division now among the Norman lords, and as the word to arm against
France was passed from one feudal chieftain to another, there was a
great mustering of horse and foot. So the king had made up his mind
to punish them, and to behave as if he had a right to take back the
gift that was unwillingly wrung from Charles the Simple. Normandy is
our own, not Henry's, was the angry answer; and Ralph of Tesson, and
the soldiers of Falaise, the Lord of Mortain, the men of Bessin, and
the barons of the Côtentin were ready to take the field, and stand
shoulder to shoulder. There had been a change indeed, in Normandy; and
from one end of it to the other there was a cry of shame and treachery
upon Henry, the faithless ally and overlord. They had learned to know
William as a man not against their interests but with them, and for
them and the glory of Normandy; and they had [Pg248] not so soon
forgotten the day of Val-ès-dunes and their bitter mistake.
The king's force had come into the country by the frontier city of
Aumale, and had been doing every sort of damage that human ingenuity
could invent between conqueror and vanquished. It was complained
by those who escaped that the French were worse than Saracens. Old
people, women, and children were abused or quickly butchered; men
were taken prisoners; churches and houses were burnt or pulled to
pieces. There was a town called Mortemer which had the ill-luck to
be chosen for the French head-quarters, because it was then a good
place for getting supplies and lodging, though now there is nothing
left of it but the remains of an ancient tower and a few dwellings and
gardens. Here the feasting and revelry went on as if Normandy were
already fallen. All day there were raids in the neighboring country,
and bringing in of captives, and plunder; and William's spies came
to Mortemer, and went home to tell the duke the whole story of the
hateful scene. There was a huge army collected there fearless of
surprise; this was the place to strike a blow, and the duke and his
captains made a rapid march by night so that they reached Mortemer
before daylight.
There was no weapon more cherished by the pirates' grandchildren
than a blazing fire-brand, and the army stole through the town while
their enemies still slept, stupid with eating and drinking, or weary
from the previous day's harrying. They waked to find their houses
in flames, the roofs crackling, a horrid [Pg249] glare of light, a
bewilderment of smoke and shouts; the Normans ready to kill, to burn,
to pen them back by sturdy guards at the streets' ends. There was
a courageous resistance to this onslaught, but from early morning
until the day was well spent the fight went on, and most of the
invaders were cut to pieces. The dead men lay thick in the streets,
and scattered everywhere about the adjacent fields. "Only those were
spared who were worth sparing for the sake of their ransom. Many a
Norman soldier, down to the meanest serving-man in the ranks, carried
off his French prisoner; many a one carried off his two or three
goodly steeds with their rich harness. In all Normandy there was not
a prison that was not full of Frenchmen."[8] All this was done with
scarcely any loss to the Normans, at least so we are told, and the
news came to William that same evening, and made him thank God with
great rejoicing. It would seem as if only a God of battles could be a
very near and welcome sovereign to this soldier-lord of Normandy.
[8] Freeman.
The victor had still another foe to meet. The king's command was
still to be vanquished, and perhaps it might be done with even less
bloodshed. The night had fallen, and he chose Ralph of Toesny, son
of that Roger who sought the Spanish kingdom, the enemy of his own
ill-championed childhood, to go as messenger to the king's tent. The
two chieftains cannot have been encamped very far apart, for it was
still dark when Ralph rode fast on his errand. He crept close to where
the king lay in the darkness, [Pg250] and in the glimmer of dawn he
gave a doleful shout: "Wake, wake, you Frenchmen! You sleep too long;
go and bury your friends who lie dead at Mortemer"; then he stole away
again unseen, while the startled king and his followers whispered
together of such a terrible omen. Ill news travels apace; they were
not long in doubt; a panic seized the whole host. Not for Rouen now,
or the Norman cities, but for Paris the king marched as fast as he
could go; and nobody gave him chase, so that before long he and his
counts were safe at home again with the thought of their folly for
company. Craft is not so fine a grace as courage; but craft served
the Normans many a good turn; and this was not the least glorious of
William's victories, though no blood was spilt, though the king was
driven away and no sword lifted to punish him. The Normans loved a
bit of fun; we can imagine how well they liked to tell the story of
spoiling half an army with hardly a scratch for themselves, and making
the other half take to its heels at the sound of Ralph de Toesny's
gloomy voice in the night. There were frequent hostilities after this
along the borders, but no more leagues of the French counts; there was
a castle of Breteuil built to stand guard against the king's castle
of Tillières, and William Fitz-Osbern was made commander of it; there
was an expedition of the Count of Maine, aided by Geoffrey Martel and
a somewhat unwilling Breton prince, against the southern castle of
Ambrières. But when William hastened to its relief the besiegers took
to flight, except the Lord of Maine, who was captured and put into
[Pg251] prison until he was willing to acknowledge himself the duke's
vassal; and after this there were three years of peace in Normandy.
