Lord Edward's Archer

by Griff Hosker

  I took the leather pail and marched down to the stream to fetch water. As I arrived I heard my father. He was approaching through the woods. Most men would have had no idea that he was there, but I heard the most minute of sounds. Even though I expected it to be my father, my hand went to my newly acquired sword.

  He grunted when he spied me. He had with him his old dog, Wolf. There had been a time when Wolf had been a fierce wolfhound. Now he was like my father, old and watching life drift by. “I smelled you half a mile away. How many times have I told you to make your clothes smell of animals?”

  I laughed. “The other archers in my lord’s hall would object, I think. Good to see you Father.”

  “Then they are tosspots! A good archer cares not what his bow brothers smell like, so long as they are accurate. Tell them Gerald ap Llewellyn told them so.”

  I saw that he had a pair of rabbits over his shoulder. “They are not from his lordship’s land, are they?”

  “He only eats them in winter! Two rabbits will hardly bother him.”

  I shook my head as we headed to his hut. “I know not why you sent me to him. He is about as much use as a three-legged horse!”

  “I told you. The Earl of Chester is not a good master. He cares not for archers. But at least you are close to home if you serve the master of Denbigh.” He put his arm around me. “Remember, my son, that an archer is born and not made. You have archer’s blood and I have made you work hard to become an even better archer. I am good, but you shall be great.”

  I laughed as we entered the hut. “Whoever heard of a great archer? Knights; yes, even men at arms, but archers? We do not move the thrones of this world.”

  “Then you shall be the first. Our ancestor came north with Henry FitzEmpress and each generation has been stronger. Come. I have talked enough and I have an appetite. Skin the coneys. I will put the water on to boil. If we have ale first, then I will have them so tender that I can suck the meat from the bones!”

  “Your teeth are bothering you again!”

  “I am old. It is to be expected. Surely you do not mind tender rabbit?”

  I shook my head. “You need a woman to watch over you.”

  “I tried a woman once and she left me.”

  “That was my mother!”

  “Aye!”

  My father was gruff and could be taciturn, but we got on well together. He would never praise me. A nod was the most fulsome acknowledgement. However, he had taught me well.

  He saw the sword at my side. “That is new.”

  “I took it from the Welshman who tried to skewer me with it.”

  I handed it to him. He felt its balance. “Not a bad sword. It is shorter than most, but it will do.” He felt the edge and then flexed it against his thigh. “It is made of good steel. It looks like it had a jewel on the pommel at one time. I bet the thieving Welshman you took it from sold it. When you have time, polish a river stone and place it there. It will improve the balance. You need a scabbard. If you do not then it will rust and become dull. You do not want to be ever sharpening and cleaning it. Come, while the rabbit cooks we will make one.”

  I was intrigued. I had never seen a scabbard made before. I wondered how my father knew to do so. He seemed to read my thoughts.

  “When we were on campaign, I watched Old Edward, the earl’s bodyguard, when he showed the earl’s squire how to make one.”

  Behind the hut were lengths of willow. They were cut and were being seasoned. He found one log, slightly longer than the sword. He took a metal spike and, using the back of his wood axe, split the log in two. He split one half in two, and then the next, until he had two thin lengths of rough wood. He talked as he worked. “People asked me why I chose this spot for a hut. The Earl of Chester offered me larger plots than this one. It was the woods and the stream. I can hunt in this wood, for I have the earl’s permission. I have water and I have willow. Willow is a very accommodating timber.”

  He took his adze and began to smooth the two lengths. If he had not been an archer, then he could have been a carpenter. He knew how to work wood.

  “While I do this, take the cured skins from the hut. They will make the lining. I have some deer hide to bind it.”

  By the time I had found the seasoned skins, he had finished the wood. He placed the sword between them to make sure it fitted. He took his pot of glue and placed it by the fire. He used the hooves of any dead animals he found to make the glue. Taking his sharp knife, he cut the rabbit skins so that they were smaller than the sword. As soon as the glue bubbled, he coated the wood with it and then placed the skins on the wood. Putting them fur to fur, he laid them on the ground and put two logs onto the top. Over time, the rabbit’s fur would flatten. At first, the sword would be hard to draw.

