Crécy

by Griff Hosker

  By the time that was done the assault was almost ready to begin. Lord Henry asked for the town to surrender. No one was surprised when the Scots refused. No matter what they said the town would be sacked, pillaged and burned! This was a formality of war for the lords on both sides like to have some semblance of order and such rules gave them that illusion. I was able to watch the gathered archers as they began to rain arrows on the walls. Each archer had fifty arrows in two war bags and they all loosed at a single command from Lord Henry. Over two hundred arrows descended upon the walls and the gates of the town. I was behind the pavise of Silent Simon and I heard the thud of Scottish arrows as they smacked into the pavise. Peering around the side I saw men plucked from the walls and I knew that anyone who was sheltering behind the walls would also be in danger from the falling arrows. It would not matter to the arrow if it struck a soldier or a civilian! I was amazed that ten flights were sent in such a short time. At the butts on Sundays, it had been a more leisurely affair and men had commented on an arrow which struck the target and laughed at one which fell short. Here men were nocking, drawing and releasing as though they were a machine. Simon patted me on the head and pointed to the arrows; they needed more. I nodded and ran to the wagons. Someone on the walls must have seen me running and an arrow hit the ground just a foot from my right leg. It was a lesson and I began to weave from side to side as I ran. There were others collecting bundles of arrows, but most were just boys who could use a sling. I was far stronger, and I was able to carry eight bundles at a time although, I confess, that was my limit. I wanted to endure the arrows from the walls as little as possible. I jinked my way back but, even so, one arrow hit one of the bundles. I heard a cry from my right and risked a glance. One of the boys had been hit in the leg. I dropped my bundles next to Simon and then ran to the boy. The archers in the tower had few targets except for those fetching arrows and I had barely managed to pick him up when arrows came at me.

  Captain Philip’s voice echoed across the battlefield, “Clear the tower!”

  I knew that the boy I carried was probably the son of an archer. Every archer would take special care and try to kill the archers in the tower. I dropped the boy at the healers. He said simply, “Thank you!” and promptly passed out. My tunic was covered in his blood. I grabbed another four bundles and ran back. The arrows I had taken were no longer needed for the walls and tower had been cleared.

  Henry Plantagenet raised his sword and shouted, “For God, King Edward, and England!” The knights and the men at arms ran towards the walls.

  Captain Philip shouted, “Keep the walls clear!”

  The men at arms had the ladders and it was they who placed them against the walls and swarmed up the crudely made escalade. I saw swords and axes raised and men fell. Some were Scottish but the men at arms did not have it all their own way. Then the gates opened, and the knights ran in.

  Captain Philip shouted, “Right boys! Now it is our turn!”

  Dropping their bows and drawing their short swords the archers ran to follow the knights. What followed would be the sacking of Aberdeen and it would be a harsh lesson for the Scots. It was the richest town we had found, thus far, and whatever they had we would take. I stuck close to Silent Simon and Harry Red Fletch. On the way north they had told me that sometimes, after a town was taken, it was more dangerous than actually fighting to take the town. As we charged through the gates I saw the effect of our arrows; bodies hung from the fighting platform while others were huddled at the base where plunging arrows had found nothing to resist them and not only warriors had died but also priests, women and even children. Already those who were the first inside the town, the men at arms, were plundering the houses and shops close to the door.

  Harry said, “The best stuff will be close to the centre and the hall. If you know where to look then you can become rich quickly.”

  I heard screams and saw women, old and young being mounted by the first into the walls. I suppose they felt they had taken the risks and they should reap the reward. As I learned when I was older and more experienced, winning a battle made a man feel invincible and wish to spill his seed! That morning I just felt disgusted. I would witness far worse before I was much older. Some of the first archers who had gained access to the town had found a warehouse and were pillaging the boxes and sacks which it contained.

  The expert in such matters, Harry, said, “Sometimes you can be lucky and find something worth stealing but they look like pots and cooking vessels! Not worth the effort. We are looking for gold, jewels, anything which is small, valuable and easy to carry. I saw Dai waving to us, and we headed to a large house just off the market area. Although we were all part of the company of archers, now we were five tent mates who looked out for themselves and Harry pushed away two other archers who looked like they might be heading for the same house. Part of the house had been ransacked already but Harry led us into the kitchen. The hall was a large one and necessitated a large kitchen. This one had a stone floor.

  “John, grab a corner of the table.” I knew not what we were doing but I obeyed, and we moved the heavy table out of the way. As soon as we had done that and created a space Robert stared intently at the stone slabs. Suddenly he pounced like a cat on one of the stones and I saw that he was using his knife to find an edge to the slab. He ran his rondel dagger along it.

  “What are we doing, Harry?”

  He grinned and lifted down a ham which was hanging above the fire. He sniffed it and sliced a piece off with his knife as he spoke. “We have been in these big halls before. The people fear being robbed either by the likes of us or their neighbours. It is a wild world north of the Roman Wall. They use this trick to keep their valuables safe.”

  “Simon, Dai, your knives!”

