by Griff Hosker
It was not unusual for men to be recruited in this way but it was worrying that they were seeking men in what was effectively enemy territory.
The Count was not impressed by Hunter. He too thought him too old to be of use. “Do not worry, Count, you will not have to ride him. We have both seen much action. Those scars he bears are experience. He will not shy away in battle.”
“But you have never ridden him in battle!”
“I intend to remedy that. What say you we hold a practice tourney? It is time you and your knights were tested.”
“But you have no knights with you.”
“I have two men at arms and three squires.”
“But your squires and men at arms have no war horses.”
“I do not expect us to win but my men and I are quite happy to suffer the humiliation of defeat. It is part of the squires’ training. They will learn from it. You would not wish your first mêlée to be in a real tourney would you? This way we can detect flaws and weaknesses.”
“Good. Then we will hold it on Saturday next. I will have a stand erected.”
“You wish to have people watch?”
“Of course; my wife and her ladies at the very least. It will distract her from the problems she is having. Her attendance will put steel in the hearts of my men.”
Although Wulfric and Roger had never taken part in a mêlée they knew how they worked. They were happy. I suspect they would make more money gambling with the Count’s men. Although their armour and helmets were inferior and they only rode palfreys both had forgotten more about warfare than the six we faced knew. My worry was my three squires and William in particular. He had grown considerably but he was still very inexperienced.
I gathered the three of them together. “The one chance you have is that they all try to have the honour of unhorsing me. I am sorry but there will be little glory in unhorsing a squire or a man at arms. Remember what I have taught you; pull back and punch. Aim between the cantle and the shield and keep your own shield tight against you. There will be no refuge here. If you are unhorsed you are out of the mêlée. Get away as soon as you stand. You do not want to be trampled by a horse.”
William asked, “We do not get ransom if we win?”
Leofric laughed, “The reward you will get is experience. You will have fought in a mêlée.”
Although the Empress was still suffering she insisted upon watching us. Her ladies sat on either side of her. All three were well wrapped up. Part of me wondered if she would cheer her husband or me.
The Count’s blacksmith had blunted a dozen swords for us. The headless ash spears were racked and ready for us. I had one last speech. “I will ride in the centre; William to my left and John to my right. Wulfric will ride on the left of William and Leofric to his left. Roger you ride to the right. William and John you will have one chance for glory. Three of them will try to hit me. Their eyes will be on me. They will assume with me down they can pick the rest of you off at will. Punch hard and unhorse them and the odds swing in our favour.”
Wulfric said, “You intend to win, my lord?”
“The day you think about losing is the day you begin to die. Of course I intend to win. We may not but we will not be as easy to defeat as they think and that is part of their training too. Once we have made our first charge then you will need to have your wits about you. It will be, as the French say ‘sauve qui peut’.
Gille, the Count’s squire rode over to us. The Count had him arrayed splendidly as a herald, “My lord, are you ready?”
“I am.”
“Then when I lower the standard it begins.” He looked enviously at my three squires. He was of an age with them and I could see that he yearned to be riding next to the Count.
Hunter was eager to ride. I suspect it had been some time since he had ridden to war and he might be a little rusty. A good war horse never forgot and I had confidence in this one. “Keep together and the war cry is ‘Stockton!’”
They all yelled, as one, “Stockton!” Hunter reared a little and stamped his fore foot. It was a good omen.
“Keep together.” The Count had chosen a large field. We walked and I saw our opponents trotting. That was a weakness for the faster they went the looser their formation would become. I shouted, “Trot” as they began to canter. We held our lances upright and they had theirs lowered. Their arms would ache. “Canter!” They were galloping and were less than eighty paces from us. They were not knee to knee and I could see gaps. “Charge!” We all lowered our lances and spurred our horses.
I knew that slight gaps would appear in our line but the Count’s line was too wide. I had to rein Hunter in to stop him leaping forward. I had made a good choice. As I expected the Count and the two either side of him were aiming their wavering spears at me. They were tiring. They would not be as accurate in their strikes. I pulled back and punched hard. My lance hit Sir Raymond square in the chest and he was thrown unceremoniously over the back of his cantle. His lance hit my leg on the side and did no damage. The Count’s lance hit my shield and shattered. The third knight’s lance went over my shoulder. The knight himself was hit squarely in the side by John and he joined Sir Raymond on the ground. As I reined around I saw that Leofric had been unhorsed but Wulfric’s opponent lay on the ground.
We rode back to replace lances. William and John were ecstatic. “Do not get cocky! They will come for you next time.”
Wulfric laughed. “They did not punch. I am too big a man to fall to a love pat such as they gave.”
Leofric wandered over with his horse, “Sorry my lord, my shield was not tight.”
“Do not worry. Now you can be our squire and have lances ready for us.”
I saw the three fallen Angevin knights stagger back to their line. I heard the Count berating them. I have no idea what he said but it was the wrong thing to do. Recriminations should come after the battle and not during it.
“Form a line; the same tactics as before.”
