Baron's War

by Griff Hosker

  The knight who was coming for me wore King William’s livery; he was a household knight. He had a lance and he rode a war horse which would tower over Skuld. I saw him pulling his arm back as we closed. This time I felt Edward’s boot next to mine. Our lines would stop once we struck and spears would be useless. The lance was longer than my spear and he aimed it at my head. I barely managed to raise my shield and block the blow. I thrust blindly with my spear and felt it strike flesh. I twisted and then released my grip. As I lowered my shield and drew my sword I saw that I had struck him in the side. My spear hung there. As the shaft wavered up and down so the wound would widen. Even as I looked he leaned over his saddle and then fell to the ground.

  I saw King William behind him. He wore an open face helmet. We had been abandoned by King John but, perhaps, by some miracle, I could capture the King of Scotland and his standard! I shouted, “Stockton, we take the King!”

  I spurred Skuld into the gap left by the knight I had struck. Other household knights tried to get at me but Edward and William had both fought alongside me for many years. Their horses formed a barrier. They used their swords to fend off the Scottish knights. King William thrust his lance at me. It was a futile gesture for he was too close to me. I hacked through it and he was left with a stump. Even as he drew his sword I heard a distant horn. I ignored it. I either captured the King or I would be butchered by the knights who were trying to get at me.

  I stood in my stirrups and brought my sword down towards the King’s head. I did not have the luxury of time. I could not afford to take him prisoner. I had to try to kill him. This would not be regicide for it was in battle but it was still not to be taken lightly. He blocked it with his shield. I was aware of Petr forcing his horse between Skuld and Sir Edward’s. He was going for the standard. It was a brave gesture for the standard was held by a knight. As the King reeled, his sword still half way out I heard the horns again. They were closer. It was King John. I brought my sword down again and the King was forced to back his horse to avoid falling.

  “Yield King William or you will die!”

  He shook his head and spat his words at me, “Then I will have an honourable death but I will not yield to the spawn of the Warlord!”

  He had his sword out and I smashed my own blade against it. It was a powerful blow and the sword fell from his hands. Just then Petr used my standard as a lance and punched the Scottish standard bearer in the head. He tumbled to the ground, taking the standard with him. I pressed the tip of my sword against the King’s throat.

  “Yield or die for King John comes! If you are dead then Scotland is his!”

  Seeing the fallen standard and my sword at his throat his knights threw down their swords and shouted, “Yield, King William! We have lost!”

  With hatred burning in his eyes he dropped his shield and nodded, “I surrender!”

  Epilogue

  We captured the great and the good of Scotland. As a result, King John made punitive demands on them. We returned to Norham with the King of Scotland as our prisoner. He was forced to pay King John ten thousand pounds of gold. It was a crippling sum. Worse his daughters were placed under the protection of King John. King William would not be able to make alliances using his daughters. It was the end of any ambitions which King William might have held. King John did not demand fealty but Scotland was no longer a power to be feared. Northumbria would never be his.

  My conroi had not escaped losses. Four men at arms had fallen and Sir William and Sir Fótr had been wounded. Others had lost knights. The barons of the Palatinate had saved King John.

  After the treaty had been signed and we awaited the King of Scotland’s daughters I was summoned to a meeting with King John and the Earl Marshal. William Marshal was beaming. “Truly courageous and just like the Warlord! He would have been proud of you and your men. You did exactly as was asked of you and it was your capture of the standard and the King which led to our victory.” I think he said what he did for the benefit of King John. Our liege lord was known for his lack of gratitude. It did not hurt to remind him.

  “I thank the Earl but there were men who died at Jedburgh who might have lived had the army arrived sooner. Where were you, my lord?”

  King John’s eyes glared, “You question a King?”

  “I was asked to draw the enemy so that they could be attacked. I did so and yet it was you who were tardy.”

  William Marshal stepped between us. “Thomas, you were too successful. We thought that it would take longer to take Jedburgh. Blame me for it was my error.”

  I nodded.

