THE NORTHERN INVASION.
The news of Harold's marriage to Ealdgyth put an end to the demands of
William of Normandy that Harold should take one of his daughters to wife,
and in the complaints that he addressed to all Christendom against Harold
the breach of his promise in this respect was placed far more prominently
than his failure to carry out his oath to be the duke's man. It must have
been evident indeed to all that it was beyond the power of the English king
to keep this oath, obtained from him by force and treachery. He had been
elected by the voice of the English people, and had no more power than the
meanest of his subjects to hand the crown they had bestowed to another.
The breach of this oath, however, served to obtain all the aid that the
church could give to William. Harold was solemnly excommunicated, and the
struggle for which the duke was preparing thereupon assumed the character
of a sacred war. In England itself the Bull of excommunication had no
effect whatever. The great bulk of bishops and clergy were Englishmen, and
thought far more of their king than of any foreign prince or prelate. Even
the bishops and abbots of Norman blood disregarded the commination, and
remained staunch to Harold. He had been a generous patron to the church,
had maintained them in all the privileges and dignities that Edward had
bestowed upon them, and possessed the love of the whole English people;
therefore, in spite of bann and interdict the churches remained open,
services were held as usual, and people were married and buried as if the
Papal Bull had never been issued.
But it was not so on the Continent. The Norman barons as a body had at
first refused to support the duke in an invasion of England, but as
individuals they had been brought round to join in William's project, and
to give far more aid in ships and men than they were bound to do by their
feudal engagements. Having accomplished this, William issued an invitation
to all adventurous spirits in Europe to join him in his crusade against the
excommunicated King of England, promising that all should share alike in
the plunder of England and in the division of its land. The bait was a
tempting one. Some joined the enterprise merely for the sake of gaining
glory under the banner of one who was regarded as the greatest military
leader in Europe, others were influenced by love of gain, while, as in the
crusades, numbers joined to obtain absolution for past misdeeds by taking
part in an enterprise blessed by the Pope. Thus the force which William was
collecting greatly exceeded that which the resources of Normandy alone
could have set on foot.
Among the first to hurry to the court of William, as soon as Harold's
accession to the throne was known, was Tostig, in whose mind the refusal of
Harold to embark in a civil war for his sake, and to force him upon the
people of Northumbria in spite of their detestation of him, was an injury
not to be forgiven. The fact that Tostig was ready thus to sacrifice
England to his own private quarrel showed a baseness and recklessness that
could hardly be expected from his early career. William naturally accepted
the alliance, received Tostig's oath of allegiance, and aided him in
fitting out a number of ships manned by Norman and Flemish adventurers.
Evading the watch kept by the English fleet they crossed the sea, landed,
and plundered and ravaged a considerable extent of country, and then
retired, Tostig being enraged that William of Normandy was unwilling to
send an expedition to act in concert with him until the whole of his plans
were prepared and his great army ready for sea.
Normandy indeed had been converted into a vast camp. In every port great
numbers of workmen laboured night and day building ships, for Normandy had
ceased to be a naval power, and its shipping was utterly insufficient to
carry the great army across. Tostig, impatient and hasty, thought no more
of the oath of allegiance that he had sworn to William. Driven from
Yorkshire by the forces of the northern earls he sailed to Scotland, where
he was welcomed by King Malcolm, both as a sworn brother and as the enemy
of England. From Scotland he entered into negotiations with Harold Hardrada
of Norway. This warlike monarch was in a fit mood to listen to his
advances; he had for years been engaged in a struggle with Denmark, which
he had ineffectually attempted to conquer, and had at last been forced to
conclude a treaty of peace with Sweyn, its king.
Tostig had already endeavoured by personal persuasions to induce Sweyn to
revive his claim to the crown of England, and to undertake its conquest;
but he altogether declined to undertake so dangerous and difficult an
enterprise, and Tostig had then turned to Harold of Norway. Whether his
interview with him was before he went to Scotland or whether he went thence
to Norway is a point on which historians differ. Some deny that any
interview took place, but the balance of probability lies strongly in
favour of an early interview, at which Harold entered heartily into
Tostig's plans, and began at once to make preparations for the enterprise.
