The Shielding of Engla Land against the Normishmen
(A brief Harold victory TL in "Anglish")
In the Year 1066 of our Lord, the King of Engla Land, Harold the Stalwart of the House Godwinson (and the Twain of that Name), was cast by great onslaughts from two unlike foes, threatening the fate of the kingdom.
At first, Haraldr Hardrada of Northway, a great Viking with a long yore of ransacking, plotted to break the following of Engla Land. Having oathed the Kingdom to a would-be king, Tostig Godwinson, Haraldr now had grounds for a Great Raid, one which would stow Haraldr on the throne of Engla Land and end English selfhood forever. So he thought.
In the Summer of 1066, Haraldr and his fyrd of Vikings aboarded on a great sailing from his homeland. Haraldr reached Yorkshire, readying himself and his men for an onslaught against the burg of York. However, in forethought of a more ready fight, and to hurt the strength of nearby English keepers, Haraldr raided the hinter land for goods and bearings. In a bid to forestall this, the Earls Edwin of Mercia and Morcar of Northumberland steadfastly fought Haraldr at the Row of Fulford. But the Earls lost, and instead, York yielded to Haraldr, who raided the leftover lands of that burg’s shire, seeking thralls and gold.
This raiding and sacking snagged the eye of Harold Godwinson, who, upon learning of the Norwegish strike, gathered his housecarls and thegns into a kingly fyrd. Harold and his men went North, striding day and night at great speed. On the 25th of the Harvestmonth, 1066, Harold reached York. The lightning-speed hike had taken only four days, and the Vikings were snared into a fight that was not on their word: the Row of Stamford Bridge.
At Stamford Bridge, the English fyrd outscored the Norwegish fyrd in words of men. However, the Vikings were frightening foes. When the Norwegish saw the English they quickly stowed into a shielding ring, with each man siding outward. One greatly strong Norwegish axeman held up the English headway by bottlenecking the bridge with his strikes and blows, killing forty Englishmen. Yet this was not to last. One Englishman floated over the stream, stabbing the Norwegishman with his spear. After that, all of the English fyrdmen rushed to the other side of the stream to attack the Norwegish fyrd.
The holdup had given time to the Vikings, and throughout this time, they had shaped into a stalwart shieldwall. The English shaped into a mighty straight, and fell at the Norwegish. Though the fight lasted for hours, the English had an upper hand not only because of their outscoring of men against the Norwegish, but also because the Vikings had left their shieldwear and helms on their boats after their hasty raid. With time, the Norwegish shieldwall broke, Haraldr was quickly slain along with Tostig, and the staying were made to flee or yield, else they were smote.
The onetimely English victory notwithstanding, Harold Godwinson had no time for gathering, for he was onset with a new threat. From the South, Earl Willhelm “the Bastard” of Normish Land had set sail across the English Sound. Like Haraldr, Willhelm laid out a plot to take the throne of Engla Land for himself. Unlike Haraldr, his stake was grounded not on the stake of a would-be king from Engla Land, but on a said deed from the Pope, which held that Willhelm was the true follower of Edward Andetter, previous king of Engla Land. In fact, the Pope had never cast such a deed, but in Normish Land, it was shortly seen as a truth, bolstering the backing of the earl. The earl was altogether speedful at gathering lords and wards of his earldom, who wanted lands in Engla Land as their own fees. Willhelm had made his lordship strong in Normish Land, and many mounted knights flew the flag of that Earl, bringing their fyrdmen.
After building a costly fleet and waiting many months for trusty weather, the Normishmen crossed the English Sound. Willhelm’s onslaught boats landed at Pevensey in Sussex, where he began to raid the hinter land. Wanting to ready his fyrd for a row, Willhelm built a motte-and-bailey stronghouse at Hastings, waiting for Harold to strike.
Harold thought Willhelm had fallen in the sea months earlier, and was not aware of Willhelm’s great raid until it happened. As soon as Harold learned of the Normish’s reaching, the English king once again assembled his housecarls and his thegns into hundreds, and his hundreds into a great fyrd. He headed south to take on the Normish earl.
