King Henry IV

by Griff Hosker

  Harry asked, “If the Earl has the cargoes from the ships, father, then why do we stay here?”

  Thomas answered his brother. He had grown of late; perhaps it was the thought of his impending knighthood or his marriage, “The Earl does not wish to be caught on the road. We slow them down.” He looked at me. “We will burn the bridge?”

  “It has stone foundations but there is wood upon it which will burn. It will slow them up but there will be fords upstream which they will use. This raid is a nuisance raid; there will be profit but Sir George Dunbarre wishes to punish those who support his rival, Archibald Douglas. When we have eaten, I will have men place kindling along the bridge. We will need to buy the Earl some time.”

  The small piles of kindling were ready by the time the men from Edinburgh marched down the road. I saw no mounted men and knew that the knights and men at arms would be fording the river; they would find it easier than men on foot. We would not have as much time as I had hoped for we risked being flanked. Jamie, one of Sir George’s pages galloped along the bridge, “My lord, the Earl’s compliments. He has cleared the town. He needs an hour to be down the road. Can you give him an hour?”

  I nodded, “Aye, but warn him that mounted men are fording the river and they may be upon him sooner than he might like.”

  “Aye lord.” He looked enviously at Thomas and Henry, “May you wet your blades today!”

  Harry grinned, “We can only hope we get the chance and do not merely hold the reins of horses.” Such was the optimism of youth.

  Captain Edgar commanded, “Stand to!” The archers returned to the bridge and formed two lines behind my men at arms. We blocked the end of the bridge. Thirty paces before us were the embedded stakes my archers had put on the side of the road. They had also dug up some of the cobbles from the road. It would make an approach by the enemy difficult for them; anything which would slow them down would help us.

  The mob which marched down the road were led by men with mail and shields. I could not tell but I guessed that there were lords who led them. They halted when they were two hundred paces from the bridge. The lord who led them waved his sword to his left and right. The warriors spread out in long lines on either side and that allowed me to estimate their numbers. There looked to be more than two hundred of them. The middle thirty were all mailed and bore shields. The poorly armed and protected ones were well to the flanks. Whoever led them knew their business as they were protecting, as best they could, those who had no shields. He raised his sword and with shields before them, a horn was sounded and they marched.

  “Alan, do not waste your bodkin arrows yet. Wait until the ones without shields are close enough and thin their ranks.”

  “Aye lord.”

  I had too few archers and their arrows were valuable. If we sent them at mailed men protected by shields then they would merely slow them and not hurt them. The Scots moved cautiously. English raiders used mounted archers and they knew the effect of arrows. Perhaps this was why they had taken as long to come as they had; they were preparing!

  Alan said, “Loose!”

  As the handful of arrows were sent to two sides of the mailed men, they seemed inconsequential but each one found a mark. Not all who were hit died but it slowed the ones at the side as it demoralized them and made them look for protection. By the time four more flights had been sent the Scottish formation resembled an old-fashioned wedge as the men on the flanks slowed while the mailed men with shields forged on. They were now approaching the stakes and I said, “Now, Alan!”

  When they tried to negotiate the stakes and cross the damaged road, they would be vulnerable. They would not have the cohesion of interlocked shields and they would be watching their feet. This time there was no command but I saw bodkin arrows fly towards the Scots. These were tough men. I saw an arrow drive into the left shoulder of a mailed Scot who continued moving as though nothing had happened. I saw the blood dripping down his surcoat. He was a sergeant at arms and bore the mark of the Edinburgh garrison. One man, at least, fell. The arrow found a gap and he fell forcing the ones around him to move aside and two more fell as shields were moved. And then they were just ten paces from us and Alan would have to switch to the targets at the side. I had a spear in my hand and I held it above my head to strike down above the shields. The Scots had had the advantage of shields and now they were an encumbrance for their right arms had carried their spears, war hammers and pikes one-handed. As the leading lord rammed his spear at my middle, I drove my own spear down over his shield. His spear struck my breastplate while mine found the mail around his neck. He wore no gorget and when I withdrew it and his body fell, I saw the blood on the end.

  Thomas and Harry had their spears held lower and they poked, probed and jabbed at the advancing Scots. The men who came at us had hauberks beneath their surcoats but their knees and legs were unprotected. Harry and Thomas found flesh. It was when the bulk of their men negotiated the stakes that the pressure began to tell as the ones at the fore had comrades pushing into their backs. Even when a man was wounded his body was still pushed like a human shield. My spearhead was hacked in two. I threw the stump at the man who eagerly came towards me. He raised his shield to block the improvised weapon and it gave me time to draw my sword and dagger. This reminded me of the day Sir John Chandos had died at the bridge in Spain. That day I had been of an age with Thomas and it seemed a lifetime ago.

  “Alan, start the fires! Thomas, Harry, get to the horses.”

  I did not need to shout the order to step back for my men at arms knew from my commands what I intended. As we stepped back on to the bridge, so the parapets began to protect our flanks. The kindling and piles of firewood were placed in the embrasures which were on the bridge. The Scots had the weight of numbers but that did not help them that much for they found it hard to wield their weapons one-handed in the confines of the bridge.

