Who decided when a battle was to be begun?
Who threw the first spear?
Who claimed first blood?

Eorl Morcar is asking these questions of himself as he watches the Viking army arrive and begin to take up their positions. It occurs to him, as it probably would to anyone who was sharing the experience, that by arriving early at Fulford Gate the Saxons have the initiative and are ready to attack their enemy even as the Norse warriors march up the road from Riccall in column formation. King Hardrada himself is painfully aware that his strength is spread out behind him and that his men are vulnerable to attack. It might seem like a good idea to go on the offensive at the very start of the battle, but it is the one thing that Coenred fears; he knows that the Saxon army lacks sufficient spears to achieve a victory that way.

The description of the battle that follows is as accurate as I could make it based on the surviving accounts. I am rather proud of the fact that many readers have complimented my writing in respect of that dedication for accuracy, both in the events and also in the weapons and armour of the warriors as it is depicted. One or two have commented on the text being somewhat bloodthirsty. Curiously, my editor thought that it was not blood thirsty enough! On the first point, these battles were indeed bloody affairs. Men suffered horrible wounds and died painful deaths. On the second point I did not want to write a blood-soaked account just to satisfy a grisly thirst. I think that I managed to hit a happy medium.

This is one of the longer chapters because I decided to keep all of the main events on the field in one piece. I think it works very well that way. It reflects how quickly the tide can change in a violent struggle and how one event can alter the direction of the conflict.

Below is a PDF file of the chapter under discussion. Please, click on the link and enjoy.