[Norman Conquest 02] Winter of Discontent (61 page)

Alan paused to allow the pain to die down and to catch his breath, wiping from his forehead the sweat caused by the pain. “
A s
pear
-
thrust. I didn’t see it coming. I was too busy kill
ing
the man to my left, who’d just killed Edric, and since it was a spearman who stabbed me the man on my right couldn’t reach him. The spear came up under the tail of the right leg of the hauberk. I don’t wear mail leggings as they encumber your movements too much. It’s hard enough to move carrying forty pounds of steel on your back. As you saw, it
’
s eight inches long and went bone deep, the spearhead sliding up the bone.
There was n
o major bleeding, but the muscles were sliced.” After a pause he continued
,
“Has Edric been buried yet? He saved my life.”

“Yes, yesterday,” replied Anne. “We had a Mass said for him, and for Cuthbert and Wulfnoth. They’re buried in the churchyard. May Jesus and Mary protect their souls.”

“Take care of
Edric’s
woman and child. Make sure they’re well provided for,” instructed Alan. “When I’m a little better I’ll arrange for a headstone from the master-mason at Colchester.”

On Christmas Day, despite his busy schedule,
Brother Wacian the priest attended to shrive Alan as he lay abed. Alan, sins forgiven, felt renewed and determined to recover and overcome his injury.

Alan winced as the Jewish doctor used his fingers to probe the wound in Alan’s leg, using firm pressure. The old man pursed his lips and nodded to himself. Alan was lying in a semi-raised position on his bed in the bed chamber.

“A bad wound, but healing as well as could be expected. When were the stitches removed?” he asked.

“Brother Aldwyn removed them
a
week ago,” replied Alan.

The Jew nodded again. “You seem to have avoided serious infection. The wound was deep and will take more time to heal. Keep applying the poultices. What medicines are you taking?”

“Willow-bark, comfrey, ivy, horseradish and yarrow in the poultice. Thyme, camomile, aloe and garlic juice in the unguent. An infusion of herbs to drink
- w
illow-bark, camomile, lemon balm, comfrey. Raw garlic cloves to eat.”

The doctor, whose name was David and who had at Anne’s request accompanied her business manager Jacob
from London
on his current journey to report progress of her businesses, inclined his head in acknowledgment of the anti-septic, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and analgesic nature of the various herbs. “Personally
,
I also like fresh ground liquorice root and I can provide you with some of that. It’s imported for Eastern Europe. Brother Aldwyn certainly knows his herbs. Do you like the taste of raw garlic?” He smiled when Alan shuddered and shook his head. “No, not many do! I have some capsules of the essence, which you may take instead. One capsule in the morning and one in the evening. Now
let’s have a look at the ribs.”

Here David gently prodded Alan’s chest. “They seem well enough. Now it’s what, six weeks since the injury? Let us unbind your left forearm and see how the break has resolved. I do hope that it has set straight, as I hate having to re-break and reset limbs. Good. That’s quite good
-
it’s
not quite straight and with a slight bump, but well enough. We can leave the binding off.” The doctor felt the wasted muscles of the left arm. “I’ll give you some exercises to strengthen the muscles. Don’t do anything excessive or place too much strain on it for the next month at least or you’ll cause the join to break again.” The doctor paused for a few moments
of
reflection before continuing
,
“I’d say that you can now get out of bed and with assistance go downstairs to the Hall and to the privy. Don’t do too much too soon. You were very lucky to keep that leg. You’ll probably be able to put some weight on it in about another two weeks and then walk with a crutch for at least a month.”

“And the final outcome?” asked Alan.

David’s left hand unconsciously smoothed his short grey goatee beard before he replied. “I would expect that in
probably
six months you’ll be able to ride a horse again
, w
ith some discomfort. You’ll always walk with a limp. Even after the muscles are built up again you won’t be able to walk very far or very fast. I’d say that your campaigning and hunting days are over. Even riding to London will be difficult and you should take two days for the journey.”

Alan commented with a smile
.
“At least I won’t have to dance again! It’s worth it just for that!”

Anne gave him a gentle clip to the side of the head and commented
,
“Idiot!”

Having received permission from the doctor, Alan rose and with the assistance of two men made his way gingerly down to the Hall. There he sat for several minutes to allow the pain to subside before proceeding outside to the privy. On his return to the Hall the servants began to set a table for the mid-day meal, Alan being provided with a chair at the corner of the table where he was able to sit with his injured leg stretched out and supported by a padded
stool. With deference to the dietary requirements of their guests, the meal consisted of mutton and vegetable soup, roasted beef with boiled vegetables in a spicy sauce, cheese and fresh wheaten bread. Over the meal Alan quizzed David about his medical training
,
as the old man had in his youth studied medicine with the Moors in Iberia and had some interesting stories to relate.

