<P> Individual episodes from the ensuing carnage are described , and the fates of several Anglo - Saxon warriors depicted -- notably that of Byrhtnoth himself , who dies urging his soldiers forward and commending his soul to God . Not all the English are portrayed as heroic however : one , Godric the son of Odda ( there are two Godrics in the poem ) , flees the battle with his brothers and , most improperly , does so on Byrhtnoth 's horse . Several lines later , the English lord Offa claims that the sight of Byrhtnoth 's horse ( easily recognisable from its trappings ) fleeing , and so Byrhtnoth , as it would appear from a distance , has bred panic in the ranks and left the English army in danger of defeat . There follow several passages in which English warriors voice their defiance and their determination to die with their lord , and descriptions of how they are then killed by the un-personified `` sea - wanderers '' . The poem as it has come down to us ends with another Godric disappearing from view . This time , it is Godric , the son of Æthelgar , advancing into a body of Vikings and being killed . </P>
<P> Individual episodes from the ensuing carnage are described , and the fates of several Anglo - Saxon warriors depicted -- notably that of Byrhtnoth himself , who dies urging his soldiers forward and commending his soul to God . Not all the English are portrayed as heroic however : one , Godric the son of Odda ( there are two Godrics in the poem ) , flees the battle with his brothers and , most improperly , does so on Byrhtnoth 's horse . Several lines later , the English lord Offa claims that the sight of Byrhtnoth 's horse ( easily recognisable from its trappings ) fleeing , and so Byrhtnoth , as it would appear from a distance , has bred panic in the ranks and left the English army in danger of defeat . There follow several passages in which English warriors voice their defiance and their determination to die with their lord , and descriptions of how they are then killed by the un-personified `` sea - wanderers '' . The poem as it has come down to us ends with another Godric disappearing from view . This time , it is Godric , the son of Æthelgar , advancing into a body of Vikings and being killed . </P>
who is the first to flee in the battle of maldon and why did he flee
who is the first to flee in the battle of maldon and why did he flee
Godric the son of Odda
Godric the son of Odda