Wulfhere

“ The South-Saxons received the faith through Wulfhere, who was sponsor to their king Ethelwold at baptism. Wulfhere joined with Wilfrid in sending to Sussex Eoppa, the mass-priest, who first baptised the South-Saxons. Politically and ecclesiastically Wulfhere laid the foundations of the Mercian supremacy of the following century. Upon the death of Jaruman, Wulfhere tried to persuade St. Wilfrid [q. v.] , then in retirement at Ripon, to accept the Mercian bishopric, but failed (Eddius, Vita Wilfridi, c. 14) . Finally, St. Chad [q. v.] ”

“ The secret of it is, that Wulfhere has rallied a band of the hardiest Saxons, if needs be, to dare a desperate deed of rescue on behalf of their captive chieftain. Many a fierce Saxon, with naked sword and eagerly listening ear, is lurking around, ready for any deed that may be required of him. ”

“ Wulfhere drove at his antagonist a powerful sweep of his sword, but Pierre effectually interposed his sword and parried the blow. Such was the force of the blow, however, that the treacherous weapon flew in two, the point striking the opposite side of the room, and the hilt, with half the broken blade, remaining in Wulfhere's hand. Ere Oswald could interpose between them, Pierre shouted,—
"Aha! Now I have you!" and rushed in with a furious lunge at Wulfhere's body. ”

“ The Danes will go away now. Enough are left to mind them."
Then Wulfhere stamped on the ground in rage, cursing the folly of every man of the levy. And the housecarle stared at him as at one gone suddenly mad; but I knew only too well that his worst fears were on the way to be realized, and that soon there would be no force left on Cannington Hill.
Suddenly he turned on the messenger and asked if he knew the name of the man he sought.
"No; but men say that it was one Heregar -- an outlawed thane. ”

“ Wulfhere's first step as king was to take means for the completion of the conversion of Mercia, thus continuing the work of Oswy, and giving unity to Mercian history. Trumhere, abbot of Gilling, who was consecrated at Lindisfarne, was bishop of Mercia from 659 to 662, being succeeded by Jaruman, whose episcopal rule lasted from 662 to 667. Jaruman was Wulfhere's right hand in extending the Christian faith throughout Mercia and all those lands which were under Mercian rule, and the heathen reaction among the dependent East-Saxons was stayed by his preaching (Bede, Hist. Eccl. iii. 30) . ”

“ Then I said I would go, if only to ask Osric for a guard to keep the Lady Alswythe safe in her flight. And Wulfhere agreed, but doubtfully, saying that nevertheless he would make ready the horses and provisions for a journey, biding till I came back, or sent a messenger.
So I went with the housecarle, who led me again through the marketplace to that same great house whence I had been sent forth overnight. All the square was full of men, drinking deeply, some boasting of their deeds, and some of deeds to be done yet. ”

“ In 657 Wulfhere regained it from Oswy, but before 675 Egfrith of Northumbria, Oswy's successor, reconquered it (Bede, Hist. Eccl. iv. 12) . Apart, however, from these disturbances as to Lindsey, Wulfhere's attitude to Northumbria was on the whole friendly. The political history of the reign centres round Wulfhere's hostility to the rising power of Wessex, against which he established a counterpoise in an alliance with the petty states of the south-east. ”

“ So he spoke, and then I fell to wondering, if it was all chance, as we say, that led my feet in that night of wandering to Dudda's hut, that now I might find help in sorer need than that. For few there are who could serve as guide over that waste of fen and swamp, and but for him we must needs have kept the main roads, far longer in their way to Glastonbury, as skirting Sedgemoor, and now to be choked with flying people.
Presently Wulfhere asked me if in that village we might find one good house where to lodge the Lady Alswythe. ”

“ After Penda had been slain by Oswy [q. v.] at the battle of Winwaedfield (15 Nov. 655) , Wulfhere was kept in hiding by Mercian ealdormen loyal to the Mercian royal house. In 658 these ealdormen, Immin, Eafa, and Eadbert, rose against Oswy in favour of Wulfhere, and established him as king of Mercia (Bede, Hist. Eccl. bk. iii. ch. xxiv.) Wulfhere was already a Christian, having possibly received the faith in Kent, where he sought his wife Eormenhild, a Christian. He is described by the chroniclers as ‘the first of the Mercian kings to be baptised’ (Flor. Wig. in Mon. Hist. Brit. p. 637) . ”