We moved forward. This time the Count and his men came more cautiously. He was learning. As we charged together once more I saw that he suddenly veered away from me and the three of them headed towards John and Roger. Once more I admired his strategy for he was trying to even the numbers. I turned Hunter’s head a fraction and punched at Sir Guy’s shield. I stood in the saddle to get the maximum power. I saw John tumble from his horse. I hit Sir Guy so hard that not only did he fall from his horse but he almost knocked the Count from his mount.
The three of us who had used our lances turned to return to our lines. Wulfric shouted, “Come on young William. We have unbroken lances yet!”
They charged the Count and Sir Rufus. The two Angevins barely had time to turn. William smacked the Count’s shield making him reel while Wulfric’s lance threw Sir Rufus into the air. Rather than returning for fresh spears the two of them placed their horses on either side of the Count’s mount with their unbroken spears across his horse’s neck. I turned to ride to them. I had no idea how the Count would react. He had been captured by a squire and a man at arms.
As I approached he took off his helmet. Shaking his head I saw that he was laughing. “I am glad that it was just my wife and her ladies who saw our humiliation. You were right, Earl, we have much to learn and the lesson today was the best thus far.” He held his hand out to William for him to shake. “I hope my son has the same courage as you William son of Alfraed.” He glanced at Wulfric, “And I must get some giants such as this to serve me! Well done to all of you. Tonight we feast and the Earl can tell me of my mistakes and how we eradicate them!”
I patted Hunter, “You are a wily old beast. I am glad you have not forgotten how to fight.” William was positively glowing. I saw that he was no longer a boy. He was a young man. He had been lucky but as Athelstan had told me that was often worth more in battle than skill. “A triumph. I think, squires, that you can help with the training of these knights. Wulfric, I fear that you terrify them.”
He nodded, “Perhaps
when I leave your service my lord I shall become a tournament knight. That was far easier than I expected.”
“We were lucky and they were naïve. It was a good lesson.”
I left them to gather our equipment and rode past the stand with the three ladies. The Empress said, “You did not ask me for my favour, my lord.”
“I thought you would have given it to your husband, my lady. Besides I am a Knight of the Empress,” I took out my medallion, “your favour is always at my breast.”
She reached under her cloak and took out a blue stone on a golden necklace. It was the same blue as I had found at my father’s home in Constantinople. “And I carry your favour at my breast too.”
My mouth opened and closed. This was strange. “It is the same colour as the stone in my sword.”
She nodded, “And your standard. Margaret saw your sword and when we were in Wales with my brother we bought the stone from a Welsh merchant. It was the same colour and … well it gives me comfort.”
I peered closely at it. It seemed to shine brighter in her pale hand. “It looks to be the twin of this one. Where did the merchant say it came from?”
Margaret said, “He told me a tale of falling into a hole in deepest Wales and when he put his hand out he found it. He said the cave was magical.” She shook her head, “I think he was making the story up to make a sale.”
“I am not so certain. My stone has a story attached to it and I have yet to reach the bottom of it.”
The Empress nodded, “And I too believe this stone has a connection to me. Why else would it bring me peace when I am troubled?”
Judith said, “And we will have more trouble unless we get you indoors, Empress. This cold is not good for the child.”
I was left with more questions than answers. I remained distracted trying to make a connection between the stones and our destinies which seemed intertwined. We had both been born in the same year. We had been thrown together by fate more than enough. We had shared a bed and, I thought, a child. Yet we could never be together.
The questions at the feast ended my distraction. Far from being troubled by their defeat the Angevin knights seemed to think it a mark of honour that I had unhorsed them.
“You rode into battle too quickly and you tired out your arms. Keep together and keep your lance vertical until you charge. Punch when you strike and, if you are a good horseman stand in your stirrups. You get more power.”
The Count said, “I can see that now but when we charged I felt the blood course through my veins. How do you fight your own body and blood?”
I tapped my head, “You use this. You need the blood coursing when all is lost and you must fight for your life. Until then use your head. Seek weakness. All three of those in the centre went for the glory of unhorsing the King’s Champion.” They had the good grace to look shamefaced. “You fight together but if there are six of us and six of you then you have to take one man each or you will lose… as you did today.”
They took that in, “And I was wrong about your horse, Earl, he looks old but today he was magnificent.”
“I am happy with him and when we have schooled the yearlings then we will have replacements to give Hunter the rest he needs.”
The training during and after Easter proved to be our most productive. My squires improved but the Count and his knights improved even more. They knew that they needed more skills before they could fight in the King’s tourney. This year it would be held in July in Rouen. At the same time as they were practising my squires and men at arms were schooling the four yearlings. They had all been named. They were named for their colours. John’s was jet black and so he was called Raven. Leofric’s was a wonderful golden colour but Leofric named him Copper; I know not why. William’s was grey but its mane was white. He was named Snowman and the last, the one they did not choose but left for me, was black with a white star and a white flecked tail and mane; we named him Badger. Like a badger he proved to be stubborn and fiercely loyal. He proved to be the best war horse of the four. Perhaps he was meant to come to me.