It was certain that an invading force from Norway would land in
Northumbria, and Harold, although he might not be able to rely greatly upon
the assistance of the northern earls as against the Normans, knew that they
would do their best to defeat an expedition landing on their own shores,
especially when Tostig was a sharer in the invasion. His own thoughts were
wholly bent upon repelling the mighty expedition gathering in Normandy, and
for this purpose, by immense efforts, he collected the greatest army and
fleet that had ever been got together in England. An incessant watch was
kept up along the coast where the Normans might be expected to land, while
the fleet cruised for months between the Thames and the Isle of Wight
prepared to give battle to the invaders.
But the conditions of service in England were such that it was impossible
to keep a great force on foot for an indefinite time. The housecarls were
the only regular portion of the army The great bulk of the force, both land
and sea, consisting of the levies or militia, whose term of service was
very limited. It says much for the influence of Harold that he was able
for four months to keep his army and navy together. Had the foe appeared,
soldiers and sailors would have done their duty, but the long term of
inaction, the weary waiting for a foe that never came, was too much, and
when September arrived and the harvest was ready to be gathered it was
impossible even for him to keep the men longer together. The army
disbanded, the levies went to their homes, and the ships of the fleet
sailed away to the ports to which they belonged. All the efforts and
anxieties of Harold, all his lavish expenditure in feeding and providing
for so great a number of men had been thrown away. England lay for a time
absolutely defenceless against the coming storm.
It was not until August that Wulf had completely recovered his strength,
and was able to join the army.
"This is not a time," Harold said to him on the day he arrived at the camp,
"for the granting of dignities or the bestowal of grants. But if we are
successful, and I remain King of England, the services you have rendered me
at the risk of your life, Wulf, shall be worthily rewarded."
"I need no reward," Wulf replied. "My estates are sufficient for all my
needs, and I desire neither land nor dignity, being more than content that
I have been enabled to render a service to you and to England."
Wulf was, however, at once appointed as commander of the whole of the
housecarls supplied by the thanes of the south coast of Sussex. None of
these bodies were equal in strength to his own carefully prepared
contingent, few of the thanes having kept up more than fifteen or twenty
men constantly under arms, and these only for the past few months, in
consequence of Harold's exhortations. Altogether the force amounted to
about four hundred men. Each party had its own sub-officer, and Wulf did
his best to weld them into one body. When the army broke up, he returned
with the king to Westminster. The day after he arrived there a man met him
as he issued from the palace, and handed him a letter. It contained but the
words:
"_I would fain see you. If you will follow the bearer he will bring you
to me. Say naught to any one of this message. Edith._"
"Is the distance far?" he asked the man.
"It is to Croydon, my lord. I have ridden here on horseback."
Wulf at once ordered his horse to be brought to him.
"Will you be back to-night, my lord," Osgod asked, as he mounted, "in case
the king should wish to see you?"
"I shall not be back till late, possibly not until to-morrow I do not tell
you where I am going, in order that if you are asked you may be able truly
to reply that I said nothing before I mounted, as to my destination."
It was just mid-day when Wulf drew up his horse before a modest house
standing in a secluded position a quarter of a mile from the village of
Croydon. Edith met him at the doorway.
"I thank you, Wulf, for answering my request so speedily. There is much
that I would ask you about my lord. I hear of him only by general report,
for although from time to time I send him messages I give him no
opportunity for writing to me, and I know that he has respected my wishes,
and has caused no search to be made for me."
"Harold sometimes speaks to me of you, lady, and has in no way forgotten
you. He did charge me to find out if I could the place of your abode; not
that he would seek an interview with you, but, should there be need, he
might be able to send a message." By this time they were seated in the room
where Edith spent the greater part of her time.
"It is better that we should not meet," she said earnestly. "His mission
is to work and to fight for England; mine to remain apart from all men and
to spend my time in prayers for him. I know that he places great confidence
in you, as indeed he well may, for I heard how you had saved his life, well
nigh at the expense of your own. Is he happy with his new queen?"
