The Archer's Castle: Exciting medieval novel and historical fiction about an English archer, knights templar, and the crusades during the middle ages in England in feudal times before Thomas Cromwell

by Martin Archer

  It’s a good thing I prepared. Three days later Sir Ralph returns with a number of armed men and his brother Baldwin, the Earl of Cornwall himself, from his seat at Restormel Castle.

  Hmm. It’s harvest time and they brought half a hundred men from Restormel who should be working in the fields. Trematon must be more important than it looks. Or maybe Baldwin is too stupid or doesn’t care if his people don’t have enough to eat this winter.

  This time they don’t get in. Finally, after his men pull far enough back at my insistence, we lower the drawbridge over the pond long enough for Sir Ralph and the Earl to cross over and reach the gate. I open the gate a crack and speak with them with half a dozen or so of my guards behind me in case they try to push their way in. The rest are up on the walls keeping a watch.

  Their message surprises me and I tell them as much. Sir Ralph, it seems, is now offering to marry Edmund’s widow. Marriage, of course, would extinguish any rights she might have to the castle and make Sir Ralph the undisputed owner of both the castle and Lady Dorothy. I raise my eyebrows, wave my cross to bless them, and agree to convey the offer to her and get back to them.

  “Tell her to hurry up and make up her mind,” Baldwin demands rather arrogantly. “Until she accepts my brother no one gets in or out.” He is quite full of himself and seems to think he holds the upper hand.

  Earl Baldwin’s a rat faced little bastard and my initial impression is that he is even more arrogant and stupid than his brother. Taking his men away from the harvest proves it.

  “I take that as a threat to do violence and I’m sure Lady Dorothy and her men will too,” I respond harshly. “So be warned yourself. Until she decides to remarry and chooses your brother, you and your men best keep well away from Trematon’s walls - because in a couple of minutes I’m going to tell her guards that it’s time for them to begin breaking your blockade even if it means hurting you.”

  Actually, I made a mistake; we should have killed them right then and there while the drawbridge is up behind them. Ah well, done is done. I’ve made many mistakes in my life haven’t I?

  After launching a few more threats and warnings the two nobles hurry away and the wall in the curtain gate slams shut behind them. Only then does the drawbridge begin to go down so they can cross the pond and return to their waiting men. Their heads are together and they are whispering and waving their hands as they cross the bridge. My response is obviously not the cowering agreement they expected.

  Within minutes the drawbridge is back up and we watch from the walls as the Earl’s men spread out and surround Trematon. That’s when I climb to castle turret and wave the signal sending one of my lookouts on the hill galloping to Falmouth to get William. Then I order my guards to pick off any of the Earl’s men who get within range of their arrows.

  And I must admit that I that I did suggest in the first message I sent to William that killing the Earl and his brother might be an opportunity for us. I hope William agrees. If fighting starts it won’t end until either the Earl and his moron brother are dead or we are. And that could be a good thing, the Earl and his brother being dead I mean – the Earl’s castle may be available if he is gone and we move quickly.

  @@@@@

  The next day Sir Ralph plays the fool despite my warning. He arrogantly trots his horse around the pond and right up to the wall on the north side of the castle.

  “What is Lady Dorothy’s decision?” he demands as he looks up to where I am standing at an archer’s slit on the castle wall. He is sitting on his horse not ten feet below me.

  I know her decision because we have talked about it ever since the Earl and his brother first proposed the marriage. I even share a few of our plans for George and assure Lady Dorothy that the Earl of Cornwall is no match for William and his men. So I deliver her message myself – I shoot an arrow straight down into his upturned face. I wasn’t always a priest you know.

  The sight of his stupid brother falling off his horse seems to really anger the Earl. A few moments later there is a great hue and cry as Baldwin and his men surge forward towards the castle walls waving their swords. And then they get to the walls and look up to find a dozen or more defenders firing arrows and dropping rocks down on them – and turn around and run and stagger the other way leaving Sir Ralph and more bodies on the ground. They had forgotten to bring ladders.

