Hoodsman: Courtesans and Exiles

by Smith, Skye

  "And now I must leave for Scotland to fetch more exiles," Edgar told him.

  "Then take two ships for safety," advised Raynar, "and find a pilot that knows the coast of Bernicia well, for that coast is a graveyard of ships."

  "Will you captain one of the ships for me?" asked Edgar.

  "I cannot. Seeing Margaret married to that pig Malcolm would tear my heart out, or worse, tear hers out and get us both killed. Besides, there is no need to charter ships for the passage to Scotland. There are trade ships to Scotland every week now that Canute has guaranteed the safety of our ships in ports from here to Denmark."

  "I wanted to sail along the English coast and visit as I went. I suppose I could do that on the way back. Sometimes I wonder if it would not be better if I donned a pilgrim's habit and followed them." He pointed to the moving brown specs far down the road.

  "You have not wasted the last year, Edgar. With you in Montreuil, William has stayed in Normandy. He is harrowing in French counties like Maine, instead of harrowing in England. Since he is now killing Romanized Christians, the pope has finally made a stand against him and threatened him with excommunication if he does not stop his harrowings.

  Because of Montreuil, Eustace of Boulogne now fears Philippe so he has allied himself with Robert of Flanders rather than William of Normandy. You are most welcome at Robert's court because Flanders, especially Brugge, is getting rich now that they handle more trade from France and Boulogne."

  "Exactly, Raynar. I have done much to help Philippe and Robert and Eustace, and nothing to help the English."

  "Then I share your guilt," replied Raynar, "I have spent a year trading, and sailing, and not fighting. Brugge and Spalding and Huntingdon are richer because of me. Earl Waltheof drinks fine wine and his wife Judith wears fine silk because of me, but the Normans are once again moving into the manor houses of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, and I have done nothing to stop that."

  "No one is rebelling against William anymore, Raynar. Cospatrick has gone back to Scotland to become a farmer in Dunbar despite the holdings he still has in England. Waltheof is the trained dog of the Normans. The Danish fleet does not harry William's fleet anymore, so William's fleet is getting stronger."

  "Hah, there is one still rebelling against William. His son Robert. He lives in Paris now, with Gesa, and refuses to visit Maine, though his father has made him the Count there. He no longer even visits his mother Mathilde in Caen now that his father is in residence.

  Gesa tells me that Bertha has cleaned house at her palace. Philippe's father's courtiers have been dismissed, so the faces are all now younger and more pleasing to the eyes. The old retainers have been sent home, while the first sons and daughters of every count and duke have been invited to stay at the palace."

  "William has done the same thing at Winchester," said Edgar, "but there I think they are treated more like hostages. Malcolm's oldest son Duncan is there now."

  "You may not find many exiles left in Scotland, you know. There are a few on every ship from the west seeking a way to Byzantium. You may have better luck finding some exiles for Montreuil in Denmark than in Scotland."

  "I must go to Scotland in any case to see my family," replied Edgar, "and this is my chance while William is in Caen. Besides, I promised Philippe to go there and offer posts at Montreuil to all who would come."

  "Do you leave from here, or do you need one of my cogs to take you back to Montreuil?" offered Raynar. As his share of the ships captured at Montreuil, Raynar had claimed all of the light cogs, which had since been fitted with rudders and leeboards. Hereward and Robert were pleased to take all the old-fashioned longships, as they were better suited to patrolling the coast. They were also useful for escorting and towing the overly large sailing cogs that were becoming more numerous in the Flanders trade.

  "I leave from here, but thank you," Edgar replied. "I would ask one favour though, a list of the families for which you still hold treasure. I will take it with me to both Denmark and Scotland." Edgar stopped talking at a thought and then said, "Or do you wish to hold the treasure for longer?"

  "Hah, because of all our ships Hereward and I are wealthier than we ever dreamed of," Raynar replied. "We have made good earnings from that treasure by using it as surety for cargos and trade missions. We have no need of it anymore, and by rights, it should be returned. I will make you a list."

