Battle

I have commented before on Poul Anderson's rich vocabulary. I have just found another to me completely unfamiliar word, "...hackamore..." on p. 98 of Vault Of The Ages (New York, 1969). The context makes clear that it is a way to bridle a horse and it is easy to google the full meaning.

Meanwhile, Anderson has given us yet another excellent description of a battle. The Dalesmen draw up on the top of a hill in the wedge formation that we have met in other Anderson works. They hold off the attacking barbarians, the Lann, until the Lann's cavalry emerges from a concealing wood, attacks from the side and breaks through, destroying the Dalesmen's formation.

The Dalesmen's leader, Ralph, rallies his men, holds them together and leads a counterattack that breaks right through the enemy lines. Since night has fallen, the Lann Chief knows that his men will not be able to pursue so he holds them back.

Thus, Ralph's leadership has saved the bulk of the Dalesmen's army but they know that they are a beaten force. Anderson makes us feel what they feel:

"Carl's body was one vast, numb ache. His head felt hollow with tiredness, and he staggered a little as he walked. Only now was he becoming really aware of his wounds..." (p. 90)

Carl must break taboo to retrieve the scientific knowledge of the ancients in order to defeat the otherwise militarily superior Lann. The attached image conveys the wonder of finding records of technology in a time vault. I think from the description in the novel that the older man showing the three boys a model of a rocket should be dark-skinned.