HOW KING EDWARD DIED, AND HAROLD WAS CROWNED
IN HIS STEAD; AND HOW DUKE WILLIAM
TOOK COUNSEL AGAINST HIM.
The day came that no man can escape, and king Edward drew near to die.
He had it much at heart, that William should have his kingdom, if
possible; but he was too far off, and it was too long to tarry for him,
and Edward could not defer his hour. He lay in heavy sickness, in the
illness whereof he was to die; and he was very weak, for death pressed
hard upon him[1].
Then Harold assembled his kindred, and sent for his friends and other
people, and entered into the king's chamber, taking with him whomsoever
he pleased. An Englishman began to speak first, as Harold had directed
him, and said; "Sire, we sorrow greatly that we are about to lose thee;
and we are much alarmed, and fear that great trouble may come upon us:
yet we cannot lengthen thy life, nor alter thy fate. Each one must die
for himself, and none for another; neither can we cure thee; so that
thou canst not escape death; but dust must return to dust. No heir of
thine remains who may comfort us after thy death. Thou hast lived long,
and art now old, but thou hast had no child, son or daughter; nor hast
thou other heir, who may remain instead of thee to protect and guard us,
and to become king by lineage. On this account the people weep and cry
aloud, and say they are ruined, and that they shall never have peace
again if thou failest them. And in this, I trow, they say truly; for
without a king they will have no peace, and a king they cannot have,
save through thee. Give then thy kingdom in thy lifetime to some one who
is strong enough to maintain us in peace. God grant that none other than
such may be our king! Wretched is a realm, and little worth, when
justice and peace fail; and he who doth not or cannot maintain them, has
little right to the kingdom he hath. Well hast thou lived, well hast
thou done, and well wilt thou do; thou hast ever served God, and wilt be
rewarded of him. Behold the best of thy people, the noblest of thy
friends; all are come to beseech thee, and thou must grant their prayer
before thou goest hence, or thou wilt not see God. All come to
implore thee that Harold may be king of this land. We can give thee no
better advice, and no better canst thou do."
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As soon as he had named Harold, all the English in the chamber cried out
that he said well, and that the king ought to give heed to him. "Sire,"
they said, "if thou dost it not, we shall never in our lives have
peace."
Then the king sat up in his bed, and turned his face to the English
there, and said, "Seignors, you well know, and have ofttimes heard, that
I have given my realm at my death to the duke of Normandy; and as I have
given it, so have some among you sworn that it shall go."
But Harold, who stood by, said, "Whatever thou hast heretofore done,
sire, consent now that I shall be king, and that your land be mine; I
wish for no other title, and want no one to do any thing more for me."
"Harold," said the king, "thou shalt have it, but I know full well that
it will cost thee thy life. If I know any thing of the duke, and the
barons that are with him, and the multitude of people that he can
command, none but God can avail to save thee."
Then Harold said that he would stand the hazard, and that if the king
would do what he asked, he feared no one, be he Norman or other. So the
king turned round and said,--whether of his own free will I know
not,--"Let the English make either the duke or Harold king as they
please, I consent." Thus he made Harold heir to his kingdom, as William
could not have it. A kingdom must have a king; without one, in fact, it
would be no kingdom; so he let his barons have their own will.
And now he could abide no longer. He died, and the English lamented much
over him. His body was greatly honoured, and was buried at Westminster;
and the tomb which was made for him was rich, and endureth still. As
soon as king Edward was dead, Harold, who was rich and powerful, had
himself anointed and crowned, and said nought of it to the duke, but
took the homage and fealty of the richest, and best born of the land[2].
The duke was in his park at Rouen[3]. He held in his hand a bow, which
he had strung and bent, making it ready for the arrow; and he had given
it into the hands of a page, for he was going forth, I believe, to the
chace, and had with him many knights and pages[4] and esquires, when
behold! at the gate appeared a serjeant, who came journeying from
England, and went straight to the duke and saluted him, and drew him on
one side, and told him privily that king Edward was dead, and that
Harold was raised to be king.
When the duke had listened to him, and learnt all the truth, how that
Edward was dead, and Harold was made king, he became as a man enraged,
and left the craft of the woods. Oft he tied his mantle, and oft he
untied it again; and spoke to no man, neither dared any man speak to
him. Then he crossed the Seine in his boat, and came to his hall, and
entered therein; and sat down at the end of a bench, shifting his place
from time to time, covering his face with his mantle, and resting his
head against a pillar. Thus he remained long, in deep thought, for no
one dared speak to him; but many asked aside, "What ails the duke, why
makes he such bad cheer?" Then behold in came his seneschal[5], who
rode from the park on horseback; and he passed close by the duke,
humming a tune as he went along the hall; and many came round him,
asking how it came to pass that the duke was in such plight. And he said
to them, "Ye will hear news, but press not for it out of season; news
will always spread some time or another, and he who gets it not fresh,
has it old."
Then the duke raised himself up, and the seneschal said to him, "Sire,
sire, why do you conceal the news you have heard? If men hear it not at
one time, they will at another; concealment will do you no good, nor
will the telling of it do harm. What you keep so close, is by this time
known all over the city; for men go through the streets telling, and all
know, both great and small, that king Edward is dead, and that Harold is
become king in his stead, and possesses the realm."
