by Hosker,Griff
Twelve men turned but the rest ran. I pulled back my arm as the twelve tried to form a shield wall. I rammed my spear into the face of the warrior on the end of the line. His falling body and helmet conspired to break the head from my spear. I wheeled around, away from the waving spears and swords as I drew Heart of Ice.
"Gilles! With me! Rurik! Wedge!"
My men did not take long to form a wedge. Rurik led it as they began to march towards Guthrum the Skull. They chanted as they went.
A song of death to all its foes
The power of the raven grows and grows.
The power of the raven grows and grows.
The power of the raven grows and grows.
A song of death to all its foes
The power of the raven grows and grows.
The power of the raven grows and grows.
The power of the raven grows and grows.
A song of death to all its foes
The power of the raven grows and grows.
The power of the raven grows and grows.
The power of the raven grows and grows.
It was mesmerizing. The Frisians waited to die. At the last moment my men ran. I saw Guthrum die first. Rurik's spear took him in the throat. Finni's spear took the standard bearer. I turned to Gilles, "Now!" We rode at the right hand side of the Frisian line. I brought my sword across the side of the head of the last warrior and his head flew through the air. As I hacked at the back of another Gilles stood in his stiraps and chopped down on the head of a third.
It was over and the Frisians had all died. They were brave men and they had fulfilled their oath. "Take their mail, weapons and weregeld. Come Gilles let us send these drekar off!"
We had another four hundred paces before we reached them and the last men were being hauled aboard. I raised my sword and shouted, "Your leader is dead! We will bury them. They died with their swords in their hands and this is over! If ever you come back make sure it is to pay us tribute if not then we will slaughter you all. Hear my words! I am Hrolf the Horseman and this is my land! This is now the land of the Northmen!"
One white beard, with a bloody hand and a bandaged head came to the prow. "We hear you and you have my word that we will find easier prey to hunt. The Raven Wing Clan is safe from us."
"And tell any of our clan who..."
The man shook his head, "All of your clan who joined us are dead. Guthrum had a falling out."
I nodded, "Wyrd."
The warrior nodded, "Aye, so it would seem."
The two drekar began to back out of the bay. I heard hooves thundering across the turf. I turned and saw Bertrand. He was riding as though a pack of wolves was chasing him. He was shouting as he approached but I could not hear him over the sound of the surf and the sea.
He reined in, "Hersir!" He pointed over my shoulder, "The lord of Valognes comes. I recognise his banner. There is a column of horsemen!"
I looked to where he was pointing. Half a mile away was a column of mounted warriors perhaps fifty in total. They rode beneath a red and white striped banner. Perhaps they came in peace but they were now galloping. "Bertrand, tell my men to get to the haugr. Come Gilles, we will try to discourage them." We rode back and picked up two spears which had been discarded. We rode towards the column.
The column veered towards us and four men detached themselves and galloped towards us. Any possibility that they came in peace was removed when I saw them ready their spears. I shouted, "Gilles these will know what they are doing. We go for the middle and then when we have passed, we turn!"
"Aye lord. They have no mail!"
"Then we have a chance. Ride as close to me as you can get." Here we had the advantage that our horses knew each other and I had trained Gilles. Dream Strider was slightly ahead of Night Star. The four we charged were spread out. I was on the left and, as we neared then I stood in the stiraps and jabbed with my spear. The Frank did the same. The results were different. Mine found flesh and he flew from the back of his horse. His found shield and mail. It felt as though I was punched but that was all. Gilles had not fared as well. He had also slain his opponent but the back of his hand had been scored by the Frank's spear. I turned and jabbed my spear at the back of the third Frank. It scored a deep line across the rump of his horse which reared and threw him.
"Ride hard! I will follow!"
The last warrior was brave for, having seen his three comrades fall, he still came after us. I allowed him to draw level and then, pulling back my arm threw the spear at his leg. He was little more than two spear lengths from me. My spear hit his leg and carried on into his horse. It veered and fell, crushing the Frank beneath its body. I leaned over Dream Strider and urged him on, "Now is your time. Show Night Star that you are the leader of this herd. Run, my beauty, run!"