"His thoughts at present, lady, are altogether turned to public affairs,
and it is well perhaps that it should be so. I do not think that he
receives much sympathy from the queen, who cares more, I should say, for
her brothers, the northern earls, than for her husband."
"It is scarce a wonder that it should be so," Edith replied; "though it
seems strange to me that any woman could live with Harold without loving
him with all her heart. And yet she may well feel that she, like Harold,
has been sacrificed. There was no shadow of love between them before their
marriage, in fact she may even have hated him, for it was he who brought
ruin and death upon her husband, the Welsh king. She must know that he
only married her in order to gain the firm alliance of her brothers, and
that her hand was given by them to Harold without any reference to her
feelings. I would that the king were happy, even though it were with
another. But it was not for his happiness that I left him, but that England
might be one. Is it true that the army is broken up and the fleet
scattered?"
"It is true, lady. Save for three or four thousand housecarls, there is not
an armed man in readiness to defend England."
"It must be a terrible trial to him."
"It is, my lady. He returned to town yesterday dispirited and cast down at
the failure of the work of months."
"Still they will reassemble rapidly," she said, "when the Normans really
come?"
"Doubtless they will. But the loss of the fleet is greater than that of the
army, for at sea we could have met and almost assuredly have conquered
them, for the Normans are no match for our sailors; whereas to meet so
great an army of trained soldiers, with hastily assembled levies, is to
fight under every disadvantage."
"And is the rumour true which says that Tostig and Harold of Norway are
also preparing for an invasion?"
"All reports that come to us through Denmark are to that effect."
"It is enough to make the stones cry out," Edith said indignantly, "that a
son of Godwin should thus betray England. I never thought it of him. He
was headstrong and passionate; yet as a young man he was loved almost as
much as Harold himself, nay, some loved him more. But it was not on account
of public affairs that I brought you here, but to talk of Harold. I know
nought of his daily doings, of his thoughts, or his troubles. Tell me all
you can of him, Wulf."
For a long time they talked of the king. She had from the first been drawn
towards Wulf by seeing how he loved Harold, and as they talked her tears
often fell.
"I am proud of him," she said at last; "more proud of him than when he was
the light of my life. My sacrifice has not been in vain. He is what I would
have him. One whose thoughts are all fixed upon his country; who gives all
his energy, all his wisdom, all his time to her service. Humbler men can be
happy, but a king has higher duties than others, and for him love and
marriage, wife and children, the joys of the peasant, must be altogether
secondary. The good of his country, the happiness and welfare of tens of
thousands are in his hands; and if in these respects he acts worthily, if
he gains the blessings of his people, he can afford to do without the home
joys that are so much to lesser men. You are sure that he is not unhappy?
If I did but know this, I would be content."
"I do not think he is unhappy," Wulf said confidently. "He has the
applause and love of all men, and the knowledge that all his work is for
the good of his country and his people. He may have regrets, but he has
little time to spend upon them when he has in hand so vast a work, upon
which night and day his every thought is directed."
"I suppose you wish to get back to-night, Wulf?"
"I should greatly prefer it," he said.
"And I would rather that you did not remain here. It may seem inhospitable,
but I feel it would be better so. No one here knows who I am, and at first
my servants were plied with questions whenever they went abroad; but the
wonder has died away, and the villagers have come to believe that I am, as
I gave out, the widow of a court official. Should it be known that a young
thane stayed here the night, it would set them gossiping afresh. Stay and
sup with me before you start."
"And am I to tell the king I have seen you?" he asked.
"What think you yourself, Wulf?"
"I am sure that he would be glad to know. I need not say where you are
living. I will say that you have charged me to keep it secret, and he will
forbear questioning me. But I am sure that it will give him deep pleasure
to know that I have seen you, to learn how you look, how you are living,
how you occupy yourself, and how you think of him. It cannot but be a trial
to him to know nothing of one he so loves. More than once he has told me
that he wondered whether you had entered a convent, whether you were in
health, how you bore yourself, and other matters."
