The Welsh Marches (The Anarchy 1120-1180 Book 15)

by Hosker, Griff

  “Then let them.”

  “They may be a danger.”

  “How many are there?”

  “Four of them.”

  I gave him a sideways glance. “Four? I tell you what, my squire and I will join you and William. I am certain that we can handle them. I will fetch the King. Just take their weapons from them if you are worried.”

  The King was poring over maps with his clerks when I found him. “Yes Warlord?”

  “You have visitors from Powys, majesty. There are four of them.”

  He stood and looked at the map. “That is north of here. They have not attacked us before have they?” He asked the question of the clerks. All were monks. I think that the Archbishop of Canterbury had sent them partly to gain favour with the King and partly to spy on him.

  “No, your majesty. Their king is Madog ap Maredudd.”

  I did not know where the monks gathered their news but I remembered that Archbishop Thurston had a network of spies. Priests could be devious. I was pleased that mine was an honest man.

  “Then let us see them and discover if this is another new threat.” He turned to me as we descended the stairs. “It may be that this Madog ap Maredudd thinks we have designs on his land.” He grinned, “We do not… yet!”

  He was in a good humour. Three of the men we greeted were warriors. They were typical Welshmen from the hills. Short and squat with jet black hair they did not bother with mail. I saw that Phillip and William had disarmed them. The fourth man was a cleric. The warriors stood behind him. It would be the cleric to whom the King spoke. King Henry waved a hand and servants appeared with wine, bread and cheese. He had given strict orders that this was to be so. He was clever for it made him look as though he was hospitable. That often disarmed an enemy and allowed a friend to reveal more than they ought.

  “Welcome. And what brings four travellers from the far north to visit with me here?”

  The priest spoke, “I am Brother Iago. I come as the representative of the King of Powys, Madog ap Maredudd. These warriors are my escorts.”

  I watched their faces. They had not understood a word the priest had said. His Norman was perfect. I kept that information to myself.

  “And what does your King Henry want of me?”

  The priest held his hand towards a goblet, “May I?”

  “Of course.”

  The priest drank, briefly and then jabbered something in Welsh to the three men. They each took a goblet and began to drink. The priest said, “They were suspicious. They believed you might poison them. They have an irrational fear of Normans. I know not why. They do like their wine; when they can get it, of course.”

  I nodded and drank my own wine, “Of course.”

  I saw his eyes flicker to my surcoat and the wolf. “And you would be the Warlord.”

  I nodded, “I am.”

  “We have heard of you and also of your son who wears the Welsh dragon of Gwynedd on his chest.”

  I frowned, “That is a gryphon, not a dragon.”

  He smiled, “Some warriors at the court of King Malcolm saw his banner. They said it was a dragon. I had not seen it. I would have known the difference, of course.”

  King Henry was curious but he was also impatient, “Dragon, gryphon… what does your king want?”

  “Ah, Warlord, the young are so keen to get to the point.” He placed his goblet on the table and wiped his mouth with the napkin which was there. “Your majesty, King Owain Gwynedd has raided the Duchy of Chester on many occasions. Your Earl there now stays within his walls for it is safer that way and he lives with the lost cattle and sheep. This same King of Gwynedd also makes war on King Madog. My king would have an alliance. More than that he would have you help him to drive King Madog from his mountain stronghold.”

  There appeared, on the surface, no reason why King Henry should listen further. A few sheep and cattle stolen from Chester was not a good reason to march into the heartland of the fiercest of warriors.

  Henry said as much, “I appreciate your journey but it has been wasted. If the Earl of Chester or his wife, my cousin, asks for my help then I will send men north but, as it is, I am too busy here in the south.”

  “King Owain is an ally of King Maredudd.”

  “Again, when Maredudd has been defeated then I will look north.” He began to rise; a sure sign that the meeting was over.

  “Of course, your majesty, there is the matter of the gold. Unless of course you have a full treasury and do not need a mountain full of gold.”

