Edwy the Fair or the First Chronicle of Aescendune

by A. D. Crake

returned from unsuccessful. Tell us, how did Dunstanoutwit you?"

  "By the aid of the devil, my liege."

  "Doubtless; but we had all hoped for a different result, and that thouwouldst either have left the traitor no eyes in his head, or no head onhis shoulders.

  "Said I not rightly, my Elgiva?"

  The eyes of the fair enemy of the abbot flashed fire, and she exchangedsome very significant words with her mother, Ethelgiva, who occupied thenext chair.

  "Come, my fairy-given [xxvi] one, you must not be too hardon Redwald, who doubtless did his best--

  "How was it, Elfric?"

  "The devil was certainly on Dunstan's side: he and no other could havebetrayed our coming, for betrayed it was."

  "How long had he left when you reached the abbey?"

  "Only an hour or two; but there was a sound of mocking laughter,doubtless caused by his incantations, which kept us for some hoursforcing doors and the like."

  "And you could discover no cause?"

  "None whatever; however, we found he had taken the Foss Way for thecoast, and followed, and nearly caught him."

  "What prevented you?"

  Elfric turned pale as if with great mental emotion, and tried to proceedin vain.

  "You are not well," said Elgiva, anxiously.

  "Not quite," he said; and then, overcoming his feelings by a vigorouseffort, while no one save Redwald suspected the true cause, he continued:

  "There had been a great storm, and they had broken down the only bridgewhich existed for miles over a swollen river: we lost hours."

  "And yet, as your messengers told us, you arrived in time to see himleave the coast."

  "The vessel which bore him was still distinctly in sight when we stoodon the sands."

  "But had you no means of following?"

  "None: it was a lonely fishing village with a small harbour, and hisbark was a mere fishing smack, the only one of the place."

  "I trust the sea has swallowed him," said the king; "but there is arumour today that he is playing the saint in Flanders with great pomp.Well, only let him show his face in England again, and the devil maypinch my nose with his tongs if I leave him a head on his shoulders: heshall be a sacrifice to your outraged dignity, my Elgiva."

  "And yours, my Edwy."

  Husband and wife were quite agreed on this subject: they had neverforgiven Dunstan in the least degree, and, identifying him withreligion, had well-nigh abjured it altogether.

  The ordinary dishes being now removed, the guests all partook lavishlyof wine, and, their heads already heated, yielded entirely to theexcitement of the moment. Toast after toast was drunk to the king: hewas compared to Apollo for his beauty, and Elgiva to Venus, while theold northern mythology was ransacked also for appellations in honour ofthe youthful pair.

  Adjoining, in the outer hall, the higher domestics had their music anddancing, and the king and queen came to honour the entertainment bytheir presence. So the happy hours wore away, and at length the companywere on the eve of departure, for fatigue was making itself felt, whenan ominous blowing of a horn was heard at the outer gate.

  A pause, during which the company looked at each other, so strangely hadthe sound struck them, and yet they knew not why, save that it was anunlikely hour for such an occurrence.

  There was one only who knew what the message would probably be--Redwald; and he had kept the secret purposely from the king.

  The doors opened, and an usher brought in a messenger who had only beenallowed a moment to change a dusty dress, ere he broke into the presenceof royalty.

  "Speak," said Edwy, as the messenger bowed before him, and kissed his hand.

  "My lord and king--" and the messenger glanced at Elgiva.

  "Let him speak, Edwy, my lord. Are we not one? What you can bear, yourwife must bear also."

  Thus adjured, the messenger spoke his news.

  "Mercia has revolted, and proclaimed Edgar king."

  "The cause alleged?"

  "I know not, my lord."

  "I can tell you," said Redwald; "the banishment of the holy fox,Dunstan, and very shame prevents my adding that--"

  "No more," said Edwy; "I can guess the rest."

  He wished to spare Elgiva.

  He walked up and down the hall several times. His festive air had gone.

  "And on my wedding day, too," he said. "Redwald, you knew this."