  I looked down and saw that Robert had levered up a stone. I now saw markings on the stone. At first, I had taken them to be the marks of a careless mason but now I saw a pattern to them. Harry handed me a slice of meat and I watched the other three lift the stone to reveal a small chamber and a chest. Robert reverently lifted it out and opened it. There were documents on the top which he tossed to one side. Then he began to lift leather bags out, there were three of them and they contained coins, I heard them jingle as he lifted them. He laughed, “A good haul! You bring us luck John Hawkwood. You and Harry collect the food and we will see what else there is upstairs.”

  The hall must have belonged to a wealthy Scotsman for he had some fine clothes. We ignored women’s apparel. My reward, because my feet were the right size, were a pair of buskins. When my present ones wore out, I would have replacements. I also acquired a pair of decent breeks. With the food and the coins we had found we had done well. As we left the hall, we saw more scenes of depredation. Harry said, when he saw my shocked face, “You must get used to such things. Not all men are as civilised as we.”

  A voice shouted, “Now we burn the town!”

  Robert said, “Simon and John, take our haul back to the camp. We will help here.”

  It was as we shouldered our way out that we saw the Aberdonians who had survived taking what they could and fleeing. There were few men and the women and children had little enough in their arms. I could smell smoke and knew that fires had been started. The wind was from the north-west and Lord Henry had had the fires started there to help them spread all the quicker. By the time we reached our camp the smoke was rising in the sky and the flames were licking the top of the wooden tower where the last defence had been. The last of our men sprinted from the town which was becoming an inferno. Dai, Harry and Robert had sooty faces and clothes when they joined us, but they had managed to get more food, a haunch of venison which we put on to cook.

  The fires in the town were dying in the darkness when Captain Philip joined us. “You five behaved better than most today and you are to be rewarded for it. You are to leave, tomorrow, with Sir Richard Elfingham and join the garrison at Carlisle. You have employment for the winter. Robert of Nantwich you are appointed vi
ntenar for there will just be twenty archers.”

  “Thank you, Captain, but you will not be with us?”

  “Not until Spring. The King will come north and will end this Scottish rebellion and I must help him muster the army.” He looked at me as the others congratulated Robert. “When I return to London, if I hear that an apprentice tailor is sought, I will say that I saw one who might have been him perish in the attack on Aberdeen.”

  “Thank you, Captain!”

  “I will do this because you saved the life of the son of Peter of Conwy and you have behaved well. God has given you this chance, John Hawkwood, seize it!” Captain Philip had been disappointed when I had fled London, but it seemed I had gone some way to receiving his absolution. I was desperate to please him.

  We all marched south to Berwick and there the bulk of the archers were paid off and the men at arms and knights took ship to London. There were just fifty of us who were heading for Carlisle to reinforce the garrison there. The unemployed archers marched with us. Harry explained the reason. “They are no longer paid but we are. Sir Richard will have food for us on the way south until we head to Carlisle. We will share our food with the unemployed. Some will find employment in the castles and the rest will head south, even as far as Chester; the Marcher Lords always need archers to fight the Welsh.”

  I had noticed eight had stayed with the garrison at Berwick. More joined the King’s Constable at Bamburgh. We left more at Dunstanburgh, Warkworth and Morpeth before we headed south and west towards the military road which ran south of the Roman Wall. The fifty or so archers who remained would go first to Newcastle and then the Palatinate and the great castles of Yorkshire. Garrison work in winter did not pay as much as a campaign but they would be fed and when King Edward came north and needed men then they would be employed once more.

  It took us six weeks to march from Aberdeen to Carlisle. They had had the pestilence in the castle and the garrison had been down to just fifteen men. The Governor, John de Glanton, was pleased to see us. The first thing that Robert and Ralph of Malton did when we arrived was to light a fire in the barracks and put on damp material to fill the barracks with acrid smoke. With the door closed the smoke filled the sleeping quarters we would use. That first night we slept in the inner bailey.

  Harry said, “The smoke will kill the pestilence and the fleas and nits. Better a soaking out here than we die of disease or are eaten alive.”

  And so began our five months in the castle. I worked out that I had been away from my home for more than a year and I had changed beyond all recognition. It was not just my cropped hair or the stubble that would have been a beard if I did not scrape a dagger across it each morning. It was the fact that I was bigger and growing taller each day. I had become a man and although I still had some growing in me, I was almost the finished product of God and the archers who had trained me. We ate well. As archers, we hunted across the river each day for the garrison. It was Scottish deer we were eating, and the Governor was happy for us to do so. We were also encouraged to take from the Scots who lived there, and we took the odd sheep and cow when we could. Sometimes we encountered Scotsmen who objected to our behaviour and, once or twice, I was called upon to use my bow against men. I managed to wound at least one Scotsman. When we were not hunting then we were watching on the walls. Any other time we had was spent in making arrows and practising.

