Olaf the Glorious: A Story of the Viking Age

by Robert Leighton

  CHAPTER XII: THE BATTLE OF MALDON.

  Now this sacking of the town of Ipswich brought terror into the heartsof the men of East Anglia, who well knew how useless it would be forthem to appeal for help to King Ethelred. There were brave men in thatpart of the country, however, who, at the first alarm of the landing ofthe Norsemen, made themselves ready to defend their homes and the homesof their neighbours. Chief among these was a certain holy and valiantman named Brihtnoth. He was at this time Earldorman of East Anglia. Hehad already done great work in spreading the Christian faith among thepoor and ignorant people over whom he stood in authority, and hisbeneficent gifts to the monasteries of Ely and Ramsey had won for himthe reputation almost of a saint. The monks regarded him as a man ofquiet and thoughtful life, absorbed in acts of charity; but he provedthat he could be a man of action also, for he was soon to become thehero of one of the most famous and disastrous battles ever fought onEnglish soil.

  When Brihtnoth heard that the vikings had taken possession of Ipswichhe put aside his books, and, taking down his sword, rode about thecountry side gathering men about him. He assembled a goodly army ofsoldiers, both archers and swordmen, and marched towards the coast. Itis told that during this march he came to a certain monastery and askedfor food for his army. The abbot declared that he would willinglyentertain the Earldorman and such well born men as were with him, butwould not undertake to feed the whole host. Brihtnoth answered that hewould take nothing in which all his soldiers could not share, so hemarched on to the next monastery, where he fared with more success.

  Now it speedily came to the ears of Olaf Triggvison that this army wasbeing assembled against him, and he sent out spies, who in time cameback with the news that Brihtnoth was encamped upon a hillside near thetown of Maldon, in Essex.

  Olaf at once weighed anchor, and took his fleet southward past the Nazeuntil he came to the mouth of the river Panta (now called theBlackwater). He led his ships inward on the top of the tide. Two hours'rowing brought him within sight of the houses of Maldon. The town stoodupon a hill overlooking the river, which at this point branched off intwo separate streams, one stream passing by the foot of the hill, theother flowing at a little distance to the north and passing under astrong stone built bridge. Olaf brought his ships into the branchnearest to the town, and his men, on landing, gathered in a confusedcrowd in occupation of the space between the two streams.

  Brihtnoth had already taken up a position of vantage to the north ofthe bridge, having both streams between his army and the town. He hadarrayed his troops in a compact mass in the form of a wedge ortriangle, whose narrower point was opposite to the roadway of thebridge. The men occupying the outer lines stood with their largeshields locked together so closely that they made a strong rampart orshield fortress, behind which the archers and spearmen might remain insafety while assailing their advancing foes. It was considered veryimportant in the early part of a battle that the shield fortress shouldnot be broken or opened, nor could such a breach be easily effectedexcept by overpowering strength or stratagem. Mounted on a sturdylittle white horse, the Earldorman rode backward and forward in frontof the lines to see that his men stood firm in their ranks. When allwas ready he alighted, sent his horse to the rear, and took his placeamong his troops, determined to share every danger of his lowliercomrades. From where he stood he could see the fair haired vikingsmaking a landing. Their great numbers appalled him, but he spoke noword of fear. Presently he noticed two men whom, by their glitteringgold helmets and beautiful shields, he took to be chiefs. They walkedsome distance apart from the host of shipmen, and took their stand on agrassy knoll overlooking the opposing armies.

  "Not wrong were the reports we heard concerning these sea wolves," saidhe to a young man at his side. "Look but at those two chiefs standingapart! Giants they are in sooth. The younger one--he with the flowingyellow hair, and with the belt of gold about his thick arm--is surely ahead and shoulders taller than any East Anglian I have seen. It will bea tough encounter if we come hand to hand with that man. But let us allbe brave, for we have our homes to defend, and God will not desert usin our hour of danger. And we have many good chances on our side. Veryoften the more numerous host does not gain the victory, if there arebold and fearless men against them."

  The yellow haired chief was Olaf Triggvison, and Guthmund was hiscompanion. They had climbed the higher ground, so that they mightbetter calculate upon the chances of the coming battle, and great wastheir surprise to see how skilfully Brihtnoth had arrayed his men. Thattriangle form in which the English stood was called by theScandinavians the "swine array", and it was believed to have beenintroduced by Odin himself. Olaf well knew how strong that formationalways proved to be against the assaults of an enemy, and how almostimpossible it was for human force to break through it.

