He was going away a boy, but if
it pleased Harold that he should remain away for two years he would
return a thane. A young one, indeed, but one who had learned the
duties of his station, and who, if needs be, could take his place
in the field of battle at the head of his followers. For, even
putting aside the Normans, from whom the earl seemed to think the
greatest danger would come, there was never any long cessation of
fighting in England.
There were the Welsh, who were always turbulent; the Danes of
Northumbria, who were still a distinct people, although throughout
the rest of England their identity was fast being merged into that
of the Saxons. There were the Norsemen, still ready to take every
opportunity of interfering in the affairs of England, or, if none
offered, to plunder and harry the coast. There were the earls of
Mercia, who bore no great love to the house of Godwin, and who
resented the ascendency of the West Saxons. Lastly, there was
Harold's brother Tostig, a fiery and turbulent noble, now Earl of
Northumbria, who was jealous of Harold, ever ready to join in plots,
and in close alliance with Norway already; he had several times
withstood the royal authority, and would assuredly again become a
fomenter of trouble should he see a favourable opportunity. At the
king's death, if not before, that opportunity would be sure to
present itself. Harold would be certainly chosen king by the people
of London and by the West Saxons, but almost as certainly would his
claim be disputed by the earls of Mercia on one hand, and by Tostig
and the Danes on the other.
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