El Campeador

by Griff Hosker

  It was, however, not all work for Anna had given birth to a son whom Iago named Alfonso. It pleased Maria more than any. At the same time, we discovered that Isabella was with child. I gave Iago and Anna four gold pieces for the child; life for those not born of a noble was parlous enough. Who knew what the future held?

  At the start of November, I was summoned by Rodrigo and I made my way to León. I feared the worst. I took with me just Abu, Geoffrey and Jorge. They were all that I would need, and the rest remained behind at Briviesca to continue building a strong defence against dangers yet to manifest themselves. As I headed along the busy road from Burgos to León, I saw many knights. They too had been summoned. Did this mean that the King was already dead? I doubted it for such a momentous event would be spread around the Kingdom for with it would come the announcement of a new king.

  I rode to Lion’s Den for now that the training of the young warriors was complete there was a hall which was almost empty save for one or two young warriors in training. Old Pedro was still with the garrison but he was now used a little like Roger of Bordeaux in Pamplona. He was a sort of caretaker. He came to greet me as I settled in.

  “A sad day, Will.”

  “Why, is the King dead?”

  “Not yet but the fact that he has summoned the nobles of the land means he intends to read out his will.”

  I nodded, “And you wish for Prince Sancho to be the sole king?”

  “To me that makes sense but I fear that will not happen.” He shrugged, “It is too late anyway. Alfonso and Garcia should either have been killed or imprisoned by Prince Sancho. His mercy or his foolishness will come back to haunt him.”

  Old Pedro was wise for he had served King Ferdinand when he had been but a count and he had seen much. He was far too lowly and loyal to be consulted. I went into León with Abu and Geoffrey to eat. I liked León which was a lively place and was still predominantly Christian. There were Muslims there but they were so few in number that one did not notice them. I had a certain fame and I was welcomed in the inn we chose, ‘The Lamb’, and even though I had Abu with me, we were given a good table. The food I knew would be good for it was the best inn in which to eat lamb, hence its name. It was also close enough to the palace for me to see some of the off-duty warriors I had known from the campaigns in which I had fought. Word must have reached the palace that I had arrived for Álvar and Rodrigo soon joined me.

  For once both looked serious and I did not receive the fulsome smiles they normally used to greet me. They spoke in hushed tones for what they told me was not for public consumption, although as I had heard whispers already while walking the streets, I thought that their caution was unnecessary.

  “The King’s will is to be read in public in two days’ time. You will be one of the few to attend who is not born of noble blood.” I nodded. “Our world will change when it is read.”

  “Do you know what it will say?”

  “No, for the King and his steward have kept that secret but whatever it says there will be trouble.”

  Álvar nodded, “If the King leaves all of his Kingdom to one man, Prince Sancho, then the other children will dispute it and we will have war. If he divides the Kingdom, then each part will be weaker and that will invite war with our neighbours. The brothers do not get on and each wants to be sole king. You will be needed sooner, rather than later.”

  Rodrigo took the goblet of wine Abu had poured for him, “I had hoped for a united Spain and now we shall be lucky if we have a united Castile.”

  I looked at Rodrigo and saw, for the first time, doubt on his face. I had known him for more than fifteen years and in all that time he had never once doubted himself nor his purpose. I did not know then that he was yet to achieve the greatness which would attend him for most of his later years. I was just influenced by his depression for if he saw no hope then what hope was there for me?

  He saw my sad face and smiled, “For you, this is good news. War means more profit for you. The men you lead will soon have their numbers swollen for there will be others who come to you. You are a successful warlord and that draws good men.”

  Was Rodrigo trying to rid himself of me? “Good news for me? Surely I am tied to you.”

  He shook his head, “I cannot burden you with that, Will, for I am bound to serve Prince Sancho.” He glanced at Álvar, “Álvar here may receive a better offer from Prince Alfonso when it is discovered what lands are to be his.”

  Álvar shook his head, “I will always be at your side, Rodrigo, I will ever be your Minaya. I could have joined Prince Alfonso after Magerit but I stayed with you and Prince Sancho.”

  I shook my head, “And you cannot think that I would serve another lord, Rodrigo! That is impossible. Where’er you go so goes William Redbeard and our fates and threads are irrevocably bound.”

  For some reason that brightened his mood and he cheered up immediately. I did not see that despair again for five years but, as usual, I get ahead of myself. The rest of the evening was spent with me regaling him with tales of Iago as a father.

  Although it was desperately cold on the day of the reading of the will, the number of knights who were assembled meant that it had to be held in the square outside the cathedral and King Ferdinand was brought forth on a litter. His steward Raimundo was with him and it was he did the reading but as the King was seated and we could see his face then it was obvious that he had written the document and approved it. This was important. To read a will after a king had died invited all kinds of rumour and conspiracy theories.