  I heard a shout, “Fires are lit, lord.”

  I continued to work my dagger and sword; I blocked blows with my sword and used my dagger to winkle between plate and mail. My men at arms had two-handed weapons and they brought them over their heads to strike at the Scots. The confined space meant that the ineffective Scottish blows and the armour of my men kept them safe. Then arrows flew over our heads to fall, vertically, on the men pushing their mailed men at us. Suddenly the press was not as great as it had been for men fell and I was able to swing my sword diagonally. I hit a Scottish lord on the side of the neck; his blood spurted and sprayed those close to him. At the same time, I stabbed with my dagger and tore through the cheek of another. We had space and I said, “Back!”

  I could hear the fires crackling as the kindling burned and ignited the firewood; soon the wooden timbers on the bridge would catch. I could see that we were halfway across the bridge. The fires would suddenly erupt and we needed to be on the other bank when that happened.

  Alan’s voice sounded, “Now, lord, we have arrows ready!”

  I knew, without looking, that my archers had mounted their horses. Loosing from the back of a horse was rarely as effective as from the ground but at a range of less than forty paces, it would cause casualties. I swung my sword in an arc and the Scots brought up their shields. I turned and ran. I saw that Mark the Minstrel was bloody and that he had been wounded. The flames had begun to send smoke across the bridge and that was our friend. The parapets were made of wood and as they caught so the smoke increased. Henry and Thomas each held the reins of three horses. I sheathed my weapons and pulled myself into the saddle of Hart. Edgar helped Mark into his saddle. Alan and his archers sent another flight of arrows into the smoke of the bridge and then I shouted, “We have done enough. Ride!”

  Our wounded man was protected by two of his comrades for he was placed in the middle of them. Alan had half of his archers at the fore and the other half at the rear. As we rode through the town it was like riding through the fog for the smoke from the burning buildings and ships filled the air. I rode behind the archers and I
was flanked by Thomas and Harry. Edgar would stay at the rear.

  “We have won?”

  Thomas shook his head, “Not yet, little brother. When we are back in Dunbarre then we can think of such things. We have many miles to go.”

  “But the Scots are on foot.”

  I turned and pointed to the south, “We saw no horsemen and they may have crossed fords. They might be ahead of us or approaching our line of retreat. Your brother is right. You count your treasure when you have taken your mail from your body and you enjoy a beaker of ale!”

  We had twenty-five miles to ride. The Earl would avoid Haddington and that meant taking the coastal road. It also took us further from any who had forded the Esk south of the bridge. We halted at Longniddry to tend to Mark’s wounds and to rest the horses. A spear had managed to stab Mark in the left shoulder. He would not fight again in this campaign and I knew, as I looked at the wound, that it was the kind which would ache in the winter or when there was damp weather. Mark the Minstrel would have a permanent reminder of the battle of Musselburgh Bridge.

  We had seen little sign of the Earl’s progress save the horse dung before Longniddry. When, some miles later, we found some still warm, we knew that we were catching him. We were eight miles from Dunbarre approaching Aethelstaneford when we saw the Scots attacking the rear of the Earl’s column. He had been caught. The skirmish was less than half a mile away. I drew my sword and shouted, “Harry, watch Mark the Minstrel! Charge!” I spurred Hart as we tried to catch the archers. Once again Alan and his men would get as close as they could to make each arrow count as they would be loosing from the backs of their horses.

  Enemy numbers were hard to estimate as they milled around with the Earl’s rearguard. When we were closer, we would see the Earl’s livery; a rampant red lion surrounded by eight roses but, until then all would be guesswork. The skirmish disappeared when Alan and his archers stopped to loose arrows. We split into two and rode around them. The arrows had made the riders turn and, seeing us, they tried to urge their horses towards us. Their horses were weary, as were ours, and the charge was not at full speed. The Scottish spears had shattered and so their riders used swords and hand weapons. I saw one knight wielding a mace and I rode at him.

  There was an art to fighting on the back of a horse. A good rider used his horse as a weapon. Hart was neither a stallion nor a war horse but she was clever and she was quick. My sword was longer than the mace and I feinted to ride at his right side. At the last moment, I used my knees and left hand to ride at the knight’s left. Standing in my stirrups I brought my sword down hard and hit him across his shoulders. Shoulders were protected only by mail and not plate and when my sword came away bloody, I knew that I had hurt him and he wheeled away to his right. Before I could either make him yield or finish him off a spear was rammed into my side. One of the squires had not broken his lance. Perhaps he was the squire of the knight I had hurt, I know not. He, too, had found mail and not plate. I felt the spearhead slide into flesh. Before he could twist it and penetrate to something vital Thomas’ spear was rammed up under his chin to drive into his skull. The squire fell dead.

  “Thank you, my son!”

  “You are hurt!”

  “It is nothing!”

  I turned and saw that our sudden appearance and attack had broken the enemy who were now streaming back to Haddington and Edinburgh. I dismounted while our men collected the loose horses and took mail, weapons and coins from the Scottish dead. Thomas placed some linen beneath my mail to staunch the bleeding. It was not gushing but I would need either stitches or the wound cauterizing. I smiled at Thomas as we remounted, “Now you are ready to be a knight if you choose.”

