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.

The fear of the Church hung on all, the conviction that the law of both Church and State had been broken by the young king; the universal belief in the sanctity of Dunstan, and in the true patriotism of Odo whom they called “the good;” the thoughtless misgovernment since the wiser counsellors had dispersed—­all these things weakened the hearts of the followers of Edwy.

There was therefore but little enthusiasm when the inhabitants saw the soldiers of the king march out by the Watling Street, and the soldiers themselves looked dispirited.

It was early dawn on the second day from the feast that the departure took place.  Cynewulf, a valiant Earl of Wessex, was the real commander; nominally, Edwy commanded in person, and Elfric rode out of London by his side.  Redwald’s rank would not have entitled him to the chief command.

Passing through the environs of the city, they gained the open country, and marched steadily along the causeway the Romans had so firmly laid, until they reached Verulam or St. Alban’s, where they passed the night.  It excited great discontent amongst the inhabitants that Edwy did not visit the shrine of the saint, the glory of their town; and his departure again took place amidst gloomy silence.

They were now about to cross the frontier and enter Mercia, then in many respects an independent state; governed, it might be, by the same monarch and Witan as Wessex, even as Scotland and England are governed by the same sovereign and Parliament, yet retaining like them its own peculiar code of laws in many respects.

And now Mercia had sternly refused to be governed any longer by the “enemy of the Church,” and chose the Etheling, Edgar, to be its king.

Acting with the sanction of Odo, whom he deeply revered, the young Edgar, then only in his fifteenth year, accepted the offer, and the whole force of Mercia was gathering to support him when Edwy crossed the border.

It must not be supposed that either Cynewulf or Redwald expected to conquer the Mercians with ten thousand men.  No, their design was simpler:  they had learned where Edgar was residing, and that the forces around him were small.  One bold stroke might secure his person, and then Edwy might make his own terms.  This was the secret of the advice they both gave to the young king.