Tame Weorth, 735 AD
To go to war, Æthelbald needed to convene his council so that his ealdormen might summon the fyrd to arms. The news out of Northanhymbre put him in belligerent mood. A mixture of aggression and irritation best described his frame of mind as he glared around the assembled lords and bishops.
“I am not the least troubled that Eadberht has used his influence to install his brother Ecgbert to the bishopric of Eoforwic. What annoys me is he managed to persuade the Holy Father to elevate the city to an archbishopric. This cannot pass unpunished. I intend to march on Eoforwic…” With a flourish, he drew his jewel-encrusted sword in a dazzling arc of red and gold to emphasise his words, “…and raze it to the ground.”
There followed a huddle of heads and murmuring around the hal
