in the story?
Some sixty men of the Half-Danes, a subgroup of
the Danes, led by their young lord Hnaef, have been visiting King Finn of Frisia
in his stronghold. Finn is married to Hnaef’s sister, Hildeburh, who has borne
him a son. We might conjecture that Hildeburh had been given in marriage to
settle and earlier feud between the Danes and the Frisians.
One night, some of the Frisians make a surprise
attack on the hall where the Half-Danes are sleeping. Whether or not Finn
instigated the attack remains obscure. During the battle both Hnaef and the son
of Finn and Hildeburh are killed. Both sides fight to exhaustion, but the Danes
never give in.
To bring this stand-off to an end, one side
offers terms to the other. The settlement entails the surviving Danes becoming
Finn’s retainers out of necessity. Finn swears solemnly to treat the Danes with
honour, that they will have equal place with the Frisians in a new hall and
that they will receive as many gifts as his Frisians retainers. Time passes,
spring comes and the Danes led by Hengest take revenge. Finn is killed and
Hildeburh is brought back home.
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