  "The man who has marshalled that little army is no unworthy foe," saidhe; "and I think we shall do well to carefully consider our plansbefore making an advance. Well has he foreseen that we should land uponthis spot, and he has so placed his host at the farther side of theriver that we shall not reach him without great difficulty. The wateris deep, and the rising tide flows quick and strong."

  "But there is the bridge by which we may cross," returned Guthmund.

  Olaf smiled and shook his head.

  "The bridge is very narrow," he said, "and the old chief has wiselyplaced three of his champions there to defend it and bar our passage."

  "Though he had placed there three score of champions, I see no dangerin our crossing," said Guthmund.

  "Nevertheless, the bridge would still be secure to those who hold it,"answered Olaf. "Indeed, I would myself engage to hold such a positionwith my own hand against a far greater force than ours. It is but amatter of endurance, and one good sword, well wielded, is as good asthe strongest gate ever made."

  As he spoke he noticed the figure of Earldorman Brihtnoth, who now lefthis place in the ranks, and advanced towards the three champions at thebridge. The old man stood there awhile giving some directions to thebridge defenders. He was about to return when he saw that Olaf wassending Guthmund down to him with some message, and he waited.

  When Guthmund stepped upon the bridge he laid down his sword upon theground. Brihtnoth went forward to meet him.

  "What is your will?" asked the Earldorman.

  "I have come with a message from my king," answered the viking.

  "What says your king?"

  "He says that since it appears to be the common practice in thiscountry for kings and earls to buy off an unwelcome foe with offers ofgold, he will engage to withdraw and go back to his ships on yourpaying him a sum of money that he will name."

  Brihtnoth drew back in anger at such an offer, not guessing that KingOlaf was but testing his bravery.

  "And who is it that has told your chief that such is the habit of ourEnglish kings?" he demanded.

  "Little need was there for anyone to tell the tale," answered Guthmund,"for it is well known throughout the countries of the vikings that KingEthelred has not so many brave warriors at his call that he can affordto lose them for the sake of a few bags of gold. Not once but manytimes has he thus sought to buy off the Norsemen."

  "Go back to your chief," cried Brihtnoth, with an indignant sweep ofhis arm; "go back and tell him that steel, and not gold, is the onlymetal that can now judge between him and me!"

  "It is the metal that King Olaf has ever favoured," returned Guthmund;"and right glad will he be to hear that there is at least one man amongthe English who is brave enough to be of that same opinion."

  So, when Olaf's messenger returned, there arose a loud cry from thedeep throats of the vikings. The cry had scarcely died away ere the airwas filled with arrows, that fell in a heavy shower among the English.Then Brihtnoth's archers answered the challenge, and the battle beganin good earnest. For a long time the two armies stood facing eachother, with the river running between, and arrows alone were theweapons used. But at last one of Olaf's captains--Justin it was--ranf
orward, sword in hand and shield on arm, towards the bridge. He wasclosely followed by a large number of the vikings.

  Bravely did the three champions stand at their post. With their feetfirmly set, and their shields before them, they met the onrush of theirfoes, wielding their long swords with such precision and strength thatJustin and five of his fellows fell dead without striking a singleblow. Onward the vikings pressed, leaping over the bodies of theirfallen companions, but only to be themselves driven back again underthe terrible blows that met them. Very soon the roadway of the bridgewas so crowded with the slain that many of the men fell over theparapet into the deep water of the river. A party of Olaf's bowmenstood by the nearer end of the bridge, assailing the three dauntlessdefenders with their arrows. Again the northmen charged. This time theywere led by Kolbiorn Stallare, who advanced slowly, and not with aheedless rush as the others had done. He carried his heavy battleaxe;but before he could raise his weapon to strike, the nearest of thedefenders stepped unexpectedly forward and dealt him a tremendous blowwhich made him stagger backward. The blow was met by his strong shield,and he received no hurt; but in stepping back he tripped upon the armof one of his fallen comrades, and was borne down under the weight ofthe men who, following close behind him, rushed headlong to the deaththat he had escaped. There Kolbiorn lay for a long while, and OlafTriggvison, who had seen him fall, believed him to be dead.

  Now it was Guthmund and not Olaf who had given the command to theNorsemen to attempt the taking of the bridge, and Olaf was very angryat seeing so many of his best men sacrificed. He had seen that the tidein the creek was ebbing, and that very soon the bridge would cease tobe an important post. Accordingly he ordered that those who were stillendeavouring to cross should be withdrawn.

