Hereward arrived at mid day. A dozen wealthy men spent the rest of the day in a corner of the great hall debating and planning. Hereward was still Edwin's spy master, and brought reports from all over the land. Edwin first needed to explain his own situation after spending the winter with William in Normandy.
He told them that while in Normandy he had earned the trust of William and his wife Mathilde. From that trust had come a plan to split the kingdom into Earldoms similar to how King Knut had. He then told them that he had been betrothed to William's twelve-year-old daughter. He smiled at them and told them that the outcome would have been an England very similar to the England under Edward, except that the Godwinsons were replaced in the south by William's family. He then frowned.
"For months, William and I perfected the plans. After less than a month back in England, William reneged on the plan. There is to be no wedding. There are to be no English Earls." He looked around at the faces. "Do not blame William. William had a vision for this kingdom. It may not be our vision, but it did require peace to achieve it. The halting of our plan was due to his half brothers, the odious Bishop Odo and the vicious Robert of Mortain. May the Mortain family rot in Hell forever.
What I learned while in Normandy was that Norman lords all wish to hold land in both Normandy and England. William spends most of his days trying to keep Norman lords true to him. He fears a death from a Norman sword more than a death from an English one. He is angry with Odo for how he abused his regency, and yet he needs Odo's support to stay in power. Bloody Mortains. I have met other Mortains. Odo is the worst of an evil lot. The evil of the Mortains holds sway over Normandy."
He took a breath and was silent. The men began discussing his words, and he allowed it for some time, then said, "William is being twisted by the fates just as Harold Godwinson was. He moved heaven and earth to invade England, and once his army was tied up here, the fates twisted once again. Flanders has a new count, and Philippe of France is now a boy king without the old Count of Flanders to protect him. If he hadn't invaded England, William would be the Count of Flanders by now, and by next year, the King of France.
As you can imagine, William is not happy. He landed in England and immediately led his army to sweep away the southern rebellions. He marched his army from London through Kent and is now marching them from east to west across Wessex. The rebels will be crushed by him." He held up his hand to silence Hereward's comments. "There are many rebels and many rebellions, but each is unto itself. Each small rebellion will be crushed quickly by William's full army. None of them standing alone are strong enough to slow his army's march. There is no help for those rebels. There is no other army in the field in the south.
I will not be surprised to hear that he executes every rebel, and anyone harbouring one. Such is how dark his mood has become. True, some of the rebels are Norman lords, and they may be exiled instead of executed. Some of the rebels are nothing more than raiders trying to capture and escape with treasure before the Normans take it all. Harold's sons for instance. They must know where the Godwinson treasure is hidden..
I doubt it will take a month for William to put down all resistance as far as Exeter and Devon and Cornwall. He will then turn north and do the same all along the Welsh border. Now the Welsh, and their longbows, well, they may slow him down. Slow him a lot." There were murmurs of agreement.
"William has learned his lesson. He needs to build a second Norman army in Normandy, so that he can have a full army on both sides of the Manche. For that he needs coin, a lot of coin. And land to promise to new knights. As he marches, he will be collecting everything of value and calling it taxes.
Once the Welsh are pushed back over the border, I doubt that he will slow down. I believe that he will make full use of the good weather and will continue north to Nottingham and then York and then Dun Holm."
He stopped talking and waited for the chatter to die down. "I propose that I take a Mercian force to meet William once he has been weakened along the Welsh border, and with a show of force, make him take up our plan for the earldoms again and betroth me once more to his daughter. "
Everyone was speaking at once. Edwin let them, and motioned to the serving woman, who was Anske, to refill the ale pots. Raynar waited for any of the senior men or the other Earls to ask the obvious question. No one did, so Raynar asked it. "My lord. Instead of a show of force to make William listen, why not a show of overwhelming force and crush William and his army." He expected yells of agreement from the others but the silence was telling.
"Raynar, of the men in this room only you and Edgar were at the battle of Hastings road. Your question surprises me, but perhaps it shouldn't as you are a skirmisher and a bowman, whereas most of our warriors are axemen and shieldmen." He turned to Edgar, but Edgar motioned for him to continue.
"The defense of Hastings road down Senlac Hill proved to us that shield men could defeat heavy cavalry so long as they chose the battlefield and they prepared the battlefield and they kept the shieldwall whole. What we have found out since, is that shieldmen cannot attack heavy cavalry. William has had the same lesson. He will never again attack a prepared shieldwall.
