'Swear,' said the Norman knight, his friend, in his ear. 'If you do not, you will never see England again.'
'Swear, Harold,' whispered Wulfnoth; 'the oubliettes!'
Harold was completely in the power of the Normans.
With downcast eyes he laid his hand upon the Bible and repeated the words of the oath after the duke.
Harold taking the Oath
Then the bishops came forward and raised the cloth of gold, showing that the chest was full of the bones of Norman saints.
Harold started back in horror; for an oath sworn upon the bones of saints was held to be the most sacred and binding oath that a man could take.
Instead of friendship, his heart now became filled with a fierce hatred towards the duke, whose ambition had led him to take an unfair advantage of his guest.