by M. M. Blake
CHAPTER VI.
THE BRIDE-ALE.
The festivities of the days preceding the wedding had no specialincidents to mark them as more worthy of note than a hundred such whichhave been described in history and romance, but the wedding-day itselfleft its mark on time, and has been recorded as of woeful bearing onthe destinies of the many who partook of its good cheer, by chroniclerscontemporary and modern.
The ceremonies observed at the marriage were after the Anglo-Saxonfashions, and Ralph de Guader himself wore the Saxon garb: a tunic ofsaffron silk reaching to the knee, with a border round the neck and hemof embroidery in gold thread, edged with ermine, and fastened at thewaist with a wide belt of highly-wrought goldsmith's work set withjewels; suspended from this a short sword, hilted with gold-inlaidivory, and a fierce-looking hunting-knife no less richly embellished.On his shoulders a short scarlet cloak lined with ermine, and fastenedby a band across the chest of similar work and design to the baldric,having at each extremity a round clasp of Danish filigree, much raisedin the centre, where a splendid ruby repeated the red of the cloak.Stockings of scarlet cloth, cross-gartered with golden braid, and shortbrown leather boots, the heels armed with the golden spurs ofknighthood, completed his apparel.
His earl's coronet was embedded in the crisp dark curls of hisclose-cropped hair, which, to have been in keeping with his dress,should have been long enough to lie upon his shoulders, and the colourof tow; and, to say truth, his swart countenance was still less incharacter. Yet from an aesthetic point of view the costume wassufficiently becoming, and the personal appearance of the bridegroomdrew forth a full share of praise from the noble dames and damsels whograced the day with their presence, for he looked strikingly handsome,flushed as he was with excitement, his face animated, and his keen eyesflashing.
The policy of adopting it was another question. Many of the Englishnobles and knights, whom it was intended to flatter, rather resentedhis assumption of their national garb as a mockery and insult, afterthe part he had borne in helping to crush their cause and help theConqueror to the throne, while the Normans and Bretons were offended byit.
The guest in whose honour he had chiefly assumed it, Waltheof, Earl ofNorthumberland, Northampton, and Huntingdon, wore a similar garb withall the ease of custom and grace of habit, and looked in very truth anEnglish prince. Tall, broad-chested, brawny-armed, his long light hairhanging in shining curls upon his shoulders, his strong wrists circledwith many bracelets, hands, arms, and neck covered with bluetattoo-marks, he stood by the East Anglian earl with a pleasant smileon his ruddy face and in his sleepy blue eyes. 'This earle Walteof orWaldene,' says Holinshed, 'was sonne (as ye haue heard) to Siward thenoble earle of Northumberland, of whose valure in the time of K. Edwardthe confessor ye haue heard. His son, the aforesaid Walteof, instrength of bodie and hardinesse did not degenerate from his father,for he was tall of personage, in sinews and musculs verie strong andmighty. In the slaughter of the Normans at Yorke, he showed proofe ofhis prowesse in striking off the heads of manie of them with his ownehands, as they came forth of the gates singlie one by one.'
But this doughty hero, this son of Siward and AEthelflaed, whom theNorthern scalds celebrated in their sagas, and who claimed relationshipto the kings of Denmark and descent from the Fairy Bear,--the greatwhite bear, the hound of Hrymir, who was credited with twelve men'sstrength and eleven men's wit by the Norsemen,--was not so strong ofmind as of body; the 'eleven men's wit' of his ursine ancestor had notcome down to him. He had not the indomitable spirit of HaroldGodwinsson or Hereward Leofricsson, and he succumbed to the finer brainof the Norman general. He had done homage to William, and had acceptedthe hand of William's niece Judith, daughter of the Conqueror's ownsister Adelaide, and grand-daughter of Robert the Devil and Arlete ofFalaise, and, in return, the earldom which had been wrested from himwas restored--the Northumbrian portion of it, at least, a barren wasteby fire and sword.
It was whispered that he hated his foreign wife, that she henpecked himcruelly, and was but a spy set to watch all his actions. Some thoughtthe marriage, instead of binding him to William's interest, would provehis strongest incentive to revolt.
