'Hige sceal þe …ure mægen lytlað.' - 'þe' may seem unfamiliar but it is actually the instrumental of 'þæt' (more often spelt 'þy'). See M&R p. 68, §168. We could describe this as a piece of 'gnomic verse'. What does the phrase mean?
Cavill (1998) notes that the poem contains five 'maxims' (defined by him as a generalisation, functioning 'as a proverb' p. 631). Two are spoken by Byrhtnoth, one by Dunnere, and two by Byrhtwold. He cites the following as his five (translations are by Cavill):
ll. 54b-55a 'Feallan
secolon // hæþena æt hilde' (the heathen are destined to fall
in battle)
ll. 93-95 'Nu eow
is…wælstowe wealdan mote.' (Now the way is opened for you, come quickly
to us, men to battle, God alone knows who will control the battlefield).
ll. 258-59 'Ne mæg
na…for feore murnan.' (The man in the army who intends to avenge his lord
can never flinch or care about his life)
ll. 315b-316 'A
mæg gnornian…wigplegan wendan þence?' (The man who now intends
to turn away from this battle-play will always have reason to regret it.)
ll. 312-313 'Hige
sceal þa…ure mægen lytla?' (Resolve must be so much the firmer,
heart so much the bolder, courage so much the greater, in proportion as our
strength diminishes)
Cavill analyses all these and explains their impact in turn. Can you see a familiarity between these expressions?