[Norman Conquest 02] Winter of Discontent (5 page)

Anne added
,
“Can you please arrange for me tomorrow to meet with a delegation of the womenfolk from the villages, including the wives of each of the head-cheorls?”

Siward nodded
acquiescence
. “Certainly
!
I’ll have them here and you can conduct your meeting in the church nave,” he replied.

“And can you conduct Mass for all at Terce or a little after, depending on when we can arrive? Perhaps a suitable homily from the pulpit to help us in our efforts and build a good relationshi
p with the locals?” asked Anne.

Siward nodded his agreement and Alan and Anne took their leave
after a parting benediction from the priest
, mounting to ride back to Hereford with an escort of four men-at-arms.

After a ride of a little over an hour they arrived back at Hereford just as full dark was falling and the guards on the West Gate were struggling to push the heavy gates closed, narrowly
avoiding
having to pay a bribe to have the
gates opened after nightfall.

Even though it was only a little before four in the afternoon, in the gathering darkness the street vendors were packing away their wares and the merchants were closing their shops. Alan and Anne proceeded immediately to the warehouses of the grain merchants, hoping to find them still open. After a few minutes in the first grain store Anne shook her head and led the way out, sure that the merchant was seeking to take advantage of them. However, the prices in the second store were similar- five times the price that they had paid at Gloucester. They limited their purchase to four bushels of barley. The next stop was a brewery. Given their new-found knowledge of the cost of the raw materials used in the brewing process they were not surprised to have to pay top price for a brew of quite moderate quality. Alan purchased seven hogsheads of ale, each of
54
gallons.

They arrived back at the Lion
inn just as dinner was being served. Menjoire soup, herbelade pork pies, spinach tarte and mustard lentils.
This
wasn’t
an overly rich meal
,
but
one Alan and Anne were sure would be considerably better than whatever Robert and the others were eating at Staunton that evening.

After dining they spoke to the inn-keeper and had his pot-boy show Leof the way to the house of Moses the Jew on St Owen’s Street, to deliver a message.
Leof
returned not long afterwards and advised that Moses was at his counting-h
ouse and disposed to meet them.

Again with the assistance of the pot-boy they set out with an escort of two huscarles carrying rush torches to light the way in the dark. The boy needed no such assistance and within a few minutes indicated a door set in an otherwise blank wall. On knocking they were admitted. The boy, Leof and the huscarles remained in the entry foyer as Alan and Anne were ushered further inside by a young
man
. When they entered his chamber Moses rose from the chair at a table where he had been sitting and gestured them towards chairs placed opposite. He was relatively old at about
45
, tall and thin with a lean face and
prominent
hawk-nose. He was dressed in traditional black robes and head-covering
,
and his long hair, in ringlets at the side, had streaks of grey.

His eyes took in the good quality but understated nature of the clothing of his guests as Alan peeled off his leather gloves and tucked them in his belt. “Good evening, my
l
ord and
l
ady. How may I be of assistance?” he asked.

“Good evening to you also,” replied Alan, pulling a small roll of parchment from his pouch. “This is from Malachi in London and I think will act as suitable introduction, although I do not read Hebrew.” He paused while Moses quickly perused the document and nodded once respectfully. Alan continued
,
“I am Alan of Thorrington and this is my wife
,
Anne of Wivenhoe. I have four manors to the west and I’ve appointed Sir
Robert de Aumale
as
s
eneschal of my lands. Unfortunately, they’ve suffered some depredation and will require some financial support from me. I wish to open an account here, transferring
£100 of the funds I have on deposit with Malachi. I understand that you arrange that by Note of Hand. If you wish to have the relevant documentation drawn for me to sign? Myself, Lady Anne and also Sir Robert will be able to draw on these funds as required.”

M
oses half-bowed
.
“Certainly, my l
ord. If you would care to wait a moment, I’ll have wine and sweetmeats served while the documents are prepared.”

Moments after the Jew left the room a servant appeared with a flask of very good Angevin wine and a plate of candied ginger, dried fruit and nuts. Moses returned shortly afterwards and they chatted about general matters for fifteen minutes or so until an assistant hurried in with the paperwork, which he placed on the table. Moses carefully read the two documents and then turned them for Alan and Anne to peruse.
The documents were written in Latin; o
ne was a request to Malachi to transfer the nominated amount
,
and the other
dealt with
instructions authorising withdrawals. Alan and Anne swapped documents to read and then signed each with the quill and ink provided.

Business transacted, they then left and returned to the Lion, retiring upstairs to bed nearly immediately.

Next morning they ate a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs and bread
,
knowing that Staunton would not be able to offer much in the way of fare for the mid-day meal, before taking to the road. On the way they passed both the wagons from Gloucester and Hereford carrying supplies.

On arrival Alan asked Robert,
“
Did you have a g
ood night’s sleep?”

“Probably not as good as you, but the villagers have taken us into their homes and are providing what food and accommodation they can. Nobody can ask for more than that. They can’t give you what they don’t have
!
”
replied
Robert with a shrug. “By the way, this is
David
,
the
steward. He was off in Hereford yesterday trying to barter dried fish for flour.”

