To Murder a King

by Griff Hosker

  That night I said my prayers, as I always did, but I asked God to watch over my family. My wife was a practical woman and we had coin. If I died she would remarry and she would choose a good man. I had hoped to be a better father than my own but if things went badly then that was unlikely to happen. I was glad I had not drunk as much as others and I fell asleep quite quickly. My body woke me when it was still dark. Nights were much longer. I made water and washed.

  I woke Henry. “Go find Roger and Stephen! Bring Peter and John from the warrior hall.”

  I began to dress. I pulled on my chausse and tied them. I donned my aketon. It was a good one and was well padded. I would need help to don my hauberk. When Henry returned he would fasten it. Most of the plates I would wear required Henry to tie them but I was able to don my sabaton, poleyn and cuisse. I only had cuisse for the front of my shins and thighs. The backs of my legs would be protected only by my chausse. I waited for Henry.

  “I am sorry I took so long, Captain.”

  “No matter. Help me with my hauberk while you tell me what you learned.” The three of them made short work of slipping the hauberk over me and tying it at the back.

  “He uses a long sword. It is longer than yours by a handspan, Captain. It is sharp up to the hilt. When he fights on foot he relies on strength and the speed of his blows. It is said he is like a blacksmith. He can pound at the same spot for a long time.”

  “Does he use his shield as a weapon?”

  Henry frowned, “Roger did not say so and so I guess not. His man knew that he would be fighting. He said that he had boasted of killing another man and adding to his reputation.”

  Then it was planned. He had told his men. He was overconfident. I liked that. Henry and Peter fitted my cannons. My hauberk did not have mittens. I wore gauntlets. Many knights used ones which were made from metal. They were expensive but they protected the hands. The disadvantage was that they did not give a man the feel of the sword. I had leather gauntlets. The palms and underneath of the fingers were made from softer leather while the backs were hide and were covered by metal strips. I placed my rondel dagger in the sheath inside my shield. It was close to my hand and if I had to then I could draw it quickly.

  There was a tap on the door. Henry opened it. A page was there. “Master William the herald says it is almost time.”

  “And where do we fight?”

  “In the outer ward, sir.”

  “Thank you.”

  Henry held my helmet and John son of Jack my shield. I knelt and prayed. When I had spoken to God and asked him to watch over my family we rose and went to the ward. We headed down to the door which led from the Great Hall. Dawn had not truly broken. The King must have decided to minimise the number of spectators. Was that for his benefit or mine? I saw the white on the cobbles. There had been a frost and it had yet to melt.

  The Queen and her ladies were waiting at the door. “I will not come to watch. It is unseemly. I have prayed to God that you will win. Sir Hugo is a beast and needs taming. You may not be a knight but I know that you have the heart to do so.” She took a piece of blue cloth. “Here is my favour. It is little enough but it may help you. God speed.”

  Despite the early start more than a hundred knights and lords were gathered in a circle. Henry would not have to fight if I declined for I was not a knight but I saw Sir Thomas’ squire as he grinned at us. He had hoped to inflict some sort of pain on Henry. Sir Thomas had engineered this whole situation. His squire’s face showed me that. I knew that Sir Robert’s grandson had not anticipated this when he had sat down to feast the night before. The world of lords and barons was a dangerous one and he had had a lesson. The King was there along with a smirking Sir Thomas Molineux. He had put the knight up to this but I could not work out the reason. I did not like Sir Thomas but he was as loyal to King Richard as any man. I was out of my depth. I also saw that my men at arms were there too and, as I glanced at the fighting platform, I saw my archers. They had their bows and they were strung. I smiled. If anything treacherous looked likely then a flurry of arrows would descend from the walls. For some reason that made me more confident.

  The King and his herald approached. The King said, “I am sorry about this, Will.”

  I nodded curtly. I had been abandoned and all words of what he owed me were forgotten.

