by Griff Hosker
This time the embarrassment came from around the table. None knew. They were planning to fight an enemy and they knew not where they were to be found. Even the Tudur brothers remained silent.
Prince Henry gave a slight smile, “Do you know, Sir William?”
I shook my head, “Not yet,” Sir Henry Percy’s face lit up in a triumphant smile, “but by this evening I shall.” Percy’s face fell.
The King said, “How, Sir William?”
“Even as we speak my archers are searching the Flintshire borders for them. I am guessing that they will be wreaking their havoc around Ruthin.” I saw Lord Grey flush. “If that is so then we drive them from the Clwyd valley. I agree with Sir Henry, if we can bring them to battle then that would be the perfect solution but the Clwyd valley will not suit our heavy horses and will suit their archers.”
Prince Henry nodded, “Sir William is, as usual, correct; we need to have self-contained companies. I have followed his banner and know the value of his mounted archers, men at arms as well as his knights. We have less than a thousand men at our disposal. However, an attack on many fronts by smaller groups of men will prevent the Welsh from combining. When his archers return and we know where the enemy are to be found, we strike.”
The Prince was clever. By taking my ideas and giving them his voice, he gave them his credibility. His father nodded, “And my son, the Prince of Wales, is correct. I bow to my son in this matter. Now all that remains is to divide the army into smaller battles.”
The natural divisions of the lords dictated the organisation. Mine proved to be the smallest. The knights who followed Sir Henry of Stratford and his neighbours were allied with mine. It meant I would lead less than eighty men. I would only command eight knights but I was happy for battles such as Henry Percy’s, which also included Prince Henry, were large and cumbersome. Even worse, they were made up, largely, of knights. King Henry seemed pleased with the plan and all of us were invited to dine with him. “Your archer can report directly to us as we eat, Sir William!”
I sent my sons back to the camp to warn Alan of the Woods of the ordeal he would have to endure and to bring him to us as soon as he arrived. Percy made a point of asking Prince Henry to join him and his knights so that they could plan their action. I knew it was just a way to take the Prince from me. The King had brought clerks with him and he had much business to conduct. I knew that he would be happy with the plan for he had managed to abdicate all responsibility and his son would have to prosecute the war. Any failure could be laid at his door. I had been around kings enough to know that they would do anything in their power to keep a tight rein on their reputation. Children could be sacrificed!
Edmund, Earl of Stafford came to speak with me when food was brought in the afternoon and we spoke apart. “I like your plan, Sir William, for it shows a great knowledge of our enemies.” He nodded over to Percy, “Do you trust that one?”
I smiled, “The knight and I have our differences, my lord, and I fear that my judgement would be coloured. The King must value him for he has given Prince Henry into his care.”
The Earl tapped the side of his nose, “Perhaps the King does not trust Percy either. He is an ambitious man! It is good that you are the King’s man. Your loyalty to King Richard was truly inspiring and I hear that it was you he asked for at the end?”
I nodded, “He was a troubled man but he believed in what he did. I am sure that if the evil de Vere had not tainted him then things might have ended differently.”
“And that is my fear for Prince Henry and Percy but it is good to know that you stand with us, King Henry will need his loyal knights.”
I wondered what his words meant. Did he have intelligence of a plot? I would keep my eyes and ears open. I was no longer a king’s bodyguard but I could still watch out for his family. The words of the Black Prince still rang in my ears. That his son had died without an heir meant that his nephew, Henry, was deserving of my loyalty.
It was many hours later and we were eating the fish course when Alan of the Woods and Tom, my son, entered. Alan had come directly from the camp. I saw noses wrinkling for he stank of horse and sweat. The King did not seem to mind. Prince Henry stood and pointed to a servant, “You, fellow, give the archer beer. Come, Alan of the Woods, we are all eager to hear what you have learned.”
Alan looked at me somewhat nervously, although Prince Henry’s words had done much to alleviate his worry. A servant brought a pint of ale which Alan quaffed in one. He grinned at the prince he had helped to teach, “Thank you, my lord. We rode across the Dee and as far as the Clwyd. The rebels have taken Ruthin but not yet fortified it. They are enjoying causing mischief. Farms are burned and many animals are being roasted on open fires. It seems to me, Your Majesty, that they are more like brigands than rebels.”
