Return of the Knight

by Griff Hosker

  Sir William said, after the English knight had retired, “Our castle is becoming crowded.”

  “You wish your own home?”

  He gave me a look of absolute surprise, “Yes but how did you know?”

  “You have a family and you share the castle with mine and now strangers. It is natural.”

  “I thought to ask permission to build a hall south of the river. If I built it to the east it could protect the bridge and we could still retreat to the castle in time of danger.”

  I shook my head, “That bridge is wooden and it is old. We need one which is protected by our walls. I do not mind you building a hall but it should be across from the town gate. There we could build a new bridge.”

  “That would require a lot of stone.”

  “I do not plan the bridge yet. I am looking far into the future but, come spring we will dig the foundations for your hall. This is good.”

  The next day, while Fótr took them for their horses I met with David of Wales and Edward. “Well? Do they meet our needs?”

  David nodded. “We are lucky. There are twelve archers. They are all sound men. We have time to train them in our ways.”

  My sergeant at arms agreed, “And the men at arms know their business. They lack mail and decent helmets. We have plenty of those. It is a sign that God smiles on us. We now have sixty-five men at arms. I remember the Baltic when we could count our men on two hands.”

  “Aye and I now have forty-eight archers. That must be the largest number outside of England. I am happy too.”

  Edward knew better than any the dangers of overcrowded warrior halls. “But we need another warrior hall!”

  “Then we shall make one. Take the new men to the woods to the north of us and cut down more trees.”

  With the extra labour the embrasures and new towers were quickly completed. Jean of Durtal’s ditch was finished and we added another ditch on the western side for our new farmers. When the autumn rains came they were not a handicap they were a blessing. The moat and ditches filled.

  Our patrols found French scouts to the east of us just after the bone fire of November. They were armed men and they were close to my castle. As such they merited investigation. My men found them twelve miles away and south of the river. I took Sir William, twenty archers and twenty men at arms. We had more men now and I could make a statement to the French. My men were better than the French and they reported back to me within half a day of discovering them. I wasted no time. I mounted a conroi with my two knights, ten men at arms and ten archers. The rest laboured at the walls. We found them close to Le Lude. Le Lude was a small village of ten huts. It had a bridge over the river. There had been a castle there but it had been destroyed in the wars between Count Fulk and Duke Henry. I had thought of taking it over, when the time was right and building a castle there. We did not bother the villagers and they were happy to use our market rather than their own twenty miles to the east.

  My archers surrounded the village and I rode in to catch, unawares, the knight and twenty men at arms. We galloped in quickly. They had not set sentries and were taken by surprise. The knight, an older man looked up in surprise. There was a villager lying on the ground and his mouth was bleeding. A sergeant at arms had blood on his knuckles.

  “What is going on here?”

  “This is none of your business, Englishman. I do not answer to you. I serve the Comte de Senonche.”

  I dismounted. I saw David of Wales and my men moving silently towards us with nocked arrows from the other side of the village. All other eyes were on me. “I will ask again, pleasantly, for I would keep the peace but I would have an answer to my question and in a tone which does not offend me.”

  I strode close to the knight. I had no weapon drawn nor did I wear my helmet. The closer I got the more the knight realised that I was a bigger knight. I saw his eyes flicker around and take in that I had men with me. “This man is suspected of poaching. I was questioning him. It is none of your business.”

  I reached down and pulled the man to his feet. I vaguely recognised him from our market. He had sold goods from a stall. As I recalled he grew vegetables. I turned to the knight. “Which wood?”

  He looked at me in surprise, “I do not understand the question.”

  “You said he poached. That means he went into a wood to do so.” I spread my arm around. “Where is the wood?” I jabbed a finger in the direction of the distant wood to the west. It was closer to my town and south of the river. “You do not mean that wood do you? My wood?”

  “No, the wood to the south of Chateau-sur-le-Loir.”

  I looked at the villager, “You enjoy a challenge, my friend. You ignore a wood which is just four miles away and instead tramp through open countryside for eight miles and poach the land of the Comte de Senonche.” He said nothing. “Did you poach? Are you a hunter?”

  Taking a step closer to me he spat out a tooth and shook his head, “Lord I did not poach. I do not even own a bow. I tend vegetables and I raise swine.”

  The knight said, “He lies.”

  “I think not but I can have a Bible fetched. That would settle the matter.”

  I could see that the villager was edging away from the sergeant at arms. When he was behind me he said, “Lord I was being punished for selling my goods at your market.”

  The sergeant at arms began to draw his sword. He was going to silence the villager. The blade was but half way out when two arrows thudded into his back. He adopted a surprised expression and then slumped at my feet. The knight and his men turned around and saw levelled bows.

  I turned to the knight, “Is this true?” He hesitated. “You have broken the peace already when your man drew his sword in my presence. If I were to ask the rest of the villagers what would they say?”

  “These are French people now! The Comte does not wish them to trade with you.”

