[Norman Conquest 02] Winter of Discontent (34 page)

“So all in all, things are a mess at the moment and King William is running about like a blue-arsed fly. That’ll be very frustrating for him as he’s a man who likes to be in control of events, not to be reacting to them. The deteriorating situation in Maine is potentially very damaging, particularly when combined with the activities of Fulk in Anjou. The king is rushing around putting out brush-fires everywhere.

In a change of topic Alan asked
Herfast
,
“You know, one thing that has had me puzzled for years is why Harold fought the way he did at Hastings. Do y
ou know? Was it because of the p
ope’s anathema and threat of excommunication of any who opposed William? He could have waited another week and raised an extra
10,000
men from the shires that were further away and had Morcar and Edwin provide men from the north. Then
,
when he did set up at Hastings
,
it was like his men had taken root. No movement and no maneuver at all.”

Regenbald
gave a laugh of genuine amusement. “To answer the first part of the question, you obviously didn’t know Harold and clearly still don’t understand
the English- both those of the south and of the n
orth. Neither he nor his men would have cared much about Pope Alexander
deciding to
favour William without his even hearing Harold’s side of the argument. That was an interesting piece of political skullduggery in itself that may yet come back to haunt William, which I’ll go into in a minute. Harold beat the Norwegians at Stamford Bridge because he moved quickly and took them by surprise, even though they outnumbered him. Again, he didn’t wait to muster his full strength nor did he wait for Morcar and Edwin to bring those of their men who had survived
the battle at
Fulford Gate. He gathered what men he could on the ride
to the
n
orth, plus his own huscarles of course. He just went at them like a bull at a gate, killed Harald Hardrada and his own brother Tostig and the forces they had with them that morning, and then beat the Norwegians who came up from the ships- effectively
he had two battles that day. Then Harold and his men
were celebrating their victory when news of William’s landing arrived.

“He and his remaining thegns and huscarles took horse south to London and left the infantry to straggle down as best they could. I was in London and helped to send out the calls to the thegns and fyrd
of the
s
outh to rally. It was then, in London, that we heard about the anathema from that French monk that William used as a messenger. It was quite interesting and humorous, the messages and taunts that Harold and William sent back and forth over those few days.
They were l
ike two young boys arguing over a toy, with insults and threats. Gyrth was more concerned about the
p
ope than Harold was, and offered to lead the army to avoid the risk that his brother would be excommunicated. Harold wasn’t too bothered as he knew that whoever won the battle wo
uld have the last say with the p
ope. Remember that Archbishop Stigand has been under anathema and excommunicated since 1052, by
five
successive
p
opes, and that didn’t stop even the pious King Edward keeping him in the position
as
the most senior prelate in the country
- o
r King William for that matter. It just meant that, to be safe, Harold had Ealdred of York place the crown on his head at his coronation, rather than Stigand
- as did William
.

“I’m sure that w
hen the b
anner of St Peter was unfurled on the Norman’s side at Hastings the English rank-and-file wouldn’t have been happy, but neither they nor Harold would have let that stop them, any more than would consideration of what promises may have been made by who in the past. They were fighting for their anointed king and their country against foreign invaders, and Pope Alexander would have been seen as just another foreigner.

“Also remember that when Harold was a ‘guest’ of Duke William he attended at the campaign in Brittany in 1064. Although a lot of that was castle sieges, he saw what heavy cavalry can do in battle and how well William uses that cavalry. At Hastings he had an army composed almost entirely of infantry and knew that if he gave William any room to maneuver his forces that his army would be cut to pieces. He was also getting upset that William and you Normans were burning and ravaging lands that belonged to him personally, but that wasn’t a large factor in his thinking.

“He knew that to beat a force largely composed of heavy cavalry he would either have to take them by surprise or fight on a battlefield that gave his army every advantage. So he took his men quickly and stealthily through the Andreswald, trying to repeat the surprise he achieved at Stamford Bridge. Unfortunately for him William was a better general th
an Hardrada and
had his scouts out, knew Harold was coming and when Harold emerged from the forest the Normans were there.

“As to the battlefield and numbers of men, do you think an extra
10,000
men, mainly untrained, would have made much difference? I’m not surprised that Morcar and Edwin didn’t bring their men south. They didn’t have time to do so and they
’
d taken huge losses from the Norwegians at Fulford Gate, whe
re
they had been beaten like a drum. Even if they hadn’t, being Anglo-Danes they probably wouldn’t have come
to
the call of the House of Wessex anyway.”

Alan nodded
.
“You’re right. Another
10,000
men couldn’t have fitted onto the battlefield at Caldbec Hill, but if he had them threatening our flank…”

“How could he have got troops onto the flank in time? You know the lack of roads in the area. Anyway, that may have allowed William the opportunity to defeat the army piecemeal. Remember, Harold didn’t need to win. He just needed to make sure that William
didn’t
win. It was October. While campaigning in winter is possible, it isn’t easy. The land around Hastings had been stripped bare of food by you Normans. That part of the south would have had lean pickings for provender over the winter and both storms and English long
ships
would have restricted resupply by sea. All Harold had to do was maintain an army in the field and keep the Normans bottled up. And stay alive. Unfortunately for him he didn’t manage to do any of the three
requirements
.”

