by Griff Hosker
I nodded, “And climbing an assault tower is no easier. Do you remember, William, the castle in Normandy when they fired it?”
He nodded, “Do not remind me. I thought you dead that day.”
Samuel said, “You escaped?”
I laughed, “Unless I am a ghost then yes. Remember this, Samuel and you too Ralph, when you think all is lost then choose any way you can to escape. Life is too precious to lose. As for assaulting a castle walls; we always take archers to war with us. As your father knows they are the equal of a knight in a battle.” Just then three drunken knights of Anjou staggered by waving their flagons of wine. “Those three would not believe so but we know different. King Henry’s attack cost him five knights. He had crossbows defending the knights. We lost not a knight because we had Aelric and his men. Your father’s life was saved when Aelric’s arrow struck the hand with the spear.”
My son nodded, “The King knows the value of archers. It is why he brought them and why he shared the coin out evenly.”
Ralph said, “Yet he took half.”
I shook my head, “Ralph, he is King. He could have had it all! He needed not to share. You owe the King service for the manor you hold. Forty days a year is the price of your fealty. The men on your land at Gainford will serve you for forty days too. Will you pay them?”
“No lord but like you I would not take them to war unless I had no choice.” The two young knights had much to reflect upon. They were learning how to be lords of the manor even here in the county of Poher, many miles from home.
King Henry sent word to the Count of Nantes that we were coming and he expected the Count to bend the knee. There was no point in trying to approach Nantes without alerting the rebels. Our capture of Ploërmel was known. The rebels knew where we were. King Henry sent riders to Rennes and Mayenne. He let them know that he would be visiting them in due course. Neither manor had a lord who was overtly rebellious but many Breton lords were just waiting to see the outcome of this rebellion before choosing sides. King Henry was giving them a good reason to choose his side.
Our approach to Nantes was slower than our march north had been. The men of Ploërmel who were now in our army had no horses and they marched afoot. We had wagons with the treasure we had taken. King Henry wanted other Breton lords to see the folly of revolution. If they did not revolt then they would keep their treasure. If they opposed the King then they would lose all. The new Count of Ploërmel rode behind the King. Phillippe de Rideau had shown great courage in the assault and he had impressed the King. The fact that he was the second son meant he would not inherit the manor on the Loire. When the Duchy was quietened he would have to build up the manor of Ploërmel with little help from the King. I did not envy him his task. It would be like asking Samuel to be lord of Gretna!
Sir Leofric’s scouts had proved their worth and King Henry chose them over the new Bretons who had joined us. As we neared Nantes they reported that the Count was marching north to meet us. We were close to Blain when we heard the news. We were eighteen miles from Nantes.
The King turned to me, “What do you think, Warlord?”
“This is as a good place as any. They advance and will be tired when they reach us. We have the opportunity to make this a death trap. I will walk the land and make some suggestions for dispositions.”
Henry had learned much from me and he showed his skill as a general and leader. He was decisive. “We will meet them here.”
Young Geoffrey who was eager to reach Nantes for he was to become Count protested, “But lord, they will think we fear them!”
“They can think what they like. I would have them march. I wish them to tire out their animals. Question less and listen more!”
We used the small settlement to make an armed camp where the wagons, servants and spare horses could be protected. He had our archers cut stakes and line our flanks. Count Phillippe’s dismounted men would be placed between the two sets of stakes.
As the defences were built the King and I walked the battlefield. It was important to know the terrain. I made my suggestions and we returned to the army. The King gathered his captains around him. “We will form three lines and use our knights and mounted men at arms to batter through the Breton lines. If we can break their lines and reach their Count then all well and good but, if they have too many knights and we cannot break them then I will have the horn sounded three times and we withdraw back to Blain.”
The Count of Saumur said, “These are Bretons! We defeated them at Ploërmel. We will do so again!”
The King turned and looked coldly at the Count, “And we will do so again!” He pointed to me, “I rode behind the Warlord’s banner during the civil war. He taught me that plans do not always succeed and a good general needs to have an alternative. My English knights would not need to be told this. But then,” he smiled and it was a cold, chilling smile, “they did not need to be told to celebrate our victory at Ploërmel in a dignified manner, did they?”
The King had been less than happy with the lack of discipline from the knights of Anjou. Women had been assaulted and that would make the new Count’s task that much harder. The point was made and the knights of Anjou remained silent.
The stakes were just being sharpened when Sir Leofric’s scouts rode in with a prisoner. It was a Breton scout. He was tethered on a rope and had had to run behind their horses. James the Short tugged him so that he fell and prostrated himself before the King and me. “We found six of their scouts. One escaped the others lie dead. We captured this one. The Bretons are a mile down the road. We thought you might like to question this one, King Henry!” James had known the King when he had been my squire. I saw the look the Count of Tours gave him. He thought he had been too familiar in his tone. The King did not.
“Well done, James the Short.” He took his sword and poked the scout, “Rise, rebel! Your lawful master would speak with you.”
The Breton had regained his breath. “I am sorry King Henry. I serve the lord of Ancenis. I was ordered to join the rebellion.”
