by Smith, Skye
Eventually after a fare back to London, he left his horse and cart with Wylie at the Temple stable in Holborn, and boarded a ship to Brugge in Flanders. Canute was supposedly in Brugge with his uncle the admiral Jarl Osbard visiting with Robert the Frisian of Flanders. The official rumour was that they were taking Canute's young bride to see her mother. In truth, it was a summit meeting of nobles from Paris to Norway and all places in between.
Over many meetings stretching for many days, Raynar listened patiently to discussions of ships and fleets and men and armies and strategies, but all of the grand talk went around in circles. Eventually Raynar realized that all of the nobles were looking for any excuse to ignore England.
After thinking back on how many times peasant farmers had voiced their longing for continued peace, and how what they feared most was an army, any army, marching through the kingdom, Raynar decided to give these nobles a good excuse to ignore England. He chose his time to speak, when all other nobles had finished their haughty words. Much to say about nothing.
"Does anyone mind if I speak to what is currently going on in Wessex?" he asked, and the host, Robert waved for him to continue. "To understand what is going on in Wessex you must first understand a key difference between the land ownership in Wessex when compared to the Danelaw. Back in the battles of '66, so many lords of Wessex were killed that after the battle many of the estates were left lordless to be run by their widows.
The Normans used the English laws of escheat and betrothal-by-rape to replace English lords with Norman ones on those widow's estates. A knight would arrive at the manor to run the estate for a year and a day under the Crown's escheat. Almost immediately he would wed the widow by rape in front of witnesses, and then continue the rape daily until she swelled with his child. Once the half Norman child was born, all of her other English children would die, by accident of course."
Some of the nobles were angered by his plain talk and raw explanation of the widow wedding tactic that they each had authorized at rare times in their own courts. Well perhaps not Canute. They allowed Raynar to continue, however, because what the Normans had done was not a rare occurrence, but a tactic of invasion widely used across the entire south of England.
"Though in Wessex this tactic put most estates quickly into the hands of Norman lords," Raynar continued. "in the Danelaw this tactic was not very successful. For one thing, the northern widows had forewarning, and for another thing, much of the land of the villages was held in-common to the entire clan, and was not the personal property of the war lord of the village.
As we all know, the Normans became so frustrated at not being able to take control of the North as quickly and as easily as they had the South, that they harrowed the north. They wiped a thousand villages from the surface of the earth, and cared nothing about what happened to the folk that afterwards wintered without food or shelter."
Raynar took a deep breath and waited for the curses and threats against the Normans to die down. No other noble at the meeting had ever used harrowing as a normal weapon of war, and probably never would. Eventually the curses were sent to the fates by a multitude of spittle hitting the ground, and then there was quiet again.
"Because the Danelaw was defeated by brutality against everyone, the longing for vengeance has stayed strong in all of the people, even those who must now bow their heads to their Norman masters. Not so in Wessex. Yes there was brutality against the lords, but in many cases the folk just woke up one day with a new Norman lord to replace their English lord.
It was only years later, with the replacement of tenants farmers with serfdom, that the new reality of Norman master ruling English slaves became normal. The Normans did not harrow the villagers of Wessex, but they did work them to exhaustion and starve them to weakness. Even though the men of Wessex dreamed of vengeance against their masters, it was beyond their ability to take it."
The entire room was hushed. "And now? Today?" Robert asked. "Get on with your report."
"As Regent Odo gave up on holding the north and began withdrawing men from the northern garrisons all through '80 and '81, the Norman lords also moved south away from their Danelaw estates. They feared deadly vengeance from men like myself who lived outside of their control. In Wessex the lords felt much more secure. Even in '82 when Odo stripped the southern garrisons of men to send them to the Italies, the Normans on the estates did not leave. They simply were more careful.