Allan nodded his understanding about what he had just been told and then prompted
,
“And Pope Alexander?”

“As I said,
that was
an interesting piece of political skullduggery. William sen
t
Bishop Lanfranc to Rome. Have you met Lanfranc? No? A most impressive, learned and intelligent man
- and e
xtremely eloquen
t. He spent some time with the p
ope and his advisers,
firstly
going through the usual details of William’s own claim to the throne by way of blood, which we all know exist
ed
but wasn’t strong, and the promises made by both King Edward and by Harold including the famous oath-swearing.
He d
erogat
ed
Harold’s personality and perso
nal life. All the usual things.

“
But what was really important was, and
still
is, the position of the church here in England. The English church, while it recognises the authority of Rome, does not always follow the direction that Rome wishes. We have bibles and psalters written in the vernacular
tongue
. Services and prayers are also said in the vernacular and not Latin. We do not follow
Rome in
all matters of either the liturgy or theology. In the moderately recent past
w
e had
the situation of Cnut
marrying
Aethelred’s widow Emma, who was daughter to Richard Duke of Normandy.
This was p
olygamy by Cnut, who was already married,
but an act
which the English church consented to
-
although I understand under the threat of death to the archbishop if he didn’t perform the ceremony. And, of course, we had and still have an archbishop who is excommunicate. All in all
that’s
not a set of facts that would encourage further tol
erance on the part of
the p
ope.

“
Rome was more interested in bringing the English church ‘back into the fold’, by force if necessary, than it was with whether the king is English or Norman. Lanfranc played on those concerns wonderfully well. Firm promises of church reform were made and I’m sure will be put in place when King William gets a chance to attend to them.
M
ost particularly, William promised to become the vassal of Rome, at least in
respect to England but not his d
uchy. Of course, William hasn’t gone to Rome to make formal homage for England
-
and has no intention of doing so. That will be yet another promise regarding the kingship that slowly slips by, but this time by William.

“William’s various claims to the throne, not just b
y conquest but particularly by p
apal approval, have apparently been accepted throughout Christendom and have helped to keep Fulk of Anjou from attacking
Normandy
when William has been busy elsewhere
. Apart from the Angevins and dissent in Maine, wh
ich William seized by force in ’
63, William has been fortunate in the curr
ent political situation on the c
ontinent. William’s father-in-law is both Count of Flanders and guardian of King Philip of France, although the young king is apparently ‘champing at the bit’ somewhat. The important Norman barons are firmly under control- because William has been so generous in return for their support for the invasion
,
the fact that most of them are here in England and that William has forged them all into one big family by cross-marriages. There’s the usual situation of the minor barons or fief-holders
in Normandy
attacking each other when they get bored or feel they’ve been insulted, but the greater lords are keeping a lid on that
,
more so than
is
usual.”

“So, all in all everything is bright and sunny!” said Alan with some degree of sarcasm.
Both Regenbald and
Herfast
gave a laugh in reply. “All of
Christendom accepts William as king
- e
xcept the English,”
he
continued.

Herfast
replied
,
“I was speaking to a monk the other day. He made the comment that ‘the English submitted out of necessity’. Not because they wanted to, but because they saw no other choice. They aren’t happy about the choice that they had to make after Hastings. Some would like to change that choice if they c
ould
.
That
’s not only an English trait- i
n politics you can’t trust anybody. Anybody who trusts Edwin and Morcar in particular, or any of the Northmen, and Waltheof to a lesser extent, deserves to get the dagger that will
be
thrust in his back. The Mercians and Northumbrians do not recognise, that they are under the authority of
the K
ing of Wessex
and never have
. Not even when that
king was Alfred the Great
himself
. They threw Tostig out in ’65 after King Edward had appointed him earl and themselves chose and appointed Morcar as earl as his successor. It was a pity for the English that Tostig and Harold fell out, as Tostig was equally as capable as his brother- and
,
as he showed in his behaviour at Stamford Bridge, more reliable when he had given oath.”

“I don’t
agree
about that
!
” objected Alan. “Tostig had Gamal, son of Orm
,
and Ulf, son of Dolfin, assassinated when they visited him under safe conduct. Hardly in keeping with a man of honour! And capable rulers usually don’t suffer rebellion by people claiming they are being oppressed and misruled!”

Herfast
shrugged and changed the topic again. “
L
eaving that aside, the Grandmesnils are in London at the moment and are putting on a festivity at the Westminster Palace Hall tomorrow night. Adelize has particularly asked me to make sure you and Anne
attend
as she enjoyed Anne’s poetry evening so much.”

Alan nodded his acquiescence, although he would rather go rolling naked in a field of stinging nettles
than attend a social soiree
.

That evening
when
back at the house at
Holebourn
, Gareth sat opposite Alan and Anne, toying with a cup of wine. “So, I located the individuals and questioned them all most closely. It was a simple robbery with no political involvement. Given how closely they were questioned, I’m
quite
sure of that. The bodies will be found in a vacant allotment in Friday Street tomorrow and the word will be passed around that any further problems involving you or your servants will meet a similar vigorous response. The salutary lesson should be worth a dozen guards.” Alan and Anne both expressed their thanks and Gareth departed after declining to partake of the evening meal, wanting to be back at his haunts in the City before the Newgate closed at dusk.