Winter of Discontent nc-2

by Iain Campbell

  Alan pulled a wry face and said, “Swein’s military record and that of the Danes is hardly in his favour. Harald of Norway and his men beat them like a drum every time they met, on the water or on the land. Yes, 4,000 Danes on the battlefield may make a difference, but if you think that if the rebels prevail that would mean an Englishman sits on the throne, I suggest that you are deluding yourself. Swein may not expect to sit on the throne himself, but I’m sure that one of his many sons is already polishing a crown in expectation.”

  Leofstan gave a non-committal shrug and replied, “Perhaps you are correct. But what lies in the future is beyond the ability of any mortal to see, and most men just see that they are discontented with the present situation. I’m sure that the timing of Earl Waltheof’s ride north was influenced by the fact that this Quarter’s taxes were due on Mid-Summer Day. The taxes are again set high. Many cannot pay them and those who can are discontented to do so. High taxes at times of social discontent is not a good idea!”

  “True enough,” said Alan with a nod of agreement. “I myself dislike paying the tax impost on my own lands, which are set in the same way as that payable by Englishmen, except I also have to provide troops to the king’s army.” After a slight pause he asked, “And where sit your swords, gentlemen?”

  “My sword still sits firmly in its scabbard,” replied Leofstan. “You are perfectly correct in all you have said and in your assessment of the likely outcome of any rebellion. My head says to stand clear and follow your suggestion to remain aloof from the situation, supporting neither side. There is no gain to me but also no risk of loss. My heart says otherwise, but my head rules my heart.”

  Edwold gave a nod of agreement and added, “However, this is a decision that each Englishman must make for himself and I will not involve myself in trying to entice the thegns and cheorls to any particular cause. I expect not a few men from East Anglia, including from Tendring Hundred, will march north to join the ‘rebels’, for good or ill.”

  Alan paused and thought for a few moments. “I accept your comments and their truth. I have perhaps been expecting too much from a logical and dispassionate assessment by every man, but I’m glad to hear that for both of you logic and reason means we will not stand opposite each other on the field of battle. I also, now I have heard your thoughts, understand I should not place my men in a conflict of loyalties in which I may be the loser, and will ask for volunteers to join Hugh and Roger when the king musters his army to move north.”

  “Not yourself?” asked Leofstan in surprise.

  Alan shook his head and said, “No, with the Danes on the loose and a probable invasion of the Welsh Marches, my place is here. If the Danes land in Essex it will not be an action of brotherly love to raise further men to aid the cause of the Aetheling. They always land with sword in hand and murder in their eye, similar to the Welsh in the west. Am I right in presuming that if ten longships row up Alresford Creek and 500 Danes land, that the fyrdmen will come to my call?”

  Both Leofstan and Edwold nodded immediately and both started to talk together before Edwold gave precedence to his more senior colleague. “Certainly,” said Leofstan. “The people of East Anglia have no love of the Danes and also no trust of them. They’ve raided hereabouts for hundreds of years with their longships. If Danes, Welsh or Normans threaten our Hundred, you can be sure that every fyrdman will answer your call. If it is an English army threatening, some will answer and some will not.” Leofstan paused and thought for a moment, gave a sigh and added, “Even if it was an English army, out of respect to you personally- not the king- you can expect my sword in your support. You are not my landrica, my lord, and have no claim on me or my lands and my men, but I will support you- not either king, as both have now been crowned.”

  Alan nodded, reached across the table and grasped the forearm of Leofstan, saying nothing as a tear of emotion rose in his eye. After a pause in conversation of perhaps a minute the ever-practical Alan said, “The huscarles, soldiers and fyrdmen need to increase their training, for we all know that the Danes will come. I’ll hold my main strength to protect my own demesne and the other villages of the Hundred. My own two longships stand ready to do what they can and are properly manned.”