"Tell him then, Wulf. You can tell him that great as has been my grief over
our separation, I can yet feel happy in my solitude in knowing how nobly he
is doing his kingly work, and that I have never wavered in my assurance
that I was right when I bade him go. Tell him that I have no thought of
entering a cloister; that I have my old servants and my garden and
needle-work; that I spend much of my time in ministering to my poorer
neighbours, and that I am getting to be loved by them. Say that my health
is good, and that I have every comfort I need save his presence. Tell him
that if I fall ill, and the leeches say that I shall die, I shall send for
him to see me once again, but that in such manner only will we meet in this
life; and that it is my prayer that he will not seek to alter my
resolution, for that the pain of parting again would be more than the joy
of seeing him. He is another woman's now, and that by my act, therefore it
would be a grievous sin for us, loving each other as we do, to meet again,
unless he or I was on a death-bed."
The supper was served early, and when it was eaten Wulf's horse was brought
round to the door.
"Am I to come again?" he asked.
She did not answer for a time. "Not unless I send for you, Wulf. Our
meeting has given me much pleasure, and I shall be the happier for it, but
for a time our talk of the past and present will unsettle me and stir up
afresh regrets and longings. Therefore, it were best that you come not
again until I send for you."
The darkness was just closing in when Wulf rode into Westminster.
"The king has twice asked for you, my lord," Osgod said, as he alighted.
"The last time a quarter of an hour since."
Wulf at once went to the king's closet, where he was at work with two or
three secretaries, to whom he was dictating.
"I want you, Wulf," the king said as he entered. "Where hast been?" Wulf
glanced at the secretaries, and Harold bade them retire till he summoned
them again. Wulf then related at length his interview with Edith. Harold
listened in silence.
"I am right glad at your news," he said, when the latter had finished. "It
is just what I thought she would do. Her words are lofty and wise; truly a
king can little hope for happiness such as that which is in the reach of
the humblest of his subjects. But we will talk of this again. For the
present I must think of public business. News has been brought me by a sure
hand from Denmark that the fleet of Norway has sailed. 'Tis said that
Harold has called out a levy of half the fighting men of his kingdom, and
that he has five hundred war-ships besides transports. His son, Magnus, has
been left behind to rule Norway with the title of king. Harold intends to
conquer England and reign here. I must lose no moment in sending the news
to the northern earls. Doubtless it is on their coast he will first land.
There is no one I would sooner trust than yourself, and you shall be my
messenger.
"I have the letters already written to them, warning them that every man
capable of bearing arms should be summoned to their standard, and every
preparation made to repulse the foe. Of help at present I can give them
none; my army is dispersed, my shores undefended, and at any moment
William's fleet may appear off the coast. Let them meet the Norwegians,
while I meet the Normans. It is for you to press upon them the counsels I
give in my letters; and I would that you should remain with them, sending
messages to me from time to time, giving me full tidings of what takes
place at York and how they fare in their struggle with Harold of Norway,
and, as I fear, with my brother Tostig. They met you at Northampton, and
they know the confidence I place in you and the services you rendered in
the Welsh campaign. However, although they may receive you well I fear that
your counsel will go for nought. They are haughty and headstrong, and
assuredly they will not be guided by one of my thanes. Do not, therefore,
press the matter with them, or risk incurring their anger. I want you to
stand well with them, for so only can you learn their views and keep me
informed of what is doing. Being assured that you would undertake the duty
I have highly commended you to them as my representative at York, and I
doubt not that you will be well received. Brothers-in-law though they are I
can count on but little aid from them in our struggle with the Normans, but
there they will be fighting for their own earldoms and will do their best,
though I fear the result, for they have been deaf to my entreaties to keep
an army on foot, and the hurried levies of the North will scarce stand
against the mighty army Harold Hardrada is bringing against them."
"I will start immediately, my lord."
