Wulf was sure, therefore, that the work
spent in preparing his tenants to take the field when called upon
to do so, would not be wasted.
Full of these thoughts he rode for some miles from Westminster
without addressing himself to the two men behind him; then, bethinking
him that these were trusted followers of the earl, and had been
specially told off by him to accompany and stay with him, he called
them up to his side. Wulf had donned a riding suit instead of court
attire, which, in deference to the king's partiality for the Normans,
was, even among the staunchest opposers of the foreigners, a
compromise between Saxon and Norman fashions. He now wore a tunic
of a bright green cloth, girded in at the waist and reaching only
to the knee. Over this was worn a garment closely resembling the
Roman toga, though somewhat less ample. The folds in front fell
below the waist, but it was looped up at each shoulder by a brooch,
leaving the arms bare. His legs were clad in tightly-fitting trousers,
and his feet in somewhat high shoes. On his head he wore a cap in
shape closely resembling the Phrygian bonnet. He was armed with a
dagger, and a short sword, which hung by a leather strap, two or
three inches long, from his belt. The outer garment had a hood which
could in bad weather be drawn over the head.
The man who was the bearer of Harold's orders to the steward wore
a civilian dress, not unlike that of Wulf's.
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