The Bloody Border

by Griff Hosker

  We left as soon as the castle was roused and the tanner and the smith had brought the products of their labour. We had a long way to go. Ridley and David of Wales came with us. We would not be attacked, or if we were then our attackers would all perish. I did not go through Durham. I went closer to the coast for I was heading for the New Castle. I wished to have a conversation with the Sherriff. Brian son of Alan and Hugh de Magdeby jointly operated as Sherriff. When Brian son of Alan had been laid down by a winter pestilence the Bishop of Durham had suggested a second Sherriff.

  Alan Horse Master had provided good horses and we made excellent time. We made the thirty odd miles in one day although Mark and Sam were suffering by the time we reached the New Castle. We created a stir as we clattered across the bridge into the castle. My banner and surcoat told all who had arrived and my presence normally meant war.

  That evening I dined with the two Sherriffs. I told them what we had done so far. They knew of the appointment of my son as the King had left from the port. Ship owners would profit greatly from the exodus.

  “Your son is exposed at Elsdon, Earl. Rothbury, Wooler and Morpeth are all that stand in the way of an invader. If Scots come east then they risk Warkworth, Alnwick and this castle, not to mention Prudhoe but if they head due south then there is nothing until your castle. They could head west to Carlisle.”

  Sir Hugh nodded agreement, “And Otterburn and Elsdon are little more than towers.”

  “Which is why I intend to help my son to strengthen it. My lords, I came here to plead with you. You are closer to this bloody border. If you hear rumour of danger then send to me. I know that you would help my son but I have the finest archers in the land. That is my secret weapon.”

  Sir Brian laughed, “Not so secret, lord, the Scots are terrified of your bows!”

  “Perhaps but they have not seen the new arrows my archers have made. They can penetrate plate armour.”

  They both sat up. “Then that is a secret weapon.”

  Before I left, I had their sworn agreement to come to my son’s aid if they were summoned and I was happier.

  Although the road we took was not as good for at least half its distance, we made Elsdon in one day. We rode hard.

  William, in the three days I had been away, had managed to repair the broken palisade but I was not surprised that he had not managed more. The men from Rothbury were reluctant workers and keen to get home. As we passed through the gate, I saw that they had also repaired the bread oven and the kitchens. “Mark, take the men at arms and archers to the stables. Sam, take my horse.” He led Hawk away and I strode to the tower.

  My son looked tired when he came to the door of the tower. “It is like the labours of Hercules, father. The closer I look the greater is the size of the task.” He turned as Alan came down the stairs, “I am just glad that I have Alan of Bellingham. He is a good man.”

  “I brought some of my men at arms as well as your new men. There are eleven men who chose to come here. In truth more wished to come but they are married.”

  “Eleven is an adequate number. From what I have learned the bandits rarely operate in large numbers. However, should single men come to Stockton and should they wish a life of adventure, then send them to me.”

  “I will. We have ridden hard. We have brought food from home. Your mother has sent supplies for her son. While we eat, we will talk.”

  David and Ridley strode up, “It is good to see you, lord. This castle looks well made.”

  David nodded in agreement at Ridley’s words. “Aye but we can make it even stronger. I saw a stand of ash by the river. I will have my lads collect branches to make arrows. We brought a number of arrowheads from John’s father.”

  “Good. While we eat this night, we can discuss our plans.”

  Ridley shook his head, “We can eat together tomorrow, lord, but tonight we are tired and David and I need to talk to the men we will be leaving with you. Some have served at Stockton for less than a year.” He smiled, “Besides you and your father, not to mention the squires and pages, have much to speak about.”

  Ridley was more like family than one of my men at arms. He had been with me longer than any. I had knighted his son. He was wise and I knew that I was lucky to have him.