  “And what of our esteemed colleagues, the Normans Gerard de Cholet of Elmstead, Roger de Montivilliers, Geoffrey of Rouen, both of Clacton, and Albyn of St Osyth? What will they do?” asked Edwold.

  “De Cholet is actually a Frenchman and Albyn a Fleming. Probably both would object to being called Normans. It’s like calling an Englishman as being Welsh,” replied Alan. “Certainly, we Normans don’t appreciate French or Flemings being called Norman, particularly the wimpy French! I could also add to your list Engelric’s man Leax, an Englishman, for the lands he holds of St Paul’s Cathedral of London at Birch Hall. Who knows what instructions they will receive from their masters? I expect that Gerard, Roger, Geoffrey and Albyn and their men, nearly all Normans, French or Flemings, will be with the king’s army and not able to provide us with support. At least I hope so, as that will avoid considerable problems at the time!”

  “You do appreciate that we English don’t like having foreigners, whether they be Norman, French or Flemings, as a neighbours?” asked Edwold.

  “Indeed- but I would hope that you would also include Danes, Norwegians, Welsh and Scots in that category,” replied Alan. “To cry ‘England for the English’ is all well and good. But in the last thousand years or so, how many years has there been an English king? I would suggest less than half the time. And which English? Those of Saxon descent or those of Norse? You seem to be more interested in north and south fighting each other than fighting against a common foe. Others have viewed martial prowess highly. The Romans, the Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings. More recently also the men under the control of what are now the kingdoms of Norway or Denmark. And now the Normans.

  “I initially believed that there is little difference between what is happening now and what happened fifty years ago when Cnut conquered England and placed his own men in charge of the land. Englishmen, particularly Godwin, supported the foreign king whose main claim to the throne came from conquest. King William would make greater claim than that, but his claim can perhaps be denied on several grounds. But, like Cnut, his primary claim comes from victory and taking the throne by force. The people may not like William, just as I’m sure they didn’t like Cnut’s sovereignty, but his coronation and possession of the throne are facts. Edgar may have been elected by some recently to be king. But he was not crowned by either of the two archbishops. The English clergy follow the pope in supporting King William and the pope has issued the anathema of excommunication against William’s English foes. How many will stand against him in the face of eternal damnation? I know that such a penalty would give me considerable pause for thought!

  “However, I have come to realise that the theory of the English maintaining their position is different to the reality of the situation. Yes, Earls Edwin, Morcar and Waltheof were confirmed in their lands, as was Edgar the Aetheling. Yes, many Englishmen retain their positions as stallers, shire reeves and town reeves. King William has created the position of sheriff, which isn’t quite the same as shire reeve as a sheriff has more authority. Yes, more than half the men appointed as sheriffs are English. The bishops, abbots and priors remain almost exactly as appointed by Edward the Confessor, although some of those are French or Norman. The Dooms, or laws, of Edward remain almost unchanged- apart from the damned murdrum fine! However, it has become clear to me that things are not what I would like to have believed. King William may not have deliberately acted to dispossess men, save for those who opposed him in battle, but he has implemented policies which make that result inevitable. The men he has raised up are, largely, capable and reasonably honest, but no have no plans. Government over the last two years has been by reaction, not by action, and every reaction angers the English more while their actions make the Normans more certain that they can’t trust the E
nglish. It has become a vicious cycle to which I can see no end!”

  “As to your question about who would fight William in the face of the risk of excommunication, I say enough would do so,” replied Edwold. “These include some amongst the clergy. Harold and his army fought under anathema at Caldbec Hill and it was not carried out. I doubt that the pope would excommunicate the king of Denmark- and even if he did the Danes wouldn’t care. They’re mainly pagans. We will see what we will see, but like Leofric I don’t intend to raise my voice to call for support for either side. But I will ride and with all my men to defend our lands against any who threaten us. Norman, Dane or English. Others will make other choices.”

  Alan inclined his head in acknowledgement and asked, “How can so many be so free with breaking their oaths?”