  The three champions who had thus succeeded in keeping the bridge werenamed Wulfstan, Elfhere, and Maccus. Wulfstan was the man who hadstruck Kolbiorn Stallare, and he knew that the blow could not havekilled him. So when the vikings had left the bridge he rescued Kolbiornfrom under the weight of slain men who had fallen over him, andKolbiorn limped back to the rear of the Norse archers who, all thistime, had kept up a constant firing of arrows upon the Englishmen.

  When at last the tide had fallen, and the ford could be passed, thebridge defenders retreated, and Brihtnoth allowed the northmen to crossover unhindered. Olaf led his chosen men across by the road, while thelarger number of his warriors waded through the stream. And now thefight began in desperate earnest.

  Separating his forces into three divisions, Olaf advanced to theattack. He directed his left wing, under the command of Guthmund, uponBrihtnoth's right flank; his right wing, under Harald Biornson, wheeledround to the attack of Brithnoth's left. He reserved for himself theposition which was considered the most difficult to deal with--thepoint where the English chief himself stood, surrounded by hisstrongest and most experienced soldiers. This was the narrowest part ofthe formation, and Olaf knew that if he could but break through thewall of shields at this point the whole mass of men, now so compact andimpregnable, would quickly be thrown into confusion.

  Kolbiorn fought at Olaf's right hand, and Thorgils Thoralfson at hisleft. Behind and about them were a thousand of the most valiant vikingsand berserks.

  The attack began on all sides with the hurling of javelins, but verysoon the northmen approached closer to their enemies, and carried on acloser combat with their swords, and at first the vikings got the worstof it.

  Olaf and his fellows had already caught sight of the white beardedBrihtnoth, and they were making their way towards him when ThorgilsThoralfson fell forward, pierced to the heart with a spear. Now, thespear was one which Olaf himself had before thrown into the midst ofthe English ranks, and it had now been returned in such a manner thatOlaf at once knew it had been hurled by some man trained as the vikingswere in the use of the weapon. Advancing yet nearer, he searched withquick eye among the faces of the men before him. As he did so anotherspear was flung; this time it was aimed at Kolbiorn, who caught it onhis uplifted shield.

  Kolbiorn had seen the face of the man who had thus picked him out, andthrowing his shield aside he gripped his battleaxe, and flinginghimself with all his great strength against the wall of men he burstthrough the ranks. Olaf saw him fighting his way into the midst of thesoldiers, who fell back before the weighty axe. At last Kolbiornreached the man he sought, and engaged with him hand to hand, whileOlaf and the vikings followed into the breach. In a very few momentsOlaf was at Kolbiorn's side, and then he too saw the face of the manwho had killed Thorgils. It was the face of his own fellow-slave in faroff Esthonia, his companion in Holmgard, his shipmate Egbert, whom hehad believed to be drowned.

  The duel between Kolbiorn and Egbert lasted for several minutes, but itwas evident that Kolbiorn was but playing with his adversary, for hegave him many chances.

  "Less skilful are you than when we last met," he said with a laugh,"and your wrist is not so strong. Gladly would I have given you a fewmore lessons had opportunity served; but instead I must now repay theblow you gave me over our game of chess."

  Egbert then fell, and Kolbiorn turned to the help of Olaf, who was nowengaged with the English chief and three of his special comrades.

  Brihtnoth wanted to fight Olaf sword to sword, but Olaf respected hisbravery and his grey hairs, and chose rather to encounter a very broadchested Englishman, who had already slain three of the vikings. AsKolbiorn entered the fray he saw Brihtnoth turn away from Olaf andcross swords with one of the berserks. The berserk fell, with a greatcut across his head. His place was taken by one of his shipmates, whomthe old chief also overcame. The Earldorman was wounded, but he went onbravely fighting until at last he was cut down by a viking named Harekthe Hawk.

  The spot where the English chief had fallen became now the centre ofthe battle. Here, in defence of their dead leader's body, the bravestamong the English fought and fell. Wulfstan, Maccus, and Elfhere--thethree who had held the bridge--again fought shoulder to shoulder atthis place. Wulfstan was vanquished by Olaf, and his two companionsfell to Kolbiorn's blade. The names of some of the other Englishwarriors are Alfwine, a lord of the Mercians, Eseferth, Brihtwold,Edward the Long, Leofsuna, and Dunnere; all of whom fell in defendingthe body of Brihtnoth. One of the vikings, thinking that Olaf meant togain possession of it, carried off the body of the dead hero; but Olafwould not allow his men to do dishonour to so brave a foe, and heafterwards delivered the body to Brihtnoth's friends, who gave it aworthy resting place in Ely cathedral.

