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Chapters (76)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise forMATTHEW HARFFY
  3. BY MATTHEW HARFFY
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright
  6. Dedication
  7. Maps
  8. Epigraph
  9. Contents
  10. Place Names
  11. One
  12. Two
  13. Three
  14. Four
  15. Five
  16. Six
  17. Seven
  18. Eight
  19. Nine
  20. Ten
  21. Eleven
  22. Twelve
  23. Thirteen
  24. Fourteen
  25. Fifteen
  26. Sixteen
  27. Seventeen
  28. Eighteen
  29. Nineteen
  30. Twenty
  31. Twenty-One
  32. Twenty-Two
  33. Twenty-Three
  34. Twenty-Four
  35. Twenty-Five
  36. Twenty-Six
  37. Twenty-Seven
  38. Twenty-Eight
  39. Twenty-Nine
  40. Thirty
  41. Thirty-One
  42. Thirty-Two
  43. Thirty-Three
  44. Thirty-Four
  45. Thirty-Five
  46. Thirty-Six
  47. Thirty-Seven
  48. Thirty-Eight
  49. Thirty-Nine
  50. Forty
  51. Forty-One
  52. Forty-Two
  53. Forty-Three
  54. Forty-Four
  55. Forty-Five
  56. Forty-Six
  57. Forty-Seven
  58. Forty-Eight
  59. Forty-Nine
  60. Fifty
  61. Fifty-One
  62. Fifty-Two
  63. Fifty-Three
  64. Fifty-Four
  65. Fifty-Five
  66. Fifty-Six
  67. Fifty-Seven
  68. Fifty-Eight
  69. Fifty-Nine
  70. Sixty
  71. Sixty-One
  72. Sixty-Two
  73. Author’s Note
  74. Acknowledgements
  75. About the Author
  76. An Invitation from the Publisher

I shuddered as a cool wind blew in off the dark sea. I did not like Leofstan’s repeated talk of dying, but I could not deny that I was overjoyed to have his thoughtful presence alongside me once more.

“But if we are truly going to ride the waves on this terrifying steed again on the morrow,” he said, “I need some rest.” He turned to go, then hesitated. “I have missed many of the offices of the day, so I should pray before I seek sleep. It must be past the time for Compline. Would you join me?”

“I would like that,” I said, wondering if Leofstan, in his wise way, could see how much I craved the communion of the brethren I had left. “But I am on watch.”

Leofstan clapped me on the back.

“Then we shall pray here. It will do me good to get used to reciting the offices on deck.”

And so we knelt amidships, as if the ship was our chapel and the mast Christ’s rood towering over us, and we prayed. But this was like no chapel I had worshipped in before. The oak of the deck was hard on my knees, the air pungent with tar and the lard and fish oil that had been lathered on the woollen sail. The night was alive with the sounds of water lapping against the keel, the breeze sighing through the rigging and rustling the alders along the bank, and every now and then, when the wind shifted, a snatch of singing reached us from the hall. And yet, despite the strangeness of our surroundings, I felt my body and mind relaxing as Leofstan and I went through the familiar liturgy and prayers of Compline.

When we had finished and Leofstan finally headed toward the hall, to be swallowed by the darkness, I stood guard over the ship that Runolf had built and I wondered at the meaning of it all.

If I was a warrior, should it feel so natural to kneel in prayer and take on the role of a monk once more?

Nineteen

My memories of the following days are jumbled, with each day much the same as the one before with little to distinguish it. Every morning we set sail aboard Brymsteda, where Runolf barked out orders and we did our best to obey them. Some days we sailed northward as far as Cocwaedesae, the small island where Anstan had given his life and warned us at Werceworthe of the coming of the Norsemen. Other days we travelled south, all the while staying well within sight of the coast. At the end of each gruelling day, we would return to Uuiremutha, our bodies aching and our heads swimming with what we had learnt. Once back on land we fell into the routine of guard duty, eating and drinking, and resting before the sun rose to usher in another day of hard labour aboard the ship.