[Norman Conquest 02] Winter of Discontent (9 page)

Alan then had an argument with Anne, who wanted to accompany the force, finally ha
ving to invoke his position as
‘
s
enior
p
artn
er
’
to specify that somebody in
Anne’s
‘
delicate situation’ could not spend most of each day on a horse, covering
60
miles or more
a day
.

Despite the solemnity of the Easter season the estate began to hum with activity. The Mass commemorating the celebration of the first Eucharist by Jesus and the Disciples was conducted with a congregation that had many of its members with other things on their mind. The Gloria was sung, the church bell rang and fell silent, to so remain until Easter Day. The ceremony of the washing of the feet was neglected
that day
.

On Good Friday, as was normal, Eucharist was not celebrated. Instead the congregation gave
p
enance, with a long l
ine to see Brother Wacian for a
bsolution- particularly those men due to march west a few days later. The
Liturgy of the Word, the Veneration of the Cross and the Stations of the Cross were performed by the priest.

Holy Saturday was supposed to be a day of reflection and prayer. While those
who were
able
did
conduct themselves thus, for many others it was a time of frantic activity
-
shoeing horses, checking and repairing armour
and
sharpening swords. Alan’s personal army would be marching to visit God’s
vengeance
on the Welsh and they intended to be ready and leave nothing to chance.

The following morning the Vigil was performed
before dawn
, followed by the service for Easter Day.
Within the crowded church
the Paschal Candle
was lit and the
Exultet
chant
ed. The congregation heard
readings from the Old Testament, the singing of the Gloria and Alleluia and the Gospel of the Resurrection. The sermon given by Brother
Wacian
was specially written by him to provide comfort and reassurance to the warriors going to war, promising eternal life for all who truly repented and believed. Baptisms were performed and the congregation renewed their baptismal vows. The afternoon was spent in feasting and drinking, the village celebrating the end of the privations imposed by Lent.

*
*
*
*

Alan and his men marched on Wednesday 26
th
March
, the day after the
Solemnity of the
Annunciation of the Lord
. With the coming of spring each day was now over
12 ½
hours long and Alan expected to cover a substantial distance each day. His force of
30
mounted men-at-arms,
50
infantrymen and
40
longbowmen were gathered at Wivenhoe, together with another
23
mounted men, thegns and their retainers, and
89
fyrdmen. The Hundred men were coming along out of a sense of adventure and want
ed
to put their newly
-
acquir
ed fighting skills to the test.

Including his men already in Herefordshire, or
recently
dispatched thereto, Alan would be able to field over
250
swords. The Hundred men and Alan’s foot-soldiers marched
out
together as the day was dawning. The mounted men-at-arms would accompany the slower ox-carts carrying the taxes to Colchester and
then
catch up with the others later in the day. Alan had sent Osmund, Leof and half a dozen riders on ahead the day before to make arrangements at each of the places Alan intended to stay overnight
,
Stevenage, Oxford and Gloucester, for food and accommodation to be available
-
which was no small undertaking given the size of the force mustered.

After safely delivering the taxes and leaving Wybert, Anne’s steward at Wivenhoe, to attend to obtaining the necessary receipts, Alan and the mounted men caught up with the foot-soldiers at Bishop Stortford in the afternoon. The men were in good heart, singing as they marched. They carried only their weapons and a few personal items, usually wrapped in a blanket draped over their shoulder
s
.

After ‘roughing it’ at Stevenage for the first night, the following night was spent in relative comfort at Oxford. Alan received a message from the
s
heriff requesting a visit the
next day to explain why he had brought a small army into the city. He penned a polite note back, declining
to
attend
and saying he and the
‘
army
’
would be marching west at dawn.

On arriving at Gloucester the following evening Alan was greeted at the
city
gates by the s
heriff of that shire, with a similar query
.
Clearly a rider had been dispatched from Oxford. As his tired men straggled to a halt behind him, glad to be finished marching for the day, Alan replied briefly
,
“Reinforcements for William fitzOsbern. Trouble on the Welsh
border with raids and so on.”

Alan was a little surprised at how much attention he was drawing, but on reflection would have to agree that if somebody led over
200
armed men into Essex he would have some concerns and want to know where they were going and what they would do when they arrived. “Brand, move the men through. It’s nearly dark and the gates will be closing soon. Get them to their lodgings and get them fed.”

“Does Earl William k
now you
’
re coming?” asked the s
heriff with annoyance, as the few men he had standing in front of the gate were shouldered aside.

“
Possibly
, but I
’
m sure we’ll be welcome when we arrive,” said Alan vaguely. “Now, please excuse me, Sir! I’m tired, dirty, hungry and thirsty
. I’
ll proceed to my lodgings.” He made a mental note that if he needed to move men around in the future it would be in smaller groups of
20
or
30
at a time, so as not to attract attention.