This has now changed." Everyone in the room sat forward in their seats not wanting to miss his next words. "The Normans are leaving their estates in the South and leaving for Normandy. They are not leaving in a panic. They are not leaving the estates without managers. But they are leaving, usually with the excuse that they must visit relatives in Normandy.
What began as a few a week leaving each Southern port, became a few a day, and then many a day. And not just the landlords, but knights and priests as well. The estates are still being run by the managers, but these managers no longer have the weapon of fear and brutality that has been used in the past to control the peasants and serfs. The managers give orders to the serfs, and they are ignored. They demand the lords share of products, and they are ignored. The managers call it anarchy, the folk call it freedom."
"Can you give us some examples," Canute asked. "We all fear anarchy, because we are all of the ruling classes, but you make it sound like a positive thing. We need examples to understand this."
"Serfs know that if they run away from an estate, and are not dragged back to it for a year and a day, that they become freemen. As more Normans return to Normandy, more serfs are running away. Not just the young men, but entire families, entire villages. They are not running to towns, because there is no work in towns. Instead they run to other villages. Entire villages are trading places to escape serfdom, and there is not much that the estate managers can do about it."
"We have heard strange stories about a shortage of horses," the Jarl said.
"Ah, the shortage of horses is at the root of the anarchy," Raynar replied. "If the masters have no riding horses, then catching runaway serfs becomes impossible. Every serf and peasant in Wessex has come to realize that they themselves do not really need horses, but their masters rely on them. Sheep are important to serfs for wool and food, cattle for leather, food, and for drawing ploughs and carts, but horses they could easily do without. The riding horses of Wessex have all been eaten.
Without horses to ride, the lords and masters have lost control of the serfs. Their estates are too large or spread out to manage on foot. Without horses they have lost the advantage of speed and surprise, so Norman laws and taxes are being ignored. It means that the serfs of Wessex are now working for their own benefit, rather than the benefit of the masters. It is a good lesson for all of us. A Norman knight without a war horse is like a Viking without a ship ... stranded."
"But without law and the fear of law..." a French voice objected.
"I did not say that Wessex was without law, only that Norman law and taxes were being ignored. There is still in-common law. Common sense law. Unlike in the Danelaw where the elders did not survive the harrowings, there are still English elders in the South. The elders remember the old laws and the old courts and are reviving them."
"Let me finish," said the French voice, peeved at the interruption. "Without law, surely there has been violence and robbery."
"When the serfs of an estate first realize that their lords had lost control, they would like as not have captured and punished the lord's enforcers. They brutally punished brutal men. Now when you speak to wealthy lords about the anarchy, they are quick to mention that they fear for their lives, and rarely travel about. When you speak to the serfs they are quick to mention that they no longer fear for their lives, and now can travel about.
As for robbery, there is not much. The victims of a robbery must have something worth stealing. Serfs have nothing worth stealing other than food. Meanwhile the lords keep their valuables safe behind defended walls. They m
ay not have many guards, and those guards may not be mounted, but they still have weapons and the training to use those weapons.
Back when the Normans kept the peasants hungry as a way of controlling them, folk would steal food to feed their bellies of their children. Since the anarchy has taken hold there is an abundance of food. Folk aren't stealing to eat, or if they are, they are not being punished for doing so. The generation of youth that grew up as serfs are scrawny lot, shorter and weaker than their parents, but hopefully that is changing now that the children are being fed properly."
"What are you trying to tell us Ray," Robert asked. He knew already, but he wanted Raynar to make his point so that they could end this meeting and begin some serious drinking.
"Simply that I can think of no good reason to invade England at this time. Since Odo has stolen the treasures already, there is no loot to invade for. Since settlers are already streaming in across the North Sea to claim empty farms and villages, there is no sense in invading for new land as that is already happening. Since the Normans of England are effectively under 'house arrest', and the serfs are freeing themselves, then 'free the folk' is also not reason enough.