  As he passed the pot with the rabbit cooking, he stirred it and then took a length of deer hide. “I was going to discard this. It is an awkward width, but I think it will just do for you.” The deer hide had been scraped and tanned. It was flexible and it was tough. He handed it to me. “Here, make holes a thumbs’ width apart. I will get us bowls. The rabbit is almost ready. We can finish the scabbard when we have eaten.”

  My hard, calloused hands and my powerful shoulders make short work of the holes. I knew what would be needed next, and I took my knife and slit a length of hide from the edge. It would bind the scabbard together.

  “Come, get your food.”

  My father was a good cook. Wild garlic and rosemary infused the stew, along with wild greens. He cut a hunk of bread for each of us and we ate. We did not eat all of the stew. We each ate a saddle of the rabbits. It would last my father three or four days. By adding more water and greens each day he would have a thin soup left on the fifth day. He would use it to soak the stale bread. When next I returned I would bring him more. It meant he had bread once a month, at least. We washed the stew down with half of the ale. The rest would be eked out over the next two days.

  “Now then. Let us finish the task.” He put the sword between the two fur-lined boards and then began to bind them together with the length of hide I had cut. We were both strong and the bindings were tight. He fashioned a loop for my belt, and he positioned the sword on my left hip.

  “Draw the sword.” It did not come out easily. “Good, it is a tight fit. Over time, it will become easier. You are an archer. You should not need to draw a sword. If you do, then it means you have run out of arrows.”

  I slid the sword back into the scabbard. It was plain and unadorned, but it would do. I took the piece of deer hide which remained. “I will use this to make a sheath for my dagger.”

  He nodded, “Aye, I never liked the idea of jamming it in your boot. It asks for trouble.”

  I stayed until dusk and then departed. “I shall see you again in four weeks.” I handed him three silver pennies. “Buy yourself more bread.” He was going to refuse. He was a proud man, and he liked not the idea of charity, even from his son. “I took the coins from the dead Welshmen I slew. I have more. Buy bread.”

  He nodded. “In that case, I will.” He held out his arm and I clasped it. “One more thing, my son. Call it advice if you will. I wasted much of my life. I served others. I should have served myself. If you find an honourable man then serve him. I thought Sir Henry honourable. I know that I was wrong. You swore an oath to him, and until he is dead, you cannot break it, but watch out for yourself.”

  “I will.” Wolf came and nuzzled my hand. I ruffled his fur and left.

  I loped off through the woods. The sword, in its scabbard, rested easily against my leg. On my way there it had banged. My father was right. He always was. I wondered about the stone. I had seen the hole and wondered what should have been in it. I would find a stone from the Clwyd.

  *

  I had found and begun to polish the black and white stone when we were ordered north. As usual, his lordship was not with us. We were joining the men of the Earl of Chester. Hugh of Rhuddlan gathered us together. There were just four arche
rs and ten sergeants.

  “Well, my lucky lads, you get to ride this time! We don’t need to march! You will need your blankets; we will be sleeping under the stars for the next week or so!”

  Ralph asked, “Where to this time?”

  Garth, one of the men at arms, said, “You can bet that his lordship will not be shifting off his arse anywhere.”

  Hugh of Rhuddlan brought his mighty hand to smack Garth on the back of the head. “Watch your mouth! Scots have raided south of Carlisle. The earl wishes to scour the land between Chester and Carlisle of the vermin who infest us. That is why we need horses. Now get your war gear and get mounted.”

  They were not horses we rode. These were ponies. Hugh of Rhuddlan had a palfrey. He towered over us. The ponies were hardy and they would be able to keep up with the rest of the mounted men. They were as wide as a sumpter but your feet almost scraped the ground. One advantage of raiding the Welsh was that they always had plenty of ponies.

  We headed north for Chester. Our path took us through Delamere forest. This was where outlaws lurked. Periodically, the earl would send his men to hunt down those who lived outside the law. There were many such men. If you offended the lord of the manor, or one of his priests, then you had to find somewhere to live. The forest offered a home. We rode warily through it. Sometimes there would be enough outlaws to take on a small band such as ours. When we emerged, I breathed a sigh of relief.

