Northern Knight

by Griff Hosker

  They advanced and they came as I had expected. Their horsemen led. There were forty knights, squires and men at arms. Above them, on the slope, the mass of wild warriors with swords, axes and shields waited to fall upon us and wreak death and destruction once their horses had broken us. I saw the Earl of Moray, William fitz Duncan, with four other knights waiting to lead them down and end our resistance. I smiled. He was not confident. If he was then he would have led the charge himself. He had allowed his younger, eager knights who wanted the glory to charge us. My name and my banner drew them on. I had been a thorn in the side of the Scots and the younger knights were keen to remove it!

  The charge would be led by three knights who looked to be the same family. They had a blue shield with three red fess across them. I saw them shouting to their men and there was an enormous cheer. I daresay they were inspiring them. Then they charged towards the bridge. They would have seen the logs but I assumed they would have thought they could leap them. The pig fat, the irregular placement of the logs and the caltrops would be surprises. Dick and his archers had their arrows jammed into the ground next to them. They would release six arrows in quick succession once they began. There was little point until the Scots were just paces away from our spears. Their arrows would kill indiscriminately. Horses and riders would fall. One hundred and twenty arrows loosed at such close range would hit more than they missed.

  "Jam the haft of your spear into the ground and lock shields." Even with our archers I could not guarantee that someone would not get through. If they did then we needed a wall of metal to halt the mass of horseflesh and mail which would be crashing towards us. The Scots had to slow as they reached the logs. One who tried to rush found a caltrop and then some pig fat. The horse reared and fell over the side into the river taking the knight to a watery and ignoble grave. The others slowed and, already, their charge was doomed to failure. When they reached halfway they were so busy looking for traps and fat that they failed to see the arrows which plunged down vertically at them. My archers released four more flights before making their arrows fly horizontally. Horses were hit and enraged. They reared and bucked at the pain they were suffering. Some arrows struck mail and shields but many found flesh. Once the arrows began to fly horizontally the knights were just twenty paces from our shields and our spears.

  Despite the rain of death four knights on wild horses made it through the maelstrom of murder we had inflicted upon them. Two of the horses were maddened by arrows which would suck the last vestige of life from them very shortly. Their nostrils flared they charged towards us eager to stop the pain they were suffering.

  "Brace!"

  We had practised this and the men at arms jammed their bodies behind ours. The four horses were impaled on our spears. Their dying bodies pushed us back towards the gate but their bodies fell like a barrier before us. I let go of my shattered spear, took out my sword and stabbed the stunned knight who tried to disentangle himself from his dying horse. Edward, Sir Guy and Sir Richard all despatched the three other knights. One of them looked to be mortally wounded anyway; he had three arrows in his chest. Eight of the horsemen at the rear had halted for their way was barred and they began to pull back to safety. Dick and his archers kept up their rain of death and another two were hit before they reached the Earl.

  "Bring up spears!"

  The attack had broken half of our spears. The wild men would attack soon and they would be less easy to stop. Our arrows had brought down horses as well as men. A falling horse stopped a rider as effectively as an arrow. The bridge now had a route of dead horses and knights over which the Scots could advance. The caltrops and the pig fat were no longer a barrier to the men on foot. The men who would charge us next would hide behind their shields. Dick and his archers would have a smaller target and it would be down to the knights to stop them. As the spears were passed up I looked to see if we had suffered losses. The last four knights had failed to strike a blow but I knew that the others would be feeling the bruises from the crashing horses. Our armour and gambesons gave us some protection but we would still know that we had been in a battle when we had finished this day.

  The Earl of Moray launched his attack. He had waited until all of his knights who had been wounded had dragged themselves back along with the remaining horses. The bridge was now littered with the dead horses and men at arms. The foot advanced. I had expected a wild charge across the bridge but they came steadily and were led by a dismounted knight. They had bunched together, protected by their shields so that we could not see a gap into which to send an arrow.

  I heard Dick, my captain of archers, advise his men. "When they step over the logs and the bodies then there may be a gap. Our arrows are like gold do not waste them. Release when you have a target only."

  The Scots had reached half way across the bridge before we had our chance. As they carefully climbed over the carcass of a dead destrier one of them caught his foot in the reins and bridle. He tumbled forward. My archers saw their chance. Three arrows flew into the gap and punched into the next soldier. The Scot who had fallen was struck in the neck by two arrows and the two men at arms who flanked the gap were hit by arrows.

  The Scottish knight halted the line while the gap was filled. There would be more carcasses to contend with and they came forward even more slowly. Some of the men in their front rank did not have a kite shield such as ours. They had the old fashioned round shield my father and the Vikings used. It provided good protection to the body and head but almost none to the legs. Some of Dick's archers pushed their way behind us so that they could release their arrows horizontally. As the Scots climbed the logs, arrows were sent towards legs which had neither a shield nor mail to protect them. Although they only sent ten arrows towards the bridge before they had to return to Dick, five Scots fell. Their fall made up the mind of the knight. He yelled, "Charge!" when they were twenty paces from us.

  It was no solid line which hurled itself at us. There were too many obstacles in their way. Now my archers had targets and they released arrow after arrow.