However that might be, Judith appeared at Exning with an almost royalfollowing, and was to fill the honourable position of 'bride-woman,' asthe matron who in those days gave the bride away was then styled, andwhose place is now held by the nearest male relative. Another changehas taken place in marriage ceremonial. Then it was the duty of thebridemaids to lead the bridegroom to the altar instead of following thebride, and Ralph de Guader was preceded by a bevy of fair damsels, ofwhom Eadgyth of Norwich was the chief, while the bride was conducted bya party of handsome young bride-knights, almost as bravely attired asthe groom himself.
Emma Fitzosbern still clung to the Norman fashions, and wore atight-fitting kirtle of pale green samite, embroidered all over withsilver thread and pearls; a silver girdle passing diagonally round thehips, richly gemmed with emeralds, from which hung a gipsire of likematerial. A long underskirt of salmon silk fell to her feet and trailedupon the ground behind her. Her little pointed boots were of greensamite, wrought with silver, and a splendid embroidered mantle, inwhich the colours of the kirtle and skirt were subtly blended, hungfrom her shoulders, and was held up by two little page boys. Her auburnhair flowed over the mantle, and was bound by a silver fillet, fastenedin front with one large emerald. Over face and figure fell a veil ofdelicate Cyprian crape, flowered with silver thread.
Green signified youth, and salmon or flesh colour typified earthly joy.Her beautiful costume had been designed for her by no less a personthan her uncle, the Bishop of Exeter, who was pleased to emulate St.Dunstan by designing a lady's dress.
Judith, her bride-woman, on whose arm she leant, wore a robe of richred samite heavy with gold, and ostentatiously Norman in style. Hertall, stately figure was as straight as an arrow, and made a splendidfoil to the shrinking form of the bride.
Her clear-cut, cold features and sparkling steel-blue eyes wore asarcastic and critical expression, but she acted her part with a graceand courtesy which the many who longed to pass adverse criticisms on_her_ could not but admit to be perfect.
Emma felt a strong repugnance to her kinswoman, the more so perhapsthat Judith's features and eyes reminded her of the king she wasdefying, and every time she met their glance, a thrill of dread andforeboding passed through her heart.
The wedding procession was preceded to the church by a dozen Saxonscops or bards, who sung each to the sound of his cruit, a harp havingfive strings, yet affording a very sweet music, and by esquires andpages strewing flowers; and the guests were led by Earls Waltheof andHereford, the latter with his young countess on his arm.
The little church at Exning would not have contained so great acompany, but the fashion in those days was for the bride and bridegroomto stand on the threshold till the ceremony was almost concluded. Afterthe wedding ring had been bestowed with due ceremony,--being placedfirst on the thumb and successively upon the second and fourth finger,where it was allowed to remain, that finger being supposed by the mostscientific authorities of the time to be joined to the heart by a smallartery,--the couple entered the sacred portal, and advanced to thealtar, before which the nuptial benediction was given by thebridegroom, under cover of a square veil, held aloft by four tallknights, and termed a 'care-cloth.'
Wine, blessed by the officiating priest, was then poured into asplendid golden bride-cup, in which was placed a sprig of gildedrosemary, supposed to have the gift of strengthening memory andincreasing tenderness, and many other good qualities. In this the brideand bridegroom pledged each other, and it was then handed round to allthe guests. A wheaten cake, in token of plenty and fruitfulness, wasthen broken between them, from whence we derive our bride-cake.
On leaving the church, the newly-made husband and wife were crownedwith garlands of flowers, and the Earl of Hereford presented his sisterwith her dower.
The word bridal comes from the Saxon _bryd-e
ala_, from a custom amongthat people of the bride selling to each guest a tankard of foaming aledrawn from the tun by her own fair hands, the price being at first paidin kind, and consisting of a contribution to the banquet, by whichmeans the expense of entertaining a great company was lessened for theyoung couple. For this simple exchange, more costly presents weresubstituted after a while, a part of the custom which still survives,though the bride no longer offers an equivalent.
This ceremony was magnificently observed at the East Anglian earl'swedding, and Emma de Guader dispensed the favourite Saxon drink in aglorious golden beaker, which was of depth sufficient to try the windand capacity of the gallants, as they strove to empty it withoutdrawing breath, particularly of the Normans, who were not adepts at theart of copious drinking. Many and rich were the presents offered inpayment, with fitting good wishes and compliments, Waltheof bestowingthe most superb of all, a pair of Danish torcs of that beautiful goldfiligree, the working of which was the special glory of the Danishgoldsmiths of that day, and a white bear's skin of rare beauty andvalue.
