HOW THE KING OF FRANCE INVADED NORMANDY,
AND WAS BEATEN AT MORTEMER.
The French had often insulted the Normans by injurious deeds and words,
on account of the great dislike and jealousy which they bore to
Normandy. They continually spoke scornfully, and called the Normans
BIGOZ and DRASCHIERS[1]; and often remonstrated with their king, and
said, "Sire, why do you not chase the Bigoz out of the country? Their
ancestors were robbers, who came by sea, and stole the land from our
forefathers and us." By the persuasion of these felons, who talked thus
because they hated the duke, the king undertook the enterprise[2];
though it was disliked by many of his men. He said he would go into
Normandy, and would conquer it; he would divide his army into two parts,
and invade in two directions. And what he said, he endeavoured to
execute; summoning his people from all sides.
He collected them in two positions, according as the river Seine divided
them; those of Reins and those of Seissons, of Leun[3], and of Noions;
those of Melant[4], and of Vermandeiz; of Pontif[5] and of Amineiz;
those of Flanders and of Belmont[6]; of Brie and of Provens. All these,
who are beyond Seine he assembled by twenties, by hundreds, and by
thousands, in Belveisin, meaning to enter the pays de Caux from that
side. To the Conestable and Guion[7], he sent his brother Odo[8], and
directed them to enter by Caux, and ravage all the land around.
And he summoned all the rest of his people, according as the river Seine
divides them from the others, to meet him at Meante[9]; those of
Toroigne and of Bleis; of Orlianz and of Vastineis; of the Perche and
of the Chartrain; of the bocage and of the plain; those of Boorges[10],
of Berri; of Estampes and of Montlheri; of Grez and of Chasteillun; of
Senz and of Chastel-Landun, the king ordered to come to Meante. And he
menaced the Normans, and boasted much that he would destroy Evrecin,
Rosineis, and Lievin[11], and would ride even as far as the sea,
returning by Auge.
William was in great alarm, for he was much afraid of the king's power;
and he also formed his men into two companies. About Caux, he placed
Galtier Giffart[12], and the men of that country; Robert, count d'Ou,
and old Huon de Gornai; and with these he ranged William Crespin[13],
who had much land in Velquessin[14]. These had under them the people of
the country around them, their relations and friends. The duke retained
the other company under his own command, to oppose the king. He
assembled the men of the Beessin, and the barons of the Costentin, and
those of the valley of Moretoing[15]; and of Avranches, which is beyond
it; Raol Tesson of Cingueleis, and the knights of Auge and of
Wismeis[16]; all these the duke summoned to meet him. He would, he said,
be close upon the king, and encamp hard by him, looking keenly after the
foragers, that they should not stray far without having some damage, if
he could help it; and he caused all provisions to be removed from the
way by which the king must pass; and drove the beasts into the woods,
and made the villains keep watch over them there.
The barons who were stationed in Caux, to defend that part of the
country, kept themselves to the woods and forests till the people of the
country could be got together; and passed from wood to wood, concealing
themselves in the thickets. But the men of France marched on, and
encamped at Mortemer. They remained there one night for the convenience
of the hostels; expecting that they could roam as they pleased over the
whole country, without meeting any knights who would dare to encounter,
or bear arms against them; for they believed that all the Norman knights
were gone towards Evreues with their lord, and that he had retreated
thither from fear of the king.
The Frenchmen demeaned themselves insolently, and with great cruelty.
Wherever they had passed, they destroyed all they found, ravaging the
villages and manors, burning houses, and plundering them of the
furniture; seizing the villains, violating the women, and keeping
whatever they pleased; till they had come to Mortemer, where they found
fair quarters in the hostels. By day they delivered the country up to
pillage, and devoted the night to revelry, searching out the wine and
killing the cattle, eating and drinking their fill.
The Normans knew well from their spies where the French lay, and what
their plans were; so they assembled their men together during the night,
summoning their friends and companions; and in the morning before
day-break, while the French were yet sleeping, behold! they surrounded
Mortemer, and set fire to the town. The flames spread from one hostel to
another, till the fire raged through all the streets. Then the Frenchmen
were to be seen in consternation: the whole town was in confusion, and
the melée became fierce; they rushed from the hostels, seizing such arms
as they could find, and were grievously discomfited, for the Normans
stopt them at the barriers. One man endeavours to mount his horse, but
cannot find the bridle; and another would quit his hostel, but is unable
to reach the door. The Normans guard all the issues, and the heads of
the streets; and there the encounters are rudest, and the feats of arms
the fairest.
From the rising of the morning's sun, till three in the afternoon, the
assault lasted in its full force, and the battle continued to be hot and
fierce. The French could not escape, for the Normans would let no one
pass. The first who quitted the field and fled was Odes; and the Normans
took Guion, the count of Pontif, alive and in arms; but they killed
Valeran his brother, a very brave and valiant knight. There was no
varlet, let him be ever so mean, or of ever so low degree, but took some
Frenchman prisoner, and seized two or three horses with all their
harness; nor was there a prison in all Normandy, which was not full of
Frenchmen. They were to be seen fleeing around, skulking in the woods
and bushes; and the dead and wounded lay amidst the burning ruins, and
upon the dung-hills, about the fields, and in the by-paths.
[Illustration]
That same night, the news passed quickly to where the duke lay with his
army; how that the French were discomfited, and the invasion stayed.
