Northman Part 1 by M J Porter

Author:M J Porter [Porter, M J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-07-19T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

AD1009 – Northman - Near Oxford

Rain fell heavily all throughout the night, daylight bringing little change to the conditions. Sat within his tent, Northman felt a little miserable. He was cold and felt like he had been for the last three days. He had every layer of clothing he could find wrapped around his body, but it didn’t alleviate the chill. The fire smouldered outside the tent, fighting the rain and the damp wood, and the spirit of the camp was muted.

They’d been in position now for almost two months, and nothing had happened. Not one thing. There was no prospect of actually making battle with Thorkell, and every day, more and more of the ships and men of Thorkell’s army arrived to overflow the gates of Oxford. Small tents now propped up the outer defences in the area furthest away from where the English encamped and Northman was just as aware as everyone else that the quantity of tents increased each day.

The reports from yesterday had even hinted that some of the shelters might be being made more permanent. The sound of axes on wood had reached the ears of the scouting party, and almost everyone was ready to accept that the Raiders were preparing themselves for the winter months. It was nearly Michaelmas. The weather was turning chilly, the morning damp, and this persistent rain was churning the hard packed earth to mud and covering everything in a layer of filth.

The king’s sons were as sullen as the rest of the encampment, Edmund now back with his brother following his enforced captivity with Thorkell, and Northman was at a loss as to what would happen now. Would the king allow them to break camp and return to warmer winter quarters, or would they stay here, all winter long, ensuring that Thorkell and his men didn’t get out from Oxford?

His father had paid a brief visit to the camp only seven days ago. He’d brought with him details of the king’s countrywide penance, and the request that they all take part. The men’s morale had raised a little at the thought that the king was still thinking of a way to defeat the Raiders. But news from further down the Thames was showing that Thorkell’s rougher men were making lightning quick raids across the lands and people were in danger if they left the safety of their homes and fortified farms.

The harvest was in, the gates of all the burhs had been closed and were only opened when a representative of the king arrived. To all intents and purposes, an expectancy pervaded the land. Just about accepting that Thorkell wouldn’t attack now, no one was quite willing to drop all arms and hold firm against the coming winter storms. There was the possibility that the month after Michaelmas would be fair, and if it was, Thorkell could escape or attack.

The fyrds had gathered in the separate ealdormanies, but soon even their service would come to an end, and

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