by Griff Hosker
I turned to Harry, “So, outnumbered again. Remember Abelard, you stay behind us and use your spear to keep them from before us! God is with us and we fight for Prince Henry!”
My men cheered and although we were outnumbered, we were in good heart! We waited.
Chapter 6
Captain Gethin had sent a large enough force to shift us from the road but they were not led by a knight and they came at us as a mob. We would not be fighting as we did at Shrewsbury. Here we had shields and spears. This was not an open battlefield and I wanted the mob to hit our hedgehog of steel and to die! The Welsh helped us for they came directly for me as there was treasure to be had by either killing or capturing a knight and they hurled themselves at my handful of men standing before the standard on the roof. Alan and his archers thinned their ranks before they even reached us. Bodkin arrows were not needed for the ones who were the closest to us wore no mail. Then men slipped and slid on the animal waste and some were skewered as they lay helplessly before us. The bodies of those we slew caused problems for those trying to get at us. The first eight struck our ash shafted spears and fell at our feet. A couple died quickly thanks to a spearhead in a vital organ but as we pulled back our spears many of the men were eviscerated and lay writhing beneath the feet of their fellows who were equally eager to get at us. It had been some years since I had fought in this kind of battle using a shield and a spear but it was something I had learned from a young age and the familiar action soon allowed me to fight and yet still observe the battle.
With my shield held tightly, I pulled back my right arm, thrust my spear and then, as it struck flesh twisted and retracted. Around me, my men at arms were doing the same while Harry and Abelard and other men at arms poked spears over our shoulders to ram them into faces which had no protection from the sharpened spearheads. Welsh arrows descended but they were aimed further behind us and, more importantly, were hunting arrows and not bodkins. I heard them clatter as they struck helmets and mail but there were no cries from men who had been wounded. I saw more Welsh arriving and I was able to see them clearly for they rode horses. The nobles and the knights who led this motley crew of raiders were coming to rid themselves of my annoying roadblock which prevented their escape, with booty, back to Wales. We just had to hold out a little longer and I had to pray that my men had reached Hereford.
I heard a Welsh horn and then Welsh voices gave commands. Owen the Welshman shouted, “Lord, they have been ordered to pull back so that their horsemen can charge us.”
I shouted, “Captain Alan, horsemen approach and they may be mailed.”
“Fear not, Sir William, we are ready.” That told me he and his archers had switched to bodkin arrows.
My worry was that they would attempt to outflank us but, as the mob before us departed, dragging wounded friends and family with them, I saw that they only had what looked to be a hundred or so horsemen. That was not enough to outflank us. It was, however, enough to charge us and knock us from the road. I heard Captain Alan shout orders and I heard archers shift position to stand behind us. I glanced over and saw that there were now ten archers there. The Welsh commander had a banner which looked to be that of Glendower: there were four rampant lions, countercharged, two were yellow on red and two were red on yellow. I did not think for a moment that this was Glendower but it was led by someone close to him. As the Welsh commander shouted, his voice indistinct for he was over three hundred paces from us, I saw the men on foot run to the fields. He was going to use those to attack the two sides of the road while his horsemen cleared the blockage.
“They mean to charge us but we hold them and trust that our archers will thin their numbers before they reach us.”
I was counting on the fact that there were fourteen bodies before us and some were piled into a human barrier. Before them, closer to the animal waste, were more bodies. Although the knights and nobles were five men wide at the moment, the bodies littering the lane would affect their cohesion. We would need to trust to our shields, our armour and our spears. At last, and with the sun lowering in the sky behind us, the Welsh horn was sounded and the hooves clattered along the road. I heard the Welsh cheers from beyond the hedgerows but my attention was on the horsemen. The tight line with which they began their charge became disjointed as soon as they reached the first of the bodies. Horses always try to avoid stepping on men and in trying to avoid them they either slowed or veered to the side. Then the arrows flew from behind us. They were bodkin arrows and could penetrate not only mail but, plunging from on high, plate too. It was as the man holding the Welsh standard slipped from the saddle that I heard a distant horn, from the town. I knew that it was not Welsh. It had to be the men from Hereford.