  That afternoon the Baldwin and his men leave, but not before they work themselves into a rage and start to attack Trematon village. They begin by torching one of the houses and cutting down a couple of villagers who hadn’t been smart enough to run when the fighting started at the castle. But then the Earl stops them. Apparently it suddenly dawns on the fool that his men are destroying some of the very property he wants to add to his own estate.

  In any event, Baldwin and his men miss most of Trematon’s people because just about everyone is either in the fields for the harvest or inside the castle with Lady Dorothy. In the end, after standing around thinking about the situation for a while, the Earl leaves Sir Ralph and the rest of his dead next to the castle walls and goes home with his men to get reinforcements and beat his wife or whatever it is that nobles do when they don’t get what they want.

  We buried them without prayers three days later when they began to smell.

  We’ll probably see the Earl of Cornwall and his men again when his harvest is in and more of his retainers are available. So as soon as he and his men are out of sight I send yet another messenger to William describing what has happened and suggesting some precautionary steps that he might take. And while I wait for William’s response I spend my time counseling and consoling Lady Dorothy and her daughters - and composing messages and documents to take to Prince John and the Pope. Always best to be ready isn’t it?

  Chapter Two

  Thomas’s second message reaches me while I’m drilling the men on how to respond to attacks by mounted knights and men at arms using the newfangled Swiss pikes Brian produced for us before we left Cyprus. It is quite an encouraging message; Thomas thinks Baldwin has gone to his Restormel Castle and will return to Trematon with more of his men right after the harvest is in.

  My brother is right as usual – catching the fool out of his castle is too good an opportunity for us to pass up.

  I send the messenger back on a fresh horse, newly acquired and the only one we have, to tell Thomas we’ll be coming. Two hours later we are marching along the cart path to Trematon. We start quickly because I’d already loaded the horse carts with the supplies we need and some of the coin chests – and sent rest of our coin chests to be loaded on our galleys. Once they’re loaded, all we’ll have to do to protect them is push the galleys back into the water with a handful of men on each to act as guards.

  Harold will have the men untie them and let them drift down to the safety of Falmouth Harbor if the Earl surprises us and attacks here at our camp instead of at Trematon.

  One thing the Earl’s behavior accomplishes is making up my mind as to where we should spend the winter. Falmouth and Trematon are going to be our base until the spring. After that, who knows?

  Our galleys will stay on the River Fal with a small guard of sailors under Harold’s command until we know it’s safe to pull them ashore. The cogs, of course, will have to stay at mouth of the river when they return. Everyone except the sailors on them will go to Trematon. We’ll send the horse carts back to get more supplies from the ships if it looks like we might need them.

  The other thing on my mind is Sir Percy. Right after Thomas’ second messenger arrives with his message Sir Percy trots into camp on his horse leading another horse carrying his shield and all his armor.

  “Hello Hello” he says as he slides off his horse and holds out his hand with a friendly smile. “I’ve come to say goodbye. I’ve been summoned to the Earl’s muster. Well we all are, aren’t we? The Earl’s knights I mean. All seven us from around here and our men. Probably two hundred or so I’d think. Not that I have many men mind you. Just Roger don�
��t you know. But I sent him straight away to Restormel Castle to tell the Earl I’d be coming. Yes I did. Have no choice in the matter do I?”

  “What’s happening, Sir Percy? Why the muster?” I know damn well why he’s mustering his men. And Sir Percy knows I know.

  “Why Lord Edmund’s widow has flummoxed him hasn’t she? He was going to marry his brother to her to get her castle but somehow he got himself killed instead of married. Damn shame, of course.” He’s trying to warn me and Thomas.

  “It could be dangerous. She’s got a lot of friends, doesn’t she?”

  “Oh aye. She does. She certainly does. But Baldwin’s full of himself and he’s got a lot of men in his manors doesn’t he. But most of them aren’t real soldiers, of course, so it will probably go badly for us. Probably be another Hattin.”