  I now had a new bow for I had had a growth spurt and was almost as tall as Harry and could use a man-sized longbow. I also had four spare strings and I had eight bodkin heads for my arrows. It was important that I practise with the bodkin heads for they flew differently from the barbed hunting or war arrow. Accuracy was all. I had a bracer for my arm, and I had made two war bags for the arrows I would carry. I also learned to use a sword. My friendship with the captain of the men at arms, Ralph of Malton, helped me for he took a special interest in me and gave me tuition. He had me at the pel, the wooden block where I could use the blunt heavy practice sword and I also practised with him. He taught me what he called the tricks of the trade. He practised every day and I was happy to be a sparring partner. The others, when they were off duty, liked to gamble, drink or simply sleep! I became a better swordsman than Robert or any of the others. I could never outdo them when it came to archery!

  It was Spring when Sir Richard took us on a chevauchée north of the border. The English garrison in Stirling Castle had been attacked by the Scots and a message sent south to the King. We had left a garrison there when we had headed south the previous autumn. Our chevauchée was to try to draw Scots further south. The pestilence had taken men but the horses in the castle had been unharmed and we were mounted. I had never ridden before and that month of riding was my education. I was just pleased that I did not fall off but the pain from bouncing up and down was unbearable and I begged to be allowed to run next to the horse. Sir Richard laughed and told me to endure it.

  The pain in my rear soon became immaterial as we started to raid. Robert of Nantwich explained what we were doing, “We cause as much mischief as we can. We raid farms and undefended towns, avoiding castles like Dumfries and Caerlaverock. If we can draw out men against us, then so much the better otherwise we have the licence to steal and to rob.” He grinned, “Even churches!”

  The first place we raided was Lockerbie which was just twenty miles north of Carlisle. I now saw the benefit of riding because we reached it by noon and swept through the land like carrion. The people fled and as we were on horses, they could not take their animals with them. We looted the houses and farms and gathered all of their animals. Our aim was not only to draw out soldiers to fight us but also to deny the Scots food. We slaughtered every animal we found. We ate well that first night and used all the salt we could find to preserve the meat. The next day we packed the meat in a wagon and headed north towards the next village. It took three days for the Scots to react and we had headed towards the coast before they did so. We had not had to string our bows nor even dismount such was the effect of our men at arms led by Sir Richard. We were heading for the port of Ayr. I was told that we had occupied it until some twenty years ago but with the castle destroyed by Robert the Bruce, there was little to stop us.

  Perhaps the local lord, the laird of the Clan Maxwell, had had enough of us or perhaps they had been waiting for us to get too far from Carlisle and leave ourselves exposed. Whatever the reason they were waiting for us twelve miles from Ayr at a place called Cumnock. We still had the wagon and so we tied the horses to it leaving the squires and pages to defend it. I had feared that I would be relegated too but I was included in the archers who took our bags of arrows and strung our bows. That told me I was now an archer! Surprisingly, the knights and men at arms we had with us also dismounted. I had thought they would have used horses, but Harry pointed out that the Scots were using the long ten or sometimes twelve-foot spear. Horses could not get close to them and so we formed up behind the men at arms and knights. Our four knights formed the centre and we made the third line behind them. Robert was in command of the twenty archers and he walked down the line checking that we each had a war arrow nocked and ready. I stared at the Scots as they prepared to attack us. They had what looked like twenty knights and mounted men at arms but more than two hundred spearmen. The spearmen stood in a large block each of them holding his long spear above their heads to protect those in front. The front rank held their spears pointed upwards so that there was a solid wall of spears; it was like a human hedgehog. I saw that most had a helmet of some description and some had a small platter shaped shield on the left arm. They looked formidable and there were just twenty of us to stop them!

  Dai shook his head, “This is foolishness. We should have had twice as many archers and half as many men at arms.”

  One of the men at arms standing before us said, somewhat grumpily, “You archers all think that you are the only ones who can defeat the long spear! Today, we will show you!”

  Harry was always one for a wager. He had alrea
dy doubled his purse gambling in the castle, “I will wager one gold piece that we stop them before you can even get close to them!”

  “You are on!”

  Ralph of Malton laughed, “Jack of Southwark, you are a fool and the archer is right! I for one also wish we had twice their number!”

  Robert took his place between Dai and Harry; it was as though he had not heard a word of the conversation, but I knew he had. He took his position as vintenar very seriously. “Draw!”

  This would be the first time I had drawn my bow in anger, and I had chosen my best arrow for the occasion. I pulled back to my ear. I now had a bracer and I felt and looked like a real archer. Until that moment I had thought that I was a fraud. The Scots all cheered and began to march, quite quickly in my opinion but then I was a novice, towards us. I learned later that they went as quickly as they could to avoid the arrows. It was a race between their feet and our arms!

  “Release!”

  I let the arrow fly and was already pulling a second from my arrow bag as Robert shouted, “Draw!”

  I pulled back and heard him shout, “Release!”

  I had no time to see the fall of flights I just kept nocking and releasing as I was ordered. Dai suddenly said, without missing a beat, “Pull all the way back, John!”

  I was aware that my arms were burning, and I had not drawn the last arrows back to my ear. I pulled back and it hurt! It was a relief when Robert shouted, “Choose your targets!”