An Anglo-Saxon view of the Norman invasion
Posted in Historical articles, History, Invasions, Literature on Monday, 29 April 2013
This edited article about the Norman invasion originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 233 published on 2 July 1966.
Eldred was awake early to find that the wind had changed and blew now from the south-west, bringing with it a fine drizzling rain. Horga was sheltering beneath an outcrop of rock a little way distant, and appeared to be asleep. Eldred got up from where he had been lying, and walked over to the other man.
As Eldred was standing over him, Horga stirred. After a hurried breakfast they were ready to start walking towards the forest.
They walked quickly through the rain all morning, and towards the middle of the afternoon they reached the scrubland immediately before the forest. They picked their way between the small bushes, and as these became more numerous and more trees grew from the stony ground, Eldred could see the forest clearly for the first time.
When they reached the edge of the forest itself, Horga, after looking from left to right as though searching for a remembered sign, walked quickly along the edge of the forest until he came to a shallow trench which had been scraped in the earth, and which ran out at a right angle from the trees. Kneeling down, Horga crawled along the trench, and then slid through the undergrowth and out of sight. Eldred followed him, and found himself inside the forest. He turned round but could see no sign of their place of entry.
Horga set out resolutely down a pathway immediately ahead of them. Eldred followed him quickly, unwilling to be left alone.
They walked for some time, occasionally stooping to pass beneath the low branches of the trees. Around them, the undergrowth seemed to grow more thickly, and the dampness in the air weighed upon them heavily. To Eldred, the forest became more evil the further they walked, and he looked from side to side fearfully, alert for any danger.
Shortly after they had scrambled over a fallen tree which lay across their way, the air was suddenly shattered by the howling of wolves. The cries seemed to come from near by. Horga, on hearing the first howls, had forced his way through the bushes, and was already climbing a tree. He signalled Eldred to follow him and, when they were safely hidden, he took a pouch from his cloth bundle and sprinkled some powder from it on to the ground beneath them. Concealing themselves with branches and dead leaves, they waited.
Soon, they could hear the sniffing and yelping of the wolves close by, and, within a few minutes, the first of the beasts appeared. It was soon joined by three others, who snapped and snarled at one another. The first one was evidently the pack leader for they did not go near him.
The leader sniffed around the base of the tree, and drew back snarling. Eldred clung tightly to his branch, and looked fearfully at the animal, afraid to breathe in case the wolf should hear him.
But the beast obviously did not like what he could smell on the ground, and he circled away, leading the others down the path along which Eldred and Horga had come. The two in the tree waited some time before they descended.
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