Chapter 17
Our training ended at the start of May. We did not choose to end it for we had not finished but war came and we were called to the aid of King Henry. A group of rebels, led by Amaury of Montfort and William Pointel, had chosen that moment to attack the King. Both had rebelled more than ten years before and had lived in exile ever since. The knight who brought the request for help was Reginald de Dunstanville another of the King’s illegitimate children. A young man in his twenties I had met him before but I did not like him. He had the lean and hungry look of someone who craves more than he has been given. He reminded me of his half sister Juliana. On this occasion he was actually pleasant to both of us and we learned from him why the flames of rebellion had been relit.
“I fear it is our sister, Matilda, who is the cause of this attack.”
“My wife?” The Count had matured since I had first met him. There had been a time he would have erupted like a volcano. Now he kept hold of his temper.
“Oh it is not her fault, of course, but having given birth to Henry there is now a male heir to the throne. More importantly, it gives your son, Henry, the Dukedom of Normandy. That is a prize which is coveted by Amaury. He is old but he would have it for his son, also called Amaury.”
The Count nodded. When he had married the Empress he had been little more than a child. Now he knew what that marriage entailed. There were thrones to play for.
I was not bothered about the politics; I was more concerned with the numbers of men we might face. I could not summon my men but I assumed I would fight alongside Count Geoffrey under the banner of Anjou. “How many men do the rebels have?”
“Every unhappy lord from the south and east of Normandy has flocked to his banner. In addition there are many mercenaries from France. It seems they have been hiring men for some months now. Warriors have come from Brabant and Flanders. It is even said that he has crusaders in his army. They are disillusioned Normans who have returned from the Holy Land. They see my father’s Dukedom as a ripe plum to be picked.”
The Count said, “It will take a few days to gather my forces. Where do we meet?”
“Verneuil-sur-Avre.”
“North of Le Mans?”
“Just so.”
“How far is that?”
“About a hundred and twenty five miles from here.”
“We could force march it in two days.” I suggested.
Reginald said, “Oh no, my lord. The King requires you to return with me. He says he needs his champion now.”
The Count smiled, “You are popular, Earl. I would have you travel with me but it seems the King has greater demands.”
“I would leave my yearlings here in Angers, my lord, with your permission.”
“Of course.” He clasped my arm. I will meet with you at Verneuil-sur-Avre. There we will see how good our training has been. My young knights will be keen to impress you.”
“I would prefer it if they impressed themselves. A man is his own best judge my lord. It is how we see ourselves which makes us men; not how others view us.”
“A knight and a philosopher.”
“Bid farewell to your wife for me. Needs must we have to travel quickly.”
My squires were almost tearful to be leaving their yearlings. As we headed north with the King’s son I gave them a warning. “Much as I love Scout, Star and now Hunter, they are machines of war. They are like my sword and my shield. Like those weapons they can become hurt. You have to be prepared for that. They are not like my hawks; they are not playthings. Remember that.”
We rode in silence for a while as my squires reflected upon my words. Then the King’s son spoke. “I was not in London for the tourney, my lord, but I hear that defeated both Blois and the Empire singlehanded.”
“Not true. Had I not had the aid of the Earl and his men then I would have been defeated.”
“That is not how I heard it, my lord, for even my f
ather said that no knight could have done what you did.”
I said nothing for a while. Any response would have either sounded ungracious or boastful. “So I am sent for as a Champion?”
“Aye, it seems that the rebels have their own Champion and my father wanted you in case a challenge was issued.”
Sometimes that happened to save bloodshed. I could not see that being the case here. If the rebels had the backing of King Louis then they wanted the King, and not his Champion, dead. That was a ploy but what was behind it? “Who is this knight?”
“No one knows his name. He is called the black knight because he wears a surcoat of black with no device upon it and he rides a black war horse.”
“Has he defeated many?”
“That is the interesting part, my lord, no one knows. He is just spoken of in terms which suggest he is a mighty and puissant warrior.”
“Who says these things?”
For the first time the young man looked perplexed, “Why everybody!”
“Then it is gossip or worse, lies spread by your father’s enemies. Judge with your eyes and not by the words of men you do not know.”
Although I saw him considering my words I do not think that he heeded them. King Henry’s blood ran through all of his children but I judged the blood of some of the mothers of his offspring to be dubious in colour and quality.
Verneuil-sur-Avre had a small wooden castle. The surrounding fields were filled with tents, men and horses. The Avre was hardly more than a large stream. As a defence to the castle it would do little unless we had rain and the land became swampy. Norham had been a far easier castle to defend. Reginald took me directly to the King while my squires and my men found a spot which would be ours.
The King was in the keep with his closest advisers. He beamed when he saw me, “Earl! I am pleased you are here. Is my son in law on his way?”
“He is.”
“You have been training his men?”
“Some of his knights, yes, your majesty.”