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And idly I began to sharpen my seax again on a great square stone that was handy in the wall as I sat, but it was very soft, and crumbled away under the steel without doing it much good.
Thralls know and tell these things to men of their own sort, though they seem to know nothing if you ask them, Thane." "Then you wrote the letters?" "I had them written by the old priest of Combwich by the Parrett River, who will tell you that he did so. I took them myself to the palaces for you." "And was it you who slew Tregoz?" "Ay, with that seax you gave me back at the Caerau wolf's den.
With spear butt and seax they were trying to undermine the stockade, and one could hear the creaking of the stout timbers as they tried to tear them down. It would have gone hardly with us had there been but a few more men, or if these had brought pick and spade with them. As it was, that attempt did not last long.
Then I knew what must have been the meaning of the sounds we heard and thought nothing of the creak, and the fall, and the stifled cry. Sighard looked once, and then threw himself on his knees, drawing his stout seax as he did so. "Have it up!" he said, with his teeth clenched, "have it up!" Then a thought came to me, and I beckoned to Erling.
However, I said that I had no great distance to go, and feigned to be ashamed of myself for my fears; and he laughed at me, and let me go my way with sword and spear and seax also, which last my father would take under his fisher's jerkin. I caught up my father quickly, and we went along the sands northwards until we came to the place where we must separate.
But there was no sign of any follower. "Ten miles from the town," I said to him, "and more heath to cross. We must hurry. But we cannot leave those horses to suffer." "Our horses; and I have tended them, lord," said the rough housecarl, with a bit of a shake in his voice. "Leave that to me." He drew his seax, and we went on. The poor beasts could never rise again, and that was the only way.
So Arngeir came with Raven, who went for him, and my father told him what he needed to be done; and Arngeir said that it was well thought of, and went to work with his seax on the smooth turf.
Now Turkil would see my sword, and then my seax, and try my helm on his head, laughing when it covered his eyes, and I had almost bade him come to my hall at Cannington and there try the little weapons I had when I was his size, so much his ways took from me the thought of my trouble.
The name Saxon from seax, sax, a short sword, means the sword-man, and from the name we may judge something of the temper of the hardy fighters who preceded the Angles into Britain. The Angles were the most numerous of the conquering tribes, and from them the new home was called Anglalond. By gradual changes this became first Englelond and then England.
To remember this foul treason, knives were long hight seax amongst the English, but names alter as the world moves on, and men recall no more the meaning of the past. In the beginning the word was used to rebuke the treason that was done. When the story of the seax was forgotten, men spoke again of their knives, and gave no further thought to the shame of their forefathers.
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