  “You are wrong! This is still Anjou. Your lord stole the castle from William des Roches. The people here have traded at my market and that of Chateau-sur-le-Loir since the time of Count Fulk. Leave now and know that the people of Le Lude enjoy my protection.” I pointed to the river. “That river is as far as the Comte has jurisdiction. Tell him so.”

  The knight nodded. “And you should know, Sir Thomas the renegade and priest killer, that you have now made an enemy of me, Theobald of Bonneval. I will not break the peace but when the peace is broken then I will kill you.”

  I walked over to his horse and examined his shield. It was a yellow shield with blue fess. “Then I shall watch for you on the battlefield for you are right. The peace will end and then you will rue the day that you made such a boast. Now begone.”

  The villager bowed as the French left, “Thank you, lord but they may come back.”

  “What is your name?”

  “Jean of Le Lude lord.”

  “Well Jean I am guessing that you are the head man here.” He nodded. “I can tell you that they will be back. The peace can only last until midsummer day next year but fear not. I have an idea.” I turned to Sir William. “This is south of the river, William. That high piece of ground overlooks the bridge and the river. Would not this make a good site for a castle and a hall? What say you? Do you wish a manor?”

  He did not answer directly. In the twelve years we had known each other we had become as close as brothers. I could almost read his thoughts. He would be bringing his family and putting them in danger, closer to the French but he would have his own manor. He would have those who would serve him and he would have his own castle. As my men watered their horses he walked to the mound where the old castle had stood. The ditch could still be seen. Scrubby bushes had sprouted from the remains of the palisade.

  He walked back to me. “It would need to be built in stone lord.”

  “Of course.”

  “We would not be able to begin construction until Easter.”

  “And by then the masons should have completed most of the work on the barbicans. I will bring men t
o help you.”

  “But we cannot allow these villagers to live without protection. I will send Padraig the Wanderer and my men at arms to build a wooden keep where the castle once stood. They can winter here.” Padraig the Wanderer had come with James Broadsword and led William’s men at arms.

  “That is good. “Jean, you will be protected.”

  As we rode back I reflected that I had come to this land to seek an opportunity to return to England and yet I was putting down roots which would be hard to break. Was this my destiny? Would I end up as a knight of Anjou rather than an English knight? I had cast the bones. When my ship had docked in this land it had changed my future.

  As we crossed the rickety bridge across the Loir I knew that we had to build a better one. I had left the bridge in a poor state of repair as it protected my land from the south. An enemy could not cross it with heavy wagons. If Sir William was going to live south of the river then we needed a secure way to reach him. We also needed one which could be protected by the walls of my town. We sent forty men to help Padraig the Wanderer build the hall and I consulted with Roger of Meaux and the masons about the bridge. The river close to the town was sixty paces wide. The merchants wanted a new bridge as far to the east as we could manage it. Once it was built them we would have a problem sailing further east. They wanted as much space for quays as possible. I pointed out that we would now have frontage on the south side of the river and I saw that they had not even considered that.

  “We could build a wall there and protect any buildings you had. There would be men who would garrison the towers there too. Your goods would be as safe as in my town.”

  Once they realised that they agreed to fund the building of the bridge. They divided the land up south of the river amongst themselves. I reserved one site for a hall. In their eagerness to gain valuable land they began work on both their warehouses and the bridge simultaneously. They decided to make it big enough for one wagon at a time to cross. There they showed the experience of siege warfare. They would restrict any enemies who tried to cross.

  Winter, and Christmas in particular, were normally quiet times but that year the outside of my keep was a maelstrom of activity. William made the most of the comfort of my castle and Henry relished the peace and the joy of a family home. Eight more men at arms and four more archers arrived before Captain Henry ceased his voyages. There was no letter this time. However, when I spoke with Ralph of Appleby who was newly arrived I learned something of the process my aunt and her husband used. They spread the word that archers and men at arms were needed to fight in France. She did not specify an enemy. Stockton lay on the main north south road and many travellers passed through it. The innkeepers were more than happy to spread the word. When they arrived then they were housed in the castle. My aunt was a kind woman and Ralph of Appleby told me how all who came were fed and housed. He also added that they were watched. Those who were too old to go to war were given places in the garrison at the hall. Those that she and her husband deemed to be unsuitable were sent away. They were fed first but they were told that they were not going to be considered. The ones who remained were told nothing until they boarded the ship. Captain Henry ensured that none left the ship save to come to me. I could not see how the plan could fail and I now had enough men to garrison two castles.

  On Christmas day we gave presents. I had reserved the best present for Henry. Since his arrival he had held a vigil and been shriven by Father Michel. William and I had spoken to him at length about his life up to this point and his hopes for the future. As he stood smiling at the joy in the hall I said, “Come, Henry fitz Percy, I have a present for you.”

  “But lord, you have done so much for me already! I deserve no more.”

  “Nonetheless you shall have a gift from me. It is a gift which costs me little yet which is worth the world to you. Kneel so that I may dub you!”

  His eyes widened in wonder but before he did so he hesitated, “Lord is this legal? Will I be fighting under false colours?”

