House of the Wolfings: The William Morris Book that Inspired J. R. R. Tolkiena *s The Lord of the Rings (13 page)

“It is now the toil of the thralls of our
blood whom they have taken, both men and women, to dig that clay
and to work it, and bear it to kilns, and to have for reward scant
meat and many stripes. For it is a grim folk, that laugheth to see
others weep.

“Their men-at-arms are well dight and for
the most part in one way: they are helmed with iron, and have iron
on their breasts and reins, and bear long shields that cover them
to the knees. They are girt with a sax and have a heavy
casting-spear. They are dark-skinned and ugly of aspect, surly and
of few words: they drink little, and eat not much.

“They have captains of tens and of hundreds
over them, and that War-duke over all; he goeth to and fro with
gold on his head and his breast, and commonly hath a cloak cast
over him of the colour of the crane’s-bill blossom.

“They have an altar in the midst of their
burg, and thereon they sacrifice to their God, who is none other
than their banner of war, which is an image of the ravening eagle
with outspread wings; but yet another God they have, and look you!
it is a wolf, as if they were of the kin of our brethren; a
she-wolf and two man-children at her dugs; wonderful is this.

“I tell you that they are grim; and know it
by this token: those captains of tens, and of hundreds, spare not
to smite the warriors with staves even before all men, when all
goeth not as they would; and yet, though they be free men, and
mighty warriors, they endure it and smite not in turn. They are a
most evil folk.

“As to their numbers, they of the burg are
hard on three thousand footmen of the best; and of horsemen five
hundred, nowise good; and of bowmen and slingers six hundred or
more: their bows weak; their slingers cunning beyond measure. And
the talk is that when they come upon us they shall have with them
some five hundred warriors of the Over River Goths, and others of
their own folk.”

Then he said:

O men of the Mark, will ye meet them in the
meadows and the field,

Or will ye flee before them and have the
wood for a shield?

Or will ye wend to their war-burg with
weapons cast away,

With your women and your children, a peace
of them to pray?

So doing, not all shall perish; but most
shall long to die

Ere in the garths of the Southland two moons
have loitered by.

Then rose the rumour loud and angry mingled
with the rattle of swords and the clash of spears on shields; but
Fox said:

“Needs must ye follow one of these three
ways. Nay, what say I? there are but two ways and not three; for if
ye flee they shall follow you to the confines of the earth. Either
these Welsh shall take all, and our lives to boot, or we shall hold
to all that is ours, and live merrily. The sword doometh; and in
three days it may be the courts shall be hallowed: small is the
space between us.”

Therewith he also got him down from the
Hill, and joined his own house: and men said that he had spoken
well and wisely. But there arose a noise of men talking together on
these tidings; and amidst it an old warrior of the Nether-mark
strode forth and up to the Hill-top. Gaunt and stark he was to look
on; and all men knew him and he was well-beloved, so all held their
peace as he said:

“I am Otter of the Laxings: now needeth but
few words till the War-duke is chosen, and we get ready to wend our
ways in arms. Here have ye heard three good men and true tell of
our foes, and this last, Fox the Red, hath seen them and hath more
to tell when we are on the way; nor is the way hard to find. It
were scarce well to fall upon these men in their garth and
war-burg; for hard is a wall to slay. Better it were to meet them
in the Wild-wood, which may well be a friend to us and a wall, but
to them a net. O Agni of the Daylings, thou warder of the
Thing-stead, bid men choose a War-duke if none gainsay it.”

And without more words he clattered down the
Hill, and went and stood with the Laxing band. But the old Dayling
arose and blew the horn, and there was at once a great silence,
amidst which he said:

“Children of Slains-father, doth the Folk go
to the war?”

There was no voice but shouted “yea,” and
the white swords sprang aloft, and the westering sun swept along a
half of them as they tossed to and fro, and the others showed
dead-white and fireless against the dark wood.

Then again spake Agni:

“Will ye choose the War-duke now and once,
or shall it be in a while, after others have spoken?”

And the voice of the Folk went up, “Choose!
Choose!”

