by Griff Hosker
“I am my father’s son. I will honour him and my brother by defeating these men who so treacherously laid them low!”
The three of us, the warlord, Sir Richard and myself then walked the walls. We both had a lesson that day in how to defend. My grandfather carefully placed each archer and man at arms. There was method to his plan. He mixed the uncertain garrison with our best men. We had knots of five men spread around the walls and on the towers. He went through each call of the horn. He made it quite clear what we would do. He said the same to each five. “You five are responsible for this section. You sleep in turn and eat together. When the enemy comes, and come they will, then you will fight as one. Make no mistake we fight for England. Know that I will come if you need me.”
The effect was staggering. I saw their eyes as they fell under the sway of the legend that was the Warlord. I had grown up with him but it was only that day that I saw how he did it. Each of the men felt that they were one of my grandfather’s oathsworn. They would die for him. I learned more in that one day than I had learned in my preparation to become a knight. I felt privileged. I also felt guilt for I was the only one who knew of his illness. There was hope in men’s eyes but I did not feel it for I knew that he would never see Stockton again.
By the time the sun began to set I could see that he was exhausted. I took charge. “Sir Richard, take command. My grandfather needs rest.”
“Aye Sir Samuel. You are right and nothing untoward will occur on my watch, Warlord.”
“I am fine, Samuel.”
“We will go to the hall. You will sit and put your feet up. You will eat and you will take your medicine.” He nodded. “And then you will sleep.”
He put his hand on my shoulder, “Soon I will sleep the eternal sleep. Do not be in a hurry to be apart. I would enjoy each moment I can with you, my only grandson!”
I watched him wearily sit and I sent William for food and ale. He sipped the ale and ignored the food. “Your father and I were estranged for years but since he brought your mother, Ruth and yourself to England I have never felt as close to him. When I am gone you must be as a rock for him.”
“Brother Peter might be wrong. You have lasted longer than he said!”
He smiled and tapped his chest, “It matters not what Brother Peter believes it is what I believe. Now listen to me Samuel. If I am taken earlier than I would like then it will be up to you to save this city for the King. Use your strength. We have strong walls and the finest of archers. Do not waste men. When you feel the outer wall must fall then pull back to the tower and the second wall. The castle is cleverly designed. There is but one way to attack and that is from the city. Do not surrender. Help will come. I know not when but we are well provisioned and you must give the heart to those who lack it. They will not be the men we brought south. They will be the garrison. You can make them men.”
We spent hours talking of the men my grandfather had fought alongside. He held them all in high esteem and seemed to think that he had done little to deserve his reputation. How could he be so selfless and serve a king who used him? I could not fathom his loyalty. I made him take his medicine during the second watch and he fell asleep in the chair. I covered him with a fur and then went to relieve Sir Richard.
“How goes it?”
“There is no sign of our men and I take that to be a good thing. The gates have been closed. Perhaps that is good too.”
“I will watch for an hour or so. Ger some sleep.”
“Are you certain? You were up all night.”
I thought of my grandfather’s words, “I will be fine. I have William with me for company!”
I did as my grandfather had done and walked the walls. I stopped at the gate which led to the city. Peter Pig Man was there with Tam the archer and three of the garrison. “How goes it Peter?”
He smiled, “Quiet, lord although not as quiet as it would be at the farm in Thornaby.”
William said, “What about the pigs, Peter?”
“When they wake they are noisy enough sir but when I walked in the night to check for foxes you could hear your own heart beat it was so quiet.” He pointed to the city. “We have been listening to the town watch. They are like nettled hens, lord. The battle the other day has them rattled. Still so long as they are talking we know there is no danger.”
One of the garrison said, “I do not understand, lord. What does Peter mean?”
“You live in the city surely you know of the undercurrent? There is danger in the streets.”
“Aye lord, it has been like this for weeks.”
“It is like the embers of a fire. The ash looks white but beneath the white is an orange glow. It could burst into flames at any time. Peter means that if they are talking about the problems then there is no immediate danger. If there was to be a sudden attack then they would be silent. There would be a lord there making certain that they are quiet.” I saw realisation fill his face. “I will watch for a while. William go and check on my grandfather and fetch us a jug of ale.”
When he had gone a comfortable silence fell over the men who watched with me in the turret above the gate. I could hear the murmur of conversation from the gate into the city. Peter was right. It was the buzz of words which was reassuringly peaceful. We shared the jug of ale. I smiled at Peter and Tam’s reaction to it. They preferred the ale brewed by St John’s well. They were partial to their own. As I turned to lay down the horn I saw the first lightening of the sky in the east. Soon it would be dawn. By the time we could see dawn almost upon us the relief had come.
“Before you turn in, Peter, I would have you and your men come with me to the city. Let us speak with the town watch.”
“Aye, lord.” Four of them picked up their shields and spears. Tam strung his bow. None of us wore helmets but we pulled up our coifs and descended to the gate. There were two guards there. They were from the garrison. They were dozing. It was allowed for they would have been woken by any attempt to force the gate. When they heard the jingle of our mail they hurriedly stood. “Yes, my lord?”