  The hairs on the back of my neck began to prickle. How did this priest know that our treasury was depleted? Perhaps the network of spies crossed nations? King Henry, however, took the bait.

  “Gold? In the land of Powys?”

  “Sadly, for us, no. It is under the mountain which lies close to Dolgellau. The King would have you join him in a joint action. We have men who are skilled in the mountains, good archers and the like but your knights, your horsemen are superior to all others.”

  It sounded like flattery but it was not for it was the truth. That said there was no reason for us to take on a battle with someone who was not even a threat, just for gold.

  “You have my interest, Brother Iago. I will, of course, have to speak with my senior leaders but I shall give you an answer in the morning. Will you be my guest?”

  “If you do not mind, your majesty, we will stay with the bishop. I have letters for him from the Abbot at the monastery of St. Asaph. It is one of the reasons I was chosen. I speak your language but I was coming here anyway.”

  I was not simply curious. I was suspicious and I bluntly asked the priest about his motives. “This strikes me as a little too convenient. Why should the abbot of a monastery on the other side of the land wish to communicate with the Bishop of Gloucester?”

  “The Bishop of Gloucester is just one stage on the journey of the letter. The bishop will send it to the Archbishop of Canterbury and he will send it to Rome.”

  “Rome?”

  “I will speak openly but you must keep my confidences to yourselves.”

  “Of course.” Henry glared at me and I nodded.

  “Ireland does not subscribe to the Church of Rome. There are priests there who wish to join our one Church. This is an attempt to encourage the Pope to intervene.”

  Henry beamed, “There, Warlord, that sounds perfectly reasonable to me.”

  It sounded reasonable to me too. Too reasonable. The priest was too slick and slippery for my liking.

  “Come after matins in the morning and I will give you my answer.”

  This was a web and I did not like it. However, I knew I had lost the argument when the two of us were alone for Henry chastised me. “Warlord, this is not like you. The priest is no threat to us and this alliance suits us. We have the opportunity to enrich the treasury at little cost to ourselves. I am not a fool and I know that someday we may have to fight Powys and Gwynedd. This is the perfect opportunity to let them both bleed while we look on. I can scout out the land of Powys. I have heard that they have fine farmland to the east of their country.”

  I could not believe my ears, “But what about the marches? Striguil, Hereford?”

  He smiled, “That is simple. I will take my Angevin knights to Powys and you will command the knights and men of the borders. I will send my fleet to Anglesey and soon wrap up this little campaign. My cousin, Henry Fitz Roy will command the fleet. I am certain that you will be able to defeat King Maredudd. Even if you cannot then we will not be long on this northern raid and I can come and help you finish him off.”

  “Your majesty…”

  He waved his hand peremptorily, “I will speak with my map makers and see what they say.”

  As quickly as that the young King had his head turned with promises of gold and I was left to recapture English lands with half the men we had brought.

  Chapter 16

  King Henry was a clever leader. Had he taken me with him to raid Gwynedd then his Marcher Lords
might have become angry. However, they saw me as the knight who had defeated Stephen and curbed the Scots. As Henry marched north the men of the marches cheered them. I still wondered about Brother Iago but I could not work out how he would benefit. I did not have long to speculate for if we were to make headway before the onset of winter then we had to move towards Hereford. I let the lords organize their own trains and I led the smaller army to Hereford. It was thirty miles and I pushed to be there in one day. As many of the lords had large numbers of men who were marching rather than riding it was hard going but we made the border town on the Wye before dark.

  I was pleased that Walther de Hereford, the son of my old friend Miles of Gloucester was Sherriff of Hereford and Gloucester. His presence gave me hope. I spoke with him privately before my other lords arrived and I learned much about the land in which we would be fighting.

  “Do you wish me and my men to fight alongside you, Warlord?”

  I shook my head, “No for I fear that the King’s foray north has left the back door to Gloucester open. I would have you watch our backs and keep the land hereabouts safe. I am taking William of Liedeberge with me. This move by Powys may be a trick to lure us away from the heartland of the Severn.”