It had grown to be a most orderly country. William's famous curfew
bell was proved to be an efficient police force. Every household's
fire was out at eight o'clock in winter, and sunset in summer, and
its lights extinguished; every man was in his own dwelling-place then
under dire penalty; he was a strict governor, but in the main a just
one—this son of the lawless Robert. He upheld the rights of the poor
landholders and widows, and while he was feared he was respected. It
was now that he gave so much thought to the rights of the Church, or
the following out of his own dislike, in the dismissal of his Uncle
Mauger, the primate of the duchy.
There is still another battle to be recorded in this chapter,—one
which for real importance is classed with the two famous days of
Val-ès-dunes and Hastings,—the battle fought at Varaville, against the
French king and his Angevine ally, who took it into their silly heads
to go a-plundering on the duke's domain.
Bayeux and Caen were to be sacked, and all the surrounding country;
besides this, the allies were going to march to the sea to show the
Bastard that he could not lock them up in their inland country and
shake the key in their faces. William watched them as a cat watches
a mouse and lets the poor thing play and feast itself in fancied
security. He had the patience to let the invaders rob and burn, and
spoil the crops; to let them live in his towns, [Pg252] and the
French king himself hold a temporary court in a fine new abbey of
the Bessin, until everybody thought he was afraid of this mouse, and
that all the Normans were cowards; then the quick, fierce paw struck
out, and the blow fell. It is a piteous story of war, that battle of
Varaville!
There was a ford where the French, laden with their weight of spoils,
meant to cross the river Dive into the district of Auge. On the
Varaville side the land is marshy; across the river, and at no great
distance, there is a range of hills which lie between the bank of
the Dive and the rich country of Lisieux. The French had meant to
go to Lisieux when they started out on their other enterprise. But
William had waited for this moment; part of the army under the king's
command had crossed over, and were even beginning to climb the hills.
The rear-guard with the great baggage trains were on the other bank,
when there was a deplorable surprise. William, with a body of trained
troops, had come out from Falaise; he had recruited his army with all
the peasants of the district; armed with every rude weapon that could
be gathered in such haste, they were only too ready to fall upon the
French mercilessly.
[Illustration: A NORMAN ARCHER.]
The tide was flowing in with disastrous haste, and the Frenchmen had
not counted upon this awful foe. Their army was cut in two; the king
looked down in misery from the height he had thoughtlessly gained.
Now we hear almost for the first time of that deadly shower of Norman
arrows, famous enough since in history. Down they came with their
sharp talons; the poor French were huddling together at [Pg253] the
river's brink; there was no shelter; the bowmen shot at them; the
peasants beat them with flails and scythes; into the rushing water
they went, and floated away writhing. There was not a man left alive
in troop after troop, and there were men enough of the Normans who
knew the puzzling, marshy ground to chase and capture those other
troopers who tried to run away. Alas for the lilies of France! how
they were trailed in the mire of that riverside at Varaville! It was
a massacre rather than a battle, and Henry's spirit was humbled.
