THE SCENE: When the Britons were betrayed at a Saxon peace conference, they found themselves in unarmed in an impossible fight for their lives. In desperate times, however, desperate men can become heroes.
THE TEXT: A certain Count of Gloucester, called Eldol, was among those present. The moment he saw this act of treachery, he seized a wooden stake which he had found by chance, and proceeded to defend himself with it. He broke the limbs of anyone within reach whom he could hit with this piece of wood, dispatching him forthwith to Hell. He shattered skulls, arms, shoulder-blades and even legs, causing the greatest possible terror, and before he left the spot he had killed seventy men with the stake which he held. He could not resist so vast a force for long, but got away and sought refuge in his own city.
– Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of the Kings of Britain, 12th Century AD