A bountiful feast followed, pages and esquires, clad in the colours ofthe nobles and knights they served, presenting the dishes on the knee,one golden plate being set between each lady and gentleman; it beingthe duty of the latter to carve choice morsels for his fair charge withhis dagger. Peacocks in their feathers, crane, heron, and swan,porpoise, seal, venison, and boar's head, were amongst the delicaciesoffered, and the united science of Saxon and Norman cooks achieved sometriumphs of culinary skill, we may be sure. A receipt for forcemeatwhich has come down to us from those days, will show they were nonovices in the matter. It is to be compounded of pork, figs, andcheese, moistened with ale, seasoned with pepper and salt, and baked ina crust, garnished with powderings of sugar and comfits. All these goodthings were washed down with rare wines, Gascon and Rhenish, withhippocras and pigment spiced to suit the Saxon palate, with moral andmead, cider, perry, and ale.
In all, Saxon profusion was united to the dainty Norman cookery, and,under the influence of this heavy hospitality, the male portion of theguests grew somewhat boisterous.
When the attendants brought in large Saxon drinking-horns, filled withhydromel and beer, and marked with knobs of brass to indicate to whatdepth the guests might quaff without fear of intoxication, with cups ofspiced wine for those who preferred it, the bride arose from her seat,her Norman delicacy already offended by the copiousness of thepotations.
Nevertheless, before she left, she touched her lips to one of thehugest drinking-horns and pledged the guests. Then she withdrew withthe ladies of the company, the Countess Judith casting a strange glanceof contemptuous malice as she went.
The bride's challenge was, as may be imagined, received with readyenthusiasm, and called forth such lusty cheering, that she had reachedher bower ere it died away. Before it had well ceased, the Earl ofHereford rose to his feet, his proud young face full of waywardtriumph. 'Noble earls, barons, and knights,' he said, 'who honour thisboard with your presence, ye have this day pledged the health of thebridegroom, my noble brother-in-law, the Earl of East Anglia, and yehave but now with a noble enthusiasm pledged the bride, my fair sister.I ask of you yet another pledge. Drink to the marriage itself, in tokenthat you, one and all, justify my noble brother and myself in ourdefiance of the mandate of the tyrant, William the Bastard, who stroveto hinder their union!'
Many a jewelled hunting-knife and _misericorde_ flashed in the air toshow that their owners accepted the bold pledge; for in those wilddays, when every man's hand was against every man, it was the fashionthat when two drank together, each should hold up his dagger while theother was in the defenceless position necessitated by the act ofdrinking.
'By the bones of King Offa, the founder of St. Albans, whose holy AbbotFrithric sits amongst us to-day, ye do well to support me!' saidHereford. 'But I would have your hearts even more closely with me! Tothat end I ask ye to answer me a question or two, ere ye drain the cupto pledge me. Shall I ask them?'
'Ask them!' shouted every lusty throat around the board.
'I ask ye, then, my countrymen, you Norman barons and knights, and younoble Bretons, who have fought with us shoulder to shoulder, ay, andyou valiant Saxons, who were foemen worthy of his steel, was not myfather, William Fitzosbern, a good man and true?'
'_Oui!_' shouted the men of Langued'oui, nor did the Bretons or Saxonsgainsay them.
'Did he shed his blood like water in William's cause? Did he fightbeside him in the thickest of the fray at Hastings?'
'_Oui!_' shouted Normans and Bretons, and the Saxons assented withmuttered curses.
'Could William have conquered his kingdom without my father's aid?'
'_Non!_' cried the Normans.
'Then, I ask, is it fitting and just that William the Bastard shouldrefuse his sanction, when William Fitzosbern's son pleads for it, tothe marriage of William Fitzosbern's daughter with a noble Englishearl?' Here he bowed to Ralph de Guader, who had risen and stood besidehim. 'Is it not a threefold affront to the memory of my father, to mehis son, and to my noble brother-in-law, the Earl of East Anglia?'
Normans, Bretons, and Saxons joined in a howl of reprobation of Williamof Normandy's conduct, the Saxons delighting to find fault with theconqueror of their woeful land on any pretext, and boiling with wrathat wrongs of their own. If any dissented, their feeble voices weredrowned in the outcry of indignation that stormed round the board. Thecups were drained to the last drop.