  King John said, “And now, I suppose, you wish payment.” He said it without any grace. It was as though he begrudged me my victory.

  The Earl shook his head, “Your Majesty, he captured the King! He saved many English lives. Surely he deserves a reward.”

  The King looked at me as though considering and then he nodded, “What do you wish?”

  What should I ask for? I knew we had had a great victory. I decided to ask for everything. He could only refuse me. “The return of my father’s hereditary title and powers. I wish to be Earl of Cleveland and all that goes with it. I wish the right to put a wall around Stockton and build a keep!”

  “You demand a great deal.”

  I nodded. He had not said no and I asked for more, “And with the title the right to lead the knights of the valley.”

  I saw the King chew his lip. “You may have the title and the right to lead the knights. You can build your wall but there will be no keep. I will not make Stockton a hostage to fortune.”

  I had got more than I had hoped. I nodded. “Thank you, Your Majesty. Know that I will defend the northern marches as my forefathers did.”

  William Marshal said, “I will walk out with you.” Once we were in the open he said, quietly, “You did him a great service with this victory and he knows it. That is the reason you were given your title and permission to make Stockton strong. He knows that you are the strength in the area and not the Bishop.”

  “Thank you, Earl. I am indebted to you.”

  “Then take some advice from an old man. Distance yourself from those who speak of rebellion. King John is no fool and those who conspire will pay. Eh? Do not bite the hand that rewards you.”

  I nodded, “I would never dream of being a rebel but I may still voice my opinion, may I not?”

  He shook his head, “That depends upon the company! I can see that you will never change. You remind me so much of the Warlord. God speed and the Earl Marshal of England thanks you. It was your victory and we will rightly honour you. You should know that there are many who took note of it. You will be watched very closely.”

  “Then I will make certain that I am a true knight.”

  “One more thing. I spoke with the High Sherriff. There will be no more attacks.”

  “Thank you, Earl Marshal. You have saved the life of the Sherriff for I do not forgive such attacks easily.”

  I left and joined my men. They were waiting with the treasure we had collected. We had horses, mail, weapons and coins. Sir Edward said, “Well Sir Thomas what now?”

  I cocked my head to one side and smiling wagged an admonishing finger at my faithful knight, “Sir Edward, you do me wrong. I pray you address me as the Earl of Cleveland! I have the title once more!”

  The clamour from my knights and my men made the sentries on the walls of Norham look for the cause of the disturbance. We turned our horses and we headed home. I still opposed the King but I was now in a position to oppose him from a more elevated station. I was no longer a baron, I was an earl. As we rode south I saw light at the end of the tunnel. That which I had lost I had almost regained. There was hope now for my family and my manor. That meant there was hope for a whole valley which had suffered at the hands of corrupt men. The Earl of Cleveland was back!

  The End

  Glossary

  Chevauchée- a raid by mounted men

  Fusil - A lozenge shape on a shield />
  Garth- a garth was a farm. Not to be confused with the name Garth

  Groat- English coin worth four silver pennies

  Luciaria-Lucerne (Switzerland)

  Mêlée- a medieval fight between knights

  Nissa- Nice (Provence)

  Reeve- An official who ran a manor for a lord

  Rote- An English version of a lyre (also called a crowd or Crwth)

  Vair- a heraldic term

  Wulfestun- Wolviston (Durham)

  Maps and Illustrations

  The fall of Normandy

  Wikipedia Commons

  Norham Castle: A plan of the castle from J. D. Mackenzie's The Castles of England: their story and structure. Mackenzie, ‘The Castles of England: their story and structure’, New York: Macmillan (1897)

  Historical Notes

  This series of books follows the fortunes of the family of the Earl of Cleveland begun in the Anarchy. As with that series the characters in this book are, largely, fictional, but the events are all historically accurate. For those who have read the earlier books in the series the new information begins with the section: Fall of Normandy.

  Templars

  No matter where they were based the Knights Templars followed a strict routine:

  Night- Matins sleep until dawn

  6 am Rise- Prime and then mass

  9 am Terce

  12 Noon Sext

  3 pm Nones, Vespers for the dead, Vigil for the dead

  There were set times to speak with their squires and see to their horses.