The Normishmen, with great many a horse, and well-crafted shielding and helming, were by haps a stronger foe than the Norwegish. Not only a fyrd of fyrdmen, there were horsemen, crossbowmen, bowmen, all of whom were shielded by shacklemesh hauberks, other than the bowmen. Notwithstanding this weighty outscoring by the Normishmen, the English had two lucky upperhands. For one, as the Normishmen had straight come back from a raid, they were not yet settled in their stronghouse. For the other, the English had taken high ground straight before the row.
On the 14th of Tenthmonth, thus began the Row of Hastings. The English made a shieldwall atop a hill. Normish spearmen steadfastly and unwisely laid up the hillock, unfit to break the mighty straight. Then bowmen from Willhelm’s fyrd let go a hail of arrows at the English fyrd. Yet the shields did not break. Also, the Normish bowmen could not fill their arrowholders with arrows, as the English had few bowmen. Rather, the English threw stones and spears at the raiders.
Thus the horsemen rushed up the hill, again trying to break the English. Here they found some winning, as they killed much of the fore straight of the shielders. However, the shieldwall did not fall, and bolstered in the Normishmens’ stead. By the last, when a hearsay spread that Willhelm had been killed in the row, the Normishmen fell back. Although Willhelm the Bastard was in fact still alive, the offthrowing of the raiding fyrd gave Harold a chance to also fall back, and he made his way to London. Willhelm, badly bloodied, was made to go to London with his fyrd, as he could not fulfill his oaths to his men for land and plunder without killing the English king.
Harold arrived in London and Willhelm shortly after. The English set up a warding straight in London while some of his men raided the Normishmen at Southwark. English wards then hid in the grass near London Bridge, hoping Willhelm would attempt to storm the building. The plot was trusty. When the battered Normish fyrd arrived, they began to cross the bridge. The bulk of Harold’s fyrd cropped from the north, to set up a bottleneck on the bridge and hinder Willhelm from making his way over. A smaller share of the English fyrdmen harried the Normishmen from the south, throwing stones and spears. The main showdown occurred, with English spearmen making headway against the Frankish earl’s horsemen, who were hindered by the bridge. Then the English fell back with meaning, and the Normishmen were let to make their way across the bridge, seeing as the English were set up and ready to ward. With small teams of Normishs fit to go out on land, and wide English straights, one Normish fought up to five Englishmen. Willhelm had warned his men but to no turning. Most of the Normishmen were slaughtered, and Willhelm tried to ride out, but the English hiding in the grass on the other side killed his horse, and the Normish earl, falling to the ground, was then slain.
The aftermath of the Row of London Bridge led to the enthralling of leftover Frankish and Normish lords, who paid their owings to the King Harold to be worthy to leave Engla Land. Then King Harold went to London and held a great winningstride there, and then he went to Winchester and held another winningstride in that burg, the foremostburg of Engla Land. Harold became known as the Stalwart, having fought off two outlandish onslaughts from outlandish kings. And Engla Land became lush with gold, great with fleet and fyrd for the rest of Harold’s sway, and all the English lords held the King with high outlook, with only one uprising, that of the outbreaking Earls of Mercia and Northumberland, who were killed. In their stead, the King held more trusty earls, who built up the land and swore oath to their kingdom.
Harold the Stalwart would lead from 1066 to 1085, his kingdom of Engla Land becoming wealthy and strong. The great fleet and fyrd fought off Danish onslaughts, and stopped further eavesdropping and raiding by the lords of Northway and Normish Land, which over time would only make greater the sway of the king and the makegathering of the kingdom.
The Normishmen, instead, did take many earldoms in Sicily, and harried the Romish until the Romish were made to build a fyrd called the Normish Hold, which was like the older Varangian Hold but filled with horsemen instead of fyrdmen. While fighting the Normishmen, the Romish lost a great row against the Turks, who raided the land. Only the uprising of Alexios Komnenos against Nikephoros would uphold the Romish Kaiserdom. This Kaiser Alexios did bring a new greatness to the New Rome, which was thought to be lost. But the harrying of Anatolia led to a great loss of land and the building of the Sultanate of Rum.
In such happenings, a few years after the death of Harold the Stalwart, the Romish Kaiser Alexios made a call to the Pope, who would build a new era of taking up the cross and fighting for Christendom.