He will go around one or retreat from one, but never again will he charge one. If the shieldmen break from the wall to attack him, they are dead men. " There were grumblings of agreement from those who were trained as shieldmen.
"Ambush him," Raynar said.
"Ambushing works well for patrol against patrol, but it is near impossible for an entire army to wait in ambush. His cavalry also has the advantage of speed over distance. They can just run away, re-form, and attack again when and where we are weak."
"Ambush his camps," Raynar suggested.
"William has learned that making and breaking camp each day slows him down and allows ambushes. From now on, instead of making a temporary camp each night, he will take the time to create a permanent fort in every logical place. Motte and bailey forts are springing up across the kingdom. This means that the first time he travels a street he will be slow because he will be building forts as he goes. The next time he must travel that same street he can move quickly from fort to fort."
Edwin looked around at the men and their silence. "I heard this from William's own lips. First he will create simple mottes with log baileys, but they will be garrisoned. The garrison will improve it every year, until he has a string of stone castles along every street and in every town. We cannot ambush these forts, so the Normans can sleep soundly after each day's march. "
"They have been trying to create a motte and bailey in Peterburgh for over a year. It is a lot of work." replied Raynar.
"William marches with an army of thousands. They could do that same year's work in a week."
Raynar was feeling frustrated. There must be an answer to fighting William. "If shieldmen cannot attack William, then use archers. I am proof that archers can kill cavalry and live to tell the tale."
"Raynar, you have proven yourself many times, but always using skirmisher tactics, not army tactics. For an army of archers to attack heavy cavalry, we would need mounted archers. Moreover, mounted archers with bows forceful enough to pierce armour. You are the only mounted archer that I know. William already has more mounted arbalesters than we could train in a year. And what if we did have an army of mounted archers. The cavalry would just run to the nearest castle and wait in safety until we had used up all our arrows."
Edwin read the frustration in Raynar’s face. "Frustrating isn't it? I spent nine months with William and his cavalry, and the whole time I looked for a weakness. I found none that our English warriors could make use of."
Hereward was finally motioned to have his say. "So your plan is to lead a Mercian army against William, and if he doesn't run at you and commit suicide against your shieldwall, then you will call for a peace and send the Mercians home."
"In a word, yes" replied Edwin.
"What if he decides that you are just another rebel, accepts your peace, and then slaughters you?" asked Hereward. There were murmurs from the others.
"I will take that risk. He cannot slaughter the Mercian shieldmen without attacking them, which is what the shieldmen want, so he won't attack the men, but he may take me hostage again. I am willing to take that risk. This is why my aim must always be not to actually fight him, but to have him go back to the plan where I marry his daughter and we run this kingdom jointly."
Hereward then gave them the locations and names of all the rebellions he had heard about. "Have your men mark these names well. When they are beaten by William, the survivors will flee north. We need to remember their names so that we can welcome them as friends.
The most dangerous rebellions for William are those along the Welsh border. The welsh princes are helping the rebels and are waiting to see which of the rebellions are successful. If William missteps, the Welsh will flood across the border and cut his army to pieces. Remember that the Welsh have bowmen like Raynar here, a lot of them."
"Yes," said Edwin, "I agree. That is why I am getting off the ship here. I am on my way to speak with the princes of Wales. Even if William does not return to our plan and my betrothal, there are other worthwhile outcomes. With the help of the Welsh we may stop or slow his army and force them to return to the south rather than moving further north. The outcome could be the same, an English Earl of the North."
"Going through Spalding is traveling the long way from London to Wales," Klaes pointed out.
Morcar answered, "Once William left London with his army, we three feared for our lives because of Odo and the other Mortains. We must have powerful enemies in London for William to have cancelled the betrothal so quickly. Edgar had his women to worry about, so he quietly bought the Cog to take them north. Once it was ready, my brother and I decided it was the safest way to leave London. To the best of our knowledge, the Norman ships still answer to William, and not to Odo."
"Though Odo could hire a raider to drown you at sea," Klaes pointed out.
"Yes, the Karvi was probably Odo's doing," conceded Morcar.
"Which brings me to my plan and my problem," said Edgar sitting forward. "I am taking my family to Dun Holm on the Cog. Klaes, could I charter your ships to escort our Cog north? I will pay better than cargo rates."
