by Griff Hosker
I know not what I was expecting of Sweden but the archipelago was not in my mind. It was a mass of inlets, rocks and shoals. Captain Henry had to use all of his skill to navigate the channel and reach the harbour. It was a smaller place than I expected. There was a wooden hall and a wall. This had been a small settlement and now it was growing. Perhaps that was the result of the iron. I could see building work. They were making a stone castle and other buildings were being erected. I now understood why Jarl Birger had had such old-fashioned armour. This land was, compared with England, somewhat primitive. There was little point in bemoaning my choices. If I had not come here then I would have had to return to the Holy Land and that was not a choice I was willing to make. I had sworn to the Turk that I would never return and a knight did not break an oath; even to a non-believer. We donned our mail before we docked. We were warriors and I wanted The Jarl Birger Brosa to know that.
I was lucky that we had found Henry to bring us. He spoke some of the language and he was able to tell the officials that I was here at the request of The Jarl Birger Brosa. His name was known and we were able to offload our horses and our baggage. We had paid for our passage before we had left England but I pressed another bag of coins into Henry’s hand.
“Lord, you have paid me.”
“This is so that you will continue to act for me and let me know how things are in England. I know not where we will be living but I will find someone here with whom you can speak and leave messages. You will be my link to England. You will tell me how my land and my valley fares.”
“I will, lord. And I will pray for your soul too.” He left me to negotiate for a cargo to take from the port.
David of Wales came over to me, “Well lord, what now?”
“The horses will be of no use to us until they have their land legs and we need more horses. Let us see if we can find some accommodation.” I turned to my men. “Wait here while I go with William to see if we can find a bed for the night.”
As we headed towards the hall William said, “I had thought this would be a bigger place from what Jarl Birger Persson told us.”
“You are right. However, it is too late to do anything about this decision now. Henry will be sailing back and we have few other choices. We will have to make the best of it.”
The walls of the settlement, it was not large enough to call a town, were made of wood but I could see, beyond the wooden enclosure, masons toiling to make a stone keep. As we neared the gate a handful of Swedish warriors, wearing blue surcoats with a gryphon device, walked towards us. That was the first time I met the legend that was The Jarl Birger Brosa. He was much older than I was and unlike me, this knight held power; real power. Married to the daughter of the King of Norway he controlled the destinies of many Swedes. He was second only to the king and he ruled this part of Sweden like a king. Despite the fact that he was older he had bright alert eyes and an enquiring mind. He was full of enthusiasm.
I saw he and his men pointing to our surcoats. They were very similar to the ones I saw the jarl wearing. To my relief he spoke my language, “I am guessing that you must be my cousin’s friend, Sir Thomas from England. I recognise your device.”
His manner and tone invited a smile and conversation, “And you must be The Jarl Birger Brosa. I am relieved that you speak our language.”
He nodded, “My wife and I visited Rome and the Pope. We found it easier to speak their language. Tell me what brings you here? My cousin said that you were returning to your manor in England.”
I decided that honesty was the best policy. “My lands and titles were taken from me while in crusade. There was nothing left for me in England. Birger Persson said that a warrior could earn money with his sword in these lands.” I looked at the jarl, “Was he correct?”
Laughing he put his arm around my shoulder, “You are an honest man. Yes, he is right. This will be a formidable citadel one day. I am recruiting men to bring Christianity to the pagans of Estonia. It will cost less to hire men such as yourself who are armed and trained than training men myself. I see that you all have fine mail and modern helmets. My cousin told me that the men you brought were good warriors who knew how to fight. That is what we need here.”
We had entered his gates and I saw that his halls were not the same as ours. They were more like upturned boats. They had just one floor. Many of our halls, even the ones built by poor knights, had two storeys. The keep, I could see, would be more like the ones I was familiar with. It was square with steps leading to a door four paces up the wall.
“And of course, there will be the opportunity for you to take treasure and slaves. Any who convert will live and be freed but the others will be sold as slaves. Bishop Albert and Pope Celestine are adamant that the Baltic will be Christian. And I too, would have the Baltic at peace.”
His wife came to greet us as we entered the hall. Lady Brigida Haraldsdotter was a beautiful woman. She was also very gracious and William and I were greeted like honoured guests.
“You will both stay in our hall.”
I bowed, “Thank you, my lady but I have my men and horses to see to.”
The jarl said, “Sverre, see to Sir Thomas’ men and their horses. You can use the warehouse we use to store the iron. I am guessing that it will be loaded on to the ship which has brought Sir Thomas. When you have done that send a rider to my cousin and tell him that his friend is here.”
“Aye jarl.”
He led me into the hall. It was warm and comfortable. “We will discuss terms over food this night.”