"Heavy-hearted, he never held spear or shield again," says the
chronicle. There were no more expeditions against Normandy in his
time; he sued for a truce, and paid as the price for it, the castle
of Tillières, and so that stronghold came back to its rightful lords
again. Within two years he died, being an old man, and we can well
believe a disappointed one. Geoffrey Martel died too, that year, the
most troublesome of the Bastard's great neighbors. This was 1060;
and it was in that year that Harold of England first came over to
Normandy—an unlucky visit enough, as time proved. His object was
partly to take a look at the political state of Gaul; but if he meant
to sound the [Pg254] hearts of the duke's neighbors in regard to him,
as some people have thought, he could not have chosen a more unlucky
time. If he meant to speak for support in case William proved to be
England's enemy in days to come, he was too late; those who would have
been most ready to listen were beyond the reach of human intrigues,
and their deaths had the effect of favoring William's supremacy, not
disputing it.
There is no record of the great earl's meeting the Norman duke at all
on this first journey. If we had a better account of it, we might
solve many vexed questions. Some scholars think that it was during
this visit that Harold was inveigled into taking oath to uphold
William's claim to the English crown, but the records nearly all
belong to the religious character of the expedition. Harold followed
King Cnut's example in going on a pilgrimage to Rome, and brought back
various treasures for his abbey of Waltham, the most favored religious
house of his earldom. He has suffered much misrepresentation, no
doubt, at the hands of the monkish writers, for he neglected their
claims in proportion as he favored their secular brethren, for whom
the abbey was designed. A monk retired from the world for the benefit
of his own soul, but a priest gave his life in teaching and preaching
to his fellow-men. We are told that Harold had no prejudice against
even a married priest, and this was rank heresy and ecclesiastical
treason in the minds of many cloistered brethren. [Pg255]
[Illustration]
XIII.
HAROLD THE ENGLISHMAN.
"The languid pulse of England starts
And bounds beneath your words of power."
—WHITTIER.
Just here we might well stop to consider the true causes and effects
of war. Seen in the largest way possible, from this side of life,
certain forces of development are enabled to assert themselves only
by outgrowing, outnumbering, outfighting their opposers. War is the
conflict between ideas that are going to live and ideas that have
passed their maturity and are going to die. Men possess themselves
of a new truth, a clearer perception of the affairs of humanity;
progress itself is made possible with its larger share of freedom
for the individual or for nations only by a relentless overthrowing
of outgrown opinions. It is only by new combinations of races, new
assertions of the old unconquerable forces, that the spiritual kingdom
gains or rather shows its power. When men claim that humanity can only
move round in a circle, that the world has lost many things, that the
experience of humanity is like the succession of the seasons, and
that there is reproduction but not progression, it is well to take
a [Pg256] closer look, to see how by combination, by stimulus of
example, and power of spiritual forces and God's great purposes, this
whole world is nearer every year to the highest level any fortunate
part of it has ever gained. Wars may appear to delay, but in due time
they surely raise whole nations of men to higher levels, whether by
preparing for new growths or by mixing the new and old. Generals of
battalions and unreckoned camp-followers alike are effects of some
great change, not causes of it. And no war was ever fought that was
not an evidence that one element in it had outgrown the other and was
bound to get itself manifested and better understood. The first effect
of war is incidental and temporary; the secondary effect makes a link
in the grand chain of the spiritual education and development of the
world.
We grow confused in trying to find our way through the intricate
tangle of stories about the relation of Harold and William to each
other, with their promises and oaths and understanding of each other's
position in regard to the throne of England. Of course, William knew
that Harold had a hope of succeeding the Confessor. There was nobody
so fit for it in some respects as he—nobody who knew and loved England
any better, or was more important to her welfare. He had fought for
her; he was his father's son, and the eyes of many southern Englishmen
would turn toward him if the question of the succession were publicly
put in the Witanagemôt. He might have defamers and enviers, but the
Earl of the West Saxons was the foremost man in England. [Pg257] He
had a right to expect recognition from his countrymen. The kingship
was not hereditary, and Eadward had no heirs if it had been. Eadward
trusted him; perhaps he had let fall a hint that he meant to recommend
his wise earl as successor, even though it were a repetition of
another promise made to William when Harold was a banished man and the
house of Godwine serving its term of disgrace and exile.
