by Hilary Green
At midwinter they learnt that Bishop Roger of Salisbury had died. However hostile he might once have been to Stephen he seemed to have repented, for he left all his treasure to the King. Over Christmas all fighting ceased, as the Church decreed, and they celebrated it with as much festivity as circumstances allowed. On her knees at night she prayed that the new year would bring an end to the stalemate.
14
ENGLAND, 1140-41
As if to offer her new hope, there was unexpected news from the far west. Reginald, her other half-brother, who remained behind in Normandy, had gathered a new force and landed in Cornwall. Here he had married the daughter of William fitz Ralph, a local baron, and thus gained possession of several castles. Delighted, she dispatched messengers bearing a charter, signed by herself and witnessed by Robert and Miles, creating him Earl of Cornwall.
It was not only in the West Country that Stephen’s rule was shaky. The next area to revolt was East Anglia. Hugh Bigod rebelled, though he did not come out openly in her favour. Much more significant was the rebellion of Bishop Nigel of Ely. One of the three powerful bishops who once ruled England under King Henry, he was the only one who had maintained his hostility to Stephen. Now he declared for Matilda and defied the King from his bishopric. Ely was not easy to attack. It was an island, surrounded by marshland, and Nigel had a castle at Cherry Hill and another guarding the only road at Aldreth.
One night, as dusk was falling, a horseman appeared at the gate of Gloucester Castle. He was ragged and filthy, and his horse was close to foundering. When he was brought into the hall she almost dismissed him as a vagabond but although his legs seemed ready to buckle under him he managed a courtly bow.
‘Madam, forgive my appearance. I am Nigel, Bishop of Ely, and I have come to ask for refuge.’
He was exhausted and close to starving. It was not until he had been given food and found clean clothes that she was able to ask for his story.
Bishop Nigel shook his head wearily, as if he could still hardly believe what had happened. ‘Stephen built a bridge of boats across the marsh. And someone, I believe it can only have been one of the monks from the monastery, showed him the only ford across one of the rivers. He mounted a surprise attack and captured both castles and their garrisons. I managed to escape through the fens with nothing but the clothes on my back. I ask you of your charity to take me in.’
‘Your story fills me with anger and despair,’ she responded, ‘but you are welcome to stay here as my guest for as long as you wish.’
Robert rode in one day, fuming. ‘That misbegotten son of a dog, fitz Hubert, who gave up Malmesbury to Stephen, has had the impudence to get a few of his Fleming mercenaries together and seize Devizes Castle.’
‘Devizes has been Stephen’s since he took it from Bishop Roger,’ she pointed out. ‘Fitz Hubert is your man. Why are you so angry?’
‘Because fitz Hubert wants to hold it for himself. He’s trying to establish himself in his own fief. But he won’t last long. John the Marshal reckons that castle belongs to him, so I’ve sent him off to sort fitz Hubert out.’
A week later John himself came to her to report success.
‘What have you done with fitz Hubert?’ she asked.
‘Hanged him. He was a blasphemer and a monster who tortured his prisoners. He had the cheek to ask me to submit to him! He deserved all he got!’
She turned away, shaking her head. The country was descending into anarchy. Deputations reached her daily from city burgesses and bailiffs of once-productive estates. Trade was at a standstill; so many of the peasants had died of starvation that there were not enough left to till the land; famine stalked the countryside. The killing had to stop. Stephen, too, must be suffering, she reasoned. Forced to traverse the country from end to end, putting down one rebellion after another, he must be tired and longing for peace. Perhaps the time for negotiation had arrived. She sent a message to Bishop Henry, asking him to act as mediator. At length she received a response. Stephen had agreed to send representatives to a meeting at Winchester at Whitsun if she would send hers. She asked Robert to join her at Gloucester to discuss the proposal.
‘I don’t like it,’ Miles declared. ‘Why should we trust Henry? He’s Stephen’s brother.’