  "You are becoming a moneylender then?"

  "Not a moneylender so much as what the Byzantines call a trade banker. We have made a good partnership with this monastery, and have already used it to help the counts of Flanders and Boulogne in their quest for more trade to the east.

  Banking is now Hereward’s role. He is still a sworn knight of the Benedictines, and his three years of study at Peterburgh Abbey make it easy for him to deal with this monastery. He has even refreshed his Latin and his numbers. I leave the banking and the cargos to him and he leaves the ships and crews to me. Besides, Hereward dreads the sea."

  "And your oath to kill William of Normandy?" asked Edgar.

  Raynar blushed. "My oath still saves me from having to make other oaths to other nobles. I will kill William if given half a chance. My problem has always been in getting close to the man. In all these years I have had only three good shots at him. None of them stopped him."

  "Will you never learn, friend? Powerful men are secure from attacks because those with the opportunity to kill them also have too much to lose if they are caught. If a man does not care if he loses everything, even his life, and yet dresses richly, and smiles at the guards, he can kill any noble at any time."

  Raynar went glum and a blackness filled his soul. How badly did he want William dead? What was he willing to give up to kill the man? Realistically, the reason he had only had three chances at the man was because he wasn't willing to die if the attempt was a failure. This meant that he would not try unless there was a way of retreating.

  "Don't tear your heart out about it, friend. Many thousands of men have stronger reasons than you do to kill William, and none have come as close as you to succeeding. None that I have heard of, though many have thrown their lives away in desperate tries that had no hope of succeeding."

  "That is because they attack his army, instead of him. A skirmisher is trained not to make that mistake. He targets the leaders first," replied Raynar.

  "Like you did on the beach at Montreuil."

  "Exactly, and it was not just me. There were twenty of us. Each of us was hunting leaders. Each of us protected the brother who had the best draw on a leader. Without their leaders, the pirates had no paymaster, no organization, no one to push them to fight on, or to fight harder."

  "I remember you telling this to me and the other earls about five years ago in York. Ten thousand have died since then because we ignored you. You were just a know-nothing peasant." Edgar tried to laugh but failed.

  "Not ten thousand, Edgar. That is just the count of the warriors killed. The number of men is over a hundred thousand. And an equal number of women, never mind the children." He leaned forward to support Edgar's shoulder for the man had begun to weep. The weeping got worse until he was inconsolable.

  * * * * *

  The spring of '74 was a wonderful season for shipowners and for traders. One by one all the bishops and then all the counts were supporting the Peace of God for travelers and traders and noncombatants, and the result was wealth. Not just the wealth of coins, for they were simply a measure of wealth.

  The real wealth was of food enough to eat, and cloth enough to wear, and roofs that lasted more than one season. There were no large armies on the move, and so perhaps the relative abundances were because of the relative lack of destruction and scavenging. Whenever there are abundances, shipowners do well, for abundance was the godsend of trade.

  The weight and value of trade goods passing through Brugge was growing with every succeeding month. Ships' owners and captains were quick to learn that there was always valuable cargo to be dropped off or p
icked up in Brugge. Brugge was flourishing as the natural center of all trade coming and going from the North Sea kingdoms, and the Rhine kingdoms, and more and more to all of the northern counties of France.

  The pilgrim route to Constantinople that followed the great rivers through Hungary and the Germanies was also thriving as the Peace of God treatise became more widespread, and as more monasteries willingly helped the pilgrims. Small but pricy items from the east carried by returning pilgrims were becoming more common in the traders' markets of Brugge.

  With Brugge's new role as a distribution center for trade goods, it also became a distribution center for gossip and news and dispatches. Count Robert often boasted that the news of the surrounding kingdoms naturally came to him and through him, so he did not need to pay for spies in every county.

  There was one exception, of course. Normandy. Normandy competed with Brugge in everything. They had their own ships and trade routes. They controlled the mouth of the River Seine which was the lifeblood of France, and they used the southern route for pilgrims that passed through the Italies rather than Hungary.