The hall had but one floor. There were no stairs. It looked to me as though there were chambers for sleeping off the main hall. Lady Brigida Haraldsdotter clapped her hands and servants appeared. She rattled something off in Swedish and they disappeared. She smiled at me, “Come, I will show you your chamber. My servants have gone to fetch your bags.” She examined my face as we walked to the chamber. “I can see you have been in the sun. Here, when it is winter, we are lucky to see the sun at all. I liked Rome. It was hot although I did not like their food. I suppose you cannot have everything.” She moved aside the curtain. There were two mattresses. They looked to be filled with some sort of feathers. There was a table upon which there was a pot of water and a bowl. “You will want to clean up after your journey. I will send a servant to tell you when it is time to eat.”
When we were alone William said, “That was easier than I had expected, lord.”
“It was but I trusted Birger Persson. This jarl seems an honest man. Help me off with my mail. I do not think we will need it while we are here. None of the men we saw were wearing mail.”
The curtain opened while William had my mail half way off. The servants placed our bags on the floor and scurried out. We washed and then combed our hair and beards. We had fine clothes we had brought from the Holy Land and we wore those. We organized our clothes. I did not know how long we would be here but warriors are organized. They like everything in its place.
The servant who had brought our bags summoned us to the hall. The table had been laid and I was seated to the right of the jarl. William was on my right. I noticed a space next to the jarl’s wife. Jarl Brosa smiled, “My cousin will be here. He does not live far. I know that he is anxious to see you.” There were no other guests. It was an intimate gathering.
The food was interesting. There appeared to be more fish than we might eat in a month at home and a meat I was told was reindeer. It tasted like venison. The jarl and his wife were excellent hosts and they told us of the wars that were rife in the region.
“The Danes and the Norwegians have civil wars and wars with each other. We try to be a haven of peace and do not become involved. However, our greatest danger is the barbarians who live close by. There are Estonians and Karelians who continue to raid us. The Rus and the Slavs also plague us. The crusade we will undertake is for our own safety as much as anything else. They raid for slaves and they raid for our animals. The heathens are lazy and godless. They do not
like to work themselves. It is easier to plunder and to take. That is why we will build stone walls and a keep. This will be the first but soon Sweden will be ringed by walls of stone defended by men of steel.”
Lady Brigida shook her head, “They are an evil people. Christian priests are abused. Some are burned alive. It has to stop. Tell me, Sir Thomas, the men you brought are they good fighters?”
I nodded, “They are the best. I believe that man for man they are the equal of any knight and superior to many. We are small in number but we will not let your husband down.”
He nodded, “And I am intrigued that your surcoats have a very similar design to mine. I would have thought that you sought to flatter us had not my cousin told me that your family have used this for three generations.”
“My grandfather went on the Second Crusade. He chose the design in Constantinople, the place you call Miklagård. It has served us well.”
Just then the door burst open and Birger and Petr stood there. He did not stand on ceremony but ran the length of the hall to embrace me in a bear hug. “I hoped you would come but I did not expect it to be so soon! This is good news.”
Birger Brosa shook his head, “My cousin has always been the impetuous one. Sit, cousin! Give your friend the chance to tell you why he is here.”
Birger made up for lost time by devouring fish, reindeer and bread as I told him of the events which had followed our landing. I realised that I would have to be brutally honest with my hosts and my friend. I stopped abruptly when I reached the point in the tale where we reached Hull. “There is something which you need to know. It may change your opinion of me but I cannot serve you while there is a secret between us.”
I was aware that silence had descended. The four of them looked at me. William looked crestfallen. I think he had hoped I would remain silent. I could not. If the jarl heard what I had done from another then it would be worse than if he heard it from my own lips.
“My grandmother was a Jew. She was not Christian but she was a good woman. When she died she was buried in the same tomb as my grandfather in the church at my castle; my former castle. My father had her effigy carved upon a stone slab. While my father and I were in the Holy Land, Prince John and the Bishop of Durham plotted and the castle was given to the Palatinate of Durham. I could have lived with the loss of my castle but the bishop then had my grandmother’s bones thrown into the river and her slab destroyed.”
I saw the jarl’s wife clutch her cross, “Monstrous! That is not the act of a Christian! And he calls himself a bishop!”
I shook my head, “He is more of a politician than a man of God. I went to the Prince for justice. I was treated badly and he sent men to kill me.”
The four of them shook their heads in disbelief. The Jarl Birger Brosa said, “A regent does not do that. There has to be justice. If there is not then there is anarchy!”
“That was when I decided to take matters into my own hand.” There was no long-winded way of telling them what I had done. “I rode to the bishop’s castle and executed him. I gave him the chance to beg forgiveness of God before I did so but I took his life.” There was silence in the hall. The servants had not understood a word, of course but the four Swedes looked at each other. “I understand this may change how you view me and my men. If you wish us to leave then we will do so but I will not fight under false colours. I am an outlaw in my own land and I killed a churchman.”
“I admire your honesty, Sir Thomas. We will do nothing that is hasty. Bishop Albert is visiting here next week. He will give us advice. Until then you are our guest.”
I was amazed. My confession did not change the way they spoke to me. Sweetmeats were brought and honeyed wine. It was, my confession apart, a very pleasant evening. The jarl and his wife took their leave of us and I was left to speak to my old friend.
“Life is never dull with you around, Thomas. I am glad you have come. I wished you had not slain a churchman but then you could not have allowed him to live.”