  Meanwhile the battle had fared ill with the East Anglians on the otherparts of the field. The breaking of the fortress of shields had thrownthe ranks into confusion. The vikings, under Guthmund and Harek,followed up their advantage and fought with fierce onslaught. TheEnglish were but ill armed; many of them had bills and swords, othershad spears and arrows, but some had no better weapons than such as theyhad themselves contrived out of their farm implements.

  When it was seen that the northmen were gaining the victory on allhands many of the English began to lose courage, and one, a caitiffnamed Godric, mounted the horse on which Brihtnoth had ridden to thefield, so that many thought that it was the Earldorman himself who hadfled. After this there was a general retreat, and so the battle ofMaldon ended.

  Olaf Triggvison made no assault upon the town, but pitched his tents onthe high ground between the two streams where he had landed. He allowedthe East Anglians to carry off their dead and give them Christianburial. His own dead numbered over four hundred, and he had them laidin a mound with all their armour and weapons, and built a cairn overthem according to the heathen custom.

  He lay with his ships off Maldon during the rest of the summer, andraided in Essex and Suffolk without hindrance.

  Now it might be thought that King Ethelred, hearing, as he soon heard,of the taking of Ipswich and of the defeat of the East Anglians atMaldon, would lose no time in gathering an army to expel the invaders.

  The spirit of the nation was ready for a vigorous resistance of th
enorthmen, and with a few such men as Brihtnoth to lead them the Englishmight without much difficulty have driven every viking out of the land.But Ethelred was a man of quite another stamp from the valiantEarldorman of East Anglia, and he adopted the fatal system of lookingto gold to do the work of steel.

  Olaf Triggvison and a party of his captains returned to the camp oneday, after a great boar hunt, and they found that in their absencecertain messengers had arrived from Andover, where the king held hiscourt. Olaf directed that the men should be brought to him in his tent,and there he held speech with them. On entering the tent the messengersset down before the viking chief two heavy bags containing the sum often thousand pounds in gold, This money, the men said, had been sent byKing Ethelred as a gift to the leader of the Norsemen.

  "And for what reason should King Ethelred send such a gift to me whohave done him no good service, but have only been despoiling his landsand disturbing his peaceful subjects?"

  "It is because the king wishes you to cease your ravaging in EastAnglia and take away your ships and men," returned the spokesman. "Thatis the condition he imposes on your accepting the gold."

  "And how if I refuse the gold and say that it does not suit my purposeto remove my ships?" asked Olaf. "Will your king then march with hisarmies against the vikings, and give us the exercise of another goodbattle?"

  The messenger shrugged his shoulders.

  "King Ethelred does not doubt that you will take the gold," said he."And as to his marching against you, of that matter he has said noword."

  "In that case you may leave the money in my keeping," said Olaf. "And Icharge you to thank King Ethelred for his generosity. It so happensthat this part of the country is already becoming somewhat bare of foodand we are wearying for new scenes. I think, therefore, that before thewinter days are far advanced we shall weigh anchor and set sail. Butour going shall not be one day earlier on account of Ethelred's desireto be rid of us."

  The messengers wanted a more definite promise from Olaf that he wouldnot only sail away at this present time but also that he would notagain invade the English coasts. But to this Olaf would not agree.Either the king must be satisfied that the vikings intended to quit theshores of East Anglia in a few weeks' time, or he might take back hisgold and suffer his kingdom to be invaded and ravaged at whatever pointthe Norsemen chose to make a landing.

  It seemed for a long time that they could come to no agreement; butfinally the matter was so arranged that the gold was delivered intoOlaf's hands and the messengers departed, with a mere half promise ofpeace and the assurance that Olaf would remove his ships within twentydays. Olaf did not hold himself bound to keep these conditions;nevertheless he resolved to abide by them. He had already discoveredthat his forces were too small to attempt, with any certainty ofsuccess, a deliberate conquest of England; and, indeed, even before thearrival of Ethelred's messengers, he had determined to presentlywithdraw his fleet until such times as he had gathered about him a hostlarge enough and strong enough to lay siege to London. His departurefrom Maldon was therefore of his own choosing and not the result of anythreats upon the part of the English king.

  Meanwhile Olaf did not lose sight of the fact that the foolish policyof King Ethelred, instead of having the effect of securing the kingdomagainst invasion, only set forth a very strong encouragement to thevikings to repeat their incursions as often as they were in want ofmoney. Ethelred and his advisers seem never to have learned thislesson, and for many years after the battle of Maldon the sea rovers,both Danish and Norwegian, continued to harry the English coasts, withthe invariable result that, so soon as they had plundered a fewmonasteries and reduced a few villages to ashes, they were sure toreceive the offer of a very handsome bribe as an inducement to put tosea again.