When t
he next
day they
cross
ed
the bridge over the River Wye in the early afternoon
,
Alan turned the force west along the road leading up the Wye River valley and towards the border instead of proceeding into
the city of
Hereford.

Near Byford, about two miles
east
of Staunton, they came across Osmund and three men sitting
alongside the road
under a tree which
was
just bursting into leaf. Osmund rose
to his feet
and walked the few paces to the road where Alan was at the head o
f his men. “Good afternoon, my l
ord,” said Osmund, as if the meeting were occurring in Alan’s
Hall
instead of the wilds of Herefordshire. “The
mens
’ weapons are in a clearing in the trees just to the north,” here he nodded towards a large stand of trees on the hills by the farm of Mansell Gamage. “
There’s p
rovender also. I bought that yesterday in Hereford and brought it here this morning.
There are c
ooked cold meats, beef and swine
;
b
read
; c
heese
; b
oiled vegetables
; f
ruit
and a
le.
There’s f
odder for the horses
and
a stream with fresh water for man and beast. There are more than enough provisions
- although they c
ost a small fortune!
”

“No questions
were
asked?” queried Alan.

Osmund gave him a
look so
‘old-fashioned’
that its bones were bare,
which expressed his disapproval. “I purchased from over a dozen different suppliers.
I u
sed our own carts. It took all fucking day!” he said sourly.

The men and horses disappeared into the trees. Firm instructions were given that no fires were to be lit. The infantry collected their armour, or in the case of the archers their extra sheaves of arrows, and set up the leather ten-man tents that Alan had provided. Guards and scouts were set for the first time on the expedition. The men ate as darkness gathered before heading to their tents. Alan met with Robert and
the
three spies
who
had been surveying the Wye valley on the Welsh side
of the border
for several months, gathering the information
Alan
needed. He intended to rest the men and horses all of the
next
day and to use the light of the full moon to move into position to attack the following night.

He had hardly seemed to close his eyes when Alan woke with his shoulder being shaken. “What the fuck…?” he queried as he sat up with the blanket draped over him falling away.

Brand was bending over him. “The scouts to the north report movement. Thirty or forty men moving towards Yazor on horseback.”

“Shit
e
!” Alan said as his brain snapped into action “Get the men-at-arms awake.
There’s n
o time to put on harness
, so we’ll fight without armour
. Get the archers and some infantry on the backs of the extra horses
- a
ll
are to be
my men, no fyrdmen.” Alan looked l
ongingly at
his rolled up chain-
mail
hauberk
and instead quickly pulled on his padded jacket with sewn-in metal plate inserts, acknowledging that donning mail armour took at least
fifteen minutes
- which
time
he didn’t have
.

The men were on horse and moving within ten minutes, most of that time taken with putting the tack on the horses. Then they were moving north on horseback between the trees of the forest, the bright light of the full moon making movement relatively easy. After
a ride of
several minutes they came to Offa’s Dyke. This deep ditch with the spoil piled on the eastern side
had been
constructed
several centuries before by the Saxons to try to prevent Welsh raiding parties moving east. Without maintenance it had fallen into disrepair but it was still a considerable obstacle and the men had to dismount and lead their horses over a section where th
e ditch and wall had collapsed.

The scouts sent on ahead returned to advise that the Welsh had dismounted and left their horses in the trees just to the west of the village of Yazor, along with five attendants. Alan sent ten of his men who were foresters or poachers ahead and soon received the signal that it was clear to proceed. On arriving at the
tree line
he ignored a pair of booted feet projecting from behind a bush, other than to think that his men must have been busy
-
otherwise the boots wou
ld have been removed b
y now.

Screams and shouts could be heard from the village that lay just ahead.

“What
men
have we got?” Alan demanded of Brand.

“Thirty mounted men-at-arms and ten swordsmen. Twenty archers
,
” replied Brand.

“If we send them into the village
,
the villagers will attack us and we’ll be blundering about not knowing what we’re doing,” said Alan, expressing uncharacteristic caution.

“
The b
est
course
is to stay here and wait for the Welsh to come back for their horses,” agreed Brand. “Of course, that doesn’t help the villagers
!
”

Alan grunted in reply and looked about. It appeared that Yazor had largely been spared the ravages of the summer invasion, which was presumably why the Welsh were paying their visit tonight. “They aren’t my villagers
!
There are several haystacks over to the north, just past those houses. Set fire to them. That should get the Welsh moving out of the village when it attracts
their
attention.”

It was Brand’s turn to grunt. “Probably,” he said. “But apart from our men at Staunton they wouldn’t expect to see a man-at-arms closer than Hereford, six miles away.”