'William is no rightful Duke of Normandy, still less doth it befit himto style himself a king,' cried a Norman noble. 'He was born inadultery, and God favours not the children of sinful parents.'
'And born of mean blood!' shouted another. 'Who was Arlete of Falaise,the tanner's daughter, that her son should be anointed king, even if hehad been born in wedlock?'
'If a natural son might succeed to his father's honours,' said the Earlof Hereford, his face flushed with the success of his appeal,'Nicholas, Abbe of St. Ouen, had been Duke of Normandy, for he was theson of Duke Robert's elder brother. As Nicholas was set aside onaccount of his birth, so should William be. Guy of Burgundy is therightful heir!'
'Nobles and knights of Bretagne!' cried the bridegroom, less fiery thanhis Norman brother-in-law, but speaking with a calm impressive voice,and flinging out each syllable as if it were a challenge in itself, 'yewho have so faithfully supported me in this land, which is the land ofmy birth, but not of yours! Men of Guader and Montfort! ye too haveshed your blood like water for the sake of this ill-born Norman, whohad God's own laws against him, and what reward hath he given you?Lands wasted by the ravages of war, which when you have tilled he hathtaken away again to bestow on those who were higher in his favour! Someof your number he hath put to death! Nay more! Bretagne still mournsher glorious Count Conan, whom he slew with the coward'sweapon--poison!--as he poisoned Conan's father Alain before him!'
A low growl of wrath, terrible to hear, answered this appeal. Many ofthe Bretons sprang from their seats and bent over the table, shoutingaccusations against William of Normandy; for Ralph's cool determinationwas inherited from his English father; the men of Lower Britain werecharacterised generally by the hot-headedness of their Welsh ancestors,which they inherited with their red hair and fiery blue eyes, and Ralphhad roused them.
'Ay! he used that coward's weapon too on Walter and his wife Biota inFalaise!' cried a voice above the tumult.
'Remember how he banished William of Mortmain for a single word, andgave his lands to Arlete's son Robert!' cried another. 'He is hatefulto all men! His death would give joy to many!'
Roger of Hereford whispered in the ear of the Abbot of St. Albans. Thevenerable abbot was dearly loved by the English on account of hisvigorous opposition to the Norman churchmen, and, in particular, toLanfranc, the Italian to whom William had given the primacy, and whoseuntiring adversary he had been. They loved him also for his share inthe heroic attempt made by Hereward Leofricsson to beat back theinvader.
The turbule
nt soldiers hushed their outcry as the abbot rose to hisfeet, and stood waiting to address them, his face seamed and furrowedby age and sorrow, and his sunken eyes gleaming with a lustre thatseemed almost supernatural from beneath his snow-white brows. Truly adignified figure, in his splendid vestments, and a pathetic one also,so worn was he by suffering, so trembling was the thin right hand inwhich he held out the cross.
'Earls, barons, and knights!' cried the old man in his eloquentpreacher's voice, 'the Earl of Hereford, whose health ye have justpledged, has told me grievous news. Know, all present, that he is anexcommunicated man!'
Many a cheek that had hitherto been flushed with excitement blanched atthat awful word; and a silence that might have been felt succeeded thepassionate uproar. Men cast questioning glances at their neighbours,wondering each if the other would have strength of mind either toretract or fulfil his pledges to a man under the anathema of theChurch, and which alternative he would choose.
'Yes!' cried Frithric, his voice rising clear as a bell into thesilence. 'The Norman Church has cursed him by the mouth of that tool ofWilliam the Bastard, that despoiler of saints and robber ofsanctuaries, Lanfranc, by the grace of that same William the Bastard,Archbishop of Canterbury! But the English Church blesses him!--theChurch of St. Dunstan, St. Eadmund, and St. Cuthberht,--of the blessedmartyrs AEthelric and AEthelwine,--whose holy members, ArchbishopStigand, Bishop AEthelmaer, and Abbot Wulfric, now languish in thedungeons of the tyrant! In the name of the English Church, I herepronounce that curse invalid, and give my benediction to the man whohas pity on the sufferings of a luckless race, who will help to makeits oppressor bite the dust!'
Here he extended his thin hands over Roger's bent head, and repeatedthe benediction.