It appears that Eadward had undergone an intermediate season of
distrusting either of these two prominent candidates for succession.
But the memory of Eadward Ironside was fondly cherished in England,
and his son, Eadward the Outlaw, the lawful heir of the crown, was
summoned back to his inheritance from Hungary. There was great
rejoicing, and the Atheling's wife and his three beautiful children, a
son and two daughters, were for a time great favorites and kindled an
instant loyalty all too soon to fade. Alas! that Eadward should have
returned from his long banishment to sicken and die in London just as
life held out such fair promises; and again the Confessor's mind was
troubled by the doubtful future of his kingdom.
On the other hand, if we trust to the Norman records now,—not always
unconfirmed by the early English historians,—we must take into
account many objections to, as well as admissions of, Harold's claim.
Eadward's inclination seems often to swerve toward his Norman cousin,
who alone seemed able to govern England properly or to hold her
jealous forces well in hand. The great English earls were [Pg258]
in fact nearly the same as kings of their provinces. There was much
opposition and lack of agreement between them; there was a good
deal of animosity along the borders in certain sections, and a deep
race prejudice between the Danes of Northumberland and the men of
the south. The Danes from oversea were scheming to regain the realm
that had belonged to their own great ruler Cnut, and so there was a
prospect of civil war or foreign invasion which needed a strong hand.
Harold's desire to make himself king was not in accordance with the
English customs. He was not of the royal house; he was only one of
the English earls, and held on certain grounds no better right to
pre-eminence than they. Leofric and Siward would have looked upon him
as an undeserving interloper, who had no right to rule over them. "The
grandsons of Leofric, who ruled half England," says one historian,
"would scarcely submit to the dominion of an equal.... No individual
who was not of an ancient royal house had ever been able to maintain
himself upon an Anglo-Saxon throne."
Before we yield too much to our natural sentiment over the story of
this unfortunate "last of the Saxon kings," it is well to remember the
bad and hindering result to England if Harold had conquered instead of
fallen on the battle-field of Hastings. The weakness of England was in
her lack of unity and her existing system of local government.
[Illustration: GUY, COUNT OF PONTHIEU. BAYEUX TAPESTRY.]
There are two or three plausible stories about Harold's purpose in
going to Normandy. It is sometimes impossible in tracing this portion
of [Pg259] history through both English and Norman chronicles to find
even the same incidents mentioned. Each historian has such a different
proof and end in view, and it is only by the closest study, and a good
deal of guesswork beside, that a reasonable account of Harold's second
visit, and the effects of it, can be made out. We may listen for a
moment to the story of his being sent by Eadward to announce that the
English crown was to be given to the Norman duke by [Pg260] Eadward's
own recommendation to the council, or we may puzzle our way through
an improbable tale that Godwine's son, Wolfnoth, and grandson, Hakon,
were still held by William as hostages between Eadward and Godwine,
though Godwine's family had long since been formally reinstated and
re-endowed. Harold is supposed to have gone over to demand their
release, though Eadward mournfully warned him of danger and treachery.
The most probable explanation is that Harold was bound on a pleasure
excursion with some of his family either to Flanders or some part of
his own country, and was shipwrecked and cast ashore on the coast of
Ponthieu. All accounts agree about this, though they differ so much
about the port he meant to make and his secret purpose.
In those days wrecking was a sadly common practice, and the more
illustrious a rescued man might be, the larger ransom was demanded.
When we reflect that much of the brutal and lawless custom of wrecking
survived almost if not quite to our own time in England, we cannot
expect much from the leniency of the Count of Ponthieu's subjects, or
indeed much clemency from that petty sovereign himself. Harold was
thrown into prison and suffered many things there before the Duke of
Normandy could receive his message and come to his relief.