“I am taking a walk to the city gate. Close this one behind me and only open it when I speak. The watchword will be ‘Lady Ruth’.”
“Aye lord.”
The bar was lifted and the gate pulled open. The sun suddenly flared behind us and bathed the old city wall in light. I heard the bell sound from the church of St. Olave. It signalled the opening of the gates. By the time we reached London’s walls the gate had creaked open. The town watch greeted us. Unlike my men they did not wear mail. They had leather caps and short swords and spears. Their shields were small round ones. They were there to deal with brigands and bandits not armed knights.
“Good morning, my lord. I am Captain Robert of the city watch. How is the Earl Marshal?”
“He is recovered.” I gestured behind me with my hand. Although the bodies had been removed the grass still had blackened patches of grass which showed where horses and men had fallen. “And the city? It is quiet?”
The captain of the watch rubbed his grey flecked beard, “Uneasy lord rather than quiet. The mayor has left to seek help from Windsor.”
There was something unsaid. “Richard White did not come to us?”
The captain looked embarrassed, “I would have expected him to, lord, but he said you had taken too many losses already. He feared if more knights came then the city would fall.”
“And you, captain, what do you think?”
“I think that so long as the Earl Marshal lives then there is hope. I am reassured by your words and know this lord, we are loyal Englishmen and we will defend this gate against all who would do us harm. We will watch this gate for you.”
I clasped his arm, “Thank you, captain, that is all that I needed to know.”
We headed back to our gate, “Lady Ruth.”
We crossed the grass to the tower. Peter led his men to the warrior hall. “William go and wake Sir Richard and I will wake my grandfather.”
He was sti
ll asleep in the chair with the cloak about him. He looked so still that, for a moment I thought him dead. My heart began to race. As I neared him the jingle of my mail and my scabbard stirred him and he opened his eyes. “Samuel.” He smiled, “Tell me you have not watched all night again!”
“I will sleep now, grandfather.” I told him what I had learned.
“I do not trust this Richard White. The Abbot is treacherous and I believe the mayor is too. Why not send to Ranulf de Glanvill? You get some sleep and Sir Richard and I will watch.” He stood and put his hand on my shoulder. “I can see that the future is safe in your hands Samuel. You have a young body but, in your body, races the blood of our family. Your great grandfather would be proud of you. King Harold’s housecarl would approve of the way you have turned out.”
With such fulsome praise I left him to collapse on to my bed. I barely had time to take off my mail before I was asleep. Sir Richard’s younger squire, Harry, woke me from a deep and dreamless sleep, “My lord come quickly. The Earl Marshal has sent for you.”
“What is the hour?”
“It is the fifth hour of the day. There is battle within the city.”
I began to dress. A bleary-eyed William hurried to help me dress. I swallowed a half beaker of flattened and stale ale before rushing out of the chamber, the Tower and across the grass to the gate and the walls adjacent to the city. I saw others running to the walls and, from the east came the sounds of battle. Speculation was pointless. As we climbed the walls I saw my grandfather and Sir Richard.
When I reached him the Earl Marshal said, “The city is under attack, Samuel, and we must sit here and watch. Until Sir Ranulf and the Earl of Essex reach us then we are helpless and can only watch.”
The city wall which lay just paces away was lower than the wall of the castle and we were able to see the streets. There was pandemonium and chaos reigned. There were flashing blades and the sounds of battle. Sir Richard pointed to the river. “See Sir Samuel, those who have boats are fleeing. They are the loyal men of London. I fear the city has fallen.”
Just then a knot of men appeared through the gates. I recognised one as the captain. Two of his six men were wounded and I saw them battling. “Sir Richard, come with me. Those are loyal men and we must aid them.”
“But the gate!”
“My grandson is right. Go and help. Archers, cover our men!”
“Aye Earl Marshal.”
I unsheathed my sword and ran down the stairs. “Open the gate!” I saw that two men had followed Sir Richard and our squires. We were perilously thin on the ground.
As the gate groaned open I saw that one of the wounded men had fallen. There were two knights and twelve men at arms battling to kill the captain and his watch. When they saw the gate open they renewed their efforts and the knight shouted over his shoulder. “The gate opens! We have them!”
I did not hesitate. I ran at the nearest knight. Even as I swung my sword I shouted, “Captain, get your men inside!”
The knight had a helmet and shield and I just had a sword. He must have thought that he had me and he began to swing his sword towards me. I used my speed to defeat him. Even as I closed with him I swung my own sword and raised my mailed left hand. I grabbed his sword hand and hit his shield at the same time. I had the advantage that I had the slope with me and I took him by surprise. I pushed him to the ground. I retained my feet and I used two hands to raise my sword. I would end his life. Even as I brought down my sword he managed to pull his shield over his body. I heard Aelric shout, “Loose!” The sound of arrows over my head was reassuring. I hit the shield with all the force I had. The shield cracked and the tip of my sword struck the knight on the helmet.
“Samuel, they are safe! Get back inside!”
I saw that two of the men at arms who had been with the knight lay dead while the others sheltered beneath their shields. The five who had come out with me all survived. “Back!” I saw arrows falling on the men who were attempting to leave the city and take advantage of our open gate. Five lay writhing or dead. When our gate slammed shut behind us then I knew that we were alone and we were under siege!