  The herald said, “We await Sir Hugo. Before the contest begins I should tell you that you can cry quarter at any time. I will end the battle.”

  “And I will be adjudged to be in the wrong.” I turned and looked at the King. “I did not begin this but I swear that I shall end it and then return to my manor for all debts will be paid!”

  The King knew what I meant and he nodded. I heard a cheer and looked around. Sir Hugo appeared. He was in full plate. The backs of his legs and arms were protected. He also wore his spurs. I could not fathom why. His squire carried his visored helm. When I saw that I spied hope. He had eye holes out of which he could peer. The snout point was useful in a tournament but not in battle. I saw that the sword was a long one. Most men would need two hands to wield such a blade but if he was such an expert with a lance then he would have no problem with the sword. My rondel dagger might be the difference between life and death.

  He strode arrogantly up to me and stared at me as though he might intimidate me. His visor rose like a unicorn’s horn. I had faced fiercer enemies before. The herald spoke. “I will be the arbiter of this battle.” He held a mace in his hand. “If you fail to obey my instructions I will smite you with this!”

  I nodded and so did Sir Hugo but he nodded with a smirk.

  “Step away from each other and arm yourselves. May God give the right!”

  I walked to Henry who donned my helmet. I tied the leather strap beneath my chin. He handed me my shield. As I slipped it on my arm I gripped the rondel dagger and I turned. Sir Hugo had lowered his visor and I saw that he was eager to get to me and, I assumed, end it quickly. I was a common soldier elevated to the rank of gentleman. If it did not end quickly then it would reflect badly on him. He came quickly across the ward to get at me. I stepped more slowly. The cobbles in the ward were still slippery from the frost. I held my sword slightly behind me.

  I braced my left arm for the blow which was coming. His longer sword would hit me before I could make a swing. The open helmet I wore helped me to judge distance a little easier than if I had had a visor. I saw him pull his arm back and begin his swing. I pushed my shield towards the blade. Then he slipped. It was only a slight slip on the slick stones but it was enough to take some of the force from the strike. It hit my shield but not as hard as he had intended. More importantly he had been forced to slow. I suddenly swung, not at his shield, but at his aventail. He lifted his shield to block the blow and even as my sword cracked into his shield I punched at his head with my own shield. I struck the side of his helmet and pointed visor. He reeled.

  From the walls I heard a cheer from my archers and a groan from the lords. I heard a shout of, “Cheat!” from those who supported my foe.

  I balanced myself again. Sir Hugo’s slip had shown me the dangers of the frost. His face hidden behind a mask meant that I could not see his reaction. His next action showed me that he was angry. He swung a long sideways blow at me. I deftly stepped back to the place where I had already cleared the frost. Sir Hugo’s sword struck nothing but fresh air. He stepped forward and tried a backhand swing. I stepped back again. There was a limit to the number of steps I could actually take. There was a wall of knights behind me and they would hem me in. Perhaps Sir Hugo thought that I was afraid to take a hit for he came forward and swung again.

  I had the advantage that I could see where the cobbles were white and slippery and where they were black and merely wet. Even as he swung I saw to the knight’s left a patch of black where he had slipped. His feet had scraped the frost from the stones. Instead of stepping back I stepped on to my left and crossed his path. I began to swing my sword as I did so. When I had cleared his b
ody, I stepped back with my right foot. As I turned his back and side were towards me. My sword swung into his side and it ripped across his short surcoat. He had a cuirass and back plate but they were held by straps. As my sword rasped back I saw that I had weakened one of the straps. There was a scar where my sword had cut the leather.

  There was another cheer from my men and another groan from Sir Hugo’s supporters. This battle was supposed to be over. I was not doing what he expected.