"Here is a royal order upon all governors and thanes to give you changes of
horses and to aid you in all ways. Take that giant of yours with you, he is
a faithful fellow and is not wanting in sense; you will find him of great
use there. You will, of course, accompany the earls to the field. Watch
well how the levies fight, it is long since they have been called upon to
meet a foe, and I would fain know how much they can be trusted on the day
of battle. As your own horse has travelled to-day take two of my best, here
is an order to the head of the stables to deliver them to you. Is there
aught else that I can do for you?"
"Nothing, my lord. I understand your wishes, and will follow them as
closely as I can."
"Do not expose yourself too much on the field of battle, Wulf. I cannot
spare you, and therefore charge you not to be rash, and if matters go ill
to provide for your safety as far as you may."
Wulf found Osgod awaiting him in the hall below.
"I thought you might require me, master, so I waited till you had seen the
king."
"You did well, Osgod. I am starting on a journey to York and you are to
accompany me. We ride armed, so get on your coat of mail and take your
favourite axe, then carry this order to the stables and tell them to have
the two horses ready at the gates in half an hour's time; then go to the
kitchen and eat a hearty meal and put up some bread and cold meat in a
wallet. We shall ride fast and with few stoppages, for I have the royal
order for change of horses everywhere."
"That is good news, my lord. After dawdling away the last four months doing
nothing I am glad to hear that there is a chance of striking a strong blow
on someone, though who it is I know not."
"Now go, Osgod, I have also to change my clothes and drink a horn of ale
and eat something, though I supped but three hours since. Put my gayest
suit into the saddle-bag, for I may stay some time at York, and must make a
fair show, going as I do as Harold's messenger."
The journey was accomplished at an extraordinary rate of speed, Harold's
order procuring them a change of horses when ever they stopped; and they
but once halted for a few hours' sleep. Wulf found that Edwin and Morcar
were both at York, and alighted at the gate of their residence. Announcing
himself as a messenger from the king, he was at once conducted into their
presence.
"It is Wulf of Steyning, is it not?" Edwin said courteously. "The message
must be urgent indeed since Harold has chosen you to carry it. When did you
leave him?"
"I left Westminster at nine o'clock on the evening of Tuesday."
"And it is now but mid-day on Thursday," the earl said in a tone of
astonishment. "You have ridden nigh two hundred miles in less than forty
hours."
"The roads are good, my lord, and I had the king's order for changes of
horses whenever needed. I slept six hours at Northampton, but have ridden
without other stop save to take meals. I knew that the message I bore was
of importance, as you will see by the king's letter."
Edwin opened the letter and laid it before Morcar, and the two read it
together.
"This is serious news indeed," Edwin said when they had perused it. "So
Harold of Norway is on his way hither with five hundred warships and half
the males of Norway. Since the news has come from Denmark he must already
have been nigh a fortnight at sea, and if he had sailed hitherwards we
should have heard long ere this of his being within sight of our shores. As
we have heard nought of him it may be that his object has been misreported,
and that it is not against us that his fleet is bound."
"I fear that it can have no other destination," Wulf said; "though it may
be that it has sailed first to Scotland to obtain assistance from Malcolm.
There, too, he will find Tostig, whom the king fears is in alliance with
him."
"Then assuredly it is against us that he comes," Morcar said, "and unless
the winds shatter his fleet we shall hear of him before long. But he may
land anywhere from the border of Scotland to the Humber, and it is useless
our trying to hinder him along so great a line. He may delay his coming as
William of Normandy has done, and our men, like those of Harold, will not
remain under arms for months doing nothing. With so great an army he must
move slowly and we shall have plenty of time to gather our forces to meet
him. Harold urges us to call out the levies at once, but he does not know
the Northumbrians as we do. They will fight, and stoutly, but they will
scatter as soon as their term expires. It is but six weeks since we called
them under arms to repulse Tostig, and unless they themselves see the
danger presses they will not leave their homes again after so short an
interval. I am glad to see by the king's letter that he has charged you to
stay with us for a while. We shall be glad of your presence, both as the
agent of our royal brother and as one who has already proved himself a
valiant and skilful soldier."
