PSAT Writing and Language Practice Question 727

Question: 727

The Lay of Hildebrand
Most English speakers are at least partially familiar with Beowulf, one of the oldest known examples of Anglo-Saxon literature. The poem's renown is bolstered 34 not only by its importance to the medieval epic form with also by its contribution to the evolution of the English language. Some controversy surrounds the exact age of the surviving manuscript, but most scholars place it between 900 and 1100 c.e. But for all its fame, it is somewhat surprising that, by comparison, another poem of equal age and perhaps even greater linguistic import is virtually unknown to the English- speaking world. 35 
An alliterative heroic verse like Beowulf, "The Lay of Hildebrand" is a genuine puzzle of medieval poetry, and 36 researchers still find the exact meaning of the poem to be quite a mystery. The "Lay" consists of a mere sixty-eight lines, written on two pages of parchment that were preserved in the first and last leaves of a theological codex. Although the manuscript may but slightly predate Beowulf, the narrative itself is almost 37 certainly the most ancient, and its form strongly retains and reflects the form of the early Saxonic oral tradition. 
[1] Penned together in Carolingian minuscule by two separate scribes, it consists of a bizarre blend of Old High German and Old Saxon grammar and vocabulary. [2] (Incidentally, the "Lay" is also the oldest extant Germanic poem.) [3] Theories aimed at resolving this mystery have ranged from 38 its dismissal as a poorly wrought translation to the insinuation that it is a window into a critical point of transition at which English was beginning to emerge from German. 39 
Whatever the case may be, even a superficial study of the text is a truly rewarding experience for any enthusiast of 40 neither English or German literature and language. It tells a story every bit as harrowing as Beowulf, and, to some minds, more 41 poetic, Hildebrand, a German long cast out from his kingdom, returns home in the service of an Asian army to overthrow his enemy. Unknowingly, he is 42 welcomed into a duel with the opposing army's champion, his only son. Although he learns of the irony prior to combat, he cannot convince his son of his identity and is forced to fight.
Regrettably, because of the second 43 scribe's large and unwieldy penmanship, the poem's last ten lines or so would not fit on the parchment leaf and are thus lost to history. We are instead left with the compellingly 44 conclusive ending (roughly translated): "The white wood rang / Grimly as they hacked each other's shields / Until the linden slats grew lean and splintered / Broken by blades. . . ." 

Which word best describes the ending of the poem?

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