The Great Heathen Army

by H A CULLEY

  Ϯϯϯ

  The settlement was quite a large one and housed perhaps as many as six hundred souls. It sat astride the River Grante but we didn’t cross it there. Instead Redwald guided us to a vill called Granteseta to the south west where he said there was a horse stud.

  The ceorl who owned it sucked his teeth when I said that we wanted to buy a good riding horse and a packhorse.

  ‘The king has bought most of my stock to give to the bloody Danes,’ he told us. ‘What I have left I need to keep as breeding stock.’

  I looked at my two horses. They were both mares and were of a type called palfreys, the best class of riding horse. However, they were exhausted after coming such a long way.

  ‘Have you seen brood mares as good as these two?’ I asked.

  The horse-breeders eyes lit up greedily, then he hooded them and put on a doubtful face.

  ‘They look pretty knackered to me.’

  ‘They are tired after a long journey, yes, but they will swiftly recover and produce many fine foals for you.’

  ‘I thought you were after more horses, not selling the ones you have?’

  ‘I was thinking more in the way of an exchange,’ I replied.

  ‘What, these two for two of mine?’

  His eyes lit up again.

  ‘No four of yours, and they’d better be good ones,’ Redwald cut in before I could reply. ‘Three rounceys and a pack pony but I’ll need to see them and make sure that they’re not some elderly nags on their last legs.’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ he said with a grin, ‘I got rid of all those to the king’s men.’

  We spent another hour bargaining but we ended up with three riding horses and a pony which both Redwald and I were happy with. It was getting on towards dusk and so we retraced our steps along the River Grante until we found a hollow in which to camp for the night.

  The next day we left Cei at the campsite and rode into Grantebrycge. It wasn’t market day but there were several weavers, an armourer and a fletcher in the settlement. I bought Redwald better clothes, including a padded gambeson and a cloak; then decided that it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Cei and I to have gambesons to give us some protection in combat. Unfortunately no one had one in my size and so I eventually settled for a leather over-tunic.

  I bought my new companion a seax, a dagger and a helmet at the armourer’s workshop, then purchased a seax for Cei as well. By now my stock of silver pennies had diminished considerably but I made one more investment. We spent some time at the fletchers whilst Redwald tried out various bows, eventually settling on a war bow which was much more powerful than mine. I bought him a quiverful of arrows and a small barrel of spares now that we had a pack animal.

  Cei was suitably grateful for the gambeson, which would keep him warm as well as protecting him to some extent. He was less sure about the seax.

  ‘But Jørren,’ he said doubtfully, ‘I have no idea how to use a blade, other than my knife.’

  ‘Then Redwald and I will teach you.’

  Both of us had been taught how to defend ourselves by our fathers, but our new companion was much more skilled than I was, so he ended up teaching both of us every spare moment we had. We also put our bows to good use and supplemented our diet with ducks, plovers, grouse and geese.

  We had crossed the river in Grantebrycge. Now we had the burly Redwald riding with us we attracted far less attention than we had when we were two young boys on their own. Although Cei was nearly fifteen he was small for his age and consequently looked younger. The road to Theodforda was little more than a muddy track so we made much slower progress. I estimated that we made less than fifteen miles that day and when rain threatened we hastily found a spot by a stream to camp.

  Our little tent was a bit of a squeeze for two, let alone three, but in any case I had decided that one of us should stand watch at night in case we encountered parties of Danes from now on. Both Redwald and I had hunted at night and so we were used to the strange sounds of the woods in the dark; not so Cei. He woke us with false alarm twice that first night and so we took it in turns to sit up with him until dawn pointing out what each sound meant. I also told him what sounds to listen out for if there were men in the vicinity.