The King sheathed his sword, “Then now you can tell me, as a loyal Breton, who else is with the Count of Nantes.” He waved his hand and a cleric appeared with a wax tablet. “Speak and you shall live.”
The Breton needed no further urging and the cleric struggled to keep a count of the names of the rebel lords. They would be punished by the King after we had won. Their names did not interest me but their numbers did. There would be more than a hundred and ten knights whom we would be facing. We could now muster a hundred. Some of the knights of Anjou had died and others had been wounded or, in the case of two of them, hurt when they drunkenly fought each other over a woman. When the Breton had finished the King said, “Have the horn sounded. We will be ready to fight them if they choose not to camp.”
By the time we were arrayed in our battle lines, with our banners fluttering in the late afternoon breeze, we spied the Breton army. They halted a mile from us. The ground sloped down from Blain to the plain and we had a good view of their army. I noted the light horsemen. There looked to be more than two hundred of them. The bulk of their army was made up of the levy. The forty or so crossbowmen would not present a problem for us.
King Henry turned to me, “Do you think he will attack now?”
“If he does then we have won already. His horses have ridden further this day than we have and we have defences prepared. I am guessing that he will be examining our lines and he will camp so that he can devise a way to defeat us.”
“Then come with me, Warlord, let us speak with this rebel and plant the seeds of doubt in his mind.” He turned to Geoffrey, “You come with us. Bring my standard. You may learn something of negotiation and you Earl William, I would have you at our side.”
After Geoffrey had taken the standard we rode towards the enemy. The Bretons had halted and now that they saw us approach four detached themselves from the army and rode towards us. I recognised the banner of the Count of Nantes. The other three men we
re unknown to me. None of us wore helmets and our arming hoods were around our shoulders. We stopped two hundred paces from our men. I knew that Aelric would have archers with arrows nocked in case of treachery.
The Count was the same age as the King but where Henry had the lean and hungry look of a warrior I saw that the Count of Nantes was a little podgier. War was not his business.
“You come to make war on your lawful ruler, Count?”
“You deposed Duke Conan. I do not recognise you as my lord. It is you who have made war on Bretons! You have laid waste to Ploërmel!”
The King laughed, “We took the Count’s castle and his people threw him from his walls. Poher has left the rebel alliance. I have no doubt that those in Rennes and Mayenne who may have been swayed by your rebellion will now be reconsidering their position.”
“Why have you ridden to speak to me then? What can you gain?”
“Me? Nothing. This is my generous nature. I am giving you the chance to order your men to accept me as their lawful lord and you the opportunity to take a ship into exile. I am being a thoughtful lord.”
“Go into exile!”
I leaned forward and said, quietly, “I would take the King’s offer, Count, it is better than the alternative.”
“And that is?”
I sat up, “Why, death, of course! That is the punishment for treason and you have already committed treason before the four of us. You denied the King’s right to rule. It is only the manner of your death which is to be decided.”
He jerked his head around, “We will decide this tomorrow on the field of battle.”
The King smiled and said, for the benefit of the three men with the Count, “You could save many men’s lives by fighting my champion.”
The Count looked at my son, “You mean Earl William?”
“No, my lord, I mean the Warlord!”
He had not mentioned this to me but I smiled as though I welcomed the challenge. He should have accepted for I was an old man but he did not for he knew my reputation. I had never been defeated, nor even unhorsed in any tourney. I had fought champions and emerged victorious. He turned and rode away. I saw the looks on his three companion’s faces. He had lost their confidence.
As we rode back Geoffrey asked, “Why did the King offer him the challenge my lord? No offence Earl Marshal but the man is half your age.”
My son answered, “The Count is no warrior. He has soft hands and a pudgy face. You have fought in tourneys my lord, you could have defeated him. This was to plant seeds of doubt in his men’s mind. I will wager there will be desertions this night. There will be lords hurrying to their homes so that they can claim to have had nothing to do with the rebellion.”
As we neared our men I saw my archers unstringing their bows.
The Count of Tours shouted, “We still fight, lord?”
“On the morrow we will decide who rules in this land. It will be me!”
As he cleaned my mail Simon asked, “Will we be fighting tomorrow, Earl?”
“Probably not although we have fewer knights than the Bretons so the King may need me to make up the numbers. If he does then you make sure that you are behind me with my standard. You have not completed enough training to be in the front line.” I wondered if the King’s offer to the Count had been a way of drawing Breton knights towards me. I would not be surprised if that was a result. The Count would brood and wonder why he did not take up the King’s offer. He would have household knights who would be keen to gain a reputation and the death of the Warlord would give them that. “When you have done that then go and check on the horses. Give Ridley an apple. Tomorrow he will earn it.”
That night I prayed. Since the death of Wulfric these prayers had had a greater significance. I knew that my time on earth was drawing to a close. My prayers were not for me but my son and his family. I had spent a lifetime saving England for the Plantagenets. Now I had to ensure that my family would be safe when I was no longer around.
I woke before dawn. Old men need to make water more often than young knights. I was surprised to see that my son had roused his knights. My archers had had a fire going all night and there were rabbits cooking. Simon brought me a haunch. It was still warm. Along with a beaker of ale from the archers it was a warrior’s breakfast. Simon had been given a leg too and he mused, “Lord, do the other knights have such men as we do?”