  “You are wise, Warlord. I will be vigilant.”

  I held a council of war in the sheriff’s hall. Walther de Hereford stayed silent and watched the other lords for me. Lord Mortimer, Braose, Fitz Alan, Chaworth and Giffard sat around the table along with de Clare and de Clifford. The Sherriff sat at my right.

  “My aim is quite simple. I will strike south towards Striguil.” I saw de Clifford bang the table in joy. “We will head for Llancloudy first. I do not know the country. My men are all from Anjou.” I swept my hand around the room. “I will be reliant on your scouts to find the enemy and then I will bring them to battle.” I took a drink from the cider they had provided. “I do not need to tell you lords that the Welsh are good at ambushes. If we are ambushed then God help the knight who commands the scouts! He had better hope for a speedy death from the Welsh!”

  De Clare raised his arm, “Lord, my men live the furthest west. We are surrounded by enemies. I have good scouts although they are not knights nor even men at arms.”

  I shook my head, “That matters not. My chief scout in Stockton used to be a slave. It is not their title which concerns me, it is their ability.”

  “Then we will not let you down.”

  “Good.” I stood for I wanted to make sure that they could all both see and hear me. “Other than William of Liedeberge none of you have fought with me before. We fight one way; my way. All of the archers will be mounted. They will all be under the command of Rhodri of Ruthin. He is my man. He will be captain of archers. When the scouts find the Welsh then the archers will ride and pin them. The men at arms will attack the rear of the Welsh and the knights will charge their front.”

  Roger de Braose asked, “And what of the men on foot?”

  “They will protect us should the Welsh be foolish enough to attack us. Other than that, they guard the prisoners we shall take, build and then watch the camp.”

  “That is all?”

  “That is all. We move quickly, my lords. We do not wait for the men on foot. The Welsh are slippery by all accounts. We keep our spears in their backs and drive them to Striguil.”

  “Will they not augment the garrison there?”

  I nodded. De Clifford was not a stupid man. “And they will not have enough food for them. The men who finally get to Striguil will have been beaten time and time again. They will enter your castle and tell tales of the invincible Normans who have chased them for forty miles through their land. They will be our ally! We retake Monmouth first and drive towards the coast. The King has taken the fleet which might have aided us and so we will use our best weapon; our speedy horses.”

  I allowed them to talk about that and to discuss it. There were some raised voices. I ignored them and gradually the room quietened as they saw that the plan might work.

  “So, my lords, any questions?”

  “What do we do with the prisoners we take?”

  “We sell them, of course. If any of their archers wish to defect then I will offer them employment.”

  “You will take on Welshmen?”

  “I have a number already. They are fine bowmen. If there are no further questions you have until noon tomorrow to get horses for your archers. We leave after noon.”

  I was annoyed that the King had taken off more than half the army north to fight a war he had no need to fight but part of me was pleased. This meant that I could make the decisions without recourse to Henry. I wanted this campaign over and over quickly. With Anjou safe then a swift campaign here in the marches would mean I could go home and visit my son and his family sooner. Queen Eleanor had been give the power to make decisions in Henry’s absence but she too had urged her husband to return to London as soon as he could.

  As I went around my lords to ensure that they had understood my orders I reflected that making an ally of Powys might not be a bad thing, Owain Gwynedd was a more dangerous foe. That much became obvious as I went around the lords I was to lead. Richard de Clare summed it up best. He had fought them both.

  “The Welsh do not have many knights. Had the civil war not raged….”

  “A war in which your father fought on the wrong side.”

  He nodded, “A mistake, I can see that now, lord. If we had not fought the civil war then we would have met the Welsh with our knights and they would have been scythed like wheat. The men of Gwynedd, on the other hand, have their mountains into which they can retreat. Their only weakness is the valley of the Clwyd. If that can be taken and held then there is a chance they can be contained. Horses cannot operate in those mountains.”

