Soldiers Tales From the Shire

Chapter 5 from Hun’s Corner

Today the Hun is presenting the story of Fyrd Soldier Winfrid, who in 1066 fought at the Battle of Hastings in the epic struggle of Anglo-Saxon against Norman.

Common Englishman

From the county of Wiltshire, Winfrid was a Saxon enlisted in the fyrd of Wessex. Along with the other recruits of his company, he was doing two years military service, sometimes repairing roads and bridges, at other times practising armed combat in the formation of the shield wall.

Defence Strategy

The round wooden shield held with the left arm, the sword or axe in the right hand, a fyrd soldier would be trained to be part of a fighting force capable of standing up to an enemy army. To achieve this, it was essential that every man maintained his assigned position on the battlefield. Winfrid learned that his shield would often be a vital asset of defence covering the man to his left, whereas he himself was dependent on the shield held by the man to his right. He became aware that, at times, an opponent's axe could get stuck in the heavy wooden shield without penetrating it entirely. In the time it took for the opposing man to retrieve it, Winfrid could use his own weapon. This, of-course, was during practice.

But he and his men were living in times of war and so it was important that shield, fighting implements, chain mail armour and helmet remained in working order. A visit to the blacksmith ensured that the sergeant at arms would be satisfied with his equipment at the next roll call.

The Normans Are Coming

When news reached the folk that William of Normandy had crossed the British Ocean and landed at Hastings, Winfrid's unit was stationed near Stonehenge. Now they were preparing to march east to join up with English King Harold Godwinson and his main army as they approached London.

Harold Godwinson was returning from the north after confronting Harald Hardrada on the battlefield near York. Hardrada, living up to his name, had fought a hard battle, and with his Norwegian berserkers had earned the respect of the English infantry – not least because he went down fighting like a good soldier and died where he fell.

Now it was Duke William of Normandy, son of a tanner, trying to take the throne of England, and many English soldiers were marching south to join up with the men of Wessex to confront the latest invader.

If only, the sergeant said, Harold waits for enough men to join him, then England has nothing to fear from the Norman.

Winfrid, who was seated three men down the line from the sergeant, placed his mug of ale on the wooden plank being used as a table and asked his commander:

But is not William waiting to join battle even against a great host?

And the sergeant, turning to him, explained:

Precisely that is the point, all King Harold need do is gather a sizeable army and wait, for William will not venture out beyond Hastings to harass Wessex or anywhere else in England. There is no need to join battle. For when the time comes, continued the sergeant, William son of the tanner and his entire army will have run out of food, if only we English wait long enough!

A Norman Ploy

Duke William of Normandy was anxiously waiting for news of Harold's arrival in Wessex, knowing that, in October, there was scant chance of his fleet making the return journey to Normandy should something go awfully wrong, as the sailing period for that year was over. Indeed, William had already encountered a storm out at sea on his way to England which had cost him many men. Adding to that, Harold's navy had started congregating at all the coastal ports of Kent and Sussex and now English ships were patrolling the sea around Hastings.

There was no chance of any supplies or reinforcements coming through to the Norman army, and should the English ships not be there to stop him if William needed an escape route, this would only be on account of the bad weather. For the very same reason, however, William's Norman ships too would be unable to leave port, meaning he would be sitting in a trap either way.

The case was clear: the Norman was on the wrong side of the sea, he was far away from home and in a land hostile to him, and the time of year he had chosen was not suitable for a military campaign. He had limited food, and with an army and a navy to feed, his reserves would run out within months. William only needed one thing to happen, and that was for Harold to commit the English army into battle before the Norman supplies ran out. Otherwise, the Duke of Normandy's war was going to be a lost cause. All he could do was continue playing the one card he had in his hand:

I am the rightful king of England, said William, and Harold is a coward and usurper who does not dare come out to challenge me.

Of-course William knew that English folks were bringing food and firewood and blankets to Harold's army, and more reinforcements were arriving by the day to enlarge his numbers. The Normans, on the other hand, were locked up in their wooden motte-and-bailey castles surrounded by English marshes.

But if the Saxon king is provoked, said the Norman duke, he might come out in anger and risk defeat.

And so William provoked Harold by claiming to be the rightful king, and Harold, who by now had nothing to fear from the Vikings who had been soundly defeated not many days earlier, committed the error of not waiting, even though time was on his side, not William’s.

Winfrid's Dream

One night in October of 1066, the Wiltshire fyrd company was encamped on high ground in a marshy area. The terrain would have been impenetrable to anyone unacquainted with the pathway through the swamps surrounding the encampment. The soldiers finished their supper and sat around the camp-fires talking, and one more barrel of Wiltshire apple cider made the rounds. As the moonlight appeared through some clouds in the sky, the horn blew. It was time to retire and so the men rose and went to their tents.

As the flames of the nearby fire crackled and the faint footsteps of a soldier on guard made their way past the tent, Winfrid fell asleep, his leather night-tunic and woollen blanket providing warmth. And so it was that, in his slumber, a vision came to him, and with the vision spoke a voice. And it was the Sergeant who appeared, standing at the entrance of the tent and looking down on him.

Winfrid, said he, I have come to speak to you. Hark! We will do battle with the Norman invader, we shall fight, and many of us shall fall. But the day shall come – and for sure it will – when the descendants of those who stood and fought on the side of Harold Godwin’s son will stand up to those of the Tanner’s son. England shall again become a sovereign land, and the treasures the Normans will have taken shall be taken from them and given back to the English folk, and the looters will stand trial in front of an English court to answer for all their misdeeds.

The sun rose over England the following day, and Winfrid awoke recalling every word of his dream. One thing he knew for sure now: the English will remain distinct from the Normans, the looting invader will not assimilate with the common English folk, and those who descend from the Tanner will stand out as separate and alien from those who are of Godwinson’s army. And finally England shall prevail!

Our last chapter is: At the Battle of Monte Cassino.