  Prince Arthur

  Arthur was born in 1187, the son of Constance of Brittany and Geoffrey II of Brittany, who died before he was born. As an infant, Arthur was second in line to the succession of his grandfather King Henry II, after his uncle Richard. King Henry died when Arthur was 2 years old, and Richard I became the new king in his place.

  While Richard was away on the Third Crusade, Arthur's mother Constance made actions to make the Duchy of Brittany more independent. On 11 November 1190, Richard betrothed Arthur to a daughter of Tancred of Sicily as part of their treaty. However, Emperor Henry VI conquered the Kingdom of Sicily in 1194, so the betrothal of Arthur came to nothing.

  A marriage plan, originally aiming to establish an alliance between King Richard and Philip II, King of France, to marry Arthur's elder sister Eleanor to Philip's son Louis also failed. In 1196, Constance had the young Arthur proclaimed Duke of Brittany and her co-ruler as a child of nine years. The same year, Richard again nominated Arthur as his heir and summoned him, as well as his mother Constance, to Normandy, but Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, stepfather of Arthur, abducted Constance. Richard marched to Brittany to rescue Arthur, who was then secretly carried to France to be brought up with Louis.

  When Richard died on 6 April 1199, on his deathbed he proclaimed his brother John as his heir, fearing Arthur was too young to look after the throne. Arthur was only twelve years old at the time and under the influence of the French king. John immediately claimed the throne of England, but much of the French nobility were resentful at recognising him as their overlord. They preferred Arthur, who declared himself vassal of Philip. Philip recognised Arthur's right to Anjou, Maine, and Poitou. Upon Richard's death Arthur led a force to Anjou and Maine. From 18 April, he styled himself as Duke of Brittany, Count of Anjou and Earl of Richmond.

  After his return to France, and with the support of Philip II, Arthur embarked on a campaign in Normandy against John in 1202. Poitou revolted in support of Arthur. The Duke of Brittany besieged his grandmother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, John's mother, in the Château de Mirebeau. John marched on Mirebeau, taking Arthur by surprise on 31 July 1202. Arthur was captured by John's barons on 1 August, and imprisoned in the Château de Falaise in Falaise, Normandy.

  At the Chateau de Falaise, Arthur was guarded by Hubert de Burgh. According to contemporaneous chronicler Ralph of Coggeshall, John ordered two of his servants to mutilate the duke. Hubert de Burgh refused to let him be mutilated. The following year Arthur was transferred to Rouen, under the charge of William de Braose. Arthur vanished in April 1203.

  “After King John had captured Arthur and kept him alive in prison for some time, at length, in the castle of Rouen, after dinner on the Thursday before Easter, when he was drunk and possessed by the devil ['ebrius et daemonio plenus'], he slew him with his own hand, and tying a heavy stone to the body cast it into the Seine. It was discovered by a fisherman in his net, and being dragged to the bank and recognized, was taken for secret burial, in fear of the tyrant, to the priory of Bec called Notre Dame de Pres.”

  Margam annals

  William des Roches

  In May 1199, King Philip of France met with William des Roches at Le Mans and together they attacked the border fortress of Ballon, the fortress was surrendered by Geoffrey de Brûlon, the castellan, but not before being demolished. A quarrel ensued between King Philip and William over the lordship of the site. William was adamant that Ballon belonged rightfully to Duke Arthur, while King Philip wished to retain it as his own.

  In June 1199, King John of England launched a massive attack into Northern Maine from Argentan. On 13 September he was successful in repulsing King Philip from the fortress of Lavardin which protected the route from Le Mans to Tours. Arthur's supporters were forced to come to terms with John, and William met with the English king at Bourg-le-Roi, a fortress of the pro-John viscounts of Beaumont-en-Maine on or about 18 September. John convinced William that Arthur of Brittany was being used solely as a tool of Capetian strategy and managed to convince him to switch sides. With this, John promised him the seneschalship of Anjou. During the night, John's incumbent seneschal, Viscount Aimery, took Arthur and Constance and fled the court. They fled first to Angers, then to the court of King Philip. King John officially designated William seneschal of Anjou in December 1199 and entered Angers triumphantly on 24 June 1200.

