dard
had stood; and that was the signal of his having conquered, and beaten
down the standard. And he ordered his tent to be raised on the spot
among the dead, and had his meat brought thither, and his supper
prepared there.

"Then he took off his armor; and the barons and knights, pages and
squires came, when he had unstrung his shield; and they took the helmet
from his head and the hauberk from his back, and saw the heavy blows
upon his shield and how his helmet was dinted in. And all greatly
wondered and said: 'Such a baron (_ber_) never bestrode war-horse nor
dealt such blows nor did such feats of arms; neither has there been on
earth such a knight since Rollant and Oliver.'

"Thus they lauded and extolled him greatly and rejoiced in what they
saw, but grieving also for their friends who were slain in the battle.
And the Duke stood meanwhile among them, of noble stature and mien, and
rendered thanks to the King of Glory, through whom he had the victory,
and thanked the knights around him, mourning also frequently for the
dead. And he ate and drank among the dead, and made his bed that night
upon the field.

"The morrow was Sunday; and those who had slept upon the field of
battle, keeping watch around and suffering great fatigue, bestirred
themselves at break of day and sought out and buried such of the bodies
of their dead friends as they might find. The noble ladies of the land
also came, some to seek their husbands, and others their fathers, sons,
or brothers. They bore the bodies to their villages and interred them at
the churches; and the clerks and priests of the country were ready, and
at the request of their friends took the bodies that were found, and
prepared graves and lay them therein.

"King Harold was carried and buried at Varham; but I know not who it was
that bore him thither, neither do I know who buried him. Many remained
on the field, and many had fled in the night."

Such is a Norman account of the battle of Hastings, which does full
justice to the valor of the Saxons as well as to the skill and bravery
of the victors. It is indeed evident that the loss of the battle by the
English was owing to the wound which Harold received in the afternoon,
and which must have incapacitated him from effective command. When we
remember that he had himself just won the battle of Stamford Bridge over
Harald Hardrada by the manoeuvre of a feigned flight, it is impossible
to suppose that he could be deceived b