  We didn’t return to the road the next day. To do so would have risked running into a patrol, or more likely a Danish forage party, as we were now less than twenty miles from Theodforda. Redwald said that we should head north east through the trees and we did so but in a manner I would have never have thought of. Either Redwald or I would advance a hundred yards on foot and then, all being clear, the other two would catch up leading the horses. It made for slow going and we camped early in order to hunt and train Cei in the use of his seax.

  Of course, he became far from proficient in such a short time but he was a quick learner and he knew the basic defensive moves by the time we encountered our first group of Danes.

  It had taken us three days to get near Theodforda, especially as we had to skirt open areas of pasture or arable land. We saw black smoke rising into the still air at one point and surmised that the heathens had sacked and burnt a settlement or a farmstead. On the fourth day we came across a small settlement I never did know the name of. What I saw from just inside the treeline shocked me.

  Women and girls, some much younger than my little sister, were being repeatedly raped by groups of men whilst others plundered the huts and the Thegn’s hall. I saw some coming out of the small timber church carrying a silver cross and other precious items. Then three men pushed the priest ahead of them so that he stumbled down the steps and fell into the mud. They picked him up and then proceeded to pinion his arms and feet to the door of the church with their daggers in a ghastly parody of the crucifixion.

  I had my bow strung and was pulling an arrow from my quiver when Redwald stopped me.

  ‘There are too many of them,’ he hissed in my ear, ‘but I have an idea. Come.’

  He dragged me away fuming and thirsting for revenge but I soon realised that he was right. If we attacked the pagan bastards we might kill a few but we would die ourselves, and that wouldn’t help my brother.

  ‘I think I know in which direction Theodforda is from here. If we climb the trees we can pepper them with arrows on their return.’

  ‘Won’t they still be able to kill us?’

  ‘Not if we’re quick and climb down before they get to us. They’ll search for us in the trees and that will enable us to pick more of them off as we retreat. Either they’ll give up or we make a clean break after a while and return to where Cei will be waiting with the horses.’

  Perhaps I should have thought about his plan a little more, but hate clouded my judgement and I nodded eagerly.

  At first it worked like a dream. There were a score of Danes, some were quite elderly and a few were boys like us. That shocked me a little and I reflected on how different our cultures must be. Four were mounted and the rest, including three young boys, trudged along on foot carrying what few pitiful items they’d pillaged from the settlement.

  Redwald’s first arrow drove through the chainmail byrnie of the leading Viking and he toppled from his horse without a word. I released my own bowstring a split second later and hit another man in chainmail in the throat. At first the pagans didn’t know where the attack had come from and cast around seeking us out at ground level. By then we had both nocked and released a second arrow. This time Redwald killed the only other man wearing a byrnie and I wounded a man in a leather jerkin in the shoulder. We had time for a third arrow, each of which killed another Dane before we climbed down and retreated just before the rest of them charged into the woods looking for us.

  Redwald disappeared in one direction and I in another. It was our good fortune that the Danes had no archers with them. I could afford to come out from behind a tree and release my bow and dart back into cover without fear of being hit myself. One or two spears were thrown at me but I was too far away. When a throwing axe lodged in the tree beside me I kne
w that I had allowed them to get too close. I released one more arrow and then ran.

  I calculated that I had killed or badly wounded six Danes. If Redwald had managed the same there could only be eight left. Surely they would give up the chase after suffering so many losses, but they didn’t. I wounded another one in the thigh. It was only after I’d taken cover behind yet another tree that I realised that he could have been no older than me. I had a picture of the horrified look on the boy’s face etched on my retina and I wanted the killing to end.

  I had to tell myself that it was them or us, then I remembered what had happened to the women and the young girls in that settlement and my resolve hardened. I jumped out from behind a tree and saw two Danes before me. Both were young, perhaps thirteen or fourteen, and both looked scared out of their wits.

  ‘Throw down your weapons,’ I yelled before realising that they didn’t understand English.