Apartments were at once assigned to Wulf in the palace, and he was treated
as an honoured guest. He had been furnished by the royal chamberlain with
an ample sum of money, and every two or three days despatched messengers to
London. He was greatly disturbed in mind, for the earls made no preparation
whatever to meet the coming storm, but continued to hunt or to hawk, to
give entertainments, and to pass their time as if the news of a mighty
invasion had never reached them. The first attempts he made to urge them to
follow Harold's counsel were dismissed so curtly that he felt it useless to
persevere.
A fortnight passed by, and then a messenger rode into York with the news
that a vast fleet had entered the Tyne, and that the Norsemen were harrying
and burning the country. Harold Hardrada had first sailed to the Isles of
Shetland and Orkney, which, with the northern districts of the mainland,
formed a powerful Scandinavian province. Paul and Erning, the two young
earls of the state, and a large number of their subjects, joined the fleet,
as did a Scotch contingent sent by Malcolm and commanded by Tostig, who
also had with him the force he had brought from Flanders. Iceland, then a
great Norwegian colony, sent ships and men, as did an Irish sovereign of
Danish descent.
Roused to action at last the northern earls sent out summonses in all
directions for the levies to assemble. The invaders were next heard of at
Scarborough, which made a brave resistance, but the Norsemen took post on
the steep hill overhanging the town, and gathering there a vast pile of
wood set it on fire, and hurled blazing timbers down on the place. Many of
the houses caught fire, and this spread rapidly. The inhabitants
surrendered, but the greater portion was slaughtered and the town given up
to plunder. Holderness, like Scarborough, bravely but unsuccessfully
resisted the attack, and the great fleet sailing south entered the Humber.
Hour by hour messengers rode into York bringing news of the progress of the
invaders; hour by hour the Northumbrian levies poured into the capital.
Much as he had disapproved of their previous carelessness and delay, Wulf
acknowledged that the two northern earls now bore themselves as men. They
saw to the defences of the town, mustered all the inhabitants capable of
bearing arms, arranged for the feeding and disposition of the levies, and
did all that was possible at so short a notice to get them to take the
field. But he saw, too, that this raw militia was but little calculated to
stand before the assault of the Norsemen. There was no body of seasoned
troops like the housecarls to serve as a nucleus, and to bear the chief
brunt of the battle. All alike were raw, inexperienced, and badly armed,
save for the axe, which was the favourite weapon of the English.
The great fleet made no stay but sailed up the Humber, packing closely in
the river as it narrowed, till it seemed well-nigh covered from shore to
shore with the crowded ships. It passed the little village of Selby, and
cast anchor beside the left bank of the Ouse, near the village of Riccall,
but nine miles' march from York. Olaf, the king's son, the two earls of
Orkney, and the bishop of those islands remained on board to guard the
ships, for the Northumbrian fleet, which was far too small to encounter so
great an armament, had taken refuge up the Wharfe, and might descend and
attack the Norse vessels were they left unguarded. The main body of the
great army under the king and Tostig landed and prepared to march upon
York. Sudden as the call had been there was no lack of spirit or
patriotism in the English levies. Among their ranks were many priests and
monks, who felt that it was their duty to aid in the defence of the land
against the semi-heathen host that invaded it. The memory of the past
invasion of the Norsemen, when the churches had been sacked and the priests
slain on the altar, inspired them, and they and the monks responded as
readily as did the laymen to the summons of the earls. These had not
hesitated to consult Wulf as to the post where they had best station
themselves to give battle, and the disposition of their forces. One who had
distinguished himself under Duke William of Normandy, and under Harold in
Wales, had, young though he was, more experience of war than any of the
northern thanes, and as the representative of Harold all these were ready
to listen with respect to his advice. He had already spent four or five
days in surveying the ground in the direction from which the Norsemen were
likely to advance, and had decided that a place known as Gate Fulford, two
miles from the city, was best calculated for defence, it being situated on
a narrow ridge, having the river and its swampy banks on one side, and a
flat marshy country on the other. Thither the army of the earls marched to
take up its position.