by Hilary Green
‘Never mind that!’ he snapped. ‘We have to deal with Stephen before he makes himself too strong. We must march immediately.’
This time she went with him. She could not face more months of waiting for news. Initially they advanced unimpeded. Stephen was occupied with imposing his authority over a number of rebellious local lords in the north of the duchy. They reached Lisieux and occupied the castle of Livarot. They had not been there very long before word came that Stephen was moving to attack them.
Standing on the battlements with Geoffrey, she watched his army pitch camp in the surrounding fields. They were numerous and well equipped and she realized, with a tightening in her gut, that they were going to have to withstand a long siege.
‘Oh!’ She caught her breath. It felt as if someone had stabbed her. ‘Look there!’
‘What is it?’
‘Over there. That is Gloucester’s banner. I knew he was a traitor but I did not think he would take the field against us.’
‘God rot him! Just let me meet him on the battlefield.’
‘You may yet have the chance, if they decide to try to storm the castle.’ She continued to survey the field. ‘Whose banner is that?’
‘William of Ypres,’ her husband replied. ‘He’s a mercenary from Flanders. His men are probably the best trained and equipped in the army, but I hear rumours that he is not well liked by the Norman lords. There have been disagreements, even fights.’
‘That could be good news for us.’ An idea began to form in her mind. ‘Perhaps we could encourage it.’
‘How?’
‘I don’t know yet. But there must be a way …’
Later she summoned two young squires from her household. They had come to her notice on several occasions because their daring and irrepressible sense of mischief had got them into trouble.
‘Piet, you speak Flemish, do you not?’
The boy looked uneasy. ‘I do, madam. My mother was from Flanders, but pray do not hold that against me.’
‘I do not. I have a mission for the two of you and that ability may be useful. Listen …’
She outlined a dangerous escapade, which they accepted without hesitation.
The following day, patrolling the battlements with Geoffrey, they heard a sudden outcry from the Norman camp.
‘What’s going on?’ Geoffrey asked, and hurried to a point where he could overlook the centre of the camp. She joined him and others flocked round them as the noise rose to a crescendo.
‘By God, they are fighting each other!’ Geoffrey exclaimed. ‘It looks as if Stephen’s men and the mercenaries have come to blows.’
As they watched the fighting spread, as men from each contingent threw themselves into the fray in support of their comrades. Swords were drawn and fierce duels broke out all round the camp. Then they saw Stephen erupt from his tent with his squires and men at arms. He strode into the mêlée, shouting commands, and little by little the fighting subsided, but there were bodies on the trampled grass.
Geoffrey was exultant. ‘Truly, God is on our side! If feelings are running that high they will never hold the army together for the length of a siege.’
The two young squires were waiting for her in her chamber.
‘You have achieved more than I ever imagined,’ she told them. ‘And you will be amply rewarded. How did you do it?’
They exchanged grins. ‘It was easy,’ one said. ‘We slipped out of the postern gate just before dawn and hid among the bushes by the river bank. We had seen that the Flemish squires water their horses at a different point from the Normans, so we waited close to where they always come. When it got light they started to bring the horses down to the river. We waited until two of them came on their own and then we jumped on them and tied them up and took their clothes.’
‘It wasn’t difficult,’ Piet chimed in. ‘They weren’t expecting trouble. We told them there were crossbowmen watching from the battlements and if they shouted and drew attention to themselves they would be shot. Then we took their horses and went into the camp. We were wearing Flemish colours and no one thought to challenge us. We joined a few lads who were hanging around waiting for orders and I got talking to them. It was obvious they were just spoiling for a fight with the Normans. Then Rollo here spotted the squire of one of the Norman lords rolling a barrel of wine towards his tent. So I said, “Come on, lads. Let’s have a bit of fun. Let’s take his wine off him.” They caught on at once, so we waylaid him, grabbed the barrel and started to make off with it. Of course, he immediately set up a yell that the Flemings had stolen his master’s wine and in no time half a dozen of his fellows came rushing out after us and a real punch-up started. Then two Norman knights came out of their tent and started laying about them with the flat of their swords, trying to break up the fight. Then a couple of Flemish knights appeared and when they saw the Normans with their swords out they drew their own and attacked them. And after that more men joined in and more still. It was chaos!’
‘But you got away unscathed?’
Rollo took up the tale. ‘Once they were all busy knocking the devil out of each other we started to run away. Some of the Normans came after us, but the tents were quite close together and we were running along a narrow alley between them. We still had the barrel, so I rolled it down towards the lads chasing us. It caught two of them and knocked their legs from under them and the rest got tangled up with the ones on the ground and that gave us enough time to dodge out of sight among the tents. We waited for a bit, but by that time there was so much fighting going on that no one took any notice of us. We ran for the river, grabbed our weapons and cut the two Flemings loose and headed back to the postern. Ranulf had agreed to wait there and let us back in, so here we are.’
She felt a stirring of excitement which she had not known for months. ‘You are both brave and audacious young men and well deserve the best reward I can offer. Tomorrow you shall both be knighted. You have my word for it.’
