[Norman Conquest 02] Winter of Discontent (15 page)

“Indeed,” replied Eadnoth. “I rather think that the king set a few cats loose in the pigeon loft today. I think that Earl Edwin was less tha
n happy with the effect of the c
harters on his position.”

Alan shrugged and said
,
“Well, I can understand William’s position. He invades the country, wins by force of arms and is crowned king. He receives the homage of the country- well, most of the country. Then Eustace of Boulogne, who led the Norman right flank at Hastings, leaves the country in a huff
-
then comes back and attacks Dover castle before fleeing again. An invasion by the Welsh and some renegade Englishmen in
Shropshire
lays waste to that
shire
and Herefordshire
. The
re’s the
trouble in the north involving Copsi. Then Gytha,
Godwin
’s widow and Harold’s mother, incites rebellion in Exeter. The Aetheling and many of his party take horse and fle
e
to Scotland. Presumably they were involved in the revolt. The thing I found surprising was that King William neither burnt Exeter to the ground nor demanded much in the way of recompense.”

Eadnoth put his pitcher of ale on the table and wiped his moustache before he said
,
“
That was p
robably because I and others made it clear
to the king
that the revolt had little general support in the west, and indeed little enough support even in the town. Myself and a number of other thegns brought men to fight with King William
;
a
lso Queen Edith used her position and influence on the king.”

“The king seems concerned about the defection of the Aetheling,” said Ivo Taillebois, who held land in the
mid-
north. “
That’s n
ot surprising considering
William
treated him so well.
He
’
s
n
ot only confirmed him in his
previous
extensive lands
,
but also gave him new lands and honours. It seems that it
’
s going to make
the king
more suspicious of the English in the future and
may
be why he’s started to clip the wings of the
e
arl of Mercia.”

“As you said
it’s
probably not surprising, but also probably not helpful,” said Godric. “We all saw Edwin’s face and that of his brother Morcar. I’d be surprised if we’ve heard the last of those changes. It’s a cycle
- t
he more the English show their discontent, the more caution William shows and the more he favours you Normans. That just makes the English even more discontented, and William reacts again.”

“I wouldn’t
trust those bastards from the n
orth myself,” growled Eadnoth, like a true Southerner. “Tostig convinc
ed
Hardrada and his Norwegians to invade
. T
hen Edwin and Morcar
didn’t
march south to support Harold
at Hastings
. Those events together
meant that Harold lost at Hastings. If the Northumbrians and Mercians had shown loyalty, William would still be a duke sitting in Rouen Castle. Now, if they show
him
the same lack of loyalty… well, the king doesn’t strike me as being a very forgiving man and I would expect that the Northerners will suffer his wrath.”

“As will we Southerners,” said Aetheldred. “We’ve already had enough problems in Kent caused by Odo. The English still hold most of the official positions
in the royal administration
. The church is still largely controlled by men of English birth and those Frenchmen
who are
of
the clergy here
in England
were largely appointed by
King
Edward, not William. We have three
sheriff
s in this room, two English and one Norman
, which is about the average
. Most of us middle-level thegns, and those
geburs
who hold and work the land, are largely unaffected. A significant uprising, or a long period of disturbance and lawlessness, can see all that swept away. We’ve been invaded many times before and
accommodated
our conquerors, eventually ending up once again in control of our own destiny.”

“So lie back and enjoy being raped?” asked Anne.

Godric winced at the imagery and replied
,
“Not enjoy, but endure. A rape is a transitory matter. Afterwards one may be emotionally or physically scarred, but life can go on more or less as before.”

“But if you struggle too much the rapist may decide to stick a knife in your ribs in response to your biting his hand or kicking him,” agreed Roger Bigod.

“Queen Edith agrees,” added Alan.

“A very, very sensible woman,” commented Eadnoth with several slow nods. “If resistance was possible she’d be in the front rank carrying the flag of Wessex. It’s not, and she recognises that
fact
and does what she can to help her countrymen. Her intervention at Exeter was essential in avoiding wholesale bloodshed
- a
fter all
,
the town
belongs to
her.”

The conversation drifted away from politics as the food arrived, delivered to the table on large wooden platters from which the men helped themselves, placing their food onto their bread trenchers, cutting with the knives from their belts and using their fingers, or where necessary a
carved
spoon, to eat. Alan shared a trencher with Anne and cut her food for her so she could maintain her air of decorum and cleanliness, which is hard to do if the sleeves of your dress are soaked to the elbows with the juices of food or gravy. The chosen fare was relatively plain, as the men were all experienced soldiers rather than courtiers. As it was a Thursday they could eat boiled or roast meats of beef, swine and lamb
;
herbed grilled
capon
with yellow pepper sauce
;
several dishes with exotic spices for the more adventurous
;
pork r
issoles with green garlic sauce;
Daguenet peas with ginger, currents and honey
;
braised
parsnip
with onions, cheese and spices and Makke beans with onions in red wine. De
s
sert was candied orange, fresh apple pie with cream and gingerbread. Loaves of fresh wheaten bread were placed on the table with pots of fresh
ly
churned butter
,
the guests helped themselves by cutting off
hunks
with their knives.

