yth."

"Until after the wedding, my king," I said; "but you are in my
father's place to me always. Should I have left him?"

So I said no more, but stood in my place before him, for I loved
him now best of all men in the world since my father was gone, and
it seemed well to me to die beside him if die he must.

Now our king gave the word, crying, "Forward, Christian men!" and
we shouted and charged with a good will on the Danes, and the
battle began. Hard fighting it was on both sides, but our men in
their want of order jostled and hindered one another, so that I saw
more than one struck down by mischance by his own comrades. But the
Danes kept their even line, bent round into half a circle so that
we could not outflank them, and our numbers were nearly equal.

Men have said that I did well in that fight, but so did we all,
each in his way. All I know of my own deeds is that I kept my own
life, and that once a ring of men stood before me out of reach of
my axe, not one seeming to care to be first within its swing. And
ever Eadmund's clear voice cheered on his men from behind me.

So the battle went on from the first daylight for an hour's space,
and then the steadfastness of the Danish line began to strike
terror into our men, and the Danish horsemen charged on our flanks
and broke us up; and then all at once a panic fell on our levies,
and they wavered, and at once the horsemen were among them
everywhere, and the field was lost to us. Before I knew what had
befallen I was hurried away in a dense throng of our men, who swept
me from before the king, and I was soon in Thetford streets, where
I thought that surely we should have rallied, for there is no
stronger town or better walled in all East Anglia.

In the marketplace sat Eadmund on his white horse, unhelmed that
the men might know him yet living, for in the flight word had gone
round that he had fallen, and now the men seemed to be taking heart
and gathering round him.

But even as I reached him, a fresh throng of flying men came down
the street from the gate next the Danes, and after them came a
score of the terrible horsemen, driving a hundred like sheep before
them. At that sight the few who were gathering fled also, leaving
the king and myself and four other thanes alone. I was the only one
on foot.

Then one of those thanes grasped the bridle of the king's horse and
led him away, crying:

"Come, for our sakes; needs must fly. Let us go to Framlingha