They gazed at her wide eyed. It was indeed the greatest reward they could imagine. Rollo blushed to the roots of his hair. ‘Madam, it is an honour to be of service to you. We ask for no more reward than that.’
‘Nevertheless, you shall have it. And more. Here …’ She drew from her fingers two rings set with rubies. ‘Wear these as a sign of my gratitude.’
They fell on their knees and kissed her hands and she knew that there would be at least two young knights in her household who would be willing to lay down their lives for her.
The effects of the fight were greater than any of them could have hoped for. Next morning they saw that all round the enemy camp different contingents among the Norman forces were striking their tents and loading equipment onto carts. By midday the places they occupied were nothing more than patches of trodden grass.
‘By God!’ Geoffrey exclaimed. ‘Stephen has lost half his army.’
A day later envoys from Stephen came to the castle under a flag of truce. She received them with Geoffrey in the great hall of the castle.
‘Well?’ Geoffrey asked when they had made their obeisances. ‘What does your lord want with me?’
‘Sire, King Stephen offers generous terms. He has affairs of his own to attend to in England and would be glad to resolve the present conflict. He offers a truce, to last for three years, and in return he will pay you a pension from his own estates. Do you accept?’
They retired to the solar to confer.
‘We cannot accept!’ she insisted. ‘It will be tantamount to accepting Stephen’s right to the throne.’
‘Let us not be too hasty,’ her husband replied. ‘Our resources are stretched to the limit, you know that. The men are weary of campaigning and the summer is drawing to an end. We cannot hope to gain much more territory for now. If we take Stephen’s offer it will give us time to restore our forces and prepare for a new advance. And the money he offers will help to recruit men and equip them.’
She saw the force of his argument and the truce was du
ly signed. Geoffrey withdrew his troops to Carrouges.
There was one more piece of news before the summer was out. King Louis of France was dead and had been succeeded by his mild-mannered son. There was no way of guessing which side in the conflict he would support.
One day Matilda’s steward came to her to say that an itinerant friar was waiting in the hall and begged to speak with her. She told him to bring the man to her chamber. He was barefoot and dressed in the brown habit of a friar, but his voice when he spoke had the accents of a courtier.
‘Madam, I have a boon to ask. Will you dismiss your ladies so we can speak alone?’
She sent the women away and the friar threw back his hood to reveal a face she remembered.
‘I know you. What is your name?’
‘I am Leofric of Shaftesbury, madam. In the service of the Earl of Gloucester. I came to you once before with a message from my master.’
She got to her feet. ‘Gloucester! What is a servant of that traitor doing in my castle?’
He knelt. ‘I beg you, madam, do not judge too quickly. I bring you a letter from my lord your brother. He sent me disguised like this for fear it should fall into the wrong hands.’
He took a folded parchment from the purse at his belt and held it out. She recognized the seal as Gloucester’s. She broke it, unfolded the letter and read:
To the Empress Matilda, Countess of Anjou, Rightful Queen of the English and my dearly beloved sister.
I know you must believe that I have betrayed you, but I beg you to let me state my case. I held out against the usurper as long as I could, but when there was no word from you, no sign that you intended to come to England and enforce your rights, I had to appear to yield. If I had not done so, I should have lost all my lands and any power I possess to aid you, should you require my help. Believe me, I did homage with a heavy heart and I am prepared to retract it at any sign from you.
I have not returned to England with Stephen, but have remained here in Caen, which as you know is my ancestral home, where I have a strong castle. Here I have been joined by several others who hate the usurper as much as I do. There are others in England who I know will rise for you the moment you set foot on the shore. But we must bide our time until our friends have laid the foundation for your return. Be patient, but meanwhile please be assured that I am, as I have always been, your loving brother and devoted servant.
12
CARROUGES AND CAEN, 1138-39
Patience was, indeed, what she required. Another long winter passed, while she was occupied with maintaining order in the border lands between Normandy and Anjou and Geoffrey was raising and training recruits for a new campaign in the spring. She had her hands full, as sporadic fighting broke out all over the disputed territory between her lands and those still loyal to Stephen. In Lent Ralph, the lord of Esson, rose in revolt and she had to send Alexander de Bohun to suppress him. They brought him back to Carrouges in fetters, and she had him kept in her dungeons until he agreed to hand over his castle.
Envoys went back and forth between her and Robert, disguised as friars or merchants. From one of them she heard that Stephen had taken this local fighting as a sign that the truce had broken down and sent William of Ypres and Waleran Beaumont back to Normandy to restore order. Then just after Easter came news that raised her spirits. Her brother wrote:
I have decided that the time has come to make it clear to Stephen where my loyalties lie. He suspects me already and not long ago I narrowly escaped an ambush laid for me by William of Ypres. I have, therefore, sent him a formal ‘diffidatio’, repudiating my oath of fealty. It means, of course, that my lands and castles will be forfeit, but Bristol, which is my main stronghold, is well defended and provisioned and I do not doubt that it will withstand any attack. But we must move soon, while our friends are still in control of their own castles. You must persuade your husband to bring his powers to join with mine and then I do not doubt we shall be victorious.