  Courtesy of Wikipedia

  Treaty of Le Goulet

  The Treaty of Le Goulet was signed by the kings John of England and Philip II of France in May 1200 and meant to settle once and for all the claims the Norman kings of England had as Norman dukes on French lands, including, at least for a time, Brittany. Under the terms of the treaty, Philip recognised John as King of England as heir of his brother Richard I and thus formally abandoned any support for Arthur. John, meanwhile, recognised Philip as the suzerain of continental possessions of the Angevin Empire.

  Philip had previously recognised John as suzerain of Anjou and the Duchy of Brittany, but with this he extorted 20,000 marks sterling in payment for recognition of John's sovereignty of Brittany. The Treaty of Le Goulet was signed by the kings John of England and Philip II of France in May 1200 and aimed to ultimately settle the claims the Angevin kings of England had on French lands. Hence, it aimed to bring an end to the war over the Duchy of Normandy and finalise the new borders of what was left of the duchy, as well as the future relationship of the king of France and the dukes of Normandy. The treaty was a victory for Philip as it asserted his legal claims to over lordship over John's French lands.

  The terms of the treaty signed at le Goulet, on the Gueuleton island in the middle of the Seine river near Vernon in Normandy, included clarifications of the feudal relationships binding the monarchs. Philip recognised John as King of England, heir of his brother Richard I, and thus formally abandoned his prior support for Arthur I, Duke of Brittany, the son of John's late brother, Geoffrey II of Brittany. John, meanwhile, formally recognised the new status of the lost Norman territories by acknowledging the Counts of Boulogne and Flanders as vassals of the kings of France, not those of England, and recognised Philip as the suzerain of the continental lands in the Angevin Empire. John also bound himself not to support any rebellions on the part of the counts of Boulogne and Flanders.

  Philip had previously recognised John as suzerain of Anjou and the Duchy of Brittany, but with the treaty of le Goulet he extorted 20,000 marks sterling in payment for r
ecognition of John's sovereignty of Brittany.

  The treaty also included territorial concessions by John to Philip. The Vexin (except for Les Andelys, where Château Gaillard, vital to the defence of the region, was located) and the Évrécin in Normandy, as well as Issoudun, Graçay, and the fief of André de Chauvigny in Berry were to be removed from Angevin suzerainty and put directly into that of France.

  The Duchy of Aquitaine was not included in the treaty. It was still held by John as heir to his still-living mother, Eleanor. The treaty was sealed with a marriage alliance between the Angevin and Capetian dynasties. John's niece Blanche, daughter of his sister Leonora and Alfonso VIII of Castile, married Philip's eldest son, Louis VIII of France (to be eventually known as Louis the Lion). The marriage alliance only assured a strong regent for the minority of Louis IX of France. Philip declared John deposed from his fiefs for failure to obey a summons in 1202 and war broke out again. Philip moved quickly to seize John's lands in Normandy, strengthening the French throne in the process.

  John and the Lusignans

  The new peace would only last for two years; war recommenced in the aftermath of John's decision in August 1200 to marry Isabella of Angoulême. In order to remarry, John first needed to abandon Isabel, Countess of Gloucester, his first wife; John accomplished this by arguing that he had failed to get the necessary papal permission to marry Isabel in the first place – as a cousin, John could not have legally wed her without this. It remains unclear why John chose to marry Isabella of Angouleme. Contemporary chroniclers argued that John had fallen deeply in love with Isabella, and John may have been motivated by desire for an apparently beautiful, if rather young, girl. On the other hand, the Angoumois lands that came with Isabella were strategically vital to John: by marrying Isabella, John was acquiring a key land route between Poitou and Gascony, which significantly strengthened his grip on Aquitaine.