  The Earl of Chester was also the Prince of Wales, Edward Longshanks. I ventured, “Sergeant, will the Earl of Chester be leading us?”

  “No, for he is in France. Sir Ranulf de Kevelioc will be in command.”

  I had heard of him. My father had served under him. When my father had been one of the earl’s archers, the Earl of Chester had been John of Scotland. He had been dead for some years.

  While we waited for the other knights to join us, I finished polishing my stone and fitted it in the pommel of the sword. My father was right, it had a better balance. Just as importantly, it looked right. I felt like a warrior with it at my side.

  It was a motley band which left the city of Chester to head north on the old Roman road. Sir Ranulf led ten knights. There were thirty sergeants and just fifteen archers. We were tucked at the rear with the servants and baggage.

  Ralph turned to me. “Now I see why they needed us. We make up over a quarter of the archers. If there are Scots, then you need archers.”

  One of the other archers, riding a sumpter, spat, “Don’t get ideas above your station! We are the earl’s own archers! You lot will just be here to clean up horseshit.” The earl’s archers wore a distinctive livery. They rode palfreys.

  Ralph was not a man to suffer insults. “When we stop, friend, then you and I will have words and perhaps a blow or two. There may just be four of us but this young warrior next to me slew twelve Welshmen in one battle. When was the last time you popinjays did anything other than strut the walls of Chester?”

  They had leggings with stripes and a colourful tunic. We looked like poor relations by comparison.

  “He does not look old enough to have killed any. Has he begun to shave yet?”

  That made them all laugh. I smiled at Ralph. These days, I was more confident. I was not afraid of this loudmouth archer. “He reminds me of that last Welshman I gutted with my dagger. He squealed just before he died.” I turned to look at the archer. “I would watch a man fight before I insulted him, friend.”

  The captain of archers, riding at the front of our column, shouted, “John of Warrington, shut your mouth. If you annoy me, it will be you who cleans up the horseshit!”

  That made the four of us laugh.

  We rode hard that first day. I enjoyed every moment of it, for Ralph and Harry told me of battles in which they had fought. They told me how an archer could use a pavise and outwit a crossbowman. They gave me tips on how to make a bow and a bowstring. For my part, I gave them my father’s tips on how to fletch. We stopped after a long day’s ride and we camped by the River Ribble. Hugh of Rhuddlan organised our tents. “Gruffyd, son of Gerald, and Harry Long Stride, you two will be guarding Sir Ranulf’s tent.”

  Harry moaned, “Why us? What is wrong with his own archers?”

  “Just do what you are told. His own archers are leaving before dawn. They have horses and are going to scout out the Forest of Bowland. Ralph and Alan of Denbigh, you get to watch the horses. Don’t let his lordship down!”

  It was on the tip of my tongue to say that Baron Henry let himself down all the time, but it would have been wasted and put me in Hugh of Rhuddlan’s bad books.

  The sentry duty meant that one of us would have to be awake at all times. We led our horses to the horse lines. Ralph and Alan had an easier duty. They could just tie a piece of cord to the end of the horse lines and would be woken if the horses moved. One of us would have to stand outside the tent and make sure that no one entered while the knights slept. We would alternate.

  We ate with the other archers. I kept a wary eye on John of Warrington. I was bigger than he was but he had the look of a treacherous man. When Ralph went to make water, I saw John of Warrington follow him. I was about to rise when Harry said, “Just sit. Ralph can handle himself.”

  They both seemed to be away for a long time. Darkness descended. Captain Jack looked up as Ralph appeared. His knuckles were bloody and his lip was bleeding. He sat down and winked at me. John of Warrington appeared a short while later. His face looked a mess and he was slightly doubled over, as though he was in pain. Captain Jack said, “Have you got the shits or something?”

  He mumbled, “Something like that, Captain.”