  Hereward took on the responsibility of keeping exiled English nobles abreast of all news. Families of pilgrims sent letters to him, knowing he would ensure they were passed along the monastery route that the pilgrims followed.

  Raynar was loving his life in Brugge. He enjoyed the sea and ships and the company of the men who sailed them. He enjoyed the easy ways of the folk of Flanders who were all prospering, even the meanest farmers and shepherds. He enjoyed the company and spectacle of the folk from far and wide that stopped over in Brugge for a week or a month, until a ship arrived that would take them the next leg of their journey. He enjoyed getting letters from his widespread friends, despite the news from England often being heart-wrenching and frustrating.

  Three times he had been the guest of Queen Bertha in Paris, who used him to carry private dispatches between herself and her father, the Count. He watched her court evolve into a court dominated by the heirs of the ruling nobility. It was a court of beautiful clothing and comely women, where days and nights were filled with the pastimes of the young and the rich.

  Philippe was an avid host but his flamboyance hid a wisdom beyond his years. Instead of simply holding these heirs as hostages, as the Conqueror was doing in Winchester and Caen, Philippe was building their loyalty towards him.

  Gesa's company was sought after by men and women alike, most of whom hoped that her friendship would bring them closer to the royal couple. Whenever Raynar had her attentions for an hour or an afternoon, he would notice the jealous looks flicked at him by other men. Often it was she that passed him the most sensitive news bound for Flanders, whether she was told it by Bertha or by Philippe.

  Bertha's messages were usually about Philippe’s plans, and about which nobles were now courting him. Philippe’s messages were usually about relationships with Normandy or news of William. William's eldest son Robert was now Philippe’s normal riding companion, except for when Robert was riding Gesa. As Gesa described herself, she was Philippe’s jeweled collar around Robert's neck.

  The stories that Gesa would tell him of the amorous adventures that were becoming common place at this young court, would always amuse him. She and Bertha were perhaps the cause of most of it, for they had brought their Frisian morals with them to Paris.

  For instance, it was now not rare for wives who had already born an honest male heir, to loosen their Romanized morals and have trysts with other courtiers. Such stories, whispered into his ear by Gesa as she cuddled his arm between her breasts, never failed to arouse him. She had been the first woman to be invited into bed with the royal couple, but now there were other women invited as well. They were all married and with healthy sons.

  It was Gesa who told him the gossip about Judith of Lens, the young wife of Earl Waltheof. As Judith's dowry, William had ceded the Honor of Huntingdon back to Waltheof. It had once been his father Siward's earldom. At the time, this had the added benefit of softening the peasant rebellion in Ely and the Fens. Now Judith had a daughter, Maud, to keep her amused, and William was well pleased with Judith being far away from Caen and his sons. Since the only other English earl, Cospatrick, was in disrepute with the regents, especially Odo, Waltheof reaped another blessing. Waltheof was ceded his father's other honor of Northumbria, in place of Cospatrick.

  Of course, Raynar knew all of this already so he did not ask how Gesa had learned of it, but he was sure it came from pillow talk between her and young Robert of Normandy. There was new gossip, though. Gossip that took Raynar by surprise. Robert of Normandy and Judith of Lens had been close companions when both were younger and living in Caen, and moreover, he had ruined her and she had claimed betrothal.

  The church would not allow their marriage because they were first cousins, and William would not countenance it as she was not an heiress. Waltheof, therefore, had accepted a ruined Judith as his wife to regain the honor of Huntingdon. Raynar had spent little time near Judith, and nearly none since the rebellion at Ely had melted away. Even during his short time around her, it had been obvious that Waltheof and Judith were not a happy couple, and this gossip explained much about their strained relationship.