“Would you have killed him?”
“Probably but in a less public way. You have told the world that you did it. You were right to tell my cousin. He is ever honest and he likes honesty in others. When the bishop has visited I will take you to my home and we will hunt and fish.”
“If the bishop allows me to stay.”
“It is my land and you and your men shall stay with me no matter what his judgement.”
Chapter 9
I spent two days riding the jarl’s lands. I discovered that my men were being treated well. They were enjoying the life. They had food, good beer and they got on well with the jarl’s men. All appeared to be well until Jarl Birger Persson’s rider brought dire news. He arrived in the late afternoon. His horse was lathered and his surcoat was besmirched with blood. He threw himself from his horse and said, “Jarl Birger, our home has been sacked and burned. The Karelians came in the night. They have taken many of our people as slaves and slain many of our men. The survivors are heading here now.”
They say you judge a man by how he reacts to adversity. Jarl Birger showed me that day that he had steel for a spine. He said, “Then we will seek help from my cousin and we will teach these Karelians a lesson. Eystein, find a fresh horse and have some food.”
“Aye jarl.”
Turning to me he said, “Would you and your men fight at my side?”
“Of course, need you ask? I will get them.”
“And I will find my cousin. This is what we both feared. We have waited too long to deal with these barbarians.”
I sent William for our mail and I ran to the hall our men were using. “Arm yourselves. We go to war. Saddle all the horses we have. Some of you will have to march.”
None seemed surprised and they greeted the news that we were going to fight in a strange land with stoicism and practicality. David of Wales asked, “Are we to fight knights lord or folk like the Turks?”
“Neither. They are barbarians who have sacked a town and taken the people as slaves.”
Jack son of Harold said, “Like Scots then! I was ready for a fight.”
By the time I reached The Jarl Birger Brosa’s hall the whole of the town was aroused and men were racing hither and thither. William helped me on with my mail. We had just stepped out into the light when Birger Brosa appeared. He was mailed with a surcoat and a helmet. His squire had his horse. He nodded towards me. “It seems you will be fighting alongside us, Sir Thomas! I look forward to seeing how Englishmen fight!”
Skuld was brought over and I mounted. William handed me my shield and my spear. I saw that Ridley the Giant and three others were prepared to march. As most of Jarl Birger’s men were also on foot it would not be a problem. My men formed up behind me in a column of twos. Birger Persson and Petr were next to The Jarl Birger Brosa. He turned to me, “Do not take offence, Englishman, but you do not know our country. I would have your men at the rear. The Karelians are fond of ambush and this raid may be a trap for us.”
I nodded, “We will do whatever you ask of us, jarl. I have eight archers who never miss.”
“Then they may be useful. The Karelians are good archers too.”
We headed north east. I had not travelled the land yet. We had had rain recently and I saw that they did not use stone for their roads. The result was that the track we followed soon became a muddy morass. Nor did it travel in a straight line. It twisted and turned around rocks, inlets, rivers and ponds. There appeared to be little farmland along the path we trod. It was late summer but, when we had been speaking with our hosts, we were informed that winter set in early. Rather than deterring fighting, it encouraged it as frozen ground was easier to travel than wet.
William said, “There are not many men, lord.”
He was right. There were less than forty Swedes ahead of us. This was not a large army. I hoped that they knew what they were doing. Only the two jarls and their squires wore mail. Although most of the others had a helmet and shield the majority did not even have a lea
ther jerkin. They reminded me, however, of some of the men who had served my grandfather. They had been descended from Vikings!
As we marched I looked at the sky. Night was not far away. I did not know how far away was this village of Sigtuna. Although I was at the rear I could see the two jarls, their squires and the warrior, Eystein, on their horses. They were the only mounted Swedes. Even the standard bearer went afoot. I saw a hand raised and they stopped. Beyond them I could see the remnants of Jarl Birger Persson’s men. These were the ones who had escaped the Karelians and the raid. There appeared to be less than twenty and I saw bandages and litters. To the side stood a forlorn huddle of women and children. There were not many.
Behind me I heard Will son of Robin say, “This looks all too familiar, lord. When the Scots raided and came south of the border this is what we saw. Then your father and grandfather would take us north to wreak revenge.”
“One day, Will, we will return home and do so again. This is not our destination. This is just part of our journey.”
We moved on and marched into the twilight. We stopped at the burning remains of Sigtuna. It looked to have been a fine settlement. There was a ditch and I could see where the wall had been. It looked to have had a quay. Ships could sail here. The hall was now just a pile of burning embers. My friend had lost his home. I heard him shout, “We will camp here tonight! We bury our dead first.”
It was a distressing operation. Many of the older folk had been burned alive in their huts. I saw the body of a child, no more than seven summers old. Her skull had been caved in. There were many other careless deaths. My men were used to seeing warriors dead and maimed but not the old and the young. It hardened the hearts of my men. We placed a good guard around the camp. No one was in the mood for food. We rigged up shelters and made sure that the horses had grazing and water.