  One of the issues to emerge, as we sat and ate was the fact that the kitchens were in the lower bailey. The squires and pages complained about the distance and, more importantly, the temperature of the food. William was out of his depth. He had no solution to the problem. I drank some of the wine my wife had sent. It was one of my better wines! “It seems to me that there are two solutions. You either build a kitchen close to the keep or build accommodation close to the kitchens.” He nodded but neither solution appealed. I could see his face and he was looking too closely at the problem. He needed to step back. “The keep is for defence. You will retreat here when you lose the lower bailey. Build a hall in which you can sleep. If you wish you can have four guards as guards for the keep but my suggestion would be to get dogs. They will alert you to any danger. You build a hall for you and your men in the lower bailey. I know not how long you will be here but, until you have a wife, then you do not need more than a simple hall.”

  “That will take time!”

  “Where will your men sleep? This night they are roughing it and sleeping in hovels but that cannot continue. Winter is around the corner and here it is harsh”

  “But a hall! How can we build one quickly?”

  “Tomorrow we hew timber and dig holes for the posts. I saw willow by the river. We cut that. There are farms close by and the farmers will be more than happy to give you their dung. You use daub. We can have a hall built in less than a week. It will be rough and ready but you will all be together. You will have hot food and you will get to know your farmers.”

  Matthew and Mark, not to mention, John, were my greatest allies. They were used to such work. When their fathers needed buildings then the families set to. William had been spoiled a little. He had witnessed bare earth turning almost magically into buildings.

  He nodded, “And what of the bandits?”

  “They are watching us now, William. They will be in the woods. They will have seen our arrival. There is no hurry for your presence will deter them, for a while. We have time. Hunting bandits is dangerous work. You need your men to be as familiar with this land as they are with the woods of Hartburn. I only know three of the archers well. You will need to get to know them all. You will have to choose a captain of archers and of sergeants. I know Walther of Coxold, as do you. If you wished my opinion, then I would choose him. He is the oldest. Since his wife died of the pestilence, he has shown little interest in women or a family. As for the men at arms? You will discover who the natural leader is.”

  Alan of Bellingham agreed with me when I mentioned the building of a hall. “I confess, lord, that when I came here first, I tried to live in the keep but found it unnecessary. The bandits do not attack castles. They know there is little within the walls for them. They want cattle, sheep and women. As for dogs, Rafe of Elsdon has a bitch which just whelped. There are too many for him. He will drown the surplus.”

  I smiled at the look of horror on Sam’s face. John just accepted it as a matter of necessity. “Then, William, go and speak with this Rafe. Alan, you can show us where there are good trees for the hall.”

  Ridley and David worked well with each other. “You have the axes, Ridley. If you go with his lordship to hew the trees, we will dig the post holes and then cut the willow.”

  Ridley the Giant turned, “You heard the Captain of Archers. Take off your surcoats. This is dirty work! Today, you will earn your pay, for a change! Roger of Hauxley go and fetch the sumpters.”

  This was a wild country and we did not have to stir far to find trees. We headed to the north bank of the river. Alan pointed, “These are the best trees. They are about the right girth, lord, and it is not far from the castle. With your permission, I will return and light the bread oven. The
flour you sent means we eat bread again! Real bread made from wheat!”

  Sam was both too small and too young to be of much use but Ridley, who was a grandfather himself, saw a task he could do. He gave him a small hand axe. “See up there, Master Henry, there are ash trees. Use your axe to cut as many shafts for arrows as you can. Nothing shorter than the length of your leg and nothing which is bent or curved.”

  “That is easy!”

  Ridley laughed, “Tell me after we have hewed the trees and you still have less than a dozen shafts.” Ridley was teaching my grandson a lesson. He respected archers and knew that arrows were difficult to make. There were few perfect pieces of wood. Inevitably the archers would have to work with the arrows to make them suit. It would keep him occupied. We had brought ale and food. We worked all day. We were not far from the hall and when I smelled bread then I knew that Alan had succeeded. The smell spurred us on. The sooner we finished the sooner we would enjoy fresh bread.

  The men at arms worked well together. Ridley and the men who would be returning with me allowed William’s men to work as a team. The side branches were trimmed. We would fetch them for kindling. The trunks were cut, using the saw we had brought, into similar lengths. By early afternoon I deemed that we had enough trunks cut. We used the horses to haul them back. It would take three journeys.

