Irish War (Anarchy Book 16)

by Hosker, Griff

  Ahead I saw that the men in Brougham Castle had sallied forth and were charging towards Dick and his archers. They had dismounted. I saw Brother Peter, my men and the servants with the baggage heading west. Dick and his archers lay between them. I turned to Alf, “Signal reform!”

  He took the horn and sounded it twice. I spurred my horse down the slope. Sir Gilles and Wulfric flanked me. I saw that Wulfric’s war axe was bloody. “These Scots are brave but they are no opposition.”

  I said nothing. I was watching Dick and his archers as they calmly mounted and headed west. The Scots were so intent on pursuing them that they had not seen us. Dick was riding slowly to encourage them. He would be able to stop any time he chose and send arrows at them. We crossed the bridge three abreast and then, on the other side, I slowed to allow the rest of my men to form a line.

  There was a wail as the Scots realised their fellows had not managed to stop us. This time I recognised the banner of Galloway. A cow’s horn sounded and most of the Scots stopped and then began to head back across the Eamont. I wheeled my horse and the line of mailed and mounted men I led hurtled down towards the river. My sword was the best weapon to use. I leaned from my saddle to sweep it across unprotected backs. It bit into flesh and hacked into skulls. Even helmets could not stop my sword from killing. Even when a helmet did not break the iron bar that was my sword fractured their skulls. The river took many of the survivors. I saw Fergus and his son, along with their mounted men, swim the river and clamber up towards Brougham Castle. They had survived but thirty of their men lay dead.

  I reined in, “Alf, sound halt.”

  I waved over Gurth son of Garth, “Take my men at arms and bring our dead and wounded. Collect the horses and any arms from the dead.”

  “Aye lord. That was an easy victory! We had a harder time in Provence!”

  “We are not home yet.” I dismounted Alciades and led him to the river to drink. The bodies had all been swept downstream and the water was clear. I knew two of my enemies: Galloway and Fitzalan. However, I suspected that the Mormaer of Strathearn had not yet done with me.

  Chapter 3

  We had lost but three men at arms although Brother Peter had five others who had wounds needed tending. My archers and those of Dick had escaped totally unscathed. That was good for archers were the hardest of warriors to replace. The horses we had captured were only fit for carrying baggage. Two of the wounded were carried on litters. We buried our dead by the chapel in the castle. There was no chance of us reaching Barnard Castle before dark and so we headed for the deserted Roman fort of Stainmore. The ditches and the earth ramparts remained. It was defensible. We were still close enough to Carlisle for another of the Scottish lords to try to take the precious parchment.

  We lit fires and boiled water to have some hot food. Brother Peter saw to the wounded. Wulfric was in bullish mood. “I told you we would have to fight. How will King Henry be able to control the land? I cannot see the Scots giving up without a fight!”

  “King Malcolm said he would need two months. That gives us enough time to recruit an army to take north and eject any Scots who are foolish enough to try to hang on to our castles. The men of Chester can deal with the ones in the west and we can deal with those in the east. The New Castle, Warkworth, Bamburgh and Alnwick are the only castles which might give us a problem.”

  Wulfric persisted, “But if they defend them, what then?”

  I smiled, “King Malcolm is not as naïve as you might think. The two months deadline expires when winter begins. Would you wish to be besieged in a castle during winter? We have ships can supply us from Hartness and Stockton.”

  Sir Hugh said, “And the Bishop of Durham?”

  I nodded, “Hugh de Puiset and I will need to have words. When we leave you at your castle I intend to travel home along the Durham road.”

  The next day we parted at Barnard Castle and I led my depleted force of men towards Durham. There were a number of reasons for my decision. The Bishop had refused to accompany me. I needed to exert my authority. Secondly, I needed him to know that King Malcolm had freely agreed to the handover. Thirdly I want to use him and his nights to help me to retake the estates and manors which would be vacated by the Scots. King Henry had given me a task of Herculean proportions! I had told Sir Hugh that I would not need him when we headed north. I wanted him as a bastion for the Earl of Chester in case the Scots tried anything untoward.

  It was getting on for dusk as we approached the castle. I had allowed Sir Harold, Sir Wulfric, Dick and the rest of my knights, archers and men at arms to return home. I kept my squire and my handful of archers and men at arms, along with Brother Peter. I did not fear the Bishop and I did not want him to think I did. By arriving with so few men it would be my authority and not weight of numbers which would be used to persuade him to obey my orders. I had the threat of my father and his men behind me.

  The sentries recognised my banner. There was a debate amongst them which I ended, “I am the Earl of Cleveland. I am an emissary of King Henry of England. Open the gate and admit me!”

  The gates swung open and we entered the outer bailey. I glared at the sergeant at arms who shuffled as I reined in Alciades next to him. “A little tardy there, sergeant.”

  “Sorry my lord. I was not certain…”

  “Not certain about what?” He hung his head. I spurred Alciades to the next gate and the inner bailey. This time I was admitted immediately.

  A Canon hurried out to greet me. “You have caught us unawares, my lord.”