The only reason left would be to put Canute on the English throne, but that will be easier to do once the Conqueror is dead. He and Mathilde are both sickly, and the gossip is that she is dying. Without her he has no regent to rule Normandy in his place. With Odo locked up and mistrusted he has no regent to rule England in his place.
The Danegeld that the Conqueror is paying to Canute every year so that he will not invade England, is not so that the Conqueror remains in control of England, for he controls little of the kingdom anymore. It is so that he can still boast that he is the King."
"Enough reasoning," Robert told him. "Tell us what you suggest."
Raynar counted down his points on his finger.
"Don't stir the Conqueror's wrath. So don't kill Normans if you can confine them.
Threaten Normandy's borders and coastline so he keeps his army in Normandy and away from England.
Harass Norman ships so that they cannot harass the new settlers.
Win London over by giving her free trade across the North Sea.
If ever William refuses to pay the Danegeld, just send word out that you are gathering an invasion fleet. He will pay."
One of the Frenchmen looked thoughtful and then spoke out in agreement. "King Philip and Fulk of Anjou will agree to all of this. The communes of Maine hate the Conqueror. I will ask Fulk to have his lap dog Viscount Hubert stir things up in Le Mans, or better yet Sainte-Suzanne. That will keep the Conqueror busy on the Norman borders."
"And you already know that Philip will agree to this?" Robert asked.
"But of course. Philip hates the communists of Maine because they want to replace the nobility with elected leaders. If the Conqueror attacks Maine, they will each weaken each other with no loss to Philip. It is all good. But you, spy," He looked at Raynar. "Answer me how long must we keep the Conqueror occupied?"
"William is old and has health problems," Raynar told him. "Why not just wait until he dies, and then the men in this room will be free to choose the next King of the English. Meanwhile, there will be peace in England, and more and more settlers farming in the Danelaw, and fewer and fewer Norman lords and slave masters in Wessex."
Raynar sat down. The nobles were ignoring him now that he had given his report. He decided to leave the room to visit with the women. These men may very well decide the fate of England on this day, but he had no say in it. He was just their spymaster in Wessex.
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The Hoodsman - The Second Invasion by Skye Smith
Chapter 13 - Longbows come to Wessex in summer 1084
The cart pulled by Sleepy was one of the fastest things on these Wessex roads but the roads were in such a state that no one was going fast. Occasionally there were Normans on good horses, but they ignored him. They ignored everyone. They kept to themselves and tried not to make eye contact. This wasn't because they were haughty and better than everyone else, but because they were nervous at being outside their stone walls.
After hearing the latest news from Normandy, he could understand why Normans in Wessex would be nervous. The Conqueror had been in a foul mood since his wife had died, and he himself was ailing, and without their strong leader, his army was weak. So weak that it had failed to take the commune of Sainte-Suzanne despite a lengthy and costly siege. So weak that his knights were drifting away from him to go and join Duke Guiscard in Italy. The French counties around Normandy were humiliating the Normans in every encounter.
This was all good news for English folk. Normandy had it's own troubles and so was leaving England to itself. There was anarchy in England but not rebellion or lawlessness. The Norman lords were still in charge, at least of their manors and castles, if not of the peasants and villages. The Normans still barked commands at the peasants, but the peasants nodded yes, and then ignored the commands and went about their own business.
There was even peace in the villages and on the highways, mainly because the Normans had shortages of men and horses, without which they could not be warlords, and so were not continuously feuding with other Normans. Since the Normans could not enforce the brutal Norman laws, the footpads and outlaws that those laws had created, had returned to their villages and families. The result was that the highways were safer than they had been in years.
There was good news from Flanders. Adela had born a son and heir, Karl, to Canute. Both mother and child were doing well in Brugge. Scotland was now urging Canute to invade Northumbria with them, but Canute was adamant that he wanted peaceful resettlement of the Danelaw.
