HOW THE KING OF FRANCE CAME AGAIN AGAINST
DUKE WILLIAM, AND WAS DEFEATED
AT VARAVILLE.
[Illustration]
Duke William carried himself gallantly, and triumphed over all his
enemies; he was loved for his liberality, and feared for his bravery. He
conquered many and won over many, lavishing his gifts around, and
spending much; till the French became very jealous of his chivalry; of
the troops that he had, and of the lands he conquered. Their king
moreover could never be reconciled to the Normans; but said that he
would sooner perjure himself, than not have his revenge for the battle
of Mortemer. Then under the advice of Giffrei Martel[1], before August,
when the corn was on the ground, he summoned together all his barons,
and the knights who held fiefs of him, and owed him service, and entered
Normandy, passing by Oismes[2], which they assaulted without tarrying
before it long. From thence they traversed all Oismes, and through the
Beessin as far as the sea coast; burning the villages and bourgs, and
ruining and plundering both men and women, till at length they came to
St. Pierre-sor-Dive. The town was completely garrisoned by them, and the
king lay at the abbey[3].
The duke was with his people at Faleise, when the news came, concerning
the wrong the king was doing him; and it grieved him sorely. So he sent
out and assembled his knights, and strengthened his castles, cleansing
the fosses, and repairing the walls; being determined to let the open
country be laid waste, if he could maintain his strong places. He could
easily, he said, recover the open lands, and repair the injury done to
them. So he did not shew himself at all to the French, but let them
wander over the country, intending to give them scurvy usage on their
return back from their expedition.
The king meantime went on with his project. He would go, he said,
towards Bayeux, and ravage the whole of the Beessin, and on his return
thence would pass by Varavile[4], and lay waste Auge and Lievin.
Accordingly the French overran the Beessin, as far as the river
Seule[5]; and returned from thence to Caen, where they passed the
Ogne[6]. Caen was then without a castle, and had neither wall nor fence
to protect it[7]. When the king left Caen, he proceeded homeward by
Varavile, as he had proposed.
His train was great and long, so that it could not all be kept together;
and the press was great to pass the bridge, every one wanting to be the
foremost.
The duke, knowing some how or another all that was going on, and by what
route the king would pass, hastened upon his track with the great body
of troops that he led, and conducted his people in close order along the
valley below Bavent[8]. All over the country he sent out word, and
summoned the villains to come to his aid as quickly as they could, with
whatever arms they could get. Then from all round the villains were to
be seen flocking in, with pikes and clubs in their hands.
The king had passed the river Dive, which runs through that country,
together with all those of his host who had taken care to move quickly
forward. But the baggage train was altogether, and far behind, extending
over a great length. The duke, seeing that all who were thus in the rear
were certain to fall into his hands, pressed on his men from village to
village; and when he reached Varavile, he found those of the French
there who remained to form the rear guard. Then began a fierce melée,
and many a stroke of lance and sword. The knights struck with their
lances, the archers shot from their bows, and the villains attacked with
their pikes; charging and driving them along the chaussée, overwhelming
and bearing down numbers. The Normans kept continually increasing in
numbers, till they became a great force, and the French pressed
forwards, one pushing the other on. The chaussée incommoded them very
much, being long and in bad repair, and they were encumbered by their
plunder. Many were to be seen breaking the line, and getting out of the
track, who could not retrace their steps, nor reach the main road again.
The great press was at the bridge, every one being eager to reach it.
But the bridge was old, the boards bent under the throng, the water
rose, and the stream was strong; the weight was heavy, the bridge shook
and at length fell, and all who were upon it perished. Many fell in
close by the bridge foot where the water was deep; all about harness was
to be seen floating, and men plunging and sinking; and none had any
chance of life save skilful swimmers.
The cry arose that the bridge was broken. Grievous and fearful was that
cry, and no one was so brave or bold as not to tremble for his life when
he heard what had happened, and to see that his hour of exultation was
gone by. They see the Normans meanwhile pressing on from behind, but
there was no escape; they go along the banks of the river, seeking for
fords and crossings, throwing away their arms and plunder, and cursing
their having brought so much. They go straggling and stumbling over the
ditches, helping each other forward, the Normans pursuing and sparing no
one, till all those who had not crossed the bridge were either taken
prisoners, killed, or drowned. Never, they say, were so many prisoners
taken, or such great slaughter made in all Normandy. And William
glorified God for his success.
The river and the sea also swept away numbers, the king looking on in
sorrow and dismay. From the height of Basteborc, he looked down and saw
Varavile and Caborc; he beheld the marshes and the valleys, which lay
long and broad before him, the wide stream, and the broken bridge; he
gazed upon his numerous troops thus fallen into trouble; some he saw
seized and bound, others struggling in the deep waters; and to those who
were drowning he could bring no succour, neither could he rescue the
prisoners. In sorrow and indignation he groaned and sighed, and could
say nothing; all his limbs trembled, and his face burned with rage.
Willingly, he cried, would he turn back, and endeavour to find a
passage, if his barons would so counsel, but no one would give such
advice. "Sire," said they, "you shall not go; you shall return another
time and destroy all the land, taking captive all their richest men."
Then the king went back into France, full of rage and heaviness of
heart, and never after bore shield or lance; whether as a penance or not
I know not. He never again entered Normandy: nor did he live long, but
did as all men must do; from dust he came, to dust he returned. At his
death he was greatly lamented, and his eldest son Philip[9] was crowned
king in his stead.
[Footnote 1: We have seen that after the battle of Mortemer, the king of
France abandoned Jeffery Martel 'un quens d'Angou,' a deadly enemy to
the duke. Wace narrates the feuds between them; and among the rest
William's terrible revenge on those who, in defending Alençon, had
annoyed him by allusions to his birth, crying out, 'La pel, la pel al
parmentier!' These passages of the chronicle we pass over as not
material to our present purpose.]
[Footnote 2: Hyèmes or Exèmes, now in the arrondissement of Argentan.]
[Footnote 3: The abbey of St. Pierre-sur-Dives was founded before 1040,
by Lesceline, wife of William, count d'Eu.]
[Footnote 4: In the arrondissement of Caen, near the Dives.]
[Footnote 5: A small river passing near Bayeux to the sea at Bernières.]
[Footnote 6: The Orne.]
[Footnote 7: Huet cites this passage in his _Origines de Caen_. Quesnel
(translated above _fence_) seems properly a wooden barricade, being
derived from quesne, or chêne.]
[Footnote 8: A little south of Varaville, along the Dives.]
[Footnote 9: Philip I. was, at Henry's death, in 1060, an infant of
seven years old. Baldwin, count of Flanders, William's father-in-law,
was Philip's guardian; having married Henry's sister. Wace calls her
Constance, instead of Adela; but Constance was in fact the name of her
mother, king Robert's queen. See Chap. VII.]