After the meal Alan and Anne had Jacob impart the news from the outside world. “You may know that instead of the usual Crow
n-wearing ceremony held in the s
outh, King William ordered the royal regalia to be sent from the capital at Winchester and wore it with all pomp and ceremony at York
on Christmas Day, to show the N
ortherners who really
is
king. The two castles at York have been repaired and re-garrisoned. His army has ravaged far and wide spreading a swathe of destruction to prevent the land being able to support another army of rebellion. Almost every village and cottage in the north has been put to the torch in the middle of winter. What livestock couldn’t be taken away or used as food for the army has been slaughtered in their pens, particularly the oxen required for ploughing and transport. Carts and ploughs have been burnt and seed-stock for the spring planting despoiled. Thousands will die of starvation. The main part of the Danish army slipped away into the marshlands of the Fens and couldn’t be brought to battle, using their ships to move whenever the king’s army approached. William has no navy to prevent this
,
so he’s bribed the Danes to remain inactive during the winter and to depart in the spring.”

Alan remembered the conversation that he’d had with Gundred in Durham, and gave a small smile of satisfaction that King William had followed the advice given to him
by his counsellors
and paid
Danegeld
to at least temporar
ily remove the threat from the n
orth. While William would have been loath to resolve the problem other than with the sword, sometimes one can
no
t do
what
one wishes. The Norman army and its mercenaries had been in the field for nearly a year, and even with King William’s extortionate taxes the exchequer must have been bled nearly dry.

“So we’ll be able to resume normal trading with our ships in the spring?” asked Anne.

“Probably,” replied Jacob. “Assuming the Danes do what they’ve been paid to do. I don’t expect any problems with that, as they’re honest in that when they’ve been bought they usually stay bought and don’t cheat.” After a moment’s pause he continued with his news. “Interestingly, King William has maintained his standing army at York. I expect that in the spring he’ll march on Chester to chastise the Mercians and push the Welsh back over the border, if they’re still on the wrong side of the River Dee at that time. Then he’ll probably go to Normandy again to ‘stare down’ the Angevins or do something about the revolt in Maine. Fulk ‘
T
he Ill-Tempered’ is being a nuisance again now he’s won his battle with his brother Geoffrey, and King William will need to look to protect his southern borders in Normandy. One interesting titbit of information, at least for my people, is that we’ve been told that William will be inviting more Jews to England, feeling a need for greater commercial prospects and more capital. The word is that we’ll even be offered the protection of having legal status, which would be good for us.”

Now up to date with the latest gossip, Alan lapsed into thought of what the future m
ight
bring.

Bradbury, Jim
:
The Battle of Hastings
. Sutton Publishing 2006.

Cates, William
:
History of England from the Death of Edward the Confessor….
Longmans Green & Co 1874.

Crouch, David
:
The Normans
.
Hambledon
2002.

Domesday
Book
:
ed
A Rumble.
Phillimore
1983

Gravett
, Christopher
:
Hastings 1066
. Osprey 2000.

FitzStephen
, William
:
Norman London
.
Italica
Press 1990.

Freeman, Edward
:
William the Conqueror
.
Batoche
Books 2004.
http://socserv.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/freeman/William.pdf

Howard, David
:
1066 The Year of Conquest
. Penguin 1977.

Montgomery, Hugh
:
The God-Kings of England
. Temple Publications 2007.

Partington
JR
:
A History of Greek Fire & Gunpowder
. W
Heffer
& Sons 1960

Rex, Peter
:
The English Resistance
. History Press 2004.

Sinclair, Charles
:
Wee Guide to St Margaret & Malcolm
Canmore
.
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2004.

Williams, Ann
:
The English and the Norman Conquest
.
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Press 1995.

Calendar
(Julian & Gregorian)

http://almanac.oremus.org/easter/

Misc Information

http://www.medart.pitt.edu/image/england/london/maps-of-london/london-maps.html

http://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/sitemap.shtml

Wikipedia.org

www.battle1066.com

British History Online:
www.englandandenglishhistory.com

Normans in Wales:
http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/nelson/index.html

Discussion of Battle of Hastings
www.angelfire.com/mb2/battle_hastings_1066/hastingsmaps/html.

Domesday
Book
:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/domesday/

http://domesdaymap.co.uk/

Anglo-Saxon Dictionary

http://home.comcast.net/~modean52/oeme_dictionaries.htm

Iain Campbell is an English-born Australian lawyer living in rural South Australia. He has a love of historical detail, an expressive writing style and a dry wit. Apart from writing and research he also has a love of fine Barossa red wine, particularly old-vine shiraz, reading and
karting
.

NORMAN CONQUEST SERIES

This is a trilogy setting out the history of England from 1066 to 1075 seen through the eyes of the young Norman knight Alan de Gauville. Alan participates in the invasion and subsequent subjugation of England.
Enfeoffed
as his reward he marries a young and beautiful Anglo-Danish widow and protects what is dear to him, seeking to retain honour and integrity amongst the bloody warfare, violence, corruption and political machinations of the time.

Wolves in Armour

Covers the period of 1066- 1067, the invasion and the social and political upheavals which followed

Winter of Discontent