by Griff Hosker
When the King chose to retire I accompanied him. Going up the stairs he said quietly, “I think this Welsh King thinks he has me defeated already.”
“That he does but you did well this night. I will sit by you tomorrow but I think I know what will happen. They will use the threat of a united Wales to make you concede land. Do not do so.”
“That will mean war.”
“Even if we agree it will mean war. They will see it as a weakness. Do not fear the Welsh. Even without the Earl of Chester we can win. We use the men of Glamorgan, the Gower and Pembroke. They may fight amongst themselves but they will unite behind you. When they are defeated and Pembroke is safe I will take you back to the Council and I will endure their wrath.”
He laughed. We had reached his room, “You do not seem unduly concerned.”
“In truth I am not. Your father’s wrath hurt me and my people for he had teeth. The three who rule England now do so for a few years until you have your majority. They have a limited time.”
“You would do without them?”
“They serve a purpose. Both the Bishop and the Chancellor appear to have skills of organization. Let them tot up their columns and tally marks. You are the one who will lead.”
“I will write to Hubert de Burgh and tell him where we are. I will ask for men to join us at Gloucester.”
“An excellent suggestion. Even if his lordship does not join us then any troops he sends will be welcome.” I turned to William, “In the morning help the servants empty the chamber and we will meet you at the camp. The less time we spend here the better. Who knows what mischief the Welsh are getting up to while we are delayed.”
I rose early and prepared myself for the day of negotiation.
To ensure that all was done well the King of Gwynedd had brought the Bishop of St. Asaph. At the feast he had spent the whole time consuming as much food as he could. As he blessed us all before the meeting began I could see the ill effects of the meal. King Henry waited for the King of Gwynedd to make his proposals before he said anything. I could tell that young Henry was nervous but I doubted that the others would. I had seen his fearful face and that had been when we faced the deer.
“King Henry you have come to my land prepared for war but I am here to tell you that there is no need. I swear that I will instruct Prince Maelgwn ap Rhys to cease taking land from the Earl of Pembroke. Peace will be returned to Pembroke.” He sat down, leaned back and smiled as though he had done all that was required of him.
King Henry waited and then stood, “And what of the lands and castles they have taken? When will they be returned? What of the reparations for the damage done?”
The Earl of Chester showed his true colours, “King Henry, King Llewellyn has offered us peace. Will you now break it?”
“We came here because I was told, by you, Earl Ranulf, that we could negotiate a peace with those Welsh princes who have taken from our countrymen. I thank King Llewellyn but what he offers does not go far enough.” He turned to me and began to rise, “Come Earl, let us raise the men of Shropshire and Hereford. We will show this Prince Maelgwn ap Rhys that he cannot raid England without paying a price.”
King Llewellyn became angry, “He has not taken English land! It is Welsh land he has reclaimed.”
King Henry turned and said, quietly, “It was Welsh land and then my great grandfather killed the king who lived there and took it. My grandfather enlarged it and my father also did so. Be careful King Llewellyn. I may be young in years but I have a wealth of experience at my side. If you do not fight alongside me then I might have to consider you an enemy.” He stared at the Earl of Chester. “Your daughter has not married one of my family and there are no ties.” The silence lay like a heavy black cloud. Would it yield thunder? The King waited what seemed too long and then he said, “I will leave now and travel south to Glamorgan. If I see any knights of Gwynedd in the marches then I will deem it to be a declaration of war. I do not make war on Gwynedd … yet!”
King Llewellyn had regained his composure. I knew not what he was plotting but King Henry had done the right thing. “I am disappointed, King Henry. I feel that you have been badly advised.” He shrugged, “However, I have done all that I could to make a peace. You are quite right what happens in the Marches is naught to do with me save that those princes owe me allegiance. If they seek my help then I may have to fulfil my obligations.”
I rose too. The King nodded at me. I spoke, “Then King of Gwynedd think hard for if you save your allies then you may lose your kingdom.”
“Is that a threat, Earl?”
“No. But you should know the consequences of attacking our country and our King.” I turned to the Earl of Chester. He had remained seated. “And perhaps the Holy Land will be the safest place for you, Earl. When you return I will be waiting.”
He recoiled. Llewellyn shouted, “You will let him insult you?”
I laughed, “Should he wish to defend his honour then speak now. The day is young and I have yet to exercise.”
I knew he would not. He was not a fool. He knew my reputation. He shook his head and waved a dismissive hand. “The killer of churchmen is not worth the trouble.”
“Perhaps I will travel to Outremer! I know the country well. Unlike the Earl I fought to defend a King there.”
We headed for our camp. Sir Robert was the one who did not seem to understand what had just gone on. “But the Earl is the one who brought us here!”
“And he brought the fyrd which slowed us up. We came at walking pace. We were deliberately delayed so that the Prince of Deheubarth can make even more inroads into Pembroke and Gower. We must leave now. If we push on we can be at Gloucester by dark.”
The King nodded. “I will send one of my men to London with a message for the Council.”