Said Agni: “Sayeth any aught against it?”
But no voice of a gainsayer was heard, and Agni said:

“Children of Tyr, what man will ye have for
a leader and a duke of war?”

Then a great shout sprang up from amidst the
swords: “We will have Thiodolf; Thiodolf the Wolfing!”

Said Agni: “I hear no other name; are ye of
one mind? hath any aught to say against it? If that be so, let him
speak now, and not forbear to follow in the wheatfield of the
spears. Speak, ye that will not follow Thiodolf!”

No voice gainsaid him: then said the
Dayling: “Come forth thou War-duke of the Markmen! take up the gold
ring from the horns of the altar, set it on thine arm and come up
hither!”

Then came forth Thiodolf into the sun, and
took up the gold ring from where it lay, and did it on his arm. And
this was the ring of the leader of the folk whenso one should be
chosen: it was ancient and daintily wrought, but not very heavy: so
ancient it was that men said it had been wrought by the dwarfs.

So Thiodolf went up on to the hill, and all
men cried out on him for joy, for they knew his wisdom in war. Many
wondered to see him unhelmed, but they had a deeming that he must
have made oath to the Gods thereof and their hearts were glad of
it. They took note of the dwarf-wrought hauberk, and even from a
good way off they could see what a treasure of smith’s work it was,
and they deemed it like enough that spells had been sung over it to
make it sure against point and edge: for they knew that Thiodolf
was well beloved of the Gods.

But when Thiodolf was on the Hill of Speech,
he said:

“Men of the kindreds, I am your War-duke
to-day; but it is oftenest the custom when ye go to war to choose
you two dukes, and I would it were so now. No child’s play is the
work that lies before us; and if one leader chance to fall let
there be another to take his place without stop or stay. Thou Agni
of the Daylings, bid the Folk choose them another duke if so they
will.”

Said Agni: “Good is this which our War-duke
hath spoken; say then, men of the Mark, who shall stand with
Thiodolf to lead you against the Aliens?”

Then was there a noise and a crying of
names, and more than two names seemed to be cried out; but by far
the greater part named either Otter of the Laxings, or Heriulf of
the Wolfings. True it is that Otter was a very wise warrior, and
well known to all the men of the Mark; yet so dear was Heriulf to
them, that none would have named Otter had it not been mostly their
custom not to choose both War-dukes from one House.

Now spake Agni: “Children of Tyr, I hear you
name more than one name: now let each man cry out clearly the name
he nameth.

So the Folk cried the names once more, but
this time it was clear that none was named save Otter and Heriulf;
so the Dayling was at point to speak again, but or ever a word left
his lips, Heriulf the mighty, the ancient of days, stood forth: and
when men saw that he would take up the word there was a great
silence. So he spake:

“Hearken, children! I am old and war-wise;
but my wisdom is the wisdom of the sword of the mighty warrior,
that knoweth which way it should wend, and hath no thought of
turning back till it lieth broken in the field. Such wisdom is good
against Folks that we have met heretofore; as when we have fought
with the Huns, who would sweep us away from the face of the earth,
or with the Franks or the Burgundians, who would quell us into
being something worser than they be. But here is a new foe, and new
wisdom, and that right shifty, do we need to meet them. One wise
duke have ye gotten, Thiodolf to wit; and he is young beside me and
beside Otter of the Laxings. And now if ye must needs have an older
man to stand beside him, (and that is not ill) take ye Otter; for
old though his body be, the thought within him is keen and supple
like the best of Welsh-wrought blades, and it liveth in the days
that now are: whereas for me, meseemeth, my thoughts are in the
days bygone. Yet look to it, that I shall not fail to lead as the
sword of the valiant leadeth, or the shaft shot by the cunning
archer. Choose ye Otter; I have spoken over long.”

Then spoke Agni the Dayling, and laughed
withal: “One man of the Folk hath spoken for Otter and against
Heriulf—now let others speak if they will!”

So the cry came forth, “Otter let it be, we
will have Otter!”

“Speaketh any against Otter?” said Agni. But
there was no voice raised against him.

Then Agni said: “Come forth, Otter of the
Laxings, and hold the ring with Thiodolf.”