  I pointed the arrow at one and indicated as best I could that they should throw down their spears and daggers. One was brighter than the other and threw away his spear whilst holding his other hand up in a gesture of surrender. I changed my aim to the other and he hastily did likewise. I kept an arrow trained on them as I approached them. One obviously thought of running but the brighter one said something to him and he stayed where he was. Obviously he realised that I could aim and release an arrow before the boy was out of range.

  I dropped my bow and drew my seax before they could react and held the blade against the throat of the brighter boy and indicated that the other one should use the spare bow string, which I threw at him, to tie up his companion. He did so with shaking hands. No doubt the death of so many of his fellow Danes had unnerved him. He offered no resistance whilst I unstrung my bow and tied his hands together. I then tied the other boy’s hands a bit tighter. Pushing them in front of me with one of their own spears I took them to where Cei waited with the horses.

  I had picked up the two daggers and the other spear and I handed one to Cei. We then sat down to wait for Redwald. When he hadn’t appeared after what seemed to me to be hours, but which was probably no longer than a short while in reality, I grew concerned.

  ‘Keep an eye on them. If they move kill one of them,’ I told Cei and went in search of our guide. Redwald had proved a real godsend so far and I felt lost without him. I prayed fervently that he was alright.

  I retraced my steps to the road. It was littered with the Danes we’d killed. The one I’d wounded in the thigh had bled out but another, presumably one that Redwald had injured, was screaming in agony. I drew my dagger and took a deep breath. A second later I had cut his throat and was busy vomiting all over him. I felt better after that, but I was still shaken. Killing a man in cold blood is not an easy thing to do, especially if you’re only thirteen years old.

  My instinct was to follow Redwald’s trail immediately, but first I collected the four horses the Danes had been riding and tied them to a tree to make sure they didn’t stray – or worse return to the heathen army’s camp. I wanted to collect everything of value: namely hacksilver, arm rings of gold and silver, swords, daggers, spears, axes, shields, helmets and byrnies but that would have to wait. I set off on foot to follow the clear trail left by the Danes who had pursued Redwald.

  It was an even easier trail to follow at first because of the dead Danes. I counted four of them before they petered out. Then I heard a faint scream. I frantically searched in my pouch for another bowstring but didn’t find one. I cursed, my spares must be with my gear on my horse and that was some distance way with Cei. I drew my seax and my dagger and ran towards the sounds of someone in intense pain.

  Chapter Three

  October 865 to March 866

  I realised that crashing through the wood, snapping twigs and rustling the fallen leaves was foolhardy and I slowed down after a couple of minutes, but I found it difficult to curb my anxiety. I was naturally light-footed and made scarcely a sound as I carefully crept forward to the lip of a hollow. Below me I saw Redwald stripped to the waist and tied to a tree whilst two men slowly and systematically flayed the skin from his torso. The blood ran down his chest in thick rivulets and I knew that he was badly injured. A third Dane – a boy like the two I’d captured - watched fascinated.

  Thankfully the screaming ceased when Redwald blacked out. The Danes, robbed of their pleasure, stopped what they were doing and one of them handed his helmet to the boy and barked something at him. He scurried away into the woods.

  I racked my brains trying to think of what to do. I would be committing suicide if I charged the two men. They were big brutes armed with swords and there were two battle axes leaning against a nearby tree. Then I had an idea. I circled around the hollow and set off in the direction taken by the young pagan.

  I couldn’t bring myself to kill him. He was bent over on the bank of the stream trying to reach the water below him. I crept up behind him and brought the pommel of my seax down on his head quite hard. He was wearing a fur cap on his head and I found it difficult to gauge how hard to hit him to ensure unconsciousness without killing him. I must have judged it well because he collapsed without a sound. I just managed to catch him before he toppled into the stream but he let go of the helmet, which fell into the water and sank. I laid him down and put my ear to his lips. Happily he was still breathing, albeit faintly.