(A brief Harold victory TL in "Anglish")
In the Year 1066 of our Lord, the King of Engla Land, Harold the Stalwart of the House Godwinson (and the Twain of that Name), was cast by great onslaughts from two unlike foes, threatening the fate of the kingdom.
At first, Haraldr Hardrada of Northway, a great Viking with a long yore of ransacking, plotted to break the following of Engla Land. Having oathed the Kingdom to a would-be king, Tostig Godwinson, Haraldr now had grounds for a Great Raid, one which would stow Haraldr on the throne of Engla Land and end English selfhood forever. So he thought.
In the Summer of 1066, Haraldr and his fyrd of Vikings aboarded on a great sailing from his homeland. Haraldr reached Yorkshire, readying himself and his men for an onslaught against the burg of York. However, in forethought of a more ready fight, and to hurt the strength of nearby English keepers, Haraldr raided the hinter land for goods and bearings. In a bid to forestall this, the Earls Edwin of Mercia and Morcar of Northumberland steadfastly fought Haraldr at the Row of Fulford. But the Earls lost, and instead, York yielded to Haraldr, who raided the leftover lands of that burg’s shire, seeking thralls and gold.
This raiding and sacking snagged the eye of Harold Godwinson, who, upon learning of the Norwegish strike, gathered his housecarls and thegns into a kingly fyrd. Harold and his men went North, striding day and night at great speed. On the 25th of the Harvestmonth, 1066, Harold reached York. The lightning-speed hike had taken only four days, and the Vikings were snared into a fight that was not on their word: the Row of Stamford Bridge.
At Stamford Bridge, the English fyrd outscored the Norwegish fyrd in words of men. However, the Vikings were frightening foes. When the Norwegish saw the English they quickly stowed into a shielding ring, with each man siding outward. One greatly strong Norwegish axeman held up the English headway by bottlenecking the bridge with his strikes and blows, killing forty Englishmen. Yet this was not to last. One Englishman floated over the stream, stabbing the Norwegishman with his spear. After that, all of the English fyrdmen rushed to the other side of the stream to attack the Norwegish fyrd.
The holdup had given time to the Vikings, and throughout this time, they had shaped into a stalwart shieldwall. The English shaped into a mighty straight, and fell at the Norwegish. Though the fight lasted for hours, the English had an upper hand not only because of their outscoring of men against the Norwegish, but also because the Vikings had left their shieldwear and helms on their boats after their hasty raid. With time, the Norwegish shieldwall broke, Haraldr was quickly slain along with Tostig, and the staying were made to flee or yield, else they were smote.
The onetimely English victory notwithstanding, Harold Godwinson had no time for gathering, for he was onset with a new threat. From the South, Earl Willhelm “the Bastard” of Normish Land had set sail across the English Sound. Like Haraldr, Willhelm laid out a plot to take the throne of Engla Land for himself. Unlike Haraldr, his stake was grounded not on the stake of a would-be king from Engla Land, but on a said deed from the Pope, which held that Willhelm was the true follower of Edward Andetter, previous king of Engla Land. In fact, the Pope had never cast such a deed, but in Normish Land, it was shortly seen as a truth, bolstering the backing of the earl. The earl was altogether speedful at gathering lords and wards of his earldom, who wanted lands in Engla Land as their own fees. Willhelm had made his lordship strong in Normish Land, and many mounted knights flew the flag of that Earl, bringing their fyrdmen.
After building a costly fleet and waiting many months for trusty weather, the Normishmen crossed the English Sound. Willhelm’s onslaught boats landed at Pevensey in Sussex, where he began to raid the hinter land. Wanting to ready his fyrd for a row, Willhelm built a motte-and-bailey stronghouse at Hastings, waiting for Harold to strike.
Harold thought Willhelm had fallen in the sea months earlier, and was not aware of Willhelm’s great raid until it happened. As soon as Harold learned of the Normish’s reaching, the English king once again assembled his housecarls and his thegns into hundreds, and his hundreds into a great fyrd. He headed south to take on the Normish earl.
