[Norman Conquest 02] Winter of Discontent (42 page)

On entering the
Hall
Alan
ushered his guests to the head-
table, located close to the unlit fire with its metal canopy and flue. The rushes on the floor had been recently changed and the summer sunlight streamed in through the glass-framed windows which were
open to let in the cooling sea
breeze. Huscarle Brand was already seated at the table, with a face like thunder
and after a few moments Anne hurried in from the private rooms upstairs to welcome the guests. After a brief word of instructio
n a serving-
wench hurried in with five quarts of ale and a pint of fruit-juice, the latter for Anne.

Brand had accompanied to Colchester the wagon loads of money and goods that
paid
the Hundred taxes due on Mid-Summer Day- 24
th
June, the Feast of the Nativity of St John. He and the other guards had then taken several days leave in the city, mainly spent drinking in taverns and whoring with ladies of negotiable virtue in houses of excellent repute. He waited until Osmund had taken his place before announcing
,
“
I have i
ll news
, my lord
. Earl Waltheof has ridden north with
500
men. Many thegns from the midlands are also riding north. Harold’s bastard sons have raided from Ireland again, this time in Devon. They attacked Stanborough Hundred at the mouth of the River Tavy and were driven off by Count Brian and William Gualdi with the help of the local levies- as
with the
last
raid
they recei
ved no support from the locals.

“
The Danes have raided Dover, t
aken
or burnt most of the ships in the harbour, including the longships you gave to King William, and raided the countryside all about. The town walls kept them out. Then they went on to Sandwich and Canterbury.
M
erchant ships keep on disappearing off the south-east coast
- f
ive from Colchester and six from Ipswich in the last month. The crews of the cogs refuse to sail and goods brought from inland into the ports are piling up on the wharves. The merchants are whining and wringing their hands and claiming they are ruined. Longships were seen off Maldon two days ago.”

Alan exclaimed
,
“Holy Mary, Mother of God! Things move apace. The four children grow bold.
” This was
a reference to the fact that Earls Waltheof, Edgar and Morcar were all teenagers, as was Edgar the Aetheling- now crowned king
by the Northumbrians
in competition with William. “
Leofstan
and
Edwold
,
we need to meet with the local thegns to discuss matters with them and prevent them from joining the rebels. Waltheof’s agents will soon be swarming to subvert the local men.”

Leofstan gave a small cough before saying
,
“You presume that myself and Edwold do not favour the English earls. Also, the agents were here last week, have had their say and gone.”

Alan frowned and replied
,
“Come on Leo
fstan! There’s no way on God’s E
arth that four teenagers can arrange a successful rebellion, put an army in the field and le
a
d it to victory against King William and his barons. The king, fitzOsbern, de Montfort, de Mandeville and the others have been leading armies and fighting and winning battles longer than the Aetheling and the other Earls have been alive. The earls lack the political savvy and the military knowledge to win. William will eat them for breakfast before spitting out their bones and taking an even tighter grasp of the
rein
s!”

“Perhaps so,” said Edwold quietly. “But they have the sympathy of very many men. Not
many are
powerful men and not
many have
large retinues
or
experience of war
-
but
the comprise
many, many men. You
’
re right about lack of leadership. It is, for the English, a pity that all its
capable
earls except the Godwinsons were contemporaries, that Godwin, Siward, Leofric and Swein all died before Edward, and that Harold and his brothers perished
in ’66
. You are correct that there is no Englishman able to lead the battle. But some feel that a man must do what his conscience and loyalties dictate, irrespective of the probable outcome. And even if an Englishman can’t lead the battle, perhaps a Dane can. Swein Estrithson, the Danish king, has committed not only his ships but also his men to fight.”

Alan pulled a wry face and said
,
“Swein’s military record and that of the Danes is hardly in his favour. Harald of Norway and his men beat them like a drum every time they met, on the water or on the land. Yes,
4,000
Danes on the battlefield may make a difference, but if you think that if the rebels prevail that would mean an Englishman
sits
on the throne, I suggest that you are deluding yourself. Swein may not expect to sit on the throne himself, but I’m sure that one of his many sons is already polishing a crown in expectation.”

Leofstan gave a non-committal shrug and replied
,
“Perhaps you are correct. But what lies in the future is beyond the ability of any mortal to see
,
and most
men
just see that they are discontented with the present situation. I’m sure that the timing of
Earl
Waltheof’s ride north was influenced by the fact that this Quarter’s taxes were due on Mid-Summer Day. The taxes are again set high. Many cannot pay them and those who can are discontented to do so. High taxes at times of social discontent is
not a good
idea!
”

“True enough,” said Alan with a nod of agreement. “I myself dislike paying the tax impost on my own lands, which are set in the same way as that payable by Englishmen, except I
also
have to provide troops to the king’s army
.” After a slight pause he asked,
“And where sit your swords, gentlemen?”

“My sword still sits firmly in its scabbard,” replied Leofstan. “You are perfectly correct in all you have said and in your assessment of the likely outcome of any rebellion. My head says to stand clear and follow your suggestion to remain aloof from the situation, supporting neither side. There is no gain to me but also no risk of loss. My heart says otherwise, but my head rules my heart.”

Edwold gave a nod of agreement and added
,
“
However,
this is a decision that each Englishman must make for himself and I will not involve myself in trying to entice the thegns and cheorls to any particular cause. I expect not a few men from East Anglia, including from Tendring Hundred, will march north to join the ‘rebels’
, for good or ill
.”