“Majesty send at least four. Treachery abounds.” He nodded. “Perhaps all of this is my fault. If you had not stayed for the weddings we would have been in London now.”
We reached the camp as he said, “And there the Council would have prevented me leaving again. I believe I am intended to go to the Marches. This will be like a baptism of fire. I know that I cannot fight but I can watch and I can learn. I can show my people that although I am young I am ready to fight for all true Englishmen.”
Chapter 12
The Bloody Marches
It was a miserable march south to the Severn. The roads were muddy and it took us longer than it should have. But when we reached Gloucester we had a good welcome for it had always held for the King from the time of the first Civil War. Ralph Musard was a good knight. A little bluff but a doughty warrior and as loyal as any. He sent for all of his knights as soon as he realised what was our purpose.
“All the knights and barons in Gloucestershire are loyal to the crown. They always have been and they hate the Welsh. Folk around here remember that the Welsh always took advantage of English wars to raid animals and ravage women. There will be no end of men flocking to your banner.”
“And does the Lord of Glamorgan still hold that land?” The King had learned to ask the pertinent questions.
“Aye lord. Baron Gilbert has good castles and defends them well. You will not have to fight your way to reach him.”
“Have you maps for us to study? It has been many years since I was in this region.”
The Sheriff sent for maps and we pored over them. Now that the Earl of Chester was no longer manipulating us we were able to have my knights and captains together to look at the maps. It was then that I met Jocelyn de Braose and I concurred with my son’s opinion. He was a clever man who knew war and, more importantly, knew the land. He studied me closely. At first, I felt uncomfortable but my son explained that he admired me so much and had been desperate to meet me.
He kept silent for a long time and then ventured, “Your Majesty, if I might suggest?”
The King looked at me and I nodded, “Go ahead.”
“Baron Gilbert has a strong castle at Cardiff. Prince Maelgw
n ap Rhys has taken Caerphilly and made it a mighty stronghold to the north of Cardiff. From there he can raid both Glamorgan and Gower. A threat to Caerphilly would relieve the pressure on Gower. My uncle would be able to rally his forces and come to our aid.”
“Your uncle?”
“Reginald de Braose.”
I was not fond of the Braose family. William de Braose, now dead, was involved in the murder of Prince Arthur. I knew I had failed that troubled boy. However, just as Henry was nothing like his father I had to hope that neither Reginald nor Jocelyn were anything like William de Braose. “We will need to send a messenger to him to let him know of our intentions. We have perilous few men until de Burgh sends reinforcements.”
The eager knight said, “I will send a messenger. I have men I can trust.” I had seen the men who travelled with him. They looked like warriors who could handle themselves.
In my heart I wondered just how many men would come from London. I had secretly planned on helping William Marshal without the aid of de Burgh. The loss of the men of Cheshire might cause a problem of numbers. On the other hand, the lack of men from London meant that I had complete command. The King had no regents to countermand his orders and the other barons and earls all deferred to me. That was how I wished it to continue.
I turned to the Sheriff. “We leave on the morrow. We are all mounted. The muster can follow on foot. The conspiracy to keep us in the north was for a purpose. I think the King of Gwynedd will be sending men to the aid of Prince Maelgwn ap Rhys.”
That night I sat and spoke with the King, Alfred and Edward. The rest of my knights retired but we had strategy to determine. Edward was the one with the practical experience of a man at arms. He understood how the ordinary men would fight. He knew the language of the archers. When the King or Alfred tried to suggest something, they could not do he told them in no uncertain terms. Other than that, he was silent. I tried to allow the King and Alfred to come up with a workable battle plan. I only intervened when I had to. It was important that the King felt he was in command. I needed him confident enough to take on the Council of Regents.
In the end it was a simple plan. Often, they are the best for then there is less to go wrong. We would do what the Welsh expected. We would charge with our heavy cavalry. William would wear the King’s surcoat so that the Welsh thought that the King led the battle line. My son was a similar size to the King. When we retreated we would, I hoped, draw the Welsh to charge us and then we would unleash our own secret weapon; our archers. I was sure that the Welsh would not expect an English army to have archers as skilled as ours. The feigned retreat had worked for William at Senlac Hill. I hoped it would work for us.
It took a whole day for us to cross the Severn and reach Newport. We had sent riders to warn Gilbert de Clare of our movements. Edward was still unhappy about the Marcher Lord who had switched sides and fought alongside the French. “You can’t trust a turncoat, my lord and to fight for the French!”
“I confess that I am unhappy too but if we rejected every baron who opposed King John then it would be a small army.”
King Henry said, “Yet, my lord, my father treated you as bad if not worse than any other lord but you did not raise a weapon against him.”
I was silent for a few moments. The King had raised unpleasant memories for me. I still remembered the desecrated grave of my grandmother. “Two things, my liege; firstly, my heritage. My great grandfather saved England and King Henry. My father gave his life for King Richard. The other was William Marshal. I trusted him. He supported your father. I do not deny that I did not like your father. I probably hated him however that was not for his position but his abuse of power. You know that you will need to reaffirm the Great Charter.” He looked at me. “The Pope ruled that it had been unlawful for your father to be forced to sign the charter. He was right to do so but the charter has much good within it. There are many barons who still oppose you because your father repudiated the charter. You could reissue it and you would win over many men.”
