‘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

Now at this time one Frederic
Searched high and low and far,
Enquiring of our Hereward’s presence,
With plans to seize him with mighty menace,
To hand him over to pay his penance,
Or lift his head upon a high fence,
Thus demonstrate his deeds as offence,
The motive of his heart.

His plan? To earn King William’s favour,
Secure himself a seat,
Within the Conqueror’s noble court,
Thinking that he surely ought,
Be found therein and highly thought of
By surf and lord apiece.

But Hereward heard of this attempt
Upon his life and freedom,
And so he raised a warrior band,
And with them searched throughout the land,
Until he found him plotting plans,
To work out how to seize him.

And so he turned things upside down
And jumped on Frederic
And before he had the chance to fight,
He swung his sword with all his might,
And caused his head to swift alight,
With only one fast flick!

Time to get back to The Ballad of the Wake. Settling down tonight, I realised I’d jumped a key scene that is referred back to later when William de Warenne seeks revenge for his brother, Frederic’s, death.
(06.08.26)

© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by Henry Hustava on Unsplash