CHAPTER XVIII

 

The Year 1120

King Henry’s Court at Rouen

 

It was a great day for England. The barons’ act of liege homage to William formally secured the Norman lands under King Henry’s sovereign rule.

“Henceforth it shall be clear to all men,” the king declared, “that Normandy is no longer part of France. Now peace will reign here as well as across the British Sea. Fortune smiles upon us this day.”

King Henry had summoned the Norman barons to the capital of Normandy to reinforce the establishment of his son, William, as the new Duke of Normandy. Placing William at the head of the Duchy of Normandy was an important step in the prince’s grooming to inherit the crown. Henry sat on a high throne proudly watching the barons pay homage to the prince. One by one the nobles approached William, their heads uncovered. They laid aside their swords and spurs, ungirt their belts, and kneeling before their new lord and liege, they held their hands extended between his.

“I become your man from this day forth,” each baron declared, “of life and limb, and will hold faith to you for the lands I claim to hold of you.”

Henry’s face clearly reflected his pleasure as the nobles signed an oath of fealty to the new Duke of Normandy, especially when his old nemesis, the Count of Anjou, swore his oath. At last Henry and his court could return to Winchester to focus on the revolutionary changes the king planned to continue to make in governing his realm.

Robert of Gloucester stood at his father’s side watching the ceremony. When William yawned, obviously bored with the proceedings, Robert’s hand reflexively gripped his sword pommel. He would have loved to slap the ingrate’s face. You have the world laid at your feet, you fool, he seethed, and it means nothing to you. What do you know of history, or how to build and govern a great empire? Our father’s accomplishments are astounding and far reaching. Some say his treatment of his foes is cruel and brutal, but I believe he has always been a just and brilliant king. And you, my epicene brother, when the crown of England rests on your degenerate head, will undo everything our father has achieved.

Robert felt the heat rise in his neck. He took a deep breath. That should be me up there, he thought. I am the first-born son of the king. I am the most like my father of all his sons. I am the best educated, the best fit to rule. How unfair this is. My own grandfather, the great conqueror king, was a bastard. Yet because of the whim of a pope, when my father dies a fool will sit on the throne of England instead of me. And all because the bloody church has decided it is now unseemly to be born illegitimate.

King Henry leaned toward his son. “Robert,” he whispered.

Robert bowed, “My liege?”

“Last night’s meat was so tender and delicious. Seldom does the memory of a meal stay with me like this. It was finer than any cut I have tasted in Caen or Winchester.”

What on earth is he talking about? Robert thought. Meat? At a time like this?

The king continued. “Find out who the butcher is here. Arrange for him to join my household staff. See to it that a Royal Commission is prepared for my seal and hand. This butcher shall sail to England with us come Saint Catherine’s day. Have him attached to William’s train.”

“As you wish, Sire,” Robert replied.

King Henry waved his hand. “Get on with it then, son.”

Robert bowed. “Your servant, my liege.” He left the court to do Henry’s bidding.

That is all I shall ever be as long as William lives, Robert fumed bitterly. I shall ever be our father’s servant.