by Griff Hosker
We rose at dawn and, leaving the servants in Duddo, we rode towards Norham. I counted on the fact that the Scots would assume I just had my men and the men of Durham. They might reinforce from Berwick and so I sent all of our archers west to cross the Tweed and wait in ambush for any reinforcements who might ford the river at Norham. It meant we were attacking with just horsemen. The men the Sheriff had brought who had no horses would be held as a reserve. They had marched a long way. We rode beneath the Sheriff’s banner, my banner and the banner of the Bishop of Durham. The Scots would know, as soon as they saw them, that we had been reinforced. We were seen from a mile away and immediately we caused a stir. They began forming their men into three blocks. The men who fought on foot were in the centre beneath the banner of Dunbar. The two other blocks were made up of a mixture of knights and hobelars. My father had often used complicated battle plans. I remembered the battle of Herbault where he had totally outwitted the French and the rebels by switching knights from one flank to another. I could not divine a clever approach to this battle. The Scots were arrayed with the woods anchoring their right flank and the ditch around the castle their left. Without a large number of experienced men who could work their way through the woods then we had no choice but to charge in three lines.
I talked through my plan with the Sheriff. Samuel was next to me, “Recall the archers and send them through the woods, father.”
“If I had more then I would but the archers are the only ones who can stop the Scots from being reinforced. We know not when the men of Berwick will reach us. Sheriff you and your men form the left flank, Robert of Howden, you and your men will be the right flank and I will have my men at arms and household knights in the centre. God be with us!”
We formed our lines and the Scots waited. The ones who had been at Bamburgh would be looking for our archers and the dismounted men at arms. There would be doubt in their minds. Ralph of Sadberge had the horn and Thomas of Piercebridge the banner. They rode just behind me and in front of the men at arms from Durham and the New Castle.
“Ralph, sound the horn, for God and King Henry!”
The men chorused, “For God and King Henry!”
We walked our horses. I was riding Goldie. I might have preferred a war horse but I had made the decision not to bring them. Our spears all had pennants on them and they fluttered in the breeze. I heard the Scottish horns and they stood to. The men in the centre, those on foot would be filled with fear. In such a battle as this their horsemen would desert them and they would charge our flanks. The men on foot would be facing me, the son of the bane of the Scots. Those who had been at Bamburgh would have told them of the way we had slaughtered them when we had fought at their camp. I raised my spear. Ralph sounded the horn and we began to canter. The ground was shaking. Our hooves sounded like thunder. The Scots had a decision to make. When did they attack us? If they waited to take our charge stationary then they would die. I saw helmets turn as they looked to Lord Dunbar. I could see him now. He was flanked by French knights, two of them. One pointed towards me. I began to hope that the French, in their desperation to get at the Earl of Cleveland would make their knights attack me! When their horns sounded and they moved forward I saw that they had done just that. They were converging on me. It was a disastrous mistake. They would take the men on foot out of the battle and they would expose themselves to an attack in the flank from my knights. Lord Dunbar and his advisers remained where they were. We were one hundred and fifty paces from them. I took a chance and I gambled. If we increased speed then they would match ours but we were already travelling faster. If we galloped, with luck, we could strike their men on foot before their horsemen could get up to speed and hit ours.
“Ralph, sound the charge!” In every battle my father and I had ordered the charge we had been within a hundred paces, often closer. I could see that it affected the Scots. The horn sounded and they went from the walk to the charge. They were not ready and they had an uneven line. I would be reliant on Robert of Howden and William de Vesci but I was confident that they would be resolute. I saw the Scots trying to get at me. It would be a close-run thing but, as I spurred Goldie again and she leapt forward I was confident that we would hit the men on foot and, more importantly, they would not see us coming.