Alan paused and thought for a few moments. “I accept your comments and their truth. I have perhaps been expecting too much from a logical and dispassionate assessment by every man, but I
’
m glad to hear that for both of you logic and reason means we will not stand opposite each other on the field of battle. I also, now I have heard your thoughts, understand I should not place my men in a conflict of loyalties in which I may be the loser
,
and will ask for volunteers to join Hugh and Roger when the king musters his army to move north.”

“Not yourself?” asked Leofstan in surprise.

Alan shook his head and said
,
“No, with the Danes on the loose and a probable invasion of the Welsh Marches, my place is here. If the Danes land in Essex it will not be an action of brotherly love to raise further men to aid the cause of the Aetheling. They always land with sword in hand and murder in their eye, similar to the Welsh in the west. Am I right in presuming that if ten longships row up Alresford Creek and
500
Danes land, that the fyrdmen will come to my call?”

Both Leofstan and Edwold nodded immediately and both started to talk together before Edwold gave precedence to his more senior colleague. “Certainly,” said Leofstan. “
The
people
of East Anglia
have no love of the Danes and
also
no trust of them. They’ve raided hereabouts for hundreds of years with their longships. If Danes, Welsh
or
Normans threaten our Hundred, you can be sure that every fyrdman will answer your call. If it is an English army threatening, some will answer and some will not.” Leofstan paused and thought for a moment, gave a sigh and added
,
“Even if it was an English army, out of respect to you personally- not the king- you can expect my sword in your support. You are not my
l
andrica
, my lord,
and have no claim on me or my lands and my men, but I will support
you
- n
ot either king, as both have
now
been crowned.”

Alan nodded, reached across the table and grasped the forearm of Leofstan, saying nothing as a tear of emotion rose in
his
eye. After a pause in conversation of perhaps a minute the ever-practical Alan said
,
“The huscarles, soldiers and fyrdmen need to increase their training, for we all know that the Danes
will
come. I’ll hold my
main
strength to protect my own demesne and the other villages of the Hundred. My own two longships stand ready to do what they can and are properly manned.”

“And what of our esteemed colleagues, the Normans
Gerard de Cholet
of Elmstead, Roger de Montivilliers, Geoffrey of Rouen, both of Clacton, and Albyn of St Osyth
?
What will they do?” asked Edwold.

“De Cholet is actually a Frenchman and Albyn a Fleming. Probably both would object to being called Normans. It’s like calling an Englishman as being Welsh,” replied Alan. “Certainly, we Normans don’t appreciate French or Flemings being called Norman, particularly the wimpy French
!
I could also add
to your list
Engelric’s man Leax, an Englishman, for the lands he holds of St Paul’s
Cathedral
of London at Birch Hall. Who knows what instructions they will receive from their masters? I expect that Gerard, Roger, Geoffrey and Albyn and their men, nearly all Normans, French or Flemings, will be with the king’s army and not able to provide us with support. At least I hope so
,
as that will avoid co
nsiderable problems at the time!
”

“You do appreciate that we English don’t like having foreigners, whether they be Norman, French or Flemings, as a neighbours?” asked Edwold.

“Indeed- b
ut I would hope that you would also include Danes, Norwegians, Welsh and Scots
in that category
,” re
p
lied Alan. “To cry ‘England for the English’ is all well and good. But in the last thousand years or so, how many years has there been an English king? I would suggest less than half the time. And which English? Those of Saxon descent or those of Norse? You
seem to be more interested in n
orth and
s
outh fighting each other than fighting against a common foe. Others have viewed martial prowess highly. The Romans, the Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings. More recently
also
the men under the control of what are now the kingdoms of Norway o
r Denmark. And now the Normans.

“
I initially believed that t
here is little difference between what is happening now and what happened fifty years ago when Cnut conquered England and placed his own men in charge of the land. Englishmen, particularly Godwin, supported the foreign king whose main claim to the throne came from conquest. King William would make greater claim than that, but his claim can
perhaps
be denied on several grounds. But, like Cnut, his primary claim comes from victory and
taking
the throne by force. The people may not like William, just as I’m sure they didn’t like Cnut’s sovereignty, but his coronation and possession of the throne are facts. Edgar may have been elected by some recently to be king. But he was not crowned by either of the two archbishops.
The English clergy follow the p
ope in supporting King William and the
p
ope has issued the anathema of excommunication against William’s English foes. How many will stand against him in the face of eternal damnation? I know that such a penalty would give me
considerable pause for thought!

“However, I have come to realise that the
theory
of the English maintaining their position is different to the
reality
of the situation.
Yes, Earls Edwin, Morcar and Waltheof were confirmed in their lands, as was Edgar the Aetheling. Yes, many Englishmen retain their positions as stallers, shire reeves and town reeves. King William has created the position of sheriff, which isn’t quite the same as shire reeve as a sheriff has more authority. Yes, more than half the men appointed as sheriffs are English. The bishops, abbots and priors remain almost exactly as appointed by Edward the Confessor, although some of those are French or Norman. The Dooms, or laws,
of Edward remain almost unchanged- apart from the
damned
murdrum
fine!
However,
it has become clear to me that
things are not what I would like to have believed. King William
may
not
have
deliberately acted to dispossess men,
save for those who opposed him in battle,
but he has implemented policies which make that result inevitable. The men he has raised up are, largely, capable and reasonably honest, but no have no plans. Government over the last two years has been by reaction, not by action, and every reaction angers the English more while their actions make the Normans more certain that they can’t trust the English. It has become a vicious cycle to which I can see no end!”