  “Well then. Why go? Why don’t you just stay in Falmouth and let them fight it out without you?”

  “Can’t do that. Honor you know. Gave my word didn’t I? Probably shouldn’t have pledged my liege but I did. Be the death of me I suppose, but there you are?”

  “Would you excuse me for one moment, Sir Percy? There’s a matter I must attend to.” ….. “Harold, Harold come over here for a minute will you please? I want you to meet a friend of ours, a very good friend.”

  “Sir Percy, this is Harold. He’s the sergeant captain of all of our sailors and he’ll be wintering right here in Falmouth with our ships. Harold, this is my friend Sir Percy. We’re friends even though he’s the Earl’s sheriff here in Falmouth.” The men smile at each other as they shake hands.

  “Do you know how to swim Sir Percy?” I ask. “No? Well that’s good.”

  Then the faces of both men show surprise, a great deal of surprise, when I tell Harold what I want him to do next.

  “Harold. We’re taking Sir Percy as a prisoner and holding him for ransom. I want you to immediately take him out to the cog you’ll be on while we’re gone. Keep it anchored in the harbor at all times and on no account is Sir Percy to be allowed ashore for any reason until I return - and on no account is he to be bound or in any way mistreated.”

  I’ll give Harold much more detailed instructions about Sir Percy in a few minutes when we are alone - we don’t kill or mistreat our friends.

  @@@@@

  Dividing one’s forces is never a good idea so all of our men except Harold’s sailors are accompanying the supplies and coin chests we are taking to Trematon. If the Baldwin and his men come this way they’ll find our camp deserted and all our ships in the river; we’re taking everything except the spare weapons and the amphorae filled with grain and other stuff that we’ve loaded on to the galleys. They’ll be safe on the galleys while we’re away and so will Sir Percy. I thought about leaving one of the coin chests with Harold but finally decided against it.

  George and the two boys from Falmouth Thomas is schooling with him are riding on the first wagon and taking everything in with big eyes. They’ll fall asleep in about an hour if the past is any guide.

  It takes almost five days for our column to reach Trematon. One reason it takes so long is that every day we stop several times along the way to practice such things as what we’d do if our convoy is attacked and how we’d face an enemy force and maneuver if we have time to get organized.

  And since every man is carrying a bow in addition to his other weapons, every training session ends with an archery tournament with a silver coin for the winner and a copper coin for the second.

  The tournaments don’t delay us at all – the men shoot their arrows as they walk or ride past the targets and then a working party picks everything up and throws it on the last wagon.

  Our targets are the sheep we cook and eat at the end of each day - and pay too much for because we want the serfs, churls, and free-holding franklins to be helpful with information in the coming battle with Earl Baldwin and thereafter. It seems to be working; I don’t know how they learn of it but by the end of the second day the people along the route are bringing sheep and cattle to us in the hope we will buy them and use them as targets.

  It isn’t just walking and practice that makes us slow. It’s also the not insignificant fact that we are only able to buy one additional horse after Thomas leaves and the messenger is riding it back to Trematon. So it’s the men who are pulling the horse carts and making fun of each other and complaining about it. Which is a good sign, soldiers complaining out loud and teasing each other; it really is.

  I thought about taking Percy’s two horses but quickly decided against it. Instead I and a man take them to Falmouth with a ransom note and a suggestion that his wife send it to the earl; taking things from the local people is not the reputation we want to have.

  Even the blown horse ridden in by Thomas’ messenger isn’t being used. It’s still needs some time to recover so it is being walked by one of our sergeants a couple of miles ahead of us. He will mount it and ride back and sound the alarm if he sees any dangers in front of us. He’s not alone. More than a dozen of our men are under his command and walking in a long line that stretches out a mile or more on either side of him. I’ve got a couple of men walking way out on either side of us and behind us too.