  Ralph drank some of the ale Harry offered him. “He is all mouth! I wouldn’t want to rely on him if the Scots get close. He will find it hard to ride tomorrow!” Harry gave him a sideways look. “I kicked him between the legs. You didn’t think he really had the shits, did you?”

  Hugh shouted, “Right you two, duty time!”

  We picked up our bows and our blankets and headed to the tent. The knights were seated around their own fire. Their servants and squires were tending to them. Sir Ranulf pointed to their tent. “One can sleep behind. The other stand by the door.” The door was just a flap. Harry and I had tossed a coin. I would have the first shift and the middle watch. He took my blanket. We would be more comfortable than the others; we would use one blanket as a bed and cover ourselves with the other. My bow was not strung and I laid it down in its cover, where it would not be stepped upon. I moved back into the shadows. I could still hear the knights as they spoke.

  “When do we get a real war, that’s what I want to know?”

  “And where is Lord Edward these days?”

  Sir Ranulf hissed, “Stop moaning. Lord Edward is in France, as you know, and we are preparing for war. It will come. Regard this as practice, Raymond.”

  “Chasing Scots? There is no honour in killing them. They do not even bring knights south anymore. They are more like bandits!”

  Another saw me and said, “And what of Henry of Denbigh? He sends a handful of men and does not come himself!”

  The one called Raymond, laughed, “Better without him. He is fit for hunting and that is all. He is so fat that he needs a warhorse to hunt!” I smiled at that. It was true that our lord was excessively fat. He liked his food, there was no denying it.

  Sir Ranulf raised his voice as though to silence them. “Do not speak ill of a brother knight. Without Baron Henry, we would have Welshmen to deal with as well as Scots. When was the last time the Welsh raided your lands, Sir Roger?”

  “You are right, but I am not sure that the baron dirties his own hands. I have heard that his captain, Hugh of Rhuddlan, is the real warrior.”

  “Then be grateful that we have him! Now it is time we retired. Our archers will find the Scots on the morrow and then we can deal with them and return to Chester.”

  “I hope your information was correct, Sir Ranulf. If they have headed north into the old Viking lan
ds, then we shall need more than this handful of men to flush them out.”

  “Fear not, the abbot of the White Friars monastery was the one who reported their presence. They will be in the forest. The Scots think that it will hide them. Captain Jack will find them.”

  My watches were uneventful. In those days, I was young enough to go without sleep and the lack of it did not bother me. When I awoke, the rest of the archers had gone. The Baron of Denbigh’s archers were the only ones left to protect the knights, squires and sergeants. We headed upstream to cross the Ribble by the old bridge. The forest of Bowland lay to the north. It was the hunting ground of the Earl of Chester. As such, it was free from bandits and brigands. The forest lay just below the high ground. It was what made it such a fertile hunting ground. All types of beasts lay within its eaves. Ahead, I saw birds flocking. I knew birds. These were crows and magpies. They were feasting on flesh. I wondered if I should say anything. Surely someone else would know what the flocking birds meant? I watched the banners of the knights at the head of the column as they entered the forest. Suddenly, Hugh of Rhuddlan spurred his horse and galloped to the head of the column. When he reached his lordship, we all stopped.

  Ralph chuckled, “Our captain will be in trouble. I don’t think his lordship will take kindly to being stopped by a sergeant at arms, even one as experienced as Captain Hugh!”

  To our surprise, Hugh of Rhuddlan stood in his saddle, turned and waved at us. “Archers!”

  We galloped forward. Ralph was our leader and replied, “Yes, my lord.”

  Sir Ranulf pointed ahead. “Hugh of Rhuddlan is not happy about those birds in the distance. Investigate them.”

  We dismounted. We were archers and not horsemen. We took our bows from their canvas sleeves and draped the sleeves over our saddles. We strung our bows and slipped our wrist-guards on. Nocking an arrow each, we prepared to move. Ralph led us at a lope, and we did not enter the forest on the trail but ran through the trees. We were not armoured men. We could move easily. We were light-footed and did not trip over roots nor step into rabbit holes. We formed a diamond. Ralph led, Henry and Alan followed and I brought up the rear. Compared with these three, I was the novice still.