  I gave him a scathing look, “Really? I asked the Bishop to accompany me to Carlisle and he refused. Did he think I would ignore the insult?”

  “No insult was intended, lord. He was busy.”

  I nodded, “Ah, too busy to obey the orders of his liege lord. Take me to him and I want accommodation for all of my men and hot food. We have travelled far this day!” I was not normally this brusque but the Bishop was a cunning and devious man. I needed him to know that I was not a young knight. I had spoken with Kings and Princes and I knew how to conduct myself.

  I swept into the keep and headed for the Great Hall. Hugh de Puiset was a two-faced man. He was a hypocrite and he smiled as he greeted me, “My lord, this is a most pleasant and unexpected surprise.”

  “Bishop, I asked you to come with me to Carlisle and you refused. Why?”

  I could see that he was taken aback at my direct statement. He did not know what to say. He had no lie ready. “I er, I.”

  “King Henry is now the ruler of this land. The Pope has to sanction King Henry’s appointments but he can dismiss you.”

  He looked shocked. I saw the senior priests around him looking equally shocked. If he lost his post then all of them would lose the most lucrative post in the whole of England. “Lord! What have we done wrong?”

  I sat in a chair and waved for the servant who hovered nearby to bring me wine. I pointed to a different finger as I enumerated them, “Let me see: refused to accompany me to Carlisle, allowed Scots to raid Durham and my valley, failed to care for your flock… need I go on?”

  He was silent, “You know not what it is like lord to be so close to the Scots. I do not have enough men!”

  “The Palatinate is richer than Cleveland and yet we maintain a larger army than you.”

  “Your father does not pay me taxes.”

  I smiled as I sipped the wine. “And King Henry has told me that we are exempt from any future taxes to Durham!”

  He sat down, “But...”

  I held up my hand, “The days of the civil war are over, Bishop. You can no longer play off the Scots against the English, Stephen against Henry and the Empress. You are accountable… to me! King Henry has made me Warlord of the North in my father’s absence.” I waved a hand and Brother Peter took out the parchment. “Read this!”

  He opened it and began to read. He read it twice. I waved my hand for more wine.

  “Then you have regained Northumbria and Cumbria?” He
seemed in shock that a lord so young had achieved this.

  “Without, it seems, you doing anything to help. Northumbria will no longer raid Durham. You will have no further excuse to withhold taxes for the king. I will expect you to furnish knights and sergeants at arms, as well as the fyrd, for my campaigns to recover Northumbria and Cumbria. We have this document but that does not mean the Scots will go quietly. You have a month to prepare men to follow me.”

  He nodded. I had shaken him to his core. He had thought himself an island who could carry on ruling his land as though a king, unaccountable to any. His eyes glared hatred. I did not care. I was not worried about a Bishop who was worldlier than any merchant I had ever met.

  “I have asked your canon for food and accommodation. We have fought a battle to reach here. This document was bought at a price.”

  “Of course, Earl.”

  In contrast to many meals I had had this one was a tedious and unpleasant experience. The food was good but the Bishop spent the whole of it trying to explain why he could not supply men and knights. He was attempting to avoid the service which he owed as Prince of the Palatinate.

  Finally, I put down my knife, “Bishop you are aware of your obligations? You should have knights appointed to manors who are available for service to the crown. Each knight has an obligation to provide archers and men at arms. If they do not then take their land from them and give it to a knight who will do so.”

  “You do not understand. I have my own obligations.”

  I became immediately suspicious. He was squirming and I suspected he had done something of which King Henry would disapprove. “What obligations?”

  “There are men who have done service to me and I owe them. They are the lords of many of my manors.”

  “And they are not knights?”

  “Of course, they are knights. They are just not warriors. They are farmers and they are merchants. They bring in revenue to the Palatinate.”

  “Then if they are lords of the manor they will be summoned to follow me. Before I leave I want a list of every lord of the manor. If you cannot command them then I will. I have the King’s authority.” I stood, “And now, I will retire. I hope the writing of the list does not keep you awake overlong.”

  From his angry face, I suspected it would. Now I knew why he had acted in the way he had. He had sold manors to rich men who wished to become richer. It explained why he had been so tardy in responding to requests for help. He did not have knights. It was so clear that I knew, when I told my father he would be equally angry. A young priest took us to our room. My archers and men at arms were in the warrior hall. Brother Peter slept with the other priests. When we entered the room we had been allocated I said, “Alf, place the chair behind the door.” He looked at me in surprise. “It will give us warning if any come to do us harm.”

  As events turned out we were not disturbed by any. We left the next day and Brother Peter gave me the information he had discovered. “There is a division in the Bishop’s people. Many of his priests are as venal and self-serving as he is but there are others who adhere to the teachings of St. Cuthbert.”

  “Is there anything I can do?”

  “The Bishop of Durham has to be approved by the Pope himself. King Henry would need a good candidate to oust the Bishop. He has friends in Rome. There is a new Pope. Perhaps he will be less antagonistic towards our king.”

  “Then I will leave that Gordian knot for my father or the King himself. I will spend the next month doing as I was ordered. We will have men ready to move north and retake Northumbria.”