  He nodded, “Six months ago I would have said I was not ready. I had no reason to be knighted and thought I did not have the skill. Six months ago, I would have hesitated before driving my spear into the skull of a squire little older than me to end his life. I have changed.”

  “Then you are ready. We will make the preparations when we return from this.” I pointed to the squire’s horse, hauberk, helmet and sword. “And now you accrue your own wealth. It is good.” We remounted and followed the others into the castle.

  The Earl was delighted with the raid for it had cost him fewer men than he had expected and brought him greater rewards. He was generous and we all profited. His doctor sewed my wound and used small stitches. Mark’s wound required fire and he almost did not make it back to the castle for he had lost a great deal of blood. He would take no more part in the raids but he was philosophical about it. “I will have the chance to compose more songs now for the air around this castle is both sweet and pleasant with the wind from the east. It will make the words flow for I have many songs in my head.”

  We spent another three weeks raiding but none of them was on the scale of Musselburgh. We ravaged the country which lay within twenty miles of Haddington taking animals and burning halls and the Earl was happy. The night before we left, he brought me our share of the profits as the ransoms from Douglas had arrived. My wife would be pleased for we had more than two hundred pounds not to mention all the booty we had taken. Even Harry had profited.

  “You are a good man to fight alongside, Sir William. I would be happy for you to join me again.”

  “And it has been profitable. We shall see.”

  “Think about it over winter. I resume my raids when the new grass is here and we will seek land which has yet to be plundered.”

  We rode home with a wagon we had taken. It meant our journey was slower but we did not have to burden our horses. The weather was changing by the time we reached Middleham. Autumn was coming and it came sooner the further north you lived. Thomas and I had spoken of his dubbing. I would need to tell the King and so we decided to use the Winter Solstice. That meant the earliest he could wed would be the spring. We decided on Lady Day, the twenty-fifth of March. It was significant for many reasons, not least the fact that it was the first day of the new year and also the day of the Virgin Mary. Thomas liked the symbolism of the day.

  As we approached Middleham I said, “Of course, your bride may have some say in the matter.”

  He nodded, “So long as we are wed then I am content.”

  Mary and her mother were delighted with the news and more than happy to fit in with the plans Thomas and I had made. Red Ralph’s widow said, “It shows great sensitivity, my lord, for my daughter and I are named Mary and the day you have chosen commemorates the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I hope my home does it justice.”

  “If you wish you could use my hall although I would understand if you wished it to be here in the hall built by Red Ralph.”

  “That is a kind offer and I will take you up on it, lord.” She held out her hands, “My daughter will be a lady. These are not the hands of a lady nor is this the hall of one. The sooner she sees the change the better. I have good people who can watch my land for me.”

  I nodded, “Then I will send you an escort to bring you south for you and your family are now mine and I will protect them as I would my own.”

  We had a tearful parting for Mary could now almost see her wedding and could not bear to be parted from my son. My wife was delighted with all the news I brought. She began to plan a new wing which would be built to accommodate our guests and the money I had planned on using for more men was now diverted to building work. I did not mind. I informed the King of the ceremony of knighthood and the wedding but I had a feeling that he would not attend but, if he did, then I would fear the worst. I knew that I was a tool which the King used. I had been used as such by King Richard but the difference was that I believed that King Richard had been fond of me. I doubted that Henry Bolingbroke was fond of anyone save himself.

  Chapter 9

  My men would have been happy to build the new wing but my wife wished it all to be done properly. “What if the King should come? I would not have a hall built by sergeants. I will hire a mason and I will hire men. It will be money well s
pent and besides, husband, it has been a good harvest. There may have been wars in Wales and Scotland but around these parts there was peace and the unrest on the borders merely means we are paid more for our crops and animals. You are a good husband.” She pointed to my side, “But you need to take more care on the battlefield for you are no longer a young man.”

  She was right. Red Ralph and the others had given up the sword when they were about my age. The ones who had not had all died in wars fighting men who were younger and fitter than they were. Despite the fact that my wife had taken the bulk of the money from the chevauchée, I still had enough to hire two more men at arms and two more archers. I went with Alan and Edgar as well as Thomas to visit with Old Captain Tom. He was ancient now but his mind was still sharp and he had a good tavern. I did not know when we visited with him, on a wet and windy October afternoon, that it would be the last time I would speak with him. Had I known that I might have spent less time speaking of me and my needs and more about him. It is ever thus. We always think that we have all the time in the world and that there will be a tomorrow. It is not true. However, that was in the future when the pestilence struck his village.

  He was delighted with the news about Thomas and he was more than happy to supply us with more men. My son showed that he was ready for knighthood. He asked Captain Tom to find him an archer and a man at arms. He had coin and he had two spare horses. My son was changing before my eyes.

  Captain Tom was a veritable mine of information about our land for travellers used his inn. “There is now great opposition to Glendower. If the King chose to finance a war to defeat him then I believe that Parliament would back his request.”