Housecarl (31 page)

“No I want to defeat this
Hadrada once and for all and then get back to the south
coast.  We will risk the boat guards attacking us.  They
are many miles to the south. At least we have time to bring the
army here and attack when we choose.”

“Where is the army your majesty?
“

“Close to Elvington.” I could
detect a tinge of sadness in his voice.  “I would have camped
closer to Fulford but I did not want the heart ripped out of my men
seeing the scene of the battle.” He turned to me.  “Tell me
now what went wrong?”

I wondered how to say that it
was his appointments as Earls which had led to the disaster. I
remembered my uncle’s words about truth and I did not try to gloss
over any of the errors. “Our intelligence was not as it should have
been.  Mercia did not wish to tire out his horses scouting and
we only had a warning if but a few hours. Then the place of battle
was badly chosen.  The Earl declined to claim the high ground.
Finally, your majesty, his dispositions were a little flawed. 
The Earl of Northumbria had a swamp on his flank and a stream
behind.  The Earl of Mercia anchored his horse by the river
but placed spearmen before him.”

“And the centre?” I suspect that
Aethelward knew the answer to that question.

“Ridley, Scarborough , Skipton
and myself were given that honour.”

I saw the look exchanged between
the two friends.  “And the battle?”

“It started well enough. 
Earl Morcar pushed back the weaker troops before him but they lost
cohesion and when Hadrada fed in his better troops they recoiled
and had nowhere left to go but the swamp.  They then attacked
Scarborough and Ridley.  At the same time he attacked Earl
Edwin and many of the fyrd were slaughtered or pushed into the
river.”

“And you nephew?”

“We were the point of the arrow
fighting on two sides but we were helped by the fact that they
pushed on either side.  When the Earls fled the field and were
pursued our small band of survivors were left with the dead. 
We headed south and that is when we attacked their fleet.”

The silence which followed was
eloquent. The flight of the two leaders before the battle was
decided was criminal in the eyes of Harold and Aethelward; the
choice of the battlefield another.  I had fought enough times
with the two men to know that a well chosen battlefield could save
men’s lives and win the battle. “You have done well Thegn
Aelfraed.  When we have time we will reward you.”

“Thank you majesty but I require
no reward; just the opportunity to find my brothers on the field
for they fight with Tostig.”

“Edwin and his brood are
here?”

“Aye we captured one of Edward’s
men and heard others.  They are here all right.”

“Well Aelfraed if you send your
scouts out and Sweyn you bring the army here we can prepare to end
this debacle.  When they have arrived we will choose the
moment to attack.”

By the time the army had arrived
it was noon and the day, for late September was unseasonably hot.
Branton had returned and told us that the Norwegians were lazing
around the camp and engaged in horseplay in the river.  The
King and Aethelward held a brief conference.  When they gave
us their orders we were all eager to bring this horde to
battle.  Aethelward addressed the Thegns.  “We attack
those on the western bank first. Lord Aelfraed will lead the attack
for his men have had time to rest and the King’s Housecarls will be
in reserve.  When those on the western side have been disposed
of then the Housecarls will attack the bridge and lead the assault
on their main camp.”

Ridley and Scarborough patted me
on the back and I did feel honoured. My men also took the fact that
we were to be the vanguard as a mark of honour and their prowess.
As we gathered in the woods I ordered Branton and his archers to
precede us with all the slingers.  Placing Ridley to my right
and Skipton and Scarborough to the left we began to advance. I was
overjoyed to see that the Norwegians had no armour and their arms
were stacked. It would not be a victory filled with honour but I
had no doubt that our attack would be successful. The flights of
arrows killed all they struck. I dressed my shield wall once we
emerged into open ground and then roared the charge. It was not
combat, it was a massacre. No-one could stand against us and soon
the bridge was filled with fleeing warriors eager to escape the
deadly blades of my vanguard.

We should have been able to win
quickly that day for our surprise was complete but three warriors
thwarted us. Scarborough and Skipton were closer to the bridge than
I and they led their men across the narrow bridge.  The three
men who faced them were naked save for their axes. I could see,
from their wild appearance that they had worked themselves up into
the state that the Norse called berserk.  It meant they would
fight to the death and would be impervious to wounds. 
Aethelward had told me of such men and even he feared them for it
took many blows to kill them. It struck me that they must have come
from the eastern side of the river or they would be already dead
and would not have time to work themselves up.