The Normishmen, with great many a horse, and well-crafted shielding and helming, were by haps a stronger foe than the Norwegish. Not only a fyrd of fyrdmen, there were horsemen, crossbowmen, bowmen, all of whom were shielded by shacklemesh hauberks, other than the bowmen. Notwithstanding this weighty outscoring by the Normishmen, the English had two lucky upperhands. For one, as the Normishmen had straight come back from a raid, they were not yet settled in their stronghouse. For the other, the English had taken high ground straight before the row.
On the 14th of Tenthmonth, thus began the Row of Hastings. The English made a shieldwall atop a hill. Normish spearmen steadfastly and unwisely laid up the hillock, unfit to break the mighty straight. Then bowmen from Willhelm’s fyrd let go a hail of arrows at the English fyrd. Yet the shields did not break. Also, the Normish bowmen could not fill their arrowholders with arrows, as the English had few bowmen. Rather, the English threw stones and spears at the raiders.
Thus the horsemen rushed up the hill, again trying to break the English. Here they found some winning, as they killed much of the fore straight of the shielders. However, the shieldwall did not fall, and bolstered in the Normishmens’ stead. By the last, when a hearsay spread that Willhelm had been killed in the row, the Normishmen fell back. Although Willhelm the Bastard was in fact still alive, the offthrowing of the raiding fyrd gave Harold a chance to also fall back, and he made his way to London. Willhelm, badly bloodied, was made to go to London with his fyrd, as he could not fulfill his oaths to his men for land and plunder without killing the English king.
Harold arrived in London and Willhelm shortly after. The English set up a warding straight in London while some of his men raided the Normishmen at Southwark. English wards then hid in the grass near London Bridge, hoping Willhelm would attempt to storm the building. The plot was trusty. When the battered Normish fyrd arrived, they began to cross the bridge. The bulk of Harold’s fyrd cropped from the north, to set up a bottleneck on the bridge and hinder Willhelm from making his way over. A smaller share of the English fyrdmen harried the Normishmen from the south, throwing stones and spears. The main showdown occurred, with English spearmen making headway against the Frankish earl’s horsemen, who were hindered by the bridge. Then the English fell back with meaning, and the Normishmen were let to make their way across the bridge, seeing as the English were set up and ready to ward. With small teams of Normishs fit to go out on land, and wide English straights, one Normish fought up to five Englishmen. Willhelm had warned his men but to no turning. Most of the Normishmen were slaughtered, and Willhelm tried to ride out, but the English hiding in the grass on the other side killed his horse, and the Normish earl, falling to the ground, was then slain.
The aftermath of the Row of London Bridge led to the enthralling of leftover Frankish and Normish lords, who paid their owings to the King Harold to be worthy to leave Engla Land. Then King Harold went to London and held a great winningstride there, and then he went to Winchester and held another winningstride in that burg, the foremostburg of Engla Land. Harold became known as the Stalwart, having fought off two outlandish onslaughts from outlandish kings. And Engla Land became lush with gold, great with fleet and fyrd for the rest of Harold’s sway, and all the English lords held the King with high outlook, with only one uprising, that of the outbreaking Earls of Mercia and Northumberland, who were killed. In their stead, the King held more trusty earls, who built up the land and swore oath to their kingdom.
Harold the Stalwart would lead from 1066 to 1085, his kingdom of Engla Land becoming wealthy and strong. The great fleet and fyrd fought off Danish onslaughts, and stopped further eavesdropping and raiding by the lords of Northway and Normish Land, which over time would only make greater the sway of the king and the makegathering of the kingdom.
The Normishmen, instead, did take many earldoms in Sicily, and harried the Romish until the Romish were made to build a fyrd called the Normish Hold, which was like the older Varangian Hold but filled with horsemen instead of fyrdmen. While fighting the Normishmen, the Romish lost a great row against the Turks, who raided the land. Only the uprising of Alexios Komnenos against Nikephoros would uphold the Romish Kaiserdom. This Kaiser Alexios did bring a new greatness to the New Rome, which was thought to be lost. But the harrying of Anatolia led to a great loss of land and the building of the Sultanate of Rum.
In such happenings, a few years after the death of Harold the Stalwart, the Romish Kaiser Alexios made a call to the Pope, who would build a new era of taking up the cross and fighting for Christendom.
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