“ The Saxon war-cry, "Ahoi!" in thunderous tones burst from the lips of Oswald and his men. "Ahoi!" shouted Wulfhere's men. "Ahoi!" shouted the men ambushed aloft. At that instant also, a dozen arrows with deadly aim came hissing across the defile; down also came the boulders from aloft, leaping with gathering velocity into the ranks of the foe, whilst Oswald dashed from behind the boulder, and closed with the Norman leader. Their gleaming eyes met for a second; the Norman dealt a hurried forceless blow with his sword, which the Saxon received on his shield ”

“ What harm can befall us if we are in the king’s hand? Come!”
CHAPTER IV—IN THE HALL OF ALFRED Wulfhere and Egwina journeyed slowly northward over Hampshire, into Berkshire, and thence into Wiltshire, so that it was not until the sixth day of the Wolf month that they arrived at Chippenham. ”

“ The Celtic Church allowed it at the age of twelve.
When Wulfhere died, then Werburga’s mother came also to Ely, and on the death of S. Etheldreda, in 679, her grandmother Sexburga, widow of Ercombert, king of Kent, became abbess, and ruled till 699, when she died, whereupon Werburga’s mother succeeded. At one time three generations of princesses of the blood of Hengest and Odin were seen together in the peaceful isle of Ely, wearing the same monastic habit, and bowing in prayer in the same wooden church. ”

“ Then as we three stood on the edge of the hill, and looked out where Matelgar had looked, I told my two friends of his coming and of his words.
"Three things there are," said Wislac, "that hinder this ghost's business; namely, want of wings, uncertainty of darkness, and ignorance of the time when the Danes shall come."
"There are also three things that make for it, brother," said Wulfhere. "Namely: that men can swim, that there is no moon, and that the Danes are careless in their watch of the waste they leave behind them." ”

“ And they could not take offence at his tone, yet they saw well what he meant; and this in the end touched them very closely, for they were in the same case as he, but with more right, being of Somerset, to wipe out their defeat. But maybe there would have been a quarrel if Eanulf had not spoken.
"Peace, thanes," he said. "Heregar is right, and we must avenge our dead. Wulfhere is right, and for the land's sake we must give these Danes a lesson to bide at home. Wislac is right, and this defeat must be wiped out. Now say if you will help me to raise the levy afresh?" ”

“ You see you are ambitious, Wulf, and I am not. I don't want to be a great commander or a state-councillor, and if I did want it ever so much I know I should never be one or the other. I am content to be a thane, as my father was before me, and seek no greater change than that of a stay for a month at court. That brightens one up more than anything; and one cannot be all one's life hunting in the woods and seeing after the tenants. By the way, I had a quarrel the other day with your old Norman enemy, Fitz-Urse. ”

“ With old Karl for helper and adviser, Wulf, all doubt and mystery cleared, ruled his great domain. Later he brought home his fair bride from St. Ursula, given into his keeping by the emperor himself, and thereafter, the story tells, Baron Wulf and his lady lived long a life of usefulness and good deeds; whereby those hard times were made easier for many, and the sunshine, gathered through the years, made warmth and light for others, as must always be in this world, when any life is lived for the sake of usefulness and helpfulness. ”

“ OF HOW WULF FIRST WENT TO THE CASTLE, AND WHAT BEFELL For a matter of nine or ten years Wulf dwelt with Karl at the forge, and knew no other manner of finding than if he had been indeed the armorer’s own grandson, as he was known to those who took the trouble to wonder, Karl himself never dissenting to the idea. He was now a well grown lad of perhaps fourteen years, not tall, but sturdy, strong of thigh and arm, good to look at, with a ruddy color, fair hair, and steady eyes that met the gaze fearlessly. ”

“ For the first time Wulf hung his head:
"I was wrong, my lord."
"You were wrong, Wulf; it is not good always to say what we think; and you, as my page, should bear in mind that here at court it behoves you to behave and to speak not as a headstrong boy, but as one whose words may, rightly or wrongly, be considered as an echo of those you may have heard from me. And now to the third charge, that you withstood the prelate; a matter that, in the king's eyes, is a very serious one." ”