As it transpired Scarborough
raced across the bridge with his men at arms to attack the three
naked men wielding double handed axes. Scarborough was a brave and
doughty warrior but he had no chance against those three
warriors.  His head flew from his body to land with a splash
in the river below.  His enraged men threw themselves at the
berserkers but swiftly followed their lord to their deaths. Skipton
was more cautious and he led his men towards the three with spears
levelled.  In part, it worked, for one of the berserkers was
pierced by four spears.  Even mortally wounded he still threw
himself at Skipton with his axe.  The brave Thegn calmly
decapitated him.  Stepping over the body his small band
advanced but Skipton fell to the leader of the remaining two. 
As I heard the tramp of feet as Sweyn and his Housecarls arrived to
begin their assault I could not but help admire the remaining two
brave men.  The blood dripped from their bodies from their
wounds. In a detached way I thought that if I had not used Branton
and his archers to kill the others they would have had arrows
enough to kill these brave men. Skipton’s men threw themselves at
the last two berserkers to gain revenge for their dead lord.
Although most died one of Skipton’s brave Housecarls dived with his
sword forwards to strike one berserker in the neck and throw him
from the bridge.  He was dead before the berserker hit the
water as the last man killed him.

“Right lads we have pissed
around enough.  Let us show this big bastard what the King’s
Housecarls can do.”

Sweyn’s words were greeted by a
roar.  I stepped forwards.  “Sweyn wait.”

“What Aelfraed, you want more
glory?”

“No old friend I want to save
some lives. Branton.” My archer appeared and I threw him Boar
Splitter. I had spotted a half barrel they had used as a boat tied
to the bank.  “Take the barrel and go beneath the bridge.”
Branton was a clever warrior and he grinned as he saw what I
intended. He took two of his archers and pushed off. “Now you can
attack Sweyn and I will get my glory later.” I grinned to take the
arrogance out of my words.

He patted my shoulder and
shouted.  “Wedge!”

I saw the formation take shape
and smiled as Osgar stepped out. “You can always join us my
lord.  We still have room.”

“Now that you are here you will
not need me.”

The berserker prepared
himself.  The wedge could not be its normal shape for the
bridge was only wide enough for four men but Sweyn stepped forwards
and I saw Ulf at his right shoulder.  Even without Branton I
thought that they would be victorious but there were almost forty
dead men on the bridge who urged caution. The Norwegian was hurling
insults at Sweyn but they were unintelligible gibberish to
us.  It mattered not as long as his focus remained on the
wedge.

The bridge was not built in the
Roman style, out of stone, but in the Danish manner, out of wood
and the boards had split over the years.  I saw Branton
position the boat beneath the feet of the warrior who braced
himself for the attack as he swung his huge axe around his head.
Suddenly a look of surprise erupted on his face as Boar Splitter
slid up between his legs splitting first his manhood, ripping into
his bowels and entrails and eviscerating him. Although I could not
see I knew that Branton would push up and then twist the weapon to
withdraw it. As I saw the bloody mass of gizzard and guts spill
onto the bridge I knew that the berserker was dead.  Sweyn
stepped up and with one blow cut the man in two. The wedge poured
over the bridge.

I felt my uncle’s hand on my
shoulder.  “You did well Aelfraed but I am afraid that those
brave men undid your good work.” He pointed to the shield wall
which was now being formed on the far side of the bridge.  The
men were not in armour but they were ready.  This would not be
a quick day’s battle, this would be two similar armies standing toe
to toe and it would be last man standing. “Take your men across the
river and stand to the right of the Housecarls.”

He limped off to instruct the
other leaders. A grinning Branton appeared with Boar Splitter in
his hand.  “We should rename this Dane Splitter!”

“You did well.  Get your
men to gather as many arrows as you can and then line up behind
us.”