“The horn means we will not be alone for long! Hold the line! Hold the line!”
A horse was hit by an arrow and as it dumped its rider its falling body slewed across the lane. The leading three riders had almost reached us and our archers chose targets further away. As I had expected the three came directly for me and the leading noble who had a surcoat with a red gryphon on a yellow background thrust his spear at me. The man had used a spear from the back of a horse before but not often for he failed to stand in his stirrups. The result was a weak strike which I easily deflected with my shield. My spear found the flank of his horse which was without a caparison and it scored a deep line along the side of the animal which tried to pull away from the weapon. Just then I heard a wail from the east and knew that Sir John Talbot and the men of Hereford had reached the rear of the Welsh. The hammer had struck and we just had to be the anvil and to remain firm.
Pulling back my arm I thrust again and this time the rider, in attempting to control his horse, had raised his arm. I stabbed at his chest and, unbalanced, he fell to the ground. I knew from his surcoat that he was important and so I stepped from the line and had my spear at his throat even as he tried to rise.
“Yield or perish, rebel!”
He nodded and, dropping his weapon, said, “I yield.”
Although I was exposed my handful of men had clambered over the Welsh dead and formed a barrier of spears. I saw Stephen of Morpeth with another knight as a prisoner. The rest of my men at arms and archers, seeing that the Welsh were broken, dropped their spears and bows and ran amongst them to drag them from their horses. Some were taken prisoner but others were slain. When I heard the clash of metal on metal, I knew that knights had struck the Welsh.
Dafydd Gam shouted, “They have broken! They are fleeing!”
I looked down at the noble I had captured and gestured for him to rise, “What is your name?”
“I am John Hanmer!”
He said the name as though I ought to know it but I did not. David of Welshpool laughed, “A fine prisoner, lord, for he is Glyndŵr’s brother in law.”
I saw Stephen of Morpeth gesture for his captive to rise and he asked him his name. The man spoke only Welsh and David of Welshpool said, “Another captive worth keeping, Sir William, he is Owen ap Gruffydd ap Rhisiant, Glyndŵr’s secretary.”
Not only had we defeated the Welsh we had two men we could keep as prisoners and use to bargain with the Welsh. By the time it was dark there were no more belligerents on the field of battle. It was, indeed, Sir John Talbot who had brought men to aid us and we headed towards the town of Grosmont. The small garrison sent by the Earl of Warwick had held the castle but they had been too few in number to prevent the loss of houses. More than one hundred houses had been burned and the commander of the castle, Sir Humphrey Granville, was embarrassed that they had been so impotent. “I will send to the Earl for more men. Had the two of you not arrived with your men then things would have gone ill.”
Sir John and I agreed but there was little that could be added for it was not Sir Humphrey’s fault. Sir John said, “I sent to Worcester and the Prince should be here soon enough.”
“Then I will stay although my men should return to Usk. I left few enough men to watch the walls and although we slew many m
en there are still more at large.”
It was noon the next day when Prince Henry arrived. I had not seen him since the autumn and I saw that he had grown over the winter. It was not just physical growth, he had matured. Sir John, Sir Humphrey and I each told him of the events. He nodded to Dafydd Gam, “We are in your debt Sir Dafydd. Thanks to your warning you have saved us from greater harm.”
“I serve myself too, my lord, for until Glyndŵr is gone, I am in danger too!”
The Prince looked at me, “Sir William, I need a word.” He led me to one side. “How many of our men did we lose?”
“We lost less than fifteen men and that includes men from the castle garrison, Prince Henry, but the town lost more than a hundred houses and two hundred men from the town perished. Some families were burned in their homes. Grosmont has suffered a grievous loss.”
“And the Welsh?”
“We captured five knights including the secretary of the rebel leader and the brother in law of Owain Glendower and more than eight hundred bodies were recovered.”
