Helmets were relatively rare pieces of armour, but those that were made were usually exquisitely crafted
The red brick Roman walls of Carlisle loomed high over Cuthbert. The bishop of Lindisfarne had only arrived the day before, after a long and weary journey, and already his worthy hosts insisted that he come to see a fountain, built by the long-gone Romans and set into the city wall, that still flung water into the air.
“Bishop Cuthbert, this way,” said one. “The Roman fountain is just here.”
But as he turned to look at it, Cuthbert went pale. As if on the verge of fainting, he grabbed his staff and leant on it.
His hosts, alarmed for their guest, fanned air over him and sent for water. But Cuthbert turned haunted eyes towards them: “Now, as I speak, the battle is fought.”
It was 20 May 685. A Saturday. The men and women listening to him looked around nervously. A few weeks earlier, their king, Ecgfrith, ruler of Northumbria, had set off