“But I do not like all that it says!”
“Some parts could be changed; they would be small parts but the whole is now public knowledge. It is not only the barons and the nobles who like it. There are others who were given rights too.”
“I will think on this. First, we will go to the aid of William Marshal. I will speak with other lords.”
Alfred said, quietly, “But remember that the Marcher lords have more freedom than those in England. They owe allegiance to you, your majesty, but they do not pay taxes. They would be happy for the charter to be forgotten. You would know their minds better if you spoke with the nobles of Gloucester and Hereford.”
“Good advice and I will heed it.” My son might well be the ally and friend the King needed. They could both grow together and England would be a better place because of it.
Cardiff Castle had the look of a frontier stronghold. It had been motte and bailey and made of wood but now it was stone and dominated the land around. Gilbert de Clare was not what I expected. Firstly, he had a shock of bright red hair which explained his nickname, Red Gilbert and, considering he had fought against King John, he surprised me by dropping to his knee before the King. “You do me great honour, King Henry. That you came to our aid touches me beyond words! From this day forth I am your man. Ask anything of me and I will obey.”
The King was also taken aback. Later I learned that his conversion went back to the time he was captured and imprisoned by William Marshal, Earl Marshal of England. The old man had changed de Clare so much that the former rebel married the Earl’s daughter Isabel. I think even Edward began to change his opinion.
As we walked into the castle he added to our information. “I am pleased that you arrived when you did. Another week and the land between here and Gower would be in the hands of the Welsh. They have been driving a wedge between us. We have fought many skirmishes in the last month. I think they were making a great push to take as much land as they could.”
I gave the King a knowing look. I had been right. There had been a deliberate attempt to slow our progress south. “I had planned on attacking them at Caerphilly.”
He looked surprised but rubbing his red beard he said, “Aye that might work. A bold strategy.”
“Jocelyn de Braose suggested it. He said his uncle could then join us from the west.”
“Then I will muster all of my knights.” He rubbed his hands. “It will be good to attack! I have had enough of squatting behind our walls. A knight needs a horse between his legs!”
His hall was smaller than that at Gloucester but the baron insisted that as many knights as possible enjoy the comfort of his hall. The Earl’s wife, Isabel, was particularly attentive to me. “My father thought better of you than any other man he knew and that includes my brother. I know that he thought long and hard before burdening you with a task which would take your whole life up.”
King Henry looked around, “I am a burden?”
Lady Isabel blushed, “I meant no harm King Henry it is just that my father gave so much time to your father and England that he had little time for his family.”
I smiled, “Peace. There is a Council of Regents who will guide King Henry. I will be here for counsel when the King needs me. I am a warrior and not a politician. Your father, Lady Isabel, was both and I admired him for those skills. I am too plain spoken to be a politician. I would draw my sword and let that speak rather than my tongue.”
I saw that the words had an effect on King Henry. “I can never be the warrior you are, Earl. I have improved and that is thanks to your son and your men but I am more like my father than my uncle.”
I nodded, “Richard was a man’s man. I believe that resulted in a premature death. Taunting an enemy is never a good idea.”
Another change happened and it was as a result of Lady Isabel’s words. Henry was young but each day he was evolving. Some changes were clearly visible. He was taller. His beard was fuller. He was broader in the chest. It
was the differences inside which were harder to see. I detected them in his manner. It was in his eyes as he looked at his barons and captains. He was now but a couple of years from his majority.
He turned to me, “I should like to be crowned again with proper regalia. My mother’s crown does not seem appropriate. Perhaps I should contact the Pope.”
“When you return to London speak with the cardinal. The Pope has shown that he has your interests at heart.”
Henry was becoming a King. He knew he had to look like a King. He wished to be remembered wearing a crown of England. His father had lost the crown and the jewels in the Wash. This would be a clean start for King Henry.
It took two days to muster the men we needed. Red Gilbert sent his scouts to discover the Welsh. They were rampaging through the north of Glamorgan and Gower. We learned that the Welsh had over three hundred knights. Gilbert de Clare was at first suspicious of that number for the Prince of Deheubarth did not have that many manors in his lands. When his scouts described some of the standards and devices I recognised them as knights who had been at Powys. They were knights of Gwynedd. I told the King and he did not become angry. He merely said, “I warned him but he thought me a youth. I will remember this slight and Wales will suffer.”
When our host was ready we marched. We had just two hundred and ten knights. The men at arms I had brought from my valley brought our heavy cavalry up to more than three hundred but the Welsh would know that we had fewer knights. The lack of spurs and shorter hauberks told them that we had mounted men at arms. What they would not know was the quality of those men. De Clare, de Braose and the Sheriff of Gloucestershire did not know their quality. They were surprised when I consulted Henry Youngblood and Ridley the Giant.