  “To my son, Sancho, I give all of Castile as far as the River Pisuerga, Nájera and Pamplona. I also cede to him the tribute from Zaragoza. To my son Alfonso, I cede all of León as far as the River Pisuerga and all the Asturias de Trasmeira as far as the River Eo, Astorga, Campos, Zamora, Campo de Toro and the Bierzo as far as the town of La Uz on Monte Cerbero as well as the tribute from Toledo. To my youngest son Garcia, I leave all of Garcia and Portugal as well as the tribute from Badajoz. To my daughters Elvira and Urraca I leave all of the monasteries of the whole Kingdom in which they might live to their lives’ end without the bond of a husband.” He rolled up the parchment, “Let all who are here gathered know that this is the will of the King and that you will all swear to abide by this binding and solemn document. The King would have all so swear here.”

  There was a sort of hissing sound as every knight, count and prince drew his sword. I emulated them even though I was not noble for I had been invited and this was the greatest honour I had yet received. I held it before me and kissed the crosspiece, “I so swear!”

  I kept my oath, but many others did not; in fact, more broke their oaths than kept them, not least the three princes and their sisters. Rodrigo and Álvar were like me. They were true to their word.

  The square remained busy long after the King and his family had returned to their palace. Men wished to talk and to speculate and, no doubt, to plot. The knights who were Galician or Leónese would be wondering about their new ruler. Prince Sancho’s Lion’s Den would now be in the heart of Prince Alfonso’s realm. Would Prince Sancho move to Burgos? Suddenly my hall at Briviesca looked to be moved to the heart of the new Kingdom of Castile. Rodrigo and Álvar, along with their most loyal of knights, Don Juan of Burgos, Don Iago of Astorga and others met to speak of this momentous decision. Both Rodrigo and Álvar had estates which lay in León. Prince Sancho had done well from his father for Castile was the richest of his lands but there would be trouble and it was Don Iago of Astorga who had the courage to say out loud what we all knew.

  “The Moors will be laughing at this announcement, El Campeador! Can Prince Garcia and Prince Alfonso take their tribute from the taifa? I think not and so Castile will grow stronger. War will come. I am guessing that they will allow King Ferdinand to die first before the bloodletting begins.”

  Álvar asked, “Tell me that it will not come to that. Each of them will be a king, surely that is enough for them?”

  “It shou
ld be, but I doubt that it will.” Rodrigo looked pensive. “I will not switch my allegiance from Prince Sancho for I am his Armiger and my place is by his side. The rest of you can make up your own minds.” I knew that Álvar had the hardest decision to make for Prince Alfonso and not Prince Sancho had knighted him. More, he had been offered a place at Prince Alfonso’s side. When he had not accepted the offer, Prince Alfonso had made García Ordóñez de Nájera his Armiger and right-hand man. He was the cousin of my nemesis, Gonzalo Ordóñez. There was never a choice for me.

  When all of Prince Sancho’s knights headed back to Lion’s Den then it was obvious that they had all made the same decision. They would stay with Prince Sancho. The Prince stayed at his father’s side in the palace. Soon it would be Alfonso’s palace. On the second day, while the knights practised, even though it was one of the coldest days I could remember, I spoke with Rodrigo.

  “This avails me nothing. For me, the die is cast and I am both your and Prince Sancho’s man. I know that the Prince will be returning to Burgos and so I will hie back to Briviesca. The defences I am putting in place are even more necessary now.” He nodded. “And you, what will you do?”

  “Since my grandfather, Lord Lain, disinherited my father then I know that I have an estate close to Burgos and the Prince. I am content. Train your men hard, Will. They, and you will be needed.”

  Jorge accepted the changes because he had nothing else. He was my man and had the most experience apart from my three veterans. He would lead my men one day and war meant he would advance. Both Abu and Geoffrey were aware of all that had gone on and both were concerned but for different reasons. Geoffrey now had a family and Abu was in danger of losing the security of my hall for if we went to war and I lost he would have to begin again, and he had become used to a good life.

  “All I can say, Abu, is that I own Briviesca and while it is true than an enemy could fight us for it I think that is highly unlikely. So long as Prince Sancho is our ruler then we will not have to worry.”

  He nodded, “But your fear is that he might lose.”

  “No, for of the brothers he is the best but as we know from the ride back from Zaragoza, there are killers out there and that is my fear that someone sends a killer to end his life.”

  Geoffrey asked, “But Lord, El Campeador is his Armiger, surely Prince Sancho will be protected?”

  “Ask Abu here about what happens on a confused battlefield. In the heat of battle who knows when a blade in the back can strike any of us down. It is why I am always behind Rodrigo for I watch his back and Iago watches mine.”

  When we reached the hall, I summoned everyone into the large room we used for eating when we had large numbers to entertain. I told them our news. “The King is not yet dead and, God willing, he continues to live but it is inevitable that he will die and when he does then we can expect war. In many ways, we are lucky here for the Prince, or King as he will be by then, will be close but, Maria, ladies, it means that we will have to go wherever the Prince demands. That is why we spend the rest of the time before spring improving, even more, our home.”

  I saw Anna and Isabelle exchange looks and saw that they were frightened. There was little point in pointing out that Vivar, where they had previously lived, would be in an even worse situation for its defences were weaker than mine. I turned to the seven young warriors, “And your training will be accelerated. We do not have the luxury of waiting until you are ready. You will have to fight sooner rather than later.”