The King nodded, “And how many men did you see?”
“There must be more than a thousand Welshmen in the Clwyd, Your Majesty, but we only saw knights towards the estuary end of the Clwyd. They were gathered there in some numbers..”
The King took a small bag of coins and threw them to Alan who deftly caught them, “Here is for your troubles, archer. You have done well.”
Bowing, Alan walked backwards from the hall. Tom stayed where he was for he would serve me food and ale.
Percy was next to the King and I saw their heads together. I was with Walter Blount and Stafford. The Earl of Stafford shook his head, “Whatever that Percy is suggesting I do not like it!”
Walter Blount nodded, “I do not understand why he is here. Surely, he is needed on the border. One thing is sure, he will benefit from all of this with lands and manors for that is his way.”
The King nodded to Percy and then stood, “Tomorrow I will return to London. Sir Henry Percy and my son, the Prince of Wales will advance to Ruthin and deliver that castle back into the hands of Lord Grey. Lord Stafford will take his men and clear the valley towards St. Asaph and the sea and Sir William Strongstaff will act as the stopper in the jar and secure the upper Clwyd. One more thing, I appoint Sir Henry as Lord of Anglesey and Lord of Conwy castle.”
The Earl of Stafford nodded and said, “I told you!”
Conwy was one of the strongest castles and Anglesey the breadbasket of Wales. He had given the Northumbrian knight more money and power than any save his own son, Prince Henry. I saw Prince Henry’s face. He did not look happy; those were his lands his father had so blithely given away.
Walter Blount pushed away his platter as though he had lost his appetite, “And Percy will have the knights to ransom while we just sweep up the poor who will fight hard and yield us nought!”
They were both right but we had to serve and I was happy with our task.
The King stood, “You may now withdraw, my lords, and prepare to take back that which this Glendower has stolen!”
Tom was disappointed as we headed back to the river and our camp, “There will be no treasure for us and Sir Henry will become richer.”
“Fear not, Tom, for your mother can make more money from our manors. This will be well and is the first opportunity for you and your brother to test your skills. We will see if the armour you and your brother wear is good armour.”
“And which horse will you ride?” As my squire, he needed to know.
“That is easy, Hart. A good palfrey is all any shall need and Caesar is too valuable to risk with the hillmen of Wales. I will speak with you and your brother tomorrow before we ride.”
Alan and the archers were already eating when we reached the camp and they had told Roger of Chester what dangers the campaign held. Roger moved an empty barrel to make a seat for me. “It is good that not all of us have rid ourselves of our shields. Alan saw bodkins!”
The Welsh were good archers with strong backs and arms but they had fewer bodkins than my men. The new bodkins could pierce plate and certainly rip through mail. I nodded, “Alan, will we need to camp?”
“Aye, lord.”
“Then we leav
e the servants here with our tents and we will use hovels. I would not slow us down. If the other lords wish to take a baggage train then that is their problem.” They nodded, “Apart from that is all ready?”
“It is, my lord.”
“Good then I have a pleasant duty to perform, Roger of Chester, take a knee.”
He looked puzzled. “Lord?”
I took out my sword, “King Henry reminded me that I am a banneret and have obligations. You, Roger, are to be knighted. We have no spurs and we have yet to hold your vigil but this will do!” I touched him lightly on both shoulders. “Rise, Sir Roger of Flore, for there is small manor there which is mine to give!” My men cheered and I held out my arm which he clasped, “And now you will see the true expense of knighthood!”
He looked dumbfounded but the rest of my men gathered around him to pat him on the back and to congratulate him. I had begun to do that which the King had demanded. I would knight another before we returned home. It was much later that we had the opportunity to speak with one another.
“I was not expecting this, my lord.”
“The King merely reminded me that which I should have done myself. You deserve the honour and it will not mean a great deal of difference to you, except that you will have your own livery and squire.”
I saw his face fall, “I had not even thought of that.”