Alan nodded to the stocky dark-haired man at Robert’s side. “God Hael,
David!
I
ha
ve good news. In about an hour two wagons will be arriving. One is from Gloucester, carrying
sixty bushels of rye and wheat flour and the other
is
from Hereford with four bushels of barley for the taverner to use to make ale, and seven hogsheads of
brewed
ale. I’ll arrange for further supplies from Gloucester
; t
hey can come up the river by boat to Monnington. Anne, if you’d like to get the ladies baking when the supplies
arrive
, we can have something of a celebration.”

“The men went out this morning and took some deer,” said Robert. “I’ll sen
d
them back out again
and
see if we can get some boar and more deer, maybe some wild cattle.
There are quite thick patches of forest
a little closer to the border.
The
men
wi
ll appreciate having ale to drink
- d
rinking water is too damn dangerous
!
”

While the hunters headed out, Alan conducted Robert, Osmund,
Father Siward, Siric,
David
and the head-cheorls of Norton Canon, Monnington, and Bobury- by name Aella, Bearn and Defan respectively- to the selected site on a slight rise just to the west of the village. “
Hlaford
!” he began. “Here we’re going to build a fortified bailey
. Or
burgh
,
where the people of your villages can take shelter in time of trouble. All the villagers owe
traditional
burgh-bot
labour for fortifications.”

They paced out an oblong
100
paces by
70
, Alan marking the site to show the ditch and rampart, the towers at each corner and each side of the gate on the eastern side
; t
hen the position of the Hall, kitchen, stables, armoury and granary- Alan intended that the food supplies for the village also be secured.

“Build the stable first, followed by the Hall. Then the ditch, rampart, palisade and towers.
Next
,
build
the armoury and finally the granary, which won’t be needed until late summer. Also dig a well.” Alan showed them the sketch plans he had drawn the night before. “I want you to have all available labour engaged. You have a couple of months until the harvest is due to be sown. The
se
plans aren’t grandiose and
the
facilities will be fairly basic. Half-timber construction with wooden frames and wattle and daub walls. Slate stone floors. Wooden shingles for roofing
-
not thatch.
You have recently learned how easily thatch burns!
Shingles burn, but not so
easily or
quickly.
The workers, men and women, will be given food and drink each day. After that’s done we can repair the Moothall and the mills, and also the fish-farms at Monnington and Bobury.

“Do we need to invite men and women to come and live in these villages to replace those who were killed or taken?” continued Alan. “Yes? Very well,
David
I want you to have the word spread in Gloucestershire that we are looking for suitable people and that land will be granted to them in
laen
- but wait until we’ve sufficient food available
to feed them!

“Siric, Aella, Bearn and Defan,
have
your blacksmiths as
quickly
as they can make
new ploughs as
replacement
s
for those destroyed
, and repair those damaged in the raid
. They’ll be needed in a few weeks. When they have spare moments they can make spearheads and arrowheads.
Robert, a
rrange for a supply of steel bars from Gloucester and also two wagons of grain each week. It’s so much cheaper there than in Hereford that it’s worth the cost of tra
nsport. I’ll provide the funds and
I’ll send swords from Gloucester
-
that would be the best source as they have ample foundries and a suitable supply of iron, coal and charcoal from the Forest of Dean.
David
, do you have two or three reliable men we can send by ship to Cardiff to buy Welsh bows? Good.”

“This all promises to be a most expensive exercise,” commented Robert.

“True, but we need to rebuild what was here so we can all prosper in the future, and for them be in a position to defend it so it’s not all destroyed again next year. I expect each village to provide ten bowmen and twenty to thirty fyrdmen. Then you can be in a position to mount an effective defence. I’
ve
give
n
instructions
to
Moses the Jew that you’re to be provided with what funds you reasonably require
-
but you’ll need to provide proper accounts,” replied Alan briskly. “Now, let’s see how matters are progressing in the village.”

In fact matters were progressing well.
T
he supply wagons had arrived and been emptied. The smell of baking bread wafted over the village for the first time in months. The fish-traps at Monnington had been emptied and cleaned fish lay waiting to be baked or fried. The deer and other game caught earlier were cooking over open fires and the hunters were returning with further catches that would shortly be roasting or boiling with vegetables. The inhabitants of Norton Canon, Monnington and Bobury were drifting in to join the villagers of Staunton in partaking of their new
lord’s
largess.
The gathering was convivial and Alan, Anne and Robert circulated and chatted
with
the villagers, ascertaining needs and receiving thanks for the provender they had supplied.

Two days later Alan, Anne, Synne, Osmund, Brand, Leof and an escort of four men rode east towards Essex and home.

The winter in the east was deep and bitter. Snow lay deep and icy blizzards blew from the north. In Tendring Hundred the villages were well built, well-provisioned and reasonably affluent. Farmers stayed inside during the short winter days
unless the weather was fair
, repairing tools and caring for the animals that were mostly housed indoors, often in the same rooms as the human
inhabitants
. On those days when it was possible to venture outside, the
gebur
s performed minor repairs to fences or hunted for the small wild animals that Alan had given them leave to take- fish, hare, foxes and pigeon. No doubt also the occasional partridge, pheasant and deer w
ere
also quietly taken, although Alan was not concerned as long as this was not too blatant a breach of his rights.