  Sam had his arrow shafts but he had fewer than he had expected. “I am sorry, Ridley, I found less than twenty which were suitable.”

  Ridley laughed, “And that is ten more than I thought you would find. You have done well. When you stand in a battle line you will respect the skill of the archers for in a battle, they might loose a thousand of these! You have the shafts. Walther and the others will need to fit tips and then fletch them. In the short days of winter, they will toil in the hall we build for them.”

  My grandson was being given valuable lessons in how to be a warrior.

  The holes were dug when we arrived back. Piles of willow were there too. They were trimmed and arranged in lengths. I stayed at the castle while the others returned for the rest of the wood. William was there too. He had four puppies. From the size of their paws, they were going to be big animals. That would be handy as there were still wolves in this desolate land.

  “Rafe is a good man, father. He has three sons. They have a house which can be defended. It is almost as big as the hall we are going to build. They all live within it. There are sixteen of them! He lost fewer animals than most for they are housed beneath his living quarters.” He smiled, “His wife has agreed to make butter and cheese for us. I said we would pay and two of his daughters will be paid as servants. They will not live in my hall but come each day!”

  “And so you become lord of the manor. This is good.”

  He turned to Matthew and John, “Take the pups to the keep. We need to let them know this is their home. We do not want them running back to the bitch.”

  As they took them away, I said, “What did you think of your courser, Eagle?”

  “He is magnificent. I am grateful to you and Alan Horse Master. It will make my life easier. There is so much to occupy the mind of a lord of the manor.”

  I nodded, “Aye, son, I know!”

  Just then I saw David of Wales approaching. He had with him Walther of Coxold and one of the new archers, Garth Red Arrow. He looked at us both and said, “Could I have a word, my lords. I fear I have made an error of judgment.”

  Garth Red Arrow hung his head. I saw that he was young, perhaps eighteen summers old. When he had been brought to me, I had noticed how powerful he was. I deferred to William. Technically he was one of William’s men. William nodded, “Speak Captain.”

  “Garth Red Arrow only arrived at the castle two months ago. He has great skills. I thought him a good addition to the garrison.”

  “I hear a but in your words.”

  “We have discovered that he was an outlaw. Wilfred of Sheffield told us. The two had conversations and it transpired that Garth Red Arrow came from the forests which lie close to Sheffield. When we questioned him then the truth emerged. He was an outlaw.”

  William looked at the young warrior, “It is true, Garth Red Arrow?”

  “Aye lord. I did not mention it for I wished a new beginning. I was born an outlaw. My father was the leader of a band. We robbed on the road from Sheffield to York.” William nodded. The punishment for robbery was harsh. It was blinding or maiming. William nodded for him to continue. “I never slew any. I did not wound any save those who hunted us. My father was caught and hanged a year since along with most of the other men. The others left and I was left alone in the woods with my mother. She died six months since. When I buried her, I decided that I had been punished enough by God. I would reject the life my father had chosen. My mother had come from Durham and so I went to the cathedral to pray at St Cuthbert’s grave. It was while I was there that I heard a voice in my head. It told me that the only way to redeem myself was to serve those who defended the land. When I came from the church a priest saw me and witnessed my distress. He took me to a confessional and I confessed all of my sins. He told me that I would be forgiven and I could begin anew. I had to bathe naked in the river by the cathedral and then serve the knight who had saved Durham, Thomas of Cleveland. I came south and I joined your men, lord. That is the truth of it.”

  This was William’s dilemma. If he chose to reject Garth Red Arrow then it would become mine. It was a test. I saw him looking from the archer to me. “Father, did you not tell me of the archer who was buried in the church, Dick?” I nodded. “Wasn’t he an outlaw and yet the Warlord knighted him?”

  “Aye son, that is true.”

  “Garth Red Arrow, look me in the eyes so that I may see into your soul.” The archer did so. He looked fearful. “Do you swear that the tale you have told me is the truth and not a story to help you inveigle your way into my home?”