  * * * * *

  * * * * *

  The Hoodsman - Courtesans and Exiles by Skye Smith

  Chapter 29 - Prince Edgar goes missing in August 1074

  The news from Scotland was never as jovial nor as scandalous as that from Paris. Cristina, Edgar's sister, the sister who had not been Raynar’s lover, often sent him letters. Though they were in her hand, they were rarely her words. The open heart they revealed came from his one-time lover, Margaret, Queen of Scots. It was safer for Cristina to pretend a love for Raynar, than to resort to codes that would raise King Malcolm's suspicions and possibly endanger both sisters.

  In late spring one of Cristina's letters told him that Edgar and a host of exiles had chartered a ship and with many possessions, were on their way to Flanders, and then to Montreuil. Raynar cursed Cristina for not using their personal code to hide this one line of news. The Scottish court was filled with Norman spies, and this news would make any of them rich.

  He was worried enough to take command of his cog, the Anske, for a trade mission to the Humber to seek news of Edgar's ships. Though he waited there patiently for news of Edgar, he gave up after two weeks. He cursed Cristina again for her carelessness, but at least she had not revealed Edgar's route south. Perhaps he had crossed to Denmark first. That would have been the smart thing to do.

  Once back in Brugge, he received another letter from Cristina asking if Edgar had arrived yet. The ship had started a first leg towards Bamburgh three weeks ago, but had not been heard of since. Raynar again cursed the lack of code, and the foolishness of Edgar taking the ship down the English coast rather than crossing immediately to the Danish coast.

  He or Hereward inquired at every incoming ship for news, and eventually had some from a trader from the Tees. A large cog had been driven ashore by the Norman fleet and there had been a battle on the shore. Hereward had the port master pass a warning on to all captains that the Normans were worrying ships along the Northumbrian coast again.

  Waiting for more news of their friend Edgar was frustrating, more so because there was no logical action they could take. The next word was another unencoded letter from Cristina. Edgar was ragged but safe, and returned to Scotland. He and over half his men had walked to the border with as much of their valuables as they could carry. The rest of the valuables saved from the cog had been buried. Edgar had sworn he would never sail again, having now been shipwrecked and almost drowned twice within five years.

  The next sentence he had to read twice for it was so unbelievable. King Malcolm and Earl Waltheof had convinced Edgar to ride south to Winchester and make his peace with William. Twice it was written that his sisters could not sway him away from this folly.

  "The fool!" Raynar railed to both Hereward and Count Robert. "He is
a dead man! William is in Caen so his half-brother, the odious Odo, is regent in Winchester. It was Odo's agents who murdered Edwin, and they will do the same to Edgar to ensure that he can't be wed into William's family."

  "He will be safe so long as he makes for Bamburgh first," countered Hereward. "Waltheof is now the Earl there and in residence. He will see Edgar safely south."

  "Hah!" replied Raynar, "Odo will kill them both if need be. William the Bastard believes in the holy blood, the bloodlines that link men to the gods. His own blood is weak and he is always striving to strengthen it in his own line. William will forgive Edgar and marry him to one of his daughters within a week of his arriving in Caen. Odo will not abide such a match for it will weaken his own family's hold on William. I am surprised Odo has allowed Waltheof to live so long, now that he and Judith have a child."

  Hereward was silent and thoughtful for some time as if lost in his memories. He was counting something on his fingers. "Waltheof's bloodline is also weak," he finally announced. "If he worries Odo, it is because his earldoms now exceed those of all other Norman earls."

  "In size, not in wealth," Robert interrupted. "Our earnings have been meager from the Northumbria trade since it was harrowed. The Danelaw is no longer the jewel of the Danish empire. It has become a poor and barren place."

  "Corpses only trade with the ravens," whispered Raynar hoarsely and then rose to leave.

  "Where are you going lad?" asked Hereward grabbing at Raynar's arm. "You will not risk crews and ships trying to find Edgar. He could be anywhere or nowhere by now, and you are still outlawed in England."

  "I will wait for him in Huntingdon," Raynar replied. "Beatrice will be there keeping Judith company while their men are in the north. If I do not find Waltheof or Edgar, I will at least find news of them. This waiting about our docks for news is driving me mad."