Yes. I should have armed and trained such young women as wished to, and left the last line of defence to them. We never needed that last line, as it turned out. It would have allowed me to start the morning's sortie with more men, and it would have bought us all time in our last battle; we would have killed more enemies, and more of my men would have lived to go to the north-lands with the Vikings from Gotland. I know not why I was blind to that chance: after all, I had trained Hilde in using shield and spear when we were young. My cultural blinkers wasted a valuable chance there.

It might not be what you would like to hear -- I should reject having shed so much blood, or at least the massacre at Cumae? But I only reject my disregard for the proud, fighting spirit of our women.