We began to catch Gilles. I looked over my shoulder and saw that the Franks were forty paces from us. When I looked ahead I saw that all my men except for Bertrand were safely inside my walls. Bertrand was too brave for his own good. "Into the citadel! Archers ready!"
As Gilles clattered over the bridge I risked another look over my shoulder. They were less than thirty paces from me. Even as Dream Strider's hooves hit the turf the bridge was being drawn up. I heard shouts and cries from beyond the walls. I leapt from my stallion's back and threw the reins to Bertrand. I ran up the ladder to the gate. I saw that my archers had hit three horses and two men. I picked up my bow and aimed at the standard bearer. He was forty paces from the ditch. His small shield was no protection and my arrow hit him in the chest. He tried to stay on the saddle but he fell.
I shouted, "Hold!" I lowered my bow and said, in the tongue of the Franks, "I am Hrolf the Horseman. This is now my land! If I choose I can slay you all as easily as I killed your standard bearer. Go and leave us alone!"
"I am Philippe, Leudes of Valognes and I rule this land by right. King Louis has charged me with its protection!"
I pointed to the two drekar which were now disappearing behind the island, "As you can see we need no protection. We displaced no one here and we will not harm any farmers who are close by but do not poke us with a stick! We are no tethered bear! We are Vikings and we are to be feared."
I stopped speaking and waited. I saw the lord, who looked to be little older than me, looking at the piles of bodies which littered the land before the ditch. He looked at the ditch and then at my walls. He had been chasing Vikings and now he saw how formidable our defences were. He had no chance of taking our walls. I watched as he desperately sought a way out with dignity and honour. I gave it to him.
"Send a message to your king that three boat loads of Vikings were vanquished here. That should please him." I paused to let my words sink in. "We are only a threat to you if you make us one. Do you wish to take on my men, my walls and my sword? If you do then I will come forth and you and I will try a trial by combat."
His men looked at him expectantly. They were willing him to accept so that he could show this Viking that a Frank was a better warrior. When he shook his head I knew that we had won, "This is not over Viking. I will bring more men and reduce this to kindling."
I nodded, "Your men are witness to my words. You have been warned. The consequences will be on your head!"
His answer was to turn and ride away. My men began to cheer and to bang their shields. Rurik started the song and the whole of the clan, every man, woman and child took it up as the humiliated Franks left the field.
The horseman came through darkest night
He rode towards the dawning light
With fiery steed and thrusting spear
Hrolf the Horseman brought great fear
Slaughtering all he breached their line
Of warriors slain there were nine
Hrolf the Horseman with gleaming blade
Hrolf the Horseman all enemies slayed
With mighty axe Black Teeth stood
Angry and filled with hot blood
Hrolf the Horseman with gleaming blade
Hrolf the Horseman all enemies slayed
Ice cold Hrolf with Heart of Ice
Swung his arm and made it slice
Hrolf the Horseman with gleaming blade
Hrolf the Horseman all enemies slayed
In two strokes the Jarl was felled
Hrolf's sword nobly held
Hrolf the Horseman with gleaming blade
Hrolf the Horseman all enemies slayed
Epilogue
We had waited until the Franks had left the beach before we resumed the task of burying the dead. They were not our dead but we had promised and when I gave my word, I kept it. It had been a great victory. Skutal and Sigurd's boats did not need much repair and when Sven and his boys joined us, at high tide, they also brought the bounty of the dead from the sea. We had mail, helmets and weapons. We had bracelets and warrior bands. We had coins and we even had four horses. The Franks had left us so quickly that they forgot four horses from their fallen warriors. My herd was growing. The three mares and the gelding would be valuable additions.
Most importantly my new clan had fought as one. Franks and Norse had stood together. We had faced our enemies and we had survived. We celebrated. The dead horses provided the food and Karl the singer gave us the songs. When he had finished Siggi's Song my men, well into their ale, banged their table and called for me to speak. I had had more ale than normal and I obliged.