That was the good news. There was also bad news from Normandy. The Conqueror was so unsure of his hold on the English throne that he had sent Edgar Aetheling with a troop of knights to Italy. Edgar had been the uncrowned teen king who had been forced to submit the crown to the Conqueror back in '67. He therefore had a legal right to the crown should English rebels need a replacement for King William. Raynar cursed himself for not trying to free Edgar during the Odo crisis. Oh, well. Too late now.
There was other bad news about the ships and warriors that first Odo, and then the Conqueror, had sent to Guiscard in Italy. Those ships had rescued Guiscard and his army from a trap set by the Byzantine army and so Guiscard and his army were now back in Italy. Over thirty thousand of them had marched on Rome to free it from the clutches of the Henry, Emperor of the Germanies, and to rescue Pope Gregory from the siege of Castel Sant Angelo.
That news got worse. The pope had 'strongly requested' that Canute worry Emperor Henry on his northern borders to encourage him to withdraw his army from Italy. This meant that Canute could not send his fleet to push the Normans out of England this year even if he wanted to.
That news got worse still. Poor Rome. When the Romans did not welcome the Norman 'liberators', Guiscard sacked the city, with a brutality that was usual for Norman knights. This had shocked all of the kings and dukes of Christendom because Guiscard was a strong supporter of the Pope and a God fearing Christian. Poor Rome. They had not understood how vengeful Normans could be. After the Romans had dared to protect their city and their women, the Normans had burned Rome to the ground.
Sending all of this news on its way up the length of England, and up the length of the North Sea had cost him a few extra days in Southampton. All the carters that fed him gossip were also used to relay the assembled news across England. All the seamen that fed him gossip were also used to relay the news across the North Sea.
Exchanging gossip and messages took moments, but awaiting the arrival of the various messengers in Southampton had taken days. Now Raynar was hurrying Sleepy along a rough road in a hopeless attempt to make up for those lost days, because he so wanted to meet up with his good friends at the summer solstice festival.
He turned Sleepy towards a village common that was a riot of laughing, singing, danc
ing peasants, some dressed in their best, some dressed in costumes, and some dressed in rags in readiness for the greased pig contest. Raynar was late to the fete, and the organized events were already winding down. He had completely missed the archery match, even though he had been promised an assured entry into the finals. Sleepy found a patch of grass to munch on, while Raynar walked over to the archery ground.
John was busy paying out the prizes, so Raynar gave Marion a lusty hug and then helped her to pack up the display that showed the steps of making a Yew bow. Together they loaded the display tables into the cart. Her smile was ear to ear. Why shouldn't she be happy. She was spending the entire summer traveling worry free from village fete to village fete helping John to run archery matches.
The queue of winners waited happily and patiently as John measured them up for the non-coin portion of their prizes, the Welsh style Yew bow and three armour piercing arrows. He had cleared the runner up prize queue first, because the prize of the seasoned Yew staves, not yet fashioned into bows, did not have to be matched to the size and strength of each man.
Robin and Alan had also come along from the Peaks to help run these matches. Robin should have been helping Alan with the sales of the assortment of bowyer crafts that filled the other cart, but instead he was flirting with some attractive young farmer's daughters. Ah, young love. Instead it was John's young son, Acca, who was helping Alan.
John grumbled out of the side of his mouth to Raynar. Back in '67, John and Raynar had spread the knowledge of Yew bows across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire in just this way, running archery matches on the fete circuit. "This is the ninth match I've run in Wessex. If this had been the Danelaw instead of Wessex we would be sold out by now. I'll need to run another nine at this rate."
Not that they were running these tournaments to make coin, or even to pay expenses, for their true purpose was to spread the knowledge of how to turn a Yew branch into a powerful bow. Business was slower than expected because of two things. After a dozen or more years of the poor diet of a serf, the young Wessex men did not have the strength of arm or shoulder or back to draw the powerful bows. The other reason was that Odo's theft and export of the ready treasures from all across England, had left a dire a shortage of coins in Wessex.