"Goodnight, gentlemen all."
And thus the royal party broke up, and thus ended the first anniversary
of the ill-starred union.
On the morrow all was haste and confusion in the royal palace. Elgiva
departed early for Winchester, which, being farther removed from the
frontier, was safer than London from any sudden excursion on the part of
the Mercians, and the city was also devoted to the royal family. The
citizens of London were directed to provide for the defence of their
city, while the royal guards, attended by the immediate vassals of the
crown, prepared to march into the heart of the rebellious district.
It is too often supposed that the feudal system was of Norman
importation, whereas its very foundation--the act of homage, or of
"becoming your man,"--was brought by the Saxons and Angles from their
German home. The lord was the protector of the vassal, but the vassal
was bound to attend his feudal superior both in peace and war.
So imperative was this obligation, that a vassal who abandoned his lord
in the field of battle was liable to the death of a traitor.
Therefore Edwy soon found himself at the head of a compact body of ten
thousand men, all bound to stand by him to death. But there was one very
disheartening circumstance, which attracted notice. No volunteers joined
the little army, although a royal proclamation had promised lands from
the territories of the rebels to each successful combatant in the cause
of Edwy and Elgiva.
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