Then Otter went up on to the hill and stood
by Thiodolf, and they held the ring together; and then each thrust
his hand and arm through the ring and clasped hands together, and
stood thus awhile, and all the Folk shouted together.

Then spake Agni: “Now shall we hew the
horses and give the gifts to the Gods.”

Therewith he and the two War-dukes came down
from the hill; and stood before the altar; and the nine warriors of
the Daylings stood forth with axes to hew the horses and with
copper bowls wherein to catch the blood of them, and each hewed
down his horse to the Gods, but the two War-dukes slew the tenth
and fairest: and the blood was caught in the bowls, and Agni took a
sprinkler and went round about the ring of men, and cast the blood
of the Gods’-gifts over the Folk, as was the custom of those
days.

Then they cut up the carcases and burned on
the altar the share of the Gods, and Agni and the War-dukes tasted
thereof, and the rest they bore off to the Daylings’ abode for the
feast to be holden that night.

Then Otter and Thiodolf spake apart together
for awhile, and presently went up again on to the Speech-Hill, and
Thiodolf said:

O kindreds of the Markmen; to-morrow with
the day

We shall wend up Mirkwood-water to bar our
foes the way;

And there shall we make our Wain-burg on the
edges of the wood,

Where in the days past over at last the
aliens stood,

The Slaughter Tofts ye call it. There
tidings shall we get

If the curse of the world is awakened, and
the serpent crawleth yet

Amidst the Mirkwood thicket; and when the
sooth we know,

Then bearing battle with us through the
thicket shall we go,

The ancient Wood-wolf’s children, and the
People of the Shield,

And the Spear-kin and the Horse-kin, while
the others keep the field

About the warded Wain-burg; for not many
need we there

Where amidst of the thickets’ tangle and the
woodland net they fare,

And the hearts of the aliens falter and they
curse the fight ne’er done,

And wonder who is fighting and which way is
the sun.

Thus he spoke; then Agni took up the
war-horn again, and blew a blast, and then he cried out:

Now sunder we the Folk-motel and the feast
is for to-night,

And to-morrow the Wayfaring; But unnamed is
the day of the fight;

O warriors, look ye to it that not long we
need abide

’Twixt the hour of the word we have spoken,
and our fair-fame’s blooming-tide!

For then ’midst the toil and the turmoil
shall we sow the seeds of peace,

And the Kindreds’ long endurance, and the
Gothfolk’s great increase.

Then arose the last great shout, and soberly
and in due order, kindred by kindred, they turned and departed from
the Thing-stead and went their way through the wood to the abode of
the Daylings.

Chapter 9

The Ancient Man of the Daylings

There still hung the more part of the
stay-at-homes round about the Roof. But on the plain beneath the
tofts were all the wains of the host drawn up round about a square
like the streets about a market-place; all these now had their
tilts rigged over them, some white, some black, some red, some
tawny of hue; and some, which were of the Beamings, green like the
leafy tree.

The warriors of the host went down into this
wain-town, which they had not fenced in any way, since they in no
wise looked for any onset there; and there were their thralls
dighting the feast for them, and a many of the Dayling kindred,
both men and women, went with them; but some men did the Daylings
bring into their Roof, for there was room for a good many besides
their own folk. So they went over the Bridge of turf into the garth
and into the Great Roof of the Daylings; and amongst these were the
two War-dukes.

So when they came to the dais it was as fair
all round about there as might well be; and there sat elders and
ancient warriors to welcome the guests; and among them was the old
carle who had sat on the edge of the burg to watch the faring of
the host, and had shuddered back at the sight of the Wolfing
Banner.

And when the old carle saw the guests, he
fixed his eyes on Thiodolf, and presently came up and stood before
him; and Thiodolf looked on the old man, and greeted him kindly and
smiled on him; but the carle spake not till he had looked on him a
while; and at last he fell a-trembling, and reached his hands out
to Thiodolf’s bare head, and handled his curls and caressed them,
as a mother does with her son, even if he be a grizzled-haired man,
when there is none by: and at last he said:

How dear is the head of the mighty, and the
apple of the tree