The servants kept bringing the drinks and the men kept emptying the jugs. By the time des
s
ert had been
finished
the jokes and stories had become ribald, and Anne rose, bidding their guests good evening, and motioned for
Aidith the serving
-
maid to follow her, leaving the further care of the guests to Aidith’s father the butler Aitkin. Although the men were married, and given their ages probably more or less happily, a buxom wench serving at table was likely to end up with her bottom pinched black and blue.

Darkness fell a little after half past seven that evening and the men chatted amiably on, telling taller and taller stories as the cups of wine and pints of ale disappeared. Finally, at about ten the guests called it a night, all deciding that they would leave at the same time so that they only had to pay one bribe to the guards at Newgate to get back into the city
as the gates had closed at dusk
. The going rate was a silver penny, but if they left individually the guard captain would receive a shilling in total. Like all the well-to-do who had seen hard times, they didn’t want to waste money.

Alan kn
ocked on the Solar door. “They’v
e gone,” he advised. “Would you care to come out?”

“A good meeting?” asked Anne, as Alan took her into his grasp and started to hum a tune, after a moment adding the words as they began to dance in the Hall, ignoring the servants clearing up. Once the rhythm was established Alan replied
,
“Yes, a good opportunity to talk and establish relations between people of different cultures. You take the
lead
, you’re better at it and I’ve had a few cups.”

Anne sang quietly, just for the two of them, as they moved together around the open floor, before they proceeded hand in hand up the stairs to the bedroom.

On Saturday 10
th
May the spy Gareth called to see them in the late afternoon, slipping in quietly and presenting himself unannounced in the Hall. Alan made a mental note to chastise Ranulf, the man in charge of the guard.

“God Hael, m
’lord and m’
lady
!”
Gareth said in his gravelly voice as he lowered himself onto a bench at Alan’s waved invitation.

“What information do you have for us, Gareth Haroldson?” asked Anne.

“Bishop
William
, Engelric and Ralph the Staller appear not to be actively plotting against you at the moment. However, Earl Ralph is looking to further his control of East Anglia. Men in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex who have held freely in the past are being pressed to hold under him and
are
being offered his ‘protection’ in return. A few who have declined have had problems with ‘robbers’ raiding their villages. I’m aware that he dislikes the influence you have in Tendring and I think that you can expect some action on his part at some stage in the not too distant future. I’ll keep a close eye on him
and his actions on your behalf.

“
The main news relates not so much to your immediate interests, as
it is
high politics. You know, of course, that King William
has taken steps to reduce the e
arl of Mercia’s influence and to increase his own control of that region, and that Edwin and Morcar are unhappy about that. Also that the Aetheling and a number of nobles fled to Scotland last month, and that it’s not a long distance from Scotland to N
orthumbria. The three Northern e
arls, Edwin, Morcar and
Gospatric, met with some of the Aetheling’s agents
-
and also those of Bleddyn of Wales and the Danish King Swein Estrithson. The word I hear is that they are talking about inviting the Danes to invade.”

“In which case we shouldn’t have too much to worry about,” said Alan as an aside to Anne. “Swein hasn’t won a battle yet
!
He kept losing to Harold Hardrada and his Norwegians. His claim to the throne is that his uncle was Cnut, who seized the English crown by invasion.”

“You’ve said a number of times that the English should accept the Norman conquest because they wouldn’t be able to win in a battle against the Normans,
”
said Anne thoughtfully.

“That’s true. I’ve said it
oft
enough that I don’t need to go through the reasons again, but
the
main
fact is that
none of the available English leaders can beat William.”

Anne
replied,
“I wouldn’t be as dismissive about their chances as you are. What if either Edgar the Aetheling or Earl Waltheof grew a spine? Yes, they’re both young, but William was
even younger
when he started his fight to assert control of Normandy.” Before Alan could interject Anne waved him
to keep
silent with a small movement of her
hand. “I know that you’ll reply that Edgar still couldn’t beat William. But what if William wasn’t there? What if he dies? His sons Robert, Richard and William are all arou
nd ten to twelve years of age.

“
Which
son
would rule which lands? Who
would act as r
egent? Matilda?
F
itzOsbern and Odo? Look what a bad job those two have done running England for only six months while William
ha
s been away! Robert of Eu and Robert of Mortain would be too old. The French and the Angevins would be lining up to attack Normandy, and the Danes and Norwegians to attack England. I’d suggest that the Norman control of England could be wrested away with one hunting ‘accident’ or one cup of poisoned wine, because without William the Norman
barons would all go back to squabbling and fighting amongst themselves! King William is the mortar that binds the Normans together. Remove the mortar and the building collapses.”

Alan frowned in deep thought before nodding. “You’re right. Both myself and the other Normans have always thought as if he’
ll
always be there. Even apart from assassination, there’s always the v
agaries of life; a storm at sea or
a fall from a horse. I’ll have to stop being so arrogant and
presumptuous
.”