“Sadly not, for many lords see their warriors as beneath them. We do not.”
I was mounted before dawn and rode, with Simon and my banner to meet the King. Simon handed me a spear. I would not need a replacement.
The King was eager for the battle. “I prefer this to an assault on walls. This is work worthy of a knight. I will need you with us today, Warlord. Keep yourself safe. I need you for advice.” Nodding I saw that Geoffrey held his banner. “And my son can win his spurs this day, God willing.”
“Amen to that Your Majesty.”
King Henry had his six household knights alongside him and I took my place to the right of them. Samuel appeared on one side of me and Sir Ralph on the other. My son and the rest of our knights filled in the line to my right. I saw my son grinning. “You did not think we would allow others to guard the Warlord, did you?”
I looked behind me and saw Wilfred and the rest of our men at arms. The men of the Tees Valley would go to war together.
The Bretons had their crossbows and their levy moving in two blocks towards our flanks. Perhaps they did not realise the threat our archers posed. They would soon learn. As well as the stakes the archers had fashioned willow pavise behind which they sheltered. The Breton knights were behind their light horsemen. There were a hundred of those. Lightly armed they rode fast horses. They intended to weaken us with javelins. I glanced across to the King. He did not look worried. I wondered if he had a plan to deal with them.
The Breton horns sounded and the levy and the crossbows began to move across the open ground. The horsemen did not move. I think the Count was trying to outwit the King and make him commit our knights. The crossbows and the levy were not a threat. Our archers could deal with those easily. When the crossbows were three hundred paces from us they stopped and the levy began to form ranks. Our two blocks of archers had arrows nocked ready but they were just watching. Another horn sounded and the light horsemen came charging towards us. I realised then the Count had made a major mistake. He did not want to risk exposing his levy to our knights and so he held them while, as he thought, the light horsemen would break us down.
King Henry’s voice broke our silence, “Archers, you know what to do!”
Aelric and my archers all shouted, “Aye lord!”
I heard the command to draw as the horsemen reached the crossbows. Another fifty paces and they would be in range. Aelric waited until they were a little closer and then shouted, “Release!” With no mail and light horses every arrow found flesh; it was either a horseman or his mount. Both of the results hurt the Bretons. A second and a third flight thinned the ranks so much that I doubted we would suffer a single javelin. I was wrong. Four hardy warriors continued towards us. They hurled their javelins at the King. They were taken on the shields of the King, his son and the household knights. The household knights then spurred their horses and, as the Bretons turned to race back to their own lines were speared for their reckless courage.
The ground over which the Breton knights would advance was littered with horses and men. Another horn sounded and the crossbows and the levy began to move closer. They now knew what awaited them. The lines were a little more ragged. Aelric waited until the crossbows stopped and the men knelt. The next arrows fell amongst the crossbowmen and they died. After three flights there was not a single crossbowman alive. The thirty bolts they had sent were embedded in willow. As the archers switched to the levy the King shouted, “Now is our time, Charge!”
He did not use a horn and we all heard the command. A horn would have ensured a straight line but with so many dead and dying before us a strai
ght line did not matter. I had not intended to join the battle but I knew that men would be watching me. If the Warlord hung back it could hurt our attack. I spurred Ridley. Both Samuel and Ralph were a little eager and their horses began to move ahead of mine. I saw them struggling to rein them in and then we were together. The two groups of warriors who were advancing towards my archers had tightened their lines and were using shields to protect themselves from the arrow storm. It made them move even more slowly and as they had bodies to negotiate our archers had all the time in the world.
Count Matthew decided to cut his losses. He sounded his horns and his knights moved up the slope towards us. We were not galloping yet. Our spears were vertical and our shields hung from our cantles. The Bretons were eager to join with us. They had seen the effect of our arrows and wished to avoid an arrow storm. We were five hundred paces from each other. They were moving faster for Prince Geoffrey had yet to lower his standard to signal an increase in pace. The Bretons, in contrast, were charging and they had a ragged line to show for it.
When the standard was lowered and then raised we were less than a hundred and fifty paces from the Bretons. I hefted my shield up to my shoulder. I saw my grandson glance at his father to see if he ought to lower his spear. When we were fifty paces from the Bretons and still, largely, boot to boot I lowered my spear. I had seen the man I would be fighting. He was one of the men who had been with Count Matthew. That made him an important man; he was one of the Count’s lieutenants. He would not be an easy man to defeat.
The knights from Anjou had not kept the same pace as we had and there was a clatter and a crash as their ragged line met the Breton’s equally uneven one. The cracks and crashes seemed to ripple. I did not take my eyes off my foe but he flicked his head to the right when the two lines met. It was a tiny movement but in battles such movements have a greater effect. I pulled back my arm and then punched towards his side. He had a lance and the glance he had made had broken his concentration. The head of the lance rose. My spear rammed into his side as his cracked off my helmet. I was twisting the spear to remove it as his horse took his mortally wounded body between Ralph and myself. I allowed my arm to be forced back until the spear head popped out of his bloody side.