Chapter 12
I saw the captain and his men hurrying with their wounded towards the White Tower. Harry was with them. The small postern gate which led into the city was slammed shut and the walls were manned with enemy soldiers. They were not manned for long. The Earl Marshal shouted, “Aelric, clear those walls for me!”
“Aye Earl Marshal!” Aelric turned to the ten archers he had with him. “You heard the Warlord. Choose your targets. I want not an arrow wasted.”
My grandfather’s captain of archers, Dick, had trained them well and each archer drew back and sought flesh. We were close enough so that the kettle and open-faced helmets were no protection. The barbed arrows tore wicked wounds in their flesh. Shields came up but even they proved ineffective. The arrows had such force that they drove through the willow boards. The defenders hid behind the crenulations and sheltered in the two gate towers which had arrow slits.
My grandfather beamed at Aelric. “I will leave you here to watch the gate. Sir Richard and Samuel come with me. We have other gates to watch.” We headed from the gatehouse along the north wall. To the south was the south west bastion tower and the river. There was little chance of an enemy attacking it for the river surrounded it on two sides. There were just eight men on the north wall. There was a deep ditch and the wall was high. If the enemy, whoever they were, attacked with war machines then we might be in trouble but I knew how long it took to build rams and stone throwers.
As we approached the city wall which joined ours to the north east my grandfather stopped. “For once I am pleased that the city walls are in disrepair. He pointed at the break in the wall. There was a ten-pace gap. The postern gate which lay close by had been taken away for kindling and the old Roman wall robbed for stones. A small tower stood at the junction of the east and north towers. I saw four of our archers there. From their vantage point they could discourage any attack on the gate. “Keep a good watch Peter!”
“Aye Earl. They sent two scouts to see if we watched.” He pointed and I saw, in the bottom of the ditch, the body of a man at arms. From the sun bleached surcoat and the tanned hand I knew him to be from the Holy Land.
“Earl Marshal why have so many men come from the Holy Land? What do they seek here?”
“They seek the same here as they did in Outremer. Land and power. King Henry’s absence and the revolt by his sons have encouraged them. I thought when Stephen the Usurper died that this land would be safe in my lifetime. I fear, Samuel, that you will have to continue to watch this land when your father and I are long gone.”
Now that I knew of his fate his words were like a knife to my heart. We went through the gate and passed the Tower. Here the wall and the Tower came together. There was a guard room below the roof of the extended tower and it butted out from the curtain wall. It was higher than the wall. An enemy who tried to scale this would need a wooden tower which was so high that it would take many trees to build. None were close by. We reached the Well Tower and I saw that my grandfather had manned it with more archers. The men at arms guarded the walls and the archers used the tower. There was another tower at the river gate and it too had archers. There were also men at arms and John of Oxbridge commanded them.
“John, we need you to sleep in this tower. This gate is one that an enemy could use. If you see any ships approaching, no matter how small then let us know!”
“Aye Earl Marshal.” He pointed to the river filled ditch to the side. “That is a danger too Earl. If they came at night they could take the gate.”
I looked over. The ditch was wide enough for a boat. A wall connected the river gate tower to the White Tower but there was nothing to stop an enemy from taking the gate. We could not afford to lose the men guarding the gate. I saw a solution. “John, give me six men. We will make it safe.” I saw my grandfather smile as I hurried down the stairs. He had no
t asked me what I intended.
“Should I go with him, Earl Marshal?”
“No, Sir Richard, stay with me. Besides my grandson knows what he is about. He has my blood in his veins.”
My squire and my men left through the postern gate by the tower. Here there were another four men at arms. “You four come with me and fetch axes.” There was a stand of trees on the small mound which lay in the open area of the outer ward. I took off my sword and coif. “We will cut down these trees. I want you to sharpen the points and embed them in the ditch by the wall. William get a fire lit. We will fire harden them.”
When the axes came we worked in relays to hew down the trees, rake off the foliage and cut down the branches. We piled the small branches and leaves for kindling; who knew when we might need it. The larger trunks were cut in two. We soon worked up a healthy sweat. I had just supervised the first three logs being placed at an angle in the ditch when Harry found me, “Lord, the Earl Marshal wishes a word.”
“William, David, continue the work. I want a wall of stakes to deter anyone coming through the gap. Cut down those wild brambles and place them between the stakes.”
“Aye lord.”
My grandfather was in the great hall with the captain of the town watch. One of the doctors was tending to the warrior. He had a wound to the top of his leg. “Captain Robert has some grave news for us, Samuel.”
The captain winced as the bandage was tightened, “Treachery, my lord. The Abbot of St Augustine’s Priory dismissed the men from the Moorgate and the men who attacked us were allowed in. There were more than two hundred of them and they were led by knights. We stood no chance. I barely had time to warn those who could to flee south before we were overwhelmed. My son and nephew both died.”
“I am sorry, Captain.” I turned to my grandfather. “So it begins. I have made the ditch a barrier which will slow down an enemy. It will not stop a determined foe.”