His oath was broken--O holy Norman Saints,
Ye that are now of heaven, and see beyond
Your Norman shrines, pardon it, pardon it,
That he
forsware
himself for all he loved,
Me, me and all!
Tennyson
Equus cum equite
Praecipitatur.
EDITH. O God, the God of truth hath heard my cry.
Follow them, follow them, drive them to the sea!
Illorum scelera
Poena sequatur!
STIGAND. Truth! no; a lie; a trick, a Norman trick!
They turn on the pursuer, horse against foot,
They murder all that follow.
EDITH. Have mercy on us!
STIGAND. Hot-headed fools--to burst the wall of shields!
They have broken the commandment of the king!
EDITH.
His oath was broken--O holy Norman Saints,
Ye that are now of heaven, and see beyond
Your Norman shrines, pardon it, pardon it,
That he
forsware
himself for all he loved,
Me, me and all!
Look out upon the battle!
STIGAND. They thunder again upon the barricades.
My sight is eagle, but the strife so thick--
This is the hottest of it: hold, ash! hold, willow!
ENGLISH CRIES. Out, out!
NORMAN CRIES. Ha Rou!
STIGAND. Ha! Gurth hath leapt upon him
And slain him: he hath fallen.
EDITH. And I am heard.
Glory to God in the Highest!