  I jumped into the stream and retrieved the helmet before filling it with water and climbing out again. I carefully put it against a tree and stripped the boy of his outer clothing. All Vikings wore trousers which were much baggier than ours and the ribbons they used to bind them up to the knee were much broader. It took me a little while to get them looking right and then I pulled on his light blue tunic, his leather body armour and his fur cap before setting off back to the camp. The clothes were a tight fit and I worried that the Danes would notice that I was bigger. Luckily the boy had long fair hair, much like mine, and I pulled it over my face to hide it as much as possible.

  I had to leave my seax behind as the Danish boy only had a dagger; it would have to suffice. I kept my head down as I made my way into the small clearing where Redwald was still unconscious. Both the Danes shouted at me; presumably cursing me for being so slow. I walked up to the one who looked to be in charge and, just as he recognised that I wasn’t who he thought I was, I threw the helmet and the water in his face and drew my dagger.

  He was so shocked that he stood there for a moment and that gave me enough time to thrust my dagger into his throat. Without waiting to see whether the wound was fatal I darted over to the tree with the two axes leaning against it and picked one up, kicking the other away.

  It was much heavier that I had expected and that nearly cost me my life. The other Dane gave a roar of rage and came at me with his sword. I swung the axe intending to cut into his side but it was too heavy and it chopped into his leg instead. He dropped to one knee, but still managed to swing his sword at me. I jumped backwards and thankfully the point just missed me. This time I lifted the axe as high as I could and brought it down onto his sword arm.

  I heard the bone crack and blood spurted out of the wound. He let go of his sword with a shriek of pain and I picked it up. He was still trying to get to his feet when I put all my weight behind it and pushed the point into his eye socket. He fell to the ground and I retched for the second time that day.

  I was trembling all over and wanted to collapse, but I forced myself to do what was necessary. I ran back to the stream and retrieved my seax and changed my clothes, ignoring the fact that my trousers and shoes were soaked from jumping into the stream.

  I heard a groan as the boy woke up and clutched at his head. I held my seax to his throat and told him to get dressed. Of course, he didn’t understand but he got the gist. Ten minutes later we were back in the clearing.

  The young Dane’s eyes opened wide when he saw the two dead men and he asked me something. Even though English and Danish were different languages they had the same roots as we had all o
riginated in the same part of the world. I understood him to ask if I had killed them. I nodded and he looked awestruck. From then on he acted as if he was frightened that I would kill him too and he became amazingly compliant.

  I lowered poor Redwald to the ground and took the boy with me to fetch water to wash his wounds. There was little more I could do for him then, so I left him and went and fetched the horses. I got the Dane to gather up everything of value and we put them in sacks before tying them to two of the horses. Then we went back and I wrapped Redwald in my cloak before putting him across a horse. I mounted another one and hauled the Dane up in front of me. I showed him my dagger and pressed it into his side. He nodded to show he understood and we set off to find Cei and the other two Danes.

  I tied the three boys up sitting around a tree whilst Cei and I did what we could for Redwald. We bathed his wounds again and Cei spread honey on the raw flesh before putting moss on top of it and binding it in place with strips torn from a spare white linen tunic. Then we set about getting a meal organised. We had to hand feed the three prisoners; I wasn’t going to risk releasing their hands. When we’d given them a drink one of them thanked us in accented English.

  ‘You speak our tongue?’ I exclaimed in surprise.

  He shrugged. ‘I got one of my father’s Saxon thralls to teach me in case it came in useful.’

  ‘What was the name of this thrall?’ I asked casually.

  ‘Alric, I think; something like that anyway.’

  I tried not to get excited. Alric was a fairly common name.

  ‘Do you know where you captured him?’

  ‘Why, what’s with this sudden interest in a thrall?’

  I hit him in the mouth.

  ‘Just answer my questions if you and your friends want to live.’

  ‘In Cent,’ he replied resentfully. ‘He was knocked unconscious during a battle and I asked my father not to kill him. He kept him as thrall to serve me,’ he replied sulkily.