From Wikipedia:
"Byrhtnoth was a 10th century Ealdorman of Essex. His name is composed of Old English beorht (bright) and noth (courage).
He died as the leader of the Anglo-Saxon forces in the Battle of Maldon against the Vikings in 991, the subject of a famous Old English poem. As presented there, his decision to allow the Vikings to move to a better position was heroic but fatal, though this may not represent reality. He was said to stand well over six foot in height, and was around the age of sixty years at the Battle of Maldon, with "swan-white hair". Although it is believed that he fell early in the battle, some say that it took three men to kill him, one of them almost severing Byrhtnoth's arm in the process. He had previously had several military successes, presumably also against Viking raiders. He was a patron of Ely Cathedral, giving them many villages (Spaldwick, Trumpington, Rettenden, Hesberen ....), and his body is buried there, alongside that of Archbishop Wulfstan the homilist. The Liber Eliensis records that his widow gave the Cathedral a tapestry or hanging celebrating his deeds, presumably in the style of the Bayeux Tapestry, the only surviving example of such a work. This was given immediately after his death, so had probably previously been hanging in his home.
Byrhtnoth was married to Ælfflæd, sister of Dowager Queen Æthelflæd of Damerham, and thus a kinsman of King Edgar by marriage. Post-Norman Conquest material mentions a daughter of Byrhtnoth named Leofflæd. Recently, a statue created by John Doubleday has been placed at the end of the Maldon Promenade Walk, facing the battlesite of Northey Island and the Causeway."
The walk along the promenade to the statue is a favourite of ours.
There is a plaque set into the promenade transcribed here:
BYRHTNOTH THE EARLDORMAN OF ESSEX
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Byrhtnoth, represented by the figure standing on
this monument, was the principle voice in rejecting
the policy of appeasement which dominated the court
of King Ethelred in the closing years of the
10th century.
The leading military figure of his time,
he was probably aged 68 when he confronted
the Vikings at the battle of Maldon.
He surrendered his life in defence of
the people, religion and way of life represented
in the lower relief panel of the column.
Above it you will see aspects of the battle
in which he died.
Around the base is a quotation from his final prayer
as recorded in the surviving fragment of the poem
"The Battle of Maldon."
The quotation is 'Grant Lord Thy Grace', and, yes, it does depend on which translation you believe.
The statue of Byrhtnoth was unveiled on 21st October,2006 and was created by local sculptor John Doubleday. It is some nine feet tall, cast in bronze, and it took six years to get the necessary planning permission and the £100,000 funding needed. The unveiling was performed by Lord Petre (Lord Lieutenant of Essex) and H.E. Mr Bjarne Lindstrøm (the Norwegian Ambassador), and the dedication was performed by the Rev. Richard Humphries, associate minister at All Saints' Church.
It shows Byrhtnoth clad in the simple armour of the day, a leather tunic and helmet. He carries a shield of wood and leather and is proclaiming defiance by holding his sword aloft. He gazes out towards the causeway and Northey Island where the Vikings had landed.