"That indeed is the cause of my sorrow," said the duke, "but I know no
help for it. I sorrow for Edward, and for his death, and for the wrong
that Harold has done me. He has wronged me in taking the kingdom that
was granted and promised to me, as he himself had sworn."
To these words Fitz Osber, the bold of heart, replied, "Sire, do not vex
yourself, but bestir yourself for your redress; that you may be revenged
on Harold, who hath been so disloyal to you. If your courage fail not,
the land shall not abide with him. Call together all that you can call;
cross the sea, and take the kingdom from him. A bold man should begin
nothing unless he pursue it to the end; what he begins he should carry
through, or abandon it without more ado."
Thus the fame of king Harold's act went through the country. William
sent to him often, and reminded him of his oath; and Harold replied
injuriously, that he would do nought for him, neither take his daughter,
nor yield up the land. Then William sent him his defiance, but Harold
always answered that he feared him nought[6]. The Normans who dwelt in
England, who had wives and children there, men whom Edward had invited
and endowed with castles and fiefs, Harold chased out of the country,
nor would he leave one there; he drove out fathers and mothers, sons and
daughters, brothers and sisters[7].
Harold received the crown at Easter (Christmas--see note--mdh); but it
would have been better for him if he had done otherwise, for he brought
nought but evil on his heirs, and on all the land. He perjured himself
for a kingdom, and that kingdom endured but little space; to him it was
a great loss, and it brought all his lineage to sorrow. He refused to
take the duke's daughter to wife, he would neither give nor take
according to his covenant, and heavily will he suffer for it; he, and
all he loves most.
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When William found that Harold would do nothing towards performing his
covenant, he considered and took counsel, how to cross the sea, and
fight him, and by our Lord's leave, take vengeance for his perjury. He
pondered much on the wrongs Harold had done him, and on his not deigning
even to speak with him before he got himself crowned, and thus robbed
him of what Edward had given him, and Harold himself had sworn to
observe. If, he said, he could attack and punish him without crossing
the sea, he would willingly have done so; but he would rather cross the
sea than not revenge himself, and pursue his right. So he determined to
go over sea, and take his revenge.
[Footnote 1: According to the quotation in _Thierry_, i. 236, Edward's
last moments were disturbed by melancholy forebodings. 'Behold,' he
cried, 'the Lord hath bent his bow; the Lord hath brandished his sword,
and made ready; by fire and sword will he chasten!' Benoit merely says,
'Glouriouse fin out e sainte!' The reader may usefully compare the
narrative here, with the illustrative quotations from the old
chroniclers, which are to be found in _Thierry_.]
[Footnote 2: Benoit de Sainte-More's account is somewhat different. He
in particular denies that Harold was anointed at all, or had any title
but his own usurpation.
Heraut de coveitise espris,
Senz autre conseil qui'n fust pris,
Saisi le reigne demaneis;
Parjurez e faus se fist reis,
Eissi, senz icele unction,
E senz cele sacration,
Qu'en deit faire à rei saintement
Le jor de son coronement.
In this part of his chronicle he relates an expedition by Harold against
'li Galeis' and 'reis Griffins, qui d'eus ert sire.'
----Heraut l'ocist,
Sa femme Aldit saisi e prist,
Qui fille ert del bon conte Algar.]
[Footnote 3: The park of Quevilly. Henry II. built a palace there, which
eventually became the priory of St. Julien; the chapel of which still
subsists. An extensive forest adjoined.]
[Footnote 4: 'Damoisels,' young men of gentle birth, not yet knights.]
[Footnote 5: WILLIAM FITZ OSBERN, lord of Breteuil (de Bretolio), in the
arrondissement of Evreux. He was, by his father, the grandson of
Herfast, brother of the duchess Gunnor; and, by his mother, grandson of
Ralf, count of Ivry. Both father and son held the office of seneschal,
these household offices being among the Normans held by the persons of
highest birth and eminence. Wace says of the household of duke Richard
II.:
Gentil furent li capelain,
Gentil furent li escrivain,
Gentil furent li cunestable,
E bien poessanz e bien aidable;
Gentil furent li senescal,
Gentil furent li marescal,
Gentil furent li buteillier,
Gentil furent li despensier;
Li chamberlenc e li uissier
Furent tuit noble chevalier.
William became earl of Hereford, and was killed in 1070. _Ordericus
Vitalis_ 536, exclaims, 'Ubi est Guillelmus Osberni filius, Herfordensis
comes, et regis vicarius, Normanniæ dapifer, et magister militum
bellicosus? Hic nimirum primus et maximus oppressor Anglorum fuit, et
enormem causam per temeritatem suam enutrivit, per quam multis millibus
ruina miseræ mortis incubuit.' His family were soon involved in
rebellion, and disappeared in England. The Osbernus episcopus--of
Exeter--in _Domesday_, was his brother. See Ellis's _Introduction to
Domesday,_ i. 460-511.]
[Footnote 6: Benoit's more particular account of William's messages to
Harold will be found in our appendix.]
[Footnote 7: The _Estoire de Seint Ædward le rei_, (a MS. in the
university library at Cambridge) makes Harold's tyrannical proceedings a
prominent motive for William's expedition.]
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