The knights struck my men at arms first. My household knights and I hit the surprised Scottish foot warriors. My spear struck one in the cheek and he reeled. He was a big man and as he fell he created a gap. Using my knees and Goldie’s natural intelligence I guided Goldie into the gap, spearing a surprised Scot in the chest as I did so. As I was striking down the man I killed pulled the spear head from his own body and I was able to pull back and stab once more. The front rank had had spears and shields. Some even had helmets. Now we were fighting men with either a spear or a sword and no shield. I broke through, having slain two Scots in rapid succession.
Reining in I turned. As I did so I saw that the knights from Berwick had arrived but were prevented from crossing the river by my archers who used the cover of the trees to pick them off. We had little time for eventually they would force a crossing and then we would be outnumbered.
“Samuel, Alf, Richard, Padraig, with me!”
I turned Goldie and rode back into the fray. I was no longer using my horse’s speed I was selecting enemies who posed a threat to the rest of our horsemen. I saw one Scot wearing a short mail hauberk with a helmet on his head. He was swinging a war hammer. Even as I watched the war hammer connected with a man at arms’ horse. The horse fell, killed instantly. As the Scot raised his war hammer to impale the man at arms with the spike I rammed my spear between his shoulder blades. The grateful man at arms leapt to his feet and grabbing the warrior hammer from the dying man’s hands he swung it around his head. Two Scots fell immediately. Samuel and my knights were also reaping the rewards of breaking through the enemy lines. Attacked on two sides many of the Scots failed to protect against either attack.
I wheeled Goldie around. Lord Dunbar and the two French knights were with the banners. “Cleveland! With me! Ralph sound the charge! Thomas keep my banner close.”
With three knights close by me and our squires in close attendance we rode towards Lord Dunbar. We had already cleared the field of living warriors and our horses picked their way through the dead and the dying. We could not gallop; our horses were too tired and so we rode together. Miraculously my last spear was still intact. The knights were too busy watching the battle unfold and we made it to within thirty paces before we were noticed. Lord Dunbar tried to flee with his standard bearer. If the standard fell then they would have lost. The two French knights rode at me but Samuel and Alf spurred their horses extracting the last burst of speed. Two spears crashed into two French shields and Thomas and I, along with Ralph, were through. Lord Dunbar was slow to turn his horse and I was gaining on him. I did not want him dead, I wanted his surrender. As I neared the Scottish lord I rammed my spear into the hamstring of his left leg. His scream sounded like that of a vixen. While he fell from his horse Ralph’s sword was at the standard bearer’s throat. He lowered the standard and Thomas threw it to the ground.
“Ralph sound the horn! We have won!”
Turning I saw that the two French knights lay dead. They had not surrendered. My son and Sir Morgan had shown their skill. The French squires were nowhere to be seen. It as a pity for I would have liked to question them. I pointed my spear at the prostrate form on the ground. “Your standard has fallen, Lord Dunbar. Do you surrender?”
His standard bearer leapt to the ground and began to bind his leg. The Scot nodded. “I surrender but I curse your family!”
I laughed and handed my spear to Thomas. “Insults merely add to the ransom demands. Watch him Thomas and Ralph. Samuel, Alf, come with me. Bring the Scottish standard. There was still fighting. Men who had their backs to us had not seen the fall of Lord Dunbar. When we neared the fighting, I took off my helmet and, standing in my stirrups shouted, “Hold! Lord Dunbar has surren
dered! See I have the standard.”
Men’s heads turned and when they saw me, flanked by my knights, holding the standard, they lowered their weapons. One knight saw me and turned back to continue fighting with William de Vesci. The Sheriff was angered at the flagrant disregard for the rules of war. He blocked the blow from the sword with his shield and brought his war axe to split the knight’s head and helmet in two. Men began to cheer.
Long after the battle people said that the victory was due to the heroic charge of the knights of the valley. That was not true. There were too few of us. The victory came because three conroi of knights joined together and fought as one and my archers had done something few other men on foot had done. They had defeated a column of mounted knights.