  A surcoat is there mainly for decoration. It also hides the armour and the mail. As Sir Hugo moved his sword and shield he aggravated the tear. His belt, riding up and down also made the rip worse and I could see his mail. I could not break the plate but I could use my dagger to pierce the mail. He turned to face me. He was having to move more than he had expected. I had fought on foot more than I had on a horse. For Sir Hugo it was the opposite. I decided to make him make more unnecessary movements. My open helmet kept me cooler than he would be enclosed in his bascinet. I feigned a strike at his shield and when he presented his shield I switched and used my sword to lunge at his head. I hit the point of the visor and the blade slid down the side. The point caught in one of the eye holes. My sword was too big to enter but it jerked his head around a little. I suspect it might have unnerved him too for he swung blindly at my shield. We were so close that he could not generate enough power and I barely felt it.

  If this had been a battle then it might have been all over. When there are men all around you fighting and when the ground is covered in bodies, broken spears, blood and guts then it is easy to become distracted. We were both tiring. I saw that in the knight’s movements which were slower. The bottom of the surcoat was getting lower and lower. Soon it would become a hazard. He could not see that because of his visor. Sir Hugo was a clever man and a cunning fighter. My blow to his helmet had shown him a way to end this combat quickly. He stepped back. I was not so foolish as to follow and I balanced myself once more. I noticed that the crowd of knights were now silent. I had silenced them.

  When I did not step forward Sir Hugo stepped off on his right foot and brought his sword from behind him. He made the mistake of turning his sword too early. It was a feint. He was going to lunge his longer sword at my open face. Instead of using my own shield I brought my sword from above. I saw the tip of his sword as it came towards me. My shield was before me and close to my chest. My sword hit his half way down. He did have a strong right hand but so did I. Sparks flew from our blades as the metal clanged together. It sounded like a blacksmith making a sword. His sword scraped down my shield. I knew that he would have torn the leather but also partly blunted his edge for there were metal studs on my shield.

  We were close together and I brought my knee forward. I wore a poleyn and my knee cap was protected. It rammed into his thigh. When I had been younger I had fought another camp boy, Alan of the Fleas, and he had used his knee in the same way. For a while after I could barely move my leg. It felt dead. I knew that I had inflicted just such an injury on Sir Hugo for he had to step back. I knew that now was the time to strike. I could see, at his left side, exposed mail where the straps held the back plate and cuirass together. I swung my sword hard at his shield and, gripping the rondel dagger, lunged at his side. The rounded blade slid into the mail. The sharpened tip penetrated the aketon and then I felt it enter soft flesh. I pushed and twisted. As I pulled it out I stepped back. Blood dripped from my dagger and I shouted, “First blood!”

  Even as the King’s herald came over towards us Sir Hugo lunged at my head once more. As I stepped back my foot slipped on some frost. It saved my life for the sword merely glanced off my bascinet. The blood was now flowing from Sir Hugo but he was not ending the contest. I was helpless for my left knee was on the ground. I used my sword as a crutch to push me to my feet. He raised his sword to bring it down on me.

  I heard the herald cry, “Sir Hugo! No!”

  Sir Hugo’s sword came down. He intended to kill me! I raised my shield in a vain attempt to block the blow but my slip made my movements awkward. Suddenly an arrow sprouted from the knight’s hand. The arrow had found a gap between the articulated plates of metal and the sword was dropped. I turned and saw Stephen the Tracker. The arrow could easily have struck me or even killed the knight for it was a bodkin. Only an archer of the green wood could have made the strike.

  I heard cries from the knight’s supporters. Then the King’s voice silenced them. “Sir Hugo! God has punished you for breaking the rules. William Strongstaff has won fairly. He claimed first blood.”

  Sir Hugo flung his shield to the ground and broke off the shaft of the arrow. He raised his visor and leaned down at me. “One day you will die at my hands spawn of the gutter! I will have your family butchered and all of your archers crucified.”

  The herald appeared and pushed the knight away, “For shame, Sir Hugo! For shame! The King commands that you leave his court. You are banished for half a year!”

  Ignoring the herald Sir Hugo pointed his bloodied right hand at me. “Keep a close watch villein. When my hand is healed I will be coming for you!” He turned and stormed off towards his squire. Henry, Peter and John son of Jack ran to me as the herald lifted me to my feet. I now had another enemy!