  I liked de Clare and I agreed with his appraisal of the situation in the north. I had fought there with old King Henry. We had won but we had caught the Welsh unawares and we had used the Clwyd.

  “I would not worry about the title of earl.”

  “That is easy for you to say, lord, you are Earl Marshal.”

  “True and I was offered the title of Duke but I turned it down.”

  I had surprised him, “You turned down a Dukedom?”

  “It is a title. Does it change who I am? Would it mean I have to behave differently? This suits me. You seem a well-respected knight. You have your lands and your castles. The King could have taken those from you. Do not let this fester within you.” I shrugged, “Advice from an old man who came to this land with almost nothing.”

  “Your reputation is well deserved. You need not worry. The Welsh are my enemy too. I am no traitor but I would have that which is mine by birth. The King fought for his titles did he not?”

  “He did but do not travel that road. It is riven with traps which could end with you losing your head. The success of this campaign lies in your scouts. A successful outcome will make the King look more favourably upon your request.”

  I left my lords and found Rhodri and my men. My Welshman shifted from foot to foot. A sign that he was unsettled, “Lord, this honour you do me, to lead the archers, do I deserve it?”

  “Rhodri, Sir Leofric told me of your skill as a leader. I have seen it too. Only four of you are my archers but I know you and I trust you. You may have to bang together the heads of some of the archers you command but you can do this.”

  “Lord,” he nodded.

  “I need you and the archers to neutralize the Welsh archers. You will have the advantage that you are mounted. When we find the enemy then drive their archers from the field and chase them. When their archers flee their army will follow. Their archers will tire and we both know that tired men do not pull a bow as well as a man who has ridden. When they are gone then you attack the flanks of their army.”

  “I will do as you command lord.”

  My last visit was to my six men at arms. They were with our horses and my servants. Along with James they were packing the sumpters with o
ur spare weapons and equipment. “We eight will be the tip of the spear which is driven into the enemy’s rear. You wear my wolf and that will afford you authority. I will use you to pass orders to my knights.” They looked surprised. “If we have to, then the eight of us will strike at the enemy. Stay close to me.”

  “Aye lord.”

  “Tom, keep the spare horses and the sumpters close to the rear of the army and ahead of the rest of the baggage. You are not as the other servants, you are warriors. I have but one squire. If Warrior falls then fetch up Storm Bringer.”

  Tom knew his business, “Fear not lord, we may not wear mail but it is good that we are with the army again. We have purpose!”

  My retinue, being the smallest was ready first. It spurred the others. I waved to de Clare and he sent his six scouts off along the road to Llancloudy. When I determined that the rest were ready I signalled my men forward. Rhodri led the fifty archers. My lords had secured horses for all of them. Not all were the best of beasts but they were mounted. While we rode along the road we would go in a single column. I had decided the order. That was to save petty squabbles over rank and precedent. I had de Clare behind me and de Clifford at the rear. I intended to save de Clifford and his men for the attack on his castle. I hoped that the other nine conroi would be able to contain the enemy until then. De Clifford had the largest number of men. They would be my reserve.

  It was not a Roman road and it twisted and turned. We had a buffer before us. We had scouts and we had archers. We had not travelled six miles when we saw the efficacy of our scouts. We found the bodies of four Welshmen. Arne Arneson spat as we passed them, “Welsh scouts, lord.”

  “Aye and that means that they know we are coming. It was as I expected. The question now is where will they meet us? Will it be ambush or open battle?”

  I had already begun to doubt myself. There was another crossing of the Wye at Ross. The bridge there was a wooden one but it did cross the river. I had mentioned it to Henry before we headed for Hereford but he had wished to launch his attack from a larger town. What if there were men at Ross on Wye? We were nearing a road which led to the other crossing. “Roger of Bath, go with Wilson of Bristol and ride to Ross on Wye. See if there are Welsh there. Meet us on the road further south. You can travel across the fields and through the greenways.”