The other bishops and abbots present ratified his action, and thetension of the crisis gave way before a fresh burst of cheering, louderthan any previous. Then Ralph de Guader turned to Waltheof, who had satvery quietly through all the tumult, but had shown during AbbotFrithric's speech evidence of rising emotion.
'Valiant hero!' he said, 'hast thou no wrongs to complain of at thehands of the man who has conquered thy country, and robbed its princesand nobles of their birthrights? who has murdered or driven into exilethe lawful heirs of its broad acres? Hast thou no revenge to take onhim who harried thy patrimony, and made it a barren waste, where eventhe wild beasts starve? Art thou appeased because he gave thee back thyfather's lands in such sorry plight?'
Waltheof rose to his feet like a giant newly awakened, magnificent inhis slowly aroused wrath, his sinewy chest expanded, the muscles in hissplendid neck knotted like whipcord, and his blue eyes sparkling withanger, so that he looked as if he were verily that Thor, God ofBattles, whom his Danish forefathers worshipped, come down to earth. Hetossed his mantle back from his brawny arms, and his hands workedinvoluntarily, till the left sought the hilt of the jewelledhunting-knife in his baldric, and the right was extended towards thesky. His long golden moustache bristled till it stood almost straightlyfrom either cheek, and he shook his yellow mane like a lion.
'By St. John of Beverley, no!' he cried. 'The blood of starved womenand children cries for justice! The spirits of men whose flesh waseaten by their fellows, after every horse and dog and cat had beendevoured, call for vengeance on the harrier of Northumberland! Slavesrattle their chains who through him sold their freedom for food! Thesated crows and ravens alone croak his praises from full maws, for theygrew fat on the unburied corses of those whose dwellings he had burnedand whose homesteads he had laid waste! It would be a sin to holdmyself under bond to the tyrant!'
The Saxon thegns received this speech with wild acclaim.
'Ay,' cried one from Hampshire, 'and as in the north so in the south!Other kings have hunted wild beasts that their subjects might not betorn with them. This scourge of God maims and slaughters his subjectsthat the wild beasts may live for his hunting! May his New Forest provea bane to him and his children!'
'Noble Waltheof,' cried Ralph, 'the time is come to avenge our wrongs.William is beyond the sea with the flower of his chivalry, and hardbeset by rebellions and feuds in the bosom of his family, for such atyrant is he that his own kinsfolk hate him! It is little likely thathe will come back, but if he does, it will be at a disadvantage. Joinus, thou whose stalwart arm struck one Norman head after another fromits shoulders at the gates of York!--thou who firedst the wood whereinone hundred Normans sheltered, and slew them as they ventured forthlike rats from a burning house! Join thy twelve men's strength to ours!We three earls might be again as Siward, Leofric, and Godwin. As if theNorman had not conquered, Godwin's son would have held the throne, soshall Siward's son be king when we in turn have laid the Norman low!'
'Waltheof Cyning! Waes hael! Waes hael!' cried the thegns.
'Call not the Bastard a Norman!' shouted the Earl of Hereford. 'TheNormans disown him!'
Then said Frithfic, fixing his shining, mournful eyes upon the Earl ofNorthumberland,--
'Waltheof, son of Siward, let thy words be upheld by deeds! Thy handwas on the plough, and thou didst turn in the furrow and make termswith the spoiler of thy land. See to it, thou failest not thycountrymen again!'
Turning to the Earl of East Anglia, he continued: 'Thou also, son ofRalph the Staller, forget the evil teaching of thy young days, when thyheart was weaned from thy father's land. Give thy manhood in amend forthy youth, and Jesu pardon thee! Join hands, ye two, and tender each ahand to this brave Norman, whose soul revolts at the cruelties of theman whom his father served, alas! for evil as well as good! Swear asolemn oath, ye three noble earls, to be true to each other, and toright this much-wronged land!'
A huge cheer of assent burst from the followers of the three earls, andthey joined hands and swore a great oath that they would unite to oustthe tyrant from the throne, and seat thereon in his stead WaltheofSiwardsson.
And they settled it that Waltheof should bring his men from the north,and seek assistance from his old friend Sweyn, King of Denmark, tostrengthen his hands; that Hereford should arm the west, and EastAnglia the east, and so enclose the forces of William in a deadlytriangle of hostile steel.
So ended the fatal bride-ale.[1]
[1] See Appendix, Note A.