Line 194-97

'flugon on þæt…duguþe gedon hæfde;' - The poet emphasises the treachery of desertion. By leaving the battlefield, able-bodied men forgot their sworn loyalty to their lord. In other words this is both a military disaster, and an affront to the accepted rules of English society whereby Byrhtnoth's kindness in happier times ought to be repaid by his soldiers in this time of need (see M&R p. 136, §237).