Samuel, Alf and I turned our horses and with William de Vesci we headed for the castle. The gates opened and Sir Richard Bulmer, bareheaded, rode from the castle to greet us. As he neared us he patted his horse’s head. “It has been many days since she has had the opportunity to ride. We thank you gentlemen for allowing us to do that!”
I found myself smiling. I suppose you needed a wry sense of humour to be here at the furthest point from the King of any. “You are welcome Sir Richard. We will not impose upon your hospitality. We will camp here this night and then return to Bamburgh until reparations are made and ransoms are paid. Do you need anything?”
He nodded, “Fresh meat and, if you have it, ale.”
“That will be part of the reparations. Samuel go and fetch Lord Dunbar and his standard bearer. Do you have a healer?”
“Aye and a good one too.”
“Then if he stitches up the Scot we can take him back to Bamburgh.”
I dismounted as did all but Sir Richard. Our horses had been the heroes of the day and they deserved a rest. When Lord Dunbar arrived, he was pale but his leg was no longer bleeding. His standard bearer was no youth. He was a man grown.
“Standard bearer.”
He raised his head up proudly, “I am James, lord of Galloway and Lord Dunbar’s son.”
I nodded, “You surrendered and as such you and your father belong to me. Here are my ransom demands for the two of you. I want ten head of cattle and six barrels of ale delivering by nightfall. In addition, I will have a thousand crowns for the two of you. There will be demands for the other knights we have captured.”
Lord Dunbar raised his head, “You do not wish a treaty?”
I laughed, “Why? You never keep them. Your word is like the wind, it blows one day and disappears the next. Let us just say that if you come south again then we will deal with you as harshly but we will increase the reparations each time until Scotland is bled dry. It is your choice. You might advise your King to choose his alliances more prudently. He has been used by the French.”
The two of them looked at each other and then at me. Lord Dunbar said, “This has nothing to do with King William. We did this of our own volition.”
I laughed, “Of course you did and the French knights my son and knight slew just happened to be in Scotland admiring the scenery. I am not a fool, Dunbar, and you would be advised to remember that.” I turned to Lord Galloway. “Is that acceptable? Do I have your word that you will return to Bamburgh with the ransom?”
“You do and the cattle and ale will be here by nightfall. I would not have my father go hungry.” I nodded and he rode away.
Sir Richard rose up to me. “If Lord Dunbar gets any food it will be the tripes and the offal! Damned Scotsmen! Robbers and bandits every one.”
The Bishop had chosen a good constable for this outpost of the Palatinate.
The battlefield took some time to clear. We had captured many Scots who were not worth ransom. They were disarmed and set to clearing the battlefield. The English dead were buried in the churchyard of the small settlement which had grown by Norham Castle. The Scots were burned. The survivors of the battle were then sent on their way. They marched disconsolately across the ford of the Tweed. They were not happy and their burning eyes told me that they had not finished fighting the English.
The next day we set off south with our captured knights and wagons filled with weapons, standards and treasure. Twenty war horses had been captured. I took six and the other fourteen were divided between the Sheriff and Robert of Howden. As we headed back down the road to Bamburgh I detected a change in Robert of Howden. He had learned from the experience. As he said, when we neared Bamburgh, “I will not wait to be ordered to follow you north next time, lord. I will volunteer. We have lost knights but that was because they were not good enough. We need to practise our art. Most of us gained our spurs and then thought that was all there was to being a knight. This has been a valuable lesson for us.”
William de Vesci said, “It is unlikely that the Scots will raise their heads for some time, Howden.”
I shook my head, “Do not be too sure, Sheriff. This was King William’s chevauchée. He was not present but he was behind it. He was testing our defences. Those men we released hate the English. They will follow again. They are fools but they are brave fools. They think they can win. If you wish some advice from one who fought in the crusades then this is it. Do not relax your vigilance. The Seljuk Turks have been defeated by Christians many times but they come back for more. The Scots are the same. The moment we relax our vigilance then they will pour through this land.”
Robert of Howden said, “Then how can we stop them?”