She sent to Geoffrey, urging him to move north with his army, but he responded that he could not leave Anjou yet. It was June when he finally arrived, bringing with him the strongest force he had yet mustered. She showed him Robert’s letter.
‘Now are you convinced? We must move now, or it will be too late.’
He gave her the impatient, almost contemptuous look she knew too well. ‘How do you imagine we are going to march an army through Stephen’s territory to reach your brother? Waleran holds Falaise, which lies right across our path. If we are to reach Caen we first have to reduce Falaise.’
‘Then let us do so!’ she exclaimed.
They marched north, but news from Caen caused them to change their plans. Waleran and William of Ypres had been joined by a large force of knights sent to help them by Ralph of Vermandois, Louis of France’s uncle, and they were laying waste the area around Robert’s stronghold. Further progress seemed impossible and they withdrew to Argentan.
A letter arrived from Adeliza:
I have news. I am married again, to William of Albini, who is a strong supporter of the usurper Stephen. It is not a match of my choosing, but I think Stephen suspects my loyalty. He is afraid that I might become the focus of rebellion against him and wishes to prevent that by putting me in the charge of a man he can trust. It is not as terrible as it might have been. William is not a cruel man and we are quite comfortable with each other. I believe we may come in time even to love each other.
Do not imagine that this lessens my affection for you or my determination to help you. But you have not shown yourself in England and I begin to believe that you have no intention of claiming the throne. If that is so, I must content myself with living under the usurper – but I long for the day when we might embrace each other again.
God keep you and prosper you in all things.
Your loving friend, Adeliza
Hot on the heels of this letter came another, this time from Robert:
My dear sister
I fear we may have lost our chance to drive the usurper from power. Our friends in England have not waited for my signal, but have risen up in the expectation that I will bring you to join them. Stephen proved too strong for them. In the West Country he has attacked my liegemen and taken Castle Cary from Ralph Lovel and Harptree from William fitz John, though thank God he did not attempt Bristol. Godfrey Talbot raised his forces on the Welsh border but he, too, was overcome and Shrewsbury was taken and the entire garrison put to the sword. Stephen has even taken Dover from my castellan Walcheran Maminot. He rewards his supporters with earldoms and generous grants of land and money.
At the same time your uncle, David of Scotland, attacked and took several northern cities, and could we but have been there to threaten the usurper from the south we might have prevailed, but as it was he has been defeated in a great battle in Yorkshire. Letters come daily from friends in England begging me to return and bring you with me. We must move soon or all may be lost.
At her insistence Geoffrey marched his army northwards again, and this time they reached Falaise. They encamped around the city, cutting off all aid from outside, and the mangonels went to work, battering the walls, but the city was impregnable. Every time a breach was made it was fiercely defended and their troops were driven back until the damage could be repaired. It was a summer of drought and the harvest was poor. The Angevins laid waste the countryside around, but Falaise was well stocked and had deep wells that did not run dry. As day followed day of blazing heat Geoffrey’s men became disheartened. Sickness broke out in the camp and the number of deserters grew.
As the leaves started to turn and the days shortened, Geoffrey made a decision. ‘It is enough. We are doing no good here. Tomorrow we break camp and head for home.’
‘No!’ It was a cry of desperation. ‘We cannot abandon the struggle now. Surely the city cannot hold out much longer.’
‘Nor can we,’ he replied. ‘There is not a blade of wheat or a grain of flour left for miles around and all the cattle have bee
n slaughtered or have died of starvation. I will not wait to see my men cut down by the flux as they were outside Le Sap. We leave tomorrow.’
‘Very well,’ she said. ‘You may return to Carrouges if you wish. I shall go to join my brother in Caen.’
‘Are you mad? How do you think you will get there?’
‘We shall ride at night, by the back roads. Waleran is cooped up in Falaise. Maintain the siege for one more day and we shall be in Caen before he realizes I am not with you.’
‘We? Who is this “we” you speak of?’
‘I shall take my own knights with me, and I shall take Henry too.’
‘You will not! You will not take my son on this fool’s errand.’
‘He is our son, and he is also heir to the throne of England. If we are to prevail it is necessary for him to be there with me, so people can see the succession is secure. They may have doubts about a woman as queen but they will accept me as regent.’
‘And if you and he are captured by Waleran’s men, what then? He will hand you over to Stephen as a prisoner, or hold you as a hostage to prevent me from claiming Normandy.’
‘No, there is no danger of that. It is the last thing Stephen would want. Think. I am his cousin and the King’s daughter. Imagine his dilemma if I were to be captured. He cannot with honour act against me. If he imprisons me it will inflame opinion and draw more supporters to my cause. As long as I am here in Normandy people can believe I have no intention of claiming the throne, but once I am in England they will have to make a choice. Stephen would far rather have me out of sight and mind than shut up in one of his dungeons as a rallying point for all the disaffected elements in the country.’
Geoffrey considered for a moment, then he shrugged. ‘Do as you think best. I have my hands full here.’
‘And you have no intention of bringing your forces to support my claim?’
‘I have told you, not until I am sure of Normandy.’
She regarded him with bitter contempt. ‘Then we part here, tonight. Henceforth our ways are different. You will maintain the siege long enough for me to get to Caen?’