"So that would be a week's charter to take you north, and then what?" asked Klaes.
"Once I am further north, I will be safe. Your course after that is up to you. I could arrange another cargo for you in the north," bargained Edgar. "Perhaps a cargo going south, or one to Flanders. If that is not possible then I will gladly pay your expenses to return to here."
"A pleasure to serve you, my lord. My ships are at your command." Klaes stood and walked to the other end of the hall where Gerke was talking quietly with his sisters. He sent Gerke to the docks to ask one of the other captains to take a ship back to the village to give them this news, and to load provisions for two weeks for three ships.
Meanwhile, Edwin began arranging for Hereward to rally his skirmishers and escort he and Morcar to Chester to meet with the princes of Wales.
Klaes said to Raynar, "We would be glad to have you aboard, but we would be more pleased if you would stay on the island and keep our women safe."
"I am torn with choices," replied Raynar, "I would enjoy a long sail north, and I have missed the island life even this past week spent around the ships. However the way to Chester passes close to my home in the Peaks. I have not been there since I was outlawed by the sheriff of Nottingham last summer. It is passed time to make that visit."
Hereward set out to Burna to gather his men and bring them to Spalding. He expected to return ready to set out for Chester in two days. The meeting of the Earls was over. Decisions had been made. Plans had been set in motion.
It was a warm summer day, and the gate was open and people were coming and going to the ships and the village. Local farmers were making deliveries to the kitchen, and were being offered ale from Beatrice's own hand. Klaes was never further than a pace from her. The Earls went back to the docks to see if the big Cog was floating up the river yet.
Raynar escorted Margaret, sister Cristina, mother Agatha, and Beatrice's four-year-old daughter Lucy, on a walk to collect wild flowers from the lush spring meadows. He found himself occasionally herding them like sheep, making sure they stayed within sight of the watch on the walls of the manor. It was a lovely spring day. The air was fragrant with blossom, once you were upwind from the midden. The birds sang their love songs. There was a hum of bees in the clover, and the screech of the occasional hawk from high above.
Both sisters frolicked around him like butterflies, and exchanged witticisms of no importance. It taxed Raynar’s grasp of words. They were formally educated, these women, while he had learned at the knees of miners and shepherds and monks. They knew the Latin names of all the flowers, but nothing of what to use them for in cooking or medicine.
But all was not well in the flower meadows, and the women were surprised when Raynar suddenly herded them back to the manor, and once in the gate immediately left their company to search for Klaes.
He said quietly to him, "Come with me and bring a few bowmen." Raynar was never without his bow now that Beatrice had made him Margaret's champion. The small squad left the gate and Raynar told them to look relaxed, like a hunting party after rabbits.
"What did you see, Raynar?"
"That is why I needed some of your fen men, Klaes. I don't know what I was seeing but it did not look right to me.” He led them through the wildflowers and then back towards the ditch surrounding the manor. "I saw fresh tracks about here, so I herded the women away so they would not trample them.” He was about to say more, but the island men were already searching the ground. They told him to keep his clumsy bloody boots away for a few moments more.
"A dozen men passed this way, moving with stealth. Before dawn. Perhaps closer to midnight," Klaes and the fen men decided. "And look here," he passed a rolled ball of black to Raynar. "Break it open and smell it. It is pine pitch. Once lit it stays lit. There are no pines near here."
"Can we trail them?” Raynar asked.
The men all shrugged. "Of course we can trail them, but why would we? We would set ourselves up to be ambushed. This is open land. We could not surprise them."
"Does this change our night watch?" Raynar asked.
Klaes thought a while "No. I think our guess was correct. They would start with fire arrows to the roof. This pitch proves that. If we douse the fires, so they don't light the roofs, and if we don't let the folk in the houses panic and open the gate, then we should be safe enough."
"We should warn the folk not to stray from the cartway that leads to Spalding," Raynar suggested.
Klaes nodded. "I will go and visit with the men of Spalding. They will not like the idea of strangers creeping about at night with fire arrows. There is a constable at the port. Thorold's man. He will set a watch, and that watch needs to know not to approach the manor after dark. We don't want to shoot them by mistake."
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The Hoodsman - Frisians of the Fens by Skye Smith Copyright
2010-13