We lined up some way short of
the Norse line.  We knew that they had no archers and that
they could not and would not charge and we stood there with
impunity, our warriors trading insults with enemy. We all became
silent when Harold rode up unaccompanied. He rode towards the twin
standards of Tostig and the Norwegian king. No one tried to molest
or attack him and he faced his half brother.

“Brother.  It is not too
late to rejoin your English brethren and to turn on this Norwegian
usurper.”

“I hear that Duke William calls
you usurper.”

“You would have a Norman as king
of England?” Tostig had no answer and was silent. “I will give you
my Earldom, Wessex and all its lands, if you join with us and fight
Hadrada.”

Those Norse who could speak
English began to mumble at this although the Norse king stood
impassively, his great axe resting on the ground. I could see that
the idea tempted Tostig for Wessex was the richest part of England.
The greedy Tostig, no doubt thinking of the Danegeld in the past,
slyly asked, “And What would you offer Hadrada?”

Harold looked contemptuously at
the Norse king and said, "Six feet of ground or as much more as he
needs, as he is taller than most men." We were all close enough to
hear this and the whole of the English army burst out laughing. One
of Hadrada’s men, aroused by the insult hurled his spear at Harold
who merely turned his head and it sailed over his head to land
harmlessly at my feet.

I picked it up and turned
around, “Here Branton.  In case you get the chance to geld
another Norseman.” As the spear was passed back, my men laughed at
the joke.

When Harold returned to our
ranks we knew that the time for humour was gone and it was now the
serious business of fighting and dying for his face was both sad
and serious. He knew that this day would see many Englishmen die
and more importantly there would be fewer Englishmen to face the
Normans when they eventually arrived. Had his brother accepted his
offer who knows how different the future might have been?

He nodded to Sweyn who shouted,
“Wedge!” and my old comrades formed themselves into a wedge. We
would not be following suit for Aethelward wanted us to bring the
maximum blades into action while we faced unarmoured foes. 
Sweyn and his Housecarls would be facing the elite of the Norse
army and they would be the hardest to defeat.  The three
berserkers had given us the measure of our enemies.

As we walked towards the waiting
enemies I glanced down their line to see if I could see my brothers
but their banners were not in evidence.  Perhaps they had fled
before the battle.  That would not have surprised me but it
would disappoint me for I wanted to end this and send my brother’s
souls to the next world.  I hoped that their perfidy would
cause them to burn in the Christian hell but I cared not so long as
they were dead. That day we were not at the heart of the battle for
that honour was reserved for Sweyn and my comrades. We could not
see what went on there but we had more than enough to do with the
enemies before us. “Branton save your arrows; for they will strike
only shields.  Kill any who are on the ground and save your
arrows for easier targets.”

“Yes my lord.”

I heard Ridley’s voice call from
the right. “I have seen your brothers! They are to the right of
me!”

I cursed. If I left my place to
fight them then I would leave Osgar, whom I could see a few paces
to my left, exposed. My personal fight would have to wait until
later. “Keep an eye on him.”

“It will be just the one as
these Norse look to be big buggers!”

After that there was no time to
talk. “Men of Topcliffe let us avenge our friends. Charge” We were
only ten paces from the Norse but we managed to gather impetus and
clashed with them. Even as we struck, Boar Splitter lanced towards
the face of the warrior before me.  My shield arm reacted
before my eyes and deflected the axe which hacked at me. I stepped
over his body  and noticed that Osbert and Aedgart had killed
their opponents. My next enemy had seen what I had done and he was
prepared with his shield close to his face.  I feinted with my
blade and punched with my shield.  He went backwards but did
not fall for those behind were pushing hard against him; this was a
shield wall. The two lines were now locked and I was too close to
him to spear him but the man behind him was now close enough and
Boar Splitter struck his eye and entered his brain, he fell back
and the pressure before us lessened. We pushed forwards and while
punching with the shield I head butted the man facing me who had no
nasal on his helmet. The crack of the bone breaking and the
spurting blood told me that I had hurt him. Dropping Boar Splitter,
I drew my sword and stabbed him beneath his shield.  He too
fell. Glancing to my right I saw that Osbert still stood but he had
taken a spear cut to the cheek.  Aedgart’s arm was
bleeding.  Our enemies were making life hard for us despite
their lack of armour.