“ Presently Halfden rose up, after the welcome cup had gone round and feasting was done, and the ale and mead began to flow, and he beckoned me to come with him. Hubba would have come also, but Ingvar held him back.
"Let Wulfric have his say first," he growled; and I thanked him in my mind for his thought.
So we went to the inner chamber, where Osritha would sit with her maidens, and Halfden said:
"This matter is filling all my thoughts so that I am but a gloomy comrade at the board. Tell me all, and then what is done is done. One may not fight against the Norn maidens {xiv}." ”

“ Wulf will make a good fighting man one of these days. Harold sees that all his pages are well instructed in arms, and the two boys often have a bout with blunted swords when Wulf comes to my smithy; and, by my faith, though I have taught Osgod myself, and he already uses his arms well, the young thane is fully a match for him. You would hardly believe that the boy can read as well as a monk, but it is so. Earl Harold, you know, thinks a good deal of education, and has founded a college at Waltham. ”

“ Then it was that young Wulf felt his heart glow within him, and he longed for the time when he too might fare out to fight for the good, and to free the land from the evil that wasted field and meadow and ground down the people until no man dared hold up his head or meet, level-eyed, the gaze of his fellow.
It happened, at last, on a day when Karl was making ready to go to the castle with a corselet which he had mended for the baron himself, that the armorer met with an accident that changed Wulf’s whole life. ”

“ Karl, watching him, gathered rightly that he was worried as to his duty.
“An he be in truth the emperor by will of the people, and not alone of him at Rome,” Wulf added at last, “then are all true men who love Germany bound to come to his banner.”
“Ay.” Karl thrust the iron he was welding deep into the glowing coals of the forge.
“But I am of the Swartzburg’s men; 107and how may I be an honest one and fail at this moment when every blade is needed?” ”

“ What more does any man want from a Saxon?"
Thereat Ingvar scowled, knowing, as I think, what this was.
"You claim to be truth teller," he said; "did you sign Thor's hammer?"
"I did not," I answered.
Then Halfden came to my side.
"Let Wulfric go his own way, brother. What matters it what gods he worships so long as he is good warrior and true man, as I and my men know him to be?"
So he looked round on the faces of my comrades, and they answered in many ways that this was so. And several cried:
"Let it be, Jarl. What is one man to Thor and Odin?" ”

“ And to that place Raud led us, none staying him, yet all wondering.
When he came there he strode over the burnt timber until he came to the font, and there, under the graven cross, he set down his burden very gently, and stood up, looking in my face, and saying:
"Here will I leave the worship of Odin and cleave to that faith for which Eadmund the King died, and for which you, Wulfric, were willing to die both in Jutland and here by Eadmund's side. Will any forbid me?" ”

“ And my men added that they had seen me riding to that place, and had followed the call of my horn.
"Murderers do not call thus for help," said the earl. "What more?"
"Only that Lodbrok's dog flew at Beorn;" they said.
Then my steward and others told the story of my saving of Lodbrok, and there were one or two who knew how closely Beorn seemed to have sought his friendship. There was no more then to be said.
All the while Ulfkytel had watched my face and Beorn's, and now he said:
"The arrow condemns Wulfric, but any man might pick up a good arrow that he had lost. ”

“ Ever as Wulfric and I escaped from the vengeance of Ingvar towards Hedeby I wondered that one should be strong enough to defy the Asir and their godar for the sake of the new faith. So I sat in the church of Ansgar among the other heathen and heard somewhat. And again in London of late, where Guthrum will have no man harmed for his religion, I have listened and learnt more. ”

“ I am like to die of weariness,” gasped Elise, at last. “Go on alone, I beg thee.”
“Hark!” Wulf interrupted, with a quick gesture. “What is that?”
They were at the edge of another open, which they were minded to skirt, fearful to cross it and risk discovery; but beyond it came the sound of still another body of horsemen, crashing through the forest.
“Belike the party have divided,” Wulf whispered, “the better to find us.” But, even as he spoke, a squire rode from the 142brash into the open, bearing a banner that Wulf had never before seen. ”