‘It was Henry who invited me to come to England,’ she pointed out, ‘and he arranged to escort me from Arundel to here. He means us no ill.’
‘It doesn’t make sense,’ Miles objected. ‘What’s in it for him?’
‘For a start, I think it still rankles with him that Theobold of Bec was chosen as Archbishop of Canterbury instead of him,’ Robert said. ‘And he was genuinely angered when Stephen arrested the three bishops. He thinks Stephen is interfering in church business, and he won’t tolerate that.’
She sighed. ‘This struggle for power between the Church and the monarchy seems to have dogged me all my life. My first husband, the Emperor, spent all his energy fighting to retain the right to invest bishops. After I am crowned I must try to find some permanent solution. But just now it seems to be working in our favour. We must take the chance and go to Winchester.’
‘Not you!’ Miles and Robert spoke with one voice. Robert went on, ‘We can’t run the risk. Stephen may be desperate enough now to take you prisoner, or even have you assassinated. I will go, with Miles and Brian fitz Count.’
She saw the force of his argument and reluctantly agreed.
‘What terms are we prepared to accept?’ Miles asked.
‘That will be up to Henry to negotiate,’ she said. ‘But we have justice and Holy Writ on our side. I am convinced that the Church must back my claim. Tell Henry that I do not fear an ecclesiastical judgement.’
Robert and Miles were gone for several days and returned grim faced.
‘Stephen was represented by his queen and by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Henry himself purported to be acting on his brother’s behalf. We gave him your message and he asked if Stephen would also agree to be bound by the decision of the Church. The answer was an emphatic no. It seems Stephen still thinks he can win and he won’t concede anything.’
She sank into a chair. ‘Then there is nothing for it but to fight on. I had great hopes of support from Theobald of Bec. But it seems he has chosen to throw in his lot with Stephen.’
As the summer passed, her frustration grew. One inconclusive engagement followed after another. Stephen moved to dislodge Reginald from Cornwall and appointed his own earl, Alan of Brittany. There was some fierce fighting, but Reginald held on and Alan was unable to establish himself. The county remained in the Angevin camp. Stephen returned to Worcester and used it as a base for attacks in the area, including one on Robert’s property of Tewkesbury. Robert had a magnificent house there, which was burnt to the ground. In revenge, Robert attacked Bath, but his forces were ambushed and there were heavy casualties. Deprived of his objective, he turned his attention to Nottingham and sacked the city, though he did not attempt to hold it.
At length, her patience at an end, she sent a message asking Robert to attend her at Gloucester. When he joined her and Miles in the solar, she turned on them impatiently.
‘This has to stop. The country is bleeding to death. Can we not bring Stephen to battle – force one decisive encounter and let God decide the outcome?’
Robert shook his head. ‘We may have right on our side, but God will not support us in an act of outright folly. We do not have the numbers to match Stephen in the field. He can call upon the resources of the whole country in terms of men and supplies, and money from taxes to pay his mercenaries. Our only hope is to weaken his power base until we can meet him on equal terms.’
‘But can we do that? How much longer must this war of attrition go on?’
‘You know as well as I do that he who controls a castle controls the land around it, with the men and the supplies and the rents and taxes it supports. Every time we take a castle, we deprive Stephen of that income and add it to ours. Every time we lay waste a swathe of
countryside, we remove that source of supply. Every time we sack a city we take away the trade and the taxes that it produces. That not only deprives the throne, it cuts off the income of the great men around it. Our best hope is that the earls who support Stephen’s cause at present will tire of the damage to their interests and they will either come over to us, or at least withdraw their forces from Stephen’s army. If your husband would bring his powers to our aid, things might be different, but as it is …’
She ground her teeth. ‘I have written again and again, but he will not leave Normandy until it is all under his control. You are in the right, of course. We have to wait. But we have one other hope. Bishop Henry is still working in our favour.’