“Then it is a victory.” I nodded. “You should know that the reason I did not return was due to Parliament. My father and I have spent the winter trying to extract money from a parsimonious and self-serving Parliament who refuse to fund us and this just war.” He shook his head, “I saw not a single face from the battle of Shrewsbury! These were not the knights who defended us against the rebels. These were the ones who profited from the war.”
“It is ever thus, Prince Henry, there are warriors and there are those who have neither nobility nor courage and they will be the ones who skulk in Parliament.”
“Aye, you are right and I am right glad that I have surrounded myself with men like you. When I am King I will ensure that it is my men who are the council of the King.” He lowered his voice. “You should know that my father is not well.”
I nodded, “The skin complaint?”
He looked surprised, “Aye, but how did you know?”
I laughed, “I watched over your father from the time he was younger than you. Like King Richard before him, I know him well. He can recover, can he not?”
“Perhaps, but he tires more than he used to. It means more of the burden of the Kingdom will fall upon my shoulders. I know that you have spent longer here than you expected. Return to Usk for a short time and I will send Sir Richard Grey of Codnor to relieve you for he is a doughty knight. I will take these prisoners back to London and speak with my father. When you are relieved then return to Northampton where I will join you so that we can plan our strategy.”
“But, Prince Henry, the border!”
“We have hurt them and this will buy us time.” He smiled, “Do you not wish to return home?”
“With every part of my body, aye, but we are not done here yet.”
“No, but I see a chink of light and that gives me hope. Sir Richard will be with you by early April.”
I returned to the castle but I was not convinced. I had lost none of my men and they were in good spirits for all had profited from the battle. There would be a ransom for the two men we had captured and all would benefit from that. Abelard was the one changed the most by the battle for he had killed a mailed man. His thrust over my shoulder had been well delivered and entered the eye and brain of the Welshman. It changed Abelard. He took his first real steps to becoming a replacement for Harry.
Sir Richard Grey did not reach us until the end of April. The knight was apologetic for the delay but the weather had been atrocious and some of his men had had commitments on their farms. However, he brought a sizeable force, so much so that we struggled for accommodation and stabling. I spent two days showing him the land around the castle and I sent for Dafydd Gam. Dafydd had returned to his manor in Llantillo but I knew that he would wish to meet my replacement.
He arrived but not in the measured way I expected. I was with Sir Richard at the gatehouse surveying the River Usk when I spied riders racing to the castle. I had put in place systems and procedures for surprise attacks and the horn summoned men to the walls.
“Leave the gates open for a while.” I saw that a dozen riders who galloped towards us were being pursued. Of course, this could be a trick, indeed I had used such a trick myself but, as they neared, I saw that it was Dafydd Gam. “Archers, shower those pursuing once Dafydd and his men are within the walls!”
I saw that those who were pursuing were a good two hundred paces behind and we would have time to raise the bridge and close the gates before they reached us. As the last man galloped through, I heard the creak of the windlass as the bridge was raised. The archers released a whoosh of arrows and the horsemen stopped. I saw that it was a sizeable army. In fact, there looked to me more horsemen than in the one we had defeated at Grosmont. Behind them, I saw men on foot running down the road.
Dafydd raced up the stairs and stood close to Sir Richard and myself. He pointed to the Welsh, “It is Gruffudd ab Owain Glyndŵr, himself! It is the son of Owain Glyndŵr.”
Sir Richard frowned for he was new to the border, “I do not understand, why would the son of the leader of the rebels chase a handful of you?”
“They were not chasing me; they were coming, my lord, for this castle. They believe it is still weak and after Grosmont, they need a victory. I discovered this from some loyal Welshman and I was about to come here when your messenger found me. It just so happened that I was on the road at the same time as they were. They have brought many of the knights who followed Owain Glyndŵr when he captured Harlech and Aberystwyth. They are the best that they have.”
“And Mortimer?”
Shaking his head Dafydd said, “He and his English rebels are in Harlech!”
