There was an earl Gorlois, bold man full truly—-knight he was good, he was Uther's man,—-Earl of Cornwall, known he was wide—-he was a very wise man, in all things excellent. To him said Uther, sorry in heart: "Hail be thou, Gorlois, lord of men! Thou art mine own man, and very well I thee treat; thou art knight good, great is thy wisdom, all my people I put in thy counsel, and all we shall work after thy will." Then hung he his brows down, the King Uther Pendragon, and stood him full still, and bade Gorlois say his will. Then answered Gorlois, who was courteous full truly, "Say me, Uther Pendragon, why bowest thou thy head down? Knowest thou not that God alone is better than we all clean? He may to whomsoever he will give worship. Promise we him in life that we will not him deceive, and let we counsel us of our misdeeds. Each man forth-right take shrift of all his sins, each man shrive other, as if it were his brother, and every good knight take on him much shrift, and God we shall promise to amend our sins. And at the midnight prepare us to fight, these heathen hounds account us all here bound. Octa, Hengest's son, weeneth that we are all taken, they he in these fields covered in their tents, they are very weary of carrying their weapons, now anon they shall slumber, and afterwards sleep; of us they have no care, that we will march against them. At the midnight we shall forth-right go exceeding still, down from this hill, be no knight so mad, that he ask any word, nor ever any man be so mad, that he blow horn. But we shall step to them as if we would steal, ere they are aware, we shall destroy them, we shall approach to them, and tell them tidings. And let every brave man strongly lay on them, and so we shall drive the foreigners from the land, and with the might of our Lord, win our rights." All this host did as Gorlois had bid them, each man forth-right put him under shrift promised to do good, and Uther Pendragon foremost went down, and all his knights, exceeding still, and smote in the wealds, among all the tents, and slew the heathens with great strength, slew over the fields the yellow locks, of folk it was most wretched, they drew along their bowels, with much destruction they fell to the ground. And there was forth-right captured Octa, Hengest's son, and his wed-brother Ebissa, and his comrade Ossa. The king caused them to be bound with iron bands, and delivered them to sixty knights, who were good in fight, fast to hold over the weald. And he himself drove him forth, and made much din, and Gorlois the fair, forth on the other side, and all their knights ever forth-right slew downright all that they came nigh. Some they crept to the wood on their bare knees, and they were on the morrow most miserable of all folk. Octa was bound, and led to London, and Ebissa, and Ossa--was never to them such woe.