All the valour and nobility of Old England yet surviving, gathered
around the great chieftain; thither came Edwin and Morcar, the
brothers-in-law of King Harold; and many an earl and knight,
fearless as the warriors of the Round Table, fought beneath the
banner of Hereward, and banqueted while there was aught left to
eat, at the board of the large-hearted Abbot Thurstan.
The Danes, who had been summoned to the aid of the English
patriots, were bought off soon after their arrival by the gold of
William, but still Hereward fought on.
At length William stationed his fleet in the Wash, with orders to
guard every outlet from the fens to the ocean; still he could not
reach Hereward, who had retired, with his valiant men, to their
stronghold, situate in an expanse of water, which, in the narrowest
part, was at least two miles in breadth. Then the king undertook a
tremendous task-that of constructing a solid road through the
inundated marshes, throwing bridges over the deeper channels, and
building a causeway elsewhere. But in the face of an active enemy
this was no easy task; and so frequently were the Normans surprised
by Hereward that they believed he must be aided by sorcery, and
employed the "witch," who perished by fire (as mentioned in another
Note), to counteract his magic, with the result already described.
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