  Chapter 16

  Sir Thomas had to endure a diatribe from the King about the conduct of his knight. He conducted it before all of the assembled knights. The King was using the incident to re-establish his authority. I had, inadvertently, served the King once more.

  The Queen came to my side. “I fear, Will, that you have made a dangerous enemy.”

  I shrugged, “It seems to me that I had little choice in the matter, my lady.”

  She nodded, “If I were you I would leave quickly. The King will ensure that you are not followed.”

  I nodded, “Thank you, my lady. It will be good to get back to the bosom of my family.”

  The King did not speak before we left. He waved from the gate and the Queen hung from his arm. Queen Anne was the hope for England. It was she kept her husband from following the path of the Earl of Oxford. I was glad to be free from court.

  Stephen the Tracker rode next to me. “I owe you a life, Stephen.”

  “No, Captain, for you gave me a life when you took us from the forest.”

  Henry asked, “How did you manage to hit such a small target?”

  Stephen laughed, “I was less than eighty paces from the combat and on the wall. The target was bigger than you think Master Henry. I had the hand, the arm and the sword. An arrow has all the power of the yew and my arm.” He took a bodkin arrow from his arrow bag. “See the tip. It can pierce mail. Gauntlets are the weakest part of a knight’s armour for to enable the fingers to move there are many rivets which hold the plates together. It was an easy strike but God guided my hand for the Captain had the right. He drew first blood.”

  “And now we have to watch for Sir Hugo in the spring. His estates are close to Chester but he will feed this grudge over winter. He will feel slighted and become not cooler but hotter. He promised dire consequences for you and your archers Stephen.”

  He laughed, “And we lived with those threats when we were outlaws. I do not fear Sir Hugo.”

  We pushed hard and reached my home after dark. Even as we rode up to it I knew that when spring came I would have to make it defensible. Sir Robert was the lord of the manor but if Sir Hugo came to attack my home then it would be up to me to defend it. Ironically, I would now be even more beholden to Henry Bolingbroke. As Earl of Northampton he was the one man who could thwart Sir Hugo.

  My wife looked relieved to see me. “You will be home for Christmas!”

  “Aye, my love, and right glad am I to be here. Henry will stay the night and then I will escort him home tomorrow.”

  “Do I have to?”

  “Henry, Christmas is a time to be with your family. Your grandparents are no longer young. How many more celebrations will there be?” I saw realisation crease his face. “When February is here
then come back if you need more training but I think you are ready to be a knight. You just need to practise and Peter can help you with that.”

  Peter nodded, “Aye Master. The Captain is right and he has a family. He deserves some time with his children.” I heard the envy in his words. Peter had no children nor would he ever have them. Henry was as close as he would come to having a son.

  On the way home I had discussed with Stephen the prospect of a warrior hall. He had come up with a quicker solution than the one I had. The ground would be too hard to dig effective foundations and so Stephen had suggested building a floor half way up the barn. The animals could remain on the ground floor and the archers could make the upper floor their warrior hall. All that it would lack would be a fire and as Stephen had told me after winters under oak trees a roof and the heat of animals from below would seem like luxury. That way they could build a warrior hall and attach it to the barn in the spring. While I went to Stratford they would begin their conversion.

  It was cold and the days would be incredibly short. We wrapped up well. I knew that it would take all the short day to reach Sir Robert. My practical wife gave me a list of items which I would need to purchase at the market and town of Stratford. We were largely self-sufficient. We had cereal, vegetables, meat and fowl. We had a fish pond. We had our own bread oven and we had men who could tan so that we could turn the hides into leather. What we needed was more material so that the female servants could produce more clothes over the winter. The winter weather might keep us indoors but it would not make us idle. I would still practise with my weapons. My archers would make arrows and practise their art. We would hunt. We would forage.