Henry sent word that he was going to France to confer with King Louis and his mentor, Theobald of Blois. Theoretically Stephen was Louis’s liegeman for the county of Normandy, and indeed he had acknowledged the position by arranging for his son Eustace to do homage. Theobald was, of course, brother to both Henry and Stephen. Perhaps, Henry suggested, they may be able to bring pressure to bear. He returned with the suggestion that Stephen should give way in favour of Matilda’s son, the young Henry. She accepted with alacrity. Stephen flatly refused. They were at stalemate again.
Once again, she faced a winter of inactivity. As the weeks pass she grew increasingly short-tempered. Miles’s small fiefdom was not enough to occupy her mind for long, and at night she was haunted by the images of devastated fields and starving people she saw whenever she left Gloucester. She was the cause of all this, through her determination to oust Stephen, and her conscience nagged at her unceasingly. She was almost tempted to give up and return to Anjou. It was only the steady support of Miles and Robert and letters of encouragement from Brian fitz Count that kept her in England.
At last, there was some good news. There were rumours of further discontent among Stephen’s barons. One of Robert’s daughters was married to Ranulf of Chester. He and his half-brother, William of Roumare, had grievances over the distribution of lands belonging to their mother, Countess Lucy, who held great estates in Lincolnshire; but in spite of that he had up to now maintained his loyalty to Stephen. Now they heard that he and his brother were pressing their claim to the castle of Lincoln, which Stephen had garrisoned. It seemed, however, that matters had not come to open warfare as yet.
Christmas came again and she and Miles were invited to keep the festival with Robert and his family at Bristol. The twelve days were almost over when a messenger rode into the castle. When he was conducted into the great hall, where Robert and his guests were about to dine, Robert jumped to his feet.
‘I know you! You’re one of Ranulf’s knights. What has happened?’
The newcomer bowed. ‘Thorold of Saughall, at your service, sire.’ He turned towards her and dropped to his knees. ‘My lady, Lord Ranulph sent me to offer his pledge of fealty to you and your son.’
A shout of triumph went up from the assembled company, but her initial reaction was less enthusiastic. It infuriated her that she was expected to be grateful for something that should have been given her as of right. She said coolly, ‘The offer comes late, but I accept it.’
Robert shot her a glance of annoyance, but she ignored it and stretched her hand to Thorold to kiss. She saw that he was taken aback by her response. He had expected a better welcome. His eyes swivelled to Robert and back to her, but he bent his head and kissed her hand. Then he rose and turned to Robert. ‘My lord also bid me tell you that he is mustering his knights to attack the usurper and he asks you to join him with your forces.’
Robert signalled to a page. ‘Wine for Sir Thorold.’ Turning to the knight he went on, ‘You have ridden hard, I can see. You will wish to rest and change your clothes. Before I let you go, can you tell us what has occurred to bring your lord to this decision?’
Thorold’s weary face broke into a grin. ‘I can, my lord, and it is a tale worth telling.’
‘Then sit and tell it,’ Robert commanded.
Thorold took the stool Robert indicated and swallowed a long draught of wine. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and said, ‘You will know already that my lord and his brother lay claim to the castle of Lincoln. We went there intending to besiege it but the King – I beg your pardon, madam, old habits die hard – the usurper spoke the two lords fair and agreed that Lord William should have the title of Earl of Lincoln. That sounded good enough, until we realized that it did not include possession of the castle. Still, my lords pretended to be satisfied and Stephen withdrew to Windsor to keep Christmas, leaving the castle only lightly garrisoned.’ He paused and took another swig of wine. ‘At Lord William and Lord Ranulph’s orders we pretended to draw back, too, but in fact we encamped close by. Then the two lords thought up a pretty ruse.’ He grinned again and emptied his cup. At Robert’s nod the cup was refilled and Thorold went on, ‘It being the festive season, the troops of the garrison were keen to enjoy some of the celebrations. Well, sir, you know yourself how hard it is for young knights to be cooped up inside a castle with nothing much to do. So all those not on guard duty got into the habit of going into the town, to the alehouses. My lords waited until that happened and then they sent their two wives with gifts for the castellan’s lady to offer their good wishes for Christmas.’