  "Ready!"

  Our spears were jammed against the cobbles of the road and braced across our shields. Their sharpened, deadly heads protruded before us. This time there were no horses to take the first of the spear heads. As the Scots clambered over the bodies of the horses which were a barrier before us they jabbed down with their own spears. We took the blows on our shields but, more importantly, as they opened their bodies for the thrust they became an easy target for the archers. Inevitably some of those struck were either pushed or fell forward and they were then impaled upon the spears. As spears shattered then my men drew their swords. I saw that the other spears in our front ranks had been broken. I took my own spear and punched it forward at the knight who towered above me. His attention was on the faltering line and my spear found a gap and scored a hit along his side. The head came away bloody as he smashed down with his sword and broke my spear in two.

  I drew my sword just as a warrior with neither helmet nor mail leapt down at me with a vicious looking axe. I barely managed to push his axe away with my shield. A spear jabbed out from behind me and stuck him in the chest. As he died before me he spat out a curse in Gaelic.

  The knight was still above me, standing on the carcass of a dead horse. I swung my sword sideways. He had expected the blow and he jumped. The body of the horse was slick with blood and he lost his footing. He fell backwards. I was tiring and I knew that my knights would be too. I yelled the command, "Second rank, change!"

  We had practised this. The hiatus of the knight's slip afforded us the opportunity. We all turned to the right, presenting our shields to the enemy as Wulfric led ten fresh men at arms and their spears to take our place. We moved behind the rear rank. The new wall of spears greeted the knight as he regained his feet. He urged his men on and they had to try to break this new wall of spears. The results were the same. The men who survived the spears were struck by arrows. The knight realised the futility of the attac
k and he ordered his remaining men to fall back.

  I knew that they were doing so reluctantly when three warriors suddenly ran, full tilt, towards our line. They launched themselves in the air. Their movement was so swift it took my archers by surprise. One of the Scots impaled himself upon three of the spears but his crashing body allowed the other two to land amongst the men at arms. Their swords flashed and men died. I saw the mighty Wulfric raise his sword to decapitate one of them while the other was transfixed by an arrow in the middle of his head. The battle of the bridge was over when the last wild warrior fell.

  Wulfric was both upset and annoyed that the last suicidal attack by the three Scots had cost him two of his men. He and his men hacked the three bodies as they lay on the ground. It was a futile gesture but I understood it. Wulfric and his men had a bond and to lose any comrade was a blow.

  I strode past them and clambered on to the dead Scottish horse which had acted as a wall for us. I saw the Scots as they trudged back to their leader and the ones who had not attacked. We had not destroyed these raiders but we had hurt them. Sir Edward and Sir Richard joined me.

  "Will they return, Baron?"

  "I know not, Richard. We have hurt them and we are still as strong as ever. We clear the bridge for they could use the dead to their advantage in the night. Have the bodies of the Scots thrown into the Tyne. We will have to butcher the horses; they are too large to shift otherwise."

  Edward rubbed his hands, "We eat well tonight. The men love horsemeat!" My men at arms were strange. They had such affection for their own mounts that they would weep at small injuries but they would happily devour an enemy's horse.

  "Collect any weapons and armour."

  "They are poor quality."

  "I know Richard but we can make more caltrops. They are a good warning system and I have an idea for another kind of barrier too. Edward, take charge."

  I walked back to my men, taking off my helmet and pushing my coif back over my head. I saw Wulfric and he still had an angry face. "Have you vented your anger, Wulfric?"

  "Not yet my lord; that should never have happened."

  "I know but it is in the past. Put it behind you. Have your men collect as many daggers, spear heads and broken swords as they can. Then tell them to take the handles from the swords and daggers and then I want small logs. Ram the spear heads, daggers and broken swords into the logs so that they stick out from every side. They will make a more effective barrier than caltrops and will prevent us from being surprised."

  "An excellent idea, my lord." He had suddenly brightened. His anger could now be directed into making a wicked weapon with which to hurt his enemies. It was not my original idea. I had seen them in Byzantium. There the Emperor had many such fiendish weapons.

  "Dick, how is the supply of arrows?"

  "We have used too many."

  "Then send two of our men back to Hartburn to collect more from Tom the Fletcher." Having brought men to watch the horses we had the ability to replenish our supplies.

  "Aiden, go across the river and find out what the enemy intend."

  "Aye, my lord."

  "And Aiden, be careful!"

  He laughed, "My lord you will be telling me next how to gut a deer!"

  Leofric appeared at my side. "We won my lord! Can I be at your side next time?"

  "There will be a time for you to fight at my side but it is not yet." I handed him my sword. "Put an edge on that and ask Sir Tristan to go to the manor and tell Ralph and his wife that we have horsemeat aplenty. If they want some tell them to come and collect it."

  This was a bounty we would share.

  That night the air was filled with the sound of meat being roasted over open fires. The Scots still camped to the north and I knew that the smell would be doubly galling. It was their horses we ate and the smell of the roasting flesh would be making them hungrier. Aiden slipped back into camp after dark. Wulfric berated the sentries who had not spotted our ghost of the woods. I smiled. It was an incredibly gifted guard who would spot Aiden if he wished to remain hidden.