News travels fast, and is swift; and whoso bears good tidings may safely
knock at the gate[17]. The duke rejoiced greatly at the discomfiture of
his enemies; and he sent a man, whether varlet or esquire I know not, to
the place where the king was encamped, and had retired to his bed. He
ordered the man to climb up into a tree, and all night to cry aloud,
"Frenchmen, Frenchmen, arise! arise! make ready for your flight, ye
sleep too long! Go forth at once to bury your friends, who lie dead at
Mortemer[18]."
As the king heard the cry, he marvelled much, and was sorely dismayed.
So he sent out for his friends, and besought and conjured them to tell
him if they had heard any such tidings as the man proclaimed from the
tree. And whilst they yet talked and conversed with the king, concerning
what had happened, behold the news came and spread all around, how that
the best of their friends lay dead at Mortemer, and how they who had
escaped alive were made captive, and were in chains and in prison in
Normandy.
The French were greatly moved and troubled at the news, and went crying
out that they tarried too long. They seized the palfreys and
war-horses, harnessed and loaded the baggage horses, set fire to the
tents and huts, emptied them of every thing, and sent all on forward;
and the king went off on his way homeward, looking cautiously around
him. Had the duke wished to pursue, he might have injured him much, but
he did not desire to annoy him more. "He has had quite enough," said he,
"to trouble and cross him;" and he would not add more to his annoyance.
The king returned to Paris, the barons to their homes, and the great
people whom he had led forth returned to their own countries. But his
wrath against the Normans was very great, on account of those whom they
had taken prisoners, and still more for those who were killed. The dead
he could not recover, but he wished to redeem those who were prisoners;
so he sent word to the duke, that if he would release his prisoners, he
would make truce and peace with him till other cause of difference
should arise; and that whatever the duke had taken or might take from
Giffrei Martel, should never be a cause of war between them, or be
alleged as a grievance against him.
And thereupon accordingly was done as I tell you; the duke restored the
Frenchmen who were prisoners, but the harness was left to those who had
won it; and the prisoners repaid to their captors the charges they had
occasioned to them.
[Footnote 1: BIGOT has been supposed to have its origin in the BY-GOD of
a northern tongue; and to have been used as a war cry by early Normans,
answering to the later DEX-AIE. Anderson, in his _Genealogical Tables_,
says, without quoting his authority, that Rollo was called By-got, from
his frequent use of the phrase. See our subsequent note on Bigot as a
family name. DRASCHIERS is understood to mean consumers of barley,
probably as the material of beer.]
[Footnote 2: The affair at Mortemer, next related, took place in 1054,
after the siege and retreat of Arques; which this attack was probably
meant to revenge.]
[Footnote 3: Laon.]
[Footnote 4: Meulan.]
[Footnote 5: Ponthieu, and the country of Amiens.]
[Footnote 6: Beaumont-sur-Oise.]
[Footnote 7: Guy, count of Ponthieu, successor of the one killed at
Arques.]
[Footnote 8: Eudes, or Odo, fourth son of King Robert.]
[Footnote 9: Mantes, Touraine, Blois, Orleans, Gâtinais.]
[Footnote 10: Bourges.]
[Footnote 11: The country of Evreux, of Rouen and Lisieux, and of Auge,
not that of Eu; the latter, being called in Latin Augum, is sometimes
confounded with Auge.]
[Footnote 12: WALTER GIFFARD, who will be further noticed hereafter.]
[Footnote 13: WILLIAM CRESPIN, son of Gilbert I. and eldest brother of
Gilbert II. whom we shall meet at the battle of Hastings. Wace does not
mention Roger de Mortemer, who was a prominent leader in this affair,
according to Ordericus Vitalis, p. 657; and fell into disgrace with the
Duke, on account of the favour shown by him to Raol de Montdidier, one of
the French leaders. See note below on Hue de Mortemer.]
[Footnote 14: The Vexin.]
[Footnote 15: Mortain, in La Manche.]
[Footnote 16: The pays d'Hyèmes or Exmes.]
[Footnote 17:
C'est une chose ke novele,
Ki mult est errant et isnele,
E ki bone novele porte
Seurement bute a la porte.]
[Footnote 18: Mortuum-mare in the latin of the day. The chronicle of
Normandy and Dumoulin cite the following verses, as popular on the
subject of this battle:
Réveillez vous et vous levez,
François, qui trop dormi avez!
Allez bientôt voir vos amys,
Que les Normans out a mort mys,
_Entre Ecouys et Mortemer!_
Là vous convient les inhumer.
But it seems admitted that the battle nevertheless was not at
Mortemer-en-Lyons near Ecouys, where the abbey was, but at
Mortemer-sur-Eaulne, in the arrondissement of Neufchâtel. Wace's account
of the proclamation by the varlet--or herald, as others call
him--(William of Jumieges naming him Ralf de Toeny), runs in the
original thus:
Là ù li reis fu herbergiez,
Ki en sun liet ert jà cochiez,
Fist un home tost envéier,
Ne sai varlet u esquier;
En un arbre le fist munter
E tute nuit en haut crier--
'Franceiz! Franceiz! levez! levez!
'Tenez vos veies, trop dormez!
'Alez vos amiz enterrer,
'Ki sunt occiz a Mortemer!'
Li reis oi ke cil cria,
Merveilla sei, mult s'esmaia;
Par cels ke li plout envéia,
Demanda lor è conjura
S'il unt mile novele oïe,
De ço ke cil en l'arbre crie.
Endementres k'al rei parloent,
E des noveles demandoent,
Eis vus! la novele venue
E par tute terre espandue,
Be tut li mielx de lor amiz
Esteit à Mortemer occiz;
E cil ki erent remez vif
En Normendie erent chetif,
Miz en anels et en gaoles.]