ridge, one of the
first erected of its kind, until at length its bright waters lave the
historic walls of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the quiet harbour there
meet the inrushing tide from the North Sea.

CHAPTER IX.

DRUM AND TRUMPET.

"The history of Northumberland is essentially a drum and trumpet
history, from the time when the _buccina_ of the Batavian cohort first
rang out over the moors of Procolitia down to the proclamation of James
III. at Warkworth Cross"--_Cadwallader J Bates_.

This sentence of the historian of Northumberland sums up the story of
our northern county no less admirably than tersely, and it would be
difficult to find one which should more clearly bring before us the
whole atmosphere of north-country history and north-country doings for
many centuries.

Within the limits of this chapter it is impossible to go into the
details of every "foughten field" within the county; the most that can
be done is to indicate the many and treat in detail only the few. A
goodly number have already been alluded to in connection with the place
where each occurred.

After the Roman campaigns, from those of Agricola to those of Theodosius
the elder and Maximus, and the legion sent by Stilicho, the earliest
battle story is that of the one in Glendale fought by King Arthur. Then
the forming of the kingdom of Bernicia with the advent of Ida at
Bamburgh was the beginning of a long-protracted struggle between the
various little states, each fighting for its life, and surrounded by
others equally determined to take every advantage that offered against
it. The sons of Ida fought against the celebrated Urien, a Keltic
chief, who almost succeeded in dispossessing them of their kingdom of
Bernicia. Hussa, one of Ida's sons, ultimately vanquished Urien's son
Owen, "chief of the glittering West"; and after Hussa's death Ethelric
of Bernicia, as we have seen, overcame the neighbouring chieftain of
Deira, thus forming the kingdom of Northumbria. His successor,
Ethelfrith, in the year 603 gained a great victory over a large force of
northern Britons under a leader named Aedan at a place called
Daegsanstan, which is thought to be Dissington, near Newcastle. His
further victories were gained outside the limits of our present survey.

After the long and glorious reign of Edwin, his successor, Ethelfrith's
sons came back to Bamburgh; the eldest, Eanfrid, was slain within a
year, and his brother Oswald carried on the st