"The clan withstood two tests today. We fought Frisians. They have Viking blood and they are fierce fighters. We stood shoulder to shoulder and did not flinch. All took part from the boys to the men. The girls played their part and stood a watch. We met our neighbours and offered them peace. If they choose war then they have a new enemy to face, us! We are the people of the north and this is our home. We are one people. If they think to shift us then they face a challenge for we will not move. We will stand and we will build. Our home will become a rock against which our enemies will break!"
As the clan cheered my wife stood. Ragnvald suckled still. Even so she looked like a queen. "This is my husband. He will not take a title but he needs none for we all know that he is the leader of this clan. We are back in the land in which I was born. Our son will make this land even greater and I say to any enemy, if you come to this land you will have to battle for every blade of grass for we will not be moving!" She used her free hand to raise her horn of ale, "My husband, Hrolf the Horseman, Lord of the Haugr!"
The cheers and the noise touched me but above it all I heard the voices of Siggi White Hair and Ulf Big Nose telling me that they were proud of me and that was enough. We had made a start but we would grow. My wife was right. This was our land, the land of the Northman!
The End
Glossary
Ækre -acre (Norse) The amount of land a pair of oxen could plough in one day
Afon Hafron- River Severn in Welsh
Alt Clut- Dumbarton Castle on the Clyde
Andecavis- Angers in Anjou
Angia- Jersey (Channel Islands)
An Oriant- Lorient, Brittany
Áth Truim- Trim, County Meath (Ireland)
Baille - a ward (an enclosed area inside a wall)
Balley Chashtal -Castleton (Isle of Man)
Bebbanburgh- Bamburgh Castle, Northumbria. Also know as Din Guardi in the ancient tongue
Beck- a stream
Blót – a blood sacrifice made by a jarl
Blue Sea/Middle Sea- The Mediterranean
Bondi- Viking farmers who fight
Bourde- Bordeaux
Bjarnarøy –Great Bernera (Bear Island)
Byrnie- a mail or leather shirt reaching down to the knees
Caerlleon- Welsh for Chester
Caestir - Chester (old English)
Cantewareburh- Canterbury
Casnewydd –Newport, Wales
Cent- Kent
Cephas- Greek for Simon Peter (St. Peter)
Cetham -Chatham Kent
Chape- the tip of a scabbard
Charlemagne- Holy Roman Emperor at the end of the 8th and beginning of the 9th centuries
Cherestanc- Garstang (Lancashire)
Ċiriċeburh- Cherbourg
Corn Walum or Om Walum- Cornwall
Cymri- Welsh
Cymru- Wales
Cyninges-tūn – Coniston. It means the estate of the king (Cumbria)
Dùn Èideann –Edinburgh (Gaelic)
Din Guardi- Bamburgh castle
Drekar- a Dragon ship (a Viking warship)
Duboglassio –Douglas, Isle of Man
Dyrøy –Jura (Inner Hebrides)
Dyflin- Old Norse for Dublin
Ein-mánuðr- middle of March to the middle of April
Eoforwic- Saxon for York
Fáfnir - a dwarf turned into a dragon (Norse mythology)
Faro Bregancio- Corunna (Spain)
Ferneberga -Farnborough (Hampshire)
Fey- having second sight
Firkin- a barrel containing eight gallons (usually beer)
Fret-a sea mist
Frankia- France and part of Germany
Fyrd-the Saxon levy
Gaill- Irish for foreigners
Galdramenn- wizard
Glaesum –amber
Gleawecastre- Gloucester
Gói- the end of February to the middle of March
Greenway- ancient roads- they used turf rather than stone
Grenewic- Greenwich
Gyllingas - Gillingham Kent
Haesta- Hastings
Hamwic -Southampton
Harpa- April 14th- May 13th
Haughs/ Haugr - small hills in Norse (As in Tarn Hows) or a hump- normally a mound of earth
Haustmánuður -15th September -October 14th
Hearth-weru- Jarl's bodyguard/oathsworn
Heels- when a ship leans to one side under the pressure of the wind
Hel - Queen of Niflheim, the Norse underworld.