We might imagine for ourselves now a fine historical picture of
William the Conqueror seated in his palace at Rouen, busy with
affairs of church and state. He has grown stouter, and his face shows
marks of thought and care which were not all there [Pg261] when
he went to England. His hair is worn thin by his helmet, and the
frank, courteous look of his youth has given place to sternness and
insistance, though his smile is ready to be summoned when occasion
demands. He is a man who could still be mild with the gentle, and
pleasantry was a weapon and tool if it were not an unconscious habit.
Greater in state and less in soul, says one historian, who writes of
him from an English standpoint at this hour in his career. A Norman
gentleman lived delicately in those days; he was a worthy successor
of a Roman gentleman in the luxurious days of the empire, but not yet
enfeebled and belittled by ease and extravagance—though we do listen
with amusement to a rumor that the elegant successors of Rolf the
Ganger were very dependent upon warm baths, and a good sousing with
cold water was a much dreaded punishment and penance. The reign of the
valet had become better assured than the reign (in England) of the
offspring of Woden and the house of Cerdic.
But we forget to watch the great Duke of the Normans as he sits in
his royal chamber and listens to a messenger from the prisoned Earl
of the West Saxons. It is a moment of tremendous significance, for by
the assistance of winds and waves Harold has fallen into his power. He
must tread carefully now and use his best cleverness of strategy and
treacherous artifice. How the bystanders must have watched his face,
and listened with eager expectation for his answer. The messenger
pleads Harold's grievous condition; hints of famine, torture, and
death itself [Pg262] have been known to escape this brutal Count of
Ponthieu who keeps the great Englishman in his dungeon as if he were
a robber. Perhaps he only wishes to gain a greater ransom, perhaps he
acts in traitorous defiance of his Lord of Normandy's known friendship
for England.
William replies at last with stern courtesy. He is deeply grieved, we
can hear him say, for the earl's misfortune, but he can only deal in
the matter as prince with prince. It is true that Guy of Ponthieu is
his vassal and man, but Guy is governor of his coast, and makes his
own laws. It will cost great treasure to ransom this noble captive,
but the matter must be carefully arranged, for Guy is hot-tempered and
might easily be provoked into sending Harold's head to Rouen without
his body. Yet half the Norman duchy shall be spent if need be for such
a cause as the English earl's release.
Fitz-Osbern, the duke's seneschal and Malet de Graville, and the noble
attendants of the palace murmur a pleased assent as the half-satisfied
messenger is kindly dismissed. They detect an intrigue worthy of
the best Norman ability, and know by William's face that he has
unexpectedly gained a welcome control over events.
The liberation of Harold was effected after much manœuvring,
necessary or feigned, and when he appeared before William it was as
a grateful man who was in debt not only for his release from danger
and discomfort, but for a great sum of money and a tract of valuable
landed property.
[Illustration: MOUNT ST. MICHEL.]
It is impossible not to suspect that Guy of [Pg264] Ponthieu and
William were in league with each other, and when the ransom was paid,
the wrecker-count became very amiable, and even insisted upon riding
with a gay company of knights to the place where the Norman duke came
with a splendid retinue to meet his distinguished guest. William
laid aside the cumbrous forms of court etiquette and hurried to the
gates of the Chateau d'Eu to help Harold to dismount, and greeted
him with cordial affection, as friend with friend. Harold may well
have been dazzled by his reception at the most powerful court in that
part of the world. To have a welcome that befitted a king may well
have pleased him into at least a temporary acknowledgment of his
entertainer's majestic power and rights. No doubt, during that unlucky
visit it seemed dignity enough to be paraded everywhere as the great
duke's chosen companion and honored friend and guest. At any rate,
Harold's visit seems to have given occupation to the court, and we
catch many interesting glimpses of the stately Norman life, as well
as the humble, almost brutal, condition of the lower classes, awed
into quietness and acquiescence by the sternness and exactness of
William's rule. It must be acknowledged that if the laws were severe
they prevented much disorder that had smouldered in other times in the
lower strata of society; men had less power and opportunity to harm
each other or to enfeeble the state.
[Illustration: OLD HOUSES, DÔL.]