  “Very few are, as very few have made oaths to break,” replied Edwold. Seeing Alan’s look of puzzlement he explained, “When you received your land from King William, you gave homage for it, did you not? You bound yourself to be William’s man, right or wrong. In England there were several hundred King’s Thegns who held land directly from the king and made oath to support him. Others, such as myself, hold land in landboc. We own it. We pay taxes on it. When we die our family pays a Heriot to continue to hold it, but we hold it as of right. We may commend ourselves to a greater thegn and obtain the benefit of his interest, but are free to choose which and to change as we wish. That thegn, the ealdorfrea, has no claim on us for military or financial support. Our only obligations are to the country, effectively to the Crown. Those who are not thegns- cheorls, sokemen and the like- may similarly own their land in landboc, or may hold it on laen for a period of time- usually three lifetimes. In return they either pay rent in money or goods or perform services on the owner’s land. They are free to leave the land and take up other land from another owner. Cottars simply hold a cottage and a small garden plot in return for labour services.

  “Neither myself nor my ealdorfrea made any oath to William. We do not, to use the Norman terms, owe either homage or fealty to him. We also do not owe homage or fealty to our ealdorfrea, so even if he does have such liability to either the king or some other noble, I do not. That is why many men see themselves as free to join those who oppose King William. In doing so, they act on what they see is their best interests or where their honour lies and are not foresworn by doing so.”

  Alan frowned, trying to absorb what was to him a difficult concept. “That may well be the case, although the English earls did swear formal fealty to William in return for keeping their own lands, in the Norman manner. Whether they understood the basis and effect of the oaths that they swore at that time I know not, but if they oppose him they will find that what a lord gives he can also take away, at whim. As for the rest, those who oppose William will feel the might of his displeasure irrespective of what they see as being their legal situation. William isn’t going to make the distinctions you just explained. Those who support William will be rewarded. For those like yourself, well, we’ll see whether or not treading a path of neutrality is possible. For the sake of all of us, I hope that it is.”

  ****

  Alan called a muster of all his own men at arms in Tendring Hundred, held at the New Hall. The political situation was explained to them and that if they marched north they would likely be required to take to the field against the Aetheling and the young earls, or at the very least against their allies the Danes.

  The response was less than enthusiastic, although the several of the leaders of the men made it clear that where Alan led they would follow “and kick in the gates of hell itself and kill Lucifer himself if needed” as one man extravagantly explained. After the raid two years previously, nobody had any concerns against killing Danes- a number of the soldiers had been recruited from the displaced refugees from villages destroyed and looted by the Danes. The atrocities visited on the villages on the south side of the Coln River, particularly in Lexden Hundred and Winstree Hundred, made certain that every man, woman and child would resist the Danes with every fibre in their body and support the man who had given them victory on that last occasion.

  Brand made it clear to his men that he expected the huscarles, as professional soldiers, to follow their orders. Apart from himself, five other huscarles agreed to join an expedition force to be led by Hugh, as did three of the men in Hugh’s garrison at Great Oakley. Together with Roger, Baldwin and Warren from the garrison at Staunton-on-Wye that would allow Alan to meet his feudal quota, although he was sure that the king would be less than happy that he wasn’t sending his full strength. However, Alan’s main concern was in protecting his estates and the villages of Tendring Hundred, and since the king had refused to build a navy to challenge the Norsemen that meant that the locals could expect no assistance in the event that the Danes descended in force. By the time that any relieving force arrived the Danes would have slipped back to their ships, leaving behind them villages of smoldering ruins populated by corpses.

