Conquest

The four of them began the steep descent to their waiting horses. As they did so, they caught sight of a small plume of smoke rising from the tiny hamlet of Downham, nestling in the shadow of Pen Hill.

‘Einar, in all the time we’ve been here, not a single local man has come to us and asked to join our cause. They must know of the peril that is only two days’ ride away in York?’

‘Yes, they know, but they pray it won’t come their way. York is another world for them; so is Lancaster. As for Winchester, it could be in the Holy Roman Empire for all they know. You can’t expect them to rush to our side when they don’t have the strength to wield a weapon properly. Don’t judge them too harshly; it’s not so very different throughout much of England. Remember all the earls, merchants and burghers who have already bowed to the Duke.’

‘That’s our problem. The Normans have ambition and a steely resolve, made stronger by the riches of conquest. Most of the English, be they Saxon, Dane, or Celt, already have the look of a beaten people and are resigned to their fate.’

‘Hereward, how do you keep going with such grave doubts?’

Before answering, Hereward reflected for a while, touching the Talisman as he did so. ‘My good friend, I have come to understand that all a man can do is follow his own path. Whatever his destiny, he will only find it by being brave in the choices he makes. Somehow, at the end of all this, there is an outcome that will be determined by circumstances playing themselves out like a gigantic game of chess. We are only four hundred men and there are perhaps no more than a few thousand we can rely on in the whole of England. But the game is not William’s yet; there will be weaknesses in the Norman position, and we have to find them. I don’t know how many Normans hold this land — perhaps fifteen or twenty thousand — but they rule only with the support of many Englishmen. That will change if William makes an error of judgement. Tactically, I’d say we’ve lost too many pieces, especially our pawns and knights. Now our Queen has gone, but our King still lives — Edgar, our rightful heir. Our defence is still solid in our wild northern stronghold. If we keep our nerve, William may yet make a mistake, and those who have submitted to him will think again. Our four thousand will quickly become forty thousand; then it will be a different endgame.’

‘Hereward, you have become a wise man as well as a great warrior. You are England’s last hope, and we are proud to follow you.’

Hereward did not respond. He put his hand on Einar’s shoulder, then hurried away down the slope, once again deep in thought, leaving his friends to follow in his wake.

The summer of arduous training at Clitheroe Hill continued for many weeks without interruption. No word came from the lookouts on Pen Hill, and the warning beacon was never lit.

The news everyone had been praying for finally arrived on a gloriously sunny day in the third week of August 1069.

A messenger from Edwin reported that the Danish fleet had left Jutland and sailed through the Skagerrak at the end of July. By early August, it had begun marauding along the south coast of England, just as Hereward had asked. Raiding parties had attacked Dover, Sandwich, Norwich and Ipswich; the Norman fleet was being systematically destroyed. As King Svein had promised, there were nearly 250 ships in a fleet commanded by his brother, Osbjorn, and two of his sons, Harold and Cnut. Christian, the Bishop of Aarhus, was present to make the cause a holy one, and the war party included opportunists and mercenaries from the Baltic and most of northern Europe.

It was a genuine invasion force. Hereward could not have hoped for more.

The new strategy swung into action immediately. Guarded by Hogor, the family remained at the camp on Clitheroe Hill as all twenty squadrons moved south to Chester to join forces with Eadric the Wild. By the time they arrived at the banks of the Dee, men were on the march everywhere and an upsurge of confidence was gaining momentum.

Harold’s sons had arrived from Ireland with 3,000 men in more than 60 ships. They had sailed up the river Tavy and made their headquarters at Tavistock. There had been a general rebellion throughout the whole of Cornwall and Devon, which was spreading to Dorset and Somerset. The latest reports said that Montacute castle, seat of the powerful Norman lord Robert of Mortain, was besieged. Hereward sent an urgent message of congratulations to Godwin Haroldson and asked him to hold the ground he already had, but to wait for a signal to advance on Winchester.

Edgar the Atheling, Earl Waltheof, Siward Bjorn and a large force had arrived from the North and were ready to attack York. The Danes had sailed up the Humber and lay in wait to the south of the city. Hereward ordered an immediate attack on the Norman garrison in the city.