“The Sheriff and his lords need to make their castles stronger. Bamburgh, as we have seen is strong but what of the others? Is the New Castle strong enough? What of Alnwick and Prudhoe? I task you with that Sheriff. This was a probe. He has seen that this is too strong a place to attack. He will find another route to England.” I turned to Robert of Howden. “To answer you lord, I will advise the Bishop to have a bigger garrison at Norham. I will write to the King and ask him to increase the men Richard of Bayeux has at his disposal. The harbour is under used. We can send men by sea from the New Castle and Hartness. That would be a way to reinforce the garrison in times of war.”
William de Vesci reined in as we passed through the gates of Bamburgh. “I can see that you are like your father, Earl. You think beyond your last battle and anticipate the next war.”
He did not know it but that was the greatest compliment he could have paid me.
James de Puiset had recovered. He sought me out before we left when all the ransoms had been paid. I was anxious to return home for we had spent two months in the north. “Earl William I would serve you as a knight.”
“And I would have you, gladly but you are a knight of the Palatinate. Your uncle may have something to say about that. if he gives you permission then you can be a household knight but there will be neither manor nor income.”
“I care not. I have much to learn and you are the man to teach me.”
I liked James and I wondered if the Bishop would agree or not.
Chapter 13
We managed a peaceful year, at least in the north. King Henry continued to allow my father to remain at home in Stockton. He recovered from his wound completely although Brother Peter was insistent that the Warlord never returned to war. I think my father was happy about that, albeit secretly. He was old but until the Empress had died he had not looked it. Since her death and his wounds, he now looked his age. What he craved were grandchildren but neither Ruth nor Eleanor showed any signs of bearing children. My wife was philosophical about the whole thing. “Jehovah will send them children, in his own time. You men want your women to be with child giving you young warriors! Let Ruth and Eleanor enjoy their husbands and their homes. Both are young and there is time enough for them to bear children.”
Life in Stockton and my valley returned to the peaceful ways we had enjoyed in the years after the civil war. We had time to train our squires. Simon and Thomas of Piercebridge needed the skills which only Ralph of Bowness could give them. They could ride but the former Varangian Guard could teach them how to kill with a sword. It see
med unlikely that we would need to go to war again any time soon. A year, almost to the day after our victory at Norham, a messenger arrived by ship. It was Sir Richard Fortescue, who was one of King Henry’s household knights. I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. A messenger from King Henry was rarely a good thing. He carried with him a small chest.
Sir Richard was a good knight. He was not a courtier. He was a warrior who had gained his spurs in Ireland with King Henry. That alone made my father and I listen to him. “The King would like your lordships to come back with me to London. He has need of your counsel.”
I saw my father’s shoulders sag. I asked, “Just my father and me? He does not need my knights?” If he did not need my knights then we would not be needed for war.
Smiling Sir Richard said, “There is no war looming if that is what you mean, Earl William, he needs your advice.” He lowered his voice but there were just the two of us in the room with him. “To speak candidly, the King is having problems with his sons. I can say no more. It is just advice he seeks and then you can return here to the north.” He opened the chest and took out a seal. It was similar to the one worn by my father. “As a reward for your service last year against the Scots, Earl William, King Henry makes you Earl Marshal. With it comes the power to command all the knights and lords who live north of the Tees and south of the Tweed. You are now lord of the north. With it comes the income from all of the lands which border the Tees.”
That was an incentive. The lands to the south of the Tees paid their income to York. I guessed that the Archbishop was still grateful to both myself and the King. It was a bribe to ensure that I headed south with Sir Richard. My father looked pleased but it did little to increase that which I already had. My father seemed to read my thoughts. “At least this way you do not have to ask the Bishop for his men. You can order them.”
The Bishop of Durham had agreed that James could serve me. I think he was pleased to have the encumbrance taken from him. He gave his nephew a warhorse and mail. James had brought with him a squire, Henry of Auckland. Even so the Bishop and I still had an uneasy relationship. Perhaps the seal would be a good thing.