The Adventures of Alwy Hogge

Alwy Hogge had been having the best year of his life. He and his wife and his baby son Sigebert had been living in their little hut since the fall of 1067, and had another baby on the way. He thought his wife awfully clever to have arranged all of this for them. They owned sixteen pigs now, if one counted the piglets, and had pork for dinner every day instead of only on feast days. And it certainly was funny how the nobles and the peasants met each other all the time—with so few people in the valley, everyone knew everyone else. And Gunnilda certainly was smart when she talked back to people. She and Egelric Wodehead just hated each other, even though she was best friends with Egelric’s wife! He was so proud of her. How did she get so smart?

But Alwy had been having some adventures of his own. For example, sometimes he wondered why, if she was best friends with his wife, Elfleda Wodehead always seemed to be looking to talk to him. One time he woke up from his afternoon nap, and she was standing right there, just staring at him! Alwy certainly felt silly. He wondered if he had been talking in his sleep.

Another time, when he went looking for Gunnilda at Elfleda’s house, he knocked on the door and Elfleda yelled for him to come in. He had quite a shock—Elfleda was just getting out of her bath! Why didn’t she get a towel on before she told him to come in?

But his biggest adventure came the night the Queen ran away.

One August evening, Egelric had invited him over for dinner as they were coming back from the fields, and while they were eating, who should walk into the kitchen but the Queen herself!

Alwy bowed as Gunnilda had taught him. But the Queen hardly noticed him. She seemed very upset.

Suddenly the queen seemed to hear something that frightened her.

“Oh no, I can’t! I can’t! What ever shall I do?” she cried.

Then she got an idea, and turned to Alwy. “Alwy Hogge! You can help me! They’ll never look for me with you!”

Alwy was surpised. “M-​m-​m-​me, your Majesty?”

“Won’t you take me home with you, Alwy? I would—I would so like to see your baby!”

Now that made sense. Alwy thought his baby is the finest baby in the world, so naturally the Queen would think so too. Besides, he remembered what Gunnilda told him: if ever a nobleman or noblewoman asks him to do something, he must do it without delay.

Elfleda seemed to think this was a bad idea. “Don’t worry, Elfleda, I’ll protect Her Majesty from the curse. And Gunnilda sure will be proud of me when I bring the Queen home for a visit!”

Gunnilda certainly was suprised. Sigebert had been colicky all day, and she was beginning to run out of patience. She was relieved to see Alwy, since he always knew how to quiet the little one. But Alwy was tired, and started getting undressed for bed. “Oh, Gunnie, I forgot to tell you. The Queen is in the other room. She wanted to see the baby.”

Gunnilda almost dropped the baby. But then it was Alwy’s turn to be surprised, when he turned to see the King himself standing in the doorway.

“Uh oh!” Alwy said. He didn’t know what was wrong, but the King looked very displeased with him.

“Where is the Queen?” he asked angrily.

“Uh… maybe in the outhouse?” Alwy suggested.

Alwy saw that that Elfleda was there too. She must have gone to tell the King after he and the Queen had left her house.

But then the front door opened, and the Queen entered, deathly pale.

“My love,” the King said. “Thank God I have found you! I can’t allow you to be out at night. Please—come back to the castle with me.”

But the Queen refused.

“No more! I cannot live with you. I cannot bear to look at you. You granted even this simple man his freedom, but that is something you refuse to give to me.”

And the Queen walked out the door.

The King was crushed.

Alwy offered to help him find the Queen, but the King left without saying a word.

Gunnilda often wondered exactly what happened later that night, but not Alwy. He was rather happy that his adventure was over, and settled down to cuddle Sigebert to sleep before going to bed himself. His wife never ran away, and that was all that really mattered to him.