  "I crept close to their camp. I could not understand what they said but they appeared to be unhappy. The knight who led them was arguing with others who wore the same coats."

  "You have done well. Are they all within the camp?"

  "Aye my lord. They had sentries set too." He cheekily smiled at Wulfric. "I slipped past those as well."

  "You have done well. Go and eat." I turned to my knights. "We will see what the morrow brings but be ready to ride out and see if we can intimidate them back to Scotland."

  Our new logs embedded with blades had the advantage that we could move them easily and they would not bar our progress across the bridge. They were secured by ropes beneath the bridge. If an attacker tried to remove them they would have to expose themselves to a rain of missiles.

  When dawn broke the Scots were still on the slope leading north. I left only my archers at the bridge and, after we had cleared a passage across the bridge I led my conroi of knights and men at arms up the road. I did not want to fight them but I needed them to move. If they chose to attack then I would respond and then fall back to the bridge. Dick and his archers had enough arrows left to cause the Scots a problem. I used the same formation I had done before and we filled the road. The Scots' trumpets sounded as their camp came to life. I noticed that they now had but a handful of mounted men. We had eaten well the night before and would feast on horseflesh for another week at least. Their lost men at arms and knights meant that the Earl of Moral had to rely on the poorly armed men he had brought. This was better than I had hoped. His foot were armed with swords, axes and daggers. They would not stand against a mounted charge by mailed men.

  I halted my line a hundred and fifty paces from them. We all lowered our lances which indicated our intent; we would charge. We were still outnumbered but the Scots faced forty five horsemen; all of us were mailed and armed with a lance. "For the Bishop of Durham and King Henry! Charge!"

  It was ridiculously easy. As soon as we began to canter the Earl ordered a retreat. He and his remaining knights and men at arms led by example and they galloped away. The men on foot were leaderless and they melted into the woods. We caught five of them and two who tried to stand were slain but the rest ran back to Moray, Dunbar and Fife. They had left a great deal in their camp. There were spare weapons and mail as well as food. It was not a great deal of food but we took it anyway. The Earl and his knights had tents and we took those. Unfortunately every horse, no matter how poor was taken as they fled north to lick their wounds and reflect on their disastrous foray into England.

  The men were in high spirits as we divided our gains. I sent Tristan and Harold with four men at arms to escort the prisoners to the Bishop and to ask for the first part of our stipend.

  I gathered my remaining knights around me. "I think we will be safe for a few more days, at least. I have no doubt that there will be more raiders, but the Earl of Moray will make them rethink their strategy. I doubt that they will cross again here. Edward, take some men and ride to the New Castle. Tell the Constable that we have sent these raiders packing. While you are there see if the castle could withstand an attack. The rest of us will make this fort more defensible and more homely. Now that we have more tents we can do so."

  When our scouts returned to say that there was no sign of the Scots within ten miles of us we took off our armour. There was an old Roman bathhouse by the river. It no longer functioned but we found we could change there and bathe in the river for the Romans had made a small stone breakwater and it prevented the current from sweeping us away. I used it first for I was more used to bathing than the Normans. Once they saw me there then they, gradually, joined me.

  Sir Raymond had grown on me a little. He was nothing like his cousin. I had been wrong and Wulfstan had been right. He smiled as he entered the chilly water. "We have had more success than I expected. The Scots seemed remarkably easy to defeat."

  Sir Richard laughed. He dr
opped below the water and as he rose, dripping from it, said, "The more you fight alongside the Baron the more you will realise that he is a leader who thinks. Had we tried to fight on horseback we would have lost but he saw that we could fight on foot. Tristan and I have become richer since following his banner. Hartness will become as rich too."

  He nodded, "Already my men are smiling more. Coins in their purses induce such smiles."

  I cautioned them. Sir Geoffrey and Sir Guy nodded their agreement as I added, "This is not the end of our campaigns and they will learn. I have no doubt that they will try to employ archers. They will not be as good as ours but they will make life difficult for us. I want every warrior to practise for half of each day. We have a unique opportunity here. Our squires can learn from each other and our men at arms can learn to fight as one. There will still be a place for each banneret to use his own men but the more we fight together the more success we will have."

  When Edward returned, later that afternoon from the east, he seemed quite happy about the ability of the garrison to hold out. "It seems that the Gospatric family took their loyal retainers with them. The ones in the castle now are locals who have lived there since the north was emptied by the Conqueror. It is their home and they will defend it."

  I was relieved at that and so we began half a month of peace and order. The men practised and all became better warriors. When they were not working at becoming better warriors and improving their skills they took it upon themselves to make things. Aiden and Leofric used some of the bones from the horses to make a chess set. They each carved the pieces. Aiden had decided to use some of the blood from the animals we hunted to dye one half a rusty brown. It looked very effective. Others used the bone to make adornments for their scabbards and their horses. Every man at arm and archer had something to keep his hands busy. The practise took the need for fighting away and the beer we had from Ralph's wife was not strong enough to fire the blood.