  Jorge had been with us the longest and he grinned, “Do not worry, lord, we will be ready for did we not ride behind you in Valencia and none turned away? Iago is a good armiger and he makes us work. The sweat and blood will be worth it.”

  The mood was positive, and I knew that I was lucky in the men I led.

  I threw myself into the training and it was good. It was like the early days training Rodrigo when my whole life was about the pel, rising before dawn and collapsing exhausted at the end of the day for I was also improving myself. The fact that we had less time for training as we were strengthening our defences made the days fly by. When we received the news, three days after Christmas, that the King had died the day previously, it actually came as a shock for we thought that, somehow, he must have recovered. He was buried in January and I attended the funeral along with my three senior warriors for they had fought with King Ferdinand. We left the young warriors to watch the hall and to continue to improve the defences. We had built a tower; in fact, it is the west-facing tower in which I now sit but, in those days, it was smaller and cruder for I had only recently begun to build it. A double wall of stone infilled with smaller stones stood ten paces high with a fighting platform at the top. Access was through a small gate from the walls of the hall. With a cellar and a well, it was a last refuge and could be held by just four men. It would not withstand a siege nor an invading army but those were not the enemies I feared. It was bandits, raiders and greedy knights! Over the years it would be constantly improved but in those long months after the King died we had just begun to make it higher, along with my walls.

  Queen Sancha was a strong woman and Rodrigo told me, as we warmed ourselves in Lion’s Den after a funeral which chilled the bones both metaphorically and literally, that Queen Sancha had spoken to her sons and daughters two days after the King had died. She made it clear that they would not make war on one another and that it was their duty to continue the King’s work. Rodrigo took that to mean the continued expansion of Christian rule. For King Sancho that was easy for the Emir of Zaragoza was an ally already. King Alfonso and King Garcia had a harder task and I did not envy them. The three princes obeyed their mother but from that day on they rarely spoke to each other.

  War did not come immediately and that was good for the country. King Sancho moved his court to Burgos where he began to build a fortress rather than a palace. He was still unmarried, and a fortress would reflect that martial rather than marital state of affairs. His proximity meant I saw far more of Rodrigo. King Sancho’s fortress was on the northern side of Burgos and it was a mere sixteen miles from Briviesca. King Sancho now had a kingdom to rule and Rodrigo was his Armiger Regis. He was now the second most powerful man in Castile. Once the fortress was manned then Rodrigo had more time and he used it well. He would spend long periods with me and my young warriors. He honed his skills but he was also a warrior who liked to know as much about his enemies and his friends as he could. In the summer, instead of campaigning, he went to visit first Pamplona, then Barcelona and finally Zaragoza. I was honoured that he took with him my men and me. Geoffrey had had a daughter and so I left him at home. He took young Diego with him for the youth had grown into a warrior and could help to look after his horse. Other than that, I rode with my ten warriors and Abu.

  It seems strange now, as I sit and write this down, that El Campeador never rode abroad with knights. He went to war with knights and led them well but he liked to travel discreetly and when we rode the only sign of his identity was the red cloak of a noble. He left Babieca at home and rode his second warhorse, Caesar. It was a plain coloured horse; the grey, Babieca, could hardly be missed! He also led us down quieter back roads rather than the main thoroughfares for he was trying to understand the land. It meant we encountered people he would not normally have met and he made friends wherever he went. I know, modestly, that part of that was down to my men and me for we were never demanding travellers. None of us became drunk and we paid for all that we were offered. It created a network of friends for Rodrigo.

  Not that it was a time of total peace. When we rode to Pamplona, then Barcelona and finally Zaragoza we were riding in the borderlands and there was always someone causing trouble. People quickly realised the El Campeador and the men who followed him were more than willing to deal with problems and banditry with equal measure. We were on our way back from Pamplona where Rodrigo had spoken with the young King Sancho Ramirez. I was not privy to their conversation for I sought out Roger of Bordeaux while
El Campeador spoke with the King. The Castellan had still to find a quiet life and it was good to speak with the old warrior. I learned much from our conversations for he was a wise warrior and had seen much. It was Roger who told us about the bandits to the south of Pamplona. When we had headed north, we had passed a tiny hamlet called Estella. There was no manor, no lord and no castle. The dozen families who lived there eked out a living. They provided, for a small cost, shelter and food for those made the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. But for those pilgrims, I do not think that they would have survived. Roger was now more religious than he had been. He was getting old and he spoke of pilgrims being attacked on the road. He did not like the fact that the King ignored such attacks.

  On the way back from Pamplona we were greeted with a deeply distressing scene. Local bandits had ridden into the town and taken two young girls back to their forest lair. There were gangs of such bandits for this was the pilgrim road and these men would attack pilgrims who always came with coins in their purses. That they had robbed the already poor people and attacked four of the men seemed almost as nothing compared with the abduction of two young girls. The people in the village were convinced that the two twelve years olds were to be abused and Rodrigo and I decided to do something about it. The bandits, thirteen of them, had left an hour before we had returned, and we hoped that their trail would be fresh enough for us to catch them. Iago was now a father and whilst he would always have been angry about such an abduction, now he almost became the berserker I had been at Salamanca. Our problem would be to control him.