I smiled at Sir Richard, “Then I think that they are in for a shock, Sir Richard. Thanks to the men you brought and the men at arms we have within these walls I think that we can hurt these rebels. We let them assault the walls, for they think the ditches are still full of rubbish and do not know that we have repaired old mortar and replaced stones. When the attack fails, we will ride forth and destroy this army of Glendower.”
“A good plan. I will have my knights mounted and ready.”
“Aye, Abelard, go and prepare our horses. Harry, fetch my helmet and weapons and then join Abelard. Dafydd, can you and your men ride forth or are your horses spent?”
“My squire and I will ride for I would not miss this opportunity to defeat the rebels.”
I saw that the Welsh leader had halted his men and that showed that he was not stupid. Six of them lay pierced by arrows from my archers. They were the eager squires who had neither plate nor mail. This son of Glendower would wait until his foot soldiers arrived and let them attack. The Welsh hated the English for a whole variety of reasons. They fought not for money but for their freedom and for Glendower. They would bleed to get at our walls.
By the time I had been dressed for war Sir Richard had the knights he had brought gathered in the outer bailey. The walls were manned by archers and twenty men at arms, mainly mine. To the Welsh, it would look as though we had few men. When we had first arrived, it had been the land to the north which had been the part which needed the most repairs. The son of Glendower obviously thought it was still the weakest part for he moved his army around the castle, outside the range of our archers. That suited me for when his attack failed, we could send our knights from the castle through the main gate. My men mirrored the movements of the Welsh and we positioned ourselves on the north wall. I saw that they had not brought many ladders. I only counted six. They thought to climb the walls much as they might climb rocks to get to their sheep. I also noticed that the knights dismounted and their horses were tethered. The ordinary Welshmen would breach the walls and then the better armed and mailed men would exploit the breach.
I sent a couple of men to open the gate and lower the drawbridge for the foolish Welsh had not left it watched; it was a mistake which would cost them dear. With the whole of the Welsh army to the north, we would have plent
y of time to secure them if I was wrong. I saw a monk, he looked to be an Abbot, blessing the Welsh who all knelt. It was a sure sign that they were about to attack. My archers each nocked an arrow. These were war arrows which would cause terrible wounds to men who wore neither mail nor plate. I could see that most of the Welsh who faced us had a helmet at best. There were at least a thousand or more waiting to attack us.
One of Dafydd’s men was near to me and he said, “Lord, the one leading them is Captain Gethin and, next to Gruffudd ab Owain Glyndŵr is his brother Tudur. He is the one looks the most like his father.”
I saw the two he meant and they were close to the banner I had seen at Grosmont. This was an attempt to break the English hold on this part of Wales. If they succeeded then Wales would, apart from Caernarfon and Conwy, be in Welsh hands!
A horn sounded and the Welshmen raced like greyhounds across the open, rising ground. Captain Alan commanded the archers and he was patient. The ditch had been improved so that it had two steep sides. Men could break ankles jumping in and once in the straight sides were almost impossible to escape. They were in for a shock. Captain Alan waited until the Welsh were just one hundred and fifty paces from us knowing that although many would reach the ditches, they would be so close to the walls that they could be easily hit. Men lifted shields but our archers were accurate enough to hit wherever they chose. Had we had more archers then none of the Welsh would have reached the ditch. As they reached the ditch, I heard the sound of screams as men fell to break their ankles on the bottom. The only way out would be once the ditch was filled with dead and dying men and they could climb and clamber over corpses.
I turned and shouted down to the men waiting in the bailey, “Sir Richard, prepare to leave the castle. We will wait until their first wave falls back!” He waved his acknowledgement and I turned my attention to the failing attack. Some of our archers were hitting Welsh warriors as they crossed the ground to the ditch but most were now aiming at the men trying to clamber out of the ditch. Two of the ladders had managed to reach the walls and each time someone tried to climb out an archer hit the man. One ladder broke when two men fell across its middle. I saw the Welsh leaders conferring and preparing a second wave. This time they were stiffening the ranks with men at arms wearing mail and plate. I said to Captain Alan, “I leave you to command!”