  “I pray that it will be peaceful, lord.”

  “As do I but I doubt that it will. You are a priest and you are unlike the Bishop. If you were a lord of a rich manor in Northumbria then you might choose to hang on to it.”

  It was good to be home. I indulged myself and played with my children and doted on my wife for two days. When Edgar and Edward returned with the message from Chester then I turned to work once more. The Countess was delighted and assured me that she would deal with Cumbria. I knew that her husband, Ranulf, had been very bitter about the loss of the lands. His wife, who was the regent for he son, was made of different metal; steel. With that out of the way I had my steward write letters to all of my lords asking them to present themselves and their men six weeks from the receipt of the letter.

  King Henry had made monies available to me and, as the Bishop knew, we paid no taxes. I had John of Craven and Ralph of Bowness begin to make siege engines. They would be made in Stockton and carried north on wagons. We would assemble them close to the places we would need them. I ordered vast quantities of arrows. We had many archers and they could be the difference between success and failure. I sent Sir John down to Beverley to buy more horses. We would need many remounts. I sought out Alf and had him make more suits of mail.

  He nodded at my request. “Lord, have you thought of a new helmet?”

  “This one has served me well.”

  “It has but there is another one. It is called a great helm. When King Henry was here I saw some of his knights sporting one.”

  “I have seen them. They look to be too big and heavy to be of any use.”

  Alf nodded. “So I thought until I began to make one. The first one I tried was far too heavy. I discarded it. I applied myself and began to design another.”

  He went to a sack and brought out a helmet. It had a bronze cross running down the centre and across the brow. The same bronze ran around the top but it was the part below the eye holes which was most intriguing. He had placed many holes there.

  “You see, lord, it struck me that I could lighten the helmet without damaging its integrity. The holes make it lighter and less hot. Yet the helmet is as strong as the one you wear. I would say stronger for there is no hinge to be damaged. The bronze is rivetted to the helmet and it has a leather skull cap which you wear beneath. Try it.”

  I placed the leather cap on my head and then pulled up the mail coif. Alf lowered the helmet onto my head. I had better vision than my full-face helmet and it was cooler. More importantly it was no heavier than the one I usually wore.

  I took it off, “Alf I am indebted to you. How much do I owe you?”

  He shook his head. “You owe me nothing. But for your father and yourself I would still be a poor blacksmith. As it is I am one of the two richest men in Stockton. Besides as soon as the other knights see what I have made I will have commissions from all of them.” I knew that he was right. After he had handed it over he paused, “However, lord, there is a boon I would have from you.”

  “Ask anything, my father and I owe you much.”

  “The only church we have is your father’s chapel. When it was first built it was big enough for the people who lived in Stockton. Over the years our numbers have grown. Many have to listen to services outside the walls. It is not right, lord.”

  I nodded, “I agree. What do you suggest?”

  “Ethelred and I have made much coin. We will provide the stone and the mason if you would give us land to build a church.”

  “Of course. I think that is a good idea. Where were you thinking of as a site for the church?”

  “The high ground above St. John’s well. Even if the river floods it will be dry and we would like a tower for a bell. That way when we look up, beyond our walls, we shall see our church. It will give us peace of mind and there is land for a cemetery. The chapel does not have enough room.”

  “And I will pay for a third of the church too. I know that if he were here then my father would do the same.”

  I felt much happier after my conversation with Alf. By the end of the next week the war machines were coming on well and I had a missive from London. Queen Eleanor had received my letter and thanked me for my actions. She told me that the revolt in Anjou was over and her husband and my father were returning home. Perhaps my father would be allowed some time to see his family.

  Alf was proved correct. A week after I had been given the h
elmet he was inundated with work as my knights all asked for a new helmet. The exception, of course, was Wulfric who was more than happy to use his old helmet.

  We also found men who wished to serve us. Some came with William of Kingston’s ship. He had been approached while in London. Some of them were men who had served with my father in Oxford and the West Country. Released by lords and having no employment they sought the knight whose word they could trust, the Warlord. I had been acutely aware that I had too few men at arms and archers and I took them all on. As my father had warned me, William, the Steward, complained at the expense for all needed a horse, mail and a surcoat. I was strong, as my father had advised me. We had to build another warrior hall. This one was just outside the walls. We had filled the inner bailey. I had John of Chester and Robin Hawkeye begin to train the new men. They had all served before and it did not take long. It was just the signals and calls that we used which were different. The formations and standing orders were the same as my father had used. We had but twenty-eight days for then we would be heading north to ensure that the Scots complied with the document signed by King Malcolm.

  I made sure that I spent time with my children. I spent more time with Samuel than Ruth. I did not love my daughter any less but there always seemed more that I could do with Samuel. She was younger and, well softer and gentler. Samuel was keen to show me the skills he had acquired from Aiden and Masood. He took great pleasure in taking me into the woods which abutted the river and showing me how he could track through the leaf covered trails.

  “And I hunted rabbit! Aiden showed me how to skin it.” He wrinkled his nose. “Father, it stunk! I would not have thought that such a small creature could contain such a smell!”