  “Prince Arthur, Duke of Brittany confirmed that I am the lord of these lands. None has taken the office from me. Father Michel is here to ensure that the Church will be satisfied. When you rise, you will be a knight. A humble knight bachelor but a knight nonetheless.” I noticed my wife smiling. She held a wrapped bundle beneath her arm.

  He knelt and I touched his shoulders with my sword. It was a simple ceremony but it would not be completed until I spoke the words. As Edward son of Edgar said, it was almost like being a magician. The trick would not work until the magic words were spoken.

  “Rise Sir Henry fitz Percy of La Flèche.” Fótr stepped forward and handed him his spurs. Fótr had a vested interest in the ceremony for soon he would be knighted too.

  Then my wife stepped forward and gave him her parcel, “My ladies and I made this for you.”

  He unwrapped the tapered standard. It was the coat of arms of the Percy family: a field of azure, adorned with five horizontal fusils conjoined in gold fess. The only difference was that at the widest end was a golden gryphon, my sign.

  “I know not what to say. I am now a knight.”

  “More than that you are a lord with walls to defend.” I pointed across the river. “You will command the men who live in the hall on the southern side of the river. Your task will be to guard the bridge when it is complete. My sergeant at arms, Edward son of Edgar and my Captain of Archers, David of Wales, will allocate men to serve you. I am afraid you will have to help in the building of your own hall.”

  “When I came here I had nothing. Now I have all that I could desire. I thank you, lord.”

  “I fear that, like the rest of us, you will have to fight to hang on to that which we have.”

  As well as our families my wife had also invited those of my men who were married and had children. Ridley and Anya now had two. Those two apart the rest were babies. They played together and one could not differentiate between commoner baby and noble. They would, hopefully, grow up together. Bonds would be formed so that when they were old enough to become warriors, they would fight together.

  Christmas Day was just an interlude. Even on St Stephen’s day we were toiling. I helped my men to build the embrasures on my walls. I had little skill but I had strength and they had the skill and the common sense to steer me in the right direction. I was aware that my castle was in disarray but I had to have faith that it would not always be so. We had until June to make ourselves secure for, when the peace ended, then the flood gates would open. What had surprised me was the lack of action from King John. What I did not know was that he was in Poitou where he was dealing harshly with the Lusignan faction who objected to his marriage to Isabella of Angouleme. His absence was a godsend. William des Roches was with him and it seemed that we were being granted the time to prepare for war.

  The news of the attack in Poitou also told us that Arthur was with his uncle. That was disturbing. He could learn nothing honourable from John Lackland. I just hoped that William des Roches was honouring his promise to watch over the Duke.

  Sir William now of Le Lude, rose before dawn each day and rode to help his men build his castle. He sourced enough local stone for the foundations of the keep. Had this been England then the building would have had to wait until the weather warmed up. Here it rarely froze. Sir William and I had planned a simple design of castle. There would be a keep with a curtain wall, a main gate and a sally port. The garrison would be small; just thirty men in total. Its purpose would be simple. It would protect the bridge and the villagers.

  Sir Henry had a different task and a different hall. His hall would have no curtain wall. At least not in the beginning. It would be a simple keep with an entry at the first-floor level. The ground floor would be for the horses. There would be a bridge from the first floor to the gatehouse across the bridge. Sir Henry would defend the bridge. His garrison would be even smaller than Sir William’s, it would be twenty men.

  My new defences would not be finished by the
time the peace was ended but Sir William would have a wooden wall with a fighting platform and a half built keep. Sir Henry would have a half-built keep, a half-built bridge and the beginnings of two towers. The only defence which would be complete would be my castle. The six new wooden towers for archers were complete. The embrasures were in place. The barbicans at the two ends of the town were well on their way to completion and when we had the spring rains then the new moat would fill with water and an attacker would have two bridges, two moats and two gatehouses to negotiate and even then, they would only have access to my town. The castle was a further set of defences away.

  What I found hard was the lack of news and intelligence. When ships docked we questioned their crews to discover what was happening in the outside world. By then it was old news. My friend in Angers was busy fighting for the King and so we patrolled and we built. My people toiled so that we had goods to sell and to trade. Our twice weekly market now drew in even more people. The incident at Le Lude had not deterred the French and the Angevins, it had encouraged them. I was seen now as someone who would protect their rights. When Lady Marguerite became pregnant once more we all took it as a sign that God smiled on us. As April blossomed so did hope.

  A New Castle

  Chapter 12

  The peace was not broken suddenly. It was not as though King Philip suddenly brought his army to squash us like a summer fly. It was insidious. War came gradually. Sir William now had patrols riding east and north from his lands. It meant the building work slowed but we both knew he needed the patrols. His men saw more evidence of French activity. They were improving the roads west. More banners were seen flying from the French castles. Chateau-sur-le-Loir grew a tented village. My men also noticed more activity to the north east. The south and the west were quiet. King John was still busy in Poitou.

  Another ship arrived with men from England. There were twenty this time. That was about as many as could be carried on the small cog. Twelve archers and eight men at arms were a welcome addition. I divided them between Sir William and my castle. Until Sir Henry’s bastion was built and the bridge completed he had no need of them.