Now at these words Warenne gave groan,
And stamped his thwarted feet,
And going puce began to moan,
With growing anger in his bones,
His longed for vengeance now postponed,
In light of this defeat.

‘If your master were in my hands,
I promise he’d taste death,
But know I’ll chase him through this land,
Until my final breath!

His curse was met with laughter by
Our Hereward who reached out,
And took his bow and drew its string,
An arrow true and sharp gave wing,
The Earl upon his breast did sting,
Causing his men great doubt.

Although it glided from his chest
Without a mortal wound,
His men, alarmed, ran up to him,
Most frantic at the clanging din,
And how the impact did fling him,
Down to the wretched ground.

Will Warenne ever get his man? Not for now at least…
(13.09.36)

© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by Alireza Sahebi on Unsplash

‘The Conqueror has it surrounded,
This dreary isle of Ely,
His men have marched around its bounds,
No one is free to flee here.

Before too long they will drawn in
And squeeze this human noose,
Be wise your fools and join with us,
Or gasping you will lose!’

At this the Wake’s men laughed aloud
At Warenne’s men’s attemps,
To lure them from their loyalty
To Hereward, to across the sea,
An impotent act of conspiracy,
That inevitably failed to ferment.

‘How long, you wretch, will you moan on,
And try to turn our heads,
We won’t betray our Lord, be gone,
And whine at him instead.

Withdraw in haste and tell your man
The one he seeks is here,
Now run away as fast as you can,
Or our javelins you’ll fear!’

Hereward’s men are not for turning!
(21.08.26)

© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by Bohdan Hyrovych on Unsplash

‘If only one who stands with him,
Would willingly betray,
That rascal deep in bog and sin,
Before late in the day.’

‘We do not wish to dwell in marsh,
Amongst the dismal reeds,
The penalty will be too harsh,
If we are forced to seek.’

‘His foolish men should have no doubt,
We’ll have to kill the lot,
If we are forced to seek him out,
And leave their limbs to rot!’

The Earl of Warenne’s men seek to persuade Hereward’s to betray him.
(17.08.26)

© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash

Soon the Earl and his men arrived
Upon the opposing bank.
One of them drew close and called,
Enquiring if they were with that appalling
Hereward, who’d caused the fall
Of many within their ranks.

Keeping things ticking over with another stanza.
(15.08.26)

© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash

Once rounded up, these guards he quizzed,
To ascertain their purpose.
From them he learnt of Warenne’s plans,
To come next day to this marshland,
To seize him with his own foul hands,
So Hereward stationed men on the banks,
And archers hid along its flanks,
And waited for him to surface.

Learning of Warenne’s plans to capture him, Hereward hatches a ‘cunning plan’.
(12.08.26)

© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by Zac Edmonds on Unsplash

But unbeknown to William
His schemes were soon made known,
He’d set a guard around the marsh,
To catch Sir Hereward as he passed,
But they were caught, indeed outclassed,
And ambushed with a groan.

The Earl’s trap is disarmed.
(10.08.26)

© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by Luke Hodde on Unsplash