‘Quiet,’ Finan snarled, then, much lower, ‘you shouldn’t be here. Go to the rear rank.’

I gave him no answer, nor did I move. In all my years I had never fought anywhere except the front rank. A man who leads others to death’s doorway must lead, not follow. I felt stifled, and so I undid the knot that held the boiled-leather cheek-pieces and let them swing free so I could breathe more easily.

Father Oda paced in front of our wall, talking now to us and seemingly oblivious of the East Anglians behind him. ‘God is with us!’ he called. ‘God is our strength and our shield! Today we shall strike down the forces of evil! Today we fight for God’s country!’

I stopped paying attention because, not far to the west, the first banners were appearing above the lip of the Weala’s valley. And I could hear drums beating. The heartbeat of war was coming nearer. A man a few paces away in our front rank bent over and vomited. ‘Something I ate,’ he said, but that was not true. Our shields were propped against legs that trembled, there was bile in our throats, our stomachs were sour, and our laughter at bad jests was forced.

The first men of Wessex appeared from the shallow valley, a line of grey sparked with spear-points. The East Anglians who had faced us so irresolutely began to edge backwards, as if making room for the approaching horde. We had been right, I thought ruefully. The East Anglians did not want to fight, neither for the West Saxons nor, it seemed, for us either.

The enemy who had come from the fort were getting closer. Their banners were bright; banners with crosses, with saints, with the dragon of Wessex, with Æthelhelm’s leaping stag and, leading all of them, a banner I had never seen before. It was being waved from side to side so we could see it clearly and it showed a dull grey dragon of Wessex beneath a leaping stag embroidered in deep scarlet. A small cross showed in the upper corner.

‘God is with us!’ Oda shouted. ‘And your king is coming!’

I hoped he was right and dared not leave the shield wall to find out. The gate was open and we just had to keep it open until Æthelstan arrived.

Rumwald stood to my right. He was shaking slightly. ‘Keep together!’ he called to his men. ‘Stand fast!’ His voice was uncertain. ‘He is coming, lord?’ he asked me. ‘Of course he’s coming. He won’t let us down.’ He talked on, saying nothing of importance, just talking to cover his fear. The drums became louder. Horsemen rode on the flanks of the approaching West Saxons and still more footmen came, their spears thick. I could see the leaping stags on the shields now. The front rank, that was ragged because men were stepping over the remnants of walls, numbered about twenty, but there were at least twenty ranks behind. It was a daunting mass of household warriors who advanced in front of a group of horsemen, and there were still more ranks behind those mounted men. They had begun shouting, though they were still too far away to hear their insults.