the Danes that they could not even ask for truce to recover their
slain, it seemed plain even to me that the king was ill-served in
some way. But I could say nought; and after that he bade us
farewell for the time.

So it came to pass that he gave me a place among the thanes' sons
of his own court and there I was well trained in all that would
make me a good warrior. Soon I had many friends, and best of all I
loved the athelings, Eadmund and Eadward, who soon took notice of
me, the one because I was never weary of weapon play, and the
other, Eadward, who was somewhat younger than I, because of the
learning that our good priest of Bures had taken such pains to
teach me against my will. For above all things Eadmund loved the
craft of the warrior, and Eadward all that belonged to peace.



Chapter 2: Olaf The King.


My mother lived but a few months after that flight of ours; but at
least she knew before she died that Bertha was safe. What the old
nurse had foreseen had come to pass. The half-Danish and Danish
folk of the East Angles owned Swein as king, though not willingly,
and a housecarle from Wormingford made his way to us with word from
Gunnhild that set our minds at rest. Truly our hall and Osgod's had
been burnt by parties from the Danish host, and for a time the
danger was great, for Swein's vengeance for his sister's death was
terrible.