“Do not worry, Harry can tend to your needs until you find one and Martin can make your spurs when we reach home. You are no longer a hired sword, Sir Roger, you have obligations just as I have. Life will change for you.”
He laughed, “And I have to tell Mary that she is a lady!”
I knew that there would be more to it than that. In many ways, I had had an easier transition for I had been a gentleman before I was knighted. Eleanor had grown accustomed to the change from the wife of a farmer to a knight. The small farm Sir Roger ran would now be his manor. He would need to pay for a squire and horses. It would eat into the profits from the farm. Many knights had to go to tournaments to make the money to allow them to be knights. I suspected that, just as I had, Roger had squirrelled away money.
Unlike many of the other battles we were up well before dawn and by sunrise were approaching the Clwyd. The knights, like Sir Henry, who were with me would follow my rules and the way I fought. We had to close off the end of the Clwyd Valley. This was the hardest place to take horses and that was why I rode Hart. We had to cross the hills and ridge to the east of Ruthin. Hotspur and the Prince would have to negotiate the same route. When we reached the top, we rested and adjusted our girths. I waved off my archers to find the enemy and then I led my knights and men at arms towards the road which eventually led to Wrecsam. Here we were in the true Welsh borders. Ruthin was an English castle surrounded by a sea of Welsh. That the Welsh had no castles always struck me as strange for the land was made for hilltop forts which could easily defy an enemy.
It was just after noon when Much Longbow rode in, “My lord, Captain Alan said to tell you he has spied a column of men. They are heading down this road towards Ruthin.”
The road we were on was lined with dry stone walls. I looked ahead and saw that there were two patches of hedgerow four hundred paces from us. They were not next to the road but lined a track which led to the high ground to the left of the road. The high ground was heavily forested. Had we been earlier we could have used that to ambush. The hidden track way was, at its closest, fifty paces from the main road and gradually lengthened until it was two hundred paces away from the road. The roads were not Roman and they twisted and turned to follow the contours of the land. Turning in my saddle I saw that there was a slope behind us. The fields had been cultivated but as the crops had been harvested sheep and cattle rooted around the remains of oats, barley and beans.
“Much,” I pointed to the hedgerow, “have Captain Alan use that for cover. I will form up our horsemen up the road. I intend to draw them upon us and then our archers can attack them from their rear.”
My men were well trained and I did not need to elaborate. He knuckled his head and grinning said, “Aye, lord. They are in for a shock.”
When he had gone, I pointed up the slope, “Follow me. I wish to entice them on to us.”
I waved the five knights I did not know to ride with me and I explained my plan as we rode. “You lords have sixteen archers between you and we have thirty-five men at arms. I would have your archers and your men at arms dismount and block the road. I wish the Welsh to think we are weak. Your men at arms can use their shields to protect the archers. My men have better armour and I intend for us to charge. We will use two wings. I will lead one and Sir Roger the other. I will divide my men at arms and you, gentlemen, can choose which side you will fight. I will sound the charge but only when the archers have sent a few flights at them.”
We had reached a flat part of the road. It continued to climb but this would give the archers and dismounted men at arms the best place to fight. They would need shields for Welsh archers were good. As the horses were led away, I formed up on the east side of the road. I saw that the five knights had lined up behind me.
“Sir John, Sir Henry, form up behind Sir Roger.”
I saw Sir John grin. He would happily follow Roger. I divided up the men at arms. As we waited, I turned to Tom. “Today you ride with a spear. It is not a replacement for me; you will use it. I have taught you the basics now comes the practice. When you strike do so firmly. If you break the spear so be it but you need to hurt whomsoever you strike. Look for flesh! I doubt that they will have plate.”
I saw that the other knights had the helmets with a visor. They had them raised while we waited. I did not like them and I had my sallet basinet which had no visor. I risked an arrow but I would have better vision when the fighting began.
“They come!”
I turned. There were about a hundred and forty men. Six knights led them and I saw metal gleaming behind. They had a few mounted men at arms. As I had expected, as soon as they saw us, they stopped and conferred. They were just fifty paces from the trail which led to Alan and his archers. “Tom, unfurl our banner, my lords unfurl yours too. Let them see who we are.”