  "Yes, my lord, but I wished to spare my king upon his wedding day, stillI have not spared myself. The necessary steps are taken, your immediatevassals are summoned, and my own men are ready to march; we will sweepthese rebels off the field."

  "Elfric," said the king, "you must be my right hand in the field: youwill be ready to invade your native Mercia tomorrow. Think you your ownfriends are firm?"

  "My father, although he has disowned me, would never disown his lawfulking; the duty and love he bore to your murdered father would forbid."

  "Well, Redwald, have you known this many hours?"

  "I heard it at the frontier town of Mercia, Reading, last night, andtook all my measures immediately."

  "Then, can we really depend upon Wessex?"

  "I treat so indeed, my lord, else we should be in a very bad way indeed."

  "Well, we must rest now. Elgiva, darling, this is a cold termination toour first anniversary, but your husband's love shall ever protect youuntil he be cold in death.

  "Goodnight, Elfric, be ready for the morrow.

  "Goodnight, Redwald, trustiest warrior who ever served grateful lord.

  "Goodnight, gentlemen all."

  And thus the royal party broke up, and thus ended the first anniversaryof the ill-starred union.

  On the morrow all was haste and confusion in the royal palace. Elgivadeparted early for Winchester, which, being farther removed from thefrontier, was safer than London from any sudden excursion on the part ofthe Mercians, and the city was also devoted to the royal family. Thecitizens of London were directed to provide for the defence of theircity, while the royal guards, attended by the immediate vassals of thecrown, prepared to march into the heart of the rebellious district.

  It is too often supposed that the feudal system was of Normanimportation, whereas its very foundation--the act of homage, or of"becoming your man,"--was brought by the Saxons and Angles from theirGerman home. The lord was the protector of the vassal, but the vassalwas bound to attend his feudal superior both in peace and war.

  So imperative was this obligation, that a vassal who abandoned his lordin the field of battle was liable to the death of a traitor.

  Therefore Edwy soon found himself at the head of a compact body of tenthousand men, all bound to stand by him to death. But there was one verydisheartening circumstance, which attracted notice. No volunteers joinedthe little army, although a royal proclamation had promised lands fromthe territories of the rebels to each successful combatant in the causeof Edwy and Elgiva.

  The fear of the Church hung on all, the conviction that the law of bothChurch and State had been broken by the young king; the universal beliefin the sanctity of Dunstan, and in the true patriotism of Odo whom theycalled "the good;" the thoughtless misgovernment since the wisercounsellors had dispersed--all these things weakened the hearts of thefollowers of Edwy.

  There was therefore but little enthusiasm when the inhabitants saw thesoldiers of the king march out by the Watling Street, and the soldiersthemselves looked dispirited.

  It was early dawn on the second day from the feast that the departuretook place. Cynewulf, a valiant Earl of Wessex, was the real commander;nominally, Edwy commanded in person, and Elfric rode out of London byhis side. Redwald's rank would not have entitled him to the chief command.

  Passing through the environs of the city, they gained the open country,and marched steadily along the causeway the Romans had so firmly laid,until they reached Verulam or St. Alban's, where they passed the night.It excited great discontent amongst the inhabitants that Edwy did notvisit the shrine of the saint, the glory of thei
r town; and hisdeparture again took place amidst gloomy silence.

  They were now about to cross the frontier and enter Mercia, then in manyrespects an independent state; governed, it might be, by the samemonarch and Witan as Wessex, even as Scotland and England are governedby the same sovereign and Parliament, yet retaining like them its ownpeculiar code of laws in many respects.

  And now Mercia had sternly refused to be governed any longer by the"enemy of the Church," and chose the Etheling, Edgar, to be its king.

  Acting with the sanction of Odo, whom he deeply revered, the youngEdgar, then only in his fifteenth year, accepted the offer, and thewhole force of Mercia was gathering to support him when Edwy crossed theborder.

  It must not be supposed that either Cynewulf or Redwald expected toconquer the Mercians with ten