The Ballad of the White Horse

The Ballad of the White Horse is an epic poem by G.K. Chesterton that traces the movements of historical figure Alfred the Great. Often described as the last traditional epic written in English, it details Alfred's divinely-intervened victory over the Danes at the Battle of Ethandun. First published in 1911, the ballad is part of the public domain.

While the poem has a ballad stanza structure, it's not consistent, and the rhyme scheme varies between ABCB and ABCCCB. It's divided into stanzas of 4 to 6 lines totaling in 2,684 lines.

Chesterton starts by explaining that the poem isn't strictly historical, and that the setting of the Battle of Enthandun in the Vale of the White Horse, and some of the legendary tales of Alfred, may be inaccurate.



Next, Chesterton has written a few stanzas to his wife, dedicating the ballad to her and asking her to reminisce on the fun they had traveling and researching the story of King Alfred.

Chesterton begins the tale by describing the White Horse of Vale, which is a prehistoric horse figure carved into a hill and filled with crushed, white chalk. He ponders on all that the horse has witnessed, including the fall of the Roman Empire.

The Danes are invading England and have conquered nearly everything. Chesterton describes the Danes as a "Christless chivalry" who "cried for blood like beasts at night," painting them as lawless savages. He also compares them to trees, saying that they are just as tall and just as stupid, though he admits they are incredibly destructive.



There's hardly any semblance of England left in the path of the Danes, and Wessex King Alfred has fled and hidden at Athelney, a river island. There, the Virgin Mary appears and consoles him, reminding him that his salvation is in God, not earthly things.

Encouraged by his divine vision, Alfred sets out to gather the few Wessex men that are still alive "like grain out of the chaff." Edrad the Saxon, Mark the Roman, and Colan the Gael all join him. He tells them to gather their men and meet by Egbert's stone.

Meanwhile, Alfred disguises himself as a minstrel, complete with a harp. He's captured by the Danes, and they tell him to sing for their leader Guthrum and his earls, Harold, Elf, and Ogier. Alfred sings them a history of Wessex, then each Dane takes the harp and sings his own life philosophy, mostly celebrating war and the sea. The Danes claim that the civilized nature of Roman life turned the English from "sword-swingers" to women. Alfred is encouraged to take a turn, and he plays a song about Catholicism, which the Danes find quite funny. Alfred leaves the camp without issue.



Alfred is the first to arrive at Egbert's Stone and an old woman is there cooking cakes. She offers him one if he watches the fire, but Alfred is so caught up in pitying the old woman that the cakes burn. When the woman sees this, she hits Alfred on the face with one of the hotcakes and leaves a scar. Alfred takes this lesson of pride and humility to his newly-arrived troops.

The Saxon army lacks stealth, and the animals flee from their path, alerting Guthrum that someone is coming to battle. Along the way, Alfred considers the sins he's committed. He fears that his transgressions will lose them the fight and he asks his men to pray for his soul. The chieftains discuss burial preferences.

When they arrive, the Danes are ready for them. One of the Danish earls, Harold, shoots an arrow at Colan but misses. In return, Colan throws his sword at Harold, and the Dane falls dead. Alfred gives his sword to Colan and arms himself with a battle-ax.



Eldred takes down several Danes, but his sword breaks, and he's pierced by seven spears, one of which was propelled by Elf. Elf retrieves his spear because he received the magical weapon from the water maids of the English Channel. Mark's men are losing hope when he rallies them and manages to kill Elf. Ogier and Mark are caught in an altercation, and Mark jumps on top of Ogier's shield, pinning him to the ground. Ogier stabs Mark from this position, and Mark dies. Ogier leaps up, gives a speech to his Danish comrades and they push the Saxon army back down the two forks of a split road. Colan is also killed.

Taking a break from the battle, Chesterton describes a child stacking stones. The stones fall, and the child stacks them again. Alfred, Chesterton says, is like the child. Alfred gives a speech to muster his men, and the Christians charge unsuccessfully. Like the child, they keep fighting.

The next rally of the troops comes from the Virgin Mary. The Christian army pushes forward again, and Alfred finds himself surrounded by the Danes. When Ogier's spear misses him, Alfred takes the opportunity to kill him with his ax, then blows the battle sign on his horn while standing over Ogier's body. The Danes begin to flee, and the rest of Alfred's army returns. Guthrum converts to Catholicism and is later baptized.



Peace comes to Wessex. Alfred is considered a generous king and does not seek to expand his lands. The White Horse, a witness to the battle, is cared for by the Saxon people. Years go by before the Danes decide to invade again under different leadership, but Alfred is prepared to fight. He fears now that he will be fighting cultured pagans instead of the barbarians he fought last time and that they will come with "books be all their eating/And ink be on their hands."

Alfred confronts the Danes once more.

The ballad is rife with religious themes and is sometimes considered a Roman Catholic allegory. The White Horse image could represent the state of the Saxons' Christian faith-- at the beginning, it is untended and forgotten, but by the end, the Saxons carefully manage it.