Herkumbl- a mark on the front of a helmet denoting the clan of a Viking warrior
Here Wic- Harwich
Hetaereiarch – Byzantine general
Hí- Iona (Gaelic)
Hjáp - Shap- Cumbria (Norse for stone circle)
Hoggs or Hogging- when the pressure of the wind causes the stern or the bow to droop
Hrams-a – Ramsey, Isle of Man
Hrofecester-Rochester Kent
Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog- King of Gwynedd 814-825
Icaunis- British river god
Issicauna- Gaulish for the lower Seine
Itouna- River Eden Cumbria
Jarl- Norse earl or lord
Joro-goddess of the earth
Jǫtunn -Norse god or goddess
Kjerringa - Old Woman- the solid block in which the mast rested
Knarr- a merchant ship or a coastal vessel
Kyrtle-woven top
Laugardagr-Saturday (Norse for washing day)
Leathes Water- Thirlmere
Ljoðhús- Lewis
Legacaestir- Anglo Saxon for Chester
Liger- Loire
Lochlannach – Irish for Northerners (Vikings)
Lothuwistoft- Lowestoft
Louis the Pious- King of the Franks and son of Charlemagne
Lundenwic - London
Maeresea- River Mersey
Mammceaster- Manchester
Manau/Mann – The Isle of Man(n) (Saxon)
Marcia Hispanic- Spanish Marches (the land around Barcelona)
Mast fish- two large racks on a ship for the mast
Melita- Malta
Midden - a place where they dumped human waste
Miklagård - Constantinople
Leudes- Imperial officer (a local leader in the Carolingian Empire. They became Counts a century after this.
Njoror- God of the sea
Nithing- A man without honour (Saxon)
Odin - The "All Father" God of war, also associated with wisdom, poetry, and magic (The ruler of the gods).
Olissipo- Lisbon
Or
kneyjar-Orkney
Portucale- Porto
Portesmūða -Portsmouth
Condado Portucalense- the County of Portugal
Penrhudd – Penrith Cumbria
Pillars of Hercules- Straits of Gibraltar
Ran- Goddess of the sea
Roof rock- slate
Rinaz –The Rhine
Sabrina- Latin and Celtic for the River Severn. Also the name of a female Celtic deity
Saami- the people who live in what is now Northern Norway/Sweden
Sarnia- Guernsey (Channel Islands)
St. Cybi- Holyhead
Sampiere -samphire (sea asparagus)
Scree- loose rocks in a glacial valley
Seax – short sword
Sheerstrake- the uppermost strake in the hull
Sheet- a rope fastened to the lower corner of a sail
Shroud- a rope from the masthead to the hull amidships
Skeggox – an axe with a shorter beard on one side of the blade
Skerpla -May 14th- June 12th
South Folk- Suffolk
Stad- Norse settlement
Stays- ropes running from the mast-head to the bow
Stirap- stirrup
Strake- the wood on the side of a drekar
Suthriganaworc - Southwark (London)
Syllingar- Scilly Isles
Syllingar Insula- Scilly Isles
Tarn- small lake (Norse)
Temese- River Thames (also called the Tamese)
The Norns- The three sisters who weave webs of intrigue for men
Thing-Norse for a parliament or a debate (Tynwald)
Thor’s day- Thursday
Threttanessa- a drekar with 13 oars on each side.
Thrall- slave
Tinea- Tyne
Trenail- a round wooden peg used to secure strakes
Tynwald- the Parliament on the Isle of Man
Úlfarrberg- Helvellyn
Úlfarrland- Cumbria
Úlfarr- Wolf Warrior
Úlfarrston- Ulverston
Ullr-Norse God of Hunting
Ulfheonar-an elite Norse warrior who wore a wolf skin over his armour
Vectis- The Isle of Wight
