man's neck so that his head was cut off; and then took he
the fur coat and springing on to his horse rode down to the shore.

|| Now tidings were borne to the Rouen Earl, William the Bastard, of the
death of King Edward his kinsman, & furthermore was it told how Harald
Godwinson had been acclaimed as King of England and had been consecrated
thereto. Now William deemed he had a better right to that kingdom than
Harald, to wit by reason of the kinship betwixt him & King Edward, and
withal furthermore inasmuch as he deemed it but fair to avenge himself
on Harald for the slight of that broken betrothal with his own daughter.

For all these self-same reasons, then, assembled William an host
together in Normandy, and a multitude of men were mustered, with a
goodly sufficiency of ships. And on the day that he rode from the city
unto his ships, when he had mounted up on to his horse, his wife went to
him & would have spoken with him, but when he saw this he thrust at her
with his heel, setting his spur in her breast so that it penetrated deep
therein, and she fell and straightway died.Sec. But the Earl rode to his
ships and fared with his host over to England. At that time was his
brother Otta with him.

When the Earl came to England plundered he there, & brought the land
into subjection under him wheresoever he went.

Earl William was bigger and stronger than other men, a good horseman,
the greatest of warriors, and very cruel; a very wise man was he withal,
but accounted in no wise trustworthy.

|| King Harald Godwinson gave Olaf, the son of King Harald Sigurdson,
permission to fare his way, and in like fashion treated he those men of
the host who had been with the King and had not fallen. King Harald then
turned southward with his host, for he had learned that William Bastard
was faring northward through England, & was conquering the country.
There were with Harald Godwinson at that time his brethren Svein,Sec. Gyrd,
and Walthiof. King Harald and Earl William met in the south of England
at Hastings and a great battle befell there.

In it were slain King Harald and his brother Earl Gyrd, & a great part
of their host. Nineteen nights was it after the fall of King Harald
Sigurdson,Sec. Earl Walthiof, own brother to Harald, made good his escape
by flight, and at even fell in with a band of William's men; whereupon
Earl Walthiof set fire to the forest and burned them all up. Thus saith
Thorkel Skallson in Walthiof's lay: