XXI

 

 

THEY HAD REACHED Clerkenwell by mid-afternoon, and soon after passed between the wide, open space of Smoothfield – beyond which the River Fleet flowed towards the Thames – and the Priory of St Bartholomew Augustinian. As they passed, Galfrid had craned his head towards its church, and commented wistfully upon its impressive interior – one of the finest in all London, he said – but neither Gisburne nor John were of a mind to stop for sightseeing. Their end was at last in sight.

Ahead, just visible beneath a haze of smoke and dust, lay Aldersgate – one of the seven ancient gates that provided access within the city walls. It was cracked and crumbling and appeared sorely neglected – the walls were built by the Romans, so Galfrid said – but any notion that this was a city in decline was dispelled the moment they passed through.

For miles, as they had drawn closer to the capital – passing fields, pastures, and pleasant, level meadows on the way – they had seen the roads grow busy with traffic of all kinds. There were dusty pilgrims, armoured knights, monks on asses, overladen ox-carts, farmers driving livestock, slogging footsoldiers, rich merchants in carriages, bootless peasants: the Great North Road made no social distinctions. All were steadily funnelled into the great city – distilled and compressed by its streets until each jostled one against the another, closer than any would allow under any other circumstance. It seemed a kind of madness – an impossible trick, folding ever more people into this finite space – space into which far more seemed to flow than ever seemed to leave. Common sense said it must surely reach its limit – a point of crisis, which elsewhere would lead to disaster or panic. Yet this inexorable compression of bodies – each with their own purpose, utterly incompatible with the others – somehow proceeded without incident.

Gisburne believed he understood why. Upon entering the strange, foreign land that was the commune, the streets ceased to be mere conduits or thoroughfares. They were stages, moot halls, pulpits, workshops, eateries, trysting places, animal pens, markets and sports fields – places used not only, nor even mainly, for traversing the city, but for every other thing that life entailed. In winter, the people withdrew to their firesides, but in spring and summer, all life was lived in the streets. In this, one could say it was not so different from any town or village in the land. But so much life was to be found here – on such a vast scale, and in such unimagined variety, from the dandiest earl to the lowest leprotic beggar – that newcomers could do little other than stare in wonder, or horror, or disgust, and forget their own predicaments entirely.

So it was, under such conditions, the trio passed southward down St Martin’s Lane, past Stinking Lane – a domain of butchery, which lived up to its name – to the place where the road opened into the broad thoroughfare of Westchepe.

Here, where traffic should have eased, all movement slowed. For here it was that a great proportion of newcomers to the city, perhaps thinking that they were growing used to its wonders after a few hundred yards, stopped and stared, open-mouthed, while horses, carts, nuns, mercenaries and geese attempted to flow around them.

To the west, the Shambles stretched away to Newgate – which, according to the unique logic of London, was older than Aldersgate. East, the road pressed on into the heart of the great city, beyond which lay the Tower. Rising immediately to their left, like a gnarled finger pointing to heaven, was the stone tower of St Martin Le Grand.

It was from here that London’s curfew bell was rung. In former times, this had signalled the hour of the evening when all were expected to quit the streets, or face a stiff penalty – one of the ways the Conqueror had sought to control the Saxon populace. His son Henry had overturned the restriction, and for the past century, the bell of St Martin’s had announced nothing more than the closing of the city gates for the night. Now, London went about its nocturnal business – which was brisk – entirely unimpeded.

It was the sight that lay immediately opposite as they emerged into Westchepe, however, that inspired awe. The great cathedral of St Paul’s – the largest building in London – dominated the view, and overthrew the senses. For over one hundred years it had been under construction, and its stonework was permanently sheathed in a teetering spiderweb of scaffolding, but somehow this only served to emphasise the greatness of its massed stone, and of its ambition.

“Keep moving, Galfrid,” said Gisburne. He had seen the squire begin to drift at the sight of the great church. “Plenty of time for that in coming weeks...”

As if in riposte, Galfrid announced that he was taking them away from the main thoroughfares and through certain backstreets that he knew, because it was “quicker”.

The earth upon the main streets, exposed to sun and wind, was dry and firm, but on these narrow, winding ways, where the sun rarely penetrated and the air moved not at all, there was a permanent slurry of muck and mud. It stank of dung and decay and stale urine, and sucked noisily at the horses’ hooves as if reluctant to let them go. Several times, Gisburne only narrowly avoided dashing his brains out upon the rotting, overhanging buildings, which seemed to be gradually falling in upon them. Dark eyes – strangers to daylight – blinked at their passing from lightless windows. But this way, Galfrid said, would lead them straight to Candlewick Street, and Eastchepe, and – finally – the Tower. Gisburne knew all of this only because Galfrid insisted on giving a running commentary. He seemed determined to display his knowledge of the capital – and, by default, reveal his master’s ignorance.

“What do you know about London?” asked Galfrid as they rode out of the thickening crowds past Candlewick Street.

“That it is ruled by no Baron or Earl, but by a thing called a mayor. That he is drawn from the merchant classes, and the city enjoys a degree of independence unknown elsewhere. That it lies upon the great river Thames, which brings traders from every nation under heaven. That its bishopric is seated in the great church of St Paul’s. That there is a great sale of fine horses held beyond the gates every Friday, that it is noisy, and that it stinks to high heaven.”

Galfrid nodded. “Well, I know where to find good food, good drink, and decent lodgings,” he said.

Gisburne shrugged, happy to admit defeat. “You have me there.”

“Everything is here if you know where to look,” said the squire. “Gold from Arabia. From Sabaea, spice and incense. From the Scythians, well-tempered arms of steel. Oil from the rich groves of palm that spring from the fat lands of Babylon. Fine gems from the Nile. From China, crimson silks. French wines – and sable, vair and miniver from the far lands of the Rus.”

Gisburne smiled at the unexpected catalogue. “I never had you down as a poet, Galfrid.”

“But one has to be... circumspect... when it comes to ale and vittels. There is good reason why all the meat here is chopped beyond recognition, spiced within an inch of its life and smothered with a strong sauce,” said Galfrid. “Take my advice. If you want meat, and can’t be sure of its provenance, ask for pork. It’s the one thing that has a decent chance of being fresh.”

“Pork?” Gisburne frowned. “Why pork?”

As if in direct response to his question, a dark, mud-caked creature as big as a barrel darted out from a narrow side street and almost under Nyght’s hooves. He danced sideways in alarm, but held his nerve. The pig, meanwhile, gave a piercing squeal, changed direction, and sped off into the shadowy alley opposite, pursued in absurdly comical fashion by a hefty man with outstretched arms, his hose half way down his buttocks. A trio of filthy children dressed in rags ran in his wake, laughing at the tops of their lungs.

“Welcome to London,” chortled John.

Gisburne had explicitly requested the Prince remain silent and hooded until they reached the Tower. The hood was already half-pulled back, with John complaining he could not be expected to ride through crowded streets if he could not see what was to either side of him. Gisburne soon realised that his precautions were not only impossible to enforce, but mostly pointless.

“No one notices anyone or anything in London,” Galfrid had said as they had approached the city gates. “Unless its a victim ready to be fleeced.”

“Then I shall not look like a victim,” John had replied, cheerfully. It was as good a strategy as any. He looked calm and confident – clearly relieved to have reached the city. Gisburne’s feelings, however, were all the other way. What remained uppermost in his mind was the fact that, whether he looked like one or not, John was the target of a vicious murderer, who even now might be somewhere close by, in these crowds.

Only slowly, by degrees, had Gisburne realised London was the perfect place for the Red Hand to disappear. Part of him had thought it would make his task easier, that the Red Hand would somehow stand out all the more, and that the multitude of witnesses to his potential deeds would surely deter or limit him. Now that he was back in this hectic realm, he understood that this was an illusion. Here, one could hide in plain sight – disappear into the tens of thousands of indifferent, jostling bodies – no matter how outlandish one appeared. Because London had seen it all, and done it all, and cared nothing for what happened in its midst.

“So, you didn’t know about the pigs, then...” said Galfrid, deadpan.

Gisburne had known about the pigs – at least, he thought he had. What he had not appreciated was how ubiquitous they were. On the main thoroughfares, on a good day, one could avoid swine entirely. Away from them – and increasingly, the deeper one got into the labyrinth – they seemed to inhabit every yard, and run loose in every alley. They were the perfect city dweller, eating all the rubbish humankind discarded – everything other creatures would not, and more besides. Where they could, they’d even eat the rats. The only problem was preventing them from progressing to bigger fare – cats, dogs, children. In some parts, Galfrid claimed, the hogs had turned completely wild, and there was a bounty for each one killed. Gisburne couldn’t help wondering whether the residents of London hadn’t simply replaced the customary vermin of the city with a whole new race of rats – half as big as a big man and generating ten times as much reeking shit. But at least, he supposed, these rats could be made into decent sausages.

There was much Gisburne did not know about London. In truth, he had rarely spent longer than a day and a night here, and even then he had remained largely insulated from it. He knew a handful of destinations – the wharves, a few inns, and, of course, the Tower – and the roads that linked them; main thoroughfares, for the most part. He rarely ventured further than his prescribed task required, and returned home as soon as he was able. Perhaps he simply had not encountered its pleasures – but he had never felt greatly moved to seek them out.

He did not like London. He respected it, saw much to admire in it, was even awed by it. But he did not like it. It was a harsh, foreign world, in which the simplest matters became impossible – unless you were a native of the place. He did not like its filth – guts from butchers’ shops, excrement of humans and animals, rotting vegetation and all manner of stinking rubbish – which frequently heaped up in the roads with nowhere to go, making everywhere a midden. He did not like the air and the miasmatic sickness that came with it, all of which the inhabitants shrugged off as if illness, parasites and a short life were simply things to be endured – if they noticed them at all.

Least of all did he like the people. Not that in themselves they were bad. Far from it. They were robust, pragmatic, and resourceful – an admirable breed, always ready to regale you with their own unique brand of joke or bawdy song, of which they seemed to have an infinite fund. In business transactions – which they thrust upon every passer by, stranger or not, at any opportunity – they were shrewd and unashamedly relentless. But even this he did not mind. There was also a noisy cheer about them, and while some affected a kind of eye-rolling world-weariness, Gisburne knew this was a pose. Even amongst the lowest of the low in this city, there was a kind of boundless optimism. They would try anything, and see opportunities everywhere, always seeking, always moving.

Ultimately, he came to realise, this was the only way to survive the city. Those who did not – who lacked the strength or the will to do so – were ground to dust by London’s merciless mill. They were winnowed chaff, trampled into the dirt by the city’s restless feet. It was an environment which, to use an expression of Gilbert de Gaillon’s, took no prisoners. The survivors formed a species entirely their own, uniquely fitted for life in this vast, labyrinthine nest.

These creatures were called Londoners.

No, it was not the character of the people that oppressed him. It was their sheer number – the endless, unceasing swell of humanity that flowed along every thoroughfare and alley, pressing at the limits of the cramped courses. The unrelenting, ant-like activity baffled the senses, sapped the will and left one bewildered and exhausted. There was no time for rest, no respite from the faces and voices.

One yearned to hear the simple sound of a bird or a brook – but the only birds that ventured into the interior were harsh-throated crows, and the only running water the waste tipped from windows. There was the lapping tide of the Thames, of course, but to the stranger even this was something alien – overwhelming in scale, and ripe with sewage and the stink of the tanneries. The Seine was a mere ditch in comparison.

Even if such sounds existed here, they would be engulfed. In the streets, the noise of humanity never ceased. None here complained about the relentless din. Most seemed not to notice at all, and merely raised their own voices so as to be heard over it. Gisburne began to believe that some Londoners actually enjoyed it. None would simply converse if they could exclaim loudly, and none would content themselves with exclaiming loudly if they were free to bellow at the top of their lungs – which, of course, they always were. And few exercised their freedoms with greater vigour than the Londoners of the commune.

For the callow visitor from the countryside, these bawled, bloodcurdling conversations seemed like terrifying altercations – to them, entire streets were nothing less than rivers of seething anger, threatening at any moment to burst into savage, unchecked violence. More often than not, visitors left this chaotic nest shaken to the core, and vowing never to return.

Even with his own experience of the city – and no one would call the seasoned knight ‘callow’ – Gisburne was not immune to its effects. On several occasions, when traversing its thoroughfares, he had felt his hand go to the hilt of his sword at the sound of voices apparently raised in violent outrage – only to witness the supposed combatants breaking into uproarious laughter and slapping each other heartily upon the shoulders.

The city was not without its advantages. Here, one could buy anything, if – as Galfrid had made clear – one knew where to look. There was no pleasure that could not be had for a price. Bawdy houses were everywhere, catering to every taste and pocket, and only outnumbered by the vast array of inns – though the two were not always distinguishable.

It was not only the sheer quantity of inns that made the head spin, but their outlandish appearance. Elsewhere, a stout, gaily decorated stake in the ground announced the presence of an alehouse. In London, as in all matters, things were done differently. Here, the streets were so cramped – many not wide enough for a wagon, some barely even a horse – that alestakes had taken to the air, and now projected out above the doorways, each striving to be more distinct and colourful than their neighbours. From some hung brightly painted boards with garish images of dragons and horses. Others had carved effigies: Gisburne saw hedgehogs, bare-breasted mermaids, two-headed birds and the heads of Saracens. The inns had come to be known by the symbols they bore – the Red Dragon, the White Hart, the Golden Lion – and thus was solved the problem of specifying in which of the twenty inns along Eastchepe one desired to meet.

“The Green Man,” Galfrid had said as they reached the far end of that road, and nodded up at the effigy over the door. They were now where Eastchepe met Tower Street, the square turrets of the Tower itself clearly visible ahead. Gisburne looked up at the grotesquely grinning figure over the door, and winced.

“If we must,” he said.

“Well, at least you won’t forget it,” Galfrid said, then turned back the way they had come in search of lodgings. “See you back here!”

Gisburne had heard John chuckling to himself then, and followed the Prince’s gaze back up to the effigy over the inn’s lopsided door. Above the cracked and greying wood of the lintel, freshly carved and painted green, was a circular mass of interlocking foliage, and at its heart, a jolly but maniacal face. The woodcarver’s ambition had been greater than his skill, but his intentions were clear.

Grinning down at them from the inn front – the eyes wild and staring, the smile oddly reminiscent of a voracious predator – had been the cowled visage of Robin Hood.