Robert started forward in his chair. ‘Their wives? Lord Ranulph sent my sister into the lion’s den?’
Thorold smiled easily. ‘No need to worry, sir. The ladies came to no harm. When dusk came on, Lord Ranulph took me and two others with him to escort them home. He went unarmed and without a cloak, so the guards could see he carried no weapon except a simple eating knife. We were admitted to the solar where the ladies were sitting and Lord Ranulph went up to the castellan’s wife as if to kiss her hand. Then he drew his knife and grabbed hold of her and held the knife to her throat and told all those standing by that if they did not lay down their weapons he would kill her. Of course, they had no option but to obey. We collected up their swords and tied their hands with their own belts; then we went out into the hall, where some of the garrison were eating and drinking, and we soon convinced them to lay down their weapons too. After that, we went to open the main gate. Some of the sentries tried to stop us, but we made short work of them and Lord William was waiting outside with a small force that he had brought up to the walls under cover of darkness.’ He finished his wine and smacked his lips in appreciation. ‘So there you have it, my lords and lady. I told you it was a tale worth telling.’
‘So now, your lord and his brother are in full possession of the castle?’ Robert said. ‘In that case, what has brought you with such haste to ask my help?’
‘Ah well,’ Thorold said with a shrug. ‘Getting the castle is one thing, keeping it is another. The citizens of Lincoln are loyal to Stephen and when they heard what had happened they immediately sent word to him. He has left his Christmas celebrations, called up his men and is preparing to besiege the castle. Lord Ranulph and his brother agreed that he would slip out with his men before Stephen closed the roads and ride for Chester, leaving Lord William to hold the castle.’
‘And my daughter?’ Robert demanded. ‘Did she return to Chester with her husband?’
‘No, sire. It was deemed too dangerous for her to attempt the escape. The lady remains with Lord William and his wife.’
‘And now he sends to me for aid,’ Robert said grimly. ‘Knowing that I cannot leave my daughter to the mercy of Stephen and his men.’
‘I think he has more in mind than that,’ Thorold said. ‘He bade me tell you that the King – the usurper – has only a small force with him, thinking that the castle is but lightly held. He believes that if you and he join forces you can defeat him in open battle.’
‘By God, Robert!’ Miles broke in. ‘This could be the chance we have been waiting for. A pitched battle with the weight of numbers on our side.’
‘It is worth considering,’ Robert agreed. ‘Go to your rest, Sir Thorold. We will discuss t
his among ourselves and give you our answer in the morning.’
They withdrew to the solar and she turned to her brother. ‘Robert, Miles is right. This is the chance we have been waiting for. We cannot let it slip.’
‘Nor can we blunder into it without proper thought,’ he responded.
Her patience, worn thin over the months, snapped. ‘Oh, your caution is infuriating! Why can you not see that this is the time to act, now before it is too late?’
‘I will act, if I think the time is right, but not before.’
‘And if I order it, as your liege lady?’
He regarded her coldly. ‘That would be a mistake. And you did ill to take Ranulph’s offer of fealty so ungraciously. We need every ally we can get.’
‘I spoke no more than truth! He should have pledged his faith at the beginning. Am I to crawl to every petty lordling who decides his best interests will be served by coming over to my side?’
‘You would do well to remember that if you ever wish to rule as queen you will depend on these “petty lordlings” as your vassals. Ranulph and William are powerful men. With them on our side the balance of forces is much more in our favour.’
‘Then you will go with them, to face Stephen?’
‘I will send Thorold back to tell Ranulph to come and pledge his fealty in person. Meanwhile, we will summon our forces. If I am satisfied with what he has to tell us, we will go.’