  I don’t know much about the Earl Baldwin’s military ability so I am taking precautions. Some of the men aren’t full trained yet and I am determined that we will not be taken by surprise.

  Trematon comes in sight in the late morning of the fifth day. I send my main column to the north under Martin and continue on to the castle with about a hundred men who will join the castle’s defenders and some of the supply carts.

  Thomas is right. Trematon is not all that defensible – unless it has a big force inside as it soon will have.

  @@@@@

  Thomas sees us coming and rides out to meet me on one of Trematon’s two horses. And the very first thing he does when we walk together into Trematon is introduce me and George to Lord Edmund’s widow and the two bashful little girls who peer around her sheepskin skirts.

  “Lady Dorothy, this is my brother William I’ve told you so much about. And that little fellow there is his son George. George’s two friends are Roger and Cyrus from Falmouth. They are learning their letters and numbers with George as I think I mentioned to you.”

  It’s fun to watch the young ones peek at each other and try to pretend they are not. They’re all quite curious it seems. Even Lady Dorothy notices and smiles. So do Thomas and I.

  Our supply carts are pulled into the castle’s little bailey and the horse is turned over to one of the men who will be riding our horses as message gallopers. The sheep and cattle we bought along the way for targets and provisions stayed with the main column for food. We’ll bring some into the bailey for the castle’s use if we have time.

  We’ll decide tomorrow where our main body of men should be located. The important thing for now is keeping them far enough away from the castle so that any of the Earl’s spies and gallopers, if he even has any, won’t see them and know that he is walking into a trap.

  The sergeant of our watchers immediately mounts our horse and trots off with one of the local men as a guide running alongside. The two of them will join the gallopers with our other horses where Thomas has them watching for the Earl.

  They are watching the river ford everyone says the Earl’s forces will have to use if he leads his men west from Restormel towards either Trematon or Falmouth. Their job is to lie low and watch the crossing – and send a couple of gallopers to tell us when the Earl’s men reach it and which way they are heading after they wade across.

  All the rest of our men who walked in with me, about eighty of them, jam themselves into the castle’s little bailey along with the horse carts and begin the usual chores of campaign life – setting up tents, digging shite holes, and collecting water from the brook nearest the castle walls. And they do so under Thomas’ watchful eye - he’s big on keeping piss and shite out of the water and away from the camp isn’t he? He claims that’s the way the book he re
ad at the monastery says the Romans did it.

  @@@@@

  It doesn’t take long to get the men in the castle organized and out of sight. Then Thomas and I take the castle’s two horses and ride out to inspect the surrounding area. We’re looking for the best place to locate the rest of our men, the ones who continued on to the north when I walked into the castle with the others. Some of the nearby woodlands look quite promising.

  After we ride around a bit we dismount and stand in an open area next to one of the woodlands. From up here we can see the castle and the lands surrounding it. It’s time to talk about how we’re going to proceed.

  I suggest that perhaps we might have the men inside castle put up a token resistance and retreat into the keep - and let the Earl’s men into the courtyard. When they’re inside we can use our larger force of men to surround the castle and they’ll be trapped in the compound without food and water. Then we’ll kill the Earl and his knights and let his peasants and everyone else go home.

  Thomas doesn’t like the idea. He says he read a really old book about Rome in the monastery that described just such a battle - and how the men inside the compound won. The Romans trapped one enemy force inside the walls of their fortress by building a wall around it - and then built a second wall to keep out the relieving force that soon arrived. They held both walls until the people in the fortress starved and so many died that the rest surrendered. Then the would-be relievers gave up and went away.

  After thinking about it I agree with Thomas that letting Baldwin and his men into the compound is not a good idea. Holding a keep and luring an attacking force into the walled compound in front of it is a good idea for many castles but probably not for Trematon. Its keep is too weak - if they can batter down the door the Earl’s men may be able to quickly break into it from the courtyard and kill everybody before we can starve them out or get into the compound and stop them.