  “I swear, my lord. I bathed in the river and the priest told me that my sins were washed away!”

  I asked, “What was the name of the priest?”

  “Brother Paul.”

  I nodded, “He was one of the priests who came with us to Jedburgh. He is a good man.”

  My son nodded, “Aye I remember him. Swear that you have given up your former ways and all will be forgotten.”

  Walther of Coxold shook his head, “This is a mistake, my lord.”

  My son shook his head, “It is not your place to say so, Walther. I have looked in his eyes and I see a redeemed man. Christ told us to forgive. If Brother Paul has done so then so shall I. If Garth Red Arrow is foresworn then he has made an enemy of God and will rot in hell for it. I do not believe he will.”

  I could see that Walther of Coxold was not happy but my son was Lord of the Manor and his word was law. They left us, “You handled that well and I do not see that it can hurt you here.”

  By the end of the day, we had timber posts in the holes but that was all. We had yet to ram in stones but we had made a good start and we enjoyed our fresh bread with butter and fresh cheese. As we ate, in the open air, William spoke to his men, “And you will be pleased to know that Rafe’s wife is an alewife. She has agreed to sell us the barley beer she makes.”

  The men cheered. To a warrior such things were important.

  The next day, I joined my men, stripped to the waist, to begin to build the hall. David of Wales and his archers fashioned barrows and wheeled the cow dung from the farm of Rafe of Elsdon. Then they dug and wheeled barrows of clay from the riverside. Meanwhile, the rest of us packed stones around the base of the timbers and tamped them down hard. We gave the squires and pages the task of collecting small stones and using a hammer to render them as small as possible. Dick and his archers wove the willow into panels to fit between the posts. It took us all day to embed the posts and finish the willow panels.

  Sam was asleep as soon as he had eaten. William put his own cloak over his nephew. “He worked hard today. I hope he does not regret asking to be a page. It was e
asier for me. We were on campaign most of the time.”

  I nodded, “This is the real work of a page or squire. This is the work which lacks glory but is necessary.”

  Alan of Bellingham had joined us in the work and I had noticed that his back was crisscrossed with scars. Just before I headed for my bed, I asked him about them. “Flagellation was a regular part of life as a Hospitaller. I am not sure of its value, lord, and I am glad we no longer need to do it.”

  “I just wondered.”

  “You and your men are not afraid of hard work, lord. Brother knights worked as hard but since I have returned to England then I have not seen knights dirty their hands.”

  “For me it is necessary. I share the burden of toil with my men. It helps me to understand them.”

  “Then you are a rare lord indeed.”

  The next day was the start of three days of mess. We tied in the willow panels and then mixed animal dung, straw, clay and crushed stone to make the daub. There was no way to apply it without getting dirty. We had enough of us to apply the daub all around the walls. In that way, we built up the layers. William had plans for a second floor so that on the third day of daubing we began to lay the cross beams for the second floor. We split logs and then hammered nails to hold them to the beams. We used cross beams and diagonal beams for strength. After five days the ground floor was finished and we began the second floor. We split timbers to make rough planks. We left a hatch to enable entry and then we repeated the process of willow and daub. The roof took two days to build. We used a turf roof. We had no way of firing tiles and there was no slate. William could always add a better roof later.

  Rafe’s daughters had begun work for us and we left Alan and the girls to make the hall habitable while the rest of us went on our first ride around Elsdon. William knew the four farmers from the village: Rafe, Tom the Miller, Harry Sourface and Dick Jameson. The village held just thirty-two people. The four farms were the village. The four farms were astride the beck and the roads. Tom the Miller’s farm had been the mill but a lack of grain and damage from the raids meant it no longer functioned as a mill. The leat had become filled with rubbish. That was a task for the future. The other farmers, there were four of them, were more isolated. They were the ones at risk. Cedric Sheep Man and his wife lived with their sons and daughters on the fells closer to Otterburn. They were a big family. None lived close by. They had had their flock decimated many times but Cedric was an old soldier. He would not let the Scots beat him.