As the wind caught the banners and made them flutter, I saw the Welsh leader wave forward his archers. There were fifty of them. Forty men armed with an assortment of weapons followed them. They hurried up the road and they were followed by the horsemen. When they passed the hedgerow, I breathed a sigh of relief. We could now spring the trap.
Wilfred of Loidis led the six men at arms with me. We must have looked pathetically few in numbers to the Welsh. They saw just twenty-odd mailed men on horses. They would dismiss our squires as a threat. “Wilfred, my intention is to hold the attention of the Welsh until Alan can drop arrows on them. We keep the speed steady!”
“Aye lord.” He grinned. He knew that my words were for the knights with me. I was telling them what they would do!
A Welsh horn sounded and the archers and the men on foot all halted two hundred and forty paces from us. Their horsemen then formed a double line behind them.
I shouted to our men at arms and archers, “Your task is to hold them. Archers, when you think you can hit them then do so. Keep releasing so long as you have arrows!”
They chorused, “Aye, lord.”
“Tom, use your shield!”
“Aye, lord!”
Then the Welsh horn sounded again and the archers ran forward to a line some one hundred and fifty paces from us. They drew back on their bows. We would see now if they had heavy war bodkins. There was no way for an archer to know if a knight wore mail or plate for we all had some mail beneath our surcoats and the linen could disguise a multitude of different types of armour. Our horses all wore thick caparisons, and they would be able to stop a war arrow or prevent it at least from penetrating too deeply. Alan would wait until he was certain that the Welsh warriors’ attention was on us and he had heard my horn sound before he loosed his first arrow. We had to endure an
arrow storm and then charge.
I said, quietly to Tom, “Avert your gaze from the enemy and fix it upon the ground and be ready with the horn.”
“Aye, my lord.”
A bodkin would be deflected by the top of a good helmet. The Welsh would be seeking shoulders and legs. The knights and the men at arms who followed me all had plate on their thighs as well as poleyn for their knees and greaves. I heard the whoosh as the fifty arrows came down towards us. We had higher ground which meant the arrows did not have the range they would have wished. There was a series of cracks as arrows hit metal. I felt at least three blows strike me. They hurt and I would be bruised. That was to be expected. My banner would draw arrows like flies to a horse. I had obeyed my own instructions and I saw that the Welsh were using a mixture of needle bodkins and war arrows. If we were closer to them then the needle bodkins could hurt us.
I heard the order from the side as my archers released their arrows. We were higher and the sixteen arrows were heading for men without helmets, shields or mail. Six archers fell and as the second and third flights flew another five joined them. The Welsh now switched their target to our archers and the men on foot moved forward. Now was the time.
“Tom, sound the charge! For God, King Henry and England!”
I spurred Hart and her legs opened. We all had lances and I had gauntlets with metal plates sewn on to the back. My greatest fear was that an archer would send an arrow at my face. It was a small target but the Welsh archers were good! They saw their danger and switched targets. At the same time, I saw the arrows which fell upon the rear of the Welsh lines. Alan and my men were there and they had sprung the trap. The Welsh horn sounded three times and it caused confusion in the ranks of the foot soldiers and archers. An arrow came directly for me. I knew that it was not aimed at my face and I allowed it to strike my tunic. It was not a bodkin for when it hit the missile fell from the surcoat. I held my lance slightly behind me; I was never totally confident with a lance but I knew that it would be more than effective against men on foot. I saw another arrow come for me when I was just forty paces from the Welsh archers. The foot soldiers were beginning to break as our horses thundered towards them. This time the arrow was aimed at my face and I flicked my hand up. I managed to strike the arrow which flew up in the air. The surprised archer was still nocking a second when my lance drove into his chest. I allowed my hand to drop and his body slid from the end. I was through the archers and I aimed Hart at the knights who had turned to charge us. They had no spears! I glanced to my right and saw lances striking the backs of archers as they tried to flee. If they had had better bodkins then they might have slowed or even stopped us but their inferior arrows were no match for plate armour. We had spent well!