20 DECEMBER 1963, Page 20

HORN I'm loved by my Lord, and his shoulder Companion.

I'm the comrade of a warrior, A friend of the King. Frequently the fair-haired Queen, the daughter of an Earl, deigns To lay her hand upon me in spite of her nobility 1 carry within me what grew in the grove.

Sometimes I ride on a proud steed At the head of the host; harsh is my voice.

Very often I recompense the gleeman For his songs. I'm sombre in colour

And kind at heart. What am I called?

NorE: The horn is slung across the shoulder. At other times it is filled with mead, which 'grew in the grove.' It is handed to men in the hall by the Queen or by the Lord's wife, an Anglo-Saxon tradition. It is also given to the gleeman as a reward frir his songs. Its harsh note sounds in battle.