  Alan had, several months previously, on receiving warning of danger from Bjorn, taken his own steps to protect what he had. As well as increasing the tempo of training and practice of his troops, he had also ensured that each man in the fyrd from his villages was properly armed, equipped and had at least the basic training that would give them a chance of survival against a professional warrior. He had increased the membership of the fyrd to include every fit free man, and many of the more willing lads, in each of his villages. In addition to a linden-wood shield that each man had himself made to a common pattern and the seax fighting knife each carried as of right as a free man, they had been provided with helmets of metal made in the English style and spears. Some wore byrnies of chain-mail for protection and carried swords- these taken from the Danes in their failed raid two years before. Most of the others wore byrnies made of scale-armour of boiled leather, with overlapping plates. These provided reasonable protection and, compared to chain-mail where each ring is riveted and joined to four others, the leather scale-armour was cheap and quick to make.

  Alan’s armourer Gimm and his apprentice, with the assistance of the village smiths and their apprentices, had worked long and hard for several months. So had the fletchers- over 3,000 cloth-yard arrows, each 39 inches long, metal tipped and with flights of goose feathers, were sitting in barrels for use if required.

  Not least amongst Alan’s preparations had been the work performed on the two longships which he still retained after their capture two years before. After sitting neglected on a mudbank on Alresford Creek near Thorrington for a year, they had been careened, suspect timbers replaced and recaulked with a mixture of moss soaked in tar hammered into the joints between the overlapping two inch thick planks that formed the strakes of the clinker-built hull. Both were typical snekke, with a length of about sixty feet and beam of about 9 feet. Being Danish ships they had a very shallow draught of less than 2 feet when unladen. If a man could stand with his knees covered in water, the ship would float. Norwegian ships were built with a slightly deeper draught, coming from a land of deep fiords rather than shallow sand flats.

  The oars, ten a side with two rowers per oar, had been checked and several replaced. The oiled leather rowlocks for the oars had all been replaced. The masts, some thirty feet high and carrying a sail nearly forty feet wide, had been checked and new woolen sails made. The shields had been removed from the ship sides as these were only used on land. Alan had also installed a ballista in the bows of each ship.

  Bjorn, the captain of the Zeelandt, now on the northern run from Narvik to Oostend, had arranged for two experienced Norwegian longship captains to join Alan’s service, Sven Knutson and Lars Erikson. Both were nephews of Bjorn, who had attested to their ability and claimed, “They can use their ‘sun stones’ and sail anywhere, and each have led nearly as many raids as I have.” Each ship had its Norwegian captain, five English sailors to handle the steering oar and the sails, forty rowers, who doubled as swordsmen, and ten trained longbowmen. There w
ere also five men to crew the ballistae. The ships were the Havorn, the ‘Sea Eagle’, and the Alekrage, the ‘Cormorant’. The crews had been training together for close on a month and were starting to have the instinctive understanding and action needed in any situation.

  When not in use the ships were hidden under a long row of weeping-willow trees on the bank of Alresford Creek, which acted as a living camouflage net.

  Alan was again very angry with Edsel, the King’s Reeve at Brightlingsea, who had once again refused to participate in the communal defence activity despite the very important strategic location of the village on the north shore of the approaches to Colchester. The men of Brightlingsea had been noticeable by their absence at the victory two years before at Wivenhoe. Alan had made it clear that this time, if they did not support his efforts, they would stand alone if the Danes attacked their village. Indeed, he was so angry as to almost be prepared to burn the village himself.

  Two days later Alan stood near the steering oar of Havorn as the ship was rowed quickly down Alresford Creek, followed closely by Alekrage. The captain was Sven Knutson, who was acting as helmsman. The Norwegian, short and stocky for a Viking but possessing the usual long blond hair and beard and piercing blue eyes, was standing balanced on widely-spread feet. Alan allowed his gaze to rest on Alekrage, admiring the simple beauty of her lines and the precision with which the ten oars a side dipped and rose as one. Lars Erikson, Alekrage’s captain and a huge bear of a man, was clearly visible at the stern of his ship as he barked out instructions. Sven was a taciturn man, not given to idle chatter and his shouted instructions were as brief as possible. Lars took a different approach to managing his crew- volubly chastising any infraction.